IAA Reports 40: Paneas IV: The Aqueduct and the Northern Suburbs 9789654062305, 9789654065788, 9654062305

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IAA Reports, No. 40

Paneas Volume IV The Aqueduct and the Northern Suburbs

Moshe Hartal

With contributions by Gabriela Bijovsky, Lev Eppelbaum, Yael Gorin-Rosen and Sonia Itkis

ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY JERUSALEM 2009

IAA Reports Publications of the Israel Antiquities Authority Editor-in-Chief: Judith Ben-Michael Series and Volume Editor: Ann Roshwalb Hurowitz Front Cover: Northern Baniyas: the northwestern suburb, the spring and the Cave of Pan; looking west (photographer: M. Hartal) Back Cover: Close-up of the Baniyas spring; looking west (photographer: M. Hartal) Typesetting, Layout and Cover Design: Ann Abuhav Production: Ann Abuhav Illustrations: Natalia Zak and Tania Kornfeld Printing: Keterpress Enterprises, Jerusalem Copyright © 2009, The Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem POB 586, Jerusalem, 91004 ISBN 978-965-406-230-5 eISBN 9789654065788 www.antiquities.org.il

Contents

Abbrev iations

iv

Forew ord

v

PART ONE: THE SURV EY OF BANIYAS Chapter 1: The Baniyas Survey

1 3

PART TW O: THE PANEAS AQUEDUCT Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct Chapter 3: Coins from the Aqueduct PART THREE: THE NORTHERN CEMETERIES Chapter 4: Excavations in the Northern Cemeteries Chapter 5: Glass V essels from the Northwestern Cemetery Chapter 6: Coins from the Northern Cemetery Chapter 7: Analysis of the Finds from the Northern Cemeteries Chapter 8: Magnetic Survey in the V icinity of Paneas PART FOUR: THE NORTHW ESTERN SUBURB Chapter 9: Excavations in the Northwestern Suburb Chapter 10: Finds from the Northwestern Suburb Chapter 11: Coins from the Northwestern Suburb Chapter 12: The Northwestern Suburb: Conclusion

Gabriela Bijovsky

Yael Gorin-Rosen Gabriela Bijovsky Sonia Itkis and Lev Eppelbaum

Gabriela Bijovsky

27 29 109 111 113 135 139 141 143 153 155 161 179 185

PART FIV E: CONCLUSIONS Chapter 13: Baniyas in light of the Survey and the Excavations

187 189

Locus List

197

iv

Abbreviations

‘Atiqot (ES) ‘Atiqot (HS) BA BAR BAR Int. S. BASOR DOP ESI HA HA–ESI IAA Reports IEJ INJ JGS JRA NEAEHL Paneas I Paneas II Paneas III

English Series Hebrew Series Biblical Archaeologist Biblical Archaeological Review British Archaeological Report International Series Bulletin of the American Schools of Research Dumbarton Oaks Papers Excavations and Surveys in Israel Hadashot Arkheologiyot (Archaeological Newsletter; Hebrew) Hadashot Arkheologiyot–Excavations and Surveys in Israel Israel Antiquities Authority Reports Israel Exploration Journal Israel Numismatic Journal Journal of Glass Studies Journal of Roman Archaeology E. Stern and A. Lewinson-Gilboa eds. New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land I–IV. Jerusalem 1993 V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem 2008 V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas II: Small Finds and Other Studies (IAA Reports 38). Jerusalem 2008 V. Tzaferis. Paneas III (IAA Reports). Jerusalem in preparation

v

Foreword

Reports on the excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority at the ancient site of Baniyas/paneas have begun to appear, with the publication of Paneas I and II, and the planned publication of Paneas III. These volumes concentrate on the description of the excavations in the city’s civic center. The present volume, Paneas IV, forms an integral part of the exploration of Baniyas, and extends our knowledge of the city to its northern suburbs and boundaries, and to its infrastructure. Four studies conducted in the northern part of Baniyas are presented here: (1) the survey conducted in Baniyas in 1983, during which the boundaries of the city of Paneas were located; (2) the aqueduct system; (3) cemeteries and quarries found outside the city limits; and (4) one of the six residential suburbs determined to surround the civic center. Each successive study in this volume is an outgrowth of the previous study. A succinct report on the results of the 1983 survey, in which the site and hills in its vicinity were examined, occupies the first part of this volume. As remains of an aqueduct were found in the survey in a quarry above the city, a detailed survey and investigative excavations were subsequently made in order to locate the aqueduct’s route. The description of the aqueduct and its distribution installations are presented in the second part of the book. During the study of the aqueduct, it became clear that it passed through the northern Roman cemeteries of Paneas. In the northeastern cemetery, more than one hundred tombs, hewn deeply in the rock, were found. All had been robbed in ancient times and many of them were open. Only one tomb was excavated. Similar tombs were discovered in the northwestern cemetery. However, because the rock in this area is not suitable for quarrying, the tombs were built underground. One group of tombs, encircled by walls, was excavated; others were located by means of a magnetic survey. The tombs in both cemeteries are unique in Roman Israel; parallels can be found in Auranitis in southern Syria. The third part of this book thus presents the two

cemeteries and the excavated tombs. The magnetic survey appears in Chapter 8. The aqueduct was built to supply water to the northwestern suburb of Paneas. The fourth part of the book presents the results of a 100 sq m rescue excavation conducted in this suburb. remains of a street and structures were excavated, and three strata— from the Early Roman period, the Late Roman period, and the late Byzantine period—were discerned. Finds from the Early Islamic period were also recovered, but with no accompanying construction. Pottery appears in the description of the finds from the aqueduct and the cemeteries. As the finds were not found in clear stratigraphic contexts, the discussion of the pottery is very brief. However, a wider discussion of the pottery excavated in the northwestern suburb is offered. This pottery, most of it of local production, was studied in relation to the Paneas excavations and to the author’s research in the northern Golan. Finally, the findings of the survey and the excavations are used to generate a picture of the development of Baniyas. It should be noted that in this book, the name ‘Paneas’, the original name of the Roman city (see Chapter 13), appears in the chapters describing the finds from the Roman and Byzantine periods. The name ‘Baniyas’ is a distortion of the Roman name from the Early Islamic period and remains in use today. It is used here in the opening and the closing chapters, which describe the survey and history of the site in all the periods of its occupation.

Acknowledgments The studies presented in this book benefitted from the assistance of many people, employees of the IAA, volunteers from the Israel Nature Protection Society scout troups and workers from Qiryat Shemona. V assilios Tzaferis and Zvi Uri Ma‘oz, the directors of the two main excavations at Baniyas, supported the

vi survey and the aqueduct excavations. Roger Cheffa, Yael Gorin-Rosen, David Peleg, Michal Frid, Tali Davidi, Enno Bron, Ran Bar-Nur, Erez Kelmachter, Yair Scheffer, Aharon Elrom, Haymman Abu Awad, Yair ‘Azmon and Nili Kynan participated in the survey and the excavations. Israel V atkin, V adim Essman, Stas I. Stark, Pavel Gertopsky, Nissim Kollela, Israel Zukerman, W iaceslaw Pirsky and Marina Volovski carried out the surveying. Iris Hadar and Letizia Barda conducted the GPS survey of the aqueduct route, and Sonia Itkis, the magnetometric survey. Anastasia Shapiro and the author prepared the survey map. Gabriela Bijovsky studied the coins, and Y. Gorin-

Rosen, the glass finds. Silvia Malimovka, Hagit Tahan and Edna Amos drew the finds, and Howard Smithline and Tsila Sagiv photographed them. Clara Amit photographed the coins. The author took the field photographs. Ella Altmark cleaned the metal artifacts. Danny Syon and Z.U. Ma‘oz translated parts of the book. I wish to thank Tsvika Tsuk and Yehuda Peleg for their input to the study of the aqueduct, and Andrea M. Berlin and Shoshana Israeli, for their great assistance in the study of the pottery. Moshe Hartal

Part One The Survey of Baniyas

Chapter 1

The Baniyas Survey Moshe Hartal

The archaeological survey conducted by the author at Baniyas in 19831 was aimed at defining the extent of the settlement in the various periods.2 In the framework of the survey, the site and the hills in its vicinity were meticulously examined and the limits of the urban space were determined (Fig. 1.1). In the years since the survey, extensive excavations have been carried out within the site; they have supplied much more fundamental information compared to that of the survey. However, most of the excavations were conducted in the civic center of the city, and the data on the suburbs remained limited. It therefore appears appropriate to present succinctly the results of the survey and the settlement picture arising from it. In the following description, we shall integrate data from the excavations as well as data collected during years of inspection and archaeological work at the site.

The Topographical Background Baniyas is situated at the junction of the northern Golan, the northern Hula Valley and Mount Hermon. The area is rich in water. Nahal Hermon (Baniyas River). The water source of this river is the Baniyas spring; it joins Nahal Govta after a short distance. The first part of this river runs through a deep ravine, albeit with moderate banks (see Figs. 1.16, 1.21). As the river continues, it cuts through a canyon with steep sides and cliffs. The canyon begins at a 17 m high waterfall. Once the river exits the Baniyas plateau, it runs in the Hula Valley in a shallow gully until it unites with Nahal Dan. Nahal Govta. This wadi begins in the east, on the slopes of Mt. Hermon and delimits the Hermon Spur from the north (see Figs. 1.16, 2.1, 2.32). After exiting the confines of Mt. Hermon, the wadi cuts through the travertine rocks of the Baniyas Plateau and joins Nahal Hermon at Baniyas. There are small springs in the lower part of the ravine.

Nahal Sa‘ar (see Figs. 1.4, 1.16). This perennial stream begins at the foothills of Mt. Hermon south of Majdal Shams, passes Marj el-Ya‘afuri and traverses the Druse village, Mas‘ada. From there, it cuts through the geological border between the limestone of Mt. Hermon and the basalts of the Golan. Along its course toward Baniyas, the wadi is occasionally deep and canyon-like, with two waterfalls. Its lower part, upon entering Baniyas, creates a shallow canyon until it unites, within the confines of Baniyas, with Nahal Hermon. A lava flow (Sa‘ar Basalt), the termination of which is within the city, can be detected in the wadi. Wadi en-Naqib. This wadi begins in the hills north of ‘Ein Quneiyye. Three small springs, ‘Ein el-Rahman, gush forth in its upper part, but since the wadi passes through karstic limestone, no water flows in it. The wadi crosses Marj el-Wata to the west and continues between the slopes of the Hermon Spur and the Sa‘ar Basalt (see Fig. 1.4). The debris of the civic center of the city of Paneas covers its final section. It seems that the water from the Baniyas spring flows in its ravine until it joins Nahal Govta. Masil ‘Eisha. This wadi begins west of ‘Ein Quneiyye and collects the water of springs at the foot of the ‘Ein Quneiyye hill. The wadi runs parallel to Nahal Sa‘ar, enters the southeastern part of Marj el-Wata, turns to the south and joins Nahal Sa‘ar (see Fig. 1.4) in a waterfall. It apparently served as the source of the aqueduct (see Chapter 2). The archaeological site of Baniyas is comprised of several landscape units, which differ in lithology, topography and flora: The Baniyas Plateau. This height slopes gently from east to west (Fig. 1.2) and terminates in a steep slope toward the Hula Valley. The slope was created by a geological fault. In the east the plateau is limited by the margins of the Hermon Spur. On the northeast, the

262 500

793 000

793 500

48

46

Hermon Field Study Center

45

41

44

31

Far‘a Bridge

Kibbutz Senir

Waterfall

43

29

28

W Suburb

26 25

6 7

S Cemetery

City Wall 21

20

SE Suburb 19

4

1

Spring

3

Civic Center

33

2

265 000

13

57

55

56 54

53

Hermon Spur NE Cemetery

58

22

Birket Abu Suweida

49

50

Ba sal

t

Golan

Sa ‘ar

NE Suburb 14 Marj 5 8 el-Wata 15 18 9 10 Sultan E Suburb 11 Ibrahim 16 Wa 17 di e 12 n-N aqi b

37 34 38

32

Undivided Basalt

23

SW Suburb

24

27

39

36

Fig. 1.1. Survey map of Baniyas.

N. Far‘a

30

N. Hermon

Baniyas Plateau

40

35

NW Cemetery

59

NW Suburb

60

ine

Hula Valley

61

263 000

47

W Cemetery

42

264 000

G i v‘a t H a m r a

264 500 TAP L

794 000

794 500

795 000

263 500

n

o N. Si’

265 500

a vt Go N.

0

51

Sa ‘ar

Aqueduct

Church

266 500

500 m

Holy Tomb

Ancient Site

Survey Point Spring

Excavation

N.

Masil ‘Eisha

52

4 Moshe hartal

266 000

5

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

◄ Fig. 1.1. Key to Sites 1. Grotto and Sacred Precinct 2. Nebi Khadar (A-4299/04) 3. Western terrace (K-5/77, K-2/78) 4. Mosaic floor 5. Basilica and ‘Water Gate’ 6. Palace 7. Byzantine street 8. Cardo 9. Medieval fortifications 10. Southwestern tower (A-3390/01) 11. Southern gate 12. Bridge 13. Watch tower(?) 14. Roman building 15. Round structure 16. Bathhouse(?) (A-3415/01) 17. Maronite church 18. Eastern road 19. Byzantine city wall 20. Subterranean chamber 21. Burial caves

22. Southeastern road 23. Southwestern road 24. Villa (A-1332/84) 25. Villa (A-1783/91) 26. ‘Ein Hilu—‘Officers’ Pool’ 27. Roman building (A-1783/91) 28. Mosaic floor 29. Anti-tank trench 30. Travertine quarry 31. Far‘a bridge 32. Bridge 33. Bridge 34. Bridge 35. Roman buildings 36. Roman street (A-3315/00) 37. Roman structure (K-3/74) 38. Ashlar-block pile 39. Roman buildings 40. Milestone 41. Western road

Fig. 1.2. Baniyas Plateau, general view to the west.

42. Roman tombs (A-3214/00) 43. First-century tombs (A-4174/04) 44. Burial cave (K-2/75) 45. Monumental burial system 46. Burial cave (A-1440/86) 47. Burial cave (A-1650/89) 48. Mausoleum (A-4420/05) 49. Late Roman farm 50. Late Roman villa 51. El-Naqara 52. Kh. el-Wata 53. Mugharet el-Wata 54. Cistern 78 55. Tomb 800 56. Naiskos 57. Quarry 58. Aqueduct bridge 59. Distribution installations 60. Enclosure 53 and Tomb 700 61. Khan ed-Duwer

6

Moshe hartal

plateau is bounded by a lofty cliff, which terminates above the spur, inside which there is a large karstic cave—the Grotto of Baniyas (Fig. 1.1:1). On the northwest, the plateau ends at the hill to the east of Giv‘at Hamra. The plateau extends in the south beyond Nahal Hermon and Nahal Sa‘ar and is delimited by a lava flow. The descent toward the upper part of Nahal Hermon is in the form of wide steps. West of the TransArabian Pipeline (TAP; see Fig. 1.1), the slope to the river is very steep. The plateau is covered with a thick layer of travertine rock (Heimann and Porat, in preparation). At the northeastern edge of the plateau, below the grotto, gush forth the waters of the Baniyas spring, the second largest water source of the Jordan River (125 million cu m per annum). As this spring pours out from a high part of the plateau, it served as the water source of the site. Giv‘at Hamra. A hill, built of conglomerate defined as the Si’on Formation (Mor 1986:104–105; Heimann and Porat, in preparation), towers to the north of the Baniyas Plateau (Fig. 1.3). On the east it is bounded by Nahal Govta, on the north by Nahal Si’on and on the west by the Hula Valley, a steep slope. The southern slope of the hill is moderate and descends in wide steps. The ground is covered with soil and pebbles

with no exposed rocks. The hill is higher than the level of Baniyas Spring and does not have any independent water sources. The Hermon Spur. A narrow rocky ridge, part of the Mt. Hermon slopes, descends from Nimrod Fortress (as-Subaybah). On the north and west it is delimited by Nahal Govta and on the south by Wadi en-Naqib (see Figs. 1.4, 1.16, 2.1, 2.32). The spur is composed of hard limestone and dolomite rocks. It is very stony and covered with oak trees and herbs. The spur ends in the west at Giv‘at Hamra. To the west of Marj elWata, the southern slope of the ridge descends in steps to the lower part of Wadi en-Naqib. To the west of this stepped slope, the spur is bordered by the high cliff of the Grotto of Baniyas (Heimann and Porat, in preparation). An additional small cave, Mugharet elWata (Fig. 1.1:53), opens in the lower step of the slope in front of Marj el-Wata. Marj el-Wata. This fertile depression extends between the Hermon Spur and Nahal Sa‘ar (see Figs. 1.4, 2.1). On the east, this valley is bordered by the margins of the ‘Ein Quneiyye hill. The valley bed is covered with alluvial soil suitable for agriculture.

Fig. 1.3. Nebi Khadar on the Hermon Spur. To left, the western terrace; in background, the northwestern suburb and Giv‘at Hamra. looking west.

7

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

Hermon Spur NE Suburb

Marj el-Wata

Nahal Sa‘ar

Wadi en-Naqib

↓ Masil ‘Eisha

Fig. 1.4. Marj el-Wata below the Hermon Spur. To left, Nahal Sa‘ar; center, Wadi en-Naqib (within Marj el-Wata) passes in the middle of the orchard; looking north.

The Sa‘ar Basalt. A relatively young lava flow filled Nahal Sa‘ar. The flow ends in the west in a steep slope which borders the Baniyas plateau (see Fig. 1.16). To the north of Nahal Sa‘ar, the flow’s front is situated to the east of the city’s medieval walls. To the south of the river, the flow continued several dozens of meters westward to encircle Birket Abu Suweida. To the northwest, the flow descends to Nahal Sa‘ar in moderate, wide steps, while to the west, the flow ends in a steep slope (see Fig. 1.20). Undivided Basalt. A flow of undefined and undivided lava lies to the west of the Sa‘ar Basalt. The terrain descends in wide steps toward the northwest. The lower part of the flow touches the travertine of the Baniyas Plateau, and in some points it extends as far as Nahal Hermon.

Parts of the City The Civic Center The urban center, covering 110 dunams, was built on the eastern part of the Baniyas plateau. It is bounded on the north by the grotto’s lofty cliff, on the west by Nahal Govta and Nahal Hermon, on the south by Nahal

Sa‘ar and on the east by the Sa‘ar Basalt. The Baniyas spring—the main source of water for the town— gushes forth on the northern edge. There is no doubt that the impressive spring was a major attraction in the civic center. Zvi U . Ma‘oz (1999:97–99) has restored, according to the description of the coins, a semicircular colonnade around a sacred lake. However, the survey found no evidence for such a structure, perhaps because of the many changes undergone by the city center. Wide walls appear sporadically on the surface in the vicinity of the presumed lake, but their attribution to structures is beyond recognition. To the north of the spring there is a 10 m high ledge which is bounded on three sides (north, east and west) by 30 m high cliffs (see Fig. 1.1:1). Opening at the left corner of the northern rock-scarp is a large karstic cave (Fig. 1.5; 25 m wide, 15 m deep and 8 m high), at the bottom of which subterranean water is reached. As the consequence of an earthquake, the mouth of the cave was destroyed and blocked by a large pile of rocks. It appears that the present cave is a relict of a much larger grotto that collapsed in the past, creating the ledge, or terrace, upon which the temples are built (Fig. 1.6; Heimann and Porat, in preparation). During the Hellenistic period the cave was dedicated to the cult of Pan. At the entrance to the cave there is a temple which

8

Moshe hartal

Fig. 1.5. Northern part of the civic center. At bottom, Baniyas spring; above, the cliff with the cave and the Sacred Precinct. looking north.

Fig. 1.6. The Sacred Precinct. On the cliff, Nebi Khadar. looking west.

was identified by its excavator, Z.U . Ma‘oz, with the Augusteum built by Herod in 19 BCE. In the first and through the third centuries CE, various temples were built on the terrace to the east of the cave. Some are roofed over, others are open-air cult zones. Niches

for the placement of sculptures and with dedicatory inscriptions were hewn in the rock-cliff. The Sacred Precinct was systematically excavated by Ma‘oz (1993; 1998; 1999; in preparation).

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

To the west of the spring, an elevated terrace (‘the western terrace’; Fig. 1.1:3) rises 20 m above the plateau, which is part of the southern slope of the Hermon Spur (see Fig. 1.3). On this rocky terrace, which overlooks the spring, Nahal Hermon and the entire Baniyas plateau, quarrying, exposed on the surface and in excavations, testifies to the existence of a large public building. The walls of the building themselves have not survived and the finds were not sufficient to date it (Netzer 1998; Ma‘oz 1993:141). Covering the southern scarp of the terrace are fragments of walls built in the opus reticulatum masonry style (Fig. 1.7). This masonry dates the building apparently to the period of the House of Herod. The remains were identified by their excavator, Ehud Netzer, as the Augusteum of Herod. High above the terrace is Nebi Khadar (Figs. 1.1:2, 1.3, 1.6), sacred to Muslims and Druse. The Nebi tombs there, whose dates are unclear, probably date from recent centuries (Hartal 2008a). Monumental public structures were unearthed in the excavations of the civic center. They include a vast palace (see Figs. 1.1:6, 1.8), with halls, vaults,

9

underground passages, a colonnaded street (cardo; see Fig. 1.1:8), a street (see Fig. 1.1:7) and a basilica (see Fig. 1.1:5). A mosaic floor was found west of the spring (see Fig. 1.1:4). In the area of the city there were complex systems of water supply, whose origin was in

Fig. 1.7. Opus reticulatum wall on the western terrace; looking north.

Fig. 1.8. The civic center. The excavated area of the Roman city lies behind the parking lot. Top left, the medieval moat and fortification. In background, the southeastern suburb. Looking south.

10

Moshe hartal

the main spring. The excavations of the civic center have thus far failed to expose domestic structures. This sector was systematically excavated by Vassilios Tzaferis and Shoshana Israeli (Tzaferis 1998; Tzaferis and Israeli 2008). During the medieval period, the city shrank to the area of the Roman civic center and was surrounded by walls, towers and a moat (see Fig. 1.8). The spring was not included in the walled city, probably because of the need to stay far from the high cliff above the spring, to avoid the shooting of arrows into the city. The northern wall, only the foundations of which have survived, included ‘the Water Gate’ (see Fig. 1.1:5), exposed by Tzaferis (2008:41–44). The eastern wall, defended by three towers, was separated from the surrounding area by a wide moat (see Fig. 1.1:9). The counter-scarp of the fosse joined the terminating cliff of the Sa‘ar Basalt, so that there was no need of excavations to determine its construction. The moat was cleared by Dan U rman (HA 1969:3–4). Moats were unnecessary on the other sides of the walled city, as the defense relied on deep ravines. The southern wall was built along Nahal Sa‘ar and included a tower-gate (Figs. 1.1:11, 1. 9) and two corner towers. The southwestern tower (Figs. 1.1:10, 1.10) was excavated by the author

(Hartal 2007). The western wall was built along Nahal Hermon and included three additional towers, as yet unexcavated. An arched bridge astride Nahal Sa‘ar

Fig. 1.10. The southwestern tower; looking northeast.

Fig. 1.9. The southern gate and Nahal Sa‘ar; looking north.

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

led to the southern gate (see Fig. 1.1:12). The bridge was used until the nineteenth century CE (Wilson 1880:114). Today only the spring vaults remain. In the piazza flanking the southern gate, there is an ancient and giant Tabor oak tree, beside which is the tomb of Sultan Ibrahim, venerated by Muslims and Druse alike. The village of Baniyas in recent generations has resided inside the medieval city. The survey in the civic center produced sherds from the Roman, Byzantine (few) and Mamluk (the majority) periods. The excavations added finds from the Hellenistic, Early and L ate Roman, early Byzantine (very few), Fatimid and the Crusader–Mamluk periods.

East of the quarry is a rock-cut tomb (0.70 × 1.70 m, 2.00 m deep; Figs. 1.1:13, 1.12), which is similar to other tombs in the nearby cemetery. At a later stage this tomb was enveloped by a structure (4.40 × 4.40 m) with wide walls (1.80 m), constructed of roughly dressed

The Hermon Spur The area above the Baniyas Grotto cliff is in fact the lowest part of the rocky spur that descends from Mt. Hermon. Because of its topographic location and rocky character, the area was never part of the built-up parts of the site and was used only for the path of the aqueduct and the cemeteries described below. In the medieval period, the area functioned as a large quarry for the building stones typical of the city (see below and Figs. 1.1:57, 1.11, 1.33, 1.34).

11

Fig. 1.12. Rock-cut tomb enveloped by a structure (watchtower?); looking north.

Fig. 1.11. The medieval quarry on the Hermon Spur; to left, Nebi Khadar. looking north.

12

Moshe hartal

blocks bonded with lime-mortar. The southern part of the tomb, as well as cracks in the natural bedrock, was filled with the same mortar. The purpose of this structure is unclear. It is situated both at the cliff’s edge, a site with an extensive view, and on the path descending from the fortress. It is therefore possible that the structure was a watchtower monitoring the path, perhaps part of the fortifications erected in the vicinity of Baniyas in the Byzantine period.

The Northeastern Suburb A domestic suburb covering 70 dunams extends along the southern slope of the Hermon Spur (Figs. 1.13, 2.1). It is bounded on the north by the upper edge of the slope, on the east by Marj el-Wata, on the south by the lower part of Wadi en-Naqib, and on the west by the civic center. The upper part of the western slope is very steep (Fig. 1.14) and therefore was not occupied.

Fig. 1.13. The northeastern suburb on the south slope of the Hermon Spur. The area without trees is part of the eastern suburb on the Sa‘ar Basalt. Bottom, Nahal Sa‘ar. Looking north.

Fig. 1.14. The west slope of the northeastern suburb; to left, the Sacred Precinct; to right, the spring. looking southeast.

13

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

The lower part of the slope is more comfortable and has buildings extending as far as the urban center. This suburb is built on a slope descending in wide steps suitable for the erection of houses. In the western part of the suburb, terraces are seen that, although constructed as field fences, incorporate remains of walls of buildings (Fig. 1.15). Among the latter was an entrance to a burial tomb, the opening of which was blocked. Above this tomb

are the remains of an ancient quarry. Stone column bases lay between the terraces. A large area covered with ruined houses that descend from the top of the hill down to the wadi bed is situated to the east of the terraces. A column base was located among these houses. The northeastern suburb extends as far as Marj el-Wata; the eastern houses of this part are built far from one another, with agricultural tracts between them.

Fig. 1.15. The west part of the northeastern suburb; looking north.

Nahal Sa‘ar

Sa‘ar Basalt

Marj el-Wata E Suburb NE Suburb

SE Suburb Civic Center mon

l Her

Naha

Hermon Spur

NW Suburb

Nahal Govta

Fig. 1.16. Aerial view of Baniyas; looking southeast.

14

Moshe hartal

The area of the suburb is disturbed by modern Syrian trenches, one of which penetrated a house from the Roman period (see Fig. 1.1:14). The trench exposed three courses of the walls with the foundation course below. According to the testimony of the broken plaster fragments seen in the trench sections, the house sported green and red frescos. The same sections produced fragments of pottery vessels dated to the third and fourth centuries CE. Also found was a household grinding stone. Remains of a round structure (diam. 7.5 m) were located in the southeastern part of the suburb (see Fig. 1.1:15). The encircling wall, 2.30 m wide, is built of small stones held by mortar. This wall today protrudes 1.05 m above the ground and houses a pit (diam. 3.60 m), partly choked up. Its present depth is c. 2 m. A common oak tree grows inside the pit. In the west, two steps descend to the pit from a 0.90 m wide opening. The northeastern suburb is built on a hill whose level is higher than that of the spring (360–405 m asl). Its main source of water was the aqueduct passing above its northern border. The ceramic horizon of this suburb is mainly the third through the fifth centuries CE. The Eastern Suburb This suburb, covering 45 dunams, was built on top of the Sa‘ar Basalt, south of the northeastern suburb, between the ravine and Nahal Sa‘ar (see Fig. 1.13). The lava flow descends to Wadi en-Naqib in a short

and steep slope over which ruins of houses can be detected. On the upper, level part of the flow, which descends moderately from east to west, are construction remains, but their nature is unclear. A section of a burnt brick structure, which may have been a third–fourthcentury CE bathhouse, was excavated in this area (see Fig. 1.1:16; Smithline 1986). In the west, the suburb terminates near the modern road cutting through Nahal Sa‘ar. West of the road is a deserted Maronite church (see Fig. 1.1:17), erected in 1950. There are no settlement remains in the vicinity of the church as far as the medieval moat. The water source of the eastern suburb could have been Masil ‘Eisha, which was also the source of the aqueduct. The excavated building (above) was supplied by a pipe coming from Marj el-Wata. Since this valley was entirely reclaimed for modern agriculture, the origin of the pipe is unclear. The Southeastern Suburb A suburb, covering 62 dunams, is located south of Nahal Sa‘ar, atop the southwestern edge of the Sa‘ar Basalt (see Figs. 1.8, 1.17). On the east it is bounded by Birket Abu Suweida, on the west by the lava flow front, on the north by a stepped slope descending to Nahal Sa‘ar, and on the south by a city wall (see below). The territory of this suburb was outside the limits of the modern village and was used mainly by the Syrian army. A modern road divides it into two parts

Fig. 1.17. The southeastern suburb; looking southward from Nahal Sa‘ar.

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

of unequal size. North of the road was a Syrian army camp. During its construction, the ancient remains above the surface were disturbed; ashlar blocks in secondary use are spread throughout. Remains of an ancient building are visible in one of the army trenches. The finds are more numerous in the western part of the camp than in the east, where bedrock lies immediately below ground; very few pottery sherds were found. South of the road the trenches of the Syrian army fortifications hit early structures. At the southern end of the Syrian fortifications is a 1.60 m wide wall (Figs. 1.1:19, 1.18, 1.19), the remains of which stretch for a length of 380 m. The wall is constructed of ashlar and fieldstones bonded in hard mortar. In one segment the wall is preserved to the height of 2 m above ground. Along its length, wall heads occasionally appear or can be seen in sections in the trenches of the Syrian fortification. The wall extends parallel to the modern road and terminates at the front of the Sa‘ar Basalt. In all likelihood, this wall served as the southern city wall of Paneas. The continuation of the wall was not uncovered; however, it probably lined the edge of the Sa‘ar Basalt front and joined Nahal Sa‘ar. The city-wall sector in the east of the suburb also did not survive. A boulder made of stones bonded in mortar, no doubt part of the wall, was moved from its original location by a bulldozer, apparently during the construction of the Syrian fortifications. It appears that the city wall enclosed the suburb tangential to Birket Abu Suweida

15

and continued northward to Nahal Sa‘ar; its remains, however, were not located. Similarly, remains of towers were also not observed. North of this city wall is an accumulation of ruins, in sizable quantities, indicating settlement there. In contrast, the bedrock is exposed south of this wall, indicating the area was outside the settlement. The wall enclosing the southeastern suburb is the only city wall found from the Roman and Byzantine periods. According to its masonry, whose construction is almost identical to that of city walls at Tiberias and Bet She’an, it can be assigned to the Byzantine period, during which the territory of the urban space

Fig. 1.19. The Byzantine city wall in the southeastern suburb; looking north.

Fig. 1.18. The Byzantine city wall in the southeastern suburb; looking south.

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Moshe hartal

diminished, apparently due to deteriorating security (Hartal 2005:446–447). A subterranean structure, constructed of large dressed limestone blocks, was found in the eastern part of the Syrian fortifications (see Fig. 1.1:20). An entrance corridor leads to the structure, 3.13 m long, roofed with large limestone slabs. The ceiling is flat for a length of 1.70 m; only the end is built as a gable, from two ashlar stones, 0.70 m wide. The entrance lies immediately following the gable, and leads to a space measuring 0.78 × 2.05 m, 1.23 m high. A stone-paved road—the beginning of the road ascending from Baniyas to Damascus—emerges from the southeastern edge of the suburb (see Fig. 1.1:22; Hartal 1989:75). The city wall was not preserved at this point; therefore, there is no evidence of a gate structure. A wide road passes the southern part of the suburb (see Fig. 1.1:23); it is the continuation of the road from H. ‘Omrit. This road crossed Nahal Sa‘ar via a bridge and was in use until the beginning of the nineteenth century (see below). The quantity of ceramics gathered in the survey in this suburb is rather lean. Most of the pottery is from the L ate Roman period; the remainder dates to the Byzantine period.

The Southwestern Suburb A domestic suburb, covering 49 dunams, lies south of Nahal Hermon. The eastern border of the area is the bottom of the Sa‘ar Basalt, over which lies the southeastern suburb (Fig. 1.20). The territory of this suburb includes wide steps of U ndivided Basalt and sectors covered with travertine rocks. A large amount of pottery can be found on the surface, generally as far southwest as the TAP L ine. Remains of buildings are visible in the area adjacent to the river, beyond the olive grove. Remains of quarries, perhaps sunken courts of tomb systems, were found near the oil pipe. A villa, dating to the third through the fifth centuries CE, was partly exposed in the area south of the Officers’ Pool (itself on the northern bank of the river; see Fig. 1.1:24, Hartal and Ma‘oz 1985, Hartal 1989:132). East of this villa, a fourth-century CE villa was excavated (see Fig. 1.1:25; Shaked 1993:8). It should be noted that the settlement in this quarter covers only the eastern part of the area, in which the river is relatively wide and its southern bank ascends moderately in wide steps. During the survey, sherds were collected from the Early Roman period (a few) and especially from the L ate Roman and early Byzantine periods. Noteworthy is the absence of sherds dating to the late Byzantine, Early Islamic and Mamluk periods.

Fig. 1.20. East end of the southwestern suburb bounded by the flow of the Sa‘ar Basalt, underlying the southeastern suburb; looking east.

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

The Western Suburb The western suburb is the largest sector of the city, covering 210 dunams, located on the northwestern quarter of the Baniyas Plateau to the west of Nahal Hermon (Fig. 1.21). On the east and southeast, it is delimited by Nahal Hermon. The Baniyas plateau descends here in wide terraces to the gorge of the river, parallel to the topography of the southwestern suburb (above). Adjacent to the river, ‘Ein Hilu pours its waters, usurped by the Syrian army for the sake of the Officers’ Pool (see Fig. 1.1:26). Remains of a structure built of fieldstones were exposed in the excavations conducted by Idan Shaked north of the pool (see Fig. 1.1:27). This earliest structure is dated to the first and second centuries CE. Above it, an additional edifice was constructed of fieldstones and coated with gray plaster. The finds on the floor date it to the third and fourth centuries CE (Shaked 1993). Beyond the TAP L ine (which crosses the quarter from end to end), Nahal Hermon deepens; its banks are too steep for urban use. In this sector, the southern border of the suburb draws farther from the river banks and passes at the head of the slope. The western cemetery (below), inside Kibbutz Senir, borders the quarter on the west and flanks the

17

northwestern suburb (below). The territory of this quarter descends in wide steps from north to south. It is generally covered with thick vegetation, which makes it difficult to locate ancient remains. However, remains of structures with mosaic floors and frescoed walls are still visible in the trenches, dug in the 1970s for water pipes (see Fig. 1.1:28). A Syrian anti-tank trench cuts near the western edge of the western suburb (see Fig. 1.1:29). Evidence in this trench section indicates that the area close to the river was not settled and that bedrock is very close to the surface. Further along the trench, walls of several structures were cut, and ashlar blocks were found at the bottom of the trench. The section shows only one settlement floor, at a depth of approximately 1.50 m below ground surface. The trench produced a large amount of pottery and glass fragments. The pottery is typical of Baniyas in the third through the fifth centuries CE. West of the anti-tank trench and as far as the asphalt road branch leading to the Baniyas waterfall, are many basalt ashlar blocks. It appears that the western border of the quarter, as well as the town as a whole, was near this road. Its exact definition is today impossible as these fields were reclaimed for agriculture. Coins, however, were collected as far as the waterfall parking.

Fig. 1.21. The western suburb. To left, Nahal Hermon. Looking west.

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Moshe hartal

The Northwestern Suburb The northwestern suburb, covering 182 dunams, is located on the southern slope of Giv‘at Hamra (Figs. 1.22, 2.1). It is bounded on the east by the lower part of Nahal Govta, which cut through here in a deep and narrow gorge. The banks of the wadi are supported by lofty retaining walls. Along this wadi segment there were at least three bridges that connected the suburb to the civic center (Fig. 1.23). Of two of the bridges that no longer exist (see Fig. 1.1:32, 33), one served as a viaduct supporting the aqueduct from the spring to the lower level of the quarter. The third bridge (Figs. 1.1:34, 1.24), now vaulted in stone, carried the road from Tyre to Baniyas. It appears that this road, as yet unexposed, served also as the southern border of the quarter. It rises above elevation 350 m asl, the elevation of the Baniyas spring. This elevation contour divides the settlement into parts that received water from the spring and those that were higher and therefore presumably obtained their water from the aqueduct reported on here. On the west, this suburb extends to the foothills of Giv‘at Hamra. There is no clear northern geographical boundary, as the suburb appears to terminate on midslope. The aqueduct passed above this border, in the area of the northwestern cemetery. Quantities of pottery, perhaps from third- to fifth-century CE kilns that were in this area, were noted.

The area of this suburb exhibits extensive building remains, as well as many ashlar blocks that were incorporated into agricultural terrace walls. Noteworthy are several huge ashlar blocks and column drums. Construction is not dense on the northern edges of the suburb; however, at the heart of the quarter, there is evidence for a dense urban fabric. The remains of two luxury mansions can be detected near the military fence-road and to its north (see Fig. 1.1:35). One mansion yielded columns and marble slabs, as well as colored frescoes. The other exhibited column drums of soft chalk, large ashlar blocks and colored frescoes. The road and the drainage channel infringed upon these two houses, as well as others in the direction of the spring. Various walls, one frescoed, can be observed along the drainage channel. Mosaic tesserae were also recovered. On the southern border of the suburb, the modern road cut a series of third–fourthcentury buildings with mosaic floors (Figs. 1.1:39, 1.25). A pile of large ashlar blocks (see Fig. 1.1:38) was apparently pushed alongside the bridge during the road’s construction. A rescue excavation conducted by David Amir near the eastern boundary of the suburb revealed remains of an ashlar building and an oil press (see Fig. 1.1:37; not published, see Ma‘oz 1993:139– 140). Three strata, from the first–second centuries, the third–fifth centuries and the tenth century, were excavated.3

Fig. 1.22. The northwestern suburb on the south slope of Giv‘at Hamra; looking west.

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

Fig. 1.23. Remains of a bridge in Nahal Govta; looking west.

Fig. 1.24. An ancient bridge over Nahal Govta; looking south.

Fig. 1.25. Cross section of the Roman building with a mosaic floor; looking north.

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Moshe hartal

During the survey in the eastern part of the suburb, ceramics dating to the first century CE through the medieval period were collected. Most of the finds from the western half of the suburb date to the third through fifth centuries CE. A very small amount of pottery can be dated to the late Byzantine and Early Islamic periods. Finds from the latter periods were retrieved also in the excavations conducted in this suburb (see Fig. 1.1:36, 37; see Part 4 below, where the remains of a street and structures from the Roman period are described). Roads Four roads leave Baniyas: The Eastern Road (Figs. 1.1:18, 1.26). The lower part of Wadi en-Naqib, passing between the northeastern and eastern suburbs, is devoid of architectural remains and is bounded, in segments, by agricultural stone fences. This ravine links the civic center with Marj el-Wata. The ascent from the wadi bed is moderate and comfortable, and thus comprises the preferable passage for movement from Baniyas to the east. It appears likely that the road connecting Baniyas to Damascus passed here. As the road was not paved,

its exact course is not clear and may have very well changed over the ages. In the Early Roman period this road is mentioned by Josephus Flavius, alluding to the pool of Phiale (now Birket Ram): “Phiale will be found at a distance of a hundred and twenty furlongs from Caesarea (Philippi), on the right of and not far from the road ascending to Trachonitis” (Josephus, War III, 510). The road therefore passed via Marj elYa‘afuri, situated to the left of Birket Ram, en route to Damascus. It stands to reason that the road reached this point through the springs of ‘Ein Quneiyye and the foothill of Kh. el-Hawarit. In the medieval period, as a consequence of the construction of Nimrod Fortress, the course of the road changed slightly. It now ascended Wadi en-Naqib, at the foot of the fortress, and continued eastward, through Newe Ativ and Majdal Shams. The Southeastern Road (see Fig. 1.1:22). From the southeastern suburb emerges a paved road c. 6.60 m in width, with curbstones and a central ridge—a typical Roman road. This is the beginning of a parallel road to Damascus, ascending from Baniyas to the slopes of the Golan. Remains of the pavement and towers of this road were located in various segments and its path is known. From Baniyas it ascended to Qala‘at

Fig. 1.26. The eastern road in the lower part of Wadi en-Naqib; looking east.

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

el-Mughara, Kh. Ra‘abane, Buqa‘ata and Ophani and continued via Sasa to Damascus (Hartal 1989:75, 140–141). This road appears to have been paved in the second century CE, replacing the old road to the north of Nahal Sa‘ar. The course of the road inside the suburb is not known. It must have crossed Nahal Sa‘ar via a bridge, perhaps on the same spot as the later medieval bridge. The Southwestern Road (Fig. 1.1:23). From the border between the southeastern and the southwestern suburbs emerged a paved road stretching to the southwest. The road probably commenced at a bridge over Nahal Sa‘ar (that which connected to the medieval gatehouse). From the bridge there extends a wide road, in use until recently, which traverses the southeastern suburb. The road here is leveled, although lacking traces of pavement. The road encircles the Sa‘ar Basalt front and continues with the modern asphalt road to Giv‘at ‘Azaz. It crosses Nahal Far‘a via an ancient bridge (see Fig. 1.1:31), located in the survey of I. Shaked. South of the bridge, paved segments, which were not covered with the modern road, were located. The road presumably bypassed the outskirts of H. ‘Omrit

21

and continued southward to Bethsaida and Tiberias (Shaked 1998:101–102, Fig. 5, Photos 7–11). The Western Road (see Fig. 1.1:41). An ancient road exited the civic center in the direction of Tyre. The road crossed Nahal Govta via a bridge within the city limits of Baniyas (see Figs. 1.1:34, 1.24). The road’s course through the western suburb is unclear. Topographically, it may very well have passed along the present road on the presumed border of the western suburb and the northwestern suburb. a Roman milestone was found not far from the waterfall (see Fig. 1.1:40).4 Remains of quarrying for a descending, winding road were discerned on the western slope of the Baniyas plateau (Figs. 1.1:41, 1.27); this may have connected to our road. Further west, milestones, bridges and paved sections found in the Hula Valley testify to the continuation of the course of the road in the direction of Tyre and Sidon (Ma‘oz 1993:137). The date of this road is not certain. Apparently, it was laid in the Roman period as part of the Tyre–Damascus road. It seems that in its present state it is medieval, as its lower section leads to Khan ed-Duwer, a twelfth–thirteenth-century sugar factory at the foot of the Baniyas Plateau (see Fig. 1.1:61; Shaked 1998:81–82).5

Fig. 1.27. The western road on the western slope of the Baniyas Plateau; looking north.

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Moshe hartal

Cemeteries The city of Paneas was surrounded by cemeteries: The Northeastern Cemetery. Tombs were hewn into the rock along the western part of the Hermon Spur (see Fig. 1.1; for a detailed description, see Chapter 4). The Northwestern Cemetery. Built-up tombs were located on Giv‘at Hamra (see Fig. 1.1; Chapter 4).

At Kibbutz Senir, D. Amir excavated a first–secondcentury CE burial cave, which included a room with arcosolia and kokhim (see Fig. 1.1:44; Amir 1974). Several cist tombs were unearthed outside the cave (Ma‘oz 1993:142). A monumental burial system, including two courtyards and two halls, opens on the grounds of Kibbutz Senir (Figs. 1.1:45, 1.28, 1.29). One hall contained kokh burials, the other, arcosolium burials. Decorated sarcophagi stood in the center. The

The Southeastern Cemetery. A graveyard was probably situated on the southern edge of the southeastern suburb. Two caves were found (see Fig. 1.1:21). One is almost completely blocked. Attempts at looting were clear; outside the cave was pottery that had been removed. The entrance to the second cave is through a square shaft, 1.50 m deep. The cave at the bottom is irregular and partly filled in. A Syrian communication trench divided the shaft from the cave. The Western Cemetery. An extensive graveyard covered the western edges of the Baniyas plateau. Cist tombs were hewn on the flat areas of the plateau (see Fig. 1.1:42, 43; Stepansky 2004; Hartal 2008b).

Fig. 1.28. Entrance to the monumental burial system west of Kibbutz Senir; looking east.

Fig. 1.29. Burial cave west of Kibbutz Senir; looking northeast.

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

tomb was emptied in ancient times and lacks dating material (Ma‘oz 1993:142). A first-century, twochambered burial cave was excavated by Z.U . Ma‘oz at the Hermon Field Study Center (Fig. 1.1:46; Ma‘oz 1993:142). Two burial caves with a common courtyard were excavated at the foot of the slope (Figs. 1.1:47, 1.30). Their finds dated them to the first–fifth centuries (Ma‘oz 1993:142). Remains of a mausoleum were exposed west of the caves (see Fig. 1.1:48; Barbé 2007). The western cemetery stretches northward as far as Kh. Shaba‘a (Tahan and Hartal 2007). The surface finds indicate the cemetery was in use from the first through the fifth centuries CE.

Fig. 1.30. Entrance to a burial cave; looking east.

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Quarries Two extensive quarries and other evidence for quarrying were located in the survey. South of Nahal Hermon, just across from the Baniyas waterfall, is a large quarry (covering 3.5 dunams) in the travertine rock (Figs. 1.1:30, 1.31, 1.32). This quarry probably supplied the building stones for the Roman city. During this period there was widespread use of travertine stones, which are easy to dress and treat. L imestone blocks were utilized during this period mainly in the northeastern suburb, which exploited limestone exposures and is far from the travertine quarries.

Fig. 1.31. Quarrying terraces in the travertine quarry; looking east.

Fig. 1.32. Roman travertine quarry south of Nahal Hermon; looking northeast.

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Fig. 1.33. Medieval quarry on the Hermon Spur. To left, Nebi Khadar; in back, the northwestern suburb. Looking west.

Fig. 1.34. Cutting-off trenches in the quarry; looking north.

A large, nine-dunam quarry is located on the Hermon Spur, above the cliff and the cave, where hard dolomite rock was quarried (Figs. 1.1:57, 1.11, 1.33; Heimann and Porat, in preparation). Naturally inclined layers of the rock were used for the extraction of blocks. The usual disconnection channels around the stone are missing; apparently, the workmen employed natural vertical and horizontal cracks in the rock. Short trenches with a trapezoidal cross section were hewn at a distance appropriate to the size of the desired block (Fig. 1.34), indicating the technique by which a long metal lever was inserted in order to extract the stone. A similar quarrying technology was also identified at Nimrod Fortress (Hartal 2001:61, Figs. 115, 116). It seems that during the Middle Ages, the use of hard limestone increased, as this is the material from which the city walls and their towers are constructed. The quarry above the cliff bisected the aqueduct and therefore postdates the aqueduct’s latest use, namely the fifth century CE. The use of similar technology in the Nimrod Fortress and the employment of hard limestone in the medieval town indicate that this quarry should be dated to the Middle Ages.

Chapter 1: The Baniyas Su rvey

Summary The city of Paneas was founded near a rich spring, in a region with a comfortable climate and agricultural soils. The surveys and the excavations failed to uncover evidence of a settlement here prior to the Hellenistic period. The reason for this eludes us. The city comprised a civic center surrounded by domestic suburbs. The areas of the town that were lower in level than the spring were supplied from the latter by a system of channels and pipes. The northeastern, eastern and northwestern suburbs, which were higher than the main spring, received their water from an aqueduct discovered in the survey. The ceramic finds corroborate the historical sources, which date the foundation of the city to the year 2/1 BCE. In the first century CE, the urban center was born, as well as the domestic structures in the western and northwestern suburbs. In the second through the fourth centuries CE, all the domestic suburbs were filled with houses, the town having reached its peak. In the first half of the fifth century CE, the town suffered a decline in its state of security, or perhaps the decline is due to

25

other events whose nature is not clear. evidence for a fire was found in the ‘Byzantine Street of Shops’; the settlement was not renewed after the fire (Israeli 2008). The temples and most of the houses were destroyed and deserted. During this period a city wall was built south of Nahal Sa‘ar, and apparently surrounded the southeastern suburb. It is tempting to assume that the city moved to this suburb, which is easier to defend. However, the meager ceramic finds collected here do not support this suggestion. L ate Byzantine-period finds were recovered from a refuse pit dug over the ruins of the temples (Magness, in preparation) and from Stratum 1 of the excavations in the northwestern suburb (see Chapter 9). In neither case did the finds derive from domestic units. Settlement in the city was renewed during the tenth century CE and continued through the Mamluk period. In these periods, the urban fabric was confined to the limits of the Roman civic center (partly defended by rivers). In recent generations, the area was occupied by a humble village, built among the ruins of the medieval city.

Notes 1 The survey of Baniyas was part of the Northern Golan Survey, conducted by the author on behalf of the Archaeological Survey of Israel from 1983 to 1985. The final report of the Golan survey only briefly described the survey of Baniyas (Hartal 1989:74–75). The map of Baniyas according to the survey results (Fig. 1.1) was prepared in November 2007 by M. Hartal and A. Shapiro. 2 Previous surveys of Baniyas were conducted in 1967 by Ya‘akov Olami (1967), on behalf of the Archaeological

Survey of Israel. For more details and for the history of the exploration, see Ma‘oz 1993:139–140. 3 The strata were dated based on the pottery from the excavation. The pottery is stored in the IAA. 4 Now in Bet U ssishkin in Kibbutz Dan (Amir 1968: Fig. 42). 5 On the route of this road in the Hula Valley, see Shaked 1998:100–101.

