Tall al-Raqish

The Tel al-Raqish, is an archaeological tell located on the western coast of Deir el-Balah city on the Mediterranean Sea in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Excavations and research conducted by the Palestinian Department of Antiquities under British Mandate authority in 1940 revealed a Phoenician settlement dating back to this tell, surrounded by massive defensive walls approximately 1600 meters long.

The same coastal area also yielded a necropolis with Phoenician characteristics used for burying the ashes of cremated bodies from the Late Iron Age and Achaemenid periods (538-332 BCE). It is noteworthy that the size of the archaeological Tel al-Raqish and its fortified defenses suggest it was once an important maritime port overseeing the ancient international trade route between Egypt and Syria. Archaeologists have also discovered numerous vessels made of "al-Raqish" pottery, as well as Phoenician and Cypriot ceramics in the same location.

References

Palestinian Antiquities
Gaza Strip landmarks