The size and artistic richness of the mosaic in the triclinium of the House of Dionysos, and the diversity of the depictions relating to Dionysos and his cult as actually celebrated in the Roman period, as well as the complex relationship between Dionysos and Herakles reflected in some of the floor’s panels, make it outstanding among the finds from Sepphoris. Chapters in this volume present an overview of the other mosaic floors of the same general period in Israel and Jordan; the building itself and the architectural and archaeological data (including the pottery) provided by its excavation; a detailed description of the Dionysiac mosaic and its iconography; a stylistic analysis of the mosaic with comparisons to other mosaics in the region and discussion of the evidence for its dating; the technical features of the mosaic; the mosaics found in the other parts of the structure; and the unique decorative program of the mosaic and its implications, the value of the mosaic as a historical and cultural source, and the questions of its ownership and purpose.

This volume is the second of the final reports on the excavations carried out under the direction of Benjamin Mazar in 1968–1978 (the first volume was published as Qedem 29). The excavations at the foot of the southern wall and the southeast corner of the enclosure of the Temple Mount were conducted on a huge scale and eventually extended over an area of about eight acres. Part One of the present volume presents the architecture and finds of three Byzantine structures in Areas XV and XVII. Part Two presents the “House of the Menorot”, a Byzantine and Early Islamic building in Area VI. Part Three presents three probably residential structures of the Byzantine period in Areas III and XII. The architectural description of these structure is accompanied by presentation of their rich assemblages of finds. Separate chapters are devoted to special groups of finds from the excavations: pottery vessels, pottery and glass lamps, coins and flan molds, an ossuary, inscriptions, stamped roof tiles and bricks, ecclesiastical furniture, arms and pottery figurines.

This second two-volume set of the final report on the excavations at Timnah (Tel Batash) in the northern Shephelah of Judah presents the pottery and other finds from the first millennium BCE, i.e. the Iron Age II and the Persian period (Strata IV–I), with a few stray finds of the Hellenistic period. The major part of the text volume is devoted to detailed typological and comparative discussion of the pottery, accompanied by examination of aspects such as surface treatment, provenience, and distribution by stratum and in particular architectural units. In the remainder of the volume different classes of finds are presented: these include inscriptions and seal impressions, figurative clay objects, metal objects, stone objects, and various other classes of small finds. The concluding chapter presents additional conclusions that stem from the material presented in the volume, exploring issues relating to chronology, geopolitics and the Iron Age society and economy. The plates volume contains 106 plates of drawings of pottery and other objects, arranged according to homogeneous architectural units or groups of loci of similar stratigraphic nature in each of the excavation areas.

This volume comprises a report on excavation areas located outside the Canaanite-Israelite city wall of the City of David. First are stratigraphic reports of Areas B and D1, two of the four excavation areas located east of the city wall on the eastern slope of the City of David hill. They are followed by a report on pottery finds from the two areas and a discussion that focuses on the most significant aspect of the finds in all four areas, namely the existence of extramural quarters in part of the Israelite period (especially Stratum 12). This volume concentrates on finds from the major strata from the City of David, from the Iron Age. The material presented here will contribute to a clearer understanding of biblical Jerusalem, for which, despite the large number of excavations there, well-documented archaeological data are still rare.

This volume presents the inscribed finds and related material from all areas and strata of the City of David excavations. Chapters are devoted to Hebrew and Aramaic inscriptions, inscribed pottery, Hebrew bullae, bullae with figurative decoration, Lmlk seal impressions and concentric circles, a Hebrew seal and seal impressions, rosette-stamped handles, incised handles, and locally stamped handles and associated body fragments of the Persian and Hellenistic periods. Appendices are devoted to an Arabic ostracon and potsherds with incised South Arabian letters. A concordance to Volumes V–VI of the City of David reports (Qedem 40 and 41) concludes the volume.

