Table Of ContentEPHRAIM STERN, Editor
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
AYELET LEWINSON-GILBOA, Assistant Editor
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
JOSEPH AVIRAM, Editorial Director
Israel Exploration Society
Volume 2
THE ISRAEL EXPIDRATION SOCIETY
CARTA, JERUSALEM
© Copyright 1993
The Israel Exploration Society & Carta,
The Israel Map & Publishing Company, Limited
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or
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without permission in writing from the publishers.
ISBN 965-220-209-6 (set)
ISBN 965-220-211-8 (v.2)
Printing Number 6 5 4 3 2
Printed in Israel
a. acre EB Early Bronze Jn. John MT Masoretic text Qid. Qiddushin
AH anno Hegirae, in the year Eccles. Ecclesiastes Jon. Jonah n. note Qin. Qinnim
of the Hegira ed. editor (pl., eds.); edition; Jos. Joshua Nab. Nahum q.v. quod vide, which see
Am. Amos edited by J.T. Jerusalem Talmud Naz. Nazir r. reigned; ruled
'Arakh. 'Arakhin 'Eduy. 'Eduyyot Kel. Kelim n.d. no date Rab. Rabbah
Avot Pirkei Avot e.g. exempli gratia, for Ker. Keritot Ned. Nedarim rev. revised
A.Z. 'Avodah Zarah example Ket. Ketubbot
Neg. Nega'im Rev. Revelation
b. born Eph. Ephesians kg kilogram
Neb. Nehemiah Rom. Romans
B.B. Bava Batra 'Eruv. 'Eruvin 1 Kg. 1 Kings
Nid. Niddah 1 Sam. 1 Samuel
BCE before the common era ESR Electro Spin 2 Kg. 2 Kings
Beits. Beitsah Resonance Kil. Kil'ayim no. number (pl., nos.) 2 Sam. 2 Samuel
Bekh. Bekhorot et al. et alii, and others km kilometer n.p. no place San. Sanhedrin
Ber. Berakhot etc. et cetera, and so forth l. locus n.s. new series sect. section
Bik. Bikkurim Ex. Exodus Lam. Lamentations Nom. Numbers Shah. Shabbat
B.M. Bava Metsi'a Ezek. Ezekiel LB Late Bronze Ob. Obadiah Shev. Shevu'ot
Ohal. Ohalot
BP before the present f. and following (pl., ff.) lb. pound Sheq. Sheqalim
op. cit. opere citato, in the
B.Q. Bava Qamma fig. figure (pl., figs.) Lev. Leviticus Song Song of Solomon
work cited
B.T. Babylonian Talmud g gram Lk. Luke Sot. Sotah
Par. Parah
c. circa, about, Gal. Galatians loc. cit. the place cited sq square
PEF Palestine Exploration
approximately Gen. Genesis m meter Fund St. Saint (pl., SS.)
cat. catalogue Git. Gittin Mal. Malachi Pes. Pesal;im Suk. Sukkah
CE of the common era Hab. Habakkuk 1 Mace. 1 Maccabees Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy Ta'an. Ta'anit
cent. century lfag. lfagigah 2 Mace. 2 Maccabees Phil. Philippians Tam. Tamid
cf. confer, compare lfal. lfallah Mak. Makkot Philem. Philemon Tern. Temurah
1 Chr. 1 Chronicles Heb. Hebrews Makh. Makhshirin pl. plate (pl., pis.) Ter. Terumot
2 Chr. 2 Chronicles Hg. Haggai MB Middle Bronze PPN Pre-Pottery Neolithic 1 Thes. 1 Thessalonians
em centimeter Hor. Horayot Meg. Megillah PPNA Pre-Pottery 2 Thes. 2 Thessalonians
Col. Colossians Hos. Hosea Me'il. Me'ilah Neolithic A
comp. compiler (pl., comps.) lful. lfullin Men. Menal;ot PPNB Pre-Pottery 1 Tim. I Timothy
1 Cor. 1 Corinthians ibid. ibidem, in the same mi. mile Neolithic B 2 Tim. 2 Timothy
2 Cor. 2 Corinthians place Mi. Micah PPNC Pre-Pottery TL Thermoluminescence
en cubic id. idem, the same Mid. Middot Neolithic C Toh. Tohorot
d. died in. inch mill. millennium Proc. Proceedings tr. translator; translated by
Dan. Daniel in prep. in preparation Miq. Miqva'ot Prov. Proverbs Trans. Transactions
Dem. Dem'ai Iron Iron Age Mk. Mark Ps. Psalms Univ. University
diss. dissertation Is. Isaiah ml milliliter P.T. Palestinian Talmud UTM Universal Transver~e
div. division Jas. James mm millimeter pt. part Mercator
dm decimeter Jer. Jeremiah Mo'ed Q. Mo'ed Qatan 1 Pt. I Peter Zech. Zechariah
Dt. Deuteronomy Jg. Judges Mt. Matthew 2 Pt. 2 Peter Zeph. Zephaniah
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Abel, GP F. M. Abel, Geographie de la Palestine 1-2, Paris 1933-1938 Clermont-Ganneau, RAO C. Clermont-Ganneau, Recueil d'Archeologie
