General view of excavated farm house at Avdat, March 2005. Avdat is an important Nabatean and Byzantine site in the Negev surrounded by ancient desert farms from the 5th to the 8th centuries CE. The area was surveyed and excavated by the environmental school of Sde Boker. The 2005 activities included surveying and excavation of one farm house by the environmental school of Sde Boker, located 15 kilometers north of Avdat.