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‘Atiqot 71 (2012)
ISBN 2948-040X
Horbat ‘Illin (Upper): Rock-Cut Installations from the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman Periods, and Remains of a Settlement from the Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods
(Hebrew, pp. 13–75; English summary, pp. 112*–116*)
Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah
Keywords: Judean Shephelah, burial, winepress, oil press, quarry, anthropology, glass, numismatics, loculi (kokhim) cave, ossuaries, industrial area, rural settlement
A salvage excavation conducted at Horbat ‘Illin, on a hilltop in the Judean Shephelah, revealed the remains of burial caves, cisterns and underground installations. These were quarried out and used in the Hellenistic and early Roman periods (first century BCE–second century CE), suggesting the existence of a nearby settlement from the Second Temple period that has not been excavated. Some of the installations were in use in later periods, as shown by pottery finds from the Byzantine, Umayyad and Mamluk periods. The main excavated areas were located in the center of the western slope (c. 4000 sq m), revealing the remains of a settlement from the end of the Byzantine period (sixth–seventh centuries CE) until the end of the Early Islamic period (tenth century CE). The remains belong to four adjacent buildings, some of them built around central courtyards, with intervening alleys. The buildings’ abandonment should probably be attributed to the earthquake that struck extensive parts of the country in 747–749 CE. The site was abandoned at some time in the tenth century CE, and no evidence has been found of a later settlement.