Image Details

SHARON GAL, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY

CROSSROAD TOMBS. At an intersection of ancient trade routes in the Negev highlands, excavations revealed these two square structures, within which scores of burials were discovered. Dating to the middle of the first millennium BCE, the larger of the two tombs (left) is about 25 feet on a side and supported internally by two rectangular stone columns. The smaller structure (right) is about 15 feet on a side, with only one column, and appears to have functioned as a ritual space before it was repurposed as a tomb. The site’s burials and unique finds provide fresh insight into the lucrative Arabian trade and the many products that were involved, including perhaps trafficked people.