Hamoudi Khalaily

Independent Researcher · excavations, surveys and reserch department

Material studies of ancient plaster can provide invaluable information on pyro-technological advancements, living practices, stylistic preferences and possibly the cultural organization needed to produce the plaster. Past studies have established methods of analysis for calcite and gypsum-based plaster, but studies of dolomiterich plaster can be mo...

Large tanged points characteristic of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) in the Levant signify a prominent departure from the long-lasting use of small-size projectile implements. The reason for the emergence of these tools remains enigmatic, especially on the background of experimental evidence from elsewhere indicating greater efficiency of small...

Arrowheads are one of the diagnostic tool types that allow us to attribute lithic assemblages to particular phases of the Neolithic. They can be separated based on the stylistic features of each arrowhead as well as on the frequency with which they appear within the assemblage. During the ongoing major excavations of the mega-site of Motza, Israel,...

A salvage excavation conducted in 2018‑2019 at the southern fringes of Tel Motza revealed a large-scale site of the final stage of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period. The structural remains discovered at the site include dwelling units and public buildings, cultic compounds, and various domestic installations. Open spaces between the building compl...

The current salvage excavations at the site of Motza, near Jerusalem have exposed a megasite dated to the Middle and Final PPNB (PPNC). An extended Late Pottery Neolithic (Late Wadi Rabah or Early Chalcolithic) occupation also existed at the site. Several types of stone bracelets mainly made of limestone were found. Plain rings with perforations in...

One of the largest prehistoric settlements in Israel and Jordan was uncovered by the Motza salvage excavation in the largest and deepest drainage basin of the Judean highlands in central Israel. On a fan-shaped piedmont-like slope probably developed from Neolithic waste and materials and covering more than 0.5 km, the Motza “megasite” comprises mor...

Preliminary report on the excavation of Moza https://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/Report_Detail_eng.aspx?print=all&id=25961&mag_id=133

Shells found at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Yiftahel reflect various aspects of the cultic, social, and economic life at the site. Taxonomically, the assemblage is typical to sites in the Mediterranean climatic zone, dominated by Mediterranean bivalves with several local gastropods and a few specimens originating from the Red Sea. This comp...

During the Natufian period, more than 12,000 years ago, Eynan (Ain Mallaha) was an important human settlement in the Hula Valley, Israel. This study concentrates on the anuran and squamate assemblage from the ultimate stage of the Natufian period at the site, the Final Natufian. Over five thousand bones assigned to at least sixteen taxa were studie...

The Final Natufian level Ib from Eynan/Ain Mallaha provided a large and diversified assemblage of ungulates used here to study the seasonality of game procurement. The objective of this study was to evaluate the advantage of combining two methods, dental eruption and wear, and tooth microwear. Tooth microwear results allowed us to confirm the seaso...

Renewed excavations at the Neolithic site of Beisamoun (Upper Jordan Valley, Israel) has resulted in the discovery of the earliest occurrence of an intentional cremation in the Near East directly dated to 7031-6700 cal BC (Pre-Pottery Neolithic C, also known as Final PPNB, which spans ca. 7100-6400 cal BC). The funerary treatment involved in situ c...

During the past year, a large-scale excavation has been carried out at Motza, located in the Judean Hills, west of Jerusalem. The salvage excavation, extending over 500 m from east to west and nearly 100 m from north to south, uncovered the remains of a Neolithic-period settlement, comprising c. 250 dunams. Most of the architectural complexes were...

Recent examination of the lithic assemblage from the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (MPPNB, 10,100–9,250 BP cal.) layers of Yiftahel in the Lower Galilee, Israel, revealed a relatively large number of flint artifacts showing evidence of intentional heating. Heat treatment of siliceous raw materials is a worldwide phenomenon usually used during the...

The Pre-Pottery to Pottery Neolithic transition (PPN to PN) in the Levant represents a key moment in the cultural evolution of the early farming societies in the Near East, witnessing the evolution from emerging to consolidated farming systems. The renewed excavations at Beisamoun reveal the importance of the site for reconstructing this transition...

Tails of animism: a joint burial of humans and foxes in Pre-Pottery Neolithic Motza, Israel - Volume 93 Issue 371 - Hagar Reshef, Marie Anton, Fanny Bocquentin, Jacob Vardi, Hamoudi Khalaily, Lauren Davis, Guy Bar-Oz, Nimrod Marom

Tens of thousands of fish bones were recovered from the Final Natufian (Late Epipaleolithic) layer of the site of Eynan/Ain Mallaha (Northern Israel) dated to the end of the Pleistocene. Almost a hundred of them were attributed to a Salmoninae, most probably a trout Salmo cf. trutta. This is the southernmost attestation of a Salmo species in the Ne...

Significance Decreases in hunter-gatherer mobility during the Late Pleistocene altered relationships with animal communities and led to domestication. Little is known, however, about how selection operated in settlements of varying duration. This study of mice in modern African mobile settlements and ancient Levantine sites demonstrates competitive...

This paper aims to provide an updated summary and chronology of the last stages of the evolutionary history of bidirectional blade technology in three different regions and ecosystems in the Levant: the Middle Euphrates Valley in the Northern Levant, the Syrian Desert (El Kowm and Douara basins) and Galilee in the Southern Levant. Our comparative a...

The current view for the southern Levant is that wild game hunting was replaced by herd management over the course of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, but there is significant debate over the timing, scale and origin of this transition. To date, most relevant studies focus either on wild game exploitation in the periods prior to domestication or...

