תל בטש or תמנה | |
 | |
  Shown within Israel | |
| Alternative name | תמנתה |
|---|---|
| Location |  |
| Coordinates | 31°47′06″N 34°54′40″E / 31.78500°N 34.91111°E |
| Area | 10 acre |
| History | |
| Periods | Middle Bronze Age |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1979–1990s |
| Archaeologists | Amihai Mazar & George L. Kelm |
Timnath or Timnah was a Philistine city in Canaan that is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Judges 14 and in connection with Samson. Modern archaeologists identify the ancient site with a tell lying on a flat, alluvial plain, located in the Sorek Valley ca. 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north-west of Beit Shemesh, near moshav Tal Shahar in Israel, known in Hebrew as Tel Batash (תל בטש) or Teluliot Batashi (plural), and in Arabic as Tell Butashi or Teleilat Batashi (plural). The site is not to be confused with either the as yet unidentified Timna from the hill country of Judah (Josh 15:57), nor with the southern copper-smelting site of Timna in the Arabah near Eilat.
The Tel Batash mound was discovered in the 19th century by C. Clermont-Ganneau, who identified it as a Roman military camp.[1] In subsequent years, the site was uncovered through 1977–1989, in 12 seasons of excavations, by Amihai Mazar and George L. Kelm while Kelm was serving as professor of Biblical backgrounds and archaeology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, on a dig sponsored by the Seminary.[2][1]
- ^ a b The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (ed. E. Stern), vol. 1, Jerusalem 1993, p. 152 ISBN 965-220-209-6
- ^ Center for Online Judaic Studies, Excavating in Samson Country, George L. Kelm and Amihai Mazar, BAR 15:01, Jan-Feb 1989, accessed 11 November 2016