Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Jerusalem’s Southeastern Hill, Area D3

Yuval Gadot292

Other finds seem to appear in smaller numbers, probably because of recycling. There are relatively few fragments of glass and a relatively small number of metal tools and jewelry. Recovered building materials include fragments of plaster (some of which are painted but most of which are not) and oven fragments made of mud.

Conclusions and Plans for the Future

During the first excavation season, we uncovered a substantial amount of remains from the early Roman period (Layer D3–1). These layers were iden-tified as garbage layers by previous excavators17 and we accept this interpre-tation. Our carful documentation managed to show for the first time that the garbage dump is composed of many sub-layers that collectively repre-sent a specific time span, though its exact duration remains unknown. Early Roman garbage dumps outside of Jerusalem were hardly excavated and so comparative data is scarce. In our future research into these finds, we hope to use the vast number of intentionally discarded objects for an in-depth study of life habits in ancient Jerusalem on the eve of the city’s destruction.18

Yuval Gadot Tel-Aviv University Faculty of Humanities Gilman Building, Room 000 Tel Aviv Israel [email protected]

17 Reich and Shukron, “The Jerusalem City-Dump;” Bar-Oz et al., “‘Holy Garbage.’”18 On the potential for excavating garbage dumps, see W. Rathje and C. Murphy, Rubbish!

The Archaeology of Garbage (Tuscon: The University of Arizona Press, 2001).

Mohr Siebeck

Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel

2Volume 32014

Prophetic Hope in the Late-Babylonian and Persian Periods

John KesslerProphetic Hope in the Late-Babylonian and Persian Periods: an Introduction 155–162

Laurie E. PearceContinuity and Normality in Sources Relating to the Judean Exile 163–184

Risa Levitt Kohn“As Though You Yourself Came Out of Egypt”: The Ethos of Exile in Ezekiel 185–203

Christl M. MaierProphetic Expectations and Aspirations in Late Babylonian and Early Persian Texts in Jeremiah 204–224

Mark J. Boda Babylon in the Book of the Twelve 225–248

Willem A. M. BeukenShifting Settings in (Post-)Exilic Prayer from the Hebrew to the Old Greek Text of Isaiah 26 249–275

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Yuval Gadot, Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Jerusalem’s Southeastern Hill, Area D3 279–292

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Hebrew Bible and Ancient IsraelHerausgegeben von Gary N. Knoppers (University Park PA), Oded Lipschits (Tel Aviv), Carol A. Newsom (Atlanta GA) und Konrad Schmid (Zürich)Redaktion: Phillip Michael Lasater (Zürich)

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Yuval Gadot

Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Jerusalem’s Southeastern Hill, Area D3

Introduction

In October of 2013, the present author began a long term excavation pro-ject at the eastern slopes of the Southeastern Hill, also known as the ‘City of David’ and ‘Silwan’ (Fig. 1). The area chosen for excavation is in the vicin-ity of Areas B, D1 and D2 of Y. Shiloh’s excavations,1 which were just above the streambed of the Kidron. B. de Rothschild purchased this plot of land at the beginning of the 20th century in order to foster archeology and other scientific research at the site.2 Today the area is part of The City of David National Park.

As Jerusalem’s ancient core, the Southeastern Hill has attracted the atten-tion of scholars for more than one hundred years. Each of the site’s many excavations challenged past premises and added new information to the dis-cussion of the city’s political, social, and economic history. As research ques-tions were posed over the years, the aim and nature of excavations as well as the accompanying field methods were modified and updated.

The new research will focus on two main concerns: 1) household archae-ology and everyday life in Jerusalem, each of which is diachronically viewed as a reflection of social order and cultural identity; and 2) the size and growth pattern of Jerusalem. To address these questions, we aim to expose via excavation the domestic quarters built on the slope during different peri-ods of time and to locate the city’s eastern limits, whether fortified or not.

