Loess accumulated in the Negev desert during the Pleistocene and primary and secondary loess remains cover large parts of the landscape. Holocene loess deposits are however absent. This could be due low accumulation rates, lack of preservation, and higher erosion rates in comparison to the Pleistocene. This study hypothesized that archaeological ruins preserve Holocene dust. We studied soils developed on archaeological hilltop ruins in the Negev and the Petra region and compared them with local soils, paleosols, geological outcrops, and current dust. Seven statistically modeled grain size end-members were identified and demonstrate that the ruin soils in both regions consist of mixtures of local and remote sediment sources that differ from dust compositions deposited during current storms. This discrepancy is attributed to fixation processes connected with sediment-fixing agents such as vegetation, biocrusts, and/or clast pavements associated with vesicular layers. Average dust accretion rates in the ruins are estimated to be ~0.14 mm/a, suggesting that ~30% of the current dust that can be trapped with dry marble dust collectors has been stored in the ruin soils. Deposition amounts and grain sizes do not significantly correlate with wind intensity. However, precipitation may have contributed to dust accretion. A snowstorm in the Petra region delivered a significantly higher amount of sediment than rain or dry deposition. Snowfall dust had a unique particle size distribution relatively similar to the ruin soils. Wet deposition and snow might catalyze dust deposition and enhance fixation by fostering vegetation and crust formation. More frequent snowfall during the Pleistocene may have been an important mechanism of primary loess deposition in the southern Levant.

The site of Dimona South is a knapping locality in the Negev desert of Israel, situated at the raw material source. A test excavation followed by a salvage excavation conducted during 2020 revealed a partly buried archaeological layer that was exposed over an area of ~ 40 m² and yielded a well-preserved lithic assemblage. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of sediments within and above the archaeological layer fall within MIS 5. With a lithic assemblage dominated by Nubian Levallois technology, this site provides a rare opportunity for analysis of a well-dated, in situ Nubian assemblage. A refitting study in combination with an attribute analysis of the whole assemblage allowed the reconstruction of the Nubian reduction sequence. Our analyses indicate that a specifically pre-planned Nubian point production system existed at the site. It is characterized by the early preparation of an acute distal ridge and its careful maintenance throughout the reduction process until the cores were exhausted. These characteristics stand out from most Levantine Middle Paleolithic assemblages. The discovery of Dimona South allows us to revisit some of the technological issues at the heart of debates about Levallois Nubian technology that could not be addressed from analyses of partial surface assemblages. These new data from a secure and dated context are crucial to the inter-site and regional technological comparisons, informing our views of the Nubian technology and its role in the Middle Paleolithic world of eastern Africa, Arabia and the Levant.