Tel Yokneam

I have driven past Tel Yokneam (or Jokneam or Yoqne'am) hundreds of times in the past. It rears up on your right hand side as you approach the Yokneam Junction from the south and overlooks the ever growing town of Yokneam and all its high tech buildings. The Tel was inhabited for a long time from the Early Bronze Age to the Mameluke period (nearly four thousand years). During the Crusader period Yokneam was the most important center in the region, and the remains of the Crusader church are the most prominent remains on the Tel. There are impressive walls from the Iron Age, in fact Yokneam seems to have had a double casement wall in IAII-III. The IAA (I think) are restoring parts of the church so there is a lot of debris around. There is a lot to see on this one Tel.

Blackwifeo came with this morning. It is always nice to have some company. We made coffee and ate granola bars sitting in the ruins of the church. The view from the Tel is spectacular. The city of Yokneam is growing very quickly. There are many high-tech buildings and more on the way. I understand that the real-estate in the area has jumped in value.

I was so excited that bwo opted to come with me this morning that I forgot my cameras at home. So all I had was my iPhone camera. It didn't do too bad a job. I guess it's the quality of the photographer and not the camera that is in question.
Here is a picture of my lovely co-explorer. She is eating watermelon and making my car sticky.
This is where the IAA (Israel Antiquities Authority) are restoring some of the structures behind the Crusader church. They aren't the cleanest of workers. Bwo wanted to know why their shade was so messed up - she should have seen our shade at Megiddo - looked like a refugee camp in Kandahar we were told.
This is some of their restoration work. Looks nice.
This is the view from the top of the Tel looking north towards the Tishbi Junction. You see how much building is going on in Yokneam.
What I believe to be part of the casement wall. Quite a serious piece of architecture.
The walls behind the wall. Nice building blocks.
These are on the side of the church. I like the patterning of the ashlars.
This is what the church looks like when you walk up the Tel. It is very nice indeed.

So all in all a successful Saturday morning trip and we were home by 9am, after the required stop at the services on Kvish 6. I did not want to push my luck with bwo so I left Tel Qashish which is a stone's throw from Tel Yokneam for another Saturday.