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‘Atiqot 94 (2019)
EISSN 2948-040X
Front Matter
Atiqot 94
Keywords: Front Matter
Table of contents in Hebrew and in English
Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ: A Chalcolithic Habitation Site and Agricultural Installations in the Shephelah Foothills
(with contributions by Yossi Nagar and Deborah A. Sklar-Parnes, and by Gabriela Bijovsky)
(pp. 1–87)
Edwin C.M. van den Brink and Dorit Lazar
Keywords: Shephelah, settlement, cemetery, pottery, flint, ground stone tools, cupmarks
Excavations at the site revealed the remains of a Chalcolithic broadroom building and adjacent activity areas, which were used for processing agricultural produce and the storing thereof. Two karstic caves were used intermittently during the Chalcolithic period and Early Bronze Age I for domestic and burial purposes. Also uncovered was a single shaft tomb, dating from the Intermediate Bronze Age, various rock-cut installations and three limekilns. The Chalcolithic habitation remains date from around 4000 BCE, based on two calibrated Carbon-14 readings of carbonized olive stones. Finds recovered from the surface and in unassociated contexts point to sporadic occupation at this site from the Iron Age through the Ottoman periods.
The Chipped Stone Assemblage from Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ
(pp. 89–105)
Hamoudi Khalaily
Keywords: Shephelah, flint, settlement, typology, tools
A total of 3720 flint artifacts were collected, including waste products, characteristic of on-site flint-tool production. The Chalcolithic chipped stone assemblage from Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ is domestic in function and comprises a wide repertoire of types, among them some Chalcolithic-period hallmarks, typical of the Ghassul-Be’er Sheva‘ cultures. The finds from Nevallaṭ are a valuable addition to the regional corpus of the Judean Hills and the Shephelah.
Variability of the Ground Stone Artifacts from Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ
(pp. 107–130)
Yorke M. Rowan
Keywords: Shephelah, rock-cut features, agriculture, typology, production, industry
A total of 120 ground stone artifacts were recovered from the excavations at Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ. They represent an atypical group, presumably reflecting the distinct activities carried out in the different areas at the site. Many hammerstones were found in relation to rock-cut cupmarks, which are thought to have been used for the processing of agricultural products. Many basalt vessels were retrieved as well, including fenestrated stands and fine bowls, some exhibiting exterior decoration. The quality and quantity of the Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ assemblage suggests that the site’s inhabitants participated in networks distributing prestige objects, such as the basalt bowls; alternatively, stone workers may have traveled some distance to basalt sources to manufacture the bowls independently.
The Geological Setting of Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ
(pp. 131–136)
Eldad Barzilay
Keywords: Shephelah, geology, environment, limestone
This report focuses on the geo-archaeological setting of Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ, emphasizing the karstic nature of the chalk and nari manifested in the excavated rock shelter (Area A) and caves (Areas A and B).
Petrographic Results of Selected Chalcolithic Pottery Vessels from Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ
(pp. 137–140)
Anat Cohen-Weinberger
Keywords: Mediterranean, Shephelah, Yarqon basin, Ayyalon basin, Ramallah anticline, geology, clay
Multiple vessel types were analyzed petrographically, including bowls, cornets, pithoi and jars. The analyzed pottery was arranged into three petrographic groups: Group A, of local clay, comprised most of the assemblage; one jar was made of marl of the nearby Moẓa Formation (Group B); and one holemouth jar was identified as the Moẓa Formation clay member (Group C). The petrographic data widens our understanding of cultural interconnections and exchange patterns during the Chalcolithic period.
The Archaeobotanical Remains from Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ
(pp. 141–144)
Nili Liphschitz
Keywords: Mediterranean, Shephelah, cultivation, vegetation, dendroarchaeology, archaeobotany
The excavations at Ḥorbat Nevallaṭ yielded charred pieces of wood and carbonized olive stones, which were derived from two tree species:
Olea europaea
and
Quercus calliprinos
. AMS analysis indicated that the olive stones date to the Chalcolithic period. The stones’ dimensions are similar to those of olive stones found at contemporary sites, attesting that stone size is a valid metric for identification of cultivated trees.
Khirbat Burin: Rural Life during the Crusader and Mamluk Periods in the Eastern Sharon Plain
(pp. 145–217)
Raz Kletter and Edna J. Stern
Keywords: History, ethnicity, Islam, Christianity, shells, pilgrimage, Santiago de Compostella, Aegean glazed bowls, Levantine glazed bowls, Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, Hugh of Burin, rural population, metal finds, ground stone
The excavations at Khirbat Burin exposed a large complex of medieval buildings (Strata I–II), as well as fills with mixed materials, mostly dating to the late Byzantine–Early Islamic periods (Stratum III). Three building phases were observed in the building complex of Stratum II (a–c). The complex was probably established during the Crusader period (mid-twelfth–early thirteenth centuries CE; Stratum IIa), before the area was conquered by Baybars I in 1265 CE. The ethnicity of the dwellers in not clear; they might have been either Muslims or Franks. The Strata IIb–c horizon dates to the Mamluk period (late thirteenth–fourteenth centuries CE). The pottery of this phase includes Chinese Celadon vessels, mold-made glazed bowls and Italian imports. Stratum I postdates the building complex, but is still dated to within the Mamluk period (fourteenth–fifteenth centuries CE). Following this stratum, the area was not reoccupied, and the surface loci included only a few Ottoman-period sherds.
The Glass Vessels from Khirbat Burin
(pp. 219–240)
Yael Gorin-Rosen
Keywords: glass making, industry, furnace, workshop, primary glass production, secondary glass production
The glass vessels from Khirbat Burin are mainly dated to the Mamluk period. The pre-Mamluk glass vessels are common types of the Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, known from other sites in the region. Meager diagnostic remains of a glass industry were found at the site as well, including glass debris and small chunks of raw glass, probably dating to the Late Roman and early Byzantine periods. The well-dated group of Mamluk vessels is rather heterogeneous, presenting a wide range of vessel types, including decorated vessels with marvered trails and a vessel with remains of enamel painting. The glass finds are contemporary with the pottery found in the same contexts, i.e., from the late thirteenth to fourteenth centuries CE.
Metal Weights from Khirbat Burin
(pp. 241–243)
Raz Kletter
Keywords: Syria-Palestine, technology, measuring, weight system
Three metal weights retrieved from Khirbat Burin were used with small balances, either simple or folding. Weight No. 1 is a cubical iron weight, ranging in date from the late Fatimid to the Mamluk periods, and even as late as the nineteenth century CE. Weight Nos. 2 (a polyhedral) and 3 are made of bronze and were probably used for measuring coins during the Mamluk period.
The Coins from Khirbat Burin
(pp. 245–250)
Donald T. Ariel and Ariel Berman
Keywords: numismatics, Crusader period, Casal Neuf
The coins found at Khirbat Burin range in date from the Seleucid through the Mamlūk periods. The excavations yielded coins of the Byzantine (sixth–seventh centuries CE) and Early Islamic (eighth–twelfth centuries CE) periods, which heretofore have not been documented at the site.
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