Roman Roads in Judaea I: The Legio-Scythopolis Road 9780860541721, 9781407328614

Table of contents :
Cover Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Plates
Tables
Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction
I. A Strategic Highway in Historical Perspective
II. Description of the Road
III. Inventory of Milestones
IV. The Inscriptions
V. Conclusions
Appendix - Royal land in the Valley of Jezreel
Bibliography
Index
Figures
Plates
Folding Plan

Citation preview

Roman Roads in J udaea I The Legio - Scythopolis Road

Benjamin Isaac and Israel Roll

B A R International Ser ies I 4 I 1982

B.A.R.,

B.A.R.

122 Banbury

Road, Oxford OX2 7BP, England

GENERAL EDITORS A. R. Hands, B. Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.· R. Walker, M.A. B.A.R.-S141, 1982: 'Roman Roads in Judaea I: The Legio-Scythopolis Road'. © Benjamin Isaac and Israel Roll, 1982

The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860541721 paperback ISBN 9781407328614 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860541721 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

CO N T E N T S

L ist o f I llustrations A bbreviations P reface I ntroduction A S trategic H ighway i n H istorical P erspective

I I

I II

1 3

B efore t he R omans

3

T he R oman P eriod

7

A fter t he A rab C onquest

1 4

No t e s

1 7

D escription o f t he R oad

2 6

P revious E xploration

2 6

T he E vidence

2 6

T he R oad

2 7

No t e s

3 6

E xcavations n ear B eth S he n

4 0

T he R oman b ridge i n d escriptions o f t he 1 9th c entury

4 2

T he R oman B ridge o ver t he R iver Harod b y L uigi M arino

4 3

No t e s

4 8

A ppendix, b y S . Vannucci

5 3

I nventory o f M ilestones

5 5

I V

T he I nscriptions No t e s .

V

C onclusions

6 6

•

8 3

.

8 7

A ncient S ites a long t he R oad

8 7

T he E vidence f rom t he M ilestones

9 1

No t e s

9 9

A ppendix-Royal l and i n t he V alley o f J ezreel No t e s . B ibliography

1 04 1 07

. • •

1 09

In d e x

1 11

Fi g u r e s

1 18

Pl a t e s

1 24

F olding p lan

1 43

I I

LI S T

OF F i

IL L U S T R A T I O N S g

u

r

e

s P age

T ext-figure:

T he R oman b ridge, m odel

4 4

F ig.

1 .

T he R oman r oad-system i n N .

J udaea

F ig.

2 .

T he R oman r oad-system i n S .

J udaea

1 18

a nd t he N egev

1 19

F ig.

3 .

M ain r oads

i n J udaea a nd A rabia

1 20

F ig.

4 .

S ection n ear t he R oman b ridge

1 21

F ig.

5 .

S ection 5 00 m . w est o f t he R oman b ridge

1 21

F ig.

6 .

R oman r oads a nd 1 9th

c ent.

1 21

F ig.

7 .

T he B eth S hean b ridge

( plan)

F ig.

8 .

T he B eth S hean b ridge

( sections a ndelevations).

F ig.

9 .

F olding p lan :

f ield-tracks

1 22 . .

1 23

T he R oman r oad f rom S cythopolis t o L egio

.

I II

1 43

P L

A

T

E

S P age

P l.

I

a .

T he D ecumanus M aximus o f S cythopolis l ooking E

b .

1 24

T he D ecumanus M aximus o f S cythopolis, d etail

P l.

I I

a .

1 24

T he R oman r oad 5 00 m . west o f t he b ridge , l ooking E . N ote T el-Beth S hean i n t he b ackground

b .

1 25

T he R oman r oad 5 00 m . w est o f t he b ridge, r emains o f p avement

c .

1 25

T he R oman r oad 5 00 m . w est o f t he b ridge, l ooking W

P l.

I II a .

T he n orthern t rack n ear K hirbet L idd, N E.

b .

P l.

I V

P l. V

P l. V I

1 25 l ooking

I n t he b ackground G ivat H amoreh

1 26

T he t rack n ear H urvat M uzav, l ooking S . I n t he b ackground t he a rea o f L egio

1 26

c .

" El M anach u , l ooking N .

1 26

a .

S ection 5 00 m . w est o f t he R oman b ridge,

f rom L egio

t he c lay w ater-pipe

1 27

b .

S ection n ear t he R oman b ridge

1 27

a .

estern f acade T he B eth S hean b ridge, w

1 28

b .

T he B eth S hean b ridge,

1 28

a .

T he B eth S hean b ridge, s outhern p ier, R oman v oussoirs

b .

1 29

.

T he B eth S hean b ridge, s outhern p ier

s outhern p ier

s ection a cross 1 29

. .

I V

P age c .

T he B eth S hean b ridge, n . p ier, R oman a nd T urkish v oussoirs

P l.

V II a .

b . P l.VIII a .

1 29

T he B eth S hean b ridge, n orthern p ier, e astern c orner .

1 30

F onnaia b ridge,

1 30

g eneral v iew

F onnaia b ridge, d etail o f t he j oint o f t he v oussoirs i nto t he f acade

b .

F onnaia b ridge,

1 31

t he s taggered h eading

a shlars a nd t he s upport o f t he v ault, m ade o f c onglomerate o f c ement P l.

I X

a .

1 31

F onnaia b ridge, d etail o f t he s taggered h eading a shlars

b .

1 32

B eth S hean b ridge, m odel i llustrating t he s tructure a nd t he a rrangement o f t he c ourses o f a shlars

c .

B eth S hean b ridge,

1 32 i nscription

c ommemorating t he T urkish r econstruction d .

P l .

X

P l. X I

• ••

1 32

B eth S hean b ridge, s ymbol i ncised o n t he e astern p arapet

1 32

a .

I nscr.

1 ( XVIII, 1 )

1 33

b .

I nscr .

1 ( XVIII, 1 )

1 33

c .

I nscr.

2 ( III, 2 )

1 33

d .

I nscr. 2 ( III,

a .

I nscr .

3 ( V, 1 )

b .

I nscr.

4 ( VII,

1 )

1 34

c .

I nscr.

5 ( VII,

2 )

1 34

d .

I nscr. 5 ( VII, 2 )

1 34

I nscr.

6 ( findspot u nknown )

1 35

I nscr. 6 ( findspot u nknown )

1 35

P l. X II a . b .

2 )

1 33 1 34

V

P age c .

I nscr.

7 ( III, 1 )

1 35

d .

I nscr.

7 ( III, . 1 )

1 35

P l.XIII a .

I nscr.

7 ( III,

1 36

b .

I nscr.

8 ( V ,

c .

I nscr. 9 ( VII,

3 )

1 36

d .

I nscr.

9 ( VII,

3 )

1 36

P l . X IV a .

I nscr.

1 0

( I, 1 ) a nd 2 1 ( I, 1 )

1 37

b .

I nscr.

1 0

( I, 1 ) a nd 2 1 ( I, 1 )

1 37

c .

I nscr.

1 1

( IV,

3 )

1 37

d .

I nscr.

1 1

( IV ,

3 )

1 37

a .

I nscr .

1 2 ( VII,

b .

I nscr.

1 3 ( XI, 3 )

1 38

c .

I nscr.

1 4 ( VII, 4 )

1 38

P l . X VI a .

I nscr.

1 5

1 39

b .

I nscr.

1 5 ( IX ,

1 )

1 39

c .

I nscr.

1 6 ( XI,

1 ), u pper p art

1 39

P l.XVII a .

I nscr.

1 6

( XI, 1 ),

b .

I nscr .

1 7

( XXII, 1 )

c .

I nscr.

1 7 ( XXII,

d .

I nscr.

1 8 ( II,

P l.XVIIIa .

I nscr.

b .

P l. X V

1 ), d etail

2 )

1 36

2 4)

1 38

( IX , 1 )

l ower p art

1 40 1 40

1 )

1 40

1 )

1 40

1 9

( IV , 2 )

1 41

I nscr.

1 9

( IV, 2 )

1 41

c .

I nscr.

2 0

( IX , 5 )

1 41

d .

I nscr.

2 0

( IX ,

5 )

1 41

e .

I nscr.

