THE CLASSICAL COMPLEX

The pastoral nomadic complement to the settled system in the Negev, on the edge of the Roman empire and its successors has been described in a number of studies (e. g., Avni 1996; Haiman 1995a; S. Rosen 1987a, 2007; Rosen and Avni 1993; and for a text historical perspective, see especially Mayerson 1994). These studies have tended to focus on the reconstruction of the pastoral system and on the role that nomads may have played in specific historical events or trends. Thus Nahlieli (2007) has recently summarized the views concerning the end of Byzantine urban system, suggesting that, contra Haiman (1995a) and Avni (1996), nomads played little role in the establishment of the umayad rural agricultural system which succeeded the Byzantine towns. Similarly, in Jordan, research and debate have focused on the nature of the relations between the pastoralists and the empire and a dichotomy between symbiosis and hostility (Banning 1986; Parker 1986, 1987).

In view of the longer-term perspective taken here, the first issue is to establish the existence of a Classical complex for the nomads of the Negev. Beginning in the first centuries A. D./B. C. a new kind of site appears in the central Negev consisting of single lines or rows of individual round or semi-circular structures aligned along the lower terraces of wadis (fig. 4.9). Sometimes these structures are surface sites, probably reflecting tent construction, and sometimes they are pit structures with stone lining, cut 30-40 cm into the surface. These may have had organic superstructures, as in earlier periods, or perhaps were tented. Certainly by this period the camel has been well integrated into desert society and tents would have posed no logistic problem. Some sites have both types of structure. Site organization and 25 26

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Micro-location (on the lower terraces as opposed to the interfluves typical of the Timnian) contrast with earlier periods. The general settlement pattern also contrasts with earlier periods with the aggregate camps of the classical complex located in the southern Negev highlands, south of the Ramon crater and south of the general distribution of run-off agricultural systems.26 notably, the distribution of the smaller pastoral sites, consisting of single or only a few round structures, overlaps with the distribution of agricultural sites, perhaps reflecting seasonal dispersion into the sedentary zone. Geographically the zones abut one another and show high densities of sites.

Material culture is that of the surrounding states. In the early stages of the classical complex, ceramics are typical nabatean and roman wares, while in later stages they are Byzantine27 and Early islamic, clearly imported from production centers associated with the sedentary urban and village systems. Low proportions of handmade pots have been found in some Early Islamic sites (Rosen and Avni 1997: 62-80) and were probably produced in the desert. Other components of the preserved material culture, including rotary milling stones, metal objects, and coins, were all imported into the pastoral system.

As indicated above, this general system appears in the late Nabatean period, and, significantly, there is no evidence for it in the preceding Hellenistic period. It continues through eighth century A. D., showing continuity in architectural type, site organization, and settlement pattern, as well as in general material culture throughout this long period. The system ceases sometime in the eighth or ninth century A. D., followed by a period of little pastoral tribal presence in the central Negev until the infiltration of the modern Bedouin tribes in the eighteenth century A. D. (e. g., Bailey 1980; also see Israel 2007 for the chronology of Gaza Ware, the primary material culture marker for modern Bedouin groups).

Our ability to precisely date shifting patterns of settlement is limited by the coarseness of the archaeological chronology as based on ceramics collected in surveys, especially the ceramics collected from pastoral sites with limited typological repertoires. Nevertheless, three general periods can be distinguished, the Nabatean and Early Roman (ca. A. D. 1-300), the Byzantine (ca. A. D. 300-640), and the Early Islamic (ca. A. D. 640-800), even though the analyses can only be considered preliminary.

The Nabatean sedentary system in this period is difficult to characterize since the larger sites often lie beneath the massive later Byzantine towns. Village and hamlet sites have been documented, along with small-scale watch towers. A Roman military camp is present at Avdat. The towns were incipient in this phase. The pastoral settlement system is geographically more weighted toward the Spice Route and the sedentary sites especially around Avdat than in later periods (Rosen 2007). The largest pastoral sites also seem somewhat smaller than in later periods, reflecting perhaps somewhat less of a tendency to large tribal aggregation, or alternatively, perhaps somewhat greater mobility. Based on the general impression, sites are somewhat less “dug in” in this period. It is important to note that, although sites such as Avdat show Hellenistic presence (beginning in the late fourth century B. C.) (Negev 1986), the

7 In the highlands southwest of the Ramon Crater there is overlap between the agricultural sites and the pastoral encampments. Rosen and Avni (Rosen and Avni 1993; Avni 1996) have suggested that this reflects the practice of agriculture by pastoralists.

Earliest evidence for pastoral tribal presence is several centuries later, dating to the expansion of Nabatean sedentary presence both at Avdat and in its hinterland. That is, the pastoral system post-dates the early caravan trade and was established only with the larger-scale sedentary settlement in the area. Of course, this has its implications for understanding the nature of relations, and suggests a form of dependence relationship from the outset, immediately evident on at least one more level in the import of Nabatean ceramics into the pastoral system, in fact the only ceramics found in these sites. It also renders the issue of the ethnic identity of the pastoralists moot since we have no material culture made by them that might be used for establishing ethnicity.

