Antipatris
אנטיפטריס | |
Alternative name | Tel Afek, and Kŭlảt Râs el ’Ain, the castle of the spring-head[1] |
---|---|
Location | Central District, Israel |
Region | Levant |
Coordinates | 32°06′18″N 34°55′49.5″E / 32.10500°N 34.930417°E |
Grid position | 144/167 PAL |
Type | Settlement |
Site notes | |
Condition | In ruins |
Antipatris
Antipatris/Tel Afek lies at the strong perennial springs of the Yarkon River, which throughout history has created an obstacle between the hill country to the east and the Mediterranean to the west, forcing travellers and armies to pass through the narrow pass between the springs and the foothills of Samaria. This gave the location of Antipatris/Tel Afek its strategic importance.
Antipatris was situated on the Roman road from Caesarea Maritima to Jerusalem, north of the town of Lydda where the road turned eastwards towards Jerusalem.[5] During the British Mandate, a water pumping station was built there to channel water from the Yarkon to Jerusalem.[6]
Today the remains of Antipatris are located roughly between Petah Tikva and the towns of Kafr Qasim and Rosh HaAyin (literally "headspring"), south of Hod HaSharon.[7]
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/%D7%94%D7%90%D7%92%D7%9D_%D7%94%D7%92%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9C_%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%9C_%D7%90%D7%A4%D7%A7.jpg/220px-%D7%94%D7%90%D7%92%D7%9D_%D7%94%D7%92%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9C_%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%9C_%D7%90%D7%A4%D7%A7.jpg)
Aphek
The Bronze Age saw the construction of defensive walls, 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) to 3.5 metres (11 ft) wide, and a series of palaces. One of these is described as an Egyptian governor residence of the 15th century BC, and within, an array of cuneiform tablets were found. Philistine ware is found in the site in 12th century BC layers.[3]
Most scholars agree that there were more than one Aphek. While Tel-Aphek (Antipatris) is one of them, C.R. Conder identified the Aphek of Eben-Ezer[8] with a ruin (Khirbet) some 3.7 miles (6 km) distant from Dayr Aban (believed to be Eben-Ezer[9]), and known by the name Marj al-Fikiya; the name al-Fikiya being an Arabic corruption of Aphek.[10] Eusebius, when writing about Eben-ezer in his Onomasticon, says that it is "the place from which the Gentiles seized the Ark, between Jerusalem and Ascalon, near the village of Bethsamys (Beit Shemesh),"[11] a locale that corresponds with Conder's identification.
The historian Josephus mentions a certain tower called Aphek, not far from Antipatris, and which was burnt by a contingent of Roman soldiers.[12]
Antipatris
Antipatris was a city built by
According to
Paul the Apostle was brought by night from Jerusalem to Antipatris and next day from there to Caesarea Maritima, to stand trial before the governor Antonius Felix.[15]
Only one of the early bishops of the Christian
In 363, the city was badly damaged by an earthquake.
Ottoman Ras al-Ayn
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Aphek_Yarkon_park_271012_02.jpg/220px-Aphek_Yarkon_park_271012_02.jpg)
"You have sent a letter and have reported that four walls of the fortress Ras al-Ayn have been built, [..] I have commanded that when [this firman] arrives you shall [..have built] the above mentioned rooms and mosque with its minaret and have the guards remove the earth outside and clean and tidy [the place].[19]
The Turkish name of the place and fortress, pınar başı, means "fountain-head" or simply "head of the springs", much like the Arabic and Hebrew names (Ras al-Ayin and Rosh ha-Ayin, "head of the springs"). Pronounced by Arabic-speakers, it became "Binar Bashi" (Arabic has no "p").
The fortress was built to protect a vulnerable stretch of the Cairo-Damascus highway (the Via Maris), and was provided with 100 horsemen and 30 foot soldiers. The fortress was also supposed to supply soldiers to protect the hajj route.[20] The fortress is a massive rectangular enclosure with four corner towers and a gate at the centre of the west side. The south-west tower is octagonal, while the three other towers have a square ground plan.[21]
It appeared named Chateau de Ras el Ain on the map that Pierre Jacotin compiled in 1799.[22]
The Arab peasants deserted the village in the 1920s.[23]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Antipatris.jpg/220px-Antipatris.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Al_MIrr_1941.jpg/220px-Al_MIrr_1941.jpg)
Yarkon-Tel Afek national park
Currently, the site of Antipatris is included in the national park "Yarkon-Tel Afek", under the jurisdiction of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, incorporating the area of the Ottoman fortress, the remains of the Roman city and the British water pumping station.
Excavation
Area A
The earliest winepresses discovered to date in the Southern Levant were excavated adjoining the governor's residency at Tel Aphek, dated to the 13th century BC, the reign of Ramesses II. The two winepresses were plastered and possessed two treading floors (Hebrew: gat elyonah, “upper vat”) in parallel configuration extending over 6 m². Beneath and next to these, the stone-lined plastered collection vats (Hebrew: gat tahtonah, “lower vat”) could each store over 3 m³, or 3,000 litres, of pressed grape juice. Canaanite amphorae were recovered still in situ at the bottom of each pit, while a midden of grape skins, seeds and other debris was discovered adjacent to the installations [Kochavi 1981:81]. The excavator has drawn attention to the proximity of these winepresses to the Residency, their large size and the fact that ancient winepresses were normally located outside settlements amongst the vineyards suggesting that the Egyptian administration supervised the viniculturists of the Sharon closely [Kochavi 1990:XXIII].
Trade links and relations
It is clear that Tel Aphek was a site not only at the centre of imperial administration, but also well-connected to the international trade in luxury goods, as reflected in the abundant finds of Cypriot[24] and Mycenaean[25] ceramics.
