WADI ḤAMAM 2007-2012 A

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Location

City

Wadi Ḥamam/Hamaam [חַמָּם, חמאם‎; حمام]

County

Al-Batuf Regional Council [מועצה אזורית אל-בטוף; البطوف]

Region

Northern [מחוז הצפון ; منطقة الشمال]

Country

Israel

Lat/Long/Alt

32.827251361842 / 35.48938664144 / -113.5 view

Location details

Centred on field

Find spot comment

"Khirbet Wadi Hamam is located in the eastern Lower Galilee above the gorge of Wadi Arbel (Hamam), two km west of the Sea of Galilee" (Leibner 2010, 221).

Information

5386

Permalink

https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/hoard/5386

Hoard name

WADI ḤAMAM 2007-2012 A

Alternative names

חַמָּם, حمام‎‎, Hamaam, Weradim; THE BURNT HOUSE IN AREA B

Data type

Hoard

Date of discovery (from)

2007

(to)

2009

Total number of coins

Summary

The hoard comprised 17 silver coins (Vespasian-Hadrian) and 43 bronze coins.

Details
Coins Summary
Coins
Rating
Archaeological context
Containers
Objects
References
Reports
Images
Credit

Discovery method

Controlled archaeological investigation
Disposition

Israel Antiquity Authority (IAA 149440-149499)
Finder(s)

Uzi Leibner (Hebrew University)
Comment

Area B "Burnt House" Hoard
Closing reign (earliest)

Hadrian
Terminal year (earliest)

123
Closing reign (latest)

Hadrian
Terminal year (latest)

135
Opening year (earliest)

69
Opening year (latest)

71
Coin-level data

Available to enter

Fetching coin data

Numismatic rating

Excellent
Context rating

Excellent
Findspot rating

Excellent

Date of excavation (from)

2007
Date of excavation (to)

2012
Site comment

"The coins were found stuck together in a lump in the ash layer on the floor (L2B034) and seem to have originally been in some sort of pocket that did not survive. The hoard may have been hidden between the ceiling beams or in the second story" (Leibner and Bijovsky 2013, 110). "A massive ash layer (locus 2B021), c.50 cm thick, was found above the ground floor of the NW room, indicating that the house had been destroyed by fire before its collapse. Many large nails and charcoal negatives of the wooden beams from the floor of the second storey were found in the ash layer. The rich assemblage of artifacts from this context, including pottery and glass vessels, oil lamps, a sword and a spearhead, clearly dates to the time of the dwelling’s destruction. Evidence of the fire was also found in the courtyard. Among the objects found above the floor (loci 2B032, 2B034) were a bronze mirror, a catapult arrowhead, and a large, lathe-turned stone krater (sometimes identified as a qalal) similar to those found in Jerusalem in the late Second Temple period. A hoard of 60 bronze and silver coins, mainly from the early 2nd c., was found in the NE corner of the NW room and indicates a date for the destruction in the third or fourth decade of that century. The latest coins are silver denarii from the third consulate of Hadrian (119-38) and a bronze coin with a countermark of Legio VI Ferrata (c.123-35), which raise the possibility that the destruction was connected to the Bar-Kokhba revolt." (Leibner 2010, 225).
Associated features

The hoard may have been hidden between the ceiling beams or in the second storey. In the northwestern corner of the same room, a sword of spatha type, along with a spearhead. These weapons were probably hidden beneath a haystack or other organic material.
Recovery method

Excavation
Site class

Urban