It is difficult to trace the actual transition to the succeeding Byzantine phase, but comparison of the site distributions (fig. 4.10; Rosen 1987a) shows two changes: (1) The agricultural regime has shifted south and become denser; and (2) The pastoral sites have shifted south and west, and there are more of them. Like the preceding nabatean phase, there is considerable overlap between the distributions of different kinds of sites, but the basic contrasts are clear. The northern cliff of the ramon crater marks the distinction between agricultural and purely pastoral territories. notably, this also marks a significant geographic transition, from steppe to desert, abrupt here because of the cliff of the ramon crater. regardless, the coincidence of physical and cultural geography strengthens the interpretations. These shifts reflect the changed nature of the Byzantine presence in the central negev, now an urban system with a village farming hinterland, serving as the frontier zone of the empire (Mayerson 1990). As with the nabatean period, virtually all ceramics are imported into the pastoral system in this period. Historical texts (e. g., Kraemer 1958; also mayerson 1980) provide important information on relations in this period. The desert nomads sold camels to the towns, they acted as guides for pilgrimages to santa Katerina, they utilized the urban markets, and at least one massacre of desert monks has been recorded. On the other hand, they also are described as living miserable lives. significantly, the presence of numerous isolated farmhouses in the village hinterland of the towns, in close proximity to the exclusively pastoral zone, suggests that relations were not generally hostile. in contrast to the american Wild West (cf. mayerson 1990), the settled-nomad system in the negev was maintained for some 800 years; stability seems to have been a primary attribute of the relations.

The Early islamic period is more difficult to trace in terms of survey since ceramic distinctions are difficult due to typological and technological continuities. On the other hand, excavations of both hamlets (e. g., haiman 1990, 1995b; nevo 1985, 1991) and pastoral camps (avni 1996; rosen and avni 1993, 1997) provide primary data for reconstructing basic relations between the sedentary system and the nomadic.

The historical contexts are important to consider here. in terms of the sedentary sites, although not totally abandoned, the urban sites of the Byzantine period were in significant decline by the early islamic period, a decline which probably began in the sixth century B. C. On the other hand, a village florescence seems to have filled the demographic void created by the urban decline (nahlieli 2007). There is no evidence for a violent islamic conquest or even disruption in the negev.

In contrast to the urban decline, the desert pastoral system seems to flourish. Thus, this period appears to have the largest pastoral sites of the classical complex. The excavated ‘Oded sites (rosen and avni 1997) are large encampments south of the ramon crater, each with more than a dozen round pit habitation structures and a mosque, with no evidence for agriculture in the region. avni (1996) has documented even larger sites of similar architecture and material culture in the har saggi area, although some of these are associated with

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Terraced fields. The material culture from these sites provides crucial data for understanding relations between the settled region somewhat farther north and the pastoral groups. More than 90 percent of the pottery is imported from the sedentary zone and is typical ware of the Late Byzantine/Early Islamic period. milling stones, also imported, also indicate grain processing, despite the distance from agricultural fields, suggesting either import of grain or perhaps opportunistic agricultural practices in other seasons. A coin minted in Tiberias (Amitai-Preiss 1997) indicates trade and integration with other areas of the caliphate. A fragment of an Aspartia shell indicates linkages with the Nile valley, and a fish spine indicates the transport of fish at least 100 km from the nearest body of water (the mediterranean), and perhaps from as far as the nile (Horwitz, Tchernov, and mineis 1997). Thus, the evidence reflects increased ties with the village (and relict urban) system in the rest of the negev, concomitant with relative economic improvement and perhaps some sedentarization.

Reviewing the classical complex as a whole, several features are to be emphasized. Over the course of some 800 years, despite political fluctuations, the general system of pastoral-sedentary relations maintains itself, with aggregate pastoral sites in the desert (saharo-arabian vegetation) zone, south of the agricultural regions, more or less coincident with the steppe (irano-Turanian) zone. The desert towns and villages seem to have provided the sedentary infrastructure for the existence of the pastoral system. comparing this general system to that of the preceding phase, the absence of enclosed nomadism in the mediterranean zone is notable. Between the strong centralized state of the classical era, the high urban population, and the density of agricultural exploitation, there seems to have been little room for pastoral nomadic presence, even at the level of enclosed nomadism, in the core areas of the Levant, at least not in the sense comparable to that of the second millennium B. C.

The recent bedouin

Following the abandonment of the Early islamic village system in the central Negev in the ninth century A. D., the pastoral tribal presence also ceases and is not renewed until the eighteenth century A. D. with the infiltration of the modern tribes into the region (Bailey 1980). it is beyond the scope of this paper to review in depth the nature of recent Bedouin history and society, but a few observations are pertinent.

The modern adaptation differs from the preceding classical complex in significant particulars. The round structures, whether tented or covered with organic superstructures, are totally absent from recent Bedouin encampments, replaced by the black tent. This is not an insignificant difference given that the specific organization of space in the black tent reflects basic social structures within recent Bedouin society, and which therefore must contrast markedly with the earlier periods (e. g., saidel 2008).

The contraction of the agricultural zone following the collapse of the terrace farming systems associated (in their last stages) with the Early islamic period was accompanied in the early stages of the middle Ages by a similar contraction in the pastoral sphere, leaving the central Negev in a “vacuum” similar in character to that of the second millennium B. C. Recolonization by the modern tribes seems to have accompanied the strengthening of the Ottoman state in Palestine. We may speculate that the middle ages was a time of enclosed nomadism. interestingly, during the late Ottoman period, when state control in Palestine was weak, there is considerable penetration of Bedouin tribes into the settled region, primarily from the east (e. g., cohen 1973; Hutteroth 1975; Hutteroth and Abdulfattah 1977; Sharon 1975; Zeevi 1996). Beyond facile analogy, van der Steen (1995, 2006) makes explicit comparisons between the tribal structures and relations of recent Bedouin in the Jordan Valley and pastoral groups in the late second millennium B. C., implicitly supporting the notion of enclosed or geographically integrated nomadism.