VOLUME 59 • NUMBER 1 • 2009

CONTENTS

1 ODED LIPSCHITS, MANFRED OEMING, YUVAL GADOT and BENJAMIN ARUBAS:

The 2006 and 2007 Excavation Seasons at Ramat Ra¢el: Preliminary Report

21 ROI PORAT, HANAN ESHEL and AMOS FRUMKIN: The ‘Caves of the Spear’:

Refuge Caves from the Bar-Kokhba Revolt North of ªEn-Gedi

47 ORIT SIMCHONI and MORDECHAI E. KISLEV: Relict Plant Remains in the

‘Caves of the Spear’

63 DAVID EITAM: Cereals in the Ghassulian Culture in Central Israel: Grinding

Installations as a Case Study

80 RACHEL BEN-DOV and AZRIEL GORSKI: A Metal Implement Wrapped in

Linen from Tel Dan

86 CHRISTOPHER A. ROLLSTON: Prosopography and the ìáæé Seal

92 RENATE ROSENTHAL-HEGINBOTTOM: Ceramics from Jericho and Masada:

Review Article

VARIA

100 MALKA HERSHKOVITZ: A Note on I. Taxel’s ‘Application-Decorated Bowls’

101 NOTES AND NEWS

123 REVIEWS

135 BOOKS RECEIVED — 2008

Page layout by Avraham Pladot

Typesetting by Marzel A.S. — Jerusalem

Printed by Old City Press, Jerusalem

Israel

Exploration

Journal

VOLUME 59 • NUMBER 1JERUSALEM, ISRAEL • 2009

IEJ

591

VOLUME 59 • NUMBER 1 • 2009

CONTENTS

1 ODED LIPSCHITS, MANFRED OEMING, YUVAL GADOT and BENJAMIN ARUBAS:

The 2006 and 2007 Excavation Seasons at Ramat Ra¢el: Preliminary Report

21 ROI PORAT, HANAN ESHEL and AMOS FRUMKIN: The ‘Caves of the Spear’:

Refuge Caves from the Bar-Kokhba Revolt North of ªEn-Gedi

47 ORIT SIMCHONI and MORDECHAI E. KISLEV: Relict Plant Remains in the

‘Caves of the Spear’

63 DAVID EITAM: Cereals in the Ghassulian Culture in Central Israel: Grinding

Installations as a Case Study

80 RACHEL BEN-DOV and AZRIEL GORSKI: A Metal Implement Wrapped in

Linen from Tel Dan

86 CHRISTOPHER A. ROLLSTON: Prosopography and the ìáæé Seal

92 RENATE ROSENTHAL-HEGINBOTTOM: Ceramics from Jericho and Masada:

Review Article

VARIA

100 MALKA HERSHKOVITZ: A Note on I. Taxel’s ‘Application-Decorated Bowls’

101 NOTES AND NEWS

123 REVIEWS

135 BOOKS RECEIVED — 2008

Page layout by Avraham Pladot

Typesetting by Marzel A.S. — Jerusalem

Printed by Old City Press, Jerusalem

Israel

Exploration

Journal

VOLUME 59 • NUMBER 1JERUSALEM, ISRAEL • 2009

IEJ

591

ISRAEL EXPLORATION JOURNAL

Published twice yearly by the Israel Exploration Society

and the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University,

with the assistance of the Nathan Davidson Publication

Fund in Archaeology, Samis Foundation, Seattle, WA,

Dorot Foundation, Providence, RI, and P.E.F. Israel

Endowment Funds Inc., New York

FOUNDED BY A. REIFENBERG

EDITED BY M. AVI-YONAH FROM 1950 TO 1973

Shmuel A¢ituv and Miriam Tadmor, Editors

Gloria Merker, Associate Editor

Joseph Aviram, Administrative Editor

Tsipi Kuper-Blau, Production Editor

Editorial Advisory Board: D. Barag, O. Bar-Yosef, I. Ephªal,

B.A. Levine, A. Malamat, A. Mazar, J. Naveh, M. Rosen-Ayalon

Israel Exploration Society website: www.hum.huji.ac.il/ies

All correspondence, papers for publication and books for review should be addressed to:

The Editor, Israel Exploration Journal, P.O.B. 7041, Jerusalem 91070, Israel.

