Horbat Gannim

Hurvat Gannim

חורבת גנים (in Hebrew)
Shown within Israel
Location	Jerusalem, Israel
Region	Shephelah
Coordinates	31°44′51″N 34°57′43.5″E
Grid position	Israel Ref. 196601/628345
Type	Settlement
Part of	Kingdom of Judah, Hasmonean kingdom, Herodian kingdom, Roman Judaea
Area	2 ha (4.9 acres)
History
Periods	Iron Age, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Mamluk
Cultures	Israelite, Judahite
Site notes
Condition	Ruined
Ownership	Public
Public access	Yes

Hurvat Ganim (Hebrew: חורבת גנים) is an archaeological site located near Yish'i, in the Shephelah region of Israel.^[1][2][3]

The site is identified with the biblical city of Ein Gannim (Hebrew: עין גנים, sometimes Engannim) of the Tribe of Judah, not to be confused with a place of the same name belonging to Issachar, identified with modern-day Jenin.

Biblical identification

Hurvat Gannim is identified with Engannim, a place mentioned once in the book of Joshua in the description of the cities of the Shephelah within the territory of the tribe of Judah:

"In the western foothills: Eshtaul, Zorah, Ashnah, Zanoah, Ein Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Sokoh, Azekah".

History

The Jewish settlement in Hurvat Gannim was initially established in the Hasmonaean period probably in the second half of the second century AD.^[2][4][3] To this period are attributed the Mikveh and the tombs of the kokhim found at the site. Hurvat Gannim continued to be inhabited after the Great Revolt and was abandoned only following the Bar Kokhba revolt.^[2][5][3] This Second Temple period settlement was not an isolated phenomenon. Over 20 Jewish rural sites are known in the area. The site was resettled in the Byzantine period.^[3] The Mamluk finds show secondary use was made of the winepress, possibly for the production of olive oil.^[2]

The Israeli Government Naming Committee gave this ruin the name "Hurvat Gannim". Its Arabic name is Khirbat Umm Jina.^[2]

Archaeology

The archaeological finds at the site contribute to the dating of the settlement, Thanks to the ceramic finds, coins and the wall remains and facilities.^[2][4][3] 18 coins were discovered in the excavations, with the earliest being that of Antiochus 175-168 AD, from the Acre mint, and the latest being a small bronze from the 4th-5th centuries AD.^[2][4] The date range of the coins shows that 12 of the 18 coins indicate continuity of the settlement.^[2][4]

Mikveh

Excavation and Mikveh remains

the Mikveh at the site had an entrance room 2.4-2.8 x 4.9 m and a bathing room measuring 3.9 x 4.8 x 4.1-3.8 and 1.5 meters deep.^[2] Seven steps were carved in rock, with three additional steps carved in the bath itself.^[2] According to its relatively large dimensions, this is a public mikveh that was close to the agricultural areas of the settlement and to the burial caves.^[2][3]

Winepress

WInepress with place for a wooden screw craters for further squeezing the grapes

In the vicinity of the site, a number of ancient winepresses were found whose period spans from the days of the First Temple to the Byzantine period. From this period a winepress was found in which wooden screw craters were used for further squeezing of the grapes. Some of the winepress's floors were coated with white mosaic stones.

Quarries

Nine quarries were found in the area of the site, in addition to all the rock-hewn facilities that were also initially quarries for building blocks.^[2] Apparently most of the quarries were cresated at the end of the second temple and in the Byzantine period.^[2]

Rock-cut tombs

Rock-cut tomb with engraved date palms

The burial caves are located in the west and north of the site, similar to the quarries.^[2][5][6] Seven Kokhim burial caves are arranged in a row, at an even level at the bottom of a cliff, with one of them having a monumental facade decorated with a carved cornice above which engraved stylized date palms.^[2][3] A vaulted lid of an ossuary was discovered in the spoil of the cave.^[2][3] The KuKhim tombs testify to a Jewish presence at the site during the Second Temple period, since such caves are typical for burials in the Hellenistic and early Roman periods in the Land of Israel, and are the main type of burial caves during the Second Temple period.^[2][5][3][6]

References

1. Clermont-Ganneau, Charles (1899). Archaeological researches in Palestine during the years 1873-1874 (2 ed.). London: London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 205.
2. Sion, Ofer (2017). "Horbat Gannim: Remains of A building, A Ritual Bath, Burial Caves and installations" (PDF). חדשות ארכיאולוגיות. 129: 1–39.
3. "הישוב הכפרי בהרי ושפלת יהודה משלהי תקופת הבית השני עד לדיכוי מרד בר-כוכבא | orion-editor.dev". orion-bibliography.huji.ac.il. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
4. "גיליון 134 לשנת 2022חורבת גנים". www.hadashot-esi.org.il. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
5. "גיליון 130 לשנת 2018חורבת גנים". www.hadashot-esi.org.il. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
6. "קברים וקבורה בירושלים בימי בית שני : הגילויים החדשים, 1980-1995 / ... מאת בועז זיסו | Scholarly Article | NNL_ALEPH990013757200205171 | The National Library of Israel". www.nli.org.il. Retrieved 2024-05-19.