2 2 ( IV, 1 )

1 41

V I

a

b l

e

s 2 . 14 .12 :

A ncient s ites a long t he r oad

3 9

G rout o f R oman b ridge, m ineralogical c omposition

5 3

M ile-stations

6 4-5

I nscriptions

8 6

S ettlements - n umbers p er p eriod

8 8

P ersian a nd H ellenistic s ites

8 8-9

S ites s outh o f H arod

8 9

S ettlements n orth o f H arod

9 0

F olding p lan, s ites i ndicated b y A rabic n umerals

V II

.

1 42

A BBREVIATIONS A DAJ

A nnual o f t he D epartment o f A ntiquities o f J ordan.

A E

A nnie E pigraphique

A NRW

A ufstieg u nd N iedergang d er R ömischen W elt a nd W . H aase)

B ASOR

B ulletin o f t he A merican S chools o f O riental R esearch.

B IES

B ulletin o f t he I srael E xploration S ociety.

BMC

G .F. H ill, C atalogue o f t he G reek C oins o f P alestine i n t he B ritish M useum ( 1914).

C IL

C orpus I nscriptionum L atinarum .

C CSL

C orpus C hristianorum ,

G R

G rid R eference.

HUCA

H ebrew U nion C ollege A nnual.

I EJ

I srael E xploration J ournal.

I GLS

I nscriptions g recques e t l atines d e l a S yrie.

I GR

R . C agnat e t a l., I nscriptiones G raecae a d R es R omanas P ertin entes I , I II, I V .

I MC

I srael M ilestones C ommittee.

J AOS

J ournal o f t he American O riental S ociety.

P EQ

P alestine E xploration Q uarterly.

P jb

P alästinajahrbuch.

Q DAP

Q uarterly o f t he D epartment o f A ntiquities o f P alestine .

R B

Revue B iblique.

R E

P auly-Wissowa,

( ed. H .

T emporini

S eries L atina .

R ealencyclopädie d er c lassischen Altertum-

s wissenschaft. S EC

S upplementum E pigraphicum G raecum .

S WP

S urvey o f W estern P alestine.

Z DPV

Z eitschrift d es D eutschen P alästina-Vereins.

Z ori,

IN . Z ori, ' An a rchaelogical S urvey o f t he B eth-Shean V alley', T he B eth-Shean V alley, t he 1 7th a rchaeological C onvention ( 1962,

Z ori,II N .

i n H ebrew),

Z ori,

1 35-198.

T he L and o f I ssachar, A rchaeological S urvey

i n H ebrew ). Z PE

Z eitschrift f ür P apyrologie u nd E pigraphik.

V III

( 1977,

Pr e f a c e b y

M . G ichon

T his s tudy w as p repared a nd w ritten a s p art o f t he a ctivities o f t he I srael M ilestones C ommittee w hich c onsists o f P rof. S . A pplebaum , M r. Y . L andau, P rof. S . P erlman a nd t he p resent w riter ( chairman ). T he c ommittee w as f ormed o n t he i nitiative o f P rof. G erold W alser, d irector o f t he I nternational C uratorium o f t he C orpus M iliariorum ( C.I.L . X VII). T he I srael M ilestones C ommittee i s a ssociated w ith t he D ivision o f A rchaeology o f t he D epartment o f C lassics, T el A viv U niversity . W e g reatly a ppreciate t he s upport o f t he D epartment. O ur a im i s t o s tudy n ot o nly t he m ilestones, b ut t he e ntire t ransp ortation a nd c ommunication-infrastructure o f R oman a nd B yzantine I sr ael. I n p ractice t his e ntails t he s urvey o f r oads, r oad-stations a nd o ther i nstallations, c ombining f ield-work w ith h istorical i nterpretat ion o f t he e vidence c ollected. P revious p ublications t o b e m entioned h ere a re P . T homsen's c omprehensive p aper i n Z DPV 4 0 ( 1917) a nd t he s ummaries i n t he w orks o n H istorical G eography b y F . M . A bel a nd M . Avi-Yonah r espectively. S ince t he p ublication o f t hese w orks m uch a dditional e vidence h as c ome t o l ight. M oreover, e ven A vi-Yonah's s urvey w as p ublished a t a s tage w hen, i n f act, f ar m ore s ystematic f ieldwork w as s till n eeded i n o rder t o f orm a c omprehensive p icture o f t he r oad-network a nd i ts d evelopment. T he I srael M ilestones C ommittee i s a ctive i n v arious w ays w hich m ay b e s pecified a s f ollows: 1 )

T he c ollection a nd e valuation o f a ll p ublished m aterial.

