122
2010
 Journal 122


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Horbat Nekhes
Final Report

 Ofer Sion 
21/3/2010


1. Location map and plan.  


2. Pottery.  


3. Square 3, looking north.  


4. Square 4, looking north.  



 

During July 2007, a salvage excavation was conducted west of Modi‘in (Permit No. A-5479; map ref. 19627/64407; Fig. 1), prior to the construction of a gas station. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by Netive Haqama Ltd., was directed by O. Sion (photography), with the assistance of M. Kunin (surveying), H. Ben-Ari (preliminary inspections), E. Belashov (drafting), Y. Rapuano and A. de Groot (pottery) and C. Hersch (drawing).
Cisterns, buildings, flint scatters, farming terraces and stone clearance heaps had previously been surveyed in and around the site (Permit Nos. A-4049, A-4310, A-4882) and cisterns, rock-hewn installations, stone clearance heaps and quarries had been excavated (HA-ESI 114:62*–63*; HA-ESI 120; HA-ESI 121).
Four squares were opened along the edge of the site and sections of three agricultural walls that ranged in date from the Persian to the end of the Roman–Byzantine periods were exposed.
Square 1
An agricultural wall, aligned northwest-southeast, was exposed. The wall, built of two rows of limestone, was preserved a single course high (length 2 m, width 0.8 m, height 0.2–0.4 m). A course of limestone collapse was exposed in the vicinity of the wall, particularly to the east.
The artifacts found next to the wall included a bowl fragment (Fig 2:1) that dated to the end of the Roman–beginning of the Byzantine periods (second–fourth centuries CE) and a jar fragment (Fig 2:2) that dated to about the same period (third–fourth centuries CE).
 
Square 2
A heap of lime stones (thickness 2 m), devoid of any other finds, which may be the result of a modern digging, was exposed below the surface in a layer of terra rossa soil (min. thickness 4 m).
 
Square 3
An agricultural wall, aligned northwest-southeast, was exposed. The wall, built of two rows of limestone (min. length 3.5 m, width 1.1–1.6 m, height 0.45 m; Fig. 3) and a core of small stones, was preserved a single course high.
A fragment of a cooking pot (Fig 2:3), dating to the end of the Second Temple period (first century BCE–first century CE), was found in the core of the wall. The latter was probably built at this time or later, until the beginning of the Byzantine period, which is consistent with the dating of other remains in the area.
 
Square 4
A section of a field wall (length 7.5 m, height 0.7 m; Fig. 4), oriented northeast-southwest, was exposed. The wall was built of a double row of medium (average dimensions 0.2 × 0.3 × 0.4 m) to large (average dimensions 0.4 × 0.5 × 0.6 m) fieldstones and a core of small stones; it was preserved three–four courses high.
Four fragments of pottery vessels were found, including a mortarium (Fig 2:4), a jar (Fig 2:5) and a jug (Fig 2:6) that dated to the Persian–Hellenistic periods, and a jug fragment (Fig 2:7) that dated to the Hellenistic period (second century BCE), which was found at the base of the enclosure. It is suggested that the wall was built during the Hasmonean era or slightly later.
The direction, construction and preservation of the field wall in Sq 4 are different than the other walls; adjacent to it were fragments of pottery vessels from the Persian–Hellenistic periods, whereas the other terrace walls extended in the same direction and the potsherds discovered near them dated to the Roman–beginning of the Byzantine periods. These differences are likely to indicate that the field wall in Sq 4 was built in another period.


To view the figures, click on the figure caption



   1. Location map and plan.


   2. Pottery.


   3. Square 3, looking north.


   4. Square 4, looking north.

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