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‘Atiqot 59 (2008)
ISBN 2948-040X
Results of Three Small Excavations at Nahf, Upper Galilee
(pp. 87–101)
Howard Smithline
Keywords: Western Galilee, Christianity
The village of Nahf is located north of Karmi’el, on the lower southern slope of the Mount Meron Massif. The three areas excavated revealed occupational levels from Early Bronze Age IB, Early Bronze Age II, Middle Bronze Age II, Iron Age I–II and the Persian period. Large quantities of Hellenistic-period potsherds, including many storage vessels and a stamped Rhodian amphora handle, point to the site’s important role as a commercial center for the production of oil and wine during this period. The Hellenistic settlement ceased to exist during the second half of the second century BCE, probably following the Hasmonean conquest of the Galilee. During the second or third century CE, the site was resettled by a Jewish population, featuring Kefar Hananya ceramic types. The village continued, and apparently prospered, during the Late-Roman–early Byzantine periods.