Excavations at Khirbet ‘Aujah el-Foqa: Results from the 2022–2023 Seasons

The paper will present and discuss the results of the 2022–2023 excavations at Khirbet ‘Aujah el-Foqa, a site north of Jericho in the southern Jordan Valley. During the 2022–2023 seasons, a section of the northern side of the site was excavated (in Area B), as was an area on the northern slope (Area C). In Area B, several locations near the casemate wall and two four-room houses were excavated. A destruction layer with ash and burnt wood remains was unearthed in some of the areas. While the excavation of the northern four-room house in 2023 was not completed, the house seems to be adjacent to the surrounding fortification wall. The pottery and finds from Area B are mostly dated to the 9th–8th centuries BCE, as in Area A. In Area C, the excavation surprisingly revealed a well-built Middle Bronze Age II tower opening into a courtyard to its south. This area may represent a separate site on the slope facing the spring that was not used or settled during the Iron Age. Added keywords: ‘Aujah el-Foqa, Iron Age II, Middle Bronze Age II, southern Jordan, Valley, fortified sites, Manasseh Hills Survey