The excavations revealed nine sites (Vardi, Yegorov and Eisenberg-Degen 2014). The following report will describe five of the sites, including four tumuli (Sites 39–41, 43) and remains of a campsite (Site 42). The campsite was dated by OSL to the Early Bronze Age 3.
 
Tumuli
Nine round tumuli were exposed, all devoid of finds; they were apparently robbed in the past or emptied in antiquity as part of a bone collection custom. All tumuli comprised a central burial chamber, constructed of stone slabs and covered with stone slabs, most of which were found scattered around the tumuli; a peripheral enclosing wall constructed of large stones, some of which were positioned upright; and a fill of small and medium-sized fieldstones laid in between the chamber and the boundary wall. One tumulus contained two burial chambers. Several tumuli yielded flint items and large concentrations of land snail shells, apparently the result of rodent activity. The tumuli are part of an extensive tumuli field documented in Har Harif in the past (Cohen 1999:226). A considerable part of this field lies on the Egyptian side of the border and was not documented in detail.
 
Site 39 comprises a tumulus with a burial chamber (L110; Fig. 2) along a northeast–southwest axis. One of its cover slabs was found in situ; the others were scattered throughout the excavation area. Two flint flake cores were found within the chamber.
 
Site 40 yielded four tumuli (40a–40d). All burial chambers were found open, with their cover slabs scattered.
Tumulus 40a (Fig. 3) had two burial chambers along a northeast–southwest axis: a western chamber (L110) and an eastern chamber, divided by a partition wall into two small chambers (L108, L109). Two rows of limestones, their function unknown, abut the southern side of the tumulus (L104). Within the burial chambers and in the stone fill between the chambers and their peripheral wall were 91 flint items (Table 1); these comprise mostly debitage, as well as five ad-hoc tools, most of which are retouched flakes.
 
Table 1. Flint items from Tumulus 40a
Debris
N
% of Group
% of Assemblage
Chips
11
64.7
12.1
Chunks
6
35.3
6.6
Total debris
17
100
18.7
Debitage
N
% of Group
% of Assemblage
Flakes
42
63.6
46.2
Primary flakes
17
25.8
18.7
Blades
2
3.0
2.2
Core trimming elements and other
5
7.6
5.5
Total debitage
66
100
72.5
Cores
3
 
3.3
Tools
5
 
5.5
Total
91
 
100
 
Tumulus 40b comprised a burial chamber along an east–west axis (L205; Fig. 4). Whitin the stone fill of the tumulus were 18 flaked flint items, including flakes (14), denticulates (2), a flake core (1) and other debitage (1).
Tumuli 40c and 40d comprised burial chambers along a northeast–southwest axis (L304, L404 respectively; Figs. 5, 6).
 
Site 41 yielded three tumuli (41a–41c), all devoid of finds. Tumuli 41a and 41b were better preserved than Tumulus 41c. Tumuli 41a and 41c had burial chambers along an east–west axis (L102, L202 respectively; Figs. 7–9). Tumulus 41a was fully excavated, including the limestone fill, down to bedrock. In Tumulus 41c, only a small section of the peripheral wall and the burial chamber were preserved; they were founded on a bedrock shelf. The chamber was found open and devoid of any finds.
 
Site 43 yielded a tumulus (diam. 5 m) with a burial chamber at its center (length 2 m, width 1.4 m), along a northwest–southeast axis. The chamber was found open and devoid of any finds.
 
Campsite
Site 42 yielded three adjacent round structures (L207, L209, L219). An elongated stone heap (W2; Fig. 10), which was preserved three courses high, bounds them on the north. The boundary walls of the three structures were composed of limestone slabs laid on their narrow side and were preserved one course high. The central structure (L219; diam. c. 4 m; Fig. 11) was divided into four asymmetrical parts (L202, L214, L215, L216), which yielded flaked flint items (below). Structure 207 was preserved only in its southern part. The northern side of Structure 209 abuts Heap 2.
An additional section of a stone heap (length 7.5 m, width 0.7 m), which was constructed of dressed local limestone blocks and founded on bedrock, was found about 20 m south of the structures.
 
The Flint Assemblage from Site 42 is of local raw material (Turonian flint), collected from the nearby area. It comprises 129 items (Table 2), mostly found in the central structure and partly near the other structures exposed in the excavation. About half the assemblage comprised flakes and primary flakes. The cores include five flake cores (Figs. 12, 13), two of which have two striking platforms. The debris comprises two bifacial items that were removed from the tool’s cutting edge and bore marks of intensive use (polish).
 
Table 2. Flint items from Site 42
Debris
N
% of Group
% of Assemblage
Chips
16
51.6
12.4
Chunks
15
48.4
11.6
Total debris
31
100
24.0
Debitage
N
% of Group
% of Assemblage
Flakes
43
56.6
33.3
Primary flakes
23
30.3
17.8
Blades/bladelets
4
5.3
3.1
Core trimming elements and other
4
5.3
3.1
Bifacial debitage
2
2.6
1.6
Total debitage
76
100
58.9
Cores
5
 
3.9
Tools
17
 
13.2
Total
129
 
100
 
The tools comprise 17 items (Table 3); most are ad-hoc tools, such as retouched flakes (Fig. 14:1, 2, 4), or denticulates (Fig. 14:3). The two bifacial tools include one axe, which bears marks of use and repair on the active end (Fig. 15:1) and is covered with a deep, yellow patina. It appears that the axe was brought to the site and was not part of the local assemblage. The second bifacial tool is a fragment of an adze (Fig. 15:2) which, based on its style, may date from the Chalcolithic period.
 
Table 3. Flint tools from Site 42
Tool
N
%
Retouched flakes
10
58.8
Denticulates
2
11.8
Bifacials
2
11.8
Awls
1
5.9
Retouched blades
1
5.9
Notches
1
5.9
Total
17
100
 
OSL Analyses. Two samples for OSL dating were collected from a geological section in Structure 219. The first sample, taken from the loess layer on which the structure was founded, was dated to the first half of the fifth millennium before present (4,700±300 YBP). The second sample, taken from below collapsed stones inside the structure, was dated to the end of the fifth millennium before present (4,200±200 YBP). Based on these readings, the terminus ante quem for the use of the structures at Site 42 is the Early Bronze Age 3.
 
The erection of tumuli was a common phenomenon in the desert areas of the Middle East. Fields of tumuli were documented in the Negev, Sinai, eastern Jordan, northern Syria and the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula (Rothenberg 1979:123–127; Ingraham et al. 1981:79–80; Haiman 1992; Bradbury and Philip 2011). This burial custom is apparently connected with the emergence of nomadic pastoralism in desert regions and was practiced in the central Negev and eastern Jordan from the end of the Neolithic period (sixth millennium BCE, calibrated; Rosen et al. 2007:50; Abu-Azizeh et al. 2014). Some scholars believe that the tradition of tumulus burial developed later on, during the interlude between the Chalcolithic period and the Early Bronze Age (Haiman 1992; Steimer-Herbet 2004). The state of preservation of the excavated Har Harif tumuli and the lack of organic finds in the burial chambers prevent their unequivocal dating.
A small campsite with round structures was discovered a few dozen meters from the tumuli. OSL analyses determined that the structures at the campsite were erected in the Early Bronze Age. The construction of tumuli near or within settlement areas is known in the Negev and southern Sinai during the Early Bronze Age (Beit Arieh 1974:153–154). It can therefore be presumed that the campsite and tumuli are chronologically related.