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R eferences Amir D. 1968. Banias: From Ancient till Modern Times. Dan (Hebrew). Amir D. 1974. Burial Cave in Senir. HA 48–49:24. Barbé H. 2007. Senir. HA–ESI 119. http://www.hadashot-esi. org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?id=488&mag_id=112. HA 1969. The Golan. HA 30:2–4. Hartal M. 1989. Northern Golan Heights: The Archaeological Survey as a Source of Regional History. Qazrin (Hebrew; English summary). Hartal M. 2001. The Al-Subayba (Nimrod) Fortress: Towers 11 and 9 (IAA Reports 11). Jerusalem. Hartal M. 2005. The Land of the Ituraens: Archaeology and History of the Northern Golan in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods (Golan Studies 2). Qazrin (Hebrew; English summary). Hartal M. 2007. Banias, the Southwestern Tower. HA–ESI 119.  http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng. asp?id=503&mag_id=112. Hartal M. 2008a. Banias, Final Report. HA–ESI 120. http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng. asp?id=951&mag_id=114. Hartal M. 2008b. Banias, Final Report. HA–ESI 120. http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng. asp?id=713&mag_id=114. Hartal M. and Ma‘oz Z.U . 1985. Banias Salvage Excavations—1984. ESI 4:8–9. Heimann A. and Porat N. In preparation. Excavations at the Sanctuary of Pan, Baniyas: Geological Aspects. In Z.U . Ma‘oz. Paneion: Excavations at the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi, 1988–1993 (IAA Reports). Jerusalem. Israeli S. 2008. Area F: Stratigraphic Analysis of the ‘Burnt’ Street of Shops and Its Pottery. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 105–128. Josephus War: Josephus. The Jewish War. H. St.J. Thackeray transl. (L oeb Classical L ibrary). L ondon–New York 1927– 1928. Magness J. In preparation. Pottery from a Seventh Century CE Pit L ocus 243 (Stratum III). In Z.U . Ma‘oz. Paneion:

Excavations at the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi, 1988–1993 (IAA Reports). Jerusalem. Ma‛oz Z.U. 1993. Banias. NEAEHL I:136–143. Ma‛oz Z.U. 1998. The Sanctuary of Pan in Baniyas. Qadmoniot 115:18–25 (Hebrew). Ma‛oz Z.U. 1999. Coins and Temple—The Case of Caesarea Philippi–Paneas. INJ 13:90–102. Ma‘oz Z.U . In preparation. Paneion: Excavations at the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi, 1988–1993 (IAA Reports). Jerusalem. Mor D. 1986. The Volcanism of the Golan Heights. Geological Survey of Israel, Report GSI/5/86. Jerusalem (Hebrew; English summary). Netzer E. 1998. Where Did Herod Build the Temple Dedicated to Augustus at Banias? Qadmoniot 116:134– 135 (Hebrew). Olami Y. 1967. Survey in Baniyas. HA 24:35–37. Shaked I. 1993. Banias, the ‘Officer Pool’. ESI 13:7–8. Shaked I. 1998. The Settlement Pattern and the Road System in Hula Valley during the 10th–13th Centuries. M.A. thesis. Bar Ilan U niversity. Ramat Gan. Smithline H. 1986. Banias. HA–ESI 118. http://www. hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?id=311&mag_ id=111. Stepansky Y. 2004. Senir, Final Report. HA–ESI 116. http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng. asp?id=2&mag_id=108. Tahan H. and Hartal M. 2007. Har Dov (Khirbat Shab‘a). HA–ESI 119. http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_ eng.asp?id=490&mag_id=112. Tzaferis V. 1998. Ten Years of Archaeological Research at Baniyas. Qadmoniot 115: 2–17 (Hebrew). Tzaferis V. 2008. The Site: Stratigraphy and Architectural Remains. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 15–53. Tzaferis V. and Israeli S. 2008. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Wilson C.W. 1880. Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt II. L ondon.

Part Two The Paneas Aqueduct

Chapter 2

The Paneas Aqueduct Moshe Hartal

Caesarea Philippi-Paneas was the principal city of the Golan and Batanea regions in the Roman period. It was founded in 2/1 BCE by Philip, King Herod’s son. At its zenith, the city covered an area of some 750 dunams (see Chapter 1). The civic and religious center was established next to the Baniyas spring, the second largest source of the Jordan River. This spring

supplied water to most of the city through an extensive network of pipes and canals. This network has not yet been systematically studied, but its traces are evident at every excavation trench within the city (Ma‘oz 1993). Three suburbs of the city, east of the spring and northwest of it, however, were built on ground higher than the spring itself (Figs. 1.1, 2.1), and thus were

NW Cemetery

N. Si’on NW Suburb

Quarry

Baniyas Spring

Aqu

educ

t

N. Govta

NE Suburb Hermon Spur

NW Cemetery

Mugharet el-Wata Marj el-Wata

Fig. 2.1. Aerial view of the course of the aqueduct; looking northwest.

30

Mo she hartal

cut off from its water supply, which necessitated the construction of a 3 km long aqueduct to bring water from east of the city to these three suburbs. The aqueduct was first discovered by Guérin (1880:324), who thought that it brought water from ‘Ein Quneiyye to Baniyas. It was gradually forgotten, only to be ‘rediscovered’ during the Baniyas Survey of 1983 (see Chapter 1). From 1983 to 1989, a survey of its eastern and central parts was conducted and two small-scale test excavations were carried out.1 Along its eastern part, the aqueduct remains, visible above ground, were traced in the survey. The section of the aqueduct that descends into Nahal Govta is cut into bedrock and runs underground, passing through rocky terrain covered with dense scrub forest that is very difficult to traverse. In order to trace it, natural canals of karstic origin along the conjectured line of the aqueduct were investigated in rock clearings. Such canals were excavated until traces of plaster confirmed the existence of the aqueduct at that place. In order to facilitate the recording and documentation, 33 sections were arbitrarily designated along the eastern and central sections of the aqueduct (Sections 2–34). The distance between sections is not equal. Along stretches where the canal is clearly visible, sections were designated only at places where thorough documentation was deemed requisite (Sections 2–11). Along the stretch descending to Nahal Govta, all canals investigated were marked, as well as segments of the canal visible above ground. Sections 11 and 38, short segments of the aqueduct canal, were excavated to study the aqueduct’s dimensions and method of construction. Along the western part, west of Nahal Govta, the aqueduct is built on a hillside with no rocks visible. Because there was absolutely no trace of the aqueduct above ground, after a long period of futile exploration a new method of search, employing a backhoe, was devised in 1991. Using this method, we discovered the aqueduct canal in a trench cut by the backhoe. Trying to determine the run of the canal by cutting trenches at relatively large intervals generally failed. Finally, the most efficient method proved to be continuous uncovering of the canal by the backhoe. During the 1991 season, a long section of the canal was exposed, down to the cover stones. Selected segments were then manually cleaned and documented. At the very end of the section cleared that season (Section 43), the first distribution pools, including calices, clay pipes and iron strainers, were discovered. This led, in the

following seasons, to the enlargement of the clearing of the canal to a width of over one meter on the southern side of the canal. This in turn led to the discovery of many more distribution pools, which were excavated manually. Following this discovery, sections along the eastern part and along the beginning of the western part that had been left unexcavated were now excavated.2 Because of the complexity of the finds, the recording system was elaborated to include locus numbers for each installation, comprising the section number plus an extra digit. Thus, for example, the settling pool at Section 40 was designated Pool 401. A general plan of the course of the aqueduct was prepared, as well as detailed plans and cross sections of selected areas of the canal and of most of the installations. The gradient of the aqueduct course was measured by GPS (Global Positioning System) and an electronic theodolite. The elevation measurements were difficult to obtain because of the dense growth, especially along the descent to Nahal Govta and along several sections of the western part. As far as possible, the measurements were adjusted to the elevation of the floor of the aqueduct canal.

The Water Sources The beginning of the aqueduct was not located, as its upper section, passing through Marj el-Wata, had been destroyed by the turning of the earth in preparation for an orchard plantation. As there is no spring in the valley that could have served as a source for the aqueduct, it appears that the water was diverted from one of three streams flowing through it (see Fig. 1.1, and Chapter 1). Nahal Sa‘ar is the largest source of water near the aqueduct: the discharge of the Sa‘ar spring, the source of the stream, is 800 m3/h (Gilad and Glasman 1991:29). The stream runs in a deep, rocky gorge. If the stream served as the source of the aqueduct, then the aqueduct must have been cut or built into the side of the gorge along a long stretch, to divert the water at an elevation that would allow the water to flow by gravitation. However, inspection of the cliffs along the gorge revealed no evidence of any connection between Nahal Sa‘ar and the aqueduct. Two other streams cross Marj el-Wata between Nahal Sa‘ar and the first section where the aqueduct was discovered. The northern one is Wadi en-Naqib, passing between ‘Ein Quneiyye and the Hermon Spur. It is dry except during sporadic floods on rainy days;

31

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

therefore, it could not have served as a source of the aqueduct. The second one is Masil ‘Eisha, which drains the overflow of all of ‘Ein Quneiyye’s springs: ‘Ein el-Halali, discharging 15 m3/h, ‘Ein el-Hammam, discharging 20 m3/h, ‘Ein el-Shalale, discharging 60 m3/h (Gilad and Glasman 1991:28–29), as well as several smaller springs. Today, these springs serve to water the orchards, as Masil ‘Eisha dries up in the summer. It stands to reason that during the life span of the aqueduct the waters from the springs were apportioned for the use of the city of Paneas, so the stream carried water year-round. Masil ‘Eisha is therefore the most likely source of the Paneas aqueduct.

across it (Fig. 2.2). At sections distant from the city, the slabs were quarried nearby and were not dressed. At other sections, especially at the western part of the aqueduct, ashlars in secondary use were used to cover the canal. Table 2.1 summarizes the dimensions of the canal, the types of plaster present in the canal section, the presence of cover stones.

406

The Components of the Aqueduct The excavation of the aqueduct uncovered a complex water supply system to the city. To facilitate its interpretation, its major components will be described first. Each installation will be covered in detail in the section describing the route of the aqueduct.

0

0.5 m

Plan 2.1. Cross section of Canal 406.

The Aqueduct Canal. The most important component of the aqueduct is the canal. It must have started at the source of the aqueduct and continued uninterrupted to its terminus. It supplied all the other installations of the aqueduct with water, and through them the houses of the city. The cross section of the canal is rectangular (Plan 2.1), measuring 0.28–0.43 m in width and c. 0.50 m depth. It was cut in bedrock where practical, or bordered by a retaining wall. Its walls were constructed of fieldstones and squared stones, set in a matrix of gray concrete or, sometimes, of very hard red soil. The walls and floor were plastered, as were the tops of the walls. The canal was covered with stone slabs, laid

Fig. 2.2. Cover stones overlying the wall plaster of the walls of the canal (Section 45); looking north.

Table 2.1. The Aqueduct Canal Section

Width (cm)

Depth (cm)

3

Gray Plaster

Red-onGray Plaster

Cover Stones

Section

Width (cm) 28

Depth (cm)

Gray Plaster

Red-onGray Plaster

Cover Stones

+

17

6

43

+

18

+

10

40

+

19

+

11

33

20

+

+

21

+

12

55

+

+

13

40

+

22

14

29

+

23

15 16

48

+

+

24

+

25

+ 31

+ + +

32

Mo she hartal

Table 2.1 (cont.) Red-onGray Plaster

Cover Stones

Section

Width (cm)

26

+

+

42

35

27

+

44

34

28

+

45

34

+

46

+

47

Section

Width (cm)

Depth (cm)

Gray Plaster

29 30 31

+

32 33

+ 40

40

34

48 +

Red-onGray Plaster

Depth (cm)

Gray Plaster

Cover Stones

55

+ +

+

33

55

+

+

34

58

+

+

+

49

32

50

+

+

+

50

34

51

+

+

+

51

35

51

+

+

35

55

+

+

36

+

52

37

+

55

+

38

35

55

39

56

+

+

+ +

57

+ +

40

28

55

+

+

58

41

33

55

+

+

59

The Plaster. The original plaster of the canal contains a large quantity of charcoal and is gray. The outer face of plaster was smoothed and alternating horizontal and vertical herringbone patterns were incised while the plaster was still soft (Fig. 2.3). This type of finish is not known from other aqueducts; it appears to have served two purposes: it provided a better bond to the wall by the pressure applied; and it prepared the surface

35

+

for future repairs. In several locations repairs were found of ‘red-on-gray’ plaster, applied in two layers: a lower one of gray plaster, containing large amounts of charcoal, and an upper one containing potsherds. This type of plaster was distinguished in the eastern and central parts of the aqueduct, up to the limits of the northwestern suburb. The various plaster types are tabulated in Tables 2.1–2.3, 2.6, 2.7.

Fig. 2.3. Plaster with a horizontal and vertical herringbone pattern, on the south wall of Canal 512; looking south.

33

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Table 2.2. Settling Pools Pool

Length (cm)

Width (cm)

Depth (cm)

330

85

60

401

102

65

419

90

65

100

442

85

61

96

481

92

66

551

94

60

Depth of the Canal Floor (cm)

Plaster

Height of Shaft (cm)

Not cleared

Gray herringbone

No shaft

Gray herringbone

No shaft

Not found

Gray herringbone

85

43

Gray herringbone

Not preserved

112

37

Gray herringbone

Not preserved

140

28

Gray herringbone

178

Settling Pools. Six settling pools were found along the aqueduct. Their plan is uniform: a rectangular basin (0.65 × 0.85 m) with rounded corners. The pools are built directly in the canal and are effectively rectangular bulges along its course (Fig. 2.4), which slow the flow of water and cause the sediments to settle. The floors of the pools are c. 0.30 m lower than the floor of the canal; their walls and floors are plastered. The dimensions of the settling pools are tabulated in Table 2.2. Distribution Pools. The terminus of the aqueduct was not a central castellum, as is customary (Hodge

Fig. 2.4. Settling Pool 419, incorporated into the aqueduct canal, which is covered with stone slabs. Looking west.

1992:279–291). As the aqueduct canal passes outside the city at a higher elevation than that of the city houses, the distribution to the city was through a series of some twenty distribution pools placed along the canal. They join the canal via an opening in the canal wall or by a clay pipe. The outlet of each pool was a clay pipeline directing the water to the city (Fig. 2.5). Two pipes led out of several distribution pools. The pools served to regulate the water flow in the pipes according to predetermined schedules, by alternately opening or shutting the outlets to the end users. In contrast to the settling pools, no two distribution pools are alike. Some are constructed of fieldstones set in a matrix of gray concrete and plastered either with a gray plaster or with red-on-gray plaster. O thers are constructed of ashlars in secondary use. Two of the pools have floors consisting of broken tiles, and the floor of a third is built of fired bricks. The dimensions of the distribution pools are tabulated in Table 2.3.

Fig. 2.5. Distribution Pools 431 (left) and 433. At the bottom of the south wall, the outlets to two clay pipes. Looking south.

34

Mo she hartal

Table 2.3. Distribution Pools Pool

Plaster

Floor

Water Inlet

79

Length (cm) Width (cm) 65

66

Depth (cm) 27

Gray

Plaster

Pipe

2

42–72

126

Gray

Tiles

Canal

2

112

Gray herringbone

Bricks

Canal

Gray

Tiles

Canal

411

100

412

80

413

100

80

414

100

60

415

124

51

142

Calices

3

No. of Pipes

1 1

416

90

70

141

None

Plaster

Canal

2

417

90

60

30

Gray

Plaster

Pipe

1

418

130

431

65

50

55

Red-on-gray

Plaster

Calices

2

1

433

65

57

60

Gray

Plaster

Calices

4

1

Calices

2

435 462

102

72

144

Gray herringbone

Plaster

Canal

1

503

76–85

50

132

Gray

Plaster

?

1

513

51

36–47

34

None

Rock

?

2

515

60

60

165

Gray

Plaster

Pipe

1

525

80

45

50

Gray

Plaster

?

1

531

60

50

77

None

Rock

Canal

2 (4)

533

75

60

62

Gray

Plaster

Pipe

2

561

78

43

240

Gray

Tiles

Canal

1

Calices. In four of the distribution pools, the outlet from the canal to the pool passed through bores cut in a large ashlar block, which served as the wall of the pool. In three of the pools, the bores are conical at one end and cylindrical at the other. L ead pipes, some of which survive in situ, were inserted into the bores (Fig. 2.6). The conical part is 5.5 cm in diameter and the cylindrical part, 1.8 cm. The broad end of the lead pipe was attached to the stone by cutting the projecting end into three to four segments and folding them back against the stone. The pipes in Pool 435 are composed of two parts, inserted from either end of the hole (Fig. 2.7). In another pool, there is a stone with similar bores, but here the lead pipes were inserted only into the cylindrical portion of the bore (Fig. 2.8). These pipes transferred the water from the canal to the distribution pools. Similar pipes, made of bronze, were utilized in the water-supply system of Rome and were called calices (s. calix). In Rome, their manufacture was state controlled, as they served to allot measured quantities to each end user (Frontinus I, 36). There, the calices were installed in the outer wall of the distribution pool—the castellum. The end of the calices projected from the wall and connected to lead pipes (Fig. 2.9), which in turn carried the water to the houses (Frontinus II, 105; Forbes 1964:174).

The pipes found at Baniyas are similar in shape to the Roman calix but differ in two aspects: they are made of lead instead of bronze and they are fixed as the inlet to the distribution pool rather than as the outlet. Nevertheless, it would appear that they served a similar purpose: to dispense measured amounts of water. The clay pipes (discussed below), which carried the water from the pools, have a much larger diameter than that of the calices, making a direct coupling impossible. Thus, the calices were set as the inlet to the pools. This arrangement led, however, to the same result, as only one pipe exited each distribution pool. The volume of water flowing through each calix is determined by its diameter, so that the number of calices in each pool reflects the quantity of water allotted to its owner. In contrast to the detailed description of the calices in the L atin sources, they hardly appear in the archaeological record (Herschel 1899:206–209; Fabio and Fassitelli 1954:114; Grimal 1961:84, n. 70; Kretzschmer 1966:53, Fig. 90; Fahlbusch 1986:142, Bild 6; Bruun 1991:41–44; Hodge 1992:249–300), and Bruun (1991:44) argued that “there seems never to have existed a general practice of using such delivery-necks.” The calices discovered at Baniyas are the only ones known from Israel and among the very few known from the Roman world. The dimensions of the stones in which

35

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Fig. 2.6. Cross section of the calix from Distribution Pool 431. Fig. 2.8. Cross section of the calix from Distribution Pool 413.

Wall of distribution tank Bronze calix Lead solder 0

0.5

m

D

D

Fig. 2.7. Calix stone from Distribution Pool 435. Lead water pipe

220(min)

Table 2.4. Calix Stones Stone

Length (cm)

Height (cm)

Thickness (cm)

Number of Calices

413

50

28

12

3 (4)

431

77

47

17

2

433

65

57

11

4

435

60

45

12

2

D = diameter of delivery-pipe (fistula)

Fig. 2.9. Calix from the water-supply system of Rome (after Forbes 1964)

Table 2.5. Calix Diameters Calix

Bore in Stone

Lead

Conical (cm)

Straight (cm)

Straight (cm)

Thickness (cm)

413-1

7 × 7 × 10

4 × 4.5

Conical (cm)

2 × 3.9

0.9

413-2

7 × 7 × 10

4 × 4.5

2 × 3.9

0.9

413-3

7 × 7 × 10

4 × 4.5

2 × 3.9

0.9

431-1

8 × 8 × 5.5

5 × 10

6×6

3 × 10

0.1

431-2

9 × 9 × 5.5

5 × 10

6×6

3 × 10

0.1

433-1

12 × 10 × 5.5

5×4

433-2

10 × 10 × 5.5

5×4

433-3

10 × 10 × 6

5×4

433-4

10 × 9 × 6

5.5 × 6

1.5 × 5

1.25

435-1

11

3×6

435-2

10

3×7

36

Mo she hartal

the calices were set and their bore holes are tabulated in Table 2.4, and those of the calices, in Table 2.5. Shafts. L ong stretches of the aqueduct canal lie 0.50–2.00 m underground. Inspection shafts were built above the settling and distribution pools along these stretches in order to enable access. Their walls are constructed of hewn stones and in some cases are plastered. The shafts were covered with stone slabs, one of which survives in situ (551; Fig. 2.10). Next to Shaft 462 was a stone with a round bore, having apparently served as the shaft cover (Fig. 2.11). The shafts were found in varying states of preservation; some were completely destroyed. Their dimensions are tabulated in Table 2.6.

Fig. 2.10. Shaft over Settling Pool 551, covered with a large stone slab. To right, construction with small fieldstones, which closes a breach in the wall. Looking west.

Fig. 2.11. Cover stone of the shaft over Distribution Pool 462.

Table 2.6. Shafts Shaft

Length (cm)

411

72

412

80

413

100

Width (cm)

Height (cm)

42

126

80

Construction Technique

State of Preservation

Plaster None

Small hewn stones and crumbling concrete

Partial

Fieldstones and crumbling concrete

Partial

112

Small fieldstones and crumbling concrete

Partial

Fieldstones and crumbling concrete

Partial

Fieldstones and hewn stones set in concrete

Good

414

100

60

415

124

51

142

Built Over Distribution pool Not excavated

Gray with herringbone

Distribution pool

Gray

Distribution pool

Not excavated

416

90

70

141

Ashlars, fieldstones and crumbling concrete

Partial

None

Distribution pool

417

90

60

90

Ashlars, fieldstones and crumbling concrete

Partial

None

Distribution pool

L arge stones and crumbling concrete

Partial

65

85

Small fieldstones and crumbling concrete

Partial

None

Settling pool

418

130

419

90

Not excavated

462

102

72

144

Fieldstones and concrete

Good

None

Distribution pool

503

85

50

132

Fieldstones and concrete

Partial

None

Distribution pool

515

96

82

165

Small hewn stones and crumbling concrete

Good

None

Distribution pool

522

145

77

156

Ashlars, hewn stones and fieldstones set in crumbling concrete

Good

None

Main and subsidiary canals

525

80

45

100

Flat stones and crumbling concrete

Partial

None

Distribution pool

551

94

60

178

Hewn stones and crumbling concrete

Complete with cover stone

Gray with herringbone

Settling pool

561

78

43

240

Fieldstones and crumbling concrete

Good

None

Distribution pool

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

37

Table 2.7. Collection Cisterns Cistern

Length (cm)

Width (cm)

Depth (cm)

Volume (m3)

Plaster

78

279

270

170

12.81

Gray

541 original

340

170

170

9.82

Gray

541 addition

340

170

210

12.13

601

325

295

70

6.71

Gray, incised with crosshatch pattern Gray, herringbone pattern, red-on-gray

Collection Cisterns. Three collection cisterns were discovered along the aqueduct. Cistern 78 (see Fig. 2.25) is located at the northeastern corner of Marj elWata and is built on the slopes above the valley. Two pipes lead out of it, serving to water the fields in the valley. Cistern 541 (see Fig. 2.96) is south of Enclosure 53. It has no outlets and it is unclear how it was utilized. Cistern 601 (see Fig. 2.114) is at the terminus of the aqueduct; several clay pipes lead from it toward the western part of the city. The dimensions and volumes of the cisterns are tabulated in Table 2.7. Clay Pipes. Clay pipes were cheaper than canals and healthier than lead pipes (Vitruvius VIII 6, 10). They ran between the distribution pools of the aqueduct and the houses of the city. They comprise 0.35–0.45 m long segments. The majority of the segments have a diameter of 0.10–0.12 m, and some a diameter of 0.16–0.21 m (Table 2.8). O ne end is wider than the other (Figs. 2.12, 2.13). The segments were connected by inserting the narrow end of one into the wide end of the next. The joints were then sealed with lime (Vitruvius VIII 6, 8). The pipeline was laid in trenches cut in the ground and covered with ash and small stones. The pipelines are seldom straight and frequently change direction. As all segments are straight, a change in direction was achieved by laying two connecting segments at a slight angle to each other (see Fig. 2.75). Strainers. In most cases, the pipeline began at the wall of the distribution pools. The outlet was usually equipped with a strainer, to exclude debris. The strainers are made of several, 3–5 mm thick, iron rods that are fixed to the pipe and cross in the middle (Fig. 2.14). O ne pipe was equipped with a strainer made up of crisscross rods (Fig. 2.15). In the case of the two distribution pools, which have two pipes each, one pipe is equipped with a strainer and the other is not (Fig. 2.16); the reason for this remains unclear. As

Fig. 2.12. Segments of the wide pipe (611) at the terminus of the aqueduct. Right, segment of Pipe 613, representative of the majority of pipes along the aqueduct.

Fig. 2.13. Three parallel pipelines at the terminus of the aqueduct (Section 61); looking west.

38

Mo she hartal

Table 2.8. Clay Water Pipes Pipe

Strainer

Segment Length (cm)

3 74

42

75 78 upper

60

Inner Diameter (cm)

Wall Thickness (cm)

10

1.0

19

1.0

16

1.5

6

0.5

9

0.8

79

24

11

1.0

83

41

10

1.0

78

411 east 411 west

12 +

10

413

12

415 416 east 416 west

10 +

417

10 35

10

0.6

431

+

10

1.0

433

+

10

1.0

436 462

+

463

+

26

13

0.7

11.5

0.7

481

34

10

0.9

494

34

10

1.0

10

1.0

503

+

Pipe 1

44

10

0.8

Pipe 2

44

10

0.8

Pipe 3

39

8

0.9

512

30

10.5

0.9

10.5

0.8

513 east 513 west 515

+

40

522 525

+

10

0.7

11

0.8

11.5

0.7

12

0.8

526

38

10

0.8

527

34

12

0.8

528

34

12

0.8

532 north

32

12

0.8

532 south

32

13

0.8

8

1.0

9

0.7

533 western lower 533 western upper 533 southern lower

42

12

+

534

42

8

0.9

535

35

8

0.9

536

48

9

0.6

537

42

8

0.9

553

37

12

0.9

12

0.8

555

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

39

with the calices, these strainers are unique in Israel to this aqueduct and are among the few known anywhere (Hodge 1992:279, 455 n. 8). Pipes containing strainers are noted in Table 2.8. Chute. A chute was built in the canal section above Marj el-Wata. The chute consists of a canal (width 0.25 m) descending from the aqueduct at right angles to the slope (Fig. 2.17). The chute is built along the upper third of the slope, and it remains unclear how it reached the bottom of the hill. The chute was used to bring water to the fields in the valley.

Fig. 2.14. Iron strainer in the outlet of the clay pipe in Distribution Pool 503; looking south.

Fig. 2.15. Distribution Pool 515. Iron strainer in the outlet of the original pipe; looking west.

Fig. 2.16. Distribution Pool 411, the clay pipes. Pipe to right is fitted with an iron strainer; looking south.

Fig. 2.17. Chute 71; looking north.

40

Mo she hartal

The Course of the Aqueduct

After some 200 m, the aqueduct turns at an angle of 135º (Section 3) away from the rock outcrop. At the elbow, a distinct part of the canal wall survives, constructed of fieldstones set in a concrete matrix (Plan 2.2). The wall is 0.30 m wide and across it, at an elevation slightly higher than the canal bottom, a clay pipe, which probably served to distribute water to the fields below, was found (Fig. 2.20). At the northern margin of Marj el-Wata is Mugharet el-Wata, a large karstic cave (see Figs. 1.1:53, 2.1), and east of it a quarry which damaged the aqueduct. Beyond the quarry the aqueduct is visible again. The aqueduct here is cut in the rock above the cave (Section 5) and its southern retaining wall is well built. It continues west

The course of the aqueduct can be divided into three fundamentally different sections (Figs. 2.18, 2.19). The Eastern Section

795 250

Height (meters above sea level)

430 420 410 400 390 380 370 0

500

1000 1500 2000 Distance (meters from the source)

52 0

0

NE Cemetery Mugharet el-Wata Marj el-Wata

E Suburb

Aqueduct

on

erm

264 750

265 250

Fig. 2.18. Map of the aqueduct.

265 500

0

N

264 500

0

0

0

44

Quarry

340

lH aha

795 000

46

794 750

400

0 38

Pan Cave yas Bani ng Spri

360

50

48

NW Suburb

795 000

265 750

265 500

265 250

ta

ov

lG

3000

795 250

Bridge

NW Cemetery ha Na

2500

Fig. 2.19. The aqueduct gradient. To left, the east section; center, the descent to Nahal Govta; right, the west section.

265 000

264 500

264 750

The eastern section (length c. 1200 m) passes along the northern margin of Marj el-Wata, to the watershed above the Baniyas spring. The aqueduct here is a canal, partly cut in bedrock and partly supported by retaining walls. Its gradient is slight, as it was essential to steer it over the cliff situated above the Baniyas (Pan) cave. a chute and a collection cistern were excavated in this section. No settling and distribution pools were found. The aqueduct is first visible at the northwestern corner of Marj el-Wata (Section 2), at the elevation of the valley floor. It apparently originated in the valley, in Masil ‘Eisha. Above the presumed course of the aqueduct, at the eastern end of the valley, remains of a settlement from the Roman period, Kh. el-Wata, were discovered (see Fig. 1.1:52; Hartal 1989:23–24, Site 1.13). After leaving the valley, the aqueduct winds along a contour line at the foot of the Hermon Spur, which encloses the valley on the north (see Fig. 2.1). Along this section the northern wall of the aqueduct canal is cut in the rock, while the southern wall was built and only partially survives.

250 m

794 750

41

1

1

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

0

1

m

0

1

m

Plan 2.3. Cross section of the canal at Section 6.

1-1

◄ Plan 2.2. Section 3, plan and cross section.

Fig. 2.20. Section 3. Clay pipe in the wall of the aqueduct canal; looking north.

along a steep slope and passes through the northeastern cemetery on its way to the city limit (Hartal 1989:18, Site 1.04 and Chapter 4, below). Some 50 m west of the cave, the aqueduct canal (Section 6) lies between two wide walls (0.80 m, 0.90 m), constructed of fieldstones and hewn stones set in a hard concrete (Plan 2.3; Fig. 2.21). Two layers of gray plaster, with a thin layer of travertine between them, coat the canal. The canal is elliptical in cross section and measures 0.43 m across. Five layers of travertine, altogether 5 cm thick, accumulated over the plaster. Each layer is made up of dozens of very thin layers (Fig. 2.22). This banding is the result of seasonal fluctuations of the water flow, which in turn depends on the great difference in the discharge of the springs

Fig. 2.21. Canal at Section 6, between two wide walls; looking east.

Fig. 2.22. Layering of travertine accumulated on the canal wall at Section 6.

in winter and summer. The thickness of the travertine deposit indicates a very long period of use.

42

Mo she hartal

Fig. 2.23. High retaining wall; looking northeast.

Fifty meters further to the west, the canal is built on a 2 m high retaining wall (Fig. 2.23). This wall is constructed of fieldstones and hewn stones set in concrete. West of this wall the aqueduct is destroyed, and only non-contiguous vestiges of its floor survive (Section 7). The first cluster of water distribution installations is found at this point, above the northwestern corner of Marj el-Wata (Plan 2.4). At the eastern end of this cluster is a chute (71) that consists of a canal descending from the aqueduct at right angles to the slope (see Fig. 2.17). The eastern side of the chute is cut in the rock, while the western side comprises a 3.80 m wide retaining wall, which is constructed of small hewn stones set in concrete. The rock-hewn canal in the chute (width 0.25 m) was plastered. A 7 cm thick travertine layer covers the bottom of the chute. The vertical elevation difference of the chute is c. 2.40 m. It forms steps as it descends, and along two of these steps the gradient is c. 80%. The average gradient is 60% (Plan 2.4). The chute is built along the upper third of the slope. It remains unclear how it reached the bottom of the hill. Approximately 1.80 m west of the chute, a clay pipe (74), with an inner diameter of 0.19 m, exits the aqueduct. The pipe lies in a natural karstic canal and descends very steeply (Fig. 2.24). Seven of its segments, some partly broken, survive along 2.50 m. Travertine is deposited on the inside of the pipe. The juncture of the pipe and the aqueduct canal is destroyed. A wall constructed of fieldstones (W72) passed from the southwestern corner of the chute to Cistern 78 (Plan 2.4), cut the pipe and rendered it unusable. When the pipe was laid, a similar wall was cut c. 0.5 m north of

Fig. 2.24. Pipe 74, descending from the aqueduct canal in a natural canal and cut by W72 (center). To left, Cistern 78; below, the original ground level east of the cistern (L73). Looking north.

W72. A coin dated 335–337 CE (Chapter 3: Coin No. 4), found in the upper part of the pipe, indicates that, at least by the fourth century CE, the pipe had gone out of use. Another coin, dated to the third century CE (Chapter 3: Coin No. 3), was discovered in the aqueduct canal at Section 70.

43

1

3

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

70

2

2 74

71 W72a

# #

#

3

75

76 77

#

W72

73

78

70 0

2

m

79

1

75 76

78 79

1-1

71

2-2

3-3 0

1

m

Plan 2.4. Section 7, plan and cross sections.

44

Mo she hartal

Cistern 78 is built next to Pipe 74. It measures 2.70 × 2.80 m and is 1.70–1.80 m deep (Plan 2.4; Figs. 1.1:54, 2.25). Its walls and floor are coated with two layers of gray plaster. The outer face is covered with gray plaster as well, incised with a crosshatched pattern similar to that of the plaster in the second phase of Cistern 541 (see Fig. 2.97). The northern wall survives in its entirety and its top is plastered. The eastern and western walls are partly destroyed and the plaster poorly preserved. The southern wall, facing the slope, suffered more damage than the rest, and its western extremity is almost

completely missing. Four steps, attached to the western wall, descend into the cistern (Fig. 2.26). Vestiges of plaster survive on some of the steps. a clay pipe, 6 cm in diameter, was laid across the top of the western wall to drain the overflow from the cistern. The floor of the cistern consists of a layer of plaster over a foundation of pebbles. The floor slopes toward the southwestern corner, where a clay pipe, 9 cm in diameter, drains the cistern into a distribution pool (79), attached directly to the cistern. This small pool (0.65 × 0.65 m, depth 0.27 m) is constructed of hewn stones plastered over with gray

Fig. 2.25. Cistern 78. Below, Distribution Pool 79; above the cistern, Platforms 76 (to right) and 77. Looking north.

Fig. 2.26. Cistern 78, the west wall. At top, outlet of overflow drain pipe; to left, steps leading into the cistern. Looking west.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

plaster that covers the floor as well. The southern wall and part of the western wall did not survive. Two clay pipes, both 11 cm in diameter, lead out of the pool, one to the west and the other to the east (see Fig. 2.25). Both pipes end at the outer face of the pool, without any visible continuation. Cistern 78 is built at the foot of a cliff, some 3 m below the aqueduct canal. Above its northern wall there are two small plastered platforms (76, 77) about 0.5 m wide, separated by a brick wall 0.45 m wide (see Fig. 2.25). The bricks slant downward (Fig. 2.27). The wall may have served as a chute directing the water flow from the aqueduct, via Platform 75 (see below), to Cistern 78. There are traces of water flow under the northern wall of the cistern. The platforms are bounded on either side by thin brick walls and on the north by a 0.70 m high wall constructed against the rock. Above this wall and 0.75 m below the aqueduct canal is another platform (75; 0.60 × 1.20 m). At the southern extremity of this platform, where the plastered floor did not survive, there is a vertical section of a clay pipe 16 cm in diameter, set in the floor (Fig. 2.27). The plaster of the upper platforms (75, 76, 77) lies on a bed of potsherds. Some of these sherds, still bearing fragments of plaster (Fig. 2.28:1, 3, 4), were found inside the fill of Cistern 78.

45

Cistern 78 was deliberately filled to half its depth with building stones and soil. As the nearby area was not inhabited, the material for the fill must have been brought from the city. The finds in the fill (Fig. 2.28) date to the third–fourth centuries CE and thus place the terminus post quem of the cistern’s use in the fourth century. Even after the filling in of the cistern, large quantities of water flowed over it, as evidenced by a 0.90 m high layer of silt that accumulated over the fill. The installations in Section 7 (Chute 71, Pipe 74 and Cistern 78) served to water the agricultural plots in Marj el-Wata. The width of the aqueduct canal up to this point is 0.43 m, greater than at subsequent sections (see Table 2.1). This may be due to the large volume of water carried by the aqueduct to irrigate the fields and for use in the city, whose easternmost houses were built not far from Section 7. The three installations did not function concurrently. It appears that Chute 71 was built first, possibly leading to a cistern or directly to distribution pools near the fields. In the next phase, Pipe 74 was installed parallel to the chute or as a replacement for it. During the laying of this pipe, part of W72a was dismantled. This wall was attached to the western side of the chute and continued west of the pipe and behind Cistern 78. Cistern 78 was built in the third phase. Its function, perhaps, was to collect excess

Fig. 2.27. Platform 76. A vertical pipe is embedded in the wall above it. To left, plastered brick wall separating Platforms 76 and 77. Looking northwest.

46

Mo she hartal

2 1

3 4

5

6

8

7

9

10

Fig. 2.28. Pottery from the fill in Cistern 78. No.

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

Parallels

1

1372/1

Bowl

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.5:4, 5

2

1372/11

Bowl

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.5:4, 5

3

1372/2

Bowl

Reddish yellow

Berlin 1999: Fig. 121:7, 8

4

1372/3

Cooking bowl

Reddish yellow clay, gray core

Berlin, in preparation

5

1372/6

Cooking pot

Pink

6

1372/5

Juglet

Pink

See Fig. 10.7:3–5

7

1372/4

Juglet

L ight red

See Fig. 10.7:3–5

8

1372/8

Juglet

Pink

See Fig. 10.7:7

9

1372/9

Pithos

Pinkish gray

Hartal 2005: Fig. 51:1

10

1372/10

L amp

Gray

See Fig. 10.8:11

water during the night hours and disperse it during the following day. With the building of Cistern 78 there was no longer a need for Pipe 74. Wall 72, erected between the chute wall and the cistern wall, cut Pipe 74 and ended its use. The outer plaster of Cistern 78 is identical to the last phase of Cistern 541, from the third or the fourth centuries (see below, pp. 89–91), so it apparently was built contemporaneously. The cistern was constructed on a steep slope and the pressure on its sides was great. Eventual cracks in the sides, as a result of normal weathering or earthquakes, caused its abandonment. It was then partly filled with building debris containing third–fourth-century CE material (see above). The finds in L 73, which is the original surface outside the cistern (Fig. 2.29; Chapter 3: Coin

No. 5), indicates that the installations were in use up to the fifth century CE. West of Cistern 78, the aqueduct continues along a contour line. After a few meters it disappears, except for a few vestigial wall remains, only to reappear again some 500 m further on, beyond the quarry on the watershed. In Section 8, between the chute and the quarry, the aqueduct passes along the northern boundary of the northeastern suburb of Paneas. It stands to reason that along this section there were various installations to provide water to this suburb, which lies higher than the Baniyas spring. The aqueduct here is buried underground and its installations have not yet been discovered. West of Tomb 800, which was built next to the aqueduct course (see Chapter 4, below), part

47

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

1 2

3

4

5

Fig. 2.29. Pottery from outside Cistern 78 (L73). No.

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

Parallels

1

1373/4

Bowl

Red

Berlin, in preparation

2

1373/5

Cooking pot

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.6:12, 13

3

1373/3

Jug

Reddish yellow

4

1373/2

L amp

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.8:10

5

1373/1

L amp

Pink

Hartal 2005: Figs. 151, 152

of a clay pipe (83), which descended from the aqueduct canal toward the city, was discovered (see Fig. 4.10). The Descent to Nahal Govta The second section (c. 500 m in length) passes on the northern side of the spur, from the watershed down to Nahal Govta. Here the aqueduct is cut in bedrock and covered with stone slabs. O ne settling pool was found. In this section the gradient of the aqueduct is very steep, to allow for a low bridge over the stream. O n the watershed of the spur, some 60 m above the Baniyas spring, there is a large quarry for building stone (Section 9; see above, p. 24), which destroyed part of the aqueduct. The quarry is thus later than the aqueduct. Comparison of the quarrying technique here (see Fig. 1.34) to that at Nimrod Fortress shows that it was used in the Mamluk period (Hartal 2001:61). A section of the aqueduct was discovered at the western boundary of the quarry. This section (10; width 0.40 m) was built in a crack in the rock that was somewhat widened and straightened (Plan 2.5; Fig. 2.30). Beyond the crack, the canal walls are 0.40 m wide and are constructed of hewn stones set in concrete. O nly the lower 0.30 m of

the canal survives at this point. It is coated with a gray plaster containing large amounts of gravel. The plaster is smoothed and has a herringbone pattern. A 2 cm thick layer of travertine covered the bottom of the canal. A one-meter-long segment of the aqueduct canal (110; Fig. 2.31) was excavated about 80 m northwest of the quarry. The canal here is 0.55 m deep and its width tapers

10

0

Plan 2.5. cross section of Canal 10.

0.5

m

48

Mo she hartal

Fig. 2.30. Canal 10 above the Baniyas spring (in background); to left, the quarry. Looking south.

Fig. 2.31. Canal 110 and its cover stones (111); looking north.

from 0.33 m wide at the top to 0.20 m at the bottom (Plan 2.6). The canal is covered with a gray plaster with a herringbone pattern; the plaster is applied to the top of the walls, as well. A layer of travertine covers the bottom. The canal is covered with stone slabs (111; 0.35 × 0.60 m, thickness 0.10–0.15 cm). After passing the area of the cliff, the engineering requirements of the planners changed. Whereas along the first stretch they sought to keep the aqueduct level, here they needed to achieve the opposite: to bring the aqueduct to the lowest point to cross Nahal Govta. The aqueduct had to descend a vertical height of 25 m along c. 500 m of slope. The gradient is not consistent; at some points it is very steep, whereas at most points it is gentler. This stretch was far from the inhabited sections of the city (Fig. 2.32). The aqueduct canal is built into natural cracks characteristic of the karstic rock of the spur. The canal here is 0.35 m wide and its walls were coated with a herringbone-patterned gray plaster, which appears to be the original plaster. At some places beyond Section 17, especially along

steep gradients, red-on-gray plaster repairs were observed. The canal was covered with stone slabs, some surviving in situ. The slabs were quarried on site and were not dressed.

110

0

0.5

m

Plan 2.6. Cross section of canal 110.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Bridge

Fig. 2.32. Nahal Govta. The aqueduct descends on the northern slope of the Hermon Spur (on the right), crosses Nahal Govta at its narrow point and continues at the bottom of the slope on the left. In foreground, the west plantation; at the top of the spur, Nimrod Fortress. Looking east.

Along this stretch down the slope, no installations whatsoever were found. The possibility that a branch of the aqueduct fed the public building which was located on the western terrace above the spring (Netzer 1998) was discarded for lack of evidence. A settling pool (330; 0.60 × 0.85 m, more than 0.80 m deep) was built at the foot of the slope (Fig. 2.33). The pool has rounded corners and gray plaster with a herringbone pattern. From the settling pool, the aqueduct descends at a gentle gradient along the cliff of the streambed, turns north in a direction perpendicular to the stream and ends abruptly at a cliff top, some 7 m above the streambed (Section 34). The bottom of the canal at this point was cleared (341); it consists of a layer of gray plaster over a bed of small fieldstones set in concrete (Fig. 2.34). The cliff probably served as a foundation for the southern pier of a bridge that carried the aqueduct over the stream (Fig. 1.1:58). No remains of the pier itself were found. About 10 m across the stream from the cliff and 5 m from the edge of the stream, the northern pier of the bridge was discovered (351; Plan 2.7). The pier was constructed of ashlars, without mortar. The foundations of the pier were laid on a bed of small fieldstones. O ver this, two courses of building stones remain (Fig. 2.35). The lower one is constructed of two ashlars, 1.50 m long, 0.54 m wide and 0.50 m high. Both stones were laid perpendicular to the direction of the aqueduct. O ver these was a single ashlar of the second course. Two other, fallen ashlars lay nearby. Next to and north

Fig. 2.33. Settling Pool 330; looking south.

Fig. 2.34. Rock-cut Canal 341, perpendicular to the cliff edge above Nahal Govta; looking north.

49

50

Mo she hartal

1 L34

L351

1

1 L352

0

4

m

L341

L351

1-1 Plan 2.7. Bridge across Nahal Govta, plan and reconstruction.

The Western Section

Fig. 2.35. Bridge foundations (351); looking north.

of the pier, in line with the course of the aqueduct, was a pile of rubble and soil (352), probably remains of an embankment that supported the aqueduct until it reached the hill side without losing height. No traces of the aqueduct canal were found on this ramp, nor on the slope next to it.

The western section of the aqueduct (c. 1150 m in length), from Nahal Govta to the western suburb, consists of a canal, mostly cut into the conglomerate and covered with stone slabs. Along this section, the incline is again gentle. Throughout most of its length, this section passes near the northern perimeter of the northwestern suburb and contains many installations for supplying water to the houses. Five settling pools, nineteen distribution pools, two collection cisterns and three lines of clay pipes were excavated in this section. As explained above, the aqueduct traversed Nahal Govta at the lowest practical point. West of this point therefore, the planners of the aqueduct again had to maintain a consistently slight gradient. Just beyond the dense scrub where Embankment 352 is located, the aqueduct canal is again visible (Section 36). Its course keeps to a contour line. The canal was covered with stone slabs that survive at certain points. About 250 m west of the bridge the aqueduct enters a rocky area (Section 37). At some points along this stretch the cover slabs are visible above ground.

51

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

No traces of the aqueduct were found within the orchard. Any traces were probably destroyed when the field was prepared for planting. Beyond the orchard, the rock changes into a pebble conglomerate (Si’on Formation; see Mor 1986:104). The continuation of the aqueduct was excavated by mechanical means, at depths ranging from 0.50 to 3 m below the surface. The aqueduct canal at this point is carved into the rock and covered with stone slabs, most in secondary use. The aqueduct itself does not enter the city, but passes along the slope above, some 70–100 m from the city boundary. Along it are settling pools and distribution pools that provide water to the city. Along the western section, the aqueduct passes within the northwestern cemetery and apparently near some workshops, some for pottery manufacture; a large quantity of pottery wasters was found nearby. The aqueduct ends at the western edge of the city, in a cistern from which clay pipes distributed water to the houses. The first installation west of the orchard is a settling pool (401), which was constructed as a broadening of the canal (Plan 2.9). It measures 0.65 × 1.20 m, with

Beyond the rocky area, the aqueduct enters an open field which today contains an orchard. A short section of the aqueduct (381) was excavated near the fence of the orchard. An area 1.10 × 1.20 m was cleared. The wall tops of the aqueduct canal were visible, as they turn to the northwest. Here the aqueduct is built next to a large rock. The outer wall is 0.15 m wide, supported on the outside by a 0.40 m wide band of fieldstones without mortar. The aqueduct canal was excavated to its bottom along a 0.60 m long section. The canal here is 0.55 m deep and 0.35 m wide (Plan 2.8). Its walls (including the tops) and bottom are coated with red-on-gray plaster.

381 0

0.5

m

Plan 2.8. Cross section of canal 381.

2

1 402

403

400

1

2

401

404

402 400 401 1-1 First Phase L405

403 0

2

401 m 2-2 Second Phase

Plan 2.9. Settling Pool 401, plan and sections.

402

52

Mo she hartal

rounded corners and gray plaster with a herringbone pattern. In a second phase, the northern end of the pool (402) was filled in by means of a cornice piece with dentils, probably taken from one of the city’s public buildings (Figs. 2.36, 2.37). The piece was inserted upended into the pool and coated with red plaster. At this stage the remaining part of the pool was covered with red-on-gray plaster. The pool of this phase was only 0.55 m wide and c. 0.60 m deep. The floor of the pool was not found. South of Pool 401, two other pools were located, but not excavated (Plan 2.9). They are constructed of fieldstones and hewn stones, and plastered with gray plaster. Pool 404 (0.70 × 1.80 m) is located 0.50 m from the aqueduct canal. A corner of Pool 405 (1.00 × 1.20 m) was cleared some 2 m from the aqueduct canal. West of Pool 401, the aqueduct survives intact for 125 m (Section 40). It is covered with dressed stone

slabs and some ashlars in secondary use. About 45 m west of Pool 401, one of the cover slabs was removed and the canal excavated (406). The cross section of the canal at this point is rectangular (see Plan 2.1) and measures 0.28 m wide and 0.55 m deep. The walls are 0.20 m wide, constructed of hewn stones and fieldstones and coated with a 4 cm thick gray plaster in a herringbone pattern; the top of the wall is plastered as well. A 2 mm thick layer of travertine covered the plaster. The plaster of the floor did not survive. Some 5 m further west, the first of a cluster of distribution pools was found along a 35 m long stretch. At this section (41), the aqueduct approaches the northwestern suburb (Plan 2.10). The pools are built next to the aqueduct canal, which is covered with stone slabs (Figs. 2.38, 2.39). The canal itself was not excavated.

Fig. 2.36. Settling Pool 401. To right and left, cover stones of Canal 400. The pool was reduced in capacity by inserting a cornice piece in secondary use. The plaster of the original pool (402) is visible to the right of the stone. Looking north.

0

0.5 m

Fig. 2.37. The cornice piece in secondary use that blocked part of Settling Pool 401.

Fig. 2.38. The cover stones of the canal along Section 41. At bottom left, Distribution Pool 411; above it, the wall of Installation 412; and above that, Distribution Pool 413. Looking west.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

53

419

Fig. 2.39. Aerial view of Section 41; looking south.

418

Distribution Pool 411 (0.42–0.72 × 1.10 m) is the first in the series of pools. It is trapezoidal in shape (Plan 2.11) and is connected to the aqueduct via a canal 0.70 m long and 0.34 m wide. The bottoms of both pool and canal are paved with broken tiles (Fig. 2.40). The walls are constructed of small, hewn stones set in crumbling concrete. The remains of a shaft, of which only the eastern wall survives, were found above the pool. No plaster remains on either the walls or the floor. Two clay pipes open at the bottom of the southern wall of the pool (see Fig. 2.16). The western pipe (inner diam. 0.10 m) is positioned 4 cm above the floor of the pool. A strainer consisting of four crossed iron nails is set across the pipe’s opening, 6 cm inside the pipe. The eastern pipe (inner diam. 0.12 m) is flush with the bottom of the pool and does not have a strainer. The wall above the western pipe is destroyed; it is possible that this pipe is a later addition. About 0.75 m west of Pool 411, a wall, constructed of fieldstones set in crumbling concrete, was observed in the side of the excavation trench. The wall is 0.80 m wide and runs parallel to the aqueduct canal, 0.80 m south of it. This wall is apparently part of a distribution pool (412), which was not excavated.

417

412

416

415

414

413

412

0

3

m 411

◄ Plan 2.10. Section 41, plan.

