Archaeology of Roman Palestine - & Porter

8/13/2019 Archaeology of Roman Palestine - & Porter

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The Archaeology of Roman PalestineAuthor(s): Mark Alan Chancey and Adam Lowry Porter

Source: Near Eastern Archaeology, Vol. 64, No. 4 (Dec., 2001), pp. 164-203Published by: The American Schools of Oriental ResearchStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3210829.

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T he rchaeoogy oom

byMark A. Chanceyand AdamPorter

Herodium's fortress was built on top of a natural hill, which was raised by the addition of many tons of soil to create an artificial mound. Althoughstrongly fortified, the fortress included a garden and luxury apartments and thus was quite comfortable. Photo courtesy of Werner Braun.

T he Roman period in Palestine beganwhen heRomanGeneralompeyonqueredthe region in 63 BCE.According to Jose-phus, Pompey besieged the Temple n Jerusalem(Jewish ntiquities4.58-67). Afterbreaching tsnorthernwall,he subdued heJudeansandpulleddownJerusalem'sitywalls.There is no archaeo-logical evidence of this siege, but this is to beexpected,as Herodrebuilt heTemple see below),and it suffereda more protractedand damagingsiege in 70 CE.AftersecuringJerusalem,Pompey

removednon-Jewish erritoryromJerusalem'scontrol,restoring"Hippus,Scythopolis,Pella,Dium, Samaria,Marisa,Azotus,Jamneia,andArethusa .. to their own inhabitants."He alsorebuiltGadaraAnt 14.75).Again,there arenoarchitectural emains o corroborate osephus'description,ut he citiesof theDecapolisagroupof non-Jewish itiesin Transjordan)elebratedtheir"liberation"romHasmoneanontrol y niti-atinga new era,an inauguration eflectedin thedateson theircoins(Spijkerman978:15).164 NEAREASTERNARCHAEOLOGY4:4 (2001)


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Shortlythereafter, n 57 BCE,he Roman senate appointedGabinius,who had assistedPompey n the siege of Jerusalem,as governor of Syria (Ant 14.82). When Alexander, aHasmonean scion, rebelledagainstRome, Gabinius invadedJudea again. Alexander captured three fortresses-Alexandreion, Hyrcania, and Machaerus-which Gabiniusbesieged.Alexander sued forpeace, and Gabiniusdemolishedthe three fortresses.At Machaerus, he largecone of debrisonthe steeply sloping hill below the fortress providesarchaeologicalconfirmation of Gabinius' destruction (Corboand Loffreda 1981: fig. 6). Hyrcaniaand Alexandreion havebeen identified,but not excavated.Gabinius also reorganized the government of Judea: Hedevolved power from Jerusalem to five local synedria (or

The various buildings on the Masada mesa. The western palace (building:to the main gate and the location of the Roman siege ramp. The northern(buildings 10-16) is the most dramatic of Herod's projects, with three terrdown the northern tip of the mesa. From Netzer (1991: ill. 945). CourtesyExolorationSociety, Jerusalem.

DATINGThe Roman raofPalestines typicallyividedntothree eriods,heEarlyRoman,MiddleRoman,ndLateRomaneriods.heexact ates fthe ransitionsbetween hese threeperiodsaredebated,but thefollowinghronologicalarametersreoftenutilizedasgeneral uidelines.heEarlyRomaneriod eganwithPompey'sntrancento hecountrya. 63 BCEand endedwith the conclusion f the Bar Kokhba

councils), located in Jerusalem,Sepphoris,Adora,Jericho,andBetharamatha (Ant 14.91; Porter 1999). Perhaps as aconsequence, the cities remainedimportant partsof Herod'sgovernment and subsequent administrations. According toJosephus,Gabiniusalsorebuiltpartsof Samaria Ant 14.87-88,War 1.166). Excavations have revealed walls, streets, andinsulaereflectinga city grid system,whichprobablydates backto Gabinius' ime in the midfirstcenturyBCE.The most important political event in the second half ofthe first century BCEwas the Parthian invasion. In 40 BCE,the Parthians overran most of Syria and, perhapsbribed bythe Hasmonean, Antigonus, the Parthians nstalled him asruler of Judea. It is unlikely that the Parthians intended tohold Syria, but the invasion frightened the Romans andshaped their eastern policy for the nextcentury. The Parthians slew Herod'selder brother, Phasael, but Herodescaped, traveling to Rome. There, theSenate named him King of Judea andgave him the task of conquering hiskingdom. This took Herod until 37 BCE.

Vj\X \ There is no archaeological evidence ofYw \ k either the Parthian invasion of 40 BCEor( ~ofHerod'sconquest of his kingdom.It was only after Herod became kingand consolidated his authoritythat arch-aeological data began to supplement theliterary accounts of the period. Inparticular,Herod's enormous construc-tion program changed the face ofJerusalem and dramatically affectedJudea and Samaria, the central portionsof his kingdom. Our presentation of thearchaeological remains of Herod'sbuilding project will follow Richardson's3) sadjacent "educated guesses" (Richardson 1996:palace 197-202) about the sequence in whichaces stepping they were constructed.of the Israel

Revolt n 135 CE.The MiddleRomanperiod astedfrom 135 CE until ca. 250 CE. The Late Romanperiodextendedromthe mid-third enturyCEuntilthefirst half of thefourthcenturyCE. Thoughsomearchaeologistswould arguethat this latterperiodendedwith theearthquakehatshooktheregionca.363 CE,we consider he endof the Romanperiod324CE, when Constantine became RomanEmperor,inauguratinghanges hroughoutheempire.

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O , ulias City founded by Herod's sonsWhen Heroddied, hiswillbequeathedhiskingdom nthree partsto his sons. Thismapshows the regionaldivisions:Judea and Samariawent toArchelaus, the regions north and east of the Sea of Galilee were given to Philip,and Galilee and Perea were given to Antipas. The locations ofHerod's many building projects in Palestine are indicated on the map by a triangle. They are clustered around Jerusalem, Idumaea, andSamaria;there are relatively few in Galilee or Transjordan.Redrawn based on Aharoni and Avi-Yonah(2002: 165, fig. 223).

166 NEAREASTERN RCHAEOLOGY4:4 (2001)

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were located west of the court and to its south was thethrone room. The walls of the apartments were decoratedwith white plaster. One of the halls adjoining the throneroom had a large and richlycolored mosaic floor decoratedwith interlocking circles and a border of geometric andfloral designs. Archaeologists located the storerooms westof the apartments.Herodbuilt three smallerpalaceson Masada, ocated southand east of the westernpalace.Theirdesignwas similar o thatof the westernpalace: open courtyards urroundedbyassortedrooms. At least three columbaria may also be dated to thisearlyphaseof building,as can the swimmingpool at the southend of the plateauand the so-called "barracks" uilding.TheearlyHerodianbuildingsat Masadahave no apparentunifyingplan.Architecturally, hey resemble he HasmoneanpalacesatJericho,and Herodmayhave continued to employHasmoneanarchitects(Netzer 1993b).In addition to refortifying older strongholds, Herodsubstantiallyrenovated Hasmoneanpalacesat Jerichoand inJerusalem. Only foundations for the gigantic podium ofHerod's palace in Jerusalem have survived. Measuring anestimated 330 by 130 m (over 4 ha), the new buildingsurface rose 4 to 5 m higher than surrounding areas. Atabout the same time, builders erected three large towers-named Phasael, Mariamme, and Hippicus-north of thepalace. The lower part of one of these (traditionallyknownas David'sTower)is extant to a height of 19 m. Rectangularin shape (22.6 by 18.3 m at the base), this tower sits onbedrock and displays the characteristic Herodian masonry

style of largeashlars,with dressededges and roughlyfinishedfaces. All three towers were incorporatedinto the city wall;"David'sTower"has survived because it continued to playan important strategicrole in later fortifications of Jerusalem(Geva and Avigad 1993).Herod's first palace at Jericho was a large, rectangularbuilding(84 by 45 m), located south of WadiQelt. Pritchardexcavated the structure in 1951 and misidentified it as agymnasium.It had an open peristylecourtyard n the center,surroundedby roomsand a bathhouse. More recent analysissuggeststhat the design,which resembles"anintrovertedcityhouse," mayreflect Herod'spolitical insecurities duringtheearlypartof his reign(Netzer 1992).Herod built his second palace at Jericho shortly after hisHasmoneanmother-in-lawost hermajorsupporter,Cleopatra.Built north of WadiQelt, this palace incorporated lementsofthe older Hasmonean palace. Herod combined the "twin-pools" to create a single large pool (18 by 32 m; 2 m deep),surroundedby a large garden.East of this pool, he built the socalled "Eastwing"of the palace.Thiswinghad two levels. Thenorthern,upper evel added a second largecourtyard 28 by34m) to the palace, this one with a gardenin it, surroundedbycolonnades on three sides. The southern, lower levelincorporatedpartsof the olderHasmoneanpalace,includingapool, which Herod turned into a gardensurroundedby stoas.He also built a Roman-style bathhouse south of the lowergarden-pool.One interpreterregards he architectureof thispalaceas unimpressive, uggesting hat Herod'sarchitectswereconstrainedbythe older Hasmonean tructures Netzer 1993d).

Thisreconstruction f the TempleMountshows its impressive cale.Alongthe southernedge of the temple platformwas the RoyalStoa. Thedoubleandtriplegates led beneath the RoyalStoa to the court of the gentiles. Alongthe westernwall,Robinson's rch eadfrom the RoyalStoato a staircasedownto the street;Wilson'sarch ed to a bridgeto the uppercity,andWarren's ate led from the street into the Templecourt. At the northern nd of the Templeenclosure stands the Antonia ortress.Reconstructiony Dr.LeenRitmeyer.


