BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Excavator of Northern Israel Site to Share Iron Age Finds in Online BAS Scholars Series

CONTACT:

Peter Megginson, Travel/Study Manager
[email protected]
1-800-221-4644 ext. 424

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 18, 2023)—The BAS Scholars Series continues June 4 at 3 pm Eastern with the live, online presentation of A Wise Woman and A Bearded Man: Ten Seasons of Excavation at Tel Abel Beth Maacah by Dr. Nava Panitz-Cohen. Panitz-Cohen, a professor and alum of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, co-directs the excavations at the biblical period site of Tel Abel Beth Maacah in the north of Israel.

Located in the Hula Valley on the modern border between Israel, Lebanon and Syria, Tel Abel Beth Maacah reflects its geopolitical situation in the Iron Age, when it was at the crossroads of the ancient Israelites, Arameans and Phoenicians. Ten seasons of excavations led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Azusa Pacific University of Los Angeles have shown that it was a fortified city in the Middle Bronze Age (second millennium BCE) and served as the main urban hub, and possibly cultic center, in the valley during the Iron Age I and IIA (the 12th to 10th centuries BCE).

This live, online talk will present the major finds from the excavations and discuss the position of the city in relation to its prominent neighbors, Dan and Hazor, as well as to the Biblical text, particularly the
so-called Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah (2 Samuel 20) and the Arameans (1 Kings 15). Among the significant finds to be presented is a unique, exquisite faience head of a bearded male that possibly represents a royal or elite figure of the Iron Age, currently on display at the Israel Museum.

The BAS Scholars Series is a quarterly program of BAS, the Biblical Archaeology Society, a nonprofit educational organization that bridges the gap between academia and the public in the field of biblical archaeology. Each hour-long talk via Zoom is $10 and focuses on a subject of the speaker’s expertise in archaeology and the Bible.

To register for this event and other BAS Travel/Study offerings, go to its award-winning website: www.biblicalarchaeology.org/events.