Kabri, Israel

The area of Kabri springs was first settled 16,000 years ago , during the Neolithic period. Permanent structures appeared around the year 10000 BCE . Archaeological digs uncovered the remains of an ancient city. The city was built around the year 2500 BCE and its territory ranged over 32 hectares (79 acres), which were surrounded by dirt embankments 7 metres (23 ft) high and 35 metres (115 ft) thick, on which were built guard towers.[3]

The ancient city that existed 1km to the south-west is known to archaeologists as Tel Kabri, though its Canaanite name is not known. It was a city-state in the heart of which was placed the palace of the ruling monarch. The two-story palace was decorated with colorful frescoes and ornaments in Minoan style. Residents of the city (their number is estimated at 5,000) earned their living through agriculture and international commerce. Leftover bits and pieces of merchandise whose origins lay in Egypt, Turkey and Crete were found in the ruins and in graves during the excavations. The city was connected to a port on the coast, apparently the one under Achziv. The city-state was completely abandoned around the year 1600 BCE for unknown reasons.[3]

After a few generations, the Phoenicians established next to the abandoned city a fortress town on 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres), in which were found the weapons and kitchen equipment of Greek mercenaries, as well as an extremely rare bowl, in which was prepared the color purple, the Phoenicians' main export. That settlement survived from the 9th century BCE until the end of 7th century, at which time it was destroyed by the Babylonians.[3]

The Palestinian village of al-Kabri existed at the site from the post-Crusader period until 1949. In 1948 the Yehiam convoy was ambushed while passing the village. According to Israeli historian Benny Morris, a subsequent Haganah attack led to the flight of most of the villagers, while others were killed in what became known as the al-Kabri incident. The Haganah planned to "destroy and burn" Al-Kabri and neighboring villages in the western Galilee. Later, Al-Kabri was among villages razed to ensure that its residents "could and would never return."[4]

In 1949 a new kibbutz was founded on the site of the village by displaced members of kibbutz Beit HaArava and young refugees from the Youth Aliyah.[5] Beit HaArava was located along the Jordan River near Jericho, and had been evacuated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, was subsequently destroyed by the invading Jordanian forces. Beit HaArava's children and noncombatant women members had been evacuated to kibbutz Shefayim during the War of Independence. The members subsequently divided in 1949 into two groups. One became the founding members of Kabri and the other joined Gesher HaZiv, another kibbutz in the Western Galilee.