tal, o. and taxel, i. 2015. samaritan cemeteries and tombs in the central coastal plain: archaeology...

www.ugarit-verlag.com

ÄGYPTEN UND ALTES TESTAMENT 82

Oren Tal and Itamar Taxel

Samaritan Cemeteries and Tombs in the Central Coastal Plain

Archaeology and History of the Samaritan Settlement

outside Samaria (ca. 300–700 CE)

ÄA

T 82Tal / Taxel • Sam

aritan Cem

eteries and Tombs in the C

entral Coastal Plain

194993-Ugarit-AEAT-82.indd 1 15.06.15 13:11

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Archaeology and History of the

Samaritan Settlement outside Samaria (ca. 300–700 CE)

With contributions by Dana Ashkenazi, Gabriela Bijovsky, Vered Eshed,

Ruth E. Jackson-Tal, Mark Iserlis and Lidar Sapir-Hen

© 2015, Ugarit-Verlag – Buch- und Medienhandel GmbH, MünsterISBN Print: 978-3-86835-153-8 – ISBN E-Book: 978-3-86835-154-5

ÄGYPTEN UND ALTES TESTAMENT

Studien zu Geschichte, Kultur und Religion Ägyptens und des Alten Testaments

Band 82 Gegründet von Manfred Görg

Herausgegeben von Stefan Jakob Wimmer und Wolfgang Zwickel




Archaeology and History of the

Samaritan Settlement outside Samaria (ca. 300–700 CE)

With contributions by Dana Ashkenazi, Gabriela Bijovsky, Vered Eshed,

Ruth E. Jackson-Tal, Mark Iserlis and Lidar Sapir-Hen

2015 Ugarit-Verlag

Münster


Umschlag-Vignette: Pavel Shrago Ägypten und Altes Testament, Band 82 Oren Tal and Itamar Taxel

With contributions by Dana Ashkenazi, Gabriela Bijovsky, Vered Eshed, Ruth E. Jackson-Tal, Mark Iserlis and Lidar Sapir-Hen

Samaritan Cemeteries and Tombs in the Central Coastal Plain: Archaeology and

History of the Samaritan Settlement outside Samaria (ca. 300–700 CE)

© 2015 Ugarit-Verlag, Münster www.ugarit-verlag.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in Germany ISBN 978-3-86835-153-8

e-ISBN 978-3-86835-154-5

ISSN 0720-9061

Printed on acid-free paper


Table of Contents

List of Figures VIII

List of Tables XIII

List of Color Plates XIV

Introduction XV

Chapter 1: The Khirbet al->Aura/Tel Barukh Cemetery 11.1 The Burial Caves: Structural, Stratigraphic and Spatial Characteristics 2

1.1.1 Burial Cave 1 41.1.2 Burial Cave 2 81.1.3 Burial Cave 3 161.1.4 Burial Cave 4 201.1.5 Burial Cave 5 241.1.6 Burial Cave 6 271.1.7 Burial Cave 7 331.1.8 Burial Cave 8 371.1.9 The Animal-Bone Pit 39

1.2 Lamps and Pottery Vessels 411.3 Glass Vessels

Ruth E. Jackson-tal 571.3.1 Bowls 571.3.2 Jars 611.3.3 Bottles 611.3.4 Jugs 671.3.5 Amphoriskoi 741.3.6 Double Cosmetic Tubes 751.3.7 Oil Lamp 75

1.4 Coins GabRiEla biJovsky 81

1.5 Small Finds 991.5.1 Jewelry and Other Personal Objects 991.5.2 Beads, Pendants and Inlays Ruth E. Jackson-tal 1081.5.3 Appendix: Material Characterization of Two Organic Beads Dana ashkEnazi 1171.5.4 Magical Objects 119

1.6 Human Bones vERED EshED 1211.6.1 The Burial Chamber 1211.6.2 Loculus D 1221.6.3 Courtyard of the Burial Cave (Locus 2) 122

Table of Contents


VI Table of Contents

1.7 Animal Bones: Possible Evidence for Death Rituals liDaR sapiR-hEn 1231.7.1 Methods 1241.7.2 Results 1241.7.3 Ritualizing at a Samaritan Cemetery? 125

1.8 Summary and Conclusions 1281.9 Tables of Finds: Inventory and Provenience 129

Chapter 2: The Khirbet al-Ḥadra Burial Cave 1392.1 The Burial Cave: Structural Characteristics 1392.2 Lamps and Pottery Vessels 1432.3 Glass Vessels

