Horvat Eleq is located in the southeastern area of Ramat HaNadiv, at the southern edge of Mount Carmel at an altitude of 141 meters above sea level. Nearby within 10 km are the cities of Dor, Caesarea and their ports, Tel Taninim and Tel Mevorakh to the west and Tel Burga to the southeast.[1]
History
editHorvat Eleq has almost a continuous history of settlement starting at the Paleolithic period until the Ottoman period.[1] Throughout history the settlement has benefited from its location next to an abundant and constant water source and overlooking two historical roads.[1] Archaeological excavations at the site began in 1989 by Yizhar Hirschfeld and continued almost continuously until 2007.[1][2] The main remains discovered and studied in the excavations are mainly associated with the end of the Persian period where the remains of a fortified wall are visible and the Hellenistic and Roman periods, as they are the major visible remains today.[1][3] In the early Roman period, the site reaches its peak in terms of construction and settlement.[1]
After the First Jewish–Roman War the site was abandoned.
Archeology
editBetween the years 1989 and 2007, archaeological excavations were conducted continuously at the site.[1] The findings at the site are mainly categorized to five time periods that begin at the end of the Persian period, from which the remains of a fortified wall can be seen, to the end of the Ottoman period, when a Jewish settlement was abandoned.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Tepper, Yotam; Peleg Barkat, Orit (2014). ""City Fortified to Tower Watch From"" (PDF). ארץ הגליל. 3: 65–74.
- ^ Hirschfeld, Yizhar; Patrich, J.; Peleg-Barkat, Orit; Ben-Yosef, Erez, eds. (776). Ḳum, hithalekh ba-arets: meḥḳarim ba-arkheʼologyah uva-hisṭoryah shel Erets Yiśraʼel le-zikhro Yizhar Hirshfeld bi-melot ʻaśor li-feṭirato = Arise, walk through the land: studies in the archaeology and history of the land of Israel in memory of Yizhar Hirschfeld on the tenth anniversary of his demise. Yerushalayim: ṿeha-Ḥevrah la-ḥaḳirat Erets-Yiśraʼel ṿe-ʻatiḳoteha. ISBN 978-965-221-110-1. OCLC 981155917.
- ^ Peleg Barkat, Orit; Tepper, Yotam (2019). "המכלול המבוצר בחורבת עלק: הערכה חדשה לאור החפירות המחודשות באתר" (PDF). קדמוניות. 158: 92–98.