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| a house from the 1st century AD was discovered in Nazareth, 2009 |
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| example of a stone house with courtyard |
Features of a house in 1st century Nazareth
Houses in Nazareth had a flat roof with exterior stairs at
the side and an awning of woven goats’ hair to protect against the sun. This
was used by the women as a work-space, an extra room.
The roof was also a cool place to sleep in hot weather.
The walls were covered with plaster, rubbed flat with a
stone and painted with geometric patterns.
There was hardly any furniture. Niches were cut into the
wall, and these provided storage for bedrolls and clothes.
Large amounts of food – jars of oil and olives, etc., were
kept in separate storage areas, secure against mice. Archaeological excavations
in the Nazareth area show there was a honeycomb of underground rooms under the
houses, hollowed out of the soft rock. They were used for a variety of purposes
– living quarters in the fierce heat of summer, cisterns for water, grain
silos, and storage.
The inside rooms of the house were small and dark, so the
courtyard and roof were important work areas, with better light for tasks like
spinning and weaving.
Down in the courtyard was the cooking area, with an open fire, an oven and an array of cooking utensils. There was a mortar and pestle for grinding small amounts of grain and a covered area where people sat while they worked or talked.
Courtyard served as a daily workplace – the weather was dry
for most of the year. Here Spinning and weaving were done, food was prepared,
people met, and animals were kept.
The courtyard often contained a mikveh for ceremonial
purification, and the family latrine as well, which was emptied every day into
a communal manure pit.
