The buildings at Samaria

128 Pages·1942·40.436 MB·English

by  John Winter Crowfoot

THE BUILDINGS
AT SAMARIA
by
J. W. CROWFOOT KATHLEEN M. KENYON
E. L. SUKENIK
Reprinted
DAWSONS OF PALL MALL
1966
FOR
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND
LONDON
FOREWORD
The excavations at Samaria which are described in this volume were carried out
J.
under the direction of Mr. W. CrO\,vfoot and came to an end in 1935. They continued,
and greatly extended, the Harvard University excavations of 1908-10 and it is by a sad
coincidence that while this volume was in the press we have had to deplore the death of
two of those who played the foremost part in the earlier expedition. Dr. George Reisner
Firs/ jillh!id1ul in Lo11do11 I ()..J.2 has died in Egypt this year: he had been for many years Professor of Egyptology at
F11c.,i111i!e 1C/ni111 ... 196b Harvard University; he planned the original work at Samaria and took personal charge
oft he excavations in 1909 and 19 ro. Dr. Clarence Fisher died at Jerusalem in 1941; he
DA \YSO~S OF P.\LL ~IALL
was Acting Director of the American School of Oriental Research there at the time of his
I h PALL .\ L\LL, LoxDox. S. \\". I
death and he had been architect to the Harvard Expedition at Samaria during all three
FOR !"FI} years. The world is the poorer for the loss of two scientific men of such distinguished
PAL EST I.\' E E XI' LO R.-\T IO.\' FL'.\' D achievement.
2 f-11:-nE STREET. '.\lA:-cHESTER SclL\RE. Lo:-no:-. \\'. l In 1938 there was published the volume describing the Early Ivories from Samaria, by
Mr. and Mrs. Crowfoot. Since that year the present volume on the Buildings has been in
course of preparation, but the work has been much hindered by the war. The firm
which has been making the blocks for the illustrations has had its workshop bombed by
the enemy; and shortage of staffs and other difficulties have also delayed publication.
The Executive Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund decided that it was desirable
to issue this volume without undue delay, and thus safeguard the knowledge gained at
the cost of four years of work in the field, on a site of exceptional interest in the history
of Palestine. All students of that history will be grateful to Mr. Crowfoot and his fellow
workers for the valuable results obtained and for their able presentation in this volume.
C. F. ARDEN-CLOSE,
July, 1942. Chairman, Palestine Exploration Fund.
REPRINTED OFFSET LITHO RY BIDDLES LI.\IITED. ca·ILDFORD
CONTENTS
PAGE DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF PLANS AND PLATES
Descriptive list of plans and plates
vn
List of figures in the text
Xll Frontispiece The hill ofSamaria-Sebaste from SE: the modern village to right
List of abbreviations
r.1 Samaria-Sebaste: principal ancient buildings
XIV
Preface II. Israelite remains on the summit area
xv
I. The site rn. Remains at NE corner of summit
I IV. Hellenistic remains on summit area
2. Buildings round and below the summit 5 v. Stadium: Israelite tomb group to W
I The Israelite period VI. Aqueduct: plan and sections in forum
A. Introduction VII. Sections on the summit
5
vm. Israelite periods I and I I
B. The upper walls round the summit
9 IX. Herodian temple and adjacent buildings
C. Walls on the middle terraces
16 x. Summit temple-, Third Roman period
D. Remains on the lower slopes
20
E. A group of tombs (E. L. Sukenik)
21
F. A shnne outside the city (E. L. Sukenik) XL Early Bronze Age. I. Rock workings on summit, S side c.400N: from E.
23
2. Channel in rock with hole. 3. Storage pit.
H. The Hellenistic period
24 XII. Israelite inner wall. I. Four courses under pillar oflater masonry, N side
A. A round tower 24 of summit c.615E: from E. 2. Longer section of same wall, c.645E:
B. The fort from N.
28
III. Later periods XIII. Inner wall. 1, 2. Closer views of same section, no. 2 taken before removal
31 of period III wall above.
A. Introduction
31 XIV. Inner wall. I. Fragment NE ofs ummit c. 7c29E; above to left, later Israel
B. The city wall 39 ite plastered floor with channelling: from \V. 2. Rock vvorkings continu-
C. The stadium area ing line of above wall to S: from N.. , .
41
D. The columned street xv. Inner wall. I. Fragments S of summit c.635E.; below, rock trenches for
50 walls oft ower on casemate wall: from S. 2. Closer view ofm ain fragment
E. The forum area
55 XVI. r. View from E of walls on pl. xv. 2. View from E of Israelite court
F. The theatre 57 yard on S side of summit with remains ?flater buil~ings ro~nd it ..
G. The temple of Kore (E. L. Sukenik) 62 XVII. 1. Building in style of inner wall on Vv side of summit c.570E; on nght,
H. The south-east quarter rough masonry above course of period I on rock. 2. Close view of
67 same: from W.
J. The aqueduct
74 XVIII. Casemate wall. 1. Fragments under and near E corridor of temple fore
K. The tombs (by E. L. Sukenik) 81 court; on right, remains of Hellenistic fort wall: from E. 2. Fragment
3. The summit buildings and constructions (by Kathleen M. Kenyon) under corridor, from N.
gr
I. The Early Bronze Age XIX. Casemate wall. 1. Foundations on N side of summit c.620E, before removal
gr
of filling between walls: from N. 2. The same after complete clearance;
II. From Israelite period I to Hellenistic fort ·wall period
93 on left, Hellenistic fort wall: from W.
III. From Late Hellenistic to Byzantine
120
Vl 1 Plates I-X in poc½?t at end of volume.
