Site

Anati (1973): fig.26 over the 1966 aerial photography (courtesy of Harel Dan)
Past excavations: y= Ein el-Jarba excavation 1966

The Early Chalcolithic site of Ein el-Jarba

Ein el-Jarba is located on the eastern side of the north-south road through Hazorea, parallel to (and west of) the road 66 in the Jezreel valley. It is today just south of the Kibbutz Hazorea.

After mechanical excavation of a drainage channel uncovered archaeological remains, among those, the famous holemouth jar with anthropomorph or zoomorph applied decoration. Kaplan conducted in 1966 one season of excavation work at Ein al-Jarba (Kaplan 1969).

In 1979, a second drainage channel was mechanically excavated ca 75m west of the Kaplan excavation, uncovering again archaeological remains.

Kaplan (1969): 6, fig.3

Meyerhof (1982) conducted the salvage excavation in 1980, recording substantial architectural remains. Several other sites were uncovered in close proximity, like Tell Qiri (Baruch 1987), Hazorea (Anati 1971; Anati et al. 1973; Meyerhof 1988-89), Tell Zeriq (Oshri 2000) and Abu Zureiq (Garfinkel and Matskevich 2002), Mishmar HaEmek stratum V (Getzov and Barzilai 2011).

The ca. 65 m² large excavation area at Ein el-Jarba excavated by Kaplan in 1966 yielded four phases of Chalcolithic occupation with architectural remains (fig.2) as well as burials (Arensburg 1970). The stratigraphic accumulation between virgin soil and topsoil was only ca. 1 m (Kaplan 1969: 4). The target of this excavation project is to expand Kaplan’s excavation.

The Early Chalcolith in the closer environment

Anati (1973): fig.9

A surface collection survey by Anati (1973:29-40) yielded a considerable amount of Palaelithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze and Iron Age remains. The methodology of the survey has been scarcely published. However the  resulting survey map matches observations in the field today, as well as the excavation results of past excavations. Anati’s findings support my choice of square locations for the upcoming excavation.