Tel Lachish
Lachish was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite city in the Shephelah region of Canaan on the south bank of the Lakhish River. The current tell by that name, known as Tel Lachish or Tell el-Duweir, has been identified with Lachish. Today, it is an Israeli national park operated and maintained by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. It lies near the present-day moshav of Lakhish, which was named in honor of the ancient city.
Lachish was first mentioned in the Amarna letters when it was a significant Canaanite city-state referred to as Lakisha. There is clear archeological evidence for violent destruction at Lachish in the late 13th/early 12th century BCE, but there is no historical evidence conclusive about the perpetrators with potential theories discussing internal Canaanite conflict, the Sea Peoples, people from the Habiru group or others. In the Book of Joshua, Lachish is cited as one of the cities conquered by the Israelites for joining the league against the Gibeonites. According to the Hebrew Bible, the territory was later assigned to the tribe of Judah according to Joshua 15:39 and may have become part of the united Kingdom of Israel. Lachish emerged as one of the most important cities in the Kingdom of Judah, second only to the capital, Jerusalem.
Lachish is best known for its siege and conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 701 BCE, an event famously depicted on the Lachish reliefs, which can be seen today in the British Museum. According to the Book of Jeremiah, Lachish and Azekah were the last two Judean cities to fall to the Neo-Babylonian Empire before the conquest of Jerusalem according to Jeremiah 34:7. One of the Lachish letters, written in 597–587 BCE, warns of the impending Neo-Babylonian destruction. It reads: "Let my lord know that we are watching over the beacon of Lachish, according to the signals which my lord gave, for Azekah is not seen." This pottery inscription can be seen at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The siege ramp at Lachish, designed for deploying battering rams against the city during the Neo-Assyrian siege, is the oldest known in the world and the sole example found in the ancient Near East.
History
Neolithic
Occupation at the site of Lachish began during the Pottery Neolithic period. Flint tools from that period have been found.Early Bronze
Major development began in the Early Bronze IB. By the end of the Early Bronze, Lachish had become a large settlement. Most of the recovered pottery is of Khirbet Kerak Ware.Middle Bronze (Levels VIII–IX)
The MBA period has not been extensively excavated at the site. During the Middle Bronze, the settlement developed.In the Middle Bronze I, the mound was resettled. Remains of a cult place and an assemblage of votive cultic vessels were found in Area D.
In the Middle Bronze IIA, the development continued.
In the Middle Bronze IIB-C, Lachish became a major city in the Southern Levant. An impressive glacis-like structure was constructed around the city, which shaped its present steep slopes and sharp corners. The proposed glacis fronted a city wall built of massive stones. In Area P, a large mudbrick fortress was excavated. Finds from the fortress include 4 scarabs and a number of scarab sealings. These were of "both the local Canaanite MB IIC style and the Hyksos style". Radiocarbon dating produced a date in the mid-16th century BCE. By the end of Middle Bronze IIC the city was destroyed by fire. Some features originally ascribed to the Iron Age by the early excavators have now been redated to the MBA and LBA.
Late Bronze Age
In the Late Bronze Age, Lachish was re-established and developed slowly, eventually becoming one of the large and prosperous cities of the Southern Levant. It is first attested as rkjšꜣ in a New Kingdom text, the Papyrus Hermitage 1116A.18th Dynasty
Lakhish came under the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, which expelled the Hyksos and established an empire that was most powerful following the military campaigns of Thutmose III.In the Amarna Period, Lachish was a city-state and petty kingdom, part of the Egyptian Empire. During a period of political turmoil, it was in conflict with neighboring rivals.
The toponym Lakiša has 7 references in the Amarna Archive. Lakiša appear in five letters sent from Gath, Jerusalem and Lachish.
- EA 336: Abdi-Ashirta of Gath complained that Lakish was hostile.
- EA 287: The ruler of Jerusalem complains about Lakish, Gezer and Ashkelon providing support to his enemies.
Zimri-Haddu of Lachish is mentioned 5 times in the Amarna Archive, in letters from Egypt, Jerusalem, Lachish and Unknown location. He was eventually killed by his servants allied to the Habiru.
20th Dynasty
During the early 20th Dynasty of Egypt, at the final part of the Late Bronze, the empire of the New Kingdom of Egypt started to lose its control in the Southern Levant. A bronze object bearing the cartouche of Ramesses III may be associated with the city gate. While Lachish had prospered under Egyptian hegemony, fire destroyed it around 1150 BCE.Four mass graves were found at the site with over 1500 individuals interred, about half women and children. The tombs themselves dated to the Late Bronze Age but the burials contained few dateable elements so it is uncertain if the burials date to the LBA or later.
Iron Age I
The Iron Age I can be subdivided into IA IA and IA IB, following the Collapse of the Late Bronze Age and Fall of the Egyptian Empire in the Southern Levant. This was a transitional period from LBA to IA with exceptionally dry climate.Lachish was rebuilt by the Canaanites, who built two cultic places. However, this settlement was soon destroyed by another fire around 1130 BCE. The site then remained unfortified and sparsely occupied for a long time.
Continuity or discontinuity? A question has been if the population at Lachish continued from LBA into IA, or if they were replaced. A study showed significant population continuity.
Iron Age II (Levels II–IV)
Kingdom of Yehuda
During the 10th and 9th centuries BCE, Lachish was part of the Kingdom of Judah. The previous unfortified settlement may have been destroyed by the pharaoh Shoshenq I, founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt.In the first half of the 9th century BCE, under the Judahite kings Asa and Jehoshaphat, Lachish became an important city in the kingdom. It was heavily fortified with massive walls and ramparts. A royal palace was built on a platform in the center of the city. Lachish was the foremost among several towns and fortified strongholds guarding the valleys that lead up to Jerusalem and the interior of the country against enemies who usually approached from the coast.
Assyrian period
In 701 BCE, during the revolt of Hezekiah, king of Judah, against the Neo-Assyrian Empire, it was besieged and captured by Sennacherib despite the defenders' determined resistance. Some scholars believe that the fall of Lachish occurred during a second campaign in the area by Sennacherib ca. 688 BCE. The site now contains the only remains of an Assyrian siege ramp discovered. Sennacherib later devoted a whole room in his "Palace without a rival", the southwest palace in Nineveh, for artistic representations of the siege on large alabaster slabs, most of which are now on display in the British Museum. They hold depictions of Assyrian siege ramps, battering rams, sappers, and other siege machines and army units, along with Lachish's architecture and its final surrender. Combined with the archaeological finds, they give a good understanding of siege warfare of the period. Modern excavation of the site has revealed that the Assyrians built a stone and dirt ramp up to the level of the Lachish city wall, thereby allowing the soldiers to charge up the ramp and storm the city. Excavations revealed approximately 1,500 skulls in one of the caves near the site, and hundreds of arrowheads on the ramp and at the top of the city wall, indicating the ferocity of the battle. The city occupied an area of.Babylonian period
Lachish fell to the Neo-Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar II in his campaign against Judah in 586 BCE. The city was finally destroyed in 587 BCE. Residents were exiled as part of the Babylonian captivity. During Babylonian occupation, a large residence was built on the platform that had once supported the Israelite palace.Classical Age
Persian period
In the Persian period, following the Babylonian Exile, some exiled Jews returned to Lachish and built a new city with fortifications.Under the Achaemenid Empire, a large altar known as the Solar Shrine on the east section of the mound was built. The shrine was abandoned after the area fell in the hands of Alexander the Great. The tell has been unoccupied since then.