Tell Keila, inhabited since the Bronze Age until the middle of the 20th century, has been studied since 2015 by a mission of the University of Montpellier 3 (Sylvie Blétry, mission of the EA 4424 CRISES, then of the Labex Archimède and the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs)
Direction
Sylvie Blétry (Université de Montpellier 3, Labex Archimède et Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères)
How Eveha International Participates
Digging Photogrammetry
Co-direction of a sector
Localisation
Palestinian territories
Location and Historical Summary
Tell Keila is located in the Hebron Governorate, within the Palestinian Territories, and is part of the rural outskirts of the small town of Beit Ula. It covers an area of approximately ten hectares, not including the necropolis zones.
The site is identified as the Qiltu of the Amarna Letters, and subsequently the Keilah of the Old Testament (three references); it is also mentioned in two of the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran. It remained known as Killa/Echela during the Roman (Flavius Josephus) and Early Byzantine (Eusebius of Caesarea, Sozomen) periods. Although surveyed from the 19th century until recently, the site had never been excavated. Its long period of occupation makes it a particularly significant site for understanding historical evolution and the multiple influences—Canaanite, Judean, Christian, and Mamluk—of which we have evidence.
History of Research
The mission from the University of Montpellier 3, under the aegis of the Palestinian Department of Antiquities, focused on creating a topographical map of the site. Over the years, this record was enriched through the survey of its necropolises (comprising about fifty tombs, dug from the Bronze Age to the Roman period), targeted soundings, and the excavation of several sectors. These efforts aimed to document the various periods of settlement, agricultural exploitation, and the site’s religious or funerary activities.
It was possible to identify the layout of a Bronze Age fortification wall made of medium-sized ashlar blocks along almost the entire perimeter of the Tell. This was consolidated during the Iron Age by a glacis of fieldstones. Additionally, the presence of a monumental tower—which appears to be unique—was confirmed against the wall. The necropolis zones attest to occupation during these same periods.
The Hellenistic and Roman periods are illustrated by the reuse of certain tombs (some of which continued to be used into the Early Byzantine period). The rare discovery of an altar inscribed in Latin attests to a Roman presence, as does a rural farm building on the cultivable slopes of the Tell, supported by the discovery of several wine and olive presses.
Around the 5th century, an Early Christian church paved with mosaics was established in the southeast of the summit plateau, featuring a baptistery. This was later covered by a new floor with more elaborate mosaics during a subsequent phase in the 6th–7th centuries. For both periods, floor dedications demonstrate the vitality of Christian worship.
During the Mamluk period, the church was covered by a new settlement. While the architectural traces are more subtle, the occupation is well-attested by numerous ceramics from the 13th and 14th centuries. Spolia, such as column fragments with capitals inscribed with crosses pattée, were used to backfill the remains of the church prior to the construction of the medieval building.
