W. Ameling (ed.), Centre and Periphery, Working with the Inscriptions of Iudaea/Palaestina, [Antiquitas, Abhandlungen zur Alten Geschichte, Band 76], Bonn: Rudolf Habelt, pp. 91-101; Tafel 6-14., 2022
Horbat Basal (Khirbet Umm el-Basal), is located about 1.5 km northeast of the Roman city of Beth... more Horbat Basal (Khirbet Umm el-Basal), is located about 1.5 km northeast of the Roman city of Beth Guvrin–Eleutheropolis. The site contains three distinct areas separated by slopes that are mostly devoid of ancient remains. (a) The hilltop section (b) ‘Iraq Finish and the “triangular compound” (c) “Abraham’s Tomb”.
The focus of the present article is “Abraham’s Tomb”, a rock-cut subterranean complex comprising four interconnected cavities, carved in the soft, chalky bedrock.
Two crosses and one Greek inscription were painted on the northwestern wall of “bell-shaped” Cavity C at a height of ca. 4 m above the sediment covering the floor. The height of the dipinti suggests that these were produced during the hewing process, when these levels were easily accessed.
Dipinto no. 1: A cross, set within a wreath painted in red. The wreath is about 0.5 m in diameter and has a knot at the bottom. Schematic green leaves protrude from the body of the wreath. The quadrants bear the Greek letters iota chi (the first letters of the words Jesus Christos in Greek) and alpha omega – the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Christian symbols of the beginning and the end, based on a verse from Revelation: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8).
Dipinto no. 2 is set within a tabula ansata (0.85 x 0.40 m), surmounted by a cross. A horizontal palm branch lies within the tabula ansata, in the right-hand corner.
The inscription reads:
ΘΗΚΗ ΤΟΥ ΑΒΡΑΑΜ Θήκη τοû Αβρααμ
ΤΟΥ ΔΙΚΕΟΥ τοû Δίκεοu
Tomb of Abraham the Righteous
or
Tomb of Abraham, son of Dikeos.
Dipinto no. 3: The cross (arms: 0.9 x 0.55 m) is a schematic jeweled or ornamented cross (crux gemmata). As in dipinto no. 1, the quadrants bear the Greek letters iota chi and alpha omega.
Cavity C is typologically a “bell-shaped underground quarry” – certainly not a tomb, underground chapel, or rock-cut church. The dipinti show that the underground quarry was allocated for religious use within the broad context of extra-ecclesial devotion.
The somewhat monumental inscription and well-executed crosses are unusual. While painted decorations and/or inscriptions are found on walls of Byzantine-period tombs, they are nonexistent on walls of bell-shaped quarries.
The article discusses the function of the underground system, its decorations and the rather formal inscription that indicates the object of veneration: Abraham and his possible identification as a saint, a monk, or a martyr.
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Papers by Boaz Zissu
to it was the name ינתן in the Palaeo-Hebrew script. The discovery raises two new questions that we cannot as yet answer:
1. Might there have been a connection between the owners of the burial cave and the Shaphan family known from the late First Temple period in Jerusalem?
2. What is the significance of the form ינתן of the name Yehonatan, and why was the inscription, incised in the Palaeo-Hebrew script, used on a unique group of Hasmonean coins?
The choice of the Palaeo-Hebrew script for an unofficial, non-sacred purpose is interesting. Additionally, this script was very rarely used in burial inscriptions in the Second Temple period.
Zissu B., 2024. A Rock-Cut Tomb at Iyyei Nahash in the Judean Shephelah. In: R. Deutsch and A. Lemaire (eds.), Gabriel, Tell this Man the Meaning of his Vision, Studies in Archaeology, Epigraphy, Iconography and the Biblical World in Honor of Gabriel Barkay on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday. Tel Aviv: Archaeological Center Publications, pp. 583-595.
The focus of the present article is “Abraham’s Tomb”, a rock-cut subterranean complex comprising four interconnected cavities, carved in the soft, chalky bedrock.
