Abu Ghosh, jasmine street: A PreGhassulian site in the judean hills

The excavations at Abu Ghosh revealed two phases dated to the PreGhassulian period, between the end of the sixth millennium and the midfifth millenium BCE. Three archaeologicalsedimentary layers were identified at the site: Layer I- Topsoil, Layer II-possibly EB I, and Layer III-PreGhassulian. The architecture of Layer III consisted of rectilinear units, with apparent passages and entrances between them, whose walls were built on stone foundations. Most of the pottery shows affinities with the QatifianBesorian horizons typical of southern sites. The lithic assemblages are characterized by sickle blades, bifacials and perforators. The groundstone tools and stone bowls are characteristic of repertories representing the transition between the Late PN and the Chalcolithic Ghassulian periods. The faunal remains indicate that the inhabitants of Abu Ghosh focused on raising domestic sheep, goats, pigs and, to a lesser extent, cattle. The archaeomalacological remains point to contacts with regions as far distant as the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Nile River. The excavation at Abu Ghosh offers insights into a number of unresolved issues relating to the material culture and subsistence of PreGhassulian sites in general, and contributes to our understanding of the development of the Late Prehistoric periods in the Jerusalem region in particular.