Vll
'xx. Casem<:te wall on N side of summit c.645E, S face. 1. From S, view 'XXXVII. Round tower. I. On right,foundationofS side: in centre an earlier wall,
show_mg upper courses reconstructed in Israelite period IV. 2. From perhaps Persian in date, built across the empty trench of an Israelite
W with, on right, inner wall shown on pl. xu/2. (period I?) wall and incorporating a proto-Ionic capital left of measur
XXI. Casemate wall on N side of summit c.655E. I. From E, showing robber ing staff. 2. View looking into shaft dug behind N face of tower, show
trench of wall on left. 2. From N. ing undisturbed filling with white lines of chips left as the stones were
XXII. Casemate wall o? N side of ~ummit c. 658E. I. From N. 2. From S. pushed into place.
XXIII. Casemate wall NE of summit c.728E. I. From NW: remains ofE end of XXXVIII. Round tower. I. View into same shaft, showing course ofisraelite wall at
easternmost _casemate, the inn~r wall (pl. xiv.) visible in centre above. bottom and intermediate construction to right. 2. Detail of masonry
2. ~rom E: m upper part of picture view of same walls· in foreground on outer exposed face of tower.
to nght, E wall of tower adjoining last casemate. ' ' XXXIX. Period VIII. I. A room with two vats on summit c.645E: looking N.
XXIV. I. ;'rom SE: E wall_oftower abutt_ing on casemate wall c.735. 2. From 2. Closer view of vats.
NE: _lmver Israelite wall on n:ii~dle terrace below summit c. 728E, XL. I. Period IX paving E of entrance to large cistern, c.62oE: looking S.
showmg, on left, part of Hellernstic round tower. 2. Steps leading down to cistern with channel on right: looking N. See
XXV. I. petailofma~onry o~wa~lshown onpl.xx1v/2. 2. Casematewall on S plan on pl. IV.
side of summit c.716E, with shelflevelled for inner wall above: from SE XLI. I. Foundation of wall on summit c.foo, incorporating a Hellenistic (?)
XXVI. I, 2. Casemate ,~all on S s_ide of summit c.670-680E: views of massive base. 2. Section of Hellenistic fort wall under E corridor of sum
fra9ment showmg how this wall overlapped line ofinner ,vall. 1. From mit temple forecourt, c.6ooE: from S.
SVY. 2. From S. XLII. Fort wall. r. Long section on N side of summit (s ee pl. XIX/ 2) : from
XXVII. Casemate wall at SE angle c.735E. I. From E. 2. From S: the N-S S. 2. Section at NE corner of summit, c. 73IE, above the round tower:
~tret~h of the wall runs diagonally across the picture, the stones on left from SW.
m middle belong to the inner wall. XLIII. Fort wall. r. Israelite rock cutting in foreground, behind lower courses
XXVIII. The ea,ster_n approach to sumn:iit. r. View looking NE ofremains c. 735- of outer face of fort wall on line of the measuring staff; above, debris
746E, wit~1 domed Roman cistern on right. 2. View of farther remains and Fourth Roman exedra wall, c.636E: from N. 2. Fort wall E of
, on same lme C. 766-773E. corridor, the interior of the wall breached to the rock: from E.
XXIX. fhe eastern apl?r~ach. I. Intermediate fragment of wall shown on pl. XLIV. Fort wall. I. In centre of picture, fort wall E of breach with debris and
xxv_m c. 7_55E; m front, la~~r foun~ation incorporating three proto Herodian wall above: to left, wall apparently built to repair breach,
Iornc capitals: from S. 2. I he capitals. perhaps under Gabinius: from W. 2. The same walls seen from SW
xxx. Israelite remains S ,of basilica. I .. General view, looking down to NE, of ,vith repair in centre.
walls c.850-875E. 2. Foundation of S wall of tower adjoining above XLV. Roman city ,vall. I. Outer face, N of stadium, lower part foundational:
walls: from NE. from NW. 2. Inner face at same point: from S.
L
XXXI. I. View of walls on pl. xxx/1, looking NE. 2. \Vall at E end of the XLVI. Stadium. I. General view looking down N from forum. 2. Part oflate
building. colonnade at K end: looking E.
XXXII. I, 2. -Yiews ~f the long wall on pl. xxx / r looking .:'\. XLVII. Stadium, SE corner. I. Showing enclosure walls of both periods. 2. SE'
XXXIII. Israeht~ penods on s~mmit. 1._ View lo~king SW c.620-630E: period III corner, showing angle pillar of earlier colonnade.
walls m centre. 2. View ofp enod V pav mg of room Jin foreground inner XLVIII. Stadium, SW corner. I. In foreground, foundations of later stylobate;
wal~ (pl. x~1/2) behind, c.640-648E: from N. ' in middle distance, stylobate of early colonnade; in background, en
XXXIV. Israel_ite penods. r .. View, l~oking S\V_, sho,ving temporary wall N of closure walls of both periods: from N. 2. In foreground, early
penod III. 2. View lookmg W, c.642E showing period IV floor stylobate; in middle, foundations of later stylobates and one column:
cut through and period IVa wall above. ' from S.
XXXV. I. View, looking \V, showing period IV in background between inner XLIX. Stadium. I. W side, remains of early enclosure wall with painted plaster
wal~ on left and ~asemate wall on right 2. View of chocolate soil in still adhering. 2. N colonnade: from E.
sect10n on summit c.440N, 640E: from W. L. Stadium, E side. I. Two columns. 2. Retaining wall. Both oflater period.
XXXVI. Hellenistic round . tower bel_ow NE . corner of summit c. 734-746£. LI. Forum. I. N side, retaining wall: from E. 2. SW corner, view from SE
I. Seen fromT E m 1933, with remams of earlier walls in middle. 2. showing, from left to right, the S enclosure wall, excavation for the
Seen from N after further clearance in 1935 with Israelite walls aqueduct, stylobate of the colonnade with two pedestals in place, and
appearing E and \'\'. ' columns of W side and basilica beyond.