Two crosses and one Greek inscription were painted on the northwestern wall of “bell-shaped” Cavity C at a height of ca. 4 m above the sediment covering the floor. The height of the dipinti suggests that these were produced during the hewing process, when these levels were easily accessed.
Dipinto no. 1: A cross, set within a wreath painted in red. The wreath is about 0.5 m in diameter and has a knot at the bottom. Schematic green leaves protrude from the body of the wreath. The quadrants bear the Greek letters iota chi (the first letters of the words Jesus Christos in Greek) and alpha omega – the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Christian symbols of the beginning and the end, based on a verse from Revelation: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8).
Dipinto no. 2 is set within a tabula ansata (0.85 x 0.40 m), surmounted by a cross. A horizontal palm branch lies within the tabula ansata, in the right-hand corner.
The inscription reads:
ΘΗΚΗ ΤΟΥ ΑΒΡΑΑΜ Θήκη τοû Αβρααμ
ΤΟΥ ΔΙΚΕΟΥ τοû Δίκεοu
Tomb of Abraham the Righteous
or
Tomb of Abraham, son of Dikeos.
Dipinto no. 3: The cross (arms: 0.9 x 0.55 m) is a schematic jeweled or ornamented cross (crux gemmata). As in dipinto no. 1, the quadrants bear the Greek letters iota chi and alpha omega.
Cavity C is typologically a “bell-shaped underground quarry” – certainly not a tomb, underground chapel, or rock-cut church. The dipinti show that the underground quarry was allocated for religious use within the broad context of extra-ecclesial devotion.
The somewhat monumental inscription and well-executed crosses are unusual. While painted decorations and/or inscriptions are found on walls of Byzantine-period tombs, they are nonexistent on walls of bell-shaped quarries.
The article discusses the function of the underground system, its decorations and the rather formal inscription that indicates the object of veneration: Abraham and his possible identification as a saint, a monk, or a martyr.
The article presents the findings discovered in one of the underground hiding complexes. Various graffiti were found engraved on the walls of a tunnel inside the underground system, including a cursive Hebrew graffito of an abecedarium; The graffiti, the archaeological context in which they were discovered and an explanation for their possible use are presented and analyzed.
collapsed, soil erosion exposed these cisterns, which now serve as well-preserved indicators of the location and levels of the houses - that supplied the water. The study examines to what extent the land abandonment in the late Byzantine - early Islamic period resulted in denudation and soil property changes. We hypothesize that the
abandonment of settlements and agriculture intensified soil erosion and amplified gully development. Approximately 140 cisterns were mapped in the study area, mainly north of the ephemeral Nahal Gerar stream. The height of the cisterns above the ground was used to calculate the denudation rate (DR) since abandonment.
Findings indicate that over relatively flat terrains (1–5 %), cisterns protrude 0.5–1.2 m above the surface. Considering abandonment in the 6th or 11th century, DR was calculated as 0.35–0.85 mm/yr or 0.5–1.2 mm/yr, respectively. Over steeper slopes (10–12 %), along river banks and incised gullies, extensive bank erosion
occurred, leading to the exposure of cisterns up to 2.5 m; DR = 1.8 to 2.5 mm/yr, depending on the abandonment time. The settlements’ distribution and the surface topography directly correlate: in settled areas, Terrain Roughness Index (TRI) values are higher compared to other areas with the same lithology and rainfall amount.
Following abandonment, decaying houses resulted in the complete disintegration of mud bricks, increasing the proportion of fine soil fractions. Cisterns acted as sedimentation basins, trapping surface-derived sediments and debris, including degraded brick material. This process influenced the mechanical composition of soils, affecting soil erosion and land degradation.;
LINK TO FULL ARTICLE
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/zaw-2023-4005/html
‘En Qobi is a spring in the upper reaches of Nahal Qobi, a tributary of Nahal Refai’m, West of Jerusalem. There is evidence of human activity near the spring from the Bronze Age to the present – a span of approximately 3,000 years.
