CARMEL: Studies in Archaeological Sciences and Conservation 1 Lehnig et al. | 2024/5 From Early Christianity to Early Islam: new radiocarbon dates extend occupation period of Mitzpe Shivta in the Negev Desert Sina Lehnig *, a, b , Gil Gambash a, c , Guy Bar-Oz a, c a School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, University of Haifa b Institut für Klassische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin c The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, University of Haifa * Corresponding author’s email address: sina.lehnig@fu-berlin.de Keywords Radiocarbon, late antique and Early Islamic archaeology, monasticism, pilgrimage, arid land viticulture, earthquake Abstract New excavations and radiocarbon data from Mitzpe Shivta—a site closely linked to monasticism and pilgrimage— enable to locate, for the first time, the previously overlooked site within the broader chronology and cultural-his- torical narrative of the Negev Desert (Israel). While early explorers emphasized a Late Byzantine-period (550–638 CE) settlement of the site, our investigations provide evidence of continued habitation from the Middle Byzantine period (450–550 CE), extending into Abbasid times. Radiocarbon data demonstrate that the site’s occupation may have begun as early as the mid-5th–mid-6th century CE, paralleling it with established models concerning the devel- opment of monasteries and pilgrimage networks in Palestine and Egypt. By this time, Negev settlements such as the neighboring Shivta and Nessana had reached their zenith of agricultural and economic development, providing infrastructure for travelers to Mount Sinai. Inscriptions discovered in Mitzpe Shivta’s rock-hewn rooms, dedicated to Saint George, align with pilgrim accounts, such as the one supplied by the Piacenza Pilgrim, which reveal that the veneration of saints played a crucial role in shaping the religious landscape of the region. Thus, Mitzpe Shivta may have attracted devotees seeking the intercession of Saint George and other similar martyrs. Our study reveals that Mitzpe Shivta remained inhabited following the local agricultural decline in the late 6th century CE and into the Islamic period. The discovery of grape seeds dating to the Abbasid period may indicate continued use of the site by Christians. These findings align with evidence of other monastic and Christian communities’ resilience in the Negev during the Islamic period. It is possible that Mitzpe Shivta was abandoned in the 8th/9th century CE following a local earthquake and decreased pilgrimage tourism under the Abbasid dynasty. Introduction Mitzpe Shivta (Arab.: el-Meshrifeh, Khirbet el-Misrafa, Khirbat al-Mushrayfa, Mesrafeh, Mishrafa) is located in the central Negev Desert, along one of the main Holy Land pilgrimage routes that connected Jerusalem and Gaza on the Mediterranean shore, Mount Sinai and Egypt (Fig. 1; 162556-839/536385-606). It is 5 km from the Byzantine settlement of Shivta and on the main route to Elusa (22 km to the north). Its location on a hilltop (460 m a.s.l.) allows observation of the entire periphery, toward areas that were intensively used for agriculture in Byzantine times. The site’s main features (Fig. 2) include a perimeter wall encircling upper and lower fortresses, towers with arrow-slits, a church, a small chapel, domestic units, a courtyard house, a large