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Klein, Corpus S. Klein, Jiidisch-paliistinisches Corpus Inscriptionum, Vienna BS Bibliotheca Sacra
1920 BTS Bible et Terre Sainte
Kohl-Watzinger, Synagogen H. Kohl and C. Watzinger, Antike Synagogen in BZ Biblische Zeitschrift
Galilaea, Leipzig 1916 CNI Christian News from Israel
Lidzbarski, Ephemeris M. Lidzbarski, Ephemeris fiir Semitische Epigraphik CRAIBL Comptes-rendus, Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
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Musil, Arabia Petraea A. Musil, Arabia Petraea 1-3, Vienna 1907-1908 ESI Excavations and Surveys in Israel
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JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies
Pliny, NH Pliny, Natura/is Historia
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PPTS The Library of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, London 1897 (quoted
JRAI Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
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JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
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JRS Journal of Roman Studies
1966
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a MdB Le Monde de Ia Bible
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MDOG Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orientalischen Gesellschaft
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EMMAUS 385
(CONTINUED)
EMMAUS
IDENTIFICATION was granted the status of a city by the emperor Elagabalus (218-222 CE) and
Emmaus is situated at the eastern end of the Ayalon Valley. The name of the named Nicopolis. In the Byzantine period, its vicinity was made unsafe by the
city has persisted in the name of the modern Arab village 'Imwas (map brigand Cyriacus, the head of a Jewish and Samaritan band. Samaritan
reference 149.138), near Latrun, on the old Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road. Em inscriptions were discovered on the site, among them a bilingual inscription
maus ('EJ.tJ.taouc;, 'AJ.tJ.laouc;) occupied an important strategic position on the in Greek and Samaritan. Following the Arab conquest in 639 CE, Emmaus
road that ascends from the Coastal Plain to Jerusalem. was struck by a plague that claimed thousands oflives. During the Crusades,
a garrison of Knights Templar was stationed there.
HISTORY AlthoughitiscertainthatthecityofEmmaus-Nicopoliswassituatedclose
Emmausisfirstmentionedin I Maccabees(3:40, 3:57,4:3) as the place where to 'Imwas, near Latrun, scholars differ over whether it is the Emmaus men
the armies of the Seleucid kingdom encamped in their third campaign against tioned in the New Testament (Lk. 24:13), which was 60 (according to some
Judas Maccabaeus, and where they were defeated and their camp captured. versions 160) stadia from Jerusalem. According to the Gospels, Jesus ap
In the middle of the first century BCE, Emmaus was the capital of one of the peared to two of his disciples there, after his resurrection. Some scholars take
toparchies of Judea. The Roman commander Cassius sold its inhabitants this latter Emmaus to be Abu Ghosh, situated between Jerusalem and Em
into slavery and in 4 BCE, following the death of King Herod, it became the maus, or el-Qubeibeh, northwest of it.
center of an insurrection led by the shepherd Athronges. In retaliation,
Varus, the proconsul of Syria, set fire to the city. Several tombstones found THE CHURCH
here, bearing the names of Roman soldiers, indicate that the Fifth Legion Remains of the church found at the site, called el-Kenisah, attracted the
was encamped in the city during the First Jewish Revolt. Emmaus was still in attention of explorers as early as 1875, whenJ. B. Guillemot excavated there.
