SHS/not checked/18/08/2019
The paper describes a dozen archaeological sites excavated in the ancient districts of Ofaraim, Lod, and Ramataim in recent years. These districts were ceded to the Hasmonean rulers of Judea by Demetrius II (145-140 BCE), the troubled Seleucid king. Prior to the excavations, only historical sources were available for scholars to reconstruct the actual process described in 1 Macc 11:32-34. The excavations revealed many small villages and farmsteads established by the Hasmonean rulers, mainly from John Hyrcanus I (134-104 BCE) and onward. The process of settlement continued until the Herodian period. In the excavated sites, many agricultural installations were unearthed: mikvaot, Jewish stone vessels, coins of the Hasmonean rulers, and synagogues in the larger settlements.
|During the two revolts against Rome, many of the settlements were destroyed and abandoned, mainly after the Bar-Kokhba war (132-136 CE). After being desolate for some generations, they were settled again by non-Jewish populations.