The first season of excavations3 was devoted mainly to understanding the thick layers of spilled soil that is extraordinarily rich with material cul-

1 D. T. Ariel (ed.), Extramural Areas, Vol. 5 of Excavations at the City of David 1978–1985 Directed by Yigal Shiloh (Jerusalem: Hebrew University, Institute of Archeology, 2000).

2 R. Reich, Excavating the City of David: Where Jerusalem’s History Begins (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 2011), 70–72.

3 The excavation (license G-4/2013) is a collaborative project between the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology at Tel-Aviv University and the Israel Antiquity

HeBAI 3 (2014), 279–292 DOI 10.1628/219222714X14067042117656 ISSN 2192–2276 © 2014 Mohr Siebeck


Yuval Gadot280

Figure 1: The location of Area D3 (prepared by 1. Ben-Ezra)

ture and dated to the early Roman period. Most scholars interpreted them as the Roman city’s garbage dump (stratum 5/6 according to Y. Shilo).4 Also exposed were scant remains dating to the Hellenistic periods (Shiloh’s stra-tum 7).5 The following is a summary of the results from the first season.

Authority. The season was conducted between February 21 and June 13 (ca. 70 excava-tion days) and again between October 6 and December 10. The project is headed by the present author. The team includes H. Machline (area supervisor); S. Hirshberg and I. Peters (assistance area supervisors); O. Moshevich (wet-sifting supervisor); H. Kis-honi (registration); N. Nehama and R. Abu-Halaf (administration); A. Peretz (pho-tography); V. Essman and Y. Shmidov (surveying and drafting); and S. ‘Adalah (metal detection).

4 Y. Shilo, “Stratigraphical Introduction to Parts I and II,” in Imported stamped amphora handles, coins, worked bone and ivory, and glass, Vol. 2 of Excavations at the City of David 1978–1985 Directed by Yigal Shiloh (ed. D. T. Ariel; Jerusalem: Hebrew Univer-sity, Institute of Archeology, 1990), 6–7; R. Reich and E. Shukron, “The Jerusalem City-Dump in the Late Second Temple Period,” ZDPV 119 (2003): 12–18.

5 Shilo, “Stratigraphical Introduction,” 7–8; A. de Groot, “Discussion and conclusions,” in Area E: Stratigraphy and architecture; Text, Vol. 7a of Excavations at the City of David


Yuval Gadot280

Figure 1: The location of Area D3 (prepared by 1. Ben-Ezra)

ture and dated to the early Roman period. Most scholars interpreted them as the Roman city’s garbage dump (stratum 5/6 according to Y. Shilo).4 Also exposed were scant remains dating to the Hellenistic periods (Shiloh’s stra-tum 7).5 The following is a summary of the results from the first season.

Authority. The season was conducted between February 21 and June 13 (ca. 70 excava-tion days) and again between October 6 and December 10. The project is headed by the present author. The team includes H. Machline (area supervisor); S. Hirshberg and I. Peters (assistance area supervisors); O. Moshevich (wet-sifting supervisor); H. Kis-honi (registration); N. Nehama and R. Abu-Halaf (administration); A. Peretz (pho-tography); V. Essman and Y. Shmidov (surveying and drafting); and S. ‘Adalah (metal detection).

4 Y. Shilo, “Stratigraphical Introduction to Parts I and II,” in Imported stamped amphora handles, coins, worked bone and ivory, and glass, Vol. 2 of Excavations at the City of David 1978–1985 Directed by Yigal Shiloh (ed. D. T. Ariel; Jerusalem: Hebrew Univer-sity, Institute of Archeology, 1990), 6–7; R. Reich and E. Shukron, “The Jerusalem City-Dump in the Late Second Temple Period,” ZDPV 119 (2003): 12–18.