Khirbet ed-Deir is one of the most isolated and remote monastic sites of the Judean Desert. The well-preserved remains of the monastery, founded in the late fifth or early sixth century CE, are concealed in a rocky gorge some 30 km south of Jerusalem. The preserved architectural remains, described in detail in the first chapter, include a stable, a gatehouse and hospice, a baptistery, a large cave church, a burial recess and chapel, a kitchen and refectory, living quarters, an elaborate water supply system and agricultural terraces. Subsequent chapters present all of the finds made at the site: the four Greek inscriptions, rich mosaic pavements, marble furnishings and fittings, fresco fragments, pottery vessels, glass and coins. The concluding chapter comprises a general discussion, placing the results of the excavations in the context of literary sources on monasticism in the Judean Desert and the remains of other monasteries in the region.

This volume establishes a coherent typological framework for the description and analysis of pottery products manufactured in the southern Levant from the sixth to the first half of the fourth millennia BCE, enabling the subdivision of the period into cultural phases and their classification into the Pottery Neolithic and Early, Middle and Late Chalcolithic periods. In the typological analysis the study concentrates on key sites and assemblages from clear archaeological contexts, presenting quantitative analyses wherever possible, though examples from a wide variety of sites are illustrated. Particular emphasis is placed on the regional character of the assemblages. Both relative and absolute chronologies are established, the latter based on the available radiometric datings. The volume is copiously illustrated with line drawings and photographs, presenting for the first time a complete picture of the pottery of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.

The Nabatean site of Oboda (Avdat), excavated in 1958-1961, 1975-1977, and 1989, is renowned for its imposing architectural remains. The final report presents the architectural remains of the Nabatean sacred compound, of which the retaining walls, the temple court, the staircase tower, and the magnificent portal have survived, as well as the remains of a small temple identified with the deified King Obodas and discovered in 1989. Remains of the Late Roman period include a well-preserved tower, a patrician villa, and a burial cave. In the Late Roman-Byzantine period a citadel with walls and towers was built. Byzantine remains include the two churches constructed within the Nabatean sacred compound, a cave dwelling, a burial cave, and a bath house. Special reports describe the Late Roman and Byzantine architectural decoration, architectural elements in secondary use, coins, and small finds, including the splendid hoard of bronzes.

The site of Tel Batash is identified with Biblical Timnah, well known as the setting of the Samson stories. The final report of its stratigraphy and architecture provides a comprehensive picture of the history of the town. Its distinctive square shape and concave surface were determined by the ramparts of the Middle Bronze Age. The unwalled Late Bronze Age town contained several patrician houses. Philistine Timnah was a substantial and densely built-up site and the excavations provided evidence of the existence of a city wall. In the 10th century BCE the town was unwalled and sparsely settled, but the earliest phase of the city gate probably dates from this period. Timnah of the 8th-7th centuries BCE was defended by a stone wall and a city gate. The densely built-up town included large public buildings, private dwellings, and evidence of an olive oil industry. This two-part set consists of a text volume, lavishly illustrated by photographs and schematic plans, and a volume containing 107 detailed plans and sections.

This is the third of the final reports of the excavations at the City of David directed by the late Prof. Yigal Shiloh. The volume opens with a report on the City of David and its ancient subterranean waterworks, presenting the innovative hypothesis that the waterworks were constructed by following natural passages. It is followed by comprehensive reports on special groups of artifacts from all over the City of David, primarily from the earlier periods: ceramic figurines, loomweights and whorls, the groundstone industry, the weights from the Bronze Age to the Persian period, flint implements, gemstones, beads and pendants, and "Horus Eye" amulets. Reports on the bird and faunal remains from Areas A, D, H and K complete the volume. The presentation of these finds in one volume provides a wide-ranging view of the material culture of the City of David in the Biblical period.