Copyright © 2009 Israel Exploration Society

ISSN 0021-2059

The Editors are not responsible for opinions expressed by the contributors.

ABBREVIATIONS

AASOR Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research

ADAJ Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan

AJA American Journal of Archaeology

AfO Archiv für Orientforschung

ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament3, ed. J.B. Pritchard,

Princeton, 1969

BA The Biblical Archaeologist

BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

BT Babylonian Talmud

CAD Chicago Assyrian Dictionary

CIS Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum

DJD Discoveries in the Judaean Desert

DSD Dead Sea Discoveries

EI Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies

ESI Excavations and Surveys in Israel

IAA Reports Israel Antiquities Authority Reports

IEJ Israel Exploration Journal

JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JCS Journal of Cuneiform Studies

JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology

JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies

KAI W. Donner and W. Röllig: Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften 1–3,

Wiesbaden, 1962–1964; 15, 2002

NEAEHL The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (English

Edition), Jerusalem, 1993

PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly

PT Palestinian Talmud

QDAP Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine

RA Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale

RB Revue Biblique

RE Pauly-Wissowa’s Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft

RQ Revue de Qumran

VT Vetus Testamentum

ZA Zeitschrift für Assyriologie

ZDPV Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES

2009: $60 including postage or equivalent payable to

the Israel Exploration Society, P.O.B. 7041, Jerusalem 91070, Israel.

All subscribers are entitled to a 25% reduction on the publications of the Society.

Subscribers should give full name and postal address when paying their

subscription, and should send notice of change of address at least five weeks before

it is to take effect; the old as well as the new address should be given.

Single issue: $30 or equivalent.

ISRAEL EXPLORATION JOURNAL

Published twice yearly by the Israel Exploration Society

and the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University,

with the assistance of the Nathan Davidson Publication

Fund in Archaeology, Samis Foundation, Seattle, WA,

Dorot Foundation, Providence, RI, and P.E.F. Israel

Endowment Funds Inc., New York

FOUNDED BY A. REIFENBERG

EDITED BY M. AVI-YONAH FROM 1950 TO 1973

Shmuel A¢ituv and Miriam Tadmor, Editors

Gloria Merker, Associate Editor

Joseph Aviram, Administrative Editor

Tsipi Kuper-Blau, Production Editor

Editorial Advisory Board: D. Barag, O. Bar-Yosef, I. Ephªal,

B.A. Levine, A. Malamat, A. Mazar, J. Naveh, M. Rosen-Ayalon

Israel Exploration Society website: www.hum.huji.ac.il/ies

All correspondence, papers for publication and books for review should be addressed to:

The Editor, Israel Exploration Journal, P.O.B. 7041, Jerusalem 91070, Israel.

Copyright © 2009 Israel Exploration Society

ISSN 0021-2059

The Editors are not responsible for opinions expressed by the contributors.

ABBREVIATIONS

AASOR Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research

ADAJ Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan

AJA American Journal of Archaeology

AfO Archiv für Orientforschung

ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament3, ed. J.B. Pritchard,

Princeton, 1969

BA The Biblical Archaeologist

BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

BT Babylonian Talmud

CAD Chicago Assyrian Dictionary

CIS Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum

DJD Discoveries in the Judaean Desert

DSD Dead Sea Discoveries

EI Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies

ESI Excavations and Surveys in Israel

IAA Reports Israel Antiquities Authority Reports

IEJ Israel Exploration Journal

JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JCS Journal of Cuneiform Studies

JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology

JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies

KAI W. Donner and W. Röllig: Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften 1–3,

Wiesbaden, 1962–1964; 15, 2002

NEAEHL The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (English

Edition), Jerusalem, 1993

PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly

PT Palestinian Talmud

QDAP Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine

RA Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale

RB Revue Biblique

RE Pauly-Wissowa’s Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft

RQ Revue de Qumran

VT Vetus Testamentum

ZA Zeitschrift für Assyriologie

ZDPV Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES

2009: $60 including postage or equivalent payable to

the Israel Exploration Society, P.O.B. 7041, Jerusalem 91070, Israel.

