The Negev Highland Settlements and their Agricultural Hinterland in the Byzantine Period

Ofer Sion, Yotam Tepper, Noy Shemesh, Alexander Wiegmann

• Publisher: TS Edizioni
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9791254714492
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

This volume is the result of ongoing research; it seeks to present a summary of the most recent data on the Negev settlements in the Byzantine period and the agricultural systems which developed around them. The geographical framework of the study was determined by the layout of the settlements in the northwestern Negev. The area is bordered by craters to the east and south, Be'er Sheva' and the ?alu?a sand fields to the north, and the 'Agur sand fields to the west. The Byzantine period was chosen as the chronological framework, beginning with the rise to power of Constantine in 324 CE. The authors refer to the main settlement sites in the north of the Negev Highlands: Mamshit, the Yero?am Fortress, 'Avedat, Shivta, Sa'adon, Re?ovot-in-the-Negev and Ni??ana. The research also includes a renewed look at the two urban settlements in the Negev: ?alu?a and Be'er Sheva'. The first part of the book includes two sections: the geography and geology of the Negev, by N. Wieler, and the historical-epigraphic background, by O. Pogorelsky. The second part is devoted to the large settlements of the Negev and the agricultural systems around them, and to the two main cities in the region. The chapters of this part are based on the mapping of the settlements and the agricultural systems around them. This constitutes the main body of the work. With the exception of Be'er Sheva' (written by N.D. Michael), the remaining chapters were written by the authors. In each chapter, the history of the settlement and its research was compiled by N. Shemesh. The field study and mapping were written by O. Sion and edited by O. Sion and Y. Tepper. In the third part of the book, four new studies are introduced that are published here for the first time. The first one, by T. Erickson-Gini and Y. Rapuano, discusses the ceramic forms at the transition from the Byzantine to the Early Islamic period. The second, by B. Callegher, deals with the Byzantine coins from the major settlements of the Negev. The third, by R. Shoeff and R. Linn, deals with conservation issues in three of the Negev settlements: Ni??ana, Shivta and 'Avedat. The fourth focuses on the roads and transit routes between the settlements and was written jointly by O. Sion, Y. Tepper, and N. Wieler. By Ofer Sion, Yotam Tepper, Noy Shemesh and Alexander Wiegmann Edited by Ofer Sion and Yotam Tepper With contributions by Nimrod Wieler, Ofer Pogorelsky, Noé David Michael, Nicolas Benenstein, Tali Erickson-Gini, Yehudah Rapuano, Bruno Callegher, Ram Shoeff and Ravit Linn

Table of contents

• Frontespizio
• CONTENTS
• PREFACE
• INTRODUCTION
• ABBREVIATIONS
• PART I – GEOMORPHOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• CHAPTER 1 – GEOMORPHIC ASPECTS OF BYZANTINE AGRICULTUREIN THE NEGEV HIGHLANDS
• CHAPTER 2 – THE NEGEV: AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
• PART II – THE NEGEV SETTLEMENTS AND THE SURROUNDING AGRICULTURAL HINTERLAND
• II A. THE CITIES
• CHAPTER 3 – BE’ER SHEVA‘ AND ITS HINTERLANDDURING THE BYZANTINE PERIOD
• CHAPTER 4 – ḤALUẒA
• II B. THE VILLAGES
• CHAPTER 5 – REḤOVOT-IN-THE-NEGEV
• CHAPTER 6 – ḤORVAT SA‘ADON
• CHAPTER 7 – NIẒẒANA
• CHAPTER 8 – ‘EZUZ
• CHAPTER 9 – SHIVTA
• CHAPTER 10 – ‘AVEDAT
• CHAPTER 11 – MAMSHIT
• CHAPTER 12 – MEẒAD YEROḤAM
• PART III – RELATED STUDIES
• CHAPTER 13 – A CULTURE IN TRANSITION: LATE BYZANTINE AND EARLYUMAYYAD CERAMIC FORMS FROM THE NEGEV HIGHLAND SITES
• CHAPTER 14 – COINS AND THE ECONOMY IN THE NEGEVBETWEEN THE 4TH AND THE 7TH CENTURIES CE
• CHAPTER 15 – THE CONSERVATION AND PRESENTATION OF BYZANTINE SITESIN THE NEGEV
• CHAPTER 16 – MAJOR ROADS AND TRANSIT ROUTES ALONG THEAGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS AND BETWEEN THE BYZANTINESETTLEMENTS IN THE NEGEV
• PART IV – DISCUSSION, SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
• CHAPTER 17 – DISCUSSION, SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
• STUDIUM BIBLICUM FRANCISCANUM COLLECTIO MAIOR