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Etan Ayalon

Eretz Israel Museum Tel Aviv, Man and his Work, Curator of Exhibits

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From 1974 to 1988 I studied archaeology at Tel Aviv University – earning my B.A. in Biblical Archaeology and Prehistory and my M.A. in Biblical Archaeology with the addition of Classical Studies – both cum laude.In 1980 I established the Kefar Saba Archaeological Museum. From 1980 to 1982 I was the antiquities inspector for the central district in what was then the Department of Antiquities and Museums. Since 1983 until my retirement in 2017 I was the curator of the Man and His Work Center in the Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv. I have dealt mainly with ethno-archaeology and the material culture of Eretz Israel, and has curated a variety of exhibitions. In 2003 I received my Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan University, writing his dissertation on bone and ivory tools from Caesarea. I have taken part as a worker, partner or director of some 80 archaeological excavations and archaeological and ethnographic surveys.

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Papers by Etan Ayalon

The Jar Installation of Khirbet Sabiya

Ḥadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, 2021

Tel Ifshar (East): Remains of Industrial Buildings from the Roman and Byzantine Periods. The Wine... more

Ḥorbat Ḥanut: Remains from the Roman to the Ottoman Periods on the Outskirts of the Settlement (Hebrew)

QADUM, 2025

A Rare Multinozzled Byzantine Lamp from Kiludiya

'Atiqot, 1996

The Jar Installation of khirbet Sabiya

IEJ, 1979

Olive Oil Production in the Ottoman-Period Village of ʻEin Shems (Bet Shemesh)

"Along the Road to Bet Shemesh" (I Samuel 6:12), Archaeological Studies of the Ramat Bet Shemesh Region, Sep 30, 2023

Front and Back Cover: Aerial view of excavations at Ḥorbat Bet Naṭif, looking southeast (photogra... more

Ayalon Twin Screw Press IEJ

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

Bare Bones, Ancient Artifacts from Animal Bones (exhibition catalogue)

Eretz Israel Museum, 1999

The bone industry at Caesarea Maritima, Israel, 1 st -13 th centuries CE

From Hooves to Horns, from Mollusc to Mammoth. Manufacture and Use of Bone Artefacts from Prehistoric Times to the Present (Proceedings of the 4th Meeting of the ICAZ Worked Bone Research Group at Tallinn, 26th-31th of August 2003) , 2005

Among the finds discovered in excavations carried out at Caesarea Maritima, Israel by three diffe... more Among the finds discovered in excavations carried out at Caesarea Maritima, Israel by three different teams in recent years was an impressive assemblage of bone artifacts (c. 3,900 objects, plus 130 ivory items which are not discussed here). Almost a quarter of the finds were remains of the bone industry which flourished throughout the entire existence of the city (1 st-13 th centuries CE). The workshops or the work tools employed in them have not been found. The existence of this industry is inferred from several types of finds: (a) pieces of raw material and blanks which were never used; (b) unfinished objects; (c) production waste material-bits and pieces of bone that had been removed and thrown away during the production process. These finds and others testify that the Caesarea workshops produced bone pins, needles, rings, dice, handles, carved pieces, inlays, and other items. This article presents the main types of bone blanks, incomplete objects and industrial waste left over by the local artisans. Finds of this kind are rare in Israel although there is a single comparable assemblage from Ashkelon (unpublished).

EARLY ISLAMIC CRUDE HANDMADE WARE: NEW INSIGHTS ON THE TYPOLOGY, CHRONOLOGY AND PROVENANCE OF A SOUTHERN LEVANTINE HANDMADE POTTERY

by Etan Ayalon and Paula Waiman- Barak

This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely o... more This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely overlooked; namely, crude handmade ware, sometimes previously referred to as 'Negebite' Ware, typical of the southern portions of what is now modern-day Israel and Jordan. A large array of handmade vessels retrieved in excavations of an Early Islamic settlement in the Yotvata oasis of the 'Arabah Valley, Israel and comparative material from neighbouring sites, provide a basis for new perceptions. These consist of a typo-chronology of Early Islamic crude handmade wares, clarification of previously unrecognized production techniques (including ones based on evidence from textile impressions), and the results of initial petrographic analysis. We also explore chronological and cultural links between this family of ceramics and other endemic Islamic-period handmade wares that are known from the region. 1 All dates are CE unless otherwise noted.

