
Michal BirkenfeldBen-Gurion University of the Negev | bgu · Department of Bible, Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Michal Birkenfeld
PhD
Exploring Neolithic cultural & economic adaptations in the Negev desert; Promoting Digital Archaeology.
About
36
Publications
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214
Citations
Introduction
Additional affiliations
June 2014 - June 2021
Israel Antiquities Authority
Position
- Head of Department
January 2004 - June 2014
Education
January 2020 - March 2021
October 2009 - January 2017
October 2005 - June 2008
Publications
Publications (36)
Remote sensing techniques provide crucial insights into ancient settlement patterns in various regions by uncovering previously unknown archaeological sites and clarifying the topological features of known ones. Meanwhile, in the northern part of the Southern Levant, megalithic structures remain largely underexplored with these methods. This study...
Recent studies demonstrate the effectiveness of integrated archaeogeophysical tools in resolving various geological-environmental challenges. This fact involves combining geophysical methods in archaeological fieldwork or remote sensing methods for preliminary survey and analysis of archaeological sites, potentially enhanced by machine learning tec...
In spite of its centrality in understanding the human condition, the archaeological study of conflict and interpersonal violence in human prehistory 1,2,3,4 has always been limited by the scarcity and ambiguity of direct evidence 2,5 . Proteomic analysis of residues from artifacts has been applied to a range of materials 6,7,8 , but rarely to stone...
The site of Nahal Zahal is located in Ramat Hovav (northern Negev). A salvage excavation carried out in March 2020 revealed an Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B occupation (EPPNB; ca. 8600–8150 cal. BC), including at least one large, round structure with adjoining cells and installations, as well as a rich lithic assemblage. EPPNB evidence from the Neg...
Salvage excavations at the site of Amqa (upper Galilee, Israel) revealed a rich PPN occupation layer confined to a natural bedrock depression covering ca. 25 m2. The finds present an intriguing combination of EPPNB traditions and PPNA elements, including a dominant component of imported bi-directional blade blanks and the prominent use of non-local...
The modern state of Israel is located between 29^o and 33^o north of the Earth’s equator. It is a small (about 22,000 km^2) subtropical region between the temperate and tropical zones, characterized chiefly by semi-arid and arid climates. Such climate causes increased productivity and water-use efficiency due to elevated CO_2, which tends to increa...
During the renewed, large-scale salvage excavations at the proto-historic site of ‘En Esur, a large chipped-stone assemblage was retrieved. While the analysis is still in its initial stages, one component already stands out – an assemblage of debitage and tools characteristic of the Neolithic period. Although modest in size and of uncertain provena...
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...
A total of 44 scrapers and two perforated discs from the Chalcolithic sites of Bir es-Safadi and Abu Matar in the Beer Sheva basin have been microscopically examined for use-wear polish. Most scrapers, both tabular and non-tabular, appear to have been used for scraping hide. There are some differences in wear patterns corresponding to morphological...
This paper presents ndings from the rst season of excavations conducted at the mountain-top site of Naḥal Roded 110,
located in the southern Negev Desert near Eilat, Israel. Both radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence date the site to the
Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB, late 8th millennium BC). Palaeoenvironmental data from pollen a...
This paper presents a unique modified limestone object recovered from the LPPNB site of Nahal Roded 110, located deep within the arid Negev Desert. Carved to form an oval with a central elongated perforation, the stone was decorated with incised meanders, encircling both faces and representing, in our view, a unique 3D representation of a snake/sna...
בקובץ זה מתפרסמים עשרה מאמרים שונים שהוצגו ביום העיון הראשון לארכיאולוגיה
דיגיטלית . מצד אחד ממשיכים הארכיאולוגים לחפור באתרים בעבודת כפיים וממשיכים
להשתמש בכלים שלא השתנו מזה מאה שנים ויותר, כגון מכוש, מעדר ודלי .מצד שני אין עוד
תחום במדעי הרוח שאימץ מגוון כה רחב של שיטות מחקר חדשות במהלך השנים .אפשר
לתאר את ההתפתחויות הללו כשתי מהפכות: מהפכת המחק...
