In the heart
of the Jerusalem Hills, on the eastern slopes of Mt. Eitan, lies a green area
of 1,000-dunam (250 acre). Two springs
flow from the mountain, irrigating agricultural terraces – a reminder of the
ancient Hebrew culture, dating back thousands of years, which was almost lost to
the world.
Archeological
research indicates that Sataf was first settled about 6.000 years ago, and its inhabitants
began building terraces about 4,500 years ago.
The site
flourished in the Second Temple and Byzantine period. During the Crusader and
Ottoman periods, its situation deteriorated and improved intermittently.
During the Israelite
period, (Iron Age I (IA I) 1200–1000 BCE) the easily workable lands in the
valleys were occupied by the veteran local populations, which only left them
the rocky ground and forests in the Judean Hills and southern Samaria. Thus,
Joshua told the new immigrants: “Go up
to the forest and clear ground for yourselves....” Joshua 17:15
The labor-intensive
job of clearing the rocks (the Bible describes as izuk) and removing
them to the edges of the natural terraces (sikul). These stones were
then used to build supporting walls for a layer of fertile soil imported to the
area. This is how the agricultural terraces were constructed. ‘Terrace’ is
derived from the Latin word ‘terra’ = land.
Leftover
stones from izuk and sikul were used to build watchtowers to guard
the crops.
Their construction is described in the Parable of the Vineyard:
“...My
beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of
stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of
it, and hewed out a wine vat in it;”
Isaiah 5:1-2 ESV
In this area, 26 of the ancient types of vines that grew in Eretz Israel are now cultivated by use of roof, pole and ground trailing methods.
The terraces and ‘watching places’ thus became part of the landscape op the Judean Hills and
of Jerusalem.
Most of the
terraces were used for dry farming, relying solely on rainfall. In the Judean
Hills, the chief produces consisted of grapes, olives, figs and pomegranates.
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| dry farming |
In the few places that had water, larger terraces were built on several levels
in order to make the most of the rare opportunity to raise different crops all
year round through irrigation. It was exhausting work, yielding only limited
arable land. Crops were maximized by building the terraces as close as possible to natural springs.
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| Ein Bikura |
The Bikura
and the Sataf are layer springs. They form where the water-filled permeable
limestone meets the impervious yellow marl (clay and flint) rock strata.
Weathering and erosion expose the top of the marl layers, at which point the
water emerges from underground as a spring.
These layer springs’ exits were
artificially widened; their waters are collected in cisterns and directed
through a system of channels to the levels of the crops that need them most.
Since the
springs did not supply a great deal of water, the early inhabitants increased
their supply by tunneling into the water-bearing strata. The water was then
stored in large pools and ducted via a system of channels to the terrace plots.
Tunneled springs thus came to be an integral part of the terrace systems in the
Judean Hills.
Ein Sataf
was the main spring in the village.
The cave was partially quarried out of the
rock to increase the output of the spring and a tunnel was built to convey the
water to the large pools, which as a capacity of some 180 cubic meters.
A small
room is built in the back wall, where the village women apparently did their
washing.
Man-made
plastered channels duct the water to the agricultural plots, using different
devices to overcome the varying terrace height.
In 1949,
Moshav Bikura was founded by new immigrants from North Africa on the ruins of
Sataf, and Arab village that was abandoned during the War of Independence.
Before long, the new residents too had to leave and over time, the supporting
walls collapsed, and dirt and debris covered the two storage pools and the
conduits bringing spring water to them. In the 1950’s the site served as
training grounds for the UNIT 101 special operations force and the paratroopers
Brigade.
In the early
1980’s, KKL, with the help of JNF Switzerland, began renovating the
agricultural terraces in the area. It restored the storage pools of the Sataf
and Bikura Springs, repaired the terraces and redug the irrigation channels.Volunteer soldiers and pupils help with the restoration work and learn first hand about the ‘sealed well’ , ‘irrigated agriculture’ and ‘dry farming’. As
a result, biblical hillside agriculture can once again be seen in action and in
future, also industries will be established for olive pressing for oil, grape
treading for wine, etc.
Sataf’s
Bustanof project, named form the combination of the Hebrew words for “fruit
garden’ and ‘scenic view’ is unique in Israel. For a nominal feel, JNF enables
Jerusalemites to cultivate small plots for their enjoyment in their spare time.
In doing so, they can breathing in ‘mountain air as clear was wine’ and relive
the passage: ”Each man under his own vine and fig tree.”
The Eretz
Israel tree garden cultivates by traditional methods fruit trees of the original
strains known in the country.
The hanging
stairs on the terrace wall are an efficient wat to save precious ground.
Looking at the vineyard through the bars of the ‘locked
garden’ or entering the Ein Bikura, the visitor begins to visualize Song of
Songs 4:12:
“A garden
locked is my sister, my bride,
a spring locked, a fountain sealed.”
Sataf definitely is a
place where time seems to have stood still!
