Around Yizre'el, nearby Tel Jezreel offers a distinctive starting point for exploring the landscape and archaeology together. From the lookout, you can see across the Jezreel Valley to Givat Hamoreh, the Nazareth Mountains, the Issachar Heights and Gilboa; Gilead, beyond the Jordan, is also in view. The archaeological site of Tel Jezreel lies near Kibbutz Yizreel and is identified with the biblical city of Jezreel. The lookout and archaeological site thus offer two different perspectives on the same place: a wide-ranging view and a historical context.
Tel Jezreel: Views and Trails in the Surrounding Area
The access road to Tel Jezreel begins at the Yizreel junction on Route 675. Drive towards Kibbutz Yizreel and turn immediately right onto a paved road running parallel to Route 675. After about 1.5 kilometres, this road leads to the Tel. As road conditions may change, check the route before setting out.
A short paved path leads from the small car park to viewing terraces; its surface is made of crushed basalt stones. This is separate from the easy walking trail that descends from the summit of Tel Jezreel to Ein Jezreel. Check local conditions before setting out. The route descriptions distinguish a short access path to the terraces from a walking route with a different destination.
Signs along the path near the lookout recall events from the site's past. KKL planted fruit trees along the stream beside the path. The fruit tree species planted included pomegranate, mulberry, date palm, olive, jujube, fig and sycamore fig.
Archaeological Highlights in the Northern District
In the Northern District, Tel Hazor and Tel Megiddo represent different archaeological themes. Tel Megiddo is one of three tells preserving significant remains of cities with biblical connections and is closely associated with events in the Bible. Tel Hazor is also a biblical tell with significant remains of a city with biblical connections.
At Tel Hazor, the visit focuses on the upper city. Solomon's Gate is a 10th-century BCE gate with six chambers and two towers. The Canaanite palace was used by the kings of Hazor in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The Late Bronze Age palace is considered the most elaborate in Israel and one of the most significant in the Levant.
An excavated shaft at Tel Hazor is 45 metres deep. In the water system, steps three metres wide are carved into the walls of a vertical shaft. Tel Hazor also preserves significant remains of an underground water-collection system, an ingenious engineering achievement adapted to the geography for water storage. The fortifications are considered the finest example of their kind in the area from southern Turkey to the northern Negev. Tel Hazor National Park can be reached from the north and south via Route 90 towards Ayelet Hashahar; check your navigation before setting out.
Tel Megiddo has a different emphasis: the Early Bronze Age temple complex is exceptional for the number of its temples, the continuity of its cult activity and the documented ritual activities. The orthogonal Iron Age city plan has few parallels in the Levant. For a thematic comparison, the focus at Tel Hazor is on the palace, water system and fortifications, while at Tel Megiddo it is on the temple complex and city plan.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Midrakh Oz, Gescher.
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