2 )

T he p lanned a nd s ystematic s urvey o f e xtant r emains o f r oads a nd r oad-installations.

3 )

T he d ecipherment o f m ilestone i nscriptions, b oth t hose i n t he f ield a nd t hose r emoved t o m useums, p ublic a nd p rivate c ollections.

4 )

T he e xcavation o f s elected s ites a nd g eodesic s urvey o f s elected r oads.

T he i nscriptions a re a ll p repared f or p ublication i n C IL X VII. T he r oads w ill b e p ublished i n a s eries o f m onographs o f w hich t he p resent v olume i s t he f irst. S o f ar 4 50 m ilestones h ave b een r ecorded,

1 25 o f w hich b ear i n-

s criptions. I nscriptions o f p articular i nterest a re p ublished s eparately i mm ediately a fter t heir d iscovery a nd p reliminary s urveys a re p ublished f rom t ime t o t ime ( see t he a rticles b y B . I saac a nd I . R oll c ited i n t his w ork ). I X

A s o riginally p lanned I w as t o c ontribute c hapters I a nd V , b ut d ue t o v arious c ircumstances t his p lan h ad t o b e g iven u p. P ersons a nd I nstitutions w hose s upport a nd a ssistance w e e njoyed a re m entioned b elow . H ere I s hould l ike t o m ention i n p articular t he F ritz T hyssen S tiftung o f C ologne, W est G ermany w hich h as g enerously b orn m ost o f t he f inancial b urden o f o ur a ctivities s ince 1 976. Ic onclude w ith a f ew w ords o n I srael a nd i ts r oad-network. I srael h as a lways b een a s trategic l and-bridge. T raffic b y l and b etween A fr ica a nd A sia m ust t raverse t he n arrow s trip b etween t he M editerranean a nd t he A rabian D esert. F urthermore t he r oute b etween E lath a nd G aza p rovided a n a lternative t o t he I sthmus o f S uez a nd m uch o f t he t raffic f rom A rabia r eached t he F ertile C rescent b etween P etra a nd t he H isma . F inally o ne o f t he m ajor l inks b etween D amascus a nd t he c oast o f t he M editerranean i s t he V alley o f J ezreel - s ubject o f t he p resent v olume. A ll t his s erves t o e mphasize t he i mportance o f r oad-research i n t his c ountry. I ts s mall s ize a nd t he p ermanent f eatures o f t opography d ictate t he a lignment o f t he r oads. W hile t hese w ould f ollow r oughly t he s ame c ourse a t a ll t imes, t he d irection o f t raffic w as s ubject t o c hanges. I t i s p recisely t hese c hanges w hich m ay b e d etected b y t he s tudy o f t he r oad-system . T he n eglect o f c ertain r oads a nd t he c ons truction a nd m aintenance o f o thers b etray s ignificant c hanges r elating t o s ettlement p atterns, l ocal a dministration a nd g overnment a s w ell a s c oncepts o f d efence. T he s tudy o f t he u pkeep a nd n eglect o f t he r oads ystem t herefore m ay c larify g eopolitical a nd r egional s trategic d evel opments, t rends i n i nternational c ommerce e tc. I t i s h oped, t herefore, t hat s tudents o f t he R oman Empire a nd o f o ther p eriods w ill f ind o ur r oad-reports o f i nterest.

