South Levant Research Articles

From desert dust to ongoing soil formation in the mountainous areas of the south Levant

Mediterranean soils of the south Levant have been investigated and described during the past several decades, especially brown-reddish mountain soils, but certain issues, such as the role of desert dust as a parent material, remain unresolved. This study aims to quantify the role of desert dust in the formation of the mountain soils of the south Levant area, examine the environmental factors that affect the soil formation processes, and evaluate their time of formation. This is done by sampling and analyzing soil sites along two west-east transects across the Judea and Samaria mountains that encompass the transition from the Mediterranean to the semiarid climate. The new database includes the bulk mineralogical and chemical compositions of major oxides and trace elements, particle size distributions, and basic soil’s parameters. Although the range of calcite content in the soils studied is large (>1 % to 60 %), all soil types have similar grain size distributions of three modes: 45–55 μm mode within the coarse silt fraction, 20–25 μm mode within the fine silt fraction, and a clay mode. Local (Jerusalem) dust, collected near the sampled soils, is distinguished from desert dust by a lower quartz content and lower concentrations of SiO2, TiO2, Th, and Zr, suggesting that the local dust is a mixture of remote desert dust and local sources. The soils on the eastern side of the Judean Mountains, under a semiarid climate, are dominated by the coarse silt mode, and their compositions reflect a higher contribution of desert dust and weaker pedogenic processes. The pedogenic formation of smectites turns the clay fraction into the main grain size mode in the leached soils of the western side, under higher precipitation and denser vegetation. The almost identical compositions found for two adjacent soils on limestone and on chert demonstrate that dust is almost the exclusive parent material for soils presently forming on hard sedimentary rocks. This, other chemical parameters, and additional field observations indicate no relation between soils and bedrock or visible karstic activity at present. Accordingly, soil formation in the mountainous areas of the south Levant is a result of ongoing dust accumulation and transformation since the last major erosion event in the early Holocene.

Late Holocene hydroclimatic history of the Galilee Mountains from sedimentary records of the Sea of Galilee, Israel

AbstractDetrital sediments of the Sea of Galilee are predominantly pedogenic products of settled dust and local bedrocks transported from Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights. Using the mineralogy, chemistry, and Nd and Sr isotope ratios of the core LK12-22 collected offshore of the Ginosar valley and of contemporaneous soils from the Nahal Tzalmon and Nahal Amud catchments, we reconstructed Late Holocene regional hydroclimate. The core samples span ɛNd isotope values of −6 to −2 and 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.7075 to 0.7077 between the isotope fields of the Terra rossa soils and basaltic soils. Sediments from the drier Iron Age and Arabic and Ottoman periods are closer in Nd-Sr isotope ratios of the basaltic soils, while those of the wetter Middle to Late Bronze and Roman–Byzantine periods are closer to the Terra rossa soils, reflecting enhanced mobilization of sediments from the Tzalmon catchment where Terra rossa–type soils accumulated. This result corroborates other regional data that indicate semiarid to temperate conditions in the south Levant during most of the Late Holocene. Wetter conditions over the Galilee Mountains and the Ginosar valley catchment during the Roman period could have promoted the flourishing farming-fishing society that heralded the rise of Christianity.

Mapping the near-surface geoelectrical structure of the Mottled Zone using the very low frequency–electromagnetic method

Mottled Zones (MZ) in south Levant regions show discrete, varied-dimensional rock complex exposures and many unexplored areas in the vicinity of the Dead Sea Transform Fault (DSF). The research area, located south of the Daba–Siwaqa Mottled Zone complex in Jordan, was surveyed using the very low-frequency electromagnetic method (VLF-EM) for the purpose of resolving the geoelectrical setting of MZ rocks, the associated structural features, and the underlying sedimentary layers. The VLF-EM tipper data acquired along five profiles was analyzed using Fraser, Karous-Hjelt, and apparent resistivity linear filters. The quantitative interpretation was conducted using a 2D inversion of the VLF-EM tipper data, and a proposed synthetic model was tested and analyzed at MZ exposure. The majority of MZ rocks are likely to be located in a region of negative Fraser values (≥ −10.0%) and negative Karous-Hjelt values (≥ −8.0%). The apparent resistivity map exhibits MZ rocks at high values (1000–2500 Ω·m).The derived resistivity models recovered from the 2D inversion of the VLF-EM data showed a relatively resistive MZ rock body immersed in relatively less resistive (conductive) sedimentary layers composed of clayey marl and marl. The known and inferred locations of MZ rocks derived from the 2D resistivity section are compatible with the locations proposed by the filtering techniques. Furthermore, the 2D resistivity sections showed a stressed underlying sequence of sedimentary rocks demonstrating sub-vertical contacts and possible displacement along fault planes. A synthetic 2D resistivity model revealed a wedge-shaped formation of 38.0 m thick MZ rocks that can be resolved from the underlying sedimentary layers.

