<p>Dunefield margins are prone to changing domination between aeoli... more <p>Dunefield margins are prone to changing domination between aeolian and fluvial systems. Dominating aeolian systems divert or block fluvial systems or/and reduce their erosional forces often leading to amplified sedimentation by a wide range of unique aeolian-fluvial (A-F) sediments. Other arid environments are mainly dominated by eroding ephemeral fluvial systems that usually characterized by sediment degradation.</p><p>The late Pleistocene encroachment of vegetated linear dunes into the northwestern Negev desert dunefield  (Israel) comprised a distinct period of aeolian domination upon ephemeral drainage systems originating in the loess-clad Central Negev highlands. This study analyzes the sediments, geomorphology and landscape evolution caused by A-F processes along dunefield margins, in particular sediments deposited by dune-dammed water bodies slightly upstream of the dunefield edge and between VLDs, using high-resolution field mapping, relative (portable) and absolute OSL dating, stratigraphy and sedimentological analyses. These sediments have been generally mapped as playa sediments, understood to be deposited in a fluvial-dominated environment.</p><p>Six main A-F sediment types were identified and interpreted: (a) Aeolian sand appears to be remnants of fluvial eroded VLD.  (b) Fluvial sand originates from dune erosion and deposited nearby. (c) Massive loam to silty-clay loam relates to abrupt changes in the hydraulic parameters (width/depth ratio and water losses through infiltration) which induce sudden change in flow velocity, resulting in unsorted massive deposits of upstream loess and other desert soil bedload. (d) Couplets, similar to the massive loam, contains loess and upstream sediments deposited in a standing water body. (e) Laminated silty-clay-loam units were identified only between VLDs. (f) High-energy fluvial deposits, which contain loam, sand and pebbles, with  a clear erosional boundary that mark the upstream edge of A-F sedimentation.</p><p>The landscape of the Negev dunefield margins developed since the late Pleistocene by short-term aeolian domination, which gradually changed into fluvial domination during the Holocene. Dune-damming depositions occurred during this transition. First outside the dunefield, then propagated downstream into the dunefield. Fluvial aggradation of A-F sediments resulted in a vast playa-like flats, that following dune-dam breaching underwent incision, let alone in small (~<20 km<sup>2</sup>) basins.</p>
Limekilns, common throughout the southern Levant in carbonate rock highlands, were rare in aeolia... more Limekilns, common throughout the southern Levant in carbonate rock highlands, were rare in aeolian sand terrains. This study presents for the first time a limekiln within an archaeological landscape of an Early Islamic groundwater harvesting Plot-and-Berm agroecosystem, in an anthropogenically modified Mediterranean coastal dunefield near the ancient town of Caesarea. The agroecosystem consists of a checkerboard landscape pattern of human-made rectangular depressions used as agricultural plots possessing a distinct dark gray anthrosol. The anthrosols made of sand mixed with domestic refuse transported from Caesarea are hypothesized to retain physical agricultural utilities. The plots are confined by anthropogenically designed, sand-based berms, coated by anthrosediments. Applying archaeological, minerological (FTIR), microarchaeological (thin section analysis), portable OSL reconnaissance profiling, and OSL dating, coupled with similar data from nearby anthrosols and anthrosediments of the agroecosystem, we demonstrate that the limekiln produced pyrogenic lime. The lime additives, in combination with the refuse, enrichened and stabilized the aeolian sand substrate and probably improved its water retention capacity. These actions demonstrate an additional technological innovation regarding water harvesting in "dead" lands that, in turn, supported for a defined timespan extensive agricultural practice whose crop types/species remain a mystery. The limekiln possibly functioned for a couple hundred years, contemporary and imbricated with the P&B agroecosystem. It is the first evidence of such an endeavor to improve sandy soil properties for a novel and ancient agricultural practice.
