Tel Qana

Tel Qana (Arabic: Tell el-Mukhmar, Hebrew: תל קנה) is an archaeological site and historical mound situated in the Yarkon river basin, near the confluence of Wadi Qana and the Yarqon. It is situated 3 km east of Ramat Ha-Sharon, 5 km south of Ra'anana, and 4.5 km northwest of Tel Afeq. The mound spans an area of 25 dunams and rises to a height of around 12 meters its the surrounding, and includes finds from the Early, Middle, and Late Bronze Ages, Iron Age I–II, and the Persian, Roman, and Byzantine periods.^[1]

Etymology

The Crusader name of the site was Filie de Comar. The site is mentioned in a boundary description in Hasseki Sultan imaret's endowment deed, dated to 1552. The name is listed as Tall bin muḫmārrecte /Tall il-muḫmār/ “the mound of Mukhmar.” Muḫmār might be an ancient Canaanite/Biblical Hebrew survival of mkmr “snare”.^[2]

The modern Hebrew name of the site derives from Wadi Qana, near-which it stands.

Main finds

A sizable Late Bronze Age II cist burial that is distinctive in its size, plastering, and east–west orientation is the main find at Tell Qana. A young adult's was found buried in the grave with funerary goods made of metal and ceramic. The ceramic vessels, which belong to the latter part of the Late Bronze Age II, are made locally. The distinctive elements of the cemetery, such as the excellent lime plaster, hint at the potential social standing of the deceased and imply influences from other civilizations, including Egyptian. But nothing related to Egypt turned up in this burial.^[3]

References

This page was last edited on 6 May 2024, at 20:08