Tirzah (ancient city)

Tirzah (תִּרְצָה) was a town in the Samarian highlands northeast of Shechem; it is generally identified with the site of Tell el-Far'ah (North), northeast of modern city of Nablus, in the immediate vicinity of the Palestinian village of Wadi al-Far'a and the Far'a refugee camp, although Conder and Kitchener suggested that the ancient city may have actually been where Tayasir is now located, based on its phonemes. Conversely, biblical researchers, Robinson and Guérin, suggested identifying the town with Talluza. The size of the archaeological site is and is located in the hills of Samaria, northeast of Nablus, in what is currently known as the West Bank. The archaeological site is called Tell el-Far'ah (North) in order to distinguish it from Tell el-Far'ah (South), an archaeological site south of Gaza. Excavations were undertaken at Tell el-Far'ah between 1946 and 1960 for nine seasons by École Biblique under the direction of Roland de Vaux. The site was occupied in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic eras, and became progressively more populated. Finds from the earliest levels of settlement excavated by Dorothy Garrod in 1928 were suggested to date to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period. During the Early Bronze Age, Tell el-Far'ah had ramparts and domestic housing units. The earliest pottery oven of its kind was excavated here; it had two chambers that allowed separation between the vessels being fired and the open flame. This type of pottery oven continued to be used in the region until the Roman period. A temple and an olive press were also uncovered. Town planning is clearly evident at the site. The western gate in the town wall was rebuilt several times during this period. The excavations indicate developing urbanization and the presence of new populations. However, the town was abandoned in the middle of the third millennium BCE, and remained so for approximately 600 years. In the Middle Bronze Age II, there was a small settlement on the site that used the remnants of the older town walls for protection.