5 Shilo, “Stratigraphical Introduction,” 7–8; A. de Groot, “Discussion and conclusions,” in Area E: Stratigraphy and architecture; Text, Vol. 7a of Excavations at the City of David

281Preliminary Report on the Excavations

The Excavation Area

Area D3 is located along the eastern slopes of the ‘Southeastern Hill’ of Jerusalem, just above the Kidron’s modern day riverbed (Fig. 1). Area D3 covers an area of ca. 1000 square meters, forming an east-west oriented sec-tion that extends into the occupational level of the site’s eastern slope. To the east of this area is a modern paved street in the Kidron Valley. To the south is the border of R. Weill’s excavation;6 to the west one finds the bor-ders of Y. Shiloh’s Areas D1 and D2;7 and to the north one finds Reich and Shukron’s Area J.8

Remains exposed during past excavations date to the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, Middle Bronze, Iron II, Hellenistic and early Roman periods. The finds indicate that this sector of the city was mostly domestic in nature.9 However, two distinct architectural features can be identified as public. The first is ‘Channel II,’ which directs water southward from the Gihon spring. The rock-cut channel, which was partly excavated and partly surveyed below ground, is known to pass through the area designated for the cur-rent excavation.10 According to Reich and Shukron, the northern part of the channel was carved during the Middle Bronze Age whereas the southern part was added later during the Iron Age. The seam between the two parts, documented by Reich and Shukron (2002: Fig. 2),11 is planned for exposure

1978–1985 Directed by Yigal Shiloh (ed. D. T. Ariel et al.; Jerusalem: Hebrew University, Institute of Archeology, 2012), 179.

6 R. Weill, La cité de David: Compte-Rendu des Fouilles Exécutées à Jérusalem, sur la site de la Ville Primitive. Campagne de 1913–1914 (Paris: P. Geuthner, 1920); idem, La cité de David: Compte-Rendu des Fouilles Exécutées à Jérusalem, sur la site de la Ville Primitive. Campagne de 1919–1947 (Paris: P. Geuthner, 1947); see also H. Shanks (ed.), The City of David, Revisiting Early Excavations, Notes and Comments on the English Translation of Reports by R. Weill and L. H. Vincent (Washington, D. C.: Biblical Archeology Society, 2004).

7 Ariel, Extramural Areas; de Groot, “Discussions and conclusions.” 8 Reich, Excavating the City of David, 177–187. 9 T. D. Ariel and A. de Groot, “The Iron Age Extramural Occupation at the City of David

and Additional Observations on the Siloam Channel,” in D. T. Ariel (ed.), Extramural Areas, Vol. 5 of Excavations at the City of David 1978–1985 Directed by Yigal Shiloh (Jerusalem: Hebrew University, Institute of Archeology, 2000), 155–169.

10 T. D. Ariel and Y. Lender, “Area B: Stratigraphical Report,” in Extramural Areas, Vol. 5 of Excavations at the City of David 1978–1985 Directed by Yigal Shiloh (Jerusalem: Hebrew University, Institute of Archeology, 2000), 1–32; R. Reich and E. Shukron, “Channel II in the city of David, Jerusalem: Some of its Technical Features and their Chronology,” in C. Ohlig et al. (ed.), Cura Aquarum in Israel: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on the History of Water Management and Hydraulic Engineer-ing in the Mediterranean Region, Israel 7–12 May 2001 (Siegburg: DWhG, 2002).

11 Reich and Shukron, “Channel II in the city of David, Jerusalem,” 1–6.


Yuval Gadot282

during the excavation. The second feature is a wall, W.501, which is already exposed in Area J of Reich and Shukron’s excavations.12 The wall is under-stood to date to the Iron Age IIb (built at the end of the 8th century BCE) and is interpreted as a lower city wall equivalent both in time and in function to the city wall W.219, which Shiloh13 revealed ca. 30 meters further uphill.

Finds from the Hellenistic period are principally terrace walls and colum-barium towers, indicating that the region was used mainly for agricultural activities and, therefore, was most likely outside of the built environment.14 Later during the early Roman period, the area was used as a garbage disposal just like the rest of the Kidron’s western slopes.15

12 R. Reich and E. Shukron, “The Date of city Wall 501 in Jerusalem,” Tel-Aviv 35 (2008): 114–122; Reich, Excavating the City of David, 177–181.

