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The excavation at Tamra yielded important information concerning the Early Bronze Age on the eastern edge of the ‘Akko plain. The first recognizable settlement was established during EB IB. This phase was followed by an EB II settlement, whose pottery assemblage was typically dominated by a large number of Metallic Ware vessels. The major contribution of the excavation, however, is the documentation of an established settlement during EB III. The discovery of an EB III occupation that includes Khirbet Kerak Ware finally introduces this period and its pottery repertoire into the plain.

The burial cave was hewn into the side of a chalk spur southwest of the large rampart in the Lower City of Hazor. The entry to the cave was via a square shaft, at the bottom of which was an opening that led into a rectangular chamber, followed by another, elliptically-shaped chamber with a central stone platform. The two chambers yielded skeletal remains of at least seven children and adults, as well as potsherds and limestone beads from the Intermediate Bronze Age, and an intact jar and a jug from early in the Middle Bronze Age. It seems that the cave was first quarried out and used in the Intermediate Bronze Age, probably by the inhabitants of the neighboring settlement at Tel Hazor. The cave was reused for burial early in MB I. 

The excavation revealed five strata, dating from Late Bronze Age III (Stratum V), early Iron Age I (Stratum IV), Iron Age I (Stratum III/3), and the Roman (Stratum 2), Byzantine (Stratum III/1) and modern (Stratum I) periods. The ceramic assemblage of the LB III stratum is characteristic of the end of Egyptian rule in Canaan (Dynasty XX). This Canaanite site was destroyed in the second half of the twelfth century BCE, probably as part of the collapse of Egyptian rule in Canaan. A successive occupation of the site occurred during Iron I, as indicated by the pottery assemblage and supported by biblical and historical sources. Fragmentary remains from the Middle Roman period (mid-third century CE) were found, probably belonging to dispersed farmsteads, including grinding installations, mosaic-paved installations and floors. The Byzantine architectural remains date to the fifth century CE, and perhaps continued in use until the Early Islamic period.

A salvage excavation on the southwestern face of Tel Hadid reached the bottom of a water cistern. The cistern’s ceiling probably collapsed in antiquity, sealing its contents. The fill contained a large quantity of human skeletal remains and pottery from the end of the Late Bronze Age (thirteenth–twelfth centuries BCE), suggesting that the assemblage originated in an adjacent cave. 

Three excavation areas were opened, exposing terraces, enclosure walls, dams, stone-clearance heaps, cairns, watchman’s booths, roads, winepresses, fence walls, caves or rock shelters, limekilns, cup marks and cisterns. The excavation recovered very little pottery. The site probably began to be intensively farmed in the Iron Age and Persian period. It reached its peak in the Late Hellenistic–Early Roman periods, when almost all the features in the compound were in use. A limited activity in the compound took place during the Byzantine period, continuing into the Early Islamic period. 

The cave was hewn in a cliff; it has a roughly square plan. A corridor leads to three hewn steps with a standing pit at the bottom. Wide benches, on three sides of the standing pit, were used to place the deceased and their funerary offerings. An ossuary with a lid and four legs, was found, decorated with incised motifs. The cave yielded skeletal remains belonging to 13 individuals and pottery dated to the second–first centuries BCE. A few bronze artifacts were also recovered: a ladle, small bottles, kohl sticks and amulets. The cave appears to have been a family burial cave that was used in the Hasmonean and Herodian periods. 

The Qula hoard (n = 2019) was found in a farmhouse located within the hinterland of Diospolis (Roman Lydda). The hoard consists exclusively of radiate antoniniani and aurelianiani, containing less than 50% silver, which were issued by the Roman emperors in the third century CE. The exact reasons for the concealment of the hoard remain unclear. The hoard’s composition suggests that it was deposited in the early 290s CE, before the new currencies of Diocletian’s reform (293/4–296 CE) were introduced. The coins were issued almost exclusively in Eastern mints (Antioch, ‘Samosata’ and Tripolis), indicating that the coins from these mints circulated locally. The deposition date of the Qula hoard in the late 290s CE parallels at least eight other Syrian hoards with similar composition and deposit dates. This phenomenon seems to suggest that the hoarding of antoniniani and aurelianiani was the consequence of the monetary reforms of Diocletian and the subsequent hyperinflation that occurred between 293 and 301 CE. 

For the Coin Catalogue click here

A Byzantine church was uncovered at the site. It was divided by two rows of pillars into a nave and two narrow aisles, and was entered from an atrium in the west via three openings. The nave was paved with a colored mosaic, of which nine rows were uncovered. The central vertical row contained a Greek dedicatory inscription, which dates the erection of the church to the time of Bishop Johannes in 511/12 CE. Fragments of liturgical furniture were found scattered in the nave, together with pottery fragments and roof tiles. This church is an important contribution to our understanding of the distribution of churches in the southern coastal plain.