Tel Halif

Not to be confused with Tell Halaf.

Tel H̱alif, formerly Tel H̱alifa (Hebrew: תל חליף, Arabic name: Tel el-Khuweilifeh) is an archaeological site, a mound (tell) in northern Negev area, west from kibbutz Lahav, Israel.

Tel Halif, a view from south

Identification

Albrecht Alt suggested that it is the location of the biblical town of Ziklag. Other evidence suggests Rimmon.^[1]

History

Tel Halif was a small town inhabited by Israelites during the Iron Age I.^[2] It had a casemate wall and typical pillar-courtyard houses in the 9th–8th centuries BCE.^[2] William G. Dever estimates that the town's population was 200 in the 10th century and about 300 in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE.^[3] Archaeological evidence uncovered a house destroyed during the 701 BCE Assyrian invasion, and the town saw brief reoccupation in the early 7th century before being abandoned under Persian rule.^[2]

Rock-cut bench tombs were found nearby, and they represent burial practices typical to the 8th century BCE.^[2]

Excavations

Excavcations around Tel Halif was among the research activities of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology as part of the Lahav Research Project arranged by Joe Seger in 1974.^[4][5]

See also

• Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe