Terraces are stone walls that extend across the riverbeds.   The terraces act as a water saving mechanism by slowing down the flow of water during flash floods, enabling it to penetrate into the soil and to be utilized by plants during the dry season.   Terraces also protect the soil by preventing erosion by the floodwaters and creating fields for raising grain, vineyards, olives, and other crops.

 

Diversion Canals are stone walls that are built from a single layer of stones extending along the entire length of the slopes. These walls usually begin under steps or rock surfaces and continue along the length of the slope to the cultivated fields. These walls function as diversion canals or ancient water pipes that increase the amount of water that reaches the fields. There are two such canals on the farm – one on the slope and another that begins on the farm that leads to the saddle near the rock drawings.

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Tumulus (plural Tumuli) Tumuli are mountain or pyramid-shaped mounds of stones commonly found on the tops of mountains and hilltops in the Negev.  According to research, the tumuli were temporary graves in which nomads were buried during their journeys in the desert as part of the rituals for honoring the dead.  

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Nomads would return to the spot several years later to retrieve the bones and transfer them to a permanent burial place in a cemetery close to a ritual center. Some of the tumuli are monuments that were built to commemorate pacts between different tribes or to mark important events. The tumuli are approximately 4,200 years old.

 

Rock Drawings are carvings that were carved over the years in ironized limestone rock. Exposure to the air has caused the large deposits of iron oxides in the limestone rocks to rust and blacken over time.  These drawing are typical of nomads in desert regions of the Middle East. Most have a religious context and constitute a symbolic language in which the artists appealed to the heavenly forces to aid them in their troubles. Other drawings were made to communicate with other shepherds – similar to today's communications on a friend's wall on Facebook. 

 

The rock drawings on the farm are from 4,200 years ago and extend through the Nabbatean, Byzantine, and ancient Arab periods.

 

All archaeological remains are protected by the Antiquities Law that forbids collecting or harming archaeological remains or antiquities.