{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.032511210762331835, 'fraction_numerical': 0.025411061285500747, 'mean_word_length': 4.5654885654885655, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
The Chalcolithic Mortuary Site near Mezad Aluf, Northern Negev Desert: A Preliminary Study

lithic cemetery complex to be found in the northern Negev Desert of Israel.' A number of early travelers, including Musil (1908: 32) had passed through the Mezad Aluf area (known as Kasr Rashid-Bek by Turkish administrators), but the extensive Chalcolithic burial ground in the area had always gone undetected. The discovery was made less than 200 m. northwest of the large 9-hectare Chalcolithic village site Shiqmim, along the north bank of the Nahal Beer-sheva (Alon and Levy 1980: 141). As seen in fig. 1, the cemetery complex is quite extensive, spreading for approximately 800 m. x 100 m. along a series of Eocene chalk hills that border the drainage. Once it was realized that the main mode of burial was in grave circles of stone, it was easy to identify surface indications of these circles exposed on the surface of the chalk hilltops (Levy and Alon 1979: 117). The stone-circle remains and ceramic sherds found on the cemetery surface were typical of the Nahal Beer-sheva Chalcolithic ceramic assemblage and provided evidence for the mortuary boundaries (de Contenson 1956). Based on the distribution of these surface features and the ceramic sherds, the total area of the cemetery complex can be estimated at approximately 8 hectares (figs. 1, 2). The chalk hilltops on which the cemetery is located are of little economic value. The thin deposit of loessial soil that covers these hills is extremely shallow and supports little vegetation. In a study of Negev habitats, Tadmor, Orshan, and Rawitz (1962) showed these hilltops to be of little value for grazing. Fig. 3 illustrates a cross section through grave circle 11, showing the very shallow depth at which the grave circles are found. Usually the stone circle features are less than 20 cm. below the surface and are separated by less than 10 cm. of soil from the underlying limestone bedrock. The entire mortuary complex (ca. + 190 m. a.s.l.) is situated approximately 14 m. above a terrace system that represents a large floodplain area; the floodplain played an integral part in the floodwater farming subsistence base of the Chalcolithic inhabitants of this area (Levy 1981). It is likely that the cemetery complex served more than one site (Shiqmim-BS-18; fig. 1). The presence of three other sites in the vicinity of the cemetery (BS19, 20, 21; fig. 1) suggests that they may also have utilized the mortuary area. Unfortunately, this hypothesis cannot be tested at present. A review of the range of Chalcolithic burial evidence found in Palestine will help place the mortuary remains near Mezad Aluf in context.