Ruth E. Jackson-tal 1492.3.1 Jars 1492.3.2 Bottles 1492.3.3 Jug 1492.3.4 Double Cosmetic Tubes 1602.3.5 Pestle 160

2.4 Small Finds 1612.4.1 Jewelry and Other Personal Objects 1612.4.2 Beads Ruth E. Jackson-tal 1612.4.3 Magical Objects 170


Chapter 3: The Tell Qasile Burial Cave 1773.1 The Burial Cave: Structural Characteristics 1773.2 Lamps 1793.3 Glass Vessels

Ruth E. Jackson-tal 1823.3.1 Bottles 1823.3.2 Double Cosmetic Tubes 184

3.4 Small Finds 1843.4.1 Jewelry and Other Personal Objects 1843.4.2 Beads Ruth E. Jackson-tal 1883.4.3 Magical Objects 190



Table of Contents VII

Chapter 4: Discussion: The Archaeology of the Samaritan Settlement on the Central Coastal Plain in the Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods 1934.1 The Tel Barukh, Khirbet al-Ḥadra and Tell Qasile Burial Caves:

Aspects of Religious and Ethnic Affinity 1934.2 The Tel Barukh, Khirbet al-Ḥadra and Tell Qasile Burial Caves:

Aspects of Typology, Burial Practices and Material Culture 1954.3 The Tel Barukh, Khirbet al-Ḥadra and Tell Qasile Burial Caves

within the Context of the Samaritan Settlement on the Central Coastal Plain 202

Appendix I: Selected Unpublished Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Remains in the Southern Sharon Plain 207I.1 Tel Ḥashash: The Hellenistic Compound 207I.2 A Group of Early Roman Pottery Vessels from Tel Barukh 208I.3 Tell Qasile: The Foundation Layer of the Samaritan Synagogue 209I.4 Tell Qasile: A Secondary Glass Production(?) Furnace

Ruth E. Jackson-tal, oREn tal anD itamaR taxEl 213I.5 Hadar Yosef: A Pottery Production Kiln 216

Appendix II: Thin-section Analysis of Samaritan Oil Lamps and Incense Bowl maRk isERlis 223II.1 Method 223II.2 Results 223II.3 Reference 224

Appendix III: Archaeometallurgical Characterization of Samaritan Rings and Amulets and Other Artifacts Made of Copper Alloys Dana ashkEnazi 229III.1 Non-Destructive Metallurgical Examination 229III.2 Destructive Metallurgical Examination 229III.3 Results 230III.4 Discussion 241

List of References 251

Index 261

Color Plates 263



This book discusses Samaritan burial customs outside Samaria based on the finds of yet unpublished tombs excavated in the second half of the 20th century in the central Coastal Plain of Israel (within the northern city limits of modern-day Tel Aviv, which forms part of the southern Sharon Plain). The burial sites analyzed here include the cemetery of Khirbet al-®Aura/Tel Barukh, a burial cave at Khirbet al-Ḥadra/HaGolan Street and another one at Tell Qasile. The burial caves excavated at these sites are associated with Samaritan rural populations because of their location and the finds discovered, which include elements of Samaritan material culture (non-epigraphic and epigraphic alike). Our study constitutes a full report on the excavations of these burial sites and offers an archaeological re-evaluation of Samaritan settlement history and material culture. The appendices complete this study by bringing forward small-scale unpublished excavations of probable Samaritan settlements or revising published material that normally bears relevance to research on this subject. Our re-evaluation is holistic in nature, based upon the sites we studied in full, as well as other published Samaritan sites that have been excavated and surveyed in the central Coastal Plain. This publication contributes to our understanding of daily habits and afterlife beliefs of the Samaritans outside their heartland in the heyday of their expansion to the Palestinian lowlands.

www.ugarit-verlag.com




Archaeology and History of the Samaritan Settlement

outside Samaria (ca. 300–700 CE)

ÄA

T 82Tal / Taxel • Sam

aritan Cem

eteries and Tombs in the C

entral Coastal Plain

194993-Ugarit-AEAT-82.indd 1 15.06.15 13:11

creo

tal, o. and taxel, i. 2015. samaritan cemeteries and tombs in the central coastal plain: archaeology...

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