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‘Atiqot 92 (2018)
ISBN 2948-040X
Ḥorbat ‘Ofrat in the Late Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods
(pp. 1–68)
Yardenna Alexandre
Keywords: Lower Galilee, numismatics, fauna, economy, cross, ethnicity, burial, glass, agriculture, monastery, Fatamid period, Jews, Christians, Great Revolt
At the site, located near Shefar’am in the Lower Galilee, six architectural strata (VI–I) were discerned. Their dates range from the late Hellenistic to the late Byzantine/Early Islamic periods. During the late Hellenistic period (Hasmonean period; second century BCE), there was a small village at the site, which was possibly settled by Judean colonizers. The finds from the Early Roman period include Kefar Ḥananya wares and a few chalkstone vessel fragments, which hint at the Jewish identity of the inhabitants. In the Middle Roman period (third–fourth centuries CE), there was renewed activity at the site; the pottery forms, including Kefar Ḥananya wares, are characteristic of Jewish settlements in the region. After a gap, the site was resettled during the early Byzantine period (fifth century CE), possibly by a Christian population. During the middle Byzantine period (late fifth–sixth centuries CE), new buildings were erected, and remains of large-scale food-processing were found; these were possibly associated with a monastery, a farm, or a lodging inn for Christian pilgrims en route from ‘Akko to the Galilee. Activity in the late Byzantine–Early Islamic periods (early seventh century CE) consisted of small-scale industrial burning activity, carried out by a new short-lived population at the site.