Yoqne'am, one of the sites dominating the passes through the Carmel range, was more or less continuously settled for close to four millennia, from the Early Bronze Age to the Mamluk period. It was the main site investigated in the framework of the Yoqne'am Regional Project in the western Jezreel Valley between 1975 and 1988. This volume presents the results of the excavations relating to the Hellenistic through Ottoman periods, with the Early Islamic-Crusader-Mamluk periods providing the most significant contribution. The volume includes a historical discussion of Yoqne'am in the Crusader period, detailed descriptions of the architectural remains of the site, including the Crusader church, and presentations of the finds: pottery of the various periods (including an important chapter on the large assemblage of medieval pottery), oil lamps, tobacco pipes, glass, metal and bone items, coins, and human and animal remains.

This volume, the companion volume to Qedem Reports 1, presents the finds from Areas A and C at Tel Dor, excavated in 1980-1987. The finds are exceptional in their range and quantity, and are distinguished by the unusually large numbers of imported items. Categories of finds presented here and fully illustrated with drawings and photographs are: Iron Age pottery, local pottery of the Persian period, East Greek pottery, Athenian pottery, imported Hellenistic and Roman pottery, Hellenistic coarse ware, clay figurines, popular cult objects and sculpture, the coins from the excavations, a scarab, seals, stamped storage jar handles, a Phoenician inscription, an inscribed sling bullet, and Greek inscriptions.

This volume presents the results of the excavations carried out between 1960 and 1974 at `Ubeidiya. The site, located in the Dead Sea Rift, is composed of more than sixty archaeological horizons of Lower Pleistocene age (1.4 million years). The site reveals a complex geological structure in which tectonic movements have drastically tilted the deposits. The cultural remains are assigned to the Acheulian tradition, the earliest known manifestation of this industry outside Africa. Each archaeological horizon is described, and its lithic assemblages are presented in detail. Their typological, technical and stylistic characteristics are studies by means of attribute analysis. The analysis of the stone artifacts has important implications for the reconstruction of hominid behavior. The issue of the distinctive "living floors" is discussed and various interpretations of their formation, whether due to human or natural agencies, are offered. The unique importance of `Ubeidiya lies in the fact that it is the best-documented site in Eurasia that illustrates the spread of humankind from Africa into the rest of the world.

This is the second of the final reports of the excavations at the City of David directed by the late Prof. Yigal Shiloh. The volume contains three parts. The first part consists of detailed stratigraphic reports on the excavations in four areas located in the southern part of the City of David and relating to the later periods: A1, A2, H and K. The second part comprises reports on macrobotanical remains, molluscs and fish remains found in all areas and periods of the City of David. The third part consists of reports on special groups of finds of later periods: Late Roman and Byzantine pottery from Areas H and K; Byzantine and medieval pottery from Areas A1 and G; chalk vessels of the Persian/Hellenistic and Early Roman periods from all parts of the City of David; and two jewelry molds from Areas H and K.

The volume gives a comprehensive alphabetical index of personal names published since 1932 (or unpublished) appearing in Nabatean-Aramaic inscriptions in each of the four regions of the Nabatean realm. The occurrence of the name in related ancient Arabian languages is noted, with the Arabic form of the name, comments on its meaning, and comparison to equivalents found in Greek inscriptions. Analytical tables then present the names by region and by frequency in each region, and by names relating to different subjects (theophoric names, geographical and ethnic names, Greek and Roman names, occupational names, and names reflecting celestial bodies, animals, birds and reptiles, plants, spiritual qualities, and physical qualities. Special tables deal with the names of Egra and the Hauran, the relationship between Nabatean-Aramaic names and Safaitic names, Nabatean/Arabian names, and Nabatean/Arabian names in Greek form. The analytical tables are followed by a detailed commentary and by an epilogue presenting the historical conclusions arising from the Nabatean personal names.

