Bir Abu Matar
31°14′01.5″N 34°46′31″E / 31.233750°N 34.77528°E / 31.233750; 34.77528Bir Abu Matar is an archaeological site in the Valley of Beersheba that contains remains dated to the Chalcolithic period.
One of the characteristics of the site, during the early phase of its settlement, was the construction of underground dwellings, dug in the earth.
A small park was later built on top of the site, which is now situated at the southernmost edge of Na'veh Ze'ev borough, in Beersheba.
These houses were dug relatively deep under the surface, leaving a thick layer of soil between their ceiling and the ground above.
Most of the rooms contained storage spaces dug in their floors which the residents kept covered with large stone slabs.
Most of the floors of these rooms were found covered in ash, pottery sherds, animal bones, etc., indicating these houses were used as a living space.
Many small ceramic bowls were discovered during excavations - those were probably used as primitive lamps, since these subterranean houses had been immersed in permanent darkness and needed to be artificially illuminated.
These depressions held wooden beams that supported a roof made of branches covered in clay.
The presence of so many pits and storage spaces dug into the floors of the rooms of the houses indicate that the locals produced an excess of food, beyond their immediate, everyday, needs.
There are no copper deposits in the area, therefore it seems the ore was brought here from Wadi Feynan, in the southern Jordan Rift Valley, or, possibly, even from Timna, where an ancient mine was discovered, attributed by Beno Rothenberg to the Chalcolithic era.
Many remains of copper ore, including several slag cores, have been found in Bir Abu Matar.
The ground material then received initial processing in regular ovens, and was later smelted in special furnaces.
The finest basalt artifacts of the Chalcolithic era were found on the sites of the Beersheba Culture, one of which is Bir Abu Matar.
They were not manufactured on site, but rather imported, probably from the northern parts of contemporary Israel or from southern Syria, from the region of the Golan Heights or from the Hauran, where this stone is plentiful.
[6] Few bone tools were made or used in Bir Abu Matar - mostly picks, needles, combs and sickles.
The large variety of objects and artifacts used by the local population indicate that they had trading relationships with neighboring and with far away settlements.
The statuettes are in the shapes of bearded men, naked women, birds, miniature sickles and other objects, and were probably used for ritualistic purposes.
