The Beth-Shean valley was a fertile, densely inhabited region in antiquity. It is part of the Jordan Valley, which is part of the great Syro-African rift valley. From earliest times, this region has been a strategic crossroads linking the Mediterranean coast with Transjordan, and the southern part of Israel with the Syro-Mesopotamian world to the north.
The Beth-Shean Valley Archaeological Project, directed since 1989 by Prof. Amihai Mazar on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, concentrates on the settlement history in the valley during the Bronze and Iron Ages and included nine excavation seasons at Tel Beth-Shean (1989–1996) and twelve seasons at Tel Rehov (1997–2012), as well as selected archaeological surveys and studies of the settlement history in the valley., carried out by various scholars.
Following the last field season in 2012, the work concentrates on publication of the results. Four volumes of the final report on the excavations at Tel Beth-Shean appeared between the years 2006–2011. The full publication of Tel Rehov excavations, edited by Amihai Mazar and Nava Panitz-Cohen, is underway and is slated for final publication in 2018.
This website is intended to provide information about the two major excavated sites, with a list of publications that provides access to all the articles and books which are available for downloading. All four volumes of the Tel Beth-Shean publication will be available on the site, as will the volumes of Tel Rehov upon publication. A picture gallery is also provided.
Contact Information:
Prof. Amihai Mazar, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem amimazar@gmail.com
Dr. Nava Panitz-Cohen, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem panitz@mail.huji.ac.il or navapc@gmail.com
Webmaster: Nachum Applbaum nachum.applbaum@mail.huji.ac.il