Tell es-Safi تلّ الصافي Tel Tzafit | |
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.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Tell es-Safi (click the buttons) | |
  Tell es-Safi Location withinIsrael | |
| Coordinates:31°42′15″N34°50′49″E / 31.70417°N 34.84694°E /31.70417; 34.84694 | |
| Palestine grid | 135/123 |
| Geopolitical entity | Israel |
| Subdistrict | Hebron |
| Date of depopulation | 9–10 July 1948[3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 27,794dunams (27.794 km2; 10.731 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 1,290[1][2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
Tell es-Safi (Arabic:تل الصافي,romanized: Tall aṣ-Ṣāfī, "White hill";Hebrew:תל צפית,Tel Tzafit) was anArab Palestinian village, located in theShephelah region on the southern banks of Wadi 'Ajjur, 35 kilometers (22 mi) northwest ofHebron, which had its Arab population expelled during the1948 Arab–Israeli war.[4] Archaeological excavations show that the site (atell or archaeological mound) was continuously inhabited since the 5th millennium BCE,[5] and it is widely identified with thePhilistine city ofGath.[6]
The site appears on the 6th-centuryMadaba Map asSaphitha, while theCrusaders called itBlanche Garde.[7][8] It is mentioned byArab geographers in the 13th and 16th centuries. Under theOttoman Empire, it was part of the district ofGaza. In modern times, the houses were built ofsun-dried brick. The villagers were Muslim and cultivated cereals and orchards.
Today the site, known as Tel Tzafit, is an Israeli national park incorporating archaeological remains which are generally, if not by all, identified as the Philistine city of Gath, mentioned in theHebrew Bible.[9] The remains of the Crusader fort and the Arab village can also be seen on the tell.[5]
The 6th-century Madaba Map calls it Saphitha.[7][8] In the 19th century the white chalk cliff at the site was seen as the cause for the Arabic name: Tell es-Safi means 'clear or bright mound'.[10] The name used in the Crusader period was Blanche Garde, 'White Fortress' in French, and Alba Specula ('White Lookout/Watch-tower') or Alba Custodia ('White Guard') in Latin.[11]
Tell es-Safi sits on a site 300 feet (91 m) above the plain ofPhilistia and 700 feet (210 m) above sea level, and its white-faced precipices can be seen from the north and west from several hours distant.[9] Tell es-Safi is situated between the Israeli cities ofAshkelon andBeit Shemesh and is one of the country's largest Bronze and Iron Age sites.[12]
Victor Guérin thought that Tell es-Safi was the "watch-tower" mentioned inJoshua 15:38, based on its etymological meaning,[13] but the site is now believed to be the site of thePhilistine city ofGath. The identification was opposed byAlbright, who noted its proximity to another leading city from the Philistine league,Ekron (Tel Miqne), but later excavations turned up more supportive evidence for Tell es-Safi.[14][15][16]
Schniedewind writes that Gath was important for the Philistines in the eighth century BCE because of its easily defended geographical position. Albright argued that Tell es-Safi was too close to Tel Miqne/Ekron to be Gath. The sites are only 8 km apart. However, both Tell es-Safi and Tel Miqne were major sites in the Middle Bronze through the Iron Age. The agricultural features of this region of the southern coastal plain may be part of the explanation. Additionally, there is no certainty that the two sites flourished simultaneously. Literary sources suggest that Gath flourished in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages until its destruction by theAssyrians in the late eighth century BCE. The heyday of Ekron was the seventh century BCE, after the site was taken over by the Assyrians as an agricultural administrative center (Dothan and Gitin 1993).[17]
Excavations at Tell es-Safi since 1996[12] indicate that the site was settled "virtually continuously from theChalcolithic until the modern periods."[5]
The site was already a significant settlement in theEarly Bronze Age with an estimated area of 24 hectares. Finds from this period include ahippopotamusivorycylinder seal, found inside a holemouth jar in a well stratified EB III (c. 2700/2600 – 2350 BCE) context. The motif was that of a crouching male lion.[18][19]
Stratigraphic evidence attests to settlement in the Late Bronze and Iron Age (I & II) periods.[5] By the Late Bronze Age the site had reached an extent of 34 hectares. A find of ahieratic inscribed LBA bowl fragment (19th - 20th Dynasty) reflects the Egyptian contacts common in this region during this period.[20]
There is stratigraphic evidence for settlement in theIron Age I & II periods.[5] A large city in theIron Age, the site was "enclosed on three sides by a large man-made siege-moat."[21]
Radiocarbon dating published in 2015 showed an early appearance ofPhilistinematerial culture in the city.[22] According to 2010 reports, Israeli archaeologists uncovered evidence of the first Philistine settlement in Canaan, as well as aPhilistine temple and evidence of a major earthquake in biblical times.[23]
TheTell es-Safi inscription, dated to the 10th century BCE, was found at the site in 2005.
