Beth Shan Excavations 1921-1923: the Arab and Byzantine Levels

114 Pages·1931·13.576 MB·English

by  Gerald Milnes Fitzgerald

PUBLICATIONS OF THE PALESTINE SECTION OF THE
MUSEUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
VOLUME III
BETH-SHAN EXCAVATIONS
1921 1923
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THE ARAB AND BYZANTINE LEVELS
BY
GERALD M. FITZGERALD
PHILADELPHIA
PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM
1931
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PREFACE
The present volume describes the results of excavation during the years 1921, 1922
and 1923 upon the hill or mound now known as Tell el-1-losn, which covers the ancient
city called in the Bible Beth-shan. This name survives, in the Arabic form Beisan, as that
of the adjoining modern town, but in the ilellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods,
during which the city largely expanded its boundaries, it was called sometimes Nysa, but
more commonly Scythopolis. In this report, as in other volumes of this series, the name
Beth-shan will be retained.
The excavation of the site was begun in 1921 under the direction of Dr. Clarence S.
Fisher, who continued as Field Director during the two following seasons also. For the
first season, June 20th to October 26th, 1921, Dr. Fisher had the assistance of Labib
Effendi Sorial throughout, and of Mr. Ernest Mackay for the last few weeks. In 1922,
from April 15th to September 13th, his staff consisted of Mr. Mackay (for the first part
of the season), Mr. Alan Rowe, Miss R. Woodley, LabIb Effendi and the present writer;
in 1923, from April 12th to August 10th, it consisted of Mr. Rowe, Mr. G. Ovenden, LabIb
Effendi, William Effendi Gad and Ahmed Effendi Yusuf. In addition to thelocal workmen,
Dr. Fisher employed a number of Egyptians under Reis Berberi.
It is regrettable that Dr. Fisher, who was compelled by ill-health to resign his posi
tion as Field Director after the season of 1923, has been prevented by other work from
himself giving to the world the results of his excavation. The present writer feels that he
may fairly claim some indulgence from his readers in the task of publishing the results of
an excavation of which he saw comparatively little, though he must in justice acknowledge
the fulness of the records which have been at his disposal.
The general plan of the Tell [PLAN i] was prepared from Dr. Fisher’s large-scale plans
M. J. Terentieff. The plan and diagram of the Round Church are the work of Mr.
bRyichard S. Nickson, B. A., of Pembroke College, Cambridge. The plates illustrating the
pottery and other objects [PLATES XXX—XL] have been drawn by Miss E. T. Talbot, of
Cambridge. It is a pleasure gratefully to record the care and accuracy which they have
contributed to this work.
An especial debt of gratitude must be paid to Mr. Noel Aimé-Giron, who has kindly
furnished translations of the Arabic and Hebrew graffiti found on column-shafts from the
Round Church, together with valuable notes on the same.
GERALD M. FITZGERALD
(v)
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE
.
LIST OF PLATES
CHAPTER
I
THE SITE AND COURSE OF WORK 1
II
THE GATE AND THE TERRACE 4
III
THE WESTERN SLOPE AREA 11
Iv
THE ARAB LEVELS ON THE SUMMIT 15
V
THE BYZANTINE ROUND CHURCH ON THE SUMMIT 18
VI
THE SETTING-OUT OF THE PLAN OF THE ROUND CHURCH 27
VII
BYZANTINE AND EARLIER REMAINS ON THE SUMMIT 31
VIII
THE TRENCH IN THE NORTHERN SLOPE 34
Ix
POTTERY AND OTHER OBJECTS 36
A.
POTTERY I ARAB 36
II BYZANTINE 37
III HELLENISTIC AND ROMAN 38
IV EARLY IRON AND BRONZE AGES 39
B.
LAMPS 40
C. METAL OBJECTS 41
D.
GLASS OBJECTS 4
E. STONE OBJECTS 43
F. IVORY AND BONE OBJECTS 44
G. INSCRIBED OBJECTS 44
H.
