Tel Zayit - History

History

The site, roughly 0.8-acre (3,200 m2), shows evidence of human settlement throughout the Late Bronze Age, and Iron Age I and II. The city was destroyed by fire twice, in 1200 BC and the ninth century BC. Hazael of Aram may have been the military leader who ordered the destruction of the city in the ninth century. The Aramean's siege tactics are known from the Zakkur stele, and the Hebrew Bible records that Hazael devastated cities in the Shephelah during the ninth century, including Philistine Gath. The similar siege and destruction of Tell es-Safi (Gath) in the ninth century, a nearby site usually identified as Gath, has been cited by archaeologists there as possible evidence of Hazael's campaign.

From at least the 16th century until some time during the 20th century, the site was occupied by the Arab village Zayta. During the period of the British mandate, the village moved 1.5 km to the north, until it was depopulated in 1948.

Work at Tel Zayit began with a preliminary survey in 1998 by a Pittsburgh Theological Seminary team led by Ron Tappy.

During the 2005 season, archaeologists discovered the Zayit Stone among the ruins of a fire dating to the tenth century BC. The stone includes an inscription identified by some scholars as an abecedary, among the oldest ever discovered.