Tel Burna Excavation Project

The Tel Burna Excavation project is the first long term research project to investigate this important site in southern Israel. Finds from the site span nearly years of history. The professional staff on the project is comprised of an international team of archaeologists, area specialists, and volunteers from around the world operating under Excavation Director Itzick Shai of Ariel University. The project is committed to a program of "Community Archaeology" in the pursuit of reconnecting archaeology to the interest of the broader public. We maintain an open excavation, which anyone is welcome to join for as long as they like. In addition, we continue to work towards the preservation and reconstruction of features that will make the site more understandable and engaging to visitors. We are also committed to the development of the latest methods in archaeological research, including photogrammetry, aerial photography via drones, and our unique use of PlanGrid to record daily excavation results and finds. The site of Tel Burna is located in the Shephelah region of Israel, which served as a border between the kingdoms of Judah and Philistia in the Iron Age. As a fertile area that supported agricultural production, the region was known as the breadbasket of the south. The site is an important test case for border zones between distinctive ethnic groups in antiquity and how border communities influenced one another. We believe that the site is the best candidate for the Biblical town of Libnah. The tel’s prominence is notable in its flat-topped shape, extensive size, and Iron Age fortification, which was already visible before excavation. In addition to its Iron Age occupation and Biblical connections, the site was also occupied during multiple periods throughout the Bronze Age. One of our main excavation areas (B1) reveals a some kind of Canaanite religious complex from the end of the Late Bronze Age, which we are still uncovering.