Description : Tel Kabri (Hebrew: תֵל כַבְרִי; Arabic: تَلْ ألْقَهوَة, Tell al-Qahweh, "the mound of coffee") is an archaeological site of a tell (hill city), containing one of the largest Middle Bronze (MB) Age (2,100–1,550 BC) Canaanite palaces in ancient Palestine, and the largest such palace excavated as of 2014. Kabri is named for the abundance of its perennial springs – as described in the Etymology section below – the presence of which has led to the site's occupation and use as a water source from the Pottery Neolithic (PN) period (6,400–4,500 BC) to the present day. Located in the Western Upper Galilee, the site was at the height of its power in the MB, controlling much of the surrounding region. Kabri declined as a local power at the end of the MB, but the site continued to be occupied at times, on a much reduced level, up until the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Since 1957, Tel Kabri has been excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), formerly the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums (IDAM), as well as Israeli and American universities. Among the discoveries at the site by the two full-scale archaeological expeditions, two have attracted particular attention from the archaeological community. The first finding to come to international attention was the discovery of Minoan-style frescoes in the palace at Kabri. As of 2015, these are the only Minoan-style frescoes ever discovered in Israel. Second, in 2013, the Tel Kabri Archaeological Project uncovered the oldest and largest known palatial wine cellar in the Ancient Near East in Kabri's palace.
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