13 Reich and Shukron, “The Jerusalem City-Dump;” idem, “The Date of city Wall 501 in Jerusalem.”

14 Ariel and Lender, “Area B: Stratigraphical Report,” 18–21; de Groot, “Discussion and conclusions,” 177, 179.

15 Reich and Shukron, “The Jerusalem City-Dump;” G. Bar-Oz et al., “‘Holy Garbage’: A Quantitative Study of the City-Dump of Early Roman Jerusalem,” Levant 39 (2007): 1–12. For a different interpretation, see Shilo, “Stratigraphical Introduction,” 6–7; de Groot, “Discussion and conclusions,” 183–184.

Figure 2: The excavated area at the end of 2013 season, looking south-west (A. Peretz).


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during the excavation. The second feature is a wall, W.501, which is already exposed in Area J of Reich and Shukron’s excavations.12 The wall is under-stood to date to the Iron Age IIb (built at the end of the 8th century BCE) and is interpreted as a lower city wall equivalent both in time and in function to the city wall W.219, which Shiloh13 revealed ca. 30 meters further uphill.

Finds from the Hellenistic period are principally terrace walls and colum-barium towers, indicating that the region was used mainly for agricultural activities and, therefore, was most likely outside of the built environment.14 Later during the early Roman period, the area was used as a garbage disposal just like the rest of the Kidron’s western slopes.15

12 R. Reich and E. Shukron, “The Date of city Wall 501 in Jerusalem,” Tel-Aviv 35 (2008): 114–122; Reich, Excavating the City of David, 177–181.

13 Reich and Shukron, “The Jerusalem City-Dump;” idem, “The Date of city Wall 501 in Jerusalem.”

14 Ariel and Lender, “Area B: Stratigraphical Report,” 18–21; de Groot, “Discussion and conclusions,” 177, 179.

15 Reich and Shukron, “The Jerusalem City-Dump;” G. Bar-Oz et al., “‘Holy Garbage’: A Quantitative Study of the City-Dump of Early Roman Jerusalem,” Levant 39 (2007): 1–12. For a different interpretation, see Shilo, “Stratigraphical Introduction,” 6–7; de Groot, “Discussion and conclusions,” 183–184.

Figure 2: The excavated area at the end of 2013 season, looking south-west (A. Peretz).


Excavation Methodology

Due to the nature of the exposed main feature, namely, the early Roman garbage layers (Fig. 2; and see further below), the site was particularly chal-lenging to excavate and required a newly designed, unique excavation meth-odology. We had first to deal with the fact that the extensive 20th century excavations had completely altered the landscape that was created during the early Roman period. Both Weill and Shiloh had used the lower parts of the slope (i. e. the current location of Area D3) as a concentrated dump. In a 1999 effort to prevent landslide towards the street, five massive retain-ing walls were erected throughout the area. Dirt piles from all previous excavations were placed between the walls, effectively sealing the ancient man-made slope. Prior to any excavation, then, we needed to dismantle the cement walls as well as the modern earth-fill behind them, all of which was done with mechanical tools.

Following the preparations, two adjoining sections were marked for exca-vation:

The northern section (section M-N/10–11), which is 12 meters long (west-east) and 9 meters wide (north-south; Fig. 3).

The southern section (section M-N/14), which is 7 meters long (west-east) and 4 meters wide (north-south).

Figure 3: Squares M–N/10–11, looking west (A. Peretz)


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Prior to the excavation, there was a difference of 9 meters between the elevation at the head (648.21) and at the bottom (639.19) of the section. For safety reasons we had to moderate the slope by excavating in steps. Conse-quently, the exposure of the earlier levels is very limited.

