Image Details

The coke-bottle shape distinguishes the mound of ancient Hazor. Shown here from the north, the 15-acre tell rises about 120 feet above the surrounding valley. Recent excavations have centered on Area A, in the center of the tell, and on Area M, in the north. In the tenth century B.C.E., the walled settlement was confined to the western half of the tell (at right); as the city grew in the ninth century, the wall was extended to encompass the eastern half. But the Israelite city never reached the extent of the earlier Canaanite city of Hazor, which spilled over the tell onto the plain in the foreground of the photo, covering more than 200 acres.