The article presents and discusses (a) the spring and its water system; (b) partial excavations and the preservation of the interior of the medieval church located near the spring; (c) H. Tasit and a nearby refuge cave, both located west of the spring; (d) H. Qobi, situated east of the spring.
Our team cleaned the water system, which consists of a long spring tunnel, a large underground reservoir, an open pool and other elements typical of systems used to tap spring water in the Judean Hills. This system was apparently built in the Early Roman period, was renovated again and again and remained in use until recent times.
The medieval church has a rectangular nave, oriented east-west with well-preserved ashlar walls. The inner walls were covered with polychrome frescoes. Elbow columns topped with capitals, characteristic of Frankish (Crusader) architecture in the Jerusalem area, were found in situ on the northern and eastern walls. Our funds permitted only a partial excavation of some portions of the inner walls. Inadequate funding prevented a full excavation of the church walls and floors, so the construction phases of the structure were not fully clarified.
H. Tasit is a relatively small site, apparently an agricultural estate from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Unfortunately, the site was looted extensively in the past. On the nearby slope we detected and explored a small karstic cave that was apparently used for refuge purposes in the first – second centuries CE.
H. Qobi is a small, ruined village located on a prominent hilltop above the spring. Without extensive excavation it is difficult to ascertain its function and past. An underground olive press and some looted tombs on the slopes were explored. Pottery and finds from the Late Hellenistic, Early Roman, Byzantine, Medieval, Ottoman and British Mandate periods were collected.
‘En Qobi has been identified as Qobi, a location near Bethar mentioned in a story in the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 95a) and in additional Roman-period, late antique and medieval sources. The article describes the sites and discusses their historical-geographical significance and identification.
to it was the name ינתן in the Palaeo-Hebrew script. The discovery raises two new questions that we cannot as yet answer:
1. Might there have been a connection between the owners of the burial cave and the Shaphan family known from the late First Temple period in Jerusalem?
2. What is the significance of the form ינתן of the name Yehonatan, and why was the inscription, incised in the Palaeo-Hebrew script, used on a unique group of Hasmonean coins?
The choice of the Palaeo-Hebrew script for an unofficial, non-sacred purpose is interesting. Additionally, this script was very rarely used in burial inscriptions in the Second Temple period.
Zissu B., 2024. A Rock-Cut Tomb at Iyyei Nahash in the Judean Shephelah. In: R. Deutsch and A. Lemaire (eds.), Gabriel, Tell this Man the Meaning of his Vision, Studies in Archaeology, Epigraphy, Iconography and the Biblical World in Honor of Gabriel Barkay on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday. Tel Aviv: Archaeological Center Publications, pp. 583-595.
The focus of the present article is “Abraham’s Tomb”, a rock-cut subterranean complex comprising four interconnected cavities, carved in the soft, chalky bedrock.
Two crosses and one Greek inscription were painted on the northwestern wall of “bell-shaped” Cavity C at a height of ca. 4 m above the sediment covering the floor. The height of the dipinti suggests that these were produced during the hewing process, when these levels were easily accessed.
Dipinto no. 1: A cross, set within a wreath painted in red. The wreath is about 0.5 m in diameter and has a knot at the bottom. Schematic green leaves protrude from the body of the wreath. The quadrants bear the Greek letters iota chi (the first letters of the words Jesus Christos in Greek) and alpha omega – the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Christian symbols of the beginning and the end, based on a verse from Revelation: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8).
Dipinto no. 2 is set within a tabula ansata (0.85 x 0.40 m), surmounted by a cross. A horizontal palm branch lies within the tabula ansata, in the right-hand corner.
The inscription reads:
ΘΗΚΗ ΤΟΥ ΑΒΡΑΑΜ Θήκη τοû Αβρααμ
ΤΟΥ ΔΙΚΕΟΥ τοû Δίκεοu
Tomb of Abraham the Righteous
or
Tomb of Abraham, son of Dikeos.
