# Bull Site

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{{Short description|Open air ancient cult installation now in the West Bank}}
{{Infobox historic site
|name           = Bull Site
|map_type       = West Bank relief
|map_relief     = true
|map_alt        = 
|coordinates    = {{coord|32.409152|N|35.323578|E|display=inline,title}}
|image          = File:The Bull Site.png
|caption        = The Bull Site on the Dhahrat et-Tawileh ridge
|location       = Dhahrat et-Tawileh
|region         = [West Bank](/source/West_Bank)
|type           = Cult installation
|epochs         = [Iron IA](/source/Iron_Age_I_A)
|part_of        = 
|length         = {{cvt|23|m}}
|width          = {{cvt|21|m}}
|elevation      = {{cvt|455|m}}
|area           = {{cvt|380|m2}}
|builder        = 
|material       = Stone, bedrock
|built          = 12th century BCE
|abandoned      = 12th century BCE
|cultures       = Canaanite, Israelite, or migratory population
|dependency_of  = 
|occupants      = 
|event          = 
|discovered     = 1977
|excavations    = Apr 1978, Sept 1981
|archaeologists = [Amihai Mazar](/source/Amihai_Mazar)
|condition      = In ruins
|ownership      = 
|management     = 
|public_access  = 
|website        = 
|notes          = 
}}

The so-called '''Bull Site''' is a 12th-century BCE open air ancient [cult](/source/Cult_(religious_practice)) installation<ref name=Bloch76>Bloch-Smith & Alpert Nakhai (1999), p. 76.</ref> found at [Dhahrat et-Tawileh](/source/Dhahrat_et-Tawileh)<ref>Ahlström (1990)</ref> (also spelled Daharat et-Tawileh),<ref>Mazar (1982)</ref> in the [West Bank](/source/West_Bank). The site is named for the bronze [sacred bull](/source/sacred_bull) statuette which was found at the site in 1977.  

==Location==
left|thumb|Dhahrat et-Tawileh ridge

The site is located on the Dhahrat et-Tawileh ridge in the hills of the northern West Bank<ref>Mazar (1982), pp. 32-33.</ref> in [Jenin Governorate](/source/Jenin_Governorate), 75 meters above the [ancient road](/source/Historic_roads_and_trails)<ref>Dorsey (1991), pp. 144-145.</ref><ref>Miller II (2003), p. 161.</ref> through the [Zababdeh](/source/Zababdeh) valley<ref>Zertal (2008), p. 29.</ref> between [Dothan](/source/Dothan_(ancient_city)) and [Tirzah](/source/Tirzah_(ancient_city)).<ref>Alpert Nakhai (2001), p. 170.</ref> It lies approximately 6&nbsp;km south of [Jenin](/source/Jenin), and 4&nbsp;km east of [Qabatiya](/source/Qabatiya). The site provides commanding views of other high points in northern Canaan including [Mount Carmel](/source/Mount_Carmel) to the west, [Mount Tabor](/source/Mount_Tabor) and [Mount Meron](/source/Mount_Meron) to the north, [Mount Gilboa](/source/Mount_Gilboa) to the northeast, and to the south Jebel Tamun<ref name=Mazar33>Mazar (1982), p. 33.</ref> (also spelled Jabal Tammun, 'Mount Tammun', some 2&nbsp;km SSE of the town of [Tammun](/source/Tammun), altitude 588 m, prominence 291 m<ref>[https://peakvisor.com/peak/jabal-tammun.html Jabal Tammun] on peakvisor.com</ref>).

==Discovery==
The site was discovered in 1977 by Ofer Broshi, a member of [Kibbutz Shamir](/source/Kibbutz_Shamir) and soldier in the [Israeli army](/source/Israel_Defense_Forces), where he unearthed an [ancient bull statuette](/source/Sacred_bull). He brought the figurine back to his kibbutz where it was put on display with other antiquities owned by the kibbutz.<ref>Mazar (1982), p. 41.</ref><ref>Mazar (1983), p. 34.</ref> While on display it was spotted by archaeologist [Amihai Mazar](/source/Amihai_Mazar) who arranged its transfer to the [Israel Museum](/source/Israel_Museum) where it is now part of the permanent collection.<ref name=IMJ>{{cite web|url=https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/371859|title=Israel Museum Collection - Bull Statuette|website=www.imj.org.il}}</ref> Based on Broshi's description Mazar was able to locate the discovery site at Dhahrat et-Tawileh and begin [excavations](/source/Excavation_(archaeology)).<ref>Mazar (1983), pp. 34-35.</ref>