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In additionto obliteratingthe memoryof the Hasmoneans,Herod bolstered his credentials with his Jewish subjects byrebuilding he significantreligioussites of Mamreand Hebronin his homeland of Idumaea. Perhapsmore significantly forHerod during the early part of his reign, these "hometown"building projects probably nriched his fellow Idumaeansandguaranteed heirsupport or his reign.At Mamre,an importantsite for the biblical patriarchsand matriarchs(e.g., Genesis13:18, 23:17, 25:9,and49:30),Herod erecteda large,unroofed,rectangularenclosure (49 by 65 m). Similarly,at Hebron, heerected a structure around the tomb of the patriarchs andmatriarchs Vincentand Mackay1923). Both these structuresemployedHerod'sdistinctive ashlarconstruction,with dressededgesandroughly inishedfaces.The Second PhaseIn the second decade of his rule,where Herod was firmly ncontrolof his kingdom,he undertook an enormousnumberofbuilding projects. These included majorendeavors, such as

buildingthe cities of Sebaste (started n 27 BCE)and CaesareaMaritima(22 BCE),rebuilding he JerusalemTemple(23 BCE),and constructing an enormous palace in Jerusalem.Simultaneously, Herod started building the two fortress-palaces of Herodium and Machaerus and made significantadditions o his palacesat Jerichoand Masada.Herod'splans for the Templewere ambitiousand were notcompleteduntil 64 CE,over a half-centuryafter his death in 4BCE. Herod expanded the size of the TempleMount, creatingan enormous platform, much of which survives to this day.Interestingly,ts walls do not form a properrectangle(the eastwall measures470 m, the north 315 m, the west 485 m, andthe south 280). Yettheyaregenuinelymassive-4.6 m thick-and, at their highest point, rise some 50 m above bedrock.They are dressed in the same Herodian style as found atHebron, Mamre,and David'sTower n Jerusalem.Josephus describes the structures Herod built on thisplatform (War 5.184-227). They included porticos on thenorth, east, and west sides and the Royal Stoa along itssouthern wall with a balustradeseparatingthe court of the Gentiles from the moresacredareas,the wallsof the innerTemple,the altar,and the sanctuarytself. Of these,virtually nothing remains, since theRomans destroyed the Temple in 70 CE.Evidence of this destructionemergedfromalong the base of the south wall duringMazar's 1967-1978 excavations: stone

debris,capitals,and friezes,probably romthe Royal Stoa (Ritmeyer and Ritmeyer1998;Geva andAvigad1993).Also foundalongthe southernwall wasalong, gradual staircase: This led to aplatform, from which a second staircasedescends,and from which two entrances-the Double Gate and the Triple Gate-provided access to the Temple precinctsthrough tunnels 14 m long. The DoubleGate possessed further elaboration, fourstone domes, resting on columns. Thedomes were decorated with geometricpatternsand floralmotifs.

Herod the Great founded Caesarea Maritimaon the site of the former Strato's Tower. Helaid out his new city on a rectangular grid

rEDWALL system, like typical Roman cities. The cityincluded other typically Roman features, suchas a theater, amphitheater, aqueduct, and afp;~ ~ temple of Roma and Augustus. The harbor,named "Sebastos" in honor of the emperor,was a technological marvel for its day,400 500 requiring extensive underwater construction.Courtesy of Kenneth G. Holum.NEAREASTERNARCHAEOLOGY4:4 (2001) 169

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Otherentrances to the Templeprecincts ncluded a staircaseat the western end of the RoyalStoa. Preservedonly as risersin the platform wall and known as Robinson's arch, thesupportonce extended 13m acrossa street,where t connectedto a large pier.The pier was 15 m long and 3.6 m wide andoriginally tood 17.5 m above the street. The pier supportedamonumental staircase,which led from the TyropoeonValleystreet to the RoyalStoa. The Tyropoeon treetwas 10 m wideand paved with large (2 to 4 m2) stone slabs. Beneath thestreetwas a largedrainup to 4 m deep. When excavated, thestreetwas covered with the rubblefrom the ashlarstorn fromthe walls of the TempleMountbythe Romandestruction.Herod built an enormouspalace south of the three towersadjacent to JaffaGate. Its platformmeasured 330 by 130 m.Little f anythingremainsof thispalace apart romsomepatchesof painted plaster.However archaeologists have uncoveredremnants of several private homes in the modern JewishQuarter.According o Josephus, hisarea,on the hill southwestof the TempleMount, was home to Jerusalem's lite, and thematerialunearthedthereby archaeologistsdemonstrates his.The so-called HerodianHouse occupiedan impressiveareaof200 m2. Itconsistedof a courtyardurrounded yrooms,a largestepped plasteredpool used as a ritualbath (ormiqveh),and abasin, perhapsfor foot washing. Artifacts discovered in thehouse, such as eastern terrasigillatawares and Italian wine-storage ars,add to the suppositionhat the housebelonged o awealthy amily Avigadand Geva 1993).In the "HerodianQuarter" everal residences survivedonlyas basements. The "PalatialMansion" was a large (600 m2)building, with a courtyard surrounded by rooms. Severalmiqvaoturnedup in the basement. The "BurntHouse" had asmallcourtyard, ourrooms,a kitchen, and a miqvehwith an'osar (for storing water for the miqveh).The "Burnt House"produced a large number of stone vessels, stone tables, andcooking pots. All the houses had plasteredwalls, decoratedwith frescoesemployingfloral or geometricpatterns.Mosaicsoften covered the floors. They boasted geometric or floralpatternsas decorations,but no animal or humanfigures.Theexcavators have suggestedthat this partof the city mayhavebeen home to many priestly families, who worked in theadjacentTemple,andcomprised he city's wealthyelite. Whilethe exact date of the constructionof these structures s unclear,theywere alldestroyedwhen the RomansconqueredJerusalemin 70 CE (Avigadand Geva 1993).Herod'sbuilding activities reached beyond the bordersofJudea. He founded two cities, Caesarea Maritima, on thecoast; and Sebaste,in Samaria.He named both of these citiesin honorof the emperorAugustus("Sebaste" eing the Greekequivalent to the Latin "Augustus"),and in each he built atemple to Augustus and the goddess Roma. He built a thirdtemple to the emperorat Panias,at the foot of Mt. Hermonin the Golan. The location of these templeswasprobablynotrandom. Herod placed all three in predominantlynon-Jewishareas, perhaps an implicit acknowledgement of thesensibilitiesof hisJewishsubjects.

Herod's ortresspalaceat Herodiumwas architecturallyophisticated,providingboth securityand comfort.FromNetzer(1993c: 619).Courtesy f the IsraelExploration ociety,Jerusalem.

Herod built Caesearea Maritima on the site of an earlierport,Strato'sTower.Josephus'sengthydescriptionof Herod'sefforts notes the presenceof the templeof the imperialcult, atheater, sewer system, an amphitheater, palaces, and otherpublic buildings, as well as an expanded harbor (Ant15.331-341; 16.136-141). Archaeological excavations haveproven that Josephuswas not exaggerating.The theater hasbeen excavated and restored, at least one palace has beenuncovered,the imprintof the amphitheaterremains,and thetemple platformhas been discovered.Underwaterexcavationscontinue to shed light on the sophisticated engineeringtechniques used to construct breakwaters and supportplatforms or the harbor,a technologicalmarvel of the day.Asin other Roman cities, the streets were laid out in a gridsystem.Initial construction lasted for over a decade, fromca.22-10 BCE (Holum and Raban 1993b; Holum 1993; Negev,Frovo,and Avi-Yonah1993;Raban1993).Herod founded Sebaste at the site of the ancient city ofSamariaafterAugustusceded it to himca. 30 BCE Ant 15.217,292-298; War1.403). Herod settled veteransthere,andpagansdwelt idebysidewithJewsand Samaritans.Archaeologistshaveuncovered remnants of the temple to Augustus and Roma,including a platform,monumental staircases,an altar,and afragmentof a huge statue (probablyof the emperorhimself).OtherHerodian eatures, ncludingwalls and two towers,havealso been found,and the earliestphaseof the stadiumbelongedto this period.Excavatorsalso uncovered the foundationsof atempleassociatedwith Kore,who was venerated n the city for



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Below the fortress,Herod laid out agiantentertainmentcomplex,whichincludeda giant pool and elaborategardens.Southeast of the gardens,Herod built a monumentalbuilding,J perhapsa mausoleum,and aprocessionalwayto its east. From( Netzer(1993c: 52). Courtesy f theIsraelExploration ociety,Jerusalem.

centuries,as four inscriptions,a statue,and her recurring image and symbolsV /y on city coins have made plain(Crowfoot et al. 1957; Crowfoot et' al. 1942; Reisner, Fisher, and Lyon1924; Purvis 1992; Avigad 1993)./ Herod's other constructionprojects included the fortress-palaces of Machaerus and Herodium.Machaerus is located some 30 kmsouthwest of Madaba, situated atopa hill with steeply-sloping sides,except for a saddle, connecting theperch with the ridge to the northeast.The Hasmoneans fortified the site,but Gabinius destroyed it. The

fortress-palace that Herod built at the sitemeasured ca. 110 m east-west and 60 mnorth-south. It was divided into two parts:The eastern part contained elements of abathhouse, paved with mosaics; the westernpart had a peristyle court (Piccirillo 1997).The site commanded an expansive view ofthe Dead Sea region.Herodium, located 12 km south ofJerusalem, was the site of Herod's victory in40, when he escaped from Jews whosupported the Parthians (Ant 14.359-360).To commemorate the victory, Herod built alarge palace-fortress. It was round, with the

The remainsof Herod'sthirdpalaceat Jericho.0 5 .~0 The foundations of theK=I m pillarsareclearlyvisible,as are the impressionsofthe pavingstones from=3 E the GreatHall.Planredrawn rom Netzer

M (7993d: 688). Courtesy f

courtesyof Zev Radovan.

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TheNorthernPalacecomplex,withits threeterracesdescendingthenorthern ip of Masada.Thepalacewas amplydecoratedinside,and affordedspectacularviews of theDead Sea. Photocourtesyof Garo Nolbondion.diameterof the outer wallmeasuring 62 m. Threesemi-circular owersexten-ded out from the outerwall;a fourthtower(ontheeast) wascompletelyround(measuring 18 m in dia-meter). The inside of thecircularpalaceis divided nhalf. The eastern half ofthe palace, adjacentto theround tower, possessed agarden (12.5 by 33 m),surroundedby columns onthe north, south, and west.Semicircularexedraeweresituated north andsouthofthe garden. The westernhalf of the circular palacecontained dwelling andservice rooms, as well as abathhouse and triclinium.All the walls wereprobablyplastered and paintedwith geometric patterns.Althoughhepalacewasbuilton a hill, Herod piled upan additional12 m of earthto create a large, artificialrampart Foerster1993).Northwestof the fortress-palace, Herod built amassive pleasure garden.The poolcomplexcenteredon a largeartificialp(x)l(46by 70 m and 3 m deep),with a circular sland n themiddle(13 m in diameter).The pool was surroundedbyornamental ardens 110by 145m). Porticos urrounded hegardenson the east, north,and west sides, and stairways n each corner (2.3 m wide) ledinto it. The southwest corner of the pool complex boastedHerod'slargestbathhouse.It is noteworthy hatJosephusdescribesHerodiumas Herod'sfinalrestingplace.Excavatorsave discovered nartificial venue

(350 m long and 30 m wide). At the westernend of the coursestood an elaboratebuilding(14 by 15m). The thicknessof thewallsof the building 3 m) suggest hat theysupported vaultedceiling and perhaps a pyramidalroof. This hall resembles atriclinium roma tombat Petra. t ispossible hat Herod's omb snearbyhough t has so fareludeddiscoveryNetzer 1993c).



