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Many remains of the Muslim pilgrimage road from Cairo to Mecca, the Darb al-Hajj al-Maṣri are preserved in the Eilat region of southern Israel. These include sections of the road, camps, and other associated structures. Most of these remains date to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods. In one camp (Netafim 2), an assemblage of unusual objects was found, including fragmentary clay rattles, votive clay incense burners, anthropomorphic and perhaps zoomorphic clay figurines, a cluster of colored quartz pebbles, and some seashells. The fabric of the clay objects indicates that they originated in Egypt. Based on the nature of the assemblage and a literary survey, this study suggests that the discussed artifacts were related to popular magic. The magical rituals, whose nature is yet unclear, were likely carried out at the site by professional sorcerers, who offered their services to pilgrims making the hajj. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stone-built installations known as 'leopard traps' are found throughout the deserts of the Middle East. They have generally been considered to be recent in date, and to have been built by Bedouin or other local communities to trap carnivores that threatened their flocks. But how much older might they be? Survey in the hyper-arid 'Uvda Valley of the southern Negev Desert in Israel discovered 23 'leopard traps', 19 of them clustered in a relatively small area. This study describes the architecture and function of these structures and presents the first optically stimulated luminescence ages for two of them. These results demonstrate that the traps are ancient and were already in use before the late fourth millennium BC, not long after the adoption of herding by the desert dwellers. Keywords: Israel, Negev Desert, 'Uvda Valley, leopard traps, Arabian leopard, OSL Supplementary Table S1 is published online at http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/porat337/, Introduction Recent studies attest to the use of net traps and cordage technology from Upper Palaeolithic sites in Eurasia (Soffer et al. 2000; Soffer 2004; Kvavadze et al. 2009). Since [...]

Archaeological investigations of 'desert kites' in south Israel show them to have been animal traps of considerable sophistication and capacity, constructed in the Early Bronze Age or earlier. Extensive stone-wall arms gather in gazelles from their habitual trails and canalise them into a sunken enclosure, cunningly hidden from view of the galloping herd until it was too late ... Keywords: Israel, Levant, Early Bronze Age, hunting, trapping, animal management, Introduction The way in which mid Holocene societies perceived, treated and manipulated their landscape included, for the first time, the construction of numerous large-scale stone features away from their villages [...]

The aniconism, or banning of the depiction of gods in human or animal form, in ancient Israelite religion is discussed. The many 'masseboth,' or purposefully erected stone combinations, found throughout the Sinai and Negev deserts are evidence. Not until the 7th century B.C. and the rise of Deuteronomistic theology did these 'masseboth' disappear.

In spite of extremely arid conditions, the Uvda Valley in the southern Negev has been the site of a flourishing agricultural society dating back four to six thousand years. Four years of survey and excavation in the region have also revealed evidence of many cult sites. How could agriculture thrive in such a severe climate, and what can these cult sites tell us about the religious life of the ancient desert inhabitants?

The Negev Desert has a rich variety of cult types that can be dated back as long as 9,000 years ago. The article focuses on the types that were dominant in the seventh to third millennia BCE, including standing stone maṣṣebot, open-air sanctuaries, burial grounds and ‘Rodedian’ sites. Descriptions and interpretations of where these cult types enable a comprehensive view in which desert societies reveal intensive cultic activity and fully-developed creeds signifying that they were not only the forerunners of religious concepts but actually influenced theological development in the settled lands of the ancient Near East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Negev Desert has a rich variety of cult types that can be dated back as long as 9,000 years ago. The article focuses on the types that were dominant in the seventh to third millennia BCE, including standing stone maṣṣebot, open-air sanctuaries, burial grounds and ‘Rodedian’ sites. Descriptions and interpretations of where these cult types enable a comprehensive view in which desert societies reveal intensive cultic activity and fully-developed creeds signifying that they were not only the forerunners of religious concepts but actually influenced theological development in the settled lands of the ancient Near East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Negev Desert has a rich variety of cult types that can be dated back as long as 9,000 years ago. The article focuses on the types that were dominant in the seventh to third millennia BCE, including standing stone maṣṣebot, open-air sanctuaries, burial grounds and ‘Rodedian’ sites. Descriptions and interpretations of where these cult types enable a comprehensive view in which desert societies reveal intensive cultic activity and fully-developed creeds signifying that they were not only the forerunners of religious concepts but actually influenced theological development in the settled lands of the ancient Near East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Bioarchaeology of care' enables us to learn about the attitude of past societies toward the sick and disabled from bones. Nevertheless, skeletal remains allowing us to carry out such a study are rare. Here, we present a possible case of Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS), a rare congenital disease, in an almost complete adult male (H-1; ca. 40-50 years old) from the Arava desert (Israel) dated to the Nabataean period (2nd century BCE). H-1 was recovered from a remarkable double-chambered mausoleum built on a hilltop. Following a thorough examination of the skeletal remains (including µCT scans), we identified several pathologies: a cervical block (C2-C4), Sprengel's deformity (SD), extensive antemortem tooth loss, and two poorly healed fractures in the distal left forearm. The characteristics of the vertebral fusion suggested a different etiology for each of the levels: congenital fusion between C2 and C3 and ankylosis with degenerative changes between C3 and C4. Cervical fusions, along with SD, are typical of KFS. The badly healed fractures identified in the left radius may suggest H-1 suffered from recurrent falling due to instability. These manifestations resulted in a deformed external appearance and likely some level of disability. Consequently, considering his age, H-1 was probably regularly supported by his community. Moreover, his exceptional burial indicates that he was a nobleman. Therefore, we assume that his disability did not affect his social status. This assumption concurs with what has been learned from ancient written sources and archaeological remains about the social order and solidarity of the Nabataeans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]