As alluded to above, the difficulty of excavating the main exposed fea-ture – the spilled layers of earth and garbage – required a unique methodol-ogy. The soil layers slope sharply from west to east and contain an extraor-dinary amount of material culture finds: hundreds of thousands of sherds, animal bones, coins, seeds, charcoal, stone objects, and more (see below). During the excavation, we needed to overcome two major challenges. Firstly, the sheer volume of finds made it impossible for them to be handpicked while excavating. Secondly, the sharp diagonal lines of the slope made it hard to follow and peel each sub-layer individually. Indeed, the sub-layers were revealed and made apparent only when viewed in the sections. The sampling strategy we developed overcame these two challenges. This strat-egy was as follows:

Stage 1: Horizontal excavation in 4x4 meter excavation squares. Material culture objects were collected by hand in addition to wet and dry sifting of one of every 30 earth buckets (Fig. 4). We also used a metal detector on a daily basis.

Figure 4: Square N/14, looking west (A. Peretz).


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Prior to the excavation, there was a difference of 9 meters between the elevation at the head (648.21) and at the bottom (639.19) of the section. For safety reasons we had to moderate the slope by excavating in steps. Conse-quently, the exposure of the earlier levels is very limited.

As alluded to above, the difficulty of excavating the main exposed fea-ture – the spilled layers of earth and garbage – required a unique methodol-ogy. The soil layers slope sharply from west to east and contain an extraor-dinary amount of material culture finds: hundreds of thousands of sherds, animal bones, coins, seeds, charcoal, stone objects, and more (see below). During the excavation, we needed to overcome two major challenges. Firstly, the sheer volume of finds made it impossible for them to be handpicked while excavating. Secondly, the sharp diagonal lines of the slope made it hard to follow and peel each sub-layer individually. Indeed, the sub-layers were revealed and made apparent only when viewed in the sections. The sampling strategy we developed overcame these two challenges. This strat-egy was as follows:

Stage 1: Horizontal excavation in 4x4 meter excavation squares. Material culture objects were collected by hand in addition to wet and dry sifting of one of every 30 earth buckets (Fig. 4). We also used a metal detector on a daily basis.

Figure 4: Square N/14, looking west (A. Peretz).


Stage 2: The sections of the square were sketched and photographed (Figs. 5, 6 and 7), and the sub-layers were marked with string to serve as guidelines for the subsequent stage of excavation.

Figure 5: Section 3–3 in square 14/M–N: a) Photograph (A. Peretz) and b) Drawing (Y. Shmidov and S. Emmanuilov)

10491051

1050

1053

1052

10541055

1056

1057

1058

1059

1060

a)

b)


Yuval Gadot286

Figure 6: Section 2–2 in square 14/N–M (Y. Shmidov and S. Emmanuilov)

1054

1055

1056

1057

1058

1059

1060

Stage 3: Careful diagonal excavations of each sub-layer (Fig 8): By enlarg-ing the originally excavated square by 0.5 meter, we excavated a segment of the documented sections. The finds recovered from each sub-layer were registered separately.

Stage 4: In this stage, 20 buckets from each sub-layer were subjected to wet sifting (0.5 mm. mesh) and the remaining soil buckets were dry-sifted (1 cm. mesh).

Stage 5: Excavations were conducted once more on one 1.5×0.5 meter sec-tion with the goal of discerning the ratio of chalk vessels to pottery. Twenty buckets from each sub-layer were subjected to dry-sifting in an attempt to retrieve all pottery sherds and fragments of chalkstone vessels.


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Figure 6: Section 2–2 in square 14/N–M (Y. Shmidov and S. Emmanuilov)

1054

1055

1056

1057

1058

1059

1060

Stage 3: Careful diagonal excavations of each sub-layer (Fig 8): By enlarg-ing the originally excavated square by 0.5 meter, we excavated a segment of the documented sections. The finds recovered from each sub-layer were registered separately.

Stage 4: In this stage, 20 buckets from each sub-layer were subjected to wet sifting (0.5 mm. mesh) and the remaining soil buckets were dry-sifted (1 cm. mesh).

Stage 5: Excavations were conducted once more on one 1.5×0.5 meter sec-tion with the goal of discerning the ratio of chalk vessels to pottery. Twenty buckets from each sub-layer were subjected to dry-sifting in an attempt to retrieve all pottery sherds and fragments of chalkstone vessels.