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Allof Herod'spalaceswere lavishlydecorated.Thisphoto show the paintedplasterfromthelowestterraceat the NorthernPalace.The artistspaintedthe plasterto appearto be marble.Photocourtesyof D. Hopkins.

Finally, Herod took advantage of his firm control of hiskingdom to add to his palaces at Jericho and Masada. AtJericho, he built a third palace, consisting of a unifiedarchitecturalschema, with structureson both sides of WadiQelt, connectedbya bridge.The palaceon the northern ideofthe wadi had two large halls and two peristyle courts. Thelargesthall (19 by 29 m) was at the westernend of the palace.Itsfl(x)rwaspavedwith stone slabsand its wallsdecoratedwithfrescoes.Adjoining his hallwasa squareperistyle ourtyard19by 19m) witha garden n its center.Eastof thiscourtyardwasasecond courtyard 14 by 20 m), which also had a garden n itscenter. To its east was a T-shapedreceptionhall (8 by 13.5m)and to its north was the entrance to a six-room bathhouse.

A colonnade ran along most of the southernside the palace.Parallel o this colonnade,buton the southern side of Wadi Qelt, was thesunkengarden.Although this gardenhas notbeenexcavated, t appears o havebeen some2m below the surfaceof the surroundingand. Ithad colonnades on its eastern and westernends. Additionally,east of the sunkengarden,an enormouspoolwasdug (42 by90 m).The palacewasconstructedmostlyof mud-brick,on top of stone foundations.Sectionsofthe palacearemainlyRomanconcrete. All itswalls were covered with lime plaster anddecoratedwith geometricpanels and designs.The high quality construction of the palacepoints to the possibility that Herod had ateam of Roman architects and engineersassistinghis local experts.This was one of Herod's most dramaticpalaces, where visitors could enjoy views ofWadiQelt and the JordanValley,especially nthe winter time, when the climate was moretemperate han at his otherpalaces.At Masada, Herod built the breathtakingnorthernpalace. Built on three levels on thenorthern spur of the Masada plateau, itsupper terrace had a large semicircularbalcony, overlooking the lower two levels.South of the balcony was a hall, surroundedby living quarters. On the middle terrace,some 20 m below the upper terrace, twoconcentric walls were built. The outer wallwas 15.3 m in diameterand the inner wall 10m. Remains of columns have been foundbetween the two walls, suggesting that thewalls were foundations, supportingtwo ringsof columns, which were originally roofed, a kind of tholosstructure. South of this structure was the staircase to the

upperterraceand an entertainmenthall, decoratedwith fauxmarble. The lowest terrace is about 15 m below the middleterrace. Herod built supporting walls to create a squareplatform (17.6 by 17.6 m) and built a porticoed hall on it.The walls werepaintedwith geometricpatterns.The Northern Palacecomplexbecame the largeststructureon Masada and undoubtedly the most impressive, withdramatic views of the Dead Sea and the country north ofMasada.However,it was largelya ceremonial structure,usedforentertaining.It almostcompletelylacked service roomsorkitchens, and thus the Western Palace remained important.



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Herod substantiallyenlarged the WesternPalace uringhisperiodby adding a servicewing on its northeastand an administrativewingon its northwest.Infrastructure

Josephus and othercontemporarysourcesrarelymention Herod'sinfrastructurerojects,but theywereprobablynumerous.Archaeologists havenot foundevidenceof aHerodian roadsystem,althoughhe must haveThis ichly oloredmosaic,with ts builtroads connectinginterlockingirclesandborderedwith his major cities. Ingeometricandfloraldesigns,decorated contrast, archaeologythe floorof one of the hallsadjoininghe voluminously documentsthroneroomof Herod'snorthern alace Herod's attention toat Masada.Photo ourtesy f D.Hopkins. supplying water to hisnsupplyng water tohilsvarious construction

projects. Herod built a half dozen reservoirs in Jerusalem,including woin the Templeprecinct-the Poolof Israeland theSheepPool (bothnorthof the Templeprecinct)-the StruthionPool (at the Antonia Fortress), the Mamillah Pool andHezekiah'sPool (both near the JaffaGate), and the Birkates-Sultan (southwestof the city,neartheJaffagate). He alsobuiltSolomon'sPools,whichcollectedwater nearBethlehem,and a24 km long aqueduct to bring the water to Jerusalem(Richardson 1996:190). Archaeologists have found ampleevidence of Herod's efforts to provide water at his variousfortresses ndpalaces,manyof which have largegardens,pools,and bathhouses seeabove).AncillaryIssuesHow did Herod afford this construction? Some of hisprojects, such as the new port of Caesarea,doubtless raisedenormous amountsof tax revenue. But Herod also sought tomaximize revenue from his personal holdings. Support forthis comes fromthe sites of En Gedi, 'En Boqeq,andJericho.At all three locations, evidence has been found of industrialinstallations,designed to processdates, bitumen, and balsamfrom the Dead Sea region. Especially well preserved, themanufactory at (En Boqeq processed raw materials bycrushing, pressing, cooking, and grinding. Its installationswere not large:the small amounts of materials hey processedwere probably expensive perfumes, ointments, andpharmaceuticals.Since this area was crown land under theHasmoneans, Herod inherited it, and the revenue from itsproductsenriched him (Gichon 1997).

Archaeologicaldata also shed light on Herod'srelationshipto Judaism.Was he a "half-Jew"Ant 14.403)?Afterall, Herodbuilt templesto Augustusat Sebaste,CaesareaMaritima,andPanias (later renamed Caesarea Philippi). The numismaticevidence (see sidebar)shows that Herod first minted coins atSamaria, then later at Jerusalem (Meshorer 1982:11-30,235-38). The coins from Samaria are dated from40-37 BCE,when Herod was conquering his kingdom; his Hasmoneanrival, Antigonus, controlled Jerusalemand minted his owncoins there. Once HerodcapturedJerusalem,he beganto mintundatedcoins there. All Herod'scoins arebronzeandgenerallypoorly preserved; they are inscribed with "Herod King"(herodoubasileos)or abbreviations of the phrase. Apart fromone issue, which was decorated with an eagle, the coins onlyemploy inanimate images (such as vines, wreaths, ships, andanchors). Did Herod issue coins without portraiturebecausehe was personallyobservant of Jewish Law?Or did he do sobecause he fearedcausing unrest among his Jewish subjects?The decoration Herod employed in his private residencessuggests he former.For all Herod'sRomanizingendencies,hisprivate esidences-palacesat Masada, ericho,andHerodium-resemblethose of the upper city in Jerusalemin decoration.The frescoes and mosaics n all these residences are decoratedexclusivelywith plant motifs and geometricfigures.Nowheredid Herod decorate his private residences with figural art.Herod'sobservance of Jewishlaw was probablynot merelyapublicconvenience,but rathera matterof personalconviction.FortsIn addition to his majorbuildingprogram,Herod probablyerected a series of forts along his borders. Several sites insouthernJudea-Arad, Aroer,Beersheba,Tel Ira,and perhapsTelJudeideh-have remainsof fortresseson them, which theexcavators date to the Herodianperiod (Biran 1993, Herzog1993). The fortressesvariedin size and design.Arad's was 25by 50 m and had a courtyard surrounded on three sides byrooms (Aharoni 1993). The remains of Tel Judeideh clearlyshow tsmilitary ature.The oblongnaturalhill (235mby110m)was encircledby a 3.35 m thickwall, piercedwith gates in thecenter of the north, east, south and west sides. A cardoand adecumanus ividedthe area within the walls into fourquarters,with two headquarters uildings ocated at the junctureof thetwo main streets (Broshi1993).Other MajorForces:The NabateansHerod had reason to fortify the southern border of hiskingdom as the territory of the Nabateans lay across theborder.The Nabateanswere an Arab tribewho had establisheda trade networkstretchingfromGaza across the Negev desertand into modernSaudi Arabia.They carriedexpensive luxuryitems, such as spices and perfume, originating in India andChina, to be sold in Rome. Herod's relations with theNabateanswere not alwayspeaceful.Earlyon in Herod'sreign,Malchus,the kingof the Nabateans, supportedthe Parthiansand refused to aid Herod's flight to Rome (Ant 14.370-74;



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COINSA varietyof typesof coinagecirculated n RomanPalestine. Older Hasmonean bronze coins,particularlyhoseof Alexander annaeus(I03-76BCE),were usedandsaved orcenturies,with a fewspecimensappearingn coinhoards romas late asthe ourthcentury e. Herod he Greatandhissons,like heirHasmonean redecessors,lsominted oins,and onecan see in theimagesdepicted n theircoinstheongoing nterplay etween ewishandHellenisticvaluesin thefirstcenturyce. Herod,Antipas,andArchelaushonored heJewishprohibition f gravenimages by not depicting either their own or theRomanemperors' mages on their coins. Philip,AgrippaI, and AgrippaII, however, ollowed thepatternmore ypical fclientkings ndincluded ustson theircoins.ManyHerodian oinsdepict ymbolsacceptable oJewsandgentilesalike,suchas palmtreesandcornucopiae,whileothers, uchas thoseofPhilip,whose erritoryonsisted f theprimarilyon-JewishGolan,depict agan ymbols.DuringbothrevoltsagainstRome,Jewishrebelsissued heirownbronze ndsilver oins.Thecoinsofthe irstrevoltwereoriginalssues,while hoseof theBar Kokhbarevolt were Romancoins which hadbeen overstruck with new images. In contrast toHerodiancoinage, the revoltcoins bearHebrew,ratherthanGreek,inscriptions, ndmanyof theirimages appear to have specifically religioussignificance.Forexample,theJews' initialvictoryovertheRomansn the irstrevolt oincidedwiththeJewishFeastof theTaberacles,and a seriesof coinswas minteddepicting magesassociatedwith thatfeast,a lulav,myrtle, throg, nd willow.Mostof thecoins of thefirst revoltwere issued in the south,

thoughGamala, n theGolan,also minteda bronzeWar1.274-76). Later,when the Battle of Actium was fought(31 BCE),Herod was fortunate to be at war with Malchus,rather than opposing Octavian. He fought Malchus in theHauran,east of the Sea of Galilee, and lost (Ant 15.108120),but on another occasion led additional forces against theNabateans near Philadelphia and emerged victorious (Ant16.147; War1.380-85). Herod had a dispute with Obodas,Malchus' successor, regardingterritoryin the Hauran (Ant