From the Epipalaeolithic into the earliest Neolithic (PPNA) in the South Levant

This paper examines the nature of initial neolithisation indications during the terminal Pleistocene and earliest Holocene in the Southern Levant. This interval corresponds to a period of significant and geographically variable environmental changes in the region. Various lines of evidence are provided to demonstrate the long durée (c. 15 000 years) character of interactions during the Early, Middle and Late Epipalaeolithic that were instrumental to the emergence of the fullyfledged agricultural life ways in the later phases of the Early Neolithic (PPNB).

HIERARCHY, GEOGRAPHY AND EPIGRAPHY: ADMINISTRATION IN THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH

SummaryHundreds of epigraphic finds have been uncovered in excavations conducted in the ancient Kingdom of Judah, located in the south Levant and dated to the Iron Age (c.1000–586 BCE). These finds are usually studied from the linguistic and historical points of view, in a basic, descriptive manner. Here we present a new approach, analysing aspects relating to spatial distribution of epigraphic finds, spatial hierarchy of sites, bureaucratic hierarchy of officials, core and periphery, and ecological diversity of various regions of the kingdom.

Murashkoite, FeP, a new terrestrial phosphide from pyrometamorphic rocks of the Hatrurim Formation, South Levant

Murashkoite, FeP, is a new mineral found in pyrometamorphic rocks of the Hatrurim Formation, South Levant. It is a typical accessory phase in the marbles and paralavas in the southern Negev Desert, Israel and on the Transjordan Plateau, Jordan. Murashkoite occurs as grains and aggregates up to 2 mm closely associated with barringerite, (Fe,Ni)2P, and zuktamrurite, FeP2. The rock-forming minerals include pyroxenes of the diopside-hedenbergite series, anorthite with subordinate gehlenite, tridymite, cristobalite, pyrrhotite, fluorapatite, chromite, magnetite, hematite, merrillite and late hydrothermal carbonates, silicates and sulfates. Macroscopically, murashkoite is yellowish-grey in colour and has a metallic lustre. In reflected light, the mineral is white with a beige tint and it is non-pleochroic. The anisotropy is distinct, from yellow-grey to greyish-blue. Selected reflectance values [Rmax–Rmin, % (λ, nm)] are: 42.7–40.8 (400), 42.0–40.6 (500), 44.5–43.4 (600), 48.0–47.7 (700). It is brittle. VHN20 = 468 kg mm−2. The holotype material has the chemical composition (electron microprobe): Fe 63.82; Ni 0.88; P 35.56; total 100.26 wt.%. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of 2 apfu is (Fe0.99Ni0.01)1.00P1.00 corresponding to FeP. Murashkoite is orthorhombic, space group Pnma, unit cell parameters refined from the single-crystal data are: a 5.099(2), b 3.251(2), c 5.695(2) A, V 94.41(8) A3, Z = 4, Dx = 6.108(5) g cm−3. The crystal structure was solved and refined to R1 = 0.0305 on the basis of 131 unique reflections with I > 2σ(I). The strongest lines of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern [(d, A) (I, %) (hkl)]: 2.831(75)(002,011); 2.548(22)(200); 2.477(46)(102,111); 1.975(47)(112); 1.895(100)(202,211); 1.779(19)(103); 1.632(45)(013,301,020). The mineral is named in honour of Dr. Mikhail Nikolaevich Murashko (born 1952), for his contributions to the mineralogy of the Hatrurim Formation. Murashkoite is a natural counterpart of synthetic FeP, the compound widely used in heterogeneous catalysis and electrocatalysis.

