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The Refaim valley is situated to the south of modem Jerusalem and has a history of settlement from the Early Bronze (EB-IV) to Middle Bronze (MB-!I) periods.' Human remains have been discovered there in between the walls of houses and in a courtyard within a village settlement, in shaft tombs, burial caves and also in a quarry originally mined for clay but subsequently used for burial.In one of the EB-!V shaft tombs excavated in the village, the skeletal remains of an adult male specimen (Homo I ) , aged approximately 45 years, were discovered. The specimen was found with MB-!! pottery. Shaft tombs are more typical of the EB-IV period and many have been discovered in the hills of Judea and Samaria. These were used in most cases for individual burial and were usually accompanied by gifts such as pottery, jewelry and weapons. It would appear that the shaft tomb in this case was dug out in the EB-IV period, and reused in the MB-!I period.T h e skeleton was almost complete and in a good state of preservation. Dental attrition and cranial suture fusion indicate that the age at death was approximately 45 years. The stature of this specimen was about 1 . 7 m and the limb bones