Bar Kokhba coin. From Meshorer (1985: # 162). Courtesy ofHebrew University,Jerusalem.coinwith nscriptionsonoringerusalemndhopingfor "redemption." oinsof the Bar KokhbaRevoltbearsimilarmotifs,andsomeidentify heleaderoftheJewishorcesas Shimon.Bronze oins ssuedbyindividualitiesarecommonfinds throughout alestine ndtheTransjordan.heobversesof mostcivic coins bear the imageof theemperor hohadgrantedhecityminting ights.Thereversesypicallydepict magesof localsignificance.A mid-first-century CE coin of Ptolemais, forexample, epictsNeroplowingwithoxen,presumablyceremoniallyestablishing the boundaries of theRomancolonythere.Imagesof deitiesand templesarecommon.Coinsof Neapolis, or example,depictthetempleo ZeusonnearbyMt.Gerizim,while hoseof Panias ftendepict hecity'snamesake,Pan.People lsousedRoman-issuedoinage.Procuratorsandprefectsssued oins nJudea ora briefperiodnthe irstcentury,nd mperialoinage asturned pincontextsromallcenturies f Roman ule.Bythe endof the thirdcentury, he Romans' ilvercoinagehadbeenso debasedn value,it approachedheworthofcivicbronze oinage.At thispoint,theempire easedallowingities omint heir wncoinsand thusbecametheonlyminting uthorityMeshorer985, 1992).15.353) around 21 BCE.BanditsopposingHerodin Trachonitis(in the easternHauran)roseup around10 BCEand weregivenshelterby the Nabateans (Ant 16.271-73). Although none ofthese conflicts took place along the southern boundary ofHerod'skingdom, they mayhave promptedhim to build theforts foundbyarchaeologists.Several Nabatean sites have been identified in the Negev.Hellenistic pottery and coins fromHyrcanus (135-104 BCE)



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and/or Jannaeus (103-74 BCE) have been found at Elusa,Nessana, and Oboda (Negev 1977), placing the Nabateanoccupation f thesitebefore he Romanperiod.Whilethese sitesproduced no building remains that can dated firmlyto thistime, the earliestmomentsof the Romanperiodwitnessed thedevelopmentof the most familiarNabateansite, Petra.Petra,located 80 km south of the Dead Sea, was the mainNabateancity in the periodbefore 100CE. Itsperiodof greatestgrowth may have been from around 25 BCE o around 50 CE(Negev 1993), but the city flourishedlater as well. Petra wasthe site of an enormous necropolis, with over five hundredelaboratelycut tombs andfunerary monuments.Early esearchersBrinnowand von Domaszewski1904, 1905, 1909) iden-tified seven main typesoftombs and thought theycould trace the artisticdevelopment from onetype of tomb to another.However, if modernresearchershave correctlydated the majorityof thetombs o a seventy-five earperiod, it is unlikely thatthe tombs' developmentcould have adopted atypical pattern (i.e., fromsimple tombs to thoseemployingmore complexforms).The differences nthe tombs may havederived from the socio-economic status of theiroccupants Negev1993).Since few of the Petratombs have inscriptions,this is a difficultargumentto make. But at another ^Nabateansite, the townofEgra (modern MadainThis tomb, the KhaznetFara'un, prominentlyfeatured in "IndianaJones _:i''andthe LastCrusade,"sone of the most elaborateinPetra'snecropolis.It wasprobablydesigned andcarvedby artisans romAlexandria, ather han localcraftsmen,and mayhavebeen the tomb for KingAretasIV.Photocourtesyof D. Hopkins.

Saleh), located some 145 km southeast of Petra,roughlyhalfthe tombs do have inscriptions.The scholarswho studiedEgra(Jaussenand Savignac1909, 1914) identified three maintypesof tombfacades,each of which had two or three subtypes.Ofthe seventy-nine tombs they studied, thirty had datedinscriptions;there was no correlation between the differenttypes of tombs and the date of internment. But there was acorrelation between the elaborateness of the tomb and therank of the person interred. The most elaborate tombscontained the bodiesof high civic or militarymen (strategoirhipparchoi), hile the less elaboratetombs held the remainsof



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Seeia is located inthe northernpartof Nabatean erritory,nthe southernpartof modernSyria.It is the largestNabatean cultic site yetdiscovered,with a long viasacra, hreeterraces,and severaltemple structures.FromNegev (1977: 615, fig. 15).

KhirbetTannurs remote fromanysettlements,atop a mountain,south-east of the Dead Sea. It was the site of a Nabateantemple,notable for its size and the largequantityof sculptureat the siteFromNegev (1977: 606, fig. 13).

the less important men or wives and daughters of the elite.The least elaborate tombs sheltered women or partnershipsofmen and women (Negev 1977). If a similar pattern can bepostulatedforPetra,the most elaborate tombs-the Khazneh,ed-Deir,and the Corinthian Tomb-may have been those ofthe Nabateanroyalty,while the less elaborate tombsbelongedto less important ndividuals.In addition to the largenecropolis, Petra boasts impressiveremainsof a civic quarter.Builtin the valleyof WadiMusa,thecity grewupon eitherside of a colonnaded street. The dates ofthe variousmonuments in the city are uncertain, but furtherexcavations may rectify this problem. For example, theexcavations at the GreatTemplehave revealed threephasesofconstruction.The earliestphasedates from he lastquarter f thefirstcenturyBCE. secondphase ncludes he Temple's ompleterebuilding n the second half of the firstcenturyCE. The finalphase saw renovations in the period after 106 CE,when theNabateankingdomwasabsorbednto the RomanEmpire.One interesting eature at Petra s the absence of a domesticquarter.There is little evidence that Petra had a significantresidentpopulation. Perhaps he Nabateans,for much of theirhistory, eschewed houses and lived in tents (Negev 1977).Thus, they used Petraprimarily or sacred rites, but did nothave a largepermanent population. Support for this theorymaybe found at KhirbetTannur,a site southeast of the DeadSea. Located on an isolated hill and distant from anysettlement, the Nabateans built a large (36 by 47 m) templecomplex, probably during the first century CE. It had acourtyard,a templeenclosure,and an inner shrine.Unusuallylargequantitiesof bas reliefstatuary ound at the site included



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Tychesurroundedwith symbolsof the zodiac.The lack of localsettlement suggests a Nabatean cultural practice ofconstructing special-occasion sites-in this case an isolatedtemple, and in the case of Petra, the city's construction ofcaves as funerary tructures Negev 1977).The Nabateans not onlycontrolled Herod'ssouthernborder,but also the region to his east. They settled in the ancientterritoryof Moaband controlled the area east and north of theDecapolis (fordiscussionof the Decapolis,see below). Glueckfound much evidence of Nabatean occupation of Moab whenhe surveyedeastern Palestinein the 1930s (Glueck 1946 andcitations there). Unfortunately, ew sites have been excavated.There is also evidence that the Nabateans settled in theHauran,northeast of Herod'skingdomThe largestNabateancultic site aroseat Seeia, southeast ofKanawat(ancient Kanatha), againdistant fromsettlements.Ithad a processional way 300 m long leading to the sacredprecinct, which boasted three terraces,each encased in wallsformingcourtyards.The lowest of these was 200 by 30 m, witha small temple (13 by 8 m) towardsits southeast corner. Themiddle terrace was smaller (20 by 20 m) and had acorrespondingly small temple (8 by 8 m) in its northwestcorer. The highest terrace(25 by50 m) supporteda peristylecourt and temple (19 by 20 m). The inscriptional evidencesuggests that the Nabateans began the temple in 33 BCEandfinished t in 2 BCE.RomanRuleafter HerodWhen Herod died in 4 BCE,his kingdom was divided andslowly absorbed into the Roman Empire. Augustus placedthree of Herod's sons over parts of his kingdom. ArchaelusruledJudeaand Samaria;Antipas received Galilee and Perea(the Jewish region east of the Jordan River); and Philipgoverned the area east of the Sea of Galilee. But in 6 CE,Archaelus was deposed, and Rome took over Judea andSamaria, the most important part of Herod's kingdom.Herodian scions ruled Galilee and Perea until 44 CE, whenRomeassumedcontrolof these regions.The regionseast of theSea of Galilee continued to have a Jewishruler until the deathof Agrippa I, in the 90s CE.Evidenceof Romanpresencewas most visible at the coastalcities of CaesareaMaritimaand Ptolemais.CaesareaMaritimaservedasJudea'sadministrative enter after ts annexationas aRoman province in 6 CE,and soldiers and veterans were aconstant presence.A Latininscriptionrecords the dedicationof a temple to Tiberius by the prefect Pontius Pilate (Frova1993:274), the officialwho ordered he crucifixionof Jesus.Bythe mid first century CE,a Roman colony was established atPtolemais. One city coin depicted Nero plowing with an ox,presumably eremoniallyestablishing he colony'sboundaries.Romanlegionary tandards ormedthe backdropof this image,probablyreflecting the presence there of veterans (Meshorer1985). Unfortunately, ew remainsat Ptolemais have survivedfromthe Romanperiod.If the Romansdid not pursuebuildingprojects as vigorously as the Herodians, they did continue

construction (or allowed the Jews to) on the Temple inJerusalem,which wasnot complete until ca. 60 CE.And otherregions flourished, including Samaria, and the territoriescontrolledbyHerod'ssons:Galilee,Perea,and Trachonitis.The RomansgovernedSamaria,and it seems to have grownunder their administration. Surveys of the Samariancountryside have revealed that the population increasedthroughout he Romanperiod,aftera decline (in at least someareas) in the Hellenistic era (Dar 1986, 1992, 1993a; Zertal1993; Finkelstein1993). Surveyorshave discoveredhundredsof ruralsites, althoughthe differentiationbetween RomanandByzantinephasesof occupationis not alwaysclear.Agricultureprovided the livelihood of most Samarians.As elsewhere inPalestine,olives, grapes,and cerealswere the principal crops.Rock-cutoilpresseswerecommon hroughoutheregion.Intensivestudyof agricultural racticesandland-usepatternshas resultedn a clearerunderstandingf Samarianarm ifethanhas been achievedforfarm ife in otherregions(Dar1986).Thetypicaldwellingwas the courtyard ouse,a largeyardsurroundedbyother residential ndagriculturaluildings.Fieldtowersbeganappearingn greatnumbersn the Hellenisticperiod,andbytheRomanera,approximately200 dotted the Samarianandscape.Theirexactagriculturalunctionsareunclear,but theyappear ohave been associatedwith small land holdings. Most of thesetowerswent out of use in the firstand second centuriesCE.Thisphenomenon, combinedwith the shrinkingsize of the typicalcourtyardhouse throughoutthe Roman andByzantineperiod,mayreflectthe declining ortunesof smallfamily armsand theirgradual eplacement y larger states.Severalruralsites have been excavated. The town of UmmRihan covered 36-40 ha and consisted of approximatelyahundred houses, a roadsystem, and a Roman bathhouse. ALatin inscription there signals the presence of a publicbuilding.At Qedumim,archaeologistshave discoveredseveralbuildingsand six ritualbaths, some fromthe first century CE(Magen 1993). At Qasr el-Lejah, excavators have cleared alarge,nearlyintact farmhousewith walls rising2-3 meters insome places. Several rooms may have functioned as housingfor farmhands, suggesting that the owner was somewhatwealthy. Dating originally to the Hellenistic period, thefarmhousewent out of use in the firstcenturyCE(Dar 1986).The buildingprojectsof Herod's sons created majorurbancenters in Galilee, Golan, and Perea. Antipas continued hisfather's tradition of building cities. Whereas his father hadneglected Galilee, however, Antipas devoted considerableattention to Sepphoris, located midwaybetween the Sea ofGalilee and the MediterraneanSea. Moreover,he sponsoredthe erectionof a new city,Tiberias,on the westernshore of theSea of Galilee. These two cities became the dominant urbancenters of Romanand ByzantineGalilee.Of the two cities, Sepphoris is the more extensivelyexcavated. Remains of the pre-Roman city are relativelysparse, consisting primarily of scattered architecturalfragments,a Persian hytonandinscription,ceramicfragments,and the walls of an apparentHellenistic-era fortress(Meyers,

178 NEAREASTERNARCHAEOLOGY4:4 (2001)


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Aninscription t Caesarea Maritima ecords he dedicationof atemple to the emperorTiberiasby PontiusPilate,who served asprefectof the provinceJudeafrom 26 to 36 CE.PhotocourtesyofKennethG. Holum.

