Many of the events recorded in the Bible took place in Israel. Not only the Bible, but many other layers of history reside in the same areas of Israel. Archaeologists have dug for a long time, but really have only scratched the surface of what exists to be uncovered.
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| Signs document the importance of Gezer |
Tel Gezer is a location that was extremely important in Biblical times, because of its prime trade location along the Via Maris. People would have traveled through this ancient Canaanite city regularly, and there was also a lot of protection due to other people who wanted the land. Gezer was given as a gift by Solomon to his Egyptian wife, among other Biblical references.
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| Solomon's gates and palace at Tel Gezer |
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is one of a few schools that dig at the site. NOBTS began digging in 2007 in the gigantic water system, which is still a mystery. To help solve this mystery, the neighboring locations of a house (called "Eli's house") and a Canaanite gate are also being excavated.
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| Overlooking Eli's House and the Canaanite Gate at Tel Gezer |
The water system is enormous and a special crane is used to lift bags of dirt out of the bottom.
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| NOBTS Dig sites from the video on their website |
This video will take you on a tour of the tunnel. Take a quick walk down, look around and come back up.
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| The Canaanite Gate at Tel Gezer |
Eli's house has the tallest walls of any unearthed in Israel (that haven't been reconstructed) and is also the location where some really exciting finds came from this past summer.
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| The tall walls at Eli's House in Tel Gezer |
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| Pottery investigations at Tel Gezer |
The Canaanite gate was excavated by R.A.S. MacAllister in the early 1900s, who left "fill" that had to be removed until new layers were found underneath that have not been excavated yet. This coming summer, it will be exciting to see what is uncovered there!
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| The Canaanite Gate at Tel Gezer |
To see and read more about the finds from this summer, visit the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Archeology website.
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| Monoliths at Tel Gezer |
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| Join us on our May 2018 Tour of Israel Get an insiders look at Tel Gezer and other sites |
Many thanks to my daughter Sarah Simon who wrote this blog. Sarah dug and made videos of the dig last Summer, and will return again this year. Sarah and I invite you to visit Gezer on our May 2018 Israel Tour. To join us, click this link.
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