Illustrative of Cypro-Canaanite trade especially is a fragmentary amphora handle [Aphek 5/29277], clearly inscribed after firing with Sign 38 of the
See also
- Archaeology of Israel
- Barid, Muslim postal network strengthened in Palestine during the Mamluk period (roads, bridges, khans)
- Tourism in Israel
- Water supply and sanitation in Israel
References
- ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 216
- ^ Hebrew spelling based on Tosefta (Demai 1:11), although in the Mishnah (Gittin 7:7, et al.) it is often spelt אנטיפרס.
- ^ a b Kochavi, 1997, pp. 147-151
- ^ Josephus, The Jewish War 2.19.1
- ^ a b
Easton, Matthew George (1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.
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(help) - ^ Yarkon and Tel Afek National Park Archived 2016-04-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Aphek | Pictures from the Holyland".
- ^ The account in 1 Samuel 4:1 of the battle at Aphek and Eben-ezer
- Palestine Exploration Quarterly, vol. 18, London 1876, p. 149; Conder & Kitchener, The Survey of Western Palestine, vol. iii (Judaea), London 1883, p. 24
- JSTOR 42637769.
- ^ Eusebius Werke, Erich Klostermann (ed.), Leipig 1904, p. 33,24.
- ^ Josephus, The Jewish War 2.19.1
- ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews xvi.v.§2; xiii.xv.§1; cf. Jerusalem Talmud, Demai 2:1 (8a). In the Mosaic of Rehob, the variant spelling is כפר סבה; Conder and Kitchener, SWP II, London 1881, pp. 258-ff..
- ^ Josephus, Wars of the Jews (book ii, chapter xix); (Bell. Jud. ii. 14-20)
- ^ Acts of the Apostles 23:31–32.
- ^ Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. III, coll. 579-582
- ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 834
- ^ Heyd, 1960, p.108. Cited in Petersen, 2001, p. 257
- ^ Heyd, 1960, pp. 107-108. Cited in Petersen, 2001, p. 257
- ^ Heyd, 1960, p. 106. Cited in Petersen, 2001, p. 257
- ^ Petersen, 2002, p. 255
- ^ Karmon, 1960, p. 171 Archived 2019-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Khalidi, 1992, p. 396
- ^ Beck and Kochavi 1985:36
- ^ Warren and Hankey 1989:155-156
- Ras Shamra(Ugarit), cf. Yasur-Landau and Goren 2004:22-23.
- ^ cf. Yasur-Landau and Goren 2004:24 for various interpretations, whether an ownership mark, unit of measurement or a phonetic syllable.
Bibliography
- Abu Raya, Rafeh; Porat, Leea (2012-09-19). "Tel Afeq (Northeast)". 124. Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel.
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(help) - Beck, Pirhya and Kochavi, M. (1985), A Dated Assemblage of the Late 13th Century BCE from the Egyptian Residency at Aphek, in: Tel Aviv 12 (1985), pp. 29–42.
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1882). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 2. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (pp. 266-267)
- Gadot, Yuval (2003), Continuity and Change: Cultural Processes in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Israel's Central Coastal Plain, unpublished PhD Disserattion, Tel Aviv University, 2003. (Hebrew with English summary)
- Gadot, Yuval (2006), Aphek in the Sharon and the Philistine Northern Frontier, in: BASOR341 (2006), pp. 21–36.
- Golan, Dor (2008-09-11). "Tel Afeq". 120. Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - Goren, Yuval; Naʾaman, Nadav; Mommsen, Hans and Finkelstein, I. (2006), Provenance Study and Re-evaluation of the Cuneiform Documents from the Egyptian Residency at Tel Aphek, in: Ä&L 16 (2006), pp. 161–171.
- Heyd, Uriel (1960), Ottoman Documents on Palestine, 1552-1615, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Cited in Petersen (2002)
- Itach, Gilad (2017-04-02). "Tel Afeq". 129. Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - Karmon, Y. (1960). "An Analysis of Jacotin's Map of Palestine" (PDF). Israel Exploration Journal. 10 (3): 155–173, 244–253. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-22. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
- ISBN 978-0-88728-224-9.
- Kochavi, M. (1981), The History and Archaeology of Aphek-Antipatris, in: The Biblical Archaeologist 44 (1981), pp. 75–86.
- Kochavi, M. (1990), Aphek in Canaan: The Egyptian Governor's Residence and Its Finds, Catalogue 312, Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 1990.
- Kochavi, M. and Beit Arieh, I. (1994), Map of Rosh Ha-ʿAyin, Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority, 1994.
- ISBN 978-0195112153.
- Le Strange, G. (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (p.472) Also Cited in Petersen (2002)
- Mahler-Slasky, Y. and Kislev, M. E. (in press), Food Remains from Area X, in: Kochavi, Moshe, Gadot, Yuval and Yadin, Esther (eds.), Aphek II: The Remains of the Acropolis, Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, vol. 27), Tel Aviv University, 2009, pp.?-?.
- Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Petersen, Andrew (2001). A Gazetteer of Buildings in Muslim Palestine (British Academy Monographs in Archaeology). Vol. I. ISBN 978-0-19-727011-0.
- Porat, Leea (2010-12-26). "Tel Afeq (East)". 122. Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - Shadman, Amit. The Rural Hinterland of Antipatris from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Periods. Archaeopress. ISBN 9781803275277.
- Yasur-Landau, Assaf and Goren, Yuval (2004), A Cypro-Minoan Potmark from Aphek, TA 31.1 (2004), pp. 22–31.
External links
- Israel Nature and Parks Authority Archived 2018-02-16 at the Wayback Machine
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 13: IAA, Wikimedia commons
- Antipatris in Antiquity Archaeological Survey of Israel
- Aphek - Pictures from the Holyland