Dipinto no. 3: The cross (arms: 0.9 x 0.55 m) is a schematic jeweled or ornamented cross (crux gemmata). As in dipinto no. 1, the quadrants bear the Greek letters iota chi and alpha omega.
Cavity C is typologically a “bell-shaped underground quarry” – certainly not a tomb, underground chapel, or rock-cut church. The dipinti show that the underground quarry was allocated for religious use within the broad context of extra-ecclesial devotion.
The somewhat monumental inscription and well-executed crosses are unusual. While painted decorations and/or inscriptions are found on walls of Byzantine-period tombs, they are nonexistent on walls of bell-shaped quarries.
The article discusses the function of the underground system, its decorations and the rather formal inscription that indicates the object of veneration: Abraham and his possible identification as a saint, a monk, or a martyr.
The article presents the findings discovered in one of the underground hiding complexes. Various graffiti were found engraved on the walls of a tunnel inside the underground system, including a cursive Hebrew graffito of an abecedarium; The graffiti, the archaeological context in which they were discovered and an explanation for their possible use are presented and analyzed.
collapsed, soil erosion exposed these cisterns, which now serve as well-preserved indicators of the location and levels of the houses - that supplied the water. The study examines to what extent the land abandonment in the late Byzantine - early Islamic period resulted in denudation and soil property changes. We hypothesize that the
abandonment of settlements and agriculture intensified soil erosion and amplified gully development. Approximately 140 cisterns were mapped in the study area, mainly north of the ephemeral Nahal Gerar stream. The height of the cisterns above the ground was used to calculate the denudation rate (DR) since abandonment.
Findings indicate that over relatively flat terrains (1–5 %), cisterns protrude 0.5–1.2 m above the surface. Considering abandonment in the 6th or 11th century, DR was calculated as 0.35–0.85 mm/yr or 0.5–1.2 mm/yr, respectively. Over steeper slopes (10–12 %), along river banks and incised gullies, extensive bank erosion
occurred, leading to the exposure of cisterns up to 2.5 m; DR = 1.8 to 2.5 mm/yr, depending on the abandonment time. The settlements’ distribution and the surface topography directly correlate: in settled areas, Terrain Roughness Index (TRI) values are higher compared to other areas with the same lithology and rainfall amount.
Following abandonment, decaying houses resulted in the complete disintegration of mud bricks, increasing the proportion of fine soil fractions. Cisterns acted as sedimentation basins, trapping surface-derived sediments and debris, including degraded brick material. This process influenced the mechanical composition of soils, affecting soil erosion and land degradation.;
LINK TO FULL ARTICLE
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/zaw-2023-4005/html
‘En Qobi is a spring in the upper reaches of Nahal Qobi, a tributary of Nahal Refai’m, West of Jerusalem. There is evidence of human activity near the spring from the Bronze Age to the present – a span of approximately 3,000 years.
The article presents and discusses (a) the spring and its water system; (b) partial excavations and the preservation of the interior of the medieval church located near the spring; (c) H. Tasit and a nearby refuge cave, both located west of the spring; (d) H. Qobi, situated east of the spring.
Our team cleaned the water system, which consists of a long spring tunnel, a large underground reservoir, an open pool and other elements typical of systems used to tap spring water in the Judean Hills. This system was apparently built in the Early Roman period, was renovated again and again and remained in use until recent times.
The medieval church has a rectangular nave, oriented east-west with well-preserved ashlar walls. The inner walls were covered with polychrome frescoes. Elbow columns topped with capitals, characteristic of Frankish (Crusader) architecture in the Jerusalem area, were found in situ on the northern and eastern walls. Our funds permitted only a partial excavation of some portions of the inner walls. Inadequate funding prevented a full excavation of the church walls and floors, so the construction phases of the structure were not fully clarified.
H. Tasit is a relatively small site, apparently an agricultural estate from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Unfortunately, the site was looted extensively in the past. On the nearby slope we detected and explored a small karstic cave that was apparently used for refuge purposes in the first – second centuries CE.
