In an excavation by the Antiquities Authority and DePaul University from the USA, funded by a Fulbright scholarship and with the participation of Sde Har Hanegev school students, a thick layer about a meter high was found, which left no room for doubt about the presence of donkeys and sheep at the site in ancient times
A building that was apparently used as a stable for farm animals during the Byzantine period, was recently uncovered in an excavation conducted by the Antiquities Authority in Obedat National Park. The excavation, with the participation of students from Sde Har Hanegev School, was led by Prof. Scott Bucking from DePaul University from the USA and Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini from the Antiquities Authority, and was funded by a Fulbright scholarship.
The stable, which was built at the entrance of one of the caves carved into the slopes of the mountain, served as an auxiliary building for the local residents, who were, apparently, monks. It was divided into several stone-built rooms, on the walls of which cross decorations were painted. Stone basins were also found that were probably used to store food and water for the animals.
According to Prof. Scott Bucking from DePaul University from the USA and Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini from the Antiquities Authority, "The identification of the stable was provided by a thick layer of organic material (donkey and sheep dung) at a height of almost a meter above the floor of the building. It seems that the place was destroyed in the earthquake that destroyed the city of Abdat at the beginning of the seventh century AD."
In the excavation, youths who were apprentices of the Sde Har Hanegev school were employed. These, carried out filtering and sifting of many hundreds of buckets of organic material excavated in the stable, under the guidance of Daniel Fox, an archaeo-botanist from Bar Ilan University. They collected seeds and various small organic remains from them, which in the future will be able to shed more light on the use of the structure, and on other questions, such as what the inhabitants of the place and the surrounding area ate in ancient times. The researchers hope that the grape seeds that were found, which were well preserved due to the prevailing dryness in the area, will make it possible to extract the DNA of the ancient plant, and to identify different varieties that grew in the area. According to Dr. Erickson-Guinney, "the teenagers did an excellent job. They received explanations of how the archaeologist's work is done, had a guided tour of the site, and showed great interest in the research and the project. We enjoyed working with them, and I know they enjoyed it too."
