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During January–March 2005, three seasons of salvage excavations (Areas I and II) and during July–August 2005, another salvage excavation (Area III) were conducted at the Clock-Tower square in Yafo (Jaffa; Permit No. A-4312; map ref. NIG 17695–723/6624–27; OIG12695–723/1624–27), prior to renovations in the area and in continuation of the archaeological investigation of the flea-market compound ( HA-ESI 118; HA-ESI 120), whose completion required the excavation of three additional squares. The excavations, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by the Tel Aviv municipality (Ha-Mishlama Le-Yafo), were directed by M. Peilstöcker, with the assistance of L. Rauchberger, A. Glick, R. Haim (area supervision), E. Cohen, O. Burstein, R. Ben-Ezra (find registration), S. Ya’aqov-Jam (administration), V. Essman and V. Pirsky (surveying), T. Sagiv (field photography), Y. Nagar (physical anthropology), A. Peretz (conservation and preservation) and M. Ajami and D. Barkan (IAA Tel Aviv District). Additional assistance was provided by T. Shaham (director of the Jaffa Museum of Antiquities) and A. Yoseph, who worked with the late Y. Kaplan in Yafo and contributed important information about the former unpublished excavations in the area. |
The excavation was carried out according to a local grid in Areas I and II, which was re-established when resuming the excavation in Area III (Fig.1). In addition, three trenches (L799, L800, L801) were dug with mechanical equipment and later enlarged manually to the west of Area III. The excavations were restricted in several squares by water pipes and cables and in others, had to be suspended due to safety precautions. For the same reason, a distance from existing buildings, such as the Clock Tower itself, was maintained to avoid undermining their foundations. An additional obstacle was imposed by ultra-orthodox religious circles, whose pressure precluded the excavation of the tombs discovered in all areas. Work had stopped once a burial was identified and earlier archaeological remains could not be exposed.
The area of the Clock-Tower square, established in the beginning of the twentieth century CE, is northeast of Tell Jaffa. It is bordered on the west by the Ottoman police-station and the Mahmudiyyeh Mosque, built in the early nineteenth century CE by Abu Nabut. The New Saraya (governors palace), built at the end of the nineteenth century CE, borders the excavated area on the east. During the excavations, a local stratigraphic sequence was created (Table 1) and later, it was synchronized with the general stratigraphy of the eastern quarters of Jaffa (Table 2).
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Table 1. The local stratigraphy in the Clock-Tower Square
| General Stratigraphy/ Areas |
0 |
I |
II |
III |
IV |
V |
VI |
VII |
VIII |
IX |
X |
XI |
| I |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+* |
+ |
|
| II |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
|
|
| III |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
|
+* |
|
|
|
* Pottery only |
Table 2. General stratigraphy of the eastern quarters in Yafo
| Stratum |
Period |
Remarks |
| 0 |
Modern |
1948 and later |
| I |
Mandatory |
|
| II |
Ottoman |
|
| III |
Mamluk |
Tombs only |
| IV |
Crusader |
|
| V |
Early Islamic |
|
| VI |
Byzantine |
|
| VII |
Roman |
|
| VIII |
Hellenistic |
|
| IX |
Persian |
|
| X |
Iron Age |
|
| XI |
Lates Bronze Age |
Tombs only |
Since the excavated areas were shaped as long and narrow trenches, in most cases only parts of buildings and other features could be exposed. The following preliminary report summarizes the most important finds according to the archaeological strata, beginning with the earliest remains. |
Strata IX and X. Floors and pottery dating to Iron II were found 4.5 m below current surface in a small trial trench (Sq C4). Unfortunately, it was impossible to enlarge the excavated area due to safety problems. The discovery of such an early layer in this area raised questions about the size of Yafo in this period, which seems to have been larger than previously thought. Persian-period pottery was found in a layer that covered this stratum and in subsequent layers, indicating a presence in this area during the Persian period as well.
Stratum VIII. Pottery dating to the Hellenistic period was found in large amounts at various locations of the excavated area. However, only the final pottery analysis will show if a Hellenistic layer can be defined.
Stratum VII. At least two locations of the excavated area yielded stone formations that postdated the Hellenistic and earlier layers but predated the remains of Stratum VI. Due to restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs an excavation of these structures, presumably tombs, was impossible. Yet, it should be mentioned that in an unpublished excavation by J. Kaplan, tombs dating to that period were found in an area north of the Clock-Tower square.
Stratum VI. Large amounts of pottery dating to the Byzantine period were unearthed in Areas I and II. These could not be associated with any specific architectural elements, but point to activities in this period.
Stratum V. Remains dating to the Early Islamic period were found in all excavated areas. Parts of a structure in Area I were built in the terre-pisée technique, which is known from earlier excavations in the flea-market area ( HA-ESI 118) and the Ganor compound ( ESI 20:47*–49*). Although the plan of the structure was not complete, the walls seem to belong to a massive building, similar to those discovered previously in the flea-market and Ganor excavations.
Stratum IV. This layer can be divided into two phases. During the first phase, a street was prepared, oriented roughly north–south and flanked on both sides by buildings. The street was constructed from crushed kurkar sandstones and showed various repairs. In the second phase, several walls in and around the buildings were repaired or modified. The initial analysis of pottery finds indicates that the first phase can be attributed to the twelfth century CE and the second, to the thirteenth century CE.
Stratum III. Activities dating to the Mamluk period were restricted to burials, which in many cases had cut into the Crusader remains. The burials had a uniform east–west orientation. They all consisted of single burials in stone cists, covered with stone slabs. Building stones were sometimes reused in the construction of these tombs. The deceased were laid down with their head in the west, facing south in a typical Islamic manner. Only a limited number of burials were excavated because of strong opposition by Islamic circles that brought the excavation to a halt.
The excavations confirmed the observation that settlement had been much larger in the Iron Age than previously assumed. Although little can be said about the remains dating to this period, it seems that from the Iron Age onward the area was part of a lower town that existed, with a gap in the Roman Period, until the destruction at the end of the Crusader period. When the area was not settled, it served as a burial ground. The cemetery established first in the Mamluk period subsequently moved northward with the new growth of the city, in particular after the city walls went out of use in the last third of the nineteenth century CE.
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To view the figures, click on the figure caption
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