Meyers,and Hoglund, 1997). According toJosephus,Varusrazedthe city in the chaoticuprisingsthat followed the death of Herodthe Great in ca. 4 BCE, hough to date,archaeologistshave found no evidence of amassive destruction layerfrom this period.Antipas rebuilt the city as the "ornamentofGalilee" (Ant 18.27), and his constructionefforts marked he beginningof a long periodof expansion.Pavedstreets and insulaein the_^^ f ~area of the acropolisprobablydate to the reignof Antipasor soon thereafter.Ritualbaths and

rY ~ fragments of stone vessels found near theacropolisattest to the city's predominantlyJewishcharacter (Chanceyand Meyers2000; Chancey 2001,2002). As the area aroundthe city'ssummitbecamemoreand more densely settled, the city expanded onto aplateau to the east. Evidence of a gridsystemthere|k signals the involvement of city planners in at

^lim,, least some of this expansion (McColloughandEdwards 1997). The foundations of a largebasilical building on the eastern plateau^^~F ~probably date to thisperiod.FirstcenturyCESepphoris s sometimescited as

~r ~an exampleof the Greco-Roman city, but most ofthe pertinent data for this characterizationdates tolater centuries.With the exceptionof those on its revolt-era coins, no first century Greek inscriptions have beenpublished rom the city.While the constructionof Sepphoris'stheater, which seated 4500-5000 spectators, has sometimesbeen attributedto Antipas (Waterman1937; Strange 1992),this dating is hotly contested, with a majorityof excavatorsarguing for a late first- or early second-century CEorigin(Meyers and Meyers 1997; Weiss and Netzer 1996). Thetheater's date of construction will remaindisputed until theceramic inds fromsoundingsunderneath t arepublished.In contrast to Sepphoris, Tiberias was an entirely newfoundation.Antipasbuiltit in ca. 20 CE,named it afteremperorTiberius,and designated it as the capital of Galilee. Findingoccupants for this new capital proved no easy task, as itslocationon topof old gravesmade t unattractiveo the region'sJewishmajority,who regardedsuch areas as rituallyunclean.Antipasultimatelyhad to resortto force to find inhabitants orthe city,compellingGalileansas well as poor people from"anyand allplacesoforigin" nd slavesto settle there(Ant 18.36-38).Most of ancientTiberias emainsunderneath he modernresortcity,but the site has produceda few remnantsfrom the first-centuryCE ity, ncludinga gatecomplex,made of basaltstonesand flankedbytwo roundtowers,a pavedroad,andevidence ofThe farmat Qasrel-Lejahnear UmmRihans the one of the largestfarmestates inSamaria.The variouswingsof the estate, withroomsfor workersandprocessingcrops,were arrangedarounda centralcourtyard.FromDor(1993o, 4: 1315). Courtesy f the IsraelExplorationociety,Jerusalem.

NEAREASTERNARCHAEOLOGY4:4 (2001) 179

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Theoriginof the theater atSepphoris s hotlydebated.Was t constructedby HerodAntipasinhis renovations f the city?Or,does it dateto the late firstorearlysecond centuryCE, tspresence perhapsattributedo increasingRoman ultural nfluencenthe wake of the firstrevolt?Similarly,he type of entertainmentavailable here remainsuncertain,whetherclassicalplaysor animal hows and mimes.Some NewTestament cholars,preferringheearlydatingof the structure,haveargued hatit providesanexampleof the extent ofHellenismnJesus' Galilee.FromWeiss 1999:fig. 15). Courtesy f GobiLaron.the city's drainage system (Hirschfeld1993, 1997; Foerster 1993). Inscriptionson two first century CE lead weightsidentifiedTiberiasagoranomoi, r marketofficials, and attest to the use of Greek(Qedar 1986-1987).Despite popular and scholarlymisconceptions, Galilee in the EarlyRomanperiodwasoverwhelminglyewish.The archaeological ecordsof several sitespreserve evidence of Jewish practices,such as the use of limestone vessels andritual baths for purity concerns and thepracticeof secondaryburial. In contrast,evidence of pagan cultic practices isrelatively rare, especially in the region'sinterior (Chancey 2002). Predominantlypagan areas encircled Galilee, however,and the distances between some Galileanvillages and pagan cities such as Tyre,Sidon, Caesarea Maritima,and Caesarea Philippi were notgreat. Indeed, the pagan site of Scythopolis lay west of theJordanRiver,on the southernborderof geographicalGalilee.Aside fromSepphoris and Tiberias,perhapsthe two best-knownGalilean sites fromthis time periodare Nazareth andCapernaum, amous for their associationwith the ministryofJesus. Numerous tombs have been found at Nazareth,demarcatinghe boundariesof the ancient village.Excavationsunderneaththe Church of the Annunciationand the Churchof St. Josephhave revealedchambers,tunnels, cavities, pits,cisterns,oil presses,andgranaries, ll indicatorsof the village'sagricultural ctivity(Bagatti1969).Capernaum,like other villages on the Sea of Galilee, wasdevoted primarilyo fishing.Its streetswerelaid out on a gridsystem,and its houses weregrouped nto insulae.Capernaum'swell-known Byzantine (fourth-fifth century CE) limestonesynagogue sits atop the remainsof a first-century CEbasaltbuilding, which may also have been a synagogue (Loffreda1993, 1997;Corbo 1992). A house near this synagogue,datedto the Late Hellenistic or Early Roman period, has beenassociatedwithJesus'disciple,Peter.The house underwentan

unusualamount of renovation-plasteringof ceiling,walls,andfloor-in the firstcenturyCE,perhaps uggestingts importance.The fourthcenturywitnessedadditionalrenovations,and theselaterwallsbeardozensof Christiangraffiti, ncluding wo whichthe excavators interpret as the name "Peter."An octagonalchurch rose over the house in the fifth century,and Christianpilgrims eportvisitingthe house of St. Peter.Basedon this cumulativeevidence, excavatorshave arguedthat the house had belongedto Peterin the earlyfirstcenturyCE.Whether Peterever actually lived there is impossible todetermine, of course, and later traditionsmaybe just that-traditions,ratherthan actual historical recollectionsof wherePeter lived. Even more difficult to prove is the excavators'assertion that the house had been a first century CEJewishChristianhouse church (Corbo1968, 1969), a suggestionthathas been greetedwithskepticism Taylor1989/90).Agriculturendfishingwerenot whollyresponsibleorGalilee'seconomic activity.Shihin, a villagewithin sight of Sepphoris,producedhemajorityfGalilee'storagears Strange,Groh,andLongstaff 994).KefarHananyah,on the borderbetweenUpperand LowerGalilee,wasthe chiefproducer f a varietyof formsof



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TheJewishritualbath,or mikveh,was used to remove ritual mpurity.Itconsisted of a stepped,plasteredpool cut into bedrock.Toremove mpurity,ne descendedthe steps and immersedoneself inthe bath'swater.Thepresenceofthese baths at an archaeologicalsite is clearevidence of Jewishhabitation.A smallwell-preservedplastered pool with three stepswas unearthed nthe northeastcornerof room4 at lotapata(Yodefat), kmnorth of Sepphoris.FromAdon-Bayewitz nd Aviam(1997: 151, fin. 21).

tableware throughout the Roman andEarly Byzantine periods. Its marketincluded not only Galilee, but extendedinto the Golan, the Decapolis, to thecoast, and south into the Beth She'anValley (Adan-Bayewitz 993).Just as Agrippa developed Galilee'surban centers and economy, so did hisbrotherPhilip develop the Golan. Philipreceived Panias at his father'sdeath, andAgrippa II after him. The city changednames several times in the first centuryCE, but in each case, the new namecontinued the tradition of honoring theemperor. Philip dubbed it CaesareaPhilippi, thus honoring himself as well,and numismatic evidence shows thatAgrippa II renamed the city Neronia.After Nero's death, the city was calledCaesarea Panias. City coins minted byAgrippa II in 85/86 and 86/87 CE bearLatin inscriptions, the first Herodiancoins to do so (Meshorer1982).Excavations of Panias have recentlyuncovered a 400 foot long palatialcomplex, consisting of various chambersand courtyardsas well as a basilicalhall,probablydatingto the reignof AgrippaII(Wilsonand Tzaferis),thoughsome havesuggested that it was built by Herod theGreat (Ma'oz 1993). Builders stronglyfortifiedthe complex, which was locatedin the center of the city with towersandgates. Thick walls (more than 1 m)probablyaccommodated a second story.

c 1?4

c,.. .j..

KefarHananyahWare.KefarHananyahwas locatedon the borderbetween LowerGalileeandUpperGalilee.Itproduced he majority f tableware or Galileeandexporteditspotteryinto the surrounding egionsas well.Courtesy f ZevRadovan.