<p>Aeolian-Fluvial (A-F) processes along dunefield margins document environmental c... more <p>Aeolian-Fluvial (A-F) processes along dunefield margins document environmental changes in arid zones around the world. In the present study, at the northwestern Negev dunefield (Israel) margins, high-resolution chrono-stratigraphic analysis of marginal Vegetated Linear Dunes (VLDs) and fine-grained alluvial plains was conducted. Nineteen stratigraphic sections were analyzed in detail. Dating included pre-measurements using Portable Optically Stimulated Luminescence (POSL), which were used to decipher representative samples for OSL dating. Selected hearth and vegetation samples were radiocarbon dated as well.</p><p>A-F processes along dunefield margins may generate reliable and detailed palaeoarchives, by combining POSL and OSL analyses. VLDs, prone to defined periods of activation and stabilization, control a gradual and lagged shift from aeolian to fluvial domination in the dune-dammed dunefield margins, succeeding dunefield stabilization.</p><p>In an aeolian-dominated environment, either fully or partly dammed fluvial systems aggregate upstream-sourced sediments along the dunefield margins, forming an alluvial plain. Dune-dam waterbody deposits include three distinct types: (a) event-based couplets, (b) massive structureless loam and (c) fine-laminas. These deposits that may remain preserved for substantial times bury usually truncated dune remains. Aeolian deflation of fine-grained sediments from dune-dam waterbody deposits, percolated into adjacent marginal VLD, initiating pedogenic processes. Altogether, dune-dam impoundments were found to be spatially dynamic processes, in which the dune-dammed fluvial system gradually propagates downstream from the dunefiled margin into the dunefield. Each impoundment was generated by slightly or distinctly different A-F mechanisms depending on the location of the damming-dunes in relation to the dunefield margins.  </p><p>In the northwestern Negev, three major sand incursions into <180 km<sup>2</sup> fluvial systems during the LGM, Heinrich-1 and Younger-Dryas, resulted in localized and usually seasonal waterbodies, utilized by EpiPalaeolithic hunter-gatherers . This study also revelaed that during the early Holocene a climatic shift, which left a signature in the Mediterranean Basin in the form of Sapropel-1, was recorded along the dunefield margins, forming the last, upper and significant portion of the alluvial plains. This aggregative environment was also utilized by Neolithic and Chalcolithic man in some basins, locally reactivating VLDs. After dune-dam breaching, a fluvial-dominated environment developed, characterized by floodplain deposition, and scour and fill patterns.</p>
<p>“Plot-and-Berm” (P&B) agroecosystems consist... more <p>“Plot-and-Berm” (P&B) agroecosystems consist of relatively unrecognized but sophisticated in-situ agricultural utilization of a high water table within loose, aeolian sand sheets situated in agricultural hinterlands in arid to Mediterranean climates in the Middle East, north Africa and Iberia, the latter historically dating between the Middle Ages to Early Modern times. The agroecosystem is comprised of a checkerboard array of agricultural plots sunken between 3-8 m high berms. The earliest recognized P&B agroecosystems are Early Islamic to early Crusader (9th-early 12th centuries a.d.) within several coastal sand bodies of Israel, that were abandoned by unclear reasons. We focus on the agroecosystem at the southern outskirts of ancient Caesarea that include limekilns, walls, and small structures with small amounts of in-situ artifacts. Our methods include geospatial mapping, relative and absolute luminescence chrono-stratigraphy, and analysis of pedological, geochemical, archaeological, archaeobotanical, and artifactual finds from surveys and three excavations coupled with a review of medieval Arabic agricultural manuals (<em>kutub al-filāḥa</em>) as well as other relevant literary sources.</p><p>The plot level enables easy and year-round access to the groundwater for crop roots and for digging shallow and open pit-like wells for manual irrigation. The current water table at the Caesarea was found to be uniformly 1 m beneath the anthrosol in several plots. The confined plots are hypothesized to also provide enhanced climatic conditions for agriculture: increased solar insolation while being protected from winds. Imported fine-grained refuse from nearby town dumps enrichen the inert plot sand forming distinct 30-50 cm thick, dark grey, sand-loam anthrosols that served agriculture. The plot anthrosols are not uniform in their geochemistry, texture and compaction. Initial OSL ages of the anthrosol suggest a ~200 year span of agriculture practice.</p><p>The berms are coated with a similar but less dense mix of sand with refuse, forming a dark anthrosediment. Atop the anthrosediment is a thin coat of 2-15 cm wide ceramic and artifacts that protect the berms from aeolian and slopewash erosion and therefor berm slopes were probably not utilized for crops. Berms are found to be fully made of sand mixed with refuse, with hints of Roman activity at the level of their basal sand.</p><p>Despite the current absence of historical documentation regarding the Early Islamic agroecosystems, and based on gross calculations of the immense efforts to construct the berms and import refuse, we suggest that these enterprises required administrative support. The presence of several agroecosystems along the coast of Israel, two of which date by OSL and artifacts to the same timespan, strengthen our understanding that a regional governance was behind the development of these agroecosystems. These agroecosystems are proposed to have been developed in response to religio-administrative calls for a type of<em> mawāt</em> (Arabic: “dead”) land reclamation. This effort was probably combined with an economic agricultural incentive and demand for a certain productive, rewarding and possibly unique crop whose type remains a pressing mystery.</p>
<p>The internal structure of dunes often lacks clear internal boundaries and compli... more <p>The internal structure of dunes often lacks clear internal boundaries and complicates allostratigraphic analyses and correlation with adjacent dunes. Furthermore, several dune studies involved hand-drilling, which exclude allostratigraphic analysis. Here, high-resolution sand  sampling from two linear dune sections and a hand-drilled linear dune, was performed along the northwestern Negev (Israel) dunefield. The bulk samples were used for allostratigraphic analysis by Portable Optically Stimulated Luminescence (POSL) device. The samples were clustered by a Mean-shift unsupervised cluster analysis, applied on the Infra-Red and Blue counts, previously found to vary according to the time of burial, mineralogy and luminescence properties. OSL ages and particle size distribution were reviewed according to the cluster analysis results.</p><p>The POSL cluster analysis can reliably outline dosimetric breakpoints between units along  a single stratigraphic section and between adjacent dune sections. The clusters document a distinct depositional period when OSL age ranges match well with the POSL clusters. Textural and mineralogical differences, generated by several mechanisms such as post-depositional processes, dune degradation followed by nearby alluvial sand aggradation, pedogenesis, and shrub root penetration can also account for dosimetric breakpoints and need to be considered.</p>