H. Qobi is a small, ruined village located on a prominent hilltop above the spring. Without extensive excavation it is difficult to ascertain its function and past. An underground olive press and some looted tombs on the slopes were explored. Pottery and finds from the Late Hellenistic, Early Roman, Byzantine, Medieval, Ottoman and British Mandate periods were collected.
‘En Qobi has been identified as Qobi, a location near Bethar mentioned in a story in the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 95a) and in additional Roman-period, late antique and medieval sources. The article describes the sites and discusses their historical-geographical significance and identification.
During the Hellenistic and Roman Periods, numerous installations were hewn. Fixing the exact date of these cavities and identifying the ethnicity of the cutters is difficult. Sometimes an approximate dating can be based on the style of quarrying, the integration of architectural, technical, or stylistic elements, context and purpose, dated artifacts, the chronology of the above-ground site, and rarely - graffiti and inscriptions incised on the walls of the installations. Large numbers of these underground installations were connected to each other by narrow tunnels allowing passage only by crawling and were integrated into underground hiding complexes used in the Bar-Kokhba Revolt (132-136 CE)
This paper presents four underground installations from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods with graffiti of boats incised on their doorpost or lintel. These installations, located in ancient sites in the vicinity of the Hellenistic city 'Maresha', were later integrated into hiding complexes that were used during the Bar-Kokhba Revolt. The paper discusses the use of the underground installations, the context and dating of the graffiti and the reason for their appearance and possible meaning.
לצד הדרכים הראשיות אל העיר. עם זאת, בירושלים של התקופה הרומית הקדומה טרם נבדקו בצורה יסודית הקשר בין הדרכים ובין בתי הקברות והיחס ביניהם, אף על פי שכבר נכתב רבות על עולם הקבורה של ירושלים. אף שרחוקה האפשרות שכל מערות הקבורה שבסביבות ירושלים הותקנו ליד הדרכים, אפשר להציע בזהירות שהקברים המונומנטליים דווקא כן ניצבו לצד הדרכים הראשיות אל העיר.
במאמר זה נבקש לסקור שני מקרי מבחן של קבוצות קברים מפוארים בסביבות ירושלים, שייתכן שנחצבו והותקנו בזיקה לדרכים אל העיר – קברי נחל קדרון וקברי סנהדריה. ראשית נציג רקע קצר על מעמדה של ירושלים בימי הבית השני ועל תופעת העלייה לרגל אליה בתקופה ההלניסטית והרומית הקדומה; לאחר מכן נסקור את תופעת הקבורה המונומנטלית בירושלים בתקופה זו; נתאר את מאפייני קבוצות הקברים המפוארים בשני המקרים הנידונים, את שרידי הדרכים שהתגלו בקרבתם ואת זיקת הקברים לדרכים אלו; נציע אפשרות לשחזור מהלך הדרכים בשני הקטעים הנידונים; ולבסוף נבקש לשאול מה הניע את האליטות היהודיות להקים את הקברים
המונומנטליים הללו, וכיצד הן ביקשו להפגין את מעמדן דרך מתקני הקבורה.
Eitan Klein, Boaz Zissu and Amir Ganor
Ḥorvat Ribbo is an ancient site located some 3 km south of the Elah Valley, 2.5 km south of Tel Sokho and 2.5 km northwest of Tel Adullam. During the years 2000–2001 and 2011–2013 the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted a survey at the site. The article presents a report of the results of the field survey. The authors uncovered remains of various buildings and rock-cut features and underground artificial cavities in and around the ancient site — including a hiding-complex, columbaria, elements of an oil press, winepresses, quarries, storage chambers, cisterns, and several tombs.
The various features and remains belong to a significant Jewish settlement, active during the Second Temple Period and the Bar-Kokhba Revolt, and to a Christian settlement from the Byzantine Period.
