Timnah
Timnah ( Tel Batasch ) (Hebrew תמנע, תל בטש ) is an archaeological site between the railway line Jaffa - Jerusalem and the Nachal Sorek northwest of Beit Shemesh. The Tell is located on a square of 190 m side length, about 3.6 hectares.
At this point, that has been inhabited throughout the Iron Age, there was in the Bible repeatedly mentioned Timna; not to be confused with the Timna Park to the south on the edge of the Negev Desert. The name Timna means of allocation, the Allotted.
Bronze age
Its history began with a Hyksoswall in the Middle Bronze Age. In the Late Bronze Age, a spacious public building stood on an artificial hill. Excavations have discovered the foundations of a 8.9 m wide and 11 m long hall. In it were found the bases of two rows of wooden pillars which divided the hall lengthwise. This hall was part of a building that already existed in the 14th century BC. A city wall did not exist, but the outer walls of the houses on the hill edge were particularly thick.
Iron Age
In the 12th century BC, the Philistines settled in the fire ruins of the place, which is occupied with finds of furnaces, silos, ceramics and single houses. This settlement was during the Iron Age I (1200 - 1000 BC) violently destroyed, but later settled by the Philistines, who there to the Iron Age IIA (1000 - 900 BC) would dwell.
On the east side of the mound above a door system from the Iron Age II was excavated ( 8 / 7th century BC) on the plateau. It was accessed by a ramp from the south. Below her was a former gate from the 10th / 9 Century BC, which was accessible via a ramp from the north. It was flanked by two large towers square base with side length 5 m.
After the battle of Sennacherib conquered Eltekeh Timna ( discovery of a jar handles with the impression lmlk in the destruction layer of 701 BC). 701 BC Timna was destroyed, but later rebuilt and repopulated and finally abandoned only in the Persian period.
Mentioned in the Bible
Timna is enumerated in Jos 15:10 EU as one of the fixed points describing the boundary of the territory of the tribe of Judah.
In Jos 19,43 EU Timna appears as part of the Erbbesitzes the tribe of Dan. But it was still, as well as the neighboring Ekron, inhabited by Philistines.
In Ri EU 14.1-20 is reported by Samson, that he fell in love Timna in a Philistine. When he went to her, he killed at the vineyards of Timnath a lion, in whose carcass he found later on the way to his marriage with the Philistine woman, a swarm of bees and honey. This led to a riddle contest, the failure of the wedding and several acts of violence.