From April to September 2007 and during January 2008 excavations were conducted in the Ganor Compound in Yafo (Permit No. A-5084; map ref. NIG 176806–7189/661962–2380; OIG 126806–7189/161962–2380). The excavation, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, was directed by M. Peilstöcker (IAA) and A.A. Burke (UCLA), with the assistance of A. Gorzalczany, H. Torge and Y. Arbel (assistant field directors), R. Assis, H. Ben-Ari, R. Korin, L. Rauchberger, R. Chaim, G. Pierce, K. Keimer, M. Mulokandov and L. Talmi (area supervision), O. Ashkenazi (find registration and data entry), V. Essman, V. Pirsky and D. Porotzky (surveying), T. Sagiv and O. Chaim (field photography), the Sky View Co. (balloon photography), Y. Nagar (physical anthropology), O. Ackerman (geomorphology), K. Strange Burke and E.J. Stern (Islamic and Crusader pottery reading), J. Negeur and R. Abu-Diab (conservation and preservation) and Y. Levi, M. Ajami and D. Barkan (IAA Tel Aviv Office), who assisted in various stages of the project. Find sorting and storage was carried out in the facilities of the Jaffa Museum and thanks are extended to N. Meirovitz, director of the museum and to Y. Klein of the Old Jaffa Development Co. for their assistance.
The excavations were the first field activity of the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project (JCHP), headed by the excavation directors.
The current excavation is a renewed project in an area that had previously been labeled Area E, which is located east of the upper tell and west of the Flea Market. Area E is the northernmost and the only part of a housing project related to the Ganor Compound, which is situated east of Yefet Street and has not yet been built up. Excavations in this area had begun in 1994 and nearly 16 dunams have been investigated in various seasons of excavations (Table 1). In 1996, forty squares were excavated in Area E, which was subdivided into E1 and E2. This excavation was suspended before completion due to budget restrictions. In 1999, the area was backfilled by the owner at the request of the IAA after a limited part in the northern section of Area E1 (six squares) was excavated down to bedrock. A small excavation was conducted in 1999 within a building known as ‘Bet November’, prior to the reinforcement of its foundation. Between 2000 and 2006 several additional excavations were carried out, revealing a Byzantine bathhouse in Area H, situated in the southeastern part of the Ganor Compound.
Table 1. Excavations at the Ganor Compound
Area |
Permit |
Year |
Institution |
Excavator |
Comments |
A, B, C |
A-2118 |
1997 |
IAA |
A. Feldstein |
Trial excavation |
A, B, C, D, E |
A-2374 |
1995-1996 |
IAA |
M. Peilstöcker |
ESI 20:47*-49* |
Bet November |
A-3163 |
1999 |
IAA |
M. Peilstöcker |
|
E |
A-3135 |
1999 |
IAA |
M. Peilstöcker |
Shooting the movie 'The Body''
|
F |
B-211 |
2000 |
TAU |
A. Fantalkin |
|
F |
B-245 |
2002 |
TAU |
A. Fantalkin |
|
H |
A-3908 |
2003 |
IAA |
M. Peilstöcker and A. Gorczalzany |
|
H |
A-4751 |
2006 |
IAA |
M. Peilstöcker and A. Gorczalzany |
|
E |
A-5048 |
2007 |
IAA and UCLA |
M. Peilstöcker and A.A. Burke |
|
Before resuming the excavations in 2007, modern buildings situated close to Yefet Street were dismantled. The 1995 excavation grid was reinstated and the refill that covered the old squares was manually removed. The area was subdivided again, this time using Roman letters, into Area EI (square rows 23–27) and Area EII (square rows 17–22; Fig. 1). More than 60 squares were excavated and the following description gives the preliminary excavation results according to the general stratigraphy in its local field setting (Table 2).
Table 2. Stratigraphy of Area E (2007 season)
Stratum |
Period |
Dates |
Phase |
Remarks |
0 |
Modern |
Post 1947 |
|
|
I |
Mandatory |
1917-1947 CE |
|
|
II |
Ottoman |
1517-1917 CE |
2 |
Late phase: architecture |
1 |
Early phase: argriculture |
III |
Mamluk |
1250-1517 CE |
|
Tombs only |
IV |
Crusader |
1099-1250 CE |
2 |
Thirteenth century Ce |
|
|
V |
Early Islamic
|
638-1099 CE |
|
|
VI |
Byzantine |
324-638 CE |
|
|
VII |
Roman |
63 BCE-324 CE |
2 |
Settlement remains identified only during the 2007 season |
1. |
Tombs only |
VIII |
Hellenistic |
332-363 BCE |
|
|
IX |
Persian |
586-332 BCE |
|
Stratum identified in the 2007 season only |
X |
Iron Age |
1200-586 BCE |
|
Pottery only |
XI |
Late Bronze Age |
1530-1200 BCE |
|
Pottery only |
The Late Bronze and Iron Ages
Contrary to the results of the 1996 season, no tombs or architectural finds from these periods were discovered. Yet, a limited amount of Iron Age pottery was found during the excavations and it seems that the area excavated in this season was not occupied during these periods. It should be stressed that in both neighboring areas, D and B, excavated in 1995, as well as in recent excavations in neighboring streets (Permit Nos. A-4675 in 2005; A-5463 in 2008), architectural layers of Iron II were identified (Y. Arbel and O. Segal, pers. comm.).
The Persian Period (Stratum IX)
Although large quantities of Persian pottery had been found in previous excavations of the Ganor Compound, architectural remains that could be associated with a Persian-period phase were exposed only during the current season. Remains of a massive building, whose foundations penetrated into kurkar bedrock, were found in Sqs KL/20, 21. Little can be said about its function, due to the limited area of exposure, yet the massive walls suggest a public capacity.
