Tel Shimron (Hebrew: תל שמרון) is an archaeological site and nature reserve in the Jezreel Valley. Since 2016 the site is being excavated in cooperation with the Jezreel Valley Regional Project. Shimron was a major city in the north of Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In Late Antiquity, it was known as Simonias (Hebrew: סימונייה), as attested to by Flavius Josephus. The Arabic name of the site is Tell Sammunia, also written Semmunieh or Semmoune. Tel Shimron is located on the western edge of the Nazareth range at the intersection of the Lower Galilee and the Jezreel Valley. The location, particularly due to its proximity to the Acre (Akko) Plain, made it an important trade route.
History
Neolithic Very little Neolithic material has been found at Tel Shimron, but during the 2010 excavation, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B arrowhead as well as remains of the Wadi Rabah culture were discovered.
Chalcolithic In the Chalcolithic period, there are sparse evidence of the Ghassulian Culture uncovered during the 2010 Excavation.
Early Bronze Age Due to Middle Bronze remains that lie atop the Early Bronze strata, it is difficult to gain a detailed picture of the Early Bronze Age at Shimron.
Early Bronze I In Early Bronze IB (c. 3300-3000 BCE), Tel Shimron was founded on the eastern portion of the tel.
Early Bronze II In Early Bronze II (c. 3000-2750 BCE), there is little information about Shimron. The EB II was characterized by climate variability and settlement reorganization. In the Southern Levant, the transition from EB IB-II was characterized by a decline in olive cultivation. Nearby Megiddo was in decline. In Egypt, the late 1st Dynasty and 2nd Dynasty represents a sequence of weak rulers, and trade with the Southern Levant halted.
Early Bronze III There was a gap in settlement during EB III (c. 2750-2350 BCE). In Egypt, the Old Kingdom flourished with the 3rd and 4th dynasties and before decline started with the 5th dynasty with drier climate conditions from 2500 BCE onwards.
Early Bronze IV In Early Bronze IV (c. 2350-2020 BCE) there are no signs of occupation. Esse (1991) suggested a continuation between EB III into MB I, but not evidence have supported this. Most sites in the Southern Levant struggled, were abandoned or destroyed. At the Transitional EB IVA-B, the region saw severe drought around 2200-2150 BCE (see 4.2 ka event) and a second drought at the Transitional EB IVB-MB IA at 2036-2023 BCE which ended the Early Bronze Age.
Middle Bronze Age
Middle Bronze I In Middle Bronze I (c. 2020-1820 BCE), the end of the Early Bronze Age was due to climate change causing severe drought. A slow prosess of re-urbanization started in the second half of MB IA (c. 2020-1910/1900 BCE) and accelerated in MB IB (c. 1910/1900-1820 BCE) when regional powers start to emerge in the Northern Levant. This paved the way for the flourishing trade networks that saw urbanism thrive the following MB IIA period. Tel Shimron grew as a hub along the intersection of major trade routes (Akko/Tel Kabri to the west, Megiddo to the south, Hazor to the northeast).
Middle Bronze II In Middle Bronze II (c. 1820-1550 BCE; MB IIA-C or MB II-III), Shimron became a fortified city-state around 1800 BCE. At its largest, Tel Shimron consisted of 19.5 hectares. Its size and location suggest that it was an important inland city in the interconnected trade network of growing ports and the Jezreel Valley trade route. A cylinder seal found, dating to the MB II, further attests the international nature of Shimron as a site along an important trade route during the MB. In general, Shimron is part of a larger trend of booming urbanism and fortification as well as international trade during the MB. The juxtaposition of domestic activity in the lower city and monumental buildings on the acropolis provides an intriguing case of status differences in the Middle Bronze Age. The site was mainly oriented toward the Northern Levant, dominated by the kingdoms of Yamhad and Qatna in Syria. There are also influences from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt in the south. The site may be mentioned as "š-mw-ʕ-nw" in the Egyptian Execration Texts. In 2017, a cylinder seal dating to the 17th century BCE was discovered at Tel Shimron. Made of hematite in the Old Syrian Classic style, it measures 1.5 cm in length and 8.5 cm in width with a 2.5 mm diameter hole. The seal depicts a sphinx and lion fighting over a human and stag, with two vultures, a sun and crescent shape depicted over the fight. In addition, a hare and a bull's head are pictured to either side. The depictions draw on influences from Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Northern Syria, showing the international nature of the site in the 17th century.
Lower city In the southwest corner of the site, Middle Bronze Age domestic buildings were excavated. Evidence of daily life in the Middle Bronze Age was found in the houses, including craft industries like metal working.
Acropolis On the acropolis of the site, to the east, monumental Middle Bronze Age remains were discovered. While the pottery in this area is similar chronologically to that of the lower city domestic area, the quality and forms are different. For example, several whole and fragmented Nahariya bowls were found This area additionally contained a massive mudbrick corbelled passageway that was also discovered.
Late Bronze Age During the Late Bronze I, a series of Egyptian military campaigns saw the Jezreel Valley become part of the Egyptian Empire. Military campaigns into the Southern Levant started with Ahmose I, with military campaigns far north by Thutmose I and the establishment of the "empire" by Thutmose III and Amenhotep II.
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