"'.A. . - I_1


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Marblefacingsand moldingson the walls,marblefloors,andmosaics utilizing multi-colored tesseraeadorned a lavishlydecoratedpalace.Hypocaustbricksshow that the buildingwaslaterconverted nto a bathhouse(WilsonandTzaferis1998).The Golan in the EarlyRomanperiod s lesswell understoodthan the Galilee. Severalsynthesesof archaeologicaldata fromthe regionhave appeared n recentyears (Urman1979, 1985;Greggand Urman 1996), but most of these datahail fromtheByzantineand laterperiods,with Roman datarelatively parse.SurveysdiscoveredEarlyRoman sherdsat 143 sites,but only afew of thesesitespossessed xtensiveEarlyRomanarchitecturalremains (Ma'oz 1993). This is not to say that the regionwaswholly uninhabitedin the EarlyRomanperiod.The primarycitywasPanias,which seems to havegrown hroughout he firstcentury CE.Mt. Hermon continued to be regardedas sacredspace,as shownbythe numerouscultic sites foundon its slopesand environs. Settlers also settled the area near the Sea ofGalilee. Gamala and Bethsaida have yielded extensive EarlyRomanremains.The Decapoliscityof Hipposwas also clearlyoccupiedat this time,thoughmost of its ruinsareByzantine.Excavators laimto have founda firstcenturypagan templeat Bethsaida-Julia,a fishing village located at et-Tell,on theborder of Galilee and the Golan (Strickert 1998; Arav andFreund 1995, 1999). They suggest that a large, columnedrectangular building had the typical layout of a temple: apronaos, aos,andopisthodomousbackroom).Philip's enamingof Bethsaida asJulia-probably in honor of Augustus'swife,Livia Julia-marked the association of the city with theimperial family.Consequently, excavators believe that thestructureis a temple of the imperialcult. Direct evidence ofpagan worship-cultic objects, an altar, dedicatoryinscriptions-is lacking, thougha bronze ncense shovel and aclay figurineof a woman with curled hair (LiviaJulia?)havebeen found.Assessmentof the identificationwillhave to awaitfullerpublicationof the data, and deal as well withJosephus'sfailure o refer o anysucha templeat Bethsaida-Julias.Farthersouth stood the Jewishsettlement of Gamala (Fine1997; Gutman 1993; Syon 1992/93). As at other sites in thevicinityof the Sea of Galilee,the primary uildingmaterial orits streets, houses, city walls,and agriculturalnstallationswasbasalt. While Gamalaowes its fame to Josephus'account of itssiege by the Romans, its synagogueis by far its most famousbuilding.Datingto the firstcenturyBCEor the firstcenturyCE,it is one of the three earliestsynagoguesn Palestine.Fragmentsof stone vessels (the onlysuch fragmentsdiscovered hus far nthe Golan) and three miqvaot(one dating back to the firstcentury BCE)demonstrate that at least some of Gamala'sinhabitants oncerned hemselveswith ritualpurity.TelAnafa, located 10-12 kmnorth of LakeHuleh, probablylay within the borders of Philip'skingdom.It is a distinctive,even anomalous, ite for northernPalestine,and the names forits two ancient settlementsare unknown.The site's Hellenisticcommunity yielded an extraordinary assemblage of luxuryitems, includingornate cast glassvessels,gems,and fine waresaswell as a lavishlydecoratedstuccoedbuilding.Thisunusually

The Bethsaida"Temple."Excavators t Bethsaida,on the north-eastern shoreof the Sea of Galilee,claim o havefound a first-century emple of the Roman mperial ult.Theyclaim hat it has atypical emple plan,with a pronaos,noos, andopistodomous backroom).Whetherotherarchaeologistswillaccept this identificationremains o be seen. FromStrickert1998: 104).wealthy community had begun to decline in the early firstcentury BCE,and by 75 BCE its abandonment was complete,perhaps due to the flight of its pagan population after theincorporation of the area into the Hasmonean kingdom.Around the turn of the millennium,Tel Anafa hosted an EarlyRomancommunity hat had little in commonwith the previoussettlement. Its eleven buildingsweresimpler n designthan theelegant Late Hellenistic structures. Whereas the previoussettlement'sceramicrepertoirehadcontainedlargenumbersofimports and unusual forms, the Roman settlement usedcommon ware produced at the Galilean village, KefarHananyah. The presence of pig bones suggests that theinhabitants'diet was not kosher,and a numberof locallymadeItalian-stylepans suggest that they mayhave enjoyedRomancuisine. Indeed, the rarityof this latter ceramic form-it istypicallyfound only at sites with Romanoccupants-has ledthe excavatorsto suggestthat Romans or Italians dwelt at TelAnafa,thoughthe originor purposeof such a presencethereisunclear.In the mid firstcenturyCE,this settlement, too, wasabandonedfor unknown reasons (Herbert 1994, 1997; Slane1997;Berlin1997).



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Thesynagogue at Gamala s one of the three oldest in Palestine.Bencheswallsprovidedseating, and the columns n its corners boasted a heart-shaThe Romansdestroyedthis synagogue, alongwith the rest of the city, ntDrawinq rom Gutmann 1993, 2: 460). Photocourtesyof D.Hopkins.

In contrast to the population of nearby Galilee, Golan'spopulationin the EarlyRomanperiodconsisted of a majorityof pagansand a sizeableJewishminority.The Jewishpresenceprobablydated back to the mid second centuryBCE, nd mostlikely increased after the Hasmoneanconquest of the regionduringthe reignof AlexanderJannaeus.Itureanswereamongthe earliest settlers in this period, having also arrivedin themid second century BCE,and ceramic evidence at numeroussites demonstrates that they continued to live there in theRoman Period.Their settlements were concentrated aroundMt. Hermon but extended to the southernpartsof the Golanas well (Ma'oz 1993b). The Nabateans alsopushednorth,butthe extent of their settlementin the Golanis unclear.

In addition to the Herodianconstructions,there is evidence that the Nabateanscontinued to build. Perhaps the mostimportant event in this period of Nabateanhistory was the transfer of its capital fromPetra to Bosra. This move was probablyprompted by a shift in Nabatean economic"'~ ~patterns from trade to farming and animal" husbandry; the earlier settlement of theNabateans in Moab also reflected this shift.'^, ~Bostra has not been excavated,but surveyorsy~H ~ have identified n the westernpartsof the citya regularlyplannedRomancity.While in theeast, the city plan is morechaotic, suggesting~RA ~ to some that it may be the older Nabatean?~^ ~ capital (Segal 1989), it is possible that theNabateans employed an orthogonal planwhen building their cities as well. The shift

from trade to farmingbecamecompletewhenRome annexedthe Nabateankingdom n 106CE,as discussedbelow.alongtheipeddesign. The Revolt against Romehe firstrevolt. It has been said that archaeologists likenatural disasters, since events that destroycities leave more remains than do gradual- . .ransformations arising from continual: ^:.- occupation. But in lieu of a natural disaster,. devastating war can destroycities and leave:"~i~-: lots of remains for the archaeologistto study.: This is certainly true of the Great Revolt

" against Rome, which started in 66 CEand,although mainly concluded by 70, whenJerusalem fell, produced sporadic fightinguntil 73, when RomecapturedMasada.The initial Roman campaignsoccurred inGalilee and adjacentpartsof the Golan, andmilitary activities are visible in thearchaeological ecordsof severalsites.Though~.~ ? Gamalainitally remainedloyal to AgrippaIIin the Jewish Revolt, it ultimately chose torebel. Wartime coins unique to the city bearthe Hebrew inscription "for the redemption of H[oly]Jerusalem" Syon 1992/93). The town, surroundedby steepravines,repelledassaultsby the loyalistforces of Agrippabutcould not withstand he protracted iege by Romantroopsthatfollowed.Josephusdescribed he battle in epic terms: o escapecapture, "multitudesplunged headlong with their wives andchildren into the ravine which had been excavated to a vast

depth beneath the citadel" (War4.80). The Romanbreach ofthe wallbythe synagogues still visibletoday,and fortresswalls,remains of towers,pieces of armor,arrowheads,sling stones,ballistastones, and traces of fire attest to the ferocity of thesiege.The site was abandonedafter the Revolt and apparentlywas not reoccupieduntil the fourthcenturyCE.



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LAMPSOil ampsre ommoninds texcavationsfRoman-era settlements. They appear in a variety of

archaeologicalontexts,uchas domesticpace, hops,burials,ynagogues,ndasfoundationeposits. hevastmajorityeremade f clay, hough lass,metal,and toneamps ave lsobeenound.Oneofthemore ommonlyiscoveredampsortheearlypartof the Romanperiod s the so-called"Herodian lamp,"whichappears t sitesall overPalestine.Thewide distribution ofthese ampssprobablya result of their rel-atively easy manu-facturing process. IncontrastomostRomanlamps,whichwerecastwith molds, pottersthrew the Herodianlampson wheels,andpared off the excessclaywith a knife.The

Left:Discuslampwith helios motif.RighFromNogyet o. (1996: 221-22, nos. 1AntiquitiesAuthority.resultingamp onsistedof a roundbodyand aspatulated nozzle. Decoration of these lamps, ifpresentat all, was simple, consistingof geometricpatterns,ines,or roulettes.While he Herodianamp snearlyubiquitous,therlamp types are more associated with certaingeographicalreas.Forexample,ertainmoldedamps,similar in shapeto the Herodianlamps,arefoundprimarilynJudea ndsouthern alestine. his"Judeanmolded amp"displaysa greaterrangeof decorativeAt Jotapata (Yodefat),the Jewishresidents utilized earlierHellenistic fortifications and supplemented them withadditional arthworks nd walls.The Romansbesieged he townduring he firstrevolt,and it was after his unsuccessfuldefenseof thiscitythatJosephus urrenderedo the Romans.The townwastotally destroyedby the Romans,thougha new settlementsprang up afterwardson a nearbyplateau. Excavations haverecoveredarrowheads rom ronbows,ballistastones, a rollingstone, the shaft of an iron spear,and portionsof a siege rampfromthe battle (Adan BayewitzandAviam1997).

motifs han he Herodianamps,depictinguch magesas a basketora bird-trap. imilarly,he "Samaritanlamp,"witha roundbodyand a widenozzle, is, ofcourse, rimarilyssociated ithSamarianites.In the Middleand LateRomanperiods,especially,peopleuseda variety f typesof lamps.Manyof theseconsisted f a smallnozzleattached o a roundbodywith a centraldiscus.Theselampsstand outfor thedecorationsoundon many of theircentraldiscuses.Mythological characters, such as Pan or Helios,animals, such asdolphinsor lions,geometricnd loralmotifs,and erotic?: D'. iscenes adornthese

15". 117) Csolamps. In the LateRoman period,especially, istinctlyaritcns in Jewish symbols,suchas themenorahor theshofar, ccuronsome amps.Oil lamps ontinueIt:Discus amp ragmentwith menorah. to shedlighton a15, 117). Courtesyf the Israel nnumber faspectsoflife nantiquity.Manufacturingtechniquesidunderstandingncient echnologicaladvances.Lamp hapes nddecorationslluminateartisticdevelopmentsn theregion. Symbols, nparticular,ttest otheongoingnteractionfGreco-Roman nd ocalcultures.Distributionatterns fparticularypesof lamps eveal radeconnections.Lampshusprovidehearchaeologistith nvaluabledataon a varietyfissuesLapp 997).

