1,200-old rural estate discovered in the Negev
A 1,200-year-old luxurious rural estate, the first of its kind in the Negev, was exposed in the archaeological excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) prior to the expansion of the Bedouin town of Rahat.
The exposed site. (Yoli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority)
The archaeologists were surprised to find a unique vaulted complex overlying a three-meter-deep rock-hewn water cistern in the construction area.
The building, dated to the Early Islamic period in 8th-9th centuries CE, was constructed around a central courtyard, and was comprised of four wings with rooms.
One wing consisted of a hall paved with a marble and stone floor and walls decorated with frescoes, wall paintings on damp plaster. The extant small fresco fragments were finely colored in red, yellow, blue, and black.
Other rooms in the building had plaster floors, some with very large ovens, probably for cooking. Fragments of delicate decorated glass serving dishes were also exposed at the site.
Oren Shmueli, Dr. Elena Kogan-Zehavi, and Dr. Noé Michael, the directors of the IAA excavations, said that “this is a unique discovery unknown until today. We were surprised to discover a complex of stone-built vaults at a depth of 5.5 m below the courtyard, standing to a height of 2.5 m. The vaults were carefully constructed, and they probably led into additional underground complexes that have not yet been uncovered.”
Their biggest surprise was the discovery of an opening below the vaulted rooms that led into a deep rock-hewn cistern. It seems that the stone-built underground vaults were built as storerooms to store foodstuffs at fairly cool temperatures, and the supporting vaulted structures enabled the residents to move around underground safely and comfortably, to protect themselves from the scorching summer heat, and drink cool water from the adjacent cistern.
The clay oil lamp sherds retrieved on the vault floors were used for lighting the dark rooms, providing evidence of the residents’ activity there.
The luxurious estate and the unique impressive underground vaults are evidence of the owners’ financial means, they said. Their high status and wealth allowed them to build a luxurious mansion that served as a residence and for entertaining.
“We can study the construction methods and architectural styles, as well as learn about daily life in the Negev at the beginning of Islamic rule,” said the excavation directors.
The estate was uncovered in an area located between two ancient mosques, perhaps among the earliest ever discovered.
TPS
