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Israel’s

Biblical Tamar Park

“A Jewel of the Arava”

The museum will house eight rooms, one for each period, and 25,000 artifacts.

In addition there will be a lecture hall,

a welcome center/gift shop

and a restaurant.

History of Excavation at Tamar

(Archaeologists are listed for each period)

1902        Alois Musil observed and sketched the ruins of Tamar, a fortress 120 meters square.

1932        F. Frank identified the structure as a Roman fortress

1934        Nelson Glueck thought the structure to be a caravanserai originally built by the Nabataeans and later used by the Romans.

1950’s     B. Mazar and M. Aui-Yohah found sherds from the First Temple period.

1960’s     Y. Aharoni was the first to suggest that the site he identified was the Biblical Tamar mentioned in Ezekial 47 and 48, and Tamara mentioned by the ecclesiastical historian Eusebius in the 4^th c. AD.

1972        Y. Aharoni (and colleagues) uncovered an Iron Age fortress (Solomon’s time) at Tamar.

 1985-       Dr. Rudolph Cohen and Yigal Israel uncovered 25,000 artifacts including the altar of King Josiah.

1994

2002-       Yigal Israel and Tali Erickson-Gini digging into Iron Age level walls, supported by USA University Consortium.    

2005  

Yigal Israel, Former District Archaeologist of the Southern Negev, states: “Tamar is the most important historic Jewish archaeology site in the Arava. Its history dates to at least the time of Solomon and was considered a Jewish city for 1,000 years.”

Shuka Dorfman, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, remarks: “There is a national need to establish Tamar at the hub of the Arava, a part of the mosaic to take its place with the Israel/Jordan University at Ein Hatzeva and a place for people of the nations to learn together.”

I Kings 9:17-18 “(King Solomon) built Tamar in the wilderness in the land.”

Ezekial 48:28 “The border (southern Israel) shall be even from Tamar unto…Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.”

The museum will feature each Stratum with its own room.

Stratum 6

c. 10^th Century B.C.E.

Israelite fortresses were built in the Negev desert to protect the southern border from the Egyptians. In ‘En Hatzeva (Tamar), a structure dating to this period, the time of King Solomon, resembles others from the 10^th century B.C.E.

Stratum 5

9^th-8^th Centuries B.C.E.

A large fortress, measuring 300 feet on each side, was built at Tamar. This kingdom was controlled by the Israelites during the united monarchy (tenth century B.C.E.), according to the Bible.

Stratum 4

7^th-6^th Centuries B.C.E.

A small fortress was constructed at Tamar, possibly during the reign of the Judahite king Josiah (639-609 B.C.E.). This fortress was probably destroyed by the Babylonians at the same time as the Jerusalem Temple (586 B.C.E.). The religious reforms of Josiah, especially regarding idol worship, may have been responsible for the smashed incense burners.

Stratum 3

1^st Century C.E.

Arriving from northwest Arabia, the Nabateans occupied Tamar. By the fourth century B.C.E., they had settled all of Moab, Edom and the southern Negev. In the Second and first centuries B.C.E., they fought wars against the Jewish Hasmonean and Herodian dynasties. In 106 C.E., the Roman emperor Trajan annexed all Nabatean territory.

Stratum 2

3^rd-4^th Centuries C.E.

The Romans defeated two Jewish uprisings—the First Jewish Revolt (66-70 C.E.) and the Bar-Kokhba Revolt (132-135 C.E.)—and took firm control of Palestine. At ‘En Hatzeva, called Tamara by the Romans (and identified by some scholars with Biblical Tamar [see Ezekial 47:19, 48:28]), they built a fortress to protect Palestine’s southern flank.

Stratum 1

6^th-7^th Centuries C.E.

After a period of Persian rule, Byzantine Christians (who recaptured Jerusalem in 629 C.E.) and then Islamic Arabs (who captured Jerusalem in 638 C.E.) occupied Palestine, including Tamar.

Ancient Incense Burner

In a pit at Tamar 75 objects were found, including seven limestone incense altars similar to altars found at contemporaneous Israelite sites.

Aerial View of Tamar

The excavation site at Tamar has a rich history encompassing the First Temple period (tenth-sixth centuries BCE) and the Nabataean and Roman periods (1^st – 6th centuries CE). Over this long period of time, fortress upon fortress was constructed here – a sign of the region’s geopolitical significance and Tamar’s role in ancient trade in the East.

Solomon’s Gates

The earliest remains uncovered at the site probably date from the reign of King Solomon (tenth century B.C.E., Stratum 6). The fortress of this period formed part of a system of forts built by Solomon to maintain the southern border of his kingdom and the important highways of the south.

Tenth Century Roman Wall

It may be that the two main fortresses at the site – the middle fortress of the First Temple period and the Late Roman fortress – met a similar fate (an earthquake), a result of the site’s location on the Syro-African rift.

Protecting our Future

Preserving Our Past

In partnership since 1987, Israelis, Americans, and Europeans have joined together to ensure that future generations have the knowledge of Tamar’s history and open doors to visit and study at the Park.

During the 90’s, extensive excavating was done by the Israel Antiquities Authority, under the direction of an experienced team led by Dr. Rudolph Cohen and Yigal Israel.  Blossoming Rose coordinated the effort to begin digging again in 2000, along with their responsibility to preserve, maintain, and beautify the 53 acre park.  These efforts have been ongoing for the past five years.

In Partnership:

The Israel Antiquities Authority

The Jewish National Fund

The Sapir Regional Council

For Blossoming Israel

Blossoming Rose

For more information:

Israel Antiquities Authority

Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini

Email: faithe58@hotmail.com

Blossoming Rose

Dr. DeWayne Coxon, President

Email: info@blossomingrose.org

Website: www.blossomingrose.org

For more information on our plans for Biblical Tamar Park and an update on Blossoming Rose...check out our 4th Quarter Journal!

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And so it would be.  The bride was dressed in white and the groom beamed as he watched her walk up into the ancient city of Tamar and stand in front of the old British building overlooking the 3,000 year old city.

It was picturesque and poetic.  Dr. Mark Shipp played the guitar and sang a wedding song, one that he wrote for his parent’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. His dad, Glover, was there to hear him sing the song again. 

We all stood and savored the moment, two people in love after twenty-five years, blessed by their renewal of vows in the middle of the Arava desert in Israel. The hoopa is still there for the next couple.

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