Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Geomorphology journal homepage: www.journals.elsevier.com/geomorphology Soil denudation in the northwestern Negev (Israel) following the Late Byzantine – Early Islamic period Nurit Shtober-Zisu a, *, Anna Brook b, Boaz Zissu c a Geomorphology Laboratory, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Haifa, Abba Khoushy Ave 199, Haifa, Israel Spectroscopy and Remote Sensing Laboratory, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Haifa, Abba Khoushy Ave 199, Haifa, Israel c Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel b A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Keywords: Land abandonment Soil erosion Denudation Byzantine period Mud bricks degradation During the 5th and 6th centuries, the economic hinterland of the city of Gaza encompassed a network of settlements that supplied the city with agricultural produce. Water was collected in underground cisterns from rooftops and courtyards. While almost nothing remained of the above-ground structures since the settlements collapsed, soil erosion exposed these cisterns, which now serve as well-preserved indicators of the location and levels of the houses - that supplied the water. The study examines to what extent the land abandonment in the late Byzantine - early Islamic period resulted in denudation and soil property changes. We hypothesize that the abandonment of settlements and agriculture intensified soil erosion and amplified gully development. Approximately 140 cisterns were mapped in the study area, mainly north of the ephemeral Nahal Gerar stream. The height of the cisterns above the ground was used to calculate the denudation rate (DR) since abandonment. Findings indicate that over relatively flat terrains (1–5 %), cisterns protrude 0.5–1.2 m above the surface. Considering abandonment in the 6th or 11th century, DR was calculated as 0.35–0.85 mm/yr or 0.5–1.2 mm/yr, respectively. Over steeper slopes (10–12 %), along river banks and incised gullies, extensive bank erosion occurred, leading to the exposure of cisterns up to 2.5 m; DR = 1.8 to 2.5 mm/yr, depending on the abandonment time. The settlements’ distribution and the surface topography directly correlate: in settled areas, Terrain Roughness Index (TRI) values are higher compared to other areas with the same lithology and rainfall amount. Following abandonment, decaying houses resulted in the complete disintegration of mud bricks, increasing the proportion of fine soil fractions. Cisterns acted as sedimentation basins, trapping surface-derived sediments and debris, including degraded brick material. This process influenced the mechanical composition of soils, affecting soil erosion and land degradation. 1. Introduction 1.1. The rise and demise of the prosperous Byzantine Period in the Negev During the Byzantine period, the central and northern Negev desert experienced remarkable settlement and agricultural prosperity (Mayerson, 1960) despite the challenging environmental conditions of settling the desert (Kedar, 1967; Evenari et al., 1982). The ancient farmers appear to have been well aware of the various mechanisms for runoff generation and managed to develop advanced and efficient water systems in the desert (Lavee et al., 1997). In the central Negev highlands, where rock outcrops are frequent, ancient farming involved building stone terrace walls in wadis to capture runoff and floodwater. This runoff water was then used to enhance the soil of the terraced fields, allowing for crop growth even in dry or drought years. Thus, the central Negev became home to numerous remains of ancient agricultural field systems (Shanan and Schick, 1980; Ashkenazi et al., 2012; Avni et al., 2012, 2013; Bruins, 2012; Bruins et al., 2019). Hundreds of rock-cut cisterns were built in the Negev highlands, specifically where the geological layers were appropriate (Junge et al., 2023), namely in impermeable rock layers, such as marl or clay. When the bedrock was composed of chalk or limestone, plaster was applied to prevent water leakage (Evenari et al., 1982; Ore et al., 2020). In areas thickly covered by loess soils or sand dunes as in the northern Negev plains and along the southern Mediterranean coastal plain of Israel, building terraces across channels or hewing cisterns in impermeable rock was not possible due to * Corresponding author. E-mail address: nshtober@research.haifa.ac.il (N. Shtober-Zisu). