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Israel Antiquities Authority Chapter Title: Front Matter Book Title: Excavations at Tiberias, 1989-1994 Book Author(s): Yizhar Hirschfeld, Roni Amir, Nitzan Amitai-Preiss, Donald T. Ariel, Gabriela Bijovsky, Raphael Greenberg, Lihi Habas, Ayala Lester, Rachel Milstein, Yossi Nagar, Orit Shamir, Karen Singer, Rina Talgam and Jacques Verdene Published by: Israel Antiquities Authority Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1fzhfnm.1 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms

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IAA Reports, No. 22

Excavations at Tiberias, 1989­1994 Y1ZHAR H1RSCHFELD

With contributions by

Roni Amir, Nitzan Amitai­Preiss, Donald T. Ariel, Gabriela Bijovsky, Raphael Greenberg, Lihi Habas, Ayala Lester, Rachel Milstein, Yossi Nagar, Orit Shamir, Karen Singer, Rina Talgam, and Jacques Verdene

ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY

JERUSALEM 2004

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x

IAA Reports

Publicationsof the Israel Antiquities Authority Editor­in­Chief Zvi Gal Series Editor Ann Roshwalb Hurowitz Volume Editor

Edna Sachar

Front Cover: Mt. Berenice, looking east (photographer: Y. Hirschfeld) Back Cover: The Sewage Processing Plant, looking south (photographer: Y. Hirschfeld)

Typesetting, Layout, and Production: Margalit Hayosh, Hagar Maimon Graphics: Natalia Zak Printing: Keterpress Enterprises, Jerusalem

Copyright © 2004, The Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem POB 586, Jerusalem, 91004 ISBN 965­406­169­4 eISBN 9789654065603

Affiliationsof Contributors not on the Staffof theIsrael Antiquities Authority: Roni Amir ­ Department of Art History and the Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Nitzan Amitai­Preiss ­ Department of Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Archaeology, Ben­Gurion University of the Negev; Raphael Greenberg­ Tel­Aviv University; Lihi Habas­ Department of Art History and the Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Yizhar Hirschfeld­ the Instituteof Archaeology, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Rachel Milstein­ Departmentof Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Rina Talgam­ Department of Art History, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem

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Israel Antiquities Authority Chapter Title: Abbreviations Book Title: Excavations at Tiberias, 1989-1994 Book Author(s): Yizhar Hirschfeld, Roni Amir, Nitzan Amitai-Preiss, Donald T. Ariel, Gabriela Bijovsky, Raphael Greenberg, Lihi Habas, Ayala Lester, Rachel Milstein, Yossi Nagar, Orit Shamir, Karen Singer, Rina Talgam and Jacques Verdene Published by: Israel Antiquities Authority Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1fzhfnm.2 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms

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!

vi

Abbreviations

AASOR

Annualof the American Schools of Oriental Research

ADAJ

Annualof the DepartmentofAntiquitiesofJordan

AJA

American JournalofArchaeology

Atiqot (ES)

English Series

BABiblical BARBiblical

Archaeologist Archaeology Review

BAR Int. S.

British Archaeological Reports International Series

BASOR

Bulletinof the American Schoolsof Oriental Research

BMB

Bulletin de Musee de Beyrouth

BSOAS

Bulletinof the Schoolof Orientaland African Studies

CCSL

Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina. Turnhout

DOP

Dumbarton Oaks Papers

El

Eretz­Israel

ESI

Excavations and Surveys in Israel

HAHadashot

Arkheologiyot

IAA Reports

Israel Antiquities Authority Reports

IEJ

Israel Exploration Journal

INA Newsletter

International Nautical Archaeology Newsletter

JARCE

Journalof the American Research Center in Egypt

JGS

Journalof Glass Studies

JNES

JournalofNear Eastern Studies

JRA

JournalofRoman Archaeology

LALiber NEAEHL

Annuus E. Stern and A. Lewinson­Gilboa eds. New EncyclopediaofArchaeological Excavations in

theHoly Land. Jerusalem 1993 PEFQSt

Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement

PEQ

Palestine Exploration Quarterly

QDAP

Quarterlyof the DepartmentofAntiquitiesofPalestine

RB

Revue Biblique

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1

Israel Antiquities Authority Chapter Title: Acknowledgements Chapter Author(s): Yizhar Hirschfeld Book Title: Excavations at Tiberias, 1989-1994 Book Author(s): Yizhar Hirschfeld, Roni Amir, Nitzan Amitai-Preiss, Donald T. Ariel, Gabriela Bijovsky, Raphael Greenberg, Lihi Habas, Ayala Lester, Rachel Milstein, Yossi Nagar, Orit Shamir, Karen Singer, Rina Talgam and Jacques Verdene Published by: Israel Antiquities Authority Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1fzhfnm.3 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms

