Gezer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gezer was a town in ancient Israel.
Scholars believe that Gezer is identical with Tel Gezer (Tell el-Jezer or Abu Shusheh), about midway on the route between Jerusalem and Jaffa. Gezer was located on the northern border of the Shephelah, approximately thirty kilometres west of Jerusalem. It was strategically situated at the junction of the International Coastal Highway and the highway connecting it with Jerusalem through the valley of Ajalon. The view from Gezer encompassed the whole Coastal Plain below it, making it a strategic military center.
The site was discovered by Charles Clermont-Ganneau in 1871. Robert Macalister dug in the site between 1902 and 1907 on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Macalister managed in the recovering of several artifacts and the finding of several constructions and defenses. Macalister also established Gezer's habitation strata, though they were found mostly incorrect (as well as many of his theories). Other notable archælogical expeditions to the site were: Alan Rowe's (1934), G.E. Wright's (1964/5; at the head of the Hebrew Union College expedition), William Dever's, Yigael Yadin's and the Andrews University expedition.
It is mentioned in connection with the conquest of the land under the leadership of Joshua. (Josh. 10:33; 12:12) The town was appointed to the Levites.
It is mentioned as a place under Philistine power, as David is said to have broken their rulership "from Geba to as far as to Gezer". It was the last point to which he pursued the Philistines (2 Sam. 5:25; 1 Chr. 14:16) after the battle of Baal-perazim. Later the Pharaoh of Egypt conquered it and gave it as a dowry to Solomon's wife.
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
Gezer is mentioned in Egyptian records, such as the writings of Thutmose III as well as the letters of Amarna, the Amarna Letters; and Pharaoh Merneptah boasted that he "seized Gezer". Archaeological excavation at Gezer has been going on since the early 1900's, and it has become one of the most excavated sites in Palestine.
One of the most interesting findings is the so-called Gezer calendar. This is a plaque containing a text appearing to be either a schoolboy's memory exercises, or something designated for the collection of taxes from farmers. Another possibility is that the text was a popular folk song, or child's song, listing the months of the year according to the agricultural seasons. It has proved to be of value by informing modern researchers of ancient Middle Eastern script and language, as well as the agricultural seasons.
Other interesting discoveries at the site related to Biblical archaeology:
- 10 monumental megaliths possibly comprising a Canaanite "high place"
- 9 incsribed boundary stones, making it the first positively identified Biblical city
- 6-chambered gate similar to those found at Hazor and Megiddo
The excavations at Gezer from 1964-1974 were the first to grant academic/college credit to student excavators (now a common practice).
Excavations were renewed in June 2006 by a consortium of institutions under the direction of Steve Ortiz (Center for Archaeological Research of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) and Sam Wolff (Israel Antiquities Authority). The Tel Gezer Excavation and Publication Project is a multi-disciplinary field project investigating the Iron Age history of the ancient biblical city of Tel Gezer.
[edit] External links
