Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Archaeological Anthropology Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 31 - 60 of 69

Full-Text Articles in Archaeological Anthropology

Khirbat Shumeila: Buildings From The Persian And Hellenistic Periods And Installations In Their Surroundings / ח'ירבת שומילה: מבנים מהתקופות הפרסית וההלניסטית ומתקנים בסביבתם, Elena Kogan-Zehavi Mar 2026

Khirbat Shumeila: Buildings From The Persian And Hellenistic Periods And Installations In Their Surroundings / ח'ירבת שומילה: מבנים מהתקופות הפרסית וההלניסטית ומתקנים בסביבתם, Elena Kogan-Zehavi

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

Salvage excavations at Khirbat Shumeila identified four strata spanning the late Persian, early Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. The primary remains comprise two structures: Building 25, which features two distinct construction phases dating to the late Persian and early Hellenistic periods, and Building 6, dating to the Hellenistic period. These buildings, along with the installations uncovered within and around them, indicate intensive agricultural activity, suggesting their function as farmsteads. Their proximity to additional adjacent farmsteads implies their integration into a regional agricultural network established during the fourth-century BCE Persian administrative reorganization—a configuration that continued uninterrupted into the early Hellenistic period. …


Yafo, Ha-Te‘Uda Ha-Aduma Street: The Military Finds / יפו, רחוב התעודה האדומה: ממצא צבאי, Alexander Glick Feb 2026

Yafo, Ha-Te‘Uda Ha-Aduma Street: The Military Finds / יפו, רחוב התעודה האדומה: ממצא צבאי, Alexander Glick

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation on Ha-Te‘uda Ha-Aduma Street in Yafo uncovered fourteen military items, including two cannonballs and twelve small-caliber bullets. A correlation of these finds with historical sources and with modern and eighteenth–nineteenth-century maps suggests that the military items uncovered in the excavation were related to one or more of the historical sieges of Yafo: the siege laid by Muhammad Beq Abu-Dahab in 1775–1776, during which a siege battery was constructed within the area of the present excavation; or Napoleon’s siege in 1799, whose batteries were likewise positioned within the excavation area.


Yafo, Ha-TeʻUda Ha-Aduma Street: The Glass Finds, Brigitte Ouahnouna Feb 2026

Yafo, Ha-TeʻUda Ha-Aduma Street: The Glass Finds, Brigitte Ouahnouna

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at Ha-Te‘uda Ha-Aduma Street in Yafo yielded about fifty glass items dating from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries CE. These include imported and locally produced medicine, cosmetic and beverage bottles, as well as bracelet fragments of common types that first appeared in the Mamluk period and remained in use through the Ottoman period and into recent times. The finds reflect a modest repertoire associated with local daily life at the beginning of the twentieth century.


Yafo, Ha-TeʻUda Ha-Aduma Street: Late Ottoman Porcelain And Ceramics, Anna De Vincenz Feb 2026

Yafo, Ha-TeʻUda Ha-Aduma Street: Late Ottoman Porcelain And Ceramics, Anna De Vincenz

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The salvage excavations on Ha-Teʻuda Ha-Aduma street in Yafo yielded a small Late Ottoman ceramic and porcelain vessel assemblage. Porcelain and hard-paste vessels were imported from Europe, whereas glazed earthenware vessels were imported from Europe and Turkey. Among the locally made vessels were Black Gaza Ware and other coarse ware vessels. Many roof tiles, complete and fragmentary, as well as bricks, were imported mainly from Marseille, France. Only a few smoking pipes and narghile were found; these were either locally produced or originated in Turkey.