1047

1063

1068

1061

1048

1046

1070 1072

1069

1071

1062

Figure 7: Section 1–1 in square 10/M–N a) drawing (Y. Shmidov and S. Emmanuilov) and b) photograph (A. Peretz)

a)

b)


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Preliminary Results

Remains dating before the early Roman Period (Phase D3–2) were exposed only in a small section and it is not yet possible to understand their mean-ing. The main feature exposed is the layer of phase D3–1. This layer is composed of many sub-layers rich in material culture that had been thrown from the top of the hill down toward the east (Figs. 2, 4–7). The documented section shows clearly that there are alternating layers rich in material culture and earth-rich layers. Eleven sub-layers were identified in section 14/M–N (Fig. 5) and eleven sub-layers were exposed in the north-ern section, section M–N/10–11 (Fig. 7). There are many indications of additional sub-layers that have either been washed down over the years or have been excavated during previous expeditions or damaged during the parks construction.

Figure 8: Diagonal excavation of section 2–2, note the strings guiding the excavators (Y. Gadot)


Yuval Gadot288

Preliminary Results

Remains dating before the early Roman Period (Phase D3–2) were exposed only in a small section and it is not yet possible to understand their mean-ing. The main feature exposed is the layer of phase D3–1. This layer is composed of many sub-layers rich in material culture that had been thrown from the top of the hill down toward the east (Figs. 2, 4–7). The documented section shows clearly that there are alternating layers rich in material culture and earth-rich layers. Eleven sub-layers were identified in section 14/M–N (Fig. 5) and eleven sub-layers were exposed in the north-ern section, section M–N/10–11 (Fig. 7). There are many indications of additional sub-layers that have either been washed down over the years or have been excavated during previous expeditions or damaged during the parks construction.

Figure 8: Diagonal excavation of section 2–2, note the strings guiding the excavators (Y. Gadot)


Table 1: Garbage sub-layers in Section 14/M–NLayer number Character Absolute level Description

L. 1050 Material culture layer

Head West: 645.80Head East: 645.1015 cm. thick

Survived only at the upper part of the northern section (Fig. 5). Continues in the lower eastern part of the section to an elevation 642.00 meters above sea level. Does not appear at the west-ern section (Fig. 6), since it was prob-ably above the topsoil shaped during modern times.

L. 1051 Earth layer Head West: 645.80Head East: 644.9525 cm. thick

Survived only at the top of the north-ern section (Fig. 5). Variable thick-ness. Continued on the lower eastern part but is much smaller in volume. Did not survive in the western section (Fig. 6), since it was above the initial elevation of the excavation.



Survived only at the top of the north-ern section (Fig. 5). Continues after a break in the lower eastern part of the section.


Survived only at the top of the north-ern section (Fig. 5). Continues after a break in the lower eastern part of the section.



Uppermost sub-layer of the west-ern section (Fig 6). It has survived throughout the northern section (Fig. 5).

L. 1055 Earth layer Head West: 645.70Head East: 643.9510 to 30 cm. thick

The second sub-layer in western Sec-tion (Fig. 6). It is less orderly and clear in this section. It has survived throughout the northern section (Fig. 5).


Head West: 645.40Head East: 643.7020 to 50 cm. thick

The third sub-layer of western Section (Fig. 6). It is less orderly and clear in this section. It has survived through-out the northern section (Fig. 5).


This layer becomes increasingly nar-rower as it continues east until it com-pletely disappears in the eastern part of northern section (Fig. 5).


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Layer number Character Absolute level Description



The fifth sub-layer in western Sec-tion (Fig. 6). Thickens as it reaches the northern part. It has survived throughout the northern section (Fig. 5).

L. 1059 Earth layer Head West: 644.20Head East: 642.75Up to 75 cm. thick

Thick soil layer with lenses of concen-trated pottery sherds.



Irregular layer which was exposed as lenses containing numerous pottery sherds.