All subscribers are entitled to a 25% reduction on the publications of the Society.

Subscribers should give full name and postal address when paying their

subscription, and should send notice of change of address at least five weeks before

it is to take effect; the old as well as the new address should be given.

Single issue: $30 or equivalent.

was the major thoroughfare leading from

the east into Sepphoris’s civic centre. The

discovery of a Roman temple indicates

that the city, the Jewish capital of the Gali-

lee in the Roman period, had a significant

pagan population that built a temple in the

heart of the city. The central location of

the temple, positioned within a walled

courtyard, and its architectural relation-

ship to the surrounding buildings enhance

our understanding of the urban plan of

Sepphoris in the Roman era. The variety

of buildings constructed along the

decumanus, their proximity to each other,

and their monumental character corrobo-

rate our assumption that this route was the

major thoroughfare leading into the civic

centre of Sepphoris from the east.

ZEEV WEISS

Tel ªEton, 2006–2007

In 2006, Bar-Ilan University initiated a

large-scale excavation project at Tel

ªEton, c. 18 km. west of Hebron and 11

km. south-east of Lachish, and a survey of

its surroundings.1 The excavations and the

survey were directed by A. Faust. The

expedition staff included: H. Katz (area B;

ceramic analysis), D. Master (assistance

in directing excavation and survey, 2006),

112 NOTES AND NEWS

Fig. 9. Aerial view of the three shops excavated south of the decumanus

1 Small-scale salvage excavations were

conducted at the site in 1977 by the

Lachish Archaeological Expedition,

headed by D. Ussishkin. The excavations

in the field were directed by E. Ayalon

and R. Bar-Nathan, and the results were

published as Ayalon 1985 and Zimhoni

1985.

T. Atkins (area C); G. Pierce (surveying,

2006), J. Walton (area A, 2006), A.

Greener (area A, 2007), E. Ambar-Armon

(assistance, area A, 2006), N. Yogev

(assistance, area A, 2007), P. Johnson

(assistance, area B, 2006), O. Chalaf

(assistance, area B, 2007), M. Azaband

(area C, 2007), S. Neuman (surveyor,

2007), R. Shelef (registrar, 2006), P. Eyal

(registrar, 2007; laboratory coordinator),

S. Maman (administration), D. Castel

(restoration), Y. Ben-Yaakov (conserva-

tion), E. Weiss (archaeo-botanical analy-

sis in the field), assisted by A. Hartman

and Y. Mahler-Slaski. The Persian period

ostraca are being examined by E. Eshel.

Students from Bar-Ilan University,

Wheaton College IL and the Open Univer-

sity of Israel, as well as youth from the

SPNI trailblazers, participated in the ex-

cavation.

The expedition was greatly assisted by

the Lachish Regional Council. We would

especially like to thank the mayor, D.

Moravia, his assistant, M. Dahan, the

council’s security officer, Y. Meshulam,

and the director of the transportation de-

partment, A. Cohen. This help, along with

the assistance we received from residents

of the region (especially G. Eilon, E.

Rosenblat and others from Moshav

Shekef), was invaluable. Photographs and

plans are courtesy of the Tel ªEton Archae-

ological Expedition.