LII. Columned street, S side, vie~ from NW showing one column and two shops.
Vlll lX
LIII. Columned street: 1. _Shol? on S side with cellar near door: from NW. txxv. Summit excavations, Fourth Roman period. I. House with mosaics E of
2: Shop on~ side, nghtjamb ofd oor anciently reconstructed: from S. corridor, with late entrance to cistern (pl. xr./2): from N. 2. Founda
LIV. Shn;1e near~ ga!e. r. View looking E, flowerbed (?) in foreground. . tion of exedra on N edge of summit c.480N: from W.
2
View lookmg N. LXXVI. Summit excavations, Fourth Roman period. I. Exedra from NW. 2.
LV. Shrine near W gate. r. _Flower bed(?) from N. 2. Gargoyle found on site. Stylobate of colonnade with deep foundations of piers to carry columns
LVI. Theatre. r. General view of excavation from N. 2. The paved orchestra c.450N.
from N. r.xxvn. Summit excavations, Fourth Roman period, eastern insula. r. Room in
LVII. Theatre. r. The gangway or praecinctio, from \I\'. 2. Seats in the house on N edge of summit: looking N. 2. Detail of mosaic in house.
auditorium. r.xxvm. Summit excavations, Fourth Roman period, eastern insula. r. Founda
LVIII. Theatre: r. Remains of front wall of stage, from S. 2. The same from N. tions built against Israelite inner wall, which later removed: Survey
LIX. r. Archit~ave block from back wall of stage in theatre. 2. Kore temple, pole on line oflsraelite wall. 2. Mosaic floor in same house.
foun?atlon at Wend: from S. 3. Kore temple, pedestals on S side of r.xxrx. Aqueduct. r. View from subterranean chapel at 'Ain Harun, looking
precmct colonnade. to~ards the entrance. 2. View from chapel looking in direction of the
LX. Kore tem.f?le fragments. ~. Three blocks from a stepped cresting, plastered spnngs.
and pamted. 2. Rehef with cap of the Dioscuri. 3. Relief with r.xxx. Tomb No. 220. r. View of court looking N, showing entrances to two
double axe. 4, 5. Architectural details. chambers and a sarcophagus on debris at N end in front of raised plat
LXI. r. Shrine _(pl. 1, no. I 6) from SW, columns of the basilica in distance. form. 2. Doorway into E chamber with stone door in place .
.2· Detai~ of street ker~ and paving, S of forum. LXXXI. Tomb No. 220. r. Interior ofN chamber. 2. Interior of E chamber.
LXII. View, _lo_okmg S, of remams N of summit temple forecourt, showing main r.xxxu. r. Tomb No. 222, entrance arch. 2. Dome over cistern on S side of hill
retami?g walls, a tower to left, and houses destroyed when the court (pl. xxvm/r).
was laid out. LXXXIII. Four stones plastered and painted in architectural style: found rebuilt into
LXIII. I. View of the same from NE. 2. View from E. tower added to Third Roman period building on summit.
LXIV. r • View from~ of upper retaining walls and foundations of subterranean r.xxxrv. r. Pilaster capital lying in basilica. 2,3. Fragmentofcapitalinsamestyle
templ~ corridors. ~- Corner tower in forecourt with remains, of pre found on summit. 4. Pilaster capital in basilica. 5. Capital in basilica.
Herodrnn construct10ns below: from NE. 6. Capital from columned street.
LXV. E corridor ~f temple court. r. Building of Herodian (?) masonry ( ), r.xxxv. r, 2. ArchitravefragmentfoundinGanymedehouse. 3, 4. Pilaster capital
03
cut ?Y corndor wall on left (a): from S. 2. N end of corridor from S. found in Greek monastery.
LXVI. E corndor of temple court. r. View looking S, with Israelitecasematewalls LXXXVI. Fragments of moulded stucco from Fourth Roman period house on
below floor of corridor. 2. Nearer view of same, showing archstones of summit (pl. r.xxv /r).
roof. r.xxxvn. :Mosaics from the same house.
I.XVII. E corridor of t_emple c?urt. ~. Fourth Roman plastered floor, from N. r.xxxvm. Mosaics laid above floor of N colonnade of stadium.
2. Jar fo1:nd m place m corridor. 3. Vats built at N end of corridor. r.xxxrx. Mosaics from late floor S of the shrine shown on PL r.x/r.
LXVIII. E of s1;1mmit tei:nple. r. Second Roman period flight of steps E of temple
precmct, lookmg N. 2. Room E ofs teps to temple cella.
LXIX. r. Drums fr'?m temple columns as found E of cella steps. 2. Flight of
steps_ ofTh1rd _Roman period over!ying those shown on pl. LXvm/r.
LXX. Su~mlt excavations E oft emple corndor. r. Herodian cistern. 2. The same
with surrounding Herodian walls.
LXXI. Summit ~xcavatioi:s, I. View looking N showing Third Roman walls
overlymg Herodrnn walls. 2. The same showing Third Roman wall
crossing Herodian room. '
LXXII. Summitdexcavations. r. Tower added to Third Roman period. 2. A
stepl?e bath o_f Fourth Roman period.
LXXIII. Summit excavat10ns, eastern insula, Third Roman period. r. A stepped
bath. 2. Hypocaust c.470N.
LXXIV. Summit excavations, Fourth Roman period. 1. Room with plastered
floor. 2. Steps in corner of room. 3. A stepped bath c.460N.
