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{{Infobox ancient site
|name           = Lavnin
|native_name    = Khurbet Tell el-Beida
|alternate_name = Libnah
|image          = File:Den at Lavnin.jpg
|alt            =
|caption        = Den carved in white stone at Lavnin ruin
|map_type       = Israel
|map_alt        =
|map_size       = 150
|location       = {{flagicon|Israel}}
|region         = Judaean Mountains
|coordinates    = {{coord|31|38|25|N|34|57|03|E|type:city_region:IL|display=inline,title}}
|grid_position  = 145116 [[Palestine grid|PAL]]
|type           =
|part_of        =
|length         =
|width          =
|area           =
|height         =
|builder        =
|material       =
|built          = Canaanite period
|abandoned      = unknown
|epochs         = Late Bronze, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine
|cultures       = Canaanite, Jewish, Greco-Roman
|dependency_of  =
|occupants      =
|event          =
|excavations    = 2001
|archaeologists =
|condition      = Ruin
|ownership      =
|public_access  =
|website        =
|notes          =
}}
'''Lavnin''' (''Hurvat Libnah'' / ''Tel Lavnin'' / ''Kh. Tell el-Beida'')({{Langx|he|'''חורבת לבנין'''}})({{langx|ar|خربة تل البيضة}}), is a [[late Bronze Age]] archaeological site situated in Israel's Adullam region, rising some {{convert|389|m|ft|}} above sea level. The site lies {{convert|8|km}} northwest of [[Bayt Jibrin|Beit Gubrin]], and about 1 kilometer west-north-west of [[Khirbat Umm Burj]], directly south of [[Nehusha]].
In April 2019, the [[Jerusalem District]] Planning and Building Committee announced that the site would be incorporated into a new national park in the Judean [[Shephelah]], called the "Lavnin Ridge Nature Reserve and National Park," an area to span over 1,000 [[dunams]] (250 [[acres]]) within the [[Mateh Yehuda Regional Council]].<ref>''Bekitzur'': Mateh Yehudah News Journal, issue 496, 18 April 2019, p. 20; [https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/local/.premium-1.7125510 Ha-Aretz] 16 April 2019 (Hebrew)</ref>
==Etymology and identification==
The name ''Lavnin'' is a reflection of popular etymology, the modern Hebrew name being a translation of the Arabic word ''Beida'', meaning "white."<ref>Palmer, E.H. (1881), p. [https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft/page/402/mode/1up 402]; lit. "the ruin of the white mound".</ref> Others say that its modern name represents "the hill of bricks," hence: Tell Livnin (''livanim''), based on a different pronunciation of the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] that is typically written without vowels.<ref name="Notley&Safrai2005">Notley, R.S. & [[Ze'ev Safrai|Safrai, Z.]] (2005), p. 19, note 47</ref> Archaeologists are divided as to the site's original name, some holding the view that it may have been the [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|biblical]] Libnah <small>([[Book of Joshua|Joshua 15:42; 21:13]])</small><ref>Hawk, L. Daniel (2010), p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UTdMAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA126 126]</ref> based on its Arabic name, while others thought it to have been the Chezib of Judah,<ref>Avraham Negev & Shimon Gibson (2001), p. 16 (s.v. ''Achzib'' [a]); A. F. Rainey (1983), p. 5; Pinhas Ne'eman, ed. (1963–1966), s.v. כזיב; [[F. M. Abel]], ''Géogr''. II, p. 237; [[ZDPV]] 1934, p. 124.</ref> or the Azekah <small>(Joshua 10:10-11</small><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bible Gateway passage: Joshua 10:10-11 - New King James Version |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%2010%3A10-11&version=NKJV |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=Bible Gateway |language=en}}</ref><small>)</small> mentioned by [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]].<ref name="Notley&Safrai2005"/>
Depending on whether the site was the same as ''Lobana'', as described by [[Eusebius]] in his ''[[Onomasticon (Eusebius)|Onomasticon]]'' as "now being a village in Eleutheropolitana" (in the vicinity of [[Bayt Jibrin|Beit Gubrin]]), the town would have still been settled and occupied as late as the 4th-century CE.<ref>Chapmann III, R.L.; ''et al.'' (2003), p. 68, s.v. Lebna</ref> Archaeologist [[Boaz Zissu]] rejects the notion that the site could have been Chezib of Judah, saying that "since ''Khirbet Tell el-Bēḍā'' / ''Tel Lavnīn'' was clearly occupied during the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine Period]], it is questionable whether this site is the same as Eusebius’ ruined ''Chasbi''."<ref>Zissu, B. & Gass, E. (2011), p. 381</ref> Others proposed that Libnah may be the ruin known as ''[[Tell es-Safi|Tell eṣ-Ṣāfi]]'',<ref>[[William F. Albright|Albright, W.F.]] (1921-22), pp. 12-13</ref> a view now largely rejected.<ref>Kallai-Kleinmann, Z. (1958), p. 155</ref> Travellers [[Charles William Meredith van de Velde|C.W.M. van de Velde]] and [[H.B. Tristram]] both placed the ancient ruin of Libnah at the ruin called ''[[Iraq al-Manshiyya|ʻIrâq el-Menshiyeh]]'', where [[Kiryat Gat]] now stands;<ref>Press, Michael D. (2014), p. 183</ref> this view is also now largely rejected.