==Excavation history==
Two short excavations were conducted by Mazar in April 1978 and September 1981 on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology at the [Hebrew University of Jerusalem](/source/Hebrew_University_of_Jerusalem).<ref>Mazar (1993), pp. 266-267.</ref> Results of the excavation show that the site was single-phase ([Iron IA](/source/Iron_Age_I_A))<ref>Mullins (2012), pp. 590-592.</ref><ref>Faust (2006), p. 119.</ref> and was abandoned after only a short period of use.<ref name=Mazar33/><ref>Ahlström (1990), pp. 80-81.</ref> The archaeological evidence indicates the site's use as a cultic installation<ref>Mazar (1983), pp. 35-36.</ref> though the [flint](/source/flint) and [pottery](/source/earthenware) assemblage discovered potentially indicates domestic use.<ref>Miller II (2005), p. 46.</ref> [Israel Finkelstein](/source/Israel_Finkelstein)'s dating of the site to the [Middle Bronze Age](/source/Middle_Bronze_Age)<ref>Finkelstein (1998), pp. 94-98.</ref> is, according to Mazar, based on a misreading of the pottery evidence<ref>Na'aman (1994), pp. 167-169.</ref> and as such an early 12th-century dating should be retained.<ref>Mazar (1999), pp. 144-148.</ref>

==Cult installation==
thumb|The standing stone or altar at the Bull Site (center)

Though there are a number of Iron Age I settlements in the area,<ref>Khirbet Abu Ghamam, Khirbet Tanin, Khirbet Anahum, Khirbet esh-Sheik Seffrin, and esh-Zababde. See Mazar (1983), p. 36.</ref> the Bull Site lacks any evidence of settlement. Instead it sits on the summit of Dhahrat et-Tawileh and is thought to have served as a cult site for the surrounding settlements due to its hilltop location.<ref name=Mazar33/><ref name=Mazar39>Mazar (1983), p. 39.</ref>

Built on [bedrock](/source/bedrock) in the 12th century, the site comprises a perimeter wall made from large boulders brought in from elsewhere,<ref>Zevit (2003), p. 233.</ref> and what is thought to be a standing stone or [altar](/source/altar) with a paved area in front of it next to the enclosure's eastern entrance.<ref>Mazar (1982), p. 34.</ref> Mazar, the excavation director, speculates that a [sacred tree](/source/Asherah_pole) likely grew within the site's walls.<ref>Mazar (1982), p. 35.</ref><ref>Mazar (1983), p. 37.</ref>

There is no agreement on the [ethnicity](/source/ethnicity) of the local settlers who used the site, with suggestions ranging from the [Israelites](/source/Israelites) due to the site's location in [Mannaseh's](/source/Tribe_of_Manasseh) tribal allotment ({{bibleverse|Joshua|17:1–13}}),<ref name=Bloch76/><ref>Mazar (1982), p. 38.</ref><ref>Alpert Nakhai (1994), pp. 19-29.</ref> the Canaanites,<ref name=Coogan>Coogan (1987), p. 1.</ref> or migrants from north of Canaan.<ref name=Ahlstrom81>Ahlström (1990), p. 81.</ref>

Alternative views are that the site could have been a home for a family and their animals, or an [enclosure](/source/Pen_(enclosure)) for [livestock](/source/livestock).<ref name=Coogan/>