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.108983 Received 27 July 2023; Received in revised form 12 November 2023; Accepted 14 November 2023 Available online 23 November 2023 0169-555X/© 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 the depth of the rocks beneath thick cover of friable sediments. To preserve water throughout the year, cisterns were dug in the ground and lined with plaster (Aladjem, 2013). These cisterns are under the scope of the present paper and will be detailed and described below. In antiquity, the city of Gaza was prominent as a significant urban center and a vital port and trading hub in the southern Levant. Throughout the Roman era, Gaza prospered as a commercial nexus and underwent substantial urban development. Subsequently, during the Byzantine era, commencing in the 4th century CE, Gaza witnessed significant changes and emerged as an important center of Christianity and monasticism (Hirschfeld, 2004). During the 5th and 6th centuries CE, the city gained its reputation as a producer of high-quality wines for export. The economic hinterland of Gaza encompassed surrounding villages and agricultural estates, which were subject to the influence and control of the city and played an auxiliary role in its economic, agricultural, and political endeavors. The hinterland supplied the city with agricultural produce such as fruits, vegetables, and field crops, in addition to the renowned “Gaza wines,” as well as pottery (known as “Gaza” jars (Lantos et al., 2020) and other resources, essential for urban life. But after three centuries of prosperity, the city of Gaza, along with other wealthy cities and towns in the Negev, emptied out and almost vanished from the map of civilization for the next millennia. There is a vast debate in the literature as to the reasons for land abandonment. The initial narrative is that the collapse of these communities was a result of the Islamic conquest in the mid-seventh century, either as a violent, rapid event (Avi-Yonah, 1966; Gil, 1992) or as a more gradual process, lingering for at least a hundred years after the Arab conquest (Magness, 2003). One way or another, the rise of the ‘Islamic city’ and the abandonment of the countryside is viewed by many scientists as a product of political, cultural, and religious changes that turned the Christian Near East into a Muslim domain (Avni, 2014). Others see the climate change toward relative dryness as related to the collapse of agriculture between the late 5th and late 8th century A.D. (Enzel et al., 2003; Bookman (KenTor) et al., 2004) or as a result of the combined climate fluctuation with rural and nomadic settlement (Langgut et al., 2021), which together caused to subsequent dune mobilization and landscape changes in the northern Negev (Roskin et al., 2013). In recent years, new research has shown that the decline of the Negev settlements began in the middle of the 6th century, following the Late Antiquity Little Ice Age (Bar-Oz et al., 2019; Fuks et al., 2020), about 100 years before the Islamic conquest. Although most of these settlements continued to exist after the conquest, both Early Christians and Muslims evidently lived in the Negev area. Extensive archaeological data accumulated over the last three decades suggests that the Byzantine–Islamic transition in this area was a gradual process characterized by regional and demographic diversity, and the Byzantine settlements that prospered in the sixth century were abandoned sometime during the eleventh century (Ellenblum, 2012; Avni, 2014). The geomorphic processes and rates that have affected the abandoned lands remain unknown. 1.2. Water harvesting in the Northwestern Negev and the settlements of Horvat Mador and Gerarit In the present study, we focus on the area north of Nahal Gerar (‘Nahal’ = stream), especially on the ruins of the villages of Mador and Gerarit (Horvat Mador and Gerarit) [‘Horvat’ = ruins], which were chosen to represent the regional geomorphic processes of soil erosion and gully incision (Fig. 1). During the Byzantine period, the houses in these settlements were built of unfired mud-bricks, while water was collected from the roofs and courtyards and directed into subterranean cisterns, dug into the soil. Cisterns were constructed adjacent to each house and used by the inhabitants for domestic purposes and local farming. Water entered the cisterns via openings made into the neck, underneath the covering edge stone. Runoff water first went into a filtering vat where suspended particles were deposited and flowed into the cistern via pipes positioned near the rim of the vat. The whole body of the cistern and most of the vault were covered with earth, where only the edge stone protruded above the ground (Fig. 2), covered by a metal or wooden cover. Water was drawn via this opening with a bucketshaped pottery/skin container, a rope, and perhaps a winch and served for drinking and other household supplies. Following the decline of the Byzantine Empire in the Negev area and the abandonment of the settlements, the mud-brick houses have deteriorated and disappeared from the landscape. What remains are visible dome-shaped structures protruding from the ground, ranging from 20 cm to 2.5 m in height. These structures are the remnants of the underground water cisterns that can nowadays provide valuable insights into the topography and elevation of the late antiquity surface. Fig. 1. Study site: a-Location in Israel; b- Cisterns (red dots) distribution and location of Horvat Mador and Horvat Gerarit study sites. 2 N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 Fig. 2. Typical remains of Byzantine period water cisterns in various stages of degradation. (a) cistern located on the Nahal Gerar bank, protruding 2.5 above the surface, 45 m from the channel. Note the water entrance holes, ca 30 cm beneath the top; (b) cisterns were built of small, angular fieldstones and plastered. Attached to the right, note the small sedimentation basin, which served to filter the water; (c) a degraded cistern at Horvat Mador, with 30 cm thick plastered walls. (d) three adjacent cisterns at Horvat Gerarit. Trees grew in the sediment/debris infill of two cisterns. Oron et al., 2019) and shifting from aggradation to incision in the drainage systems (Faershtein et al., 2016). The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of land abandonment during the late Byzantine-early Islamic period on surface denudation and soil properties in the northwestern Negev. We hypothesize that the land abandonment intensified soil erosion and amplified gully development. Ruined water cisterns, which now protrude above the eroded surface, may be used as indicators of the ancient surface level and, therefore, enable calculation of the denudation rates since the abandonment of the villages and farmlands. 1.3. The geomorphic impact of land abandonment Land abandonment is one of the most significant land use changes that affect the landscape and the environment (Butzer, 2005; GarcíaRuiz, 2010; Montgomery, 2012; Dotterweich et al., 2013; Santarsiero et al., 2023), resulting in a variety of consequences on the surface, depending on the local context, scale, social and ecological settings and the preliminary environment conditions (Rey Benayas et al., 2007; Munroe et al., 2013; Quintas-Soriano et al., 2022). Extensive research in history, geomorphology, and sedimentology suggested a strong connection between changes in land use and soil erosion in the Mediterranean region since Neolithic times (Nadel et al., 2012; Roskin et al., 2022). This link has been influenced by climatic changes, which have sometimes masked or intensified the effect (García-Ruiz and LanaRenault, 2011). Land abandonment can result in dune stabilization, natural vegetation recovery, and ecological restoration; it can increase carbon storage and improve habitat quality (Cramer et al., 2018; Roskin et al., 2013; Navarro and Pereira, 2015). Conversely, land abandonment can enhance soil erosion and desertification (Ruiz-Flaño et al., 1992; Koulouri and Giourga, 2007; Yue et al., 2020), reduce water availability (Rey Benayas et al., 2007; van Leeuwen et al., 2019), increase wildfire risk (Mantero et al., 2020; Salis et al., 2022), and result in gully erosion (Lana-Renault et al., 2020). In the Negev Highlands, land degradation and loess deposit denudation have occurred since the termination of the Pleistocene, leading toward natural desertification (Avni et al., 2006; 2. Study area The study area is located in the northwestern Negev. It is bordered by the Gaza Strip to the west and Road 232 to the east, between Kibbutz Be’eri and Kibbutz Re’im (Fig. 1). The area is a flat plain at an elevation ranging from 25 to 50 m above sea level. It is drained by ephemeral streams and gullies, which are part of the major drainage system of the region, Nahal Besor (Bergman et al., 2014). Nahal Gerar (699 km2), a tributary of Nahal Besor (2586 km2), flows at the foothills of Horvat Mador and generates significant flash floods. The highest peak discharge measured since the beginning of measurements in the mid-20th century was 271 m3/s (Dec. 11, 1980), while the peak discharge calculated for a recurrence interval of 100 years is 345 m3/s. Nahal Besor, the largest stream system in the Negev draining to the Mediterranean, borders the Horvat Gerarit site. Its 3 N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 highest measured peak discharge is 760 m3/s (March 23, 1991), and the peak flow calculated for a recurrence interval of 100 years is 960 m3/s (Hydrological Year-book of Israel, 2016). The streams are incised in a Late Pleistocene loess cover (Yaalon and Dan, 1974; Dan et al., 1975; Crouvi et al., 2008, 2017; Enzel et al., 2008) composed of a welded sequence of calcic palaeosols (Bruins and Yaalon, 1992). The loess soils are yellowish-light brown, usually with AC horizons but sometimes with an ABcaChorizon. Their structure is crumby, sometimes subangular blocky, with a low organic matter content and a loam or clay loam texture (Ravikovitch, 1992). Loess deposit thickness is 1–15 m, covering a palaeorelief of aeolianite ridges that run parallel the Mediterranean coast (Bergman et al., 2014). Rounded allochthonous chert pebbles termed “Imported chert” (Zilberman and Calvo, 2013), reworked from Miocene fluvial systems in the Negev, are also mixed in the soils. Loess soils experience significant changes in response to rainfall variation, which cause major geomechanical alterations (Roskin, 2016). During intense rainfall, the topsoil, which is commonly covered by various crust types (Veste and Littmann, 2001), becomes liquefied with poor geomechanical properties, enhancing soil erosion. Soil plasticity is determined by the quantity of clay minerals and ranges from 5 to 50 % (Eisenberg