X Xl
Bo
4,0. Traces of high level aqueduct
H2
.p. Plan of tomb E 220
8.i
4 '2. Tomb E 220, sections C-D, A-B 86
Stone door
·IJ· 89
Tomb E 222
LIST OF FIGURES IN THE TEXT ·14· go
Columbarium, plan and section
4 .'l. 9~?
PAGE 16, Remains of Early Bronze age 102
I. Israelite stone-cutting IO 1:7· Buildings of period III 04.
2. Israelite masonry I I .18. Buildings of period IV I
12 106
3. Israelite enclosure walls, SE corner Buildings of period I\' a
12 ·t9· 107
4. Israelite wall on S side Buildings of period V
:°>O.
5. Israelite walls, east end 13 Buildings of period VIIa , I I 2
.1 I. 113
6. Proto-Ionic capital 13 Buildings of periods VIII and IX . .
7. Restoration of Israelite entrance wall 15 '.)'2. Forecourt of summit temple with underly1~1g constructions IZ.-1
8. Plan of Israelite gate (?) and walls 18 .13· East corridor bounding forecc:urt of summit temple 130
:i4· J36
9. Israelite masonry 19 Houses of Fourth Roman penod
55·
22
IO. Israelite tombs, plan and section
I I. Israelite shrine (?) plan and sections 23
I 2. Stadium, south end 43
I 3. Stadium, details on west side 44
14. Graffiti on west wall of stadium 45
I 5. Graffiti on west wall of stadium 46
I 6. Stadium, later colonnade 47
I 7. Stadium, bases of later columns 47
I 8. Stadium, later wall and plan 48
I 9. Columned street, plan 51
20. Columned street, suggested restoration 51
2 I. Detail of doorway 52
22. Restored plan of shrine near west gate 53
23. Mouldings on west shrine 54
24. Restored plan of theatre 58
25. Theatre, auditorium 59
26. Above, blocks from wall below stage: below, an archstone 59
60
27. Entablature from fa<;ade
60
28. Blocks from entablatures
63
:29. Plan of Kore temple and court
30. Substructure of Kore temple, NW corner 6+
66
31. Ionic capital from Kore temple
68
32. Plan of later buildings in SE quarter
69
33. Corner of shrine
34. Shrine, plan at corner 69
35. Olive press 70
36. Plan oflate buildings, SE of summit 72
3 7. Domed cistern 73
38. Water conduit at 'Ain Harun 77
39. Sketch plan of water conduit 78
Xlll
Xll
PREFACE
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
B.Z. Byzantinische .?,eitschrift. Professor Lake is the real be getter of this work: he mooted the scheme at the instigation,
he tells me, of Pere Vincent O.P., of the House of St. Stephen in Jerusalem. Harvard
D.P. Denkmaler Paliistinas by C. Watzinger. University had sent the first expedition to Samaria in 1908, so it was right that a Harvard
H.E. Harvard Excavations at Samaria by Reisner, Fisher, Lyon. professor should take the initiative again. The second expedition was called the Joint
Expedition because five institutions ultimately joined forces--Harvard University, the
I.L.N. Illustrated London News.
Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Palestine Exploration Fund, the British Academy
].A.I. Jahrbuch des deutschen archaologischen lnstituts. and the British School of Archreology inJerusalem. Work was started in 1931: we planned
a campaign to last three seasons like the earlier Harvard Expedition, but in 1933, at the
J.R.S. Journal of the Roman Society. end of the third season, I pressed for one more campaign at least to settle some new
problems which had cropped up late in the last year. Professor Lake gave us his blessing,
P.E.F.QS. Palestine Exploration Fund Q,uarterly Statement.
but in America which up to then had borne the greater part of the financial burden
P.E.Q Palestine Exploration Q,uarterly. times were not propitious: we had to rely on British resources and to content ourselves in
QD.A.P. Q,uarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine. 1935 with operations on a smaller scale.
The work of the Joint Expedition was made possible by donations from Mrs. Felix
Z,D.P.V. .?,eitschrift des deutschen Palastina-Vereins, Warburg of New York, Mrs. Neilson of Chicago, Mrs. Frederick Winslow of Boston, the
American Council of Learned Societies, the Milton Fund of Harvard University, the
Palestine Exploration Fund, the British Academy and the British School of Archreology in
Jerusalem. The funds for the British Expedition came from a second grant made by the
British Academy and donations from Miss M. Marks, Mr. Simon Marks, Mr. I. Sieff,
Mr. Harry Sacher, Mrs. Sacher and Mr. A. Laski.
I have to make several other acknowledgements.
The first is to Professor Reisner. Professor Reisner was connected with the original
expedition from the beginning and directed the excavations in person in 1909 and 1910.
As he was also a very old friend we naturally had long discussions before work started
and the opening plan of campaign was largely suggested by him. I was further indebted
to him for the loan of some of his trained workmen, among them two or three who had
taken part in the earlier work on the site; we had the benefit not only of their experience
but of the excellent relations which the first expedition had established with the villagers.
We were all very sorry that Professor Reisner could not find time to revisit the place while
we were there.
Next, for continuous help and encouragement we are deeply grateful to Mr. ·E. T.
Richmond, Director of the Department of Antiquities in Jerusalem, and to several mem
bers of his staff, in particular Mr. R. W. Hamilton, then Chieflnspector and now Director,
and Mr. J. H. Iliffe, Director of the Government Museum. It is by their kindness that we
are including many photographs taken for the Department by the Photographic Section.
