שרידים מתקופת הברונזה התיכונה 2 ומהתקופות הביזנטית, האסלאמית הקדומה והעות'מאנית בבני ברק

The excavation conducted on 3 Ha-Yarqon Street, Bene Beraq, c. 150 m southeast of Naḥal Ha-Yarqon (map ref. 183372–502/666957–7147; Fig. 1; Plan 1), yielded remains dating from Middle Bronze Age II and the Byzantine, Early Islamic and Ottoman periods within two excavation areas (A, B). Area B. Five poorly preserved tombs were exposed (L246–250; Plan 2; Figs. 2–6), dating from the end of MB IIA to the beginning of MB IIB. They were either dug or built into a packed clayey soil. Only Tomb 246 yielded complete human bones. The pottery from the tombs was scarce, dating from MB IIA–B (Figs. 25–28). Southeast of the tombs, a pottery kiln was excavated (L243; Figs. 7–14). It was dated from the end of MB IIA to the beginning of MB IIB based on the pottery recovered from its foundation trench. Soil samples from the kiln’s walls underwent Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis (performed by Getta Rosenzweig from the Scientific Archaeology Unit at the Weizmann Institute, Reḥovot) to determine the effect of temperature in the sediment; it was found that the soil was exposed to a maximum temperature of 400–600°C. The kiln resembles other contemporary installations found in the central coastal plain. Seven kurkar-built walls were exposed (W212, W228, W229, W235, W237, W238, W245) dating to the Late Roman–Byzantine periods (Figs. 29, 30). The walls were covered by a layer of earth containing Early Islamic-period potsherds (Fig. 31). An Umayyad post-reform coin was found on the surface. Area A. Two plastered channels (L102, L103; Plan 3; Figs. 20–23), built from kurkar stones and perpendicular to each other, were identified in this area. They were part of an irrigation system, which operated in two phases: an early phase, dating to the Ottoman period, and a later phase, dating to the days of the British Mandate. Similar irrigation systems were uncovered in Jaffa and its vicinity, as well as at Palmaḥim (Fig. 24), and appear to have been used to irrigate orchards. The finds attest to activity at the site during MB IIA–B (Figs. 25–28), possibly including the production of store jars as attested by the exposure of many such vessels and a pottery kiln dating from this period. Until now, only large tells were known from this period in this region. Therefore, it seems that the site was a small satellite site located along Naḥal Ha-Yarqon, contemporary with the large cities of Afeq-Antipatris, Yafo and Tel Gerisa. The finds from the Late Roman–Byzantine periods