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Other Archaeological Sites / The Neolithic of the Levant (500 Page Book Online) Tel Achzib (Greek Ecdippa)
Achzib was an ancient Phoenician seaport that crowded the shoreline nine miles north of Acre. The tribe of Asher was assigned the area but failed to take over the city ... In the northern part of the (Tel) mound a forty meter long trench revealed a Middle Bronze Age rampart fortification which had been destroyed in the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. The city was rebuilt and in the Iron Age level were ruins of a number of public buildings in one of which were numerous jars standing side by side. Some bore Aramaic inscriptions such as To my Lord the King ... Achzib was built on the kurkar (calcareous sandstone) ridge which forms the coast line between Akko and Tyre. To the east a fosse (ditch or moat) was built during the Middle Bronze Age which joined the two river beds of the Khziv (North) and Shahal (South). Thus Middle Bronze Age Achzib was actually an island surrounded by water. The estuaries of the rivers probably served as anchorages. The [Mediterranean] sea front of Achzib is about 400 meters long from north to south and the city extended east from the sea about 300 meters. The Middle Bronze Age defences enclosed a city of about 70 dunam (17.5 acres). To this must be added an area of 50 dunam consisting of anchorages located between the walls of the city and the mouths of the two rivers ... |
