Tell el-Far'ah South — Sharuhen?
Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age (2000–600 BCE)·Canaanite / Philistine / Egyptian·🇵🇸 Negev / Gaza border, Palestine
About
About Tell el-Far'ah South — Sharuhen?
Tell el-Far'ah South — Sharuhen? in Negev / Gaza border, Palestine is a Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age (2000–600 BCE) tell attributed to Canaanite / Philistine / Egyptian. Border fortress identified as biblical Sharuhen besieged by Ahmose I. Petrie's Tell Fara with Egyptian New Kingdom fort and Philistine cemetery, papyrus of Wenamun context.
Why it mattersKey Levantine tell with multi-period stratigraphy informing chronology of the Negev / Gaza border
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Stratigraphic sequence
- 02Biblical identification debated
Theories
- 01Border fortress model
- 02Trade route control
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. 2000 BCE
- Period
- Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age (2000–600 BCE)
- Culture
- Canaanite / Philistine / Egyptian
- Purpose
- Border fortress identified as biblical Sharuhen besieged by Ahmose I
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 2000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1925 CE
Woolley/Petrie survey
On the ground
Structures & features
31.2800° N · 34.4800° E · 80 m · 3 mapped features
Tell el-Far'ah South — Sharuhen? — Summit Citadel
citadelCitadel or summit fort on tell
31.2801° N · 34.4801° ETell el-Far'ah South — Sharuhen? — Glacis and Wall Circuit
glacisOuter fortification glacis
31.2798° N · 34.4801° ETell el-Far'ah South — Sharuhen? — Lower Town / Cemetery
lower townExtension settlement or cemetery
31.2804° N · 34.4798° E