Download PDF | (Agypten Und Altes Testament_ 89) Orit Tsuf - Ancient Jaffa from the Persian to the Byzantine Period_ Kaplan Excavations (1955-1981)-Zaphon (2018).
657 Pages
Editors’ Preface
It is with great pleasure that we present the latest volume in the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project series. We are grateful that Dr. Tsuf has accepted our invitation to include her publication within the series and thus to make available and more visible Jaffa’s contribution to the archaeology of Israel from prehistory to the Ottoman period, particularly the archaeological work of Jacob Kaplan. The work appears after the first volume in the series, The History and Archaeology of Jaffa I (Peilstécker and Burke 2011), which laid the groundwork for contextualizing renewed archaeological research in Jaffa.
That volume also provided an early glimpse into the potential for integrating Jaffa’s archaeology for addressing questions concerning the identity of Jaffa’s inhabitants during periods that are included within the scope of the present volume. There Tsuf describes the ceramic evidence for identifying a Jewish community in Jaffa during the Roman period (Tsuf 2011), an important step toward rectifying the limited data available on the subject to date (e.g., Kaplan 1964).
The work undertaken by Orit Tsuf represents an important first step toward the full publication of Jacob Kaplan’s and Haya Ritter-Kaplan’s excavations in Jaffa and its necropolis at Abu Kabir, all of which took place between 1955 and 1974. During these years the Kaplans, from their base at the Jaffa Museum of Antiquities, carried out extensive excavations in Jaffa (Peilstécker 2011). Excavations in areas A (1955-1958, 1970-1974) and C (1961, 1965) were largely research in nature, while excavations in other areas (B, D, F, G, H, Sounding X, and Y, as well as the Harbor) and at Abu Kabir were of a salvage nature during these years as Tel Aviv’s southern side gradually developed.
While the quality of these excavations and their records vary substantially (see Keimer 2011), the differences in results can be primarily attributed to improvements and developments within the discipline of archaeology as a whole that took place during the same decades. These changes are reflected in the assemblage of finds from the site, which reveals greater breadth and intensity of collection over the two decades during which excavations were conducted. This assemblage, as born out by the present volume, includes not only ceramic remains, but also wide range of other artifacts, as well as faunal and botanical remains, which were collected primarily from the late 1960s on.
Unfortunately, Jacob Kaplan’s work in Jaffa ended abruptly following the departure of the mayor of Tel Aviv, Yehoshua Rabinowitz, in the spring of 1974.' With no further access to the museum and finds, analysis of the finds and their contexts effectively ended. Many of the paper records from the excavations were evidently taken with Kaplan, which in 2000 were deposited with the Israel Antiquities Authority (Bar-Nathan 2002) and others surfaced in 2012 that were also added to this collection. Finds at the museum were cared for by museum staff and included the generation of an object registry during the early 1990s by Even Ordentlich.
This registry served as the starting point for accessing and assessing the collection and its numbering system (i.e., Reg. No.) is employed throughout this volume. It consisted largely of complete and restorable ceramics, as well as sherds of distinctive wares or types, and almost all of the artifacts excavated (excepting those occasionally overlooked within boxes filled with pottery). Thus, many ceramics that were not complete or restorable were not registered and have required the extension of the existing registration system or the generation of new ones in order to refer to them easily.
As this brief history of the excavations and the artifacts reveal, a number of factors prevent a fuller understanding and the most optimal conditions for publishing Kaplan’s findings, which Tsuf also notes. First, the location of artifacts and absence of others challenge fuller reconstructions of the assemblage. While most of the finds have remained either on display or in the storerooms of the Jaffa Museum of Antiquities since their excavation, some have not been located.
A notable example with respect to the present volume is the absence of a collection of Attic Black Glazed bowls that Kaplan mentions having recovered from Building M in Area A during the 1970s. Neither Tsuf nor JCHP staff succeeded in identifying the whereabouts of this assemblage, which were likely not insignificant given the importance of other finds that were similarly highlighted in Kaplan’s preliminary reports. Similarly, the records of the excavations are incomplete.