54

Mo she hartal

412

411

1

1 411

1-1

0

1

m

Plan 2.11. Distribution Pool 411, plan and cross section.

414

413

1

1

412

Fig. 2.40. Distribution Pool 411; looking south.

Distribution Pool 413 (0.80 × 1.00 m; depth 1.12 m) lies 1.60 m west of W412 (Plan 2.12; Fig. 2.41). Its walls are constructed of small fieldstones set in crumbling concrete and are coated with gray plaster with a herringbone pattern. O nly a small section of plaster, set over some potsherds, remains on the northern wall. The water entered the pool through a 0.12 × 0.12 m opening in the canal wall of the aqueduct. An ashlar, in which three square holes are cut, is set on the bottom of the pool (Fig. 2.41). Each hole contains a section of a round lead pipe, serving as a calix (see above, p. 34).

0

1

m

413

1-1 Plan 2.12. Distribution Pool 413, plan and cross section.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Fig. 2.41. Distribution Pool 413. General view, looking south. In center, the calix stone; at bottom, the cover stones of the aqueduct canal.

Fig. 2.42. Calix stone in Distribution Pool 413.

Fig. 2.43. Calix stone in Distribution Pool 413.

55

The square holes (Fig. 2.42) replace the conical section of the calices, while the lead pipe sections were set only in the cylindrical part of the bore and were the functional part of the water dispensing system (see Fig. 2.8). Each lead pipe is 3.9 cm long, with an outer diameter of 3.0 cm and an inner diameter of 1.9 cm (Fig. 2.43). Apparently, the stone originally closed off the full width of the pool and may have contained an extra calix. At a later phase, the calices went out of use and were found full of small stones and earth, but it is not clear whether or not they were filled in deliberately. At this stage the eastern end of the stone was broken off and a 0.20 m wide passage for water was created. The floor of the pool between the calix stone and the southern wall is paved with fired bricks. This paving does not exist on the other side of the calix stone. This part served as a settling pool. A clay pipe is set at the bottom of the southern wall. The pipe is 12 cm in inner diameter, but because the bottom part of the wall is damaged, it cannot be determined if there was an iron strainer across the opening. Remains of Pool 414 (0.60 × 1.00 m) lie west of Pool 413 (Plan 2.10). Pool 414 shares its eastern wall with Pool 413, but its northeastern wall is missing. It was found full of stones and was excavated only down to the covering stones of the aqueduct. This was apparently yet another distribution pool. Distribution Pool 415 (0.51 × 1.24 m) is the only pool built north of the aqueduct canal (Plan 2.13). Its walls are constructed of both hewn stones and fieldstones, set in gray concrete which contains considerable amounts of gravel, and are coated with gray plaster. The floor of the pool is paved with tile fragments set in gray plaster (Fig. 2.44). The water entered the pool through an opening in the northern wall of the aqueduct and then through a canal measuring 0.16 m wide and 0.16 m deep. This canal is also paved with broken tile fragments. The water outlet is at the northern end of the western wall, 0.10 m above the floor (Fig. 2.45). The outlet is 16 cm in diameter, and within it were found fragments of a clay pipe. Remains of a shaft were identified above the pool, surviving to a height of 1.40 m. Three of its walls descend from the (original) ground level to the bottom of the pool and are plastered throughout. The southern wall, which is nearest to the aqueduct canal, begins only 0.90 m above the pool floor and survives to a height of 0.25 m. It is plastered as well. The pool continues under this wall, up to the canal wall, constructed here of fieldstones set in gray

2

2

56

Mo she hartal

2

1 415 415

1 1

1

415 415

415

412

1 2

1-1

415

0

1

m

1-1

0

1

412

2

1-1

m

1

m

415 412

415 412

415

2-2 Plan 2.13. Distribution Pool 415, plan and cross sections.2-2

412

2-2

Fig. 2.44. Distribution Pool 415, the tile-fragment floor. Under the top stone is the connection to the canal. Looking south.

Fig. 2.45. Distribution Pool 415, the west wall. The recess (to left) may have served as a ladder. At bottom right, the outlet to the clay pipe. Looking west.

57

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

1

concrete and not plastered. In the western wall of the shaft are two square recesses, one near the surviving top of the wall and the other some 0.20 m below. In the eastern wall there is a similar recess, somewhat lower. These recesses apparently served to facilitate access into the shaft. This is the only device of its kind found along the aqueduct. O pposite the southern wall of the shaft, the covering stone of the aqueduct canal is 0.10 m lower than on either side of it. This creates a shallow canal, opening into the gap remaining between the canal wall and the southern wall of Pool 415. A wall constructed of fieldstones approaches this shallow canal from the south, clearly seen in the excavation trench section. This wall is part of an installation that was not excavated. Distribution Pool 416 (0.70 × 0.90 m, depth 1.41 m; Plan 2.14) is built of small ashlars set in gray concrete. The top of the southern wall is composed of two doorposts, with the gap between them filled with small fieldstones (Fig. 2.46). The distance between the doorposts (0.40 m) is too small to have served as a passage; they are apparently in secondary use. No traces of plaster were discerned on the walls, although on the floor some such remains were found, with clay pipe fragments embedded in it. The water outlet from the aqueduct to the northeastern corner of the pool was through a 0.20 m wide × 0.32 m high opening. O utlets to two clay pipes, both 0.10 m in inner diameter, were

412

1 416

1

0

1

m

416

1-1 Plan 2.14. Distribution Pool 416, plan and cross section.

Fig. 2.46. Distribution Pool 416. The upper part of the south wall (at top) is constructed of small stones between two doorposts. The outlets of two pipes are visible at the bottom of the pool. In foreground, the cover stones of the canal. Looking south.

58

Mo she hartal

located in the southern wall of the pool (Fig. 2.47). An iron strainer is installed in the western pipe. Distribution Pool 417 (0.60 × 0.90 m, depth 0.30 m) is constructed of hewn stones and fieldstones set in gray concrete and coated with gray plaster (Plan 2.15). The water entered through a pipe in the northeastern corner. A 0.25 m long section of this pipe lies on the bottom of the pool, but its top is missing. The water outlet, at the southeastern corner, was also via a 0.10 m diameter clay pipe, which protrudes c. 0.10 m into the pool. It may be that both pipe sections were originally part of the same pipe that traversed the pool from side to side, but this cannot be ascertained. Above the pool there is a 0.90 m high built shaft. Its southern wall survives better than the other walls (Fig. 2.48), as it consists mainly of a single ashlar (0.70 × 0.25 × 0.40 m).

Fig. 2.47. Distribution Pool 416. Note the outlets of the two pipes at the bottom of the south wall; the pipe to right has an iron strainer. Looking south.

The cover stone of the aqueduct canal next to the pool was removed in antiquity and lies on its side. A 1.30 m long section of a wall, constructed of large stones, lies west of Pool 417. This wall, together with another section perpendicular to it on the east, formed apparently two sides of a distribution pool (418), which was not excavated (Plan 2.15). Settling Pool 419 (0.65 × 0.90 m, depth 1.00 m; Plan 2.16; see Fig. 2.4) has rounded corners; its walls and floor are covered with gray plaster with a herringbone pattern (Fig. 2.49). The northern wall was 0.85 m higher than the cover stones (the top two courses collapsed during excavation, but the imprint of the stones was preserved in the section). The upper wall was constructed of small fieldstones, set in gray concrete. This wall, without any traces of plaster, is apparently part of a shaft, similar to the one found above Settling Pool 551. A 23 m long stretch of the aqueduct was uncovered beyond Settling Pool 419 and the cover stones were exposed. No installations were found along this stretch. The remaining 27 m long stretch up to Section 42 was not excavated. O nly the bottom of the aqueduct canal survives along the 28 m long Section 42. The canal at this point is 0.35 m wide. Its walls were constructed of fieldstones and hewn stones, coated with thick gray plaster. The floor of the aqueduct is paved with potsherds, mainly of broken clay pipes, over which gray plaster was applied. O nly traces of the plaster survive, at one point with remains of a herringbone pattern.

412

417

418 0

Plan 2.15. Distribution Pool 417 and Installation 418, plan.

1

m

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

59

Fig. 2.48. Distribution Pool 417. The south wall is constructed of ashlars. At bottom, cover stones of the canal. Looking south.

412

419

0

1

m

Plan 2.16. Settling Pool 419, plan.

Fig. 2.49. Settling Pool 419. To right, part of the shaft. Looking west.

The aqueduct canal (430) is completely destroyed along Section 43, only the foundation of the canal floor surviving. South of the canal two distribution pools were excavated (Plan 2.17; Fig. 2.50). Distribution

Pool 431 is the eastern of the two (0.50 × 0.65 m, depth 0.55 m). It is constructed of fieldstones set in gray concrete. Along its eastern wall there is a 0.30 m high step, which narrows the width of the pool to 0.50 m. The walls and step are coated with red-on-gray plaster. The floor consists of small fieldstones set in plaster. An outlet of a clay pipe (inner diam. 0.10 m), is positioned at the bottom of the southern wall (see Fig. 2.5). About 2 cm inside the opening of the pipe is a strainer composed of three iron rods, square in cross section, which intersect at the middle of the pipe. A single ashlar (0.77 × 0.17 × 0.47 m) remains of the northern wall of the pool. While the faces of the ashlar are not plastered, the upper side retains traces of plaster, indicating a second course. Two conical bores drilled in the face of the ashlar hold two lead calices. Their outer part is conical, while the inner part is cylindrical. The eastern calix survives completely, and terminates flush with the inner face of the ashlar (Fig. 2.51). O n the outer side, the protruding ends of the calices were cut lengthwise, and the segments thus formed were bent back flush with the wall. The western calix was cut into three segments, and the eastern, into four (Fig. 2.52). Settling Pool 432 (0.45 × 0.20 m), with red-ongray plaster, lies between the aqueduct canal and the wall of the calices. This pool survives to a depth of 0.12 m only, but traces of plaster on the wall indicate an original depth of at least 0.35 m. Its floor slopes away from the aqueduct canal and is c. 8 cm lower than the openings of the calices.

1

1

433

431

2

Mo she hartal

m

4

1

3

0

4

60

2

3

430

433

431 1-1

434

432 433

431 1

1

433

431

2

2-2

2 432

m

431

4

1

3

0

3-3

Plan 2.17. Distribution Pools 431 and 433, plan and cross sections. 433

431

430

433

434

1-1 4-4 433

431

2-2 432 431 3-3

430

433

434 4-4

Fig. 2.50. Distribution Pools 431 (to left) and 433. In the front (north) wall of the pools, calix stones. In front of the pools, Settling Pools 432 (to left) and 434. Below, part of the foundation of the aqueduct canal (430). Looking south.

Distribution Pool 433 (0.55 × 0.65 m, depth 0.60 m) is also constructed of fieldstones set in gray concrete. O nly its eastern wall, separating the two pools, is coated with gray plaster. The floor is carved into the natural pebble bedrock. O nly at the eastern side are there traces of the plaster that sealed the floor. The floor slopes toward the southeastern corner, where a clay pipe 0.10 m in inner diameter with an iron strainer conducted the

water away. The northern wall is constructed of a single hewn stone (0.65 × 0.57 × 0.11 m), the western side of which is broken. Four calix bores perforate the stone, similar in shape and size to those of Pool 431. O nly the two eastern bores survive completely; only the bottom remains of the other two. In the westernmost bore only, the cylindrical part of the lead calix survives. It was found full of white plaster, perhaps evidence of

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

61

Fig. 2.51. Distribution Pools 431 (to right) and 433. The calix stones are visible in the north wall (top). Looking north.

Fig. 2.52. Distribution Pools 431 (to left) and 433, the calix stones; looking south.

deliberate blocking. It appears that this calix consisted of two parts, similar to the calices in Stone 435, to be described below. The calix stone was set in a groove cut in the western wall of Pool 431, indicating that Pool 433 was built later. A settling pool (434) is built next to Pool 433. Its walls and floor were covered with broken clay pipe fragments with traces of plaster. The floor of the pool is 4 cm lower than the calices. Another ashlar (435; 0.60 × 0.45 × 0.12 m), in which two calices are set, was found west of Pools 431 and 433. The stone was not in situ, but it indicates the presence nearby of yet another—probably destroyed— distribution pool. Two calix bores pass through its center (Fig. 2.53). A shallow recess (0.20 m × 0.82 m,

depth 0.07 m) is hewn in the center of one of the sides of the stone. Three sides of the recess are vertical, while the fourth side is inclined (Fig. 2.54). The narrow ends of the calix bores pass through the recess. O nly the cylindrical parts of the lead calices, 6 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter, were found in the bores. The recess makes it possible to view the structure of the calices: a conical section followed by a cylindrical section, and another cylindrical section that was mounted on the conical side (see Fig. 2.7). Intermittent sections of a clay pipe (436) were uncovered along a 12 m long stretch. It apparently began in Pool 435 and consists of pipe segments placed in a layer of ash.

62

Mo she hartal

441

1

1

442

443

Fig. 2.53. The conical side of Calix Stone 435.

0

0.5

m

L443 443

Fig. 2.54. The flat side of Calix Stone 435 and the coupling of two pipe sections (to left).

About 30 m west of Distribution Pools 431 and 433, the aqueduct lies only a few centimeters under the surface. The canal (44) continues west in a straight line, disregarding the elevation differences posed by the hill standing along this course. For 24 m along this section, the aqueduct is an open canal coated with herringbone-patterned gray plaster. No cover stones were found. Settling Pool 442 is an extension of the aqueduct canal (0.85 × 0.61 m, depth 0.96 m). Its floor is 0.45 m lower than the canal floor (Plan 2.18). The pool was originally plastered with a high quality gray plaster with a herringbone pattern. Around the upper part of the walls, above a line flush with the canal bottom, another layer of plaster was applied. This second layer is plain gray, contains much ash, does not adhere well to the layer beneath and crumbles easily. This layer also covers parts of the canal adjacent to the pool on either side. In the eastern canal (441), it was applied only to

442

1-1 Plan 2.18. Settling Pool 442, plan and cross section.

a 0.25 m long section, while in the western canal (443) it was found to cover all the excavated stretch, 0.55 m, to the first cover stone. The canal floor was raised by c. 8 cm by potsherds set in plaster. Similar sherds are found on the walls of the pool as well. A square stone lay inside the western canal, one of its faces seemingly completing the wall of the pool. There are, however, no traces of plaster adhering to the stone, and it appears as if it fell into the canal and was not deliberately set there. Cover stones reappear about half a meter west of Pool 442. The stones are rectangular and vary in size, 0.10–0.20 m thick, 0.60–0.65 m wide (across the canal) and 0.15–1.20 m long, the majority being 0.50–0.80 m

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

long. The cover stones are laid directly on the plastered top of the canal walls (see Fig. 2.2). Flat pieces of stone were placed as levellers between the wall and the cover, as necessary. The gaps between adjacent cover stones were closed with flat fieldstones (Fig. 2.55). About 25 m west of Pool 442 was a broken cover stone; the canal below it was partially excavated, without removing the stone (451). The canal was 0.34 m wide and the walls were plastered with a herringbone pattern. As mentioned, the course of the aqueduct along Section 45 traverses the mound in a straight line. The cover stones were found at increasing depths, from 0.20 m at the eastern side to 2.20 m at the western side, near Shaft 462 (Fig. 2.56). A study of the section of the mound indicates that the local topography was different at the time the aqueduct was constructed. The crest of the natural hill was only 0.50–0.60 m above the cover stones. Up to this height, reddish soil and pebbles are visible, with almost no potsherds. Immediately above the virgin soil is a 0.30–0.40 m thick layer of gray soil, containing pebbles and large quantities of potsherds, from the third–fourth centuries CE until the fifth century. The top one meter consists mainly of stones, with fewer potsherds. A short distance east of the crest of the mound two of the cover stones were lifted (461) and the canal was excavated along 1.15 m. A 3 cm thick layer of clayey sediment was found on the canal floor. This is the first occurrence of the sediments that characterize the aqueduct further west. Distribution Pool 462 (0.72 × 1.02 m) abuts the aqueduct canal and a 1.44 m high shaft is built above it (Plan 2.19). The shaft walls are constructed of fieldstones set in concrete. The outer faces are irregular, indicating that they were built as a lining for a shaft dug in the ground. The northern wall, next to the canal, did not survive. The inner faces of both the eastern and western walls show evidence of two stages of construction: from the floor of the pool up, to a height of 0.40 m, the walls are constructed of hewn stones cemented with crumbling concrete. Above this, the walls are of fieldstones set in hard concrete. It appears that the shaft was heightened after the aqueduct was partly covered with the debris that formed the hill. The lower part of the walls are vertical; the top course of the eastern wall and the top two courses Fig. 2.56. The cover stones of Canal 461, dug into the hill (to ► right). To left, the shaft over Distribution Pool 462; in front of the shaft, a fragment of the shaft cover stone. Looking west.

Fig. 2.55. Section 45. The cover stones of the canal. Looking east.

63

64

Mo she hartal

463

1

462

461

1

0

1

461

m

462

463

1-1 Plan 2.19. Distribution Pool 462, plan and cross section.

of the southern and western walls are constructed of larger stones, which project into the shaft, narrowing it. A flat slab of stone was apparently placed over these projections: its three fragments were found next to the shaft. The slab (0.97 × 0.62 × 0.17 m) has an elliptical perforation (0.44 × 0.38 m) cut in its center (see Fig. 2.11). It served apparently as the top opening of the shaft. The floor of the pool is constructed of fieldstones set in concrete. At the southern end, away from the canal, there is a 0.10 m high × 0.21 m wide step. Part of the floor (c. 0.50 × 0.30 m) is missing and was apparently removed in antiquity. Underneath the stone floor, another floor, made of red material, was discovered (463). This floor slopes from the canal side to a clay pipe 0.11 m in diameter that is located under the stone floor (Fig. 2.57). About 0.13 m of this pipe is visible, and its top part is missing. Remains of iron bars found c. 4 cm from of its end indicate a strainer had been

Fig. 2.57. Distribution Pool 462. Floor 463, with the original pipe outlet at its bottom, after the removal of the late pipe. Below, the breach in the canal wall, after the removal of the blockage. Looking south.

placed across its opening. Above the red floor and the pipe set in it, was a single pipe segment, 0.26 m in length and 0.13 m in diameter (Fig. 2.58). Six centimeters from the end of the segment was a strainer, made of iron bars with rounded heads, similar to nail heads that had been inserted into the pipe before firing. The pipe segment lies 0.10 m from the outer face of the aqueduct canal, with no connection between them. The pipe segment originally served as the beginning of a pipeline that was set into a 0.15 m wide opening cut into the canal wall. Subsequently the pipeline was dismantled, except for the segment that was left here, and the opening in the canal wall was closed with fieldstones set in very poor quality gray concrete (Figs. 2.58, 2.59). Based on the evidence in Distribution Pool 462, three distinct phases of its use can be discerned: (1) The distribution pool was built abutting the aqueduct canal. The remains from this phase of the pool are the lower

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

65

Fig. 2.58. Distribution Pool 462 (to right), with a pipe segment within. To left, Canal 461, after removal of the cover stones. The breach in the canal wall is patched with fieldstones. Looking east.

Fig. 2.59. Distribution Pool 462. The lower part of the pipe segment that lies over the opening of the original pipe (to right). To left, blocking of the breach in the canal wall. Looking east.

parts of the eastern and western walls, the red floor, and the pipe set in it. The connection between the pool and canal in this phase remains unclear. (2) The upper pipe was laid in the opening cut in the canal wall. This pipeline replaced, in effect, the distribution pool. The pipe was covered with the stone floor, and a manhole

was built above it. (3) The pipe was disconnected, the shaft floor was partly dismantled, and the first pipe segment was left in the shaft. The opening in the canal wall was filled in and the installation ceased to function. The distribution pool and the shaft eventually filled with soil, stones and large quantities of pottery. The

66

Mo she hartal

pottery found is dated to the second–fifth centuries CE, evidently having arrived here after the installation went out of use. The sherds that were collected in the distribution pool, up to the elevation of the cover stones of the aqueduct canal, are dated to the third– fourth centuries CE (Fig. 2.60), giving the terminus post quem for the continued use of the canal. In the debris above the aqueduct, a large bronze coin of Philip Junior (244–249 CE), minted in Antioch, was found (Chapter 3: Coin No. 2). The aqueduct passes below the crest of the hill, c. 2.50 m below the present surface, about 3 m west of Distribution Pool 462. An ashlar wall (W471), running east–west, was discovered near the western end of the hill, close to the aqueduct. The wall was cleared for 3.90 m; its continuation to the east was not excavated (Fig. 2.61). O nly one course, built of headers and stretchers, survives. It may be part of a burial structure, similar to Tomb 700 (see Chapter 4). Above this single course, another wall, poorly constructed of fieldstones,

hewn stones and ashlars in secondary use, was added. This wall, 3 m longer than the ashlar wall, postdates it and apparently served as an agricultural terrace. The aqueduct passes 0.80 m east of it and approaches within 5 cm to it on the west. This stretch of the aqueduct, 12 m long, was also covered with cover stones. The aqueduct and the ashlar wall were in use at the same time. Settling Pool 481, rectangular with rounded corners (0.66 × 0.92 m, depth 1.12 m; Plan 2.20; Fig. 2.62), was carved in bedrock, on the southern slope of a natural hill. About 0.55 m south of the aqueduct canal and parallel to it, a 0.55 m wide retaining wall was built (W482) of hewn stones. It survives to a height of two courses (0.60 m). It is founded on bedrock and its top is at the same elevation as the aqueduct cover stones. Three stages of construction can be discerned in the settling pool: (1) The original pool was 0.95 m deep, its top flush with the canal walls on either side. Its walls and floor were coated with gray plaster with a vertical

Fig. 2.60 ► No. 1

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

Parallels

1003/8

Bowl

Pink

See Fig. 10.5:1–3

2

1006/2

Bowl

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.5:4, 5

3

1005/8

Bowl

L ight brown

See Fig. 10.5:4, 5

4

1006/3

Bowl

L ight red

See Fig. 10.5:6, 7

5

1004/1

Bowl

L ight red

See Fig. 10.5:6, 7

6

1006/8

Cooking bowl

L ight red

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 5

7

1004/4

Cooking bowl

L ight red

8

1005/4

Krater

L ight red

See Fig. 10.6:8

9

1003/3

Bowl

Red

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 14:1–6

10

1006/10

Cooking pot

L ight red

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 3

11

103/5

Juglet

L ight red

Berlin, in preparation

12

1005/9

Jug

Gray

Berlin, in preparation

13

1003/1

Jug

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 13:2

14

1004/5

Jug

L ight red

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 13:2

15

1003/10

Jug

L ight red

See Fig. 10.7:15

16

1003/2

Juglet

L ight red

See Fig. 10.7:3, 4

17

1004/7

Jar

L ight red

18

1003/4

Jar

L ight red

See Fig. 10.7:10

19

1004/9

Jar

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 193:13

20

1006/1

Jar

Gray

Hartal 2005: Fig. 193:13

21

1005/12

Jar

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 193:16

22

1006/7

Pithos

Pink

Hartal 2005: Fig. 51:7

23

1004/10

Pithos

Pinkish gray

Hartal 2005: Fig. 51:7

24

1003/7

Pithos

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Figs. 51:12, 13, 144:3–6

67

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

2

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

13

14

15

12

16

20

19

17

21

18

22 23

Fig. 2.60. Pottery in the fill of Distribution Pool 462.

24

68

Mo she hartal

Fig. 2.61. Section 47. To right, the canal cover stones; to left, the lowest course visible is probably part of a burial structure (W471); above it, a later wall. Looking west.

herringbone pattern. The floor was built directly on bedrock and consists of small pebbles set in gray concrete. O nly fragments of the original smoothed floor surface survive. The canal on either side of the pool is plastered in the same way. (2) In the second phase, the pool walls were raised by 0.25 m, to the height of the cover stones. The northern wall and the northwestern corner are hewn in bedrock, whereas the other walls were built of hewn stones. The raised sections were replastered with gray plaster, similar to that of the original pool. Herringbone pattern was applied here as well, except that its alignment is horizontal rather than vertical. A clay pipe, 0.70 m in length and 0.10 m in diameter, was laid in the southern corner, 0.90 m above the pool floor. The pipe is covered with flat fieldstones and ends at the Retaining Wall 482. The pipe apparently drained excess water. (3) In the third phase, the last cover stone east of the pool was stood on its end, so that it projected 0.35 m above the other cover stones. The stone was placed on the plaster coating the top of the canal walls. To facilitate its placement, two stones were removed from the eastern wall addition, and the plaster on either side of the canal was cut away (Fig. 2.63). O n the southern side, the stone lies on plaster of the second phase, proving that it is at least technically later. Plan 2.20. Settling Pool 481, plan and cross section.►

1

W482

481

1

1

0

m

481

W482

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Fig. 2.62. Settling Pool 481; looking south.

69

Two layers were discerned in the fill of the settling pool: (1) Reddish-brown soil with stones and pottery, which filled the pool after it went out of use. The pottery dates to the third–fifth centuries CE (Fig. 2.64:1–7). (2) L ight tan clayey sediment, which settled out of the water during the aqueduct’s life, filled the pool to a height of 0.50 m and partly blocked the canal. It may be that this blockage necessitated the additions to the walls of the pool and the laying of the pipe. In the sediment a few potsherds of the third–fourth centuries CE were found (Fig. 2.64:8–10); they provide the terminus post quem for the silting up of the canal. The aqueduct is covered with stones for a length of 22 m west of Settling Pool 481. The canal was cleared in three places where the cover stones were missing. The canal was excavated down to the sediment layer at two of these locations: L ocus 491, which is 12 m west of Settling Pool 481; and L 492, 6 m west of L 491. The canal here is 0.35 m wide and is coated with a herringbone-patterned gray plaster. Two of the stone covers were leaning against the canal wall, as if they had been removed for maintenance purposes and never returned. About 1 m west of L 492, one cover stone was missing. The canal here was excavated down to its floor (493). The sediments on the floor are only 6 cm deep. The southern wall of the canal had been

Fig. 2.63. Settling Pool 481. The upright stone lies over the plaster of the canal walls, after the plaster of the addition had been removed (visible to left). Looking east.

70

Mo she hartal

2

1

3 4

6

7

5

8

9 10

Fig. 2.64. Pottery from the fill in Settling Pool 481: (1–7) layer 1; (8–10) layer 2. No.

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

Parallels

1

1008/3

Cooking bowl

White

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 5

2

1008/11

Cooking bowl

Reddish yellow

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 5

3

1008/12

Cooking bowl

Pink

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 5

4

1008/9

Cooking pot

Gray

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 4

5

1008/10

Cooking pot

Reddish yellow

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 4

6

1008/2

Jar

Pink

See Fig. 10.7:9

7

1008/5

Jar

L ight brown

See Fig. 10.7:10 Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 5

8

1013/3

Cooking bowl

Reddish yellow

9

1013/2

Cooking bowl

Reddish Yellow

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 5

10

1013/1

Jar

Pink

Hartal 2005: Fig. 136:16

breached, 0.93 m wide at the top and 0.20 m wide at the bottom; a clay pipe (494; Plan 2.21) was laid in it. Four segments of the pipe were cleared, along 0.98 m. The size of the segments varies: the first is 8 cm in inner diameter at the inlet and 0.11 m at the other end. The segment is 0.20 m long and appears to have been sawn off. The second segment has an inlet 0.12 m in inner diameter, to accommodate the first segment, and the joint is plastered. The other segments are 0.10 m in inner diameter. The pipeline was apparently laid after

the construction of the aqueduct. The breach was not filled in and it is unclear how the aqueduct could have continued to function. The pipe is 7 cm above the floor of the canal, the same as the thickness of the sediments in the canal; this may not be fortuitous. There is no iron strainer in the first segment, as is characteristic of most pipes leaving the aqueduct canal. Did this enigmatic pipe serve to bypass a blocked section in the aqueduct? To steal water? O r, perhaps, was it never finished?

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

1 493

1 494

0

1

m

493

1-1

494

Plan 2.21. Pipe 494, plan and cross section.

71

Along a further 21 m to the west the aqueduct is covered with stone slabs with only one stone missing. Empty spaces are visible in the gaps between the covering stones, indicating that the aqueduct canal was not completely filled up. In Section 50 a complex system, consisting of the aqueduct canal, a distribution pool, and two pipes laid parallel to the canal, was discovered (Plans 2.22, 2.24; Fig. 2.65). A 1.80 m long section of the canal (501), found uncovered, was cleared to its bottom (Fig. 2.66). The canal is cut in bedrock, and faced with walls constructed of fieldstones, in a matrix of red earth and coated with a herringbone-patterned gray plaster. Up to this point the herringbone pattern was applied in a vertical direction; from here on, it was applied alternately vertically and horizontally, in segments 0.80–1.00 m long. The plaster covered the top of the walls as well, and the cover stones were laid over it. The floor is also plastered, but without the herringbone pattern. The northern wall is well preserved. The original southern wall survived along 0.55 m and further on some repairs were made to it. The canal is filled with sediments to half its depth (Fig. 2.66). O ne of the cover stones was found lying over the southern wall, next to the destroyed section, over Distribution Pool 503. Distribution Pool 503 is attached to the canal on the south. It is cut in bedrock and its walls are faced with fieldstones and concrete (Plan 2.22: Section 2-2; see Fig. 2.65). The lower part of the walls, for 0.40 m

Fig. 2.65. Section 50. To right and left, the cover stones of the canal. Bottom center, Canal 501 and Distribution Pool 503 behind it. Pipe 1 passes through the breaches in the walls of the pool. The meter stick leans on the shaft wall. To its right lies a stray cover stone. A short section of Pipe 2 crosses the canal. Looking south.

72

Mo she hartal

2 L501 L506

1 P2 L502 L503

P1

2

L504 L505

1

0

2 m L507

L503 L506

L505

P1

L501

P2

P2

1-1

0

1

P1

2-2

m

Plan 2.22. Section 50, plan and cross sections.

from the floor up, was coated with plain gray plaster. Above this height an inspection shaft was constructed of fieldstones set in concrete, whose southern wall survives to a height of 1.30 m. The floor is composed of pebbles set in gray concrete and plastered over. The outlet of a clay pipe was found in the southwestern corner, well set in the southern wall (Fig. 2.67). The pipe is 0.10 m in inner diameter, with an iron strainer set across its opening (see Fig. 2.14). The original wall of the canal, which was also the northern wall of the pool, is mostly destroyed (see Fig. 2.65). The later repairs blocked the outlet to the distribution pool. Two clay pipes were discovered in a hewn canal (502) east of Distribution Pool 503 and parallel to the

aqueduct canal. The pipes are arranged in two tiers, one above the other, so that Pipe 2 is 0.10 m above Pipe 1. The pipes are surrounded by ash and strengthened with small fieldstones (Fig. 2.68). The two pipes were cleared along 1.90 m east of the distribution pool, but their origin is unknown. They cross over the distribution pool, and the side walls of the pool were dismantled for this purpose (Fig. 2.68). Pipe 1 was inserted for half its height into the pool floor, the northern half of which was destroyed. The pipe leaves the pool through a gap in its western wall, which was subsequently repaired with fieldstones. Pipe 2 ends in the eastern wall of the pool (Fig. 2.69). This wall was repaired as well after the laying of the pipes, with fieldstones without

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Fig. 2.67. The outlet of the clay pipe in the southwest corner of Distribution Pool 503; looking south.

◄ Fig. 2.66. Canal 501. In the lower half of the fill, the lighter sediment that blocked the canal is visible. To right, the original part of the south wall. Looking east.

Fig. 2.68. To left, the clay pipes of L502; to right, Pipe 1 as it crosses Distribution Pool 503; bottom, Canal 501. Looking south.

73

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Mo she hartal

Fig. 2.69. Distribution Pool 503, the east wall. Its right side, behind the meter stick, is the original wall; to the left is a repair, after the laying of the pipes. Pipe 2 (the upper one) ends at the wall, while Pipe 1 passes through the pool. Its laying destroyed the pool floor, which survives only on the south side (to right). To left, Canal 501. The wall separating the pool and canal was repaired with fieldstones. Looking east.

bonding material. Within the area of the pool itself, no segments or fragments of this pipe were uncovered. In the northwestern corner of the pool, one further pipe segment was found; it crosses the aqueduct canal and continues to the north (Figs. 2.70, 2.71). This pipe has a gradient against the flow. It appears that at the time the southern wall of the canal was repaired, stones were laid over this pipe, causing its destruction. This segment may be the continuation of Pipe 2. At some time, the upper pipe apparently went out of use west of the distribution pool (see also below, Section 51). It may be that at this time the upper pipe supplied water to the distribution pool, as the connection between it and the canal was disrupted. The southern wall of the aqueduct canal (504) was destroyed for 1.65 m. The wall between the canal and the distribution pool was repaired with fieldstones set in gray concrete and was not plastered. The remainder of the wall, along 0.95 m, was not repaired. Pipe 1 passes through this gap after leaving the distribution pool and continues along the canal floor, under 0.30 m Fig. 2.70. Pipe 1 leaves the corner of Distribution Pool 503 ► (to left), crosses Canal 504 and enters it, under a layer of sediments (top). To its right, section of Pipe 2 crosses the canal. Bottom right, Canal 501. Looking west.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Fig. 2.71. Bottom, Canal 504; a destroyed section of the canal. Pipe 2 leaves from the corner of Distribution Pool 503 (top right) and crosses the canal. To its right are visible the fieldstones that covered Pipe 1. At top, Canal 501. Looking east.

Fig. 2.72. A worked stone (507) from a tomb near Section 50.

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of sediments (Fig. 2.70). Clearly, even after the canal silted up and the transition was made to clay pipes, there was still some water flow in the canal, allowing the buildup of enough sediment to cover the pipe. About 1.15 m west of the point where Pipe 1 enters the canal, a 0.35 long section of the canal (505) was examined where the cover stone was missing. The canal at this point is 0.35 m wide and 0.50 m deep. It was coated with gray plaster with a herringbone pattern, which was applied vertically. The pipe was inserted under the dismantled floor, surrounded by ash and small fieldstones. Some 0.30 m of sediments accumulated over the pipe (Plan 2.22: Section 1-1). Pipe 2 exited the northwestern corner of Distribution Pool 503, entered the canal through the breach in the southern wall and crossed it diagonally. It is buried to half its height in the floor that was destroyed for this purpose (Fig. 2.71). The pipe exited the canal through a 0.60 m wide opening in the northern wall, which was subsequently repaired with fieldstones and concrete but was not plastered. It continues west in a rock-cut canal (506), 0.20 m from, and parallel to, the aqueduct canal. As with the other pipes, this too was surrounded by ash and small fieldstones. A short segment of a north–south wall built of ashlars (W507) was found some 2.50 m south of Section 50. It may be the wall of yet another tomb. Near it a limestone object, composed of a cube (0.33 × 0.33 m, height 0.20 m) surmounted by a half-sphere (radius 0.25 m; Fig. 2.72), was discovered. The stone is well cut and apparently served as a grave marker or stele. Four meters of the canal covered with stone slabs lie between Section 50 and Section 51. Section 51 consists of a complicated system of pipes and installations (Plan 2.23, see plan 2.24). The aqueduct canal here is rock cut and faced with fieldstones in a matrix of red earth, coated with a herringbone-patterned gray plaster. The cover stones were missing in two places (Fig. 2.73), and the canal was excavated along 4 m. Three distinct characteristics were observed (Fig. 2.74): 1. For 0.60 m at the eastern end of the excavated section the original canal walls (510) survive, coated with gray plaster with a horizontal herringbone pattern and covered with cover stones. The canal floor was cut through and in its stead Pipe 1 was laid, which entered Canal 504. The pipe was found covered with a 0.25 m deep layer of sediments (Fig. 2.75). 2. Further on, for 1.20 m, the canal (511) is destroyed. Its northern wall and floor are completely missing,

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Mo she hartal L512

L511

L510

P1

I

3

5

L515

1

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L521 L522

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L523 L533

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L513 L513 L510 1-1

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L522 L512

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L521

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L533

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3-3

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L522 L531 L521 L523 L532

5-5

Plan 2.23. Aqueduct at Sections 51 and 52, and the northeast corner of Enclosure 53, plan and cross sections.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Fig. 2.73. Section 51. To right, the aqueduct canal; at bottom, cover stones over Canal 510. The section without cover stones is Canal 511 and behind is Canal 512, again covered. At top left, Distribution Pool 515 and behind it, Shaft 522; at bottom left, the cover stone of Distribution Installation 513. Looking west.

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Fig. 2.74. Section 51. To left, Canals 510 (top), 511 (center, the damaged section), 512 (bottom). Bottom right, the shaft of Distribution Pool 515; center right, the pipes in L514; top, to the right of Canal 510, Distribution Installation 513. Looking east.

down to bedrock. The southern wall was rebuilt with fieldstones set in concrete, but not plastered (Fig. 2.76). The new wall leans on one of the cover stones that was removed. Pipe 1, which passed through the canal between 504 and 510, turns west and passes diagonally under the repaired wall and out of the canal. The repair to the wall destroyed the upper part of the pipe and rendered it useless. Pipe 2, which crossed canal 504 and was laid in a trench north of the aqueduct (L 506), is seen in the northern section of the excavation (Fig. 2.75). It crossed the canal, and its continuation (514) was found south of it. This pipe too, was cut by the repair done to the wall. 3. In the western part, the canal (512) survives in its original state. It is 0.35 m wide, its walls and floor coated with gray plaster with a herringbone pattern ◄ Fig. 2.75. Canal 510. To right, Pipe 1 leaving the canal and turning south. Above it, accumulation of sediments that silted up the canal. To left, Pipe 2, lying north of the canal. Looking east, from within Canal 511.

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Fig. 2.76. Canal 510, with Pipe 1 inside it. To its right, Canal 511, whose north wall (bottom) had been dismantled and its south wall is a repair that cut the pipe. Top left, Distribution Installation 513. Looking south.

that changes from horizontal in the east to vertical in the west. In the vertical section created at the edge of the destroyed part (511), the construction method of the floor could be studied: a layer of pebbles was laid over the rock floor and covered with a 2 cm thick layer of plaster. This section of the canal (2.20 m long) was originally covered with four cover stones; three survived in situ. A clay pipe, 0.10 m in inner diameter and 0.30 m long, was laid in the breach in the southern wall of the canal (Fig. 2.77). The pipe served as the water outlet to Distribution Pool 515 (see below). After the pipe was laid, the breach was closed with a fieldstone construction set in concrete, but not plastered. At the western part of the canal, only a 0.12 m thick layer of sediments was found. Distribution Installation 513 (0.36 × 0.51 m) lies next to Canal 510, on its south (Plan 2.23: Sections 1-1, 2-2). Its northern wall is the outer face of the canal wall (see Fig. 2.76). The other three walls are constructed of Fig. 2.77. Canal 512, with a herringbone-patterned ► plaster. The clay pipe that connects it to Distribution Pool 515 (behind) was laid in a breach made in the wall and repaired, but not plastered. Looking south.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

small fieldstones, without bonding material, and rise 0.35 m high; they are not plastered. The installation is divided into two cells by a hewn stone, which stands on a number of fieldstones and earth; there is no connection between the cells. The eastern cell is 0.20 m wide, and the west, 0.17 m. The floor of the cells is bedrock. The southern wall contains outlets for two clay pipes (each inner diam. 0.10 m), one from each cell (Fig. 2.78). The eastern pipe is 6 cm above the floor, while the western pipe is only 5 cm. The distribution pool was covered with a rectangular stone slab (0.60 × 0.50 m, thickness 0.17 m). Two holes were bored in the slab, one above each cell (see Fig. 2.73). The eastern hole survives in its entirety and measures 0.11 × 0.15 m. The northeastern corner of the slab is broken away and only about half of the other hole remains, 9 cm wide. The slab was set at the same level as the cover stones of the aqueduct canal, and it abuts them on the south. Some hewn stones were placed next to it for stabilization. The distribution installation, in its present state, has no connection to the canal. A round outline of gray plaster is visible in the plaster of the southern wall of Canal 510, opposite the western cell and 9 cm above the floor. The circle is 0.20 m in diameter and protrudes slightly above the plaster (Fig. 2.78). It is identical to the original plaster, complete with herringbone pattern, except that the pattern does not blend well with that of

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the wall. It may be that the circle hides a blocked-up pipe that connected the canal to the distribution pool. The excavation of the other side of the wall, from the distribution installation, showed that two-thirds of the wall’s width consists of ash and earth, and only near the plaster was there a 5 cm thick layer of small stones. No signs of a connecting pipe or canal were found. O pposite the eastern cell as well, a repair patch is visible in the plaster, albeit less well preserved. It would appear, therefore, that originally the distribution installation was connected to the canal via two openings. The installation went out of use rather early on, as evidenced by the matching plaster repairs. L ater repairs were usually not plastered. A rock-cut canal (514) was discovered west of Installation 513 and south of the destroyed section of the aqueduct canal (511). Three clay pipes were found in the canal (see Fig. 2.74). To the north, two superimposed pipes were exposed, both cut by the southern, repaired wall of Canal 511. The lower one is, in all probability, the continuation of Pipe 1, which was laid in the aqueduct canal between L 504 and L 510 and then passed under the southern wall in Canal 511. The upper one is probably Pipe 2, which passed north of the aqueduct canal between L 506 and Canal 511. Pipe 3 lies south of these two pipes, its origin unclear. All three pipes lie in a layer of ash, surrounded by small fieldstones. In the canal two segments of

Fig. 2.78. Distribution Installation 513 (center). In the wall of Canal 510 (front) two repairs in the plaster are visible, apparently the blocked pipe outlets to the pool. Looking south.

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Pipe 3 were found, each 0.39 m long, and three 0.43 m long segments of each of the two superimposed pipes. Distribution Pool 515 (Plan 2.23: Section 3-3; Fig. 2.79) lies south of Canal 512 and next to Enclosure 53 (see below). Similarly to other installations along the aqueduct, it also underwent several changes during its life span. O nly a small section of the original pool is preserved; it appears to have measured 0.60 × 0.60 m, with plastered walls. The pool floor is built of pebbles coated with a layer of plaster. The floor of the pool is c. 0.20 m lower than the adjacent canal floor. It slopes to the west. The water entered the pool through a clay pipe, set in the southern wall of Canal 512 (see above). In the southwestern corner of the pool, 3 cm above the floor, is the outlet of a clay pipe 0.11 m in inner diameter. Six centimeters into the pipe there is an iron strainer across the opening. It is composed of eight iron rods, each c. 3 mm in diameter. Departing from the observed pattern, the strainer is two-layered, with four parallel rods in each layer. The layers are at right angles to each other, forming a crisscross grid (see Fig. 2.15). The three clay pipes observed in Canal 514 pass through the original distribution pool. Pipe 3 lies over the southern wall of the pool and the two others in its northern part, next to the canal. Pipe 1 is at the same elevation as the pipe connecting the pool to the canal, 4 cm from its end. Pipe 2, which lies over it, was badly

damaged in a stone collapse; the two others are well preserved. All three pipes were laid so as not to block the pool: the southern one bends southward and the other two northward (see Fig. 2.74). A shaft (0.82 × 0.96 m) was built over the walls of the pool (Fig. 2.79). All but the wall over the canal survives. The walls are c. 0.20 m wide, constructed of small hewn stones cemented with now crumbling concrete. The aqueduct canal cover stones, which at this point are thicker than usual (0.23 m), were used as the northern wall of the shaft. The cover stones here are ashlars in secondary use, perhaps from a nearby tomb. The western wall survives to a height of 0.95 m. Its lower part serves as the wall of the distribution pool and is plastered to a height of 0.45 m. The outlet pipe is at the bottom of this wall. The southern wall stands to a height of 1.65 m. This wall was technically built after the western wall: it abuts it and the seam between them is clearly visible. The top of this wall is not plastered. Its western end abuts the wall of Enclosure 53, and further on the wall of Shaft 522, which also abuts the enclosure wall. At 0.70 m above the floor, there is a 0.25 m deep niche. The eastern wall was originally built together with the southern wall, as evidenced by their joint corner. L ater, the eastern wall was destroyed and rebuilt with fieldstones set in crumbling concrete. Near the shaft, three fragments of an annular stone were found. It is 0.97 m in diameter, with a round hole

Fig. 2.79. Distribution Pool 515, surmounted by a built shaft; to right, Canal 512; behind the meter stick, the east wall of Shaft 522. Looking west.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

0.36 m in diameter in its center, and bears wear marks (Fig. 2.80). In section, the stone resembles a shallow bowl with a raised rim; its thickness varies from 0.18 to 0.29 m. At the edge of one of the fragments there is a 6 cm deep rectangular recess that probably served for joining two fragments with a metal clip. The stone was used, apparently, as a cover stone of the shaft. Shaft 522 (0.77 × 1.45 m), above Canal 521 of the aqueduct, lies about 1 m west of Distribution Pool 515.

Fig. 2.80. Annular stone with wear marks may be a cover stone of a shaft. Found near Distribution Pool 515.

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The canal walls are constructed of fieldstones cemented with red earth and coated with gray plaster with a herringbone pattern. The herringbone pattern changes from vertical to horizontal every 0.80 m. The southern wall of the canal, within the shaft, is completely destroyed (Plan 2.23: Section 5-5; Fig. 2.81). A secondary canal (523) leaves the aqueduct canal (521). It was originally 0.50 m long, 0.17 m wide and 0.14 m deep. It is mostly destroyed, only a small, 0.30 m long section surviving under the northeastern wall of Enclosure 53. The canal descends steeply into Distribution Pool 531 (Fig. 2.81). It remains unclear how this secondary canal split from the main canal, because the wall of main canal (521) is destroyed, as is the area between the two canals. A clay pipe (inner diam. 0.11 m) was laid across the shaft in a second phase. This pipe is the one that leaves the bottom of Distribution Pool 515. It is lower than secondary Canal 523, so the canal was dismantled to allow for the laying of the pipe. At the bottom of the eastern excavation section of the shaft (Canal 529), a joint linked two segments of this pipe to allow its shift to the northwest (Fig. 2.82). About 0.80 m from it, another segment, which continues under the western section of the shaft, was found (see Fig. 2.81).

Fig. 2.81. Shaft 522; to right, Canal 521; to left of the meter stick, Canal 523; in center, the clay pipe; far left, Disttribution Pool 531. Looking west.

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Two more pipes were laid in a third phase, which can only be seen under the eastern section of the shaft and not under the western section (Plan 2.23: Section 4-4). O ne of the pipes, c. 6 cm above the pipe of the second phase, is apparently the continuation of Pipe 1. The direction of the short section excavated suggests that the pipe connected somehow to Canal 523. Further on, the pipe traversed the pool over some fieldstones that had been laid to level its path. Although some pipe fragments were found, the junction to the canal was not discovered. The other pipe was situated 0.20 m north of the lower pipe, c. 3 cm higher. This is apparently the continuation of Pipe 3. The continuation of Pipe 2, however, which was laid with the other pipes in Distribution Pool 515, was not found. This pipe was destroyed by a collapse of stones, and perhaps went out of use when the shaft was constructed. As mentioned earlier, all three pipes were cut off from the aqueduct canal by the southern wall of Canal 511. The three pipes lie in Canal 529, which was hewn into bedrock, south of the aqueduct canal. The canal is 0.60 m wide and 0.30 m deep. The pipes within were surrounded by ash and small stones. The cross section of the canal and its fill are clearly visible in the eastern excavation section of the shaft (Fig. 2.82), but not in the western section. Apparently, all three pipes were in use in the third phase.

The eastern wall of the shaft was built above the pipes (Fig. 2.82). Its lower part, 0.40 m high, is constructed of fieldstones set in concrete. The top of the wall, above the canal cover stones, survives to a height of 0.70 m and is 0.69 m wide. The inner face of the wall is constructed of hewn stones and ashlars in secondary use. Its outer face, once perhaps covered with earth, is composed of large fieldstones, set in poor quality gray concrete. The northern side of the wall is built over the cover stones of the aqueduct canal. The northern wall of the shaft is erected entirely over the northern wall of the aqueduct canal. Its method of construction is similar to that of the top part of the eastern wall: the canal’s cover stones serve as its lowest course; the cover stones were deliberately broken, to open the canal. The wall rises 1.05 m above the canal wall and is 0.50 m wide. The top three courses of the western wall are constructed similarly to the other walls. Its northern part rests over the cover stone, while 0.55 m southward, it overlies an earth fill, small pebbles, and potsherds, 0.75 m above bedrock. The southern wall of the shaft, which probably leans on the northeastern wall of Enclosure 53, is destroyed almost completely. It was originally 0.30 m wide and was constructed of fieldstones and hewn stones. The wall is preserved mainly in the western section of the shaft. It was founded on bedrock, c. 0.70 m below the foundations of the western wall.

Fig. 2.82. East wall of Shaft 522, built over the cover stone of Canal 521 (left); bottom right, rock-cut canal 529, with three pipes in it. Looking east.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Several stones, apparently belonging to this wall, were removed during our excavation, to discover the continuation of the pipes. Shaft 522 is situated at the northeastern corner of the large enclosure 53. The enclosure is surrounded by dry-built walls of ashlars in secondary use and hewn stones (Plan 2.24; Figs. 1.1:60, 2.83). The southern wall is 24 m long, 0.50–0.55 m wide and is founded on bedrock. It survives four courses high, c. 0.70 m (Fig. 2.84). Several ashlars and architectural elements are incorporated in the wall, probably taken from the city houses or nearby tombs. The eastern wall is 12 m long, 0.60 m wide and stands five courses high, c. 0.75 m. The method of construction recalls the Phoenician construction method (Sharon 1987): monolithic piers interspersed with smaller stones (Fig. 2.85). The northeastern wall is 5 m long, 0.60 m wide and diagonally connects the eastern wall with the western wall. It is built parallel to the aqueduct; next to it are Shafts 515 and 522. At the northeastern corner, it joins the eastern wall. O n top of the wall stands a large stone (0.83 × 0.29 × 0.58 m), which forms a backing to the southern wall of Shaft 515 (Fig. 2.86). O pposite Shaft 522, the wall is partly destroyed. Incorporated in it is an ashlar with dentils. The northern wall starts at a corner with the northeastern wall, forming an obtuse angle.