Sepphoris,perhapsrememberingts fate in the Varusrevolt,chose not to join in the Jewish uprising against Rome. Thischoice did not safeguardt fromviolence, however.Accordingto Josephus, it suffered several attacks due to intra-Jewishrivalriesand urban-rural tensions (e.g., War2.574; Life82,111,373-380). Topreserve ts safety, he city admitted Romangarrisons (War 2.511, 3.31; Life 394, 411), and its coinsadvertised its pro-Romanposition. Twoissues, minted ca. 68CE, bore the inscription, "Under Vespasian, Eireonopolis-Neronias-Sepphoris,"an inscriptionthat honoredthe general

184 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 64:4 (2001)


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Vespasian, the emperorNero, and proclaimedthecity "the city of peace"(eironopolis). At somepoint, the city's earlierfortifications were filled inand served as a plaza forsubsequentconstruction.Ifthis action dates to theRevolt, it maysymbolicallyreflect the city's decisionnot to resist the Romans(Meyers1999).According to Josephus,the Samarians lso revoltedagainst Rome, but there islittlearchaeologicalvidenceof militaryactivitiesin thisterritory,withthe exceptionof a Romansiege systematKhirbet el-Hammam thatmay date to the Revolt(Zertal 995).Similarly, osephusnotedRomancampaignsn Perea(War4.413-439), the coastalplain,and Idumea(War4.111 118), but there is little archaeologicalevidence to corroboratehis narrative.There is archaeologicalevidence in Jerusalem f the Romandestructionof the cityandHerod'sgloriousemple,mainly oundalong he southwallof theTempleMount(asmentionedabove).Afterdestroying erusalem,the Romans ttackedHerodium,Machaerus, nd,finally,Masada.

Textual sources suggest that rebels used Herodiumduringboth the GreatRevolt andthe laterBarKokhba evolt(132-135CE).Archaeologistshave discernedmodifications to Herod'spalace, including addingbenches to the walls of the triclinium(dininghall) to create asynagogue.Rebels also addeda miqvehand ovens, possibly orsmeltingiron and producingweapons.Evidencethat the site was a fortressabounds.Excavatorshavefound ballista stones, arrow heads, and other weapons.Unfortunately, t is difficult to date these items or determinewhen the modificationswere made to the palace.Masadawas the lastJewishstronghold o fall aftera lengthyseige. Evidence of the siege is readilyapparent,even to casualobservers. The Romans built a siege wall that completelysurrounded he mesa,and constructed everalcampsto observethe fortress.The foundations of these walls areclearlyvisible,especiallyfrom on top of Masada.They also built a largesiegerampupthe westernapproach,whichremains onspicuous.The holdouts on Masada,the Sicarii,a band of rebels whoused the stronghold o raid the local villages,had little need ofgloriouspalaces.They deconstructed Herod'sbuildings,usingthe stones to create smaller dwellings and taking up thewooden floors to use forroofing.They built new structures orreligious purposes, including a synagogue, a ritual bath(miqveh), nd possiblya studyhall (betmidrash).Whether the

structureswere burnedbythe Sicarii(assuggestedbyJosephus)or by theirattackers,clearevidence of destruction abounds atthis site as the Romans urnedthissiegeinto conquest.The end of the GreatRevolt marksa turningpoint in historyof Roman Palestine. For the first time, Rome permanentlystationed significant forces in the region. Rome initiallygarrisoned he LegioX Fretensis n Jerusalem.The stationingof a legion in the territorymeant that its governorwouldbe asenator, with more governmental experience than the pre-Revoltprocurators ad had. Vespasianalso rewardedCaesareaMaritima for its unwavering support throughout the GreatRevolt by elevating the city to the rank of a Roman colony(Pliny 5.14.69). Like Sepphoris, the city issued coins in ca.67/68 that honoredhim.Additionally,Vespasianmadechangesin Samaria.Shechemhad been sparselynhabited inceJohn Hyrcanus'destructionofthe templeon nearbyMt. Gerizim n ca. 128 BCE.The Romansinitiated he resettlementof the areaby establishing provincial

city there in ca. 72-73 CE.This new city, according toinscriptionson the city'searliest coins (mintedca. 81 CE),wasnamed FlaviaNeapolisSamaria.The proportionof Samaritansandpagans n the city,particularlyt its inception,is unclear,asis the numberof actual RomansVespasian ettled there.Whilethe obverses of the earliest coins bear busts of the emperorDomitian,the reversesdepict symbolsacceptableto JewsandSamaritans, uch as the wreathand doublecorucopiae. Pagandeities were not depicted until the city's second and thirdcentury ssues(Meshorer1985;Rosenberg1977).Middle and Late Roman PeriodsThe lack of literarysources makes it difficult to provide adetailedchronologicalsummaryof political developments forthe remainder of the Roman era. The abundance of detailsabout Hasmonean and Herodian rule, as well as the FirstJewishRevolt, contrastsstarklywith the meagerinformationavailable for the Middle and Late Roman Periods.Occasionally, Roman historians or rabbinic anecdotes shedlight on political events or particular localities, but oftenarchaeologyprovides he most useful data.Although the Romans continued to allow their loyal allyAgrippaII to rule his territories north and east of the Sea ofGalilee, the Revolt gave two emperors-Vespasian andTitus-experience in the East and probablycontributed to ashift in Roman policy towardsthe East in subsequent years(Bowersock 1973). This change manifested itself in theabandonmentof the use of "client"kings.Thus, afterAgrippaII's death (ca. 90 CE),the province of Syria absorbed hiskingdom.With the death of the NabateanKingRabbelII, theempirealso absorbed he Nabatean kingdom,underthe aegisof ProvinciaArabia. The archaeologicalrecord makes it quiteclear that direct Roman control of Palestine encouragedeconomicdevelopment.The economyof the regionflourishedand many cities grew tremendously. With the Flaviandynasty-Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian-Rome's attentionshiftedto the East.


obv. rev.

Thesetwo coins of Sepphoris,mintedaround68 CE, reflect thecity'spro-Romantance nthe FirstJewish Revolt.The reverse ofboth bearthe inscription"UnderVespasian,Neronias-Sepphoris-Eirenopolis,"estifyingto thecity'spoliticalalignment.FromNagyet al. (1996: 795,figs.43, 44).The IsraelMuseum,Jerusalem.


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The Romansiege wall and camps surroundingMasada are easily visible from the top of the mesa. The typical square design of a Romanmilitarycampisprominentbove as is the siege rampbelowleading o the top of the mesa.Photos ourtesy f D.Hopkins.



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This shift in policy can be documented by examining thehistoryof Palestineeast of the JordanRiver.Since 63 BCE, hisregion had three major components: Perea, the regionextendingfrom northeast of the Dead Sea to the JabbokRiver(modernNahr azZarqa)and east to Wadi as Sir;the Decapolisregion, extending fromPhiladelphia (Amman) north to theSea of Galilee;and the Nabateankingdom,which surroundedthe Decapolis and Perea on the east. While the Decapoliscities werelegallypartof Syria,they wereseparated rom it byHerod'skingdomand were thus isolated. Few archaeologicalremains have been found from the period prior to 70 CE,althoughthe archaeologicalrecordsuggeststhat developmentbegan to pick up in the last quarterof the first century andexploded in the second century, especially after Trajanannexed the Nabatean kingdomin 106 CE.Afterthe annexation, ne ofTrajan'sirstgoalswasto build he ViaNovaTrajana, road hatstretched from Syria to the Red Sea. Thisroad-and its commercialraffic-ran throughmanyof the Decapoliscities and contributedto an economic boom manyof these townsexperienced uring he secondcentury.Perhaps the best example of a city that 18 -...benefitted fromincreased tradewas Gerasa(Jerash). The city was laid out along anorthogonalgrid,establishedby the time thecity walls were erected around 75 CE. Butthere is little evidence of significantconstruction earlier in the Roman period,apart from a temple built ca. 25 CE on thesite of the ZeusSanctuary n the southwestpart of the city. Somewhat later (but not 18clearlydated), a large,colonnadedplazawasadded northeast of the Sanctuary of Zeus.West of the Sanctuary,a 3,000 seat theaterwas built and dedicated in 90/91 CE. Aspart of the preparation for Hadrian's visitto the east in 130 CE, Gerash erected atriumphal arch, some 450 m south of theold city gate. It is possible that the citizenshad planned to extend the city walls to 1. Northerngate;include this new gate and thus increase the 3. Northern heat5. Northern etrapsize of their city enormously. 7.Theates n heThe Via Nova Trajana aided the economy 8.The gates inthe

9. Sanctuaryof Anof smaller towns as well. At Tel Heshbon, for 11.Cathedral; 2. Eexample, archaeologists have found evidence 14. Southe15. Ellipticalplazaof many new foundations in the period from 17. outhernheat130-193 CE, including an inn probably built 19. outhern gate;to take advantage of the increased traffic.Similarly,he economyaround he south end GerasaCityPlarof the Dead Sea flourishedin the first third ancientGerasaof the second century. The archives of gridof thecityIBabathaandSalome Komaisehavepreserved structures;heIrecords revealing that the region around was he residen'Zohar (at the southeast corner of the Dead (1993,2:472).

Sea) produced considerable quantities of dates, presumablyfor export. The archives have demonstrated as well thatBabatha and her compatriots, although Jewish, were verymuch integrated nto the empire.She used its courts and lawsextensively, and when she paid her taxes in Petra,she sworeby the genius of the Emperor that they were correct. Thearchiveshave also shown that social and economic networksextended across the Dead Sea to En Gedi, into Perea, andpossiblyeven to Alexandra.This economic boom was accompaniedwith a more visibleRomanmilitarypresence.The LegioX Fretensis,stationed inJudea,wasjoinedca. 120 CEby the LegioVI Ferratan Galilee.This newly arrived legion made its headquarters at KefarOtnay, renamed Legio, just south of the Nazareth ridge.

2. Northernplaza;er; . Western baths;ylon; 6. Processionalroad;precinctof Artemis, ast of the cardo;precinctof Artemis,west of the cardo; 2(temis; 10. Nymphaeum;Eastern aths; 13. Theresidentialquarter;pylon and the round plaza;(the 'Forum'); 16. Templeof Zeus;ter; 18. Western gates;; 20. Circus;21. Hadrian's riumphalarch

n. Describedas the best-preservedexampleof a Romanprovincial ity,rises to the west of the moderncity.Thismapclearlyshows the regularplan.Thewesternportionof the citywas primarily sed for publicargestof these was the temple of Artemis.Theeastern portionof the citytialquarterand has not been excavated. FromApplebaumand SegalCourtesy f the IsraelExploration ociety,Jerusalem.



