Coins, pottery and ritual baths that were recently exposed attest to a Hasmonean settlement at the site of Susiya in the Mount Hebron. Until now, the Susya heritage site has been known to visitors as a 1,500-year-old Jewish Talmudic town, which was occupied from the Roman to the Moslem periods, but the new findings precede the establishment of the settlement in 600 years.
The new findings were uncovered during an excavation conducted by the Civil Administration - Archaeological Staff Officer in Judea and Samaria. They are scheduled to be presented for the first time by senior lecturers at the professional conference "The Book and the Desert" which will take place this Thursday at the Susiya Tour and Study Center.