THE EXCAVATIONS OF SOLOMON'S SEAPORT: EZION- 



GEBER 



By Nexson GLtJBCK 



Professor of Bible and Biblical Archaeology, Eebreto Union College, Sometime 

 Director, American School of Oriental Research, Jerusalem 



[With 14 plates] 



Three seasons of excavations were conducted during the spring 

 montlis of 1938-40 at Tell el-Klieleifeh, under the auspices of the 

 American School of Oriental Research, Jerusalem, the American 

 Philosophical Society, and the Smithsonian Institution. They re- 

 sulted in the almost complete uncovering of Ezion-geber, and of 

 Elath, as it was known in the latter part of its history. Tell el- 

 IQieleifeh (pi. 1, fig. 1) is situated in the center of the southern end 

 of the Wadi el-*Arabah, on the north shore of the Gulf of 'Aqabah, 

 the eastern arm of the Red Sea. It is about halfway between the 

 northeastern and northwestern ends of the gulf, marked respectively 

 by the modern village of 'Aqabah (pi. 1, fig. 2, and pi. 2, fig. 1) in 

 Transjordan, and the police post of Mrashrash in Palestine. On the 

 east side of the gulf is Sa 'udl Arabia, and on the west side is Sinai. 



The discovery of Tell el-Kheleifeh and its identification with 

 Ezion-geber :Elath were the result of archeological explorations, 

 aided by some scanty references in the Bible. As a result of the 

 archeological exploration of the Wadi el-'Arabah, the great rift ex- 

 tending between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the Gulf of 

 'Aqabah, and known in the Bible as the 'Arabah, extensive copper- 

 and iron-mining and smelting sites were discovered, which could be 

 dated by the pottery recovered particularly to the time of King 

 Solomon. One of these mining and smelting sites, called Mrashrash, 

 directly overlooks the present shore line of the northwest corner of 

 the Gulf of 'Aqabah. Near the east end of the north shore are 

 located the extensive ruins of the Nabataean-Roman-Byzantine- 

 medieval Arabic site of Aila, whose history goes back to at least 

 the third century B. C. These facts compelled the conclusion, sev- 

 erals years before it was actually located, that the site of Solomon's 

 seaport of Ezion-geber had to be situated somewhere along the present 



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