Settlement History Around the Sea of Galilee from the Neolithic to the Persian Period

The area around the Sea of Galilee has always been densely settled. Several important excavation sites are situated in this territory, and scholars have long been interested in this area. However, landscape archaeology in this area has received little attention over the last century. Careful research into the settlement history gives deeper insight into the historical and economic development of each of the five different geographical units surrounding the Sea of Galilee: the Jordan Valley, Lower Galilee, Upper Galilee, the Golan and the Transjordanian hill country. Mapping the fertile fields in this region and comparing them with the distribution of sites illuminates the economic conditions in each period. In a similar vein the road connections and the intensity of trade have been reconstructed. The distribution patterns of the sites offer some new data for the basalt working industry in Upper Galilee and the Golan. Additionally, the biblical and extra-biblical sites mentioned in ancient texts have been identified with sites known by archaeological research.