We have to thank a succession of District Officers at Nablus, both British and Pales
tinian, for help in times of trouble. The Mayor of Nablus, Suliman Bey Tuqan, helped
us as arbitrator on more than one occasion, and the Mukhtar of Sebastia, Sheikh Kamel
' Abd el Hadi, smoothed out a multitude of land and labour difficulties. By the end of
the last season I had accumulated about 150 written agreements with the "children of
XIV
xv
Nahoth" concf'rning rents, compensations, purchases, and employment for their relatives
and debtors: as most of these called for the intervention of the l\fukhtar at some stage or
other, it will be realised that his office was not a sinecure.
Help of a different character was received from many visitors. Samaria is an accessible
place and this enabled us to discuss scientific problems on the spot with some of the
masters of Palestinian arch~ology, Pere Vincent, Professor Albright, Dr. Fisher, Mr.
Starkey, Sir Flinders Petrie and others. \Ve exchanged frequent visits also with our THE SITE
colleagues at I\fegicldo and Shechem. I.
The staff of the Joint Expedition ,ms a large one. The American institutions were
represented by Professor Lake, Professor Blake and :Mrs. Lake: the Hebrew University by The foundation of Samaria is recorded in the First Book of ~ings : .
Professor Sukenik ,,vho acted as Assistant Field Director. Mrs. Crowfoot took charge of "In the thirty and first year of Asa king ofJ udah began Omr_1 to re1g~ ovefrSihsrael,
. · rei ned he in Tirzah. And he bought the hill Saman_a o . emer
the registration ,vork during both expeditions. :l~f~:r,
1
In 1931 the staff included four students of the British School, :Miss Kathleen Kenyon, t~e~~:/::i:~t~ agnd built on the hill, and ~alled the 1:a1;,1e of tl~e city ':'7h1ch he)
Miss M.A. Bentwich and Mr. A.G. Buchanan, all of whom returned in '32 and '33, and uilt after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Sa:nana. (I Kmgs _xvi, 23, 4
Mr. N. B. Wright who returned in '32: two students from America, Dr. Conrad Chapman b Tl~e site which Omri chose as his capital inst~ad of Tir~ah-da phlache. ~h1ch dhash:10~
and Miss Ann Fuller: Mr. J. Pinkerfeld of Tel Aviv and Mr. N. Avigad of the Hebrew · 1 · d · fi d--bad much to commend 1t. It dommate t e 1g roa w ,1c
~~1~r~.%t~~~Js~le~~t~o eDa~ascus and the cities of Phcenici~. Communications eastwards
University, both of whom rejoined us in '32 and '33, the first as architect, the second as
~~~
draughtsman. In 1932 Miss Barr came to us from the British School, Miss Agnes Lake :itl;·tl1c lands beyond Jordan were not diffic1;11t as mounta~n/ass1:•go. tn e~~y Jo,a~
(now l\frs. \V. Michels) and Dr. H. H. Walker from America, and three short-time to the sea which is onlv about twenty-five miles away, "0nd •?~~ ,is pa ace ':'m O,\ l
volunteers, Miss Joan Crowfoot (Mrs. D. Payne), who returned for the whole of the '33 kine- could watch Phc,;nician galleys sailing, al?ng the coast._ . I h~ surr~undmg c~untry
season, Mr. E. Harris and Mr. Benedict Magnes. In 1933 there were three more students ,·a/ rich: Isaiah s eaks c,f Samaria as the g1ono~s. bcautY,,?·luch 1s on_ the ~1ead o. a [at
from the British School, Miss N. de Crespigny (Mrs. Movius), Miss K. M. E. Murray ~~2 ii"" and the siXcs of the valley north of the 11111. are s1t1~ll covered ":'1th gt c)Ves oJ ohv~
wit~ :~ ~~CC:tit
J.
and Mr. C. H. Inge, and two volunteers, Dr. Wein-Green of Dublin, and Mr. Hood. tr~:."/:::nd vineyards and tarace(gardens_ planted f~ P~t~~!~a~!rT:: l~~g
1
The staff of the British Expedition in 1935 was much smaller. Of our former helpers }'rom the militarv st;i.ndpomt also 1t was a g(~O, sltc, · .c ·~ c . t - d .,
only Miss Kenyon and Mr. A vigad returned: the new members were Dr.· and Mrs. riac:,. :-.hich knt itself to defensi\·c works, and the lngner mouniahms wh~c~ ~,~od ~odu1· n1cr ;~
AsaIumlmrbemjeaeTradcihnytc uea oa nefrpl et ephsBxeuiespal ntervs-ed oDdoilt,uofi o mrbw nooea ,tfst ho J S ec Jaeroexmunrpscaaeaersdlirheain.tm- ieSod ena bswn adaist rtheeM tItrho,. e iAsb Ee.tHh aper.ul yabDn lIicesvtihoweerneidtei lsbte;our g,it lhedoteinh neetgh rso i;irf ndt th htwehe ris leaele cr ccovohnonidlttue,a cmwitnseh siro.ce nhp T ohtrhhateess 1•.yn.,n' v,,., 1l•1• "o1l. • .t, ,·,.•,.h. 11_-µv •~i u,•n,,.1, ,'.,,.,'g.-·.1 ,,I, ,":., ib ,;h,10--H",-d1ah1'1 •r~i, t.(l c1 c •·;·• ri_(c11., ,:1•,a• .v7 -",wn ce•(h.-· ,s-, '', - .,?"b -A o_ e1•{n.g ::"•>, ,· r'',-a!·.I, '·. Ls :••~"h; n •e i •ant l,•t· l.nt? r1J ae wenn•d m?na ,".soet,'c . oln •1n t.c c aa tal1~rn 1n,tty<1l. e•11 0l\,e. rCe•n n, ss _s1c wt,1· e o1nrw11mm Lg1• l e c~1e rl-e 1 ~snt 1· Oi•a" .c O :n-•Drtde in g .o 1p htrn1-n· et oe nL~w a•f 'oo ltOm· du ,~ vte,:,,L~ •na l..) n :1Ivo~ro t· ,, :uo hwtsu e- hrmP••p i• rcop[eht m.es l. ~enstaeseuosr rg,dsc.on, a-h .,nme . e ks ,sa'itt-;~s \hv . uc re Lecsv hnc ,. h:r1ae h"} atlll e 1l •r t .) n} h1 mi s- b,ae avroucve ft
on the Oriental Inscriptions (Professor Sukenik), the Greek and Latin Inscriptions (Mrs. bc('n an aclditional rncnt rn 1:1e eyes of .o~u, hke so maLy d~ .be~'d'a s a s1·1et) ,'vhPre he
Lake), the Coins (Professor Blake and Mrs. Ben- Dor), the Stamped Jar-handles (l\frs. b,~vc Drefrrrcc!' a s1· tt' vn·r t·1 0ut o 1c1 <··1 ss·o c.·., ·a t1011s a.1 1d outmod<>· .1 u11.1 mg , b ,,. , ~- . ~ t .. .