Preliminary Survey of the Tel

The first stage in the project was a detailed

mapping of the tel and its slopes. The site

was divided into 39 sub-units, following

the topography of the tel; the latter is

divided today into many distinct terraces,

which could be easily identified in aerial

photos and in the field. Each unit was sur-

veyed separately by a group of surveyors,

who collected all the surface finds. The

survey indicated that the site was occu-

pied almost continuously from the Early

Bronze Age to the end of the eighth cen-

tury BCE and then in the Persian-Helle-

nistic (pre-Hasmonaean) period, with the

majority of the finds — some 73% of the

identifiable rims — dating from the Iron

Age II. Later finds were scarce, and prob-

ably do not indicate real occupation.

After the completion of the survey,

shovel testing was conducted in each unit,

including excavating a 1×1 m. square to

the depth of 20 cm. Our goal was not only

to learn the history of the site, but also to

examine the reliability of those tech-

niques. Today, it is generally accepted that

shovel testing is a better predicative tool

than surveys. The fact that we are also car-

rying out large-scale excavations enables

us to evaluate the two methods in light of

the results of the excavations, making it

possible to improve future methods.

The Excavations

In the course of the two seasons con-

ducted so far, we excavated in three areas

(fig. 1): area A, at the summit, near its

southern edge; area B, slightly lower and

north of area A; and area C, on the north-

eastern slope of the site.

Area A (fig. 2)

The excavations here exposed two strata,

the lower of which is further divided into

at least two phases. The upper stratum

included remains of a massive building.

The tops of most of its walls were visible

prior to excavation. The building’s basic

architectural elements can now be identi-

fied. The structure is square (c. 20×20 m.),

although some rooms (or other spaces)

abutted the building from the outside

(e.g., W1013). The building appears to

have had double walls, which were proba-

bly filled with stones (W1010, W1011,

W1012, W1014, W1058), creating a very

thick outer wall (3–3.5 m. wide). The

NOTES AND NEWS 113

Fig. 1. Tel ªEton: map of the site, showing excavation areas

structure was divided by inner walls (e.g.,

W1004) into several spaces. The size of

the building and its location at the highest

part of the tel, affording a view over a

wide area, suggests that it had a military

purpose and was possibly a fort. Since

only one course of its walls was pre-

served, we cannot date the building.

Below the fort we unearthed well-pre-

served walls, still standing to a height of

more than 1.5 m. In between, we discov-

ered a massive destruction layer and col-

lapse, including stones, bricks, and many

finds. Among the finds there were grind-

ing stones, two fragments of bullae and

many arrowheads. It seems that the build-

ing was destroyed in the late eighth cen-

tury BCE, most likely by the Assyrian

army.

In the course of the excavations, we re-

alized that these well-preserved walls be-

longed to a large building, with nicely-

curved corner stones and an area (ground

floor only) of roughly 150–200 sq.m. The

walls were mostly built of stones (W1019,

W1026, W1028, W1046, W1047 and

W1057), or of bricks on a stone founda-

tion (W1020 and W1029). One of the in-

NOTES AND NEWS 115

Fig. 2. Area A: plan (drawn by S. Neuman)

ner walls was built only of bricks, and was

preserved to the same height (W1048). So

far, we have uncovered much of the cen-

tral courtyard, bounded in the north by

W1020, in the west by W1019, and in the

south by W1026, and with a plastered

floor. Also uncovered were parts of the

rooms surrounding it to the north, west

and south. The eastern boundary of the

courtyard has not yet been unearthed; we

suspect that the building’s entrance is lo-

cated here. The finds indicate that the

courtyard was not roofed (and the collapse

was less massive than in the other rooms).

A large loom originally stood in the north-

eastern part of the courtyard, near the esti-

mated location of the doorway; in the

western part of the courtyard, near the en-

trance to the western space/room, the

lower part of a jar was discovered, sunk

into the plastered floor. During the last

phase of the occupation of the building,

the courtyard was divided into two by a

flimsy wall (W1031, W1032, W1041). It

seems that the rest of the building was

roofed, and a second storey was built

above it. This is indicated by the nature of

the finds, the wealth of the remains, and

especially from the discovery of large

patches of hard chalky material — which

we assume to be part of a floor — in the

middle of the wall fall. The findings above

this material included many vessels, but

the sherds were usually widely dispersed.

