The En-Gedi Oasis Archaeological Project

The Emergence of the Dead Sea Perfume Economy in the First Millennium BCE

The En-Gedi Oasis Archaeological Project is a newly launched research initiative under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, aiming to investigate the archaeology of the En-Gedi oasis — the largest and most significant oasis along the western shore of the Dead Sea.

Led by Dr. Uri Davidovich, the research project focuses on illuminating the history and economy of En-Gedi during the first millennium BCE. Historical and archaeological sources suggest that during this period, En-Gedi functioned as a key administrative and economic center specializing in the cultivation of valuable cash crops, mainly date palms and aromatic plants. As part of the current project, the production of plant-based commodities is studied through multiple analyses of biomarkers and microarchaeological remains. Furthermore, the project aims to critically reevaluate the long-term settlement history of the oasis, with particular emphasis on settlement continuity and change amidst political transformations throughout the first millennium BCE.

The project is funded by the Israel Science Foundation (Grant no. 3040/24).

Excavation Areas

Area D

Area D is located on the northern slope of Tel Goren and constitutes the largest excavation area on the site. This area, which was previously excavated by the Mazar Expedition in the 1960s, contains particularly impressive remains from the Iron Age and the Persian period. As part of the current project, we excavate between and below previously-exposed remains with the aim of clarifying the stratigraphic sequence of the mid-first millennium BCE at the site, while exposing new installations and accumulations that are possibly associated with agro-indusrial activities.

The area supervisor is Julian Hirsch.

Area Z

Area Z is a new excavation area adjacent to and west of Area D. Excavations in this area will examine afresh the entire stratigraphic sequence of the northern slope, and enable the study of multiple types of anthropogenic remains that were not targeted in the 1960s (e.g., animal bones, botanical remains, sediments and microscopic residues).

This area is supervised by Yuval Derfner.

Area B-C

Area B–C is located on the southern slope of Tel Goren. During the 1960s excavations, numerous installations embedded within the late Iron Age destruction layer were exposed in this area, and interpreted as components of a workshop for perfume production. In the 2026 season of the project, we will re-open this area in order to collect additional data that will allow to reevaluate the nature of these enigmatic installations, as well as their spatial and stratigraphic associations.

The area is supervised by Itay Lubel.