In March 2017, a salvage excavation was conducted near the site of ‘En Zippori, to the north and south of Highway 79 (Permit No. A-7912; map ref. 224563–880/737550–850; Fig. 1), prior to the erection of electricity poles and as a result of damage to antiquities. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, was directed by N. Shatil (field photography), with the assistance of R. Liran (surveying), Y. Yaakobi (administration), K. Covello-Paran and N. Getzov (scientific consultation), H. Tahan-Rosen (finds drawing), C. Amit (studio photography), M. Peleg (district archaeologist), M. Shemer (flints), Y. Gorin-Rosen (glassware) and laborers from Nazareth and youth from Ramat Hadassah boarding school.
The site of ‘En Zippori lies on both sides of Road 79 (Shefar‘am–Nazareth). In 2011–2016, extensive excavations were conducted to the south of the road, during which a large proto-historical site was unearthed; its two main settlement strata were dated to the Early Bronze IB and the early Chalcolithic period (Milevski and Getzov 2014 [Fig. 1: A-6272, A-6457, A-6784]; Yaroshevich 2016 [Fig. 1: A-7177]; Getzov and Milevski 2017 [Fig. 1: A-7613]). Two small-scale excavations to the south of the road (Fig. 1: A-7517) unearthed field walls from the Roman period, a sarcophagus lid and Roman-period pottery, as well as Middle Palaeolithic flints that had been washed to the site (Abu Zidan 2014 [Fig. 1: A-6383]).
The current excavation was conducted in three small areas (A, A2, G2) on both sides of Road 79. The following is a final report of the excavation in Area A, to the south of the road, and a preliminary report of the excavation in Areas A2 and G2, opened to its north.
Area A (Figs. 2, 3). Two squares opened to the south of Road 79 yielded scant remains of walls in a poorly preserved state. These comprised a collapse of numerous stones, probably from walls that had been damaged by many years of plowing; part of a wall preserved only one course high (W106); and possibly part of another wall (W107). The remains are probably related to agricultural activity at the site, evidence for which was found in a nearby excavation (Fig. 1: A-7517).
Most of the pottery from this area dates from the Roman period, and a few are Byzantine. The pottery includes Kefar Hananiya Type 1E bowls, dating from the mid-third to the early fifth centuries CE (Fig. 4:1, 2), Roman bowls (Fig. 4:3, 4) and Late Roman C-type bowls from the Byzantine period (Fig. 4:5). Other finds were Roman-period jars of a type that was common from the first to the early fourth centuries CE (Fig. 4:6, 7), a Roman amphora (Fig. 4:8) and a jug dating from the first–third centuries CE (Fig. 4:9). As the pottery consists of field potsherds originating from farm refuse at the site, and it thus seems reasonable to date the wall stumps to the Roman period. A few Ottoman-period finds were also recovered, including a jar fragment (Fig. 4:10), as well as fragments of glass bracelets.
Flints
Maayan Shemer
Thirty-two flint items (Table 1) were collected in the excavation in Area A. They were all in a poor state of preservation, with blunt working edges. All but two were coated with white or yellow patina. Three items were classified as cores; two of these have a few shallow scars that were removed from a single striking platform. These items were classified as ‘test cores’, and they are attributed to the stage of testing the raw material prior to working the core. however, in view of the poor state of the assemblage, the scars on the items may be the result of natural weathering and erosion processes. The third item is a flake core exhibiting the use of two striking platforms and two reduction surfaces.
Table 1. Flint Items
Type
|
N
|
%
|
Flakes
|
10
|
31.25
|
Primary items
|
4
|
12.50
|
Naturally backed items
|
3
|
9.38
|
Core-maintenance items
|
3
|
9.38
|
Cores
|
3
|
9.38
|
Tools
|
1
|
3.13
|
Fragments (with ventral surface, >2 cm)
|
3
|
9.38
|
Chips (<2 cm)
|
1
|
3.13
|
Chunks
|
4
|
12.50
|
Total
|
32
|
~100
|
One item was identified as a tool (Fig. 5) of an alternate burin type; some archaeologists identify this type as a core for the production of bladelets with a curved or twisted profile (Bar-Yosef 1970; Bordes 2006; Bordes and Shidrang 2009). Such items are very typical of some of the Upper Palaeolithic flint industries (Aurignacian/Atlitian/Arqov Divshon; Bordes 2006; Belfer-Cohen and Goring-Morris 2017). The dating of these assemblages in the Levant remains problematic, but they are estimated to date from between 38,000 and 23,000 years ago (Belfer-Cohen and Goring-Morris 2017).
At present, no Upper Palaeolithic sites have been discovered in the vicinity of ‘En Zippori or at nearby Giv‘at Rabbi. The state of preservation of the flint items shows that they were not found in situ. Previous excavations at ‘En Zippori and Giv‘at Rabbi found evidence of several different flint industries from the pre-Pottery Neolithic and early Chalcolithic periods as well as from EB I–II, with indications of activity in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, Neolithic and early Chalcolithic periods (Ekshtain et al. 2011; Barzilai et al. 2013; Milevski and Getzov 2014; Barzilai and Milevski 2015; Agam et al. 2016; Yaroshevich 2016). Accordingly, the alternate burin in the assemblage, although not found in situ, may serve as the first evidence of human activity in the region during the Upper Paleolithic period. However, the flint assemblage from Area A cannot be associated with these industries, and the area was probably outside the main areas of activity during these periods.
The remains unearthed in Area A attest to agricultural activity during the Roman and Byzantine periods. The flint items, while not recovered in situ, provide information about the history of settlement in the vicinity of the site.
Area A2. One excavation square was opened not far from Area A in Milevski and Getzov’s excavation (Milevski and Getzov 2014). It yielded cuttings in the bedrock which were probably used during EB IB, as well as the wall of a modern house that stood here until 1948.
Area G2. One excavation square was opened beside Area G from Milevski and Getzov’s excavation (Milevski and Getzov 2014). It yielded EB IB accumulations and early Chalcolithic architectural remains, which include two walls from early Chalcolithic I (Wadi Rabah culture) that continued to exist until the early Chalcolithic II period.
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