July 2011: A well-preserved, 3,000-year-old four-room house from the Biblical Kingdom of Israel has been discovered on Haifa’s southern coast by University of Haifa archaeologists. The archaeologists stated that the discovery presents a rare opportunity to study and become familiar with everyday life in the days of the Kingdom of Israel. Old photographs of the 1970s excavations show a house dating back to the 8th-9th centuries BCE, which is the period of the Kingdom of Israel.
The photographs led the researchers to estimate the location of the house and fortunately they located the structure and also found it highly preserved. The archaeologists from Haifa University re-examined the structure and were amazed to find that it had remained well preserved and is in fact the best-preserved “Four-Room House” dating back to that period known today.

“We had seen the structure in the old photographs and were sorry that such a rarely preserved finding had disappeared due to neglect. We were not even sure that we would be able to find it again. It was practically a miracle that we managed to locate and uncover it and that it is still so well preserved,” stated Dr. Shay Bar and Dr. Michael Eisenberg of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, who headed the excavation team. They hope to include the structure in the public archaeological park.

The structure’s design of a “four-room house,” the most common design for houses in that era, is characterized by the functional division of the structure into four living spaces: three positioned vertically and the fourth horizontally. The other four-room houses exposed to date have been found in relatively bad condition.

An additional rare find exposed during the excavations belonging to the period of the Kingdom of Israel is a personal seal showing an inscription in Hebrew or Phoenician. The researchers hope that deciphering this inscription will give the answer to whether the settlement of that time was in fact Israelite or Phoenician.

Other findings from that period give evidence of expansive trade with Middle Eastern neighbors. These include relics imported from Cyprus and the coast of Lebanon, which arrived in fine, delicate vessels of high-quality ceramic. Also exposed were remains of purple-colored pitcher shards. The researchers explain that these are likely to be rare cases of preserved dye, which is reinforced by the fact that hundreds of the purple dye-producing mollusc shells were also found at the site.

They also found remains of a Persian city, dating back 2,400 years, and of a 1,500-year-old Byzantine town. The discoveries at the Shikmona Nature Reserve site involved what experts claim was detective work, due to the site’s having been excavated 42 years ago but since covered with garbage and earth. Underneath the remains of the Persian era structure, were found an oven, clay loom, weights and storage pitchers, indicating a Persian settlement of the area.

At the site of the Byzantine house, a number of destroyed mosaic floors and storage rooms were uncovered, while dozens of vessels there survived the ruins and were found whole. Many coins, ornaments, pendant, weapons and glass vessels were also found there, providing evidence of the wealth of the inhabitants.

The twelve tribes of Israel were predominately rural agriculturalists with herds of cattle, sheep, goats and domesticated animals. They grew grain crops, and tended olive, nut, date and fruit orchards. In addition there were members of the tribes who were skilled craftsmen which supported all the needs of the clans. The types of dwellings in ancient Israel accomodated the needs accordingly in the rural lifestyle, small villages and larger cities. Tents were used by nomadic and semi-nomadic clans and mudbrick houses accomodated village people. More elaborate structures accomodated people in cities.

Tents were used by rural nomadic people, who followed their flocks to pasture and water and moved according to the seasons. The semi-nomadic people were based in a village, but also lived part of the year in upper or lower pasture areas.

These tents had two sections; a front section where the men lived with their family and where visitors were entertained; and a private section at the rear for the women and their children. Each family tent had an area set aside for cooking and other forms of woman’s labour.

In addition there was a special women’s tent for birthing and seperation from the men during the women’s menstral cycle. Such tents existed for the reasons specified according to  Lev.15:19-33 and Lev 12: 1-8. In addition an elder woman or widow who was also a midwife, managed the admissions and dismissals.  It would have been a very busy tent with young girls reaching puberity, women in menses and of course women giving birth who where also required to stay away from there husbands as well as other men and young unmarried males for various lengths of time. Naturally the birthing area of the tent was seperated from other women for the purpose of privacy. A normal minimum stay would be at least seven days. The number of days women stayed within this tent was determined by their circumstances. In addition women were educated in this tent regarding relationships, their womanhood and they all shared and exchanged experiences.

Another key point is that there was also a special men’s tent for men, when men with certain medical conditions warranted them unclean and therefore they were also seperated from the clan.

 The tents were made from goats’ hair, woven in strips on large looms and then stiched together with leather strands. Women wove the fabric for the tents; stitched them together; kept them in good repair, assembled them when the camp was established; and packed them when it was time to move on. The women were skilled and accustomed to working as a group. Today nomadic Bedouin women continue to live this way.

Rural houses gradually replaced tents when the agricultural nomadic way of life became secured in villages. Stone was used in the house foundations. The basic plan used for houses included a central courtyard with a number of rooms opening from it. These rooms were small with a minimum of windows. Lattice and shutters were used to cover window openings (Judges 5:28). Rooms were divided by wooden beams that supported a flat roof. The beams were covered with mudbrick or thatching and clay. The inner walls were finished with a smooth coat of clay or plaster and were frequently decorated with frescoes. The floors were generally wood or mosaic tiles. Wood or stone benches were used for sitting and sleeping. People reclined on cushions or mats on the floor. There were shelves for storage and the furnishings included the necessities such as a table, stools and oil lamps.

A wooden ladder or a set of stairs led to the roof, which was used as an outdoor room that was shaded by a matted awning. The courtyard and the roof were important parts of the house and were used for tasks such as spinning and weaving; and food preparation. The flat roof area might be used for sleeping, working and drying food or textiles (Joshua 2:6).

In the courtyard you might find toilet facilities, the bath-houses, for both men and women, a cooking area with a fire, cooking utensils and possibly an oven, implements for grinding small amounts of grain, a covered area where people sat while they worked or talked and an area for the family animals, a dog, a cat, possibly a donkey, goats or a cow.