2005 Sepphoris Expedition Sponsored by DOAR Litigation
Consulting, the Hertha Stanger Charitable Trust, and the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem in Loving Memory of Noam Shudofsky
June 26–July 22
An Archaeological Report
Prof. Zeev Weiss
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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2005 Sepphoris Expedition Sponsored by DOAR Litigation
Consulting, the Hertha Stanger Charitable Trust, and the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem in Loving Memory of Noam Shudofsky
June 26–July 22
The Hebrew University expedition at Sepphoris resumed its excavations this summer
after a three-year hiatus. The 2005 excavations season was sponsored by DOAR
Litigation Consulting, the Hertha Stanger Charitable Trust, and the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem in Loving Memory of Noam Shudofsky. The excavation
season, which took place between June 26 and July 22, 2005, was directed by Zeev
Weiss (Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and conducted
in two different parts of Sepphoris’s Lower City.
About 45 people took part in the dig, including Hebrew University students
participating in an academic program, a group of high school students from Hoshaya,
local volunteers, and hired workers. Participating in the project were O. Gutfeld
(assistant to the excavation director), R.
Evyasaf and N. Vilozny (area supervisors), A.
Ecker and D. Ein-Mor (assistant area
supervisors), A. Iamim (surveying and
drafting), G. Laron (photography), B. Johnson
(pottery), M. Haber (find registration), and M.
(administration). Members of the
Israel Museum laboratories joined the
expedition for the last week of the dig to help
with the restoration of some of this season’s
finds. The expedition enjoyed the ongoing
support and help of Mr. B. Shalev, while
assistance was also provided by the Israel
Nature Parks Authority.
Fig. 1: Re-installing the decumanus
pavers with the help of the staff of
the Israel Museum laboratories
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The Decumanus (Area 77.1)
In this area, located in the center of the Lower
City, 30 m. east of the colonnaded street’s
intersection, another section of the decumanus
(approx. 26 m. long) dating to the Roman–
Byzantine period was unearthed (Fig. 2). Its
rectangular stone-slab pavement was almost
entirely preserved. The width of the street
running between the sidewalks is 6 m.; the
width of a recess located at a certain point on
the southern side of the pavement tapers to 5 m
(Fig. 3). A narrow probe (3 x 1 m.) conducted
on the western side of the recess, adjacent to the
stone pavement, revealed some walls whose
relationship to the street and the immediate
environs is not yet clear. Enlarging the area in
the upcoming season will allow us to determine
their context, date, and function.
Figure 3: Plan of the decumanus
Figure 2: The decumanus, looking
westward. The steps on the northern
side of the decumanus are marked by a
blue arrow and the recess on the south is
marked by an orange arrow.
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On the northern side of the street, the expedition uncovered the continuation of
the steps running parallel and adjacent to the ancient thoroughfare. Two steps and
possibly a third led to the northern sidewalk, which was higher than street level and
which followed the line of the street leading in antiquity to an as yet unexcavated
building northeast of the colonnaded street’s intersection. South of the street we
uncovered the continuation of the sidewalk, which was not well preserved. The
stylobate lining the street was robbed and only the plaster bedding, but not the mosaic,
remains of the southern sidewalk.
A 1.8 x 2-m. probe conducted beneath the stone pavement of the decumaus
revealed two successive layers predating the street, however their precise date and use
cannot be determined at this point. The upper layer is composed of plaster and two
stone slabs while the lower one is simply plastered. The fourteen stone slabs that were
removed to conduct the probe were later returned to
their original position.
A sequence of several plaster layers above the
main thoroughfare was found along the decumanus
(Fig. 4). Between each layer was a shallow debris
accumulation that varied in its composition from one
layer to the next. The existence of several layers above
the decumanus pavement clearly indicates that the same
route, though on a higher level, was in continual use
throughout the Islamic period. Excavations north and
south of the street uncovered the continuation of some
walls that were exposed in the adjacent area in previous
seasons. The walls dated to the later period were
constructed of ashlar stones in secondary use. The
northern wall was built on the second step, whereas the
Figure 4: Plaster layer found in one of
the squares excavated above the
decumanus
southern one was built along the robbed stylobate. The
walls unearthed this season, together with those found in previous years, apparently
belong to rooms and shops that consequently narrowed the Roman-Byzantine road.
This phenomenon was known in other cities in the region where, by the end of the
Byzantine or early Islamic period, private construction reduced the size of the
designated public area from earlier periods.
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The abundant and diverse architectural remains found south of the street and its
sidewalk can be divided stratigraphically into several phases. Although further
excavations are necessary here in order to clarify their context, date, and use, the finds
uncovered this year suggest that several significant architectural changes were made
in the layout of the immediate area.
A beautifully constructed stylobate
running from east to west and parallel to the
line of the street is the earliest architectural
feature unearthed in the area (Fig. 5). The
stylobate and above-mentioned recess north
of it (at a distance of 5 m.) are parallel to
each other and share a common axis. This
may very well indicate that these two
features belonged to a single structure
located next to the decumanus, possibly an
Figure 5: The stylobate is marked by a red arrow and
the recess in the decumanus to its north by a blue
arrow.
entrance into a larger early Roman compound in the area. Traces of such a structure
were found in the excavations from previous years, however this question awaits
clarification in the next excavation season.
