Front Matter & Editorial

In archaeological discourse, mainly in the field of numismatics, many terms are used to describe groups of valuable artifacts found in a specific archaeological context. This study discusses the main synonymous nouns comprising the semantic field of the word hoard, with the aim of determining the differences between the lexical items and presenting a comprehensive rendering of their meaning. The results of this study stress the pragmatic, context-sensitive stance of synonymity, highlighting the importance of word-choice in the interpretation of archaeological finds.

This paper presents a cache of 31 astragali from the site of Tel Nagila, dating to the Middle Bronze Age. This is the earliest known cache of astragali from the Southern Levant outside tombs, and may be the forebearer of the later caches found in cultic contexts in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. This paper presents the context in which the cache was found, adjacent to a tower that functioned as part of the site’s fortifications; the social mechanisms behind the use of astragali; their deposition in a cache; and how the cache may have related to the function of the context in which it was found.

Murabba‘at Cave II is situated in the cliffy area on the northern bank of Naḥal Darga, about 2 km west of the Dead Sea. It is a complex cave formed by the dissolution of Shivṭa-Formation limestone below the water table. Its total length is approximately 90 m and it has three levels. Previous excavations have shown the cave to be one of the richest in the Judean Desert in terms of finds from various periods. Among the many finds was an ancient wooden box containing a Ptolemaic coin-hoard from the reign of Ptolemy VI, which was discovered in a crevice near a shaft leading down to the interior cavities. This article presents and discusses the hoard, a typical emergency hoard, with all its components, while considering its geographical-historical context. Several possible historical events may have led to the hoard’s deposition, mainly the Sixth Syrian War and the Maccabean Revolt.

Extensive excavations over the last few decades in and around Jerusalem have yielded large quantities of cooking vessels, including instances of intentional cooking-pot deposits. Since not all concentrations of cooking pots can be grouped as a single phenomenon, this article aims at categorizing and defining the different categories of cooking-pot deposits in Early Roman Jerusalem to better understand each occurrence and to offer a refined interpretation thereof. This allows us to trace and evaluate different processes and behaviors prevalent in Jerusalem during the Early Roman period. It also sheds light on the dynamics of interaction between the local population, visitors and pilgrims in the ‘Temple City’ of Jerusalem during the late Second Temple period.

A female skeleton adorned with unique jewelry items, and accompanied by a sword and cosmetic tools, was discovered within a pit at the site of Naḥal Shalva. Near the skeleton was a hoard of silver and gold coins from the days of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, which were kept in at least two linen purses. The hoard and its owner are the focus of this article, discussed in relation to the nearby settlement and the possible circumstances that led to their deposition at the site in the Early Roman period.

Three churches are known in Shivṭa: the Northern, the Central and the Southern. All three were fully excavated by the Colt expedition in 1934–1938. Recently, a full documentation of the exposed walls was undertaken, recording the remains of paintings, engravings and inscriptions. When the Transfiguration scene on the southern apse of the Southern Church was re-examined in this project, three coin deposits were revealed. In this paper we will present the data and offer an interpretation thereof.

Middens provide an important source of data for exploring the history of ancient settlements. Excavations at the middens of Naḥal ‘Omer, an Early Islamic way-station in the ‘Arava desert, yielded a treasure-trove of textiles, such as silk and cotton, including ikats probably imported from India or South Arabia. The Early Islamic period witnessed a flourishing of artistic and cultural achievements, with textiles playing a central role in expressing creativity. The Silk Road, Mediterranean trade routes and connections with India and Central Asia facilitated the movement of textiles and inspired cross-cultural influences. This period probably witnessed a “textile revolution” that was characterized by the increase in cotton and silk cultivation. In this paper, we discuss how the treasures from the middens shed light on the production and trade of textiles along trade routes between east and west through three important textile groups: ikat, silk and zilu.

This paper discusses the ‘Bamiyan Papers,’ also known as the ‘Afghan Genizah,’ which probably originated in the Bamiyan region in present-day central Afghanistan. Particular attention is given here to their earliest phase, comprising the private archive of Yehuda ben Daniel, a Jewish landowner residing in early Ghaznavid Bamiyan in the first half of the eleventh century, who plays a central role in this study. The archive documents shed significant light on the interaction between an urban private landowner and the rural population, with specific emphasis on his tenants. By closely examining two texts from the archive, this paper illuminates the complexities inherent in the landowner-peasant relationship and unveils the financial connections that existed between urban landowners and peasants. This research thus contributes to our understanding of Ghaznavid rural history and provides insights into the broader context of the pre-Mongol Iranian world.

Hoards of the Fatimid period have been used by scholars to illustrate a variety of macro-historical developments in the eleventh-century CE Fatimid Empire and Fatimid-ruled Palestine. This is not surprising as the number of Fatimid-period hoards discovered in excavations is very large, totaling 29. However, the deposition of a large share of these so-called ‘Fatimid hoards,’ 15 out of the 29, are in fact important material evidence of the arrival of the armies of the First Crusade in 1099 in southern Syria/Palestine and the territorial expansion of the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem during the first years of the twelfth century CE.

The archaeological survey of the Kamon cave revealed several groups of finds, including a hoard of coins and jewelry; a cache comprising a lamp with agate beads inside it; several pottery vessels and an arrowhead found together in a rock crevice; and scattered pottery and metal artifacts. Based on the finds, it was concluded that the major period of human activity in the cave was at the beginning of the Hellenistic period, with meager activity during Iron Age IIA. The cave probably served as a refuge for a group of people during the Wars of the Diadochi. This article discusses the social background of the refugees and the circumstances leading to the deposition of the hoard.

Part of a building (Building 900) was uncovered along the Tyropoeon Valley. Three phases of use were identified: the first two dating to the Byzantine period, and the last phase, to the Abbasid period. The plan of the building, along with the quality of construction and some of the small finds, indicate the affluent status of the building’s residents in both periods. The finds from this excavation, together with those of previous excavations in the area, shed light on the residential neighborhood that development on the lower half of the slope of the City of David in the Tyropoeon Valley, beginning from the sixth–seventh centuries CE. The presence of pig remains in the Abbasid-period building may attest that its inhabitants were Christian, or that the prohibition on pork consumption was not yet enforced in this early phase of the Early Islamic period.