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Acknowledgments

It is my privilege to have been oneof the excavators of ancient Tiberias. The excavations under my direction, conducted for ifve years (1989­1994), began as a salvage excavation at the siteof the Sewage Processing Plant, located at the foot of Mount Berenice, and developed into a full­fledged excavation involving the methodical exposureof the remains on the summit of the mountain. This excavation report presents the results of this broad­scoped project, in which many people participated. First and foremost, I would like to thank the then Directorof the Israel Antiquities Authority, Amir Drori, who recognized the importance of the excavation project in Tiberias and charged me with this endeavor. AmirDrori 's initiative spurred these excavations, and his continuous support and encouragement permitted us to realize our goals. No less instrumental in promoting the Tiberias excavations were Vasilios Tzaferis, then Head of the Israel Antiquities Authority's Excavation and Survey Division, who also had excavated Tiberias in the past, and the late David Sternfeld, comptroller of the Authority, who expressed a special interest in the workof uncovering the remainsof Tiberias. The salvage excavation at the Sewage Processing Plant site was funded by the Municipality of Tiberias, and the Mount Berenice excavations by the Israel Government Tourist Office. I would like to extend my deep gratitude to the former mayor of Tiberias, Mr. Yossi Peretz, whose keen interest and cooperation facilitated the excavation throughout its duration. I would also like to thank the staff of the Israel Government Tourist Office, especially Nira Peretz and Yossi Saltz, who were actively involved in the preliminary planning of the excavation on Mount Berenice ­ even when the path toward achieving this end was fraught with dififculties. The Jewish National Fund deserves special thanks for preparing the access road that today runs from Tiberias to the summit of Mount Berenice.

The excavation team included research colleagues who were also involved in analyzing the remains and preparing them for publication. I would like to express my special appreciation and gratitude to Roni Amir, who participated in every excavation season and was invaluable to me in the course of analyzing the stratigraphical sequence of the remains. Her contribution played a major role in the publication of this site. My thanks also go to the other members of the excavation team: Karen Singer (who also contributed to this volume), Edna Amos, Yaron Eliav, Iskander Jabbur, and Kathy Rafael. The site's rich architectural remains were documented by the staff of the Israel Antiquities Authority's Survey Division, under the direction of Israel Vatkin, and included Raz Niculescu, Pavel Gertopsky, and Tatiana Kornfeld. The photographic work at the site was undertaken by Sandu Mendrea, Tsila Sagiv, Zeev Radovan, and Joel Fishman. The excavation ifnds were registered by Rachel Merhav, and the metallurgical survey was conducted by Moshe Lupan. The architectural conservationof the site was undertaken by Giora Solar and Yaakov Sheffer, membersof the Israel Antiquities Authority's Conservation Division. The bulkof the excavation work itself was performed by experienced Druze workers from the village of Buq'ata on the Golan Heights. The team's foreman, Hussein Hasson, deserves high praise for his dedication. Besides these workers, many volunteers from all over the world participated in the excavations. Special thanks go to Danny Kvashneh of Moshavat Kinneret for the commuting services and other assistance he kindly extended to us. The ifnal stage of the excavation, in 1994, was devoted to uncovering the city wall of Tiberias. This work was executed by unemployed laborers from Tiberias and its environs. I would like to thank Menahem Efroni and Tzur Schumannof Bet She'arim for organizing this aspectof the excavation.

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viii

YIZHAR HIRSCHFELD

This excavation report is based on the work of a homogeneous and supportive team. The architecture chapters would not have been possible were it not for the superb graphic work of Tanya Gorenstein, Tatiana Kornfeld, and Masha Kaplan; many reconstructions of the site5s architectural features integrated into this report were prepared by Leen Ritmeyer and Emil Shapiro. The chapters containing the various artifactual finds were written by a numberof researchers. The mosaics from the Sewage Processing Plant salvage excavations are presented by Rina Talgam, the ceramic finds by Roni Amir, and the numismatic finds by Rachel Milstein and Donald Ariel. Those on the ceramic finds from Mount Berenice, as well as the frescoes and mosaics, are by Roni Amir, who also collaborated with Lihi Habas on the chapter dealing with the marble ifnds from the church on Mount Berenice. The chapter on the numismatic ifnds from Mount Berenice is by Gabriela Bijovsky. Raphael Greenberg's contribution reports on the Early Bronze Age pottery found on the summit of Mount Berenice. Several additional chapters deal with special ifnds from the excavations: Karen Singer, with a bone figurine found at the Sewage Processing Plant site; Ayala Lester, the glass and metal artifacts from the Early Islamic period at this site; Nitzan Amitai­ Preiss, the glass and metal ifnds from Mount Berenice;