While early excavations, such as those in the Ramesses Gate of Area A took place during the late 1950s and do not appear to have used field notebooks, these appear for most later excavations by Jacob Kaplan, suggesting that other reasons probably account for missing notebooks for some seasons, in particular for some areas during the 1960s.
Furthermore, some records have been misplaced or may still be stored in unknown locations, despite extensive efforts to locate them. In the summer of 2012, for example, well after the research conducted for the present volume, more than 400 plans were found in a rooftop storage facility at Kaplans’ residence. These were mostly daily plans with robust notations from the Lion Temple excavations (1970-1974), but their sudden and surprising appearance serves as a reminder of how uncertain the extent of Kaplan’s record keeping is and the sense of what percentage of that collection has been accounted for.
Second, the condition of excavated remains and records following Jacob Kaplan’s excavations also impede straightforward reconstructions of contexts. Many metal artifacts, mudbrick samples, and other organic remains are severely decomposed after many years in the humid storerooms of the museum. Many of the primary documents from which contexts can be reconstructed, such as writing on boxes, have seriously degraded, making it sometimes impossible to be sure of artifact’s contexts. Such conditions also impede the reconstruction of contexts, which pose a third limitation on the use of the collection. Although for a great many if not most finds contexts can be reconstructed, many “branches” within the stratigraphic hierarchy cannot be fully associated with the excavation’s stratigraphy.
Artifacts from such “orphaned” contexts are thus only useful as markers of presence and absence of an artifact in Jaffa. Finally, limitations concerning data collection and recording conventions preclude certitude concerning contexts at times. Insufficient elevations—a frequent problem on excavations—are but one example of the challenge of re-situing artifacts and pottery buckets from these excavations. For early excavations, a lack of localized or daily top plans also challenge locating some finds and thus identifying their contexts. Limited photography during the 1950s likewise confines our understanding of the development of the excavation of certain contexts.
Despite these challenges, which are common to many unpublished, legacy archaeological datasets, a great deal can be done with the available materials. The present volume specifically highlights Jaffa’s archaeology from the Persian Period to the end of the Byzantine Period. The Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods are well reflected in Jaffa’s archaeological record both on the mound itself (Tel Yafo) and throughout the lower town from salvage excavations, which include both architecture and a robust assemblage of artifacts. Together they reveal the vicissitudes of Jaffa’s history as a port on the eastern Mediterranean that, despite its relatively small size, played an outsized role in connecting the central coast and highlands to the Mediterranean from its earliest history.
Since before the project’s inception in 2006 Orit Tsuf began consultations with Martin Peilstécker on a number of issues concerning the location, evaluation, analysis, preparation, and publication of the materials presented in this volume. Because Orit began this work before the project started, she faced the daunting task of locating, identifying, documenting, analyzing, and making sense of the materials that remained from Kaplan’s work.
The result was a realization that rebuilding the stratigraphy of the site was not realistically possible alongside the already considerable challenge of analyzing the artifact assemblage of Persian to Byzantine period finds. In consultation with the JCHP’s directors, the most reasonable course seemed to address the range of finds, particularly the best examples of types and those recovered from clear stratigraphic contexts, but to leave a more exhaustive effort to reconstruct Jaffa’s stratigraphic sequence as a separate project. Part of the stratigraphic analysis to be completed is being addressed by the publication of Bronze and Iron Age contexts underway by Burke and Peilstécker (see Burke 2011), as well as for the final publication of JCHP excavations in the Visitor’s Center (i.e., Area C) in 2008 and 2009 (see Burke et al 2014).
Without repeating the table of contents of this volume, it is perhaps important to underscore that a number of other excavated materials hold considerable potential for further shedding light on the artifacts and the Persian to Byzantine period contexts. The remaining studies have not been neglected, but will be published in future studies and contextualized insofar as possible.