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The two walls are not joined and there is a considerable difference in the elevation of the foundations of the two walls. The northeastern wall is founded on bedrock, whereas the northern wall is founded on an accumulation of stones and earth 0.40 m high (Fig. 2.87). Yet, it appears that the northeastern wall abuts the northern wall and not vice versa. Its corner stones are diagonally cut, to fit the northern wall. O ne stone in the northern wall juts out past the end of the wall, eastward. It seems that the aqueduct was built later than the enclosure, but while the latter still was in use. Apparently, the aqueduct cut the northeastern corner of the enclosure and the wall was built to reclose the

Fig. 2.84. South wall of Enclosure 53; looking north.

Fig. 2.83. Aerial view of Enclosure 53; looking north.

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Fig. 2.85. East wall of Enclosure 53; bottom left, Distribution Pool 533 and Pipes 534 and 535. Looking east.

enclosure. A canal was built under the new section of the enclosure wall to supply water to the system (Canal 523, see below). The northern wall is about 21 m long and 0.60 m wide and is preserved to a height of 1.20 m. The lowest course is constructed of well-dressed ashlars carefully fitted to each other (Fig. 2.88). The ashlars are laid in headers, their length being the full width of the wall, their height c. 0.35 m. The upper courses survive only in two places. Their method of construction resembles that of the southern and eastern walls: ashlars alternating with smaller stones. The northwestern corner is well constructed from ashlars. The bottom course is similar to that of the northern wall. The second course is formed by a single, large stone (1.10 × 0.52 × 0.60 m). This stone is not as well dressed as the other ashlars, and diagonal tooling marks are visible on it. The western wall survives only for 1.55 m, at the northwestern corner (Fig. 2.89). Except for the abovementioned large stone, only part of the lowest course survives, constructed of ashlars 0.60 m wide and 0.30 m high. The reconstructed length of the wall was c. 11 m. As no entrances were found in any of the other walls, presumably it was situated in this wall. The southwestern corner of the enclosure is missing. At the presumed corner were found remains of Canal 538, 2.00 m long, 0.20 m wide and 0.15 m deep. It was cut in the pebbles bedrock and was not plastered. It

Fig. 2.86. Northeast corner of Enclosure 53. To left, the junction between the north and northeast walls; behind, Shaft 522 and Canal 524, followed by the east wall of the enclosure. Distribution Pool 533 is visible in the corner. Two parallel pipes (532) lie at the foot of the walls. Looking east.

561

562

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0

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m

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525

Plan 2.24. Enclosure 53, plan.

705

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531

523

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511

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502

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

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Fig. 2.87. The foundations of the northeast wall of Enclosure 53 (right) are deeper than those of the north wall, abutting it on the left; looking north.

Fig. 2.88. North wall of Enclosure 53. The lower course is made up entirely of ashlars, while the top one is constructed of alternating ashlars and fill of small stones. Looking south.

was covered with ashlars in secondary use (Figs. 2.90, 2.91) and apparently drained water from the enclosure. The enclosure served as a family burial ground, with a tomb (700; see Chapter 4, below). In addition, a water supply system was found within it. The water pipes of this system cross the enclosure and were not utilized inside. The components of this system controlled supply of water to destinations outside the enclosure. Adjacent to the northeastern wall of the enclosure, opposite Shaft 522, is Distribution Pool 531 (see Plan 2.23; Fig. 2.92). It measures 0.50 × 0.60 m, and survives to a depth of 0.77 m. The northeastern wall of Enclosure 53 serves as the northern wall of the distribution pool. The lower part of the western and southern walls are constructed of very small fieldstones; each course is 5 cm high. O nly the top course, which is above the level of the bedrock, is constructed of larger, hewn stones. In the western wall, the fieldstones are set in crumbling gray concrete. The southern wall is built without bonding material. The eastern wall was partly destroyed and subsequently repaired with larger stones. The bedrock serves as the floor of the pool. No traces of plaster were observed on either the walls or floor. Canal 523 enters the distribution pool from the north, under the northeastern wall of the enclosure. This canal (see above) branches off the aqueduct canal and supplied water to the installations in the

Fig. 2.89. Enclosure 53. To left, the north wall and the northwest corner; bottom left, the only remnants of the west wall near the corner; to right, drainage canal and part of the south wall; center, the enclosure before its excavation. Looking east.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct ◄ Fig. 2.90. South wall of Enclosure 53 (bottom); behind it, the cover stones of Drainage Canal 538; top left, the northwest corner of the enclosure; to right, the enclosure before its excavation. Looking north.

Fig. 2.91. Section across Drainage Canal 538. The canal is cut in the pebble bedrock and covered with stone slabs. Looking east.

Fig. 2.92. Northeast corner of Enclosure 53; Distribution Pools 531 (top) and 533 (bottom) with the pipe that connects them; right center, the northeast wall of the enclosure and to its right, Shaft 522. Looking west.

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enclosure. The outlets to two clay pipes (532) are located in the western wall of the distribution pool. The inner diameter of the southern pipe is 0.13 m and that of the northern, 0.12 m. The pipes were laid in a canal cut in bedrock, next to the northern wall of the enclosure (Fig. 2.93), and are made up of 0.32 m long segments. Along the topside of the pipes are elliptical openings, usually at the same location on both pipes. It is not clear whether or not they were deliberately made (Hodge 1992:114). Most segments were found cracked and broken. The pipelines are not straight; they wind along the canal. The pipelines follow the full length of the northern wall of the enclosure and leave it near the northwestern corner, under the stones of the western wall. As mentioned above, at no point along the way do they supply water to any of the installations within the enclosure. In spite of the fact that the pipes lie 0.67 m below the foundations of the enclosure wall, the canal in which they lie was cut after the wall was built. The canal closely follows the contour of the wall, including its corner with the northeastern wall. Two additional pipes reached Pool 533 (see below), originated in the eastern wall of Distribution Pool 531, and were cut off at the time of the repairs to the eastern wall. At the northeastern corner of the enclosure, 0.90 m from Distribution Pool 531, there is a pentagonal plastered distribution pool (533). The walls, 0.20–0.30 m in width and 0.50–0.60 m in height, are built of fieldstones set in concrete and coated with plain gray plaster. The plaster covers the tops of the walls, and in the north and east reaches the enclosure walls. The floor was plastered as well and sloped southward (Fig. 2.94). Inlets of two pipes are located in the northwestern wall. O ne, 0.10 m above the floor, was built as an integral part of the distribution pool. To judge by its direction, it probably arrives from Distribution Pool 531, except that as mentioned earlier, this pipe was cut when the eastern wall of that pool was repaired. The inner diameter of the pipe is 8 cm and its wall thickness, 1 cm. The other is set in a recess cut on top of the northwestern wall, 0.40 m above the floor. The inner diameter is 9 cm, with a wall thickness of 7 mm. O nly one segment of this pipe, 0.42 m long, survives in situ. Another segment, apparently originally connecting to Distribution Pool 531, was also destroyed when the eastern wall of the latter was repaired; its fragments were found between the stones of the wall. In the surviving segment, the narrow end faces Pool 533;

Fig. 2.93. Pipes 532 lie in a canal parallel to the north wall of Enclosure 53 (right); looking west.

thus, the direction of the flow was from Distribution Pool 531 to Pool 533. Two pipes leave the pool through the southern wall (see Plan 2.23; Fig. 2.95). O ne, at the bottom of the pool, is well integrated into the wall. Its inner diameter is 0.12 m, and 0.10 m from its end there is an iron strainer. The strainer consists of three bars, 5 mm thick, which cross at the middle. The central portion of the strainer is broken. A stone that lodged in the pipe prevented it from filling up, and the clay that was found inside is very crumbly. The other pipe is aligned above the first, in a recess cut on top of the southern wall. Its inner diameter is 8 cm, its wall thickness 9 mm and its segments are 0.42 m long. The first segment was apparently sawed in a straight line. The two segments are preserved in situ. The pipe continues southward along the eastern wall of the enclosure, in a shallow canal cut in bedrock (534). The pipe was cleared for c. 5 m, and its continuation (537) was discovered near the southern wall. An additional pipe (535) starts 0.45 m south of Pool 533 and continues to the southwest at bedrock level. The

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

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Fig. 2.94. Distribution Pool 533. Two pipes enter this pool, coming from Distribution Pool 531 (top left). One enters close to the top and the other, near the bottom. Top right, Shaft 522. Looking northwest.

Fig. 2.95. Distribution Pool 533. To the right of the meter stick, two pipes leave the pool: Pipe 534 at the top and the other at the bottom. Bottom, the top pipe, which enters the pool from the west. Looking east.

pipe was uncovered along 2.50 m. Its segments are 0.35 m long, their inner diameter is 8 cm, and the wall thickness, 9 mm. Its state of preservation is poorer than that of Pipe 534. Pipe 535 preceded Pool 533, and was cut by it. There is no evidence of any connection of the pipe to the pool. Two sections of clay pipes were found next to the southern wall of the enclosure (Plan 2.24). O ne is Pipe 536, uncovered along 1.50 m and running southwest. It is in a very poor state of preservation; only one segment survives completely. The segment is 0.48 m long; its inner diameter is 9 cm. The second pipe (537) is 0.85 m from the eastern wall of the enclosure and was cleared along 0.80 m. This pipe is apparently the continuation of Pipe 534. The pipe passes through the eastern wall of the enclosure. O utside Enclosure 53, next to its southeastern corner, is Cistern 541 (1.70 × 3.40 m; Plan 2.25, Fig. 2.96). Two construction phases can be discerned. At first, a 1.70 m deep cistern was constructed, of fieldstones set in gray concrete. The walls and floor were coated

with gray plaster containing gravel. Subsequently, the walls were raised 0.40 m, with ashlars in secondary use. The addition is gray plastered, with a crosshatch pattern, similar to that on the outer wall of Pool 78. The bond of the second layer over the first is clearly visible (Fig. 2.97). Along the northern wall, the addition extends 0.80 m west of the western wall of the cistern. Between the cistern and the eastern wall of the enclosure is Canal 542 (see below). Several layers can be discerned in the fill of the cistern (Plan 2.25: Section 1-1, from bottom up): (1) A 0.12 m thick layer of silt, identical to that partly blocking the aqueduct from Section 48 onward. Next to the bottom of the western wall, a group of vessels was found in the silt. The ceramics included a Baniyas bowl (see Chapter 10, below) and two juglets (Fig. 2.98), dating to the third–fourth centuries CE. (2) A 0.65 m high collapse of stones of varying size. (3) A fill of light brown earth. (4) An orderly layer of stones, at the height where the addition begins.

90

Mo she hartal

1 536

542

541

1

0

1

m 542

536 541

1-1 Plan 2.25. Cistern 541, plan and cross section.

Fig. 2.96. Cistern 541; to right, Canal 542 and the south wall of Enclosure 53. Looking west.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

The cistern appears to have served as a water collector, but as no exit pipes were observed, it remains unclear how the water inside was utilized. Between the northern wall of Cistern 541 and the southern wall of Enclosure 53, there is a plastered canal (542). Its cross section is 0.17 × 0.17 m and it is approximately 4.20 m long. Its walls and floor are coated with a plain gray plaster. The eastern end of the canal, next to the northeastern corner of Cistern 541, is blocked by a wall 0.34 m wide. The outlet of a clay pipe (536) lies 0.17 m west of this wall in the southern wall of the enclosure. The inner diameter of the pipe is 8 cm (Fig. 2.99). The water entered the canal through this pipe, and flowed to its western end, which is closed off by a wall, 0.17 m west of the addition to the wall of Cistern 541. At this point, the canal turned south, apparently to enter the cistern through an installation that did not survive. Beyond Shaft 522, the aqueduct canal (524) continues 6 m northwest until it reaches Settling Pool 551 (Plan Fig. 2.97. Cistern 541. The seam between the first phase ► (bottom) and the second. First-phase plaster is plain; the second phase has a crosshatch pattern. The second-phase plaster can be seen adhering to the first. Looking north.

1

2

4

3

Fig. 2.98. Pottery from the sediments in Cistern 541. No.

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

Parallels

1

1349/1

Bowl

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.5:4, 5

2

1348/1

Juglet

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.7:1, 2

3

1349/3

Juglet

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.7:1, 2

4

1349/4

Juglet

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.7:3, 4

91

92

Mo she hartal

2.26; Fig. 2.100). The canal walls and floor are coated with gray plaster with a herringbone pattern, the direction of the pattern changing alternately from vertical to horizontal (Fig. 2.101). The canal floor is considerably damaged, enabling the study of its construction: a layer of pebbles was set over bedrock, and this in turn was superposed by a layer of concrete mixed with fine pebbles. O ver this, the final layer of plaster was laid and the herringbone pattern applied. The canal walls were partly destroyed, to enable the laying of Pipe 527. O nly one cover stone survives in situ. Distribution Pool 525 (0.45 × 0.80 m, depth 0.50 m; Fig. 2.102) is situated 3 m west of Shaft 522, between the aqueduct and the northern wall of Enclosure 53. O n the southern side, a small section of the shaft that was built above it survives. It is 1.00 m high, constructed of flat stones set in crumbling gray concrete. The water entered the pool through an opening in the northwestern corner. It left through a clay pipe, 0.12 m in diameter, situated at the bottom of the western wall.

Fig. 2.100. Canal 524. Pipe 527 crosses it behind the cover stone. To left, the north wall of Enclosure 53 and just above it, the wall of the shaft over Distribution Pool 525; top, the shaft over Settling Pool 551. Looking west.

Fig. 2.99. Canal 542, between the south wall of Enclosure 53 (right) and Cistern 541. The opening of Pipe 536 is visible to the right of the meter stick. Looking west.

Fig. 2.101. Canal 524. Herringbone pattern is applied to the wall plaster. Center, the wall of the shaft over Distribution Pool 525; top, the wall of Enclosure 53.

93

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

527

552

524

551

1

1

526 528

525

551 524

0

1

m

552

1-1

Plan 2.26. Settling Pool 551, plan and cross section.

An iron strainer was fixed across the opening of the pipe. The pool was cut by a canal, in which Pipe 526 was laid. The laying of the pipe caused severe damage to the pool: the floor and the entire eastern wall were destroyed, as was the southern half of the western wall, including the outlet pipe. O nly one rod survives of the iron strainer across this outlet (Fig. 2.103). Pipe 526 is 0.10 m in diameter, and apparently originates in Shaft 522. It lies south of the aqueduct canal

Fig. 2.102. Distribution Pool 525. To left, the shaft wall; center, Pipe 526, which crosses the pool and destroyed it. Looking west.

Fig. 2.103. Remains of the original clay pipe of Distribution Pool 525, as cut by Pipe 526 (to left). One iron rod from the strainer survives in situ. Looking west.

94

Mo she hartal

and as mentioned, inside the remains of Distribution Pool 525 (see Fig. 2.102). The pipe bypasses Settling Pool 551 to the south; its continuation westward was not excavated. Pipe 527 is 0.12 m in diameter and crosses Canal 524 opposite Distribution Pool 525 (Fig. 2.104). The pipe passes through openings cut about mid-height in the canal walls. It was apparently laid after the aqueduct canal had ceased to function. Similarly to Pipe 526, this pipe also bypasses Settling Pool 551 on the south and lies above it. Pipe 528 emerges from the wall of Canal 524 0.90 m before the canal enters Settling Pool 551. This pipe, as well, was laid in openings cut in the canal wall, subsequently repaired with small stones, without mortar. The diameter of this pipe is abnormally small, only 5.5 cm. O nce outside the canal wall, the pipe connects to pipe segments of the usual 0.12 m diameter, turning to the west, parallel to Pipe 527 and just below it. The pipe is surrounded by ashes and small stones (Fig. 2.104).

Settling Pool 551 is constructed similarly to the other settling pools. It is rectangular, with round corners, and measures 0.60 × 0.94 m (Plan 2.26: Section 1-1). It is cut in bedrock to a depth of 1.40 m and its floor is 0.30 m lower than the canal floor. The pool is coated with a herringbone-patterned gray plaster (Fig. 2.105). It was found half full of silt that had penetrated inside. Above the settling pool is a 1.80 m deep shaft. Its walls are constructed of square stones, and it was plastered with plaster identical to that of the settling pool. The plaster survived to the full height of the shaft only at the southwestern corner. The remainder of the plaster was destroyed by the roots of a tree that had penetrated between the plaster and the wall. The shaft opening is closed by a stone (0.90 × 1.20 × 0.15 m), which rests solidly on the western wall, touches the eastern wall at one point only and makes contact with neither the northern nor southern walls. The top of the eastern corner was constructed of inexpertly laid fieldstones, without bonding material or plaster (see

Fig. 2.104. Pipe 528 fitted in the breach in the south wall of Canal 524. The breach was patched but not plastered. Behind the wall the pipe turns to right. Center, Pipe 527; top, Pipe 526. Looking south.

Fig. 2.105. Settling Pool 551 and its shaft walls, gray-plastered with a herringbone pattern. looking south.

95

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

Fig. 2.106. Settling Pool 551. Northeast corner of the shaft, after removal of the fieldstones that closed the breach. To right, the canal of Pipe 553. Looking west.

1

563

562

561

1

Fig. 2.10). It appears that these stones closed off a gap that was made in the wall to enable the cleaning of the settling pool, without removing the heavy cover stone (Fig. 2.106). About 15 m of the aqueduct canal (552) connects Settling Pool 551 and Distribution Pool 561 (Plan 2.27). Along this section, the canal was found to lie 2.20 m below the surface. The canal is covered with cover stones, mostly building blocks in secondary use. The canal itself was not excavated. In the section of earth above it, several pebble layers and pottery concentrations can be seen. Pipe 553 lies parallel to the canal, north of it. It consists of 0.42 m long segments, and its inner diameter is 0.13 m. The pipe lies in a canal cut in bedrock and is surrounded by ashes and pebbles. Six segments of the pipe were cleared in the excavation; the rest of the area was cleared only to the top of the stones covering it (Fig. 2.106). Fragments of an earlier pipe were found in the ashes lying over the pipe. The pipe enters Manhole 554 (0.44 × 0.86, depth 0.52 m), cut in bedrock. Its northern wall is faced with pebbles, with neither bonding material nor plaster. The western wall is constructed of pebbles set in crumbling

0

1

m 561

562

1-1 Plan 2.27. Distribution Pool 561, plan and cross section.

cement, the southern wall is not faced at all, and the eastern wall has not survived (Fig. 2.107). There are no traces of plaster on either walls or floor. The manhole was covered with cover stones measuring 0.50 × 0.20 × 0.10 m, one of which survives in situ. The manhole served apparently for the maintenance of the pipe. In the western wall of the manhole is the inlet of Pipe 555, a continuation of Pipe 553 (Fig. 2.107). Six of its segments were uncovered along 2.40 m. Another section of the same pipe (Pipe 563) was uncovered c. 6 m to the west, opposite Distribution Pool 561. Immediately after leaving Manhole 554, Pipe 555 crossed a rock-cut trough (556). This canal is perpendicular to the aqueduct canal, c. 0.50 m north of it. The trough survives along 0.95 m; its original length was apparently 1.25 m. It is 0.40 m wide and 0.40 m deep. It was covered with cover stones, two of which remain in situ (Fig. 2.108). The trough was not plastered and no finds at all were discovered within it. There is no connection between the trough (556) and the aqueduct canal, and it does not seem to have formed part of the water supply system. It may in fact be a (child’s?) grave, cut by the pipe. North of Pipe 553 is a rock-cut platform (557), which apparently functioned as a mixing surface for

96

Mo she hartal

Fig. 2.107. Manhole 554; at its bottom is the outlet to Pipe 555, which continues behind; to right, the cover stone of Tomb 556. Looking west.

the plaster used along the aqueduct. A 0.20 m deep layer of ashes, used for the plaster or for packing the clay pipes, was found on this surface. Distribution Pool 561 (0.43 × 0.78 m) is the last one of its kind along the aqueduct (see Plan 2.27). Its floor is partly paved with roof-tile fragments. The water inlet is in the northern wall of the pool, and the outlet, in the northwestern corner (Fig. 5.109). Here, unlike the usual clay pipe outlets found in all the other distribution pools, a bronze pipe with three radially projecting fins was discovered on the floor not in situ, (Fig. 2.110). It may be part of either the inlet or the outlet system. A shaft is built above the pool, its walls constructed of fieldstones set in crumbling concrete. Next to the aqueduct the wall survives to a height of c. 1 m, while the western wall survives to 2.40 m above the pool floor. The top of this wall is flush with the present ground level, indicating that this was the ancient ground level as well and that the aqueduct at this point was dug deep. Because of its narrow dimensions and great depth, the shaft is not likely to have been used for routine maintenance, unless by means of remotely operated tools. The shaft was found full of earth, containing pottery dating to the second– fifth centuries CE (Fig. 2.111). A layer of debris c. 2 m high accumulated above the aqueduct canal. L arge amounts of pottery, dating to the second–fifth centuries CE, were found in the excavation sections (Fig. 2.112), but no architecture was observed there.

Fig. 2.108. Tomb 556; to right, Manhole 554; to left, Pipe 555. Looking north.

97

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

0

Fig. 2.110. Bronze pipe, with three radially projecting fins, found in Distribution Pool 561.

Fig. 2.109. Distribution Pool 561 at the bottom of its shaft. The water outlet can be seen to the right of the meter stick. Looking west.

2 1

4

3

7

5 6

8 9

10

11

12

Fig. 2.111. Pottery from Distribution Pool 561.

2

cm

98

Mo she hartal

◄ Fig. 2.111 No. 1

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

Parallels

1206/1

Bowl

L ight red

See Fig. 10.5:4, 5

2

1206/3

Bowl

Gray

See Fig. 10.5:4, 5

3

1206/15

Cooking bowl

Gray

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 5

4

1206/9

Krater

L ight red

See Fig. 10.6:8

5

1206/12

Cooking pot

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 127:9

6

1210/5

Cooking Pot

Gray

Hartal 2005: Fig. 127:9

7

1210/3

Jar

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 136:12

8

1206/7

Jar

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 136:13

9

1206/4

Jar

L ight red

See Fig. 10.8:5

10

1206/8

Pithos

Gray

Hartal 2005: Fig. 142:7

11

1206/10

Pithos

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 142:2

12

1206/11

Pipe

L ight red

Fig. 2.112 ► No.

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

Parallels

1

1205/2

Bowl

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.5:4, 5

2

1204/12

Bowl

Reddish yellow

See Fig. 10.5:4, 5

3

1207/2

Bowl

Pinkish white

See Fig. 10.5:8

4

1204/13

Cooking bowl

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 129:6, 7

5

1204/15

Cooking bowl

L ight red

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 5

6

1205/18

Cooking bowl

L ight gray

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 14:1–6

7

1204/2

Cooking bowl

L ight red

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 11:8

8

1204/1

Krater

Pink

See Fig. 10.6:8

9

1204/16

Krater

L ight red

see Fig. 10.6:8

10

1207/7

Krater

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 134:7, 8

11

1204/3

Cooking pot

L ight red clay, gray core

See Fig. 10.8:2

12

1205/1

Cooking pot

L ight red

See Fig. 10.8:2

13

1207/13

Juglet

L ight red

See Fig. 10.7:1, 2

14

1207/14

Juglet

Red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 134:7, 8

15

1205/23

Juglet

Red

See Fig. 10.7:4, 5

16

1204/5

Juglet

Pink

Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 7

17

1204/7

Juglet

L ight red

See Fig. 10.7:3

18

1204/6

Juglet

L ight red

See Fig. 10.7:3

19

1205/8

Jar

Reddish yellow

Frankel et al. 2001:63, Type 45, Fig. 3.10:3–6

20

1205/1

Jar

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Fig. 136:16

21

1207/9

Jar

Pink

See Fig. 10.7:8

22

1207/1

Pithos

L ight reddish brown

Hartal 2005: Figs. 51:2, 3, 6; 140:1–6

23

1207/5

Pithos

Reddish brown

Hartal 2005: Figs. 51:5; 140:7, 8

24

1207/3

Pithos

L ight red

Hartal 2005: Figs. 51:5; 140:7, 8

25

1205/21

Pithos

L ight reddish brown

Hartal 2005: Fig. 144:7

99

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

1

2

3

4

7

5 6

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15 16

17

18

19

22 21

20

23

24

Fig. 2.112. Pottery from the fill over the aqueduct canal in Sections 52–56.

25

100

Mo she hartal

Fig. 2.113. Aerial view of the western section of the aqueduct; looking south.

Up to Enclosure 53, the aqueduct stretches in a westerly direction, parallel to the northern boundary of the city. Along Section 51, the direction veers toward the northwest, and the aqueduct retreats away from the city boundary (Fig. 2.113). The aqueduct maintains this direction for 95 m. Along most of this stretch (beginning at Distribution Pool 561), there are no water distribution installations. At Section 581, the aqueduct changes course again as it approaches the city. Except for Pool 601, which forms the terminus of the aqueduct, there are no distribution pools along this section either. Therefore, the double direction change cannot be explained by the need to provide water to unknown installations. The reason behind it remains unclear. The remainder of the aqueduct, from Distribution Pool 561 westward, was divided for purposes of documentation into four sections of the aqueduct canal. The excavation cleared the canal only to the top of the cover stones; the canal itself was not excavated. For 60 m beyond Distribution Pool 561, the direction of the canal (562) runs to the northwest. The canal is covered with stone slabs, the gaps between them filled with small stones and gray plaster. Next to Pool 561, the cover stones were found to lie 2 m underground. Ground level descends gradually toward the northwest, so that at the end of the section the cover stones are only 1 m underground. In the sections created on either

side of the excavation trench, pebble concentrations, containing a large amount of pottery and fragments of plaster, are visible. In the southern section, a layer of plaster fragments slopes westward from the top of Shaft 561. These fragments were apparently laid on the contemporary ground level. Along Section 571, the aqueduct course changes back to a westerly direction for a further 32 m. The canal is here covered with small, hewn stones, c. 0.50 m below the surface. At this section the aqueduct is well away from the city and passes through an agricultural area, and yielded hardly any pottery. Further along, the course of the aqueduct (581) changes to a southwesterly direction. It is here covered with fieldstones, less than 0.50 m below the surface. Along the last 12 m of the aqueduct, only the lower part of the canal survives. Its walls were coated with three layers of plaster, all in a very poor state of preservation and fallen into the canal. O n the floor of the canal, the plaster of the last phase of use had been laid over a layer of potsherds. The aqueduct canal ends in a shallow cistern (601; 2.95 × 3.25 m, depth 0.70 m; Plan 2.28). Its eastern wall is constructed of small and medium fieldstones and coated with red-on-gray plaster, laid over a layer of potsherds. O nly one course of the southern wall, 0.60 m wide and constructed of ashlars 0.25 m high, still stands. No plaster remains on this wall (Fig. 2.114). The western wall is better preserved, to a height of two

622

621

0

613

m

0.5

1-1

614

612

613

611

614

Plan 2.28. Cistern 601 and the pipes in Sections 61 and 62, plan and cross sections.

611

612

1 1

613

612

614

611

2-2

601

0

0

1

m

591

2

m

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

101

2

2

102

Mo she hartal

Fig. 2.114. Cistern 601. To right, the west wall; center, south wall, with the pipes behind it. Looking south.

courses. It, too, is built of ashlars (0.70 × 0.50 × 0.20 m) and is 0.90 m wide. In the lower course, the stones are laid on their broad side, while in the upper course they stand on end. O nly the upper course of the outer face of the wall was cleared. It is constructed of ashlars laid perpendicular to the stones of the inner face. Three layers of plaster are preserved on the wall (Fig. 2.115): (1) The lower layer is 5 cm thick, of gray plaster with small gravel; over it, a 3 mm thick layer of red plaster was applied. (2) The second layer is of 1 cm thick gray plaster, topped by red plaster, 3 mm thick. (3) A small fragment of gray plaster with a herringbone pattern was found at the foot of the wall, indicating that originally the walls were coated with plaster identical to that on the canal walls. The cistern floor was partially damaged. O ne section survives at the northeastern corner, next to the northern wall (Fig. 2.116). The floor consists of three layers: a layer of pebbles over bedrock, superposed by a 4 cm thick layer of gray plaster with a large quantity of small gravel. The topmost layer is of gray plaster, without gravel. The intermediate layer yielded a coin of Paneas, dated to the rule of Caracalla, in 211 CE (Chapter 3: Coin No. 1). This coin thus dates the application of the last layer to the early third century. The water entered the cistern at the northeastern corner. The canal at this point is much damaged. Two Fig. 2.116. Cistern 601. The floor in the northeast ► corner. To right, the pebble foundation; to left, the top layer of plaster. Looking east.

Fig. 2.115. Cistern 601. Layers of plaster on the west wall; looking west.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

103

fieldstones, 0.20 m high, block the inlet from the canal, above its original floor(?), possible evidence of the raising of the canal floor at a later date. Two systems of clay pipes, through which the water left the pool, were discovered in the southeastern corner (Figs. 2.114, 2.117). The two systems represent two phases: in the first phase two large pipes left the pool (see below, Pipes 611 and 612). In the second phase, they went out of use and they were replaced by two narrower pipes (Pipes 613 and 614; Fig. 2.118). Pipe 611 is the western of the two wide pipes (see Figs. 2.13, 2.119). Its inner diameter is 0.21 m, its walls are 1.5 cm thick and the segments are 0.38–0.40 m long (see Fig. 2.12). The remains of the pipe are missing for the first 2 m beyond Cistern 601; then for 6 m only the lower half survives and, finally, eight complete segments were found. The joints between adjacent segments are of white plaster. Small stones were laid around the pipe and it was surrounded by gray ash. Pipe 612 lies parallel to Pipe 611, 0.20 m east of it; only its bottom half survives. It is surrounded by small stones and gray ash, of harder consistency than

that surrounding Pipe 611. The segments are similar in size to those of the other pipe and both appear to have functioned concurrently. Pipe 613 is 8 cm in diameter and was laid after Pipe 611 went out of use (see Fig. 2.119). It begins

Fig. 2.117. Cistern 601. Bottom, Clay Pipes 613 and 614, which distributed water from the cistern to the city. Looking north.

Fig. 2.119. Pipe 613 (right), Pipe 611 (center) and Pipe 612 overlaid by Pipe 614 (top left); looking south.

Fig. 2.118. The clay pipes leaving Cistern 601. To right, Pipe 613, with the iron rods of the strainer; in front of it, remains of Pipe 611; to left, Pipe 614, lying in the remains of Pipe 612. Looking south.

104

Mo she hartal

at the same location where Pipe 611 exited the pool and utilizes the latter’s first segment as an inlet funnel. An iron strainer was installed in the first segment of the narrow pipe. Immediately after emerging from the pool, the pipe turns west and continues south, parallel to Pipe 611. Initially, it is surrounded by small stones and plaster; further on the plaster did not survive. The pipe is well preserved and appears to have functioned until the end of the aqueduct’s use. Pipe 614 is 0.10 m in diameter and lies throughout its length inside the remains of Pipe 612. The top of the older pipe was cut off and its bottom filled with ash to hold the new pipe. Seven meters from Cistern 601, the four pipes descend fairly steeply for 4 m. At the bottom of the slope, Pipe 611 changes from nearly smooth segments to parallel-ribbed segments. The pipe continues southward and Pipe 614 crosses over it. Seventeen meters south of Cistern 601, the remains of a further two pipes were discovered (621, 622; see Plan 2.28). They are both 0.12 m in inner diameter and lie in contact with each other. Their origin is unknown, but it is likely that they, too, began in Cistern 601. From Cistern 601 to the end of Section 62, a distance of 19 m, all pipes are parallel and head toward the city. After this, they apparently diverge to various zones of the city. Because of the damage to the pipes caused by the backhoe, their systematic clearing was suspended. Instead, narrow test trenches were cut at intervals perpendicular to the presumed course of the pipes. The first such trench (631), 6 m from the end of Section 62, exposed only two of the six pipes. The others apparently turned to the southeast. In the second trench (632), 14 m further south, again the two pipes were found. In Trench 635, 33 m further along, only one pipe was discovered. In order to find both pipes, two additional trenches were made between the last two. The eastern pipe (633) was fully exposed along this section. It is not laid in a straight line, but its course winds along. Pipe 634 was exposed for 17 m, but its continuation was not found. Pipe 633 was uncovered in Trench 636 as well, 28 m west of Trench 635. At this point, the pipe was cleared for 2.30 m. It ends near Installation 637, of which an east–west wall survives, 3.50 m long and 0.80 m wide. The wall is constructed of hewn stones without bonding material. It resembles the western wall of Cistern 601; however, as its excavation was not completed, its nature and function remain unclear. Trench 638 was cut 12 m west of here, near the northwestern corner of the city,

but no remains of any pipe were found. Installation 637 therefore, may have been a castellum, for the distribution of water within the city.

The Discharge of the Aqueduct The total discharge of the aqueduct was calculated according to Manning’s formulas (Tsuk 1985:48–49): (1) Q = A × v (2) v = 1/nR2/3S1/2 3 Q = discharge (m /sec) A = discharge area (m2) = b × h R = hydraulic radius A/P (m) b = area width (m) P = wetted perimeter (m) h = depth of water (m) S = hydraulic gradient n = Manning roughness coefficient v = mean velocity (m/s) The calculation of the discharge in the eastern section of the aqueduct, between Sections 6 and 7, is based on the following data: Width of the aqueduct canal (b) = 0.43 m The original depth of the canal at this section is not known, but at other points it is approximately 0.5 m. The depth of the water in the canal (h) is calculated as half the canal depth = 0.25 m. The discharge area (A) — 0.25 × 0.43 = 0.107 m2 The wetted perimeter (P) — 2 × 0.25 + 0.43 = 0.93 m The hydraulic radius (R) — 1.07/0.93 = 0.115 m The roughness coefficient (n) = 0.025 The hydraulic gradient (S) = 0.0042. The discharge Q works out to be 0.07 m3/sec or 236 m3/hour. The maximum discharge of this section, if the entire depth of canal was in use, is 563 m3/h. This is less than the calculated discharge of the aqueducts at Susita (587 m3/h; Fahlbusch 1996:59–64) or Sepphoris (541 m3/h; Tsuk 1985:49). The eastern section of the aqueduct conducted water to the northern suburbs of the city and to the fields in Marj el-Wata (see above, Chute 71). The western part of the aqueduct supplied water only to the northwestern suburb, so its discharge was lower. The calculation of the discharge in the western part of the aqueduct, in Section 43, is based on the following data: Width of the aqueduct canal (b) = 0.35 m The original depth of the canal at this section is not known, but at other points it is approximately 0.5 m.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct

The depth of the water in the canal (h) is calculated as half the canal depth = 0.25 m. The discharge area (A) — 0.25 × 0.35 = 0.087 m2 The wetted perimeter (P) — 2 × 0.25 + 0.35 = 0.85 m The hydraulic radius (R) — 0.087/0.85 = 0.1 m The roughness coefficient (n) = 0.025 The hydraulic gradient (S) = 0.0014. The discharge Q works out to be 0.03 m3/sec or 102 m3/hour. The discharge of the aqueduct is greater than that of the ‘Ein Quneiyye springs (c. 95 m3/hour), which apparently served as its water source (see above, pp. 30–31). Similar phenomena were found in other aqueducts, such as those at Sepphoris (Tsuk 1985:48–50). The aqueduct is unlikely to have utilized floodwaters, as it provided drinking water. In addition, floodwaters would have easily blocked up the complex distribution system. The springs’ discharge may have been larger, or conversely, the aqueduct was planned larger than needed.

Dating The dating of the aqueduct is not a simple task. The course of the canal was outside the settled area of the city, so the use of stratigraphic tools is impossible. L ong sections of the aqueduct were built in areas without any finds. In other sections, closer to the city, there were many sherds, but the relation of most of them to the aqueduct is not clear, if at all. Pottery was not used in the management of the aqueducts, so the sherds found in the canal are intrusive. As it can be assumed that the aqueduct canal was cleaned from time to time, the finds in it do not date its construction and give only the terminus post quem of its use. The direct and indirect evidence for the dating of the aqueduct is presented here. The findings from the Baniyas survey (see Chapter 1) determined that the northwestern suburb was built during the first century CE. The earliest layer found in the excavations in the suburb is dated to the second century (see Chapter 12, below). Since the aqueduct served as the main water source for the suburb, it was likely built along with it, namely in the first century CE. The basic plaster of the aqueduct is gray. Use of a single layer of gray plaster was dated by Porath (2002:35) to the time of Herod, in the first century BCE. As Paneas was established in the last years of that century, it is reasonable to assume continuity of use with gray plaster in the first century CE and to

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date the building of the aqueduct to the first century CE. However, the plaster of the aqueduct exhibits a unique treatment, namely the herringbone pattern on its outer face (see above, p. 32). This treatment can indicate a later date in the first century CE, perhaps in its second half. In this period, Paneas was under the rule of Agrippa II, who built much of the city (Josephus War III, 514). A 5 cm thick travertine layer deposited in the eastern section of the aqueduct (see Fig. 2.22) indicates a period of use of several centuries. To keep the aqueduct in a reasonable working condition, routine maintenance was essential. O n the slope of the spur descending to Nahal Govta, as far as Distribution Pool 431, some sections were found to have red-on-gray plaster. Such plaster was dated by Porath (2002:35) to the third–fourth centuries CE. It appears that in the third or fourth century CE a thorough renovation took place. This renovation affected in particular the slope descending to Nahal Govta, where the rush of water down the steep slope caused cumulative damage to the plaster. The damaged plaster was replaced with red-ongray plaster. At several points along the aqueduct, it is clearly discernible that the two-layered red-on-gray plaster is later than the gray: (1) In Section 28, a thin layer of travertine was observed between the gray and the red layers, indicating a certain period of use before the red layer was laid. (2) In Settling Pool 401, two phases can be observed. First, the pool was coated with gray plaster with a herringbone pattern, similarly to the plaster in the canal on either side. L ater, the northern part of the pool (402) was blocked with a large stone, and the pool was recoated with red-on-gray plaster (see Fig. 2.36). (3) Distribution Pool 431 was added as part of the renovations. Cistern 601, the last cistern of the aqueduct, has three layers of plaster. A coin of 211 CE was discovered under the last layer. The coin dates the renovation of the cistern to the third century or later. In the western section, large quantities of silt blocked the aqueduct. several potsherds from the third–fourth centuries were found in the silt removed from Settling Pool 481 (see Fig. 2.64), thus giving a terminus post quem to the blockage. The quantities of silt were so large that the maintenance crews decided not to clear the silt, but rather to lay bypasses of clay pipes to continue the water supply to the installations further west. there was no use of red-on-gray plaster along this section. Furthermore, the laying of the pipes

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damaged the canal floor, and broken wall sections were not repaired. In the silt removed from the bottom of Cistern 541, a third–fourth-century pottery assemblage was recovered (see Fig. 2.98), indicating that the aqueduct was in use at least up to that time. The outer walls of Cistern 78, at the eastern edge of the city, are coated with plaster similar to the plaster of the last stage of Cistern 541, built in the third or the fourth century. The cistern went out of use in or after the fifth century. It was filled with material brought from the northeastern suburb and which contained third–fifth-century pottery (see Fig. 2.28). Pottery found outside the cistern in L 73 (see Fig. 2.29), as well as a coin discovered in Pipe 74, indicates that this section functioned at least until the fourth century CE. The aqueduct appears to have been used throughout the existence of the northwestern suburb, being its main source of water. The survey findings indicate that the suburb was abandoned in the first half of the fifth century.3 This abandonment was caused by a worsening state of security, which in turn affected the economy of the city (Hartal 1989:133; 2005:446–447). At the same time, a street in the center of the city was destroyed by a conflagration and was never rebuilt (Israeli 2008b). The finds that penetrated the aqueduct installations (see Figs. 2.60, 2.64, 2.111) and accumulated over the canal (see Fig. 2.112) are dated in the main to the fourth and fifth centuries, indicating an end to the use of the aqueduct around this time. The foregoing conclusions point to a life of over 400 years for the aqueduct, from the second half of the first century to the first half of the fifth century CE.

Metrology During the study of the aqueduct and its planning considerations, the question of the basic unit of measurement used was central. The dimensions of Cistern 541 may provide the key to this question. The length (3.40 m), width (1.70 m) and depth of its original phase (1.70 m) clearly divide into units of

1.7 cm. Thus its length is 200 units and its width and depth are 100 units each. A confirmation comes from Canal 542; its width and depth are 0.17 m, i.e., 10 units. The nearest known unit of measurement is the digit, a length unit equal to 1/16 feet or 1/24 cubit. There are several values to the digit, which can range from 1.65 to 2.03 cm. The conventional value of the Roman digit is 1.85 cm. The literature does not mention a digit of 1.7 cm except the digit that was calculated according the Nippur cubit, namely 1.72 cm. But the distance in space and time between the Nippur cubit (Mesopotamia, c. 2650 BCE) and the Paneas aqueduct is too great to allow its consideration as a source of the unit measurement of the aqueduct. To evaluate the validity of this unit along different stretches of the aqueduct, all the measurements taken of the canal, installations, and cover stones (see Tables 2.1–2.8) were divided into various lengths by the digit. Division by 1.7 seems to yield the most reasonable results, although not every measurement divides exactly by 1.7. The deviations arise from three causes: (1) The builders of the aqueduct did not aim at great accuracy. Along the course of the canal, variations of c. 1 cm in the width were observed, sometimes at two points very close to each other. The walls of the canal and installations are not perfectly vertical and the width thus varies sometimes from the top to the bottom at the same point. (2) Some of the cover stones were taken from dismantled buildings, so their dimensions may not be consistent with those of the aqueduct. (3) O ur measurements were not always accurate, due to rounded corners and uneven walls. Therefore, we rounded off the measurements to the nearest centimeter. The combination of these three causes could explain the deviation of the actual dimensions from the planned ones. Taking into account the aforementioned difficulties, a preference for round figures is reflected in the dimensions of the aqueduct. This is especially noticeable in the dimensions of the canal: 20 digits wide by 30 digits deep.

Notes 1 The survey under excavation of the aqueduct were carried out as Permit No. A-1323. 2 From 1991 to 1994 the western part of the aqueduct was excavated and the eastern cemetery was investigated (Permit Nos. A-1829, A-1876, A-2002, A-2122). The

excavation was conducted within the framework of the Baniyas Excavation Project conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Preliminary reports were published: Hartal 1985; 1989:21, Photos 13–17; 1995; 1997:5–8; 1998; 2002a; 2002b.

Chapter 2: The Paneas Aqueduct 3 In Stratum 1 at the excavations in the northwestern suburb, late Byzantine and Early Islamic pottery was found (see Figs. 10.1–10.4). However, no evidence of construction of this period was uncovered in the excavation and no Early Islamic

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pottery was recovered near the aqueduct. It seems that in the late Byzantine and the Early Islamic periods there was some kind of activity in the northwestern suburb, but apparently the area was not residential (see Part 4, below).

R eferences Berlin A.M. 1999. The Archaeology of Ritual: The Sanctuary of Pan at Banias/Caesarea Philippi. BASOR 315:27–45. Berlin A.M. In preparation. The Sanctuary of Pan at BaniasCaesarea Philippi: The Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Pottery. In Z.U. Ma‘oz. Paneion: Excavations at the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi, 1988–1993 (IAA Reports). Jerusalem. Bruun C. 1991. The Water Supply of Ancient Rome: A Study of Roman Imperial Administration (Commentationes Humanarum L itterarum 93). Helsinki. Fabio E. and Fassitelli L . 1954. Roman Pipes and Valves. Rome. Fahlbusch H. 1986. Über Abflußmessung und Standardisierung bei den Wasserversorgungsanlagen Roms. Wasserversorgung im antiken Rom 3: Auflage. Munich–Vienna. Pp. 129–144. Fahlbusch H. 1996. The Aqueducts. In Z. Meshel, H. Fahlbusch, Ts. Tsuk and Y. Peleg. The Water-Supply System of Susita. Tel Aviv–L übeck. Pp. 40–65. Forbes R.J. 1964. Studies in Ancient Technology I. L eiden. Frankel R., Getzov N., Aviam M. and Degani A. 2001. Settlement Dynamics and Regional Diversity in Ancient Galilee: Archaeological Survey of Upper Galilee (IAA Reports 14). Jerusalem. Frontinus. De aquae ductu Urbis Romae. C.E. Bennett transl. (L oeb Classical L ibrary). Cambridge, Mass.–L ondon 1925. Gilad D and Glasman H. 1991. Survey of Northern Israel Springs: Springs Description, Basic Data and Chemical Analyses. Report No. 1: The Golan Heights. Jerusalem. (Hebrew). Grimal P. 1961. Frontinu: Les aqueducts de la ville de Rome. Paris. Guérin M.V. 1880. Description géographiqe, historique et archéologique de la Palestine. Troisième partie—Galilée II. Paris. Hartal M. 1985. Banias, the Aqueduct. ESI 4:8. Hartal M. 1989. Northern Golan Heights: The Archaeological Survey as a Source of Regional History. Qazrin (Hebrew; English summary). Hartal M. 1995. Banias, Aqueduct. ESI 13:1–2. Hartal M. 1997. Banias, the Aqueduct. ESI 16:5–8. Hartal M. 1998. The Aqueduct to Baniyas. Qadmoniot 115:26–29 (Hebrew). Hartal M. 2001. The al-Subayba (Nimrod) Fortress: Towers 11 and 9 (IAA Reports 11). Jerusalem. Hartal M. 2002a. The Aqueduct to Banias. In D. Amit, J. Patrich and Y. Hirschfeld eds. The Aqueducts of Israel (JRA Supplement Series 46). Portsmouth. Pp. 88–103.

Hartal M. 2002b. The Banias Aqueduct. In C. O hlig, Y. Peleg and Ts. Tsuk eds. Cura Aquarum in Israel. Siegburg. Pp. 47–54. Hartal M. 2005. The Land of the Ituraens: Archaeology and History of the Northern Golan in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods (Golan Studies 2). Qazrin. (Hebrew; English summary). Hartal M., Hudson N. and Berlin A.M. 2008. Khirbat elHawarit: A Ceramic Workshop on the Mount Hermon Slopes. ‘Atiqot 59:131–155. Herschel C.1899. Frontinus: the Two Books on the Water Supply of Rome (Reprint 1973). Boston. Hodge T.A. 1992. Roman Aqueducts and Water Supply. L ondon. Israeli S. 2008a. Area B: Stratigraphic Details and Pottery from Strata I to IV. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 61–79. Israeli S. 2008b. Area F: Stratigraphic Analysis of the ‘Burnt’ Street of Shops and Its Pottery. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 105–128. Josephus War: Josephus. The Jewish War. H. St.J. Thackeray transl. (L oeb Classical L ibrary). L ondon–New York 1927– 1928. Kretzschmer F. 1966. La technique romaine. Brussels. Ma‘oz Z.U. 1993. Banias. NEAEHL I:136–143. Mor D. 1986. The Volcanism of the Golan Heights. Geological Survey of Israel, Report GSI/5/86. Jerusalem (Hebrew; English summary). Netzer E. 1998. Where Did Herod Build the Temple Dedicated to Augustus at Banias? Qadmoniot 116:134– 135 (Hebrew). Porath Y. 2002. Hydraulic Plaster in Aqueducts as a Chronological Indicator. In D. Amit, J. Patrich and Y. Hirschfeld eds. The Aqueducts of Israel (JRA Supplement Series 46). Portsmouth. Pp. 25–36. Sharon I. 1987. Phoenician and Greek Ashlar Construction at Tel Dor. BASOR 267:21–42. Tsuk Ts. 1985. The Aqueducts to Sepphoris. M.A. thesis. Tel Aviv University. Tel Aviv (Hebrew; English summary). Vitruvius. De Architectura. F. Granger transl. (L oeb Classical L ibrary). Cambridge, Mass.–L ondon 1931.

Chapter 3

Coins from the Aqueduct Gabriela Bijovsky

During the five seasons of excavations, five bronze coins were found in relation to the aqueduct.1 None of these coins could give an indication of the date of the aqueduct’s construction. The numismatic finds refer to the date of use, maintenance and repairs that took place during the third and fourth centuries. Coin No. 1, dated to 211 CE, was uncovered beneath the uppermost floor layer of cistern 601 (see p. 102), and was the only clear diagnostic coin. Coin No. 4, found in the upper part of Pipe 74, which was cut by Cistern 78, indicates that these installations went out of use in the fourth century. Coin No. 5, dated to the end of the fourth century, comes from the original surface outside this cistern. Coin No. 3, dated to Volusian (251–253 CE), was discovered on the aqueduct chanal (L70) near the cistern. It is not valuable from the stratigraphic point of view, but it is the most interesting coin in numismatic terms (Bijovsky 2003). Coin No. 2, minted under Philip Junior (247–249 CE), was recovered from the debris above the aqueduct next to Distribution Pool 462. Although the finds are scarce, the three Roman Provincial coins—one from the local mint of Paneas (No. 1), one from Antioch (No. 2), and one from Damascus (No. 3)—reflect the localized circulation of bronze coins in the area. The coin from Antioch shows two-punch marks on the lower right of the obverse side. A close look at the reverse shows a stroke placed in the same place. It seems that the marks are the result of the pressure of tongs and were probably made to authenticate the coin. Coin No. 3, dated to Volusian (251–253 CE), is the most interesting finding. The nude depicted on the reverse has not been identified in numismatic literature. Mionnet described it as Bacchus, but the figure has a clear female shape (Mionnet 1811:296, No. 88; Rosenberger 1978: 30, No. 49). The type is quite rare, and was struck also under Philip Junior (247–249 CE) and the contemporary emperors Volusian and Trebonianus Gallus (de Saulcy 1874:52, No. 10). The iconographical research for prototypes led me to

the conclusion that the nude female, which seems to emerge from a plant and clasps branches in both hands, should be identified with Daphne, the nymph pursued by Apollo, who metamorphosed into a laurel tree (Bijovsky 2003).

Catalog 1. Cistern 601, B1212; IAA 16418; Fig. 3.1:1 Caracalla, Paneas, 211 CE. Obv.: M AYP ANTωNEI–NOC CEB Laureate bust r. Rev.: KAICAPIA ΠANIAC Tyche stg. r., holding cornucopiae and rudder. Her l. foot leaning on prow; on l. field: C; on r. field: IΔ Æ, ↑, 8.98 g, 24 mm. Meshorer 1984–1985:52, No. 22. 2. Canal 461, B1015; IAA 16103; Fig. 3.1:2 Philip Junior (247–249 CE), Antioch. Obv.: AΥTOK K MIOΥΛI ΦIΛ[IΠ]ΠOC[CEB] Diademed bust r., cuirassed and draped. At lower right field, tong marks. Rev.: ANTIOΧEΩN MHTΡO KOΛΩN Head of Tyche r., with turreted crown and veiled. Above, a stag running r.; below, a star; on upper l. field: Δ; on r.: E; on lower l. field: S; on r.: C Æ, ↓, 13.66 g, 29 mm. Wroth 1899:219, No. 573. 3. Locus 70, B1369; IAA 64790; Fig. 3.1:3 Volusian (251–253 CE), Damascus. Obv.: IMPC GALLO VOLO[SSIANO AVG] Laureate bust r. Rev.: [COL DAMA] METRO The nymph Daphne, nude, stg. facing with open arms, her head turning r. Her legs are embedded in a plant (acanthus?) or composite flower(?), and she holds a vine(?) branch in each hand which stem from the acanthus/flower. Æ, ↓, 10.79 g, 23 mm.