et al., 1982). Infiltration depth reaches approximately 1 m at the end of the winter and >2 m during a rainy year (Michaeli and Wolf, 1986). The climate is semi-arid, and the mean precipitation is 300–350 mm/ year (1980–2010 according to the Israel Meteorological Service). The rainy season occurs mainly during the winter (December–February), during which Mediterranean lows cause relatively low rain intensities with long durations. During autumn (September–November) and spring (March–May), the seasonal Active Red Sea Trough causes more intense, short-duration rainfall events (Kahana et al., 2002; Bergman et al., 2014). Evaporation rates during summer are 7–8 mm/day and 2–3 mm/ day during winter. The summer diurnal temperatures are 19–31 ◦ C and 6–20 ◦ C during winter. The late Holocene climate is inferred from several sources. Paleofloods records show that past floods in Nahal Zin (1150 km2, south of the study area) were 2–3 times larger than present floods and occurred in alternating high and low frequency periods. For example, two intervals with numerous high-magnitude floods were found between 1380 and 880 cal. Yr B.P. and the past 65 yr (Greenbaum et al., 2006). Rainfall patterns inferred from isotopic analysis of speleothems from the Soreq cave in the Judean Highlands indicate that over the past 1500 years, a consistent and slight decrease in rainfall occurred, compared to the current annual average of 500 mm. During this period, two notable periods of lower rainfall occurred approximately 950 and 350 years ago, each marked by a 20 % decrease in rainfall. However, around 450 years ago, there was a short period with 8 % higher rainfall than today (BarMatthews and Ayalon, 2004). to determine the thickness of the denuded layer. Two cisterns were scanned using the LiDAR available on iPhone 14Pro (see Supplementary materials no’ 1). The grain size distribution (GSD) of 21 soil samples was measured. Samples were dried and mechanically sieved for 8 min and divided into 6 class groups (<62, 62–125, 125–250, 250–500, 500–1000, 1000–2000 μ) following Blott and Pye (2001). The samples were usually obtained from the surface in representative sites: At Horvat Gerarit 6 samples were collected from the center of the site (G1-G6), two samples from the periphery - ~200 m away from the center of the site (G-ex1 - Gex2), and two samples were collected from degraded mud bricks (MudBr 1-MudBr2). At Horvat Mador, seven samples were obtained from the center of the site (M1-M7), and four samples were collected from cleanout mounds surrounding two cisterns (M8-M11). A high-resolution 2-meter Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from JAXA and generated using the ALOS Daichi satellite has been used to analyze the terrain attributes of the area. The methodology in this study depends on terrain roughness. Therefore, the dataset was further used to extract the morphometric terrain roughness parameter (TRI) (Brook and Shtober-Zisu, 2020) to highlight concentrations of rills, gullies, cliffs, badlands, and other similar terrain features. TRI calculates the sum change in elevation between a grid cell and its eight neighboring grid cells by squaring the eight differences in elevation, summing the squared differences, and taking the square root of the sum (Riley et al., 1999). TRI map was divided into 84 randomly selected zones (36 south of Nahal Gerar, 17 within the settlements, and 31 north of the settlements) with an area of approximately 500 m2 each, which were further averaged and statistically analyzed by One-Way ANOVA (MATLAB R2022a). At Horvat Mador and Horvat Gerarit, the DTM of differences (DoD) was calculated for each area separately, using the original high-resolution DTM versus the reconstructed DTM. The reconstructed DTM was interpolated upon measurements of the cisterns’ height. DoD was useful to assess the deposition-erosion patterns and estimate the surface level by the time the settlements were inhabited and active (the 5th century c.e). 4. Results 4.1. Field observations Approximately 140 water cisterns typical of the Byzantine period were identified and mapped in the study area. Most cisterns are clustered north of Nahal Gerar and along the lower catchment of Nahal Besor, representing the villages or the location of the old settlements (Fig. 1b). The cisterns are cylindrical with a base diameter of 3–4 m, and depth is estimated at 6–8 m (Figs. 2 and 3). Determining the initial depth of most cisterns is challenging due to significant amounts of sediment and debris infill. About a meter below the rim, the cylinder structure tapered upwards into a cone shape, up to a diameter of 0.5 m, where a stone slab covered the cistern. The cisterns were lined with small, angular fieldstones (diam. 5–10 cm) and were initially plastered with carbonate lime mortar, including seashells, pebbles, and small pottery sherds (Fig. 2b, c). Since the abandonment of the agricultural lands, the soil was eroded, exposing the formerly buried cisterns and enabling the destruction of the openings. Cisterns were then filled with eroded soil material and debris. Some cisterns were subsequently cleaned out and reused as water cisterns (Fig. 4), while others were used for storage, as indicated by their side openings (Fig. 2a). 