The site was first excavated by a German team led by Ernst Sellin from 1913 to 1914. After the end of World War I, work by Sellin was resumed in 1926 and lasted until 1934 with the last few seasons led by G. Welter. Excavations were conducted at Tell Balata by the
American Schools of Oriental Research,
Drew University, and the
McCormick Theological Seminary in 8 seasons between 1956 and 1964 when the West Bank was under the rule of
Jordan. Archaeologists who took part in this expedition included Paul and Nancy Lapp,
Albert Glock, Lawrence Toombs, Edward Campbell, Robert Bull, Joe Seeger, and
William G. Dever, among others. Further excavations are to be undertaken by
Palestinian archaeologists along with students from the
University of Leiden in the
Netherlands as part of a joint effort funded by the Dutch government. A small quadrangular altar discovered in Tell Balata, similar to ones found in other Iron Age sites such as
Tel Arad and
Tel Dan, may have been used for burning
incense. One of the oldest coins discovered in Palestine was an
electrum Greek Macedonian coin, dated to circa 500 BC, found at Tell Balata. There is evidence that the site was inhabited in the
Hellenistic period until the end of the 2nd century BC. This Hellenistic era city was founded in the late 4th century BC and extended over an area of 6 hectares. The built structure shows evidence of considerable damage dated to the 190s BC, and attributed to
Antiochus III's conquest of Israel. Habitation continued until the final destruction of the city at this site in the late 2nd century BC. Further excavations were carried out between 2010 and 2011. ==References==