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‘Atiqot 70 (2012) EISSN 2948-040X

Front Matter
Atiqot 70
Keywords: Front Matter
Table of contents in Hebrew and in English

A Burial Cave from Iron Age II and the Early Roman Period North of Tel Hadid (with a contribution by Yossi Nagar) (Hebrew, pp. 1–20; English summary, p. 79*)
Eli Yannai
Keywords: burial, grave goods, chronology, anthropology
A hewn burial cave north of Tel Hadid was used for interment during Iron Age II and the Early Roman period. The rectangular burial chamber has three hewn shelves in its walls and an elliptical bone repository below the western shelf. Numerous bones were found on the shelves, discarded with other artifacts. The Iron Age finds include ceramic artifacts and a stone bowl. The finds from the Early Roman phase comprise pottery vessels; no ossuaries were discovered.

Horbat Burin (East): Remains of Buildings and a Pottery Kiln from the Persian to the Beginning of the Early Islamic Periods (with contributions by Yael Gorin-Rosen and Helena Sokolov) (Hebrew, pp. 21–31; English summary, pp. 80*–81*)

Uzi ‘Ad
Keywords: industry, pottery production
Excavations at Horbat Burin, in the northern Sharon plain, were carried out on the eastern fringes of the tell. Two areas (A and B) were exposed. In Area A, a round pottery kiln, dating to the end of the Byzantine period (sixth–seventh centuries CE), was exposed almost in its entirety. In Area B, remains from three building phases (V–III) were uncovered: a building from the Hellenistic period; a bathhouse, dated to the Byzantine period; and a massive building, which was in use between the end of the Byzantine and the beginning of the Early Islamic periods.

Pottery from the Persian and Hellenistic Periods at Horbat Burin (East) (Hebrew, pp. 33–38; English summary, p. 82*)

Hagit Torge
Keywords: ceramics, typology, chronology
The pottery finds from the Phase V building at Horbat Burin (East) were uncovered within a fill underlying the foundation of the floor, inside the foundation itself and above it. No intact or restorable vessels were found. The finds from the fill represent types, characteristic of the Persian and Hellenistic periods. The finds from the floor foundation also date to these periods. The pottery above the foundation of the floor dates to a later Hellenistic phase, thus determining the building’s final stage. No post-Hellenistic pottery types were observed.

The Aqueducts of Nahal Bet Ha-‘Emeq (pp. 1*–19*)
Rafael Frankel
Keywords: Galilee, water systems, agriculture, technology, daggers, industry, burial
Remains of three parallel aqueducts (A–C) were found over a distance of about 6 km along Nahal Bet Ha-‘Emeq. Aqueduct A is partly a tunnel with vertical shafts and partly a channel; Aqueduct B is a wide channel; and Aqueduct C is a narrow channel. Sections of the tunnels were completely filled with soil, while others were empty. The ceramic evidence suggests that Aqueducts A and C were hewn in the Hellenistic period, while Aqueduct B could be slightly later. After the aqueducts were abandoned, the region was terraced for agricultural use. In addition to the three aqueducts, a shaft tomb from the Intermediate Bronze Age and two winepresses were uncovered during the excavation.

Three Military Bread Stamps from the Western Wall Plaza Excavations, Jerusalem (pp. 21*–31*)
Leah Di Segni and Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah
Keywords: Aelia Capitolina, epigraphy, inscriptions, Roman period
The three bread stamps, two complete and one broken, were discovered within a deep deposit (the ‘Roman dump’), which was sealed under a mosaic pavement of the Eastern Cardo’s eastern portico, and under the flagstones of the northern of the two streets that extend eastward from the Cardo. A centuria symbol, engraved at the beginning of the inscription on the two complete items, identifies these stamps as military bread stamps. The names of the soldiers on the bread stamps lack a cognomen, thus dating the stamps to before the end of the first century CE, during the first period that the Tenth Legion Fretensis was deployed in Jerusalem.