Chapter 34 Discussion and Conclusions

Penn State University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2023

Wood and Metal Finds from the Operating Systems of the Ottoman Flour Mills

The Naḥal Tanninim Dam and Its Vicinity, Final Report of the 2000–2005 Excavation Seasons (IAA Reports, No. 71), May 1, 2023

Ariel (Chapter 10), a Greek and Latin inscription by Leah Di Segni (Chapter 11), the metal and wo... more Ariel (Chapter 10), a Greek and Latin inscription by Leah Di Segni (Chapter 11), the metal and wood items from the dam and mills by Etan Ayalon and Yehoshua Dray (Chapter 12), a description of the wooden framework for the dam's foundations by Avner Hillman and an analysis of wood samples by Nili Liphschitz (Chapter 13), the wood and metal finds from the operating systems of the Ottoman flour mills by Etan Ayalon (Chapter 14), the Ottoman ceramic tobacco pipes by Yonel Sharvit (Chapter 15), four board games by Eriola Jakoel and Uzi 'Ad (Chapter 16), and the human remains by Yossi Nagar (Chapter 17). Part III Chapter 18 is a discussion and summary of the excavations and the finds by the excavators. Finally, the conservation and reconstruction works carried out at the site are described by Amir Freundlich (Appendix 1). Appendix 2 contains the Lists of Loci and Walls. We wish to thank the following people who assisted in the excavations and the publication of this volume: Amani Abu-Hamed (area supervisor), the late Shlomo Ya'aqov Jam (administration), Vadim Essman, Viatcheslav Pirsky, Rivka Mishayev, Anwar Amara and Avraham Hajian (surveying), Natalya Zak, Ira Brin, Elizabetta Belshov and Dov Porotsky (drafting), Tsila Sagiv and Assaf Peretz (field photography), Yossi Nagar (physical anthropology), Giora Ben Ya'acov and Assaf Peretz (photographic scanning), Roni Gat and Elisheva Kamaisky (pottery restoration), Olga Shorr (glass restoration), viii Lena Kupershmidt (metallurgical laboratory), Clara Amit, Yael Yulovitz and Assaf Peretz (studio photography), Marina Shuiskaya and Carmen Hersch (finds drawing), Sky View Photography Ltd. and Assaf Peretz (aerial photography), Yehoshua (Yeshu) Dray (technical consultation), and Yoram Saad and his team: Yigal Merom, the late Yigal Hantiyev, Avner Hillman, Dani Sivoni, Edward Kolick, Ami Sabah and Amir Freundlich (IAA Conservation Department). We were further assisted by the late Yehuda Peleg, the late David Amit and the late Avner Raban, as well as the late Yehudit Ayalon, the employees of the Koblanov Archive at Kibbutz Ma'agan Mikha'el, and the administrators and workers of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority at the site. This volume was brought to final publication by the IAA Publications Department, and we wish to thank the head of the department Zvi Greenhut, the IAA Reports series editor Shelley Sadeh, the editor Debi Manor, the graphic artists Ann Buchnick-Abuhav and Dov Porotsky, and Rachel Kudish-Vashdi who assisted with the final proofreading.

Chapter 9 Two Bone Objects

Yotvata, The Ze'ev Meshel Excavations (1974–1980), The Iron I "Fortress" and The Early Islamic Settlement (Tel Aviv University Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology Monograph Series No. 42), Dec 31, 2023

History and Technology of Olive Oil in the Holy Land

Technology and Culture, 1997

informative account of the journal, register, letter and minute books, and of the many other seri... more informative account of the journal, register, letter and minute books, and of the many other series deriving from the Society's idiosyncratic structure and practice over more than three centuries. The private archival mysteries of the Society from "lapsed certificates" and "archived papers" to "Bulloch's Roll" are revealed briefly and clearly, rendering the archive intelligible for the researcher. The Wellcome Institute's Contemporary Medical Archives Centre is not yet twenty years old, but it has already accumulated more records than the Royal Society in over three centuries. The achievement is remarkable both in the quality and range of the collections acquired. Amongst seventy-eight substantial collections of personal papers are those of Lord Moran, Sir Richard Doll, Sir Ernst Chain, Sir E A Sharpey-Schafer, Frederick Parkes-Weber, Sir Henry Head, Melanie Klein, Sir Thomas Lewis, Marie Stopes, Sir Edward Mellanby, Sir Peter Medawar, and Sir Leonard Rogers. Amongst fifty-seven societies and associations which have placed their records in the Centre's care (itself an indication of the reputation and trust which it now commands) are those of the Eugenics Society, Family Planning Association, Lister Institute, Physiological Society and the Research Defence Society. The pace of development is fast, and the Centre's archivists have kept scholars up to date through successive editions of the Guide. This is the fourth edition, recording nearly 100 new collections acquired since 1991, including the papers of John Bowlby, Cicely Williams, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists and the Health Visitors' Association. Also included for the first time is a brief account of the Royal Army Medical Corps Muniment Collection. These are model guides, which admirably fulfil their purpose. They are affordable too, and attractively illustrated. Historians of science and medicine will find them not only valuable but indispensable.