COINS 51
INDEX 63
PLATES
(vii)
LIST OF PLATES
DIAGRAM
I The Byzantine Round Church (facing page 18)
II Geometrical Setting-out of the Round Church (facing page 28)
PLATE No.
I (Frontispiece) Mosaic Floor of Byzantine House on the Terrace of Tell el-Hosn (Beth-shan)
II No. 1. View of Tell el-Hosn from the Northwest
No. 2. Gate at the Northwest of the Tell. Looking West
III No. 1. Terrace, with House V in the Foreground. Looking Southeast
No. 2. Terrace; House VIII. Looking Southeast
IV No. 1. Terrace; Byzantine Rooms of Houses I and II. Looking Southeast
No. 2. Walls at Southeast of Terrace. Looking Northeast
V No. 1. Western Slope Area and Paved Street; Northern End. Looking Northwest
No. 2. Western Slope Area and Paved Street; Central Section. Looking Northwest
VI No. 1. Arab Approach from Western Slope to Summit, over Paved Street, Looking Southeast
No. 2. Arab Approach to Summit and Retaining Wall. Looking Southeast
VII No. 1. Temple Foundations and Roman Walls at West of Summit. Looking North
No. 2. Byzantine Retaining Wall West of Summit. Looking North
VIII No. 1. Summit; Arab Level. Looking Southwest
No. 2. Late Rooms at South of Summit. Room V (“Refectory”) in the Foreground. Looking
Southeast
IX No. 1. Round Church. Looking Southeast
NoS.
2. Round Church. Looking Southwest
X No. 1. Round Church; at West. Looking North
No. 2. Round Church. Looking Northeast
XI No. 1. Round Church, with Pavement at South of Apse in the Foreground. Looking West
No. 2. Apse of Round Church. Looking South
XII No. 1. Round Church; Remains of Steps at North of Narthex. Looking Southwest
No. 2. Summit;BzyantineTombandTowerAmongstEgyptianBrickWalls. LookingNortheast
XIII No. 1. Northern Slope; Burial I
No. 2. Northern Slope; Burial II
XIV No. 1. Postern Gate. Looking North
No. 2. Terrace; House IV, Byzantine Masonry
No. 3. Terrace; House VI, Room 29 and Arab Threshold
No. 4. Terrace; House VII, Mouth of Oven
(ix)
LIST OF PLATES
PLATE No.
XV No. 1. Terrace; House IV, Arab and Byzantine Walls
No. 2. Terrace; House IV, Capital from Upper Debris
No. 3. Terrace; House IV, Capital from Upper Debris
No. 4. Terrace; House IV, Byzantine Drain
XVI NNoo.. 21.. TTeerrrraaccee;; HBoyuzsaentVinIeI,HMouosseaicatFSraogumtheenatst; Angle of Mosaic Floor (from a Drawing)
No. 3. Terrace; Byzantine House at Southeast; Mosaic Border Fragment
No. 4. Western Slope; Room 163, Mosaic Floor
XVII No. 1. Terrace; House III, Mouth of Cistern I
No. 2. West of Summit; Entrance to Passage 48. Looking North
No. 3. Western Slope (North); Fluted Column Lying in Debris
No. 4. Western Slope; Baluster used as Door-sill
XVIII No. 1. Summit; Room 5, Drain at Northeast Corner
No. 2. Greek Inscription from Terrace; House VII
No. 3. Summit; Room Northwest of Church, 1\Iosaic Floor
No. 4. Summit; Southwest of Church, Mosaic Floor
XIX No. 1. Summit; Southwest Entrance to Church,,Threshold
No. 2. Summit; Water-Channels South of Church
No. 3. Ambulatory of Church, Mosaic Floor
No. 4. Church; Floor of Niche at Southwest
XX No. 1. Church; Two Capitals
No 2 Church Capital
o 3 Church Capital
No. 4. Architectural Fragment 4
XXI No 1—4 Inc Architectural Fragments
XXII No 1—4 Inc Architectural Fragments
XXIII No. 1. Summit; Byzantine Tower, Interior at Southwest
No. 2. Summit; Arab Room 38
No 3 Summit Tank Below the Church
XXR o 1 Mould for Baking Bread for the Liturgy
No 2 ferra Cotta Figurines
No. 3. Terra-Cotta Figurines
XXV No. 1. Finger-tip and Toe from a Marble Statue
No 2 Painted 4mb Jug
No. 3. Limestone Head
No 4 Bronze Lion head Door handle
XXVI No 1 Beads from Burial I
No. 2. ‘Bronze Figurine
No 3 Incised Arab Bowl from Terrace
No. 4. Decorated Jar Neck (Arab)
(x)
L i S T 0 F P L A T E S
PLATE No.
