The Four Room House at Tel Beersheba is a typological architectural form characteristic of domestic construction in the Iron Age Levant, particularly during Iron Age I–II (circa 1200–586 BCE). The structure is defined by a standardized rectilinear plan composed of three long, narrow, parallel spaces separated by stone pillars or partition walls, intersected by a broad transverse room at the rear. The Houses of Ancient
At Tel Beersheba, these spaces functioned in combination as living quarters, work areas, and storage facilities, often supporting an upper story above the longitudinal rooms. Built primarily of local limestone with beaten earth floors, the Four Room House reflects household-based economic organization and multifunctional domestic activity. The examples uncovered at Tel Beersheba are among the most systematically excavated and documented, and they play a central role in scholarly discussions concerning urban planning, social structure, and cultural identity in Iron Age Judah.
The architectural type exemplified at Tel Beersheba is widely regarded as canonical within Iron Age Judah and is prominently represented in scholarly discourse and museum interpretation, including exhibitions at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East depicting Iron Age II domestic life and urban organization.
The four-room house is so named because its floor plan is divided into four sections, although not all four are proper rooms, one often being an unroofed courtyard. It is also sometimes called a pillared house because two or all three of the parallel ground-level "rooms" are separated by one or two, respectively rows of wooden pillars. The pillars, however, are not the defining feature of the four-room house.
circa 1000 BCE
The design (reconstruction of a Semitic House) was based on a long house with four main spaces - a broad room in the back and three long spaces extending forward from it. The rooms were divided by stone pillars and walls. The central room was a courtyard, which was normally open to let in light since there were no windows in the house. The four-room house, also referred to as “Israelite house” and “pillared courtyard house,” emerged in the central highlands of Canaan during the late 13th -early 12th centuries BCE in response to environmental and socio-economic needs.
circa 1000 BCE
Excavations
About twenty such houses were excavated in Beer-sheba. A typical house design in the Israelite period (Iron Age I & II, circa 1200-586 BCE) was based on the "four-room house", which was three parallel spaces with a perpendicular space to them. The abundant new data collected from the recent discoveries further demostrate that this type of house is found in all the settlements throughout the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Like other places, the four-room house at Beersheba was incorporated in to the casemate wall of adjoining some other line of fortification as a single organic unit.
circa 1000 BCE
Description
The "four-room house" design was a compact house with thick external walls and a single entrance, designed for protection. It supported a roof, or even a second level where additional residential rooms were located. This was a dwelling place for the family, kitchen, storerooms and also a place for the cattle (ox and mules). The standard type was a rectangular design covering a total area of 150-200 square meters.
Signup for our monthly newsletter / online magazine.
No spam, we promise.
The Madain Project is an online archive of Abrahamic History and Archaeology.
Abrahamic History & Archaeology is the study of history and archaeology with respect to the three Abrahamic Faiths without considering the religious and theological aspects. The goal of Abrahamic History is to understand how and why the religious doctrines and behaviours have evlovled and changed over time. Searching for patterns in the evolution of significant cultural events such as the development of farming, the emergence of cities, or the collapse of major civilizations for clues of why and how these have influenced the three major Abrahamic religions.
Cloud Drive -
About -
Help -
Privacy Policy -
Contact
Madain Project: Encyclopedia of Abrahamic History & Archaeology.
Copyright MadainProject 2017 - 2026.
