Nahal Besor

Yoram Haimi
13/08/2017
Final Report
In March 2016, a salvage excavation was conducted near Nahal Besor, near a bird Observatory (Permit No. A-7627; map ref. 17060/54060; Fig. 1), prior to the installation of a gas pipe. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and financed by the Negev Natural Gas Company, Ltd., was directed by Y. Haimi (photography), with the assistance of Y. Al-ʽAmor (administration), A. Hajian (surveying and drafting) and S. Gal (mapping).
An excavation square (L1; 3 × 6 m) yielded an east–west field wall (W10; Figs. 2, 3) built of one course of fieldstones supported on the south by a fill of river pebbles mixed with fluvial deposits (width 0.6 m; Fig. 4). The wall apparently served to channel alluvium (loess) from Nahal Besor to level ground that was converted into agricultural plots. As this method was employed in the Negev during the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, the wall should probably be dated to these periods. This wall along with three similar walls were documented in a survey conducted in the past between Ramat Hovav and Ashalim (License No. S-593/2015; see Fig. 1). Other walls, apparently also intended to direct alluvium, were discovered in the past to the east of Nahal Nizzana (License S-479/2014).
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