Home > Sites > Upper Galilee > Tell Yaaf (Qasab), Rosh Pinna

 

Contents: Background Location History Aerial Map Photos    -General view     -South    -North    -Rosh Pinna Biblical Links Etymology

 

Background:

  

    Tell Yaaf (Ya'af) is a biblical site - east to the town of Rosh-Pinna. It is not identified, but may be one of tribe of Naftali cities (such as Adamah or Ramah).

   The Tell is split among two hills - the lower city on the north and the upper city on the south.

      After the Hellenistic period the Tell phased out, and transferred to the west hills above.

 

Location:

  

  Tell Yaaf is located a hundred meters from the main road east of Rosh-Pina industrial zone.

  It was located on the main ancient road through Syria to Babylon. There was one route north, following the modern road through Tell Hazor. Another route went east, through the road that passes Tell Yaaf from the south, crossed the Jordan river and up to the Golan heights.

  There are many other ancient ruins around - Tell Ness (1.5Km south), Khirbet Shura (1.5KM east), and other smaller sites, all located on the path of the ancient trade route.

  

 

History:

 

   The tell was populated in the iron age, as established in emergency excavations (2006) in a small section in the southern section, in the industrial area.

 

   Most of the Tells phased out during the Hellenistic period, and so did Tell Yaaf. The ancient city expanded to the hill above, where the town of Rosh-Pinna exists today. In this area there was a Roman village, but only traces of that village were found, such as a Roman wine press stone, and some stones that might have been part of an ancient synagogue.

 

   In later periods an Arab village existed - Ja'uni. This village existed until 1948, and gave Rosh-Pinna its initial name - "Gia-Onni".

 

   Rosh-Pinna is today a town that was founded in 1878, first as a farm, and later (1882) as a Colony (Moshava), part of Rothschild's Israeli Colonies. These early buildings are now undergoing reconstruction and some of the  restored houses are open to the public.

 

Aerial map

 

An aerial photo of the Tell is shown below (indicating the major points of interest). You can point on the purple points to navigate to the selected point.

 

 

 

Photos

 

(a) General view:

 

The following photo shows the view of the Tell from the west side, where the main side is on the south (right).

 

Click on the photos to view in higher resolution...

 

(b) South Hill

 

A detailed view of the north hill, maybe the "upper city".

 

 

A view of the north hill from the east. In the background is Canaan Mountain, and the outskirts of Zefad. On the foothill, close to the Tell, is the town of Rosh-Pinna, established in the 19th C AD.

 

 

(c) North Hill

 

The north hill is seen in the following photo, from the west side. On the top of the hill is a group of jeeps. In the far background are the Golan heights.

 

 

A view of the south hill - from the east side.

 

 

(d) Rosh Pinna:

 

Rosh-Pinna was established in the 19th C AD, and the restored section at the top of the town is a nice place to visit, strolling along the cobblestone streets and visiting the restored houses.

 

 

Another view of the hillside of Rosh Pinna, towards the east. The Rosh-Pinna creek starts from the spring at this area, flows down and around Tell Ya'af, east into the the Jordan river, and finally into the Sea of Galilee.

 

 

Biblical References:

 

Joshua 19: 32, 35-36

 

This text describes the territory of Naphtali tribe. According to the order of the cities that appear in the Biblical text, south to north, Tell Yaaf may be found after Chinnereth - as either Adamah or Ramah. However,  this identification is not precise,  and there are other identification options.

 

"The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali...And the fortified cities were Ziddim-zer, and Hammath, and Rakkath, and Chinnereth ; and Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor";

 

Other links:

 

• Rosh-Pinna excavations (Hebrew) - IAA publication on excavations inside Rosh-Pinna, which revealed various layers: Iron Age (13th thru 10th C BC), Hellenistic, and Roman thru Early Arab.

 

Etymology (behind the name):

 

Yaaf (Ya'af) - In Hebrew: flight. The name is derived from the Machanaim airfield - which is located nearby.   Tell - mound (See more on the story of a Tell).   Rosh-Pinna - The village near the Tell, established in 1878. In Hebrew: Rosh = "head", Pinna = "corner", or: head of the corner, which refers to the corner of a building.  It is called after Psalms 118: 22: "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. ".   Hazor Haglilit - A town adjacent to Rosh-Pinna, established in 1952 as an expansion of an immigrants transit camp. Its name is derived from Tell Hazor, and the prefix "Haglilit" means "the Galilee", since there are other places with the name Hazor.

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