Massive 2,000-year-old Roman Basilica discovered in south Israel
A renewal project in Tel
Ashkelon National Park will reveal the spectacular archaeological
remains of a magnificent 2,000-year-old Basilica.
The basilica in Tel Ashkelon National ParkEmil Aladjem Israel Antiquities Authority
Tel
Ashkelon National Park has recently undergone extensive development
work, initiated and funded by the Nature and Parks Authority, Ashkelon
Municipality and the Leon Levy Foundation, during which the Israel
Antiquities Authority recently revealed a magnificent 2,000-year-old
basilica that is the largest of its kind in Israel.
The exciting finds, which also include an ancient odeon (theater),
are now being revealed for the first time and will soon be open to
visitors to Tel Ashkelon National Park, enhancing the visitor experience
at the site. The site will be opened on completion of the development,
conservation and restoration work, which includes erecting sculptures
and marble columns found in excavations at the site.
The Nature and Parks Authority and the Ashkelon Municipality are
also developing and constructing a new network of accessible paths
designed to showcase and provide better access to the park’s unique
nature, heritage and landscape, thereby enhancing the visitor
experience.
During
the Roman period, the public life of the city revolved around its
basilica (a Roman public building), where its citizens transacted
business, met for social and legal matters, and held performances and
religious ceremonies.
According to Dr. Rachel Bar-Natan, Saar Ganor and Fredrico Kobrin,
excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The
huge building is covered with a roof and divided into three parts – a
central hall and two side halls. The hall was surrounded with rows of
marble columns and capitals, which rose to an estimated height of 13
meters and supported the building’s roof. The floor and walls were built
of marble.”
The marble, discovered during many years of archaeological
excavations lasting until two years ago, was imported from Asia Minor in
merchant ships that reached the shores of Ashkelon, which was a famous,
bustling trade city. Roughly 200 marble items weighing hundreds of tons
have been found in all, testifying to the building’s great splendor.
Among the items, dozens of column capitals with plant motifs were
discovered, some bearing an eagle – the symbol of the Roman Empire.
Pillars and heart-shaped capitals stood in the corners of the building.
Excavations by the British in the 1920s unearthed huge statues,
including a statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, supported by the god
Atlas holding a sphere, and a statue of Isis – an Egyptian deity
depicted as Tyche, the city’s goddess of fortune.
The
basilica was devastated in the earthquake that struck the country in
363 CE. The effects of the seismic waves are clearly visible on the
building’s floor, providing tangible evidence of the events of that year
in Ashkelon. After its destruction, the building was abandoned. During
the Abbasid and Fatimid periods, the site of the basilica was
transformed into an industrial area and several installations were built
in it. In one of these, marble pillars and capitals from the basilica
were incorporated in secondary use in the buildings’ walls. There is
evidence from the Ottoman period that marble items were cut up for use
as paving stones and some of the beautiful architectural features were
taken for building construction.
The conservation department of the Israel Antiquities Authority is
conducting complex preservation and restoration work on the odeon and
the impressive basilica, led by the Nature and Parks Authority and
generously funded by the Leon Levy Foundation. The work involves placing
the spectacular marble sculptures of ancient Ashkelon in the southern
part of the basilica. In the first stage, the odeon will be conserved
and restored. Thanks to the Leon Levy Foundation’s donation, it will
incorporate modern seating, a stage and a series of explanatory signs.
At the same time, a pilot program at the site has begun installing the
impressive marble items in place, in a complex operation in which one of
the pillars, weighing dozens of tons, was hoisted into the basilica.
The floor of the excavated basilica will be restored and filled in, and
additional columns will be placed around the perimeter based on lessons
learned from the initial program. The public will then be able to access
a magnificent basilica, the largest in Israel. In the meantime,
visitors will be able to sit on the seating in the odeon – to be
completed in the coming months – and observe the work on the nearby
basilica.
Meanwhile, the new system of accessible paths being developed by the
Nature and Parks Authority and Ashkelon Municipality in the national
park aims to make the park’s unique nature, heritage and landscape more
readily available, thereby enhancing the visitor experience. The route,
about 2 km long, will go through the national park’s main sites,
including the world’s oldest arched Canaanite gate, the famous wells of
the ancient city, the basilica and the odeon, and the Crusader walls.
This chronological trail tracing Ashkelon’s history through the ages
will be clearly lined with content signage. A second trail will lead to
the ancient wall and Ashkelon’s dunes, providing a glimpse of the rich
flora and fauna to the south of the national park. Between the two
trails, in the center of the park, a new visitor center will illustrate
in an experiential interactive way the vibrant life of the port city and
its importance throughout the various periods.
According to Shaul Goldstein, CEO of the Israel Nature and Parks
Authority, “The Tel Ashkelon National Park combines a fascinating
antiquities site with unique natural resources characteristic of the
dunes in the coastal plain. It was the first national park to be
declared in Israel in the 1960s and since then, it has been constantly
evolving and renewing for the benefit of visitors from all over the
country. The unveiling of the basilica and odeon together with the
development, preservation and restoration work, which includes the
installation of pillars and ancient marble sculptures found in
excavations at the site, as well as the addition of new and accessible
trails around points of major interest will undoubtedly enhance visits
to the park and further emphasize its heritage and uniqueness. We are
grateful to our partners for providing tremendous support and guidance
in the national park’s development, including the generous assistance of
Mrs. Shelby White and the Leon Levy Foundation under the close
supervision of archaeologist Prof. Daniel Master.”
Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam says, “The Ashkelon National Park is one of
the most important ancient sites, both in Israel and in the world, and
time and time again it emerges as one of the most visited sites in the
country. The city takes great pride in it, investing resources and
funding in cooperation with the Nature and Parks Authority, encouraging
visitors by subsidizing entry for Ashkelon’s residents and promoting
educational and community initiatives. We have recently also finished
upgrading the entrance road to the park, which has been transformed to
give the park the dignity it deserves. I am convinced that the
restoration and conservation work in the park, the new archaeological
discoveries and the development work – including new accessible paths –
will contribute significantly to the park’s natural beauty and
strengthen its status as the most beautiful and well-kept national park
in Israel.”
Shelby White, founder of the Leon Levy Foundation, explains that the
conservation and restoration work was made possible, among other things,
thanks to its generous donation, “When Leon and I visited Ashkelon in
1985, we did not imagine that our ties with that ancient seaport would
last for over three decades. I am glad that the odeon, one of the many
archaeological discoveries made by the Leon Levy expedition, will now be
restored and the famous Roman sculptures of Ashkelon will be returned
to their original location. Thanks to this, visitors to the Ashkelon
National Park from Israel and around the world will be able to imagine
this great city in all its ancient glory.”
“The
basilica was founded by Herod the Great, and one historical source
suggests that his family came from the city of Ashkelon,” add Ganor, Dr.
Bar-Natan and Kobrin of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “During the
Roman Severan Dynasty, in the second and third centuries CE, the
building was renovated, marble architectural features were brought to
the site and a small theater was added. Herodian coins discovered in the
bedding of the structure’s ancient floors show that it was built at the
time of one of the greatest builders ever to have lived in the country.
The writings of the historian Josephus mention Herod’s construction in
the city of Ashkelon and list fountains, a bathhouse and colonnaded
halls. Today, based on the new archaeological evidence, we can
understand the origins of the historical record.”
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