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Abstract

The Late Pottery Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in the vicinity of Jerusalem and the Judean Hills were almost unknown until the last two decades. As of then, following several salvage excavations and research undertaken in the area, much information has been gathered and summarized. It is noteworthy that until recently, the Late Pottery Neolithic and the Chalcolithic cultures, spanning the Wadi Rabah culture and the Ghassulian Chalcolithic, were known only from small-scale excavations, such as in the northern regions of the country (including the Jordan Valley), the Besor basin and some pre-Ghassulian remains at Teleilat Ghassul in Jordan. This paper presents an updated picture based on several studies by the authors in Jerusalem and its surrounding hills, showing that archaeological sites existed in the area from around 5500 to 3700 BCE. At the beginning of the twentieth century, sites dating from this time span were exposed in surveys and excavations at Shu‘afaṭ and in the area contiguous to the Old City of Jerusalem, the ‘Ofel and the so-called City of David. The last decades of salvage excavations conducted by the IAA and other institutions have exposed numerous sites within the city of Jerusalem, as well as in its vicinity, such as Saṭaf, Abu Ghosh and Motza, which are located near water streams, as well as on the border between Jerusalem and the Judean desert.

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