Yafo, Ha-Te‘Uda Ha-Aduma Street: Remains Of The Al-Hureish Neighborhood From The Late Ottoman Period And British Mandate Era / יפו, רחוב התעודה האדומה: שרידי שכונת אל־הורייש משלהי התקופה העות'מאנית וימי המנדט הבריטי, Ayelet Dayan, Yoav Arbel Feb 2026

Yafo, Ha-Te‘Uda Ha-Aduma Street: Remains Of The Al-Hureish Neighborhood From The Late Ottoman Period And British Mandate Era / יפו, רחוב התעודה האדומה: שרידי שכונת אל־הורייש משלהי התקופה העות'מאנית וימי המנדט הבריטי, Ayelet Dayan, Yoav Arbel

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at the corner of Yehuda Ha-Yamit and Ha-Te‘uda Ha-Aduma Streets in Yafo uncovered remains dating to the eighteenth–twentieth centuries CE, including those of the late Ottoman and British Mandate neighborhood of al-Hureish. The earliest construction remains at the site, dated to the second half of the nineteenth century CE, suggest agricultural activity in the area or early residential structures with channels installed for drainage. This construction was later disrupted by a wall, possibly part of the eastern wall of the al-Hureish neighborhood, built in a subsequent phase. The main significance of the excavation was the al-Hureish neighborhood, founded …


Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Textile Impressions, Orit Shamir Jan 2026

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Textile Impressions, Orit Shamir

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

During the excavations at Kibbutz Megiddo (al-Lajjun), thirteen linen textile impressions and coiling marks on pottery were discovered. The textile impressions exhibit either a delicate or a crude texture. Textiles were used to cover ceramic vessels to prevent them from drying too quickly, which could cause the vessel to crack. Impressions on the interior of vessels suggest that they were modeled, apparently using clay coils, around a textile bag filled with wet sand, which provided their general rounded shape. The basketry impressions on the bases of pottery vessels were not created intentionally but resulted from placing freshly shaped pots on …


Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Faunal Remains, Guy Bar-Oz, Laila Abado Jan 2026

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Faunal Remains, Guy Bar-Oz, Laila Abado

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This report discusses a small bone assemblage retrieved from the Hellenistic–Mamluk strata at Kibbutz Megiddo (al-Lajjun). The assemblage is predominantly composed of livestock taxa, including sheep, goats, cattle and chickens. Notably, camel bones are present in almost all strata, with the exception of the Hellenistic period stratum. Pathological analysis of cattle foot bones suggests that these animals were also used as beasts of burden.


Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Coins, Ariel Berman, Gabriela Bijovsky Jan 2026

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Coins, Ariel Berman, Gabriela Bijovsky

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The 61 coins discovered during the excavations at Kibbutz Megiddo provide modest numismatic evidence for a multi-period site, dating from the Seleucid to the Mamluk periods. However, the starting date of occupation could not be established, as the early coins were found in disturbed loci. The majority of the Islamic coins belong to the Mamluk dynasty. Of special interest is an Il-Khānid fals found in a Mamluk context.


Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Glass Finds, Tamar Winter Jan 2026

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): The Glass Finds, Tamar Winter

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The glass finds from the site at Kibbutz Megiddo cover a long chronological range, from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries CE. The significance of this assemblage lies predominantly in the presentation of glass finds from the Early Islamic and Mamluk periods, as published specimens from these periods in the Megiddo region are quite scarce. Moreover, many of the vessels from the Early Islamic and Mamluk periods are elaborately decorated, supporting the notion of an affluent population at the site in these periods.


Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): Remains From The Hellenistic–Mamluk Periods / קיבוץ מגידו (א־לג'ון): שרידים מהתקופות ההלניסטית עד הממלוכית, Yotam Tepper, Edna J. Stern Jan 2026

Kibbutz Megiddo (Al-Lajjun): Remains From The Hellenistic–Mamluk Periods / קיבוץ מגידו (א־לג'ון): שרידים מהתקופות ההלניסטית עד הממלוכית, Yotam Tepper, Edna J. Stern

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at Kibbutz Megiddo revealed eight strata dating to the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Crusader and Mamluk periods, as well as a modern stratum. The remains indicate an almost continuous sequence of settlement at the site from the third century BCE to the present. For the first time, remains dated to the Hellenistic, Early, Middle and Late Islamic periods are documented in the Legio-Megiddo region. The Roman finds likely represent a settlement in the vicinity of the Roman legion base and the Jewish village of Kefar ‘Othnay. Its inhabitants maintained trade connections with nearby settlements and urban centers …


Khallat Abu Ḥalaḥ: The Shells / ח'לת אבו חלאח: ממצא הקונכיות, Inbar Ktalav Aug 2025

