In January–February 2014, a salvage excavation was conducted at Beit Safafa in Jerusalem (Permit No. A-7033; map ref. 21845–50/62808–110; Fig. 1), as part of the construction of Highway 4. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and financed by the Moriah Jerusalem Development Company Ltd., was directed by A. Nagar (photography), with the assistance of N. Nahama (administration) and V. Essman and Y. Shmidov (surveying and drafting).
The five pit graves were hewn in soft limestone bedrock (L500–L504; Table 1; Figs. 5–7); four (L500–L503) were oriented along a northeast–southwest axis and the fifth (L504) along an east–west axis. The graves were not sealed, and no covering stones were discovered. They were shallow, and it was apparent that the quarrying of the graves was incomplete. A shallow rock-cut step (length 0.4 m, width 0.27–0.42 m, depth 5–11 cm) was discerned at the southwestern end of Grave 503. The scant finds discovered in the graves—several worn pottery sherds (not drawn) dating to the Iron Age II and Byzantine period—washed downslope into the graves.
Table 1. Dimensions of the Pit Graves
Locus No.
|
Dimensions
|
500
|
Exposed length 0.73–0.80 m, width 0.45–0.49 m, depth 0.11–0.13 m
|
501
|
Length 2.15 m, width 0.50–0.54 m, depth 0.15–0.24 m
|
502
|
Exposed length 2.5 m, width 0.66–0.70 m, depth 0.29–0.40 m
|
503
|
Pit: Exposed length 1.5 m, width 0.42–0.50 m, depth 0.40–0.54 m
|
504
|
Length 1.23–1.62, width 0.78–0.89 m, depth 0.10–0.34 m
|
Judging by their plan and proximity to the burial field that was previously exposed to the east, the graves seem to constitute the western continuation of the necropolis. The exposure of the graves indicates the extent and size of the burial ground, whose final boundaries have yet to be discovered. In a later excavation (Permit No. A-7187), the burial field was dated to the Late Roman period based on the artifacts discovered in it.
Amit D. 1994. Ritual Baths (Mikva’ot) from the Second Temple Period in the Hebron Mountains. In Z.H. Erlich and Y. Eshel eds. Judea and Samaria Research Studies: Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Meeting—1993. Kedumim. Pp. 157–189 (Hebrew; English summary, pp. XVIII–XIX).
Kloner A. 2000. Survey of Jerusalem, the Southern Sector (Archaeological Survey of Israel). Jerusalem.
Zissu B. and Moyal H. 1998. Beit Safafa (West). ESI 18:94–95.