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‘Atiqot 99 (2020)
ISBN 2948-040X
Khirbat Ḥasan: Water Control Systems and Agriculture-Related Activities along Naḥal Har’el
(pp. 17–65)
Yitzhak Paz, Rina Avner, Barak Monnickendam-Giveon, Oren Ackermann and Anat Cohen-Weinberger
Keywords: Judean Shephelah, erosion, geomorphology, Khirbet Kerak Ware, petrography, dams, stone surfaces, agricultural products
The excavations at Khirbat Ḥasan were carried out in a wide valley on the Naḥal Har’el floodplain. The findings attest that in antiquity, the inhabitants exploited the area for agricultural activities. Eight areas were opened: in Area A, water control systems dating from the Intermediate Bronze Age and the Roman–Byzantine periods were discovered; Area G yielded Hellenistic-period pottery, a Roman–Byzantine rural road and agricultural terrace walls; in Area C, Chalcolithic-period pottery and an Iron Age water control system were unearthed; in Area N, Intermediate Bronze Age occupation remains and agricultural activities were documented; Area B yielded Chalcolithic-period pottery, Intermediate Bronze Age working surfaces and a Roman–Byzantine rural road; in Area R, Roman–Byzantine dams were exposed; in Area Y, an Early Bronze Age III occupation and a Roman–Byzantine structure and rock-cut installations were observed; and in Area T, a Roman–Byzantine bath was found.