Fish Imported from a Distance and Consumed at Tel Reḥov

Abstract

Excavations at Tel Reḥov brought to light an assemblage of fish remains, dated to different periods covering almost the entire era of occupation of the site. Most kinds of fish were probably purchased in markets along the Mediterranean coast, including local marine and freshwater fish and also several kinds of fish imported from the Nile and from the hypersaline lagoon of Bardawil. Few fish were imported to Reḥov from the Red Sea. The long-lasting supply of many kinds of fish to Reḥov, together with similar findings in the adjacent Tel Beth-Shean, suggest an organized enterprise of commerce between the Mediterranean coast and the Jordan Valley.