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Lost Secrets - an adventure during Neolithic times

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Tel Beth-Shemesh - Artificial Mound in Israel

Submitted by motist on Saturday, 15 September 2012  Page Views: 6760

Multi-periodSite Name: Tel Beth-Shemesh Alternative Name: 'Ain Shems
Country: Israel
NOTE: This site is 3.212 km away from the location you searched for.

Type: Artificial Mound
Nearest Town: Beit Shemesh
Latitude: 31.743935N  Longitude: 34.995527E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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Tel Beth-Shemesh
Tel Beth-Shemesh submitted by bat400 : Middle Bronze gate system at Tel Beth-Shemesh, Isreal. Date 27 June 2008(2008-06-27) (original upload date) Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transfer was stated to be made by User:nettadi. Original uploader was Dustinroyer at en.wikipedia Permission (Reusing this file) CC-BY-3.0. This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Tel Beth-Shemesh is an important biblical site in the northeastern Shephelah (lowland) of Judah. The 7-acre mound is located near the modern town of Beth-Shemesh, some 20 km west of Jerusalem, and overlooks the Sorek Valley.

Situated at the geographical, political and cultural border, as well as the meeting point between Canaanites, Philistines and Israelites, Beth-Shemesh was the scene of great historical events and cultural changes. It is therefore an ideal site for the investigation of key historical and cultural issues relating to the vexed relations and interaction between these three peoples.

The name Beth-Shemesh ("House of the Sun") is suggestive of the deity that was worshipped by the Canaanite inhabitants of the ancient city. Identification of the mound with biblical Beth-Shemesh is based on its geographical description in the Bible, on Byzantine sources and on the name of the nearby Arab village 'Ain Shems, which preserved the ancient name.

Note: Does Ancient Isreali Seal Depict Legendary Samson?
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Tel Beth-Shemesh
Tel Beth-Shemesh submitted by durhamnature : Old photo from the early excavations, from "Archaeology of the Holy Land" via archive.org Site in Israel (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Flickr
Gathering | Jerusalem
A Barber | Jerusalem
Jerusalém
Gerusalemme, preghiere al Santo Sepolcro
Religion, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
Church of the Holy Sepulchre

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 5.4km S 183° Ramat Beit Shemesh ritual baths* Ancient Village or Settlement
 6.3km S 175° 2,000-year-old ‘Emperor’s Road’ near Beit Shemesh* Ancient Trackway
 6.4km SW 214° Khirbet Qeiyafa* Ancient Village or Settlement
 7.5km SW 229° Tel Azeqa Ancient Village or Settlement
 10.5km N 357° Emmaus Ancient Village or Settlement
 10.8km SSW 192° Khirbat Ethri* Ancient Village or Settlement
 12.3km SSW 191° Tel Burgin* Ancient Village or Settlement
 14.1km WNW 285° Tel 'Ekron Ancient Village or Settlement
 14.4km SSW 211° Tel Goded Ancient Village or Settlement
 14.7km NNW 330° Tel Gezer* Ancient Village or Settlement
 14.8km WSW 251° Tel Gath Ancient Village or Settlement
 15.3km ENE 67° Motza Neolithic City* Ancient Village or Settlement
 17.2km SW 222° Tel Burna* Ancient Village or Settlement
 17.2km SW 222° Tel Burna* Ancient Village or Settlement
 17.3km ENE 73° Tel Motza* Ancient Village or Settlement
 18.3km SSW 211° Bet Guvrin-Maresha National Park* Ancient Village or Settlement
 19.7km E 98° Rachel's Tomb Ancient Temple
 20.9km E 88° Talpiot Tomb Rock Cut Tomb
 22.9km E 82° Hezekiah's Tunnel* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
 23.0km E 82° City of David* Ancient Village or Settlement
 23.0km E 81° Temple Mount* Ancient Temple
 23.2km ENE 79° 2000 year old stone fragment in Jerusalem* Marker Stone
 23.8km SW 224° Ziklag* Ancient Village or Settlement
 24.3km SW 215° Tel Lachish* Artificial Mound
 24.3km ENE 73° Shuafat road Chalcolithic period site* Ancient Village or Settlement
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"Tel Beth-Shemesh" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Ancient Seal May Add Substance to the Legend of Samson by bat400 on Wednesday, 12 September 2012
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Tel Aviv University researchers recently uncovered a seal, measuring 15 millimetres (about a half-inch) in diameter, which depicts a human figure next to a lion at the archaeological site of Beth Shemesh, located between the Biblical cities of Zorah and Eshtaol, where Samson was born, flourished, and finally buried, according to the book of Judges. The scene engraved on the seal, the time period, and the location of the discovery all point to a probable reference to the story of Samson, the legendary heroic figure whose adventures famously included a victory in hand-to-paw combat with a lion.

While the seal does not reveal when the stories about Samson were originally written, or clarify whether Samson was a historical or legendary figure, the finding does help to "anchor the story in an archaeological setting," says Prof. Shlomo Bunimovitz (Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, TAU). Prof. Bunimovitz co-directs the Beth Shemesh dig along with Dr. Zvi Lederman.

"If we are right and what we see on the seal is a representation of a man meeting a lion, it shows that the Samson legend already existed around the area of Beth Shemesh during that time period. We can date it quite precisely," Prof. Bunimovitz adds.

The seal was discovered with other finds on the floor of an excavated house, dated by the archaeologists to the 12th century BCE.

Geographically, politically, and culturally, the legends surrounding Samson are set in this time period, also known as the period of the Judges, prior to the establishment of kingship in ancient Israel. The area of Beth Shemesh was a cultural meeting point where Philistines, Canaanites, and Israelites lived in close proximity, maintaining separate identities and cultures. Samson's stories skip across these cultural borders, Dr. Lederman says. Although he was from the Israelite tribe of Dan, Samson is frequently depicted stepping out into the world of the Philistines — even searching for a Philistine wife, much to the chagrin of his parents.

"Samson has a very legendary aura," explains Dr. Lederman, calling the Samson stories "border sagas." On one hand, Samsom could cross the border and interact with the Philistines, but on the other, he met with danger and various challenges when he did stray out of his home territory. "When you cross the border, you have to fight the enemy and you encounter dangerous animals," Dr. Lederman says. "You meet bad things. These are stories of contact and conflict, of a border that is more cultural than political."

The border disputes and the Canaanite resistance to growing Philistine pressure and cultural influence created some identity changes, Prof. Bunimovitz believes. This period of contact and strife may have been the "meat" of the Samson legend incorporated in the Book of Judges, the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible that tells the stories of figures who champion the Israelite cause and fight against oppression through this historical period.



Thanks to coldrum for the link. For more, see http://www.aftau.org/
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Re: Tel Beth-Shemesh by Andy B on Thursday, 15 July 2010
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More at:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/Bet_Shemesh.html
/>

http://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/archaeology/projects/proj_bethshemesh.html
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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tel_Beit_Shemesh
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