‘En Ḥaggit

INTRODUCTION

‘En Ḥaggit is a small village site (2–2.5 a.) located in the gently sloping hilly region of the Manasseh Highlands, near Naḥal Tut, immediately north of the pass leading from the Carmel coast (Dor) to the Jezreel Valley (Jokneam). The site does not appear in the Daliya Map of the Israel Antiquities Authority Survey. It was discovered before the construction of the Ḥaggit electrical power plant. Excavations were conducted in 1992–1993 by S. Wolff on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Four main areas of excavation were opened (areas A–D).

EXCAVATION RESULTS

THE MIDDLE BRONZE AGE IIC. One of the few examples of an excavated enclosed rural site from the Middle Bronze Age IIC was revealed, including a series of domestic rooms and portions of a 1.7 m-wide enclosure wall (in areas C and D). Finds of special interest include a jar handle bearing the impression of a Hyksos scarab, a fragment of Tell el-Yahudiyeh ware, several fragments of Cypriot red-on-black ware, and a fragment of a potter’s wheel. The economy of this small rural site was based on agriculture supplemented by animal husbandry, including significant swine-herding activity. Sheep and goat comprised 53 percent of the total faunal assemblage, cattle 24 percent, and pig 20 percent.

THE LATE BRONZE AGE IIA. A gap in occupation was punctuated by a Late Bronze Age burial from area C containing 15 complete vessels (including nine Cypriot base-ring I and II pieces).