3. Methods Field observations and comprehensive descriptions were carried out during several campaigns. First, we identified the relics of the domeshaped structures that formed the cisterns in the Byzantine period. Next, we compared the field observations with aerial photos and mapped the cisterns using aerial photos from 1945 and 2005–2022. Additionally, PEF (Palestine Exploration Fund) maps (1880), British Mandate maps (1935, 1940), and modern maps (Govmap.co.il, 2023) were examined. Two areas of interest were analyzed in detail, namely, Horvat Mador (ITM coord. 149300/590200) and Horvat Gerarit (ITM coord. 146600/591800) (Fig. 1). Aerial photos were captured using a DJI Mavic 2 drone in March 2021 and February 2022. Field measurements were carried out in March 2021. The measurements included geometric parameters of the protruding cisterns (width, height, filling depth) and examination of the plaster’s presence and nature. When the top of the cistern was missing, the height was assessed 4.2. Soil erosion and contemporary denudation Numerous exposed cisterns suggest that the soil has been significantly denuded since the land was abandoned. Denudation Rates (DR) depend on cisterns’ location and topography: 4 N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 Fig. 3. A relatively clean cistern at Horvat Mador emptied in modern times; (a) View from above using drone; (b) View from above using LiDAR scanning; (c) LiDAR scanning on a vertical plane. The original cistern depth is unknown; see Supplementary Materials No.’ 1 for 3D imaging. scouring, and incision, forming badlands and increasing the surface roughness. For example, the bank erosion of Nahal Gerar resulted in uprooting trees supporting the bank (Fig. 6a) and the collapse of a concrete storage pool during the flood event of 1991 (Fig. 6b). A well that had fed the pool was swept away by the flash floods in 1961. At Nahal Besor, bank erosion exposed a cistern, while one of its tributaries is currently back-eroding the mosaics of a Byzantine church floor, dated to 599 c.e. (Ameling, 2014). The church was excavated and exposed during the 1970s, protected and roofed by a shed that is collapsing and destroyed by gully head erosion (Fig. 6c, d). To determine the denudation variability, a surface roughness map was created to identify the areas most affected by erosion (Fig. 7). The roughness map highlights concentrations of rills, gullies, cliffs, badlands, and other similar terrain features. There is a clear, direct correlation between the settlements’ distribution (Horvat Mador, Gerarit, Be’er Assaf, etc.) and the degree of surface roughness, i.e., the presence of past settlements is reflected in the surface topography by denudation, and thus, by the increased roughness values. The settled area significantly differs from the less dissected area south of Nahal Gerar despite the same slopes, lithology, and amount of yearly rainfall. Moreover, north of Nahal Gerar, in areas where rainfall exceeds 350 mm/yr, surface roughness is significantly higher than south of Nahal Gerar (Table 2). The p-values 0.006, 0.987, and 0.004 indicate that the mean TRI in the selected zones is different. The p-value of 0.006 indicates that the mean TRI in the area south of Nahal Gerar is significantly different from the area north of the settlements (represented by the cisterns); the TRI calculated for the settlement zone is significantly different from the south, yet no significant difference is shown between the north and the settlement zones with the p-value of 0.987. 4.2.1. Erosion of river banks Two water cisterns were identified and measured along the bank of Nahal Gerar, 45 m from the thalweg, at a slope of 10–12 % (Fig. 4c). The cisterns rise 2.5 m above the surface due to horizontal and lateral erosion caused by fluvial deepening and the widening of Nahal Gerar’s channel during floods. Based on the total erosion of 2.5 m of sediment over 1000–1400 years (depending on the land abandonment time), the DR is 1.8–2.5 mm/yr (Table 1). Nahal Besor causes remarkable bank erosion at Horvat Gerarit, where the stream cuts the outer bank of a meander, forming a steep cliff, tearing down part of the archaeological site and fully exposing a cistern (Fig. 8b). No horizontal erosion was detected in this area. Conversely, the cistern is buried under 50 cm of soil and pottery sherds, as further discussed in Section 4.3.1. 