First evidence of "ancient deer" (cervid) in the late Miocene Bira Formation, Northern Israel.

Despite the extensive geological and paleontological searches in the south Levant, no terrestrial fauna of late Neogene age was yet reported. Here, we report the first evidence of “ancient deer”–cervid in the late Miocene (Tortonian) lacustrine section of the Bira Formation at Hagal Stream, Jordan Valley, northern Israel. The section comprises rich assemblage of macrofauna fossils, mostly freshwater mollusks. The mammalian bone was discovered among the macrofauna fossils, and is described as an almost complete left humerus of an adult animal identified as an artiodactyls element probably of a cervid. This terrestrial mammal shares similar paleoenvironmental conditions with other contemporaneous localities, where cervids prevailed with bovids and other taxa. It appears that the freshwater lakes provided favorite habitat for the development of the cervids and possibly other mammals. The specific conditions of preservation of the cervid illuminate the role of post depositional processes (taphonomic constrains) in masking terrestrial fauna remains in the region. Accordingly, further efforts will be devoted to unveil the mute part of the southern Levant–east Mediterranean terrestrial faunistic realm at the end of the Miocene.

New minerals with a modular structure derived from hatrurite from the pyrometamorphic rocks. Part III. Gazeevite, BaCa6(SiO4)2(SO4)2O, from Israel and the Palestine Autonomy, South Levant, and from South Ossetia, Greater Caucasus

AbstractThe new mineral gazeevite, BaCa6(SiO4)2(SO4)2O (R3m,a= 7.1540(1),c= 25.1242(5) Å,V= 1113.58(3) Å3,Z= 3), was found in an altered xenolith in rhyodacites ofthe Shadil-Khokh volcano, Southern Ossetia and at three localities in larnite pyrometamorphic rocks of the Hatrurim Complex; Nahal Darga and Jabel Harmun, Judean Mountains, Palestinian Autonomy, and Har Parsa, Negev Desert, Israel. Larnite, fluorellestadite–fluorapatite, srebrodolskite–brownmilleriteand mayenite-supergroup minerals are the main minerals commonly associated with gazeevite. Gazeevite is isostructural with zadovite and aradite; the 1:1 typeAB6(TO4)2(TO4)2W, occurs together with the structurallyrelated minerals of the nabimusaite series, 3:1 type AB12(TO4)4(TO4)2W3, whereA= Ba, K, Sr...;B= Ca, Na...;T= Si, P, V5+, S6+, Al...;W= O2–,F–. Single antiperovskite layers {[WB6](TO4)2} in the structure type of gazeevite–zadovite and triple {[W3B12](TO4)4} layers in arctite–nabimusaite areintercalated with singleA(TO4) layers. These minerals with an interrupted antiperovskite structure are characterized by a modular layered structure derived from hatrurite, Ca3(SiO4)O. Gazeevite is colourless, transparent, with a white streakand vitreous lustre. Gazeevite is brittle, shows pronounced parting and imperfect cleavage on {001}; it is uniaxial (–), ω = 1.640(3), ε = 1.636(2) (λ = 589 nm) and nonpleochroic; Mohs' hardness is ∼4.5, VHN50 = 417 kg mm–2. The calculateddensity is = 3.39 g cm–3. The main lines of the calculated powder X-ray diffraction pattern are as follows (d(Å)/I/hkl): 3.58/100/110, 3.07/91/021, 2.76/47/116, 1.789/73/220, 3.29/60/113, 2.78/36/024, 2.12/25/125, 2.21/21/208. Raman spectra of gazeeviteare compared with spectra of other minerals. The formation of gazeevite and minerals of the nabimusaite–dargaite series is connected with high-temperature alteration of an early assemblage of clinker minerals affected by later fluids generated by volcanic activity or combustion processes.