Khallat Abu Ḥalaḥ: The Shells / ח'לת אבו חלאח: ממצא הקונכיות, Inbar Ktalav

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavations at Khallat Abu Halah uncovered 24 shells, including 14 marine shells from the Mediterranean Sea, two freshwater bivalves—one local and the other originating from the Nile—and eight terrestrial snails. Most of the shells were dated to the Byzantine period but were not found in situ, making it difficult to interpret their use. The Mediterranean shells indicate a connection to the Mediterranean coast, whereas the freshwater bivalve from the Nile suggests connections with Egypt, likely via Caesarea. The terrestrial species are similar to those found in the region today, indicating that the environmental conditions in the area during the …


Khallat Abu ḤAlaḥ: The Coins, Gabriela Bijovsky Aug 2025

Khallat Abu ḤAlaḥ: The Coins, Gabriela Bijovsky

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

A modest number of coins was discovered during the excavations at Khallat Abu Ḥalaḥ, dating from the fourth to the mid-seventh centuries CE. Most of the coins belong to common types that deserve no special discussion. Noteworthy is a rare Alexandrian dodecanummium of Maurice Tiberius. The latest coin is a very worn follis of Heraclius, dated to 624/628 CE.


Khallat Abu ḤAlaḥ: A Byzantine-Period Structure At Ramot Menashe / ח'לת אבו חלאח: מבנה מן התקופה הביזנטית ברמות מנשה, Ron Be'eri Aug 2025

Khallat Abu ḤAlaḥ: A Byzantine-Period Structure At Ramot Menashe / ח'לת אבו חלאח: מבנה מן התקופה הביזנטית ברמות מנשה, Ron Be'eri

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at Khallat Abu Ḥalaḥ uncovered part of a Byzantine-period structure comprising several rectangular rooms, corresponding to five construction phases. One of these rooms may have functioned as a bathhouse. Remains of another nearby structure decorated with a cross were also revealed, along with the upper fragment of a small chalkstone altar incised with a cross; a road paved with small stones and flanked by two walls that led to the site and continued toward Naḥal Dalia; and several field walls, one of which may have served as an enclosure. The finds from the site—including a fragment of a …


Eshta’Ol: The Lithic Assemblages, Omry Barzilai Aug 2025

Eshta’Ol: The Lithic Assemblages, Omry Barzilai

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This report presents four lithic assemblages recovered from Areas B–F at the site of Eshta’ol. All assemblages primarily utilize locally available flint types, notably brecciated Campanian and semitranslucent Eocene/Senonian flints. The technological organization is dominated by flake and flakelet industries, with evidence of local knapping activities and the reuse of older tools across periods. Diagnostic tools and technologies indicate distinct occupational phases associated with the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), Pottery Neolithic (Yarmukian), Early and Late Chalcolithic (Wadi Rabah, Ghassulian) and Early Bronze Age. Despite prolonged occupation, formal tool frequencies remain low, particularly during the Early Bronze Age, suggesting that Eshta’ol …


Eshta’Ol: Faunal Remains From The Chalcolithic Period And Bronze Age, Edward F. Maher Aug 2025

Eshta’Ol: Faunal Remains From The Chalcolithic Period And Bronze Age, Edward F. Maher

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This article presents a zooarchaeological study of a small faunal assemblage recovered from Areas B, D and E at Eshta’ol, dating to the Late Chalcolithic period (Stratum IV), Early Bronze Age IB (Stratum III) and Intermediate Bronze Age (Stratum II). A total of 250 bone fragments were analyzed, with 86 identifiable specimens representing eight species, primarily from the EB IB stratum. The assemblage is dominated by domestic animals—especially caprines, cattle and pigs. Mortality profiles based on epiphyseal fusion and dental wear indicate a preference for secondary products—such as wool, milk and dung—over meat consumption. Small-scale farming and agricultural activity may …


Eshta’Ol: A Protohistoric And Bronze Age Site In The Judean Shephelah, Amir Golani, Benyamin Storchan Aug 2025

Eshta’Ol: A Protohistoric And Bronze Age Site In The Judean Shephelah, Amir Golani, Benyamin Storchan