Perfecting Local Production of Desert Pottery

Penn State University Press eBooks, Dec 27, 2022

This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely o... more This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely overlooked; namely, crude handmade ware, sometimes previously referred to as 'Negebite' Ware, typical of the southern portions of what is now modern-day Israel and Jordan. A large array of handmade vessels retrieved in excavations of an Early Islamic settlement in the Yotvata oasis of the 'Arabah Valley, Israel and comparative material from neighbouring sites, provide a basis for new perceptions. These consist of a typo-chronology of Early Islamic crude handmade wares, clarification of previously unrecognized production techniques (including ones based on evidence from textile impressions), and the results of initial petrographic analysis. We also explore chronological and cultural links between this family of ceramics and other endemic Islamic-period handmade wares that are known from the region. 1 All dates are CE unless otherwise noted.

Taxel, I., Meshel, Z. and Ayalon, E. 2022. Discussion and Conclusions. In: Singer-Avitz, L. and Ayalon, E. Yotvata. The Ze’ev Meshel Excavations (1974-1980): The Iron I “Fortress” and the Early Islamic Settlement. Pp. 369-383.

by Itamar Taxel and Etan Ayalon

בתי מלאכה לכלי עצם בקיסריה

by Yehoshua Dray and Etan Ayalon

MICHMANIM, 2002

Taxel, I., Shamir, O., Waiman-Barak, P., Ondricek, W. and Ayalon, E. 2022. Early Islamic Crude Handmade Ware: New Insights on the Typology, Chronology and Provenance of a Southern Levantine Handmade Pottery. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 41.3. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12253

by Itamar Taxel, Etan Ayalon, and Paula Waiman- Barak

This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely o... more This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely overlooked; namely, crude handmade ware, sometimes previously referred to as 'Negebite' Ware, typical of the southern portions of what is now modern-day Israel and Jordan. A large array of handmade vessels retrieved in excavations of an Early Islamic settlement in the Yotvata oasis of the 'Arabah Valley, Israel and comparative material from neighbouring sites, provide a basis for new perceptions. These consist of a typo-chronology of Early Islamic crude handmade wares, clarification of previously unrecognized production techniques (including ones based on evidence from textile impressions), and the results of initial petrographic analysis. We also explore chronological and cultural links between this family of ceramics and other endemic Islamic-period handmade wares that are known from the region.

Rafid on the Golan : a profile of a late Roman and Byzantine village

On the death of Dan Urman in 2004, his colleagues set about completing his unfinished manuscripts... more On the death of Dan Urman in 2004, his colleagues set about completing his unfinished manuscripts, including this volume: Rafid on the Golan (its ruins remain in a demilitarized zone controlled by United Nations forces), one of Dan UrmanAes last archaeological projects. He succeeded in completing the chapters detailing the survey of the houses in the village, carried out during the years 1968-1970. The houses were measured, photographed, and an overall map was drawn, which included all houses, alleys, footpaths, public areas and water reservoirs. The survey team realized that Rafid was an unusual archaeological resource that preserved scores of ancient buildings still standing from foundation to the rafters, constructed of basalt. Dan Urman saw in the survey of Rafid and in the scientific material collected within its framework the highest achievement of the Golan survey: the intact buildings built of decorated basalt could, in his opinion, serve as a model of the building style pre...

