This study investigates the diet of copper miners at Naḥal ‘Amram (southern Negev Desert), through the examination of the well-preserved remains of plants, mammal and fish bones, dating to the Roman-Byzantine periods (1st–5th centuries CE), recovered during excavations undertaken in three different localities at this mining complex.

Our analyses revealed that the miners enjoyed a varied and nutritious diet, comprising nine species of fruits and vegetables, alongside meat from two domestic animal taxa and representatives of eight different families of fish. While the fish and animal foods were brought to the mines from the Red Sea and neighboring regions, the vegetal food originated from a variety of different sources, some nearby, others quite distant.

We suggest that since copper was traded from Naḥal ‘Amram, the foods arrived at the mines via the same trade routes, from settlements along the ‘Arabah, and these foodstuffs were likely bartered in exchange for copper. The results imply that the people engaged in copper mining were likely a local desert population, Nabataeans, supplementing their food needs from external sources and so enjoying improved nutritional status.

Beyond its findings, the importance of this study lies in the combination of several disciplines, a methodology which can be useful for future research and provide a more reliable understanding of reconstructing the ancient diet.

The Negev desert, the southern half of Israel, is an arid-to-hyper-arid region. Despite that, some 13,000 ancient sites have been recorded here to date, and many were excavated. One characteristic of the Negev (as well as of other deserts) is the abundance of prehistoric and early historic cult sites, dated ca. 8000–2000 BCE. Another is the many ancient roads. The roads, the main types of cult sites and the connection between them are described and discussed in the following sections.

Recent excavations at Naḥal ‘Amram, a Nabataean copper mining center in the Arabah valley, Israel, unearthed for the first time four iron tips of mining picks. The present study undertakes a complex investigation of the picks, including metallographic, indentation hardness, slag inclusions (SIs), metal matrix, and osmium isotopic composition (Os-IC) analyses. The results indicate that the picks were manufactured via similar blacksmithing techniques, using two types of hard alloys: quench-hardened steel and phosphoric iron. A correlation was found between the composition of SIs, metal, and osmium isotopic signature, suggesting that three different ore sources were exploited to produce these picks. The quenched steel likely originated from a single ore source, whereas the two P-rich iron probably provenance from two different, yet geographically close or geologically similar ore deposits.

The undertaken study highlights the importance of an integrative provenancing approach, which relies on the analyses of siderophile/chalcophile elements of the metal, lithophile trace elements of slag inclusions, and osmium isotopic analyses. This approach allows the complete characterization of the ore provenance signature of an artefact. However, the final provenance assignment to a specific ore deposit is currently limited, as it depends on our knowledge and familiarity with potential ore sources and on the archaeological evidence of their exploitation.

Many remains of the Muslim pilgrimage road from Cairo to Mecca, the Darb al-Hajj al-Maṣri are preserved in the Eilat region of southern Israel. These include sections of the road, camps, and other associated structures. Most of these remains date to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods. In one camp (Netafim 2), an assemblage of unusual objects was found, including fragmentary clay rattles, votive clay incense burners, anthropomorphic and perhaps zoomorphic clay figurines, a cluster of colored quartz pebbles, and some seashells. The fabric of the clay objects indicates that they originated in Egypt. Based on the nature of the assemblage and a literary survey, this study suggests that the discussed artifacts were related to popular magic. The magical rituals, whose nature is yet unclear, were likely carried out at the site by professional sorcerers, who offered their services to pilgrims making the hajj.

During excavations carried out at the Uvda Valley Site 9, the isolated grave of a young child (aged 2–3 years), was found in a small stone cell incorporated into the perimeter of an Early Bronze Age courtyard. The bones showed no signs of diagenesis in contrast to the faunal remains found at the site, raising suspicions that it was intrusive. This was confirmed by a Byzantine radiocarbon date. Here, we present the bio-anthropology of the skeleton and discuss its social context as well as the significance of isolated infant burials.

The origin of ancient Israel has been questioned and intensively discussed for almost two centuries by many researchers, from two main schools of thought. One believes the early Israelites came from outside the Land of Cana‘an and conquered it, while the other believes they rose from within Cana‘an, forming a new polity and culture. Scholars are likewise divided whether the Israelite God, Yhwh, originated from the Near Eastern cultural environment or from the desert. A multitude of studies has been dedicated to these two themes, usually separately. This article attempts to examine the connection between the two through several themes: desert roots in the culture of ancient Israel, the origin of Yhwh, Asiatics in Sinai and the Negev, desert tribes and the copper industry, the location of biblical Paran, Nabataean data from Sinai which illuminate biblical issues, and others. By including materials which were previously underutilized or overlooked, these themes may be integrated to form a reasonable scenario of a chapter in the history of early Israel.

This paper presents findings from the first season of excavations conducted at the mountain-top site of Naḥal Roded 110, located in the southern Negev Desert near Eilat, Israel. Both radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence date the site to the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB, late 8th millennium BC). Palaeoenvironmental data from pollen and charcoal indicate that arid conditions prevailed in the region, with a strong Saharo-Arabian influence. The finds—flints, marine shells and stone objects—show affinities to LPPNB settlement sites in the region, while the faunal assemblage is unique and comprised solely of raptors. These features raise the question as to the function of the site—a specialised hunting camp, ritual site or our preferred explanation, a combination of the two.

A renewed examination of Nabataean sites in the Yotvata Oasis brought to light a rich settlement scenario from of the 3^rd-2^nd century BC to the early 7th century AD. It allowed a new understanding of the function of some sites and a broader view on the Oasis position in the past ,with implications on the past position of Gulf of Eilat ,the city of Aila and of the Arabah Valley.

Much has been written about the Levantine PrePottery Neolithic as a period of innovation and change, particularly regarding the transition to food production and sedentism. But this period in general, and more specifically, the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (MPPNB; ~10150-9725 calBP), also witnessed a dramatic increase in symbolic imagery, both in diversity and number. Notably, Southern Levantine MPPNB sites have yielded a rich symbolic repertoire comprising stone mobiliary items such as vessels, plaques and grooved stones, also characteristic of the preceding Natufi an and Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (e.g. Belfer-Cohen 1991; Noy 1991; Hershman and Belfer-Cohen 2010; Shaham and Belfer-Cohen 2013; Vered 2013; Orrelle 2014; Major 2018), but, in addition, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic fi gurines, human statuary, plastered human skulls, stone masks and decorative installations (e.g. Bar-Yosef and Alon 1988; Garfi nkel 1995; Yizraeli-Noy 1999; Kuijt and Goring-Morris 2002; Orrelle 2014; Rollefson 2008; Schmandt-Besserat 2013; Hershman 2014; Kuijt 2017).

As part of the archaeological study of Nahal Amram in the ‘Araba valley, copper slag samples from a mining camp dating from the 5th millennium BCE until the 1st millennium AD were chemically analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) in an attempt to determine the technological level of production in each of the site’s occupation. The method provides a tool to distinguish between slag of various technological phases and periods. Thus, the slags from different sites in Nahal Amram related roughly to four stages of metallurgy development. These metallurgical results indicate the reuse of slag from earlier periods in later periods in order to produce more copper from the slag as a result of more complex production methods that were available in the later periods. Thus, in Nahal Amram, we can observe a real technological development of metallurgical production from earlier to later periods based almost exclusively upon the results of slag analyses. The results were compared with other smelting sites in the region.