Four squares were opened and remains of walls and installations dating to the Hellenistic period, as well as remains of a building from the Byzantine period, were revealed (Figs. 2, 3). Four strata (I–IV) were identified; Strata IV–III dated to the Hellenistic period, Stratum II was from the Byzantine period and Stratum I could not be dated with certainty.
 
Stratum IV. Remains of walls, founded below the bottom of the pits in Stratum II, were exposed. One wall (W6) was in a pit (L816; Fig. 3: Section 1–1) and another wall (W7; not marked on plan) was in the section of the western side of a pit (L819). The walls, aligned north–south, were probably part of the Hellenistic complex that extended from the north and west and was exposed in previous excavations at the ‘Azrieli Compound, as well as below the Byzantine public building.
 
Stratum III. Three rounded pits (L808/L816, L813/L819, L818; diam. 0.80–1.55 m; depth 1.5–2.0 m) lined with fieldstones were exposed. The lining in Pit 818 was discovered in the upper part of the pit (height c. 0.4 m). Pit 813/819 was excavated down to the bottom which was covered with a black-gray layer (ash?); the lower half of the pit was carefully lined. The lining in Pit 816 extended the full depth of the installation and its bottom was set on top of W6. However, the bottom was not completely exposed because of the constricted space. Amphora fragments that originated in Rhodes were exposed in situ at the base of Pits 816 and 818 (Fig. 4). The function of the pits was unclear.
A light colored layer containing small stones (L806; thickness 0.5 m) was exposed in the north of the excavation area, c. 0.2 m below the surface. The layer was replete with pottery vessels dating to the Hellenistic period and included locally produced and imported vessels, such as decorated Attic bowls and platters, as well as glass vessels. No distinct architectural finds that can be connected to this stratum were discovered; a robbed wall (?; W8) in the northwestern corner was poorly preserved and its context was unclear, and two column drums that were found lying in the southern balk belong to Stratum II or Stratum IV.
 
Stratum II. An ashlar-built wall (W2; Figs. 3: Section 2–2, 5) that was abutted from the east by a well-tamped earthen floor mixed with chalk (L805) was exposed. Wall 2, oriented north–south, was parallel to the walls of the Byzantine public building located to its northwest; the wall probably belonged to this complex. The continuation of the floor (L811) could be clearly seen south of the balk and it covered Pit L813/819 (Figs. 3: Section 1–1, 6).
On the level of these floors was a light colored sandy layer (L807) that covered Pit 818.
Fragments of several pottery vessels that dated to the Byzantine period were found on the floors, including bowls, kraters and jars. Floor 805 was severed by stone collapse (L814) and wall stumps were exposed north of it, including a short segment of a wall (W4) that survived to three courses high, and to its west in the western section, a thick wall (W5; width 1.4 m) that had the same orientation as the walls of the Byzantine public building to the northwest, like Wall 2. No floors that adjoined these walls were discerned and it seems that they were robbed or destroyed. Fragments of pottery and glass vessels that dated to the Late Roman and the Byzantine periods were found adjacent to the walls (L814, L817).
 
Stratum I. A wall (W1) that crossed half the excavation area from south to north and was preserved a single course high, was assigned to this stratum. The wall was built on top of Floors 805 and 811 (Fig. 3: Sections 1–1, 2–2). A few fragments of pottery vessels found on and near the wall are insufficient for dating it.
Potsherds from the Abbasid and Fatimid periods were discovered on the surface.
 