[[C. R. Conder|Lt. Col. Conder]] of the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]] professed to be uncertain about the site of the biblical Libnah, and was equally unfamiliar with the connection between the Arabic name ''el-Beida'' and Libnah (= "white"), although acknowledging that "it (Libnah) indicates the 'white' chalk of the Southern [[Shephelah]], and it was taken by [[Joshua]] <small>(Joshua 10:30)</small> after Makkedah and before Lachish and Hebron."<ref>[[C. R. Conder|Conder]] (1897), p. [https://archive.org/details/quarterlystateme29pale/page/n93/mode/2up 69]</ref>
==Flora and fauna==
The Mediterranean plants endemic to the area are the Palestine oak (''[[Quercus calliprinos]]''), terebinth (''[[Pistacia atlantica]]''), lentisk (''[[Pistacia lentiscus]]''), buckthorn (''[[Rhamnus lycioides]]''), and strawberry tree (''[[Arbutus andrachne]]''). Some of these trees have protected status. The area abounds also in fowl such as the partridge (''[[Alectoris chukar]]''), the [[honey-sucker]], the bulbul (''[[Pycnonotus xanthopygos]]''), the [[black-headed bunting]], and the [[titmouse]]. The species of [[Agamidae|agamid lizard]], [[Laudakia stellio]], and hares (''[[Lepus]]'') are also common to this region. More rarely, the mongoose (''[[Herpestes ichneumon]]'') and the honey-badger (''[[Mellivora capensis]]'') may be seen.
==Archaeology==
[[File:Decorated lintel.jpg|thumb|Lintel on the hilltop]]
[[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lieut. H. H. Kitchener]] of the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]] visited the site between the years 1874–75 and noted many caves, in one of which there were 120 niches in the wall, apparently used for urns.<ref>[[C. R. Conder|Conder]] & [[H. H. Kitchener|Kitchener]] (1883), p. [https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft/page/369/mode/2up 369]</ref> The site is similar to many of those in the region, having a network of [[Bar Kokhba hiding complexes|underground hiding complexes]], thought to date back to the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]].<ref>Zissu, B. & Ganor, A. (2008), p. 62</ref>
During an archaeological survey of the site in 1998, [[Israel Antiquities Authority]] archaeologist Boaz Zissu described what appeared to be a "lion's den" at ''Tel Lavnin'' (having a side-entrance and an observation point from above), a [[Second Temple period]] ritual bath (''[[mikveh]]''), burial tombs from the same period, fortifications, and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] era graffiti on the walls.<ref>Zissu, B. (1999), pp. 563-573</ref>
In [[2001]], [[Boaz Zissu|Zissu]], on behalf of the [[Israel Antiquities Authority|IAA]], conducted a second survey of the site,<ref>[https://il-antiquities-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=972IAA_ALEPH000101036&context=L&vid=972IAA_V1&lang=en_US&search_scope=default_scope&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=default_tab&query=any,contains,%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9F&sortby=rank&offset=0 IAA Report on ''Tel Lavnin'' - 2001]</ref> which abounds with burial caves, and contains a [[columbarium]], along with water cisterns carved into the bedrock. A decorated [[lintel]] rests at the top of the hill. A small area containing two pits and a room with an arched vault built of [[ashlar]] stones was exposed in the northeastern part.