One of the rooms (bounded by W1020,

W1046, W1047 and W1048) was exca-

vated almost in its entirety. The findings

from what we assume to be the second

storey include many jars, as well as cook-

ing pots and additional finds. The finds

below the chalky material included many

smashed storage jars, unearthed in situ

(fig. 3), and additional finds, including a

few juglets and animal horns. On a floor

in the entrance to the room, we uncovered

a grinding stone, a juglet and an oil lamp,

116 NOTES AND NEWS

Fig. 3. Area A: eighth-century BCE destruction layer

and behind them another storage jar.

Noteworthy are the finds unearthed inside

the vessels. Many of the jars were uncov-

ered with remains of their contents, in-

cluding various botanical finds: olive pits,

grape stones, lentils and cereals. Also dis-

covered were two concentrations of gar-

lic, which had probably fallen from the

walls when the structure collapsed.

Smashed vessels were also discovered

in other parts of the building, as well as in

an adjacent building to the north. Interest-

ingly, although the two buildings were

built next to each other, each had its own

outer walls (W1044, W1046, W1057,

W1060), and they did not have a common

wall. This is usually indicative of high-

class structures.

Area B

This area was opened next to a small

trench of four squares excavated by the

Lachish expedition in the 1970s (Ayalon

1985); the new line of squares continues

the original line, although in a lower ter-

race (fig. 4). The aim was to make a sec-

tion in the tel.

In the upper part of the excavations —

in the topsoil and just below it — we

found mainly ‘sterile’ soil, i.e., without

large or medium-sized stones and with

only small sherds. The latter included pot-

tery dating from various periods (mainly

Iron Age II), including Byzantine sherds

uncovered at a depth of 50 cm. and more.

Below the ‘sterile’ layer, we uncovered, in

most of the squares, a layer of large and

medium-sized stones, which did not form

part of buildings or of any built system,

and below it walls (some already visible

within the stone layer).

We believe that the upper layer of

‘sterile’ soil is part of a Byzantine terrace,

and that large parts of the tel were used for

agricultural purposes at the time. The

stone layer was probably laid there as part

NOTES AND NEWS 117

Fig. 4. Area B: aerial view (photo: Sky View)

of the earth-moving work, but further ex-

cavation will be necessary in order to sub-

stantiate this.

The findings below the stone layer are

not homogeneous. In the eastern part of

area B (where the stone layer was not

clearly unearthed), we found a layer con-

taining Iron I pottery, including Philistine

bichrome. In the rest of the area, we found

Iron Age remains, including a system of

rooms, formed by two long east–west

walls and inner walls connecting them at

various intervals. In the western part of

the area, close to the wall enclosing it to

the west (whose nature is not yet clear),

we found many Persian period remains,

including two ostraca from the fourth cen-

tury BCE, most probably the result of re-

occupation in the Iron Age building.

In addition, we opened another square

in the upper part of area B, near one of the

Lachish expedition’s squares and to its

north. We have uncovered a dense system

of walls, from two phases, both from the

eighth century BCE. Many vessels were

unearthed in this square too — mainly in a

destruction layer, similar to the one un-

covered in area A.

Area C

This area was chosen randomly, in the

hope of uncovering different types of

remains, and thus, to learn about the situa-

tion in other, peripheral, parts of the tel.

We uncovered many pits, dated to the

Persian or the early Hellenistic period,

probably from the fourth century BCE,

dug into the Iron Age stratum (fig. 5). The

finds included many imported Attic

sherds.

Survey in the Vicinity of the Site

In addition to the excavations at the tel,

we conducted a survey in the site’s vicin-

ity. The most conspicuous find is, of

course, the large cemetery that covers the

entire area around the site. We are already

familiar with a few hundred tombs (dating

118 NOTES AND NEWS

Fig. 5. Area C: aerial view (photo: Sky View)