4.2.2. Erosion along flat terrain Most cisterns observed in the study area are located on relatively flat terrains between rills and gullies, where slope angles are low or moderate, 1–5 %. In these areas, the cisterns are exposed to a depth of 0.5–1.2 m (Fig. 4a). Most cisterns exhibit natural or human-induced erosion and disintegration of the upper part. These cisterns are now visible in the field as wide-open holes filled with soil material, sediments, archaeological and modern debris, and garbage (Fig. 4b). DR was calculated as 0.5–1 mm/yr for low to moderate slopes (Table 1). Based on the DTM of Difference (DoD) map (Fig. 5), it is evident that at the center of the Horvat Gerarit site, 0.2–1 m of soil was denuded in 1400 years; to the NE and SW denudation increased up to 1.4 m and to the NW denudation decreased to 0.2 m. At Horvat Mador, the highest DR values were obtained close to the Nahal Gerar channel, while more elevated parts of the settlement obtained lower DR values of 20–50 cm. 4.2.3. Rills, gullies, and surface roughness Incision of rills and gullies is a characteristic phenomenon across the study area. Streams undergo bank erosion, leading to bank drifts, 5 N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 Fig. 4. Denudation Rates at various slope angles. a – Five cisterns marked by red triangles at Horvat Gerarit. Some protrude the surface like the one in front, others are buried, like the one on the left; b – Eroded cisterns appear as large and open holes in the ground; c- two cisterns protruding at 2.5 m along the banks of Nahal Gerar. frequent fraction is composed of fine to medium sand, with 10–30 % of silt and clay. At Horvat Gerarit, the frequent fraction is medium sand (250–500 μ), comprising 30–50 % of the total sample; Median = 125–250 μ and D90 = ~500 μ, meaning that only 10 % of the grains are composed of coarse sand (<0.5 mm). At Horvat Mador, the frequent fractions are fine to medium sand (125–500 μ) and comprise 60–80 % of the sample. The silt and clay components (<63 μ) range from 15 % to 30 %. Median = ~125 μ, and D90 = 250–500 μ. The mud bricks identified at Horvat Gerarit include a high percentage (ca. 50 %) of silt and clay, unlike the composition of the coarser local soil. The Median is <63 μ and D90 = 125–250 μ (Fig. 9a, b). Similar values were found in four soil samples collected from the cleanout mounds at Horvat Mador (M8 to M11 in Fig. 9c, d). Table 1 Depth of exposure of the cisterns and Denudation rates per slope angles. Slope angle Low to moderate1–5 % Channel banks (high) 10–12 % Depth of exposure [m] Assumed abandonment time [century] Denudation rate (DR) [mm/yr] 0.5–1.2 6th 0.35–0.85 2.5 6th 1.8 11th 0.5–1.2 11th 2.5 4.3. Mud bricks degradation and soil accumulation 4.3.1. Soil properties Field observations at the Horvat Gerarit site revealed that in several locations, a substantial (50–70 cm) layer of soil accumulated upon the cistern top, i.e., the Byzantine level (Fig. 8a). Soil characteristics in these locations differ from the soil found at the center of the sites by several properties: (1) color is pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) in comparison to the underneath light reddish-brown soil (5YR 6/3); (2) soil contains a substantial amount of pottery sherds identified as “Gaza jars” (Fig. 8b); (3) remains of the unburned mud-bricks were observed, mixed in the soil (Fig. 8c). The mud bricks and their immediate surroundings incorporate mulch, clearly visible in the bricks and the surrounding soil; (4) grain size is significantly finer (see Section 4.3.2 and Fig. 9). 5. Discussion 5.1. Soil erosion and denudation rates following land abandonment In the northwestern Negev, erosion has exposed underground cisterns at heights ranging from 0.2 m to 2.5 m above the ground level (Fig. 10). The degree of exposure depends on their location relative to the stream channels and the slope. Cisterns located on stream banks at steep slopes (10–12 %) are affected by bank erosion, channel incision, and gully development. Assuming that the abandonment of the fields occurred 1400 years ago, by the end of the Byzantine period, the denudation rate (DR) was calculated at 1.8 mm/yr. However, if the settlements were abandoned in the 11th century (Avni et al., 2006), the 4.3.2. Grain size distribution (GSD) Grain Size Distribution (GSD) at both sites (samples G1-G6 at Horvat Gerarit and M1-M7 at Horvat Mador in Fig. 9) prove that the topsoil 6 N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 Fig. 5. DTM of Difference (DoD) of the denuded areas based on the cisterns’ height above the surface. Elevation contours are at intervals of 2 m, DoD model in cm. Fig. 6. Bank erosion and gully incision: a – uprooting trees at Nahal Gerar banks; b – collapsing a concrete water pool along the Nahal Gerar; c - scouring the mosaic floors of the Byzantine church at Horvat Gerarit, the white dashed line marks the gully head edge; d – exposing a water cistern at Horvat Gerarit, G1 and G2 are two tributary gullies. 