Adi Erlich
Biographic Data
| ID | 3623281 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Adi Erlich |
| GIVEN NAMES | Adi |
| FAMILY NAME | Erlich |
| SIGNATURE | ERLICH A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Haifa |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2508-2340 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The Water Cisterns in the Roman-Period Jewish Town of Bet She‘arim
Bet She‘arim (Beth She‘arim) in the western Lower Galilee was a Jewish town in the Roman period, renowned for its elaborate necropolis that served local and Diaspora Jews. Since there was no natural water source within the town, the local population collected rainwater in cisterns, pools and reservoirs. Water was required for daily life, and for the ritual purification baths that were an integral component of Jewish settlements in the second–thir…
Dine and Worship: The Roman Complex in Front of the Pan Grotto in Paneas/Caesarea Philippi
Paneas, situated at the foot of mount Hermon, is where the Hermon River emerges from a spring at the foot of a cliff with a natural cave. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the cave and nearby terrace served mainly for the cult of Pan. Herod the Great built in Paneas a temple to Augustus, and his son erected there his capital, Caesarea Philippi. A salvage excavation was recently conducted in front of the cave in the area that formerly was iden…
Newly Found Burial Catacombs and Inscriptions from the Necropolis at Beth Sheʿarim
Beth Sheʿarim in Lower Galilee was an important Jewish village in the Roman period, with an extensive necropolis containing lavish tombs that provided burial for Jews from across the Roman East. The necropolis is renowned for its many inscriptions in Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, and more. Two catacombs previously unknown were discovered recently in the western part of the necropolis. Each contains a few halls shaped as corridors with arcosolium chambe…
A Roman Bronze Figurine of a Seated Infant from Shivta in the Negev
Gaming and divination in the Hellenistic Levant: The case study of the astragalus assemblage from Maresha, Israel
Astragali — knuckle bones, especially caprine or cattle — were widely used in ancient societies. They functioned as playthings and tokens for ritual activity and divination, along with other uses. This study examines the assemblage of over 600 astragali from the excavations at Maresha in southern Israel. Maresha was a main city in the region of Idumea. Excavations at the site revealed a prosperous Hellenistic city, mainly from the 4th–2nd centuri…
Children in Need: Evidence for a Children's Cult from the Roman Temple of Omrit in Northern Israel
Excavations of the Roman temple at Horvat Omrit, situated in the foothills of Mount Hermon and the Golan, yielded terracotta figurines dated from the first century BC-first century AD. Some 100 fragments of figurines portray young children standing with arms lifted up from the sides and bent at the elbow, palm turned outward. Although this group is unique in its iconography, it fits in with nearby temples in Phoenicia, where numerous figurines an…
A Roman Bronze Bull from the Floor of the Mashhad Pool in Sepphoris in the Galilee
The Mashhad Pool is situated east of ancient Sepphoris, receiving its water from an aqueduct that supplied water to the Roman and Byzantine city. During its excavation, a small bronze figurine of a bull was pulled out of the plastered floor of the pool. The bull is dated to the Roman period. This paper deals with the iconography, function, and possible meaning of the bronze figurine, and the circumstances of its deposit in the pool’s floor. We ar…
Much Ado About a Small Thing: An Iron-Age Stamp Seal from Late Roman Beth Sheʿarim in Galilee
A stamp seal of the Iron Age has been found in a Late Roman level at Beth Sheʿarim, in a room that collapsed in the beginning of the 5th century c.e. The seal is of the bifacial type, with two complex scenes of royal and divine imagery, and is dated ca. 1000 b.c.e., some 1400 years prior to the archaeological context in which it was found. Although there are Iron Age II finds at Beth Sheʿarim, the seal seems to have found its way to a later phase…
Shipwreck or Sunken Votives? The Shavei Zion Assemblage Revisited
The site of Shavei Zion is an enigmatic deposit of hundreds of figurines and ceramic vessels found on the sunken kurkar ridge off the coast of the western Galilee. Despite its importance to the understanding of both maritime activities and cultic practices, the site has never been fully published. Only a part of the figurine assemblage has been analysed in the past, and the associated ceramic evidence has only been presented in limited preliminar…
