Archaeology
The Tel has been subject to archaeological survey, but not to extensive excavations. The Tel rises to 75m above the surrounding valley, part of which represents the stratification layers on which the Bronze Age and later settlements were built on a natural outcrop of rock. Investigators maintain that the settlement was first established in the Middle Bronze Age. The site has ideal geographical criteria for such a settlement to have been established, with easy access to water sources; nearby forested areas for wood; Limestone hills to quarry for building materials and tools; fertile surrounding arable land for crops and livestock; the presence of clays for pottery in the muddy earth surrounding the tel caused by seasonal flooding; the natural rock outcrop raised above its surroundings for easy fortification and its sitting astride an international trade route of the period - a branch of the Via Maris.
Read more about this topic: Tel Hanaton