Earliest reference to city of Haluza unearthed at Negev dig

 

The Greek inscription reads "Elusa

A stone bearing a 1,700-year-old inscription that refers to the city of Haluza (“Elusa” in Greek) has been unearthed at an excavation at the Haluza archaeological park in th

Negev, some 19 miles southwest of Beersheba.

The Israel Antiquities Authority explained that the inscription is the “first archaeological evidence of the name of the city of Haluza from the site itself.”

Haluza was once part of the Nabataean Incense Route and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In a Judeo-Arabic translation of the Pentateuch by Saadia Gaon, Haluza is associated with the biblical town of Gerar.

The dig is being carried out under the auspices of the Haluza Smart City project and is being co-led by a team from the University of Koln in Germany under Professor Michael Heinzelmann and the IAA.