Chimneys in Twelfth-Century, Crusader-Period Residential Architecture in the Jerusalem Area

Excavations conducted over the past several decades in the environs of Jerusalem uncovered several rural sites dating to the Crusader period, most likely settled by Frankish inhabitants. At two of these sites, remains of installations identified as chimneys were integrated into the walls of the buildings—an innovation in the rural architecture of the Land of Israel, probably introduced by Frankish settlers originating from Western Europe. This article presents the different types of chimneys exposed at the sites of Khirbat el-Kurum and Wadi el-Ḥaramiya. It discusses the archaeological evidence for the appearance of such installations at sites across the Frankish Levant, as well as the question of their origins in Western Europe.