Khirbat \u27Ataruz 2011-2012: A Preliminary Report

Bible and Spade, 2017

Excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir, conducted between 1995 to 2016, provide insight into ancient settlement patterns in the Highlands of Israel. Four primary periods of occupation exist at the site: MBIII/LBI, IA, ER, and Byzantine.

The Site Bronze Age Fortress In 2014 no additional architecture from the Bronze Age Fortress was excavated; however, MB III and LB I pottery was found in all of the excavation areas. Much of the LB I pottery was refired, an indication that after initial kiln firing it was exposed to a later site-wide conflagration. The most important Bronze Age find was a scarab, discovered in the northeast corner of Square P20, or possibly P21. Since the scarab was recovered from a locus that had been disturbed by looters, the original location remains uncertain. It clearly dates from the late Hyksos or Second Intermediate period in Egypt (ca. 1668–1560) based on the circle motifs on its base (Fig. 1). Fig. 1. Hyksos Period Scarab from the Kh. el-Maqatir Bronze Age Fortress, 2014.

Archaeological Excavations and Research Studies in Southern Israel, 2022

Tel Burna—widely identified as biblical Libnah—and Khirbet el-‘Atar, c. 2 km north, occupy both sides of Naḥal Guvrin in the western Shephelah. At Tel Burna, excavations have revealed a prominent casemate fortification wall that encloses the site’s summit and is confidently dated to the Iron Age II. It was established at the early stages of the Iron Age II and was apparently used for several centuries, albeit with some changes. Previous surveys at Khirbat el-‘Atar indicated that this site was also occupied during the Iron Age II, and its topography is similar to that of Tel Burna. In November 2020, a highresolution survey was conducted at Khirbat el-‘Atar to better determine the periods of occupation at the site, explore the nature of its enclosed summit, and conduct a preliminary comparison with the Tel Burna excavations. Although no excavation has been held at Khirbat el-‘Atar, the survey’s results allow us to produce an initial exploratory reconstruction of the site’s occupational sequences during the Iron Age II and enrich our understanding of the geopolitical changes in the region.

Judea and Samaria Research Studies

This article will describe and discuss the results of the 2020–2021 seasons of the excavations at Khirbet ‘Aujah el-Foqa, a site in the southern Jordan Valley, north of Jericho. During these seasons, a section of the northern side of the site was excavated, including one complete structure. This structure, as well as the units around it, also contained a hasty abandonment or destruction layer from the Iron Age IIB similar to the one excavated in the southern part of the site. The article will illustrate reconstructed pottery from Area A, along with other finds. A large complex containing rooms and open areas appears to have been located in this area, although its function is still unclear. Finally, the reconstruction of the architecture will be discussed, along with the possible significance and function of the site.

Since the publication of William F. Albright’s 1924 watershed article “Ai and Beth-Aven”, the location of ‘Ai has been fixed at et-Tell and uncritically accepted by most scholars without question, so much so that if one wishes to read about the archaeology of et-Tell, one must look under the subject heading “Ai” in reference books. This, in spite of the fact that et-Tell has little correspondence with the description of ‘Ai given in Joshua 7–8 in the Hebrew Bible. On December 13, 1981, the Archaeological Survey of the Hill Country of Benjamin surveyed the small site of Kh. el-Maqatir 1 km west of et-Tell and reported evidence for Middle Bronze Age occupation. When visiting the site in the early 1990s, the author noted the striking correspondence between the topography of the site and the details given in Joshua 7–8. Excavations were commenced in 1995 to determine if there is archaeological evidence to support the hypothesis that Kh. el-Maqatir is the ‘Ai of Joshua 7–8. After 12 seasons of excavation, substantial evidence has been found to confirm this hypothesis.

Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 2022

From 2015-2019 excavations were conducted at the site of Khirbet al-Ra'i, in the Judean Shephelah 4 km west of Lachish. Remains from the 12th-10th centuries BCE have been uncovered. In the late 12th and 11th centuries BCE the site appears to be the main site in the region after the fall of Canaanite Lachish. In the early 10th century it was a small village contemporary with the fortified city of Khirbet Qeiyafa.

This article will describe and discuss the results of the 2020-2021 seasons of the excavations at Khirbet 'Aujah el-Foqa, a site in the southern Jordan Valley, north of Jericho. During these seasons, a section of the northern side of the site was excavated, including one complete structure. This structure, as well as the units around it, also contained a hasty abandonment or destruction layer from the Iron Age IIB similar to the one excavated in the southern part of the site. The article will illustrate reconstructed pottery from Area A, along with other finds. A large complex containing rooms and open areas appears to have been located in this area, although its function is still unclear. Finally, the reconstruction of the architecture will be discussed, along with the possible significance and function of the site.

After a hiatus of eight years, the seventh–ninth seasons of salvage excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir, 15 km north of Jerusalem, were conducted from 2009 to 2011. Four phases of occupation were found: a small fortress from the Middle Bronze III-Late Bronze I period, an Iron Age I settlement, a Late Hellenistic-Early Roman fortified town, and a Byzantine monastery. From the fortress phase, the west fortification wall was investigated and found to be 3.5 m wide. An infant jar burial was discovered beneath a building located inside the gate. On the south side a large limestone monolith was found, which may be the remains of a damaged stela. Excavations on the east side of the site exposed a well-preserved first-century CE house. A church described by early travelers was also investigated. It was determined that it was initially a single-apse, basilica-style church. This was later replaced by a tri-apsidal church with a two-story monastery of the coenobium type built around the basilica church.