Tel Qana

Tel Qana (Arabic: Tell el-Mukhmar, Hebrew: תל קנה) is an archaeological site and historical mound situated in the Yarkon river basin, near the confluence of Wadi Qana and the Yarkon. It is situated 3 km east of Ramat Ha-Sharon, 5 km south of Ra'anana, and 4.5 km northwest of Tel Afeq. The mound spans an area of 25 dunams and rises to a height of around 12 meters its the surrounding, and includes finds from the Early, Middle, and Late Bronze Ages, Iron Age I–II, and the Persian, Roman, and Byzantine periods.^[1]

The Crusader name of the site was Filie de Comar. The site is mentioned in a boundary description in Hasseki Sultan imaret's endowment deed, dated to 1552. The name is listed as Tall bin muḫmārrecte /Tall il-muḫmār/ “the mound of Mukhmar.” Muḫmār might be an ancient Canaanite/Biblical Hebrew survival of mkmr “snare”.^[2]

The modern Hebrew name of the site derives from Wadi Qana, near which it stands.

A sizable Late Bronze Age II cist grave that is distinctive in its size, plastering, and east–west orientation is the main find at Tell Qana. A young adult's[noun is missing; was never provided]^{[clarification needed]} was found buried in the grave with funerary goods made of metal and ceramic. The ceramic vessels, which belong to the latter part of the Late Bronze Age II, are made locally. The distinctive elements of the cemetery, such as the excellent lime plaster, hint at the potential social standing of the deceased and imply influences from other civilizations, including Egyptian. But nothing related to Egypt turned up in this burial.^[3]

In 2024, a 12-year-old girl was hiking below Tel Qana when she found a beetle-like stone used as an Egyptian amulet about 3,500 years ago. Two scorpions appear on it, standing head to tail. According to Dr. Yitzhak Paz of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The scorpion symbol represented the Egyptian goddess Serket, who was considered responsible, among other things, for protecting pregnant mothers. Another decoration on the amulet is the nefer symbol, which in Egyptian means ‘good’ or ‘chosen’. There is also another symbol which looks like a royal staff.” Such scarab amulets found in Israel––sometimes used as a seal––are evidence of Egyptian rule in the Israel region about 3,500 years ago, and its cultural influence on the region.^[4]