Petura

INTRODUCTION

Petura is located along the Gaza–Hebron road, c. 2 km east of Tel ‘Erani (Qiryat Gat). The ancient name of the site remains unknown. It was first recorded by S. Lander. A survey on behalf of the Trans-Israel Highway was conducted by Y. Haimi. Excavations were conducted from 2002 to 2005 by the Israel Antiquities Authority under the direction of Y. Baumgarten, A. Gorzalczany, and A. Onn. The site today covers an area of nearly 4 a., roughly half of which had been excavated by 2005.

EXCAVATION RESULTS

THE POTTERY NEOLITHIC B PERIOD. Neolithic remains were found in area D, stratum 8. The size of the settlement during this period is unknown. While no building remains were encountered, flint artifacts, including sickle blades and arrowheads, and pottery, including bowls and burnished jars with painted brown/black geometric decoration, were recovered. A fragment of a female figurine, similar to ones known from Ḥorvat Minḥa and Sha‘ar ha-Golan, is white slipped with a dark brown or red painted decoration typical of the contemporary pottery of the southern area of the Land of Israel.

THE CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD. Chalcolithic remains were found in areas A, C, D, F, and G, over a total area of c. 250 sq m. In area C, halfway down the slope, a pottery vessel was found in situ in a small depression upon bedrock. Three strata (5, 6, and 7) were identified at the point where the bottom of the slope meets a terrace extending to the east. A number of walls running north–south and east–west were uncovered, indicating rectangular structures. In area F, remains of brick construction were found, with large open spaces between them, and two different types of installations. One type consists of a depression c. 20 cm in diameter, which underwent a structural change as a result of exposure to extremely high temperatures, attesting to metallurgical activity. Traces of copper were found within a small ceramic crucible. The other type of installation, dug into the ground in this open area, consisted of round ovens or furnaces. There were at least three of these, each c. 40–50 cm in diameter. Their sides were covered with clay that was fired during the course of their use. Flint artifacts characteristic of this period include sickle blades and flat scrapers. Pottery of the Chalcolithic phase at Petura has unique features, in particular, numerous incised decorations. Most of the vessels are slipped or painted in light cream, pink, or yellowish paint. Typical forms include bowls with bell-shaped profile. Unlike the Chalcolithic assemblages of the Beersheba basin, coronets and churns are few. The economy of the site also relied more heavily upon agriculture than at the Beersheba sites. Crafts included metalworking and pottery manufacture. The former necessitated trade for the acquisition of raw materials (ore or ingots).

THE EARLY BRONZE AGE I. Four strata (1–4) dating to the Early Bronze Age I were excavated, the latest of which, stratum 1, was also identified in a tomb at the top of the hill. There may be chronological continuity between the end of the Chalcolithic period and the Early Bronze Age I settlement, which covered an area of over 3 a. The three earliest strata, 2–4, share similar architecture. Large round buildings were constructed on the moderate slope in the western part of the low terrace. These buildings are constructed of thick stone walls, roughly 1 m wide. The diameter of the circles is up to 25 m. No entrances to these structures were found, nor were internal divisions or pillar bases that would support roofing; the structures appear to have been animal pens. A square 4-by-4-m dwelling was exposed near them.

In a later phase of the Early Bronze Age I (stratum 2, equivalent to Tel ‘Erani stratum C), the plan of the buildings changed. The circular structures disappeared and upon them were constructed rectangular, single-roomed buildings. These were exposed in areas A, C–G. Some buildings were constructed upon a slope, with the eastern, lower portions of the structure built on the ground surface while the western parts were cut into the hillside. The buildings are somewhat crowded together and sometimes abut one another. The inner faces of the walls were constructed of larger stones on the bottom and smaller ones towards the top. The interior corners of the building are rounded. Their roofing was supported by wooden beams placed upon stone bases. Building 2300, constructed at the high part of the settlement during this period, exhibits a different plan. It is rectangular and consists of two rooms. The larger, northern room is rectangular and contains a curved installation, probably a silo. Its roof was supported by two columns. The smaller room, on the southern side, has rectangular compartments, perhaps silos, along its southwestern wall.