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This report presents the results of several excavations at Eshta’ol, which revealed occupation remains from six strata, dating from the Neolithic period to the Intermediate Bronze Age. These excavations were the first to identify occupational horizons dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B and Pottery Neolithic periods (Jericho IX/Lodite cultures), including significant flint and ceramic assemblages. The Early (Wadi Rabah) and Late Chalcolithic remains at Eshta’ol indicate a small settlement with two occupation phases. The large Early Bronze Age settlement at the site comprised at least four occupational phases, all associated with EB IB, reflecting a long-lived, preplanned rural village that …


Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: Geomorphology And Sedimentology, Joel Roskin, Yotam Asscher Jul 2025

Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: Geomorphology And Sedimentology, Joel Roskin, Yotam Asscher

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

An extensive brown sandy double-unit sediment, draping large parts of the archaeological remains at the Winepress Park in Rishon Le-Ẓiyyon, is suggested to be associated with the previously reported, undated ʻEn Ha-Qore clay. Based on relative age port-OSL profiling, the depositional mechanism of this unit and the overlying sand is suggested to be related to late Holocene, dune-dammed winter ponds. These aeolian-fluvial dune-damming processes may have been partly triggered by intensive Byzantine human activity that may have led to sand mobilization.


Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: The Coins, Helena Sokolov, Lior Sandberg Jul 2025

Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: The Coins, Helena Sokolov, Lior Sandberg

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at the Winepress Park in Rishon Le-Ẓiyyon uncovered 26 bronze coins, 22 of which were identified. The coins range in date from the fourth century CE to the Umayyad period. The earliest coin is of Constantius II, dated to 341–346 CE, while the latest coins are Umayyad Post-Reform issues. The coin data is consistent with the archaeological context of the excavation and confirms the excavator’s conclusion that the site can be dated to the period of the sixth–ninth centuries CE.


Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: Early Islamic Pottery / ראשון לציון, גן הגיתות: ממצא כלי החרס מן התקופה האסלאמית הקדומה, Hagit Torgë Jul 2025

Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: Early Islamic Pottery / ראשון לציון, גן הגיתות: ממצא כלי החרס מן התקופה האסלאמית הקדומה, Hagit Torgë

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavations at the Winepress Park in Rishon Le-Ẓiyyon uncovered a large pottery assemblage dated to the Early Islamic period. The assemblage was discovered in three squares, in clay soil that was exposed after the sand dune covering the site was removed. The repertoire included simple bowls, open cooking pots, jars, jugs, a flask and an oil lamp. Most of the vessels were simple household wares, suggesting that during this period the site was a rural, possibly isolated, farmstead. The absence of glazed or imported vessels may indicate the poor economic status of its inhabitants. While most of the vessels …


Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: Byzantine Pottery / ראשון לציון, גן הגיתות: ממצא כלי חרס מן התקופה הביזנטית, Aviva Bouchenino, Ayelet Dayan Jul 2025

Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: Byzantine Pottery / ראשון לציון, גן הגיתות: ממצא כלי חרס מן התקופה הביזנטית, Aviva Bouchenino, Ayelet Dayan

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavations at the Winepress Park in Rishon Le-Ẓiyyon uncovered a large pottery assemblage dated to the Byzantine period, including locally produced bowls, casseroles, cooking pots and bag-shaped jars, as well as bowls imported from Asia Minor, Cyprus and Tunisia. The rich and varied assemblage uncovered at the site, along with architectural remains, may indicate that this was a residential area—possibly a farmhouse inhabited by tenant farmers who operated the nearby winepresses. The pottery vessels served as a primary dating tool and contributed to establishing the site’s chronology. The ceramic finds, together with the numerous repairs identified in the winepresses, …


Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: Remains Of Agricultural Activity From The Byzantine And Early Islamic Periods And Remains From The Ottoman Period And The British Mandate Era / ראשון לציון, גן הגיתות: שרידי פעילות חקלאית מהתקופות הביזנטית והאסלאמית הקדומה ושרידים מהתקופה העות'מאנית ומימי המנדט הבריטי, Ayelet Dayan, Aviva Bouchenino Jul 2025

