- Joshua. Nevertheless, one archaeological stratum, dating from around 1200 BC, shows signs of catastrophic fire, and cuneiform tablets found at the site refer to monarchs named Ibni Addi, where Ibni may be the etymological origin of Yavin (Jabin).[1] The city also show signs of having been a magnificent Canaanite city prior to its destruction, with great temples and opulent palaces, split into an upper acropolis, and lower city; the town evidently had been a major Canaanite city. He theorizes that the destruction of Hazor was the result of civil strife, attacks by the Sea Peoples, and/or a result of the general collapse of civilisation across the whole eastern Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age.
This view is disputed by Amnon Ben-Tor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who believes that recently unearthed evidence of violent destruction by burning verifies the Biblical account.In 2012, a team led Ben-Tor and Sharon Zuckerman discovered a scorched palace from the 13th century BCE in whose storerooms they found 3,400 year old ewers holding burned crops.
The archaeological remains suggest that some time after its destruction, the city of Hazor was rebuilt as a minor village. According to the Books of Kings, the town, along with Megiddo, and Gezer, was later substantially fortified and expanded by Solomon. Like those at Megiddo, and Gezer, the remains at Hazor show that during the Early Iron Age the town gained a highly distinctive six chambered gate, as well as a characteristic style to its administration buildings; archaeologists determined that these constructions at Hazor were built by the same leadership as those at Megiddo and Gezer. By reference to the Books of Kings, some archaeologists conclude that these remains verify the Biblical account—that they were constructed in the tenth century by King Solomon; others date these structures to the early 9th century BC, during the reign of the Omrides.
Yigael Yadin, one of the earliest
