In October 2019, a salvage excavation was conducted in the Qiryat Menachem Begin neighborhood of Ramla (Permit No. A-8604; map ref. 18847–54/64912–21; Fig. 1), prior to the construction of a community center. The excavation, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by Ramla Municipality, was directed by R. Toueg, with the assistance of Y. Amrani and E. Bachar (administration), O. Danziger (preliminary tests), I. Jonish (surveying and field photography), S. Krispin (metal detection), Y. Tepper (scientific guidance), Y. Gomani (plans), H. Torgë (pottery), M. Shuiskaya (pottery drawing), T. Winter (glass), V. Nosikovsky (metallurgical laboratory), R. Kool (numismatics), N. Amitai-Preiss (metallurgy), T. Shadiel (archaeozoology) and A. Peretz (studio photography).
Four and a half squares were excavated (Fig. 2), exposing the remains of a building and a refuse pit dating from the Early Islamic period. A fragment of a Crusader gold coin was also recovered. Previous excavations in the vicinity uncovered the remains of buildings and installations dating from the Early Islamic period (eighth–eleventh centuries CE) and children’s tombs from the Mamluk period (Toueg and Torgë 2015, with further references).
Architectural remains were found in the squares on the southeastern and northwestern edges of the excavation area; the other squares contained soil accumulations and finds, but were devoid of architectural remains. In the southeastern square, the foundation of a wall (W108; Fig. 3) built of small fieldstones was exposed. The wall was abutted on the east by a plaster floor (L109) that extended eastward and northward, beyond the limits of the excavation. The floor and the underlying bedding yielded Early Islamic pottery. The overlying soil accumulation (L100) yielded pottery from the same period. The square to the west of W108 contained a refuse pit (L110; Fig. 2: Section 1–1) beneath a layer of soil fill (L105) that was overlain by accumulated topsoil (L101). The square to the west of this contained a soil fill (L106) beneath an accumulation of topsoil (L102).
The northwestern square yielded scant remains of a wall (W112; Fig. 4), of which the two foundation courses and a single stone of the upper courses were preserved. Adjacent to W112 were the remains of a tabun (L113) whose lower part was preserved. Both the soil fill (L107) that covered the remains and the surface accumulation (L103) yielded Early Islamic pottery. The southernmost half-square (L111) yielded a weight bearing an inscription in Arabic (Amitai-Preiss, below).
Pottery. All the remains had been disturbed in the past, apart from the fill beneath Floor 109. The pottery dates from the seventh–eleventh centuries CE. It includes fragments of a casserole (Fig. 5:1), an LRC bowl (Fig. 5:2), glazed bowls (Fig. 5:3–5), an Egyptian imported bowl (Fig. 5:6), Serçe Limani-type bowls imported from Beirut (Fig. 5:7, 8), a glazed frying pan (Fig. 5:9), a cooking pot (Fig. 5:10), Serçe Limani-type cooking pots from Beirut (Fig. 5:11–17), a jar (Fig. 5:18), Jerusalem Jars (Fig. 5:19, 20), an imitation Jerusalem Jar (Fig. 5:21), a strainer jug decorated with lace-like decoration (Fig. 5:22), a jug with traces of red slip (Fig. 5:23), jugs (Fig. 5:24, 25), a cup/juglet (Fig. 5:26) and a distorted vessel (Fig. 5:27) glazed outside due to firing at high temperature and with salt excretions on the inside. Two lamps were also found (Fig. 6:1, 2), one of them green-glazed (Fig. 6:1), and a zoomorphic vessel (Fig. 7).
Glass Finds. About 30 fragments coated with dark weathering were recovered, nine of which are diagnostic (not drawn). The fragments, from Loci 100, 102, 106 and 107, date from the ‘Abbasid and Fatimid periods. The glassware includes a bowl rim, four base fragments, a phial, the lower part of a bottle that is square in section, a bottle neck, and a body fragment with engraved decoration.
Coins
Robert Kool
Two coins were collected from the surface in the eastern square (L100). One is a cast copper anonymous ‘Abbasid fals (IAA 165693) dated to the late eighth–early ninth century CE, of a type found in large numbers in ‘Abbasid period layers throughout Southern Bilad ash-Sham and the Jazira (Kool 2019:526). The second coin is cut gold fragment dating to the mid to late twelfth century Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (IAA 165692), a rare find in excavations. This wedge-shaped specimen is an extremely rare bilingual type, showing on its obverse parts of a Fatimid dinar type with Arabic Kufic inscriptions in the center and margins; while the reverse shows remains of a hexagram design with a large pellet found on the cut gold minted by the Crusader kings during the twelfth century (Kool, Galili and Sharvit 2016:321).
