ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES

Tell Balata

(Shechem)

Location:

The ancient Canaanite city of Shechem lies 67 km north of Jerusalem at a distance of about 1.5 km east of the center of modern Nablus. The ruins of the city occupy a tell of about 50 dunums rising some 525m above sea level and 25m above the fertile plateau of Askar. This plateau starts at the edges of the Gerzim and Ebal Mountains and descends east towards the Jordan valley; it represented the economic foundation of the city.

Shechem, meaning shoulder or high place, is the first name of Nablus. It was given to the area by the Canaanites who settled the area from the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. The site is locally called Tell Balata after the modern Palestinian village of Balata to the east. Next to the tell, to the east, is Joseph's Tomb (Maqam Al Nabi Yosef), and further to the south-east is Jacob's well.

The tell is strategically positioned at the junction of two important ancient commercial routes, the one connecting the coast to the Jordan valley, and the mountainous route connecting northern Palestine to the south. Because of this important strategic location, the ancient city of Shechem played an important role. It was very much like its descendant, modern Nablus, an important economic, administrative as well as political center, for the region and for the country as a whole.

History of the site:

Archaeological excavations at Tell Balata indicate that the site was first settled during the fifth millennium BC (The Chalcolithic Period). The Canaanite city, the remains of which we can still see today, seem to have been built around 1900 BC. The Egyptian records from the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Senwosret III imply that Shechem was an important citystate during the Middle Bronze Age period (1900-1550 BC). This Age is recognized as the age of citystates in the history of Palestine. The city flourished greatly during this period as can be seen from the great defensive system and the fine houses that have been excavated at the site. Since then the city has been destroyed and rebuilt several times.

During the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ahmose (1550-1525 BC), the city was destroyed by the Egyptians after they expelled the Hyksos and chased them into Palestine. The city was once more destroyed in 1360 BC at the hands of a mysterious nomadic group known as the "Hapiru". It was destroyed for the third time in 923 BC at the hands of Shishak of the Bible, probably the Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq I. After that, the city was neglected especially when King Omri built Samaria as the new capital of his northern kingdom in 876 BC.

In 724 BC the Assyrians destroyed Shechem and Samaria; they deported some 30,000 people from the region and brought new people loyal to them from distant regions of their empire (Elam, Babylon and Syria). Some of those newcomers later converted to Judaism and formed a new sect known as the Samaritans, some of whom are still living on mount Gerzim in Nablus today. The deportees became to be known in Jewish traditions as "the ten lost tribes"

After the death of Alexander and the division of his empire in 323 BC, most of Palestine including Shechem came under Patolomic rule until the Silucidis occupied it in 198 BC. The town flourished briefly during the Hellenistic period, and some of its buildings and homes were restored and rehabilitated. Archaeological excavations at the site uncovered a quantity of coins dating to this period. But the city was once more destroyed by John Hyrkanus the Maccabbee in 117 BC. Shechem was already exhausted by this time, and what followed was gradual abandonment of the town. The final signs of human settlement at Tell Balata date to the end of the first century BC. The city was totally abandoned after that, and a new page in the history of the city and the country was opened when the Romans occupied Palestine in 63 BC and in AD 70 when they built the new city of Neapolis.

The Old Testament teaches that Shechem was the first Palestinian city visited by Abraham after his migration from Ur in his native Iraq. It is believed that this might have happened in the nineteenth century BC. Shortly after, Jacob, coming from Fadan in Syria, passed by the city. According to the Old Testament, during the Period of the Judges (11th. century BC), the Jews in Shechem converted to the Canaanite religion and worshipped Ba'al in the fortress temple. Abimalik, one of the 71 sons of Judge Gideon, destroyed the town and burned it after killing all of his brothers in the wars of succession to the throne. Biblical texts, however, are very confusing, and it is very hard to verify their accuracy and historicity.

Description of the site:

The site includes many architectural elements; the most impressive of which are the defense system: the walls and the entrance complexes. The defenses of tell Balata are the best example of a Canaanite defensive system in Palestine. They date from the Middle Bronze Age (1900-1550 BC). The walls are the first thing that attracts the attention of the visitor while approaching the site from the north. The massive wall that is standing today is the third of four consecutive walls that were built around the city in different periods. It is a well preserved structure of Cyclopean masonry around 1600 BC. The other walls are less impressive and date to earlier periods of the Middle Bronze Age.

The second architectural feature of the site are the massive and unique gate complexes. Two city gates have been excavated, one in the north-west, and the other in the east of the city wall. The remains of both are still visible today. The main gate is that to the north-west dating back to the 17th century BC. It is triple chambered with two massive towers on each side. It opens to the main street of the city and right inside it is the governors palace on both sides of the street. The Eastern gate is double chambered and is dated to 1625-1575 BC. It is believed that the city had a third gate on the south eastern side of the wall, but it is not visible today.

In addition to the defenses, Shechem has several impressive buildings such as the governors palace, the fortress temple and the holy temple that some call Abraham's temple.

The Palace right inside the northern gate includes: a small temple, guard rooms, main assembly, kitchen, and living rooms.

The holy temple, east of the palace, dates from the end of the Middle Bronze Age.

The fortress temple is on the summit of the hill, next to the holy temple. It is the largest and the most impressive surviving Canaanite temple in Palestine. It measures 26.80m in length and 24.2m in width. Its walls are about 5m thick. Archaeologists believe that it was a two story building. It has one entrance to the east, in the middle of which is a column to support the roof, and on each side of the entrance is a massive tower. The eastern tower has a stairway that might have led to the second floor. Inside the main hall of the temple there are two rows of three columns.

History of archaeological excavations at the site:

It was H. Thiersch who first identified Tell Balata with Shechem in 1903 AD. In 1908 a resident from Balata discovered, while building a house, a collection of bronze arms which ended up in a museum in Berlin. Following that in 1913, the first systematic excavation began under the direction of the German Biblical scholar Ernest Sellin; the excavations continued in 1914 and then in 1926-1929. From 1932-1934 excavations at the tell were led by Walter. Sellin returned to the site in 1934 and excavated until world War II broke out. It is unfortunate that most of Sellin's records and finds were destroyed in the bombing of Berlin in 1943.

In 1956 an American expedition, led by the biblical scholar G.E. Wright, resumed excavations at Balata, and those excavations lasted until 1964. E. Campbell resumed excavations at the Tell between 1965-1968. W. Dever conducted some clean up work and salvage excavations at the site in 1972-1973. The later excavations employed better excavation techniques and better recording system.

The state of the site:

The houses of the modern village of Balata occupy the southern part of the tell, about one third. The northern part is not occupied; it is on this part that all archaeological work has been conducted. In spite of the very significant historical and cultural importance of the site, it is very unfortunate that the site is in bad shape and is scarcely visited. It lacks services and is in much need of clean up work; this is due to the negligence resulting from the unstable political situation in the country. The site is also not easily accessible because it is in the middle of living quarters. There are plans in hand by the Palestinian Department of Antiquities to rehabilitate the site.