Khirbet Shema House

5th–6th Century

These plan and reconstruction drawings show a small house in the village of Khirbet Shema, in upper Galilee. The house had two stories, the upper serving as a living area and the lower as a workshop. The roof of the house was flat and could be used for industrial activities, drying food, and sleeping when it was too hot inside the house. Adjacent to the house was a courtyard with an oven and a platform for industrial activities. Some courtyards also contained a small underground cistern for water.

Illustration of a two-story ancient stone house with a courtyard. Two people sit on a platform in the courtyard, and another stands outside the house with a donkey. Below is a labeled floor plan of the house, platform, and street, with a scale for reference.

Credits

Dr. Leen Ritmeyer, Ritmeyer Archaeological Design.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

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Stone ruins with partial walls, including some with window-like openings, surrounded by trees and greenery; shade cloths are stretched above part of the site.
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Related Guide

Architecture of Ancient Jewish Houses and Palaces

4th Century BCE–6th Century CE