Die Ausgrabungen des Wiener Alttestamentlers Ernst Sellin in Tell Ta`annek (Taanach) von 1902 bis 1904 im Horizont der zeitgenössischen Forschung

Abstract

Towards the end of the 19th century biblical archaeology developed from exploration of locations, geography, and ethnology towards excavations. One of the pioneers of archaeological excavations in Palestine was Ernst Sellin, then teaching at Vienna, Austria. This paper describes the development of biblical archaeology into „the science of the spade“, and presents Sellin’s excavations at Tell Ta`annek (biblical Taanach) in the years 1902–1904, i.e. the excavation procedure, the excavation results and also the discovery of the first – though small but until present only – archive with cuneiform texts in Palestine. Finally the results are placed into the context of later excavations (esp. by Paul W. Lapp) and other research.