Table 2: Garbage sub-layers in Section M–N/10–11(Fig. 7)DescriptionAbsolute levelCharacterLayer number

It is not possible to follow the contour of the entire sub-layer. It may have been disturbed during the construc-tion of the terraces.

Head West: unclearHead East: 642.90Over a meter thick

Pottery layer

L. 1046

Preserved only in the eastern part (the lower part of the section).

Head West: 642.5Head East: 641.80Unclear thickness

Earth layerL. 1048

Difficult to see. Fully preserved in the eastern part (the lower part of the section).


Pottery layer

L. 1047


Earth layerL. 1061

Layer thickens significantly towards the east.


Pottery layer

L. 1062

Damaged on the top by a hole. Only a small portion of the sub-layer is docu-mented.


Earth layerL. 1063


Pottery layer

L. 1068

Documented only in the lower part of the section.


Earth layerL. 1069



Pottery layer

L. 1070


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Layer number Character Absolute level Description



The fifth sub-layer in western Sec-tion (Fig. 6). Thickens as it reaches the northern part. It has survived throughout the northern section (Fig. 5).

L. 1059 Earth layer Head West: 644.20Head East: 642.75Up to 75 cm. thick

Thick soil layer with lenses of concen-trated pottery sherds.



Irregular layer which was exposed as lenses containing numerous pottery sherds.

Table 2: Garbage sub-layers in Section M–N/10–11(Fig. 7)DescriptionAbsolute levelCharacterLayer number

It is not possible to follow the contour of the entire sub-layer. It may have been disturbed during the construc-tion of the terraces.

Head West: unclearHead East: 642.90Over a meter thick

Pottery layer

L. 1046

Preserved only in the eastern part (the lower part of the section).

Head West: 642.5Head East: 641.80Unclear thickness

Earth layerL. 1048

Difficult to see. Fully preserved in the eastern part (the lower part of the section).


Pottery layer

L. 1047


Earth layerL. 1061

Layer thickens significantly towards the east.


Pottery layer

L. 1062

Damaged on the top by a hole. Only a small portion of the sub-layer is docu-mented.


Earth layerL. 1063


Pottery layer

L. 1068



Earth layerL. 1069



Pottery layer

L. 1070


DescriptionAbsolute levelCharacterLayer number



Earth layerL. 1071



Pottery layer

L. 1072

The slanting layers serve as an indication for the buried topography beneath them. According to the section presented in Figures 5 and 7b, the layers drop as one would expect in a west to east angle of 35 degrees. The slope of the layers from south to north at an angle of 20 degrees is less excepted (Fig. 7b).

The sub-layers are incredibly rich with finds. The finds still being ana-lyzed, so the information presented here can only be preliminary. Pottery shards comprise the most frequent artifact. As for their date, it is possible to state tentatively that the range of pottery is typical for Jerusalem during the 1st century c.e., including cooking pots, small bowls, flasks, juglets and bottles, jugs, jars and candles. At this stage we do not have enough quantita-tive data to evaluate the frequency of the different functional types. Yet it is interesting to note the relative scarcity of imported vessels.

Over 1000 fragments of chalk vessels characteristic of the Jewish society in the first century c.e. were cataloged. Currently this is the largest collection of such vessels to be published.16 The large number of chalk vessels stands in contrast to the findings reported from Reich and Shukron’s excavation, where fragments of only two such vessels were noted. We collected more than 700 coins, the latest of which dates to the Great Rebellion and the ear-liest to Agrippa. Some coins bearing the name of Alexander Jannaeus were also retrieved, but it is commonly accepted that these coins were still in use during the early Roman period. A layer by layer analysis of coins will help determine whether it has chronological significance.

A very large quantity of animal bones has been found. The bones are well preserved and in various sizes. The bones include species of large animals, fish bones and rodent’s bones. Meticulous collection method and sam-ple size have made this one of the richest assemblages. A large quantity of charred wood pieces was collected. Carbonized seeds were also collected. This rich compendium will shed light on the natural and human environ-ment around Jerusalem and on the variety of foods available to the ancient city’s residents.