Among these are some architectural elements, faunal remains (including fish bones and shells), a few botanical samples from Area A in the 1970s, chipped and ground stone artifacts, stamped jar handles.” Faunal remains are to be published by Ed Maher, fish bones by Omri Lernau, shell by Inbar Ktalav, and botanical remains by Andrea Orendi, chipped stone by Kobi Vardi, and stamped handles by Gérald Finkielsztejn. Sadly, residue analyses on previously excavated ceramics demonstrated no foreseeable utility, owing most likely to the fact that all ceramics were thoroughly cleaned after excavation.’
The present volume is an excellent example of the important role that the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications has played in bringing such archaeological corpora to press. This is all the more so given that a second grant was provided in 2009 to support the publication of Bronze and Iron Age remains by Burke and Peilstécker. By way of an extensive effort to digitize all of Kaplan’s records and document the assemblage, on more than a few occasions the later effort was able to supply additional artifacts and contextual information some of which were relevant and were, therefore, incorporated into the present study.
Additionally, institutional support from the University of California, Los Angeles and Johannes-Gutenberg Universitat, Mainz, which agreed to publish this volume, have also supported various aspects of this research. A number of JCHP staff also contributed to illustrations, photography, production of plans, and data entry including George Pierce, Kyle Keimer, Heidi Dodgen, Brett Kaufman, Martina Haase, and Krister Kowalski. We would like thank them for their assistance during this process.
Aaron A. Burke and Martin Peilstécker, Co-Directors The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project
Acknowledgement
My main thanks and appreciation are extended to the Israel Antiquities Authority TAA) which provided me with the opportunity of publishing the excavations of the late Jacob Kaplan in Jaffa and for their assistance in producing drawings and illustrations that efficiently supplement the current research. Special thanks are due to Uzi Dahari, Deputy Director, who has been involved in my work from its first stages.
I am also deeply grateful to Etty Brand, the IAA salvage excavator in Jaffa, who kindly allowed me to publish her unpublished excavations report; to Rivka Calderon, Martin Peilstécker and Peter Gendelman, for their advice and support throughout the process of researching and learning the material; to Yaron Klein (CEO) of the Old Jaffa Development Corporation, Tzvika Shacham of the Eretz Israel Museum and Naama Meirovitz (Director) of the Old Jaffa Museum who gave me access to the storage room located in that Museum.
I wish to thank the various researchers who were keen to share with me their knowledge: Gerald Finkielsztejn, Robert Kool, Yiftach Shalev, Orna Hilman, Mod Spear, Gay Stiebel, Kamil Sari, Sylvan Bouvais, and the late Alla Kushnir Stein.
Other individuals who gave me professional assistance include Baruch Brandel, Nurit Faig, Arieh Rochman-Halperin, and Silvia Krapiwko in the Archives of the IAA in Rockefeller Museum; Yael Barshak of the IAA Photograph Archives; and Ziva Simon and Rivka Calderon of the Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv.
At the end of the long and complicated process of editing and publishing the manuscript, I wish to express my deep and sincere appreciation to Aaron A. Burke and Martin Peilstécker of the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, Uzi Dahari, Deputy Director, Danny Syon of the Scientific Processing Branch and Gideon Avni, Director of IAA Excavations and Surveys. Thanks also to Rebbeca Toueg and Etan Ayalon for editing assistance, Sapir Ad for the drawing and editing of artifacts, Dov Porotsky for the illustrations, and to Anat Litan for photographing them.
Preface
The present investigation of Jaffa’s archaeological remains is based on Kaplan’s excavations, which were conducted from 1955 to 1974. The focus of the present research is the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine archaeological remains of the port city of Jaffa. The Abu Kabir cemetery of Jaffa is also discussed in the Appendix. The archaeological remains from the Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age will be studied in detail by Aaron Burke and Martin Peilstocker.