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1

2

3

Fig. 3.1. Coins from the aqueduct.

de Saulcy 1874:53, No. 8 (described as “nude female”). For discussion on identification of the figure, see Bijovsky 2003.

Æ, ↓, 1.58 g, 15 mm. Cf. LRBC 1:31, No. 1363. 5. Locus 73, B1370; IAA 64791 383 CE, Antioch. Obv.: Worn. Rev.: Inscription within wreath: VOT/X[---]/M[VLT]/[ In ex.: ANT Æ, 1.47 g, 14 mm. Cf. LRBC 2:101, Nos. 2729–2735.

4. Clay Pipe 74, B1368; IAA 64788 Constantine I(?), 335–337 CE. Obv.: CONSTANTI[---] Pearl-diademed bust r., cuirassed and draped. Rev.: GLOR–IA EXERC–ITVS Two soldiers stg. facing, holding spears and shields. Between them, standard; in ex.: [---]A[---]

Note The coins were cleaned at the IAA laboratories under the direction of Ella Altmark, and were photographed by Sandu Mendrea and Clara Amit of the IAA. 1

R eferences Bijovsky G. 2003. The Myth of Daphne on a Coin Minted at Damascus. American Journal of Numismatics (Second Series) 15:53–59. de Saulcy F. 1874. Numismatique de la Terre Sainte— description des monnaies autonomes et imperiales de la Palestine et de l’Arabie Pétrée. Paris. LRBC 1: P.V. Hill and J.P.C. K ent. The Bronze Coinage of the House of Constantine, A.D. 324–46. Part 1 of Late Roman Bronze Coinage. London 1965. Pp. 4–40. LRBC 2: R.A.G. Carson and J.P.C. K ent. Bronze Roman Imperial Coinage of the Later Empire, A.D. 346–498.

Part 2 of Late Roman Bronze Coinage. London 1965. Pp. 41–114. Meshorer Y. 1984–1985. The Coins of Caesarea Paneas. INJ 8:37–58. Mionnet T.E. 1811. Description de medailles antiques, grecques et romaines V. Paris. Rosenberger M. 1978. The Coinage of Eastern Palestine and Legionary Countermarks, Bar-Kochva Overstrucks. Jerusalem Wroth W. 1899. Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Galatia, Cappadocia, and Syria in the British Museum. London.

Part Three The Northern Cemeteries

Chapter 4

Excavations in the Northern Cemeteries Moshe Hartal

The hills north of Baniyas served in the Roman period as part of the municipal cemetery. This cemetery consisted of two divisions (see Figs. 1.1, 2.18). Northeast of the city, at the edge of the Hermon Spur, a large concentration of rock-cut tombs extends on the southern slopes of the spur (Hartal 1989:18). The northwestern division lies west of Nahal Govta. Here, the tombs are completely covered and evidence of their existence was obtained only as a byproduct of the excavation of the aqueduct, which traverses its full length. The investigation of the northern cemetery was carried out as part of the aqueduct project and included a survey, mapping and the excavation of two tombs.

The Northeastern Cemetery The northeastern cemetery spreads out over a large area, east and north of the city (Plan 4.1; Fig. 4.1). Along the spur, over 100 tombs, cut into flat expanses of rock on a rather steep slope, were discovered. The tombs form groups, in which the distance between individual tombs is c. 0.30 m (Fig. 4.2). The tombs had been robbed in antiquity. Most were found full of sediments, but some were empty, enabling their mapping. The tombs are cut as vertical shafts, measuring 0.80 × 2.00 m and 1.30–1.90 m deep. Their orientation is north– south. At the bottom of the shaft is a burial trough, the

Fig. 4.1. Aerial view of tomb clusters in the northeastern cemetery; looking north.

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mo she hartal

805

804 800 806

819

808 807

809 810

812 814

811

815

817 821 820

816 818 822

823

824 825 826 827

828 829 830 846 813 850 833 831 849 856 832 837 857 861 845 863 862 866 867 869

870

872

871 878

879 882

900

901

902 903 906 907 908

877

889 904 883 905 884

893 881

891 892 885

909 910

0

3

m

895 896 897

886

911

Plan 4.1. The northeastern cemetery, plan of the tombs and the aqueduct.

898

115

Chapte r 4: e x cav atio ns in The N o rthe rn Ce me te rie s

Fig. 4.2. Rock-cut tombs; looking north.

2

840 839

838

841

842

1

843

1 844

845

2

834 833

835

836

837

843

843

832 0

2

m 1-1

Plan 4.2. Tomb cluster in the northeastern cemetery, plan and cross sections.

2-2

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mo she hartal

Fig. 4.3. Tomb 843 in the northeastern cemetery. At the bottom of the deep shaft, a burial trough is cut, covered with stone slabs. Looking north.

ends of which are curved. The trough is smaller than the shaft, so that a narrow ledge surrounds it (Plan 4.2; Fig. 4.3). The cover stones were placed over this ledge. The method by which the shaft was filled in—if it was filled in—subsequently to the burial, remains unclear. In one tomb traces of concrete were found near the top of the shaft, possible evidence of the closure of the shaft. In several places throughout the cemetery, evidence of funerary rituals was identified: An arched niche (880) is carved on a cliff in the heart of the cemetery (0.75 × 0.38 × 0.78 m; Fig. 4.4). After the rock cutting, it was given its final semicircular shape by the application of plaster over small stones and potsherds. The niche was apparently designed for the erection of a stele or for funerary rituals. E ast of the niche, a group of tombs is cut in rock, at the foot of a cliff. Above one of them (891), the rock was smoothed in the shape of an arch that rises 0.35 m above the tomb walls and is 0.55 m wide (Fig. 4.5). The arch carving is c. 1 cm deep, with no traces of an inscription or relief. This cutting appears to be the back wall of a similar niche built over the tomb, which did not survive. Similar carvings were identified over several other tombs as well (812, 817, 821, 822, 892). About 100 m to the southwest are remains of another tomb (825) with a tabula ansata and remnants of an inscription. A rectangular frame (0.32 × 0.35 m), with triangular ‘ears’ 7 cm wide, was cut into a vertical rock

Fig. 4.4. Niche 880, rock-cut and plastered on a cliff face in the cemetery; looking north.

Chapte r 4: e x cav atio ns in The N o rthe rn Ce me te rie s

Fig. 4.5. Smoothed arch over Tomb 891, possibly part of a grave marker; looking north.

π

N

N

0

20 cm

Fig. 4.7. Inscription 825.

face that had been smoothed (Fig. 4.6). Six lines of inscription, each c. 5 cm high, can be identified; they covered the entire frame (Fig. 4.7).1 L ine 1: Traces of a few letters, none identifiable. L ine 2: The second letter from the left is probably π and further on an N is discernible. L ine 3: Traces of a few letters, none identifiable.

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Fig. 4.6. Tabula ansata with traces of the inscription (825); looking north.

L ine 4: The first letter from the left is N. The rest are unidentifiable. L ines 5, 6: These lines are completely obliterated due to karstic erosion. The frame’s right third is eroded with furrows, leading to a small karstic chimney just under the frame. North of Tomb 800 is a large boulder on a rocky slope (805; Figs. 1.1:56, 4.8), and near it, a large stone (1.02 × 1.02 × 0.50 m). The stone was originally a naiskos or aedicula (Arnaud 1986; Dentzer 1990). Square pilasters, 0.20 m wide and 0.16 m high, are carved on either side of the stone. The pilasters stand on bases, which in turn stand on square pedestals. The profiles of both pilaster bases continue on the bottom of the stone. The shaft of the pilaster is fluted; the density of flutings on the lower part is double that of the upper part. The left pilaster is poorly preserved. Its lower corner, retaining the base of the pilaster, is broken and was found nearby (Fig. 4.8). O n its narrow side is similar fluting. The narrow side of the other pier was left smooth, without fluting. Between the piers, there is a low relief of an altar, above which is an indistinct relief (Fig. 4.9). The top of the naiskos was

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Fig. 4.8. General view of naiskos 805 and its surroundings; looking northeast.

Tomb 800

Fig. 4.9. Front view of Naiskos 805.

not found. Three steps are carved on the boulder near the naiskos. It appears that the naiskos stood next to the boulder (which could be the reason why the right side of the pier is unworked) or on it. The steps may have served as a base for ashlars that formed a raised podium, although none were found nearby.

A rectangular funerary structure (1.75 × 2.48 m) was built at the western end of the northeastern cemetery (Plan 4.3; Figs. 1.1:55, 4.10; Table 4.1). The northeastern corner of the structure is cut into a rock outcrop, 1.70 m high and 0.60 m long. The lower part of the eastern wall as well is cut into the bedrock to a depth of 0.90 m. A wall 0.80 m high was added above the rock (Fig. 4.10). Cracks and crevices in the rock were filled with stones. The southern wall and the northwestern corner were erected on an accumulation of earth and stones. The walls are c. 0.45 m thick, constructed of ashlars in secondary use, laid irregularly and with wide gaps, set in gray concrete. The walls were faced with 6 cm thick plaster, in which small fieldstones were set. This plaster covered the built walls, as well as the parts cut into the bedrock. It survives only in a few places. A pier was built in the middle of the northern wall. The pier projects c. 0.10 m into the tomb chamber; it is 0.30 m wide and 0.57 m high (see Fig. 4.12).2 Two parallel graves (801, 802) were hewn in the shape of north–south elliptical troughs in the rock floor of the chamber (Fig. 4.11). The distance between the graves is 0.45 m. Their cover stones (Figs. 4.12, 4.13) had been taken from the nearby city. Among the cover stones is a row of rectangular ashlars, measuring

1

1

119

Chapte r 4: e x cav atio ns in The N o rthe rn Ce me te rie s 0 1 m

801

802

1

1 802

801

1-1 0

1

m

Plan 4.3. Tomb 800, plan and cross section.

802

801

1-1

Fig. 4.10. Tomb 800, general view. The east wall, partly rock cut and partly built; Burial Trough 801 with its cover stones; bottom left, part of Pipe 83. Looking east.

Table 4.1. Tomb 800, Dimensions Burial Troughs (cm)

Grave

Cover Stones (cm)

Length

Width

Depth

Length

Width

Thickness

Type of Stone

801

205

51

52

81

64

50

Cornice

70

20

50

Ashlar

802

203

59

63

75

13

31

Ashlar

46

50

17

Cornice

80

70

17

Ashlar

60

20

16

Ashlar

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Fig. 4.11. Tomb 800, after the removal of the cover stones; looking south.

Fig. 4.13. Cornice piece that served as a cover stone for Trough 802.

Fig. 4.12. The cover stones of the burial troughs. To right, Burial Trough 801; to left, 802. Between the troughs a row of upside-down doorposts in secondary use (only two shown). Top, the north wall: its east side (right) rock-cut and its west side built. Note the pier, damaged during the excavation, in the middle of the wall. Looking north.

0.45 × 0.21 × 0.27 m (Fig. 4.12), which were apparently doorposts in secondary use. The tomb had been robbed in antiquity. In order to enter each trough, one cover stone was removed (Fig. 4.12). Funerary offerings, if any, were taken. Most bones had decayed; in the northern part of Burial Trough 801 small fragments of a skull were found, and pieces of foot bones were recovered near the southern end. These finds indicate that the deceased was oriented with his head to the north. Burial Trough 802 also suffered from looting, and had been completely overturned. Most of the skeleton was missing, and the little to survive was scattered all over, e.g., pieces of the skull were found in the northern, central and southern parts of the trough.

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Fig. 4.14. Corner of Structure 804, north of Tomb 800. Probably a similar tomb. Looking northwest.

About 0.30 m west of the tomb, remains of a clay pipe (83), oriented north–south and probably originating from the aqueduct, were exposed (see Fig. 4.10). The aqueduct itself did not survive at this point. A corner of a structure, constructed of large ashlars (804), was found 10 m north of the tomb (Fig. 4.14). The southern and eastern walls of this structure are visible above ground. It may well be another tomb. Tomb 800 differs from most other tombs in the cemetery in that a structure was erected over it. An indepth comparison, however, shows a marked affinity to the other tombs in the cemetery. The cemetery overall is characterized by the clustering of graves and their having been hewn to a great depth below the surface. It would appear the builders of this tomb, at the outskirts of the cemetery, could not find suitable bedrock. The burial troughs were therefore cut at the foot of a small cliff, and to achieve the desired depth, walls were erected to the height of the cliff. The space thus created must have been filled with earth and did not serve as a room, as corroborated by the fact that no entry points were identified. The tomb was meant then to resemble the deep-cut tombs characteristic of this cemetery. The adaptation of the tombs to the topographical conditions is even more marked in Tomb 700 (see below).

The Northwestern Cemetery The area north of the northwestern suburb is covered with a thick layer of soil, so that no tombs or graves are identifiable without excavation. Some pieces of

evidence, however, collected in the course of the excavation of the aqueduct, allude to the existence of a cemetery here as well: 1. Near the aqueduct, c. 50 m south of Distribution Pool 462, the corner of a tomb was discovered while searching for the aqueduct course with the backhoe. The tomb was found 3 m below ground, and a small part of the southwestern corner of a lead sarcophagus was identified. The tomb was not excavated and was resealed immediately. 2. Along Section 47, next to the aqueduct canal, a wall constructed of ashlars was exposed (W471; above, p. 66). It resembles the walls of Tomb 700 (see below). It would appear to be part of another tomb (see Fig. 2.61). 3. Nearby, along Section 50, a north–south wall constructed of ashlars was exposed (W507; above, p. 75). Its alignment is the same as that of the tombs in the northeastern cemetery and of Tomb 700. Near the wall was a stone in the shape of a cube surmounted by a half sphere, perhaps a stele (see Fig. 2.72). 4. E nclosure 53, adjacent to the aqueduct, served as a familial funerary estate. Inside, a tomb of seven burial cells was excavated (700) and near it was Tomb 712, which was found devoid of any artifacts. These two tombs will be described below. 5. Pipe 555 cut a rectangular rock-cut trough covered with stone slabs (556; above, pp. 95–96; Fig. 2.108). The trough was found empty, but it appears to have originally been a tomb, rather than part of the aqueduct.

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mo she hartal

6. A magnetic survey conducted by Sonia Itkis (see Chapter 8) showed evidence of another enclosure, similar to E nclosure 53. It was not excavated, but it too may have served a family tomb (see Figs. 8.2, 8.3). Tomb 700 A large tomb (3.00 × 10.15 m) was excavated in the western part of E nclosure 53. The tomb is constructed of ashlars (see Plan 2.24; Fig. 2.83) and consists of seven cells (701–707; Plan 4.4; Figs. 4.15–4.17;

Table 4.2). The length of the cells is that of the inner width of the structure (2.30–2.50 m) and their width is 0.92–1.16 m. E ach cell is a rectangular shaft, at the bottom of which is a burial trough covered with stone slabs. With the exception of the shaft of the eastern cell (707), all the shafts are constructed of smooth ashlars. All the cells are deep (over 2.50 m). All the burial troughs are constructed of ashlars, but the floor is bedrock. Although all the cells are covered with heavy stone slabs, over which concrete was poured, the graves had been robbed in antiquity.

Fig. 4.15. Enclosure 53, with Tomb 700 within; looking east.

Fig. 4.16. Tomb 700, Cells 701–705; looking south.

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712

701

1

702

703

704

705

706

707

1

a 2 712

701

1

702

703

704

705

706

707

1

b 2

701

702

703

704

705

706

707

c

1-1

712 707

0

d

2

m

2-2 Plan 4.4. Tombs 700 and 712: (a) plan of cells with the cover stones; (b) plan of cells and burial troughs; (c, d) sections.

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Fig. 4.17. Tomb 700, Cells 703–707; looking south.

Table 4.2. Tomb 700, Dimensions Shaft (cm)

Burial Trough (cm)

Cover Stones (cm)

Depth

Length

Width

Depth

Ledge width (cm)

701

227

85

257

205

66

66

8–16

702

231

93

258

208

65

70

14

703

238

98

*

704

241

103

265

705

250

106

*

706

250

111

247

212

69

89

15–20

103 119 95

45 100 55

36 33 25

707

230

144

263

206

70

80

31–38

110 120 120 120

50 55 15 55

17 17 17 17

Cell Length

Width

213

70

70

11–15

Length

Width

Thickness

179 71 74

60 70 72

15 13 13

75 81 81

60 60 73

20 27 26

110 116

80 87

‘Stelae’ (cm) Length

Height

Thickness

36 21

50 53

15 12

28 58

57 86

24 17

46 58

95 86

20 17

26 29

* Bottom not reached

Cell 701 The shaft walls are constructed of seven courses of ashlars, of an average size of 0.35 × 0.54 × 0.36 m. The interstices between the stones are coated with a white plaster. The northern wall of the burial trough is curved (Fig. 4.18); its walls are constructed of two courses of ashlars, the lower one 0.40 m high, and the upper, 0.26 m high. The joints are plastered. Bedrock serves as the floor, over which a thin layer of red earth was placed. There is a ledge between the shaft walls and the burial trough walls, on which three cover stones rested; over

them lay a 0.15 m thick layer of concrete-hard earth and stones. The northern cover stone had been pried up in antiquity and was found leaning on the middle one. The grave was completely disturbed. A few bones, of an infant and an adult, were strewn about.3 The finds include a coin of L icinius I (317–320 CE ; see Chapter 6: Coin No. 1), from the northern part of the grave, and a fragment of a blue glass drinking flask, dated from the early Roman period until the early Byzantine period (see Fig. 5.1:2). Also recovered from the grave were a bone pin, a bronze spatula (see Fig. 4.34:1)

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Fig. 4.18. Cell 701, the shaft with the burial trough at the bottom; looking north.

Fig. 4.19. Cell 702. The north cover stone of the burial trough was lifted during the looting and was leaned against the shaft wall; looking north.

and mixed pottery. The pottery includes fragments of jugs, bowls and a Golan-Ware pithos, which apparently found their way into the grave after it had been robbed.

inside the trough, as well as a fragment of the skeleton of an infant. The finds included the base of a glass bowl, dated to the third–early fourth centuries CE (see Fig. 5.1:1), and the base of a glass bottle, dated to the second–third centuries CE (see Fig. 5.1:3). A bronze earring (see Fig. 4.34:2), found on the cover stones, indicates that these objects were disturbed during the looting of the grave. O ther artifacts recovered include an unidentifiable coin, an iron fragment and a fresco fragment.

Cell 702 The shaft is constructed of six courses of ashlars; the spaces are filled with plaster. The northern wall of the burial trough is curved. The burial trough walls are built of two courses of ashlars; the joints are red plastered. The bedrock, forming the floor of the burial trough, is covered with a thin layer of red earth. There is a ledge between the shaft walls and the burial trough walls, on which three cover stones rested. The joints between the cover stones were covered with hard-packed earth and stones. The northern cover stone was found upright on the ledge, next to the northern wall (Fig. 4.19). The southern part of the burial trough was almost completely free of fill, whereas the northern side, where the grave had been breached in antiquity, was full of sediment. The original burial layer is gray soil, rich in organic material. Some animal bones were discovered

Cell 703 The shaft was excavated to a depth of c. 0.75 m, from the top of the walls down to three collapsed ashlars at the southern end of the shaft. Two upright stones were found atop the shaft’s fill, next to the northern wall (Fig. 4.20). The western stone is of limestone, measuring 0.50 × 0.36 × 0.15 m and the eastern one is a flat, unworked basalt slab measuring 0.53 × 0.21 × 0.12 m, with a rounded top, similar to a stele. The bottom of both stones is 0.75 m below the top of the walls and

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mo she hartal

Fig. 4.20. Cell 703, two upright stones, possibly stelae, at the top of the shaft fill; looking north.

Fig. 4.21. Cell 704. The south cover stone of the burial trough was broken during looting; to left, the east wall, built after the original wall of the shaft was dismantled. Looking south.

c. 1.50 m above the cover stones. These two stones appear to be stelae, although they are devoid of any inscriptions. It stands to reason that this cell also was robbed in antiquity; thus, it remains unclear whether the stelae were placed here after the looting or assumed their position accidentally. It should be remarked that in two other cells (705, 706), similar upright stones were found next to the northern wall (see below). Cell 704 The northern, western and southern walls of the shaft are constructed of seven courses of ashlars, similarly to the construction of Cells 701–703. The eastern wall, as well, is built of ashlars, except that here the ashlars are broken at their corners, and the breaks are filled in with plaster. This wall is not integrated with the northern and southern walls. In some courses, doorjambs in secondary use were employed to form the corners of the shaft. Some of the courses are not fully built with ashlars, and some gaps in the corners are filled with small stones (Figs. 4.21–4.23). It appears that the eastern wall is later than the other walls and that it was built as part of the enlargement of the tomb with the addition of Cells 705 and 706. Thus, the original eastern wall of the shaft was dismantled and some of

Fig. 4.22. Cell 704. The cover stones were broken during looting. The break in the north stone was closed with two stones when the east wall was built. Looking north.

Chapte r 4: e x cav atio ns in The N o rthe rn Ce me te rie s

Fig. 4.23. Cell 704, the north side of the burial trough; to right, the east wall, attached to the original burial trough. Looking north.

the stones were damaged. The stones were then reused for rebuilding the same wall. During rebuilding, greater attention was paid to the eastern face—now the western wall of Cell 705—than to the western face, which was carelessly repaired (see Fig. 4.24). The walls of the original burial trough are constructed of two courses of ashlars, the northern face being curved. The eastern wall is a later addition: it is constructed of two large ashlars laid on a bed of small stones. The northern stone (1.40 × 0.45 m) penetrates under the northern wall (Fig. 4.23). The corners of the

127

stones are broken, and the gaps in between were filled with small stones and apparently plastered. As in the other cells, a ledge was left around the burial trough, over which two large cover stones were placed. The gaps between the stones and the walls, as well as the interstices between the stones, were filled with hard earth and fieldstones. During the looting the two cover stones were broken, both at their northeastern corner, as they were too heavy to lift. The break in the southern cover stone left a 0.30 m wide gap for entering the burial trough (Fig. 4.21) and the break in the northern cover stone, a 0.40 × 0.65 m gap. The northern gap was repaired with two basalt slabs (see Fig. 4.22). The repair appears to have been carried out when the eastern wall was built, and, if so, the looting occurred before the tomb was enlarged. The northern part of the burial trough was full of earth that had penetrated after the looting, whereas the southern part was only partially full. Parts of two disturbed skeletons were recovered. Most bones were found scattered in the southern part. The meager finds included a broken iron ring and some pottery, which apparently penetrated after the looting. Cell 705 The shaft was excavated only to a depth of 0.80 m. two upright stones were discovered next to the northern wall (Fig. 4.24). O ne stone is a regular ashlar from the wall (0.57 × 0.28 × 0.24 m); a chunk of white plaster, 3 cm thick, remained attached to its northern face.

Fig. 4.24. Cell 705 (right), two ashlars set up as stelae(?) next to the north wall of the shaft, at the top of the fill. To their left, the wall separating Cells 704 and 705. The side facing Cell 705 is more orderly. Looking north.

128

mo she hartal

E ast of it stands a flat stone (0.86 × 0.58 × 0.17 m), perhaps a paving stone from a public building. The eastern stone reaches the top of the walls of the cell, while the western stone is c. 0.15 m lower. Both may have been used as stelae (see above, Cell 703). Some other smaller stones lie collapsed near these. Cell 706 This cell, together with Cell 705, belongs to the enlarged phase of the tomb. The quality of construction is higher than that of the four eastern cells. The northern, eastern and southern walls were originally the outer walls of the tomb (for the eastern wall, see also Cell 707, below). These walls are constructed of six courses of ashlars, average dimensions 0.60 × 0.43 × 0.27 m (Fig. 4.25), and the interstices are plastered. The western wall is an inner dividing wall between Cells 705 and 706. It is constructed of larger stones, 1.47 × 0.60 × 0.47 m, in the two lowermost courses. The details of the burial trough are different from those in the other cells. The northern wall is straight, not curved (Fig. 4.25). The uppermost of the two ashlar courses forming the burial trough is higher (0.60 m) than the lower (0.29 m). The lowest course is completely coated with a gray plaster (Fig. 4.26). As in the other cells, the bedrock served as the floor. A 0.20 m wide ledge was left between the long shaft walls and the trough, and a 0.15 m wide ledge on the two other sides. Three cover stones were placed on this ledge; the gap between them and the walls was filled with fieldstones and compacted earth. This cell, too, was robbed in antiquity: the northern cover stone was moved, and a 0.52 m diameter hole was broken in the southeastern corner of the southern cover stone, which was too large to move (Fig. 4.27). The burial trough was full of earth, most of which had penetrated after the looting. The skeleton within had been completely disturbed; most of the skeleton was missing and the few bones found were broken and scattered all over. The few potsherds discovered inside penetrated with the earth. Fragments of glass vessels and a small bronze bell (see Fig. 4.34:3) are the only remains of the funerary offerings. two stones lay next to the northern wall in the upper part of the shaft (Figs. 4.28, 4.29). O ne is a concave stone measuring 0.95 × 0.46 × 0.20 m, and the other a stone cut in the shape of a smooth quarter dome. O n its Fig. 4.26. Cell 706, plaster on the lowest course ► of the burial trough; looking south.

Fig. 4.25. Cell 706, the shaft and the northern part of the burial trough, which is straight, unlike the other cells; looking north.

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129

left upper side is a projection in the shape of an altar horn. The stone measures 0.60 × 0.43 × 0.34 m. Both stones may be parts of a stele that originally stood over the tomb. They were placed in their present position— upside down—after the looting and the refilling of the shaft.

Fig. 4.27. Cell 706, the cover stones of the burial trough. The southern stone was broken during looting; looking south.

Fig. 4.28. Two stones of a cupola, found in the fill of Cell 706.

0.5 m

Cell 707 The easternmost cell is constructed differently from the rest. While it shares a wall with Cell 706, the eastern face of this wall is carelessly dressed, in contrast to the western face, carefully built of ashlars (Fig. 4.30). This wall appears to have originally been the eastern wall of the tomb group, built against the earthen wall of the shaft. When Cell 707 was added, the eastern face of the wall was smoothed with the application of gray plaster, rich in ash and resembling hydraulic plaster. The other walls of the shaft are constructed of hewn stones and fieldstones, similarly plastered (Figs. 4.31, 4.32). This cell was undoubtedly the final addition to the group. The burial trough shows two building phases: originally , a trough was constructed of two courses of ashlars, similarly to the burial troughs in the other cells. The northern wall is curved (Fig. 4.31). The bedrock served as the floor, without the addition of a thin layer of earth. In the second phase, a wooden coffin (1.98 × 0.44 × 0.36 m) was apparently inserted. The gaps between the coffin and the trough walls (0.11–0.15 m) were filled with hard earth. The northern face of this fill still preserves the imprint of the wooden planks. O ver the fill was a 2 cm thick layer of plaster. This plaster may have covered the coffin and was broken during the looting. The original burial trough was surrounded by a 0.31– 0.38 m wide ledge, actually the top of the walls of the trough. O ver them, four travertine cover stones were

0

Fig. 4.29. View and section of the cupola pieces.

0.5 m

130

mo she hartal

Fig. 4.30. Cell 707 (right) was attached to the east wall of Cell 706. Its shaft is constructed of hewn stones and fieldstones, unlike the other shafts of Tomb 700. Looking north.

Fig. 4.31. Cell 707, the burial trough, within which is the fill of the later phase; above it is the shaft. Looking north.

Fig. 4.32. Cell 707, the south wall of the shaft; bottom, one of the cover stones of the burial trough, covered with a thick layer of concrete-hard earth. Looking south.

131

Chapte r 4: e x cav atio ns in The N o rthe rn Ce me te rie s

Fig. 4.33. Cell 707, the cover stones of the burial trough. The second stone from right was broken during looting. Looking west.

laid. The gap between the cover stones and the wall was filled with small fieldstones and concrete-hard earth. This fill, 0.22–0.50 m thick, covered the cover stones as well (Fig. 4.32). The second cover stone from the north was broken by the robbers (Fig. 4.33).

The cell contained the disturbed remains of five individuals, four adults and one child. Near them two coins were found, one of Honorius (383–395 CE , Chapter 6: Coin No. 2), a glass bracelet (see Fig. 5.1:5), a glass bead (see Fig. 5.1:6), a bronze ring (Fig. 4.34:4) and several nails.

3

2

1

Fig. 4.34. Finds from Tomb 700. No.

Cell

Basket No.

Object

1

706

1312

Bronze spatula

2

702

1322

Bronze earring

3

706

1311

Bronze bell

4

707

1361

Bronze ring

4

132

mo she hartal

Tomb 712 A grave of a different type lies near the northeastern corner of Cell 707. This grave is oriented east–west; its length is 1.40 m, its width, 0.44–0.50 and its depth, 0.52 m. Its walls are poorly constructed of fieldstones and hewn stones without bonding material (Fig. 4.35). The bedrock serves as its floor. The grave was covered with four ashlars, apparently in secondary use. Three of the stones were in situ, while the easternmost had been removed in antiquity—probably by grave robbers—and placed atop the other three (Fig. 4.36). The cover stones were exposed 0.40 m below the top of Tomb 700; the grave had no shaft and it was found completely empty. North of Tomb 700, immediately below the surface (L 708), a complete cooking pot with a grooved rim was found (Fig. 4.37). The pot was probably made in Paneas in the L ate Roman period (Berlin 1999: Fig. 12:3; on ‘Baniyas Ware’, see below, p. 167).

Fig. 4.35. Tomb 712 after removal of the cover ► stones. Top left, Cell 707. Looking west.

Fig. 4.36. The cover stones of Tomb 712. The east stone (right) was removed during looting and placed on the others. Looking north.

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Fig. 4.37. Complete cooking pot found in L708.

Notes The inscription was described and drawn by David Amit. The pier was damaged during excavation.

1 2

The bones were examined by Yossi Nagar.

3

R eferences Arnaud P. 1986. Naïskoi monolithes du Hauran. In J.-M. Dentzer ed. Hauran 1: Recherches sur la Syrie du sud à l’époque hellénistique et romaine 2e partie. Paris. Pp. 373–386. Berlin A.M. 1999. The Archaeology of Ritual: The Sanctuary of Pan at Banias/Caesarea Philippi. BASOR 315:27–45.

Dentzer J-M. 1990. Naiskoi du Hauran et Qubbah Arabe. In F. Zayadine ed. Petra and the Caravan Cities. Amman. Pp. 207–219. Hartal M. 1989. Northern Golan Heights: The Archaeological Survey as a Source of Regional History. Qazrin (Hebrew; E nglish summary).

Chapter 5

Glass Vessels from the Northwestern Cemetery Yael Gorin-Rosen

The cells of Tomb 700 yielded several glass fragments; six different objects were identifiable: a bowl (No. 1); a flask (No. 2); various bases (Nos. 3, 4); a bracelet (No. 5); and a bead (No. 6). The vessels are all free-blown.

The Glass Finds1 Vessels 1. Bowl; Cell 702, B1313; Fig. 5.1:1 A base fragment of colorless glass with small round bubbles, covered with a thick brown crust. Pinched hollow tubular base and a concave bottom. Thin wall. Base diameter: ≈ 8 cm. Bowls with similar bases are known from various sites in the western Galilee, dated from the mid-second century to the fourth century CE. Earlier examples were excavated in Roman graves near Lohame Ha-Geta’ot, dated to the second half of the second and the beginning of the third centuries CE (Peleg 1991:134−135, 146−148, Fig. 7:3, 4, 6), and later on at Hanita, dated to the third or the beginning of the fourth century CE (Barag 1978:19, 21−22, Fig. 9:31). This type of base could possibly belong to a bottle, similar to the one found at Peqi‘in, in a tomb dated to the first half of the fourth century CE (Tzaferis 1969:76, Fig. 5:5, Pl. 17:13). 2. Flask; Cell 701, B1301; Fig. 5.1:2 Fragmentary vessel. Bluish bubbly glass with a brownish crust. The body has round bubbles and the neck has large, vertically elongated bubbles. Flared and infolded oval irregular rim, flattened. Cylindrical neck ending in sloping shoulders. A lentoid body with a very thin wall. Rim diameter: 2.8 cm; neck length: 5.5 cm.

A flask with a lentoid body was recovered from Area F at Baniyas, with slight differences in its cutoff rim and constricted neck, dated to the Late Roman period (Gorin-Rosen and Jackson-Tal 2008:147–148, Fig. 9.5:21). A very similar flask, with an infolded rim, from a third-century cist tomb at Kafr Kama, was assigned to a local Galilean glass workshop (GorinRosen 2007:115, Fig. 2:8, and see therein for further discussion and references). A similar flask, from a rockcut tomb at Huqoq, was dated there to the late first and the early second centuries CE, although most of the parallels quoted date to the third and fourth centuries (Kahane 1961:135: No. 21, Fig. 3:13, Pl. 18:3). Flasks similar in shape, but not in size, have come from a grave in Homs, Syria (Abdul-Hak 1965:29, Fig. 8). Two groups of lentoid bottles originated in cemeteries, one from H. Qastra, on the western slope of Mount Carmel, dated to the Late Roman period, and another from the Ramot Menashe area, both as yet unpublished.2 Three pilgrim flasks or lentoid bottles were found in Burial Cave 3 in the Horbat Rimmon cemetery, the northern Negev, dated to the fourth century CE (GorinRosen 2004:120*–122*, Fig. 4:28–30). This series of lentoid bottles from H. Rimmon was attributed to a local glasshouse. Such vessels are also known in Cyprus (Vessberg 1952: Pl. VII: 46). There are also several parallels from collections. A similar flask, dated to the second–third centuries CE, is in the Israel Museum Collection (Israeli 2003:268, Cat. No. 356). Another, from the Royal Ontario Museum collection (Hayes 1975:62, Pl.12: 171), was dated to the third and the beginning of the fourth centuries CE. Flasks of this type first occur in sites from the Early Roman period and continue with slight variations until the Late Roman and early Byzantine periods (see Barag 1970:166−167, Type 9, Pl. 37). This vessel from Baniyas probably presents a product of a local glasshouse active in the region during the Late Roman period.

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Yael Gorin-Rosen

3. Base; Cell 702, B1344; Fig. 5.1:3 Pale greenish glass with very large and smaller, round and oval bubbles, covered with a brownish crust. The base is concave and thickened, pushed in at the center, with a small pontil mark. The body is cylindrical, the side is slightly flared and the wall tapers upward. The fragment probably belongs to a bottle or a cylindrical jug which widens toward its upper part. Base diameter: 2 cm. This fragment bears similarities to a bottle with a conical body found in Area F at Baniyas, dated by its fabric and workmanship to the second–third centuries CE (Gorin-Rosen and Jackson-Tal 2008:142–143, Fig. 9.1:5, and see therein for further reference to Tyre). Very similar bottles were recovered from burial contexts in Homs (Abdul-Hak 1965:34, Fig. 8—the vessel is shown inverted, third from the right in the top row; Fig. 12—the three vessels to its right are similar in base and body form). Another parallel is a similar base from Burial Cave No. 2 at Khirbet esh-Shubeika, suggested as the base of a jug (Gorin-Rosen 2002:306– 307, Fig. 2:12 and further references therein). 4. Base; Cell 702, B1344; Fig. 5.1:4 Colorless bubbly glass with bluish tinge and a brown crust. Very thin, low concave base. Cylindrical body with thin walls. Probably belongs to a bottle or cylindrical jug. Base diameter: 4 cm. A very similar bottle came from a burial group from Homs (Abdul-Hak 1965:29, Fig. 8, top row, the first on the right). Other cylindrical bottles have been recovered from graves in the western Galilee and along the Phoenician coast, e.g., a bottle from a burial cave at Hanita, dated to the third or the beginning of the fourth century CE (Barag 1978: Fig. 13:59) and one from Peqi‘in, dated to the fourth century CE (Tzaferis 1969:76, Fig. 5:4, Pl. 12:12).

Miscellaneous 5. Bracelet; Cell 707, B1363; Fig. 5.1:5 Turquoise bubbly glass covered with a brown and silver crust. The bracelet is round and seamless with a semicircular section. Diameter: 6.3−6.5 cm. This bracelet belongs to a type defined by Spaer as “Monochrome, undecorated semicircular sections, seamed and seamless”. Bracelets of this type occur from the beginning of the third century CE and continue through most subsequent periods (Spaer 1988:54–55, Type A2a, Fig. 1). Fifty-one bracelets of this type in different colors were uncovered at Bab elHawa (Hartal 2005:240, Fig. 164:1–3). A similar intact bracelet was found in the third-century CE cist tomb at Kafr Kama, mentioned above (Gorin-Rosen 2007:117, Fig. 2:12, and see therein for further reference to Jebel Jofeh, ‘Amman). 6. Bead; Cell 707, B1353. Fig. 5.1:6 Blue bead covered with a silverish layer of weathering. Cylindrical bead with vertical perforation. Irregularly rod-wound. Diameter: 0.4 cm; length: 1.3 cm.

Conclusions Judging from the parallels for the types described, it seems plausible to assign this burial group a Late Roman date. Although the vessels from Homs were dated to the second−third centuries CE, the comparisons with the local examples found at Baniyas, as well as other Galilean groups (Hanita, Peqi‘in, Huqoq and Khirbet esh-Shubeika), allow a somewhat later dating for some of the vessels.

Chapter 5: Glass Vessels from The northw estern cemetery

1

2

3

4

6

5

Fig. 5.1. Glass finds from Tomb 700.

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Yael Gorin-Rosen

Notes I wish to thank the excavator, M. Hartal, the conservator, Olga Shorr, and the draftsman, the late Michael Miles. 2 The group from burial tombs at H. Qastra was excavated by Ze’ev Yeivin and Gerald Finkielsztejn, whom I wish to 1

thank for their permission to cite these parallels. The group found in the area of Ramot Menashe was excavated by the late Shimon Avidan and exhibited at Kibbutz ‘En Ha-Shofet.

R eferences Abdul-Hak S.A. 1965. Contribution d’une découverte archéologique recente à l’étude de la verrerie Syrienne à l’époque Romaine. JGS 7:26−34. Barag D. 1970. Glass Vessels of the Roman and Byzantine Period in Palestine. Ph.D. diss. The Hebrew University. Jerusalem (Hebrew). Barag D. 1978. Hanita, Tomb XV: A Tomb of the Third and Early Fourth Century CE (‘Atiqot [ES] 13). Jerusalem. Gorin-Rosen Y. 2002. The Glass Vessels. In D. AvshalomGorni and A. Tacher. Excavations at Khirbet el-Shubeika 1991, 1993. Z. Gal Ed. Eretz Zafon, Studies in Galilean Archaeology. Jerusalem. Pp. 288−222 (Hebrew). Gorin-Rosen Y. 2004. The Glass Vessels from the Cemetery at Horbat Rimmon. ‘Atiqot 46:113*−124*. Gorin-Rosen Y. 2007. Glass Vessels from Tomb 202 at Kafr Kama. ‘Atiqot 56:113−118 (Hebrew; English summary, pp. 83*–84*). Gorin-Rosen Y. and Jackson-Tal R.E. 2008. Area F: The Glass Finds. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman To

Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 141–154. Hartal M. 2005. Land of the Ituraeans: Archaeology and History of Northern Golan in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods (Golan Studies 2). Qazrin (Hebrew). Hayes J.W . 1975. Roman and Pre-Roman Glass in the Royal Ontario Museum. Toronto. Israeli Y. 2003. Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum. The Eliahu Dobkin Collection and Other Gifts. Jerusalem. Kahane P.P. 1961. Rock-Cut Tombs at Huqoq: Notes on the Finds. ‘Atiqot 3:126−147. Peleg M. 1991. Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Burials at Lohamei Hageta’ot. ‘Atiqot (ES) 20:131−152. Spaer M. 1988. The Pre-Islamic Glass Braceletes of Palestine. JGS 30:51−61. Tzaferis V. 1969. Tombs in W estern Galilee. ‘Atiqot (HS) 5:72−79. Vessberg O. 1952. Roman Glass in Cyprus. Opuscula Archaeologica 7:109−165.

Chapter 6

Coins from the Northern Cemetery Gabriela Bijovsky

During the five seasons of excavations at the site, seven bronze coins related to the northern cemetery were found.1 Only two of these coins are identifiable. Tomb 800, at the western end of the northeastern cemetery, was robbed in antiquity. The only coin belonging to this grave, unfortunately, is unidentifiable. The remainder of the coins come from the familial funerary complex (Enclosure 53), more specifically, Tomb 700. The tomb, divided into seven grave cells, was robbed and disturbed. Coins were found within Cell 701 (No. 1, Licinius I, c. 317–320 CE), Cell 702 (unidentifiable) and Cell 707 (No. 2, Honorius 383– 395 CE; and two unidentifiable coins). The numismatic evidence reinforces the assumption that Cell 707 was added as the last in the group (see above, Chapter 4). According to the excavator, most of the coins were found in the northern part of the burial-troughs—at the head end, one coin per individual. This may allude to the custom of Charon’s obol. However, this cannot be confirmed due to the disturbed state of the graves.

Catalog 1. Cell 701, B1318; IAA 62660 Licinius I, c. 317–320 CE. Obv.: IMP LIC[I]–[NIV]S AVG Laureate bust l., cuirassed and draped. Rev.: IOVI CONSERVATORI AVGG Jupiter stg. l., holding scepter and Victory. In l. field, eagle holding wreath. The mintmark is illegible. Æ, ↑, 2.16 g, 15 × 18 mm. Cf. RIC 7:679, No. 27.

2. Cell 707, B1351; IAA 62661; Fig. 6.1 Honorius, Alexandria(?), 383–395 CE. Obv.: DN HONORIVS PF AVG Pearl-diademed bust r., cuirassed and draped. Rev.: GLORIA ROMANORVM Emperor stg. facing, his head turning r., holding standard and globe. In ex.: ALEA(?) Æ, ↑, 5.41 g, 20 mm. Cf. LRBC 2:105, No. 2913.

Fig. 6.1. Coin No. 2 from the northwestern cemetery.

Unidentifiable Coins The unidentifiable coins from the northern cemetery are listed in Table 6.1. Table 6.1. Unidentifiable Coins from the Northern Cemetery Permit No.

Locus

Basket

2122

702

1336

2122

707

1352

2122

707

1359

2122

Not numbered

Not numbered

1876

800

-

140

Gabr iela Bijovs k y

Note The coins were cleaned at the IAA laboratories under the direction of E. Altmark, and were photographed by S . Mendrea and C. Amit of the IAA.

1

R eferences LRBC 2: R .A.G. Carson and J.P.C. K ent. Bronze Roman Imperial Coinage of the Later Empire, A.D. 346–498. Part 2 of Late Roman Bronze Coinage. London 1965. Pp. 41–114.

RIC 7: P.M. Bruun. The Roman Imperial Coinage 7: Constantine and Licinius. A.D. 313–337. London 1966.

Chapter 7

Analysis of the Finds from the Northern Cemeteries Moshe Hartal

The northern cemetery of Paneas comprised two distinct parts: the northeastern and the northwestern cemeteries. The tombs in both cemeteries are of the same type: a deep shaft and a burial trough covered with stone slabs. The tombs are oriented north–south and are closely grouped (see below). The difference between the tombs in the two cemeteries depends upon the bedrock. While in the northeastern cemetery most of the tombs are cut in hard limestone, the rock in the northwestern cemetery is unsuited to hewing. In this cemetery, therefore, the tombs were built of hewn stones, grouped in enclosures, one of which was excavated. Where the bedrock could not be cut to the depth required for the shafts, additional masonry was used. One such tomb (Tomb 800) was excavated in the northeastern cemetery. A similar tomb was excavated by Stepansky (2004) in the western cemetery at Kibbutz Snir. Enclosure 53, in the northwestern cemetery, apparently served as a familial funerary estate. The walls enclose a much larger area than actually used by the tombs, leaving room for additions for succeeding generations. Two such additions were identified. The tombs found within the enclosure resemble the rock-cut tombs in the northeastern cemetery, characterized by a burial trough covered with stone slabs at the bottom of a deep shaft. These tombs are clustered and oriented north–south. The deceased were placed with their heads to the north. Tomb 700 undoubtedly belongs to the same burial tradition, keeping and even accentuating its characteristics. The difference is in construction technique—Tomb 700, shafts and burial troughs, was built of ashlars and not hewn into rock. The reason for this departure seems to be the makeup of the local rock. This is composed of a pebble conglomeration of the Si’on Formation, which is unstable and cannot be cut into deeply without support. Thus, the builders of the tombs emulated the deep rock-cut shafts characteristic of their tradition. Tomb 800, which was excavated northeast of Baniyas,

forms an intermediate link between the rock-cut and the built tombs. It is partly cut in rock, with a built addition supplying the desired shaft depth. Despite the fact that Tomb 700 had been completely disturbed by looting, it still supplies information on burial customs. Each cell served for the burial of several individuals, usually an adult with children. The deceased were placed with their heads to the north. Originally, the deceased were placed directly on the burial-trough floor, but in later stages, they were placed in coffins (see above, Cell 707). A lead coffin burial was also identified, but not excavated (p. 121). The deceased were buried wearing jewelry (an earring and glass bracelet survived the looting and were recovered in the excavation). The few coins found in some of the cells represent, perhaps, Charon’s obol, placed in the mouths of the dead to pay the ferry fee across the Styx to the underworld. Although this hypothesis cannot be proved due to the disturbed state of the graves, it is supported by circumstantial evidence. Most coins were discovered in the northern part of the burial troughs—where the head was placed. In two of the cells (701, 702) one coin was found in each, while in the third (703), where three coins were recovered, there is evidence of three individuals. Apparently, few funerary offerings were placed inside the graves, although the disturbed state of the graves does not permit us to draw a complete picture. Still, it is safe to assume that the robbers were not interested in pottery and glass vessels, and that the little found reflects what there was. In the burial troughs and shafts, fragments of large vessels were recovered, including Golan-Ware pithoi and other vessels, similar to what was retrieved from the debris of earth and pottery accumulated over the aqueduct (see Fig. 2.112). It would appear that none of these fragments represent funerary offerings, but rather that they entered the shafts after the looting. On the other hand, in two of the cells glass vessels—a flask and a bowl—were uncovered, and in a third (706), a large

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Mosh e Har tal

body fragment of another glass vessel was found (see Chapter 5). It appears, therefore, that only glass vessels were placed by the deceased, one in each cell. The graves hint at some of the beliefs of the population. It must have been very important to them to safeguard the bodies as best as they could; the deceased were buried three meters deep, covered with heavy stone slabs, covered in turn with a rock-hard earth layer in a shaft full of earth. Were they trying to keep the dead from getting out? Tombs of this type had hitherto been discovered neither in the Galilee nor in other parts of the Golan. A small group of similar tombs was found in Khirbet Shab‛a, about 2 km northwest of Baniyas, in a cemetery probably belonging to Paneas (Tahan and H artal 2007). Similar tombs are known from the H oms and from Umm el-H auran, both in Syria. There, too, the shafts are deep (c. 2.5 m), covered with stone slabs and filled with earth. clay coffins were found in some graves, while in others were wooden coffins decorated with gold and bronze inlays. weapons were also recovered from some of the graves (Sartre 1989:423–425). These tombs were dated to the first and second centuries CE. Burials with similar characteristics are also known at Nabatean sites in the Negev. In Mampsis, graves comprising ashlar-built burial troughs and covered with

stone slabs were uncovered, at the bottom of 2 to 4 m deep shafts. Wooden coffins were placed in some of them. The dead were buried without offerings, but the women wore their jewelry. Sometimes a coin was placed in the mouth of the deceased (Negev 1971:117– 120). The similarity between the Mampsis tombs and Paneas’ northern cemetery is striking. The differences in construction techniques stem apparently from the different rock and soil conditions. Similar burials were discovered at other Nabatean sites as well (Negev 1971:119–120). In the northeastern cemetery, a rock-cut niche (880), a stele with a tabula ansata (825) and a naiskos (805), all apparently connected with grave rituals, were found. These finds resemble the Nabatean baetyls (Patrich 1990), albeit with a strong R oman influence. The stelae from Tomb 700 fit the general picture. This burial practice arrived apparently from Syria. These are not Iturean burials, as no other burials of this type were discovered in the Iturean influence areas in the northern Golan and the Hermon area. Paneas was built by Philip, as the capital of the Batanea and the H auranitis, and served as an attraction core for groups of Syrians. It seems that the northern cemeteries were used to bury the deceased of these peoples.

R eferences Negev A. 1971. The Nabatean Necropolis of Mampsis (Kurnub). IEJ 21:110–129. Patrich J. 1990. The Formation of Nabatean Art : Prohibition of a Graven Image among the Nabateans. Jerusalem. Sartre A. 1989. Architecture funéraire de la Syrie. In J.-M. Dentzer and W. Orthmann eds. Archéologie et histoire de la Syrie 2: La Syrie de l’époque achéménide à l’avènement de l’Islam. Saarbruecken. Pp. 423–446.

Stepansky Y. 2004. Senir. HA–ESI 116. http://www.hadashotesi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?id=2&mag_id=108. Tahan H . and H artal M. 2007. H ar Dov (Khirbat Shab‘a). HA–ESI 119. http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_ eng.asp?id=490&mag_id=112.

