Iron Age, Persian–Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Crusader–Mamluk-Period Remains at Ḥorbat ‘Ofrat in Lower Galilee (pp. 65–114)

Authors

Yardenna Alexandre, Israel Antiquities Authority

Abstract

The excavation at Ḥorbat ‘Ofrat unearthed remains from Iron Age II and the late Persian–early Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. The main findings are from Iron Age II and the Crusader–Mamluk periods. During Iron Age IIA, a small, possibly fortified, town was established on the hilltop, continuing into Iron IIB, with some evidence of a destruction or abandonment, and new buildings were erected in Iron IIC. The Iron IIA–C pottery at the site spans the tenth–seventh centuries BCE. A Mamluk-period building, with an earlier phase in the Crusader period, included pottery, glass vessels and a few coins dating from the fourteenth to the fifteenth century CE. The building might have served to accommodate Christian pilgrims on their way from the port of Acre (Akko) to Nazareth.

Keywords

Lower Galilee, Akko plain, Biblical sources, Assyrian incursions, Tiglath-Pileser, burgus, Battle of Ḥaṭṭin, Christianity, pilgrimage, animal bones

Recommended Citation

Alexandre, Yardenna (2019) "Iron Age, Persian–Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Crusader–Mamluk-Period Remains at Ḥorbat ‘Ofrat in Lower Galilee (pp. 65–114)," 'Atiqot: Vol. 95, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70967/2948-040X.2042
Available at: https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol95/iss1/6