Vinegar in the Wine Cellar: Food Distribution at Fort Arad 600 BCE

Tel Aviv, 2021

The well-organized food distribution to the military practiced at the fort of Arad ca. 600 BCE is... more The well-organized food distribution to the military practiced at the fort of Arad ca. 600 BCE is analysed based on the Arad Ostraca, specifically Ostracon 2, which is concerned with food rations and management of stored wine. Wine quality was assured by inspection ordered by the commander of the fort and executed by the quartermaster. Vinegar played a significant role in the distribution associated with wine. As wine went bad in storage and turned to vinegar, the commander of the fort presented the vinegar as a gift to mercenaries who received their rations from Arad. The Arad gifting was comparable to that mentioned in the Book of Ruth, where Bethlehem harvesters received food and Ruth was gifted vinegar as a relish.

The Jar Installation of Khirbet Sabiya

Ḥadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, 2021

Tel Ifshar (East): Remains of Industrial Buildings from the Roman and Byzantine Periods. The Wine... more

Ḥorbat Ḥanut: Remains from the Roman to the Ottoman Periods on the Outskirts of the Settlement (Hebrew)

QADUM, 2025

A Rare Multinozzled Byzantine Lamp from Kiludiya

'Atiqot, 1996

The Jar Installation of khirbet Sabiya

IEJ, 1979

Olive Oil Production in the Ottoman-Period Village of ʻEin Shems (Bet Shemesh)

"Along the Road to Bet Shemesh" (I Samuel 6:12), Archaeological Studies of the Ramat Bet Shemesh Region, Sep 30, 2023

Front and Back Cover: Aerial view of excavations at Ḥorbat Bet Naṭif, looking southeast (photogra... more

Ayalon Twin Screw Press IEJ

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

Bare Bones, Ancient Artifacts from Animal Bones (exhibition catalogue)

Eretz Israel Museum, 1999

The bone industry at Caesarea Maritima, Israel, 1 st -13 th centuries CE

From Hooves to Horns, from Mollusc to Mammoth. Manufacture and Use of Bone Artefacts from Prehistoric Times to the Present (Proceedings of the 4th Meeting of the ICAZ Worked Bone Research Group at Tallinn, 26th-31th of August 2003) , 2005

Among the finds discovered in excavations carried out at Caesarea Maritima, Israel by three diffe... more Among the finds discovered in excavations carried out at Caesarea Maritima, Israel by three different teams in recent years was an impressive assemblage of bone artifacts (c. 3,900 objects, plus 130 ivory items which are not discussed here). Almost a quarter of the finds were remains of the bone industry which flourished throughout the entire existence of the city (1 st-13 th centuries CE). The workshops or the work tools employed in them have not been found. The existence of this industry is inferred from several types of finds: (a) pieces of raw material and blanks which were never used; (b) unfinished objects; (c) production waste material-bits and pieces of bone that had been removed and thrown away during the production process. These finds and others testify that the Caesarea workshops produced bone pins, needles, rings, dice, handles, carved pieces, inlays, and other items. This article presents the main types of bone blanks, incomplete objects and industrial waste left over by the local artisans. Finds of this kind are rare in Israel although there is a single comparable assemblage from Ashkelon (unpublished).

EARLY ISLAMIC CRUDE HANDMADE WARE: NEW INSIGHTS ON THE TYPOLOGY, CHRONOLOGY AND PROVENANCE OF A SOUTHERN LEVANTINE HANDMADE POTTERY

by Etan Ayalon and Paula Waiman- Barak

This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely o... more This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely overlooked; namely, crude handmade ware, sometimes previously referred to as 'Negebite' Ware, typical of the southern portions of what is now modern-day Israel and Jordan. A large array of handmade vessels retrieved in excavations of an Early Islamic settlement in the Yotvata oasis of the 'Arabah Valley, Israel and comparative material from neighbouring sites, provide a basis for new perceptions. These consist of a typo-chronology of Early Islamic crude handmade wares, clarification of previously unrecognized production techniques (including ones based on evidence from textile impressions), and the results of initial petrographic analysis. We also explore chronological and cultural links between this family of ceramics and other endemic Islamic-period handmade wares that are known from the region. 1 All dates are CE unless otherwise noted.