The Finds. The assemblage of Hellenistic pottery from Strata IV and III, which was recovered from the rounded pits and the small stone layer (L806), is very rich. The platter (Fig. 7:1) is made of well-levigated clay, slipped and well-burnished, which comes from the region of Cilicia, Antioch (Northern Coastal Fine Ware). The bowl (Fig. 7:2) belongs to the group of vessels that have an inverted rim and appear in assemblages of the third–second centuries BCE. Next to the black-slipped Attic fishplate (Fig. 7:3) were red-slipped bowls in the tradition of the “local imitation” of fishplates (Fig. 7:4–8). Mold-made carinated bowls included red-slipped bowl (Fig. 7:9) and a black-slipped bowl (Fig. 7:10), the likes of which were found at Tel Dor and identified as belonging to Group ESA, which dates to the years 166–169 BCE. The carinated krater (Fig. 7:11) is characteristic of the Hellenistic period and appears in the second century BCE. Three amphorae were exposed in situ (Fig. 7:12–14). The inscription on a handle (Fig. 7:12) dates to 150–140 BCE, while the inscription on a double handle of the amphora from Kos (Fig. 7:14) mentions the manufacturer. The amphorae originating from Rhodes and Kos were alongside a base (Fig. 7:15) that came from Knidos. The elongated ungentarium (Fig. 7:16) first appears in the fourth century BCE and is very common from the third until the mid-second centuries BCE. An intact votive lamp (Fig. 7:17; length c. 7 cm; it was stolen during the course of excavation) dates to the second century BCE.
The rather meager finds from the Byzantine period are characterized by burnished bowls (Fig. 7:18, 19) and locally produced jars (Fig. 7:20). The bowl (Fig. 7:18) belongs to Egyptian Red Slip ‘A’ Ware and similar vessels were found at Tiberias in a layer ascribed to the Abbasid period. A green-glazed bowl decorated with brown stripes (Imported Glazed Bowls-Egypt; Fig. 7:21) was produced in Egypt (Fustat and Fayum). Vessels of this family were discovered at Caesarea and in Stratum 5A at Horbat ‘Uza and were dated to the Abbasid-Fatimid and the Fatimid-Crusader periods (Boas A.J. 1992. Islamic and Crusader Pottery [c. 640–1265] from the Crusader City [Area TP/4]. In R.L. Vann, ed. Caesarea Papers [Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 5]. Ann Arbor. Pp 154–166, Fig. 74:18; Stern E.J. and Tatcher A. 2009. The Early Islamic, Crusader and Mamluk Pottery. In N. Getzov, D. Avshalom-Gorni, Y. Gorin-Rosen, E.J. Stern, D. Syon, and A. Tatcher. Horbat 'U­za, The 1991 Excavations, Volume II: The Late Periods [IAA Reports 42]. Jerusalem. Pp. 118–122, Fig. 13.8:12).
A coin minted in ‘Akko during the coregency of Cleopatra Thea and Antiochus VIII (125–121 BCE; IAA 106627) was found on top of Installation 808 from Stratum III, next to the base of W1 from Stratum I.  
 
