Maẓad, Ḥorvat

INTRODUCTION

Ḥorvat Maẓad (Khirbet el-Qasr, Khirbet el-Kusr) is situated on a hilltop overlooking Wadi Alaqa, about 530 m above sea level, on either side of the Roman road between Abu Ghosh and Emmaus. A fragmented inscribed milestone was found in situ at the site, which is eminently suitable for a way station, lying as it does in a prominent place with excellent views to the east and west. C. R. Conder and H. H. Kitchener first noted its connection with the Roman road in the late 1880s, and C. Clermont-Ganneau also made mention of it. The site and its surroundings attracted the scientific interest of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology at Jerusalem, which organized several surveys there. A. E. Mader as well as C. Kuhl and W. Meinhold present descriptions of the ruins and the traces of the ancient road, including milestones in the area. During the British Mandatory period, Ḥorvat Maẓad was inspected several times by archaeologists of the Department of Antiquities. In 1972, M. Gichon included the site in the research program of the Israel Milestone Committee. Three seasons of excavations (1977, 1978, 1980), followed by shorter campaigns of soundings and surveys (1984, 1998), were directed by M. Fischer on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology and the Department of Classics, Tel Aviv University. Excavations were carried out in five areas: areas A, B, D, and E in the northern part of the site; and area C in the southern. Seven layers of settlement were recorded.

EXCAVATION RESULTS

STRATUM VII: THE EARLIEST OCCUPATIONS. The earliest remains were cuttings in the bedrock (mainly in area D) containing pottery and stone implements from the Early Bronze Age I and the Iron Age II up to the Persian period. Surface finds and objects in secondary use included a scarab and a “Judean” stone weight from the eighth–seventh centuries BCE.

STRATUM VI: THE HELLENISTIC/HASMONEAN PERIOD. The remains of a watchtower complex extending over 200 sq m is attributed to stratum VI, dating to the second–first centuries BCE. The main part of the complex lies under the foundations of the Byzantine fort (stratum III). The watchtower consists of four rooms with similar measurements (c. 3 by 3 m). The entrance was in the east, where a sort of forecourt was created by an extension of the northern and southern walls of the main building. Uncovered inside was the foundation of a staircase or the base of a ladder that probably gave access to a flat roof. The foundation courses of the walls are of dry masonry, 80–100 cm thick and built on bedrock. The roughly cut blocks measure on average 80 by 40 by 40 cm. The upper courses of the walls were probably built of partially bossed ashlars, as such stones were found reused in both the Early Roman (Herodian) and Byzantine structures. The pottery of this phase is paralleled at other Late Hellenistic and Hasmonean sites, but lacks the usual imported ware. The coins confirm the dating, since more than 50 percent of them belong to the period of Alexander Jannaeus, 13 of which are lead coins that can be linked to various events in his reign. Therefore, the stratum VI watchtower on the road to Jerusalem can be dated to the reign of Alexander Jannaeus, and was probably abandoned in the period between his death and the reign of Herod the Great.

STRATUM V: THE EARLY ROMAN PERIOD. The Early Roman or Herodian period is represented by the remains of a large, fortified way station and adjacent buildings. Substantial parts of the structure were attached to the remains of the older watchtower. It is difficult to ascertain whether the watchtower was still in use in this period, as the Byzantine fort would later be built on top of it, destroying the connection between the watchtower and the Early Roman building. It is, however, not at all uncommon in Palestine and elsewhere to find structures attached to older watchtowers in Hellenistic and Early Roman architecture.

In the western part of the complex (area B), the rooms were built against the outer wall of the complex and arranged around the courtyard in which the older watchtower stood. The outer wall, about 1.30 m thick, incorporated stones in secondary use. The rooms measure on average 5 by 2.50 m and their walls are about 60–70 cm thick, with signs of later reinforcements and repair. Small plastered silos, remains of ovens, fragments of tools such as basalt mills, and great quantities of pottery and coins indicate that the area was used intensively during the first century CE up to the events of the First Jewish Revolt, which appears to mark the end of this phase. A bronze scale found in one of the rooms would seem to strengthen the proposal that the site functioned as a way station.

