The Byzantine and Early Islamic settlement of Khirbat ... - web journal

The Byzantine and Early Islamic settlement of Khirbat Shuwayka4.6. The tomb entrance inscription (fig. 27)The short text is written in clear large Greek letters, most likely of the 5 th century, andnot later than the early 6 th (confirmed to me by Dr. Leah di Segni). It reads simply: +Mnh[mh] / diaf[er(ousa)]/ Paul[ou] or "Private tomb of Paul..". One would have expectedan epithet of Paulor a reference to his family,but there seems to be noroom, since the stone isneatly cut just below thethird line, presumably to fitonto the slab closing thevault.5. The WinepressThe winepress is situatedat the eastern foot of thehill, directly inside thefortification wall and next27. Greek inscription on lintel of tomb entrance.to the church (within squares QRST 13-16 on fig. 2). The press is joined to the gate,found in the western wall, via a path running along the southern wall of the church.The path, 1.5 m wide and made of compacted earth, can be accessed from thechurch by two entrances in its southern wall. The area of the winepress is about 160m² (figs 28 and 29). It consistsof three chambersconnected by channelswith three juice-collectingvats on the western side, alarge treading vat, a mainjuice-collecting vat on thenorthern side, four chamberson the southern sideand four more chamberson the eastern side. Thewalls of these facilitieswere built of differentsized stones, 95 cm wide,with horizontal irregular28. View westwards of wine-making installation showing treadingfloors (opposite), storage rooms (left) and press area (center).http://www.webjournal.unior.it - (II) 2006 69ISSN 1827-8868