Similar to Nazareth, Horvat Etri was built over subterranean complexes, with interconnected tunnels leading to storage and shelter facilities. Excavations have revealed two agglutinated structural complexes entered by courtyards, possibly representing integrated production, storage and living spaces.
Like Nazareth and Kiryat Sefer, Horvat Etri was situated near the summit of a limestone hill bound on three sides by relatively steep valleys, with similar terraced cultivation of grapes and olives. The site has numerous stone vessels and rock-cut installations, with water channels leading to plastered cisterns and stepped basins used for ritual immersion (“mikvaeot”), all common features in the 1st Century AD. Several of the underground entrances have supportive ledges to support hatches/covers.
Horvat Etri site plan: Boaz Zissu and Amir Ganor Hadashot Arkheologiyot Excavations and Surveys in Israel (113) 2001
Nazareth site plan: Bagatti, Fr.B. Excavations in Nazareth, vol. I Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press 1969