Terracottas in the Mediterranean Through Time II
The international conference Terracottas in the Mediterranean Through Time II will be held at the University of Haifa, Israel, from March 12 to March 15, 2018
The patriarch and the emperor: The Elephant mosaic panel in the Huqoq synagogue reconsidered
The unique iconography of the Elephant mosaic panel in the Huqoq synagogue, considered by project director J. Magness as “the first non-biblical story ever found decorating an ancient synagogue”, has attracted a great deal of attention since it first began to be exposed in 2013. The synagogue is still under excavation and little has been published so far, but some of the mosaic panels of the late 4th-early 5th c. plainly depict Biblical scenes; t…
A Roman pottery kiln at Khirbet ‘Azzun (Ra‘anana), Israel
This paper focuses on a 3rd–4th century AD pottery kiln from Khirbet ‘Azzun (Ra‘anana), in the Sharon, in the central coastal plain of Israel. The kiln belongs to the updraft type, with an oval-shaped and crater-like firebox, a fuel opening on the north and spanned by brick arches designed to support the floor of the missing ware chamber. Like many other kilns in that region, it produced storage jars. Our kiln is the first from the region dating …
Happily Ever After? A Hellenistic Hoard from Tel Kedesh in Israel
A hoard of objects was found in 2008, buried under a floor pavement of a room in the Hellenistic administrative building at Tel Kedesh in northern Israel. The hoard consists of an Eros terracotta figurine, glass astragals and gaming pieces, writing paraphernalia made of metal, and a hairpin. In this article, I explore the hoard, its meaning, and its context in terms of findspot and the geographical location of the site on the periphery of Helleni…
Happily Ever After? A Hellenistic Hoard from Tel Kedesh in Israel
A hoard of objects was found in 2008, buried under a floor pavement of a room in the Hellenistic administrative building at Tel Kedesh in northern Israel. The hoard consists of an Eros terracotta figurine, glass astragals and gaming pieces, writing paraphernalia made of metal, and a hairpin. In this article, I explore the hoard, its meaning, and its context in terms of findspot and the geographical location of the site on the periphery of Helleni…
Shipwreck or Sunken Votives? The Shavei Zion Assemblage Revisited
The site of Shavei Zion is an enigmatic deposit of hundreds of figurines and ceramic vessels found on the sunken kurkar ridge off the coast of the western Galilee. Despite its importance to the understanding of both maritime activities and cultic practices, the site has never been fully published. Only a part of the figurine assemblage has been analysed in the past, and the associated ceramic evidence has only been presented in limited preliminar…
A Roman pottery kiln at Khirbet ‘Azzun (Ra‘anana), Israel
This paper focuses on a 3rd–4th century AD pottery kiln from Khirbet ‘Azzun (Ra‘anana), in the Sharon, in the central coastal plain of Israel. The kiln belongs to the updraft type, with an oval-shaped and crater-like firebox, a fuel opening on the north and spanned by brick arches designed to support the floor of the missing ware chamber. Like many other kilns in that region, it produced storage jars. Our kiln is the first from the region dating …
Happily Ever After? A Hellenistic Hoard from Tel Kedesh in Israel
A hoard of objects was found in 2008, buried under a floor pavement of a room in the Hellenistic administrative building at Tel Kedesh in northern Israel. The hoard consists of an Eros terracotta figurine, glass astragals and gaming pieces, writing paraphernalia made of metal, and a hairpin. In this article, I explore the hoard, its meaning, and its context in terms of findspot and the geographical location of the site on the periphery of Helleni…
Terracottas in the Mediterranean Through Time II
The international conference Terracottas in the Mediterranean Through Time II will be held at the University of Haifa, Israel, from March 12 to March 15, 2018
The patriarch and the emperor: The Elephant mosaic panel in the Huqoq synagogue reconsidered
The unique iconography of the Elephant mosaic panel in the Huqoq synagogue, considered by project director J. Magness as “the first non-biblical story ever found decorating an ancient synagogue”, has attracted a great deal of attention since it first began to be exposed in 2013. The synagogue is still under excavation and little has been published so far, but some of the mosaic panels of the late 4th-early 5th c. plainly depict Biblical scenes; t…
Much Ado About a Small Thing: An Iron-Age Stamp Seal from Late Roman Beth Sheʿarim in Galilee