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The VI Ferrata's arrival at this time may reflect RomanprecautionsagainstJewishuprisingsn the wakeof the revoltsagainst Trajan by Jews in Egypt, Cyrenaica, Cyprus andMesopotamiaca. 115-117 CE. The provinceof Judeawas thehome of these twolegionsuntil the thirdcenturyCE(Safrai 992).The BarKokhba RevoltHadrian's eign(117-38 CE) broughteconomicprosperityormany communities, but catastrophe for others. A secondJewishrevoltagainstRomeoccurred n 132-35 CE nd liketheearlierone, resultedin disasterfor the Jews.Ancient sourcesreportedseveral causes for the uprising.A writer dubbedbyscholars as Pseudo Spartianus reported that Hadrian'sprohibitionagainstgenitalmutilation ed to Jewishuprisingsndefense of the ancestral practice of circumcision (Life ofHadrian 14.2). Cassius Dio (RomanHistory69.12) placedresponsibilityor the revolt on Hadrian'sdecision to establishaRoman colony at Jerusalem, to rename the city AeliaCapitolina, and to build a pagan temple there. A rabbinicsaying (Gen. Rab. 64.10) blamed the war on Hadrian'sretractionof an offerto the Jewsto allowthem to rebuild heirtemple. Scholars remain divided on the reliability of thesereports.Becausedetails about the revolt in the literary ourcesare so meager, archaeological and numismatic materialsprovide he bulk of ourevidence forunderstandingt.The leaderof the Jewish orceswas knownbyseveralnames.The name "Shimon"appearson coins issued by the rebels,"Bar Kosibah" on papyrus documents from the Judeanwilderness,"Ben"or "BarKozibah"n rabbinic iterature,and"Ben"or "BarKokhba" n later Christianwritings.The mostplausible explanation for these variations is that his originalname was Shimon BarKosibah("sonof Kosibah").Those wholater looked back on the disaster his revolt brought to hispeople called him "BarKozibah," Son of the Lie."His ardentsupporters,however,apparentlyregardedhim as a messianicfigure, associatinghim with the claim in Numbers24:17 that"a star shall come forth out of Jacob;a man shall rise out ofIsrael" ndrenaminghim BarKokhba,"Son of the Star."Coinsandpapyrusdocuments have shown that he was also knownasthe "Nasi," r "Prince"Schafer 1995).The historyof the Revolt, like its causes,is not well-known.Some scholars have interpreted inscriptions on the rebels'coins reading "YearOne of the Redemption of Israel" and"YearTwo of the Redemptionof Israel"as evidence that theJewish orces retookJerusalem.However,Bar Kokhba oins areextremelyrare finds in Jerusalem;as of 1995, only two of thefifteen thousandcoinsdiscovered n the citywerefromthe BarKokhba revolt. This dearth of numismatic evidence inJerusalemtself has led other scholars to suggestthat the cityremained n Romanhands for the durationof the Revolt.Theyregard the inscriptions on the coins as expressions of thehopes, rather than the accomplishments,of the Jewishrebels(Schafer 1995; Meshorer 1982). The best estimate of thegeographical extent of the Bar Kokhba revolt, based onnumismatic and archaeologicalevidence, concludes that the

rebels held a region south of Jerusalemand Jericho, north ofHebron and Masada,east of the costal plain, and west of theDead Sea (Mildenberg 1980). It is possible that the revoltextended into Samaria,Galilee, and perhapseven SyriaandArabia(Eck 1999).According to Diodorus Siculus (69.12.3), the rebelsadopted guerilla tactics, utilizing tunnels and expandingcaves to store supplies and weapons, as well as forconcealment. Caves at a number of sites have beenassociatedwith the Bar Kokhba rebels. The best example ofthis maybe Horvat Midras,32 km south of Jerusalem.It hasover twenty different complexes of tunnels and caves. Oneof these connected three older cisterns with 50 m of tunnels;another had six to nine rooms (over 400 m2 in area)connected by 90 m of tunnels. These complexes hadcamouflaged entrances that could be blocked from insideand tunnels that could be barricaded (Kloner 1993). Thecaves above CEnGedi contained the archives of Babathaand

Salome, along with many other documents and skeletonsfrom the revolt. Other examplesof caves used in the uprisinginclude Horvat Givit, 18 km north of Jericho, which has anelaborate underground system of tunnels and Horvat Eqed(20 kmwest of Jerusalem; lan 1993; Gichon 1993). The BarKokhbarebels also utilized older sites, including CEnBoqeq,13 km south of Masada,and Herodium.

Coins of both Palestinian ewish revoltsagainstRomeusuallydepicted items associated with Jewish customs or practices.Thisone,issued ca. 132 CEbythe BarKochbarebels,depictsa lulav(palmfrond)andwillowandmyrtle ronds, tems associatedwiththe Jewishfestival of Sukkot.Its nscription eads "YearOne of the FreedomofIsrael."Courtesy f Dr.D.Jeselsohn,Switzerland.The ferocityof the conflict is undisputedand casualtieswerehigh on both sides. The Romans were forced to deploy theLegioIICyrenaica, he LegioIIIGallica,and auxiliaryunitsinaddition to the two legions already stationed in Palestine.Hadrianstagedno triumphalparadeat the war'sconclusion,and when he reported the events to the Senate, he did notinclude his typical claim that "all is well with me and thelegions."According to Cassius Dio (RomanHistory69.14.3),Jewishcasualtiesfrom combat alone exceeded half a million;famine anddisease,he claimed,pushedthe Jewishdeath counteven higher.While these numbers, ikemanynumbersreported

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by ancient historians,areprobably naccurate,it is clear thatthe RomansdidabsolutelyravagepartsofJudea.AfterBarKokhbaAfter puttingdown the revolt, Hadriancarriedout his planto rebuildJerusalemas "AeliaCapitolina."The currentplanofthe present-day erusalem'sOld Cityowes much to the lay-outof Hadrian's olony.The Romancity's planwaslikelysimilar othe Byzantine ityplanknown fromthe famousMadabamosaicmap.The majorgate in the northernwall was located at themodernDamascusgate, where excavations have revealed anarchthat sharesmanysimilaritieswith other second and thirdcentury riumphal rches, ncluding he betterpreserved ne atGerasa.Whether Hadrianrebuilt the city's walls is unclear.Excavations along the northern wall have placed theconstructionof the walls either at the end of the thirdcentury(whenthe tenth legion departed he city)or at the beginningofthe fourthcentury(when a newlyChristianempirewantedtoglorifyts spiritual apital;Geva andAvigad1993).Inside the Damascus gate was a square with a triumphalcolumn.Twomajorroadsranout of thissquare.The cardo ranup towards Mt. Zion, where the tenth legionary camp waslocated.The decumanusprobablyollowedthe line of modernDavid Street and the Street of the Chain. The cardo wascolonnaded and sections of its paving stones have beenidentified.A secondarycardoran down the Tyropoeonvalley,alongthe HerodianWesternWall of the TempleMount.The city had two fora.One was located in the present-dayMuristan and to its north, Hadrian erected a temple ofAphroditeon the site that later servedas the foundationsforthe Churchof the Holy Sepulcher, he traditionalburialplaceof Jesus. The other forumwas located north of the TempleMount. The main remainsof this forumare the so-called EcceHomo arch, an arch mistakenly associated with Pilate'scommand to the crowds to "behold the man,"that is, Jesus,who was to be crucified (John 19:5). This triumphal archrested on arches spanning the Struthion Pool. Theconstruction of much of Hadrian's city reused Herodianmaterials, such as the characteristic ashlars with dressedcomersandroughfaces.The regularity f the Romancityplan,foundin the northernpartof the city,did not extend into the legionarycampon Mt.Zion. The exact location of this camp is unclear;it has beensuggested that it was located in either the Armenian or theJewishquartersof the moderncity.The evidence for the campconsistsmainlyof inscriptions,now all in secondaryusage,androoftiles stampedwithL.X.E[Leg(io)X Fre(tensis)l.The new city built on top of Jerusalem was exclusivelypagan, at least at first. Cassius Dio (RomanHistory69.12.1)reportedthat a templeto JupiterCapitolinuswasbuilt on thesite of the Jewishtemple.Coins issuedby the city boreimagesof various pagan deities, such as the typical city goddess,Hygeia,and Dionysos (Meshorer1985). Jewswere forbiddenfor a time even to enter the city,and transgressionof this lawwaspunishableby death. Enforcementof the prohibitiondoes

The Babathaarchivewas a collectionof papyridocumentsfoundalongthe west side of the Dead Sea.The documentswere collectedin a bundlethat the curatorshad to open. FromYadin 1971a: 227).

Thecityplanof AeliaCapitolinaprobably ollowed the basicplanofpre-Revolt erusalem;he moderncityplanalso followsthe layoutofAelia. This s especially rue for the northernportionof the city,where most publicstructureswere located. The planfor thesouthernportionof the city,wherethe campof the tenth legionwaslocated, is less clearlydefined.FromGevo (1993, 2: 758). Courtesyof the IsraelExploration ociety.



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The Madaba mosaic map, dating to the sixth century CE,provides invaluable information about the geography ofByzantine Palestine (Avi-Yonah 1954). It also provides theearliest visual representation of Jerusalem. Although from alater date, many of the features of the map follow the basiclayoutfor AeliaCapitolina.The left hand (north) ide of the mapdepicts the modem Damascus (Triumphal)ate and the squarewith a column inside it. Runningacross the middle of the mosaicis the cardo and above this is the secondary cardo. Both arecolonnaded. FromPiccirilloand Alliata (1999: 198, pi. 3).

not seem to have lasted long, but the city's Jewishcharacterfaded under Romanoccupation.The archaeological record also witnesses the Romanmilitarypresenceelsewherein Palestine.Several sites in Judeaand Galilee have produced inscriptions referringto Romanmilitaryunits. The campat Legio-not yet fullyexcavated-possesses two enclosures and a theater. Other remains fromunits of the VI Ferrata legion include a Roman militaryfortress located near Tiberias, a fortification at Mt. Hazon,and a camp at Tel Shalem, from which have come aninscription mentioning the legion and a bronze statue ofHadrian(Isaac1992;Safrai1992).Caesarea Maritima continued to function as a center ofRomanpower.In the second century CE,a circus was addedand the theater reconstructed. One inscription reflects thepresence of a shrine honoring Hadrian, and others attest toadditional construction projects (Lehmann and Holum2000). Statues of pagandeities are common (Gersht 1996).The city was not exclusively pagan, however; a Jewishminoritycontinued to dwell there and built a synagogue inthe thirdcentury.The Romans needed reliable routes to facilitate theirtroop movements, and a systemof paved roads criss-crossedPalestine. The importance of the Via Nova Trajana,stretching from Syria to the Red Sea, has already beenmentioned. The ancient route connecting Antioch andAlexandria, part of the Via Maris, was of similarsig

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Archaeology of Roman Palestine - & Porter