16 Y. Gadot and Y. Adler, “A Quantitative Analysis of Jewish Chalk Vessel Frequencies in Early Roman Jerusalem: A View from the City’s Garbage Dump,” forthcoming.


Yuval Gadot292

Other finds seem to appear in smaller numbers, probably because of recycling. There are relatively few fragments of glass and a relatively small number of metal tools and jewelry. Recovered building materials include fragments of plaster (some of which are painted but most of which are not) and oven fragments made of mud.

Conclusions and Plans for the Future

During the first excavation season, we uncovered a substantial amount of remains from the early Roman period (Layer D3–1). These layers were iden-tified as garbage layers by previous excavators17 and we accept this interpre-tation. Our carful documentation managed to show for the first time that the garbage dump is composed of many sub-layers that collectively repre-sent a specific time span, though its exact duration remains unknown. Early Roman garbage dumps outside of Jerusalem were hardly excavated and so comparative data is scarce. In our future research into these finds, we hope to use the vast number of intentionally discarded objects for an in-depth study of life habits in ancient Jerusalem on the eve of the city’s destruction.18

Yuval Gadot Tel-Aviv University Faculty of Humanities Gilman Building, Room 000 Tel Aviv Israel [email protected]

17 Reich and Shukron, “The Jerusalem City-Dump;” Bar-Oz et al., “‘Holy Garbage.’”18 On the potential for excavating garbage dumps, see W. Rathje and C. Murphy, Rubbish!

The Archaeology of Garbage (Tuscon: The University of Arizona Press, 2001).


Hebrew Bible and Ancient IsraelHerausgegeben von Gary N. Knoppers (University Park PA), Oded Lipschits (Tel Aviv), Carol A. Newsom (Atlanta GA) und Konrad Schmid (Zürich)Redaktion: Phillip Michael Lasater (Zürich)

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Hebrew Bible and Ancient IsraelEdited by Gary N. Knoppers (University Park PA), Oded Lipschits (Tel Aviv), Carol A. Newsom (Atlanta GA), and Konrad Schmid (Zürich)Redaction: Phillip Michael Lasater (Zürich)

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Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel volume 3 (2014), no. 2

Edited byGary N. Knoppers (Notre Dame IN), Oded Lipschits (Tel Aviv),Carol A. Newsom (Atlanta GA), and Konrad Schmid (Zürich)

Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel is a new, peer-reviewed, quarterly journal focusing primarily on the biblical texts in their ancient historical contexts, but also on the history of Israel in its own right. Each issue has a topical focus. The primary language is English, but articles may also be published in German and French. A specific goal of the new journal is to foster discussion among different academic cultures within a larger international context pertaining to the study of the Hebrew Bible and ancient Israel in the first millennium b.c.e.

Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel ist eine neue Zeitschrift, die vierteljährlich erscheint und deren Beiträge durch einen Peerreview-Prozess evaluiert werden. Ihr Thema sind die Texte der hebräischen und aramäischen Bibel in ihren historischen Kontexten, aber auch die Geschichte Israels selbst. Jedes Heft wird einen thematischen Fokus haben. Die meisten Beiträge werden in Englisch verfasst sein, Artikel können aber auch auf Deutsch oder Französisch erscheinen. Ein besonderes Ziel der Zeitschrift besteht in der Vermittlung der unterschiedlichen akademischen Kulturen im globalen Kontext, die sich mit der Hebräischen Bibel und dem antiken Israel im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. beschäftigen.

Associate Editors (2012–2015)Erhard Blum, Tübingen; John Day, Oxford; Louis Jonker, Stellenbosch; John Kessler, Toronto; Jacqueline E. Lapsley, Princeton; Martti Nissinen, Helsinki; Thomas Römer, Paris/Lausanne; Christoph Uehlinger, Zürich; David Vanderhooft, Boston; Nili Wazana, Jerusalem

2192-2276(201406)3:2;1-X


Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Jerusalem’s Southeastern Hill, Area D3

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