Khirbat el-‘Ora

Khirbat el-‘Ora (Hebrew: ח'ירבת אל-ע'ורה) is an archaeological site within the modern city of Ramat HaSharon in the Tel Aviv District of Israel.

Khirbat el-‘Ora

ח'רבת אל ע'ורה
Khirbat el-‘Ora Shown within Israel
Location	Ramat HaSharon, Tel Aviv District, Israel
Region	Southern Levant, Middle East
Coordinates	32°7′42″N 34°48′57″E
Type	Settlement
History
Founded	2nd-4th century
Abandoned	10th century
Site notes
Excavation dates	2021
Archaeologists	Yoav Arbel

Excavation

The site was excavated in 2021 by the Israel Antiquities Authority, under the supervision of Yoav Arbel, prior to the construction of a new residential quarter and park in its area.

Settlement

The excavations revealed remains of an industrial settlement. The principal remains are of wine and olive-presses. One structured was identified as either a farmstead, a warehouse or a public building while the settlement itself was not identified. The earliest datable finds are from the Roman period (2nd century), though they are meager and found in limited locations. Most of the finds are dated to the Byzantine period and it seemed the buildings were erected in the 4th century, and the site reached its peak in the 7th century. There is partial evidence that would suggest the activity at the site was reduced because of the Samaritan revolts in the 6th century. The activity at the site continued during the Umayyad period (7th-8th centuries), though it declined. The dwellings of this period were identified, as well as a glass workshop. In the Abbasid period, all of the previous structures from Byzantine times were abandoned, and new ones were constructed. Now, it became agriculturally oriented, mostly involved with growing cereals. It exited until abandonment in the 10th century.