Rishon Le-ẒIyyon, Winepress Park: Remains Of Agricultural Activity From The Byzantine And Early Islamic Periods And Remains From The Ottoman Period And The British Mandate Era / ראשון לציון, גן הגיתות: שרידי פעילות חקלאית מהתקופות הביזנטית והאסלאמית הקדומה ושרידים מהתקופה העות'מאנית ומימי המנדט הבריטי, Ayelet Dayan, Aviva Bouchenino

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

Five excavation seasons conducted in and around the archaeological Winepress Park in Rishon Le-Ẓiyyon uncovered the agricultural hinterland of a settlement active during the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods. The finds included architectural remains, three winepresses and several installations. The locally produced and imported domestic pottery from the Byzantine period suggests a residential zone—possibly a farmhouse—that likely served the tenants operating the nearby winepresses. The number and size of the winepresses indicate that wine production at the site was intended not only for local consumption but also for export. Activity at the site ceased during the Early Islamic period, when …


Shoham: A Byzantine-Period Farmhouse (Monastery?) / שוהם: בית אחוזה (מנזר?) מן התקופה הביזנטית, Israel Kornfeld, Ayelet Dayan Jul 2025

Shoham: A Byzantine-Period Farmhouse (Monastery?) / שוהם: בית אחוזה (מנזר?) מן התקופה הביזנטית, Israel Kornfeld, Ayelet Dayan

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

Two salvage excavation seasons conducted in the center of the Ḥamanyot neighborhood in Shoham uncovered the remains of a large building, adjacent tombs, a complex winepress and several additional agricultural installations, all dating to the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods (sixth–eighth centuries CE). The building can be identified as either a large farmhouse or a monastery. Its solid walls, agricultural installations and small finds—such as fragments of glass windows, a marble chancel-screen column and a marble table leg likely from an offering table—all indicate the presence of a church at the site, supporting the interpretation that the building functioned as …


ModiʻIn, Nofim Neighborhood: The Flint Assemblage From A Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Site, Polina Spivak May 2025

ModiʻIn, Nofim Neighborhood: The Flint Assemblage From A Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Site, Polina Spivak

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

Remains of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A site were revealed during a salvage excavation conducted along a range of hills bordering Modiʻin to the west. An area of c. 80 dunams was sampled and probed, yielding a total of 4572 flint items; no architectural remains of this period were found. A comprehensive analysis of a sample of 1170 flint items revealed evidence of intensive local manufacture of bifacial tools, indicating the site functioned as a production center. The collected data augment the recorded assemblages from comparable sites in the area.


Modi‘In, Nofim Neighborhood: Animal Bones, Nimrod Marom May 2025

Modi‘In, Nofim Neighborhood: Animal Bones, Nimrod Marom

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This report describes a very small collection of animal bones from a karstic cave and an unfinished cistern excavated in Nofim Neighborhood in Modi‘in. It appears to comprise domesticated animals in secondary or tertiary deposition. Many of the bones represent donkeys and dogs, and therefore cannot be considered food refuse.


Modi‘In, Nofim Neighborhood: Remains From The Neolithic And Persian–Byzantine Periods / מודיעין, שכונת נופים: שרידים מן התקופות הניאוליתית והפרסית–הביזנטית, Elie Haddad May 2025

Modi‘In, Nofim Neighborhood: Remains From The Neolithic And Persian–Byzantine Periods / מודיעין, שכונת נופים: שרידים מן התקופות הניאוליתית והפרסית–הביזנטית, Elie Haddad

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

A vast salvage excavation was conducted in Complex N, an area designated for the construction of the Nofim neighborhood in Modi‘in. The excavation documented 130 find spots, including agricultural terraces, partition and boundary walls, dams, stone heaps, watchtowers, roads, winepresses, fences (pens), rock shelters, lime kilns, cupmarks, caves, shafts, cisterns and modern walls. It also revealed a fortress with adjacent casemate rooms dating to the Persian and Early Hellenistic periods, which could have been used by Persian military forces. Byzantine-period remains consisted of a farmstead, winepresses and terraces, indicating the agricultural character of the region.


