page_title: Tel Yokneam
section_title: Late Bronze Age
hierarchical_section_title: Tel Yokneam / History and archeology / Late Bronze Age
caption_attribution_description: English: Tablet, Amarna letter
context_page_description: Tel Yokneam, also spelled Yoqne'am or Jokneam, is an archaeological site located between the modern city of Yokneam Illit and the town of Yokneam Moshava. It was known in Arabic by a variant name, Tell Qamun, believed to be a corruption of the Hebrew name. The site is an elevated mound, or tel, spanning around 40 dunams and rising steeply to a height of 60 meters. With a few brief interruptions, Yokneam was occupied for 4,000 years, from the Middle Bronze Age to the Ottoman Empire.
  The ancient settlement at Tel Yokneam is first mentioned in Egyptian sources as a city conquered by Pharaoh Thutmose III. It appears later in the Hebrew Bible as a city defeated by Israelite leader Joshua and settled by the Tribe of Levi. It is mentioned twice in Roman sources. During the Crusades, it was called Caymont, or Cain Mons, recalling a legend that Yokneam was the site of Cain's death. For a period, it was the center of the Lordship of Caymont, the smallest seigneurie of the Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
  The earliest archaeological features of Yokneam date from the Chalcolithic period, in the fourth millennium BCE.
context_section_description: Late Bronze Age Yokneam lasted from the 15th to the 13th century BCE. The well-preserved houses excavated from this period contained an abundance of pottery, including a collection of Chocolate-on-white ware. Some of these artifacts were imports from foreign lands, including Cyprus and Mycenae. Two Egyptian tools were found, although it is not clear whether these are originals or locally-made copies. Silver earrings, typical of the Mitanni culture, were also found.
  The city is mentioned as "En-qn'mu" in the list of cities conquered by Pharaoh Thutmose III during his campaign in the 15th century BCE. Archeological finds confirm that the city was devastated during the early years of the Late Bronze Age (1550–1400 BCE), with subsequent rebuilding after a gap in occupation. A figurine of the Egyptian goddess Hathor from that period was found.
  Late Bronze Age Yokneam may be identified with one of the city-states mentioned in the Amarna letters (1360–1332 BCE). A petrographic study of the letters suggests that Yokneam was a city-state, and that one of its kings was called Ba'lu-mehir (mehir is a West Semitic word for "warrior"). Ba'lu-mehir sent four letters, written on clay tablets. The association with Yokneam is based on indications that the material for the tablets was mined in one of two specific locations on Mount Carmel. One of these is located only two kilometers (1.2 mi) from Tel Yokneam. In one of the letters, the city named is G-ma-te. The relationship between the name G-ma-te and 'En-qn'mu or Yokneam is unclear. Ba'lu-mehir was summoned to Megiddo along with King Labaya of the city of Shechem, who was accused by Egypt of acts of aggression against other kingdoms. Ba'lu-mehir was probably an ally of his. Archaeological investigations suggest that the city was destroyed in a large fire sometime between the second half of the 13th century BCE and the beginning of the 12th century BCE.
  Late Bronze Age Yokneam's destruction by fire, as with many other Ancient Near Eastern cities, occurred during a period known as the Late Bronze Age collapse, which marks the transition from the Bronze to the Iron Age. Ceramic evidence does not permit precise dating of the razing of the city, which occurred between 1350 and 1200 BCE.
caption: Amarna letter similar to those sent by Bal'u-mehir, supposed king of Yokneam, c. mid-13th century BCE
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