Cairns. two cairns, tentatively dated to the Early Bronze Age, were discovered in the survey area. The cairns consist of a ring of large fieldstones, filled with a heap of smaller fieldstones. Cairn fields are located throughout the general area near the Be’erotayim wells.
Table 3. Cairns
Site No.
|
Map Ref.
|
Diam. (m)
|
16
|
149613/522482
|
10
|
91
|
149843/427885
|
9
|
‘Line temple’ (?). a long, narrow structure (39; map ref. 150023/522277; length 11 m, width 1 m) was discovered in the survey. It was constructed from flat fieldstones placed on two sides of a narrow line of small stones and earth fill. Structures of this type are found associated with Early Bronze Age cairn fields in other parts of the Negev. The excavation of a line-temple west of Ezuz-Be’erotayim in 2011 (Permit No. A-6307) uncovered superimposed settlement remains of Early Bronze Age IB, indicating that the structure was dated to that period or earlier.
Lithic Scatters. Two concentrations of lithics and lithic debris, attributed to a tool manufacturing site, were discovered next to Sites 8 and 11. Notably, a random scatter of lithics dated to the Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods was discerned throughout most of the survey. However, no specific prehistoric sites were found.
Table 4. Lithic scatters
Site No.
|
Map ref.
|
8
|
149818/522287
|
11
|
149835/522327
|
Campsite and a Potsherd Scatter. A concentration of potsherds (1; map ref. 150049/522279; 7×7 m), possibly dating to the Byzantine period, was discerned in the remains of what appears to have been a campsite.
Early Islamic Settlement (68–70, 79–82; eighth century CE). The remains of a settlement with extensive domestic structures, an open mosque and a cistern were found north of the modern settlement. The settlement has two parts: the first (69–70; map ref. 149449/522915) consisted of two large domestic structures (Fig. 5) and a small open mosque (68; 5×6 m) located next to the main road leading to Mizpe ‘Ezuz. The second part (79–83; map ref. 149610/523032) contains at least five domestic structures and a cistern on the opposite side of the hillside in a small valley, leading down to Nahal ‘Ezuz. Large concentrations of potsherds and glass fragments dating to the Early Islamic period were found around the structures. The buildings were constructed from small to medium fieldstones and many of the walls have survived to six courses high or more. Architectural elements attributed to the Byzantine period (fifth–seventh centuries CE) were incorporated into some of the structures. The buildings are irregular in plan and multiple rooms appear to have been added to the original structures, possibly to accommodate extended families. Many of the structures have six to ten rooms, or more. Some of the structures appear to contain an irregularly shaped central courtyard. The cistern was purposely closed, probably in the 1950s (Fig. 6).
Rock art and inscription. A number of drawings were found engraved on naturally blackened boulders in bedrock outcrops. They include anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, such as ibex, camels and horses (Figs. 7–10) and one inscription of the Byzantine period in Greek script (Fig. 11). The date of the drawings is unknown, but they were probably executed in the Early to Late Islamic period, similar to those found in other parts of the Negev Highlands.
Table 5. Rock art and inscription
Site No.
|
Map ref.
|
7, 9, 15–18
|
150012/522378
|
26
|
149821/522367
|
Various Installations. a small number of installations connected with husbandry and agriculture were found. These include a low stone 'fence', an animal pen, a drainage channel and a field terrace. The structures were constructed from small to medium-sized fieldstones. The drainage channel and terrace appear to belong to the larger terraced system that originally stood in Nahal ‘Ezuz and was destroyed in modern times. All the installations may be attributed to the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods.
Table 6. Various Installations
Site No.
|
Map Ref.
|
Description
|
7
|
149464/522917
|
Stone fence
|
9
|
149545/523201
|
Drainage channel
|
10
|
149789/522971
|
Animal pen
|
11
|
149792/522926
|
Field terrace
|
Bedouin Cemetery. a large Bedouin cemetery (112–115; map ref. 149547/522327) with several dozen graves is located on the southern perimeter of Mizpe ‘Ezuz. The cemetery is known to have been in use between the 1920s and 1950s.
