The excavation area extended as far as the cemetery’s northern, eastern and southern perimeters (Fig. 2) across a low hill of chalk bedrock overlain with a nari crust and featuring rocky outcrops and low, thorny vegetation. The area was partly damaged when the cemetery was built, and its southwestern part, used as a refuse dump, was damaged by mechanical equipment. Three Late Roman–Early Byzantine winepresses were previously uncovered to the northwest of the current excavation area (Kirzner 2016; Fig. 1: A-7324), and a rock-hewn winepress was excavated to the west of the site (Hater 2015; Fig. 1: A-7006). At Horbat Shur, extending across a hill summit to the south, a large Crusader fortress and rock-hewn installations were documented (Olami and Gal 2003: Site 123). At Horbat Sasay, to the northeast, previous surveys and excavations revealed architectural remains, a workshop, burial caves, installations, quarries and terraced agricultural plots dating from various periods (Olami and Gal 2003: Site 104; Talmi 2018 [Fig. 1: A-7753], and see further references there).
Fifteen spots were excavated (F1–F15; Fig. 2; Table 1), uncovering the remains of a building, field walls and winepresses, bodedas and rock-hewn cupmarks; no diagnostic finds were retrieved. The remains probably belong to the agricultural hinterland of the nearby settlements at Horbat Shur, Horbat Sasay and possibly Tel Par, located to the west.
Location
|
Locus/wall
|
F1
|
W22
|
F2
|
W21
|
F3
|
L19, L34, L35, L36
|
F4
|
L17, L38, L39
|
F5
|
L16
|
F6
|
L15
|
F7
|
L18
|
F8
|
L31
|
F9
|
W10
|
F10
|
W14
|
F11
|
W11, W12
|
F12
|
L27, L28, L29, L30
|
F13
|
L92
|
F14
|
L100
|
F15
|
L41, L42, L43
|
Architectural remains. A surface made of large and medium-sized fieldstones was unearthed (L16; Fig. 3); it may once have been delimited on two sides by walls roughly built of different sized fieldstones. The remains may be the base of a field tower or part of a work surface used for some agricultural purpose.
Field walls. Six long walls, some fragmentary, were excavated (W10–W12, W14, W21, W22; Figs. 4–7); the walls extended beyond the excavation limits. The walls, preserved to a maximum height of two courses, were founded on soil or on the bedrock, and were built of different-sized fieldstones, some with 5–50 cm intervening gaps. Based on the building style, the alignment and location, the walls probably demarcated agricultural plots.
Winepresses. Two rock-hewn winepresses were discovered (L19, L29). Winepress 19 (Fig. 8) was cut into a rocky outcrop and included a square treading floor (L34) that sloped gently northward toward a collecting vat (L36). To the west, a cluster of rock-hewn cupmarks was uncovered (L17) that may be associated with the winepress’s operation. Winepress 29 (Fig. 9) was squarish and included a treading floor (L27) with a collecting vat (L28) hewn in its southern corner with a small sump at the bottom (L30). The winepresses were not large and were probably intended for domestic wine production.
Bodeda. A rock-hewn installation was probably used to extract liquids such as grape juice or olive oil (Fig. 10). The installation comprised a round surface (L41) surrounded by a small channel, with a collecting vat (L42) on a lower level to its west. A round rock-hewn depression (L43) was located northwest of the bodeda.
Cupmarks. The excavation uncovered seven round rock-hewn cupmarks of various sizes (L15, L18, L31, L38, L39, L92, L100; 0.10–0.45 m; Figs. 11–13) that may have been used for crushing, grinding, or extracting liquids.