Area BB
By Mor Goldenberg
Area BB (Figure 1) is located on the northern part of the lower hill, within an olive grove that today covers a carefully terraced slope. The area is adjacent to the houses dated to the Late Iron Age (seventh century BCE) were uncovered during the salvage excavations conducted at the site in 1995–1997. The houses yielded significant findings, and primarily two cuneiform tablets that are key to understanding the settlement activity during the later phases of the Iron Age. We sought to further explore this part of the site, combining earlier discoveries with new stratigraphic data.
The area preserves substantial evidence for agricultural use. Two retaining walls were uncovered, one in the eastern part of the excavation and another in the west, each associated with stone fills extending along the slope. Further excavation revealed a continuation of this fill and a wall running parallel to one of the retaining walls, indicating a coherent system of terracing. These features are attributed to Roman-period agricultural activity, when the slope was deliberately modified and stabilized for cultivation. Preliminary analysis suggests that this Roman system was later reused and adapted in the Ottoman period, when the olive grove was established, making use of the earlier stone fills and retaining walls as a foundation.
Beneath the agricultural terracing phase, the remains of the Late Iron Age house were identified (Figure 2), providing additional evidence for domestic occupation on the lower hill, built directly above the bedrock. Pottery from this phase includes characteristic storage vessels, among them a complete storage jars typical of the period in this region (Figure 3).
Among the notable finds from Area BB is a scarab dating to the Late Bronze Age, hinting at earlier activity on the tell. Together, the architectural remains and finds from Area BB illustrate a long sequence of occupation and land use, helping to reconstruct the processes that shaped the site in its present form.