The site of ‘Ein Dishna is located in the eastern Galilee, ca. 2 km west of the Sea of Galilee, on a high terrace directly above the wadi of Nahal Tzalmon. Systematic survey and collection in an area of ca. 2.5km2 and a small test excavation were conducted at the site in 2012. Relatively large lithic and groundstone tool assemblages were collected...
Excavations at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B ritual site of Naḥal Roded 110 in the Southern Negev, Israel, have revealed evidence—unique to this region—for on-site flint knapping and abundant raptor remains.
Full text available at:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/investigations-at-nahal-roded-110-a-late-neolithic-ritual-sit...
Tel Yarmuth, located in central Israel, is one of the largest urban centers that flourished during the third millennium BCE in the Land of Israel. An agricultural plot was discovered c. 150 m east of the main site. It is a local spot, constructed by an artificial gray sediment/soil and dated by ceramic finds and OSL to the Early Bronze age. A multi...
The archaeological research conducted during the last two decades at the Judean Shephelah testifies for one of the most turbulent regions in the land of Israel during the Late Bronze Age. This stands in contrast to the scarce historical record that relates to it. The geographic region of Ramat Bet Shemesh encompasses important information about soc...
A salvage excavation at the Lower Paleolithic site of Kefar Menahem West in the interior of the Israeli coastal plain yielded a flake industry devoid of handaxes and their byproducts. The archeological finds covering an area exceeding 2000 m 2 , are found at the contact of two distinct sedimentological units: Quartzic Brown and hamra (red clay loam...
The following is a final report of the salvage systematic collection and excavation conducted at site K7, previously studied by Marks and Simmons (Marks and Simmons 1977) who, having sampled a small portion, attributed it to the Negev Kebaran cultural entity. K7 is situated on the Har Harif plateau in the central Negev highlands. The lithic assembl...
A recent salvage excavation in Sha’on Hol Site 14 (HG14), situated on the northern plateau of Har Harif in the Central Negev Highlands, revealed an ephemeral hunter-gatherers’ campsite with on-surface flint scatters attributed to the Late Epipalaeolithic period. Characteristic tool categories, as well as debitage and tool ratios, allow for its affi...
Geographic information systems (GIS) are generally used in archaeology to analyze sites where finds were collected using precise plotting methods. In order to assess the suitability of GIS analyses for excavations where georeferenced information on finds are lacking, we have developed a method for reconstructing the site archive by “back-plotting”...
Kfar HaHoresh is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B mortuary and ritual site located in the lower Galilee,
northern Israel. Fifteen seasons of excavation have revealed prolonged and intensive occupation
for much of the PPNB (ca. 8750-7,250 calBC). While presenting a unique opportunity for the
research of Neolithization processes in the region, such a comple...
The results of test excavations at the small campsite complex of Nahal Hava in the central Negev highlands
are presented, from two adjacent localities.
Nahal Hava I is an open-air encampment with a cluster of at least five small, low circular stonewalled
structures arranged in a beehive arrangement. The structures were extensively deflated and no
o...
This is the final report of salvage excavations conducted during 2005 and 2007 at the Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) site of Horbat 'Illit B, in the Haelah Valley. We present the stratigraphy and the architectural remains of the site, including a description of one of the rare flint workshops of the Chalcolithic period found in the southern Levant. Comp...
Cet article livre les resultats de la fouille de sauvetage effectuee a Bir el-Maksur, un site du Neolithique pre-ceramique A (PPNA) situe en Basse Galilee, dans le nord d’Israel, ou a ete mise au jour une vaste occupation avec de riches assemblages. Malgre l’absence de structures architecturales claires, les nombreux artefacts permettent de reconst...
This paper presents preliminary results of an on-going study at Kfar HaHoresh using GIS applications,
focusing particularly on the methodology used to differentiate stratigraphic units through the complex archaeological sequence c.1.25m deep, spanning the Early through to the Late PPNB. Such a long and intricate sequence, derived from sporadic but...
During May 2006, a salvage excavation was conducted at Ramat Rahel (Permit No. A-4776; map ref. NIG 221392-414/629000-038; OIG 171392-414/129000-038), in the wake of construction work. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by 'Shikun 'Ovdim' construction company, was directed by O. Barzilai (photo...