Chapter 34 Discussion and Conclusions

Penn State University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2023

Wood and Metal Finds from the Operating Systems of the Ottoman Flour Mills

The Naḥal Tanninim Dam and Its Vicinity, Final Report of the 2000–2005 Excavation Seasons (IAA Reports, No. 71), May 1, 2023

Ariel (Chapter 10), a Greek and Latin inscription by Leah Di Segni (Chapter 11), the metal and wo... more Ariel (Chapter 10), a Greek and Latin inscription by Leah Di Segni (Chapter 11), the metal and wood items from the dam and mills by Etan Ayalon and Yehoshua Dray (Chapter 12), a description of the wooden framework for the dam's foundations by Avner Hillman and an analysis of wood samples by Nili Liphschitz (Chapter 13), the wood and metal finds from the operating systems of the Ottoman flour mills by Etan Ayalon (Chapter 14), the Ottoman ceramic tobacco pipes by Yonel Sharvit (Chapter 15), four board games by Eriola Jakoel and Uzi 'Ad (Chapter 16), and the human remains by Yossi Nagar (Chapter 17). Part III Chapter 18 is a discussion and summary of the excavations and the finds by the excavators. Finally, the conservation and reconstruction works carried out at the site are described by Amir Freundlich (Appendix 1). Appendix 2 contains the Lists of Loci and Walls. We wish to thank the following people who assisted in the excavations and the publication of this volume: Amani Abu-Hamed (area supervisor), the late Shlomo Ya'aqov Jam (administration), Vadim Essman, Viatcheslav Pirsky, Rivka Mishayev, Anwar Amara and Avraham Hajian (surveying), Natalya Zak, Ira Brin, Elizabetta Belshov and Dov Porotsky (drafting), Tsila Sagiv and Assaf Peretz (field photography), Yossi Nagar (physical anthropology), Giora Ben Ya'acov and Assaf Peretz (photographic scanning), Roni Gat and Elisheva Kamaisky (pottery restoration), Olga Shorr (glass restoration), viii Lena Kupershmidt (metallurgical laboratory), Clara Amit, Yael Yulovitz and Assaf Peretz (studio photography), Marina Shuiskaya and Carmen Hersch (finds drawing), Sky View Photography Ltd. and Assaf Peretz (aerial photography), Yehoshua (Yeshu) Dray (technical consultation), and Yoram Saad and his team: Yigal Merom, the late Yigal Hantiyev, Avner Hillman, Dani Sivoni, Edward Kolick, Ami Sabah and Amir Freundlich (IAA Conservation Department). We were further assisted by the late Yehuda Peleg, the late David Amit and the late Avner Raban, as well as the late Yehudit Ayalon, the employees of the Koblanov Archive at Kibbutz Ma'agan Mikha'el, and the administrators and workers of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority at the site. This volume was brought to final publication by the IAA Publications Department, and we wish to thank the head of the department Zvi Greenhut, the IAA Reports series editor Shelley Sadeh, the editor Debi Manor, the graphic artists Ann Buchnick-Abuhav and Dov Porotsky, and Rachel Kudish-Vashdi who assisted with the final proofreading.

Chapter 9 Two Bone Objects

Yotvata, The Ze'ev Meshel Excavations (1974–1980), The Iron I "Fortress" and The Early Islamic Settlement (Tel Aviv University Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology Monograph Series No. 42), Dec 31, 2023

History and Technology of Olive Oil in the Holy Land

Technology and Culture, 1997

informative account of the journal, register, letter and minute books, and of the many other seri... more informative account of the journal, register, letter and minute books, and of the many other series deriving from the Society's idiosyncratic structure and practice over more than three centuries. The private archival mysteries of the Society from "lapsed certificates" and "archived papers" to "Bulloch's Roll" are revealed briefly and clearly, rendering the archive intelligible for the researcher. The Wellcome Institute's Contemporary Medical Archives Centre is not yet twenty years old, but it has already accumulated more records than the Royal Society in over three centuries. The achievement is remarkable both in the quality and range of the collections acquired. Amongst seventy-eight substantial collections of personal papers are those of Lord Moran, Sir Richard Doll, Sir Ernst Chain, Sir E A Sharpey-Schafer, Frederick Parkes-Weber, Sir Henry Head, Melanie Klein, Sir Thomas Lewis, Marie Stopes, Sir Edward Mellanby, Sir Peter Medawar, and Sir Leonard Rogers. Amongst fifty-seven societies and associations which have placed their records in the Centre's care (itself an indication of the reputation and trust which it now commands) are those of the Eugenics Society, Family Planning Association, Lister Institute, Physiological Society and the Research Defence Society. The pace of development is fast, and the Centre's archivists have kept scholars up to date through successive editions of the Guide. This is the fourth edition, recording nearly 100 new collections acquired since 1991, including the papers of John Bowlby, Cicely Williams, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists and the Health Visitors' Association. Also included for the first time is a brief account of the Royal Army Medical Corps Muniment Collection. These are model guides, which admirably fulfil their purpose. They are affordable too, and attractively illustrated. Historians of science and medicine will find them not only valuable but indispensable.

