The diachronic archaeological record of ancient Yehud: From the Late Chalcolithic to Modern Times

Abstract

Substantial archaeological exposure of the ancient city of Yehud was achieved through as many as forty-four trial and salvage excavations conducted since 1993. The accumulated data has now reached a critical mass where a broad synthesis is made possible, concerning a site for which investigation has been slow due to the challenges of excavating within a densely populated and rapidly developing modern city. Excavations in the city, located in Israel’s central coastal plain, revealed a patchy history of human settlement, ranging in date between the Late Chalcolithic and Ottoman periods, with lengthy periods of sparse residential use, when the site was variably utilized for funerary, industrial, agricultural, or other types of yet unidentified activities. This comprehensive synthesis unravels the archaeology and history of this little-known site, located at the heart of a region that has undergone major social transformations and historical upheavals during the period in question. The information on Yehud is contextualized with up-to-date knowledge of the archaeology of the central coastal plain, especially concerning Yehud’s hinterland within the Ayalon valley.