Lubiya (El-Khirbeh): A Late Hellenistic, Roman And Early Byzantine Village In Lower Galilee, Yardenna Alexandre, Michal Oren-Paskal, Gil Tsioni Apr 2025

Lubiya (El-Khirbeh): A Late Hellenistic, Roman And Early Byzantine Village In Lower Galilee, Yardenna Alexandre, Michal Oren-Paskal, Gil Tsioni

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

A small archaeological excavation carried out in 2005–2007 on a hilltop in the Lavi Forest in Lower Galilee uncovered a small area of the village of Lubiya that was settled in the Late Hellenistic to early Byzantine periods. The earliest exposed building complex was constructed on the bedrock and comprised parts of two residential units with a shared long wall, an internal courtyard and several rooms. An underground complex beneath the units comprised individual basement storage elements that were subsequently joined to form an underground hiding complex, dated by the associated finds to the time of the First Jewish Revolt …


Ras El-‘Amud, Jerusalem: The Flint Assemblage, Jacob Vardi Mar 2025

Ras El-‘Amud, Jerusalem: The Flint Assemblage, Jacob Vardi

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at Ras el-‘Amud yielded 599 flint items, all discovered in the Intermediate Bronze Age (IBA) and Middle Bronze Age IIA (MB IIA) strata. These include debris items, debitage items, flake cores and tools, reflecting a non-standardized, flake-based industry. The assemblage shows continuity with Early Bronze Age traditions. It consists mainly of ad hoc tools used for various domestic tasks, with Canaanean sickle blades indicating cereal harvesting and testifying to crop agriculture as part of the site’s subsistence economy. No non-Canaanean sickle blades can be attributed to the MB IIA, possibly reflecting a different economic strategy during this period …


Ras El-‘Amud, Jerusalem: Faunal Remains From The Intermediate Bronze And Middle Bronze Age Settlement, Nimrod Marom Mar 2025

Ras El-‘Amud, Jerusalem: Faunal Remains From The Intermediate Bronze And Middle Bronze Age Settlement, Nimrod Marom

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The small faunal assemblage from Ras el-‘Amud provides insights into the economic strategies of a rural settlement during a period of urban growth. A shift from a self-sufficient goat and pig economy to a specialized sheep-focused one is observed, likely driven by urban demand. Analysis of caprine skeletal remains suggests consumption patterns and potential ritualistic practices. The Middle Bronze IIA village exhibits a decrease in butchery waste, possibly due to changes in spatial organization or waste disposal practices. The assemblage offers valuable insights into the economic and social dynamics of rural settlements during the Middle Bronze Age.


Ras El-‘Amud, Jerusalem: A Hebrew Inscription Engraved On A Jar Handle, Daniel Vainstub Mar 2025

Ras El-‘Amud, Jerusalem: A Hebrew Inscription Engraved On A Jar Handle, Daniel Vainstub

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavations at Ras el-‘Amud yielded a partially preserved Hebrew inscription engraved on the handle of a storage jar before firing. The surviving part of the inscription reads: נחם ⸱ [ל ] ר̇̇ם—“(belongs) [to ]rm (son of) Nḥm.” All the letters of the inscription are paleographically consistent with the Hebrew script of the eighth–seventh centuries BCE. A short, semi-oblique stroke descending from upper-left to lower-right was used to divide the words. Personal names constructed on the root nḥm (“console”, “comfort”) are very common in the Hebrew onomasticon, as well as in other West Semitic languages. The suffix רם …


Ras El-‘Amud, Jerusalem: The Groundstone Tool Assemblage, Aaron Greener Mar 2025

Ras El-‘Amud, Jerusalem: The Groundstone Tool Assemblage, Aaron Greener

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavations at Ras el-‘Amud yielded 71 identified groundstone tools, 55 of which were discovered in the Intermediate Bronze Age (IBA) strata, with the remaining 16 found in the Iron Age and Roman/Byzantine strata and in unclear contexts. These tools mainly comprise hammerstones, likely associated with the production of flint tools at the site, as well as perforated stones, mortars, bowlets, rubbing stones, a grinding stone, a pestle and some other tools. The identified groundstone tools suggest activities related to the processing of cereals, grains and other agricultural produce, as well as possible animal fiber processing and various domestic tasks …