Lake), the Pottery (Mrs. Crowfoot, 'Miss Kenyon and Professor Sukenik), the Bronze and was f;ccr r.< i build ;:1ccording to the heart's des1re than he ½OU1d have e--n, "a)' a, an
:MarLblaer gfieg usreecst i(o'Mnsr .o Ifl tifhfee )p, rtehsee nGt lavsosl u(mMers o. nC rtohwe fBouoitl)d, ianngds athree tshmea wll omrkis coefl lManiseso uKse fninydosn. ancie,~n,tn c-1e·n;,t,r e1 'l1i·k1e)" fS''•li1're ctlh1oemm rl1 it had a long hi. story,b ln ever grew m· to a ._ \,e ,ry .H b1~ ·g·r odr• d·, t;sT . w·~ar1·h,l p~
and Professor Sukenik: in the sections for which I am responsible I have made free use ,-1·ze V~(fl. dt h" p "}··,i ll ' a.q. c-l• •,i .t s' . r:ontco· urs \Vere not favoura r e to( vast expafl:S10;1,d ct'c \.. ·1 ~t
of a draft by Professor Sukenik on the Israelite palaces, of a report by Dr. Ben-Dor on his .,,. .,hi-·1U1 ,,c-r"-r c ,c.a, rr1. t' :d,. out ' to the t''a. rtl1eSL• .,.... onv. em• ent ine see plan Ik 1I ·1 lllClll C muc~1 1 t t1L a
wthoer kw oatr kt hien nthoert hsa emaset acroeran einr o1f9 t3h3e, paanlda coef a nroetae si nb y19 M35r,. oBf uac rheapnoarnt boyn Mvairsiso uMs utorrpaiycs otno ,·.' vy, .i·:d·L.,- , ~. t.r•.·· ,·'p •os"r'i (n'·C t-'1~,. to\ mh~ wo••ri ; ed so' enr.i, oaunsd ·d r.taiil wL, ba~ar ceKa", \w·v·a"l,ts h I't hn et hweamn tw oa fs a b gaoreol dv: wa" at 1e h 1o- msue•pt ,or e.1 v' 1a·' c, tr,on' se:-: .", 1a.et'ba r.eHse t
wprhoiocfhs, raenfedr einnc epsr ewpiallr ibneg ftohuen idll. usIt rhataivoen st of otrh tahnek pPrerossf eIs shoar vLea rkeec efiovre rde athdein ggr ethatreosut gahs stihste -C~~ ,fu'-'''O t tc~o'> fcsf ·\•vp' rh1. negr-~v-·' :"v''. >c'r er tah· eID cW•i1 t?y a w\ha·.~ts V' ccl,, ons etn,l ye bIr:ae ,.l.. eSa·lc g1u e ~Or fe d a ;d t e he ep cv1· asltele:nys am.n .d,c1 . dt e etyhd e w 1ow ua l·,a1 s nca,1 vweiP do e IleOunL-..
ance from Miss Kenyon and from Mr. Ovenden, Assistant Secretary to the Palestine have been sufficient for many thousand inhabitants plus thelf horses an ./~ohnKe!:· f" p
Exploration Fund. : · · · · 't ~d to "Orne by but th pre are two sets of figures v. . uc a, 0 o ,,ome
lauon statistics are 1a, ~ ".,. f h le the pooulation
J. W. CROWFOOT, 1,,-.rA-'· i·J·• ,: n the e· arly day·s o! the, o, tv• wh. en Ahfa Vb l took a · censu" s o dt ..,e opoeoo opt ~ .', a 11- t l1 e ,c 'm ·1,c 1 r.e1.1
included 2n2 "young men of tne prmces o tie pr<?".'mces an 1, l b f -
7
,.) f I": ,rae 'i" \T' King._ s , xx., 1 •~' \; besid· es in all ·p robab1dh ty ha t least an teeqdu ·av.1 t~nm tmhe e~ro ou r·, naorn1 d
Israelites, Syrian merchants, craftsmen, pnests an ot ers connec
I L C -
XVI B I
government; about a hundred and fifty years later, c. 722 B.c., after the fall of Samaria of pride" (Isaiah) now culminates in a dump which rises some 5 metres above the old
Sargon depor~ed 27,_290 p~ople who lived in i~ and 50 chariots.1 It may be doubted summit and stretches right across it for about 100 metres from north to south; it was left
whether the oty. at 1,ts zemth_ could have co:itamed more than thirty or forty thousand by the first American Expedition. One natural feature, on the other hand, comes out
(se~ the Appendix).\ I quest10n _whether this fig:ure was exceeded even in the Roman clearly-the bend in the ridge to ENE about two hundred metres from the west end of
peno~ w~en a~ aqueduct was bmlt to lead water mto the town from the springs, because the summit: all buildings at the west end of the city from the Israelite period to the
by this time life had become more complicated-new urban services, public fountains Roman are orientated more or less on the cardinal points of the compass, all those to the
and baths, had been introduced, there were drains to be flushed and paved streets to be east follow this altered trend of the hill (see p. 14).
watered, the people wanted much more ,vater per head. A hundred years or so after the The excavation of the site up to date has been a slow business. The excavator of a site
~qued~ct was_ made, Eusebius refers to the place as a little town, 1ro11.ixvri, although which is under garden or orchard cultivation like the hill of Samaria is obliged to restore
its territory still reached as far as Dothan. the land at the end of his lease in a state fit for cultivation, unless he buys it outright.
