Bir es-Safadi and Abou Matar are two key-sites of the Chalcolithic period (late 5th to early 4th Millennium BC). These two large settlements are today located on opposite sides of the Nahal (seasonal water course) Beer Sheva, now within the modern town of the same name. The were excavated by Jean Perrot between 1952 and 1960. He unearthed extensive evidence of subterranean structures linked by galleries as well as above-ground, stone built dwellings. In addition to evidence of copper production, the excavations yielded wealth of information on agro-pastoralist populations living in the semi-arid region of the northern Negev.
To date only the study on the pottery has been published, while the bone, ground stone, chipped stone and other small find assemblages await research and publication. Many of these artifacts, such as the ivory anthropomorphic figurines or the basalt fenestrated bowls, are now part of the prestigious collections of the Louvre museum in Paris and the Museum of Israel in Jerusalem. The study of all those finds will provide valuable information on the life styles of those Late Chalcolithic societies, their subsistence strategies and their rich symbolic universe.
This publication project is directed by Dr. Frédéric Guyot.