Mip
ze ‘Ezuz is located in and around the ancient site of Bireen (Be’erotayim), referred to in the Nessana archive (
Kraemer 1958:237, No. 82)of the early seventh century CE. The ancient site was an important water source and crossroads through which the Darb el-Gaza (Way of Gaza) passed from the Gulf of Elat to the Mediterranean coast, as well as Darb el Shur (Way of Shur), the in-land desert road leading from Be’er Sheba‘ to the oasis of Kadesh Barne‘a in North Sinai, used by the patriarchs (
Woolley and Lawrence 1914:39–44). Road markers in the form of large rectangular platforms, similar to those found in the survey, dot the ridges above the Darb el Shur between Be’erotayim and Kadesh Barne‘a (
Woolley and Lawrence 1914:26, Fig. 2).
The general area around Mizpe ‘Ezuz was extensively inhabited in the Early and Intermediate Bronze Ages (3200–2000 BCE). A great number of the structures found in the immediate area belong to this time period. Some are related to settlements while many others have a funerary nature. This includes the discovery of a 'line-temple' in the survey. Line-temples apparently have no actual function other than as cultic relics. Their east to west orientation suggests that they may have been built to represent the narrow boats used to transport the spirits of the deceased to the west, a popular Egyptian belief in pre-dynastic Egypt and during the Old Kingdom.
Following the Intermediate Bronze Age, the region was largely void of any permanent settlement until the beginning of the Iron IIA period. Around 1000 BCE, lines of fortresses were built along roads that ran past the wells of Be’erotayim. Recent studies point to the role of the fortresses in the production and trade of copper mined in the Arabah, in Khirbat en Na
has (
Martin and Finkelstein 2013). A fortress of this period, located southwest of the wells, was excavated (
Cohen and Cohen-Amin 2004:56–58). In the Persian period (fifth–fourth centuries BCE), similar to other sites in the region, structures were built opposite the Iron Age fortress of Be’erotayim (
Cohen and Cohen-Amin 2004:185–188).
The area around Mi
zpe ‘Ezuz became a major agricultural region in the Byzantine period (fifth–seventh centuries CE), when terraces were constructed in all of the dry water courses around the site. The Byzantine village was a satellite settlement of Nessana in this era and an aqueduct supplied a large open cistern located in Nahal Be’erotayim with well water. The ancient name of the site, Bireen, which refers to its two wells, appears in the Nessana papyri in texts relating to agriculture and taxation (
Kraemer 1958:237, No. 82). These texts indicate that barley and aracus (a kind of legume) were cultivated at the site, while wheat was cultivated near the village of Seram only a short distance northwest of Bireen.
In the subsequent era, the Early Islamic period (eighth century CE), a small settlement probably made up of extended families, was constructed near an ancient Nabataean cistern. The inhabitants in that period continued to cultivate the terraced fields of the area and engaged in husbandry. A change in the type and construction of dwellings occurred in this period; the structures appear to contain only a ground floor with rooms added on in an irregular fashion. The location of a small mosque on the outskirts of the Early Islamic village is similar to open local mosques discovered next to small villages situated away from the larger centers. Village mosques have been discovered in the Sede Boqer region, opposite Qibbu
z Sede Boqer (
Cohen 1985:65–66, Figs. 1–3) and in Na
hal
Ha
za
z and Na
hal La‘ana (
Nahlieli and Israel 1990).
The ancient name of the site continued to be used into modern times by local Bedouins who called the site Birein (Mayerson 1962:226). Around 1916, the Turkish army aided by German engineers, constructed a railroad through the area, using water from the wells to run the steam engines. The railroad extended from Be’er Sheba‘ and as far as Qeseima (ancient Kadesh Barne‘a) in North Sinai. Apparently, ancient structures of the Byzantine period were dismantled and used for building stones in modern structures in Nahal ‘Ezuz, such as the railway bridge, a large covered cistern, various buildings and a vaulted baking oven near the wells.
During the British Mandate era, local Bedouin tribes frequented the wells next to Mizpe ‘Ezuz and began to bury their dead in a local cemetery in the 1920s. The modern site of Mizpe ‘Ezuz was settled in 1951 and re-established in the early 1980s, following Israel's withdrawal from Sinai and the peace accords with Egypt.