Five pottery production sites, for vessel types ranging in date from the late first century BCE to the early fifth century CE, were identified in Gaulanitis, employing data from surface surveys and shovel tests. The evidence for identification of production included disproportionate concentrations of particular vessel types, as well as pieces showing obvious production defects (wasters). Vessels produced include cooking bowls, cooking pots and storage jars: cooking ware and storage jars were made at two locations, storage jars alone were produced at two other sites, and only cooking vessels were made at the last location. The finds were analyzed along with comparative data from surveys and shovel tests conducted at other sites in Gaulanitis. The discussion deals with the large number of cooking vessel fragments, compared to those of storage jars, found at the production sites, and possible reasons for the development of pottery-making – in several instances, of the same vessel types – at relatively close settlements in Roman Gaulanitis.
The site of Tell el-Hawy is located above the confluence of the Rukkad and Yarmuk Rivers, near Israel’s present-day borders with Syria and Jordan. A survey revealed ancient remains on the hilltop and slopes dating mainly from the Iron Age, Late Hellenistic, and Roman periods. Twenty caves were found, including a large burial cave with loculi. The finds from the survey, as well as the caves, are described. The location of the site and its function are also discussed.
Synagogue chronology has been the subject of scholarly debate for decades, especially in the Galilee, where synagogues have been dated both to the Roman and Byzantine (= late-antique) periods.1 For the Golan,2 the consensus has been that there is no evidence for them in the Roman period, and especially not in the 2nd-3rd c. The c.30 synagogues there, nearly all in the W central Golan, have always been precluded from the debate since, with the exception of an Early Roman one at Gamla,3 the accepted dates for their construction and use are between the 4th and the 7th c. (fig. 1).4
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.