Cargoes of Iron Semi‐Products Recovered from Shipwrecks off the Carmel Coast, Israel

Underwater surveys along the Israeli Carmel coast have revealed six cargoes of iron semi‐products associated with shipwrecks. They are described and dated according to the associated artefacts. Metallographic and chemical analyses on samples from the biggest cargo have determined the stages of the chaîne opératoire, identified the properties of the iron and characterized the iron trade along the Israeli coast. The new discoveries contribute to our understanding of the circulation of iron in the South Levant, which was characterized by an almost complete absence of local iron production. During the Byzantine and Crusader periods, this absence was compensated by long‐distance sea trade, depending on political circumstances and restrictions. Three main types of iron semi‐products were identified: (a) partly consolidated blooms, (b) short pointed bars and (c) elongated pointed bars. The cargoes discovered represent a time period of nearly a millennium. Altogether, 148 iron semi‐products were studied. Of these, 166 were from cargo a, which was dated by coins to around 1130–1200 ce. Those coins could have been imported from Europe for Crusader military and civil uses in the Levant. The iron from cargoes b, d and f, dated perhaps to the Byzantine period, could have been imported from Anatolia or Venice for military and civil purposes.

Evidence of trawling impact onHoplostethus mediterraneusin the central–eastern Mediterranean Sea

The silver roughy,Hoplostethus mediterraneusis a benthopelagic cosmopolitan fish regularly caught as by-catch of the deep-water crustacean trawl fishery (CTF) in the central–eastern Mediterranean. Monthly samples of silver roughy were sampled from the catches of four commercial trawlers in 2004. Each trawler operated in different fishing grounds (FGs), located off Northern Tunisia, South of Sicily, Malta Islands and in South Levant, for which different exploitation levels are reported. The overall length–frequency distribution (LFD) was constructed, and fishing impact indices (length as percentage of LFD, optimum and maximum length, percentage of mega-spawners and total mortality/von Bertalanffy curvature ratio) were calculated. In spite of an overall acceptable status (juveniles, matures and mega-spawners were present in the catch), sampling data revealed significant differences in LFD shape and status indices between FGs. Those FGs traditionally considered more exploited (Northern Tunisia and South of Sicily) showed a dominance of juveniles, a rarefaction of mega-spawners, a reduction in maximum and asymptotic length and a higherZ/Kratio. Considering the general homogeneity of Mediterranean deep-water habitats, the pelagic dispersal of eggs and the poor swimming capabilities of silver roughy, the present results indicated that deep-water trawling may induce a slow and subtle, although significant, erosion of the older, late maturing and slow growing component of the stocks in the Mediterranean (so-called longevity-overfishing).

Mud volcano origin of the Mottled Zone, South Levant

The Mottled Zone (MZ) or Hatrurim Formation, which occurs near the Levantine Transform in the South Levant, has been studied during the last 150 years but its origin remains debatable. Mottled Zone Complex/Complexes (MZC/MZCs) consist of brecciated carbonate and low-temperature calcium-hydrosilicate rocks, which include unusual high- and ultra-high-temperature low-pressure (HT-LP) metamorphic mineral assemblages. The MZ has been regarded as a product of combustion of bituminous chalks of the Ghareb Fm. of Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) age. In this paper we present detailed geographic, geomorphologic, structural and geological data from the MZCs of the South Levant, which show that the MZCs cannot be stratigraphically correlated with the Ghareb Fm., because MZC late Oligocene–late Pleistocene deposits occur within or unconformably, i.e., with stratigraphic hiatus, overlap both the late Cretaceous and, in places, Neogene stratigraphic units. We propose an alternative model for the formation of MZCs by tectonically induced mud volcanism during late Oligocene–late Pleistocene time. This model explains (i) the presence of dikes and tube-like bodies, which consist of brecciated exotic clastic material derived from stratigraphically and hypsometrically lower horizons; (ii) mineral assemblages of sanidinite facies metamorphism; (iii) multi-stage character of HT-LP pyrometamorphism; and (iv) multi-stage low-temperature hydrothermal alteration. High temperatures (up to 1500 °C) mineral assemblages resulted from combustion of hydrocarbon gases of mud volcanoes. Mud volcanism was spatially and structurally related to neotectonic folds and deformation zones formed in response to opening of the Red Sea rift and propagation of the Levantine Transform Fault. Our model may significantly change the prospects for oil-and-gas deposits in the region.

