Hadashot Arkheologiyot

Pit Graves

Tomb 19 (0.5–0.6×1.7 m). The upper part of the tomb was not entirely preserved and the outline of the grave was unclear. The tomb contained sand fill mixed with sections of kurkar sandstone. One individual, placed on its right side at a depth of 0.25 m below the top of the rock-cutting, was discovered. The deceased was identified as a female 20–30 years of age. Collapsed kurkar covering slabs were discovered in the middle of the tomb. A complete earring (Fig. 7) and dozens of different size beads made of various materials were found next to the skull. The earring is made of an alloy composed of equal parts of gold and silver. This is a thick hoop earring that has a thin loop-like clasp. On its bottom part is a coil-like decoration of tiny balls soldered together to form a flower and on the bottom of the coil is a larger ball that closes the structure. Similar earrings are known in the Land of Israel from the twelfth–ninth centuries BCE, when they are made of gold, silver and bronze. These earrings are characterized by a hoop decorated on its lower end with tiny balls soldered together, sometimes with a large ball at the end of the decoration. A similar type of earring, made solely of gold, appears in the Roman period (second–third centuries CE). It is unclear if the earring discovered in the excavation is an ancient one that was found during the Ottoman period and reused, or is it an earring that was made as an imitation of ancient earrings? The beads, probably part of a necklace, are made of glass and semi-precious stones. The glass beads are tiny, spherical or cylindrical, and are made of white, blue, green and grayish black glass. Some of the beads are made of amber and have a round or flat shape; they are light weight and covered with a thick layer of incrustation. Two of the beads are jade, ribbed and perforated in their center. One of the beads is carnelian and is spherical. Other beads are made of other semi-precious stones of various crystal shapes.

In March 2007, a salvage excavation was conducted in the ancient nucleus of Nein, located in the Jezreel Valley (Permit No. A-5049; map ref. 233082–97/726172–97). The excavation, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, was directed by F. Abu Zedan, with the assistance of Y. Lavan (administration), A. Hajian (surveying), H. Smithline (photography), Y. Gorin-Rosen (glass), L. Porat (pottery restoration), H. Tahan-Rosen (pottery drawing) and G. Bijovsky (numismatics). The author wishes to thank P. Gendelman, W. Atrash, N. Feig, D. Avshalom-Gorni and A. Berlin for assisting in identifying the pottery and preparing the report. Special thanks to A. Peleg who helped in identifying the gold rings.

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Stratum III: The Roman Period. Remains of a massive building consisting of three rooms and a courtyard were discovered atop the wall remains of the Hellenistic period. The structure was well-built of medium and large ashlars (wall thickness c. 0.8 m; Fig. 3). Its floor, paved with large stone slabs, was only partially preserved in the central room. The structure was destroyed in the second half of the first century CE by a conflagration, in which it collapsed on its occupants, as evidenced by a layer of ash and charcoal that covered fallen building stones and burnt skeletons that were found below the rubble. The destruction might be relate to the events of the Jewish War against the Romans, which took place in the Galilee in 66–67 CE. The destruction layer contained fragments of pottery vessels, mainly imported ceramics such as terra sigillata, fragments of fine quality glassware belonging to a wide variety of shapes, metal objects that included an iron key (Fig. 4:1) and gold jewelry—earrings decorated with a grape cluster (Fig. 4:2) and a ring inlaid with carnelian (Fig. 4:3)—all dating to the Early Roman period (first century CE). These artifacts were likely the property of wealthy families and of representatives of the Roman government in the country.