Archaeological Sites at Ramat Hanadiv

The two main sites are Ein Tzur and Horvat Aqav (horva meaning ruins in Arabic). The tuff is a nurturing layer into which the wells at Ein Tzur were dug and upon which agricultural plots were situated. Inhabitants of the ancient settlement of Horvat Eleg relied upon the nearby spring to create a system of aqueducts.

The following section summarizes the main archaeological sites at Ramat Hanadiv. All excavations between 1984 and 2006 were conducted by the late Prof. Yizhar Hirschfeld, the Park’s archaeologist.

Horvat Aqav
The site includes an agricultural manor, inhabited by the local Jewish population up to the second half of the first century B.C. and deserted, most likely, at the time of the Great Revolt against the Roman Empire (70 A.D.). Beginning in the Byzantine era in the 4th century and continuing until the

The Tumuli Field
At the southern part of Ramat Hanadiv, remains of 40 round tumuli were found. The tumuli were used for burial purposes during the period between 3000 B.C. until the beginning of 2000 B.C. At the centre of each tumulus, a sarcophagus made of non-chiselled limestone plates (coffin/tomb) was found. Some of the tombs contained gifts, such as batons, daggers and jewellery

Kabara Cave 
This karstic cave was the dwelling place of human beings tens of thousands of years ago. Since 1930, it has been the site of many archaeological excavations. The oldest finds, human bones and tools dating from the Mousterian culture, are more than 64,000 years old. One of the most thrilling discoveries from this period was the skeleton of a young Neanderthal man who was buried lying on his back, his arms across his