A Middle Timnian Nomadic Encampment on the Faynan-Beersheba Road: Excavations and Survey at Nahal Tsafit (Late 5th/Early 4th Millennia B.C.E.)

Excavations at Nahal Tsafit, on the Rotem Plain in the northeastern Negev, have uncovered a Middle Timnian encampment dated to the late 5th/early 4th millennia B.C.E. A large tumulus field, comprising 115 large cairns and three open-air shrines characteristic of the early phases of Timnian culture, was surveyed on the ridge above the site. Although contemporary with the Ghassulian-Beersheba Chalcolithic culture of the settled zone, the architecture revealed and material culture recovered from excavation of the encampment place it clearly in Middle Timnian culture, the desert complement to the Ghassulian. The location of the site on the road between Beersheba and Faynan, and the presence of potsherds originating in Faynan, suggest Timnian involvement in the early copper trade.