Throughout the Bronze Age, Hazor was one of the largest cities in the region. Under the management of Prof. Dr. Benedikt Hensel, a Hebrew Bible scholar and archaeologist, the team will spend 3 years investigating the abandonment and subsequent resettlement of one of the Bronze Ages largest “megacities” in the eastern Mediterranean– and how the stories about these occasions affected the shaping of early Israelite identities.The Gerda Henkel Foundation is supplying around 400,000 euros in financing for the task, entitled “Resettlement of Ruins and Memories in the Making– A Case Study on Hazor and the Shaping of Early Israelite Identities during the Iron Age,” as part of its “Lost Cities” program. By the Middle and Late Bronze Age Hazors population had grown to between 10,000 and 15,000 people thanks to its tactical place at the crossroads of several trade routes, making it the biggest city in the entire area. Various sources from this period, including letters and clay tablets from cities in Syria and Egypt with which the rulers of Hazor carried out trade, affirm to the main role Hazor played as a trading hub and cultural melting pot for the whole Near East region.At the end of the Bronze Age, around 1300 B.C., Hazor was ruined and temporarily deserted for unknown reasons.
Under the management of Prof. Dr. Benedikt Hensel, a Hebrew Bible scholar and archaeologist, the team will invest 3 years examining the abandonment and subsequent resettlement of one of the Bronze Ages biggest “megacities” in the eastern Mediterranean– and how the stories about these occasions influenced the shaping of early Israelite identities.The Gerda Henkel Foundation is providing around 400,000 euros in financing for the task, titled “Resettlement of Ruins and Memories in the Making– A Case Study on Hazor and the Shaping of Early Israelite Identities during the Iron Age,” as part of its “Lost Cities” program. By the Middle and Late Bronze Age Hazors population had actually grown to between 10,000 and 15,000 individuals thanks to its tactical place at the crossroads of numerous trade paths, making it the largest city in the entire area. Numerous sources from this duration, including letters and clay tablets from cities in Syria and Egypt with which the rulers of Hazor conducted trade, affirm to the central role Hazor played as a trading hub and cultural melting pot for the entire Near East region.At the end of the Bronze Age, around 1300 B.C., Hazor was damaged and briefly deserted for unidentified reasons.