Chapter 8

Magnetic Survey in the Vicinity of Paneas Sonia Itkis and Lev Eppelbaum

Magnetic survey is a rapid, economic and noninvasive method for studying buried near-surface structures at archaeological sites. The effectiveness of prospecting for the study of archaeological sites is based on the magnetic contrast between archaeological targets and the surrounding medium. This difference can be both positive and negative. A new generation of magnetic equipment for field data acquisition and advanced methodology of the analysis of these data offer enhanced possibilities for revealing a broad range of buried archaeological targets: walls, columns, foundations, caves, tunnels, tombs, water pipes, fire facilities (kilns, furnaces, ovens) and other objects (Wynn 1986; Heimmer and De Vore 1995). Detailed ground magnetic prospecting for preexcavation studies of archaeological sites has been employed in Israel since 1992. The surveyed archaeological sites are located in all regions of the country, in various geological and topographical environments. The analysis of magnetic studies at about fifty archaeological sites has enabled us to establish the main principles of correlation between archaeological remains and their magnetic images (Itkis and Eppelbaum 1999; Eppelbaum and Itkis 2000; Eppelbaum, Itkis and Khesin 2000; Epplebaum, Khesin and Itkis 2001; Itkis 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006; Itkis et al. 2003). Detailed archaeomagnetic prospecting has yielded the following: (1) determination of the site’s borders in order to protect it from destruction; (2) optimization of planning and arrangement of excavation areas; (3) revelation of archaeological features in unexcavated areas, with evaluation of their size and depth. However, magnetic survey at archaeological sites is commonly affected by a number of natural and artificial ‘noise’ factors (Itkis and Eppelbaum 1999; Itkis 2006; Itkis et al. 2003). The important disturbance factor is the inclination of the Earth’s magnetization vector (about 45o), which is typical of the Mediterranean region, including Israel. The inclined magnetization compli-

cates both qualitative and quantitative interpretation of magnetic anomalies. Additional difficulties arise because of the rugged relief, the influence of industrial distortions (power-lines, generators, water pipes, transportation and fences), soil contamination with iron trash, and a high concentration of basalt pebbles scattered on the surface. The multilayer structure of some archaeological sites can limit the use of magnetic prospecting. Such complex conditions require a specific approach to the magnetic survey at archaeological sites and the optimization of the current methodology of data acquisition, processing and interpretation. The optimization of field work and data processing allows elimination of various noises and the selection of ‘useful’ anomalies against the noise background. Extensive information on the magnetic and geometrical characteristics of targets, disruptive objects and host media obtained from excavated archaeological sites facilitates construction of physical-archaeological models (PAMs) and enables the utilization of forward modeling as a main interpretative tool (Eppelbaum, Itkis and Khesin 2000; Itkis 2006). The major principles of qualitative interpretation of magnetic anomalies formalized for conditions of the Mediterranean region are presented in Table 8.1.

Field Investigations1 Magnetic Survey Magnetic survey in the area of the aqueduct was performed during 1994 and 1995. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the archaeological importance of the large area located some 200 m to the east of the excavated funerary enclosure (see Chapter 4, above). This area is 100 m N–S × 74 m W–E. The northwestern corner was not studied because of a strong disturbance effect produced by an iron fence. The magnetic survey

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Table 8.1. Common Principles of the Analysis of Magnetic Maps in the Mediterranean Region (after Khesin, Alexeyev and Eppelbaum 1996, with modifications) No.

Methods

Characteristic Features of Anomalies

1a

Detection

Positive anomaly indicates the presence of an anomalous object (target) with positive magnetic contrast

1b

Detection

Negative anomaly testifies to the presence of a target with negative magnetic contrast

2

Intensity

Intensity of magnetic anomaly directly depends on the value of the target redundancy magnetization and the depth of its occurrence

3

Correspondence

The orientation (strike) and shape of the anomaly correspond with the orientation (strike) and shape of the target

4

Location of maximum

The anomaly maximum is displaced southward from the projection of the target’s center (middle of the upper edge of the disruptive body) to the Earth’s surface

5

Gradient

The gradient zones are displaced southward from the projection of the lateral boundaries of the target (plan view)

was accompanied by measurements of magnetic susceptibility (κ) of soil and building materials.2 The survey followed the standard procedure (Parasnis 1997). Measurements were taken at 1 m intervals in a grid of twelve squares, each 20 × 20 m, and in a grid of three rectangles, each 12 × 20 m. The presence of numerous basalt boulders, 0.2–0.7 m in diameter, scattered on the surface, introduced a strong disturbance effect to the observed magnetic field. The height of the magnetic sensor above the earth’s surface was selected as 0.5 m since dense vegetation (oaks and thorny shrubbery) did not permit the strict observance of the required north–south orientation of the magnetic sensor at a greater height. The diurnal magnetic variations were recorded every 30 seconds at the control point located in the close vicinity of the area under study. The accuracy of the survey, according to control measurements (5% of the total number of measurements), was ± 2.8 nanoTesla.3 Study of Magnetic Susceptibility The feasibility of the magnetic method for the detection of targets was evaluated before the survey by measuring the magnetic susceptibility (κ) of excavated

archaeological features: a water pipe, stones making up the walls, and surrounding soil in the vicinity of the surveyed area. The results of this study are shown in Table 8.2. Similarly to other archaeological sites in northern Israel, the area around the B aniyas aqueduct has typical high values of magnetic susceptibility of soil and targets. The surveyed area is characterized by considerable differentiation of κ values, which range from single digits to thousands of units SI × 10-5. The basalt boulders scattered on the surface have the highest κ values (465–3570 units SI × 10-5) and are highly heterogeneous (Table 8.2). The blackish soils formed on basalts are characterized by κ values in the range of 194 to 443 units SI × 10-5. The κ values of the ceramic water pipe are smaller, in the range of 84 to 204 units SI × 10-5. The limestone walls are practically nonmagnetic. O n the basis of a feasibility test, we established three basic principles in respect to the qualitative interpretation: (1) The negative magnetic contrast (∆κ) between surrounding soil and limestone walls is high. As soil κ is higher than that of limestone walls, the latter will generate intensive negative anomalies (Itkis 2006). B y contrast, ∆κ between surrounding soil

Table 8.2. Magnetic Properties of Archaeological Features and Surrounding Soils at the Site Magnetic Susceptibility (Units SI × 10-5)

Material Type

Number of Samples

limestone (walls)

11

2

7

5

2.1

Plaster

10

86

198

161

34.0

7

84

204

143

53.0

Ceramics (water pipe)

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

S.D.

B asalt (boulders)

33

465

3570

2018

946.0

Soil

41

194

443

322

54.6

Chapter 8 : Magnetic Su r vey in the Vicinity o f P aneas

and ceramic water pipes is low. Therefore, magnetic anomalies produced by water pipes are expected to be weak and these targets may be obscured by other magnetic anomalies (e.g., those produced by basalt boulders). (2) Massive basalt structures (buildings, tombs) can generate positive isometric anomalies 3–5 m in diameter with intensities that depend on the depth of the buried structure and may range between 20 and 60 nT. (3) The basalt boulders generate intensive local magnetic anomalies 0.2–0.5 m in diameter, which can be easily identified by their high intensity and gradient. Their effect must be eliminated by data processing.

Geophysical Data Interpretation The magnetic heterogeneity of host media resulted in a complex pattern of the observed magnetic field, which may contain anomalies produced by spots of soil heterogeneities and basalt boulders. The map of raw magnetic data (e.g., F ig. 8.1a) shows a disorderly distribution of high-frequency magnetic anomalies. It is clear that without processing (smoothing) the magnetic data, even a simple qualitative interpretation is not possible. The excavation data and κ measurements from the adjacent area provided tentative information about the buried archaeological remains and their magnetic characteristics in the surveyed area. Selection of the size of the smoothing chart (we applied a square graticule) was based on the sizes of both targets (walls) and the disruptive objects (basalt boulders). Seven different graticules were tested: 0.4 × 0.4 m, 0.6 × 0.6 m, 1.0 × 1.0 m, 1.4 × 1.4 m, 1.8 × 1.8 m, 2.0 × 2.0 m, and 2.6 × 2.6 m. Analysis of the maps obtained shows that smoothing with a small graticule, comparable in size to the basalt boulders, does not produce a distinct image of the target (F ig. 8.1b). The negative WSW–ENE and WNW–ESE linear anomalies, which probably indicate the walls of the buried target, are clearly observed starting from the 1.0 × 1.0 m graticule (F ig. 8.1c). Smoothing by larger graticules emphasizes more details, e.g., the short W–E oriented magnetic anomaly centered at coordinates x = 29, y = 7 (F ig. 8.1d), enabling correlation with the diagonal short wall of the excavated enclosure (F ig. 8.1g; Enclosure 53, Chapter 4). The anomalies’ configuration in the maps in F ig. 8.1c–f resembles the configuration of the excavated enclosure (F ig. 8.1g). However, the map obtained using a smaller graticule (1.0 × 1.0 m; F ig. 8.1c) is still complicated by the high-

145

frequency component, whereas the map obtained using a larger graticule, 2.6 × 2.6 m, which is about three times wider than the assumed walls, displays a diffuse image of the target with no details (F ig. 8.1f). The effective graticule size is determined by three parameters of the target: width, depth and ∆κ relative to the host medium. In the area of our survey, the combination of shallow and large basalt boulders with relatively strong magnetization (average κ of 2018 units SI × 10-5; Table 8.2) and deeply buried limestone walls characterized by rather large negative ∆κ relative to the basaltic soil (average κ of 322 units SI × 10-5; Table 8.2) implies an optimal graticule size of 1.4 to 2.0 m for the processing (averaging) of the entire area. This size interval appears to be sufficient for elimination of the high-frequency component with no critical decrease in the amplitude of ‘wall’ anomalies. The observed data were averaged using a 2.0 × 2.0 m graticule. The improved map of the whole area (F ig. 8.2) allows the identification of several kinds of magnetic anomalies: negative linear anomalies of different orientation displayed across the entire area; a large negative annular structure in the center of the area; and a number of isometric positive magnetic anomalies also distributed across the entire area. F or the quantitative interpretation of the magnetic data (i.e., the calculation of the size and depth of the objects), we focused on two areas: Area 1, containing a large complex magnetic anomaly (Anomaly 1) of quasirectangular configuration; and Area 2, containing a large annular magnetic anomaly (Anomaly 2) and an elongated anomaly. F igure 8.3 demonstrates the successful detection of buried structures in Area 2 using a graticule of 1.8 × 1.8 m, selected on the basis of the test described above. The raw data map (F ig. 8.3a) displayed the disordered spatial distribution of high-frequency magnetic anomalies. After data smoothing, an annular anomaly of ~12 m in radius and a narrow elongated negative anomaly of about 30 m in length could be identified in the central and southern parts of the map, respectively (F ig. 8.3b). The amplitude of magnetic anomalies is ± 35–40 nT. B oth of the above anomalies may be produced by non-magnetic targets in magnetic soil, probably an annular limestone building and limestone wall. F or the quantitative interpretation of a composite anomaly in Area 1, we applied methods developed for complex environments (Khesin, Alexeyev and

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So nia Itkis and Lev Eppelb au m

a

b

-20

c

d

e

f 0

10 m

Fig. 8.1. Processing of the magnetic data to reveal archaeological features in the northern part of the studied area: (a) raw data; (b–f) data smoothed using averaging chart of different sizes: b—0.6 × 0.6 m, c—1.0 × 1.0 m, d—1.4 × 1.4 m, e—2.0 × 2.0 m, f—2.6 × 2.6 m; (g) funeral enclosure 53 excavated in adjacent area (see Chapter 4). The isolines of magnetic field are given in nanoTesla.

g

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Chapter 8 : Magnetic Su r vey in the Vicinity o f P aneas

Distance (m)

1 2

Anomaly 4

Anomaly 1

3 4 Distance (m)

5 Anomaly 2

6 Anomaly 3

Anomaly 1

Complex magnetic anomalies containing narrow elongated elements

6

Positive isometric magnetic anomalies

Fig. 8.2. Magnetic anomaly map of the surveyed area with qualitative interpretation.

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So nia Itkis and Lev Eppelb au m

a

b

The intensity of magnetic field, nanoTesla -50 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5

1

2

0

5 10 20 25 30 40 50 0

60 70 10 m

Fig. 8.3. Magnetic data processing in Area 2: (a) map of raw data; (b) improved magnetic map, with (1) a large annular anomaly, probably indicating a round building, and (2) an elongated anomaly, probably indicating the wall of a structure located to the south.

Chapter 8 : Magnetic Su r vey in the Vicinity o f P aneas

149

Fig. 8.4. Quantitative interpretation of the buried archaeological features revealed by the magnetic data: (a) polynomial smoothed magnetic anomoly map; (b) results of an inverse problem solution along Profile I-I; (c) results of 3-D modeling along Profile I-I.

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So nia Itkis and Lev Eppelb au m

Eppelbaum 1996). The parameters of targets were calculated for the magnetic data along three profiles, I-I, II-II and III-III, which are shown in F ig. 8.4a. the results obtained for the anomaly registered along Profile I-I are considered here. Near-surface archaeological targets can be approximated in the initial stage of interpretation by simple geometrical bodies. Despite the wide diversity of archaeological targets and differences in their size, most of them can be classified into groups of similar shapes. Each of these groups can be approximated by a few types of 2-D or 3-D models. A sphere (the simplest 3-D body) may be used to model the diversity of empty or filled spaces (caves, pits) and ceramic objects (kilns, ovens, jars). A wall, an example of targets with a long lateral extension, may be approximated by models of thin or thick vertical slabs and horizontal cylinders, depending on the relations between the wall’s width and height (Itkis 2006). F igure 8.4b presents the interpretation with the approximation of the target by a horizontal circular cylinder. The results obtained were corrected using 3-D modeling, in which a 3-D model was developed on the basis of calculated parameters (depth and size of the buried target and magnetic properties of the target and soil measured at the site). A few iterations were calculated using the GSFC program (Khesin, Alexeyev and Eppelbaum 1996) to obtain a good correlation between the observed magnetic field and that calculated for the developed model (F ig. 8.4c). O ur interpretation assumes that the source of the composite negative anomaly might be a buried structure similar

to the funeral enclosure excavated in the adjacent area, which is probably made of a nonmagnetic material (limestone) at a depth of 1.5 to 1.8 m.

Conclusions Analysis of magnetic data in the vicinity of the B aniyas aqueduct suggests the presence of a number of promising anomalies in all parts of the area under study. These anomalies may be produced by limestone (nonmagnetic) objects of different configurations in plan view occurring at a depth of more than 1.5–2.0 m. The positive isometric anomalies, 1–6, displayed on the magnetic map (F ig. 8.2), can be related to structures such as buildings or tombs. Some anomalies were revealed near the borders of the studied area, e.g., Anomalies 3 and 4 near the southern and eastern borders of the area, respectively. Apparently, the extension of these anomalies might be revealed by magnetic survey outside the studied area. It is pertinent to note that the predicted layout of targets, based on magnetic survey, was not confirmed by excavations, thus reducing the reliability of results from the point of view of the archaeologist. Nevertheless, the geophysical information clarified that the limits of the site have not yet been reached. Investigations at B aniyas clearly indicate that even in the unfavorable conditions of the survey, archaeological remains can be effectively located by the optimized methodology of magnetic study, including modern methods of magnetic data interpretation.

Notes This research was carried out in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Natural Sciences F aculty, B en-Gurion U niversity of the Negev (Itkis) and the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, R aymond and B everly Sackler F aculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv U niversity (Epplebaum). 2 The magnetic survey was performed using the following equipment: Proton Magnetometer MMP203 (Geologorazvedka Assoc., St. Petersburg, R ussia), 1

No. 206033 (for field magnetic observations); Quanta Magnetometer MM-60 (Geologorazvedka Assoc., St. Petersburg, R ussia) and No. 207001 (for the registering of diurnal magnetic variations at the control point). the Kappameter KT-5 (Scintrex, Canada) was used to measure magnetic susceptibility. 3 Nano Tesla (nT) is a unit of measurement of the intensity of the magnetic field.

Chapter 8 : Magnetic Su r vey in the Vicinity o f P aneas

151

R eferences Eppelbaum L.V. and Itkis S.E. 2000. Magnetic Investigations in the Proto-Historic Site to the East of Tel Megiddo. In I. F inkelstein, D. U ssishkin and B . Halpern eds. Megiddo III: The 1992–1996 Seasons (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology, Emery and Claire Y ass Publications in Archaeology, Tel Aviv U niversity 18). Tel Aviv. Pp. 504– 514. Eppelbaum L.V., Itkis S.E. and Khesin B .E. 2000. O ptimization of Magnetic Investigations in the Archaeological Sites in Israel. In Filtering, Modeling and Interpretation of Geophysical Fields at Archaeological Objects (Prospezioni Archeologiche 50th Anniversary Issue). Milan. Pp. 65–92. Eppelbaum L.V., Khesin B .E. and Itkis S.E. 2001. Prompt Magnetic Investigations of Archaeological R emains in Areas of Infrastructure Development: Israeli Experience. Archaeological Prospection 8:163–185. Heimmer D.H. and De Vore S.L. 1995. Near-Surface, High Resolution Geophysical Methods for Cultural Resource Management and Archaeological Investigations. Denver. Itkis S. 2003. Magnetic Susceptibility Measurements of Soil: A Diagnostic Tool for Locating Human Activity Areas. In H. Khalaily and O . Marder. The Neolithic Site of Abu Ghosh: The 1995 Excavations (IAA R eports 19). Jerusalem. Pp. 129–131. Itkis S. 2004. The R esults of a Magnetic Survey in Ashqelon, Afridar—Area E. ‘Atiqot 44:105–118. Itkis S. 2005. The R esults of a Magnetic Survey at the Site of Shoham (North). In E.C.M. van den B rink and R . Gophna

eds. Shoham (North): Late Chalcolithic Burial Caves in the Lod Valley, Israel (IAA R eports 27). Jerusalem. Pp. 159–162. Itkis S. 2006. Detailed Magnetic Prospecting of NearSurface Archaeological Targets: Study of Complications and Optimization of Methodology. Ph.D. diss. B en-Gurion U niversity of the Negev. B e’er Sheva‘. Itkis S.E. and Eppelbaum L.V. 1999. F irst R esults of Magnetic Prospecting Application at the Prehistoric Sites of Israel. Mitekufat Ha-Even, Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 28:177–187. Itkis S.E., Goren Y. and F abian P. 2002. Kissufim: The Size of the Site and Its Estimated Density. In Y. Goren and P. F abian. Kissufim Road: A Chalcolithic Mortuary Site (IAA R eports 16). Jerusalem. Pp.17–20. Itkis S.E., Khesin B ., Eppelbaum L. and Khalaily H. 2003. The Natufian Site of Eynan (Hula Valley, Northern Israel): Magnetic Prospecting R eveals New F eatures. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 52:209–219. Khesin B .E., Alexeyev V.V. and Eppelbaum L.V. 1996. Interpretation of Geophysical Fields in Complicated Environments (Modern Approaches in Geophysics). Dordrecht–London–B oston. Parasnis D.S. 1997. Principles of Applied Geophysics. London. Wynn J.C. 1986. R eview of Geophysical Methods U sed in Archaeology. Geoarchaeology 1:245–257.

Part Four The Northwestern Suburb

Chapter 9

Excavations in the Northwestern Suburb Moshe Hartal

The northwestern suburb of Paneas is situated on the slopes of a hill that rises north of the road leading to the city from the west. The natural rock of this hill consists of a pebble conglomerate (the Si’on Formation). The surface is stepped with wide terraces, ending in outcrops and stone fences. The area is covered today with remains of oak groves, preserved mainly on the outcrops and fences; the terraces held agricultural plots. The suburb was surveyed by the author in 1983; the survey yielded architectural remains from the first or second to the fifth centuries CE. The houses appear to have been spacious, adorned with colored frescoes. Marble pieces found on the surface reinforce the impression of a wealthy neighborhood with large villas. The survey did not produce evidence of a settlement in the late Byzantine and Early Islamic periods (see above, pp. 18–20). In the course of the construction of a security fence in 2000, remains in the northwestern suburb were damaged, and consequently, a salvage excavation was launched.1

The excavation area was situated at the northeastern part of the northwestern suburb (OIG 2146/2959; NIG 2646/7959; see Fig. 1.1:36), on one of the terraces above the security fence. Two areas, 50 m apart, were excavated. Each area comprised two adjacent 5 × 5 m squares. Because of time constraints, the squares were not fully excavated and the earlier strata were only partially exposed.

Area A (Sqs 1, 2; Plan 9.1) Two strata were exposed. Stratum 1 A short section of a single wall, W2 in the eastern corner of Sq 2, belongs to this stratum (Fig. 9.1). The wall is 0.70 m wide and was preserved to a height of 1.00 m. It was constructed of cut limestone blocks set on fieldstone foundations. The exposed section ends a short distance

W

10

8.61

L102 L103

L101 8.91 8.44

9.00

W

3

9.36

L106

8.42

�

�

L105 8.52

L107

L104

8.14

�

L108

� 7.92

1

0

2 m

8.52 7.99

Plan 9.1. Plan of Sqs 1 and 2.

8.66

2

7.99

9.40

W2 8.54

156

mosh e h ar tal

Fig. 9.1. Square 2: to left, W2 (Stratum 1); below it the yellow layer (L106) and the stone pavement (L107); to right, the column base and drum capital, lying on the yellow layer (L105); in section above the column, the ash layer (L103). looking south.

from the southeastern edge of the excavation and does not join other walls. The wall might be a terrace wall that was built on a collapse of ashlars from Stratum 2. A thick layer of ashes and organic matter (L 101–L 103) was identified. The ash layer contained many rooftile fragments, marble panel fragments and a great quantity of pottery and glass dated to the Byzantine and Umayyad periods, as well as Byzantine lamps (see Figs. 10.1–10.4). The coins from this layer are dated to the sixth–seventh centuries CE (Chapter 11: Coin Nos. 5, 7–9, 13, 14). Stratum 2 Wall 3 was found in Sq 1 under the layer of ashes. The wall (0.50 m wide) was exposed for 5.35 m, crossing the entire square from north to south. It was constructed from travertine ashlars arranged in headers and stretchers and survives only one course high (Fig. 9.2). A 1.30 m wide threshold constructed of two stones was found in its center. One of the stones is a carved threshold with a hinge socket and a groove for a bolt, and the other a plain ashlar. At the northern edge of W3, W10 cornered in a right angle with it, and extends westward. This wall was also constructed of ashlars, survives two courses high and was exposed for approximately 0.95 m. Judging by the direction of W10 and the orientation of the threshold in W3,

Fig. 9.2. Square 1: Wall 3 with the threshold. To left, a column and the collapse of building stones; above, the ash layer (L104). looking south.

157

Ch apter 9 : Ex cav ations in th e Nor th wester n Subur b

the walls appear to be of a building extending to the west. In the eastern quarter of Sq 2, a pavement composed of rectangular, coarsely dressed stone slabs, was uncovered (L 107; Fig. 9.1). The pavement slopes from northeast to southwest, and although only a 2 × 2 m section was exposed, it appears to cover the entire square. In the southern corner of Sq 2, a column base was found in situ (Fig. 9.1); the pavement seems to have reached it. The pavement and the lower part of the base were covered with a layer of yellow soil with a large amount of gravel (L 106). Over this layer lay a collapse of ashlars, some of them carrying traces of white plaster. The collapse was exposed in the southern half of Sq 2 (L 105) and the eastern third of Sq 1 and ends in the west along the line of W3. A column drum (L 104) was found parallel to W3. In the southern corner of Sq 2, near the column base and above the yellow layer, two additional column drums and an Ionic capital with traces of plaster were located. The pavement was not preserved west of the column base. In this area a small probe (L 108; 0.70 × 0.90 m) descended to the lowest edge of the base. The probe contained gray soil with stones, lying on a layer of stones on which the base was stood. The soil contained few potsherds, including a basin and the rim of a L ate R oman Golan-Ware pithos.

It seems that the pavement and column are part of a street. Although the collapse was not removed in Sq 1, it is likely that the street stretched up to the building defined by W3. After the street was abandoned, the yellow soil accumulated on it over time, and it is only later that the walls and column collapsed on the yellow layer. At the end of the Byzantine and the Early Islamic periods, there was some sort of activity over the ruins of the street, which caused the accumulation of ashes and organic matter. Wall 2 also seems to have been constructed at this time.

Area B (Sqs 3, 4; Plan 9.2) In this area, c. 50 m east of area A, two squares were excavated. The excavation reached bedrock and three strata were defined. Stratum 1 The finds differ from those in Area A. The thick ash layer was not found, and Early Islamic pottery was discovered in L 201–L 203, mixed with R oman and Byzantine pottery. Wall 7, constructed of travertine ashlars in secondary use and surviving three courses high (0.80 m), ran along the eastern edge of Sq 4 (Fig. 9.3). It was exposed for 3.40 m and is one stone wide (0.30 m).

8.14 7.58 L208

8.41 7.74

L201 L203 L205 L207

L208 L211 L213 L215 L216 L2 L217 12 6.65

7.40 L210 7.23 W9

W

8

L219

6

7.63 6.85

W

7

7.60

8.20 7.53

L209

8.07

8.14 8.03

3

4 0

7.63 6.50 L214 L218 7.05 6.50

W

L202 L204 L206

1

7.56

W

W

7

21

L2

W

5

7.38 7.14

W

L220

4

2 m

Plan 9.2. Plan of Sqs 3 and 4.

158

mosh e h ar tal

This wall appears to be a terrace wall, and it cut W6 of Stratum 2. It may be that the two upper courses of W1 (Stratum 2) also belong to Stratum 1. Wall 1 crosses Sq 3 from west to east and was exposed also in the southern corner of Sq 4. It was built in the L ate R oman period (Stratum 2). Byzantine pottery was found on both sides of the wall: in L 205 of Sq 3 and L 204 and L 206 of Sq 4. It is not clear whether the wall was in use in Stratum 1. No floor of this stratum abutted the wall. The character of the settlement in this stratum is not clear; the finds are too few and are mixed with material from the L ate R oman period and the Islamic period. Stratum 2

Fig. 9.3. Square 4: Wall 7 (Stratum 1) cut W6 (Stratum 2); bottom, L218. looking east.

Several walls of a structure were exposed in this stratum. In Sq 3 two walls belong to this structure: the five lowest courses of W1, as well as W4 (0.60 m wide, 0.70 m high, exposed along 1.20 m; Fig. 9.4). As the foundation trench of W1 (L 212) cut W4, W1 is later. Sherds of Baniyas and Hawarit Ware (Fig. 10.5:2) were found in the foundation trench, as in the rest of Stratum 2 (see Chapter 10). In Sq 4, four walls, meeting at a single point, were exposed (Fig. 9.5). Wall 5 (0.60 m wide, 1.13 m high, exposed along 1.15 m) is well built of dressed limestone blocks. The foundation and the upper course were constructed of relatively large stones, measuring

Fig. 9.4. Square 3: Wall 1 to left, abutted by W4 on the right; bottom, L217. looking west.

Ch apter 9 : Ex cav ations in th e Nor th wester n Subur b

159

Fig. 9.5. Square 4: to right, W7 (Stratum 1); to left, the junction of W5, W6, W8 and W9; top left, the concentration of finds in L210. Looking northwest.

0.40 × 0.55 m, between them two courses of smaller stones, measuring approximately 0.25 × 0.15 m. Wall 6 and W8 were built of dressed limestone, with travertine ashlars interspersed among them. Wall 6 (0.65 m wide, 0.80 m high, exposed along 1.80 m) was cut in the east by W7 (see Fig. 9.3). Only the top of W8 was exposed (0.55 m wide, 1.40 m long). These three walls appear to belong to a single structure. Only the top of W9 was exposed (0.55 m wide, 1.00 m long), and it was found to be constructed of small stones set in mortar, both its faces plastered. Its different construction seems to indicate that it is a later addition. A large concentration of potsherds (L 210, L 214) was found in the northern corner of Sq 4. Most are of local manufacture: Baniyas Ware, Hawarit Ware and Golan Ware. Discus lamps date this assemblage to the third century CE (see p. 173 and Fig. 10.8:11–13). In addition, fragments of ‘Corinthian bowls’, dated to the end of the second and the third centuries CE, were recovered (see p. 175, Fig. 10.9:1, 2, below; Spitzer 1942, Malfitana 2005). The concentration of sherds ends at the level of the top of W5 and along the route of its western face. The vessels appear to have accumulated next to the wall and thus date it. L ocus 218 appears to be the foundation trench of W5 and W6.

Stratum 3 Bedrock was reached only in the northern corner of Sqs 3 and 4. No datable material was found in Sq 3 (L 220). The lowest level in Sq 4 (L 219) is dated by its ESA Ware to the first century CE. In this stratum, fresco fragments, characteristic of the houses of the suburb in the Early R oman period, were found as well. Fragments of two bowls with an out- and upwardturned ledge rim represent the first types of bowls manufactured at Baniyas, in the early second century CE (see below, Fig. 10.10:2, 3). Summary The settlement in this area seems to have begun in the first or early second century CE. Toward the end of the second, or at the beginning of the third century CE, a building was constructed, only a small part of which was excavated. Slight modifications to it were apparently carried out in the same period. Only scant evidence of the Byzantine period, including Phoenician lamps, was recovered. A terrace wall was built over the ruins of the building in the Early Islamic period.

160

mosh e h ar tal

Note 1 The excavation (Permit No. A-3315/2000) was carried out between August 1 and October 11, 2000 on behalf of the IAA

and funded by the Ministry of Defense, under the author’s supervision.

R eferences Malfitana D. 2005. “Corinithan” R oman R elief Ware: New Studies and Preliminary R esults. In M.B. Briese and L .E. V aag eds. Trade Relations in the Eastern Mediterranean

from the Late Hellenistic Period to Late Antiquity: The Ceramic Evidence. Odense. Pp. 83–97. Spitzer D.C. 1942. R oman R elief Bowls from Corinth. Hesperia 11:162–192.

Chapter 10

Finds from the Northwestern Suburb Moshe Hartal

The finds from the excavations in the northwestern suburb (above, Chapter 9) are represented in the following pages. Since the finds from loci of the same stratum are homogeneous, all the finds of that stratum are dealt with here as a unit. The finds, mostly pottery, are therefore arranged by vessel type within strata. The quantity of each vessel type is noted. The description of the finds of Stratum 2 is arranged according to the products of the regional workshop centers at Banyias and Kh. el-Hawarit; each starts with a description of characteristics followed by a description of the vessel types.

Stratum 1 High Quality Bowls. Five bowls made of buff ware, with a low ring base, were recovered. The interiors are decorated with black bands (Fig. 10.1:1). Nine bowls with an out-turned rim and thick walls are made of well-levigated, light pink clay and well fired (Fig. 10.1:2, 3). Both types find parallels in Tiberias Stratum II, dated to the early Fatimid period (980–1033 CE; Stacey 2004: Fig. 5.29:1). Three unglazed bowls of well-levigated orange clay have an out-turned rim and thin walls (Fig. 10.1:4). Imported Bowls. The assemblage in Stratum 1 included fragments of Late Roman Red Ware (LRRW). These bowls were studied by Hayes (1972; 1980) and lately by Orit Tsuf (2003) and are represented by ten bowls of Types PRS 3C (Fig. 10.1:5) and PRS 3F (Fig. 10.1:6), dated to the mid-fourth to the sixth centuries (Hayes 1972:329–338); one bowl of Type PRS 10C (Fig. 10.1:7), dated from the mid-sixth to the seventh centuries (Hayes 1972:343–346); one bowl of Type CRS 109C (Fig. 10.1:8), dated from the sixth and seventh centuries (Hayes 1972:381–382); seven bowls of Type ARS 99 (Fig. 10.1:9–11), dated to the fifth and the sixth centuries (Hayes 1972:155); and three bowls

of Type ARS 104C (Fig. 10.1:12, 13), dated to the sixth to the eighth centuries (Tsuf 2003:131). Local Bowls. Among these bowls are unglazed bowls with a wide, down-turned ledge rim with four grooves and wheel marks on the exterior (Fig. 10.1:14, 15). Similar bowls were found in a house of the late Byzantine period at Bab el-Hawa (Hartal 2005:130, Fig. 125:5–7). Also present are two bowls with an upturned ledge rim, well fired (Fig. 10.1:16), and a thin-walled bowl with a simple rim and carination, well fired (Fig. 10.1:17). Cooking Bowls. There are eleven wide-mouthed cooking bowls, with an inward sloping, cut rim and a rounded body. Two have slightly upturned horizontal handles under the rim (Fig. 10.2:1, 2) and clear burn marks on the exterior. These cooking bowls are common in the sixth–seventh centuries (Hartal 2005:142, Fig. 129:4, 5), but were manufactured earlier and later as well, from the fourth until the eighth or ninth centuries CE (Magness 1993:211–213). Five cooking bowls have a flat, slightly protruding rim, straight walls and a slight carination from which the walls curve down (Fig. 10.2:3). Cooking Pots. Four types of cooking pots were found. 1. Eleven cooking pots have a simple rim, a high neck with wheel marks and a rounded body with thick walls and delicate ribbing. Two loop handles descend from the rim to the shoulder (Fig. 10.2:4, 5). Similar cooking pots were found at Paneas from the third–fifth centuries CE (Berlin 1999: Fig. 12:1; Israeli 2008b: Fig. 7.12:35, 36), at Meron from the Byzantine period (Meyers, Strange and Meyers 1981:127, Pl. 8.14:36) and at Bab el-Hawa from the sixth century CE (Hartal 2005:134, Fig. 126:14–16). 2. One cooking pot has a ribbon rim and a short neck (Fig. 10.2:6). Such cooking pots are dated to the

162

moshe hartal

sixth and seventh centuries CE: Bab el-Hawa (Hartal 2005:136: Fig. 128:3–8); Horbat ‘Ovesh (Aviam and Getzov 1998:69, Fig. 9:8); Ramat Ha-Nadiv (Calderon 2000:108). 3. Two cooking pots have a simple rim, a low neck with an outer ledge and a globular body with delicate ribbing, well fired (Fig. 10.2:7, 8). 4. Four ‘Yassi Ada’ type cooking pots have a carinated neck (Fig. 10.2:9, 10). These were manufactured in Cyprus in the seventh and eighth centuries CE (Catling 1972: Fig. 7: P69). Such pots were found at Kellia in Egypt, dated to the seventh century (Egloff 1977:103, Type 138), as well as in the shipwreck off Yassi Ada in Turkey, which sank in the seventh century (Bass 1982:177, Fig. 8-15). These pots are attested also at sites in northern Israel, from the end of the sixth through the seventh centuries CE (for parallels see Hartal 2005:172–174). Casseroles. One casserole has an out-turned rim and a semi-globular body with thick walls. Two loop handles are attached from the rim to the body (Fig. 10.3:1). Lids. Three flat, bowl-shaped lids have an out-turned rim and a prominent knob handle, and are well fired

(Fig. 10.3:2). The lid is well-worked on its upper side, with wheel marks visible. The lower part remained without finishing and the base is unstable. The base and the lower part of the walls of one of the lids are burnt, perhaps indicating use for cooking or baking. Such lids were in use from the sixth through the eighth centuries CE (Magness 1993:248, Lids and Stoppers Form 2). Basins. Four basins have a flat or ledge rim (Fig.10.3:3), straight walls and a flat base (Fig. 10.3:4). They are made of dark brown to orange clay and are well fired. They have been found at Paneas and are dated to the fifth through the seventh centuries CE (Israeli 2008b: Fig. 7.9:7; Magness, in preparation) and at Tiberias, Hammat Gader and Transjordan from the Byzantine and Umayyad periods (for parallels, see Hartal 2005:185). Unusual is a basin with an out-turned ledge rim, decorated on top of the rim with cuneiform impressions and on the side with a rope pattern (Fig. 10.3:5). Flasks. The upper parts of three flasks have a pointed rim with a ridge below and a short neck. The neck was made separately and attached to the body before firing. The opening in the body was made with a round stick and the extra material protrudes inward; well fired (Fig. 10.3:6).

Fig. 10.1 ► No.

Locus

Basket No.

Description

1

103

1175/12

Buff clay; black painted bands on interior, unglazed

2

103

1077/7

Light pink clay; mustard-yellow matte glaze over white slip

3

202

1035/13

Pink clay, small white temper; mustard-yellow, light green and white glaze on interior, matte glaze on exterior

4

202

1035/29

Orange clay; orange slip on interior, brown spiral decoration on exterior

5

104

1181/7

Orange clay, white temper; same color matte glaze on interior

6

202

1035/42

Light red clay

7

203

1036/1

Light red clay

8

206

1171/34

Purple-brown clay, small white temper

9

203

1084/2

Light red clay; light red glossy slip on interior and over rim

10

106

1336/2

Light red clay, thin gray core; light red glossy slip on interior and over rim

11

204

1064/1

Light red clay; light red glossy slip on exterior

12

104

1181/5

Orange clay; light red glossy slip on exterior; repair hole with threaded lead wire

13

104

1172/5

Orange clay; light red glossy slip on interior

14

201

1014/9

Orange clay, gray core

15

202

1015/5

Brown clay, thick gray core, small white temper

16

103

1281/1

Brown clay, small shiny temper

17

205

1002/1

Brown-pink clay, large, white and gray temper

Chapter 10: find s from the Northwestern Suburb

Jug. One jug has a simple rim and a high, tapering neck with wheel marks on the exterior. A red arrow pattern is painted on the lower part of the neck (Fig. 10.3:7). Strainer Jugs. Five jugs have a simple rim and a high, tapering neck. The single handle connects from a prominent ridge in the middle of the neck to the shoulder. There are deep wheel marks inside the neck, which was made separately and attached to the body

before firing. Three holes were pierced in the body and served as a strainer (Fig. 10.3:8). Strainer jugs were common in the sixth and the seventh centuries (Hartal 2005:161, Fig. 135:1–5). Jars. One jar has an upward tapering neck, a narrow mouth and an out-turned rim. Handles connect from the neck, just under the rim (Fig. 10.3:9).

2

1

3

4

5

7

6

9

8

10

11

13 12

14

163

15

16 17

Fig. 10.1. Stratum 1: Bowls.

164

moshe hartal

1 2

3

4

6

5

8

7

10 9

Fig. 10.2. Stratum 1: Cooking vessels. No.

Locus

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

1

201

1027/9

Cooking bowl

Pink clay, brown and white temper

2

200

1021/4

Cooking bowl

Orange clay, white temper

3

103

1175/1

Cooking bowl

Orange clay

4

104

1204/8

Cooking pot

Orange-brown clay, small white temper

5

206

1122/10

Cooking pot

D ark reddish-brown clay, white temper

6

202

1035/33

Cooking pot

Orange clay, white temper

7

104

1211/8

Cooking pot

Pink clay, white temper

8

203

1069/2

Cooking pot

Gray clay

9

104

1060/14

Cooking pot

Orange clay, white and gray quartz temper

10

202

1035/31

Cooking pot

Orange clay

Chapter 10: find s from the Northwestern Suburb

165

1 3

2 4

5

6

9 8

7

11

10

12

Fig. 10.3. Stratum 1: Cooking vessels and other forms. No.

Locus

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

1

202

1021/44

Casserole

Reddish-brown clay, thick gray-brown core, small white temper

2

208

1174/20

lid

Brown clay

3

104

1338/1

Basin

D ark gray clay

4

104

1211/4

Basin

Gray clay, thick reddish-brown core, small white temper

5

202

1021/48

Basin

Reddish-brown clay, thick gray core; impressed cuneiform decoration on rim

6

104

1200/4

Flask

Orange clay

7

104

1081/15

Jug

Pink clay, small white temper; red paint

8

104

1292/13

Strainer jug

Orange clay, small white and brown temper

9

104

1211/5

Jar

D ark gray-brown clay, small white temper

10

103

1182/6

Jar

Brown clay, thick reddish-brown core, large white temper

11

103

1175/5

Pithos

Pink clay, thick gray core, large white and brown temper

12

105

1221/5

Pithos

D ark gray clay

166

moshe hartal

Three jars have a flat rim with a low ridge below the rim and a low neck; well fired (Fig. 10.3:10).

in their decoration technique. On the Northern Stamped Lamps, the decorations were stamped on the clay before firing, whereas the Ovoid Lamps were produced in molds. As the latter type was found almost exclusively in the territory of Provincia Phoenicia in the Byzantine period, we propose calling them ‘Phoenician Lamps’ (Hartal 2005:200–201 and Map 3). The Northern Stamped Lamps were in use from the third to the sixth centuries (Sussman 1989:24). The Phoenician Lamps were in use from the fifth to the seventh centuries (Hartal 2005:201–202). The similarity in form and the fact that at many sites both types of lamps were found side by side suggest that at least for a while, probably in the fifth or in the beginning of the sixth century, they were in use contemporaneously. Several of the Phoenician Lamps were decorated with crosses, indicating a Christian population (for a full discussion of the Phoenician Lamps, see Hartal 2005:200–212). Northern Stamped Lamps were recovered from the Paneas excavations in the Sacred Precinct (Berlin, in preparation) and in the ‘Byzantine Street’, which was destroyed in the first quarter of the fifth century (Israeli 2008c). A homogeneous assemblage of sixth-to-earlyseventh-century pottery was discovered in a pit dug in the

Pithoi. There are ten rims of Golan-Ware pithoi. One has a thick, rounded rim and a low neck (Fig. 10.3:11). Such rims were discovered at Kh. Namra (third century CE) and at Bab el-Hawa, dated to the Late Roman period (Hartal 2005:180, Fig. 142:4). The other pithoi have an out-turned rim and a short neck (Fig. 10.3:12). Such pithoi were found at Bab el-Hawa, dated to the Byzantine period (Hartal 2005:182, Fig.142:13–16). Phoenician Lamps In Stratum 1 seventeen lamp fragments were recovered, all of an oval form with a flat base and a small filling hole. The lamps are mold-made and are decorated with floral and geometric patterns (Fig. 10.4:1–5). Two types of lamps characteristic of the northern regions of Israel in the Late Roman and Byzantine periods are the ‘Northern Stamped Lamps’ (Sussman 1989) and the ‘Ovoid Lamps’ (Rosenthal and Sivan 1978:123). Both these lamp types are similar in their overall shape— oval with a small filling hole and a flat base—but differ

1

3

2

4

5

6

7

Fig. 10.4. Stratum 1: Lamps and miscellaneous objects. No.

Locus

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

1

201

1017

Lamp

Orange clay

2

204

1115/1

Lamp

Orange clay

3

204

1109/1

Lamp

Red clay, small white temper

4

204

1115/2

Lamp

Pink clay

5

204

1109/2

Lamp

Pink clay

6

204

1067

Spindle whorl

Black stone

7

203

1079

Spindle whorl

Black stone

8

104

1087

Inlay

Marble

8

Chapter 10: find s from the Northwestern Suburb

debris of the temple and sealed by a floor of a medieval house. Three Phoenician Lamps were found in this assemblage (Magness, in preparation), the only lamps of this type known from Paneas before our excavation.

167

located in the vicinity of Baniyas. One was probably in Baniyas itself and the other in Kh. el-Hawarit (Berlin 1999; Hartal 2008; Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008) Baniyas Ware

Spindle Whorls Whorls are used as weights for spinning. They are hung on the spindle and weigh it down, thus allowing the spindle to turn and twist the fibers together (Shamir 1996:149). Three whorls were found in the excavation, two of them in Stratum 1 (Fig. 10.4:6, 7) and one in Stratum 2 (Fig. 10.8:14). All the whorls are dome shaped and made of black stone. Marble inlay The debris of Stratum 1 in Sq 1 contained many fragments of marble, of which one is intact (Fig. 10.4:8). Its design testified that it was inlayed in a floor or wall decoration. Summary Most of the finds from Stratum 1 date to the end of the sixth and the seventh centuries CE—the end of the Byzantine period and the beginning of the Early Islamic period. All the lamps in Stratum 1 are of the Phoenician type, common in the area in the Byzantine period (see above). No Northern Stamped Lamps, in use until the beginning of the sixth century, were found in this stratum. Therefore the terminus ante quem of the stratum is no earlier than the first half of the sixth century. On the other hand, no Islamic lamps (Magness 1993:255) came from this stratum; therefore the terminus post quem of the stratum is the very beginning of the Early Islamic period. The latest coins, dated 641–650 CE (Chapter 11: Coin Nos. 11–15), confirm this date. The few Fatimid bowls appear to represent an isolated use of the area and do not date the stratum. The upper stratum in D . Amir’s 1974 excavation, c. 100 m east of our excavation (see Fig. 1.1:37), which parallels our Stratum 1, also contains glazed bowls and very few Byzantine vessels.1

Stratum 2 Most of the pottery from Stratum 2 was of local production. Two ceramic manufacturing centers were

The pottery attributed to the Baniyas workshops is of light red to reddish-yellow soft or half-hard ware with small inclusions (Hartal 2005:270; Berlin, in preparation). This ware was used for the production of various-sized bowls, and to a smaller extent cooking pots, basins, juglets and jars (Hartal 1989:133, Pl. 14; Berlin 1999: Figs. 10–12; Israeli 2008b:111). The argument for the production of Baniyas Ware in or very close to the site is based on its distribution and dating. Vessels of Baniyas Ware have been found in significant quantities predominantly in Baniyas itself, and in smaller quantities in the Hermon, the northern Golan and the northern Hula Valley (Hartal 2005: Map 5; Berlin, in preparation). Vessels of Baniyas Ware first appeared at Baniyas in the second century (Israeli 2008a:69–71, 73–74; 2008c:111). Stratum 3 in our excavation, dating probably to the beginning of the second century, yielded two Baniyas bowls (see Fig. 10.10:2, 3). In the Temple of Pan they first appeared under the Court of Nemesis (dating to the second half of the second century) and were absent from the fill of the pronaos of the Temple of Zeus (dating to the second half of the first century or the beginning of the second century; Berlin, in preparation). It seems that there is no contradiction between these two dates, since assemblages of the beginning and the middle of the second century were not found in the Sacred Precinct (Berlin, in preparation). Baniyas bowls still occurred, in small numbers, in the ‘Burnt Street’, destroyed by a conflagration in the first quarter of the fifth century (Israeli 2008b:111). After this destruction, the city diminished in size. A pit dug into the temple ruins contained pottery dating to the end of sixth century and the beginning of the seventh century (Magness, in preparation); no Baniyas Ware was found. Baniyas Ware is absent from the assemblage of Stratum 1 in our excavation, dated to the sixth–seventh centuries. It seems that the production of Baniyas Ware ceased in the fifth century. Large amounts of pottery, dating to the second–fifth centuries CE, were found in the area to the north of the northwestern suburb (see Fig. 2.112), but no building

168

moshe hartal

remains were discovered. The aqueduct continued outside the city and through the cemetery, indicating that the pottery found here was not in domestic use. It may, in fact, have been wasters from pottery kilns. The examination of the pottery collected at various points along the aqueduct indicates that there is much similarity in the fabric within each assemblage, but dissimilarity in the fabric between the various assemblages (see descriptions in Figs. 2.60, 2.64, 2.112). This pattern suggests the existence of several pottery workshops along the aqueduct. In a pit excavated in 1968 as part of a soil survey north of the suburb, large quantities of Baniyas Ware sherds were recovered, perhaps an indication of the location of one of these workshops. Baniyas Bowls. Four small, deep bowls with an outturned ledge rim and a globular body were found in Stratum 2 (Fig. 10.5:1–3). These bowls were manufactured at Baniyas toward the middle or the end of the third century CE. The Sacred Precinct at Paneas yielded many such bowls and, according to Berlin (1999:36–40, Fig. 10:3, 4, 6; in preparation), served as saucer lamps. The small bowls seem to have been manufactured specially for the needs of the sanctuary and were not for quotidian use. Only a few such bowls are known from elsewhere. The bowls found in the present excavation do not exhibit soot marks. Because no entire circumference of the bowls exists, the absence of soot marks could be accidental. On the other hand, it could be that the use of these bowls as lamps was restricted to the temple only. One hundred and nine bowls with an inward-folded flange rim, a convex body and a flat base were found in Stratum 2. The body and base of the bowls have coarse ribbing (Fig. 10.5:4, 5). The bowls are similar to the saucer lamps, although they are much larger. This is the most common type of bowl discovered in Stratum 2, as well in the excavations conducted in the city itself (Israeli 2008a:69–70, Fig. 4.11:1–12) and at other sites in the northern Golan (Hartal 2005:114–116). A few of the bowls from the excavation exhibit soot marks, evidence that they were also used for cooking. Two bowls with an in-turned triangular rim, on which there are one or two grooves, are another variant of Baniyas bowls. The walls are straight, smooth or ribbed and the vessels are well fired (Fig. 10.5:6, 7). Another variant of Baniyas bowls is represented by four flat bowls with an upturned rim and thick, straight walls with visible wheel marks (Fig. 10.5:8). Also

present is a deep bowl with an out- and upward-turned rounded rim and a globular, ribbed body. Loop handles extend from the rim to the body (Fig. 10.5:9). Some less common types of bowls were manufactured at Paneas in the Late Roman period: Five bowls have a cut rim and convex walls. On one, the rim is pinched in two places (Fig. 10.5:10). A bowl or cup with an out-turned, rounded rim and thin, straight walls, is decorated on the exterior with dense lines of rouletted incisions (Fig. 10.5:11). Another bowl has an outturned rim and vertical walls, at the upper part of which there is a set of thumb impressions (Fig. 10.5:12). It dates to the middle of the third century to the end of the fourth century CE (Berlin 1999: Fig. 11:8, 9; in preparation). Cooking Bowls. Sixty large cooking bowls have an inturned simple rim and walls that are convex or straight. The base is wide and flat, with concentric ribbing (Fig. 10.6:1–4). Bowl Nos. 1–3 are covered with a dark red slip. Bowl No. 4 is made of orange clay, characteristic of Baniyas Ware. Six cooking bowls (Fig. 10.6:5, 6) are different from No. 4 in the modeling of the rim. Bowl No. 5 is flat and inturned, and in No. 6, the rim is decorated with two concentric grooves. Both had small, vertical loop handles just under the rim. It is noteworthy that these cooking bowls are abundant in the present excavation but were found in no other excavations at the site. Two bowl-shaped vessels have a flat base, straight walls and wheel marks on the interior. A ridge surrounds a 31 mm diameter perforation in the center of the base (Fig. 10.6:7). These vessels were manufactured at Baniyas and probably used for cooking, perhaps steaming, or as flowerpots. Kraters. Two kraters with a wide, out- and upturned ledge rim, a convex body and thick walls (Fig. 10.6:8). Similar kraters were found at Baniyas in the accumulations filling the tunnels under the palace (third century; Israeli, in preparation). Lid. A vessel with a wide, out- and down-turned ledge rim and walls that rise with a slight carination. A large loop handle is attached to the body (Fig. 10.6:9). Its rim resembles that of a casserole, but no exact comparison was found. Strainers. Six closed vessels have either a low ring base bearing wheel marks (Fig. 10.6:10), or a slightly

169

Chapter 10: find s from the Northwestern Suburb

1

2

4

3

5

6 7

8

9

10

12 11

Fig. 10.5. Stratum 2: Baniyas bowls. No.