Gazella, Capra, Sus, Bos Age data from MPPNB Yiftah'el (DOCX)

Raw measurements for Gazella, Capra, Sus and Bos from MPPNB Yiftah'el. (DOCX)

Distribution of Gazella measurements from EPPNB Motza and MPPNB Yiftah’el. (DOCX)

Even though the faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is among the most ubiquitously cultivated crops, very little is known about its origins. Here, we report discoveries of charred faba beans from three adjacent Neolithic sites in the lower Galilee region, in the southern Levant, that offer new insights into the early history of this species. Biometric measur...

The obsidian finds recovered during the latest excavations at the Natufian site of Mallaha (Eynan) suggests that such commodities were introduced to the southern Levant before the beginning of the Neolithic Period

The excavation was conducted along the western fringes of the site of Beisamun. Three areas were opened (Areas A-C), revealing four layers. Layer I, the upper layer, is a dark brown clayey soil, which contained few archaeological finds. Layer II is a graybrown clayey soil, rich in organic material and ash-most of the artifacts and architectural rem...

Three plastered skulls, dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, were found at the site of Yiftahel, in the Lower Galilee (Israel). The skulls underwent refitting and restoration processes, details of which are described herein. All three belong to adults, of which two appear to be males and one appears to be a female. Virtual cross-sections were stu...

The site of Beisamoun is located on the western side of the marshes of the former Hula Lake in the upper Jordan Valley, in the northern part of the Southern Levant. It is known as a major Middle and Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B settlement from excavations and surveys undertaken by A. Assaf, J. Perrot and M. Lechevallier and colleagues up to the 197...

The Cenacle in Jerusalem is among the most important places for Christians - apart from being the room that hosted the “Last Supper” (The Easter dinner), it symbolizes the location of many events narrated in the New Testament, such as the meeting place of the Apostles, the Washing of the Feet, resurrection appearances of Jesus or the gathering of t...

A small-scale excavation was undertaken at the site, and two archaeological layers were discerned: Layer A, dating to the Iron Age, and Layer B, ascribed to the Late Neolithic period (Wadi Rabah culture). Within the Neolithic layer were two depositional phases, rich in archaeological finds; no architectural remains were identified. The material cul...

A total of 184 flint artifacts were collected from the three excavated squares. The tool inventory from Horbat Duvshan includes most of the types typical of northern Chalcolithic assemblages.

The excavations conducted at Mallaha (Eynan) from 1996 to 2005 revealed five principal constructions in the Final Natufian level, associated with more modest structures such as fireplaces and posthole fills. These remains have been described in several preliminary reports (the last one: Valla et al. 2007). We have distinguished both habitations and...

A salvage excavation at Gat-Govrin, located in the southern coastal plain, exposed an archaeological layer subdivided into two sedimentological levels. At the base of the archaeological layer were pits-some shallow and wide, others deep and bell-shaped. Ten pits were excavated; all contained potsherds, stone vessels and flint artifacts. The homogen...

A key element in any archaeological excavation is an accurate recording of the excavated material. Since the ar-chaeological process by itself is one of destruction, the need for an accurate documentation becomes even more imperious; when dealing with rescue excavations, where in most cases sites will be completely destroyed or in the best cases co...

For many, climate change is no longer recognized as the primary cause of cultural changes in the Near East. Instead, human landscape degradation, population growth, socioeconomic adjustments, and conflict have been proposed as the mechanisms that shaped the Neolithic Revolution. However, as Bar-Yosef noted, even if there is chronological correlatio...

Extensive salvage excavations were conducted at the site of Yiftahel, Lower Galilee, during 2007-2008. These excavations exposed remains of the mid-late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period (8000-7000 BCE cal.) site covering an estimated area of ca. 4 hectares. Four excavation areas were opened: Area I in the northern part of the site, Areas F and H in t...

At the site of Er-Rujum, located on the western slopes of the Ramallah Anticline in the northern part of the Ayyalon Valley, an Intermediate Bronze Age site was discovered below Ottoman-period rujums. The architecture at the site comprised broadrooms, with a central space and passages between them, demonstrating similarities with other Intermediate...

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) site of Yiftahel, Israel, contains abundant plaster floors. We surveyed the states of preservation of the plasters using an infrared spectroscopic assay that characterizes the extent of disorder of the atoms in the calcite crystal lattice. We identified the 3 best-preserved plaster samples that had disorder signat...

The Wadi Rabah site of Nahal Yarmut is located on the southern bank of the Yarmut streambed, near Ramat Bet Shemesh Junction. The excavation unearthed a thick occupation layer rich in pottery and flint artifacts, all attributed to the Late Pottery Neolithic period. The architectural elements included pits and a rectangular structure. The flint asse...

Analysis of the flint tools retrieved from the Sha'ar Efrayim burial caves (Nos. 1-3) revealed the presence of Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age artifacts, suggesting a wider time span for the use of the caves. The flint industry was apparently local, mainly exploiting materials in the immediate vicinity of the site.

The excavation at Nahal Guvrin yielded 64 flint items, among them 10 tools, 5 from each layer. In addition, two groundstone tools, made of flint pebbles, were recovered. Although only two strata, from the Chalcolithic period and the Middle Bronze Age, were identified in the excavation, the flint tools hint at the presence of a third occupation phas...

a b s t r a c t We studied the faunal remains from the Early and Middle PPNB site of Motza, Judean Mts., Israel, in order to gain insight into the economic basis prior to livestock husbandry, with a focus on gazelle hunting. Taphonomic analysis showed that bone preservation at the site was excellent. The subsistence economy in Motza was based on a...