This is the first of the final reports of the excavations at the City of David directed by the late Prof. Yigal Shiloh, following the interim report published as Qedem 19. It presents the assemblages of selected groups of finds from all areas and periods of the site, fully illustrated with photographs and drawings. The volume opens with an In Memoriam to Yigal Shiloh, a bibliography of his publications and a stratigraphic summary of Strata 1-6 by Prof. Shiloh. The large assemblage of imported stamped amphora handles from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods is published, with discussion of topics such as the contents and typology of the amphoras, the possible reasons for the decline in imports after the mid-2nd century BCE, and their origin according to neutron activation analysis. Chapters on coins of the Hellenistic through medieval periods, and worked bone and ivory artifacts from the Early Bronze Age through Byzantine periods (most from the Iron Age), follow. The publication of the glass fragments, most dating from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods, is of particular interest in view of the evidence for early glass-blowing in Jerusalem.

The open-air Middle Paleolithic site of Quneitra, excavated in 1982-1983 and 1985, yielded abundant material which enabled multidisciplinary research on a broad range of archaeological, geological, and biological topics. The volume is an endeavor to describe the activities of a hunter-gatherer community seasonally occupying the shores of a freshwater lake. The archaeological horizon is characterized by a wealth of basalt and flint artifacts and manuports. In addition to the presentation of the stratigraphy of the site and thorough analyses of lithic technology, geological and geomorphological processes are studied. Hypotheses are formulated as to hominid procurement and subsistence behavior and taphonomic processes, and the paleoenvironment of the region is reconstructed from stratigraphic, geological, and faunal data. The fact that Quneitra is the only known Paleolithic entity in the Levant which is sealed by pyroclastic depositional material enabled radiometric dating of the site.

This study of the Early Islamic monuments on the Temple Mount (al-Haram al-Sharif * "The Noble Enclosure") focuses on three main aspects: the actual planning of each monument; the historical evidence relating to each monument and its interpretation; and the role each nonument was intended to play and the architectural expression of these roles. Recent architectural discoveries adjacent to the Temple Mount and elsewhere are used to further the study. The monuments are first examined individually with the aid of plans and photographs. A separate chapter is devoted to the decoration of the Dome of the Rock (with color plates of the mosaics in the drum of the dome). Finally, the iconographic scheme of the entire complex is examined. The author shows how all the beliefs and traditions of Paradise, Judgment Day, and Resurrection that were current in Islam were interlocked with the Rock at the center of al-Haram al-Sharif. The entire Islamic concept was grafted onto an intricate matrix of traditions inherited from pre-Islamic times, resulting in the great new enterprise initiated in the days of `Abd el-Malik.

rom 1968 to 1977, large-scale excavations took place in Jerusalem along the southern wall of the Temple Mount and the southern portion of the western wall. In the area of the Ophel, south of the eastern Hulda Gate, remains of a royal building complex of the First Temple period were discovered. Further excavations took place in 1986 and 1987 to examine the royal building and its stratigraphy. This volume presents the major construction units of this area from the outset of construction in the First Temple period: two towers, a gate, and an adjacent royal building, apparently first built in the 9th century BCE. An additional chapter describes the rock-hewn "rooms," perhaps tombs, of the First Temple period discovered in the eastern slope of the western hill. The architectural description, with plans and photographs, is accompanied by pottery plates and by appendices on the clay figurines, Hebrew inscriptions and seals, a dendroarchaeological study, and animal and fish bone remains.

Rehovot-in-the-Negev (Kh. Ruheibeh) was one of the largest desert cities in the central Negev during the Nabatean-Byzantine periods. This volume presents the final report of the excavation of the northern church, in addition to an introduction to the history, identification, and general description. The 5th-century church is of the triapsidal type and has a large crypt underneath its chancel. It is well dated by burial inscriptions and rich in artifacts and architectural fragments. The report includes chapters on the stratigraphy and architecture of the church, architectural fragments, pottery, glass, and coins, as well as publication of more than forty Greek inscriptions, the Arabic inscriptions, and the human skeletal remains found in the church. This amply illustrated volume is to date the most comprehensive publication devoted to the excavation of a single church in the Negev.