TELL EN-NASBEH EXCAVATIONS — BADE 487 



been accidental, for there was no structural ilillereiice between the 

 upper courses and the lowest. At the present stiijje of the excava- 

 tions it seems prol)abie that dui-inj; the IJivmze A<;e only the southern 

 half of the Tell was inclosed by a wall, and that the northern end was 

 included during the Iron Age. In that case we should expect a 

 wall to bisect the Tell somewhere near the center. 



SUBURBS 



One of the interesting results brought to light by the progress of 

 this season's excavations is the fact that tlie ancient city extended 

 considerably beyond the area included within the walls. There 

 were what one might call suburbs which covered the comparatively 

 broad, level terraces on the eastern and southern flanks of the Tell. 

 The existence of an Iron Age suburb on the southern slope had 

 been established during the excavations of previous years. During 

 the season of 1020 I decided to cut a trench 20 meters wide from a 

 point far outside the city wall directly up the eastern slope. Imme- 

 diately beneath the tilled surface of the ground we found house 

 foundations, silos, and cisterns with an abundance of first and second 

 Iron Age pottery- which coincided in fabric and forms with that 

 found in the two upper levels on the Tell. Here there was evidence 

 of a populous and prosperous city which occupied not only the top 

 but also the flanks of the Tell during the Biblical period between 

 the Judges and the Exile. As the trench was pushed into the talus 

 of the final sharp slope of the Tell the workmen uncovered the 

 mouth of a large cave. (PI. 5.) Above it was a retaining wall, 

 evidently of Israelite construction, for in its face were some squared 

 stones not made for the use they now' served. They had done earlier 

 service somewhere in the upper courses of the main city wall. Be- 

 yond the rod-wide terrace of debris held in by the retaining wall, 

 rose the city wall itself, based on rock, 16 feet thick, and well con- 

 structed. 



THE CAVE 



When the cave was excavated its stratification furnished an epit- 

 ome of the human history of the Tell. Occupation and use of the 

 cave had ceased about 700 B. C, a period corresponding to the 

 invasion of Sennacherib. Thereafter, apparently, debris began to 

 accumulate over the opening. The upper layer of deposits, com- 

 paratively deep, contained all the characteristic forms of Iron Age 

 pottery. Beneath this was a Middle Bronze Age stratum, and the 

 lowest level, separated from the next above by a compact earthen 

 floor, contained numerous fragmentary human remains mingled 

 with Early Bronze Age pottery. There was no clearly recognizable 

 Late Bronze Age stratum. In this respect the occupation levels of 



