Field Report on the 2019 German-Israeli Tell Iżtabbā Excavation Project (Beth She an), Israel

This article deals with the results of the first excavation campaign of the German-Israeli Tell Iżt ˙ abbā Excavation Project, which is the location of the Seleucid-period founded town of Nysa (Scythopolis). The first and second seasons of our joint German-Israeli research project were carried out in the months of February and September 2019; the focus of the February season was a survey and a geophysical prospection of the site. Based on the February season results and preliminarily published earlier works on the site, three areas of archaeological excavation were dug (A, B and C). The excavated evidence sheds light on the Seleucid-period foundation site and its Hasmonean destruction and also produces records on earlier (Early Bronze Age) and later (Byzantine) occupations. Hellenistic domestic architecture shows the predominance of local building traditions, while the unearthed finds show a mix of local and imported goods from the eastern Mediterranean.