A stamp seal of the Iron Age has been found in a Late Roman level at Beth Sheʿarim, in a room that collapsed in the beginning of the 5th century c.e. The seal is of the bifacial type, with two complex scenes of royal and divine imagery, and is dated ca. 1000 b.c.e., some 1400 years prior to the archaeological context in which it was found. Although there are Iron Age II finds at Beth Sheʿarim, the seal seems to have found its way to a later phase…
Shipwreck or Sunken Votives? The Shavei Zion Assemblage Revisited
The site of Shavei Zion is an enigmatic deposit of hundreds of figurines and ceramic vessels found on the sunken kurkar ridge off the coast of the western Galilee. Despite its importance to the understanding of both maritime activities and cultic practices, the site has never been fully published. Only a part of the figurine assemblage has been analysed in the past, and the associated ceramic evidence has only been presented in limited preliminar…
A Roman Bronze Bull from the Floor of the Mashhad Pool in Sepphoris in the Galilee
The Mashhad Pool is situated east of ancient Sepphoris, receiving its water from an aqueduct that supplied water to the Roman and Byzantine city. During its excavation, a small bronze figurine of a bull was pulled out of the plastered floor of the pool. The bull is dated to the Roman period. This paper deals with the iconography, function, and possible meaning of the bronze figurine, and the circumstances of its deposit in the pool’s floor. We ar…
Gaming and divination in the Hellenistic Levant: The case study of the astragalus assemblage from Maresha, Israel
Astragali — knuckle bones, especially caprine or cattle — were widely used in ancient societies. They functioned as playthings and tokens for ritual activity and divination, along with other uses. This study examines the assemblage of over 600 astragali from the excavations at Maresha in southern Israel. Maresha was a main city in the region of Idumea. Excavations at the site revealed a prosperous Hellenistic city, mainly from the 4th–2nd centuri…
Children in Need: Evidence for a Children's Cult from the Roman Temple of Omrit in Northern Israel
Excavations of the Roman temple at Horvat Omrit, situated in the foothills of Mount Hermon and the Golan, yielded terracotta figurines dated from the first century BC-first century AD. Some 100 fragments of figurines portray young children standing with arms lifted up from the sides and bent at the elbow, palm turned outward. Although this group is unique in its iconography, it fits in with nearby temples in Phoenicia, where numerous figurines an…
Dine and Worship: The Roman Complex in Front of the Pan Grotto in Paneas/Caesarea Philippi
Paneas, situated at the foot of mount Hermon, is where the Hermon River emerges from a spring at the foot of a cliff with a natural cave. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the cave and nearby terrace served mainly for the cult of Pan. Herod the Great built in Paneas a temple to Augustus, and his son erected there his capital, Caesarea Philippi. A salvage excavation was recently conducted in front of the cave in the area that formerly was iden…
Newly Found Burial Catacombs and Inscriptions from the Necropolis at Beth Sheʿarim
Beth Sheʿarim in Lower Galilee was an important Jewish village in the Roman period, with an extensive necropolis containing lavish tombs that provided burial for Jews from across the Roman East. The necropolis is renowned for its many inscriptions in Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, and more. Two catacombs previously unknown were discovered recently in the western part of the necropolis. Each contains a few halls shaped as corridors with arcosolium chambe…
A Roman Bronze Figurine of a Seated Infant from Shivta in the Negev
The Water Cisterns in the Roman-Period Jewish Town of Bet She‘arim
Bet She‘arim (Beth She‘arim) in the western Lower Galilee was a Jewish town in the Roman period, renowned for its elaborate necropolis that served local and Diaspora Jews. Since there was no natural water source within the town, the local population collected rainwater in cisterns, pools and reservoirs. Water was required for daily life, and for the ritual purification baths that were an integral component of Jewish settlements in the second–thir…
Ancient history (12 works) · Archaeology (12 works) · History (12 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (11 works) · Art (11 works) · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History (7 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (6 works) · Geography (6 works) · History (5 works) · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology (4 works)