During November 2000 an excavation was conducted in the ‘Mei-‘Arad’ compound in Modi‘in (Permit No. A-3334*; map ref. NIG 19983–20011/64659–87; OIG 14983–5011/14659–87), prior to construction. The excavation, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, was directed by S. Weksler-Bdolah, with the assistance of H. Lavi (administration), V. Essman and V. Pirsky (surveying), L. Barda (GPS) and H. Khalaily (flint finds).
The area slated for construction is located on a hill, whose top is rocky and on its slopes are farming terraces, stone animal pens and a variety of rock-hewn installations that attest to ancient agriculture. A survey conducted in the area revealed 45 installations that were mainly concentrated on the lower slopes of the northern side of the hill (Fig. 1).
| No. |
Installation |
Excavated/Surveyed |
Description |
|
1
|
Cairn
|
Western half excavated.
|
Circular (diam. c. 5 m, height 7 m); built of small and medium-sized stones.
|
|
2
|
Cairn
|
Western half excavated.
|
Elliptical, large (diam. 9–10 m); mainly built of small and medium-sized stones; a circle built of boulders in its center may have originally demarcated the position of the cleared stones; a meager wall in the northwestern part of the cairn.
|
|
3
|
Cairn
|
Northern half excavated.
|
Built of small and medium-sized stones (diam. 4–5 m); a row of medium-sized stones in its northwestern part, perhaps part of a perimeter wall.
|
|
4
|
Animal pen
|
Partially excavated around the wall.
|
Built of boulders (c. 20 m long); some of the stones, c. 1 m high, are standing.
|
|
5
|
Vat
|
Cleaned.
|
Rock-hewn; elliptical (inner dimensions 0.7 × 1.0 m, depth 0.4 m) with margins (0.3–0.6 m); may have been used as a trough.
|
|
6
|
Cupmark
|
Surveyed.
|
Natural.
|
|
7
|
Wall
|
Two probes (1.5 × 2.0 m) excavated on both sides of wall, down to bedrock.
|
Top of wall visible above surface (length 5.5 m, average width 0.4 m); dry built, irregular row of stones.
|
|
8
|
Cairn
|
Small probe excavated east of cairn.
|
Cicular (diam. 4–5 m); built of small and medium-size stones.
|
|
9
|
Cairn
|
Northeastern quarter excavated.
|
Built of small and medium-size stones (diam. c. 4 m).
|
|
10
|
Animal pen
|
Surveyed.
|
Aligned north–south.
|
|
11
|
Natural bedrock cliff
|
One square excavated north of cliff on the assumption that it was the front of a cave.
|
Steep bedrock cliff.
|
|
12
|
Agricultural terrace
|
Surveyed.
|
|
|
13
|
Large stone
|
Surveyed.
|
Standing; another smaller stone south of it, perhaps marking a boundary.
|
|
14
|
Stone heap
|
Surveyed.
|
Spread out across slope, descending northward.
|
|
15
|
Animal pen
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of large boulders, aligned north–south; forms a corner with Wall 16.
|
|
16
|
Animal pen
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of large boulders, aligned east–west; forms a corner with Wall 15.
|
|
17
|
Agricultural terrace
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of small stones, aligned east–west.
|
|
18
|
Agricultural terrace
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of boulders; continues line of natural cliff.
|
|
19
|
Cairn
|
Surveyed.
|
Seems like a stone spill––homogenous stones with no earth mixed with them; perhaps a stone clearance heap.
|
|
20
|
Cairn
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of medium and large stones (diam. 2 m).
|
|
21
|
Cairn
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of medium and large stones (diam. 2 m).
|
| 22 |
Agricultural terrace
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of small stones.
|
| 23 |
Agricultural terrace
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of small and large stones.
|
| 24 |
Animal pen
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of large stones; abutting Animal Pen 25.
|
| 25 |
Animal pen
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of large stones (c. 20 m) perpendicular to slope.
|
|
26 (Fig. 2)
|
Animal pen
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of boulders (length 30–40 m).
