The first excavations in Ein Gedi, directed by
Professor B. Mazar in the 60's, uncovered the First Temple settlement at Tel
Goren and the Chalcolithic temple. In the 70's Professor D. Barag and Dr. Y. Porat
excavated the Byzantine synagogue and started to reveal a few buildings. In 1995
I cleaned the alleys and bulks that remained there since the 70's.
From 1996-2002 Professor Y. Hirschfeld uncovered the
adjoining Byzantine village. I worked with him during these seven years as an area
supervisor.
After Professor Hirschfeld announced that he was ending his
work in Ein Gedi, I took upon myself to carry on the study of the oasis. I was
encouraged and helped by a devoted team of international volunteers who
understand the importance of continuing this work. So was born the archaeological expedition of the Ein Gedi
Oasis Excavations.
During 2003 - 2010 we, the Ein Gedi Oasis Excavations expedition,
uncovered part of a Jewish village from the late Second Temple (Roman) period. We
have uncovered some ten houses all of the same period, complete with the clay
vessels used by their inhabitants and the ovens where every family baked its
own bread and meals. We also exposed an alley between the houses and now have a
better understanding of the rural Jewish settlement here ca. 2000 years ago.
Since 2011 on, we revealed some dwelling houses by the
ancient synagogue of the village of the 6th C.E. such as "Halfi
House" and "Halfi Son House". In 2015 Dr. Orit Peleg-Barkat of
the Hebrew University in Jerusalem Joined me.
Over the years of
excavations it became clear that the Jewish settlement in Ein Gedi began at the
end of the First Temple Period in the 7th century BCE, and ended in the 6th century
CE. That is to say, in the Ein Gedi oasis, Jewish settlement existed
continuously for about a thousand years. It was assumed that all during this period,
the permanent dwellings of the settlement in Ein Gedi were only built along
the natural ridge on which lies Tel Goren and the Byzantine village.
Ultimately, we envisage a complete
archaeological park between the two
nature reserves of Nahal David and Nahal
Arugoth encompassing Jewish
settlement from the First Temple,
Roman and Byzantine periods.
The excavations and processing the finds rely exclusively on
donations, which can be sent to:
Israel Exploration Society - Ein Gedi Oasis Excavations directed
by G. Hadas.
POB 7041, 5 Avida St., Jerusalem 91070, Israel
Or to:
Bank Hapoalim , Branch 690
King George St. 16, Jerusalem, Israel
Account no. 100497
Name of the account: Israel
Exploration Society
Ein Gedi Oasis Excavations directed
by G. Hadas
Fax 972-2-6247772
Instructions for transfer of funds via P.E.F.:
To: P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds,
Inc.
317 Madison Avenue, Suite 607, New York, NY 10017, USA
Attention: Mr. Ben Harrison Frankel,
President
Tel. 212-599-1260; Fax. 212-599-5981