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‘Atiqot 58 (2008)
ISBN 2948-040X
Survey and Excavations at Horbat Burgin in the Judean Shephelah: Burial Caves, Hiding Complexes and Installations of the Second Temple and Byzantine Periods
(Hebrew, pp. 15–48; English summary, pp. 60*–64*)
Boaz Zissu and Amir Ganor
Keywords: burial, columbaria, winepress
This article summarizes the results of several surveys and excavations conducted between 1995 and 1996 at Horbat Burgin, northeast of Bet Govrin. Within the boundaries of the necropolis that surrounded the settlement on three sides were three types of tombs, dating to the later part of the Second Temple period; a Christian burial cave was documented as well, belonging to the Byzantine-period settlement at the site. A bell-shaped cistern was found to contain the engravings of crosses and two illegible inscriptions in Paleo-Hebrew script. Three hiding complexes were observed in the survey; all had been breached and plundered in the past. The finds at the site suggest that during the Second Temple period Horbat Burgin was a large village, which should probably be identified with Kefar Bish mentioned by Josephus Flavius.