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164 The
Archaeology of Roman Palestine
Mark Chancey and Adam Porter
The latest installment in NEA’s series, “Archaeological
Sources for the History of Palestine” (ASHP), presents
a comprehensive overview of the three phases of the Roman
era in Palestine. The Early Roman Period includes the numerous
building projects of Herod the Great. Chancey and Porter review
Herod’s initial projects including Cypros, Masada, Jerusalem,
and Jericho. The second phase of Herod’s building endeavors
includes the cities of Sabaste in Samaria and Caesarea Maritima
on the coast as well as rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple and
palace complex. At the same time Herod began constructing
the fortress palaces of Herodium and Machaerus.
This article also surveys Nabatean sites, including breathtaking
Petra with its enormous necropolis and impressive civic quarter,
and the large cultic sites of Khirbet et-Tannur, southeast
of the Dead Sea, where the Nabateans constructed a large temple
complex, and Seeia, in the southern part of modern Syria with
its long processional way, three terraces, and temple complex.
Herod’s three sons continued in their father’s
footsteps when it came to constructing major urban centers.
The constructions of Sepphoris and Tiberias by Antipas receive
particular attention. The authors also examine Nazareth and
Capernaum, the best known of the cities of Galilee, owing
to their connections to Jesus and St. Peter. Other early Roman
remains come to light from the excavations at Caesarea Panias,
Gamala, Bethsaida and Tell Anafa. Finally, the impact of the
Roman campaigns and destruction is very visible from the archaeological
record.
In contrast to the early period, the Middle and Late Roman
periods are not as well documented in literary sources. Thus
archaeology is of extreme importance for providing useful
information that cannot be found in the brief portrayals found
in Roman histories and rabbinic anecdotes.
The economic growth that resulted from direct Roman control
of Palestine is amply attested in the archaeological record.
Cities benefiting from increased trade include Gerash and
Tel Heshbon. Yet economic prosperity hardly tells the full
story. Chancey and Porter sift through the subtleties of numismatic
and archaeological evidence to unpack Hadrian’s reign
and the famous Bar Kokhba Revolt.
After the revolt, Hadrian chose “Aelia Capitolina”
as the name for his rebuilt city of Jerusalem. Much of the
layout of the modern Old City is indebted to Hadrian’s
design. Rome’s growing interest in the east is further
evidenced in the Middle and Late Roman periods with the thriving
of the cities of the Decapolis and the cities of the region
of Samaria. Many Judeans migrated north due to the Bar Kokhba
Revolt, and thus the spiritual center of Judaism shifted to
the Galilee region. The Middle Roman period in particular
is noteworthy for the distinct architecture of its synagogues.
204 Copper
Smelting in Late Bronze Age Cyprus
A. Bernard Knapp, Vasiliki Kassianidou and Michael Donnelly
A letter from el Amarna sent by the King of Alashiya (Cyprus)
to the pharaoh in Egypt mentions a large shipment of copper
from Cyprus. The king apologizes for not sending more, blaming
the pestilence god Nergal for ruining the economy. But what
do we really know about Cyprus’ copper industry? The
authors spent three seasons finding out during their excavations
at Politiko Phorades. Dating to the Late Bronze Age, the site
turned out to be the earliest primary copper-smelting workshop
yet excavated on Cyprus. Phorades seems to have been a small
workshop, part of a larger network of Cypriot mining and production
sites. The current article helps us in reconstructing the
“industrial landscape” of the Mediterranean Bronze
Age as well as giving us a unique look into copper production
processes that were previously unknown.
212 Herod
the Great Remains True to Form
Charles (Sandy) Brenner
What was Herod trying to convey with the images he chose for
his coinage? How did he delicately balance his religious orientation
with state ideology? In the last issue, David Jacobson argued
that the iconography Herod employed was that of Greek mythology.
According to Jacobson, Herod’s “true colors”
are revealed in the depiction of a Greek banqueting rite where
homage was offered to the Dioscuri deities known as Castor
and Pollux. Here, the author argues that such an interpretation
cannot be substantiated and would constitute a break from
Herod’s normal numismatic practice. The iconography,
he argues, is rather that of military hardware.
215 An
Inscribed Astragalus with a Dedication to Hermes
Guy Bar-Oz
Games of chance? Cultic objects? Just what are astragali (knucklebones)
and how were they used? Whatever their function, astragali
were well-known, being attested in the ancient Near East from
the Chalcolithic to the Roman periods. Guy Bar-Oz presents
us with a unique example from Israel of a knucklebone inscribed
with the name of the Greek god Hermes.
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