<p><strong>High-resolution analysis of late Quaternary aeolianites on... more <p><strong>High-resolution analysis of late Quaternary aeolianites on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Israel </strong></p><p><strong>Mokaya, B.L.<sup>1,2</sup>, Roskin, J.<sup>2,3</sup>, Koren, A.<sup>4</sup>, Filin, S. <sup>4</sup>, Bookman, R<sup>1</sup>., </strong></p><ul><li>Charney School of Marine Sciences, Department of Marine Geosciences, University of Haifa, Israel</li> <li>Geomorphology and Portable Luminescence Laboratory, the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies (RIMS), University of Haifa, Israel</li> <li>Department of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University, Israel</li> <li>Mapping and Geo-Information Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel</li> </ul><p> </p><p>Aeolianites ridges are petrified sand dunes deposited at low to mid-latitude coasts. The location, structure and lithification properties of aeolianite ridges is generally understood to reflect changes in sea level, strong wind power, fetch parameters, and sediment availability. The Israeli coast has a chain of both submerged and inland aeolianites ridges running parallel to the southeastern Mediterranean coastline. The aeolianites consist of discontinuous accumulations of fine-and cross-bedded Nilotic sands, differentially lithified by carbonate. Red, sandy palaeosoils divide the aeolianite units and represent periods of reduced wind power and stabilization. Previous studies present low-resolution dating and finds are poorly correlated with climatic and environmental events related to deposition or lithification.</p><p>This study describes the vertical and lateral evolution of an elongated aeolianite ridge, at first a sand dune that accumulated and lithified along the palaeo Israeli Mediterranean coast during the last glacial period. The main objective is to explore the dune development at single-bed to sand package stages in time and their relation to local environmental conditions and regional climatic trends and possible changes.</p><p>The methodology included high-resolution LiDAR scanned enriched by RGB image data of exposed sections, detailed Portable OSL analysis accompanied with OSL dating, and sedimentological characterization. Sedimentological analysis shows that aeolian accumulation occurred as discrete laminae that built-up cross-bedded sediment packages. Beds continuously alternate between loose sand to cemented ones. The loose laminae consist almost entirely of quartz grains, while the lithified laminae are dominated by calcium carbonate cement. Since cementation is parallel to the aeolian accumulation, it is proposed that this incipient lithification may represent a surficial process that occurred while the dune was still active and accumulating. It may represent microbiotic crusts activated by moisture conditions. These can serve as biomarkers for wind power and wetness duration.</p><p>POSL measurements have bright blue OSL signals (12-17 million) and very similar depletion and IRSL-OSL ratios that demonstrate sedimentological similarity that is suitable for reliable POSL profiling. POSL profiling revealed a high-resolution and in-order chronostratigraphy. This may suggest that the sand laminations represent specific wind events at a very high seasonal to even diurnal resolution. Lateral POSL results reveal a certain value range and it does not demonstrate evidence for a significant change in depositional age, while the vertical profile demonstrates a linear upwards decrease in count values. The trends also demonstrate that the quartz grains do not possess a saturated OSL signal. Upcoming OSL dating and outcrop image analysis will better constrain the accumulation rates and their possible connection to environmental and climatic drivers. </p>
During the Early Islamic period, groundwater-harvesting agroecosystems in sand appeared along the... more During the Early Islamic period, groundwater-harvesting agroecosystems in sand appeared along the southeastern Mediterranean coast in the form of plot and berm (P&B) agroecosystems. P&B agroecosystems are agricultural utilizations of shallow, perched rainfall-fed groundwater tables within loose aeolian sand sheets of agricultural hinterlands. These systems involve man-made sand berms that delimit sunken agricultural plots in which refuse-enriched sand transformed into distinct anthrosols. Groundwater table is easily accessible to crop roots and/or humans for water extraction and can support several annual crop cycles. P&B agroecosystems demonstrate innovative adaptations to aeolian and fluvial erosion. Despite the lack of written records, these agroecosystems apparently developed in response to religio-administrative calls for a type of mawāt (Arabic: “dead”) land reclamation. Mawāt are unowned wastelands, which were an important religion-based matter in Islamic economic history. Contemporary mawasi agroecosystems along the northeastern Sinai Peninsula and Southern Gaza Strip Mediterranean coast are similar to the Early Islamic systems. They are reclaimed today by sedentary Bedouins using mechanized water drilling and modification of plot and soil surface levels to compensate for fluctuating groundwater levels. Prior to the mid-twentieth century, Arab peasants cultivated grapes and fruit trees in interdune plantations along the Gaza Strip and southern Israeli coast where the groundwater table was several meters beneath the surface. These three groundwater harvesting agroecosystems in sand are resourceful rainfall-fed agrotechnologies that are independent of the physical and juridical constraints of surficial water supply systems. The unique concentration of these agroecosystems along the southeastern Mediterranean coastal strip implies that biocultural memories were probably transmitted by Islamic culture since their hypothesized inception in coastal Israel. Preservation of these sustainable agroecosystems is a matter of geoethical responsibility and should be treated like other endangered archaeo-landscape elements of the Mediterranean past.
