The rise and fall of viticulture in the Late Antique Negev Highlands reconstructed from archaeobotanical and ceramic data.

The international scope of the Mediterranean wine trade in Late Antiquity raises important questions concerning sustainability in an ancient international economy and offers a valuable historical precedent to modern globalization. Such questions involve the role of intercontinental commerce in maintaining sustainable production within important supply regions and the vulnerability of peripheral regions believed to have been especially sensitive to environmental and political disturbances. We provide archaeobotanical evidence from trash mounds at three sites in the central Negev Desert, Israel, unraveling the rise and fall of viticulture over the second to eighth centuries of the common era (CE). Using quantitative ceramic data obtained in the same archaeological contexts, we further investigate connections between Negev viticulture and circum-Mediterranean trade. Our findings demonstrate interrelated growth in viticulture and involvement in Mediterranean trade reaching what appears to be a commercial scale in the fourth to mid-sixth centuries. Following a mid-sixth century peak, decline of this system is evident in the mid- to late sixth century, nearly a century before the Islamic conquest. These findings closely correspond with other archaeological evidence for social, economic, and urban growth in the fourth century and decline centered on the mid-sixth century. Contracting markets were a likely proximate cause for the decline; possible triggers include climate change, plague, and wider sociopolitical developments. In long-term historical perspective, the unprecedented commercial florescence of the Late Antique Negev appears to have been unsustainable, reverting to an age-old pattern of smaller-scale settlement and survival-subsistence strategies within a time frame of about two centuries

Al-Lajjun: a Social and geographic account of a Palestinian Village during the British Mandate Period

This paper provides a social and geographic account of al-Lajjun (Jenin Sub-district), a prominent Palestinian village during the British Mandate period (1918–1948). It portrays a countryside in renewal, encapsulated in the story of Umm al-Fahm’s expansion and Lajjun’s resettlement. In contrast to existing scholarship, the present work contextualizes the site within the wider diachronic, longue durée, history of the region, and the synchronous, shifting pattern of settlements in Marj ibn ‘Amir (Jezreel Valley), Bilad al-Ruha (Ramot Menashe), and Wadi ‘Ara (Nahal ‘Iron). It focuses on the development of the physical outlines of the (re)new(ed) village, with the development of three “Lajjuns” reflecting its founders’ Hebronite/Khalīlī patterns of settlement. Furthermore, it explores Lajjun’s diversified economy and its metamorphosis from a derelict hamlet into a hub of utilities and transportation infrastructure of regional importance under the British Mandate of Palestine (1920–1948)

Lajjun: Forgotten Provincial Capital in Ottoman Palestine

During the 16th century CE, the town of al-Lajjun in the Marj ibn ‘Amir (the Jezreel Valley), served as one of Ottoman Palestine’s provincial capitals under the administration of the Turabay Dynasty (1517–1688 CE), and was an important centre on the imperial highway between Damascus and Cairo. However, the town of this period has never been the subject of historical investigation. This paper seeks to bring together, assess and synthesize, rarely accessed Arabic and Ottoman Turkish sources, along with oral histories and an archaeological survey, to provide the first comprehensive historical account of Turabay al-Lajjun and it its ultimate demise in the 19th century CE

L'Humanité : früher die Neue Welt : deutschsprachiges Organ der Kommunistischen Partei (SFIC)

26 septembre 19251925/09/26 (N224).Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : Alsace

A Roman Military Funerary Inscription from the Legionary Base of the VI Ferrata at Legio, Israel

A complete Latin funerary inscription was found during an infrastructure development excavation near the legionary base of the Legio VI Ferrata at Legio. This funerary epitaph for a miles of the VIth Legion is the only complete inscription of its kind from Legio and, therefore, is an important contribution to the history of the legion during its tenure in Syria-Palaestina. In the epigraphic study of the inscription, a specific set of metrological characteristics were identified that have previously only been documented in formal imperial inscriptions. This raises questions about the availability of high-level lapidaries to ordinary soldiers in the context of their service. A review of the existing inscriptions attesting legionaries of Legio VI Ferrata is further provided to contextualize the epitaph

Data from: A glimpse of an ancient agricultural ecosystem based on remains of micromammals in the Byzantine Negev Desert

It is widely believed that Byzantine agriculture in the Negev Desert (4th–7th cent. CE), with widespread construction of terraces and dams, altered local landscapes. However, no direct evidence in archaeological sites yet exists to test this assumption. We uncovered large amounts of small mammalian remains (rodents and insectivores) within agricultural installations built near fields, providing a new line of evidence for reconstructing anthropogenic impact on local habitats. Abandonment layers furnished high abundances of remains, whereas much smaller numbers were retrieved from the period of human use of the structures. Digestion marks are present in low frequencies (20% of long bones and teeth), with a light degree of impact, which indicate the role of owls (e.g., Tyto alba) as the principal means of accumulation. The most common taxa—gerbils (Gerbillus spp.) and jirds (Meriones spp.)—occur in nearly equal frequencies, which do not correspond with any modern Negev communities, where gerbils predominate in sandy low-precipitation environments and jirds in loessial, higher-precipitation ones. Though low-level climate change cannot be ruled out, the results suggest that Byzantine agriculture allowed jirds to colonize sandy anthropogenic habitats with other gerbilids and commensal mice and rats

Visible induced luminescence reveals invisible rays shining from Christ in the early Christian wall painting of the Transfiguration in Shivta

<div><p>The Transfiguration scene depicted in a Byzantine church at Shivta, Israel, is one of two figurative examples of the scene from the early Christian period. The use of Egyptian blue pigment in the wall painting was investigated with various analytical methods. Visible Induced Luminescence (VIL) imaging was used <i>in-situ</i> in order to map the distribution of the Egyptian blue pigment in the painting. The VIL imaging revealed surprising insights into the understanding of the iconography and the technology of this rare painting. Previously undetected elements of the painting include rays of light that were discovered emerging from the body of Christ and illuminating the other figures in the painting. Although this motif is an important part of the Transfiguration narrative and appears in most of its scenes depicted elsewhere, it had not been previously identified in this painting as it was undetectable by any other inspection technique. Another important result is the identification of Egyptian blue as a common blue pigment used at Shivta during the Byzantine period, when it is considered to be very rare.</p></div

Superimposed image of the southern apse.

<p>This image shows a photograph of the entire painting combined with the VIL image with emphasized digital reconstruction of the outlines of the figures and the motifs. This combined image shows for the first time the invisible and visible details together and reveals the original composition of the scene (Photo: R. Linn, 2016).</p

Instrumental analysis results.

<p>a: Micrograph of a cross-section of sample Sh-3 that was taken from the back of John, showing the Egyptian blue particles as a lower paint layer below two other paint layers–yellow in the middle and pink as the upper paint layer. This area looks pink to the observer (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185149#pone.0185149.g003" target="_blank">Fig 3D</a>) (Photo: R. Linn, 2016). b: Raman spectrum of Egyptian blue with peaks at 431, 573, 788 and 1089 cm^-1.</p