==Calf statuette==
[[File:Bull site statuette.png|left|thumb|The bronze calf statuette discovered at the 12th-century BCE cult site at Dhahrat et-Tawileh, West Bank, currently in the [Israel Museum](/source/Israel_Museum)]]
The statuette, found close to the western wall of the site,<ref name=Ahlstrom79>Ahlström (1990), p. 79.</ref> is of a [Zebu](/source/Zebu) bull measuring 17.5&nbsp;cm long by 12.4&nbsp;cm high and is made of [bronze](/source/bronze).<ref name=Mazar27>Mazar (1982), p. 27.</ref> It is notable not only for its naturalistic ears and eyes,<ref name=Mazar27/> but for being the largest such bull statuette found in [Palestine](/source/Palestine_(region)).<ref name=Ahlstrom79/> Though Mazar suggests it may be the product of a local Israelite craftsman,<ref name=Mazar39/> other scholars such as Ahlström believe it came either from [Galilee](/source/Galilee), or further north again above the land of Canaan.<ref name=Ahlstrom81/>

There is no consensus about which deity the statuette represents;<ref>Ahlström (1990), p. 80.</ref> it could be an image of  [Baal](/source/Baal)<ref>Miller (2000), p. 32.</ref> or [Yahweh](/source/Yahweh).<ref>Smith (2002), pp. 83-84.</ref><ref>Bloch-Smith & Alpert Nakhai (1999), pp. 76-77.</ref>

==See also==
* [Ancient Canaanite religion](/source/Ancient_Canaanite_religion)
* [Sacred bull](/source/Sacred_bull)
* [Origins of Judaism](/source/Origins_of_Judaism)
* [History of ancient Israel and Judah](/source/History_of_ancient_Israel_and_Judah)