==See also==
*[[Libnah]]
{{Portal|History|Israel}}
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Cistern at Lavnin.jpg|Deep cistern at the Lavnin ruin
File:חורבת לבנין 1.JPG|Cave entrance at Lavnin
File:Lavnin Ruins - Kh. Tell el-Beida.jpg|Open pit at the Lavnin ruins
File:Pit at Lavnin.jpg|Gaping hole of pit
File:Ruins at Lavnin.jpg|General ruins at Lavnin (Kh. Tell el-Beida)
File:Stone structures at Lavnin.jpg|Stone relics at Lavnin ruin
File:View from Lavnin.jpg|View of valley below Kh. Tell el-Beida
File:Wall at Lavnin.jpg|Wall structure at Lavnin
File:Hilltop ruin of Khurbet el Beida.jpg|Hilltop ruin of Tell el-Beida (Lavnin)
File:Burial cave entrance.jpg|Jewish burial cave and blocking stone
</gallery>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
*{{Cite journal|last1=Klein|first1=Eitan|last2=Shai |first2=Itzhaq |date=2016|title=Burial Caves from the Late Bronze and Iron Ages at Horvat Lavnin in the Judean Shephelah|journal=Tel Aviv. Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University|volume=43|issue=2|pages=221–238|doi=10.1080/03344355.2016.1215554|s2cid=133071420}}
==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite journal |last=Albright|first=W.F.|author-link=William F. Albright|title=Contribution to the Historical Geography of Palestine|journal=The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven |volume=2-3 |date=1921–22|pages=1–46|doi=10.2307/3768450 |jstor=3768450 |language=en }}
*{{cite book |translator=G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville |editor-last1=Chapmann III |editor-first1=R.L. |editor-last2=Taylor |editor-first2=J.E. |title=Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea |publisher=Carta |date=2003 |location=Jerusalem|page=68 |language=en|isbn=965-220-500-1 |oclc=937002750}}, s.v. ''Lebna''
*{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H. H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1883|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=3}}
*{{cite journal |author-last=Conder |author-first=C.R. |author-link1=C. R. Conder|title=Libnah |journal=Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund |volume=29 |page=69 |url=https://archive.org/details/quarterlystateme29pale/page/n3/mode/2up |year=1897}}
*{{cite book |last=Hawk |first=L. Daniel|title=Joshua in 3-D: A Commentary on Biblical Conquest and Manifest Destiny |publisher=[[Cascade Books]] |date=2010 |location=Eugene, Ore. |page=126 |language=en |oclc=636959402 |isbn=9781606088197 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Kallai-Kleinmann|first=Z.|title=The Town Lists of Judah, Simeon, Benjamin and Dan|journal=Vetus Testamentum|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden |volume=8|issue=2 |pages=134–160 |year=1958|doi=10.2307/1516086 |jstor=1516086|language=en }}
*{{Citation |contribution=כזיב |title=Encyclopedia of Biblical Geography |editor-last=Ne'eman|editor-first=Pinhas |publisher=Yehoshua Tchechik |place=Tel Aviv|year=1963–1966 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Negev |first1=Avraham|last2=Gibson|first2=Shimon |title=Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land|date=2001 |location=New York|language=en |isbn=978-0-8264-1316-1 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Notley |first1=R. Steven|last2=Safrai|first2=Z. |author-link2=Ze'ev Safrai |title=Eusebius, Onomasticon - The Place Names of Divine Scripture|publisher=Brill |date=2005 |location=Leiden |language= en |isbn=978-0-391-04217-9 }}
*{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft/page/n3/mode/2up|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]}}
*{{cite journal |last=Press|first=Michael D.|title=The Arabic Names of Tẹ̄l ʿẸ̄rānī and ʿIrāq el-Menšīye|journal=[[Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins]] |publisher=Deutscher verein zur Erforschung Palästinas |volume=130 |issue=2|pages=181–193|date=2014|jstor=43664932|language=en }}
*{{cite journal |last=Rainey |first=A.F.|title=The Biblical Shephelah of Judah |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |issue=251 |date=1983|pages=1–22|doi=10.2307/1356823|jstor= 1356823|s2cid=163604987}}
*{{Cite journal |last1=Zissu |first1=Boaz|author-link1=:he:בועז זיסו |last2=Ganor |first2=Amir|title=Survey and Excavations at Ḥorbat Burgin in the Judean Shephelah: Burial Caves, Hiding Complexes and Installations of the Second Temple and Byzantine Periods |journal='Atiqot |volume=58 |pages=60–64 |year=2008 |jstor=23464336}}
*{{cite journal |last=Zissu |first=Boaz|author-link=:he:בועז זיסו |title=Daniel in the Lion's Den (?) at Tel Lavnin, Judaean Shefelah|journal=[[Revue Biblique]]|volume=106|issue=4 |pages=563–573 |jstor=i40170804 |location=Jerusalem |date=1999|language=fr}}
*{{Citation |contribution=The Identification of Biblical Achzib at Khirbet ʿĒn el-Kizbe in the Judean Shephelah, and the Origins of Shimon Bar Kokhba |title='Go Out and Study the Land' (Judges 18:2) |last1=Zissu |first1=Boaz |author-link1=:he:בועז זיסו |last2=Gass |first2=Erasmus |publisher=Brill |place=Leiden|year=2011 |isbn=9789004214132 |doi=10.1163/9789004214132_023 |url=https://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/opus4/frontdoor/index/index/docId/94553 }}
{{refend}}
==External links==
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 21:  [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8383 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.21.jpg Wikimedia commons]
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Mateh Yehuda Regional Council]]
[[Category:Ancient sites in Israel]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Israel]]
[[Category:District of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Israel]]
[[Category:Canaanite cities]]
[[Category:Biblical geography]]
[[Category:Bronze Age sites in Israel]]
[[Category:Ancient Israel and Judah]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible cities]]
[[Category:Tells (archaeology)]]
[[Category:Bar Kokhba hiding complexes]]