XXVII No. 1. Incised Arab Bowl from Summit
No. 2. Painted Interior of Same Bowl
No. 3. Decorated Dish
No. 4. Bronze Polycandelon
XXVIII No. 1. Roman Lamp with Inscribed Base
No. 2. Seal from Deep Trench
No. 3. Lamps: (a) Roman; (b) Hellenistic
No. 4. (a) Lead Plaque; (b) Bronze Ladle
XXIX No. 1. (a) Carved Marble Fragment; (b) Mould for Roman Lamp
No. 2. Coin of Antoninus Pius (Neapolis Shechem)
No. 3. (a) Carved Ivory Fragment; (b) Marble Panel
No. 4. Vase in Form of Animal
XXX Pottery from the Terrace
XXXI Pottery from Cisterns on the rferrace
XXXII Pottery from the Summit and Western Slope
XXXIII Pottery from the Summit and Western Slope
XXXIV Glazed Pottery, Black and Red
XXXV Pottery from the Trench and Burials on the Northern Slope
XXXVI Lamps
XXXVII Bronze and Iron
XXXVIII Bronze and Iron
XXXIX Glass
XL Stone, Ivory, etc.
XLI No. 1. Ptolemaic Coins, Obverse
No. 2. Ptolemaic Coins, Reverse
XLII No. 1. Column-Shaft Number 1, Upper End
No. 2. Column-Shaft Number 1, Lower Section
PLAN I General Plan of the Excavated Area (Tell el-Hosn)
(xi)
-t
BETH-SHAN EXCAVATIONS, 1921-1923
THE ARAB AND BYZ&NTINF LFELS
ft
CHAPTER I
II
THE SITE AND COURSE OF WORK
I The present publication is almost entirely confined to a description of the two upper-
most strata lying under the surface of Tell el-Hosn, that is, those of the Arab and Byzantine
periods The latter extends from the fourth to the seventh century of our era, the former
comprises the whole extent of time from the Arab conquest in 636 to the present
A D
day It may, however, be said at once that no positive evidence was forthcoming that
the Tell had been occupied in modern times, or even during the Crusades or in the later
mediival period.
The site has been described in Volume I, so it is only necessary to remind the readei
that Tell el-Hosu is situated on a spur above the southern bank of the river JahId, which
flows eastward from the foothills of Gilboa into the Jordan Valley Before the excavations
IF were begun, the top of the Tell rose to a height of about eighty metres above the bed of
the stream. On the south, the Tell is separated from the modern town by a valley which
runs eastward to join that of the Jalfld. The sides of the Tell and of the spur on which it
stands thus slope steeply in every direction except the west, from which quarter alone it
is accessible. On the northern and eastern sides, however, this slope is not uniform and
a sort of terrace is formed about twenty-six nietres below the summit. The photograph
of the Tell from the north-northwest [PLATE II, 1] taken at the beginning of the second
season (192Q) shows the conformation of the ground with sufficient clearness. In the fore
ground is a pool of the Jalfld; behind it the ground rises steeply to the Terrace, below
which the debris of excavation covers a large part of the slope. On the extreme right of
this Terrace is seen the ruined Gate which appears on PLAN I, at the northwest corner
of our area.
From the Gate, the ascent to the Summit is relatively gradual, but on the northeast
side there is an abrupt slope, which has not yet been excavated except where the photo
graph shows a deep trench, cut for the purpose of exploring the lower strata of the Tell,
as described in Chapter VIII.
