TELL GATH
or TELL ERANI Israel.
An ancient mound in the Shephelah, near the modern Israeli
town of Qiryath Gath. The excavations (1956-61) sought
the remains of biblical Gath. As no Philistine pottery
was found, this identification had to be rejected. The
mound consists of a large acropolis (1.6 ha) and of a
lower mound comprising an area of 16 ha. Occupation
on the mound extended from the Early Bronze Age to
the Persian and Hellenistic periods. To the Persian period
belong round storage bins. Most building remains of the
two latter periods have been completely obliterated.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
S. Yeivin,
IEJ 10 (1960) 193-203; id.,
RB 67 (1960) 391-94; id.,
First Preliminary Report on
the Excavations at Tel Gat (
Seasons 1956-1958) (1961);
id.,
Oriens Antiquus, 205-13; A. Ciasca, ibid., 1 (1962)
23-9 and 2 (1963) 45-63.
A. NEGEV