In March–April 2019, a salvage excavation was conducted along Bet Eshel street in Be’er Sheva‘ (Permit No. A-8500; map ref. 18059/57223; Fig. 1). The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by the Be’er Sheva‘ Municipality, was conducted by S. Zur, with the assistance of Y. Alamor (administration), E. Aladjem (surveying), S. Talis (consultant), Y. Abadi-Reiss (guidance) and I. Lidsky-Reznikov (pottery drawing).
The excavation took place on a slope descending to the southeast, near the main municipal market and the central bus station in Be’er Sheva‘. Excavations conducted in the vicinity in the past unearthed remains from the Chalcolithic period, the Iron Age II and the Byzantine period (for background and references, see Talis 2012).
Two squares were excavated; both were disturbed due to modern activity. A heap of collapsed fieldstones was found, resembling Byzantine-period building stones in the area. Pottery sherds found in the excavation include local bowls (Figs. 2:1–4), an imported bowl (Fig. 2:5), the lid of a cooking pot (Fig. 2:6), a Gaza jar (Fig. 2:7), bag-shaped jars (Fig. 2:8, 9) and juglets (Fig. 2:10, 11), all dated to the Byzantine and the beginning of the Early Islamic period).
Talis S. 2012. Be’er Sheva‘, Bet Eshel Street.
HA-ESI 124.