On the summit we were compelled in these circumstances to adopt the Strip System
which Professor Reisner describes as "the only possible method of dealing economically
Eusebius' little town has now dwindled into a little village. The houses are huddled with debris" on such a site:1one marks out the area in strips, the earth from the first section
together at the extr~me. east end ?f the ridge straddling across the line of the Roman city is dumped by the side of it, the earth from the second into the first, that from the third
wall .. A mosq~e _which is housed the sh~ll of a magnificent Latin Cathedral is the only into the second and so on until one returns to a strip near the first dump which is used
111
p~omme_nt bmldi1:g. The rest _of the _hill is under garden cultivation, most of it planted to fill in the last trenches to be cleared, this being the only mass of debris which has to
with frmt trees, ohves and fi~? m particular, some of the olives noble trees of a great age. be moved twice over. The method sounds simple but it is, as Professor Reisner warned
The map attached to this volume (plan I) is a mosaic which has been put together me, extremely troublesome in practice, and it accounts largely for the comparative slow
from _the results of seven_ seasons' ':v?rk,. three conducted by the Harvard Expedition in nes:,, of the work. Archceologists who can shoot their spoil down the side of an uncultivated
1908-10, t_hree by the Jomt Expedition m 1931-3, and one by the British Expedition·in tell ~n the desert have no such problems to face.
1935. It gives the position of most of the principal buildings which have been discovered The trees present another problem. Quite apart from their value1 the trees add
2
and the present day contours of the site as surveyed by Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Hood. greatly to the charm of the site, which is one of the most picturesque in Palestine. We
I say the present day contours advisedly because the contours at Samaria, though they followed a middle course: we sacrificed some trees but we avoided places where the finer
have not been modified so pr?foundly as th?se at Jerusalem where valleys from 50 to olives were standing though it meant leaving awkward gaps in our plans. A noble clump
80 feet deep have been filled m, are very different from those of the hill which Omri olives, for example, stands just east of the walls which our predecessors identified with
~ought. On a hilly site like that ?f Samari': every buildi:1g platform, every garden of any principal palace building: we decided that the indications in the strips north and
size, has. to be created by scarpmg, levellmg or terracmg. The transformation of the south of the trees did not justify us in destroying them, but if the trees had not been there
central ndge was begun by Omri and Ahab when they built massive walls round the we should certainly have cleared the area in question.
royal quarter on the summit and prepared the surface to receive the foundations. It The small scale of our map and the completion of the plans of several buildings which
has be~n_going_ on at inter~als ever since. The shape of the summit was changed in the have only been cleared partially, the stadium, the street and the theatre, for example,
l_Iellemstlc penod and _agam when Herod built enormous retaining walls on the north may give an exaggerated idea of the amount of work which has been already accom
side to carry an extension of the forecourt of his temple. The level area which is now plished. On th~ lower slopes of the hill only a few soundings have been made; on the high
covered by t~e village threshing floors (No. 18 on plan I), ,vas only created when the ground barely a quarter of the ground has been properly excavated; the area from about
foru?1. was laid out; the top ?f the ri_dge o~ce ran diagonally across this area and long 650 E to the forum has hardly been touched. But the fraction of the site which has been
retammg walls had to be bmlt on either side, the space between them and the ridge examined has yielded results of the first importance. The Israelite period is represented
levelled up, and the ridge itselflevelled down, before it became a flat rectangular platfor~. by a series of early walls which are unequalled in Palestine, a large collection of ivories
The platform where the upper Kore temple stood (No. 8) was built up in the same way: and some fragments of written documents, which though disappointing in themselves
so too were the ga_rdens which sweep in deep bays across the slope below the forum. The because they are mere fragments, are evidence of what the site once possessed and may
lay-out ~f the st~dmm (No. 22) and the colonnaded street (No. 6) entailed much quarrying still conceal. And the later remains, Macedonian and Roman, are as interesting perhaps
of t~e cliffs agamst which they abutted. And all these modifications have been changed as any of their respective periods in the country. It is suggested that the whole of this area
agam as walls &ave way a1:d sharp angles _were smoothed out by falls of debris. Agricultural ought now to be systematically cleared. The forum itself and all the ground above the
and archceological operations have contnbuted further to the process: the ancient "crown 410 metre contour line should be acquired by expropriation: after clearance, large parts
of it which contained nothing of special interest might be replanted with trees and restored
1
·"T hech1_e f om1~ses~1 0Gn ~1s· etshsme alanrng, eA Hltoerlileenmt~slit~1cch ef oTrte xwtea l;l: _wumi n~c!then r aTnes atarmoeunnt,d It 9h2e6 s, upm. m34it8.. This has been 1 The just price of a tree, so far as there is any principle about it, is calculated locally as the sum
left out because it coincides so closely with the Israelite enclosure walls that it is difficult to show which will bring in a return equal to the average value of the fruit if it is lent at the rate of from
both clearly on a small-scale plan. Buildings of minor importance have been omitted for a similar 20 to 25 per cent., this being the rate which a good man who is not usuriously minded may
reason. reasonably expect.
