page_title: Tel Kabri
section_title: Archaeological expeditions
hierarchical_section_title: Tel Kabri / Archaeological expeditions
caption_attribution_description: English: Duckbill axe from the Middle Bronze age found in Kabri Israel
context_page_description: Tel Kabri is an archaeological tell containing one of the largest Middle Bronze Age Canaanite palaces in Israel, and the largest such palace excavated as of 2014. Kabri is named for the abundance of its perennial springs the presence of which has led to the site's occupation and use as a water source from the Pottery Neolithic period to the present day. Located in the Western Upper Galilee, the site was at the height of its power in the Middle Bronze, controlling much of the surrounding region. Kabri declined as a local power at the end of the Middle Bronze, but the site continued to be occupied at times, on a much reduced level, up until the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
  Since 1957, Tel Kabri has been excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority, formerly the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums, as well as Israeli and American universities. Among the discoveries at the site by the two full-scale archaeological expeditions, two have attracted particular attention from the archaeological community. The first finding to come to international attention was the discovery of Minoan-style frescoes in the palace at Kabri.
context_section_description: Archaeological exploration began at Tel Kabri in 1956. Since then, a survey, five minor excavations and two major excavations have been conducted,. From 2015, Tel Kabri has being excavated by an international consortium, the Tel Kabri Archaeological Project. Among the finds  are Minoan-style wall frescoes – of which there are four known at Kabri – and the oldest and largest known palatial wine cellar in the Ancient Near East.
  Before the  large-scale excavations by Aharon Kempinski (1986-1993), surveys and smaller excavations were conducted to rescue artefacts. This began when the archaeological remains of the tel were first discovered in the 1950s after kibbutzniks started coming across Neolithic artefacts near the local spring of Ein Giah. In 1956, on behalf of IDAM, the forerunner of today's Israel Antiquities Authority, David Alon and Daniel Rosolio conducted a survey in the area where the Neolithic artefacts had first been found earlier in the same year. They came across fortifications from the MB, and this survey led to salvage excavations in the following two years of what would later become Area A. In 1961, public works by the national water company revealed Bronze Age architectural remains in the form of a palace floor. In 1969, another rescue excavation was launched to investigate MB IIA tombs revealed as a result of agricultural activity by the kibbutz.  From 1975 to 1976, a salvage excavation was conducted to examine areas exposed in 1957, 1958, 1961, and 1969 
  From 1957 to 1958, The first rescue excavations  were carried out by Moshe Prausnitz working with the IDAM,  joined by Robert Stigler of Brandeis University. Prausnitz focused on Area A  where the surveyors, Alon and Rosoliyo, had first investigated the Neolithic implements found by the kibbutzniks in 1956. His expedition found Neolithic 'cist' tombs as well as round and rectangular dwellings from the lower part of the city.
  In 1961, after Prausnitz's excavation, a large trench was cut into the tel by Israel's national water company, Mekorot, so as to incorporate the local springs into the national water system. This  led to exploration into the EB and MB archaeological remains at Kabri. The stratigraphy from the Mekorot trench was photographed and revealed the existence of the Bronze Age settlements. It also revealed the plaster floors – the first evidence of what would later be identified as the MB II palaces. The trench also cut into – and revealed the existence of – the MB II rampart.
  In 1969, as a result of the kibbutz removing an orchard from the tel, MB II tombs containing grave goods were found in what had been the lower city. Their findspot  was excavated by Y. Ben-Yosef for the IDAM that same year.
  From 1975 to 1976, salvage excavations were carried out by Prausnitz representing the IDAM, Kempinski of Tel Aviv University (TAU), and Ruth Amiran of the Israel Museum, to explore the area where the MB II tombs had been found, the lower city, the earthen rampart, and the Neolithic layers of the site. Among their finds was a 2.10 metres (6.9 ft) tall stela that had a polished face but no inscription. Following this excavation, Kempinski focused his work on Tel Kabri and applied for permits from the IDAM and permission from Kibbutz Kabri to conduct a large-scale excavation of the site.
  In 1986, large-scale excavations began at Tel Kabri, initially under the direction of Kempinski for TAU, and  from 1989 onwards, Kempinski and Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier for Heidelberg University, until Kempinski died in July 1994, and the expedition was discontinued. Between 1986 and 1988, the first remains of the MB palaces were discovered near the spring of Ein Shefa, along with a contemporaneous residential area. The portion of the palace initially excavated included a 10 by 10 metres (33 by 33 ft) hall, with a Minoan-style decorated plaster floor. The style of the floor is closest to what is referred to as the 'Cretan-Theran Late Minoan IA' tradition of wall painting. They also found more than 2,000 Aegean-style painted plaster fragments. It was during the course of K
caption: An MB II duck-billed axe recovered during the 1988 excavations.
exif: {}