For almost a thousand years, from the second century BC to the eighth century CE, there were permanent settlement in the Negev desert. During the Byzantine period this phenomenon was at its height with seven large settlements, known as the ancient towns of the Negev – Haluza, Rehovot in the Negev, Nitzana, Shivta, Avdat, Mamshit and Kh. Saadon - and many farm houses which flourished in this arid region. The inhabitants lived in well-built stone houses and built large churches, decorated with mosaics, marble items, frescos and Greek inscriptions. They maintained vine and olive orchards, producing wine and olive oil. They collected every drop of the runoff water from the hill-slopes and built their agricultural fields in the wadi beds below.
The aim of this research, which was initially my PhD thesis, was to unravel the causes which led to the success of these settlements in such an arid environment from two perspectives: the first related to social organization, both local and imperial, and the second – the contribution of physical features such as water collection, agriculture etc.
As part of this project the question of the nature of the climate in antiquity was examined; the results indicated that the climate was similar to the present climate.
This project was presented in a book in Hebrew, many articles and a web-publication of the archaeological survey.