Jebel al-Mutawwaq
the burial cave 1012
During the 2018 excavation in the northern portion of Area C South, in front of the entrance of Dolmen 535, after the removal of the EB IB / II floor with an associated circular installation, an underground cave cut in the bedrock was identified. The cave was 2 x 3 m wide and around 1.80 m high. The cave was entirely investigated during the 2018 excavations and thanks to the collected data, at the end of the campaign it was possible to recognize the 6 phases of use of the cave and its connection with Dolmen 535. Starting from the later one:
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Phase VI: the floor and the circular installation in front of Dolmen 535 were used, maybe for religious rituals connected to the dolmen and to the cave (Early Bronze Age IB-II).
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Phase V: Sealing of the cave with a stone wall and soft earth layers (Early Bronze Age IB-II).
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Phase IV: Funerary purpose of the cave. During this phase the cave and the dolmen were directly connected through the entrance to the cave. In this phase human disarticulated skulls and piles of long bones were arranged in several occasions on the northern side of the cave. In association with the burials, eight miniaturistic vessels (three anphoriskoi, three small cups and two small jars) were found (Early Bronze Age IB-II).
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Phase III: Abandonment of the cave. Part of the roof collapsed (Early Bronze Age IA).
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Phase II: Occupational phase perhaps for ritual purposes, characterized by the levelling of the bedrock and the presence of a fireplace on the back of the cave, of a entire burned bowl and a stone disk (Early Bronze Age IA).
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Phase I: First phase of use of the cave. The cave was carved in the bedrock with a circular shape and could had originally the function of a water cistern. This function could be testified by the presence of the plaster on the surface, by the gradual slope of the bedrock toward the back wall of the cave and from the hole in the rock with the carved channel going through the cave (Early Bronze Age IA).
