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Four Late Chalcolithic burial caves were excavated at Shoham (North). Within these caves, 1052 identifiable animal bones were recovered: 712 bones originated from Chalcolithic deposits; 179, from Early Bronze Age I deposits; 9, from Intermediate Bronze Age deposits; and 152, from mixed Chalcolithic/EB I sediments. The identified species were similar in both Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age samples, representing mainly domestic animals, e.g., sheep, goats, pigs and dogs, as well as large-sized equids (wild ass?). The samples differ, however, in their relative frequencies, which might represent different activities in the cave. The data presented in this article suggest that both human and carnivore activities contributed to the creation of the faunal assemblage at the site.

The archaeozoological findings from Shoham (North) originated in three caves and are associated with the Chalcolithic period, Early Bronze Age IB and the Intermediate Bronze Age. The main domestic mammal in the Chalcolithic period was the donkey, representing an outstanding percentage, probably reflecting its importance during this period.

A total of 39 single-chambered shaft tombs were excavated on a flat kurkar hill south of Tel Azor. The pottery finds from the tombs are locally produced, forming part of a unique regional group, typical of the central coastal plain during the Intermediate Bronze Age. The wide distribution of the tombs over the entire area of the Azor cemetery, and the lack of evidence of a settlement there, suggest that the hill was only used for burial. This distinction between the burial ground and the settlement is known from elsewhere in the country during this period, and therefore, must have been a common practice.

Excavations in the eastern Lower City of Tel Hazor revealed part of a courtyard building (Area Q2) and a rampart (Area Q3), as well as a drainage channel and a rampart system (Area N). The building, dating to the Late Bronze Age, exhibited three building phases. Beneath the Phase II floor, two storage-jar burials were found, one of which contained fragmentary bones of a child. The finds in the building were sparse, including decorated ware, Bichrome ware and Chocolate-on-White ware. Also found were a zoomorphic figurine, an anthropomorphic(?) object and an alabastron. The building was of public (administrative?) character, as attested by the stone paving, basalt orthostats in secondary use and a red-plaster fragment. In a probe (Area Q3), dug in the center of the earthen ramparts surrounding the Lower City, a large quantity of pottery was unearthed, dating to late Middle Bronze Age IIA. Although small in scale, these excavations illuminate issues regarding the nature and chronology of the eastern Lower City of Tel Hazor during MB II and LB I. 

The tomb, hewn in soft limestone bedrock, comprises an entrance chamber and a burial chamber, in whose walls are four kokhs (loculi). The tomb contained fragments of at least five limestone ossuaries, some bearing incised decoration, and lids of two common types: flat and vaulted. Numerous human skeletal remains were scattered in the tomb, representing a minimum number of 13 individuals. A few fragments of pottery and glass vessels were found, as well as a bronze bell, beads and a glass bracelet, dating to the Roman period. The general plan of the tomb and its architecture conform to the accepted standards of Jewish tombs during the first and second centuries CE.

On the southwestern fringes of Tell Qasile, a burial cave hewn in sandstone (kurkar) was exposed. It was almost completely destroyed in the past, and only the lower eastern part was preserved. The pottery and coins found in the cave dated to the Late Roman period (third–fourth centuries CE). The upper parts of some of the jars had been purposely removed, attesting that they may have served as ossuaries. The numerous animal bones and rampant disorder indicate that the cave was used a dump in a later phase. The finds from the cave point at either a Jewish or Samaritan population.

Some 800 m northeast of Barqai Junction, along the route of the Cross-Israel Highway, an extensive quarry was exposed. The quarry, dated to the Roman and Byzantine periods based on the quarrying technique and ceramic finds, was used to quarry hard nari limestone, which was suitable for construction. The quarrying activity created steps or terraces. The detachment method included the separation of the stone’s sides from the bedrock and then its extraction by pulling the stone sideways. A rough calculation of the material extracted from the various quarrying locations is also attempted.

Excavations in the cemetery area outside the city walls of Caesarea exposed three types of burials, representing the mixed population of the city during the Roman and Byzantine periods. The first burial type is a kokh (loculi) cave, characteristic of the Jewish community during the first century CE. The second type is represented by cist tombs; one of them yielded a large, double-nozzled Imperial oil lamp, its disc decorated with the ‘three fata’—probably indicating that the tomb belonged to a pagan family. The third type is represented by an arcosolium cave, in which more than 40 oil lamps were found, most of them with a sealed filling hole. The oil lamps are decorated with geometrical and floral designs, as well as amphoras and seven-branched menorahs. This burial cave was ascribed to the Samaritans.

A large hall, in the shape of a long octagon with two interior, semicircular apses, was revealed. Four marble column bases were found in situ in the northern apse, and remains of a black-and-white mosaic floor survived in the center of the hall. These remains were probably part of a public building (bathhouse?) or a large private dwelling in the northern suburbs of Byzantine Caesarea.

Excavations at the basaltic tell, located northeast of Qiryat Shemona, revealed three strata dating to the Roman, Byzantine and Mamluk periods. The meager finds from the Roman period were founded on bedrock, and included terrace walls. The Byzantine period is represented by part of a residential building and a large oil press. A few walls and two ovens constitute the scant remains from the Mamluk period. The finds—including pottery and coins, as well as ivory, iron and bronze artifacts—date from Middle Bronze Age II and the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Early Islamic, Crusader and Mamluk periods.

A large area, located in the catchment basin of Nahal ‘Ada, was surveyed and consequently excavated, revealing a large number of walls and installations. Among the installations are many stone heaps and square towers. A trapezoidal enclosure was examined and partly excavated; it was most likely used to store agricultural produce. The remains in this area are probably part of an Iron Age satellite settlement, under the aegis of the city of Dor. The enclosures located in the area were dated to the Roman and Byzantine periods, and were possibly connected with the city of Caesarea. During the Islamic period there was less activity in the area. Pottery finds were meager, mostly dating to Iron Age I and the Hellenistic period. The results of this project show that intensive archaeological work, in an area here-to-far considered devoid of finds, can provide much diversified information.

The area under investigation is located in the lowlands extending between the center of the Samarian Hills and the coastal plain. The excavations exposed farmhouses and various installations, such as field towers, fortified towers, farming terraces, water installations, quarries, limekilns, stone clearance heaps and cupmarks. Based on the finds from these excavations, as well as from previous surveys, it is assumed that Horbat Anusha was already occupied during Iron Age II and the Persian period. A possible ritual bath might indicate an occupation in the Second Temple period. Most of the construction dates to the Byzantine period, including a farmstead complex or a monastery. During the Mamluk period, an estate was established at the site, surrounded by farming terraces. Horbat Leved seems to have been occupied from the Byzantine period to beginning of the Early Islamic period, as well as in Ottoman times. Agriculture was the principal means of subsistence at these sites.

This article aims at demonstrating a new method of identifying ancient remains during surveys. It is suggested that archaeological sites can be observed in surveys based on the dispersion of the Onopordum cynarocephalum plant. This plant, a thistle, thrives on minerals, such as phosphorous and nitrogen, which are usually found in organically enhanced soils that are associated with human habitation throughout the ages; therefore, it can be used as an indicator of the existence of ancient remains.