Gilgal 1999 Overview

Ofer Bar-Yosef, The Excavations at Gilgal I - an early Neolithic site in the Jordan Valley

The aim of this project is to bring to final publication the architectural remains, lithic and faunal assemblages excavated by the late Dr. Tamar Noy (Israel Museum) at Gilgal I, an early Neolithic village site in the Jordan Valley. The contexts of this early Neolithic site, radiocarbon-dated to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (=PPNA) are comparable to the basal Neolithic layers of Jericho. The excavations produced a wealth of lithic assemblages, somewhat limited amounts of faunal remains and a series of oval houses. In addition, large quantities of carbonized plant remains were retrieved, but the detailed studies of these will be conducted under the supervision of M. E. Kislev (Bar-Ilan University), in a project funded by the Israel Science Foundation.

The current proposal is dedicated solely towards the detailed lithic studies. Given the very large size of the collections, it was decided that the most efficient way would be to divide them into two areas. Those from the northern side will be processed, catalogued and analyzed in Tel¬Aviv University, under the supervision of Dr. A. Gopher, and the assemblages from the southern area will be studied at the Hebrew University under the supervision of Dr. N. Goring-Morris. Professor E. Tchernov (Hebrew University) who has already analyzed the faunal collections from the early seasons will complete his previous work.

Following the request of the Israel Museum, the entire project will be coordinated jointly by the applicant and Drs. Gopher and Goring-Morris. The final report on the archaeology of Gilgal I will be submitted for publication to the Peabody Museum, as was that of a previous excavation project, Netiv Hagdud, a near-by site from the same period. Given the well-designed nature of the project and its scope, it is planned that this will be accomplished within three years.