Area S (Fig. 2), comprising two squares, yielded a layer of dark brown soil (1.0–1.2 m thick; Fig. 3) containing a very large quantity of small stones, potsherds, flint items (Yaroshevich, below) and three faunal remains (below). The soil, deposited directly on the bedrock (Fig. 4), seems to have been swept there from the Murhan site. The pottery assemblage included bowls (Fig. 5:1, 2), a holemouth jar (Fig. 5:3), cooking pots (Fig. 5:4, 5), jars (Fig. 5:6–9), a jug with a decorated strap handle (Fig. 5:10), ledge handles (Fig. 5:11–13), a strap handle (Fig. 5:14), a loop handle triangular in section (Fig. 5:15), body fragments bearing a combed decoration (Fig. 5:16) and an incised decoration of diagonal lines (Fig. 5:17), as well as a clay disc made of a reused body fragment that may have served as a stopper (Fig. 5:18). All the potsherds date from the Intermediate Bronze Age and resemble in both form and fabric pottery from Murhan (Covello-Paran 2017: Figs. 8, 9) and from other sites in and around the Harod Valley, such as Tel Yizra’el (Smithline 2017: Figs. 4, 5) and Horbat Qishron (Smithline 2002: Figs. 10–17).
 
Animal Bones
The excavation yielded three faunal remains. One is a tooth from the maxilla of a goat/sheep; based on the low degree of dental erosion it was of a relatively young age. The second is part of the mandible of a gazelle; based on the eruption state of the third molar, it belonged to a very young specimen. The third remains—a poorly preserved bone—could not be identified. Teeth are often relatively well preserved, unlike other bones, but the degree of preservation in layer of soil where these remains were found was apparently insufficient to enable the preservation of other animal bones. Nevertheless, the three remains are sufficient to point to both domesticated animal husbandry (goat/sheep) and hunting of wild animals (gazelle).
 
Flint Assemblage
Ella Yaroshevich
 
An assemblage of 39 flint artifacts was retrieved from the soil layer in Area S (Table 1). Most of the items are fresh, although some display patination. The assemblage consists of several types of raw material, the most prominent of these being a homogeneous, grayish flint that is spotted and striped near the calcareous cortex. The assemblage is mainly of debitage, including primary items, flakes, core trimming elements and a blade. The blade (2.8 cm wide, 6.3 mm thick; Fig. 6:1) is a medial fragment of a Canaanean blade made of homogeneous, beige flint. The two cores found in the assemblage are flake cores; one is small to medium-sized, with three striking platforms; the other is exhausted and has one striking platform.
 
Table 1. Flint items
Item
Quantity
Primary element
3
Flake
16
Blade
1
Core trimming element
2
Core
2
Tool
11
Unidentified (debris)
4
Total
39
 
The tools (Table 2) include two denticulated Canaanean sickle blades bearing developed sickle sheen (Fig. 6:2, 3). One is a truncated distal fragment (2.9 cm wide, 5.4 mm thick) made of a homogeneous, grayish flint; the other is a fragment of the denticulated working end (6.4 mm thick) made of homogeneous, beige flint. The small to medium-sized tools—awls and notches prepared on flakes or on primary items, retouched flakes, a retouched blade and a scraper—are compatible with the dimensions of the debitage in the assemblage.
 
Table 2. Flint tools
Tool
Quantity
Retouched flake
2
Retouched blade
1
Notch/denticulate
2
Awl
3
Scraper
1
Sickle blade
2
Total
11
 
Two separate industries are discernible in this assemblage. One is the production of ad hoc tools, including implements prepared at the site, as indicated by the debitage. The other is of Canaanean blades, including a blade and two sickle blades. The absence of debitage from the production of Canaanean blades is evidence that these tools were imported to the site, probably as part of a trade in sickle blades manufactured by skilled flint-knappers at production sites—a phenomenon known at sites dating from the Early and Intermediate Bronze Ages. The dimensions of the Canaanean sickle blades, especially their rather broad width, closely resemble those of sickle blades from Intermediate Bronze Age sites, such as Bet She’an (Bankirer and Marder 2012) and Bet Yerah (Bankirer 2006).
 
The excavation unearthed evidence of human activity during the Intermediate Bronze Age at the edge of the Murhan site. The absence of finds in Area N contributes to our understanding of the extent of the ancient settlement during this period. The finds on the summit of the hill and in the field, the nature of the layer in which the potsherds and flint items were found, and the relative freshness of the finds, all indicate that the finds in the excavated layer originated in a nearby location, probably the site of Murhan. The retrieved pottery resembles the assemblage discovered in previous excavations. However, unlike in previous excavations, no finds were recovered in situ and there were no stone or basalt tools. A possible explanation for this may be the transportation pattern that brought the finds from the original location of their deposition to their final deposition: the flowing water or the wind that displaced the finds lacked sufficient force to transport stone tools or their fragments, but was strong enough to transport potsherds, flint tools and animal bones.
Despite the small quantity of documented finds, these nevertheless attest to the site’s economy during the Intermediate Bronze Age. Its inhabitants evidently practiced both animal husbandry and hunting in the vicinity of the site. The flint tools retrieved revealed two different strategies for obtaining tools: local production for immediate use, and the introduction of more complex tools (Canaanean blades) from another source.