A Settlement from the Roman Period at Horbat Kamon (Hebrew, pp. 39–49; English summary, p. 83*)
Moshe Hartal
Keywords: Galilee, Golan, farmhouse, earthquake, ethnicity, agriculture
Two squares were excavated down to bedrock at Horbat Kamon. The western square included three phases (I–III); the remains of a plastered miqweh were found in Phase III. The eastern square included two phases (I, II). In Phase II, part of a building, including a room and a courtyard, was uncovered. An installation that was unearthed in the building contained mainly cooking bowls and the lower millstone of an Olynthian mill. On the basis of the ceramic finds, Phase III was dated to the beginning of the second century CE, and Phase II, the major settlement, to the second half of the third–early fourth centuries CE. The site seems to have been a farmhouse, and the miqweh indicates that its owners were Jewish.

The Lever Presses of Eretz Israel in the Light of the Alone Abba Oil Press (with contributions by Shulamit Hadad, Gerald Finkielsztejn and Danny Syon) (Hebrew, pp. 51–81; English summary, pp. 84*–86*)
Leea Porat, Rafael Frankel and Nimrod Getzov
Keywords: Galilee, oil production, ethnicity, lever press, screw press, Talmud, historical sources, winepress typology, numismatics
A salvage excavation conducted at Moshav Alone Abba revealed an oil press of the Roman period that was situated within a cave. The crushing installation at Alone Abba is of a type used from the end of the Persian period until recent times. The olive mash was pressed in a Maresha-type lever-and-weights press, one of a variety of lever-press types in use in the country. The finds comprise pottery from the Hellenistic–Middle Roman periods; a stamped amphora handle; seven bone spatulas; a stone stamp; and two coins from the beginning of the second century CE. The Roman-period pottery evinces a marked affinity to that of Jewish sites of the period.

A Stone Seal from the Alone Abba Oil Press (Hebrew, pp. 83–85; English summary, p. 87)
David Amit
Keywords: Galilee, oil production, art, glyptics, ethnicity
A rectangular stone seal, made of soft limestone, was found during excavations in the Alone Abba oil press. A rectangular double frame delimits the design on the face of the seal, a rendering of a dove with an olive branch. This motif indicates a connection between the seal and the oil press, representing the olive oil produced in the oil press. As the seal was found in a pre-Christian context, it was almost certainly Jewish.

Ashqelon (al-Nabi Hussein): Evidence for the Burial of Jews, Christians and Pagans in a Late Roman-Period Burial Ground (Hebrew, pp. 87–111; English summary, p. 88*)

Shlomo Kol-Ya’akov and Yoav Farhi
Keywords: burial, grave goods, ethnicity, installations, numismatics, anthropology
At the al-Nabi Hussein site in Ashqelon, three areas were excavated (A–C), exposing four tombs and a pit. One square tomb in Area A comprised two burial chambers, each containing a primary-burial skeleton. The meager finds included pottery, a glass bottle and metal objects. Two additional tombs (I, II) and a plastered pit were exposed in Area B. Tomb I was the richest in finds, including pottery vessels and oil lamps, glass and carnelian artifacts, metal objects and three fourth-century CE coins. The pit was plastered, its floor made of marble slabs with a pottery vessel in its center. It appears to have been used in an industry connected with liquids. The tombs and finds, dated to the third–fifth centuries CE, were part of a burial ground used by Ashqelon’s inhabitants in the Late Roman period.

The Industrial Area of Horbat Biz‘a in the Roman and Byzantine Periods (with a contribution by Donald T. Ariel) (Hebrew, pp. 113–122; English summary, p. 89*)
Uzi ‘Ad
Keywords: industry, glass production, numismatics, pottery
On the western slopes of Horbat Biz‘a, three areas (A–C) were excavated, uncovering architectural remains and fills dating to three phases, from the Early Roman period to the end of the Byzantine–beginning of the Umayyad periods. In Area A, the remains of a finely-constructed wall from the Early Roman period were revealed, possibly belonging to a mausoleum. From the Late Roman period, working surfaces of tamped earth and a square plastered installation were discovered, as well as the remains of a building. A large refuse pit, dating to the end of the Byzantine–beginning of the Umayyad periods, yielded fragments of glass vessels and glass industrial waste, as well as three worked-bone needles and two coins. These remains were part of the industrial area of Horbat Biz‘a.