This study presents a new methodological approach by which to identify the function, relative age... more This study presents a new methodological approach by which to identify the function, relative age, and field relations between buried walls at two sites in the valley of Nahal (wadi) Zanoah along the morphological contact between the Judean Highland Hills and Foothills. Sedimentology and relative pulsed-photon stimulated luminescence (PPSL)-based chronology of fine-grained sediments beneath, within, above, and abutting the studied walls, reveal the sedimentation phases of the valley and the role of these walls. A wadi-terrace wall was revealed bordering alluvium of a buried and ancient course of Nahal Zanoah, reflecting a more energetic flow regime than that of today. On the palaeosurface of the infilled sediment behind the wadi-terrace wall and up-valley are low field walls, probably marking agricultural boundaries. The upvalley field wall upon colluvium is found to be slightly more mature than the field wall positioned in the wadi-terraceAn overlaying ~0.75 m of sediment originati...
Growing infrastructure development in Israel has increased the number of rescue excavations invol... more Growing infrastructure development in Israel has increased the number of rescue excavations involving multi-layer archaeological sites and "megasites" in landscapes ranging from dunes to clayrich soils and yielding prehistoric to early modern finds. The limited time and resources allocated for the excavations requires rapid on-site scientific data, which are used for research during and after excavation, prioritizing artefact treatment, sediment analysis, and absolute and relative dating.
<p&amp... more <p>Pleistocene primary and secondary loess remains cover large parts of the landscape in the Negev in Israel and have been postulated in southern Jordan, but Holocene deposits are absent. We hypothesized that archaeological structures might represent effective dust traps which preserve Holocene dust, and investigated soils developed on archaeological hilltop ruins. These were compared them with local soils, paleosols, geological outcrops, and current dust. Statistically modeled grain size end-members were identified and demonstrate that the ruin soils in both regions consist of mixtures of local and remote sediment sources that differ from dust compositions deposited during current storms. This discrepancy is attributed to fixation processes connected with sediment-fixing agents such as vegetation, biocrusts, and/or clast pavements associated with vesicular layers (similar to desert pavements). It suggests that dust deposition depends not only on supply, but that sedimentation processes play a major role. Precipitation may have contributed to dust accretion, as a snowstorm in the Petra region delivered a significantly higher amount of sediment than rain or dry deposition. Snowfall dust had a unique particle size distribution relatively similar to the ruin soils. Wet deposition and snow might catalyze dust deposition and enhance fixation by fostering vegetation and crust formation, which suggests that more frequent snowfall during the Pleistocene may have been an important mechanism of primary loess deposition in the southern Levant.</p>
One of the largest prehistoric settlements in Israel and Jordan was uncovered by the Motza salvag... more One of the largest prehistoric settlements in Israel and Jordan was uncovered by the Motza salvage excavation in the largest and deepestdrainage basin of the Judean highlands in central Israel. On a fan-shaped piedmont-like slope probably developed from Neolithic waste and materials and covering more than 0.5 km, the Motza “megasite” comprises more than 1,200 excavation squares, each measuring 25 sq.m. Plastered structures, a rich artefactual assemblage and a distinct unit of angular clasts containing artefacts dating mainly to the final stage of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period suggest a significant engagement with surrounding resources. A geospatial analysis of the Motza region is presented with preliminary artefactual, geoarchaeological and analytical results from the excavation and a review of regional palaeoclimate, palaeoenvironment and geoscientific studies. The present and past geomorphic processes, and the hydrology of the site’s environs are assessed and their influence on-site selection and sustainability are discussed. The Early Holocene palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions during a geomorphic time-window help to explain the Neolithic climax that apparently generated a reasonable ecogeomorphic impact, probably for the first time in the region. However, this review cannot offer deterministic explanations, especially regarding the abandonment of the megasite. The limitations of palaeo-reconstruction and the impact of recycled landscapes and intensive early modern-to-modern land use are discussed, along with the contribution of the occupiers of the megasite to shaping the regional Mediterranean landscape to the present day.