7 N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 Fig. 7. The Terrain Roughness Index (TRI) indicates the variation in elevation across different parts of the study area. Cisterns are marked with red dots; the white dashed line marks the 350 mm/y isohyet. Note the high TRI values in the settlement areas and north of the Nahal Gerar, compared to the southern area where high TRI values characterize only the channels. no trace of them remained. Currently, identifying mud bricks is a challenging task, almost seeming impossible. The ones discovered in the present study were recognized through the presence of modern agriculture and the excavation of furrows and ditches in the field. As the finely-textured mud bricks underwent degradation, the resultant sediment blended with the nearby sandy soil, enriching it with silt and clay components (<63 μ). This process facilitated the development of new parent materials on the archaeological remains, a phenomenon consistent with the findings of Lucke and Bäumler (2021), who similarly documented such observations in multiple archaeological sites throughout the Negev region. The high rainfall intensities generated gully incisions into the finegrained alluvial sediments, causing extensive soil erosion. The process was accelerated in the settled areas, as corroborated by the calculated values of the roughness index (TRI): the results showed that TRI was significantly higher in regions covering the villages than in the open areas south of Nahal Gerar, even though both regions receive comparable levels of precipitation (300–350 mm/yr). Notably, the terrain roughness within the village area resembles the northern domain, wherein the precipitation levels are higher (350–400 mm/yr), possibly due to higher denudation rates of the settled area. Following the abandonment of the land, cisterns acted as sediment traps. Samples collected from the cleaning mounds surrounding the cisterns exhibit grain size distribution similar to that of the sediments that initially constituted the mud bricks, indicating a common origin. This suggests that some residual sediment, which originally covered the sites shortly after abandonment, has subsequently eroded and accumulated within the cisterns, while the soils in the remaining inhabited area have undergone coarsening. In addition to the prevalent soil erosion affecting most of these abandoned lands, soil formation has been identified in specific locations, such as Horvat Gerrit. Anthropogenic sediments have accumulated above the site, reaching a 50–70 cm thickness and incorporating substantial quantities of archaeological artifacts, notably pottery sherds. This value includes the dust accumulation over the site. During the late Pleistocene, accretion rates of primary dust were 0.07–0.15 mm/yr (Gerson and Amit, 1987); during the Holocene, dust accumulation was somewhat similar (Vainer et al., 2023), and currently, the annual flux of dust in the northwestern Negev is ca 150 g/m2 (Ganor and Foner, 1996; Shalom et al., 2020). These values are negligible compared to sediment accumulation rates resulting from brick degradation. Based on this research, we suggest that mud brick degradation might Table 2 ANOVA table showing p-values for the TRI in the north, south, and within the cisterns (settlements) zones. Group A Group B Lower Limit A-B Upper Limit p-Value South North Settlements North Settlements South 0.338 −1.098 −2.467 1.369 −0.067 −1.436 2.400 0.964 −0.405 0.006 0.987 0.004 DR is 2.5 mm/yr. In comparison, on relatively flat terrains (slope = 1–5 %), most cisterns protrude between 0.5 and 1.2 m above the surface. DR is lower, ranging from 0.35 to 0.85 mm/yr (assuming abandonment in the 6th century) and up to 0.5–1.2 mm/yr (assuming abandonment in the 11th century) (Table 1). The Nahal Gerar channel proves to be a delicate sensor that responds relatively fast to changes in runoff and erosion. Shifts in channel positions attributed to rapid bank erosion and significant rills and gullies that are currently active were documented. These findings are consistent with Avni’s (2005) work, which stated that since the end of the Byzantine period, the gully’s retreat rate in the Negev Highlands has been ca. 0.46 m/yr. Using data collected between 1990 and 2001, Avni (2005) determined that the present rate of retreat is about three times that rate. Another study, ca 20 km north of the study area (Rozin and Schick, 1996), showed similar trends at Nahal Hoga, where between 1945 and 1995, channel geometry and flow patterns underwent significant transformations caused by land use changes and conservation measures. The channels narrowed drastically and stabilized by encroaching vegetation, while the braided pattern was abandoned in favor of a single thread channel, which deepened 1–3 m below its 1945 bed level (Rozin and Schick, 1996), meaning 20–60 mm/yr over the past 50 years. 