existence in the days of Rabbi Akiba and later. During the Bar-Kokhba The main work, however, was carried out in 1924, 1925, and 1927 by the
Revolt, the troops from Petra were stationed here. In the Talmud, the town is Dominican fathers L. H. Vincent and F. M. Abel, on behalf of the Ecole
referred to as a major site in the Shephelah (J.T., Shevi'it 8, 9, 38d) and as a Biblique et Archeologique Fran<;aise in Jerusalem. The excavators distin
seat of the Samaritans (J.T., A.Z. 85, 44d). In the third century CE, Emmaus guished the remains of five structures:
386 EMMAUS
Emmaus: plan of the church and baptistery, as proposed by the excavators. Capital from the Crusader church with a Samaritan inscription: "Blessed be His
name forever."
period when Christianity was a prohibited and persecuted religion and its
adherents were compelled to worship in private houses (as we know was the
case at Dura Europos). The church plan with a triple apse appears for the first
time in this country in the days ofTheodosius II. It became prevalent in the
first half of the fifth century (at Gethsemane and in St. Stephen's), especially
in the Negev (at St. Theodore at Eboda [Oboda] and at St. George at Subeita
[Sobota], for example). The main church cannot be separated from the
- Roman villa, 2nd century ~ Crusader church, 12th century
!iiD] Christian basilica, 3rd century Late Arab period
llllllll Basilica and baptistery, 6th century
1. Recesses hewn out of the rock and foundations of walls (c. 0.8 m thick)
they assigned to the second and first centuries BCE.
2. The remains of a Roman villa dated to the second century CE (building
2), a square structure (18 by 17m) comprising a long room and a square room
(or courtyard) at its northeast extremity. A long courtyard surrounded by
porticos runs along the northern side ofthe building, to which the excavators
also assigned a mosaic pavement with floral and guilloche borders. The field
of the mosaic was composed of a pattern of circles and octagons combining
into squares and lozenges filled with various kinds of guilloche motifs. The
extant octagons contain depictions of a lion devouring a bull, a panther
savaging a gazelle, and birds perched on lotus flowers. One of the circles
contains an inscription that mentions "the other brothers Pelagius and
Thomas."
3. A Christian basilica(46.4 by24.4m), dated by the excavators to the third
century (building 3), was divided into a nave and two aisles by two rows of
thirteen columns each. On the east, the basilica ended in three apses. There is
no trace of a narthex. The remains of two layers of mosaic pavements are
preserved in the west.
4. A two-part parallel structure (building 4) beyond an intermediate hall
(5.8 m wide): a basilica (18 by 10m) with two rows of six columns each, and
behind it a baptistery supported by four columns. In the baptistery, a trefoil
shaped stone baptismal font was uncovered, with a smaller baptismal font
for children next to it. Near the baptistery is a deep well. The excavators dated
the basilica and baptistery to the sixth century. In the baptistery were the
remains of mosaics with geometric motifs and a fragment decorated with
floral borders with intertwining tendrils. Part of an inscription was also
found that mentions an episcopus and the laying of the mosaic. Another
inscription, in which a certain Johanan and the laying of a mosaic are men
tioned, was found near the east end of the basilica's southern aisle.
5. A twelfth-century Crusader church built in the prevailing Romanesque
style. These are the best-preserved remains. The Byzantine's church's central
apse was reused by the Crusaders as the apse of their own church, to which
they added a vaulted hall (23 by 10.25 m). The main entrance to the hall was in
the west; two side entrances were made in thevaultinfront oft he apse. As was
usual in that period, the roof of the hall rested on four pointed arches with
voussoirs supported by pillars attached to the wall of the hall (1.5 m thick).
On the western facade of the Crusader church, two freestanding pillars
supported a porch in front of the hall's main entrance. Among the smaller
finds were fragmentary inscriptions, one of which was bilingual: in Greek,
"God is One," and in Samaritan, "Blessed be His name forever." Also found
were fragments of the sculpture of an eagle, estimated to have been about 1 m
high; the remains of a Byzantine oil press; and numerous architectural
fragments. Except for several Arab and Hellenistic-Herodian potsherds,
the excavators did not record any ceramic finds from the various periods
of construction.
SUMMARY. J. W. Crowfoot observed that the dates suggested by the ex
cavators were unacceptable, at least those assigned to the mosaic pavements
and the large basilica. Thelargechurchcannot be dated to the third century, a Detail of a mosaic from the Roman villa.