Arabic-Inscribed Weight
Nitzan Amitai-Preiss
The excavation yielded a bronze barrel weight, composed of two smoothed truncated biconical parts joined together and smoothed at the join (L111, Basket 1052; diam. 0.9 cm; weight after cleaning 4.7 g; Fig. 8). One side of the weight is smooth with a hole in the center, and the other side bears a one-word Arabic inscription in relief and a prominent dot in the center, left from the mold in which the weight was cast.
Inscription: عمران
Transliteration: ‘Imran
It is not known whether ‘Imran is the name of an official, as supposed by Michael Bates, the former treasurer of the Islamic Collection in the American Numismatic Society (ANS), or a term that may have a technical meaning (Holland 1986:185). The word ‘Imran appears on denominations of variously shaped weights—barrel, disk (for weighing dinars)—found throughout the country (Holland 1986:185). A similar weight for weighing one dinar was found in excavations in Ramla (south); it weighs 4.2 g and bears an indecipherable letter that may be an Arabic ‘ayn (Tal 2008:206, No. 3). Holland’s catalogue contains five weights inscribed with ‘Imran (0.5–1.0 dinar; weight up to 4 g) from Caesarea Maritima (Holland 1986:45, Nos. 129, 154, 155, 158, 159). Additional weights in Hendin’s catalogue have the same inscription (weight 4.15 g); their provenance is unknown (Hendin 2007:229, No. 435).
Archaeozoology
Tehila Shadiel
A small, scant assemblage of 32 animal-bone fragments was recovered (Table 1). Nineteen sheep/goat bones (Capra/Ovis) were identified, as well as two cattle bones (Bos taurus) and eleven bones of medium-sized animals (like goat or sheep). All the bones were found in accumulations. The breakdown of the skeletal parts in the assemblage (Table 2; Stiner 2002) shows that most are fragments of long bones, cuts that are meat-rich in comparison with other body parts. The individuals were aged by the bones that have epiphyses, of which there are only ten in the assemblage. All of these exhibit epiphyseal fusion, showing that the animals reached maturity. The assemblage contains five sheep molars. The advanced state of the tooth wear (Grant 1982) attests to mature individuals. The individuals’ age shows that most were also fully exploited for secondary products such as wool and milk, although the limited size of the assemblage should be taken into consideration. No cut or burn marks or signs of predators’ gnawing were observed on the bone fragments. The limited evidence of human manipulation on the bones is probably due to the small size of the assemblage.
Table 1. Breakdown of animal bones
Species
|
Locus 100
|
Locus 106
|
Locus 107
|
Total
|
Sheep/goat
|
11
|
4
|
4
|
19 (60%)
|
Cattle
|
1
|
|
1
|
2 (6%)
|
Medium-sized animals
|
|
6
|
5
|
11 (34%)
|
Total
|
12
|
10
|
10
|
32 (100%)
|
Table 2. Breakdown of skeletal parts
Skeletal part
|
Sheep/goat
|
Medium-sized animals
|
Cattle
|
Total
|
Head
|
5
|
|
|
5
|
Limb bones
|
8
|
|
|
8
|
Ribs
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
Toes
|
3
|
|
|
3
|
Long bones
|
2
|
11
|
2
|
15
|
Total
|
19
|
11
|
2
|
32
|
Grant A. 1982. The Use of Tooth Wear as a Guide to the Age of Domestic Animals. In B. Wilson, C. Griggson and S. Payne eds. Aging and Sexing Animal Bones from Archaeological Sites (BAR Intl. S. 109). Oxford. Pp. 91–108.
Hendin D. 2007. Ancient Scale Weights and Pre-Coinage Currency of the Near East. New York.
Holland L. 1986. Islamic Bronze Weights from Caesarea Maritima. Museum Notes 31:171–201.
Kool R. 2019. Coins. In T. Hoffman. Ashkelon 8: The Islamic and Crusader Periods. Winona Lake. Pp. 523–574.
Kool R., Galili E. and Sharvit Y. 2016. Mid-twelfth Century Crusader Cut Gold Fragments from a Shipwreck off the Carmel Coast. Numismatic Chronicle 176:319–325.
Stiner M.C. 2002. On in situ Attrition and Vertebrate Body Part Profiles. JAS 29:979–999.
Tal O. 2008. Early Islamic Weights. Ramla (South) an Early Islamic Industrial Site and Remains of Previous Periods. Salvage Excavation Reports 5:205–209.
Toueg R. and Torgë H. 2015. Ramla, Hez Street. HA-ESI 127.