The Rural Hinterland of Antipatris from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Periods

The Rural Hinterland of Antipatris from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Periods presents the results of extensive excavations conducted in the rural region south and east of the modern city of Rosh Ha’Ayin. The archaeological and historical data that are analysed span a period of over 1000 years.

To examine the settlement pattern of the region, 22 sites were chosen, divided into five primary models, which represent a hierarchal settlement pattern: farmsteads; subsidiary villages; fortresses; monasteries and churches; towns. These five settlement types were examined throughout the periods under study. Emphasis is consistently placed on landscape archaeology – rural roads, field towers, plot boundaries, oil presses, winepresses, and terraces. A key aim is to date the creation of agricultural systems and to track the potential areas of cultivation of different agricultural products.

Twelve sites dating to the Hellenistic period were found, most being farmsteads established in the Iron Age II and functioning until the 3rd Century BCE, when they were abandoned in an organized manner, possibly in the transition between Ptolemaic and Seleucid rule. During the Roman Period a dramatic decline in settlement distribution is noted, with a total of only five sites known - and among them only one large village – Migdal-Afek. Twenty more settlements from the Byzantine period were discovered, indicating a significant rise in their number from the Roman period. The settlements include large villages, manor houses and monasteries which functioned from the 5th to 8th centuries.