Lost and found: 66B, A Late Chalcolithic site in the northern Negev, Israel and its material culture

The Late Chalcolithic site 66B is located in the northern Negev on the eastern bank of Nahal Besor about 30 km west of some of the renown Late Chalcolithic sites of the Beer Sheva basin. While the site is known for nearly 90 years, discovered by E. Macdonald, revisited by F. Burian and E. Friedman and finally incorporated into the Urim Map by D. Gazit, so far only little is known about it and its material culture. The current paper summarizes the published information regarding the site and focuses on a descriptive account of the finds collected from the site by Burian and Friedman during their surveys in the southern Coastal Plain and northern Negev. The finds suggest that the main occupation at the site (its size and characteristics are yet unknown) should be attributed to the Late Chalcolithic period, while minor components reflect an earlier presence at the site during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and Middle Chalcolithic (Qatifian/Besorian) periods and the later Early Bronze Age period.