Raqefet Cave is a Natufian burial cave located in the Carmel Mountains. Approximately 30 burials were recovered alongside over 100 bedrock features, several boulder mortars and a small ground stone tools assemblage consisting of various pestles, grinding tools, vessels, perforated items, cupmarks and other fragmented items. Several studies have been published on the bedrock features including both typological, residue and use-wear analysis. Several bedrock features and slabs include different kinds of incisions.

Relevant publications:

Nadel, D., Lengyel, G., Bocquentin, F., Tsatskin, A., Rosenberg, D., Yeshurun, R., Bar-Oz, G., Bar-Yosef, M.D., Beeri, R., Conyers, L., Filin, S., Hershkovitz, I., Kurzawska, A., and Weissbrod, L. 2008. The Late Natufian at Raqefet Cave: The 2006 excavation season. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 38: 59–131.

Nadel, D., Lengyel, G., Cabellos-Panades, T., Bocquentin, F., Rosenberg, D., Yeshurun, R., Brown-Goodman, R., Tsatskin, A., Bar-Oz, G., and Filin, S. 2009. The Raqefet Cave 2008 excavation season. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 39: 21–61.

Nadel, D., Lambert, A., Bosset, G., Bocquentin, F., Rosenberg, D., Yeshurun, R. Weissbrod, L., Tsatskin, A., Bachrach, N., Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A., Zaidner, Y., Beeri, R., and Greenberg, H. 2012. The 2010 and 2011 seasons of excavation at Raqefet Cave. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 42: 35–73.

Rosenberg, D., and Nadel, D. 2014. The sounds of pounding. Boulder mortar and their significance to Natufian burial customs. Current Anthropology 55(6): 784–812.

Nadel, D., and Rosenberg, R. 2016. A grid-like pattern inside a Natufian bedrock mortar, Raqefet Cave, Israel. Journal of Lithic Studies 3(3): 337–357.

Liu, L., Wang, J., Rosenberg, D., Zhao, H., Lengyel, G., and Nadel, D. 2018.Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 y-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel: Investigation Natufian ritual feasting. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 21: 783–793.

Weinstein-Evron, M., Yeshurun, R., Ashkenazy, H., Chasan, R., Rosenberg, D., Bachrach, N., Boaretto, E., Caracuta, V., and Kaufman, D. 2018. After 80 years – Deeper in the Natufian dayers of el-Wad Terrace, Mount Carmel, Israel. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 48: 5­–61.

Rosenberg, D., Chasan, R., Lengyel, G., and Nadel, D. 2020. Stone ‘canvas’ and Natufian art: An incised human figure from the Natufian cemetery at Raqefet Cave, Israel. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 39(2): 128–140.