•  
  •  
 

Abstract

The remains of a rural settlement from Middle Bronze Age IIB were uncovered at the site, comprising two types of residential structures: the ‘courtyard house’ and the ‘terraced house.’ The pottery assemblage is typologically homogeneous. The economy of the villagers was apparently based on agricultural crops, which were cultivated in the valley of Naḥal Soreq. At the end of the Iron Age–beginning of the Persian period, a rural settlement continued to exist at the site, which was part of Jerusalem’s agricultural hinterland. A large building of the ‘three-room house’ type was exposed, as well as three other adjacent buildings. Most of the ceramic finds from Ḥorbat ‘Alona can be attributed to the last phase of the Iron Age, including a lmlk stamp and a lion stamp-seal. The ceramic assemblage from the Persian period indicates a continuity from the Iron Age. The agricultural terraces and fences were exploited after the sixth century CE, based on the pottery finds within the walls.

Keywords

Naḥal Soreq, satellite settlements, agriculture, installations, winepress, Neo-Babylonian period, dwellings, terrace walls

Share

 
COinS