<p>Dunefield margins are prone to changing domination between aeoli... more <p>Dunefield margins are prone to changing domination between aeolian and fluvial systems. Dominating aeolian systems divert or block fluvial systems or/and reduce their erosional forces often leading to amplified sedimentation by a wide range of unique aeolian-fluvial (A-F) sediments. Other arid environments are mainly dominated by eroding ephemeral fluvial systems that usually characterized by sediment degradation.</p><p>The late Pleistocene encroachment of vegetated linear dunes into the northwestern Negev desert dunefield  (Israel) comprised a distinct period of aeolian domination upon ephemeral drainage systems originating in the loess-clad Central Negev highlands. This study analyzes the sediments, geomorphology and landscape evolution caused by A-F processes along dunefield margins, in particular sediments deposited by dune-dammed water bodies slightly upstream of the dunefield edge and between VLDs, using high-resolution field mapping, relative (portable) and absolute OSL dating, stratigraphy and sedimentological analyses. These sediments have been generally mapped as playa sediments, understood to be deposited in a fluvial-dominated environment.</p><p>Six main A-F sediment types were identified and interpreted: (a) Aeolian sand appears to be remnants of fluvial eroded VLD.  (b) Fluvial sand originates from dune erosion and deposited nearby. (c) Massive loam to silty-clay loam relates to abrupt changes in the hydraulic parameters (width/depth ratio and water losses through infiltration) which induce sudden change in flow velocity, resulting in unsorted massive deposits of upstream loess and other desert soil bedload. (d) Couplets, similar to the massive loam, contains loess and upstream sediments deposited in a standing water body. (e) Laminated silty-clay-loam units were identified only between VLDs. (f) High-energy fluvial deposits, which contain loam, sand and pebbles, with  a clear erosional boundary that mark the upstream edge of A-F sedimentation.</p><p>The landscape of the Negev dunefield margins developed since the late Pleistocene by short-term aeolian domination, which gradually changed into fluvial domination during the Holocene. Dune-damming depositions occurred during this transition. First outside the dunefield, then propagated downstream into the dunefield. Fluvial aggradation of A-F sediments resulted in a vast playa-like flats, that following dune-dam breaching underwent incision, let alone in small (~<20 km<sup>2</sup>) basins.</p>
Limekilns, common throughout the southern Levant in carbonate rock highlands, were rare in aeolia... more Limekilns, common throughout the southern Levant in carbonate rock highlands, were rare in aeolian sand terrains. This study presents for the first time a limekiln within an archaeological landscape of an Early Islamic groundwater harvesting Plot-and-Berm agroecosystem, in an anthropogenically modified Mediterranean coastal dunefield near the ancient town of Caesarea. The agroecosystem consists of a checkerboard landscape pattern of human-made rectangular depressions used as agricultural plots possessing a distinct dark gray anthrosol. The anthrosols made of sand mixed with domestic refuse transported from Caesarea are hypothesized to retain physical agricultural utilities. The plots are confined by anthropogenically designed, sand-based berms, coated by anthrosediments. Applying archaeological, minerological (FTIR), microarchaeological (thin section analysis), portable OSL reconnaissance profiling, and OSL dating, coupled with similar data from nearby anthrosols and anthrosediments of the agroecosystem, we demonstrate that the limekiln produced pyrogenic lime. The lime additives, in combination with the refuse, enrichened and stabilized the aeolian sand substrate and probably improved its water retention capacity. These actions demonstrate an additional technological innovation regarding water harvesting in "dead" lands that, in turn, supported for a defined timespan extensive agricultural practice whose crop types/species remain a mystery. The limekiln possibly functioned for a couple hundred years, contemporary and imbricated with the P&B agroecosystem. It is the first evidence of such an endeavor to improve sandy soil properties for a novel and ancient agricultural practice.
<p>Aeolian-Fluvial (A-F) processes along dunefield margins document environmental c... more <p>Aeolian-Fluvial (A-F) processes along dunefield margins document environmental changes in arid zones around the world. In the present study, at the northwestern Negev dunefield (Israel) margins, high-resolution chrono-stratigraphic analysis of marginal Vegetated Linear Dunes (VLDs) and fine-grained alluvial plains was conducted. Nineteen stratigraphic sections were analyzed in detail. Dating included pre-measurements using Portable Optically Stimulated Luminescence (POSL), which were used to decipher representative samples for OSL dating. Selected hearth and vegetation samples were radiocarbon dated as well.</p><p>A-F processes along dunefield margins may generate reliable and detailed palaeoarchives, by combining POSL and OSL analyses. VLDs, prone to defined periods of activation and stabilization, control a gradual and lagged shift from aeolian to fluvial domination in the dune-dammed dunefield margins, succeeding dunefield stabilization.</p><p>In an aeolian-dominated environment, either fully or partly dammed fluvial systems aggregate upstream-sourced sediments along the dunefield margins, forming an alluvial plain. Dune-dam waterbody deposits include three distinct types: (a) event-based couplets, (b) massive structureless loam and (c) fine-laminas. These deposits that may remain preserved for substantial times bury usually truncated dune remains. Aeolian deflation of fine-grained sediments from dune-dam waterbody deposits, percolated into adjacent marginal VLD, initiating pedogenic processes. Altogether, dune-dam impoundments were found to be spatially dynamic processes, in which the dune-dammed fluvial system gradually propagates downstream from the dunefiled margin into the dunefield. Each impoundment was generated by slightly or distinctly different A-F mechanisms depending on the location of the damming-dunes in relation to the dunefield margins.  </p><p>In the northwestern Negev, three major sand incursions into <180 km<sup>2</sup> fluvial systems during the LGM, Heinrich-1 and Younger-Dryas, resulted in localized and usually seasonal waterbodies, utilized by EpiPalaeolithic hunter-gatherers . This study also revelaed that during the early Holocene a climatic shift, which left a signature in the Mediterranean Basin in the form of Sapropel-1, was recorded along the dunefield margins, forming the last, upper and significant portion of the alluvial plains. This aggregative environment was also utilized by Neolithic and Chalcolithic man in some basins, locally reactivating VLDs. After dune-dam breaching, a fluvial-dominated environment developed, characterized by floodplain deposition, and scour and fill patterns.</p>
<p>“Plot-and-Berm” (P&B) agroecosystems consist... more <p>“Plot-and-Berm” (P&B) agroecosystems consist of relatively unrecognized but sophisticated in-situ agricultural utilization of a high water table within loose, aeolian sand sheets situated in agricultural hinterlands in arid to Mediterranean climates in the Middle East, north Africa and Iberia, the latter historically dating between the Middle Ages to Early Modern times. The agroecosystem is comprised of a checkerboard array of agricultural plots sunken between 3-8 m high berms. The earliest recognized P&B agroecosystems are Early Islamic to early Crusader (9th-early 12th centuries a.d.) within several coastal sand bodies of Israel, that were abandoned by unclear reasons. We focus on the agroecosystem at the southern outskirts of ancient Caesarea that include limekilns, walls, and small structures with small amounts of in-situ artifacts. Our methods include geospatial mapping, relative and absolute luminescence chrono-stratigraphy, and analysis of pedological, geochemical, archaeological, archaeobotanical, and artifactual finds from surveys and three excavations coupled with a review of medieval Arabic agricultural manuals (<em>kutub al-filāḥa</em>) as well as other relevant literary sources.</p><p>The plot level enables easy and year-round access to the groundwater for crop roots and for digging shallow and open pit-like wells for manual irrigation. The current water table at the Caesarea was found to be uniformly 1 m beneath the anthrosol in several plots. The confined plots are hypothesized to also provide enhanced climatic conditions for agriculture: increased solar insolation while being protected from winds. Imported fine-grained refuse from nearby town dumps enrichen the inert plot sand forming distinct 30-50 cm thick, dark grey, sand-loam anthrosols that served agriculture. The plot anthrosols are not uniform in their geochemistry, texture and compaction. Initial OSL ages of the anthrosol suggest a ~200 year span of agriculture practice.</p><p>The berms are coated with a similar but less dense mix of sand with refuse, forming a dark anthrosediment. Atop the anthrosediment is a thin coat of 2-15 cm wide ceramic and artifacts that protect the berms from aeolian and slopewash erosion and therefor berm slopes were probably not utilized for crops. Berms are found to be fully made of sand mixed with refuse, with hints of Roman activity at the level of their basal sand.</p><p>Despite the current absence of historical documentation regarding the Early Islamic agroecosystems, and based on gross calculations of the immense efforts to construct the berms and import refuse, we suggest that these enterprises required administrative support. The presence of several agroecosystems along the coast of Israel, two of which date by OSL and artifacts to the same timespan, strengthen our understanding that a regional governance was behind the development of these agroecosystems. These agroecosystems are proposed to have been developed in response to religio-administrative calls for a type of<em> mawāt</em> (Arabic: “dead”) land reclamation. This effort was probably combined with an economic agricultural incentive and demand for a certain productive, rewarding and possibly unique crop whose type remains a pressing mystery.</p>
<p>The internal structure of dunes often lacks clear internal boundaries and compli... more <p>The internal structure of dunes often lacks clear internal boundaries and complicates allostratigraphic analyses and correlation with adjacent dunes. Furthermore, several dune studies involved hand-drilling, which exclude allostratigraphic analysis. Here, high-resolution sand  sampling from two linear dune sections and a hand-drilled linear dune, was performed along the northwestern Negev (Israel) dunefield. The bulk samples were used for allostratigraphic analysis by Portable Optically Stimulated Luminescence (POSL) device. The samples were clustered by a Mean-shift unsupervised cluster analysis, applied on the Infra-Red and Blue counts, previously found to vary according to the time of burial, mineralogy and luminescence properties. OSL ages and particle size distribution were reviewed according to the cluster analysis results.</p><p>The POSL cluster analysis can reliably outline dosimetric breakpoints between units along  a single stratigraphic section and between adjacent dune sections. The clusters document a distinct depositional period when OSL age ranges match well with the POSL clusters. Textural and mineralogical differences, generated by several mechanisms such as post-depositional processes, dune degradation followed by nearby alluvial sand aggradation, pedogenesis, and shrub root penetration can also account for dosimetric breakpoints and need to be considered.</p>
