- Nahal Mishmar
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Coordinates: 31°22′51.37″N 35°21′51.65″E / 31.3809361°N 35.3643472°E
Nahal Mishmar (Hebrew:נחל משמר; Arabic:مَحْرَس) is one of the smaller seasonal streams in the Judean Desert.
Geography
Nahal Mishmar begins in the Hebron hills, running east towards the Dead Sea. Its western part is shallow, at an altitude of approximately 270 m above sea level, and it proceeds to fall more than 300 meters into the Great Rift Valley before emptying into the Dead Sea, over 12 kilometres (7.5 mi). Nahal Mishmar runs north of the Tze'elim Stream, between Ein Gedi and Masada. Access is from Highway 90.
Archaeology
In 1961, Israeli archaeologist Pessah Bar-Adon discovered a hoard of Chalcolithic artifacts in a cave on the northern side of Nahal Mishmar.[1] The hoard included 432 copper, bronze, ivory and stone decorated objects; 240 mace heads, about 100 scepters, 5 crowns, powder horns, tools and weapons.[2][3] Archaeologist David Ussishkin has suggested the hoard was the cultic furniture of the abandoned Chalcolithic Temple of Ein Gedi.[4] [5]
References
- ^ Bar-Adon, Pessah (1971) (in Hebrew). מערת המטמון, הממצאים מנחל משמר [The Cave of the Treasure: The Finds from the Caves in Nahal Mishmar]. Jerusalem: The Bialik Institute and the Israel Exploration Society.
- ^ "Diggers". Time magazine. May 5, 1961. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872343,00.html. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
- ^ Shanks, Hershel (May/June 2008). "Ein Gedi's Archaeological Riches". Biblical Archaeology Review (Washington, D.C.: The Biblical Archaeology Society) 34 (3): 58–68.
- ^ Usishkin, David (1971). "The "Ghassulian" Temple in Ein Gedi and the Origin of the Hoard from Nahal Mishmar". The Biblical Archaeologist (American Schools of Oriental Research) 34 (1): 23–39.
- ^ Usishkin, David (1980). "The Ghassulian Shrine at En-gedi". Journal of the Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology 7 (1—2): 1–44. ISSN 03344355.
Categories:- Rivers of Israel
- Treasure troves of Asia
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