Gil Haklay - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Gil Haklay

Salvage excavations were carried out on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority in the fall of... more Salvage excavations were carried out on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority in the fall of 2016 south of Ze'ev Wienhaus Street, located within the municipal boundaries of the modern city of Yehud in the central Coastal Plain of Israel. Numerous excavations have been carried out in the past in Yehud, with finds ranging from the Chalcolithic to Ottoman periods, though not continuously. In the present excavation 38 features dated to the Late Chalcolithic period were uncovered, including isolated pockets with occupational debris, narrow shafts and a shallow pit. The numerous shafts at the site are of particular interest in the light of similar features excavated in several localities in both Yehud and Tel Aviv over the last decade, and whose function is still under debate. The apparent absence of any structural (dwelling) remains notwithstanding, substantive quantities of pottery, flint, ground stone tools, and fauna remains were uncovered, that were subsequently analysed in the lab. The results of these analyses are presented below, together with the outcome of several 14 C and portable OSL tests of selected sediment samples. Those provide a detailed insight concerning the genesis, character and approximate date of the various features comprising this site, and how Yehud fits in with other contemporary sites in the region. Although structural building remains are conspicuously absent, based on the various assemblages collected at the site, Yehud Wienhaus represents a distinct part of an otherwise typical mixed farming settlement, where domestic, agricultural and animal rearing activities took place. The results of this excavation join the still-growing data base of Late Chalcolithic localities that have been exposed recently in the ancient site of Yehud and elsewhere along the Ayalon River.

An example of a perfect circular limestone disc found at the site of Eynan (21cm diamete... more An example of a perfect circular limestone disc found at the site of Eynan (21cm diameter). Curvature analysis overlying a photograph. Collection of Israeli Antiquities Authority. Photo by the Israeli Museum, Jerusalem.</p

(a) Section showing the reconstruction of a posthole built from floor 51 (note different... more (a) Section showing the reconstruction of a posthole built from floor 51 (note different shading of the stones). (b) Section showing the partial destruction of the posthole due to the construction of Shelter 62.</p

Visualization of the centers' calculation.</p

Architectural-geometrical analysis and results.</p

Antiquity, 2019

The small, Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site (tenth millennium cal BP) of Nahal Yarmuth 38 in c... more The small, Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site (tenth millennium cal BP) of Nahal Yarmuth 38 in central Israel consists of a unique series of rectilinear structures with plastered floors, beneath which multiple interments were found. The nature of the finds combined with existing knowledge of burial customs of this period make Nahal Yarmuth 38 an ideal site for investigating designated burial sites in the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B.

Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2020

The site of Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey keeps fascinating archaeologists as it is being e... more The site of Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey keeps fascinating archaeologists as it is being exposed. The excavation since 1995 has been accompanied by a lively discussion about the meaning and implications of its remarkable early Neolithic megalithic architecture, unprecedented in its monumentality, complexity and symbolic content. The building history and the chronological relations between the different structures (enclosures), however, remain in many ways a challenge and open to further analysis. The study presented here is an attempt to contribute in this direction by applying a preliminary architectural formal analysis in order to reconstruct aspects of the architectural design processes involved in the construction of the monumental enclosures. This is done under the premise that such investigation would shed light on thechaîne opératoireof the enclosures' construction and their history, thus enabling a fresh look as well as an evaluation of past suggestions regarding ...

Paléorient

Three types of stone vessels from surveyed and excavated sites in Israel are presented and discus... more Three types of stone vessels from surveyed and excavated sites in Israel are presented and discussed: bowls with very small lug handles attached to the rim, bowls decorated with an incised row of lozenges on their exterior and chalices with a solid pedestaled base. The first two types are usually made of limestone, while the chalices are made of basalt. Each of the types was found in at least two sites and are associated only with Early Chalcolithic (ca. 5800-4500 BCE) remains, thus proposed to be characteristics of the period in central and northern Israel. Moreover, their high quality, relative scarcity and significance suggest they were prestige vessels.

PLOS ONE, 2015

In the past 25 years since the reconstruction of Shelter 131 of Eynan was suggested by Francois V... more In the past 25 years since the reconstruction of Shelter 131 of Eynan was suggested by Francois Valla, its image has become almost iconic-a highly cited symbol of early sedentism constituting a significant part of our knowledge on early stone constructions and the people behind them. A new look at the architectural remains and the stratigraphy resulted in an alternative reconstruction, essentially different than the one we have come to know. We used spatial (architectural-geometrical) analysis in order to study the relationships between the different architectural elements and to test our hypothesis that the series of postholes may have not pertained to the upper floor 131 of Layer IV as suggested by Perrot and Valla, but rather to the successive occupational and architectural episode. The association of the postholes with Wall 51 of Layer III sheds new light on the architectural remains revealing their geometric design, an important characteristic of Early Natufian Architecture, the meaning and implications of which we shortly discuss.