Ein el-Jarba (Israel) is an Early Chalcolithic settlement dating to the 6th millennium BC. Excavations conducted between 2013 and 2016 uncovered domestic architecture, burials, a rich assemblage of ceramic and lithic industry of the Wadi Rabah culture. Imported items such as obsidian and sherds of Halaf ware attest to a network of transregional connections of the site.

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 6th 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 (6th millennium BC), the Early Bronze Age (4th millennium BC) and the Hellenistic period (4th–3rd 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.

Publications

  • K. Streit, The 6th Millennium Cal. BCE Wadi Rabah Culture: Further Excavations at Ein el-Jarba in the Jezreel Valley, Israel (2015–2016), Strata. Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society 34, 2016, 13–40.
  • K. Streit, The Near East before Borders Recent Excavations at Ein el-Jarba (Israel) and the Cultural Interactions of the Sixth Millennium cal. B.C.E., Near Eastern Archaeology 79 (4), 2016, 236–245.
  • K. Streit, Exploring the Wadi Rabah Culture of the 6th millennium cal BC: Renewed Excavations at Ein el-Jarba in the Jezreel Valley, Israel (2013–2015), Strata. Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society 33, 2015, 13–36.
  • K. Streit, Interregional Contacts in the 6th millennium BC: Tracing Foreign Influences in the Holemouth Jar from Ein el-Jarba, Israel, Levant 47 (3), 2015, 255–266.

 

 

Projektleitung
Collaborations
Duration

03/2013–06/2021

Funding
  • Fritz Thyssen Foundation (Az. 10.14.2.048)
  • Ruth Amiran Fund – Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem