Horvat Uza

This article is about the archaeological site in the Negev desert. For the prehistoric site of Horbat 'Uza in northern Israel, see Horbat 'Uza.
Horvat Uza, Khirbet Ghazzeh
חורבת עוזה, خربة غزة
Hurvat Uzza, overlooking Kina River at Arad Valley, Israel.
Horvat Uza, Khirbet Ghazzeh
Shown within Israel
Location Southern District, Israel
RegionNegev
Coordinates31°12′33″N 35°09′56″E / 31.20917°N 35.16556°E / 31.20917; 35.16556
TypeFortress
History
PeriodsIron Age
CulturesJudahites

Horvat Uza (Hebrew: חורבת עוזה), originally known as Arabic: خربة غزة, romanized: translit, lit. 'khirbet ghazzeh')[1] is an archaeological site located in the northeast of the Negev desert in Israel. The site is located in the east of the Arad Valley and overlooks Nahal Qinah (Qinah Valley). In ancient times, forts were established there to control the wadi road, linking Judea to Arabah and the territory of Edom. Horvat Uza has been identified as Qina, mentioned by Josephus in book 15 of his Antiquities,[2] though one of the archaeologists who made that identification later decided Qina was more likely to be located at Khirbet Taiyib.[1]

Archaeology

The site was first excavated in the 1950s by Nahman Avigad. The excavations revealed that the site was inhabited from the Iron Age II (9th-6th centuries BCE) until the Byzantine period (4th-7th centuries CE). The site was abandoned in the 6th century BCE, possibly due to the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians.[3]

Several ostraca and seals written in the Edomite language have been discovered at this site, some bearing the name of Qos, a storm deity.[4] Limited knowledge of the Edomite language due to the scarcity of written artifacts available for study prior to these finds, as well as their use of the same Phoenician and later Aramaic alphabets resulted in them being initially identified as Hebrew.[5] The finds have revealed features of the Edomite language, allowing scholars to classify it as part of the Canaanite branch of Iron Age Northwest Semitic languages.[6]

Other notable finds from the site are a number of inscribed potsherds with inscriptions in everal inscribed potsherds with inscriptions in Hebrew, dated to the 7th-century BCE. These mention the name of the site, “Uza”, and the names of several people, including a man named “Ahaz” and a woman named “Ataliah”.

The majority of the personal names inscribed in Hebrew on artifacts found in Horvat Uza incorporate the theophoric Yahweh, and this is a common characteristic of sites where there was a Judahite military fortress.[7]

Scholars identify Khirbet Uza as one of several Idumaean sites that were depopulated in the military campaigns of conquest waged by Hasmonean Judea between 112 and 108 BC, along with Tel Beersheba, Lachish, Tel Arad, Tel Ira, and Khirbet er-Rasm.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b McKinney, Chris (27 October 2022). "The Historical Geography of Ancient Israel: The Amalekite Spoil List (1 Sam 30:27-31) as a Case Study". The Ancient Israelite World. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-77329-3.
  2. ^ Mittmann, Siegfried (2006). "Die Hellenistische Mauerinschrift von Gadara (Umm Qēs) und die Seleukidisch Dynastische Toponymie Palästinas". Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages (in German). 32 (2). Department of Ancient Studies: Stellenbosch University: 32. ISSN 0259-0131.
  3. ^ "The Excavations of Khirbet er-Rasm, Israel: The changing faces of the countryside 9781407307428, 9781407337357". dokumen.pub. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  4. ^ McCarter Jr., P. Kyle. "Edomite in 12 Easy Lessons". Biblical Archaeology Society.
  5. ^ Crowell, Bradley L. (2008). "A Reevaluation of the Edomite Wisdom Hypothesis". Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. 120 (3): 404-416. doi:10.1515/ZAW.2008.024.
  6. ^ Ben-Yosef, Erez; Levy, Thomas E.; Najjar, Mohammad (2014). New Insights Into the Iron Age Archaeology of Edom, Southern Jordan. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. p. 967. ISBN 978-1-938770-93-7.
  7. ^ Danielson, Andrew Joel. "Edom in Judah: An Archaeological Investigation of Identity, Interaction, and Social Entanglement in the Negev During the Late Iron Age (8th–6th Centuries BCE)" (PDF).
  8. ^ Bourgel, Jonathan (Fall 2016). "The Destruction of the Samaritan Temple by John Hyrcanus: A Reconsideration". Journal of Biblical Literature. 135 (3): 505–523. doi:10.15699/jbl.1353.2016.3129. JSTOR 10.15699/jbl.1353.2016.3129.
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