The sickle blades retrieved are evidence that the economy of the Early Bronze Age I settlement was based upon agriculture. A copper axe-head was also found, as were mace heads similar to those found in the Kefar Monash hoard and at Tel ‘Erani. During the early phase, animals were apparently herded and kept in circular stone pens. In the later phase, these circular pens went out of use entirely and were replaced by rectangular domestic dwellings. Among the groundstone objects found in the excavation were bowls of basalt and phosphorite which, when broken, were turned into tournets for pottery manufacture. Mother-of-pearl shell was also found.

At the top of the hill (stratum 1) in area C, a burial cave was exposed. Entry to the cave descends via a covered 2-m-long natural (?) passageway in the soft limestone rock. The dimensions of the cave were c. 5 by 5 m. The final use of the cave was for mass burial. Over 10 individuals were interred within it, perhaps many for secondary burial. Some of the skeletons were articulated. Pottery from the cave includes a large number of globular juglets and jugs, with their clay stoppers still in place. This is the only tomb to have yielded pottery from the end of the Early Bronze Age I, during which there was no settlement at the site. Petura probably served as the cemetery of Tel ‘Erani in that period.

THE EARLY ROMAN PERIOD. There were two main construction phases during the Early Roman period. The earlier phase dates from the first century CE to the First Jewish Revolt (70 ce). The second dates from the beginning of the second century CE to the Second Jewish Revolt (132–135 ce). Most of the finds from both periods derive from area C at the top of the hill, where the remains of two buildings were encountered. Two olive-oil presses were found on the eastern slope of the site. It is uncertain whether these belong to the first or second phase.

From the first phase, an eastern row of rooms survived from the northern building, as did a mikveh in its southeastern corner. South of this building was a large finely constructed complex, 35 by 25 m, with an entrance to its southern wing on its eastern side. In the southeastern corner were several rooms surrounding an open courtyard. There were two mikvehs and a cistern within the building. East of it was a separate structure containing a mikveh that utilized rainwater collected from the roof. The mikvehs probably ceased to function as such following the First Jewish Revolt. East of the latter mikveh were two rows of storage rooms, one of which contained an olive-oil press.

During the second phase, the eastern rooms of the large southern complex were used as warehouses. In one of these was found a hoard of coins dated to the reign of Hadrian. In the western part of the complex was a room containing several plastered bathtub-shaped installations. A bronze incense shovel and part of a basalt grinding stone were found to its southwest. In this area were also revealed several plastered, rock-cut water channels. To its north were uncovered the stone foundations of a tower and possible remains of a road.

THE BYZANTINE PERIOD. During the Byzantine period an agricultural estate or possibly a monastery was constructed in the southern part of the site.

YA’AQOV BAUMGARTEN, AMIR GORZALCZANY, ALEXANDER ONN

INTRODUCTION

Petura is located along the Gaza–Hebron road, c. 2 km east of Tel ‘Erani (Qiryat Gat). The ancient name of the site remains unknown. It was first recorded by S. Lander. A survey on behalf of the Trans-Israel Highway was conducted by Y. Haimi. Excavations were conducted from 2002 to 2005 by the Israel Antiquities Authority under the direction of Y. Baumgarten, A. Gorzalczany, and A. Onn. The site today covers an area of nearly 4 a., roughly half of which had been excavated by 2005.

EXCAVATION RESULTS

THE POTTERY NEOLITHIC B PERIOD. Neolithic remains were found in area D, stratum 8. The size of the settlement during this period is unknown. While no building remains were encountered, flint artifacts, including sickle blades and arrowheads, and pottery, including bowls and burnished jars with painted brown/black geometric decoration, were recovered. A fragment of a female figurine, similar to ones known from Ḥorvat Minḥa and Sha‘ar ha-Golan, is white slipped with a dark brown or red painted decoration typical of the contemporary pottery of the southern area of the Land of Israel.