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Upper Zohar ((ヘブライ語:זהר עילית)), sometimes referred to as Rogem Zohar, is a Byzantine fortlet near the modern Israeli town of Arad. Its exact role remains a matter of debate. Once thought to be a part of a Roman line of defence against desert-based raiders, recent research has suggested it was constructed for economic rather than military reasons.〔 == Description == The fortlet of Upper Zohar is situated on a flat shelf of a steeply sloping ridge on the northern side of a hill known as Rosh Zohar (Zohar Head), southeast of Arad.〔〔 Unreferenced by ancient sources, its ancient name is unknown. It appears as Khirbet Gazza in Albrecht Alt's writings and is also correctly marked in the British Mandate for Palestine maps, both from the 1930s. It appears again in Mordechai Gichon's writings about the ''Limes Palaestinae'', but was only excavated between 1985 and 1986 by a team from the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem led by Richard P. Harper. The final excavation report was published in 1997.〔〔 The site of Upper Zohar occupies roughly 26 meters squared, a square fortlet with protruding towers at each corner. It is not a perfect square, but rather than carelessness, this is caused by the desire to make use of the characteristics of the site itself. The fortlet was constructed using dense chert quarried nearby, though limestone was used for doorways and some exterior corners of the towers. The curtain walls varied between 1 and 1.5 meters in width, and were built with coursed faces both on the inside and outside. Laid in a shallow foundation, they were set using wet earth and filled with small rubble. Each corner tower was approximately 4 * 4.5 meters, and contained both a lower and upper level. Their walls were preserved up to a height of 3 meters. Access to the top of the walls was provided by a pair of staircases on the northern and southern walls. In the middle of the courtyard, which is roughly 17 meters squared, stood a cistern sunk into the bedrock. The cistern was circular, 3.75 meters in diameter and 5 meters deep. On the eastern side of the courtyard stood three rooms, although the northern and southern rooms were demolished at some point, leaving a sole room that may have served as a chapel. The fortlet's gateway, roughly 2 meters wide, stood in the middle of the western wall. At some point a wall was built from the tower at the north-western corner of the fort, past the gateway and parallel to the wall. This perhaps served as shelter for animals.〔 Only a small amount of identifiable coins were recovered at the site. Save for a single coin dated to the reign of Diocletian, pierced and therefore worn as a good luck charm, the numismatic evidence suggests the site was occupied from the first half of the fifth century. The largest number of coins date to the 6th century, particularly to the early reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I. No coins date later than 550 CE.〔 Over 43,000 sherds were unearthed at Upper Zohar, 55% of which were local cooking ware and another 42% other coarse wares, though 3% were fine imported ware, including African, Phocaean and Cypriot Red Slip.〔 The datable pottery was dominated by sixth century types, several known to continue into the 7th century. No example dating from earlier than the late 5th century was found, including those found within the fortlet's foundation trenches. Harper notes that 'no specifically military finds were uncovered at the site', though the final excavation report does list one spearhead end and 2 slingstones.〔〔 Faunal finds include over 23,000 mammalian bones, 2,000 bird bones and a similar number of fish. 86% of mammal bones belonged to caprids and a further 12% were pig, while bird bones are dominated by the domestic chicken. Fish species found at the fortlet include both fresh and salt water fish, from both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Upper Zohar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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