==References==
{{reflist|20em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite journal |last=Ahlström |first=Gösta W. |date=November 1990 |title=The Bull Figurine from Dhahrat et-Tawileh |journal=[Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research](/source/Bulletin_of_the_American_Schools_of_Oriental_Research) |volume=280 |issue=280 |pages=77–82 |jstor=1357311 |doi=10.2307/1357311 |s2cid=163751741 }}
*{{cite book |last=Alpert Nakhai |first=Beth |date=2001 |title=Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel |location=Boston, MA |publisher=American Schools of Oriental Research |isbn=978-0897570572 }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Bloch-Smith |first1=Elizabeth |last2= Alpert Nakhai |first2=Beth |date=1999 |title=A Landscape Comes to Life |journal=[Near Eastern Archaeology](/source/Near_Eastern_Archaeology_(journal)) |volume=62 |issue=2 |doi=10.2307/3210703 |jstor= 3210703 |s2cid=163482783 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Coogan |first=Michael David |author-link=Michael Coogan|date=1987 |title=Of Cults and Cultures: Reflections on the Interpretation of Archaeological Evidence |journal=[Palestine Exploration Quarterly](/source/Palestine_Exploration_Fund) |volume=119 |issue=1 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.1179/peq.1987.119.1.1 }}
*{{cite book |last=Dorsey |first=David A. |date=1991 |title=The Roads and Highways of Ancient Israel |series=The ASOR Library of Biblical and Near Eastern Archaeology |publisher=Wipf and Stock |isbn=978-1-5326-6089-4 }}
*{{cite book |last=Faust |first=Avraham |author-link=Avraham Faust|date=2006 |title=Israel's Ethnogenesis: Settlement, Interaction, Expansion and Resistance |location=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781845534561 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Finkelstein |first=Israel|author-link1=Israel Finkelstein |date=1998 |title=Two notes on Northern Samaria: the 'Einun Pottery' and the date of the 'Bull Site' |journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly |volume=130 |issue=2 |pages=94–98|doi=10.1179/peq.1998.130.2.94 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Mazar |first=Amihai |date=Summer 1982 |title=The "Bull Site": An Iron Age I Open Cult Place |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |issue=247 |pages=27–42 |jstor=1356477 |doi=10.2307/1356477 |s2cid=164091738 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Mazar |first=Amihai |date=September–October 1983 |title=Bronze Bull Found in Israelite "High Place" from the Time of the Judges |url=https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/9/5/1 |journal=[Biblical Archaeology Review](/source/Biblical_Archaeology_Review) |volume=9 |issue=5 |url-access=subscription }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Mazar |first=Amihai |author-link1=Amihai Mazar|editor-last=Stern |editor-first=Ephraim |editor-link1= Ephraim Stern|encyclopedia=The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land |title='Bull' Site |year=1993 |publisher=Carta |volume=1 |isbn=0-13-276296-X}}
*{{cite journal |last=Mazar |date=1999 |title=The 'Bull Site' and the 'Einun Pottery' Reconsidered |journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly |volume=131 |issue=2 |pages=144–148 |doi=10.1179/peq.1999.131.2.144 }}
*{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Patrick D. |date= 2000 |title=Israelite Religion and Biblical Theology: Collected Essays |series=Journal for the study of the Old Testament Supplement Series |volume=267 |publisher=[Sheffield Academic Press](/source/Sheffield_Academic_Press) |isbn=9781841271422 |author-link= Patrick D. Miller}}
*{{cite book |last=Miller II |first=Robert |editor-last=Lapp |editor-first=Nancy|editor-link=Nancy Lapp |title=Preliminary Excavation Reports and other Archaeological Excavations, Tell Qarqur; Iron I Sites in the North-Central Highlands of Palestine |publisher=American Schools of Oriental Research |date=2003 |series=The Annual of The American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=56 |chapter=Gazetteer of Iron I Sites in the North-Central Highlands |location=Boston, MA |isbn=0-89757-026-X}}
*{{cite book |last=Miller II |first=Robert D. |date=2005 |title=Chieftains of the Highland Clans: A History of Israel in the Twelfth and Eleventh Centuries B.C. |location=Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K. |publisher=[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company](/source/William_B._Eerdmans_Publishing_Company) |isbn=978-0802809889 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Mullins |first=Robert |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception |title=The Bull Site |date=2012 |publisher=De Gruyter |volume=4 |isbn=978-3110183559}}
*{{cite book |last=Na'aman |first=Nadav |editor-last1=Finkestein |editor-first1=Israel |editor-last2=Na'aman |editor-first2=Nadav |title=From Nomadism to Monarchy |publisher=[Israel Exploration Society](/source/Israel_Exploration_Society) |date=1994 |chapter=The 'Conquest of Canaan' in the Book of Joshua and in History |isbn=965-217-117-4}}
*{{cite journal |last= Alpert Nakhai |first=Beth |date=1994 |title=What's a Bamah? How Sacred Space Functioned in Ancient Israel |url=https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/20/3/1 |journal=Biblical Archaeology Review |volume=20 |issue=3 |url-access=subscription }}
*{{cite book |last=Parker |first=Simon B. |date=1997 |title=Ugaritic Narrative Poetry |volume=9 |series=[SBL](/source/Society_of_Biblical_Literature) Writings from the Ancient World |location= Atlanta, GA |publisher=Scholars Press |isbn=978-0788503375 }}
*{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Mark S. |author-link1=Mark S. Smith |date= 2002 |title=The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel |location=Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.; Dearborn, MI |publisher=William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company |isbn=9781845534561 }}
*{{cite book |last= Zertal |first= Adam |author-link=Adam Zertal |date= 2008 |title=The Manasseh Hill Country Survey, Volume II, The Eastern Valleys and the Fringes of the Desert |location=Leiden; Boston |publisher=[Brill](/source/Brill_Publishers) |isbn=978-9004163690 }}
*{{cite book |last= Zevit |first= Ziony |author-link=Ziony Zevit |editor-last1=Dever |editor-first1= William|editor-link1= William G. Dever |editor-last2= Gitin |editor-first2= Seymour|editor-link2=Seymour Gitin|title=Symbiosis, Symbolism, and the Power of the Past: Canaan, Ancient Israel, and Their Neighbors from the Late Bronze Age through Roman Palaestina |publisher=[Eisenbrauns Book Publishers](/source/Eisenbrauns) |date=2003 |chapter=False Dichotomies in Descriptions of Israelite Religion: A Problem, Its Origin, and a Proposed Solution |isbn=978-1575060811}}
{{refend}}
{{Sites of the Israelite Settlement}}

Category:12th-century BC establishments
Category:1977 archaeological discoveries
Category:Archaeological sites in the West Bank
Category:Collection of the Israel Museum
Category:Sculptures of cattle
Category:Sacred bulls
Category:El (deity)
Category:Baal
Category:Yahweh

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bull Site](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Site) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Site?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.