Even before the excavation was begun (June Oth, 921) the Gate at the northwest
could be seen standing above the level of the soil, and along the edge of the Terrace the
enclosing wall was visible for a great part of its length. The work of disengaging this
outer wall was put in hand at once; on the following day a beginning was made with the
clearance of the area marked on the plan, “House m.” The following is a summary of
the progress of work during the three seasons:
(1)
BETH SIIAN EXCAVATIONS 1921—1923
1921 June 21 to July 22. Excavation on the Terrace of Houses i, ii arid iii.
July 11 and 12 Outer wall disengaged along the Terrace and round to
the south side of the Tell
July 23 to September 21. Clearance of the Gate and Houses iv to vii
on the Terrace, with part of the Paved Street adjoining them
July 31 to August 25. A deep trench in the northeastern slope, between
House and the Summit, dug to a depth of twelve metres below the
i
Summit level, but abandoned without reaching the rock.
July 31 to September 29. Work on late Arab rooms at the south side of
the Summit.
August 24 to October 19. Clearance of the Summit, uncovering a street. of
Arab houses with the Byzantine Round Church below.
1922 April 15 to May 8. Work on the Terrace, mainly in the rooms lying south
of House i.
May 9 to June 24. Work was confined to the Cemetery on the north side
of the Jalñd.
June 25 to August 21. Clearance of the Western Slope, starting from the
Summit, down towards the Gate and the northern end of the Terrace.
August 13 to September 11. On the Summit, removal of debris from below
the floor of the Round Church, clearance of the Byzantine Tower
and of some (Egyptian) brick buildings below.
1923 April 17 to May 13. Continued clearance of debris from below the Byzan
tine floor-level on the Suinnuit.
April 18 to June 23. Excavation of rooms on the Western Slope.
June 13 to July 26. Excavation of the east and southeast of the Summit
in pre-Byzantine levels.
It will be observed that during part of 1922 and 1923, work was being carried on below
the Byzantine level. In fact, upon the Summit the excavations reached the mud-brick
Lbuildings which eventually proved to date from the Egyptian occupation of Beth-shan,
the finds including stela of Seti I and Rameses II, and a statue of Rameses III. Part ofthe
foundations of a Hellenistic or Roman temple also came to light. All these lie outside the
scope of this volume, but on the other hand there has been included a certain number of
objects belonging to periods earlier than the Byzantine, some of which were found among
the foundations of rooms on the Terrace, others in the stratum of artificial filling and
indistinguishable mud-brick walls underlying the floor-level of the Round Church on the
Summit. Furthermore, the deep trench cut in the northern slope above House i (August,
1921), with its two burials of the Middle Canaaimite period, is dealt with in Chapter VIII.
(2)
THE SITE AND COURSE OF WORK
In describing the results of the excavations, it will be convenient to begin with the
Gate at the northwestern angle of the Tell and deal next with the Terrace, then turn to
the Western Slope as forming the natural line of approach to the Summit, upon which
by great good fortune there remained, below the Arab level, the foundation-walls, mosaics
and other vestiges of a monument of outstanding importance, one of the few Byzantine
churches of circular shape in Palestine and one, moreover, of which the existence was
unrecorded and unknown.
Elsewhere upon the Tell there are no buildings of at all comparable interest. The
crumbling walls on the Terrace and on the Western Slope, whether Byzantine or Arab in
date, have been for centuries readily accessible to natives in search of building material,
and it is certain that the basalt houses of the modern town consist almost entirely of stones
stripped from ancient buildings. It is only when we approach the Summit that we shall
find it possible to treat separately of the two periods, the more so because the Arab occu
pation has left but scanty traces in the way of pottery and small objects. This fact may
be accepted as the natural consequence of a gradual and peaceful abandonment of the site.
On the general plan of the excavations [PLAN i], three periods are distinguished:
Byzantine, earlier Arab, and later Arab; these are indicated by varied types of hatching,
except for those walls which are of too uncertain date to be included in any of the above
categories and are hence left unhatched. It should be explained that during the work a
separate number was allotted to each room on the site, but in order to prevent confusion
only such numbers appear on PLAN I as are needed for reference in the following pages.
(3)
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