Early agricultural pathways: moving outside the ‘core area’ hypothesis in Southwest Asia

The origins of agriculture in the Near East has been associated with a 'core area', located in south-eastern Turkey, in which all major crops were brought into domestication within the same local domestication system operated by a single cultural group. Such an origin leads to a scenario of rapid invention of agriculture by a select cultural group and typically monophyletic origins for most crops. Surprisingly, support for a core area has never been directly tested with archaeological evidence. Over the past decade a large amount of new archaeological and genetic evidence has been discovered which brings new light on the origins of agriculture. In this review, this new evidence was brought together in order to evaluate whether a core region of origin is supported. Evidence shows that origins began earlier than previously assumed, and included 'false starts' and dead ends that involved many more species than the typical eight founder crops associated with the core area. The rates at which domestication syndrome traits became fixed were generally slow, rather than rapid, and occurred over a geographically wide range that included the North and South Levant as well as the core area. Finally, a survey of the estimated ages of archaeological sites and the onset of domestication indicates that the domestication process was ongoing in parallel outside of the core area earlier than within it. Overall, evidence suggests a scenario in which crops were domesticated slowly in different locations around the Near East rather than emanating from a core area.

La grotte à inhumations d’Askar en Samarie. L’occupation du IVe millénaire (niveau IIIb)

This article explores the material culture of the Southern Levant during the 4th millennium BC through the study of the archaeological assemblage from the funerary cave of Askar - used as a burial place during the periods known as Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age I. It contains data about this region, which is to date poorly documented, especially concerning the funerary practices. That is the reason why this study focuses on the different features of the material culture of Askar that distinguishes it from the northern and southern cultures to which the sites of this period are commonly connected. It appears that these distinctive features are shared by a number of sites also situated in the central area of the Southern Levant. This group of sites shares both ceramic typology and techniques of production that set them apart from other assemblages from adjacent areas. This fact has allowed us to reconsider the often quoted dichotomy between a northern culture and a southern culture and to postulate the existence of a distinct material facies in the central South Levant during the 4th millennium BC.

A Group of Vessels from the Syrian Coast Found in the Coastal Plain of Israel

In excavations recently conducted along the coastal plain of Israel, a number of red polished and decorated pottery vessels were found. The vessels resemble Cypriot Base Ring I, Black Lustrous and Red Lustrous Wheel Made Wares. These Cypriot wares were imported into the south Levant in large quantities during the fifteenth and fourteenth centuries BCE. Most of the vessels discussed were petrographically analyzed. The results indicate that they were made on the Syrian–Lebanese coast between Akko in the south and Ugarit in the north and as a local imitations of Cypriot wares were exported to the south.

A Group of Vessels from the Syrian Coast Found in the Coastal Plain of Israel

In excavations recently conducted along the coastal plain of Israel, a number of red polished and decorated pottery vessels were found. The vessels resemble Cypriot Base Ring I, Black Lustrous and Red Lustrous Wheel Made Wares. These Cypriot wares were imported into the south Levant in large quantities during the fifteenth and fourteenth centuries BCE. Most of the vessels discussed were petrographically analyzed. The results indicate that they were made on the Syrian–Lebanese coast between Akko in the south and Ugarit in the north and as a local imitations of Cypriot wares were exported to the south.

The Uruk Expansion: Cross-cultural Exchange in Early Mesopotamian Civilization [with Comments and Reply

The Uruk Expansion: Cross-cultural Exchange in Early Mesopotamian Civilization [with Comments and Reply

The Walls of Jericho: An Alternative Interpretation

Historique des expeditions decidees a trouver les murs detruits par Josue. Reexamen des conclusions de K. Kenyon, grâce a la derniere publication de T. A. Holland. Expose des sequences chronologiques depuis le Natoufien (de I a XI) et leur datation C14. Afin de reconsiderer les interpretations de K. Kenyon, l'A. explore l'evolution generale des cultures prehistoriques du Proche-Orient, la position speciale de Jericho, les processus geomorphologiques qui influencerent son histoire. Il semble que les murs du PPNA aient ete construits a un moment ou les habitants songeaient surtout a proteger leurs installations des caprices de la nature

Review Article: Continuity and Migration in the South Levant in the Late Third Millennium: A Review of T. L. Thompson's and Some Other Views

Review Article: Continuity and Migration in the South Levant in the Late Third Millennium: A Review of T. L. Thompson's and Some Other Views