Khirbet Kurkush
Ancient necropolis | |
Khirbet Kurkush Shown within State of Palestine | |
| Location | State of Palestine |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°05′16″N 35°06′54″E / 32.08778°N 35.11500°E |
| Grid position | 161/166 PAL |
| Type | settlement, necropolis |
| Area | 14 acres |
| Height | 442 m |
| History | |
| Periods | Hellenistic to Byzantine period |
| Cultures | Samaritan or Jewish |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1991 |
| Archaeologists | Shimon Riklin, Yitzhak Magen, Dvir Raviv |
| Condition | In ruins |
| Public access | yes |
Khirbet Kurkush (Arabic: خربة قرقش) is an archeological site in the West Bank. It lies between the Israeli settlements of Bruchin and Ariel and near the Palestinian town of Bruqin, in the Salfit Governorate of the State of Palestine.
The site was inhabited mostly during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, from which impressive remnants of structures and quarries still survive. However, there have been findings from earlier times, such as the Iron Age, as well as later ones, such as the Middle Ages. There are several nearby rock-cut tombs, some of which are lavishly decorated, that resemble similar Jewish tombs of Jerusalem during the late Second Temple period. Archeologists disagree on whether Jews, Samaritans, or pagan groups used this necropolis and other nearby similar sites in western Samaria. Nonetheless, the majority of archaeologists believe the site to be a Jewish necropolis constructed for the rural Jewish elites of the area, possibly by Jewish craftsmen who fled Jerusalem prior to its siege and destruction in 70 CE.