Horbat Hazaza

Introduction
Description

[Horbat Hazaza] is located 2.5 km northeast of the Haluqim Junction near Kibbutz Sede Boqer (map ref. 183376/534142) and [is] situated on a low hilltop overlooking the modern Sede Boqer—Yeroham Road 204 on the west and Nahal Ha-Ro`a and Nahal Hazaz on the east. The site was established next to an ancient track linking the Oboda/Sede Boqer region with the Nabatean site of Mampsis in the Classical period.

Description and Excavations

[Horbat Hazaza], a site on a low hill on Mount Haluqim, at the confluence of the Nahal ha-Ro'a and Nahal Hazaz riverbeds (map reference 134.034), was surveyed in 1953 by E. Anati and again, in 1965, by the Southern Survey team, under R. Cohen. A salvage excavation was conducted here in 1971 by Cohen, on behalf of the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums. The excavations unearthed a structure built of ashlars (51 by 22 m), aligned northwest~southeast and comprising two attached wings: the main, northern wing (33 by 22m) and the southern wing (18 by 22m). Each had a separate entrance room leading to a central courtyard surrounded by rooms and halls. No communication was found between the two wings. Two levels of occupation were identified: an earlier level (stratum 2), from the first century CE, and an upper level (stratum 1), from the second to the fourth centuries CE

Maps and Plans
Maps and Plans

  • Location Map from Stern et. al. (1993 v.3)
  • Site Plan & Section from Erickson-Gini (2019)

Chronology
Phasing

Phase Start Date
Centuries CE
End Date
Centuries CE
Description
1 2nd half of 1st Early 2nd This phase is Nabataean and may be dated to the Early Roman period (prior to the Roman annexation in 106 CE), i.e., the second half of the first through the early second centuries CE.
2 Early 2nd 3rd Phase 2 commenced when the north wing was restored and expanded following earthquake damage in the early second century CE and corresponds with the second, post-annexation phase of occupation (post-106 CE). Domestic use of the courtyard (Room 30) appears to indicate that the structure ceased to function as a temple sometime during the second century CE. This phase extends primarily through the second and third centuries CE.
3 4th - mid 5th Phase 3 is represented by a minor amount of material in one corner of the courtyard (Room 30) as late as the Early Byzantine period (fourth to mid-fifth centuries CE).

Seismic Effects
Early 2nd century CE Earthquake

Maps and Plans

Maps and Plans

Erickson-Gini (2019) reports fallen arches in the South Wing:
The new evidence from the 2001 excavations at the site indicates that it was established in the mid-first century CE, during Nabatean rule over the area. The material discovered in the south wing, together with evidence of the fallen arches in Room 2, point to its destruction and subsequent abandonment of the south wing sometime in the early second century CE, after which it may have been stripped of its building stones. In contrast, the north wing was rebuilt and continued to be partially occupied well into the post-annexation period (Phase 2; second—third centuries CE) and early Byzantine period (Phase 3; fourth—mid-fifth centuries CE).

Intensity Estimates
Early 2nd century CE Earthquake

Effect Description Intensity
Fallen Arches South Wing VI +
The archeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VI (6) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

Notes and Further Reading
References