Boaz Zissu and Dvir Raviv
Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology
Bar-Ilan University
Kh. El-Urmeh is situated on the top of a commanding hill in Eastern Samaria, about two kilometers north-west of the Arab village of Aqraba and two kilometers south - east of the Jewish settlement of Itamar. Scholars have identified here Biblical Arumah, the city of Abimelech son of Gideon the judge.
The most impressive feature are the remains of a Hasmonean – Herodian fortress, and its water supply system. The system includes a series of rock-cut and plastered cisterns, supplied by surface runoff water.
These cisterns, of a design familiar from Hasmonean and Herodian fortresses in the Judean Desert as well as from fortresses located in the settled parts of Judea, may have been associated with a royal fortress. Similar cisterns were recorded at Sartaba-Alexandrium, Kipros, Horqania, Doc-Dagon, Masada, Kh. El-Hamam, H. Tura, etc.
In the early '80s Hanan Eshel and Ze'ev H. Erlich documented at Kh. El-Urmeh six cisterns, of a total volume of c. 5000 cubic meters.
In this article the authors present a brief, renewed documentation of the watersysttem . It turned out that the site was recently severely damaged by unsupervised development work, quarrying and road construction made with heavy machinery by the residents of the nearby village of Beta.
These works uncovered openings of four additional cisterns, sealed until recently. The cisterns have similar characteristics. The total volume of ten cisterns is estimated at c. 15000 cubic meters.
The effort of installing the cisterns was probably due to the need to ensure year-round supply of adequate quantity of water to the residents of the fortress, located on the edge of the desert.
These findings reinforce the suggestion of a previous study by H. Eshel and Z. Ehrlich, who identified the fortress at Kh. El-Urmeh as a royal Judean fortress from the Second Temple period.
The article discusses the geographical identification of these places in light of archaeological excavations and surveys performed by the author in the Judaean Shephelah (Foothills). This study suggests new identification options: Caphetra could be identified with Horbat ‘Ethri, a well preserved Jewish village from the Second Temple and Bar Kokhba periods, and Capharabis could be Horbat Burgin, a large but previously unexplored site located on a commanding position and surrounded by an impressive Second Temple period necropolis.
The present article compiles published and unpublished archaeological material concerning burial caves and mausolea, scattered on the hills surrounding the ancient Jewish settlement.
In some of the tombs, decorated stone ossuaries were used for secondary burials – as receptacles of collected bones, according to the ancient Jewish custom. Some of the ossuaries are typical to the Second Temple period and the Bar Kokhba War, while others are dated to the Late Roman period.
The most interesting burial installations are the mausolea. Their lower part was hewn in the bedrock while their upper part was built of large ashlar stones. A pyramidal monument (nefesh) stood above some of the hypogea. The mausolea are very rare in Judaea. In Galilee they are widespread, and are dated mainly to the second and third centuries C.E.
The similarity between the mausolea at Eshtamoa and their Galilean parallels may point to the possibility that their origin is Galilean. Thus, we can assume that Eshtamoa was resettled by Jews who returned to their villages in the Darom (Southern Judaea) from the Galilee in the days of Rabbi Yehuda ha'Nassi, at the beginning of the third century C.E.
Jewish settlement in the Land of Judea suffered from two severe blows that occurred within a period of about 65 years.
The Jewish War resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, but the rural settlement in Judea survived. Following the failure of the Bar-Kokhba war, the Jewish settlement in Judea was severely damaged, but the extent of the destruction is not entirely clear.
From the beginning of the third century CE there is evidence for the existence of an important Jewish center in Lod - Diospolis and its surroundings, such as Ono. There are some enigmatic references to the existence of a Jewish community in Jerusalem – "the Kehilla Kadishah De'Yerushalaim". To this period belong also some references in the Rabinic literature to sages of the Darom, as Rabbi Yonatan and Rabbi Judah Ben Ya'akov of Bet Guvrin. The Onomasticon of Eusebius, from the beginning of the fourth century CE, attests to the existence of a Jewish center in southern Judea, concentrated in seven communities: Thalla, Rimmon, 'Ania, Yutah, Eshtamo'a, Carmel and En Gedi. A variety of archaeological finds support the written sources, indicating a Jewish settlement during this period in southern Judea - the region known as the "Darom", or Jewish South.
