Khalet al-Jam’a. A Middle Bronze and Iron Age necropolis near Bethlehem (Palestine)

During Spring 2013, the MOTA-DACH Office of Bethlehem was informed of the retrieval of a tomb during the construction of an industrial area roughly 2.2 Km south-east of the Basilica of the Nativity on the Hindaza hill slope called Khalet al-Jam’a. Palestinian archaeologists recovered a number of items identifying there a multi-period necropolis. The site was the object of a rescue excavation in the following Spring 2014. Eleven tombs and their fittings were rescued and recovered in the MOTA storerooms. In May 2015, a joint Italian-Palestinian team preliminary surveyed the necropolis and recorded its finds, planning a future systematic exploration. At a provisional exam, KJ necropolis was in use during Intermediate Bronze Age (EB IV), Middle Bronze Age and, successively, through the whole Iron Age

Khalet al-Jam’a. A Bronze and Iron Ages necropolis near Bethlehem (Palestine): results of the 2019 archaeological excavations

In Spring 2019 the Italian-Palestinian joint team of Sapienza University of Rome and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Palestine Dept. of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage resumed rescue excavations at the Necropolis of Khalet al-Jam’a, 2.2 Km south-east from the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. Works were focused on Tomb A7, identified in 2015, a huge underground burial place, dating back to the Iron IIC (8th-7th century BC), but also including earlier depositions dating from the EB IVB-MB. This suggests that an original EBIV tomb was modified and re-used in the following Middle Bronze and Iron Age. A provisional report of activities and finds is offered below

New archaeological features in Bethlehem (Palestine):the Italian-Palestinian rescue season of November 2016

During Autumn 2016 the Italian-Palestinian joint team of Sapienza University of Rome and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Palestine carried out further rescue excavations and surveying in the city of Bethlehem and in its surroundings. These activities were conducted in order to protect the archaeological and historical patrimony of this area of Palestine, and to prevent looting, sites destruction, vandalism and illegal trade of archaeological items. A provisional report on finds and activities is offered below

Bethlehem. Rescue excavations 2015–2020 by Sapienza University of Rome and the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities

Sapienza University of Rome and the Palestinian MoTA-DACH have been carrying on several campaigns for the protection of the archaeological heritage in the urban area of Bethlehem since 2015. A large necropolis with tombs dating from the Early Bronze IV, the Middle Bronze Age, and the Iron Age II was discovered and excavated at Khalet al-Jam’a. Rescue interventions involved other cemeteries, such as that of Jebel Dhaher, Bardhaa, and Hindaza, with similar chronological ranges. The overall results provide important insights into the history of Bethlehem during the pre-classical periods and, perhaps even more significantly, has allowed, at those locations, the PNA to manage heritage while promoting a sustainable development notwithstanding the grave constraints imposed from the outside