Tel Mevorakh (Hebrew: תל מבורך) is a small mound situated on the southern bank of Nahal Taninim (River of the Crocodiles) in Israel.
The tel does not exceed 1 dunam (0.25 acres) but rises to a height of 15 metres (50 ft) above its surrounding plain.
The excavations were supervised by the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and headed by Ephraim Stern.
Its location, near the Mediterranean Coast, on the border between the wide Sharon plain and the narrow coast of Mount Carmel, which is bound by the mountain slopes to east and swamps to the west, has strategical significance as it makes it an obligatory passage for everyone who travels along the Via Maris international trade route from south to north and from north to south.
The mound's position on the southern bank of the Taninim River is also important, as the small but steady stream provides the site with fresh water.
Despite these important geographic benefits, the small size did not allow a significant settlement to exist in the site.
The middle layer contained a structure that covered the western side of the mound, which seems to have been a large farm.
The pottery found in this layer is mostly Hellenistic and seems to be replicas either locally made or imported from nearby mediterranean regions such as Egypt, Syria and Turkey.
[6] Tel Mevorakh and its surroundings were incorporated into the territory of the city of Caesarea, which was built by Herod the Great in the first century CE.
The only architectural discovery is a wall, on the northern slope, dated to the Roman period, whose purpose is not clear.
The ashlar-built structure contained two sculptured marble Sarcophagi, decorated with scenes from Greek mythology.
On part of the aqueduct, there are inscriptions of the Legio X Fretensis, one with an insignia as well as depictions of Nike and Atlas, two figures from the Greek mythology.
The mound probably used as a cemetery for a long time, as the earliest graves are attributed to the Crusaders and the latest to the 19th century AD.
This kind of jewelry usually belong to Arab peasants (Fellah) or nomads (Bedouin); One grave has a different shape than all others, as it was covered by small stones and contained the skeleton of an adult.
All of the graves were oriented east-west when the bodies are facing south, towards Mecca, in accordance to Muslim tradition.