The Late Bronze Age III (Iron Age IA) Gal’on Fortress in the Shephelah

A previously unknown square building was uncovered at Gal’on in the Judean Shephelah, located between Tel Zayit and Tel Burna. The building was identified as a fortress, similar in plan and dimensions to several other excavated buildings designated “Governors’ Residencies”, and to a few buildings that were defined as “fortresses”—all associated with Egyptian imperial rule in Canaan in Dynasties XIX and XX. The construction of the isolated building at Gal’on may have been related to the reorganization of Canaan under Egyptian rule, possibly in the reign of Ramses III. The building may have been occupied by an Egyptian military force, or more plausibly by a local Canaanite force associated with the city-state of Lakhish. This article discusses the Gaʼlon fortress in light of the other previously unearthed buildings, providing a comprehensive understanding of the geopolitical changes in the region in the twelfth century BCE