Locus

Basket No.

Description

1

208

1170

Pink clay, white temper

2

212

1201/11

Pink clay, small white temper

3

210

1227

Pink clay, white and brown temper

4

210

1203

Orange clay

5

214

1084

Light brown clay, small white temper

6

208

1183

Orange clay, brown temper

7

210

1259

Pink clay, thick gray core

8

210

1258

Pink clay

9

210

1203/1

Pink clay

10

210

1203/2

Orange clay, white temper

11

210

1212

Pink clay; upper part of interior painted light red; rouletted decoration on exterior

12

213

1222/1

Orange clay; thumb impressions under rim

170

moshe hartal

1

2

3 4

5 6

7

8 9

10

11

12

13

Fig. 10.6. Stratum 2: Cooking bowls and other forms. No.

Locus

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

1

210

1258/3

Cooking bowl

Brown clay, small white temper; dark red slip on interior

2

210

1258/4

Cooking bowl

Reddish-brown clay, small white temper; dark red slip on interior

3

213

1207

Cooking bowl

Brown clay, small white temper; dark red slip on interior and on exterior of rim

4

210

1212/2

Cooking bowl

Orange clay inside, buff outside, small white temper

5

210

1224

Cooking bowl

Orange clay, white temper

6

213

1207

Cooking bowl

Orange clay, small white temper

7

210

1203

Steam bowl or flowerpot

Orange clay

8

215

1266/3

Krater

Orange clay, white temper

9

210

1203

Lid

Orange clay

10

1227

210

Strainer

Gray clay, small white temper

11

1223/1

210

Strainer

Pink clay, small white temper

12

210

1259/1

Cooking pot

Pink clay, white temper

13

210

1208

Cooking pot

Pink clay interior, gray exterior, small white temper

171

Chapter 10: find s from the Northwestern Suburb

2 3

1

6 4

5

7

9

8

10

11

12

13 15

14

Fig. 10.7. Stratum 2: Juglets and jars. No.

Locus

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

1

210

1258/2

Juglet

Orange clay

2

213

1260

Juglet

Pink clay, white temper

3

214

1201

Juglet

Orange clay

4

210

1224

Juglet

Pink clay, white temper

5

214

1286

Juglet

Pink clay

6

210

1212/2

Juglet

Orange clay

7

214

1285

Juglet

Orange clay

8

217

1319/1

Jar

Pink clay, white temper

9

214

1285

Jar

Orange clay, small white temper

10

210

1223

Jar

Pink clay, white and brown temper

11

214

1284

Jar

Pink clay

12

210

1245

Jar

Pink clay, white and brown temper

13

210

1212

Jar

Pink clay, small white temper

14

217

1319/2

Jar

Orange clay, small white temper

15

210

1308

Jar

Orange clay

172

moshe hartal

convex base (Fig. 10.6:11). The straight walls were pierced with a series of perforations before firing. Similar vessels were found in the accumulations filling the tunnels under the palace, dated to the third century CE (Israeli, in preparation). Their place of manufacture is either at Paneas or at Kh. el-Hawarit (Hartal, Hudson and Berlin, 2008: Fig. 10:10). Cooking Pots. One hundred and four cooking pots have a ledge rim bearing a deep groove, a high neck widening toward the bottom and loop handles connecting the rim to the shoulder. The shoulder is carinated and the body globular and ribbed (Fig. 10.6:12, 13). This type was manufactured in the third–fifth centuries CE (Berlin 1999: Fig. 12:3). Juglets. Most juglets (88 vessels) belong to a type with a simple rim, a wide neck, a cylindrical or piriform body with ribbing, a loop handle connecting the rim to the shoulder and a string-cut flat base (Fig. 10.7:1– 5). These juglets are common at Baniyas in the third century (fill in the palace tunnels) through the fifth century CE (the Byzantine street; Israeli 2008b:116, Fig. 7.11:21–24) and in the Sacred Precinct (Berlin, in preparation), at Kh. el-Hawarit (Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 13:11–19), at Kh. Namra (Hartal 2005: Fig. 49:3) and at many other sites on Mt. Hermon and in the northern Golan. Another juglet type has a narrow neck, a rim that is either sharp or out-turned with a ridge below the rim, where a loop handle connects to the shoulder (Fig. 10.7:6, 7). Three such juglets were found in the excavation. Similar juglets were discovered at Paneas, dated to the second and third centuries CE (Israeli, in preparation) and at Kh. Namra, dated to the third century CE (Hartal 2005: Fig. 49:2). Jars. All the jars that were found in Stratum 2 were manufactured at Baniyas. Most (26 vessels) have a rounded rim, a wide neck and sometimes a ridge at the joint between the neck and the shoulder (Fig. 10.7:8– 11). Similar jars were found in the palace tunnel fills, dated to the third century CE (Israeli, in preparation). Another common type (16 vessels) is a jar with an outfolded rim, a relatively narrow neck with a ridge below the rim and two handles that connect from below the ridge to the shoulder (Fig. 10.7:12). On one jar the handles begin at the rim and the neck widens downward (Fig. 10.7:13). The bodies bear coarse

ribbing and the convex bottom is wheel made (Fig. 10.7:14, 15). Hawarit Ware The other pottery production center was found at Kh. el-Hawarit. The site is on the Hermon slopes, above the D ruse village ‘Ein Quneiyye and north of Nahal Sa‘ar. At the site a large heap (20 m in length and 1.60 m in height) contained thousands of sherds. Most of the sherds were of new vessels that had never been used. The many wasters are a clear indication for ceramic production at the site. It seems that there was an ancient ceramic workshop at the site (Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008). Petrographic analyses confirmed the production of pottery at the site (Porat and Killebrew 1999). Hawarit Ware was made of reddish-yellow metallic ware with many inclusions. The surface color varies from gray to brown and reddish-brown (Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008:134). Cooking pots, cooking bowls and lids, juglets, jugs with pinched rims, deep bell-shaped bowls, basins and Golan Ware pithoi were produced at Kh el-Hawarit. Most of the vessels are supplementary to the Baniyas Ware repertoire, and some of them, like the bell-shaped bowls, were probably produced for use in the temples and were rarely found elsewhere (Hartal 2008; Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008:153; Berlin, in preparation). Vessels of Hawarit Ware were first discovered at Kh. Namra in the northern Golan, in an assemblage from the third and the beginning of the fourth centuries (Hartal 2005: Figs. 47–49). Many vessels were retrieved from the Temple of the Sacred Goats at Paneas, along with a coin from the year 220 CE, which constitutes evidence for production in the third century (Berlin, in preparation). Vessels of Hawarit Ware were also recovered from the fill of the palace tunnels at Paneas, dated to the third century (Israeli, in preparation). In our excavations, Hawarit Ware was discovered only in Stratum 2. The distribution of Hawarit Ware included the northern Golan, the Hermon and the northern Hula Valley (Hartal 2005:270–271 and Map 5). The end of the use of Hawarit Ware, similarly to that of Baniyas Ware, occurred in the fifth century. Vessels of both wares are present in the same assemblages in Paneas (Berlin, in preparation) and both are absent

Chapter 10: find s from the Northwestern Suburb

from the assemblage of the sixth–seventh centuries in the Sacred Precinct (Magness, in preparation) and from Stratum 1 of our excavation. In Kh. Namra, most of the cooking vessels are made of Hawarit Ware, while in Bab el-Hawa, in a building from the end of the fifth century, they constitute only 35% of the cooking vessels (Hartal 2005:131). Cooking Pots. Forty-four cooking pots have a slightly out-turned ledge rim, a high neck widening toward the bottom, a carinated shoulder and a globular, ribbed body (Fig. 10.8:1, 2). Some of the vessels have a black surface. These cooking pots resemble those manufactured at Kh. el-Hawarit (Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 3) and were found also at Kh. Namra (third century CE, Hartal 2005: Fig. 48:1–10), Har Sena’im (D ar 1993: Pl. 3:24) and Baniyas, dated to the third–fifth centuries CE (Israeli 2008b: Fig. 7.12:37, 38; Berlin, in preparation). Juglets. Eight juglets have a pinched mouth with an out-turned rim, a high neck and a loop handle connecting from the rim to the shoulder (Fig. 10.8:3). It was probably manufactured in the third–fifth centuries (Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 13:2, 7, 8). Similar juglets were found at Kh. Namra, from the third century (Hartal 2005: Fig. 49:1, 2). The juglet in Fig. 10.8:4 seems to be the same type, but without the pinched mouth. Jugs. The jugs have an out-turned rim, a high, narrow neck and a ribbed body. Under the rim there is a pronounced ridge where the handle connects to the shoulder (Fig. 10.8:5). Fourteen such jugs were recovered in the excavation. At Kh. el-Hawarit, similar jugs were manufactured, but with a flange rim and a handle that connects from the rim to the body (Hartal, Hudson and Berlin 2008: Fig. 7). Similar jugs were also found in the fills of the palace tunnels, dated to the third century CE (Israeli, in preparation). Golan-Ware Pithoi These are pithoi with an out- and down-turned thickened rim and a short neck (Fig. 10.8:6). Such pithoi are common throughout the northern Golan

173

(Hartal 2005:176–182). At Baniyas, pithoi mostly from the Late Roman period were recovered. In the Stratum 2, fourteen rims and one pared bottom were found, also characteristic of the period. Vessels of Other Local Ware Other pottery types were found in Stratum 2, in addition to the products of the local workshops. Cooking Bowls. These cooking bowls have an inturned, triangular rim, straight walls with a carination in the middle, and horizontal handles below the rim. Wheel marks are visible on the interior (Fig. 10.8:7). This is an early appearance of the cooking bowls that were common in the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods. Amphoriskos. These vessels have an out-turned, rounded rim and a short neck. A deep groove lies below the rim, on the exterior. Below the groove are two parallel loop handles (Fig. 10.7:14). The fabric seems to be local, but no parallels were found. Jug or Jar. A concave bottom (Fig. 10.8:9) can belong to a jug or jar. Jugs and jars with similar bases were found at Baniyas, dated to the third–fifth centuries CE (Berlin, in preparation). Lamps Stratum 2 yielded some forty lamp fragments. One fragment preserves the nozzle of a knife-pared lamp (Fig. 10.8:10), common from the last quarter of the first century BCE to the middle of the second century CE (Barag and Hershkovitz 1994:24–58). Most lamps, however, are discus lamps with a short nozzle and small filling hole, surviving only as small body or base fragments (Fig. 10.8:11, 12). The type is here represented by a fragment that was found in Stratum 1 (Fig. 10.8:11). Some are imported lamps, dated to the first and second centuries CE and some are of local manufacture, dated from the late second to the mid-third centuries CE (Hadad 1992:22–23, Type 3). Other lamps are late variants of the discus lamps, with thicker walls and slightly longer nozzles (Fig. 10.8:13). These are dated to the third century (Hadad 1997:150, Type 1).

174

moshe hartal

3 1

4

5

2

6 7

8

9

11

10

14

15

13

12

Fig. 10.8. Stratum 2: Hawarit Ware (1–5); Golan Ware (6); other local vessels (8, 9); lamps (10–13) and small finds (14, 15). No.

Locus

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

1

214

1284/1

Cooking pot

Pink clay, small white temper

2

210

1317

Cooking pot

Brown clay, thick dark gray core, small white temper

3

210

1227/2

Juglet

Orange clay

4

213

1207

Juglet

Pink clay

5

217

1319

Jug

Orange clay

6

208

1174/10

Pithos

Orange clay, large brown temper

7

214

1229

Cooking bowl

Brown clay

8

208

1183

Amphoriskos

Pink clay

9

210

1317

Jug

Orange clay

10

208

1238

Lamp

Pink clay

11

204

1109

Lamp

Orange clay

12

210

1230

Lamp

Buff clay

13

210

1240

Lamp

Buff clay

14

208

1188

Spindle whorl

Black stone

15

213

1271

Bone pin

Bone

Chapter 10: find s from the Northwestern Suburb

Corinthian Bowls Two mold-made bowls decorated with reliefs were found in Sq 4. The bowls are pyxis-shaped, with vertical walls ending in a thick ridge. These bowls were studied by D .C. Spitzer (1942) and, more recently, by D . Malfitana (2005) and Biondani (2008). The description of the fragments recovered in the present excavation relies on Spitzer’s study. According to the parallels, the bowls had a flat bottom with a low ring-base and no handles (Spitzer 1942:163, Fig. 2; Malfitana 2005: Figs. 1–3). The decorations include a frieze of scenes in low relief. The register containing the relief is bounded on the bottom by a ridge, decorated in various ways (Spitzer 1942: Fig. 3). The overall quality is low and the scenes are not sharp. It seems that the mold for each scene was made separately, so that the relative placement of each scene could vary from vessel to vessel and their order is irrelevant (Spitzer 1942:165). The scenes belong to four groups: the Labors of

Hercules; battle scenes; cultic scenes; and hunting scenes (Spitzer 1942:166–192). The bowls were apparently manufactured at Corinth, where a mold and relatively many fragments were found (Spitzer 1942:162, Fig. 18). Most of the bowls are known from the Adriatic (especially Brindisi), Corinth and central Greece. Very few bowls were found in the Eastern Mediterranean: two in Antiochia; one in Tyre; one in Caesarea; one in Tell esh-Sheik; and one in el-‘Arish (Johnson 1979; Malfitana 2005:88–90, Figs. 10–11). The bowls were manufactured from the middle of the second century CE to the end of the third century or maybe to the middle of the fourth century (Malfitana 2005:88). The bowls discovered at Baniyas belong to two groups, with two different scenes on each fragment: 1. Fragment with cultic scenes (Fig. 10.9:1). At left, a figure, probably a satyr wearing a short kilt, pulls a tree branch or vine to pluck fruit. Behind him stands a three-legged table with a round top, on which are three

1

2

3

Fig. 10.9. Stratum 2: (1, 2) Corinthian bowls; (3) juglet of other ware. No.

175

Locus

Basket No.

Vessel

Description

1

210

1290

Bowl

Pink clay; reddish-brown slip, mold-made relief decoration

2

206

1239

Bowl

Pink clay; orange slip, mold-made relief decoration

3

217

1331

Juglet?

Pink clay; dark brown slip which ran inside, mold-made relief of olive branch

176

moshe hartal

objects, probably fruit (Spitzer 1942:180, Fig.16:e). At right is a head (of a priest?) standing in front of a strange object, either an altar, or a pedestal on which a statue with a large phallus is standing, perhaps Priapus, representing masculinity and related to the cult of D ionysus. In front of the priest lies his thyrsos, a pole wound with ivy or vine leaves and topped by a pinecone (Spitzer 1942:180, Fig.16:e). The two scenes always appear together and seem to be related, possibly to the cult of D ionysus. 2. Fragment with battle scenes (Fig. 10.9:2). The fragment includes the upper frame of the register with the scene, which depicts a wounded and fallen horse. The rider, who appears to be dead, lies along the horse’s belly, tied to the horse by a strap. Trees are seen behind, implying that the battle took place in a forest (Spitzer 1942:176, Fig. 8:c). At left are remains of a combat scene between a soldier holding a shield and a man wearing a short tunic, with a hand raised above his head and, according to parallels, holding a club (Spitzer 1942:174–175, Fig. 8:k). A third sherd, of a juglet, is included here because it has relief decoration. Juglet. Juglet, of which part of the shoulder survived, with the beginning of the neck and a piece of the handle (Fig. 10.9:3). On the shoulder there is an olive branch in relief. In contrast to the Corinthian bowls, the relief is sharp, but its execution is careless. The walls are thin and the vessel is well fired. It appears to be local, but no parallels were found. Small Finds One spindle whorl, dome shaped and made of black stone (Fig. 10.8:14), was recovered. It is similar to whorls found in Stratum 1 (see above, p. 167). A fragment of a bone pin (Fig. 10.8:15) was made with lathe. Its head is decorated with an incised, hatched pattern. 1

Summary Although most of the Stratum 2 ceramic finds are dated to the end of the second century to the first half of the fifth century CE, most of the lamps are dated to the second–mid-third centuries. Noteworthy is the absence of ‘Northern Stamped Lamps’, which are common in the northern Golan from the late third–early fourth centuries (Hartal 2005:192–199). The lamps thus narrow the date of Stratum 2 to the late second century and the mid-third century CE. The second stratum in D . Amir’s excavation contains mostly Baniyas and Hawarit Ware, similarly to our Stratum 2. No Kefar Hananya Ware was found in this stratum.

Stratum 3 Stratum 3 was exposed only in a small part of the excavation. The finds are meager and are represented by three vessels. Figure 10.10:1 represents a cup with a ring-base, a flat bottom and convex walls that attach to the base through a sharp carination. The cup is similar to ESA Form 23, dated to the first half of the first century BCE (Hayes 1985:24, Pl. 3:14). Two bowls have a narrow, out- and upturned ledge rim that ends in a small ridge inside the vessel (Fig. 10.10:2, 3). These bowls resemble the saucer lamps found in the Sacred Precinct (Berlin 1999:37, Fig. 10:4). They might represent the earliest Baniyas bowls manufactured at Baniyas in the early second century CE. The lower stratum of D . Amir’s excavation contains ESA and early forms of Kefar Hananya Ware (3A, 4A and 4B) dated from the mid-first to the mid-second centuries CE (Adan-Bayewitz 1993:111–119, 124– 128). Only a few Baniyas bowl fragments were found in this stratum. The finds in this stratum confirm the suggested date of Stratum 3.

2

3

Fig. 10.10. Stratum 3: Bowls. No.

Locus

Basket No.

Description

1

219

1339/2

Buff clay; light red slip on exterior and interior with running paint blotches

2

219

1334/1

Pink, granular clay, white and brown temper

3

219

1389/1

Light red clay, white temper; light red slip on exterior

Chapter 10: find s from the Northwestern Suburb

177

Note The excavation has not been published. Its pottery was examined by the author in the stores of the IAA. 1

R eferences Adan-Bayewitz D . 1993. Common Pottery in Roman Galilee: A Study of Local Trade. Ramat Gan. Aviam M. and Getzov N. 1998. A Byzantine Smithy at Horvat ‘Ovesh, Upper Galilee. ‘Atiqot 34:63–83 (Hebrew; English summary, pp. 6*–7*). Barag D . and Hershkovitz M. 1994. Lamps from Masada. In J. Aviram, G. Foerster and E. Netzer eds. Masada IV: The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963–1965, Final Reports. Jerusalem. Pp. 1–147. Bass G.F. 1982. The Pottery. In G.F. Bass and F.H. Van D oorninck Jr. Yassi Ada I: A Seventh-Century Byzantine Shipwreck. College Station. Pp. 155–188. Berlin A.M. 1999. The Archaeology of Ritual: The Sanctuary of Pan at Banias/Caesarea Philippi. BASOR 315:27–45. Berlin A.M. in preparation. The Sanctuary of Pan at BaniasCaesarea Philippi: The Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Pottery. In Z.U. Ma‘oz. Paneion: Excavations at the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi, 1988–1993 (IAA Reports). Jerusalem. Biondani F. 2008. Importazioni di Ceramica Corinzia a rilievo de età Romana in area medioadriatica: Nuove Scoperte in territorio marchigiano. Ocnus 16:35–42. Calderon R. 2000. Roman and Byzantine Pottery. In Y. Hirschfeld. Ramat Hanadiv Excavations: Final Report of the 1984–1998 Seasons. Jerusalem. Pp. 91–165. Catling H.W. 1972. An Early Byzantine Pottery Factory at D hiorios in Cyprus. Levant 2:37–62. D ar S. 1993. Settlements and Cult Sites on Mount Hermon, Israel: Ituraean Culture in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods (BAR Int. S. 589). Oxford. Egloff M. 1977. Kellia, la poterie copte II. Geneva. Hadad S. 1992. Oil Lamps at Bet Shean from the Roman Period to the Umayyad Period. M.A. thesis. The Hebrew University. Jerusalem. (Hebrew). Hadad S. 1997. Oil Lamps from the Third to the Eighth Century CE at Scytopolis–Bet Shean. DOP 21:147–188. Hartal M. 1989. Northern Golan Heights: The Archaeological Survey as a Source of Regional History. Qazrin (Hebrew; English summary). Hartal M. 2005. The Land of the Ituraens: Archaeology and History of the Northern Golan in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods (Golan Studies 2). Qazrin (Hebrew; English summary). Hartal M. 2008. The Use of Pottery as a Tool for the D efinition of Provincial Borders. In S. Bar ed. In the HillCountry, and in the Shephelah, and in the Arabah (Joshua 12,8): Studies and Researches Presented to Adam Zertal in the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Manasseh Hill-Country Survey. Jerusalem. Pp. 211*–222*.

Hartal M., Hudson N. and Berlin A.M. 2008. Khirbat elHawarit: A Ceramic Workshop on the Mount Hermon Slopes. ‘Atiqot 59:131–155. Hayes H.W. 1972. Late Roman Pottery. London. Hayes H.W. 1980. A Supplement to the Late Roman Pottery. London. Hayes H.W. 1985. Atlante delle forme ceramiche II: Ceramica fine romana nel bacino Mediterraneo. Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica. Rome. Israeli S. 2008a. Area B: Stratigraphic D etails and the Pottery from Strata I to IV. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 61–80. Israeli S. 2008b. Area F: Stratigraphic Analysis of the ‘Burnt’ Street of Shops and Its Pottery. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 105–128. Israeli S. 2008c. Area F: The Lamps from the Shops. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 129–139. Israeli S. In preparation. The Pottery from the Palace. In V. Tzaferis. Paneas III (IAA Reports). Jerusalem. Johnson B.L. 1979. Corinthian Relief Bowls from Northern Sinai. IEJ 29:171–174. Malfitana D . 2005. “Corinithan” Roman Relief Ware: New Studies and Preliminary Results. In M.B. Briese and L.E. Vaag eds. Trade Relations in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Hellenistic Period to Late Antiquity: The Ceramic Evidence. Odense. Pp. 83–97. Magness J. 1993. Jerusalem Ceramic Chronology circa 200– 800 CE. Sheffield. Magness J. in preparation. Pottery from a Seventh Century CE Pit L243 (Stratum III). In Z.U. Ma‘oz. Paneion: Excavations at the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi, 1988–1993 (IAA Reports). Jerusalem. Meyers E.M., Strange J.F. and Meyers C.L. 1981. Excavations at Ancient Meiron, Upper Galilee, Israel, 1971–72, 1974– 75, 1977. Cambridge. Porat N. and Killebrew A. 1999. Petrographic Analyses of Late Antique and Islamic Fine and Coarse Ware from Qasrin. In S. Pike and S. Gitin eds. The Practical Impact of Science on Near Eastern and Aegean Archaeology. London. Pp. 127–141. Rosenthal R. and Sivan R. 1978. Ancient Lamps in the Schloessinger Collection (Qedem 8). Jerusalem.

178

moshe hartal

Shamir O. 1996. Loomweights and Whorls. In D .T. Ariel and A. D e Groot eds. Excavations at the City of David 1978– 1985 Directed by Y. Shilo IV (Qedem 35). Jerusalem. Pp. 135–170. Spitzer D .C. 1942. Roman Relief Bowls from Corinth. Hesperia 11:162–192. Stacey D .A. 2004. Excavations at Tiberias, 1973–1974: The Early Islamic Periods (IAA Reports 21). Jerusalem.

Sussman V. 1989. Northern Stamped Oil Lamps and Their Typology. Michmanim 4:23–58. Tsuf O. 2003. Red Slip Bowls in the Late Roman and Byzantine Period: Social, Economical and Technological Aspects. Ph.D . diss. University of Haifa (Hebrew; English summary).

Chapter 11

Coins from the Northwestern Suburb Gabriela Bijovsky

Twenty bronze coins were discovered during the excavations, two of them unidentifiable.1 Almost all the coins are well preserved. The chronology of the numismatic material ranges from the end of the second century CE to the Early Islamic period. Three Roman Provincial coins were discovered: two from the local mint of Paneas (Nos. 1, 2) and a coin of Philip Senior and his son Philip Junior, minted in Damascus (No. 3). The provenance of these coins illustrates the geographical distribution of citycoins, which usually circulate in the area close to the mint. Most of the coins found during the excavation date to the Byzantine period: five coins belong to the sixth century CE (Nos. 5–9), and six coins, to the seventh century CE, one of Phocas and the rest of Constans II (Nos. 10–15). The high incidence of coins of this emperor, together with two post-Reform Umayyad coins (Nos. 16, 17), gives evidence to activities at the site in the Early Islamic period. Two of the three

Islamic coins from the excavation were minted in Dimashq (Nos. 16 and 18). All the coins from Area A—with one exception, No. 10 dated to Phocas—were discovered within the thick layer of archeological material and organic remains that covered the area (Stratum 1, L101–L103). The latest coins are dated to Constans II (Nos. 13, 14). No coins can be associated with Stratum 2. Three strata were defined by the excavator in Area B. Coins could be related to three of the occupation phases. The latest coins from Stratum 1, dated to the Early Islamic period, belong to Constans II (Nos. 11, 12). Islamic coins were discovered within Stratum 1 (Nos. 16, 17, Umayyad; No. 18, Ayyubid), which presented Byzantine material mixed with finds from the third century CE. A coin of Geta, dated to 199 CE and minted at Paneas, confirms the dating given by the pottery in Stratum 3.

Note The coins were cleaned at the IAA laboratories under the direction of E. Altmark and photographed by S. Mendrea and C. Amit of the IAA. 1

R eferences Balog P. 1980. The Coinage of the Ayyubids (Royal Numismatic Society Special Publications 12). London. DOC 1: A.R. Bellinger. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection 1: Anastasius I to Maurice. 491–602. 2 volumes. Washington, D.C. 1966. DOC 2: P. Grierson. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection 2: Phocas to Theodosius III. 602–717. 2 volumes. Washington, D.C. 1968. Hahn W. 2001. Money of the Incipient Byzantine Empire (Anastasius I–Justinian I, 491–565). Vienna.

Meshorer Y. 1984–1985. The Coins of Caesarea Paneas. INJ 8:37–58. RIC 6: C.H.V. Sutherland. The Roman Imperial Coinage VI: From Diocletian’s Reform (A.D. 294) to the Death of Maximinus (D. 313). London 1967. Rosenberger M. 1978. The Coinage of Eastern Palestine and Legionary Countermarks, Bar-Kochba Overstrucks. Jerusalem. Walker J. 1956. A Catalogue of the Arab-Byzantine and PostReform Umaiyad Coins (Catalogue of the Muhammadan Coins in the British Museum 2). London.

180

Gabriela Bijo vsk y

2

3

7

12

6

11

10

13

Fig. 11.1. Coins from the northwestern suburb.

16

Basket No.

1330

1103

1059

1029

1251

Cat. No.

1

2*

3*

4

5

103

103

204

205

214

Locus No.

4.99

8.32

13.33

19.11

2.44

Weight (g)

24

26

29

30

17

Diam. (mm)

↑

↓

↑

↑

↓

Axis

Reverse

ΚΑΙΠΑ CΕ[- - -] Pan stg. facing, leaning on trunk of tree, playing the flute. O n both sides, standards. In ex., date: CKB (year 222)

[COL DAMA]S METRO Heracles stg. facing, holding standard, club and lion-skin. In l. field above, ram’s head

[GEN]IO POPV[LI] ROM[ANI] Genius stg. l., holding patera and cornucopia, in ex.: HTA

[DN ANASTA–SIVS PP AVG] Bust r., diademed, cuirassed and draped

M

BYZANTINE Anastasius I (491–518 CE)— Small Follis

IMPC MAVAL MAXIMIANVS PF AVG Head r., laureate

ROMAN IMPERIAL Maximianus Herculius (286–305 CE)—Folles

IMP PODN [PHILIPPIS AVG] Two busts facing each other, Philip Senior laureate, Philip Junior radiate. In ex.: [CC]

Philip Senior and Junior (244–249 CE)

ΙΟΥΛΙΑ ΜΕCΑ ΑΥΓ Bust r.

Julia Maesa (d. c. 226 CE)

CB/ΚΑΙCΑΡ/ΠΑΝΙΑ/ΔΟC] within wreath

ROMAN PROVINCIAL Geta (Caesar; 195–209 CE) [ΚΑΙCΑΡ] Γ[ΕΤΑC] Bust r., laureate

Obverse

498–512

219

Date (CE)

Constantinople

Heraclea

Damascus

Paneas

Paneas

Mint

Cf. Hahn 2001:86, No. 23 Very worn

RIC 6:531, No. 19b

Rosenberger 1978:30, No. 48

Cf. Meshorer 1984–1985:51, No. 18 (year 223) Date unpublished

Meshorer 1984–1985:51, No. 18

References and Notes

92983

92978

92990

92991

92995

IAA Nos.

All of the coins are bronze unless otherwise stated. The coins are arranged chronologically, according to coin-types. Coins bearing an asterisk are illustrated in F ig. 11.1.

Coin Catalog

Chapter 11: Co ins f ro m the No rthwestern Suburb

181

Basket No.

1028

1326

1173

1326

1327

1058

1016

Cat. No.

6*

7*

8

9

10*

11*

12*

201

203

104

103

103

103

203

Locus No.

4.21

4.99

10.14

13.36

7.44

13.36

1.45

Weight (g)

24

23

32

29

29

29

13

Diam. (mm)

8

8

↓

↓

↓

↓

Axis

½ to l., B; to r., Є

XXXX above, ANNO; to r., date: µ; in ex.: KYZA

InPER CONSt’ Bust facing, crowned, holding scepter and globe topped by cross

]N[ Imperial figure stg. facing, holding scepter with cross and globe topped by cross

M below, Є; in ex.: NЄO

N Є OC; in ex.: AII

m to l.: OΦA; above, A*; to r.,

Constans II (641–668 CE)—Follis

dN FO[CAV NP]EPAV Bust facing, crowned, wearing consular robe, holding mappa and globe topped by cross

Phocas (602–610 CE)—Follis

cross; to r., date; ³ in ex.: tHЄup’

m to l.: [ANNO]; above,

Maurice (578–582 CE)—Follis

cross; to r., date: ³. Mintmark illegible

M to l.: ANNO; above,

to r., date: µII; below, A; in ex.: NIKO

M to l.: ANNO; above, cross;

Justin II (565–578 CE)—Follis

[- - -] Bust facing, crowned, wearing consular robe, holding mappa and scepter with topped by eagle

[- - -] Same

Reverse Justin I? (518–527 CE)—Pentanummium

DN IVSTI–[NVS PP AVG] Justin and Sophia seated facing on double throne

O bliterated

Obverse

c. 641

642/643

607/608

586/587

569/570

572/573

522–527

Date (CE)

DOC 2/2:444, No. 61

DOC 2/2:396, No. 5 (Heraclonas)

Same

DOC 2/1:182– 183, No. 73a

DOC 1:339, No. 156

Cf. DOC 1:206, No. 26

DOC 1:229, No. 98

Cf. Hahn 2001:99, No. 33

References and Notes

Constantinople

Cyzicus

Antioch

Nicomedia

Constantinople

Mint

92986

92989

92984

92985

92979

92982

92988

IAA Nos.

182 Gabriela Bijo vsk y

Basket No.

1250

1325

1329

1145

1153

1145

13*

14

15

16*

17

18

206

206

206

-

103

103

Locus No.

1.69

1.69

1.69

2.06

3.46

3.62

Weight (g)

17

14

17

17×20

24

23×30

Diam. (mm) [- - -] Imperial figure stg. facing, holding scepter with cross and globe topped by cross

Same

Same

→

↑

Illegible legend in four lines

Marginal legend: ‫ضرب هدا الفلس بدمشق‬ Star within central circle

[‫]الدين] الملك العادل[ سيف‬

‫ابو بكر بن ايوب‬

AYYUBIDS Al-‘Ādil Sayf Al-Dīn Abū Bakr Muhammad I ibn Ayyūb (AH 596–615 = 1199–1218 CE)—Fals

Marginal legend: ‫الاله االاهلل وحده‬ Star within central circle ‫الاله‬ ‫االاهلل‬ ‫وحده‬

m

m to l.: ANA

m to l.: AN[

Reverse

UMAYYADS Post-Reform—Anonymous—Fals

Obverse

Axis

↑

Cat. No.

8th c.

8th c.

c. 641–650

Dimashq

Dimashq

Same

Same

Same

641–648

641–643

Mint

Date (CE)

Cf. Balog 1980:136, No. 322

Walker 1956:248, No. 812

Cf. DOC 2/2:442–443, No. 59

Cf. DOC 2/2:442–443, No. 59 The flan is a piece of a larger sixth century follis; overstruck

References and Notes

92987

92992

92993

92994

92981

92980

IAA Nos.

Chapter 11: Co ins f ro m the No rthwestern Suburb

183

Chapter 12

The Northwestern Suburb: Conclusion Moshe Hartal

Of the three strata exposed in the excavation, Stratum 3 represented the first building activity in this area. In L219, the only locus to be attributed to this stratum, a significant amount of colored fresco fragments was recovered. Remains of fresco were found intermittently during the survey of the northwestern suburb. Three rooms with mosaic floors and frescoed walls can be seen in a section of a large building cut by the road running along the modern cemetery of Baniyas. Similar buildings south of the suburb were cut in the 1970s by trenches excavated to lay water pipes. A small section of a frescoed wall and fragments of marble slabs and columns were discovered during the survey not far from the recent excavation. It seems that the northwestern suburb was a well-to-do area. The fresco fragments found in Stratum 3 indicated that a similar building must also have stood in or near the excavation area. The area exposed within this stratum is too small to reconstruct any building plan. No coins were recovered from Stratum 3 and the pottery finds are quite meager and do not allow exact dating. However, the ESA cup is dated to the first half of the first century and the Baniyas bowls to the second century CE. The construction of Stratum 3 apparently belongs to that of the northwestern suburb in the first century and the beginning of the second century CE. Stratum 2 represents the most intensive building activity in the excavation area. In Area A, a fallen column and a section of a stone slab pavement were found. Again, the excavated area is limited, but it seems there are remains of a north–south, paved colonnaded street. If this assumption is correct, it is an indication of city planning in this area. Part of a building was exposed on the western side of the street. A layer of hard yellow material had accumulated above the paving of the street, apparently when the street went out of use. In Area B, some walls of a residential building were uncovered. A rich assemblage of pottery was recovered

from the debris of the building. It contains a variety of ceramic vessels, most of them of local origin, apparently from the ceramic workshops of Baniyas and of Kh. el-Hawarit. The exceptions are two fragments of relief-decorated ‘Corinthian bowls’ and the fragment of a juglet with a decoration of an olive branch in relief. These vessels are very rare in Israel; not a single fragment was found in the extensive excavations in the other parts of Baniyas. They hint at the wealth of the house’s owner, as well as possible commercial connections with the Aegean world. The pottery found in Stratum 2 dates from the second century to the first half of the fifth century CE. The total lack of Northern Stamped Lamps narrows the time span of the pottery, and it seems that the stratum was destroyed in the first half of the third century. This date is confirmed by the only two coins from this stratum, which are dated to the first quarter of the third century (Chapter 11: Coin Nos. 1, 2). In Area A, a thick layer of ash covered the street and the building to its west (Stratum 1). It seems that they were destroyed by an intense conflagration. A small terrace wall represents the only building remains. In Area B, no remains of a fire were found. The building of Stratum 2 was destroyed and never rebuilt. Here, too, a terrace wall was exposed. The pottery covering the debris of Stratum 2, as the pottery in the ash layer in Area A, is dated to the late Byzantine period and the very beginning of the Early Islamic period. All the lamps in this stratum are ‘Phoenician Lamps’; no Islamic lamps were recovered. Most of the coins are dated to the sixth–mid-seventh centuries and the latest are dated to 650 CE (see Chapter 11: Coin Nos. 3–15). Pottery of that date was not found during the survey of the suburb and in the excavated areas in Baniyas, except for the pit in the temple area. It seems that in the time of Stratum 1, the northwestern suburb lay outside the city. The finds from this stratum could represent activities such as stone robbing or lime production.

186

Moshe Hartal

Later finds were uncovered in Stratum 1 as well. These include some glazed bowls of the Fatimid period and Umayyad and Ayyubid coins (see Chapter 11: Coin Nos. 16–18); all these coins were retrieved from the

same disturbed locus (L206), alongside Late Roman and Byzantine pottery. It seems that the Islamic finds are from late disturbance and are not remains of the residential area in the suburb.

Part Five Conclusions

Chapter 13

Baniyas in Light of the Survey and the Excavations Moshe Hartal

The site of Baniyas is located at the meeting point of Mt. Hermon, the northern Golan and the northern Hula Valley, adjacent to a rich spring, in a fertile agricultural zone, with a moderate climate and astride an important road. It is therefore surprising that for many generations there was no settlement at the site. In the excavations of the temples, few sherds dating to the Iron Age and the Persian period were found (Ma‘oz 1998:19); these, however, do not prove occupation at the site.1

The Hellenistic Period In 200 BCE Antiochus III and the Ptolemaic general Scopas engaged in battle. That campaign, in which the Seleucid army defeated the Ptolemies, and which ushered in the Seleucid domination of Palestine, was conducted at Paneion (Πάνιον; Polybius, The Histories x vi, 18–19), identified with the cave dedicated to Pan at Baniyas. This source indicates that the place was sacred to Pan well before the battle, namely in the third century BCE. From this period, the excavation produced an assemblage of vessels and two retaining walls, probably of paths leading to the cave. No evidence was found for any structures (Ma‘oz 2008). The area in the center of which Baniyas is situated was dominated in the third century BCE by nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes. Very few permanent settlements existed, among them Tel Anafa and Bethsaida. The Jordan River in this period marked the eastern limit of the settled zone (Berlin 1997:14). Permanent settlement did not yet exist on the Golan and the Hermon (Hartal 2006: Map 4). This picture also fits the finds from Baniyas. It appears that the cave was a sacred site for the nomads; therefore, it is not surprising that a permanent settlement did not spring up beside it. During the second half of the second century BCE, the nomads initiated the settlement process. Dozens of sites dated to this period were located in the northern Golan, the foothills of Mt. Hermon and the northern Hula Valley (Hartal 1989:125–127). The upper

elevations of Mt. Hermon were not yet occupied. The settlers constructed small hamlets, in the pattern of previous, nomadic tent camps. They used rough local pottery, mainly handmade pithoi. This ware, called ‘Golan Ware’, is typical of the settlement sites and is quite rare elsewhere (Hartal 2005:263–269). Baniyas itself failed to yield Golan Ware from the Hellenistic period. The correspondence of time and space between the settlement sites and the subsistence area of the Itureans, as is gleaned from the written sources, indicates that the settlers were part of the Iturean entity. The absence of Golan Ware at Baniyas is clear testimony that the Itureans did not reside there, though their sites were found at a short distance.

The Early Roman Period With the dismemberment of the Seleucid Empire, the Itureans founded their independent state headed by Ptolemy, son of Menneaus (85–40 BCE). Once the Iturean country was subdued, Ptolemy submitted to the Romans and continued to rule as their vassal (Josephus Ant. X IV 38–39). His son, Lysanias, was beheaded by the Romans for supporting the Parthian invasion (39 BCE; Josephus, Ant. X V 91–92). His domain was leased to Zenodorus, probably an heir to the Iturean royal line. Zenodorus controlled a vast area that included the northern Golan, the Batanea, the Hauranitis and the Trachonitis. Besides the northern Golan, in which there was already sparse, Iturean, settlement, the other countries were still devoid of permanent occupation. Despite his vast domain, Zenodorus’ income was relatively low. Therefore, in order to increase his gain, Zenodorus employed bandits (λέστης), who raided the villages and the caravans in the Valley of Damascus. As a punishment, Augustus removed all the unsettled countries from Zenodorus and turned them over to Herod (23 BCE; Josephus Ant., X V 343–348; Strabo

190

mOSHE HARTAL

Geographica X VI 2, 20). Zenodorus was left with the northern Golan, the northern Hula Valley and some part of the Lebanon Beqa‘, which, as mentioned above, were settled by the Itureans. Only after Zenodorus’ death, in 20 BCE, were these parts also given to the rulership of Herod (Josephus, Ant. X V 271–272). The surveys and the excavations at Baniyas failed to produce finds that can be dated to the first century BCE and, therefore, it appears that also during Herod’s regime there was no permanent settlement at the site. As a token of gratitude for Augustus’ gifts, Herod dedicated a temple to him. According to the description of Josephus Flavius (Ant. X V 363–364; War I 400), the edifice was built near the sources of the Jordan. Josephus cites the spring, the cliff and the cave, but makes no mention of any settlement at the site. Three buildings were identified in recent years with the Augusteum—at the mouth of the cave (Ma‘oz 1999: 91–92), on the western terrace (Netzer 1998) and at H. ‘Omrit (Overman, Olive and Nelson 2007). Without deciding between the various proposals for the temple, the finds at Baniyas indicate that in Herod’s time no significant settlement existed in this place. Following the death of Herod, his son Philip inherited the Golan Heights, the Batanea, the Hauranitis and the Trachonitis (Josephus, Ant. X VII 189, 318–319). Until the days of Herod, most of these territories were under the dominion of nomads. Suppression of the bandits and establishment of the military settlement of the Babylonians, headed by Zamaris (Josephus, Ant. X VII 23–28), brought about stability and security to the land for the first time. Following that, a process of settlement began also in the Batanea, the Hauranitis and the Trachonitis, a process which was accelerated in the days of Philip. In the year 2/1 BCE, Philip founded his capital at Baniyas (Stein 1989). The city was named Caesarea in honor of Augustus, and, in order to differentiate it from Caesarea Maritima, this city was called Caesarea Philippi. Together with this, the early name of the site, Paneas, was retained. The site of the capital was not in the geographic center of Philip’s domain, but on its northwestern border. The site boasted good conditions for settlement, but this was not the crucial argument for its selection. It seems that Philip chose an area that had already been settled for at least 150 years and that was close to the kingdom of his brother, Herod Antipas. The town was erected on a virgin site. This allowed Philip to build a planned town, which did not have

to take into consideration an old city and ancient buildings. A flat area, bounded on the south and west by the ravines of Nahal Sa‘ar and Nahal Hermon, respectively, and on the north by the Baniyas spring and the great cliff that contains the opening of the Baniyas cave, was chosen for the civic center. The terrace to the north of the spring was selected as the Sacred Precinct. A temple stood at the entrance to the cave. This temple decorates the city coins struck by Philip (Meshorer 1982:46, Pl 8; Ma‘oz 1999). Public structures were erected in the area south of the spring and the cardo of the city was established. Vassilios Tzaferis was unable to distinguish in his excavations between the constructions of Philip and those of Agrippa II. However, he believes that the cardo and the colonnaded building in Area B were built by the former (Tzaferis 1998:6–7). Domestic quarters began to be built around the urban center. Their exact extent in the days of Philip is unclear; however, it appears that their construction began during his regime. Agrippa I, who ruled Baniyas following Philip, sojourned here only a short time, and it is not clear if he built at the site and to what extent. His son, Agrippa II, ruled the domain of Philip for dozens of years and Paneas was his unrivaled capital. During his regime, the settlements in the eastern regions were economically more entrenched and Agrippa II’s income increased correspondingly. According to Josephus Flavius, Agrippa II embellished Baniyas, and there seems to be no doubt that he invested fortunes in it. The great palace, which occupies a large part of the urban center, is attributed, by its excavator, to Agrippa II (Tzaferis, in preparation). The domestic suburbs were hardly excavated, leaving the full extent of the size of the city in the days of Agrippa II unknown. The aqueduct described in this book was constructed in the first century CE, perhaps in the days of Agrippa II, although this cannot be established with any certainty. The revolt against the Romans broke out during the reign of Agrippa II. Agrippa II stayed loyal to the Romans and continued to rule his kingdom until his death in 100 CE (Kokkinos 1998:396–400).

The Middle and Late Roman Periods Following the death of Agrippa II, Herod’s descendants no longer ruled. Agrippa II’s kingdom was divided between the Roman provinces of Judea and Syria. The

Chapter 13: Baniy as in Light of The Survey and the Ex cavations

Golan, occupied by Jews, went to Judea. Syria acquired the Batanea, the Hauranitis and the Trachonitis, as well as the territory of Paneas in the northern Golan. The border between the chora of Paneas and the Jewish Golan became now an inter-province boundary (Hartal 2006: Map 6). On both sides of the border different cultures developed. In the Golan (today, the central Golan Heights), Kefar Hananya Ware (and its local imitations) continued to dominate the ceramic repertoire. This ware was widespread in Galilee and the Golan since the first century BCE (Adan-Bayewitz 1993). This pottery was used also in the northern Golan until the second century CE. Following the political division, Kefar Hananya’s pottery distribution in the territory of Paneas was decisively arrested. In its stead, local pottery began to control the markets, especially Baniyas Ware and Hawarit Ware. These vessels, described above in Chapter 10, were marketed throughout the territory and except for a limited time, they were not distributed in the Golan. The boundary between sites producing Baniyas Ware, as against sites with Kefar Hananya Ware, as fixed by the surveys— the territory of Paneas and the provincial border—can now be drawn with precision (Hartal 2008). Toward the end of the second century, the Province of Syria was rearranged. Paneas was now transferred to the province of Syria-Phoenicia, and it adhered to that province through the end of the Byzantine period (Millar 1994:122; Sartre 1982:54–62). Following the division of the kingdom of Agrippa II, Paneas no longer served as the capital of northern Transjordan. But this change did not interfere with its development. In the second century and through the fourth century CE, the city expanded and reached the peak of its urban area. New temples dedicated to Pan, Zeus, Nemesis, etc. were built in the Sacred Precinct north of the spring (Ma‘oz 2008). The Palace of Agrippa was deserted in the third century CE and became a giant bathhouse, which served at least through the fourth century CE (Tzaferis 1998:12). The domestic suburbs were also enlarged in this period and contained spacious buildings with mosaic floors. The aqueduct was still in operation and possibly underwent a basic refurbishing in the third century CE. The ceramic repertoire gathered in all suburbs is dated mainly to this period. Stratum 2 in the northwestern suburb represents a sample from the flourishing period of the city. It exhibited a colonnaded street and a house with rich finds, including imports from Corinth.

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Around the city, villas were established, and their distance, a one-hour walk from the center, enabled their occupants to enjoy nature and at the same time benefit from the services of the town (Hartal 1989:132). The pottery industry also flourished during this period. In the area above the northwestern suburb, a large amount of pottery, apparently wasters of a pottery kiln, was found. In the fourth century CE, a large basilica, with an apse opened on the east, was erected in the north of the civic center (Tzaferis 2008:23–27). Though this building, and in fact the entire city, failed to produce the decoration of a cross or Christian inscriptions, this building is identified as the city’s main church, which is mentioned in the sources. Unfortunately, neither the written sources nor the archaeological finds allow us to decide with any precision when the pagan temples at Paneas ceased to function. The latest finds in the excavated temples are dated to the fifth century CE (Ma‘oz 2008:1590). Be that as it may, there was apparently a meaningful time segment in which church and temples operated side by side.

The Byzantine Period In the fifth century CE, the town was destroyed. Everywhere in the excavated areas evidence was found for destruction and abandonment. In the civic center, a street and the shops flanking it were destroyed in a fierce fire dated to the first quarter of the fifth century CE, after which the area was not rebuilt (Tzaferis 2008:27–31; Israeli 2008a). At the same time, the bath inside the palace of Agrippa II and the cardo were deserted. The church and the temples, as well as the aqueduct, also ceased to function. The cemeteries surrounding Baniyas yielded no finds later than the fifth century CE. The pottery industry of Baniyas and Kh. el-Hawarit also ceased production during this period. In the southeastern suburb, a city wall (above, see Figs. 1.1:19, 1.18, 1.19), which surrounded the part of the town south of Nahal Sa‘ar, was constructed in this period. This was the first city wall ever erected in Baniyas. It surely indicates the deterioration in the state of security. There is additional evidence of this state of affairs: The villas in the vicinity of the town (see Fig. 1.1:49, 50, 52) appear to be deserted and a fort—el-Naqara—was constructed above the Sa‘ar waterfall (see Fig. 1.1:51). The watchtower

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mOSHE HARTAL

above the northeastern suburb (see Figs. 1.1:13, 1.12) apparently was built in the same period (see Chapter 1). The settlements on Mt. Hermon were also affected; there are almost no finds from this period. The northern Golan also witnessed the diminishing of the number of sites (Hartal 2005:446–447). The fate of Baniyas following the fifth century CE is not clear. It is still mentioned in contemporary texts; however, most of them quote earlier descriptions (Wilson 2004:107–109). The few eyewitness narratives allude to the two sources which create the Jordan, and there is no description of the town. It stands to reason that the site was not completely deserted, but was severely diminished in its urban space. However, the surveys and the excavations have failed as yet to locate the extent of the city from the late Byzantine period. In all probability, its remains are buried beneath the ruins of the medieval town. Another possibility is that the settlement moved to the southeastern suburb, which was surrounded by a city wall. However, the meager ceramic assemblage from this area does not support this suggestion. Only in two places did excavations reveal finds from the sixth–seventh centuries CE. In a pit dug into the ruins of the temples a ceramic assemblage, including Late Roman Red Ware (LRRW) and Phoenician lamps, was retrieved (Magness, in preparation). In Stratum 1 in the northwestern suburb, a similar assemblage was recovered from the ash layer above the destruction of the street and house of Stratum 2 (above, Chapter 10). Both excavations failed to produce buildings from this period. The pottery found in both places strongly indicates that there was no continuity in the ceramic industry from the fifth to the sixth centuries CE. Therefore, there is no support for the assumption (held by Ma‘oz 2007:43) that the typical pottery of Baniyas and Kh. el-Hawarit was produced as late as the sixth century CE. Be that as it may, both excavations demonstrate that some population lived at Baniyas; however, the exact residential area is not known.

The Early Islamic Period No evidence was found for settlement at Baniyas in the Umayyad period as well. Two coins of this period were recovered from Stratum 1 in the excavations of the northwestern suburb (Chapter 11: Coin Nos. 16, 17). This alone is insufficient to indicate settlement. Correspondingly, the historical sources do not mention Baniyas as a city in this period.

