Horvat Maon/Horvat Ma'on,[1][2]Arabic:Khirbet Ma'in[3][4] orTell Máîn (SWP map No. 25), is anarchaeological site in theHebron Hills,West Bank, rising 863 metres (2,831 ft) above sea level, where the remains of the ancient town ofMa'on (Hebrew:מעון) have been excavated. The town, now a ruin, is mentioned in theBook of Joshua[5] and theBooks of Samuel.[6] It still had a Jewish population during the Roman and Byzantine periods, and asynagogue was discovered there. The site was ultimately abandoned around the time of theMuslim conquest.[7]
The site is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southeast ofYatta. Immediately to the north lies the modern small village ofMa'in.
The Hebrew name is variously spelled asHorvat Ma'on,[2]Horvat Maon,[1] orHurbat Ma'on.Tel Ma'on is sometimes also used.[8]
The Hebrew wordma'on means 'dwelling', 'habitation'.[9]
Horvat, horbat, hurbat, hurvat are transliteration variants of the Hebrew word for 'ruins' and direct equivalents of the Arabickhirbet.Tell is the transliteration of the Arabic word, tel of the Hebrew one, both meaning mound created by accumulation of settlement layers.
The site is first mentioned as one of the cities ofJudah.[10][11] Maon was the place of birth ofNabal the Carmelite.[12] In theBook of Samuel,[13] "the wilderness of Maon" is mentioned as a place of refuge forDavid when he fled fromking Saul.[10] The site is not referred to again in biblical sources.[10]
After the destruction of theSecond Temple, there is again a reference to the site, when RabbanYohanan ben Zakkai is said to have gone up to Maon of Judah.[10][14]
In the early 4th century CE, Maon was mentioned inEusebius'Onomasticon as being "in the tribe of Judah; in the east ofDaroma."[15] During the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period,Darom orDaroma (Hebrew andAramaic for "South") became a term used for the southern Hebron Hills inrabbinic literature and in Eusebius'Onomasticon.[16][15] At the time, the Hebron Hills were demographically separated into two distinct districts, with only the southern one retaining a Jewish population along with a newer, Christian one.[17] The site was eventually abandoned around the time of theMuslim conquest.[7]
Archaeologists have discovered at the site potsherds dating back to theEarly Bronze Age, theIron Age (Israelite period) including jar handles bearing thepalaeo-Hebrew inscriptionLMLK, 'for the king', and from theHellenistic period.[10]Sherds have also been foundin situ from theRoman andByzantine periods, as well as from theMiddle Ages.[10]Wine andolive presses from the Roman and Byzantine periods were discovered on the west slope of the tell.[18] The ancient synagogue of Ma'on is dated to the Byzantune period (see below).[18] The absence of material traces from the late 7th-early 8th century are an indication of the abandonement of the village at that time.[18]
A synagogue dating back to the Byzantine/Talmudic period was discovered at Hurvat (Horbat) Ma'on.[19] Two occupation phases were discerned, covering the 4th/5th through the 7th century.[18]
Tell Maʻîn –– A mound some 100 feet high. On the west are foundations, caves, and cisterns, and foundations of a tower about 20 feet square. The masonry in this tower is large, with a broad irregular draft and a rustic boss. One stone was 3 feet 8 inches long, 2 feet 9 inches high, the draft about 3 inches wide. There is also a round well-mouth, 5 feet diameter, cut out of a single stone.[21]
Horbat Maon is situated SE of the Arab town ofYatta, on the north side ofregional highway 317. By the 1970s, a few Arab families fromYatta had settled on the northern slope of thetell, who work in subsistence farming and graze their flocks of sheep.[22]
^Aharoni, Y. (1979).The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography (2 ed.). Philadelphia: Westminster Press. p. 439.ISBN0664242669.OCLC6250553. (original Hebrew edition: 'Land of Israel in Biblical Times - Historical Geography',Bialik Institute, Jerusalem (1962))
Al-Muqaddasi (1994).The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions. Translated by Basil Anthony Collins. Reading: Garnet Publishing.ISBN1-873938-14-4.
Amit, David (n.d.). "Hurvat Ma'on". In Ben-Yosef, Sefi (ed.).Israel Guide - Judaea (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 9. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence.OCLC745203905.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
Chapman III, Rupert L.;Taylor, J.E., eds. (2003).Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville. Jerusalem: Carta. p. 72.ISBN965-220-500-1.OCLC937002750.
Ilan, Z.[in Hebrew] (1988). "Maon - A Synagogue from the period of the Talmud (מעון - בית כנסת מתקופת התלמוד)".Sela'it - A Monthly Magazine for the Youth (in Hebrew).17 (2). Tel-Aviv: The Society for the Protection of Nature:16–17.ISSN0334-4479.
Ilan, Z.[in Hebrew] (1991).Ancient Synagogues in Erez Israel (בתי כנסת קדומים בארץ ישראל). Tel-Aviv: Miśrad ha-biṭaḥon.ISBN9650505229.OCLC26159213.
Amit, David (2003).Synagogues at Tell Maon and at Tell 'Anim, and the Jewish settlement in the south of Mount Hebron (בתי הכנסת בחורבת מעון ובחורבת ענים והיישוב היהודי בדרום הר חברון). Jerusalem: Hebrew University (Doctoral dissertation).OCLC170885342.
![The ancient hill of Tel Ma'on,[which?] South Hebron Hills](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTel-Maon-183.jpg)
Ancient synagogues (Second Temple and Talmudic periods)
