Tel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter
Hellenistic (125–80 BCE) over Iron Persian tell·Phoenician Hellenistic (Sidonian merchants)·🇮🇱 Northern District, Upper Galilee, near Kibbutz Shamir, Hula Valley, Israel
About
About Tel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter
Hula tell excavated by Weinberg & Berlin 1968–86, 125 BCE stuccoed luxury house with Doric stucco columns.
Why it mattersKey Phoenician Hellenistic (Sidonian merchants) ancient-city with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Astronomical alignment
- 02Trade network extent
Theories
- 01Elite residence
- 02Ceremonial centre
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 125 BCE villa quarter
- Period
- Hellenistic (125–80 BCE) over Iron Persian tell
- Culture
- Phoenician Hellenistic (Sidonian merchants)
- Purpose
- Phoenician merchant villa with stuccoed baths and frescoed reception — earliest Hellenistic villa in Levant
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1950
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 1200 BCE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Tel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter
c. 125 BCE villa quarter
Initial construction / first occupation at Tel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter
1950 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Tel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter
On the ground
Structures & features
33.1790° N · 35.6410° E · 100 m · 3 mapped features
Tel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter — Principal Structure
structurestructure at Tel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter — outlier feature
33.1781° N · 35.6416° ETel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter — Northern Complex
complexcomplex at Tel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter — subsidiary complex
33.1803° N · 35.6422° ETel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter — Rock_Art Annex 3
rock artrock art at Tel Anafa — Hellenistic Stuccoed Villa Quarter — primary structure
33.1770° N · 35.6426° E