THE TELL EN-NASHKII EXCAVATIONS OF 1929 

 A PRELIMINARY REPORT' 



By William Frederic Bad^ 

 Director of the Palestine Inxtitnte aitd the Tell en-Naabeh Expedition 



[With 8 plates] 

 INTRODUCTION 



Tell en-Nasbeh is the modern Arabic name for a commandinj^; liill 

 which lies 7 miles (13 kilometers) north of Jerusalem. The main 

 road of north-and-south travel between Jerusalem, Nablous (Sche- 

 chem), Nazareth, and Haifa, pasties close to the eastern base of the 

 hill. But durinf^ Graeco-Roman times, and presumably throughout 

 earlier periods of Palestinian history, tlie main line of communica- 

 tion j)assed tiirou<rh the narrow valley which lies along the western 

 edge of the hill. The latter was ideally situated for the erection of 

 a fortress city commanding the southward approaclies to Jerusalem. 

 A number of j-ears before the inauguration of the present excava- 

 tions, in 1926, several close students of Palestinian geography, among 

 tliem R. P. L. H. Vincent, W. J. Phythian-Adams, and Prof. Gustav 

 Dalman, have expressed their conviction that the mound in question 

 covers the remains of Mizpah, which anciently belonged to tiie tribal 

 territory of Benjamin (Judg. 20:1; I Sam. 7:5; 10:17; I Kings 

 15:lGff.). Three seasons of excavation since then have brought to 

 light much evidence which supports this identification. The city 

 was completely refortified about 9(X) B. C, a fact wliich agrees with 

 the notice in I Kings 15 : 22, that Asa, King of Juda, fortified IMizpah 

 against the attacks of Baasha. There were uncovered, among other 

 things, the foundations of a sanctuary and a place of sacrifice such 

 as Mizpah must have possessed according to Biblical accounts. The 

 last reference to Mizpah in ancient records (I Mac. 3: 46) states that 

 the place was used as a stronghold by the noted Jewish military 

 leader, Judas Maccabaeus. Extensive Maccabaean structures, dated 

 by coins, were found in 1929. The excavations are to be continued 

 in 1932. 



' Reprinted by permission, with author's reviBlon, from Quartfrly Statement of the 

 Palestine ESxploration Fund, January, 1930. 



483 



