Ein el-Jarba Excavation Project: Exploring an Early Chalcolithic Settlement in the Southern Levant

Ein el-Jarba (Israel), located ca. 20 km south-east of Haifa in the Jezreel Valley, is an Early Chalcolithic settlement of the Wadi Rabah culture, dating to the 6^th millennium BC. From 2013 to 2016, five seasons of excavation were conducted at the site on behalf of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, funded by a research grant of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation (Az. 10.14.2.048). The site yielded major occupation levels from the Early Chalcolithic (6^th millennium BC), the Early Bronze Age (4^th millennium BC) and the Hellenistic period (4^th–3^rd centuries BC).

The dominant strata of the site, and focus of this project, were the remains of the Early Chalcolithic Wadi Rabah culture. Rectilinear architecture with floors and working surfaces, a rich ceramic, flint and ground stone assemblage, as well as figurative objects were uncovered. Adult and infant burials were found between these remains, most of them probably interred a short time after the abandonment of the settlement. Further, evidence for an intensive long-distance trade with Anatolia, the northern Levant and northern Mesopotamia is evident in imported goods such as obsidian and single sherds of Halaf ware. The excavation is now in its publication phase, and the final report of the project is being prepared.