Archaeologists have discovered a horned altar dating to the 9th century BCE. The stone artefact is over 3 feet (one meter) tall, and is the earliest ever found in Philistia. It features a pair of horns, similar to the ancientIsraelite altars described in the Hebrew Bible (Exodus 27:1–2; 1 Kings 1:50), the Israelite altars however typically have four horns, such as found inTel Be'er Sheva, for example, as opposed to two.[24]
The 2010 reports mention evidence of destruction by KingHazael of Aram-Damascus around 830 BCE.[23]
The place appears on theMadaba Map asSaphitha (Greek:CΑΦΙΘΑ).[7]
During theCrusades, the site was called Blanchegarde ("White guard"), likely referring to the white rock outcrop next to the site.[25] In 1142, a fort was built on the site byKing Fulk. After theSiege of Ascalon in 1153, the castle was expanded and strengthened.[26] It became alordship in 1166, when it was given toWalter III Brisebarre, lord of Beirut.
It was dismantled after being taken bySaladin in 1191,[25][27] but reconstructed byRichard the Lionheart in 1192. Richard was nearly captured while inspecting his troops next to the site.[25]
In 1253, Gilles' son Raoul (died after 1265) was documented as lord of Blanchegard. In 1265, the Baron Amalric Barlais, who was loyal to theHohenstaufen, took over the rule of Blanchegard.[28] Shortly thereafter Blanchegard was retaken by Muslim forces. The remnants of the square castle and its four towers served as a place of some importance in the village well into the 19th century.[9][29][30]
Yaqut al-Hamawi, writing in the 1220s, described the place as a fort nearBayt Jibrin in theRamleh area.[25][31]
The Arab geographerMujir al-Din al-Hanbali noted around 1495 that a village by this name was within the administrative jurisdiction of Gaza.[25][32]
The village was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 with all ofPalestine, and in 1596 it appeared in thetax registers being in thenahiya (subdistrict) ofGaza underGaza Sanjak, with a population of 88Muslim households; an estimated 484 persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on a number of crops, includingwheat,barley and sesame, and fruits, as well as goats and beehives; a total of 13,300akçe.[33]
In 1838Edward Robinson described Tell es-Safieh as aMuslim village in the Gaza district.[34] It was "an isolated oblong hill or ridge, lying from N.to S. in the plain, the highest part being towards the South. The village lies near the middle; lower down."
TheSheikh, Muhammed Sellim, belonged to the 'Azzeh family ofBayt Jibrin. After his family took part in thePeasants' Revolt of 1834, his father and uncle were beheaded and the remaining family was ordered to take up residence at Tell es-Safi.[35]
WhenVictor Guérin visited in 1863, he saw two smallMuslimwalīs.[36] An Ottoman village list drawn up around 1870 counted 34 houses and a population of 165 men.[37][38]
In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described Tell al-Safi as a village built ofadobe brick with a well in the valley to the north.[39] James Hastings notes that the village contained a sacredwely.[9]
In 1896, the population was around 495 persons.[40]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Tal al-Safi had a population of 644 inhabitants, all Muslims,[41] increasing in the1931 census to 925, still all Muslim, in a total of 208 inhabited houses.[42]
The villagers of Tall al-Safi had amosque, a marketplace, and a shrine for a local sage called Shaykh Mohammad. In the1945 statistics, the total population was 1,290, all Muslims,[2] and the land area was 27,794 dunams of land.[1] Of this, a total of 19,716dunums of land were used forcereals, 696 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[43] while 68 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.[44]
In 1948, Tell es-Safi was the destination for the women and children ofQastina, sent away by the menfolk of Qastina at this time, but they returned after discovering there was insufficient water in the host village to meet the newcomers' needs.[45]
On 7 July,Givati commanderShimon Avidan issued orders to the 51st Battalion to take the Tall al-Safi area and "to destroy, to kill and to expel [lehashmid, leharog, u´legaresh] refugees encamped in the area, in order to prevent enemy infiltration from the east to this important position."[4] According toBenny Morris, the nature of the written order and, presumably, accompanying oral explanations, probably left little doubt in the battalion OC's minds that Avidan wanted the area cleared of inhabitants.[46][47]
In 1992,Walid Khalidi wrote that the site was overgrown with wild vegetation, mainlyfoxtail and thorny plants, interspersed with cactuses, date-palm and olive trees. He noted the remains of a well and the crumbling stone walls of a pool. The surrounding land was planted byIsraeli farmers with citrus trees, sunflowers, and grain. A few tents belonging to Bedouin were occasionally pitched nearby.[25]
The site is now anIsraeli national park and the site of ongoing archaeological excavations.[48]
The site was visited in 1875 byClaude Reignier Conder who was impressed with its height and position in the landscape but not impressed by the "insolent peasants". The only visible remains were those of the Crusader era fortress.[49]
The first excavations at the site began in 1899 when Frederick J. Bliss and R. A. Stewart Macalister worked for three seasons on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund. While in the early days of archaeology the methods of Bliss were reasonably advanced for those days. The excavation failed in its primary goal of firmly identifying the site as Gath but did properly work out the stratigraphy.[50][51][52][53][54][55]
In the 1950 and 1960s,Moshe Dayan conducted illegal digs at Tell es-Safi and other sites. Some of the robber holes can still be seen at the site today. Many of the objects from these digs ended up at theIsrael Museum in Jerusalem.[56]
Since 1996, the site has been excavated by the Tell es-Safi/Gath Project led byAren Maeir,[57][58] still ongoing as of 2024.[59]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (pp.28-43).
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