Shimron

Did You Know?

• In 1965, a 28-dunam nature reserve was declared at Tel Shimron to preserve Apple-ring Acacia trees, the northernmost occurrence of these trees in Israel.
• The Apple-ring Acacia is native to Africa and the Middle East and is used for nitrogen fixation, erosion control, food, drink, and medicine.

History

Very little Neolithic material has been found at Tel Shimron, though a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B arrowhead and remains of the Wadi Rabah culture were discovered during the 2010 excavation. Sparse evidence of the Ghassulian Culture from the Chalcolithic period was also uncovered in that excavation. Middle Bronze remains lie atop Early Bronze strata, making a detailed picture of the Early Bronze Age difficult. The site was founded on the eastern portion of the tel in Early Bronze IB (c. 3300–3000 BCE). Little is known about Early Bronze II (c. 3000–2750 BCE), a period of climate variability and settlement reorganization; olive cultivation declined in the Southern Levant, nearby Megiddo declined, and trade with the Southern Levant halted during the late 1st and 2nd Dynasties in Egypt. A settlement gap occurred during Early Bronze III (c. 2750–2350 BCE), when the Old Kingdom flourished in Egypt before decline began with the 5th dynasty. No signs of occupation exist for Early Bronze IV (c. 2350–2020 BCE); most Southern Levant sites struggled or were abandoned, and severe droughts around 2200–2150 BCE and 2036–2023 BCE ended the Early Bronze Age. In Middle Bronze I (c. 2020–1820 BCE), re-urbanization began slowly in the second half of MB IA and accelerated in MB IB, leading to flourishing trade networks in MB IIA. Tel Shimron grew as a hub along major trade routes connecting Akko/Tel Kabri, Megiddo, and Hazor.

Excavations

In 1875, Victor Guérin described the site, noting a round isolated hill that had likely been fortified, with traces of a wall at its summit. He found remains of a building with cut stone and two mutilated column shafts, possibly a Christian church, and a modern enclosure measuring thirty-five by twenty-five paces built from stones including broken sarcophagi. In 1982, Yuval Portugali and Avner Raban surveyed the site and found tombs from the Middle Bronze II, Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods, as well as Chalcolithic and Early Bronze I remains and evidence of Neolithic activity nearby. Salvage excavations were conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in 2004, 2008, and 2010. Nurit Feig directed a salvage excavation prior to installing electrical poles at the Bet Zarzir–Nahalal Junction road, excavating four squares. Feig also directed another salvage dig before construction of agricultural buildings, uncovering smaller walls and potsherds from the Early and Middle Bronze Ages and the Roman period, along with flint remains from the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Yardenna Alexandre conducted a salvage excavation near the Nahalal junction ahead of widening Highway 75, revealing a Middle Bronze Age rural settlement and Roman remains.