Perfecting Local Production of Desert Pottery

Penn State University Press eBooks, Dec 27, 2022

This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely o... more This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely overlooked; namely, crude handmade ware, sometimes previously referred to as 'Negebite' Ware, typical of the southern portions of what is now modern-day Israel and Jordan. A large array of handmade vessels retrieved in excavations of an Early Islamic settlement in the Yotvata oasis of the 'Arabah Valley, Israel and comparative material from neighbouring sites, provide a basis for new perceptions. These consist of a typo-chronology of Early Islamic crude handmade wares, clarification of previously unrecognized production techniques (including ones based on evidence from textile impressions), and the results of initial petrographic analysis. We also explore chronological and cultural links between this family of ceramics and other endemic Islamic-period handmade wares that are known from the region. 1 All dates are CE unless otherwise noted.

Taxel, I., Meshel, Z. and Ayalon, E. 2022. Discussion and Conclusions. In: Singer-Avitz, L. and Ayalon, E. Yotvata. The Ze’ev Meshel Excavations (1974-1980): The Iron I “Fortress” and the Early Islamic Settlement. Pp. 369-383.

by Itamar Taxel and Etan Ayalon

בתי מלאכה לכלי עצם בקיסריה

by Yehoshua Dray and Etan Ayalon

MICHMANIM, 2002

Taxel, I., Shamir, O., Waiman-Barak, P., Ondricek, W. and Ayalon, E. 2022. Early Islamic Crude Handmade Ware: New Insights on the Typology, Chronology and Provenance of a Southern Levantine Handmade Pottery. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 41.3. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12253

by Itamar Taxel, Etan Ayalon, and Paula Waiman- Barak

This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely o... more This study presents new evidence about a class of Early Islamic ceramics that have been largely overlooked; namely, crude handmade ware, sometimes previously referred to as 'Negebite' Ware, typical of the southern portions of what is now modern-day Israel and Jordan. A large array of handmade vessels retrieved in excavations of an Early Islamic settlement in the Yotvata oasis of the 'Arabah Valley, Israel and comparative material from neighbouring sites, provide a basis for new perceptions. These consist of a typo-chronology of Early Islamic crude handmade wares, clarification of previously unrecognized production techniques (including ones based on evidence from textile impressions), and the results of initial petrographic analysis. We also explore chronological and cultural links between this family of ceramics and other endemic Islamic-period handmade wares that are known from the region.

Rafid on the Golan : a profile of a late Roman and Byzantine village

On the death of Dan Urman in 2004, his colleagues set about completing his unfinished manuscripts... more On the death of Dan Urman in 2004, his colleagues set about completing his unfinished manuscripts, including this volume: Rafid on the Golan (its ruins remain in a demilitarized zone controlled by United Nations forces), one of Dan UrmanAes last archaeological projects. He succeeded in completing the chapters detailing the survey of the houses in the village, carried out during the years 1968-1970. The houses were measured, photographed, and an overall map was drawn, which included all houses, alleys, footpaths, public areas and water reservoirs. The survey team realized that Rafid was an unusual archaeological resource that preserved scores of ancient buildings still standing from foundation to the rafters, constructed of basalt. Dan Urman saw in the survey of Rafid and in the scientific material collected within its framework the highest achievement of the Golan survey: the intact buildings built of decorated basalt could, in his opinion, serve as a model of the building style pre...

Vinegar in the Wine Cellar: Food Distribution at Fort Arad 600 BCE

Tel Aviv, 2021

The well-organized food distribution to the military practiced at the fort of Arad ca. 600 BCE is... more The well-organized food distribution to the military practiced at the fort of Arad ca. 600 BCE is analysed based on the Arad Ostraca, specifically Ostracon 2, which is concerned with food rations and management of stored wine. Wine quality was assured by inspection ordered by the commander of the fort and executed by the quartermaster. Vinegar played a significant role in the distribution associated with wine. As wine went bad in storage and turned to vinegar, the commander of the fort presented the vinegar as a gift to mercenaries who received their rations from Arad. The Arad gifting was comparable to that mentioned in the Book of Ruth, where Bethlehem harvesters received food and Ruth was gifted vinegar as a relish.