Tel Rehov
"Mosaic of Rehob" from Khirbet Farwana/Horvat Parva near Tel Rehov
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 Shown within Israel
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| Coordinates | 32°27′26″N 35°29′54″E / 32.457125°N 35.498242°E |
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Rehov (also Rehob), meaning "broad", "wide place", was an important Bronze and Iron Age city located at Tel Rehov (Hebrew: תל רחוב), an archaeological site in the Jordan Valley, Israel, approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Beit She'an and 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of the Jordan River.
The site represents one of the largest ancient city mounds in Israel, its surface area comprising 120,000 square metres (1,300,000 sq ft) in size, divided into an "Upper City" (40,000 square metres (430,000 sq ft)) and a "Lower City" (80,000 square metres (860,000 sq ft)). The oldest known archaeological finds relating to beekeeping were discovered at Rehov. Rehov was a joint Israelite-Canaanite city, and had an estimated population of 2,000.
Archaeological excavations have been conducted at Rehov since 1997 under the directorship of Amihai Mazar, Professor at the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and with the primary sponsorship of John Camp.
Iron Age II levels of the site have emerged as a vitally important component in the current debate regarding the chronology of the United Monarchy of Israel. Important data has also been forthcoming regarding the Early Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age and medieval occupation of the site.
In 2013, the team reported the discovery of a building that might have been the house of Elisha the prophet.
In September 2007 it was reported that 30 intact beehives and the remains of 100-200 more dated to the mid-10th century BCE to the early 9th century BCE were found by archaeologists in the ruins of Rehov. The beehives were evidence of an advanced honey-producing beekeeping (apiculture) industry 3000 years ago in the city, then thought to have a population of about 2000 residents at that time, both Israelite and Canaanite. The beehives, made of straw and unbaked clay, were found in orderly rows of 100 hives. Previously, references to honey in ancient texts of the region (such as the phrase "land of milk and honey" in the Hebrew Bible) were thought to refer only to honey derived from dates and figs; the discoveries show evidence of commercial production of bee honey and beeswax.
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