During February–April 1998 a salvage excavation was conducted south of Shim‘a (L-789; map ref. NIG 2005/5865; OIG 1505/0865) prior to the establishment of an industrial zone. The excavation, on behalf of the Archaeological Staff Officer of Judea and Samaria, was directed by Y. Feller, assisted by P. Portnov and M. Kahan (surveying and drafting) and S. Ammami (photography).
In an area of c. 6 dunams, four field towers (1–4) from the Byzantine period, an animal pen, two rock-cut winepresses (1, 2) and a natural cave that was probably used for dwelling and contained finds from Iron Age III and the Mamluk period, were excavated. The remains attest to the agricultural nature of the region; it appears that they were connected to the settlement at
Khirbat Zanuta, located c. 1 km to the southwest (The Survey in the Land of Judea, Site 245
, in:
Judea, Samaria and the Golan; Archaeological Survey 1967–1968, 1972).
The Field Towers
The Animal Pen
× 2.5 m, depth 0.3 m), from which a hewn channel (length 0.3 m, width 0.1 m, depth 5 cm) led to a rectangular collecting vat (0.8 × 1.4 m, depth 0.75 m).
The Winepresses
× 2.15 m, depth 8 cm) and a short channel (length 0.15 m, width 0.1 m) that led to a rectangular collecting vat (0.65 × 0.90 m, depth 0.45 m). A circular depression (diam. 0.15 m depth 0.1 m) was hewn in the eastern part of the collecting vat. Around the winepress eight cupmarks (diam. 0.4–0.8 m) were cut, two of them were connected to the collecting vat by way of rock-cut channels.
Winepress 2 (Fig. 5) was located in the south of the area, c. 50 m southeast of Tower 2. It consisted of a square treading surface (2.10
× 1.1 m) and an oval-shaped one (1.9 × 3.9 m) in the ceiling. Several Iron Age III pottery fragments were discovered in the cave, as well as a grinding stone, a silver ring or earring and fragments of a glass bracelet from the Mamluk period. It seems the cave was used as a dwelling and later, as a shelter for local shepherds.
The Cave
(Fig. 5) was c
. 1 m east of Winepress 2. It consisted of a single round chamber (diam. 6.5 m), wherein several signs of rock cuttings were discerned. The cave had two entrances, a rectangular one in the southern side (0.7. Winepress 1 (Fig. 4) was 19 m east of Tower 4. It consisted of a square treading surface (2.5 × 9 m). In the center of the animal pen was a bedrock surface, where an opening to a cave that was not excavated, was found. (Fig. 3) was located in the center of the area, c
. 50 m southwest of Tower 3. A wall built of large fieldstones and preserved a single course high (0.5 m) enclosed an oval area (7were built on a ridge, 100–300 m apart (Table 1; Figs. 1–2). They consisted of a single square room; only the northern half of Tower 3 was preserved. Outside Tower 4 and next to its eastern corner was a hewn cupmark (diam. 0.3 m, depth 0.17 m).
Table 1. Field Towers
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Tower 1
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Tower 2
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Tower 3
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Tower 4
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General dimensions (m)
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4.0 × 4.2
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4.1 × 5.0
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4.1 preserved length, 6.1 width
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3.2 × 3.5
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Wall width (m)
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0.7
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0.8
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1.1
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0.9
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Wall construction
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Outer face: large roughly hewn fieldstones. Inner face: small fieldstones
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Same as Tower 1
|
Same as Tower 1
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Single row of large roughly hewn fieldstones
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Preserved height
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2–4 courses
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2–4 courses
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2–4 courses
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4 courses
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Alignment with cardinal points
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Walls
|
Walls
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Walls
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Corners of building
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Eantrance wall
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Eastern
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Eastern
|
-
|
Southwestern
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Entrance width (m)
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0.6–0.7
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0.6–0.7
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-
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0.8
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Floor
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Beaten earth overlying bedrock
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Beaten earth overlying fieldstones
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Bedrock
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Bedrock
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Other features
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Square rock-cutting in floor of northwestern corner (0.18 × 0.29 m, depth 0.06 m)
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-
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-
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-
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Threshholds and doorjambs
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Flat stone thresholds, dressed doorjambs with holes for bolt
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Same as Tower 1
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-
|
?
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Finds
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Byzantine-period pottery; glass fragments;worn coin (Staff Officer No. 29545)
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Byzantine-period pottery
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Byzantine-period pottery
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Byzantine-period pottery
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