EMMAUS 387
Plan and section of the southern baths, on their reduced scale. Dome of the frigidarium (room 4), viewed from below.
.. Roman construction ~ Arab construction
~ m CJ Byzantine construction 18 Construction of uncertain date
baptistery. Auxiliary structures such as these are found at many sites, as, for oy a team from Tel Aviv University in 1968. In 1977-1978 and 1981-1982,
example, at Subeita and Mount Nebo. The mosaics ascribed to the second systematic excavations were carried out here under the direction of M.
century are similar in many details to those in the fifth-century church at Gichon, with the participation of scholars from the University of Florence.
Heptapegon (q.v.) and even more so to those at Makhatet el-'Urj near Beth The southern baths consist of a series of adjoining rooms arranged in a
Guvrin (see Mareshah and Beth Guvrin), which are presumably from the row; the visitor progressed through the rooms, each of which had a special
sixth century. In any case, they have nothing in common with the Roman function in the process of cleansing and caring for the body. At the con
mosaics. It is difficult to establish dates in the absence of strata, pottery, or clusion ofhis stay in the complex, the bather would retrace his steps and leave
coins and in the presence of the many disturbances caused by subsequent through the entrance. At present, the bathhouse contains four rooms pre
building activities. It seems, nevertheless, that a church was erected in the served to ceiling height; originally, however, the structure contained addi
fifth century (building 3) on the foundations of the Constantinian villa tional rooms on the north side, and perhaps in the south, as well. These rooms
(building 2). The additions to the church and the pavements date to the weredamagedinoneofthemanyearthquakesthatstrucktheregion,perhaps
sixth century (building 4). in one of those recorded in 498, 502, and 507 CE. Because the Muslim cem
etery surrounding the bathhouse structure could not be excavated, the nature
MICHAEL AVI-YONAH of the additional rooms could not be determined.
The baths were not established before the Severan period, but perhaps
after Emmaus-Nicopolis was granted city status (polis) by Elagabalus in 221
THE SOUTHERN BATHS CE-at any rate, no later than the early fourth century CE. This date is
It is accepted at present that the source of the name Emmaus is I:Iamat or supported by the discovery of a few third-century sherds and a gem, from
possibly I:Iamatah or I:Iamata. In Jewish sources, Emmaus is mentioned as a the second to third centuries CE, found behind secondary retaining walls in
place of"fine water and a fine dwelling" (Eccles. Rab. 7: 15)-that is, a place room 3 (see below).
of rest and ofbaths. This is also alluded to by the name Dimosith by which it is After the damage it had suffered in one of the above-mentioned earth
called (Shah. 147b, etc.), a name derived from the Greek dimosion (8ru.t6cnov quakes, the complex was restored on a more limited scale (14 by 7.5m). Two
P.ou1p6v), "public bathhouse." The healing properties of the waters of apses in the south project about 2m; two niches (0.47 m deep and 2m high)
Emmaus are also mentioned by Byzantine writers, who connect those prop were builtin the north wall. Two additional niches were in this wall's original
erties with the visit of Jesus to the place (Sozomenus, HE, PG 67, 1280). facade. From the lower pavement ofthe hypocaust to the top of the fiat roof,
Emmaus' renown was not, however, due solely to its thermal springs, for it the building is 6m high. The dome above room 4 (see below) rises to a height
also contained rich sources of ordinary water.
Emmaus drew a portion of its water from the spring of'Eqed at the foot of
Giv'at 'Eqed (q.v. I:Iorvat 'Eqed) through a system of three parallel aque
ducts. It is possible that not all three of these aqueducts existed at the same
time; one of them was restored in the Middle Ages. The system was partially
uncovered in 1976 by Y. Hirschfeld, on behalf ofthe Institute of Archaeology
atthe Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and in 1984 by E. Shenhav, on behalf
of the Jewish National Fund.