2 3
I
I
l
i'
to the villagers; the rest should be consolidated and left open, permanently on view, under
proper protection. The actual clearance would present less difficulty as a single under )
taking than the piecemeal excavations which are all that have been possible up to date. I
suggest that it is work which the Palestine Government should undertake.
BUILDINGS ROUND AND BELOW THE SUMMIT
THE WATER SUPPLY AT SAMARIA 2.
(I am indebted to Mr. Buchanan for all the figures from Samaria in the following I. THE ISRAELITE PERIOD
paragraphs.)
A. I N T R O D U C T I O N
I. The Supply from Cisterns.-The largest continuous area which we excavated contained
seven cisterns with a total storage capacity of about r, 120 tons of water. This area lay In the lowest levels towards the west end of the ridge the Harvard expedition found
in a central position on the summit; it was heavily occupied from the Israelite period down remains of a "palace" and a casemated enclosure wall which were both built in a dis
to the fifth century A.D. The area in question measured about 2,800 sq. m. and the storage tinct_ive style that at the time had only one parallel _in the c<;mntry; on a terrace bel?w
provided is equivalent to a storage of 1,800 tons per acre. Excavations elsewhere on the the summit they found a short stretch of another massive wall m the same ?n~ style which
site suggest that other parts of the upper city which measured about 20 acres in extent appeared to belong to a second ring of defence; smaller fragments of similar masonry
were provided with cisterns on a similar scale. We can hardly assume that these cisterns were found near the west gate and under the basilica; in a very different style but likewise
were often filled to capacity though it might have been possible in years of normal from an Israelite level were the walls of a house which contained some Hebrew ostraca.
rainfall. If we assume that they were filled to two-thirds capacity, we shall have a figure No building inscriptions were discovered but the context of the finds 1:roved that these
of 24,000 tons of water stored in the upper city besides what might have been collected buildings belonged to an early period in the history of the site, and Reisner proposed to
on the lower slopes which were less intensively occupied. A total storage of 40,000 tons attribute tentatively some walls to Omri, oth~rs to Ahab, others. to Jeroboam II. Recent
would allow about 108,000 litres a day. A gallon or 4.5 litres per head a day is regarded work in various places has produced fr~sh evidence. At Samaria mo~e of the casemated
as a low figure nowadays: horses and donkeys require much more. It looks as if the wall and more remains of the lower rmg of defence have come to hght, also a second,
stored supply would not have carried a population much over 25,000. earlier wall of enclosure within the casemated wall on the summit and other traces of
Israelife building· the study of Israelite pottery has made great strides; examples of the
2. The Supply from the Springs.--The present capacity of the springs at 'Ain Harlin is said fine style of mas~nry have been found on other sites. B~ilding inscriptions are ~til~ in
to be only about 400 tons a day (see p. 74) but the flow may have been stronger in old default but we can see things now in a clearer perspective; the plan of the pn~cip_al
days. Mr. Buchanan thinks indeed that the dimensions of the conduit or specus suggest fortifications is plainer, and closer dates can ~e suggested ~~r th~. fine work which is,
that it was designed to run at about 30 ems. deep which would give a figure of some culturally, the most significant feature on the sit~ (see pb. xn-xxxi:)- .
28 litres a second; in the rainy season it might flow deeper still. In times of peace when The superstructures of the walls have long disapp~ared;_ the evi?ence about !hem_ is
there was easy access to the springs or to an overflow from them in the valley where scanty but it is probable that they were of sun-baked bncks piled up hke the towenng city
remains of an old mill exist, this additional supply would make life possible for a population walls which are depicted on Assyrian reliefs. The lower_ p~rts, ?n the other hand, _the
rather larger than that just mentioned. When the aqueduct was built, as ·I have already socles of masonry on which these walls were reared, are still m _existence at _se".eral pomts
pointed out, the situation would be much the same in normal times because the demand and they are masterpieces of the builder's craft. ~he foun?at1ons were laid m trenches
for water then would have been much heavier. Some idea of the amount of water required cut in the rock which enable plans to be traced with certa~nty over long ~tret_ches from
in a "modern" city of the Roman period may be gathered from some figures recently which every stone has been lifted. The geometrical regulanty of the plannmg 1s perhaJ?S
published for Antioch; Mr. D. N. Wilber conjectures that 1,500 litres a second may have the most remarkable feature of these buildings, but the finish and accuracy of the walls 1s
been conveyed into Antioch from the springs at Daphne alone, but that if Antioch was worthy of the lay-out: it challenges comparison with some of the finest ~shlar masonry of
supplied on the same scale as Rome a supply of 5,000 litres a second would have been later periods. The stones, which are very closely fitted, were b_onded m a more or l~ss
required (Antioch on the Orontes, II, p. 50 f.). The population of Antioch in the fourth regular pattern: at the bottom of the walls they are generally la_1d on e_dge ~s headers; m
century was "about 200,000 according to Chrysostom, who probably did not reckon the upper courses stretchers, also laid on edge, alternate sometimes with smgle headers,
slaves " (Hogarth in Encyclopedia Britannica, I I th ed.); Morey gives a figure four times as frequently with pairs of headers, occasionally with three or more: the courses are perfectly
large, inclusive of slaves ( The Mosaics of Antioch, I 938, p. I 5). horizontal the vertical joints perpendicular and carefully broken from course to course.
In the "pa'lace" walls the face of th~ stones "':'as dresse~ smooth ex_cept in the bottom course
where a boss is left in the middle with a cunous margmal draft: m the two outer walls the
stones on the face are all bossed and all have a similar curious draft. The draft is curious
4 5