Hyrcania

INTRODUCTION

In 1960, the Copper Scroll Expedition, under the direction of J. M. Allegro, conducted a survey of Khirbet el-Mird, identified with Hyrcania, on the western fringes of the southern Buqei‘a (Biq‘at Horkania). During the survey, which was described in a brief report by G. R. H. Wright, two stepped, rock-cut tunnels were uncovered in Naḥal Secacah, at the foot of the northern slope of Hyrcania. Between 2000 and 2005, six seasons of excavations were conducted by O. Gutfeld in these tunnels. The excavations were under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the first three seasons were in collaboration with C. R. Morgan of the Liberty Historical Society, Missouri.

EXCAVATION RESULTS

THE WESTERN TUNNEL. The western tunnel is located on the southern bank of Naḥal Secacah, where the riverbed is 2.5 m wide. It was dug into soft Senonian limestone. The brittle rock and the floods that have inundated the tunnel have eradicated all marks left during the cutting of the tunnel. The entrance is located c. 2.2 m above the riverbed (a difference in height that did not prevent the tunnel from flooding) and c. 160 m below the summit of Hyrcania.

The tunnel, oriented north–south, is c. 2 m high, allowing one to enter the tunnel while standing upright. It maintains a nearly straight line over its total length of slightly more than 110 m and declines at a roughly consistent 45-degree angle. Steps (20 cm high and 30 cm wide) hewn in the rock over the length facilitate descent into the tunnel, and niches cut along the top of the walls held oil lamps for illumination. The tunnel is 90 cm wide at its entrance, then narrows progressively for the first 25 m to only 50 cm, only to broaden again to an average width of 90–100 cm. At a distance of c. 55 m into the tunnel, its course verges slightly to the west; this deviation was later corrected by the diggers of the tunnel. After this correction, the tunnel widens even more, and at c. 96 m from the mouth reaches a maximum width of 2.65 m. At this point the tunnel splits into two branches, each c. 1 m wide, one a continuation of the original tunnel, and the other verging to the southwest. The former branch, c. 15 m long, slopes at 35 degrees, and its steps are well cut. The latter, c. 17 m long, slopes at a steeper angle, at up to 55 degrees, and does not maintain a straight line; its steps were not meticulously hewn and are not as easily descended. Both branches terminate in a dead-end.

The silt fill of the tunnel, increasingly hard-packed the greater the depth within the tunnel, was nearly void of archaeological finds. One noteworthy find is the skeleton of a female ibex, the radiocarbon dating of which yielded a date of c. 590 BCE. Also retrieved were very few pottery sherds, mostly bowls and cooking pots, from the Iron Age II and the Second Temple period.

THE EASTERN TUNNEL. The eastern stepped tunnel is located c. 75 m east of the western, on the northern bank, where Naḥal Secacah is wider. The tunnel was dug in a northern direction, with a slight deviation to the west. Its entrance is c. 1 m above the riverbed. Several meters at the entrance were initially cleared by the members of the Hyrcania survey headed by J. M. Allegro. Subsequent excavations in the tunnel by the Hebrew University expedition have so far cleared a total of 36 m of the tunnel.

The tunnel was hewn into two geological layers, one of soft limestone and the other of very soft bitumen. The segments cut into limestone maintain straight lines and even proportions, while those hewn into the bitumen are significantly wider and higher, and almost create large, shapeless subterranean chambers. Nevertheless, the segment of the tunnel uncovered at present also maintains a straight south–north line. It is particularly steep, at a relatively consistent 56 degrees.

CONCLUSIONS

The hewing of the tunnels is an impressive undertaking that could only have been carried out under royal or public auspices. Aside from a small number of Second Temple period sherds, the finds from the tunnels cannot shed light on when the projects were carried out. It may be assumed, however, on the basis of the tunnels’ proximity to ancient Hyrcania and the Herodian cemetery to the east, that they were cut sometime during the Second Temple period. The investigation of the tunnels has also not yet revealed their function; it has been suggested that they may have been part of a water system, mines, places of refuge, or tombs.

OREN GUTFELD

INTRODUCTION

In 1960, the Copper Scroll Expedition, under the direction of J. M. Allegro, conducted a survey of Khirbet el-Mird, identified with Hyrcania, on the western fringes of the southern Buqei‘a (Biq‘at Horkania). During the survey, which was described in a brief report by G. R. H. Wright, two stepped, rock-cut tunnels were uncovered in Naḥal Secacah, at the foot of the northern slope of Hyrcania. Between 2000 and 2005, six seasons of excavations were conducted by O. Gutfeld in these tunnels. The excavations were under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the first three seasons were in collaboration with C. R. Morgan of the Liberty Historical Society, Missouri.

EXCAVATION RESULTS

THE WESTERN TUNNEL. The western tunnel is located on the southern bank of Naḥal Secacah, where the riverbed is 2.5 m wide. It was dug into soft Senonian limestone. The brittle rock and the floods that have inundated the tunnel have eradicated all marks left during the cutting of the tunnel. The entrance is located c. 2.2 m above the riverbed (a difference in height that did not prevent the tunnel from flooding) and c. 160 m below the summit of Hyrcania.