Glass
Yael Gorin-Rosen
 
Sixty-four glass fragments were found, thirty-four of which are identifiable (Fig. 8). The vessels represent several habitation periods that are consistent with the finds exposed in a previous excavation conducted nearby (Permit No. A-5734). In addition, several fragments of glass industrial debris were found. Compared to the glass finds from other excavations at ‘Akko, the nature and quality of the vessels in this excavations stand out prominently.
The earliest glass artifacts are from the Hellenistic period. The two bowls (Fig. 8:1, 2) were cast and decorated with horizontal stripes engraved on the inside wall. Both are well-made and represent different sub-types. The bowl in Fig. 8:1 (L808) is made of yellowish green glass and its rim was polished round, leaving marks on both sides of the wall. The bowl is decorated with three pairs of deep engravings on the inside of the wall. The bowl in Fig. 8:2 (L806) is covered with a thick layer of weathering, which makes it difficult to determine its color. This bowl is decorated on the inside below the rim with a broad, deeply engraved stripe flanked on either side by narrow engravings. The rim is well-polished.    
The cup (L804; Fig. 8:3), made of yellowish green glass, has a cylindrical body and a solid base; it is characteristic of the Late Roman period (fourth–early fifth centuries CE). Two bases of this type were found in the excavation (the second, not drawn, was found in L807). In addition, a broad strap handle (L802; not drawn) that belongs to a juglet characteristic of the time period was found.
Several vessels dating to the Late Byzantine and Umayyad periods were found (Fig. 8:4–8). These included wine goblets with a solid base, similar to Fig. 8:4 (L807), made of greenish blue glass and covered with silver weathering; a wine goblet with a hollow ring base (L810; not drawn); and a stem lamp whose base is made of sections (Fig. 8:5), which was found together with the wine goblet in Fig. 8:4 and is made of yellowish green glass; it is very characteristic of this time period.
A fragment of an alembic vessel (Fig. 8:6; L804), characterized by a small ovoid beaker with a long spout, was found. The vessel is made of greenish blue glass and covered with silver weathering. This vessel is clearly characteristic of the Umayyad period. To this time period we can also ascribe the twisted mixing stick (Fig. 8:7; L802) that is made of greenish blue glass with an interwoven turquoise trail. The stick is covered with golden weathering, unlike the weathering that covers the lighter colored glass. The end of the stick is broken; it has a round cross-section. Mixing sticks of this kind are known from other excavations where strata of the Umayyad period were exposed. Glass mixing sticks already appear in the Early Roman period; however, the later ones can be differentiated from the earlier ones by the thickness, the quality of the glass and how they were worked. The early ones are usually thinner and occur in funerary assemblages, whereas the mixing stick from this excavation is thick and coarse; as it was found together with later artifacts, it is dated to the Umayyad period.
The base (Fig. 8:8) belongs to a vessel that is probably a cup. It is made of colorless glass that was decorated by deep carving around the circumference of the base, thereby accentuating the center of the base, and a deep depression is carved at the connection between the base and the wall, which accentuates the end of the base that faces out. This type is characteristic of the late tenth and eleventh centuries CE. The craftsmanship of the vessel is very good, despite the fact it is made of inferior material. This is the latest glass vessel discovered in the excavation.
A number of glass industrial debris were found, among them raw glass flakes. The worn flake in Fig. 8:9 (L802) has a triangular cross-section; the shade of the glass is light blue. The flake in Fig. 8:10 (L810) is slightly larger and covered with silver weathering; it has a triangular cross-section and its greenish blue shade has a yellowish brown vein. In addition, lumps of raw glass were found; these have pieces of the furnace side affixed to them. The lump in Fig. 8:11 (L801) is greenish blue glass coated on almost all sides with kiln debris; the lump in Fig. 8:12 (L817) is smaller and its greenish blue glass is partly covered with kiln debris.
Glass industrial debris was uncovered in almost every excavation in and around ‘Akko. Based on the quality and color of the glass, the waste found in this excavation might belong to the glass industry of the Roman–Byzantine periods, or at the latest the Umayyad period. 
 
Amphora Stamps
Gerald Finkielsztejn
 
Two Rhodian and two Koan stamped amphora handles of rectangular shape were found. The dating of the latter series is not refined so far.
Reg. No.
Origin
Reading
Comments
808.8028
 
 
 
Rhodes
’Επὶ
’Αθανοδότου Πανάμου
Eponym Athanodotos, month Panamos. The mention Deut(eros) of the intercalary year does not appear at the bottom of the stamp. Date: 150–140 BCE (maybe c. 145 BCE).
808.8027.1
 
Rhodes
Ερμαι΅σκος̣
Herm to left
Fabricant Hermaiskos. Associated with eponym Nikomachos in Delos. Most probably succeeded fabricant Philostephanos 2nd (with overlaps?). Date: probably c. 107–95 BCE.
807.8023
 
Kos
]Β]ότρυος
On a double barrel handle
Fabricant Botrys. Parallels in the Levant: Samaria and Jerusalem. Date: Hellenistic Period.
808.8027.2
 
 
 
Kos
Rose, Rhodian style
Several names on Koan stamps are associated with a rose. No parallel is known for the rose alone. Date: maybe second half of the 2nd–early 1st c. BCE, based on the associated Rhodian stamps in the context.