It can be reasonably assumed that the southern baths formed only one part
of the bath installations at the site, and that the others have not yet been
uncovered. The southern baths were preserved due to an unusual series of
events. In 636 CE, Abu 'Ubeideh, the commander of the Muslim army, died
here of plague, and Emmaus was abandoned in the wake of the epidemic. It
was resettled by the Crusaders, who found the baths in ruins and apparently
used them as warehouses. The Mamelukes, who sought to reinforce every
site's link to Islam, turned the baths at Emmaus into a holy place. The current
Arab name of the place, Maqamesh-Sheikh 'Ubeid, may be derived from the
Abu 'Ubeideh. A landslide during the Ottoman period covered the
on three sides, protecting it. Believers ceased to visit and to pray here
at around the turn of the twentieth century. Southwestern niche in the tepidarium (room 3); the windows were blocked in the
EXCAVATION RESULTS. The site of the southern baths was first surveyed Middle Ages.
388 EMMAUS
The caldarium (room 2) and the arches of the suspensurae.
of an additionall.5 m. The walls (1 to 1.5 m thick) were built of well-dressed latest, in the Byzantine period, after the landslide had covered the south wall
ashlars in the opus quadratum method (full ashlar construction, with the of the building to window height. The three windows cut into the eastern
stone blocks fitted together precisely). niches of rooms 2 and 3 were intended to provide plentiful light, in contrast
The restored, smaller bathhouse (2.75 by 5.15 m) was entered through a with the accepted practice in the Byzantine period.
doorway in the northeast corner of room 4. This room had a domed ceiling, A structure resembling a shed was built on top of the overflowing debris
composed of four vaulted sections that do not meet at their points, which next to the south wall, over a large water container. Pipes ran on the window
leaves an opening for ventilation. According to Vitruvius' description· of sill at the debris level into a niche lined with fired bricks in room 1. Ap
Roman baths (De Architectura V, 10, 5), a mechanism for regulating the parently, there was a water tank in this niche as well. According to Vitruvius'
air in the baths was installed in this opening. Two of the sections of the dome description of Roman baths (De Architectura V, 10, 1) , this room should also
are a continuation of the southern and eastern walls, while the other two are have had a third water tank, positioned above the heating duct. Therefore, as
supported by arches. These arches formed deep recesses that may have far as can be determined, there were three regular tanks in the Emmaus
contained a basin or a bathtub. The room was paved with marble slabs bathhouse: for cold water (outside the structure), for lukewarm water
in geometric patterns, which had already been looted in the Middle (somewhat closer to the source of heat), and for hot water (above the prae
Ages. The colored wall plaster, which was applied over a base of furnium). Room 1, which is located above the praefurnium, may have been
sherds, has also disappeared almost completely. the sudatorium.
Room 4 is the frigidarium in the existing form of the bathhouse, whereas in A portion of the pipe system attached to the walls in room 2 is preserved.
the original plan it was the tepidarium. This is indicated by the existence This system prevented the air from becoming steam and the walls from
under its floor of a duct for hot air, built of fired bricks. The air, which passed becoming wet by only generating heat under the floor. Openings on the
through the duct from the hypocaust in room 3 (see below), warmed room 4 sides of the clay pipes enabled the lateral flow of air as well, and chim
to some extent and turned it into a tepidarium. neys, whose remains are visible in rooms 2 and 3, ensured proper air flow
Room 3, in its original form, was the caldarium; the superheated air by expelling the cold air and drawing in new hot air from the furnace in the
reached it through a subterranean passage from the central furnace room praefurnium.
(praefurnium) adjoining it on the south. The room's barrel-vaulted ashlar The upper pavement in room2 was laid according to the Vitruvian meth
ceiling collapsed in the earthquake that destroyed the building and appar od: a base of pottery tiles on arches and a 35-cm layer of cast and especially
ently broke the hypocaust system. When the room was restored, the upper hard cement, covered by a pavement of two-shaded marble slabs set into a
pavement and its supports were removed and the pipes (tubuli) in its walls, layer of paving plaster. The method of supporting the upper pavement by a
through which the hot air had ascended, were dismantled. Then room 3 series of parallel brick arches (1.6 m high) and not by piers or colonnettes is
became a tepidarium heated by a portable brazier or some other heating uncommon. It can be explained by the wish to add strength and flexibility to
arrangement. the suspensurae in baths located in an earthquake-prone area.
