The Early Bronze Age

Northern Canaan is one of the primary regions of investigation of early urbanization processes in the Levant, owing to the abundance of archaeological excavations of Early Bronze Age (EBA, ca. 3700-2500 BCE) sites in this region. Research has focused on lowland regions, including the Jezreel Valley, Northern Coastal Plain and Central and Northern Jordan Valley, with limited research conducted in upland regions (Lower and Upper Galilee). As established in a high resolution survey conducted by our team between 2014-2016 (Wachtel and Sabar), the site of Qedesh reached its peak during this formative period (at around 3000 BCE), a period by which all its different components (Upper and Lower Mound, Eastern Mound, Qedesh West) were settled simultaneously. During this time span, Qedesh was probably the largest EBA town in the Southern Levant (ca. 60 hectares in size), and it seems to have played an important role in the transition to urbanism and highland-lowland interactions in northern Canaan.

Our project is designed to address several key themes related to the earliest urbanization cycle in the Levant through detailed surveys and excavations of various components of the site and its surroundings. These main themes include the role of demographic agglomeration in initiating and/or consolidating the urbanization process and the emergence of regional polities; the architectural, material and social fabric of the first towns; and the interaction of major urban centers with the cultural landscapes in which they evolved. Using information gathered from landscape surveys to detailed excavations and analysis of material remains and bio-markers, the research examines both the preconditions for early urbanism, as well as its social, economic and environmental consequences. At the first stage of research (2016-2020), our excavations focus on the newly-discovered, 30-hectare segment of the EBA site located west of the main mound ("Qedesh West"), which was not covered by later occupations.

The excavations of Qedesh West include, at present, two areas. Area C1 is located in the southwestern part of Qedesh West, across a topographic step which can be followed for ca. 400 m, marking the western edge of the site. Following the survey results, we assumed that this step 'hides' a massive fortification. The 2017-2019 excavations in Area C1 exposed several architectural elements which belong to one or more fortifications systems, including walls, a tower and a glacis. The date of the latest phase of the fortification can be set to the Early Bronze Age II (EB II), while most of the material remains date to the Early Bronze Age I (EB I). Area B1 was opened in the central part of Qedesh West, with an attempt to verify the survey results that indicated occupation of this sector during EB I and EB II. The excavations corroborated the survey results and exposed several domestic units built according to a rectilinear tradition, dated to the EB II. Earlier (EB I) and later (Intermediate Bronze Age) startigraphic phases were also observed for the first time in 2019, to be further investigated in the 2020 season.