<p><strong>High-resolution analysis of late Quaternary aeolianites on... more <p><strong>High-resolution analysis of late Quaternary aeolianites on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Israel </strong></p><p><strong>Mokaya, B.L.<sup>1,2</sup>, Roskin, J.<sup>2,3</sup>, Koren, A.<sup>4</sup>, Filin, S. <sup>4</sup>, Bookman, R<sup>1</sup>., </strong></p><ul><li>Charney School of Marine Sciences, Department of Marine Geosciences, University of Haifa, Israel</li> <li>Geomorphology and Portable Luminescence Laboratory, the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies (RIMS), University of Haifa, Israel</li> <li>Department of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University, Israel</li> <li>Mapping and Geo-Information Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel</li> </ul><p> </p><p>Aeolianites ridges are petrified sand dunes deposited at low to mid-latitude coasts. The location, structure and lithification properties of aeolianite ridges is generally understood to reflect changes in sea level, strong wind power, fetch parameters, and sediment availability. The Israeli coast has a chain of both submerged and inland aeolianites ridges running parallel to the southeastern Mediterranean coastline. The aeolianites consist of discontinuous accumulations of fine-and cross-bedded Nilotic sands, differentially lithified by carbonate. Red, sandy palaeosoils divide the aeolianite units and represent periods of reduced wind power and stabilization. Previous studies present low-resolution dating and finds are poorly correlated with climatic and environmental events related to deposition or lithification.</p><p>This study describes the vertical and lateral evolution of an elongated aeolianite ridge, at first a sand dune that accumulated and lithified along the palaeo Israeli Mediterranean coast during the last glacial period. The main objective is to explore the dune development at single-bed to sand package stages in time and their relation to local environmental conditions and regional climatic trends and possible changes.</p><p>The methodology included high-resolution LiDAR scanned enriched by RGB image data of exposed sections, detailed Portable OSL analysis accompanied with OSL dating, and sedimentological characterization. Sedimentological analysis shows that aeolian accumulation occurred as discrete laminae that built-up cross-bedded sediment packages. Beds continuously alternate between loose sand to cemented ones. The loose laminae consist almost entirely of quartz grains, while the lithified laminae are dominated by calcium carbonate cement. Since cementation is parallel to the aeolian accumulation, it is proposed that this incipient lithification may represent a surficial process that occurred while the dune was still active and accumulating. It may represent microbiotic crusts activated by moisture conditions. These can serve as biomarkers for wind power and wetness duration.</p><p>POSL measurements have bright blue OSL signals (12-17 million) and very similar depletion and IRSL-OSL ratios that demonstrate sedimentological similarity that is suitable for reliable POSL profiling. POSL profiling revealed a high-resolution and in-order chronostratigraphy. This may suggest that the sand laminations represent specific wind events at a very high seasonal to even diurnal resolution. Lateral POSL results reveal a certain value range and it does not demonstrate evidence for a significant change in depositional age, while the vertical profile demonstrates a linear upwards decrease in count values. The trends also demonstrate that the quartz grains do not possess a saturated OSL signal. Upcoming OSL dating and outcrop image analysis will better constrain the accumulation rates and their possible connection to environmental and climatic drivers. </p>
During the Early Islamic period, groundwater-harvesting agroecosystems in sand appeared along the... more During the Early Islamic period, groundwater-harvesting agroecosystems in sand appeared along the southeastern Mediterranean coast in the form of plot and berm (P&B) agroecosystems. P&B agroecosystems are agricultural utilizations of shallow, perched rainfall-fed groundwater tables within loose aeolian sand sheets of agricultural hinterlands. These systems involve man-made sand berms that delimit sunken agricultural plots in which refuse-enriched sand transformed into distinct anthrosols. Groundwater table is easily accessible to crop roots and/or humans for water extraction and can support several annual crop cycles. P&B agroecosystems demonstrate innovative adaptations to aeolian and fluvial erosion. Despite the lack of written records, these agroecosystems apparently developed in response to religio-administrative calls for a type of mawāt (Arabic: “dead”) land reclamation. Mawāt are unowned wastelands, which were an important religion-based matter in Islamic economic history. Contemporary mawasi agroecosystems along the northeastern Sinai Peninsula and Southern Gaza Strip Mediterranean coast are similar to the Early Islamic systems. They are reclaimed today by sedentary Bedouins using mechanized water drilling and modification of plot and soil surface levels to compensate for fluctuating groundwater levels. Prior to the mid-twentieth century, Arab peasants cultivated grapes and fruit trees in interdune plantations along the Gaza Strip and southern Israeli coast where the groundwater table was several meters beneath the surface. These three groundwater harvesting agroecosystems in sand are resourceful rainfall-fed agrotechnologies that are independent of the physical and juridical constraints of surficial water supply systems. The unique concentration of these agroecosystems along the southeastern Mediterranean coastal strip implies that biocultural memories were probably transmitted by Islamic culture since their hypothesized inception in coastal Israel. Preservation of these sustainable agroecosystems is a matter of geoethical responsibility and should be treated like other endangered archaeo-landscape elements of the Mediterranean past.