In the eastern part of the complex (area A), earlier walls were dismantled and a large area was filled in with older material and pebbles to form a courtyard. Fireplaces and vessels resting in depressions in the floor indicate that the area was used for cooking and storage. A water installation, 3.5 m square and 2.24 m deep, with seven steps was cut into the bedrock against the eastern wall. A “Herodian” oil lamp was found in one of the cracks of its walls. It is possible that this installation served as a ritual bath (mikveh).

In area C (c. 25 m south of the main complex), a rock-cut water cistern was uncovered below buildings of the Early Islamic period. The water ran into the cistern through openings in the ceiling and was drawn through a doorway in the eastern wall. Farther south, a large quarry was discovered; it has been dated to the Early Roman and Byzantine periods on the basis of surface finds.

Stratum V produced great quantities of pottery dating to late in the Herodian period (first century ce), a date confirmed by the numismatic finds, which include coins of Herod the Great, procurators, Herod Agrippa, and the second and third years of the First Revolt, after which the site was abandoned.

STRATUM IV: THE LATE ROMAN PERIOD. Ḥorvat Maẓad was not rebuilt until the Byzantine period, although a few items from the intervening centuries are worthy of mention. Activity at the site during these years is reflected in pottery and coins found in the debris covering the Herodian/Early Roman way station. The pottery includes a fragment of an oil lamp with the name of the Roman potter Fortis, known from several military complexes throughout the empire during the late first century CE. A coin from Ashkelon dating to the year 76/77 CE has the countermark of Legio X Fretensis. These objects were probably lost by Roman soldiers patrolling the road, which continued in active use during the period when the site was unoccupied. The clearest testimony of this is an inscribed milestone dated to 162 CE, found among the rubble of the Byzantine fort where it was reused as a building stone. By this period the way station at the site had been superseded by the installations at Abu Ghosh.

STRATUM III: THE BYZANTINE PERIOD. In the Byzantine period, the site was reoccupied when a fort was built upon the earlier remains. Access to it from the road was through a door in its southeastern corner. The fort is rectangular in shape, c. 11 by 7 m, and its walls are about 80–90 cm thick. The outer face of the walls was built almost exclusively of fine ashlars with a smooth boss. Unlike the older stones with a protruding boss found in secondary use in various spots, these ashlars were apparently all newly cut for the Byzantine building, having originated from the quarry about 100 m south of the hill. Another characteristic feature of the masonry in this stratum is the use of stones arranged along the width of the wall at intervals of 2–3 m—the diatonoi, noted by Vitruvius as precepts for ashlar construction. The building can be reconstructed as a rectangle divided into two parts: the front part had a flat roof for observation as well as everyday use, while the rear was vaulted.

The Byzantine ceramic material was modest in quantity and Late Roman ware is rare. A number of coins of Anastasius I (491–518 ce) and Justinian (527–565 ce) suggest that the building was in use or even constructed in the sixth century CE. Literary evidence attests to the use of this road by pilgrims early in the sixth century CE. Thus, the building appears to have been a Byzantine way station used sporadically by the army, which policed the roads to Jerusalem for the benefit of the Christian pilgrims.

STRATUM II: THE EARLY ISLAMIC PERIOD. The Byzantine fort and installations remained in use for some time during the Early Islamic period, with minor alterations made in and around the building. Thin partition walls were added and a tabun was constructed on the Byzantine floor level. The eastern part of the complex was later used exclusively as a cemetery. Twenty-two tombs of the cemetery were uncovered, all inhumation burials with the bodies oriented to the west and facing south, to Mecca. Two graves contained Umayyad coins.

The main area of the site during this time was to the south of the road (area C). The surface above the ancient cistern in this area was partly covered with structures, one of which is an elaborate building. At least one of the two openings in the ceiling of the cistern had been sealed and part of the cistern itself was probably used either as a dwelling space or perhaps for animals. The elaborate building contains an entrance hall with plastered seats along the walls and two main aisles arranged on the eastern and western sides of an elongated courtyard. It was constructed of both reused ashlars and smaller stones bonded with mortar. The seats of the entrance hall were built of bonded pebbles covered with mortar and plaster. Although the eastern side is better preserved than the western, reconstruction of the complex indicates a rather symmetrical layout. A number of elements would seem to suggest that this building was a khan, a type of way-station structure well known in the Early Islamic period. These include its plan, with its entrance room, courtyard, and adjacent rooms; and its location along a main road at the site of an ancient way station.

