The American Friends of Tel Aviv University have announced that Tel Aviv University researchers have connected Tel Qadadi, at the mouth of the Yarkon River in Tel Aviv, with the Greek island of Lesbos.
Tel Qudadi, an ancient fortress located in the heart of Tel Aviv at the mouth of the Yarkon River, was first excavated more than 70 years ago — but the final results of neither the excavations nor the finds were ever published. Now, research on Tel Qudadi by archaeologists at Tel Aviv University has unpeeled a new layer of history, indicating that there is much more to learn from the site, including evidence that links ancient Israel to the Greek island of Lesbos.
“The secrets of this ancient fortress are only beginning to be revealed,” Dr. Alexander Fantalkin and Dr. Oren Tal of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology say. Their new research was recently published in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly and BABESH: Annual Papers on Mediterranean Archaeology.
The release points out that it was thought in the past that the Tel Qadadi fortress was established in the 10th century B.C. by King Solomon.
The establishment of the fortress at Tel Qudadi was understood later as evidence of the existence of a developed maritime policy in the days of the United Monarchy in ancient Israel.
Another view was that the fortress belonged to the 9th century B.C. and should be attributed to the Kingdom of Israel. An amphora from the Greek island of Lesbos in the Aegean is said to provide evidence that the site should now be dated to the late 8th/early 7th century fortress “serving the Assyrian interests in the Levantine coast rather than part of the Israelite Kingdom.”
One could not possibly have anything dating to the time of Solomon within a potsherd’s throw of Tel Aviv University!
Read the entire news release here.
The AFTAU release included a small photo by my friend and co-traveler Leon Mauldin. Leon has given me permission to post his photo here. It shows the mouth of the Yarkon River as it flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The river begins a few miles inland at the Old Testament site of Aphek (1 Samuel 4:1), known in Roman times as Antipatris (Acts 23:31). Click on the photo for a larger image.
Aerial view of mouth of the Yarkon River at Tel Aviv. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
The arrow points to the little tel on the north bank of the Yarkon.
There is another lesson in this press release. Scholars, including archaeologist, do not agree and they often change their minds. It is a mistake for one to build an “infallible” case on a fallible premise. We must work with the evidence we have at any given time.
You may see more of Leon’s photos at Leon’s Message Board.
HT: Joseph I. Lauer
Ferrell's Travel Blog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.