B . I saac a nd I . R oll w ould l ike t o e xpress t heir g ratitude t o a ll t hose w ho h ave b een o f a ssistance, f irst o f a ll P rof. M . G ichon w ho i nitiated t he w ork o f t he I srael M ilestones C ommittee a nd was a ctive a s c oordinator e ver s ince. T he s urvey o f t he S cythopolis - L egio r oad w as c arried o ut b etw een 1 970 a nd 1 978 b y I . R oll w ho w as j oined i n 1 972 b y B . I saac. O ur w ork w as m ade p ossible b y t he a ctive s upport o f M r. P . P orat o f Q ibbutz M esillot, I nspector o f A ntiquities. M r. P orat t ook p art i n m ost o f o ur e xcursions a nd i s r esponsible f or t he p reservation o f s cores o f m ilestones i n t he a rea a round B eth S hean . T he e xcavations w ere c arried o ut w ith h is h elp a nd w ith t he s upport o f D r. G . F oerster o f t he D epartment o f A ntiquities. F rom 1 970 t ill 1 972 M iss R ivka M ac M ull s erved a s a ssistent a nd b etween 1 975 a nd 1 978 M r. E li S henhay . M r . A . L evi, d irector o f t he B et S turman M useum a t E in H arod, a llowed u s t o s tudy t he m ilestones p reserved i n t he m useum . W ithout t he a ctivity o f t his m useum m any o f t he m ilestones f ound i n t he a rea w ould h ave b een l ost.

X

M r.

S .

C ohen,

s tones. P rof.

g eologist,

k indly i nvestigated m any o f t he m ile-

S . A pplebaum r ead a f irst d raft o f t his p aper a nd g ave

.valuable a dvice. T he S urvey o f I srael p ermitted u s t o s tudy t he a irp hotographs m entioned i n t his p aper. J . A rnold a nd J . M oskovitz p rep ared t he m aps a nd d rawings. M aps I a nd I I w ere d rawn b y M r. A . M . Nijs at t he i nitiative o f P rof. J .H. B loemers, b oth o f t he D utch S tate S ervice f or A rchaeological I nvestigation. W e a re g rateful t o D r. L uigi M arino o f t he U niversity o f F lorence f or h is a nalysis, p lan a nd d rawings o f t he R oman b ridge n ear B eth S hean a nd t o P rof. S . V an nucci f or h is a nalysis o f t he g rout. M r. H illel H eiman p hotographed t he d rawings o f t he i nscriptions a nd g ave a dvice o n p hotographical m atters. T he M anuscript w as c ompleted w hile B . a t

t he I nstitute f or A dvanced S tudy,

I saac s pent a y ear's

P rinceton. T el A viv U niversity

X I

l eave

I NTRODUCTION T he f ollowing s tudy p resents t he a rchaeological m aterial r elating t o t he R oman r oad f rom L egio ( Caparcotna) t o S cythopolis ( Beth S hean, B eisan ). I t w ould h ave b een d esirable t o i nclude t he r oad f rom C aesar ea t o L egio, s ince t his m ust b e c onsidered a s ection o f t he s ame r oad. U nfortunately t his i s i mpossible a s y et, b ecause w e h ave n ot f ound s uff icient r emains, n otably m ilestones, t o d iscuss t he C aesarea - L egio r oad i n d etail ( see b elow, p 3 5). T he f irst s ection o ffers l iterary s ources a nd c onsiderations r eg arding t he h istory o f t he r oad a s p art o f t he R oman r oad-system i n J udaea i n g eneral. I n t his s ection w e d o n ot l imit o urselves t o t he L egio - S cythopolis r oad p roper, b ut d iscuss a lso t he C aesarea - S cyt hopolis a nd t he P tolemais - S cythopolis r outes. T he l iterary s ources a llow o f t wo c onclusions: a . t he p assage f rom t he c oastal p lain t o t he V alley o f J ezreel p ast a ncient M egiddo w as o f m ajor i mportance i n e very h istorical p eriod. T his i s am atter o f t opography i ndependent o f h uman i nterference. b . I n t he R oman a nd B yzantine p eriods t he r oad f rom C aesarea t o S cythopolis - w hich i nclud ed