Pottery from this period was found throughout the area, including types from the seventh–eighth centuries CE. The numismatic material consists of reused and imitation Byzantine coins from the second half of the seventh century CE (“transitional period”) and Umayyad coins from the period following the monetary reform (late seventh and eighth centuries ce).

STRATUM I: THE MAMELUKE–OTTOMAN PERIODS. The Crusader period is not represented at Ḥorvat Maẓad, proving again that the Crusaders preferred to use alternative routes when traveling to Jerusalem. From the Mameluke period, a few architectural remains, pottery, and coins indicate that the site was used as a rest stop on the road. Sporadic use of the site in this manner can also be seen in the Ottoman period. A few sherds, mainly of clay pipes, and coins point to use of the area up to modern times.

SUMMARY

The earliest building activity at Ḥorvat Maẓad can be attributed to the reign of Alexander Jannaeus, most probably to the second phase (90–86 BCE). The discovery of lead coins at the site seems to reflect the political crisis during the king’s reign. The Abu Ghosh–Emmaus route became, under Alexander Jannaeus, a strategic alternative for a secure road to the Jewish harbor of Jaffa.

Following abandonment sometime after Alexander Jannaeus, a relatively elaborate structure was erected during the reign of Herod the Great, at the earliest. According to the numismatic evidence, the inhabitants of Ḥorvat Maẓad apparently abandoned the site in the spring of 68 CE, when Vespasian arrived at Emmaus. In 70 CE, Titus ordered the Fifth and Tenth Legions to join him from Emmaus and Jericho. Although Josephus does not explicitly describe how the legions ascended to Jerusalem, it seems most likely that they used the Emmaus–Maẓad–Abu Ghosh–Biddu option, rather than the dangerous Beth Horon road.

As with other sites abandoned in the course of the Jewish War, particularly the small villages and way stations, Ḥorvat Maẓad long remained unoccupied, and was only reconstructed in the Byzantine period. Building activity at Ḥorvat Maẓad was renewed in that period as a result of official imperial promulgations from the fourth century CE onward declaring the Land of Israel as the Holy Land, with Jerusalem as the main focus of Christian pilgrimage. The Byzantine occupation provides evidence of road organization at a time when milestones were no longer set up.

Architectural and archaeological evidence indicates that occupation of Ḥorvat Maẓad during the Early Islamic period, mainly as a khan, was limited to the Umayyad period and the transition to the Abbasid period. This may be reflected in the policy of the Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Malik (685–705 ce) to repair and maintain the old roads of Palestine, including those leading to Jerusalem.

MOSHE FISCHER

INTRODUCTION

Ḥorvat Maẓad (Khirbet el-Qasr, Khirbet el-Kusr) is situated on a hilltop overlooking Wadi Alaqa, about 530 m above sea level, on either side of the Roman road between Abu Ghosh and Emmaus. A fragmented inscribed milestone was found in situ at the site, which is eminently suitable for a way station, lying as it does in a prominent place with excellent views to the east and west. C. R. Conder and H. H. Kitchener first noted its connection with the Roman road in the late 1880s, and C. Clermont-Ganneau also made mention of it. The site and its surroundings attracted the scientific interest of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology at Jerusalem, which organized several surveys there. A. E. Mader as well as C. Kuhl and W. Meinhold present descriptions of the ruins and the traces of the ancient road, including milestones in the area. During the British Mandatory period, Ḥorvat Maẓad was inspected several times by archaeologists of the Department of Antiquities. In 1972, M. Gichon included the site in the research program of the Israel Milestone Committee. Three seasons of excavations (1977, 1978, 1980), followed by shorter campaigns of soundings and surveys (1984, 1998), were directed by M. Fischer on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology and the Department of Classics, Tel Aviv University. Excavations were carried out in five areas: areas A, B, D, and E in the northern part of the site; and area C in the southern. Seven layers of settlement were recorded.

EXCAVATION RESULTS

STRATUM VII: THE EARLIEST OCCUPATIONS. The earliest remains were cuttings in the bedrock (mainly in area D) containing pottery and stone implements from the Early Bronze Age I and the Iron Age II up to the Persian period. Surface finds and objects in secondary use included a scarab and a “Judean” stone weight from the eighth–seventh centuries BCE.