Yibna

Yibna (Arabic: يبنا; Jabneh or Jabneel in Biblical times; Jamnia in Roman times; Ibelin to the Crusaders), or Tel Yavne, is an archaeological site and depopulated Palestinian town. The ruins are located southeast of the modern Israeli city of Yavne.

The town had a population of 5,420 in 1948, located 15 kilometers southwest of Ramla. Most of the population fled after the fall of al-Qubeiba and Zarnuqa in late May, but armed males were forced back. Israeli army took the town on June 5 and expelled the remaining population.

It is a significant site for post-biblical Jewish history, as it was the location of the Council of Jamnia, considered the birthplace of modern Rabbinic Judaism. It is also significant in the history of the Crusades, as the location of the House of Ibelin.

In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Yavne or Jabneh /ˈdʒæbnə/. In classical antiquity, it was known as Jamnia (Koine Greek: Ἰαμνία, romanized: Iamníā; Latin: Iamnia); to the Crusaders as Ibelin; and before 1948, as Yibna. (Arabic: يبنا)

Based on written sources and archaeology, the history of Yavneh/Jabneh/Yibna goes back to the Iron Age and possibly to the Bronze Age. The Hebrew Bible mentions Yavneh repeatedly, as does Josephus. For more see Yavne.

Salvage excavations carried out in 2001 by the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered several burials at the northern foot of the original tell. Most of the burials are dated to the later Iron Age. One burial points to a late Bronze Age occupation.

A large Philistine favissa (deposit of cultic artifacts) was discovered on Temple Hill. Two excavation seasons in the 2000s led by Professor Dan Bahat revealed some Iron Age remains.^{[citation needed]} Pottery sherds of the Iron Age and Persian period were discovered at the surface of the tell.

Originally a Phillistine settlement, the Second Book of the Maccabees gives an account of Judas Maccabeus destroying the original Gentile-inhabited city. After Alexander Jannaeus, rule of the city switched to Judea and the city developed a large Jewish population.