Y a‘aqubi (891 CE) describes Baniyas as the capital city of the Golan in the jund of Damascus (Sharon 1999:30; Wilson 2008:209), clear evidence for the existence of the city at the end of the ninth century CE. However, its remains have not yet been identified in the surveys and the excavations. It appears that the city was renewed over a part of the Roman urban center, were it remained, as a town or village, through the twentieth century CE. Ninety-four years later (985 CE), Muqaddasi relates that the population of the city increased as a consequence of the immigration of refugees from Tarsus (Sharon 1999:30; Wilson 2008:209). Ma‘oz attributes the domestic structures built over the ruins of the temples to this period. The glazed bowls found in Stratum 1 in the northwestern suburb can also be dated to this period. A Jewish community resided at Baniyas in the eleventh century CE. Letters from its dignitaries were found in the Cairo Geniza (Gil 1992:214–215; Israeli 2008a). Baniyas was called in these letters mivzar Dan, ‘the Fortress of Dan’, a name whose beginnings go back to the end of the Byzantine period. This period saw the fortification of the site—a fort was built within the city, with a mosque in the center of the fort (Tzaferis 2008:46–47).

The Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman Periods With the coming of the Crusaders, Baniyas gained significant strategic importance, situated as it was in a key position between the Frankish domains and the territories of Damascus. Tughtkāin, the ruler of Damascus, strengthened the Baniyas fortifications in 1104 CE (Sharon 1999:33). In 1126, Baniyas was given to Bahram, the leader of the Ismā‘iliyyah, where he established his headquarters. But after members of the sect were slaughtered in Damascus in 1129, their leadership offered the city of Baniyas to the Franks in exchange for refuge in Frankish territory (Sharon 1999:34–36). The Franks strengthened the Baniyas fortifications and the city become a bridgehead for the Frankish army against Damascus. However, in 1132 CE, the Frankish commander of the city and his soldiers went to the aid of Jaffa, leaving the city defenseless. The Muslims then breached the city wall and besieged the internal castle until it fell (Sharon 1999:36–37).

Chapter 13: Baniy as in Light of The Survey and the Ex cavations

After the fall of the city, the Muslims rebuilt its fortifications. An Arabic inscription was discovered in the nineteen century in the southwestern house of the village. The inscription describes Ibn Turghut’s rebuilding in 1134–1135 (Sharon 1999:46–48; 2008: Inscription No. 1). The inscription was not found in situ, but its location may document the reconstruction of the nearby southwestern tower (see Figs. 1.1:10, 1.10; Hartal 2007). Seven years after the fall of Baniyas, the Franks were asked to help the ruler of Damascus in his struggle with his enemies. In return, the Muslims ceded Baniyas to the Franks (1140 CE). This time the Crusaders held the city for 24 years. The Muslims did not give up and continued to attack the city. In 1157, they entered the city but did not succeed in breaking into the castle and withdrew. Again, the fortifications were rebuilt. In 1164 the city fell into the hands of the Muslims and never returned to the Frankish domain. The city now served as a base for the Muslim army. Saladin used it as a frontier post against the Galilee (Sharon 1999:38–39, 41). In 1185 Ibn Jubyar visited Baniyas. He described it: “It is small town but has a castle round which, under the wall, flows a stream. This stream flows from the castle by one of the city gates and turns a mill” (quoted by Sharon 1999:42). The ‘stream’ is the Roman aqueduct which brought water from the spring to the southern gate until modern times. After Saladin’s death, there was a struggle between his heirs. The city’s fortifications were rebuilt in this period. An Arabic monumental inscription on the lintel of the southern gate (see Figs. 1.1:11, 1.9) documented its rebuilding in 1200–1201 by Iyaz Jaharkas (Sharon 1999:48–53; 2008: Inscription No. 2). Another inscription, found not in situ, documented the rebuilding of another tower in 1204–1205 by the same Jaharkas (Sharon 1999:53–54). Due to their fear of another Frankish attack, the Ayyubids destroyed the cities and the castles in western Palestine in 1219. According to sources, Baniyas was one of these cities (Sharon 1999:44). However, it is not certain that this happened. Despite the order to destroy the city, al-Mu‘azzam ‘Isa, the ruler of Damascus, gave it to his brother, al-‘Aziz ‘Uthman. Did he give him a destroyed city? And why? The southern gate, rebuilt in 1200–1201 (see above) was not destroyed and still stands today. A monumental inscription was found near Nahal Govta, not far from the ancient bridge (see Fig. 1.1:34, 1.24). The inscription, one-third of which is preserved today in the wall of the mosque, documents

193

the building of a bridge/khan/border-outpost by al‘Aziz ‘Uthman in 1226 (Sharon 1999:57–59; 2008: Inscription No. 4). Its location hints at the possibility that the inscription was from the nearby bridge. Two years later, al-‘Aziz ‘Uthman built the monumental castle of as-Subaybah (Nimrod Fortress) on the ridge east of and above the town (Ellenblum 1989; Hartal 2001). When the city came under the Mamluks, they strengthened the fortifications, as demonstrated by the southern gate, in whose lintel a monumental Arabic inscription is still to be seen (Sharon 1999; 2008). In addition, the eastern room of the gate-tower served as a mosque with a mihrab. As the Mamluk period continued, the importance of Baniyas decreased (Amitai 2001:112–117), and in the Ottoman period it became a humble village—squatters in the ruins of the fortified city from the Crusader–Mamluk period. The survey produced finds from the Early Islamic, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods almost only from the area of the civic center. The confines of the suburbs yielded only isolated sherds from these periods. The exceptions to this rule are the Fatimid-period bowls which were retrieved from Stratum 1 in the excavations in the northwestern suburb. However, these bowls were found in a mixed assemblage together with finds from the end of the Byzantine period. It appears that in both periods permanent architecture here was missing.

Summary The studies published in this book throw a unique light on the development of Baniyas in the various periods. The zone outside the civic center was settled for about four hundred years, from the first century CE through the first half of the fifth century CE, during which time spacious houses were erected in the northern suburbs, indicating a relatively high standard of living. The remains of the street found in the excavations indicate town planning. As the suburbs were higher in level than the spring, they received their water from a specially built aqueduct. North of the city were cemeteries, and parallels for their burial tradition were found in the Hauran. The northwestern edge of the city probably housed pottery kilns, which, together with the industry at Kh. el-Hawarit, supplied not only the town but the entire northern Golan and the Hermon. During the fifth century CE, the aqueduct ceased to operate; correspondingly, the suburbs were deserted. The extent of the city retrenched, never to expand again.

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Note 1 The aim of this chapter is to present an outline of the history of Baniyas according to the archaeological studies, not a comprehensive study of the history of the site. For wider studies of Baniyas, see Wilson 2004, Ma‘oz 2007, Israeli

2008b, and Wilson and Tzaferis 2008 and the references therein. For a comprehensive study of the regional history, see Hartal 2005:343–451; 2006.

R eferences Adan-Bayewitz D. 1993. Common Pottery in Roman Galilee: A Study of Local Trade. Ramat Gan. Amitai R. 2001. An Arabic Inscription at Al-Subayba (Qal‘at Namrūd) from the Reign of Sultan Baybars. In M. Hartal. The Al-Subayba (Nimrod) Fortress: Towers 11 and 9 (IAA Reports 11). Jerusalem. Pp. 109–123. Berlin A.M. 1997. Between Large Forces: Palestine in the Hellenistic Period. BA 60:2–51. Ellenblum R. 1989. Who Built Qalat Al-Subayba? DOP 43:103–112. Gil M. 1992. A History of Palestine, 634–1099. Cambridge. Hartal M. 1989. Northern Golan Heights: The Archaeological Survey as a Source of Regional History. Qazrin (Hebrew; English summary). Hartal M. 2001. The al-Subayba (Nimrod) Fortress: Towers 11 and 9 (IAA Reports 11). Jerusalem. Hartal M. 2005. The Land of the Ituraens: Archaeology and History of the Northern Golan in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods (Golan Studies 2). Qazrin (Hebrew; English summary). Hartal M. 2006. The History of Rafid on the Background of the History of Northern Transjordan. In D. Urman. Rafid on the Golan: A Profile of a Late Roman and Byzantine Village (BAR Int. S. 1555). Oxford. Pp. 269–290. Hartal M. 2007. Banias, the Southwestern Tower. HA–ESI 119.  http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng. asp?id=503&mag_id=112. Hartal M. 2008. The Use of Pottery as a Tool for the Definition of Provincial Borders. In S. Bar ed. In the HillCountry, and in the Shephelah, and in the Arabah (Joshua 12,8): Studies and Researches Presented to Adam Zertal in the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Manasseh Hill-Country Survey. Jerusalem. Pp. 211*–222*. Israeli S. 2008a. Area F: Stratigraphic Analysis of the ‘Burnt’ Street of Shops and Its Pottery. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 105–128. Israeli S. 2008b. The Baniyas Population in Light of Historical and Archaeological Evidence. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas II: Finds and Other Studies (IAA Reports 38). Jerusalem. Pp. 233–246. Josephus Ant.: Josephus. Jewish Antiquities. L. Feldman transl. (Loeb Classical Library). London–New Y ork– Cambridge, Mass. 1965.

Josephus War: Josephus. The Jewish War. H. St.J. Thackeray transl. (Loeb Classical Library). London–New Y ork 1927– 1928. Kokkinos N. 1998. The Herodian Dynasty: Origins, Role in Society and Eclipse (Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement Series 30). Sheffield. Magness J. in preparation. Pottery from a Seventh Century CE Pit L243 (Stratum III). In Z.U. Ma‘oz. Paneion: Excavations at the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi, 1988–1993 (IAA Reports). Jerusalem. Ma‘oz Z.U. 1998. The Sanctuary of Pan in Baniyas. Qadmoniot 115:18–25 (Hebrew). Ma‘oz Z.U. 1999. Coins and Temple—The Case of Caesarea Philippi-Paneas. INJ 13:90–102. Ma‘oz Z.U. 2007. Baniyas in the Greco-Roman Period: A History Based on the Excavations (Archaostyle Scientific Research Series 3). Qazrin. Ma‘oz Z.U. 2008. Banias. NEAEHL V:1587–1590. Meshorer Y. 1982. Ancient Jewish Coinage II: Herod the Great through Bar Cochba. New Y ork. Millar F. 1994. The Roman Near East, 31 BC–AD 337. London. Netzer E. 1998. Where Did Herod Build the Temple Dedicated to Augustus at Banias? Qadmoniot 116:134– 135 (Hebrew). Overman J.A., Olive J. and Nelson M. 2007. A Newly Discovered Herodian Temple at Khirbet Omrit in Northern Israel. In N. Kokkinos ed. The World of the Herods (Oriens et Occidens 14). Stüttgart. Pp. 177–195. Polybius The Histories. W.R. Paton transl. (Loeb Classical Library). Cambridge, Mass.–London 1922–1927. Sartre M. 1982. Trois études sur l’Arabie romaine et byzantine (Latomus 178). Brussels. Sharon M. 1999. Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicum Palestinae II. Leiden. Sharon M. 2008. The Arabic Inscriptions. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas II: Finds and Other Studies (IAA Reports 38). Jerusalem. Pp. 1–8. Stein E. 1989. The Foundation Y ear of Caesarea Paneas. In Z. Robinson. ed. Sefer Perelmann, 33 Studies in Classical Culture and Heritage. Tel Aviv. Pp. 376–378 (Hebrew). Strabo Geographica: The Geography of Strabo. J.H. Leonard transl. (Loeb Classical Library). London 1917–1930. Tzaferis V. 1998. Ten Y ears of Archaeological Research at Baniyas. Qadmoniot 115:2–17 (Hebrew).

Chapter 13: Baniy as in Light of The Survey and the Ex cavations

Tzaferis V. 2008. The Site: Stratigraphy and Architectural Remains. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 15–53. Tzaferis V. In preparation. Paneas III (IAA Reports). Jerusalem. Wilson J.F. 2004. Caesarea Philippi: Banias, the Lost City of Pan. London–New Y ork.

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Wilson J.F. 2008. The Literary Sources. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas II: Small Finds and other Studies (IAA Reports 38). Jerusalem. Pp. 195–231. Wilson J.F. and Tzaferis V. 2008. Historical and Archaeological Summary. In V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli. Paneas I: The Roman to the Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H (IAA Reports 37). Jerusalem. Pp. 173–186.

Locus List

Aqueduct Section

Locus

Excavated

Description

Figure(s)

1

-

Masil ‘Eisha, apparently the water source of the aqueduct

1.1, 1.4

2

-

Marj el-Wata, the beginning of the aqueduct

1.4, 2.1

3

-

Canal section, at 135˚; on the surface a 0.60 m wide wall is clearly visible, constructed of fieldstones set in concrete; a clay pipe lies across the wall

2.20

4

-

Canal section; the north side rock cut, the south, built

5

-

Canal section, rock cut, above Mugharet el-Wata

1.1:53

6

+

Canal section, between two walls; passes through the northeastern cemetery

2.21–2.23

Plan(s)

2.2

2.3

7

70

-

Rock-cut foundation of the canal; canal itself not preserved

7

71

+

Chute for distributing water to the fields

2.17

2.4

7

72

+

Terrace wall, dry built, between the chute wall and Cistern 78; the wall cuts Pipe 74

2.24

2.4

7

72a

+

Terrace wall, dry built, west of the chute wall; the wall is cut by Pipe 74

7

73

+

The original ground surface while the aqueduct was functional, at the foot of W72; it yielded a coin and a Phoenician lamp

2.24

2.4

7

74

+

Clay pipe lies in a natural karstic canal that descends steeply; the pipe is cut by W72; atop it was a fourth-century CE coin

2.24

2.4

7

75

+

The top platform above Cistern 78, 0.75 m under the aqueduct canal; its walls and floor are plastered; a clay pipe stands vertically in its floor

2.27

2.4

7

76

+

The east platform above Cistern 78; brick walls on both sides; walls and floor are plastered

2.25, 2.27

2.4

7

77

+

The west platform above Cistern 78; bounded on the east by a brick wall; apparently, a similar wall was on the west

2.25

2.4

7

78

+

Cistern, covered with gray plaster; overflow drain pipe in the west wall, outlet pipe in the south wall, steps in the southwest corner; deliberately filled-in with building debris, overlain by a 0.90 m thick sediment layer that accumulated after the fill-in

1.1:54, 2.25, 2.26

2.4

7

79

+

Distribution pool, attached to Cistern 78; outlet via two clay pipes

2.25

2.4

-

Canal section, on the saddle above the eastern suburb; parts of the retaining walls survive; located on the edge of the cemetery

8 8

83

2.4

+

Clay pipe, descends from the aqueduct, west of Tomb 800

4.10

9

-

Medieval quarry, on the watershed of the Hermon Spur; destroyed the aqueduct

1.1:57, 1.11, 1.33, 1.34

10

+

Canal section, partly rock cut and partly built; gray plaster

2.30

2.5

11

-

Canal section, under the surface; passes through natural cracks in the rock 2.6

11

110

+

Canal section, gray plaster with herringbone pattern

2.31

11

111

+

Cover stones over the canal north of Canal 110

2.31

-

Canal section, in which aqueduct descends steeply; excavated to the tops of the walls; no cover stones found

12

198

Section

Moshe Hartal

Locus

Excavated

Description

13

-

Horizontal canal section; gray plaster with herringbone pattern

14

-

Canal section, constructed of fieldstones without bonding material; gray plaster with herringbone pattern

15

-

Cover stones over the canal along 13 m

16

-

Canal section, 30 m long, in natural cracks in the rock; at the end cover stones over the canal; gray plaster with herringbone pattern

17

-

Canal section; two-layered red-on-gray plaster; between wall and plaster, a layer of potsherds

18

-

Cover stones on the surface

19

-

Cover stones along 12 m

20

-

Cover stones on the surface

21

-

Cover stones along 9 m

22

-

Canal section, descends at a 45˚ angle along 30 m

23

-

Canal section, levels out; two-layered red-on-gray plaster, the gray layer very thin; herringbone pattern to midway line; travertine layer 2 cm thick

24

-

Canal section, wall only above ground; two-layered red-on-gray plaster overlaid by 3.5 cm thick travertine deposit

25

-

Aqueduct descends gently, with cover stones

26

-

Aqueduct descends steeply, with cover stones

Figure(s)

Plan(s)

27

-

Fragments of red-on-gray plaster on the surface

28

-

Canal section, walls coated with red-on-gray plaster; at some points, a thin layer of travertine separates the two layers of plaster

29

-

Cover stones visible on the surface along 10 m

30

-

Some cover stones and a wall fragment with poorly preserved plaster

31

-

Canal section, descends between two rocks to a low terrace; plaster sections on a layer of potsherds

32

-

Canal section, above the cliff of Nahal Govta; partly covered with cover stones; gray plaster with herringbone pattern

+

Settling pool with rounded corners; gray plaster with herringbone pattern

-

Canal section, leaving Settling Pool 330 and continuing to the edge of the cliff above Nahal Govta

+

Aqueduct section, turns perpendicular to the streambed of Nahal Govta and ends at the edge of the cliff, 7 m above the streambed; only the canal floor, of gray plaster over a bed of fieldstones, survives

2.34

2.7

1.1:58, 2.35

2.7

33

330

34 34

341

35

351

+

Foundations of bridge, 10 m from the cliff; two courses of ashlars

35

352

-

Earth and stones against the bridge foundations—probably a ramp that carried the aqueduct

36

-

Aqueduct section, passes along the edge of a steep slope, north of Nahal Govta, and keeps to a contour line; sections of cover stones

37

-

Aqueduct passes through a rocky area; some cover stones visible

+

Canal section, the last in the limestone formations; red-on-gray plaster

39

38

+

Section of cover stones, c. 0.50 m deep, west of the orchard, along 50 m

40

+

Canal section, 125 m long, covered with hewn stones and some ashlars, was uncovered by backhoe; a group of installations exists at the beginning of this section

+

Canal section, entering Settling Pool 401; gray plaster with herringbone pattern; cover stones

40

381

400

2.33

2.7

2.8

2.36

2.9

40

401

+

Settling pool; gray plaster with herringbone pattern; floor uncovered

2.36

2.9

40

402

+

Blocking of the north side of Settling Pool 401 by a cornice fragment with dentils; red-on-gray plaster on remaining part

2.36, 2.37

2.9

199

Locus list

Section

Locus

Excavated

Description

Figure(s)

Plan(s)

40

403

+

Canal section, leaving Settling Pool 401; gray plaster with herringbone pattern

2.9

40

404

-

Elliptical pool, south of Settling Pool 401; constructed of fieldstones and hewn stones; gray plaster

2.9

40

405

-

Southeast corner of a pool, 2 m south of the aqueduct canal

2.9

40

406

+

Canal section, excavated after removal of cover stones; walls of hewn stones and fieldstones; gray plaster with herringbone pattern, covered with 2 mm thick travertine layer; the floor plaster did not survive

2.9

+

Canal section, c. 70 m long; covered with cover stones; distribution pools attached to it along 35 m

2.4, 2.38, 2.39

2.10 2.10, 2.11

41 41

411

+

Distribution pool, surmounted by a shaft; the pool connects to the aqueduct canal through a canal; the floors of both canal and pool are paved with roof-tile fragments. Two clay pipes, one with an iron strainer, leave through the pool’s south wall

2.16, 2.38, 2.40

41

412

-

Wall, constructed of fieldstones set in crumbling concrete, apparently belongs to an unexcavated distribution pool

2.38

41

413

+

Distribution pool, constructed of fieldstones set in concrete; gray plaster with herringbone pattern; a stone with three calices in pool; clay pipe in the south wall

2.8, 2.41– 2.43

41

414

-

Some walls, adjacent to Distribution Pool 413, apparently parts of an unexcavated distribution pool

41

415

+

Distribution pool, the only one north of the aqueduct canal, constructed of hewn stones and fieldstones set in concrete, floor paved with roof-tile fragments, clay exit pipe at the northwest corner; pool connected to the aqueduct through a canal; pool surmounted by a shaft with recesses in its walls to facilitate access

2.44, 2.45

2.10, 2.13

41

416

+

Distribution pool with walls constructed of small fieldstones set in concrete and not plastered, two doorjambs in secondary use and two clay pipes, one with an iron strainer, in the south wall; plastered floor, with some clay pipe fragments set in the plaster

2.46, 2.47

2.10, 2.14

41

417

+

Distribution pool, constructed of hewn stones and fieldstones, gray plaster; two clay pipe sections—one, in the northeast corner, an inlet from the aqueduct and the second in the southwest corner; pool surmounted by a shaft, of which only the south wall survives

2.48

2.10, 2.15

41

418

-

Wall, 1.30 m long, parallel to the aqueduct, constructed of relatively large stones and a short perpendicular wall on the east; apparently an unexcavated distribution pool

41

419

+

Settling pool, with rounded corners; walls and floor gray plastered with a herringbone pattern; lower courses of a shaft survive over the north wall

+

Canal section, of which only the lower part survives, 28 m long; thick, gray layer of plaster, over potsherds, mainly pipe fragments; herringbone pattern in one place

42

2.10, 2.13

2.10, 2.12

2.10, 2.15

2.4, 2.49

2.10, 2.16

43

430

+

Foundation layer of the aqueduct canal: fieldstones set in gray concrete

2.50

2.17

43

431

+

Distribution pool, constructed of fieldstones set in gray concrete, with a step along the east wall; red-on-gray plaster; water inlet through two lead calices, outlet through clay pipe with an iron strainer

2.5, 2.50– 2.52

2.17

43

432

+

Square settling pool, in front of the calices of Distribution Pool 431; sloping floor is 8 cm lower than the calix openings

2.5, 2.50, 2.52

2.17

43

433

+

Distribution pool, adjacent to Settling Pool 432, with a common east wall; constructed of fieldstones set in gray concrete; water inlet through a stone with four calices, where part of one lead pipe survives in situ; outlet through a clay pipe with an iron strainer

2.5, 2.50– 2.52

2.17

43

434

+

Elliptical settling pool, in front of the calices of Distribution Pool 433, with floor 4 cm lower than the calix openings; walls and floor covered with potsherds

2.50

2.17

200

Moshe Hartal

Section

Locus

Excavated

Description

Figure(s)

43

435

+

Stone with two calices, evidence of another distribution pool, found west of Distribution Pool 434

2.7, 2.53, 2.54

43

436

+

Clay pipe section, 12 m long, whose beginning was not found (possibly in Distribution Pool 435, which did not survive); the pipe segments lie in a bed of ashes

+

Canal section, 24 m long, west of Distribution Pool 431, survives to the tops of the walls; gray plaster with herringbone pattern

44

Plan(s)

44

441

+

Canal section, entering Settling Pool 442; gray plaster with herringbone pattern, no cover stones

2.18

44

442

+

Settling pool with rounded corners and whose floor is 0.43 m lower than the adjacent canal floors (441, 443); gray plaster with herringbone pattern; repairs and raising of walls with low quality gray plaster

2.18

44

443

+

Canal section, leaving Settling Pool 442; gray plaster, over which a second layer was applied, with embedded potsherds; an ashlar blocks the exit from the pool into the canal

2.18

+

Canal section, 37 m long; only cover stones visible

451

+

Canal section, excavated beneath one of the cover stones; gray plaster with herringbone pattern; filled with soft earth

+

Canal section, covered with stone slabs, that crosses a mound of discarded potsherds; south of the canal, a distribution pool is surmounted by a shaft (462)

2.56

45 45 46

2.2, 2.55

46

461

+

Canal section, north of Distribution Pool 462; two cover stones were removed and the canal beneath excavated; gray plaster with herringbone pattern

2.57, 2.58

2.19

46

462

+

Distribution pool, surmounted by a shaft; clay pipe exits pool; three phases of use

2.57–2.60

2.19

46

463

+

Floor of red material at the bottom of Distribution Pool 462 slopes down toward the outlet pipe, where another pipe section was laid, originally connecting the aqueduct canal to the pool

2.57–2.59

2.19

+

Canal section, 3 m long, crosses the mound; due to collapse, excavated only by backhoe; to its west, the covered canal runs next to an ashlar wall

2.61

47

47

471

+

Wall, constructed of ashlars, of which only one course exposed along 3.90 m, possibly a wall of a burial structure; above it is a terrace, constructed of ashlars in secondary use

2.61

48

481

+

Settling pool with rounded corners and a floor 0.37 m lower than the canal floor; gray plaster with herringbone pattern; addition to the walls and addition of an overflow control pipe; blocked up by sediments

2.62–2.64

2.20

48

482

+

Wall parallel to the aqueduct canal

2.62

2.20

+

Canal section, 22 m long, covered with stone slabs; west of Settling Pool 441

49 49

491

+

Canal section without cover stones, gray plaster with herringbone pattern; excavated down to the sediment layer, 0.35 m below the top of the walls

49

492

+

Canal section, without cover stones, gray plastered with herringbone pattern; one cover stone was found standing upright at the end of the section; the canal was not excavated down to its bottom

49

493

+

Canal section, with one cover stone missing, gray plaster with herringbone pattern; the south wall was dismantled to lay Pipe 494, and was not repaired; excavated down to its bottom.

49

494

+

Clay pipe, leaving the breach in the wall of Canal 493

50

501

+

Canal section, without cover stones, walls of fieldstones joined with red earth, gray plaster, 2 cm thick, with herringbone pattern; south wall partly destroyed and repaired in several stages; thin layer of travertine on the floor, full of sediments to half the depth; excavated down to the canal floor

2.21

2.21 2.65, 2.68– 2.71

2.22

201

Locus list

Section

Locus

Excavated

Description

Figure(s)

Plan(s)

50

502

+

Two clay pipes, laid in a canal dug in the earth, south of the aqueduct, lie in two tiers—Pipe 1 below and Pipe 2 above; the pipes are surrounded by stones and ash

2.67, 2.68

2.22, 2.24

50

503

+

Distribution pool surmounted by a shaft, whose south wall alone survived; plain gray plaster; outlet of a clay pipe with an iron strainer; the wall between the pool and canal was repaired with unplastered fieldstones; Pipe 1 crosses the pool floor and Pipe 2 enters from the east

2.14, 2.65, 2.67–2.69, 2.71

2.22, 2.24

50

504

+

Canal section, destroyed; two clay pipes cross the floor—Pipe 1 enters from the west, under the cover stones and the sediment accumulation, Pipe 2 exits on the north side; the north wall was repaired after the laying of the pipes but was left unplastered, but the south wall was destroyed and not repaired

2.70, 2.71

2.22, 2.24

50

505

+

Canal section found without a cover stone, but gray plastered with herringbone pattern; Pipe 1 was laid under the floor level, covered with a 0.30 m thick layer of sediment; excavated down to the floor.

2.22

50

506

+

Rock-cut canal, 0.20 m north of the aqueduct canal; contains Pipe 2, which crossed the aqueduct canal; the pipe is surrounded by an ash layer

2.22, 2.24

50

507

-

Ashlar wall, 2.50 m south of Canal 501, remains of a tomb(?); nearby, a limestone object, consisting of a cube surmounted by a half-sphere, perhaps part of the tomb

2.72

2.22, 2.24

51

510

+

Canal section, whose cover stones had been removed; gray plaster with herringbone pattern; the floor was subsequently broken and Pipe 1 inserted; accumulation of sediments 0.25 m high; excavated down to the floor.

2.73–2.76

2.23, 2.24

51

511

+

Canal section, 1.20 m long, destroyed; north wall and floor completely missing, south wall repaired with unplastered fieldstones; Pipe 1 turns south and Pipe 2, having crossed from north of the canal, is visible in the north section of the excavation trench

2.73–2.76

2.23, 2.24

51

512

+

Canal section, 2.20 m long, covered with three cover stones and gray plastered with herringbone pattern; the south wall was breached and a clay pipe was laid inside, connecting the canal with Distribution Pool 515; the breach was repaired with unplastered fieldstones

2.3, 2.73, 2.74, 2.77

2.23, 2.24

51

513

+

Distribution installation made up of two small cells, both cells containing an outlet to a clay pipe; the joint of the pool to the canal wall was blocked up in antiquity and plastered; the installation was covered with a stone slab with a hole above each cell

2.73, 2.76, 2.78

2.23, 2.24

51

514

+

Rock-cut canal, south of the aqueduct canal, containing three pipes— Pipe 3 in the south, Pipe 1 in the north, with Pipe 2 above it

2.74

2.23, 2.24

51

515

+

Distribution pool, surmounted by a built shaft; clay pipe outlet with iron strainer; water inlet through pipe from the adjacent canal; Pipes 1–3 cross the pool

2.15, 2.74, 2.79

2.23, 2.24

52

521

+

Canal section, passing through Shaft 522; walls of fieldstones joined with red earth; gray plaster with herringbone pattern; the south wall is destroyed and the cover stones had been removed

2.81, 2.82

2.23, 2.24

52

522

+

Shaft, partly built over the aqueduct canal and touching the wall of Enclosure 53; constructed of ashlars set in crumbling concrete

2.81, 2.82, 2.86, 2.92

2.23, 2.24

52

523

+

Canal, joining the aqueduct canal (521) to Distribution Pool 531 inside Enclosure 53; the south wall is destroyed and the cover stones had been removed; its north part was destroyed when a clay pipe was laid in its stead and its south part stands for 0.30 m under the enclosure wall; gray plaster

2.81

2.23, 2.34

52

524

+

Canal section, west of Shaft 522; gray plaster with herringbone pattern; only one cover stone survives

2.86, 2.100, 2.101, 2.104

2.23, 2.24, 2.26

52

525

+

Distribution pool; water inlet at the northeast corner; clay outlet pipe with an iron strainer in the south wall—only the north part of the pipe existed; Pipe 526 cut the pool

2.100–2.103

2.24

202

Moshe Hartal

Section

Locus

Excavated

Description

Figure(s)

Plan(s)

52

526

+

Clay pipe, beginning at Shaft 522, south of the aqueduct canal, crosses Distribution Pool 525

2.102–2.104

2.24, 2.26

52

527

+

Clay pipe, 0.12 m in diameter, crossing Canal 524, opposite Distribution Pool 525, was laid in breaches made in the canal walls

2.100

2.24, 2.26

52

528

+

Clay pipe, starting at the breach in the wall of Canal 524, turns west, next to Pipes 526 and 527 outside the canal; it is surrounded with stones and ash

2.104

2.24, 2.26

52

529

+

Rock-cut canal, under the east wall of Shaft 522, can be seen only in the excavation trench section; three pipes lie in the canal

2.82

2.23

+

Enclosure, trapeze shaped, 24 × 12 m; walls constructed of ashlar piers interspersed with small stones; the lowest course of the north wall is all ashlars; inside—tomb and water system; Collection Cistern 541 adjoins it on the south

2.83–2.102

2.23, 2.24

53

53

531

+

Distribution pool, adjacent to the northeast wall of Enclosure 53, constructed of fieldstones, the uppermost course of ashlars; unplastered; Canal 523 enters it and two clay pipes (532) exit to west; outlet of a clay pipe to the east atop the east wall

2.81, 2.86, 2.92, 2.94

2.23, 2.24

53

532

+

Two parallel clay pipes, leaving Pool 531 and laid next to the north wall of Enclosure 53, exit the enclosure under its west wall

2.86, 2.93

2.23, 2.24

53

533

+

Distribution pool, in the northeast corner of Enclosure 53, has five walls, coated with plain gray plaster; two pipes enter—one at the top and the other at the bottom of the west wall and two pipes leave—one at the top and the other at the bottom of the south wall

2.85, 2.86, 2.92, 2.94

2.23, 2.24

53

534

+

Clay pipe, laid parallel to the east wall of Enclosure 53, exposed for 5 m

2.85, 2.95

2.23, 2.24

53

535

+

Clay pipe, at the same elevation as Pipe 534, begins near Pool 533 but is not connected; exposed for 2.5 m

2.85

2.23, 2.24

53

536

+

Clay pipe section, next to the south wall of Enclosure 53; exposed for 1.5 m; very poorly preserved

2.99

2.24, 2.25

53

537

+

Pipe section, parallel to the east wall of Enclosure 53, passes through the south wall to Pipe 542; exposed for 0.80 m

53

538

+

Canal, 2 m long, rock cut and covered with stones, perpendicularly crosses the conjectured line of the missing west wall of Enclosure 53; apparently for drainage

2.90, 2.91

2.24

54

541

+

Collection cistern: two phases—the original construction, 1.70 m deep, is gray plastered; in the second phase, a course of ashlars was added, covered with gray plaster with a crosshatch pattern; at the bottom was an accumulation of silt, identical to that in the aqueduct canal

2.96–2.99

2.24, 2.25

54

542

+

Supply canal, between the south wall of Enclosure 53 and the north wall of Distribution Pool 541; gray plaster; termination of Pipe 537. at its east end

2.96, 2.99

2.24, 2.25

55

551

+

Settling pool, surmounted by a shaft, covered with a large stone; gray plaster with herringbone pattern; the wall at the northeast corner was breached and subsequently repaired with fieldstones

2.100, 2.105, 2.106

2.24, 2.26

2.24

55

552

-

Canal section, 15 m long; not excavated

55

553

+

Clay pipe, north of the aqueduct canal, excavated for 7 m to the top of the stone layer surrounding it; connects to Inspection Pool 554; six segments excavated completely

2.106

2.24, 2.26 2.24

55

554

+

Rock-cut inspection pool; the north wall is faced with pebbles, unplastered; the west wall is constructed of pebbles set in crumbling concrete; Pipe 553 enters it and Pipe 555 exits it to the west

2.107, 2.108

2.24

55

555

+

Clay pipe, exposed for 2.40 m, exits Pool 554 and lies north of the aqueduct canal; six segments cleared

2.107, 2.108

2.24

55

556

+

Rock-cut canal, perpendicular to the aqueduct canal; two cover stones survive in situ; unplastered; devoid of any finds; perhaps a child’s tomb, cut by Pipe 555

2.107, 2.108

2.24

203

Locus list

Section

Locus

Excavated

Description

55

557

+

Rock-cut surface, north of Pipe 553, with a 0.20 m thick layer of ash on it; perhaps a mixing surface for the preparation of plaster and the material surrounding the pipes

56

561

+

Distribution pool surmounted by a shaft, the last distribution pool along the aqueduct; partly paved with tile fragments; water entered at the northeast corner and exited at the northwest corner; the pool contained a bronze pipe with three radial projecting fins

2.109–2.111

2.23, 2.27

56

562

+

Canal section, 55 m long, northwest of Distribution Pool 561, aligned to northwest; covered with stones with the gaps between the stones filled with small stones and plaster; on the east, the cover stones were found at a depth of 2 m below the surface, on the west, at 1 m; the canal itself was not excavated

2.113

2.23, 2.27

57

571

+

Canal section, continuation of Canal 562 to the northwest; it turns west after 5 m and continues for a further 32 m; covered with small, unworked stone slabs; the canal itself was not excavated; no distribution pools

2.113

58

581

+

Canal section, 7 m long, 0.5 m below the surface; continuation of Canal 571 to southwest; covered with unworked stone slabs; the canal itself was not excavated

2.113

59

591

+

Canal section, 12 m long, the last section of the aqueduct; three layers of plaster; only the lower part survives

2.113

2.28

60

601

+

Cistern at the end of the aqueduct; the west wall is constructed of large ashlars; four layers of plaster; plaster floor over a pebble bed; the aqueduct canal enters at the northeast corner and clay pipe outlets at the southeast corner

2.114–2.117

2.28

+

Four parallel clay pipes, leaving Cistern 601 toward the northwest suburb

2.13, 2.114, 2.117–2.119

2.28

61

Figure(s)

Plan(s) 2.23

61

611

+

The westernmost pipe leaving Cistern 601; the joints between segments plastered with white plaster; some segments missing near the cistern; further on, surrounded by small stones and ash

2.12, 2.13, 2.114, 2.117– 2.119

2.28

61

612

+

Pipe, easternmost leaving Cistern 601; similar to Pipe 611, surrounded by stones and gray plaster; Pipe 614 was laid inside it; only the lower part of Pipe 612 survives

2.13, 2.114, 2.117–2.119

2.28

61

613

+

Pipe replaced Pipe 611 and uses its first segment as a funnel

2.12, 2.13, 2.114, 2.117– 2.119

2.28

61

614

+

Pipe, laid inside Pipe 612, after it went out of use

2.13, 2.114, 2.117–2.119

2.28

62

621

+

Pipe section, adjacent to Pipe 622

2.28

62

622

+

Pipe section, adjacent to Pipe 621

2.28

63

631

+

Test trench, cut by backhoe, perpendicular to the course of the pipes, 25 m from Cistern 601; two pipes (633, 634) are visible in it

63

632

+

Test trench, cut by backhoe, 14 m from Trench 631; two pipes (633, 634) are visible in the cut

63

633

+

Clay pipe, exposed between Trenches 631 and 632, runs in a twisting course; the same pipe was identified in Trench 636, 28 m south of Trench 635, and ends at Installation 637

63

634

+

Clay pipe section, 17 m long, from Trench 632; its continuation was not found

63

635

+

Test trench, cut by backhoe, 33 m from trench 632; one pipe (633) visible in the cut

63

636

+

Test trench, cut by backhoe, 28 m south of Trench 635; a 2.30 m long section of Pipe 633 was cleared

63

637

-

Installation, at the end of Pipe 633; remains of wall constructed of hewn stones, similar to the west wall of Cistern 601; the installation was not excavated

204

Moshe Hartal

Northeastern Cemetery Locus

Excavated

Description

Figure(s)

Plan(s)

800

+

Tomb with two burial troughs; walls partly rock cut, partly built

1.1:55, 4.10–4.13

4.1, 4.3

801

+

East burial trough; three of four original cover stones survive—the north one is a cornice in secondary use; robbed in antiquity

4.11, 4.12

4.3

802

+

West burial trough; three of five original cover stones survive—the north one is a cornice in secondary use, the two south ones are missing; robbed in antiquity

4.11–4.13

4.3

804

-

Corner of structure, apparently a tomb

4.14

4.1

805

-

Naiskos, next to a boulder in which three steps are cut

1.1:56, 4.8, 4.9

4.1

806–810

-

Rock-cut tombs

4.1

811

-

Short wall section, ashlar built, perhaps base for a stele

4.1

812

-

Rock-cut tomb, with a shallow arch (grave marker?) above it

4.1

814–822

-

Rock-cut tombs

4.1

817

-

Rock-cut tomb, with a shallow arch (grave marker?) above it

4.1

818–820

-

Rock-cut tombs

4.1

821–822

-

Rock-cut tombs, with shallow arches (grave markers?) above it

4.1

823

-

Wall, constructed of fieldstones, parallel to the aqueduct

4.1

824

-

Rock-cut tomb

4.1

825

-

Grave marker with remains of an inscription in a tabula ansata; below it, rock-cut tomb

4.6, 4.7

4.1

826–879

-

Rock-cut tombs

4.1–4.3

4.1, 4.2

880

-

Rock-cut niche, its inner part completed with plaster

4.4

4.1

881–890

-

Rock-cut tombs

891–892

-

Rock-cut tombs, with shallow arches (grave markers?) above it

893–898

-

Rock-cut tombs

4.1

900–908

4.1 4.5

4.1

Rock-cut tombs

4.1

909

-

Trough, cut in an ashlar with an architectural profile in secondary use; not in situ

4.1

910–911

-

Rock-cut tombs

4.1

+ = Excavated; - = Not excavated

205

Locus list

Northwestern Cemetery Cell/Locus

Description

Figure(s)

Plan(s)

700

Tomb, containing seven parallel cells (701–707), each with a rectangular shaft c. 2.50 m deep, constructed of ashlars; at the bottom, a burial trough covered with large stones; all excavated cells were robbed in antiquity.

4.15–4.17

2.24, 4.4

701

Westernmost cell of Tomb 700, ashlar-built shaft; north side of the burial trough is curved, three cover stones; disturbed burial of a child and an adult; finds—fourthcentury CE coin, fragment of glass flask, iron nail

4.18

2.24, 4.4

702

Ashlar-built shaft; north side of the burial trough is curved, three cover stones; fragments of a child’s skeleton; finds—coin, glass bowl, bronze earring

4.19

2.24, 4.4

703

Shaft excavated for 0.75 m; two upright stones (stelae?) next to the north wall

4.20

2.24, 4.4

704

Ashlar-built shaft; north side of the burial trough is curved; east wall of shaft and burial trough modified at a later stage; two large cover stones broken during looting, the north break subsequently repaired with smaller stones; fragments of two skeletons

4.21–4.24

2.24, 4.4

705

Shaft excavated for 0.80 m; two upright stones (stelae?) next to the north wall

4.24

2.24, 4.4

706

Ashlar-built shaft; in upper part of fill, two upright stones (stelae?), one in the shape of a smooth quarter dome; burial trough with straight north side; three cover stones; one disturbed skeleton; finds—glass fragments

4.25–4.30

2.24, 4.4

707

Easternmost and latest cell of Tomb 700; gray plastered, hewn-stone shaft; burial trough in which a coffin apparently stood; four cover stones; remains of five skeletons; finds—two coins, glass bracelet and bead, copper-alloy ring, nails

4.30–4.33

2.24, 4.4

708

Area between the east part of Tomb 700 and Pipes 532; complete Baniyas Ware cooking pot

4.15, 4.16, 4.37

2.24

709

Wall section, perpendicular to the north wall of Enclosure 53; only one course survives, constructed of ashlars, but of poor workmanship; the part over Pipes 532 is missing

4.15, 4.16

2.24

710

Area between Tomb 700 and W709

4.15, 4.16

2.24

711

Area between the west part of Tomb 700 and Pipes 532; no finds

4.15, 4.16

2.24

712

Child’s burial(?) next to northeast corner of Tomb 700, constructed of fieldstones and hewn stones; four cover stones, three in situ; no finds

4.35, 4.36

2.24, 4.4

206

Moshe Hartal

Northwestern Suburb Locus

Square

Stratum

Locus Above

Locus Below

Related Loci

101

1

1

Surface

104

102

Surface material, mixed. Byzantine and Early Islamic material, many roof tiles

102

2

1

Surface

103

101

Surface material, mixed Byzantine and Early Islamic material

103

2

1

102

105, 106

104

Soil with large quantity of ashes; ashlar collapse in southwest corner; many roof tiles; Early Islamic material

104

1

1

101

-

103

Gray soil over a layer of ashes; trace of strong fire in the south part and collapsed ashlars; underneath, Wall 3; Early Islamic material

105

2

1

103

108

106

Under the burnt layer: ashlar collapse, column drums and a capital; Early Islamic material

106

2

1

103

107

105

Hard, yellow soil with large quantity of gravel on Paving 107; sparse finds

107

2

2

106

Stone paving

108

2

2

105

Probe west of the column base; gray soil with stones over the foundation of the base; later Roman material

201

3

1

Surface

203, 208

202

Surface to top of W1; mixed, Early Roman, Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic material

202

4

1

Surface

204

201

As above

203

3

1

201

205

Soft soil; mixed, Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic material

204

4

1

202

206, 210, 214

North side—red soil with much pottery; south side—soft soil with many stones; Late Roman and Byzantine material

207

Soft gray soil; Late Roman material

Description

205

3

2

203

206

4

1

204

Gray soil with collapsed stones; Late Roman and Byzantine material

207

3

2

205

Red soil; large fresco fragments below the foundation of W1; Late Roman material

208

3

2

201

209

4

1

204

210

4

2

204

211

3

2

208

211

210

Compacted earth with large quantity of pottery, from the top of W1 to the top of W4; Late Roman material.

208, 214

Red soil with small-sized gravel; large concentration of Late Roman period vessels and lamps

East of W7; unexcavated

213

212

3

2

208

213

3

2

211

215

214

4

2

204

218, 219

Red earthen floor; meager Late Roman material Foundation trench of W1; Late Roman material Layer of hard soil with Late Roman material on top, all covered with a collapse of stones and red earth 210

Soft, gray soil with a large quantity of pottery; at the bottom, a thin layer of ashes over a red earthen floor

215

3

2

213

216

Hard soil to the foundations of W1; Late Roman material

216

3

2

215

217

Soft, gray soil; no datable material

217

3

2

216

220

Hard floor covered with plaster; overlain by soil ywith many plaster fragments; small amount Late Roman pottery

218

4

2

214

219

4

3

214

Rock

220

3

?

217

Rock

219

Soft soil with large quantity of pottery, next to W5 and W6; possibly a foundation trench; Late Roman material

218

Soil with many plaster fragments and ashes; colored fresco fragments; Middle Roman material Bedrock, no datable material

IAA R eports

No. 1 G. Avni and Z. Greenhut, The Akeldama Tombs: Three Burial Caves in the Kidron Valley, Jerusalem, 1996, 129 pp.

No. 16 Y. Goren and P. Fabian, Kissufim Road: A Chalcolithic Mortuary Site, 2002, 97 pp.

No. 2 E. Braun, Yiftah’el: Salvage and Rescue Excavations at a Prehistoric Village in Lower Galilee, Israel, 1997, 249 pp.

No. 17 A. Kloner, Maresha Excavations Final Report I: Subterranean Complexes 21, 44, 70, 2003, 183 pp.

No. 3 G. Edelstein, I. Milevski and S. Aurant, Villages, Terraces and Stone Mounds: Excavations at Manahat, Jerusalem, 1987–1989, 1998, 149 pp. No. 4 C. Epstein, The Chalcolithic Culture of the Golan, 1998, 352 pp. + plans. hardcover. No. 5 T. Schick, The Cave of the Warrior: A Fourth Millennium Burial in the Judean Desert, 1998, 137 pp. No. 6 R. Cohen, Ancient Settlement of the Central Negev: The Chalcolithic Period, the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age I (Hebrew, English Summary), 1999, 396 pp.

No. 18 A. Golani, Salvage Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat ‘Ata, 2003, 261 pp. No. 19 H. Khalaily and O. Marder, The Neolithic Site of Abu Ghosh: The 1995 Excavations, 2003, 146 pp. No. 20 R. Cohen and R. Cohen-Amin, Ancient Settlement of the Negev Highlands II (Hebrew, English Summary), 2004, 258 pp. No. 21 D. Stacey, Exavations at Tiberias, 1973–1974: The Early Islamic Periods, 2004, 259 pp. No. 22 Y. Hirschfeld, Excavations at Tiberias, 1989–1994, 2004, 234 pp.

No. 7 R. Hachlili and A. Killebrew, Jericho: The Jewish Cemetery of the Second Temple Period, 1999, 202 pp.

No. 23 S. Ben-Arieh, Bronze and Iron Age Tombs at Tell Beit Mirsim, 2004, 212 pp.

No. 8 Z. Gal and Y. Alexandre, Horbat Rosh Zayit: An Iron Age Storage Fort and Village, 2000, 247 pp.

No. 24 M. Dothan and D. Ben-Shlomo, Ashdod VI: The Excavations of Areas H and K (1968–1969), 2005, 320 pp.

No. 9 U. Dahari, Monastic Settlements in South Sinai in the Byzantine Period: The Archaeological Remains, 2000, 250 pp. + map.

No. 25 M. Avissar, Tel Yoqne‘am: Excavations on the Acropolis, 2005, 142 pp.

No. 10 Z. Yeivin, The Synagogue at Korazim: The 1962–1964, 1980– 1987 Excavations (Hebrew, English Summary), 2000, 216 pp.

No. 26 M. Avissar and E.J. Stern, Pottery of the Crusader, Ayyubid, and Mamluk Periods in Israel, 2005, 187 pp., 53 figs., 34 color plates.

No. 11 M. Hartal, The al-Subayba (Nimrod) Fortress: Towers 11 and 9, 2001, 129 pp. No. 12 R. Gonen, Excavations at Efrata: A Burial Ground from the Intermediate and Middle Bronze Ages, 2001, 153 pp. No. 13 E. Eisenberg, A. Gopher and R. Greenberg, Tel Te’o: A Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Site in the Hula Valley, 2001, 227 pp. No. 14 R. Frankel, N. Getzov, M. Aviam and A. Degani, Settlement Dynamics and Regional Diversity in Ancient Upper Galilee: Archaeological Survey of Upper Galilee, 2001, 175 pp. + color distribution maps and foldout map. No. 15 M. Dayagi-Mendels, The Akhziv Cemeteries: The Ben-dor Excavations, 1941–1944, 2002, 176 pp.

No. 27 E.C.M. van den Brink and Ram Gophna, Shoham (North), Late Chalcolithic Burial Caves in the Lod Valley, Israel, 2005, 214 pp. No. 28 N. Getzov, The Tel Bet Yerah Excavations, 1994–1995, 2006, 204 pp. No. 29 A.M. Berlin, Gamla I: The Pottery of the Second Temple Period, the Shmarya Gutmann Excavations, 1976–1989, 2006, 181 pp. No. 30 R. Greenberg, E. Eisenberg, S. Paz and Y. Paz, Bet Yerah: The Early Bronze Age Mound I: Excavation Reports, 1933–1986, 2006, 500 pp. No. 31 E. Yannai, ‘En Esur (‘Ein Asawir) I: Excavations at a Protohistoric Site in the Coastal Plain of Israel, 2006, 308 pp.

No. 32 T.J. Barako, Tel Mor: The Moshe Dothan Excavations, 1959–1960, 2007, 276 pp. No. 33 g. mazor and a. najjar, Bet She’an I: nysa-scythopolis: the caesareum and the odeum, 2007, 316 pp. No. 34 R. Cohen and H. Bernick-Greenberg, Kadesh Barnea (Tell elQudeirat) 1976–1982, 2007. In 2 parts. Part 1: Text, 410 pp.; Part 2: Plates, Plans and Sections, 332 pp. No. 35 A. Erlich and A. Kloner, Maresha Excavations Final Report II, Hellenistic Terracotta Figurines from the 1989–1996 Seasons, 2008, 208 pp. and 1 color plate. No. 36 G. Avni, U. Dahari and A. Kloner, The Necropolis of Bet Guvrin—Eleutheropolis, 2008, 238 pp. and 2 color plates.

No. 37 V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli, Paneas I: The Roman to Early Islamic Periods: Excavations in Areas A, B, E, F, G and H, 2008, 196 pp. and 1 color plate. No. 38 V. Tzaferis and S. Israeli, Paneas II: Small Finds and Other Studies, 2008, 256 pp. and 1 color plate. No. 39 Z. Greenhut and A. De Groot, Salvage Excavations at Tel Moza : The Bronze and Iron Age Settlements and Later Occupations, 2009, 363 pp. No. 40 M. Hartal, Paneas IV: The Aqueduct and Northern Suburbs, 2009, 212 pp.