Eshkol National Park (Hebrew: גן לאומי אשכול) is a national park located in Northern Negev, Israel, near Gaza.[1]
| Eshkol National Park | |
|---|---|
| גן לאומי אשכול | |
 Blooming flowers & palm trees in the park | |
  Location in Israel | |
| Location | Southern District, Israel |
| Coordinates | 31°18′29.05″N 34°29′22.19″E / 31.3080694°N 34.4894972°E |
| Eshkol National Park | |
History
edit
The 875-acre park offers lawns and shaded picnic areas and boasts at its centre the largest spring in the Nahal Besor/Wadi Ghazzeh basin, known in Hebrew as Ein HaBesor and in Arabic as Ein Shellal. The spring taps the near-surface aquifer, which is fed by the runoff of winter rains.[2]
East of the springs,[3] the mound of Khirbet Shellal dominates the landscape. At Shellal ANZAC troops discovered during the World War I Second Battle of Gaza an elaborate floor mosaic depicting a variety of animals,[4] part of the ruins of a Byzantine church. The mosaic is now displayed in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.[2] Shellal is located some 3 km northeast, and across the valley of Nahal Besor/Wadi Ghazzeh, from the more famous biblical archaeological site of Tell el-Farah (South).[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Besor brook (Nahal Habesor) in the Eshkol National Park". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ a b "The inauguration of the Anzac Trail in the Negev – May 2012". Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ^ Jewish National Fund, The Besor Park and Route
- ^ Sketch of the mosaic at Fig. 11
External links
edit- Jewish National Fund, Eshkol National Park (Besor).
- Jewish National Fund, The ANZAC Trail: From the Be'eri Badlands to Beersheba.
- Paul Daley, a detailed rendering of how the Shellal Mosaic was found and removed
- Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealanders in Sinai and Palestine: The Shellal Mosaic