Salvage Excavation Reports

No. 5Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology Tel Aviv University

E m e r y a n d C l a i r e Y a s s P u b l i c a t i o n s i n A r c h a e o l o g y

P.O.B. 39040, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel

5

Salv

age Excavatio

n R

eports

TEL AVIV - 2008

RAMLA (SOUTH)AN EARLY ISLAMIC INDUSTRIAL SITEAND REMAINS OF PREVIOUS PERIODS

Oren Tal and Itamar Taxel

Contributions by:N. Amitai-Preiss, I. C. Freestone, R. E. Jackson-Tal,

I. Samet, R. Shimelmitz, D. Sweeney, A.Yasur-Landau

Salvage Excavation ReportsSonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology Tel Aviv University

No. 5

Published by the Emery and Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology(Bequeathed by the Yass Estate, Sydney, Australia)of the Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University

Editors Moshe Fischer Ze’ev Herzog

Assistant Editor Na‘ama Scheftelowitz

Manuscript & Production Editor Shirley Gassner

ISSN 1565-5407

©

Copyright 2008

All rights reserved

Printed in Israel by Top Print

CONTENTS

Foreword 5Chapter 1 THE SITE AND ITS EXCAVATION HISTORY 7

Oren Tal and Itamar Taxel

Chapter 2 THE MIDDLE BRONZE AGE 16 STRATIGRAPHY AND POTTERY 16 Assaf Yasur-Landau and Inbal Samet A SCARAB STAMPED IMPRESSION 27 Deborah Sweeney FLINT TOOLS 29 Ron ShimelmitzAPPENDIX I: A NOTE ON THREE IRON AGE I(?) VESSELS 32 Assaf Yasur-Landau

Chapter 3 THE PERSIAN, LATE HELLENISTIC AND EARLY ROMANPERIODS

33

Oren Tal and Itamar Taxel

Chapter 4 THE LATE ROMAN AND EARLY BYZANTINE PERIODS 40Oren Tal and Itamar Taxel

Chapter 5 THE LATE BYZANTINE AND EARLY UMAYYAD PERIODS 47Oren Tal and Itamar TaxelARCHITECTURAL FEATURES 47 DOMESTIC COMPLEX 47 OIL PRESS COMPLEX 53 WINE PRESSES 59 POTTERY KILNS 63A SECONDARY GLASS WORKSHOP 66Oren Tal, Ruth E. Jackson-Tal and Ian C. FreestoneADDITIONAL BYZANTINE POTTERY 76Oren Tal and Itamar TaxelSUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 78Oren Tal and Itamar Taxel

Chapter 6 THE LATE UMAYYAD, >ABBASID AND FATIMID PERIODS 81Oren Tal and Itamar TaxelARCHITECTURAL FEATURES 84 CISTERNS 84 PIPES AND CHANNELS 90 POOLS 100 SUBTERRANEAN VAULTED CHAMBERS 111 PAVED WORKING SURFACES 115 REFUSE PIT 122 INDUSTRY 123FINDS 125

Oren Tal and Itamar Taxel POTTERY: TYPOLOGICAL DISCUSSION 125 SELECTED LOCI 160 GLASS VESSELS 166 Ruth E. Jackson-Tal STONE OBJECTS 185 METAL OBJECTS 197 BONE ARTEFACTS AND SHELLS 203

EARLY ISLAMIC WEIGHTS 205 Oren Tal

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 210Oren Tal and Itamar Taxel

Chapter 7 NUMISMATIC FINDS 214PRE-ISLAMIC COINS 214Oren TalISLAMIC COINS 219Nitzan Amitai-Preiss

Historical Sources 223References 223List of Loci 239List of Walls 254List of Pottery and Glass Finds 257General Site Plan of the 2005-2006 Seasons Back Pocket