Room 2is similar in shape to room 3, but with the addition of a large square In the Crusader period, room 4 was divided into a lower and an upper room
niche on the west side, above the passage to the second furnace room. The by a wooden ceiling installed 2.2 m above the pavement. This ceiling was
tubs for the hottest baths were installed in this niche. The earthquakes did not carried by horizontal beams set in sockets in the walls. It became the pave
spare room 2 either, but because it was impossible to remove from it the ment ofthe upper room. The ceiling was dismantled after the Crusaders were
system of sypports for the upper pavement (suspensurae) during the restora driven out, and the building was turned into a Muslim holy place. The
tion, the arches of the system of supports were repaired from time to time. believers turned the wall sockets into niches for oil lamps. Fragments of
Because it was not possible to excavate outside the building, the date of these lamps were found in abundance in the upper strata.
construction and the original plan of room 1 could not be determined. This A series of channels belonging to the water-supply and drainage systems
room over the southern praefurnium is built of especially well-smoothed was uncovered along the outer walls. The channels were partly built of
ashlars rising into a barrel vault. Its present dimensions (3.75 by 3.1 m) are cement on small stones and of U-shaped stone blocks, covered by fiat
probably smaller than the original ones. In any event the room existed, at the slabs. Regulation of the water intake was ensured by means of a meticu-
'ENAN 389
lously constructed, ashlar-built castellum (reservoir), 1.5 m in diameter, Emmaus: SaBasilique et son histoire, Paris 1932; id., ibid. (Review), PEQ 67 (1935), 40-47; L. H. Vincent,
connected to the building's northwestern corner. A fine mosaic floor abut RB 45 (1936), 403-415; 55 (1948), 348-375; R. de Vaux, ibid. 47 (1938), 244-245; Crowfoot, Early
Churches, 71, 125, 145; B. Bagatti, I Monumenti di Emmaus et Qubeibeh e dei Dintorni 1-2, Jerusalem
ting the northern wall and well-carved architectural fragments point to the
1947; id., Rivista di Archeologia Christiana 35 (1959), 71-80; M. Avi-Yonah, The Madaba Mosaic Map,
existence of a palaestra on this side. Jerusalem 1954, 64; D. Buzy, BTS 36 (1961), 4-13; J. Finegan, The Archaeology of the New Testament,
Princeton, N.J. 1969, 177-180; Y. Blomme, RB 87 (1980), 404-407; D. Chen, ZDPV97 (1981), 171-177;
MORDECHAI GICHON S. de Sandoli, Emmaus-el Qubeibeh (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Guide-Books), Jerusalem 1959:
id., Emmaus-el Qubeibe: The Sanctuary and Nearby Biblical Sites 2 (The Holy Places of Palestine),
General: M. Shiffers, RB 2 (1893). 26-40; E. Michon, ibid. 7 (1898), 269-271; I. Benzinger, ZDPV25 Jerusalem 1980.
(1902). 195-203; M. Riemer, PJB 14 (1918), 32-43; G. Beyer, ZDPV 56 (1933), 218-246; The The baths: M. Gichon, IEJ 29 (1979), 101-110; (with R. Linden) 34 (1984), 156-169; id., RB 86;
Rosenberger Israel Collection 3 (City Coins of Palestine), Jerusalem 1977; P. Figueras, CNI 26 G. Kiihnel, Wall Painting in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Frankfurter Forschungen zur Kunst 14),
(1978), 132-134; Y. Hirschfeld, IEJ 28 (1978), 86-92; J. Schwartz, ibid. 40 (1990), 45-57. Berlin 1988, 149-180. (1979), 125-126; id., Archivfur Orientforschung 27 (1980), 228-233; id., BAlAS 6
The church: C. Schick, ZDPV7 (1884), 15-16; RB 35 (1926), 117-121; L. H. Vincent and F. M. Abel, (1986-1987), 54-57.
'ENAN
IDENTIFICATION EXCAVATION RESULTS
The Natufian site of 'Enan (Mallal).a) is in the northern Jordan Valley, on the STRATIGRAPHY. The main archaeological remains were found above
western bank of what was Lake l;lula, which has been drained. It lies about reddish clays containing Mousterian flint tools, at the foot of the limestone
lOOm west of the Rosh Pinna-Metulla road, on the embankment above the foothills in the Galilee mountains. The clays form the bulk of the slope. The
spring of 'Ein Mallal).a, at 72 m above sea level (map reference 204.277). remains are from the Epipaleolithic era and, together with the Natufian
material, date to between 10,500 and 8300 BCE. The Natufian deposits are
EXPLORATION
up to 2.5 m thick. They contain a dozen layers and occupation floors,
The site was discovered in 1954, when authorities were laying a water pipe. It grouped into four levels that correspond to four archaeological periods:
was surveyed in 1955 and 1956 by J. Perrot and E. Yeivin, on behalf of the early (levels IV-III), middle (level II), late (level Ic), and final (level Ia).
Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums, and was systematically The early and middle periods, according to Valla, correspond to the Early
excavated by the Centre de Recherche Frans;ais de Jerusalem in two cam Natufian, the late period to the Late Natufian, and the final period to the
paigns, from 1959 to 1961 and 1971 to 1975. Perrot was assisted from 1972 to Final N atufian. Samples submitted to carbon-14 analysis have produced the
197 5 by M. Lechevallier and then by F. R. Valla. The research was supported following dates: for level IV-11,590 ± 540 BP (LY 1160: [9640]); level III
by the American Philosophical Society, the Wenner Gren Foundation, the a,740 ± 570 BP (LY 1661: [9790]) and 11,310 ± 880 BP (LY 1662: [9360]).
Centre National Frans;ais de Ia Recherche Scientifique (with the participa Traces of pits with pottery similar to that at Sha'ar ha-Golan were found on
tion of several specialists), and the Commission des F ouilles Archeologiques the surface.
ofthe French Foreign Ministry. Assistance in Israel came from the Depart ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT. 'Enan is situated at the junction of
ment of Antiquities; the l;lula Prehistory Museum and A. Assaf; and the complementary ecological zones: Lake l;lula and the belt of marshy vegeta
Moshe Stekelis Museum of Prehistory in Haifa and M. Davies. Assaf and tion that surrounded it, and the highlands of the Golan, Mount Hermon, and
Davies participated in the research. The excavated area covers over 300 sq m; the Galilee. Judging from pollen analyses and paleoclimatic data, a higher
the total area of the site is estimated at 2,000 sq m. level ofhumidity than at present encouraged the development of vegetation
390 'ENAN
'Enan: plan of the site. General view of level II.
1<
I
in the Epipaleolithic era and, consequently, a wide variety and abundance of from the presence of mortars, pestles, and sickles, but these tools could have
animal species. The upper Jordan Valley lies in the natural distribution zone had other uses. Several grinding stones retain traces of red ocher, and the
ofw ild cereals; wild wheat was first recognized in Palestine by A. Aaronson at sickle gloss could have come from cutting bulrushes, whose stems contain
Rosh Pinna. Conditions were optimal for a group that had lived by fishing, silicone. Remains of pistachios and almonds were found.
hunting, and gathering to settle down and lead a quasi-sedentary life near a
perennial and plentiful water source. The sedentary nature oJthe occupation Plan of part of the Natufian village and burials.
here is shown by the thickness of the deposits, the importance of the stone
structures and heavy equipment, the existence of a cemetery and by the
faunal evidence, which proves that animals were hunted year round.
SUBSISTENCE. Analysis of the finds at 'Enan has thrown light on its in
habitants' way of life. Their subsistence was based on fishing and hunting.
Medium-sized cyprinoid fish were plentiful (500-1 ,500 g). Notched pebbles
found at the site may have been used as net weights; the fish were decapitated
and probably gutted on the spot and then brought back to the village and
grilled. Mollusks, crabs, tortoises, lizards, and snakes were also collected.
The migratory birds were even more varied and numerous than today; the
presence of some species confirms that the climate was cooler and more
humid then.
The main sources of meat were gazelle (54 percent of the faunal remains)
and other large mammals (roe deer, fallow deer and red deer); wild pig also
played an important role. Remains ofbovids, wild sheep and wild dog have
also been found. Among the carnivores, wolf, fox, wildcats, badger, and
marten could have been hunted for their fur; there is clear evidence of the 0 1 2
L.......l-...Jm
preparation of skins at the site. The use of cereals has often been deduced
Round stone structure (no. 131) from the Early Natufian period, with a
row of depressions for the bases of the columns that supported the roof Remains of round stone dwellings with hearths, basins, and other installations.
Description:Biblical archaeology, ancient Israel, archaeology of the southern Levant