The Pottery from Horbat Biz‘a (pp. 33*–47*)
Peter Gendelman
Keywords: ceramics, typology, oil lamps, clay discs, Horse-and-Rider figurine
A salvage excavation on the outskirts of Horbat Biz‘a uncovered a large quantity of pottery from the Roman and Byzantine periods. The pottery was ascribed to three well-dated ceramic assemblages, in correlation with the stratigraphy at the site: first–early second centuries CE; Late Roman period (late third–fourth centuries CE); and Byzantine period (until the late sixth–seventh centuries CE). All three assemblages present a small number of fine tableware and cooking wares, and a large quantity of storage vessels, pointing to the industrial nature of the site.
Remains of a Glass Industry and Glass Finds from Horbat Biz‘a (pp. 49*–62*)
Yael Gorin-Rosen
Keywords: glass production, furnaces, distribution
A salvage excavation at Horbat Biz‘a yielded the remains of a glass industry and large quantities of glass finds, dating from the Early Roman–Byzantine periods. This report illuminates the large-scale glass activity that once characterized the region. The glass-industry remains were attributed to two production stages, primary and secondary, as attested by the glazed mudbricks, raw-glass chunks, glass drops and blowing wasters (moils). The variety of vessel types, as well as the quality of their fabrics and workmanship, point to them being a branch of the local economy.

Agricultural and Industrial Installations and Burial Caves from the Roman and Byzantine Periods at Zur Yig’al (Hebrew, pp. 123–144; English summary, pp. 90*–91*)
Etan Ayalon
Keywords: agriculture, hinterland, burial, charcoal installations, industry, viticulture
A survey and trial excavations were carried out in preparation for the establishment of the Zur Yig’al settlement in the Sharon plain. Sixteen winepresses of various sizes were identified in the survey, some paved with white mosaics and equipped with screw presses. Also recorded were thirteen cisterns, seven towers, five burial caves, two cist tombs, six limekilns, cupmarks, piles of small stones, rock cuttings, natural caves, many agricultural terraces and some unidentifiable installations. The area seems to have been used as marginal agricultural land, worked for a relatively short period of time by one or more of the nearby settlements, such as Horbat Hanut or Horbat Nashe. The majority of the finds date from the Roman and early Byzantine periods.

An Umayyad-Period Aqueduct for the Irrigation of Farmland South of Ramla (Hebrew, pp. 145–152; English summary, pp. 92*–93*)
Oren Shmueli
Keywords: water system, Early Islamic period, agriculture, technology
A 150 m long section of an aqueduct was exposed approximately 100 m south of Ramla. The aqueduct is U-shaped, with three layers of plaster and traces of travertine. One covering stone was preserved in situ. Within the plaster mixture lining the aqueduct were sherds of Gaza-type jars, dating to the sixth–seventh centuries CE. Pottery vessels from the fill inside the aqueduct were attributed mostly to its final phase of use, during the eighth century CE. The excavated section appears to have been part of the aqueduct’s water conduit system, built at the beginning of the Umayyad period. It may have provided water for a farm belonging to the rural hinterland of Lod.

Mi‘ilya: Evidence of an Early Crusader Settlement (pp. 63*–76*)

Edna J. Stern
Keywords: western Galilee, Frankish rural settlement, Acre (Akko)
A salvage excavation carried out on the upper hill of the village of Mi‘iliya exposed remains from the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Crusader period. Fifty-six diagnostic sherds, dating to the Crusader period, were found in a pit. Most of them represent local Crusader types, with a few belonging to imported types. The chronological range of the Crusader-period pottery dates from the mid-twelfth to the early thirteenth centuries CE.

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