Salvage excavations were conducted in the summer of 2017 on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, opposite Nissim Aloni Street no. 2, less than 35 m southeast of the Late Chalcolithic site at Namir Road, Tel Aviv. The latter site was extensively excavated in 2005 and 2010. The present excavation clearly shows that the Nissim Aloni site is part of that same site. While structural settlement remains are absent at Nissim Aloni Street, 45 vertical, narrow and deep, cylindrical shafts and 19 circular pits were identified and excavated. As such, the present site constitutes the southeast continuation of Namir Road, Area 2, the latter also characterized by the almost mere presence of shafts and pits. Excluding few Epipaleolithic or Upper Paleolithic flints artifacts, all the anthropogenic materials deriving from their fills at both localities date to the Late Chalcolithic period. The construction method and likely function of the shafts has recently been discussed elsewhere, the final conclusion being that at least some of these were artesian water wells. In addition to the shafts and circular pits, three bell-shaped cavities and a subterranean storage chamber were uncovered, the latter reminiscent of similar subterranean spaces present at some of the Late Chalcolithic Beersheva sites. Below we present the final report of this rescue excavation, concluding that Nissim Aloni and Namir Road are part of one and the same Late Chalcolithic settlement site and its adjacent, exploited groundwater zone.
Additional Late Chalcolithic shafts and pits east of Namir Road, Tel Aviv
Rivka Chasan;
2021-01-01
Abstract
Salvage excavations were conducted in the summer of 2017 on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, opposite Nissim Aloni Street no. 2, less than 35 m southeast of the Late Chalcolithic site at Namir Road, Tel Aviv. The latter site was extensively excavated in 2005 and 2010. The present excavation clearly shows that the Nissim Aloni site is part of that same site. While structural settlement remains are absent at Nissim Aloni Street, 45 vertical, narrow and deep, cylindrical shafts and 19 circular pits were identified and excavated. As such, the present site constitutes the southeast continuation of Namir Road, Area 2, the latter also characterized by the almost mere presence of shafts and pits. Excluding few Epipaleolithic or Upper Paleolithic flints artifacts, all the anthropogenic materials deriving from their fills at both localities date to the Late Chalcolithic period. The construction method and likely function of the shafts has recently been discussed elsewhere, the final conclusion being that at least some of these were artesian water wells. In addition to the shafts and circular pits, three bell-shaped cavities and a subterranean storage chamber were uncovered, the latter reminiscent of similar subterranean spaces present at some of the Late Chalcolithic Beersheva sites. Below we present the final report of this rescue excavation, concluding that Nissim Aloni and Namir Road are part of one and the same Late Chalcolithic settlement site and its adjacent, exploited groundwater zone.
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