|
|
27
|
Wall
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of boulders; agricultural terrace?
|
|
28
|
Wall
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of small stones.
|
|
29 (Fig. 3)
|
Pit
|
Cleaned.
|
Hewn in bedrock surface (diam. 0.4–0.5 m); may be natural.
|
|
30
|
Cupmark
|
Cleaned.
|
Elliptical (0.5 × 1.0 m, depth 0.3 m); flat bottom with depression in its center; may be natural.
|
|
31 (Fig. 4)
|
Wall
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of boulders.
|
|
32
|
Enclosure wall
|
Surveyed.
|
Curved; built of boulders; joins with bedrock in the south.
|
|
33 (Fig. 5)
|
Cairn
|
Northern half excavated.
|
Circular (diam. 8 m); built of small and medium-sized stones; delineated in the north by several large stones.
|
|
34
|
Winepress?
|
Cleaned; south-western corner excavated down to bedrock.
|
Square area surrounded with natural bedrock cliffs.
|
|
35
|
Cairn
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of small stones within zone of Wall 32.
|
|
36
|
Wall
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of four boulders, abutting Wall 32.
|
|
37
|
Wall
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of small and medium-sized stones on cliff.
|
|
38
|
Cupmark
|
Surveyed.
|
Natural cupmark.
|
|
39
|
Wall
|
Surveyed.
|
Built of small stones; parallel to Wall 42.
|
|
40
|
Cairn
|
Surveyed.
|
Small.
|
|
41 (Fig. 6)
|
Cupmark
|
Cleaned.
|
Circular; bottom is flat, conical depression in center; natural.
|
|
42
|
Wall
|
Probes excavated on either side of wall.
|
Built of square stones (length 3–4 m, width 0.8 m).
|
The surveyed installations fall into three groups: walls, cairns and cupmarks; a hewn vat (No. 5) was also discovered. Three types of walls were recorded: (1) agricultural terraces that were usually built over natural bedrock escarpments. The outer face was better constructed than the inner one, which retained the soil, heaped up onto the bedrock terrace. The construction consisted of different sized stones without bonding material. (2) Animal pens built along and perpendicular to the contour lines, thereby demarcating private agricultural plots. They were over 30 m long and usually built of very large boulders that were slightly spaced apart. (3) Walls built of a row of medium-sized fieldstones placed next to each other without bonding material. One side of the wall was better constructed than the other. These walls probably delineated a road
Twelve small and large cairns were documented on the hill. They were built of small and medium-sized stones; the top stone layer was covered with gray patina. Walls discovered inside several of the cairns were probably meant to retain stones that were cleared out to enable agricultural activities. Cairn No. 1 yielded several small, non-diagnostic pottery fragments.
Lithics. Implements and flakes knapped from Mishash flint were recovered from surface and from some of the excavations. The finds consist of 48 artifacts, half of them are flakes, two are blades and the rest––chunks and chips. Nine of the artifacts are tools: four retouched flakes, one burin, two notched tools, a drill and a sickle blade. Noteworthy are the broad sickle blade (Fig. 7:1) that has an abrupt back and a cutting edge that displays a sickle gloss, and a drill on a blade (Fig. 7:2) that has a semi-abrupt retouch on its point. These artifacts are characteristic of Pre-pottery Neolithic A assemblages.
Pottery. The ceramic finds from all of the excavation areas are extremely meager and consist of c. 40 small non-ribbed body fragments, two fragments of cooking-pot handles and a fragment of a jar handle. The sherds are mainly of pinkish-orange fabric, with white and dark inclusions.
The finds attest to human presence on this hill beginning in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period, similar to the adjacent sites at Horbat Tittora (HA–ESI 111:48*–49*) and Modi‘in, 'Buchman' Compound (HA–ESI 113:69*–70*). In later periods the area was used for agricultural activity––farm terraces were built, stones were cleared and cupmarks were used or hewn on the northern slope of the hill. The scant ceramic finds makes it difficult to date the remains.