Two rooms, whose floors and walls were coated with an uninterrupted layer of
fine plaster, were constructed in a later
period over the stylobate and concealed it
well (Fig. 6). The two rooms opening onto
the southern sidewalk presumably belong to
a larger row of shops (phase 2) along the
decumanus that were built over earlier
remains. Later on, the shops were covered
with dirt and another plaster layer (phase 3)
was placed on top of it. This most
probably belonged to the church south
Figure 6: One of the rooms constructed in phase 2,
south of the decumanus.
of the decumanus that was excavated in past years. A lime kiln found close to the
surface, but which nevertheless cut through earlier remains, represents the fourth and
final phase in this area.
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Private Housing (Area 67.4)
The second area excavated this summer is in the southeastern part of the Lower City,
next to a road running from east to west and parallel to the decumanus north of it.
Additional sections on the southern side of the Roman residence excavated in
previous years were uncovered this year. An analysis of the remains exposed thus far
indicates that this house was built on two levels. Evidently, the rooms on the bottom
level surrounded a colonnaded courtyard containing an ornamental fountain, which
was a common feature in opulent houses of the Roman period. Various rooms inside
the structure had mosaic pavements while others had plaster floors. The mosaics,
which are severely damaged, include simple geometrical and colored designs. This
house resembles others excavated at the site and represents private architecture at its
best in the second and third centuries C.E.
Figure 7: Plan of the sections excavated on the southern side of the Roman residence: area 67.4
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Several squares south of the
colonnaded courtyard were opened this
season to verify the layout of the southern
wing and its relationship to the adjacent
street (Fig. 7). A small section of a mosaic
floor with a simple geometric design was
uncovered on the northern edge of the
central square (Fig. 8); together with
another section found in the previous
tabbun
season, it belongs to a larger mosaic carpet
that once covered the southern aisle of the
courtyard. The new mosaic also contained
the beginning of a Greek inscription whose
continuation is still buried beneath the
eastern baulk and will be excavated next
year.
Four rooms arranged in two rows
were discovered in the area between the
Figure 8: The mosaic with the beginning of
the Greek inscription on its right (marked
in yellow). The tabbun above the mosaic
was added in a later stage.
colonnaded courtyard and the street south of it. All but one room had plaster floors; in
most cases, only robbed trenches enabled us to follow the line of the walls in the
rooms. It seems that the northern rooms opened onto the courtyard while the southern
two were oriented southward, most probably serving as shops fronting the street.
Additional architectural
elements were found in the
areas east and west of the four
rooms. A cistern and a water
channel were excavated in the
eastern area, near a pool
unearthed in the previous
season, although it is not yet
clear whether the three
facilities functioned together in Figure 9: Eastern view of the entrance room. The original pavement
the building. A long and
is marked in red and the stones laid directly above the original floor
is marked in black. The channel draining the colonnaded courtyard
toward the street is marked in yellow.
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narrow room, equal in length to the two rows of rooms, was excavated on a lower
level west of these architectural features (Fig. 9). Cut partly in bedrock and paved
with well-cut ashlars, it gave direct access from the street into the colonnaded
courtyard. A channel running from north to south and cut partly in bedrock was found
between the entrance room and those adjacent to it on the east. It appears to have been
used for draining the water that had accumulated in the colonnaded courtyard
southward, into the street. At a later stage, the entire room was covered with cut
stones laid directly on its floor. Although such platforms were found elsewhere on the
site, the use and date of this particular stone layer is not yet clear.
Another large room
was unearthed west of
the entrance room,
however its relationship
to the Roman building
has not yet been
determined. Its floor was
plastered and several
bricks were inserted on
its western edge (Fig.
10). At a later stage, the
Figure 10: Western view of the large room with the plaster floor.
The L-shaped walls in the foreground were constructed at a later
stage above the plastered floor.
walls inside the room
were built with stones in secondary use, consequently diminishing its interior space.
Several architectural features found in some rooms were later additions that
were implemented in the Roman building’s second stage. A destruction layer
comprising broken stones of various types and sizes covered the remains in the area of
the Roman residence. Later construction dating to the later Byzantine and early Arab
periods was found throughout the area, above the building’s ruins. Although much
less imposing in their appearance, these remains indicate the ongoing use of the area
in later periods as well.
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Small Finds
A large number of coins, pottery, and other small finds were collected during the
excavations of the two areas. Extremely important is a small box, most probably an
incense burner, found in Area 77.1. It is carved in limestone and decorated on its sides
with various images. Traces of red on the box indicate
that the object was partly or even fully painted.
Although we found only half of it, this find is unique
and has no parallel in the region. A crucified figure is
represented on the only complete side of the box; a satyr
playing a musical instrument and a dancing maenad
appear on one broken side while a bull or ram with a
tree in the background is depicted on the other (fig. 11).
The bull, or preferably ram, who seems to be caught in
the thicket and hovering above ground, resembles the
Christian rendering of the sacrifice of Isaac that conjures
the image of a cross; similar depictions of the animal
with the tree in the background were found, for example,
on several mosaic pavements decorating churches in
Jordan, giving visual expression to the Christian
interpretation of the biblical story. Such a mixture of
Figure 11: A bull or a ram
depicted on one of the broken
sides of a box
religious and secular themes adorning one object
characterizes the prevailing iconographical tastes of Byzantine art.
Group picture of the Hebrew University students at the end of the dig.