14 DAY TRIAL // Research conducted by the Tel Aviv University unraveled some amazing things about an ancient fortress located in the heart of the city, at the mouth of Yarkon River, called Tel Qudadi.
The fortress was first excavated 70 years ago, but the results of the investigations were never published before.
So now, archaeologists from TAU revealed a new page of history, by making a complete analysis of the ruins, and discovering that the place hides much more than they imagined, including a connection between ancient Israel and the Greek island of Lesbos.
Previous studies concluded that the fortress was built during the 10th century BC at the command of King Solomon, so that it would protect the approach from the sea and prevent possible hostile raids against inland settlements located along the Yarkon River.
Another theory said that the fortress was established in the 9th century BC, as part of the Kingdom of Israel.
But this latest research suggests that the fortress could not have been built earlier than the late 8th – early 7th centuries BC, which is much later than previously thought, and this means that the citadel was a part of a network that served the interests of the Assyrian empire in the region.
The Assyrians, the rulers of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), governed Israel in the late 8th and most of the 7th centuries BC.
So now that the date of the construction of the fort was established, it can be considered as a very important point on the route between Egypt and Phoenicia.
The Assyrians wanted to be involved in the international trade between Phoenicia, Philistia and Egypt, so this fortress should have been a part of a network of fortresses and trading posts along the coast.
Another incredible finding at the site was an amphora – a large jar used to transport oil or wine, which comes from the Greek island of Lesbos.
The artifact, along with a re-assessment of the local ceramic assemblage of Tel Qudadi, has helped archaeologists to re-calculate the timeline of the site's operation, and conclude that this is the earliest evidence of the existence of the island of itself.
Since there is only one artifact that has been found, there are not enough elements to conclude to a trade relationship between ancient Israel and Lesbos, but the amphora does say a lot about the beginnings of the island's amphora production and it also gives clues about trade routes between different parts of the Mediterranean.
Sadly, the researchers do not know how the amphora arrived at Tel Qudadi in the first place, they can only speculate that it arrived on a Phoenician ship, probably as part of an occasional trade route around the Mediterranean.
Dr. Alexander Fantalkin and Dr. Oren Tal of Tel Aviv University's Department of Archeology said that “the secrets of this ancient fortress are only beginning to be revealed.”
Their new research was published in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly and BABESH: Annual Papers on Mediterranean Archeology.