t he p assage j ust m entioned - w as o ne o f t he m ost i mportant r outes

i n t he c ountry. I n t he A rab p eriod, h owever, t his w as n o l onger t rue, n or i s t here a ny c ertainty t hat i t w as t rue b efore t he H ellenistic p eriod. W e t hen a ttempt t o s how t hat t he e xplanation f or t his d evel opment m ust b e s ought i n c hanging p atterns o f u rbanization a nd t rade i n t he c ountry. A r elated t opic i s t he h istory o f t he e xploration o f t he r oad. H ere w e a re c onfronted w ith a r emarkable p aradox. W hile i t i s c lear t hat t his was o ne o f t he m ajor s trategic h ighways o f t he a rea, i t w as, a t t he s ame t ime, o ne o f t he l ast R oman r oads t o b e n oticed a t a ll b y m odern t ravellers. T his m ay b e e xplained b y t he d ecline i n t he u se o f t he r oad i n m edieval t imes. O ther r outes c ame t o b e p referred t o s uch a n e xtent t hat w e h ave n o r ecord o f a ny t raveller f ollowing t he r oad t hrough t he V alley o f J ezreel b etween B eisan a nd L ejün ( Legio). A b rief s ketch o f t he h istory o f t ravel i n t he r egion t hus a llows o f a n umber o f i nteresting c onclusions r egarding t rade a nd p rosperity i n v arious p eriods. A gain i t m ust b e e mphasized t hat r outes o f i nvas ion i n t imes o f w ar n ever c hanged a nd a s a r esult t he r oad h ere d isc ussed a lways r etained i ts s trategic i mportance. I n t he n ext s ection t he r oad i s

t raced i n d etail a nd a ll t he r e-

l evant a rchaeological r emains a re b riefly d escribed. F or t he s ites a long t he r oad w e l ean h eavily o n t he p ublished s urveys o f N ehemia Z ori, w ho h as d evoted m any d ecades t o t he a rchaeological e xploration o f

t he a rea.

T his i s f ollowed b y a n i nventory o f m ilestones, g rouped a ccording t o m ile-stations. L isted a re: f ind-spot ( in s itu o r n ot), p resent

1

l ocation, p revious p ublication w here r elevant, m easurements a nd d esc ription o f e very s tone. F or t he i nscribed s tones a s erial n umber i s g iven o f t he i nscription . T he i nscriptions a re p resented i n c hronological o rder i n t he n ext s ection. F or e ach i nscription a d rawing o f t he l ettering i s g iven ( a r educed p hotograph o f a t racing o n f oil o f p olyvinylchlorid, a s r equir ed f or p ublication i n C IL X VII); f urther a f ull t ranscription o f t he t ext w ith c ritical a pparatus a nd o ur r eading . T he m easurements r egard ing t he i nscription a re g iven i n t his s ection a s w ell a s c omments o n t he t exts. T hen f ollows a b rief s ection w ith r eports o n t he t wo e xcavations c arried o ut b y u s a cross t he r oad. T he a nalysis a nd d rawings o f t he R oman b ridge n ear B eth S hean a re t he w ork o f L uigi M arino o f t he U niv ersity o f F lorence. I n t he l ast s ection t he c onclusions a re d iscussed which m ay b e d rawn f rom t he a rchaeological e vidence a s s uch a nd i n c ombination w ith t he l iterary s ources m entioned i n s ection I . T he f irst t opic i s t he r elationship b etween t he o ccupation o f s ites a nd t he e xistence o f t he R oman r oad. I t i s c lear t hat t he R oman a nd B yzantine p eriods s aw u nprecedented e xpansion a nd, f or p art o f t he s ites, i t c an b e s hown t hat t hey d eveloped i n c onnection w ith t he r oad. T he e arly A rab p eriod w as o ne o f d ecline f or S cythopolis a nd f or t he v illages i n t he V alley o f J ezreel. N ext f ollows a h istorical d iscussion o f t he e vidence f urnished b y t he m ilestone-inscriptions i n c hronological o rder. F inally t he d istribution o f m ilestones i n v arious p arts o f t he c ountry i s d iscussed a nd p ossible c onclusions r egarding t he R oman a dm inistration w hich d erive f rom t he d istribution .

