Tel Rosh

The site is an artificial mound, known as a "Tell", with an area of {{Convert|25|dunam|acre|abbr=}}, located on top of a hill The excavation has revealed that in some period, the settlement at the site has extended to the slopes of the mound. The site is located between the western highlands of the Galilee, characterized by moderate plateaus sloping towards the Mediterranean coast in the east, and the ridge of Mount Meron to the east. The areas to the west are suitable for agriculture. A water source is available at the Elkosh Spring, some 500 meters south of the site. The site is located next to the ancient road which connects the city of Acre with Tebnine. These features have allowed the site to become a significant settlement throughout its long history.

Surveys at the site have shown that it was inhabited throughout almost every archaeological and historical period from the Early Bronze Age to the Ottoman Period, spanning roughly 5,000 years. During the Iron Age II period contemporary with the Kingdom of Israel and Phoenicia, it was a regional center. The site was identified with "Beit-Shemesh", mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a town in the territory of the Tribe of Naphtali (not to be confused with Beit-Shemesh in Judea). A minor excavation was conducted at the site by Israeli archaeologists and a new study has suggested identifying the site with another settlement known in the biblical texts as "Rehob", in the territory of the Tribe of Asher.Katz and Levin, 2020, pp. 1–2

In the Crusader era it was known as Roeis, and in 1183 it was noted that Godfrey de Tor sold the land of the village to Joscelin III.Strehlke, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/tabulaeordinist00stregoog#page/n31/mode/1up 15]-16, No. 16; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n171/mode/1up 125], No. 624; cited in Frankel, 1988, pp. 257, 264 In 1220 Jocelyn III's daughter Beatrix de Courtenay and her husband Otto von Botenlauben, Count of Henneberg, sold their land, including Roeis and the nearby Cassie (Dayr al-Qassi), to the Teutonic Knights.Strehlke, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/tabulaeordinist00stregoog#page/n59/mode/1up 43]- 44, No. 53; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n254/mode/1up 248], No. 934; cited in Frankel, 1988, p. 264.

The site was explored in the late 19th century by European researchers Victor Guérin and by Conder and Kitchener of the Palestine Exploration Fund.{{cite book|last=Guérin|first=Victor|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionsam01gu|volume=7: Galilée, pt. 1|year=1868|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}} (pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=oDkAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA73 73]){{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=1}} (p. [https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp01conduoft/page/245/mode/2up 245]) The site, which had no proper access, remained overlooked until Israeli archaeologists Ruth Amiran and Yohanan Aharoni surveyed the site between 1948 and 1953, thanks to new roads that were paved. The region was believed to have been sparsely populated because of the harsh terrain and the lack of ancient sources, but the surveys of Amiram and Aharoni have revealed the long occupation record of the site and its archaeological potential. An excavation was planned by Amiram in 1952 but it was never conducted. The site was excavated in 2017 and 2018 by the Kinneret College in collaboration with the Open University of Israel. Four areas were studied, two on the peak of the mound and two in its slopes. The excavation yielded assemblages of pottery from many different periods, remains of architecture, agricultural tools, and more.Katz and Levin, 2020, pp. 2–4

Hayah Katz, who headed the excavation, and Yigal Levin, have written in an article that Tel Rosh is the most likely candidate for "Rehob", mentioned in the Book of Joshua 19:28, between Ebron, Hammon and Kanah.Katz and Levin, 2020, pp. 12–13

• Kedesh

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite journal|last=Hayah Katz & Yigal Levin|date=2020|title=Tel Rosh: The forgotten Rehob in the Upper Galilee|url=https://www.academia.edu/63214341 |journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly|volume=153 |pages=24–41|doi=10.1080/00310328.2020.1751490|s2cid=225601528 |via=Taylor & Francis}}
• {{cite book

|last=Röhricht|first=R. |author-link=Reinhold Röhricht

|title= (RRH) Regesta regni Hierosolymitani (MXCVII-MCCXCI)

|url=https://archive.org/details/regestaregnihie00rhgoog|year=1893|publisher=Libraria Academica Wageriana|location=Berlin|language=la}}

• {{cite book

|editor-last=Strehlke | editor-first = E.| editor-link = Ernst Strehlke

|title=Tabulae Ordinis Theutonici ex tabularii regii Berolinensis codice potissimum

|url=https://archive.org/details/tabulaeordinist00stregoog|year=1869|publisher= Weidmanns|location=Berlin}}

{{refend}}

• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 4: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8367 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.04.jpg Wikimedia commons]

Category:Archaeological sites in Israel

Category:Old Testament places