Many questions arise - for if this is the case in the third and fourth centuries in southern Judea, how can we explain the presence of large and important Jewish villages in the region ? Are these villages the result of a long and continuous process of development? Or maybe – were these settlements founded shortly after the Bar – Kokhba war? If they were established after the war – what is the exact date of their foundation ? What historical circumstances made possible the return of Jews to the "Darom" ?
This article examines written sources and archaeological finds from the Late Roman period, discovered in southern Judea, and discusses the possibility that the origin of the development of the Jewish community at the beginning of the third century CE in the "Darom" is connected to the return of Galilean Jews.
An inscribed ossuary from the first century C.E. found in Jerusalem, informs us about the birthplace of one of the tomb owners – Sokho. Two Judaean cities named Sokho are known from the Bible (Joshua 15: 35, 48; Samuel I, 17:1). One is identified in the Hebron Hills and the other in the Judean Foothills. Sokho is mentioned in the Rabbinic literature as the place of origin of Antigonos of Sokho and of Rabbi Levi the Sokhite.
Archaeological surveys have exposed scanty remains from the end of the Second Temple period at the Hebron Hills' Sokho. An archaeological survey carried by the author at the Judaean Foothills' Sokho revealed remarkable remains from this period: four ritual baths (mikvaoth), an underground hiding complex and various coins. This is the first publication of the results of our survey.
The new discoveries allow the identification of the birth place of the anonymous Sokhite mentioned in the ossuary inscription from Jerusalem with the site in the Judaean foothills. Perhaps this Sokho is also the place referred in the Rabbinic Literature.
Nachum Sagiv and Boaz Zissu
Horvat Tabaq is an ancient site, situated on the south slopes of Tel Goded, in the Judaean Foothills, about two kms. North-East of Beth Guvrin - Roman Eleutheropolis. A survey and excavations were carried by the authors at the site and in the nearby necropolis on behalf of the Bar Ilan University, with the assistance of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The different components of the site are presented in the Hebrew article, focusing on the description of the complicated subterranean systems,and the necropolis of the site, their archaeological findings, and their possible historical significance.
The overall area of the ancient site is about 5 dunams. The site is located at the bottom of a slope, close to a rich water source, near a main route and fertile lands. Typical to this region is the systematically usage of the bedrock - soft limestone (kirton). An entangled underground maze had been carved ground deep, under the buildings of the ancient site. Due to the good preservation of the man-made caves, their various uses could be identified, such as quarries, storage halls, water-reservoirs, industrial installations, columbaria, mikvaoth (ritual baths), hiding complexes and burial caves. In comparison to our good understanding of the subterranean parts of the ancient site, little is known of the plan and nature of the houses built above the ground. Maybe further excavations will clarify this issue.
In spite of the illegal excavations of the underground halls and chambers, sufficient data was recovered, thus enabling an understanding of the different periods of human occupation. We presume that the inhabitancy had begun in the Persian period and climaxed in the first century C.E.. The archaeological findings give evidence to a Jewish population at that time, with customs similar to those of Jerusalem’s Jews. They used limestone vessels (unsusceptible to ritual impurity), immerse in the mikveh (for being ritualy pure) and used stone ossuaries for secondary individual burial.
The site at Kh. Tabaq ceased to exist at the first half of the second century C.E., apparently during the violent events of the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 CE). Typical items, such as glass vessels and Judaean (‘southern’) lamps, discovered in the underground chambers and in the mikveh leave no doubt as to the date of destruction of the site. It seems that the three hiding systems were hewn during the preparations of this revolt.
Remains such as mikvaot, ossuaries, stone vessels and Judaean lamps make Kh. Tabaq a typical Second Temple period Jewish site. Spotting such finds at other sites would help identifying additional Jewish sites from this period all around Judaea.