Khirbet el-’Eika is a Hellenistic-period site situated on an isolated mountain overlooking much of the eastern Lower Galilee and dominating the fertile Arbel Valley below. The site was excavated between 2012 and 2018 by an expedition from the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in an effort to shed new light on the material culture, settlement patterns, and cultural identity of the population of Galilee during the Hellenistic period.
The excavations uncovered a prosperous agricultural estate that flourished in the early second century BCE, featuring extensive storage facilities and evidence of advanced farming practices. The site offers a rare glimpse into the daily life, agricultural economy, and cultural identity of the inhabitants of Hellenistic Galilee. Its rich material culture demonstrates strong Mediterranean connections, including wine amphorae imported from the Aegean and fine tableware from the Phoenician coast and Asia Minor. The material remains point to a population with strong ties to the Phoenician coast. The estate, which likely functioned as a royal land grant, exemplifies the flourishing agricultural economy of Seleucid Galilee. Its abrupt abandonment around 144–143 BCE was probably connected to the internal struggles that shook the Seleucid Kingdom and also involved the Maccabees.
Uzi Leibner is Professor of Classical Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research focuses on the archaeology of the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods in the Southern Levant, with particular interests in landscape archaeology, rural settlements, ancient synagogues, and the integration of archaeological and historical evidence. He currently co-directs the Hebrew University Temple Mount Excavations at the Ophel in Jerusalem.
Roi Sabar is a classical archaeologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Mandel Scholion Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research examines socio-political processes and cultural interactions through material culture and historical narratives, and he has directed and co-directed several archaeological field projects in northern Israel.