A Rural Settlement from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Periods at el-Khirba, Shoham (Hebrew; English summary)

Three areas (A–C) were excavated at el-Khirba, uncovering building remains of a farmhouse from the Hellenistic period (third–second centuries BCE); a Jewish village from the Hasmonean period (Stratum IIa; second–first century BCE), the Roman (Herodian) period (Stratum IIb; first century BCE–first century CE) and in the period between the two Jewish Revolts (Stratum IIc; late first–second centuries CE); and a village from the Late Roman–Byzantine periods (Strata Ia–c; fourth century CE). A complex winepress was also found, dating to the second half of the fourth century CE, as well as quarries, tombs and cisterns. Activity at the site decreased in the fifth century CE, possibly following the Samaritan rebellions in the area.