The site was divided into three areas for the excavations (Area 2–4; Fig. 1), which ascertained that the entire southern slope of the site (from a max. elevation of 50 m asl to a min. elevation of 25 m asl) was used as a cemetery during the Intermediate Bronze Age and reused during Middle Bronze II. A single tomb was utilized during the Late Bronze Age, another one during the Iron Age and one of the tombs had reused an earlier Chalcolithic burial cave. More than 90 tombs were revealed, as well as a mausoleum dating to the Roman period, which was not excavated, and a limekiln dating to the Byzantine period.

 

The tombs had either square or circular shafts and were constructed according to the same principle. The shafts were hewn into the relatively soft bedrock, a nari limestone layer that covered a layer of hard dolomite rock. Whenever the shafts reached this hard layer, one, two or three burial chambers were cut. Most of the tombs were in a good state of preservation, although in some cases the roof of the burial chambers had collapsed. Human and animal bones, including horse bones, were discovered in the tombs. Most of the osteological remains were not in articulation. A bone repository, containing large quantities of human bones and a few pottery vessels was found in one of the chambers. When the skeletons were in articulation, the head was placed close to the wall of the tomb. A group of 23 small vessels that contained infant bones was found in Tomb 70, dating to the Intermediate Bronze Age.

 

Tomb 92 in Area 4 is presented as a typical example of the cemetery (Fig. 2). The tomb consisted of a circular entrance shaft (c. 3 m deep) and a narrow burial chamber (height less than 1.2 m) that was accessed via a wide doorway. A second entry in the southern wall of this chamber led to a second chamber, which seems to have originally belonged to a different tomb, since a blocked shaft was discerned in its northern wall. Seventeen complete pottery vessels together with seven metal artifacts, including five spearheads, were found. Only two vessels were recovered from the second chamber. The vessels included bowls, jars, jugs and juglets, all dating to the early Middle Bronze IIA period. The emergence of Intermediate Bronze Age pottery in the fill indicated that the tomb had been first used in this period, but was apparently cleared away before its reuse in Middle Bronze II.

 

An early summary of the results shows that the tombs of the Intermediate Bronze Age were multiple, primary burials, containing a varying number of individuals. The anthropological report indicates that at least some of the tombs served as single family mortuaries. The Middle Bronze II burials were relatively poor in comparison with similar tombs at other sites.

 

The Intermediate Bronze Age finds were distinguished by a high level of standardization––all vessels were strikingly similar. The assemblage was quite limited, consisting mainly of small vessels––teapots, amphoriskoi, small jars and jugs, which resembled the ones found in other burials of the period, albeit the absence of cooking pots. The vessels generally reflected the northern culture, although ‘Syrian’ vessels were rare. Metal artifacts comprised tools and weapons, including axes. The Middle Bronze II assemblages displayed a wide range of vessel types. Noteworthy were decorated vessels, such as the Levantine Painted Ware and other related potteries. Other Middle Bronze II artifacts included metal objects, among them socketed spearheads, some with remains of their wooden handles, toggle pins and rings, as well as scarabs, stone pommels, worked bones, bone inlays and beads.