The Hellenistic Period (Stratum VIII)
A layer dating to this period was identified; pottery was recovered from all the excavated squares, but architecture was preserved only in the southern part. It seems that later construction, particularly during the Byzantine period, seriously damaged earlier architectural remains in this area. Narrow walls built of fieldstones showed the same characteristics, as seen in previous excavations, pointing to domestic architecture. A destruction layer marked the end of this occupation. Future analysis of the finds will hopefully assist in dating this layer and link it to particular historical events that occurred in Jaffa at this period.
The Roman Period (Stratum VII)
The construction of Caesarea’s port and the growth of Apollonia-Arsuf coincided with a settlement crisis at Jaffa. It seems that the excavated area was no longer settled but used as a cemetery, as several tombs indicated. Since these tombs had cut into earlier layers and were covered by later layers, their stratigraphic position was clear.
Most were cist tombs of different sizes, but simple pit burials and a sarcophagus burial were found as well. The finds in the tombs included pottery and glass vessels that dated to an early phase of the Roman period.
The use of the area as a burial ground in this period was evidenced in former excavations, yet it became clear in this season that the re-occupation of the area as a domestic quarter had begun in the Roman period. A layer of architectural remains, which could be dated by pottery found on floors to the third or early fourth centuries CE (Stratum VIIB), was excavated.
The Byzantine Period (Stratum VI)
An intensive occupational layer that featured mosaic floors and dated to the Byzantine period was excavated in 1996. Additional excavations in the vicinity produced remains of public activities, namely a bathhouse in Area H and industrial activities, i.e., winepresses in the Flea-Market area.
The mosaic floors in the area were completely excavated, conserved and removed during this season. The process revealed that the floors belonged to a public building, whose walls had been robbed. The robber trenches enabled a reconstruction of a three-winged basilica-type building whose central room had an apse. Since the building was oriented east–west and contained numerous fragments of marble architectural elements, its interpretation as a church seems plausible. Opposite the building were the remains of a plastered courtyard whose limits remained uncertain. The marble architectural elements scattered in the area included stone vessels, column bases and capitals together with a large quantity of roof tiles. A limekiln dating to the Crusader period offered another explanation for the presence of marble elements in the excavation. Jaffa lies in a region of kurkar sandstone, which is unsuitable for plaster production, whereas the marble elements were a viable raw material for producing lime, as known at other sites, such as Caesarea. Unlike the bathhouse and the winepresses mentioned above, it seems that the building went out of use soon after the end of the Byzantine period, as indicated by several wall fragments and installations dating to the following period.
The Early Islamic Period (Stratum V)
The Umayyad and Abbasid periods were heavily represented in the ceramics, coins, glass vessels, bone tools and other small finds recovered from the Ganor Compound. The architectural remains, however, were very badly preserved and consisted mostly of parts of installations that had been located below the floor levels of their buildings, which could not be identified. In all likelihood, this situation was the result of leveling activities undertaken at the beginning of the Crusader period.
The Crusader Period (Stratum IV)
Crusader remains were discovered in every excavated square and at least two phases were discerned in the architectural record, although the ceramic evidence suggested an uninterrupted occupation until the end of the period. The architectural remains show a high degree of urban planning, although in many cases only the robber trenches or the lowest foundation courses of walls were found. It was further noted by the absolute floor elevations that several terraces were established to accommodate the natural slope, which descended from southeast to northeast, prior to the construction of the buildings. No specific function could be determined for the buildings, but the width of the foundations and the size of some buildings indicate monumental architecture of public nature that most probably was more than one story high. This impression differed from the one that emerged from earlier excavations at the site, whereby most of the architecture probably belonged to domestic complexes, as also indicated by the ceramics.
The Mamluk Period (Stratum III)
Following the Mamluk destruction of Jaffa, the excavated area was abandoned. The Crusader-period remains were found covered by an almost sterile layer of sand. The field geological analysis determined that these sands accumulated naturally over a long period of time, due to the abandonment of the area. However, it seems that the area was used sporadically as a burial ground and possibly as a garbage dump, since it was located outside of what was then the small settlement of Jaffa. A similar situation was observed in the Flea-Market excavation.
The Ottoman Period (Stratum II)
During an early phase of the period this area was used for agriculture, as attested by irrigation channels that were found during the 1996 season. This use was also documented in historical maps, showings wells and indicating the agricultural use of the land. During a later phase, a building was constructed in the northeastern part of the excavated area. It marked the eastern side of Yefet Street and was built on vaulted foundations, typical of this period. It most probably dated to the late nineteenth century CE after the medieval fortification system, which consisted of a wall and a ditch, went out of use. The ditch was filled up (today’s Yefet Street) and buildings were constructed on both sides using the stones of the dismantled city wall.
The Mandatory Period (Stratum I)
During the reorganization of the Flea-Market area in the middle of the 1930s, which was initiated by the government of the British Mandate, the Ottoman building was replaced by a new complex, built on solid concrete foundations that were removed during the excavations. It was observed then that earlier remains had been disturbed in various places.
The 2007 season in the Ganor Compound continued the investigation of the largest area excavated in Jaffa to date. The results of this excavation need to be understood in conjunction with earlier excavations in the Ganor Compound and in the nearby Flea Market. It became obvious that the Persian or early Hellenistic settlement included well-planned, massive architecture that implied the existence of public buildings in this part of the city. Another important result of the renewed excavations was the identification of a Late-Roman horizon. Although the precise dating of this layer remains obscure until the final analysis of ceramics and coins is performed, it seems that after a settlement hiatus at the beginning of the Roman period when the area was used as a burial ground, the vicinity was resettled before the beginning of the Byzantine era.