Orit Shamir, two spindle whorls found on Mount Berenice; and Yossi Nagar and Jacques Verdene, the anthropological finds from the graves on the summit. I am deeply grateful to Hani Davis, who translated some of the chapters from Hebrew, scientifically and linguistically edited mostof the volume, and prepared the manuscript for publication. Naama Silberstein capably edited the Hebrew manuscript of the Sewage Processing Plant excavation report. Special thanks go to Edna Sachar who, with great talent, edited the final versionof the manuscript. This excavation report appears as a volume in the Israel Antiquities Authority monograph series. I am grateful to its editor and the former head of the Publications Division, Ayala Sussmann, and to Aviva Schwarzfeld and the other membersof the publications staff who were instrumental in the ifnal editing and production of the report. I am indebted to all those mentioned above, and to those whose names I may inadvertently have omitted and whose labors brought this volume to fruition.

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Yizhar Hirschfeld Jemsalem, 2002

Israel Antiquities Authority Chapter Title: Table of Contents Book Title: Excavations at Tiberias, 1989-1994 Book Author(s): Yizhar Hirschfeld, Roni Amir, Nitzan Amitai-Preiss, Donald T. Ariel, Gabriela Bijovsky, Raphael Greenberg, Lihi Habas, Ayala Lester, Rachel Milstein, Yossi Nagar, Orit Shamir, Karen Singer, Rina Talgam and Jacques Verdene Published by: Israel Antiquities Authority Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1fzhfnm.4 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms

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Contents

ABBREVIATIONS

vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

vii

ix

INTRODUCTION

PART I: THE EXCAVATIONS AT THE SEWAGE PROCESSINGPLANT­ 1989­1990 CHAPTER

1 :

ARCHITECTURE AND STRATIGRAPHY

CHAPTER 2: MOSAIC FLOORS

Yizhar Hirschfeld

3

Rina Talgam

27

Roni Amir

31

CHAPTER 4: COINS

Rachel Milstein and Donald T. Ariel

57

CHAPTER 5: GLASS AND METAL OBJECTS

Ayala Lester

59

CHAPTER 6: A BONE FIGURINE

Karen Singer

69

CHAPTER

3

:

POTTERY AND SMALL FINDS

PART II: THE EXCAVATIONS ON MOUNTBERENICE­

1990­1994

CHAPTER 7: ARCHITECTURE AND STRATIGRAPHY

Yizhar Hirschfeld

CHAPTER 8 MOSAICS AND FRESCOES

Roni Amir

135

CHAPTER 9: POTTERY

Roni Amir

153

CHAPTER 10: COINS

Gabriela Bijovsky

169

Nitzan Amitai­Preiss

177

CHAPTER 12: MARBLE FINDS FROM THE CHURCH

Lihi Habas and Roni Amir

191

CHAPTER 13 SPINDLE WHORLS

Orit Shamir

209

CHAPTER 14: EARLY BRONZE AGE I POTTERY

Raphael Greenberg

211

CHAPTER

Yossi Nagar and Jacques Verdene

217

Yizhar Hirschfeld

219

Yizhar Hirschfeld

223

Yizhar Hirschfeld

229

:

CHAPTER

11 :

GLASS AND METAL FINDS

:

15:

THE HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS

CHAPTER 16: CONCLUSIONS APPENDIX

1

: ARCHITECTURAL

ELEMENTS FROM

75

THE DEBRIS OF THE CHURCH ON MOUNT BERENICE

APPENDIX 2: LIST OF WALLS AND MAJOR LOCI

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Israel Antiquities Authority Chapter Title: Introduction Book Title: Excavations at Tiberias, 1989-1994 Book Author(s): Yizhar Hirschfeld, Roni Amir, Nitzan Amitai-Preiss, Donald T. Ariel, Gabriela Bijovsky, Raphael Greenberg, Lihi Habas, Ayala Lester, Rachel Milstein, Yossi Nagar, Orit Shamir, Karen Singer, Rina Talgam and Jacques Verdene Published by: Israel Antiquities Authority Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1fzhfnm.5 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms

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Introduction

modifications and reconstructions, until the end of the Crusader period (twelfth century). In the Mamluk period (thirteenth­fourteenth centuries), the church structure was converted into a dwelling and served this purpose until its final destruction, after which it remained covered by its own debris. Part II begins with Chapter 7, a description of the site's architectural remains, presented in early­to­late stratigraphic order. Chapter 8 provides a detailed descriptionof the mosaic floors and frescoes found in the various structures. It is followed by the chapters describing the small finds: Chapter 9 presents the pottery; Chapter 10, the numismatic finds; Chapter 11, the glass and metal objects; Chapter 12, the marble finds; Chapter 13, two spindle whorls; Chapter 14, the Early Bronze Age I pottery; and Chapter 15, the anthropological remains. The final chapter of the report proffers the various conclusions resulting from the analysis of the finds and their significance for understanding the history of Tiberias. The city, founded in the early first century CE as Herod Agrippa's capital, continued to flourish over the centuries, to this day. The excavations conducted under the author's direction do not cover all the periodsof the city's history, but shed light on various chaptersof its past. Thus, the concluding chapter does not present a summary of the history of Tiberias, but rather pinpoints the new information gained from the excavations that contributes to a fuller understanding mountain.of the city's heritage. Appendix 1, prepared by the author, presents the various architectural elements found in the collapse debris of the church on Mount Berenice. Appendix 2 lists the walls and major loci registered during the excavation and is included in order to assist readers interested in clarifying the precise find spots of the various remains.

The excavations conducted in Tiberias from 1989 to 1 994 focused on two sites located within the boundaries of the ancient city: the first in the area of the Sewage Processing Plant at the foot of Mount Berenice, approximately 200 m west of the Sea of Galilee; and the second compirsing the two hills crowning the summit of Mount Berenice, approximately 200 m above the Sea of Galilee. The significant remains at both sites contribute greatly to the reconstructionof the history of ancient Tiberias. This report is divided into two parts: Part I presents the finds from the Sewage Processing Plant salvage excavations and Part II, from the excavations on the summit of Mount Berenice. The Sewage Processing Plant site excavation yielded four strata, the earliest dating to the Late Roman period (second­third centuries CE) and the latest to the Crusader period and Middle Ages (twelfth­thirteenth centuires). The main finds from this excavation include a large structure from the Roman­Byzantine periods, above which were the remains of dwellings from the Abbasid­Fatimid periods. Chapter 1of Part I presents the architectural remains from the Sewage Processing Plant site in early­to­late stratigraphic order; Chapter 2, the mosaics; Chapter 3, the pottery and small finds; Chapter 4, the numismatic finds; Chapter 5, the glass and metal objects; and Chapter 6, a bone figurine. Part IIof the report offers the resultsof the full­scale excavations of Mount Berenice, in which areas were opened on the hills of the summit of the On the higher, western, hill (Area B), a section of the city wall of Tiberias was excavated, as well as the remains of a monastery and hospice building from the Byzantine period (sixth­seventh centuries CE). On the eastern hill (Area A), additional sections of the city wall were found, next to which was a large church structure that­ like the city wall ­ was built in the sixth century. The church continued in use, with

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Israel Antiquities Authority Chapter Title: Mosaic Floors Chapter Author(s): Rina Talgam Book Title: Excavations at Tiberias, 1989-1994 Book Author(s): Yizhar Hirschfeld, Roni Amir, Nitzan Amitai-Preiss, Donald T. Ariel, Gabriela Bijovsky, Raphael Greenberg, Lihi Habas, Ayala Lester, Rachel Milstein, Yossi Nagar, Orit Shamir, Karen Singer, Rina Talgam and Jacques Verdene Published by: Israel Antiquities Authority Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1fzhfnm.7 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms

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Chapter

2

Mosaic Floors Rina Talgam

THE MOSAIC OF STRATUM IV

Type 1A), incorporating three square panels, one at

General Description

each end and one in the middle (Plan 2.1). The square panels are surrounded by a 10cm wide band composed of complementing red and white teeth (Avi­Yonah 1981:285, Types 5, 6). The tesserae creating these toothed frames are smaller than the white tesserae of the background mosaic, and their average densityis5x 6 tesserae per square decimeter. The original tesserae of the decoration inside the panels were not preserved and, instead, a white mosaic similar to the large mosaic carpet surrounding the decorative band was laid. Evidence of the existence of an earlier mosaic inside the panels was found in a number of places. At the southern end of the northern panel, next to the red­ toothed band, a 13 cm long single row of small white tesserae was found (Fig. 2.1). The row has a density of 10 tesserae per square decimeter; these tesserae are distinguished by their pristine white color against the backgroundof the white mosaic filling the panel. In the red­toothed frames of the three panels, crude repairs can be discerned, indicating that the white tessera fill postdates the frame. In the northern panel, the white tessera fill replaces the red teeth along the western and northern sides. In the middle panel (Fig. 2.2), the western sideof the red­toothed frame (35 cm from the bottom line) was replaced with crude white tesserae. A similar repair was made in the middle of the southern endof the southern panel (Fig. 2.3). It can be assumed that the square panels had been decorated with a more

The building attributed to Stratum IV in Area B of the Tiberias Sewage Processing Plant excavations was paved with a white mosaic, the center of which was decorated with a colored band incorporating three panels (see Plan 1.1: L239; Figs. 1.3, 1.7). The paved area exposed in the excavation is c. 75 sq m and covers the entire courtyard. It is clearly contemporaneous with the hewn­stone wall on the west (W115) and the stylobate on its northern side. North of the western wall of the pool is a band with no mosaic, running north­south, apparently marking the location of the eastern stylobate. Since the marginsof the mosaic did not receive any special treatment (e.g., tesserae laid diagonally) and there was no frame surrounding the white carpet, it is difficult to determine the original borders in the areas disturbed by later building activity. The tesserae were cut into square or rectangular cubes of irregular size, creating a crude impression. The average density is 3.5 x 3.5 tesserae (about 2 cm thick) per square decimeter. The floor of the stepped pool on the eastern side of the building was paved with a similar white mosaic which was slightly more delicate (4x5 tesserae per square decimeter). The decorative band (7.6m longand 1.18m wide) in the centerof the floorof the building is delineated by a thin black frame (6 cm wide; Avi­Yonah 1981:285;

0

1

1m

Plan 2. I. The central bandof the Stratum IV mosaic lfoor.

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28

RINA TALGAM

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cutting the floor diagonally from northwest to southeast. The damage was repaired by covering the channel with a white mosaic, the tesserae of which are of identical size as thoseof the original floor, without trying to conceal the repair or reconstruct the colored decorative band. The tesserae of this repair were laid with particularly large spaces between them (4­7 mm vs. 1­3 mm in the original floor), at a density of 3x3 tesserae per square decimeter. Slight damage is discernible in several other places on the mosaic, caused by the removalof tesserae or the floor sinking.

'

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Becauseof the simplicityof the mosaic floor and the absence of unique stylistic characteristics, the date of the mosaic could not be determined on the basis of its artistic attributes. Moreover, no exact parallel to

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corroborate the dating was found. However, white mosaics decorated with blank panels or panels with a geometric pattern are known from other sites in Roman Palestine and its environs. These generally

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as well as side wings in public buildings. The closest

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Fig. 2.3. Southern panel.

n. . 1 , delicate geometric or figurative mosaic, which had to be replaced over the years, either because it was damaged or because its owners no longer liked it. The white mosaic floor and the northern panel of the decorative band were damaged by a water channel

the eastern corridor off the reception hall of the third­ century villa on the acropolis at Sepphoris (Talgam and Weiss 2004:117­118); the floorof the corridor of the Roman villa at Byblos in Lebanon (Chehab 1959: Plan 1); and the mosaics of a portico surrounding a shallow pool in a Roman villa at Antioch (Levi 1971: 28­29). In the ancient synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. (Stratum lib), a crude white mosaic framed by a thin black stripe was found in the southern room; however, unlike the Sewage Processing Plant mosaic, it did not incorporate decorative panels (Dothan 1983:24, Pis. 6:1, 7:1­4). In the Byzantine period, the decoration of isolated panels surrounded by a white mosaic was not used, and there was a clear preference for running

The Mosaic of Stratum 11 General Description

Oneof the roomsof the building from the Early Islamic period was decorated with a colored mosaic floor with geometric patterns,of which a section (1.47 x 2.15 m) was preserved (Plan 2.2, Fig. 2.4; see Plan 1.1).

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MOSAIC FLOORS

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Plan 2.2. The Stratum H,Abbasid­period mosaiclfoor.

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