2

A S TRATEGIC H IGHWAY I N H ISTORICAL P ERSPECTIVE

T he R oman r oad s ystem i n J udaea, i n i ts f ully d eveloped f orm , i nc luded, b esides m any r oads o f p rimarily l ocal s ignificance l inking t he c ities a nd m ilitary p osts with e ach o ther, t wo m ajor h ighways. 1 T he f irst w as t he c oastal r oad f rom A ntioch i n S yria t o A lexandria i n E gypt. T he s ection f rom A ntioch t o C olonia C laudia P tolemais ( Acco ) o n t he f rontier b etween t he p rovinces o f S yria a nd J udaea w as p aved a s a R onan r oad b y A D 5 6. T his s ection h as b een s tudied m ost r ecently b y G oodchild a nd p ublished i n a n e xcellent r oad r eport. 2 O f t he c ontin uation o f t his r oad s outhwards t hrough J udaea r emarkably l ittle i s k nown. O nly t he s ection b etween C aesarea a nd A ntipatris c ould b e t raced a dequately a nd h ere w e have n o i nformation a t a ll o n t he d ate o f i ts c onstruction.3 T he s econd s trategic r oad o f m ajor i mportance l inked t he c oastal p lain w ith t he E uphrates, r unning f rom C aesarea v ia L egio ( Caparcotna), S cythopolis a nd t hence a cross t he J ordan t o D amascus. T racing t he s ect ion f rom C aesarea t o L egio i s a t p resent i mpossible b ecause o f r easons t o b e d iscussed b elow ( p. 3 5). O n t he o ther h and, t he s ection b etween L egio ( Caparcotna ) a nd S cythopolis i s i n a lmost a ll r espects o ne o f t he b est k nown R oman r oads i n J udaea. T he f ollowing s tudy t herefore p resents a rchaeological d ata r elating t o t he S cythopolis-Legio r oad w hile e mphasizing i ts h istory a s p art o f t he h ighway f rom t he c oastal p lain t o t he E uDhrates. T he i mportance o f t his r oad i s r eflected b y t he e ver-recurring b attles f ought f or c ontrol o f i t f rom t he s econd m illennium B C u ntil 1 918. I n t he R oman p eriod o ne o f t he t wo J udaean l egions w as b ased a t L egio, f irst o f a ll t o s ecure t his r oad. T he r oad i tself h as p rovided u s with m ore m ilestones t han a ny o ther i n J udaea, w hich i ndubitably r eflects t he c are d evoted t o i ts m aintenance. I t i s, i n f act, t he r oad p ast l egendary A rmageddon, w hich f orms t he s ubject o f t he p resent s tudy.

B efore

t he R omans

A s t he r oad n etwork i n P alestine was f ixed b y t opographical c ond itions t he r oad d iscussed h ere had k nown a l ong h istory b efore b eing p aved a nd o rganized a s a R oman r oad. P alestine o n b oth s ides o f t he r iver J ordan

( i.e.

t he t erritory o f t he p rovinces o f J udaea a nd A rabia )

i s k nown t o have b een c rossed b y t wo i nternational h ighways, a t l east s ince t he e nd o f t he t hird m illennium . T he f irst, w hich d oes n ot c onc ern u s h ere, i s k nown i n t he b ible a s t he " King 's H ighway." B asically t his i s

t he r oad f rom D amascus

t o t he R ed S ea,

c onstructed i n t he R o-

m an p eriod a s t he " via n ova T raiana." I t w as i mportant f or t he c ommerce w ith S outh A rabia. A s i ndicated by A haroni, m uch o f i t p assed t hrough t he d esert a nd i t w as o f s pecial i mportance, t herefore, i n p eriods w hen t hese a reas w ere s ettled.4 A t o ther t imes i t was c ontrolled b y d esert n omads. T he o ther r oad w as k nown a s " The w ay o f t he S ea," l ater n amed t he " Via M an s." I t w as u sed a t a ll t imes a nd l inked t he m ajor a ncient s ettlements o f t he c ountry. O ne b ranch o f i t w as t he c oastal r oad 3

f rom S yria t o E gypt,

l ater p aved

a s a

R oman r oad.

