MICHAL BIRKENFELD

This is the final report of salvage excavations conducted during 2005 and 2007 at the Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) site of Horbat 'Illit B, in the Haelah Valley. We present the stratigraphy and the architectural remains of the site, including a description of one of the rare flint workshops of the Chalcolithic period found in the southern Levant. Comprehensive analyses of the flint and pottery assemblages, the groundstones, metal objects and faunal remains are also given here. In the conclusions we discuss the role of specialized flint knapping of microliths and sickle blades, the latter in the context of agricultural activities, as well as the chronological and regional attributes of Horbat 'Illit B in the framework of the Chalcolithic period