During their lifetime, the Kaplan couple published preliminary reports of the excavations. In addition, they published the most significant artifacts, with a direct or indirect connection to historical events (Kaplan 1980/1; Kaplan 1964a; Ritter Kaplan 1982). However, over the past century, several studies have been published. All of them dealt with the historical and political background of Jaffa during the time of the Hasmonean Wars and the Great Revolt. Most of them were based on written historical (Tolkowsky 1928; Radan 1988) and epigraphic sources (Applebaum 1985; Kindler 1954; Lupu 2003; Price 2003). At this point, before proceeding and conducting additional excavations and studies of the remains of Persian to Byzantine periods of Jaffa, it is essential to reconstruct the material culture framework as part of the historical background of the site.
Kaplan left behind an extremely rich assemblage of diverse finds. Some of the artifacts are on display in the Old Jaffa Museum.’ The overwhelming majority of the finds were, however, left in the storerooms of the Old Jaffa Museum awaiting final publication. To this day, no complete study has been undertaken of Jaffa’s archaeological remains that were excavated by Kaplan. The enormous quantity of objects and finds are of immeasurable importance and are the fundamental basis of the present research. The creation of a complete and comprehensive picture of Jaffa’s finds will provide a framework for a deeper understanding of the cultural background of Jaffa’s history. For example, the classification of the pottery assemblage and the identification of the “Judean Pottery” from the dwelling house in Area C enables an understanding of Jaffa’s Jewish inhabitants and their relations with Jerusalem during and after the destruction of the Second Temple (a full discussion is given in Tsuf 2011:271—290).
Under normal circumstances, namely, with the preservation of all documentation, it might have been possible to arrive at a vivid picture of Jaffa as a port city from the Persian to the Byzantine periods. Unfortunately, the surviving evidence and the available written documentation complicated the current study more than I had first anticipated. The finds are, indeed, diverse and plentiful. However, no written documentation of the most important and longest seasons of excavations has surfaced. For example, the documentation of the 1955 to 1958 excavation seasons in Area A as well as the 1961 season in Area C is limited in nature. Yet both were the main excavated areas and revealed the most significant discoveries in Jaffa.
In Area A these included Jaffa’s Late Bronze Age Egyptian fortress, the city gate, in addition to Persian and Hellenistic fortifications. In Area C the remains of a Roman period Jewish dwelling were discovered. For both areas, A and C, we lack the diaries and notebooks from the excavation seasons (except for the Area C 1965 diaries) and possess only a few sketches, preliminary area plans, and pottery bucket information. For this reason, after an initial examination of the materials, I realized that the crucial architectural features lacked clear and reliable documentation.
Because of this unfortunate situation, and in order to achieve the best results, I chose to redefine the approach to this project. My first goal was to reconstruct the stratigraphy of the areas according to the best available documentation. I soon realized that in order to avoid a recourse to speculation for the areas that lack critical documentation, I should divide the areas into two categories: areas that were documented in the diaries, and Areas A and C that lack documentation particularly in the diaries. Part I of the study presents a reconstruction of the architectural phasing, which has survived in the documentation in direct relation to the in situ finds, as well as a reconstruction of the two main excavation areas, A and C. The comparative discussions are based on the surviving documentation and finds that are presented in Part I and in the catalogues in Part II.
My second but no less important goal was to create a full picture of Jaffa’s material culture from the Persian to the Byzantine periods. Part II is devoted to the presentation of the complete corpus of Jaffa’s finds according to a combined chronological-typological approach. This part presents the material finds discovered in Jaffa during the Kaplan excavations (1955—1982) (see Table 1.1).
Recently more documents of Kaplan’s excavations in Jaffa and elsewhere were found. These documents, which include diaries, plans and illustrations, were found stored at his residence. Unfortunately, the new discoveries are not included in this work, since they were not available to me during the time this research was conducted. However, it encourages me to go on and continue my research in the future.
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