5.2. Grain size distribution variability following mud bricks disintegration Across the study area, the topsoil is sandy, comprising 50–80 % of fine to medium sand (Fig. 9). But to construct sun-dried mud bricks, a higher amount of clay was required, whose function was to increase elasticity and strength and prevent cracking. It is probable that clay was added to the fine-medium sand to glue and trap the grains, as well as mulch that was added to increase durability and plasticity and helped solidify the mold. Since the abandonment of the villages, the houses deteriorated, and the mud bricks degraded and pulverized until almost 8 N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 Fig. 8. Soil accumulation at Gerarit site; a,b - above the exposed cistern topsoil is 50–70 cm thick, more greyish than the underneath soil, and comprises a large number of pottery sherds typical to “Gaza jars”; c –degraded mud-bricks from the Byzantine walls can be hardly recognized in the field. be a significant factor contributing to the variability of the mechanical composition of soils in this area. Considerable differences in grain size distribution between the central and peripheral areas of the archaeological sites were noted, causing patchiness of soils and affecting, therefore, gullies formation and river incision. Consequently, soil erosion is more likely to occur in the central areas of the ancient settlements, while the eroded sediment accumulates at the edge of the sites. Soil degradation processes following the abandonment of agricultural fields are well known in the literature (for example, Koulouri and Giourga, 2007; Rey Benayas et al., 2007; García-Ruiz, 2010; Cerdà et al., 2018; van Leeuwen et al., 2019; Yue et al., 2020). Our findings join a vast array of these studies that identified denudation and desertification, reduction of water stocks, and loss of cultural and aesthetic values. However, the landscape response to land abandonment is much more complex (Rodrigo-Comino et al., 2018), especially in archaeological areas. As proved in this study, land abandonment also causes sediment aggradation (Ackermann et al., 2014; Lucke and Bäumler, 2021), especially in areas where construction was characterized by degraded mud bricks (Friesem et al., 2011, 2014). revealed well-preserved water cisterns that act now as clear markers, indicating the existence and positioning of the ancient houses. Study results suggest that the abandonment of settlements and agricultural lands capacitate moderate rates of denudation over the last millennia, ranging from 1.8 to 2.5 mm/yr over 10–12 % slopes (10–12 %), to 0.3–1.2 mm/yr over 1–5 % terrains. Human intervention is an essential factor in the formation and preservation of soils in this area. Mud bricks that once composed the Byzantine village houses degraded and pulverized, increasing the fine fraction in soils, facilitating erosion, and therefore, increasing terrain roughness and gully erosion in the formerly settled areas. Although limited to the centers of the villages, it seems that mud brick degradation is a significant factor contributing to the variability of the mechanical composition of soils, affecting erosion and land degradation. This study emphasizes the importance of comprehending the historical and environmental factors that lead to landscape evolution, to the competing processes of denudation and aggradation, and highlighting the necessity for ongoing multidisciplinary research to better understand the interactions between humans and their environment. Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi. org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.108983. 6. Conclusions While the above-ground settlements of Late Antiquity have mostly disappeared from the northwestern Negev landscape, soil erosion has 9 N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 Fig. 9. Grain Size Distribution (GSD) and Cumulative curves of the topsoil and selected sediments: a, b – at Horvat Gerarit, samples were collected: (1) mud-bricks (MudBr 1-MudBr2), (2) from the center of the site (G1-G6) and (3) from the periphery (G-ex1 - G-ex2); c, d - at Horvat Mador samples were collected from (1) the central site (M1-M7) and (2) cleanout mounds associated with two cleaned cisterns (M8-M11). Note the similarity between both centers of the sites (black curves) and the similarity between the mud-bricks composition, the cleanout mounds, and the Gerarit site’s periphery. Fig. 10. Schematic figure of landscape denudation. Cisterns were constructed adjacent to each house, dug into the soil, lined with fieldstones, and plastered. While mud brick houses deteriorated and disappeared from the landscape, cisterns still mark their presence and location. Currently, the cisterns are found in various stages of destruction, filled with sediments and modern debris. Data availability Declaration of competing interest Data will be made available on request. The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: The corresponding author serves as an Editorial Board member of Geomorphology. NSZ. 10 N. Shtober-Zisu et al. Geomorphology 446 (2024) 108983 References perspectives on landscape evolution: the Myjava Hill Land, Slovakia. Geomorphology 201, 227–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.06.023. Eisenberg, J., Dan, J., Koyumdjisky, H., 1982. Relationships between moisture penetration and salinity in soils of the northern Negev, Israel. Geoderma 28, 313–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7061(82)90008-8. Ellenblum, R., 2012. The Collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean: Climate Change and the Decline of the East, 950–1072. Cambridge University Press, 270 p. Enzel, Y., Bookman, R., Sharon, D., Gvirtzman, H., Dayan, U., Ziv, B., Stein, M., 2003. 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