In January–February 2012, a trial excavation was conducted southwest of Zippori (Permit No. A-6383; map ref. 224468–5161/737698–8759), prior to widening Road 79. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and financed by the Israel National Roads Company, was directed by F. Abu Zedan (photography), with the assistance of N. Getzov (area supervision), Y. Lavan (administration), J. Vardi (flint artifacts) and L. Zeiger (artifact drawing).
Three excavation areas (A–C; Fig. 1) were opened on a chalk hill near Nahal Zippori, along Highway 79. The areas were located in places where ancient remains and finds were previously documented in a survey (Permit No. A-4648). The antiquities discovered in the excavation included flint items from the Middle Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic periods, pottery sherds dating to the Roman and Byzantine periods, a sarcophagus lid from the Roman period, as well as a small rock-cutting and modern agricultural terraces.
Area A. A chalk terrace (Survey Site 63; length c. 20 m, height 1–2 m) was uncovered in the northern part of the area and worn pottery sherds, probably dating to the Roman and Byzantine periods, were discovered. Another chalk terrace (Survey Site 64; length c. 7 m, height 2.5–3.0 m) was unearthed in the middle of the area. Modern farming terraces and a small rock cutting (1.0–1.2 m) were exposed in the south of the area (Survey Site 65). These were probably related to agricultural activity conducted by the residents of the village of Seffurieh.
Area B. Four squares (each 2.0 × 2.5 m; Survey Site 67; Fig. 2) were excavated, where flint items, most of which were not in situ and covered with patina, were the primary find. These flint items were evidently swept here from the adjacent sites of ‘En Zippori and Giv‘at Rabi. The finds include two cores from the Middle Paleolithic period and a bladelet core ascribed to the Epipalaeolithic period (Vardi, below). Several worn pottery sherds dating to the Roman and Byzantine periods were also discovered.
Area C. The excavation was conducted along the old route of Road 79 (Survey Site 142), during which mechanical equipment removed a pile of stones—apparently the roadbed. A Amongst the stones, not in situ, was a Roman-period sarcophagus lid (Fig. 3). Its provenance was probably the Roman-period cemetery of the city of Zippori.
The Lithic Assemblage
Jacob Vardi
The assemblage from the excavation comprises a small number of artifacts (Table 1). Most of them are waste artifacts (n=22; 73.3% of the assemblage) and few tools (n=8; 26.6%). Most of the artifacts are rolled, as indicated by the blunt edges and the patina they bear. The raw material observed on artifacts without patination is mostly a medium-grained flint, light brown or beige in color, common in the Giv‘at Rabi area.
Debris and Debitage (n=17; 56.6%). Only few artifacts of this category were found. They comprise a few flakes and primary elements (flakes that retain over 50% of their cortex). There are no standardized artifacts within the debitage. Most of the items display edge damage typical of rolled chipped stone artifacts.
Table 1. Waste and Tool frequencies
The item
|
n
|
% of Group
|
% of the Assemblage
|
Debris
|
Chips
|
4
|
66.7
|
13.3
|
Chunks
|
2
|
33.3
|
6.7
|
Total Debris
|
6
|
100.0
|
20.0
|
Debitage
|
Flakes
|
7
|
63.6
|
23.3
|
Primary Elements
|
3
|
27.3
|
10.0
|
Blades
|
0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
CTE
|
1
|
9.1
|
3.3
|
Total Debitage
|
11
|
100.0
|
36.6
|
Cores
|
5
|
|
16.7
|
Tools
|
8
|
|
26.7
|
Total
|
30
|
|
100.0
|
Cores (n=5; 16.7%). The five cores are highly unstandardized. One core has two opposed striking platforms, and it is covered by brown patina and typical of pebbles in the nearby ravine. Another is a discoidal levallois core (22.6 × 34.1 × 46.6 mm; Figure 4:1), typical of the Middle Paleolithic period. It has a convergent scar pattern, is battered and bears a double patina: dark brown and orange-brown. A third core is a mixed bladelet\flake core (24.5 × 27.4 × 35.4 mm). This core is covered by whitish patina, has three striking platforms and is pyramidal in shape. The two other cores are amorphous flake cores; one is on a flake, and the other is an exhausted core.
Tools (n=8; 26.7%). The eight tools are highly unstandardized. Two are retouched flakes with an alternating retouch on both laterals. A third tool is a notched flake. There are three borers. One could be classified as a massive drill; it has two convergent laterals, one which bears partial abrupt retouch and a second with some edge damage. The other two are classified as awls: one is made on a flake and the other a core trimming element. Both have a short bit modified by a notch near the pointed tip of the blanks. Another tool is an end scraper on a thick, natural backed flake. It has a direct semi-abrupt retouch on its distal edge and an abruptly retouched notch on its lateral edge. Lastly, there is a single retouched blade that was fabricated on a natural backed knife (Figure 4:2). It has a facetted butt and its profile is convex in a manner that resembles some of the levallois technology products, typical of the Middle Paleolithic period. The second lateral is inversely nibbled.
The lithic collection from the excavation at Zippori is highly unstandardized and includes no clearly indicative artifacts. Two cores and possibly one of the tools may be dated to the Middle Paleolithic, and the bladelet core could be of an Epipaleolithic origin. The remaining artifacts probably hint for a nearby occupation of the late prehistoric or even historic periods that can be characterized by the use of Ad Hoc tools (Rosen 1997).