Et-Tell

Et-Tell is an archaeological site in Israel that can probably be identified with the Biblical city of Ai.

Location and Identification

The site of et-Tell (Arabic for "the ruin-heap") is approximately 3 km east of the modern village of Beitin (Bethel), atop a watershed plateau overlooking the Jordan Valley and the city of Jericho 14 km east.

Et-Tell was first suggested to be a possible location of the Biblical city of Ai by Edward Robinson in 1838, and again by Charles Wilson in 1866, on the evidence of biblical references and local topography. This identification was supported by the American scholar William Foxwell Albright, who further argued in a 1924 paper that the site of et-Tell contained the ruins of a large Canaanite city, corresponding with the Biblical tradition that the Israelite commander Joshua "burnt Ai and made it a heap for ever" (Joshua 8:28). Another point in favor of this hypothesis is that the Hebrew word "Ai" means "the ruin", which is more or less the same meaning as the modern Arabic name, et-Tell. Albright's identification has not been seriously challenged by the archaeological community, and today et-Tell is widely believed to be one and the same as Biblical Ai.

Excavation History

The first archaeological exploration of et-Tell was conducted in September 1928 under the supervision of John Garstang. Eight trenches were dug, five against the outer face of the southern city wall and three within the city itself. The results of this excavation were never formally published, and the only report known is a three-page summary filed by Garstang at the conclusion of the work. In a later book, Garstang claimed that Late Bronze Age pottery, dating to c.1400 BCE, was discovered during this excavation, but this pottery was not mentioned in his earlier summary of the work and cannot now be located.

The second excavation at et-Tell took place during three seasons between 1933 and 1935 and was directed by Judith Marquet-Krause, with support from Baron Edmond de Rothschild. A fourth season of excavation was cut short by Marquet-Krause's untimely death in July 1936; however, her husband compiled a catalog of objects found during the excavation and published it in 1949. This campaign concentrated on the upper region of the mound and exposed regions of the acropolis and a village dating to the Iron Age.

The most recent campaign at et-Tell, the Joint Archaeological Expedition, was carried out in nine seasons from 1964 to 1970 under the supervision of Joseph Callaway and the American Schools of Oriental Research. Eight new sites were opened at et-Tell in areas adjacent to Marquet-Krause's expedition and along the lower east city walls, and three smaller sites in the vicinity were surveyed to create a more complete archaeological profile of the region.

Settlement Phases

The earliest settlement phase known at et-Tell, dubbed "Pre-Urban", coincides with the Early Bronze Age I and lasted from about 3200 to 3100 BCE. During this period, an unfortified village (approximately 200 m in diameter, large for the EBI) was established at the site, with accompanying tombs dug in caves on the northeastern slopes of the hill. Pottery styles from this period show both indigenous and foreign cultural influences and may signify a mingling of peoples from local sites and newcomers emigrating from more distant regions. Over time, the foreign elements tended to predominate over indigenous ones.

Circa 3100 BCE, et-Tell entered the "Urban A" phase. A large, well-planned walled city, approximately 11 hectares in area, was constructed on the site. Some notable structures from this period include a large acropolis complex consisting of a temple-palace compound, a market and residential area, and four fortified city gates. Sometime between 2950 and 2860 BCE, the Urban A city was terminated by violent destruction. Most of the major buildings were burned to the ground; a layer of scorched stones and ash covers the floors of the EBI buildings.

Following this destruction, the city was rebuilt and entered into the Urban B phase, which coincides with the Early Bronze II period. Buildings were repaired and modified, and the fortifications were strengthened. Two distinctive new pottery forms that first appear in this period suggest that new leadership was imposed on the city; these newcomers may also have been responsible for the destruction of the Urban A/EBI settlement.

The Urban B city, like its predecessor, was destroyed violently by fire. Excavations uncovered the ruins of buildings, collapsed stones and beams, at every site investigated. Fire trapped under the debris of collapsed roofs smoldered hot enough to change the chemical composition of the stone, a process called calcination. The walls of the compound on the acropolis were tilted and displaced by a rift in the bedrock, suggesting that an earthquake may have been responsible for the destruction. This seems to have occurred around 2720 BCE, based on carbon-14 dating.

Following this destruction, the city lay in ruins for some time. Erosion channels cut through the debris; based on their depth and extent, the abandonment probably lasted between 20 and 40 years. Finally, in the Early Bronze Age III, et-Tell was reconstructed and entered the Urban C phase. Egyptian influence in this stage is evident, attested by the use of stone pillars shaped with copper saws as well as other typically Egyptian construction techniques. Two gates in the city wall, along with a large open reservoir designed to capture rainwater, are known. Around 2550 BCE, there was a temporary disruption at the site, based on damage and rebuilding to the fortifications and major changes in the temple area. Finally, around 2400 BCE, complete destruction again overtook the site. Joseph Callaway has proposed that a local Canaanite ruler may have managed to conquer the city away from the Egyptians, following which it was destroyed in an Egyptian counterattack.

After the destruction of the Urban C layer, et-Tell was abandoned and lay in ruins for over a thousand years. The next settlement period did not begin until the Iron Age I, around 1200 BCE, when a wave of settlers arrived and peacefully established a new occupation there. This new village was unfortified and occupied only a small region of the mound, smaller by far than the previous Early Bronze cities. This level is marked by the use of rock-cut cisterns dug into the hill to catch rainwater and the use of terrace farming on the slopes of the mound. The discovery of farming tools and large quantities of animal bones in every house indicate that these people were both farmers and shepherds. Around 1050 BCE, this village was abandoned without burning or destruction.

Comparisons with the Biblical Account

If et-Tell is indeed the Biblical Ai, this poses a problem for defenders of the literal historicity of the Biblical accounts concerning the origin of ancient Israel. The reason for this is that traditional dating schemes place the Exodus from Egypt and Joshua's conquest around 1400 BCE. In this version of events, Joshua and the invading Israelites are depicted as conquering Ai, exterminating its residents and burning the city; however, et-Tell was unoccupied at this time according to the established archaeological chronology, and the later Iron Age I village appeared with no evidence of initial conquest. The Iron I settlers appear to have peacefully established their village on the abandoned tell, without meeting resistance.

One proposal to resolve this difficulty holds that the account of Ai's conquest in the Book of Joshua is not intended to be historical, but etiological; that is, the authors of the Bible noted the presence of a large, impressive local ruin (the remains of the Early Bronze city) and sought to explain this destruction in terms of a legendary ancestor. Another hypothesis is that the Iron I settlement wave at Ai, as well as in other sites in the region at this time, fits better with the account given in the Biblical Book of Judges, which posits the settlement process of the nation of Israel in somewhat different terms than the Book of Joshua.

External References

Callaway, Joseph. "Ai." In David Noel Freedman (ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol.1, p. 125-130. Doubleday, 1992.

Callaway, Joseph. "Ai." In Ephraim Stern (ed.), The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, p. 39-45. Simon & Schuster, 1993.

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