Back to Bet She'an: Results of the 2019-2020 fieldwork of the German-Israeli: Tell Iztabba excavation project

The renewed excavations at Tell Iztabba by the joint German-Israeli team yielded important new results for increasing our knowledge concerning the settlement history of the site. Despite the partial exposure of pre-Hellenistic remains, our excavations indicate that the site was considerably occupied during the Early Bronze Age III (and possibly in earlier stages of that period). After which, the focus has shifted to Tel Bet She'an. The next substantial occupation of the site occurred only in the second quarter of the 2nd century BC, when Nysa-Scythopolis was founded under Seleucid hegemony. Our excavations suggest that in this part of the mound (Tell Iztabba, East), the Hellenistic settlement occupied the upper part of the mound and did not reach the lower northern terraces. It was founded as a well-planned regular settlement with lavish courtyard houses made of stone and mudbricks adorned (in cases) with painted stucco. This short-lived settlement was violently destroyed by the Hasmoneans by the end of the 2nd century, probably in 108/107 BC. After the Hasmonean destruction, a monumental structure likely dated to the 2nd/3rd century AD was founded. It needs to be investigated further whether the architectural spolia incorporated in W470 of the Byzantine 'Podium Building', originate from the Roman structure whose remains are seen beneath the latter's walls. They also could stem from the Roman civic centre at the foot of Tel Bet She'an. It is now clear that before the construction of the Byzantine city walls of Scythopolis that crossed Tell Iztabba, the site had already been reoccupied in the Roman period, apparently to quite a limited extent that needs to be furtherly explored, as does the function of the 'Podium Building'. Nevertheless, the new results provide a multi-faceted picture of the site's history, especially after its Hasmonean destruction. In the future we hope to uncover remains of public structures dated to the Seleucid occupational stage, which have yet to be found at the site. We are also continuing archaeobotanical and archeozoological analyses in order to better understand the economic sustainability of the inhabitants of this Near Eastern Hellenistic settlement.