History of the site

Based on the available evidence from the survey and excavations we can, in a preliminary fashion, try to reconstruct the history of settlement at Tel 'Eton.
On the basis of the survey it appears that the first significant settlement at the site was during the Early Bronze Age. A few sherds from the Middle Bronze Age indicate some settlement at the time. The number of rims from the Late Bronze Age is larger, and similar to that of the Early Bronze Age, and we assume that during this period the site was a relatively significant center in the Shephelah.
The earliest remains uncovered so far in the excavations, were those from the later part of the Late Bronze Age and from Iron Age I. Finds from the Iron Age IIA were also unearthed only in a limited area.
Most of the remains in the excavations and in the survey are from the Iron Age IIB (8th century BCE), and it is likely that during this time the site served as a major town in this part of the Shephelah. Most of our information on this city came from the destruction layer that was unearthed in most excavation squares. It appears that the violent destruction occurred when the town was conquered by the Assyrians in the late 8thcentury.
After the massive Assyrians destruction of the city in the late 8th century, it was not rebuilt as a city, and only some squatters returned to site, for a short period of time.
Settlement in the late Persian and early Hellenistic periods was more limited than that of the Iron Age II, but it was still quite extensive. We tentatively date this settlement to the 4th century BCE.
The findings in the topsoil include also a few later sherds, but those do not seem to indicate real settlement.

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