Walls

 

Site 67

(Fig. 1). Two wall complexes, early and late, whose absolute dates are unclear, were excavated in the middle of a wadi channel. The early complex included terrace walls that were built perpendicular or diagonal to the channel course. Four phases were discerned. Phase 1 consisted of a wall (W207) built of a single row of large fieldstones and preserved a single course high that enclosed a stone clearance heap (5 × 6 m, height 1.2 m) from the east, which contained several potsherds dating to the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods. The wall (W218) attributed to Phase 2 was built at right angles to the channel, in a northwest–southeast direction. The wall consisted of coarsely hewn stones and fieldstones (exposed length 4 m, max. width 1.8 m, height 0.5 m). The ceramic finds included many pottery fragments from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, as well as a few sherds from the Roman period and five coins, one of which was identified, dating to the first half of the 4th century CE. Three walls (W216, W217, W302) belonged to Phase 3. Wall 216 was a single row of coarsely dressed stones built atop W218 and preserved a single course high (exposed length 7 m). Wall 217 to its north consisted of large fieldstones (average dimensions 0.7 × 1.0 m), haphazardly placed. Its eastern end was well preserved, whereas the western end had collapsed. Large boulders were used for W302 in the southern part of the excavation area; it crossed the wadi channel in an east–west direction. The finds from the walls included flint flakes and pottery fragments, dating mostly to the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods. Wall 203 (width 1.8–2.8 m) was ascribed to Phase 4; it was composed of large roughly hewn stones (average dimensions 1.0 × 1.4 m) and preserved c. 0.9 m high. The wall was exposed to a length of some 40 m, but its western end was not detected. The wall’s eastern part was constructed from two rows of large stones with a core of small and medium-sized stones; the western part was badly preserved and survived by the large stones that were used in building it. The southern side of the wall, facing the channel, was more carefully constructed. The finds included four identified coins that were dated to the first half of the 4th century CE; one of them was uncovered among the stones in the wall, as well as flint flakes and pottery fragments from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods.

 

The late wall complex consisted of three walls (W200–W202), two of them visible on surface, extending for a distance of c. 700 m. The walls were built along the wadi channel to regularize the flow of floodwaters and to protect the cultivated areas. Two phases (5, 6) were discerned; Phase 5 included two subphases. Initially, W202, which severed W203 from the early wall complex, was erected. It was built of two rows of large fieldstones with a core of small and medium-sized stones and was preserved two courses high (width 1.8–2.4 m, height 0.8 m). The wall apparently stood alone for a period of time and the water in the channel flowed to its west. Later, W201 was built to the west and parallel to W202. Wall 201 was built of a single row of fieldstones (width 0.5 m); it was carelessly constructed and its northern part was not preserved. The wall was meant to restrict the flow of water in the channel to the area between it and W202. The finds included pottery fragments from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, as well as the modern era. Wall 200, which was attributed to Phase 6, was built parallel and to the west of W201. It was built of two rows of stones with a core of small and medium stones (width 1.4–1.8 m), similar to W202, and was preserved only a single course high. The construction of the wall indicates that the channel’s flow was diverted to the west. The finds included pottery fragments from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, and modern finds as well.

 

Sites 68–70.

Four fieldstone-built terrace walls oriented north–south; a hewn vat (diam. 0.3 m, depth 0.2 m) was uncovered next to Wall 69.

 

Site 64.

A terrace wall, aligned north–south, was built of five large stones (length of stones 1.0–1.2 m) with gaps between them and preserved a single course high. The wall was founded on a thin layer of soil (thickness 0.1 m) deposited on bedrock, which contained several body fragments of pottery vessels from the Roman and Byzantine periods.

 

Stone Clearance Heaps

 

Site 66.

A stone clearance heap (diam. c. 9 m) north of Site 67 was founded on bedrock. A trial section (1.5 × 4.0 m) excavated both with the aid of mechanical equipment and manually ascertained that the upper part of the heap comprised fieldstones (length of stones 0.1–0.3 m) and was devoid of any finds. The bottom part of the heap consisted of reddish soil mixed with stones and body fragments of pottery vessels from the Roman or Byzantine periods.

Site 28. Two stone clearance heaps (diam. c. 8 m each) next to each other were in the northern part of the excavation. Trial sections cut through the heaps had shown that they were devoid of ancient finds. The large size of the stones indicates that they were probably piled up recently by mechanical equipment.

Quarry

 

Site 63.

A quarry was discerned (3 × 4 m) north of Site 28. The quarrying occurred only in the upper bedrock layer that was suitable for hewing stones.

 

Rock-cut Installations

 

Site 65.

Four vats and a cupmark (diam. 0.2 m, depth 0.2 m) were east and west of Site 64. Three of the vats were circular (diam. c. 0.8 m, depth c. 0.3 m) and the fourth was square (0.2 × 0.2 m, depth 0.2 m). The alluvium soil in the vats contained a few small non-diagnostic potsherds.