Guarding the Border to Jerusalem: The Iron Age City of Gezer

Tel Gezer has a storied history in the fields of biblical archaeology and the development of American archaeology and Israeli archaeology during the 1960s and 1970s. Unfortunately, the debate between towering figures in the field has overshadowed the importance of this site for research in the southern Levant. This article reports on the first five seasons of excavations by the Tandy Institute for Archaeology. An overview of Iron Age research is first presented, followed by the results of five seasons of excavations. The current project is focusing on the Iron Age fortifications, urbanization processes in the northern Shephelah, and spatial analysis between public and private zones in the ancient city. Most notable are a Late Bronze Age pillared building and a large four-room house.