Tell Abu Hawam

What secrets lie buried beneath our feet? Here, at Tell Abu Hawam in Haifa, the whispers of ancient civilizations echo through the millennia. Tell Abu Hawam stands as a testament to Haifa’s earliest beginnings. This ancient tell, or archaeological mound, holds the remnants of a port city established in the Late Bronze Age, around the 14th century BCE. Imagine a bustling port, ships laden with goods arriving from distant lands. Tell Abu Hawam was a crucial hub for trade and commerce, connecting Haifa to the wider Mediterranean world. The sixth-century BCE geographer Scylax mentioned a city “between the bay and the promontory of Zeus,” a likely reference to Tell Abu Hawam’s strategic location near Mount Carmel. Excavations at Tell Abu Hawam between 1929 and 1933 unearthed intriguing artifacts, including a “fish-plate” style bowl. This black-glazed bowl featured a Phoenician inscription scratched on its underside, possibly dating back to the 4th or 3rd century BCE. This discovery sheds light on the continued use and importance of Tell Abu Hawam even centuries after its initial establishment. As we stand here at Tell Abu Hawam, we can almost hear the voices of the ancient Canaanites, Israelites, and Phoenicians who once walked this land. The echoes of their lives mingle with the sounds of modern Haifa. Their legacy lives on in this very soil.