This study presents a new methodological approach by which to identify the function, relative age... more This study presents a new methodological approach by which to identify the function, relative age, and field relations between buried walls at two sites in the valley of Nahal (wadi) Zanoah along the morphological contact between the Judean Highland Hills and Foothills. Sedimentology and relative pulsed-photon stimulated luminescence (PPSL)-based chronology of fine-grained sediments beneath, within, above, and abutting the studied walls, reveal the sedimentation phases of the valley and the role of these walls. A wadi-terrace wall was revealed bordering alluvium of a buried and ancient course of Nahal Zanoah, reflecting a more energetic flow regime than that of today. On the palaeosurface of the infilled sediment behind the wadi-terrace wall and up-valley are low field walls, probably marking agricultural boundaries. The upvalley field wall upon colluvium is found to be slightly more mature than the field wall positioned in the wadi-terraceAn overlaying ~0.75 m of sediment originati...
Growing infrastructure development in Israel has increased the number of rescue excavations invol... more Growing infrastructure development in Israel has increased the number of rescue excavations involving multi-layer archaeological sites and "megasites" in landscapes ranging from dunes to clayrich soils and yielding prehistoric to early modern finds. The limited time and resources allocated for the excavations requires rapid on-site scientific data, which are used for research during and after excavation, prioritizing artefact treatment, sediment analysis, and absolute and relative dating.
<p&amp... more <p>Pleistocene primary and secondary loess remains cover large parts of the landscape in the Negev in Israel and have been postulated in southern Jordan, but Holocene deposits are absent. We hypothesized that archaeological structures might represent effective dust traps which preserve Holocene dust, and investigated soils developed on archaeological hilltop ruins. These were compared them with local soils, paleosols, geological outcrops, and current dust. Statistically modeled grain size end-members were identified and demonstrate that the ruin soils in both regions consist of mixtures of local and remote sediment sources that differ from dust compositions deposited during current storms. This discrepancy is attributed to fixation processes connected with sediment-fixing agents such as vegetation, biocrusts, and/or clast pavements associated with vesicular layers (similar to desert pavements). It suggests that dust deposition depends not only on supply, but that sedimentation processes play a major role. Precipitation may have contributed to dust accretion, as a snowstorm in the Petra region delivered a significantly higher amount of sediment than rain or dry deposition. Snowfall dust had a unique particle size distribution relatively similar to the ruin soils. Wet deposition and snow might catalyze dust deposition and enhance fixation by fostering vegetation and crust formation, which suggests that more frequent snowfall during the Pleistocene may have been an important mechanism of primary loess deposition in the southern Levant.</p>
One of the largest prehistoric settlements in Israel and Jordan was uncovered by the Motza salvag... more One of the largest prehistoric settlements in Israel and Jordan was uncovered by the Motza salvage excavation in the largest and deepestdrainage basin of the Judean highlands in central Israel. On a fan-shaped piedmont-like slope probably developed from Neolithic waste and materials and covering more than 0.5 km, the Motza “megasite” comprises more than 1,200 excavation squares, each measuring 25 sq.m. Plastered structures, a rich artefactual assemblage and a distinct unit of angular clasts containing artefacts dating mainly to the final stage of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period suggest a significant engagement with surrounding resources. A geospatial analysis of the Motza region is presented with preliminary artefactual, geoarchaeological and analytical results from the excavation and a review of regional palaeoclimate, palaeoenvironment and geoscientific studies. The present and past geomorphic processes, and the hydrology of the site’s environs are assessed and their influence on-site selection and sustainability are discussed. The Early Holocene palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions during a geomorphic time-window help to explain the Neolithic climax that apparently generated a reasonable ecogeomorphic impact, probably for the first time in the region. However, this review cannot offer deterministic explanations, especially regarding the abandonment of the megasite. The limitations of palaeo-reconstruction and the impact of recycled landscapes and intensive early modern-to-modern land use are discussed, along with the contribution of the occupiers of the megasite to shaping the regional Mediterranean landscape to the present day.
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