Yotvata

The Iron I remains consist of an irregular casemate wall surrounding a courtyard. The location of this site suggests that the settlement was established in order to protect the water sources and to overlook and supervise the nearby crossroads. Based on the relative proximity of the site to Timna, it may be concluded that the oasis formed the main source of water and wood for the population involved in copper production in that region.

The rich finds uncovered at the Early Islamic settlement—including a large courtyard building and a nearby bathhouse, among other structures—point to habitation from the end of the seventh to the early ninth century CE. The proximity of the settlement to a sophisticated irrigation system (qanat) and the administrative/economic ostraca discovered at the site suggest that it served as the center of an agricultural estate owned by an elite Muslim family. Among the unique finds is a large assemblage of locally produced, handmade pottery, which is thoroughly studied here.

The findings from the excavations at the Yotvata oasis have made a major contribution to the study of Early Islamic settlement and material culture in the greater Arabah region and beyond.

Lily Singer-Avitz is Recorder and Pottery Researcher at Tel Aviv University. She is the author of Beer-Sheba III: The Early Iron IIA Enclosed Settlement and the Late Iron IIA–Iron IIB Cities, also published by Eisenbrauns, as well as numerous scholarly articles.

Etan Ayalon is an expert in ethno-archaeology and the material culture of the Land of Israel and has curated a variety of exhibitions in Israeli museums. He has participated in more than eighty archaeological excavations and archaeological and ethnographic surveys in Israel and published numerous books and papers.

Preface

Chapter 1. Introduction: The Yotvata Oasis

Ze’ev Meshel

SECTION I: YOTVATA HILL–THE IRON I “FORTRESS” AND OTHER REMAINS

Lily Singer-Avitz

Part I: The Site in Context

Chapter 2. Yotvata: A “Fortress” on a Road Junction

Uzi Avner

Part II: Architectural Remains

Chapter 3. The Excavations and Architectural Components

Lily Singer-Avitz

Part III: Artifacts

Chapter 4. The Pottery Assemblage of the Iron I

Lily Singer-Avitz

Chapter 5. Petrographic Analysis of the Iron I Pottery

David Ben-Shlomo

Chapter 6. The Ceramic Finds from the Nabataean Built Tomb

Tali Erickson-Gini

Chapter 7. The Chipped Stone Collections: Lithic Perspectives on an Oasis Site in the Arabah

Steven A. Rosen

Chapter 8. Shell Artifacts

Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer

Chapter 9. Two Bone Objects

Etan Ayalon

Chapter 10. Ostrich Eggshells

Lily Singer-Avitz

Chapter 11. Ground Stone Tools

Aaron Greener

Chapter 12. Worked Wooden Objects from the Iron I

Yigal Sitry

Chapter 13. A Wood Coffin from the Nabataean Built Tomb

Yigal Sitry

Chapter 14. Cords and Basketry from the Iron I and Textiles from the Nabataean Built Tomb

Naama Sukenik and Orit Shamin

Part IV: Ecofacts

Chapter 15. Archaeobotanical Remains from the Iron I “Fortress” and the Nabataean Built Tomb

Nili Liphschitz

Chapter 16. Charcoal Samples from the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze I Settlement

Mark Cavanagh, Mordechay Benzaquen and Dafna Langgut

Chapter 17. Dendroarchaeological Report on the Coffin from the Nabataean Built Tomb

Mordechay Benzaquen, Mark Cavanagh and Dafna Langgut

Chapter 18. Iron I and Chalcolithic/Early Bronze I Fauna

Liora Kolska Horwitz

Chapter 19. Radiocarbon Dates

Israel Carmi, Dror Segal, Linda Scott Cummings, Peter Kováčik and Uzi Avner

Part V: Concluding Remarks

Chapter 20. Masòsòeboth (Standing Stones) in Gates

Uzi Avner

Chapter 21. Summary and Conclusions

Lily Singer-Avitz

Addendum: Later Excavations in the Nabataean Built Tomb

Uzi Avner

List of Loci

SECTION II: THE EARLY ISLAMIC SETTLEMENT

Etan Ayalon

Part VI: Architectural Remains

Chapter 22. Architecture and Stratigraphy

Etan Ayalon

Part VII: Artifacts

Chapter 23. The Pottery

Itamar Taxel

Chapter 24. Perfecting Local Production of Desert Pottery: Petrographic Analysis of Early Islamic Wares

Paula Waiman-Barak and Willie Ondricek

Chapter 25. Stone and Metal Objects

Itamar Taxel

Chapter 26. Glass Finds

Ruth E. Jackson-Tal

Chapter 27. The Ostraca

Nitzan Amitai-Preiss with an Appendix by Itamar Taxel

Chapter 28. The Coins

Nitzan-Amitai-Preiss and Ariel Berman

Chapter 29. Textiles, Textile Impressions and a Plait

Orit Shamir

Part VIII: Ecofacts

Chapter 30. Identification of Dyes

Naama Sukenik, Zohar Amar and David Iluz

Chapter 31. Archaeobotanical Remains from the Early Islamic Site

Nili Liphschitz

Chapter 32. Faunal Remains

Vered Kishon and Shlomo Hellwing

Chapter 33. Molluscs

Henk K. Mienis

Part IX: Concluding Remarks

Chapter 34. Discussion and Conclusions

Itamar Taxel, Ze’ev Meshel and Etan Ayalon

List of Loci

Download a PDF sample chapter here: Introduction