2013 Season December

Ein Gedi – December 2013 season: "Halfi's Son's House"

Preliminary report

Dr. Gideon Hadas

Director of Ein Gedi Oasis Excavations

The delegation of the Ein Gedi Oasis Excavations had one more season in December 2013 at "Halfi's Son's House" by The Ancient Synagogue of Ein Gedi National Park. The excavation was under the auspices of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and was enabled by contributions of individuals, funds and the Dead-Sea & Arava Science Center and the National Park Authority. Volunteers from abroad and Israel took part in the excavations; most of them devoted veterans of the former seasons, and also volunteers from the Ein Gedi Field School, the National Park and Mechinat Melah Ha-Aretz. The dig was directed by the author, registration and camp by R. Merhav, surveying and drafting by D. Porotzki, and pottery by A. de-Vincenz.

The season's aim was to finish unveiling "Halfi's Son's House" that was excavated in the former season of January 2013. The southern part of this building is attached to the north wall of "Halfi's House", adjoins "Nahal David Alley" in the west and its north side reaches the "Drainage Channel Alley" excavated in 2002 by Yizhar Hirschfeld.

"Halfi's Son's House" is an oblong building going from east to west (6.5X15 m.). In its center is a courtyard from which two rooms open to the west side, the northern room is the "Plaster Room" and the southern one is the "Oven Room". On the eastern side of the courtyard is the building entrance and "The Eastern Room".

The walls in the "Plaster Room" were revealed up to a height of 1.4 m above its floor and were plastered with hydraulic plaster, but the ceiling was white lime type plaster.  Mud brick remains filled the room, as well as plenty of plaster debris. On the floor many carbonized palm tree trunks were found, and more than ten broken storage jars too. This room seems to have been used as a storage room. Also found in the middle of the room were carbonized remains of a piece of furniture, and close to it, a clay figurine head of a woman with long curls was discovered.

The "Eastern Room" was also found filled with debris of mud bricks, and was plastered with mud plaster.  In this room there were at least six storage jars and it seems that this room was also used as a storage room.

Attached to the western wall of "Halfi's Son's House" the "Western Room" was revealed, which is at the corner of the "Nahal David Alley" and the "Drainage Channel Alley". The entrance to the room was from north, from the "Drainage Channel Alley"'. The room's walls are presently very low, and the floor was made of a thick mud layer, very close to the surface.    Nothing of importance was found there - only a thin layer of ash. Maybe this room was used as an animal pen for the household, and it is not clear that it belongs to "Halfi's Son's House".

"Halfi's Son's House" was destroyed together with all of the village's buildings, the synagogue included, in the middle of the sixth century CE.

The Ein Gedi Oasis Excavations delegation finished the excavations at the Byzantine village of the Ein Gedi site by revealing three dwelling houses near the synagogue – the "Treasure House", the "Halfi House" and "Halfi's Son's House". Now, a visitor to the site can walk through the village alleys and see the Byzantine complex that includes a synagogue and three dwelling houses, with the same characteristic features, but that differ in size.    

And now the Ein Gedi Oasis Excavations delegation is looking forward to begin the 3rd aim of our mission – revealing the public building from the 1st century BCE.

More details are available in the delegation web site:

https://sites.google.com/site/eingediexcavations/home