T he o ther r an

f rom t he c oastal p lain t o t he E uphrates. T he m ain b ranch f rom t he c oast n orth-eastwards w as t he p redecessor o f t he r oad which f orms t he s ubject o f t he p resent s tudy. S everal p asses a fforded a p assage f rom t he S haron t o t he P lain o f J ezreel t hrough t he r avines o f t he h ill c ountry. T he s hortest p ass was l ater c onstructed a s t he R oman r oad f rom C aesarea t hrough Wadi A ra t o C aparcotna ( previously M egiddo, a l ittle d istance t o t he n orth). F rom t here v arious r outes c ontinued t o t he N orth. O ne b ranch c rossed t he P lain o f J ezreel, p assed b etween M ount T abor a nd t he L ittle H ermon ( the H ill o f M oreh) m aking f or t he n orthwestern s hore o f t he S ea o f G alilee. T his s ection was n ever o rg anized a s a R oman r oad. T he s econd b ranch d escended t o B eth S hean, l ike t he l ater R oman r oad. F rom t here i t w ent u p c rossing t he J ordan a nd j oined t he K ing 's H ighway. 5 A ll t he s econdary b ranches a re d esc ribed b y A haroni. F or t he p resent s tudy i t w ill s uffice t o q uote A haroni ( p. 4 9): " The v arious b ranches o f t he V ia M an s c onverge, t herefore, l ike t he s pines o f a f an a t M egiddo a nd u nite t o f orm o ne c hief r oute. T hus w e c an u nderstand t he g reat v alue o f t he P alestini an c oast f or c ontrolling t his important i nternational r oute, a s w ell a s t he d ecisive p osition o f M egiddo a t t he m ain j unction". W ords w hich a re t rue b oth f or t he e arlier s tages a nd f or t he R oman p eriod a nd which e xplain t he c hoice o f C aparcotna n ear M egiddo f or t he s ite o f a l egion ary f ortress i n n orth J udaea. F rom E gyptian s ources i t a ppears t hat t his r oute w as u sed i n t he m ilitary c ampaigns o f S eti I ( 1303 B C ) a nd M arneptah ( 1220 B C ). T he e arliest r ecorded battle o f M egiddo t ook p lace i n 1 468 B C b etween T hutmose I II a nd a llied C anaanite K ings. 6 T he l atter i s d escribed o n t he A rmant s tele.

B efore t he E gyptian A rmy m ade i ts way t hrough t he

W adi A ra p ass t he k ing's g enerals a re s aid t o h ave s poken a s f ollows:7 W hat i s i t l ike

t o

g o

[ on]

L his

[ road] w hich b ecomes

( so) n arrow? I t i s [ reported] t hat t he f oe i s t here, waiting o n [ the o utside, while t hey a re] b ecoming ( more) n umerous. W ill n ot h orse ( have t o) g o a fter [ horse, a nd t he a rmy] a nd t he p eople s imilarly? Will t he v anguard o f u s b e f ighting w hile t he [ rear g uard] i s w aiting h ere i n A runa, u nable t o f ight? A nother d escription o f t he p ass,

d ating t o t he e nd o f t he 1 3th

c entury B C, o ccurs i n P apyrus A nastasi I ( British M useum 1 0247), a l iterary c omposition b y a r oyal o fficial n amed H on . L ike t he p rev ious p assage t his o ne i s i nvaluable a s a d ocument i llustrating t ravel a long o ur r oad b efore i t was p aved a nd p atrolled b y t he R omans. 8 P ray, t each m e a bout t he a ppearance o f Q iyen, l et m e k now R ehob, e xplain B eth-Shan a nd T irqa-El. T he s tream o f J ordan, h ow i s

i t c rossed? L et m e k now t he way t o p ass

M egiddo, w hich i s a bove i t

( ....)

B ehold,

t he a mbuscade

i s i n a r avine t wo t housand c ubits d eep, f illed w ith b ould ers a nd p ebbles. T hou m akest a d etour, a s t hou g raspest t he b ow. T hou m akest a f eint t o t hy l eft, t hat t hou m ightest m ake t he c hiefs t o s ee, ( but) t heir e yes a re g ood a nd t hy h and f alters ( ...) T he n arrow v alley i s d angerous with B edouin, h idden u nder t he b ushes. S ome o f t hem a re o f f our o r f ive c ubits ( from ) t heir n oses t o t he h eel,

a nd f ierce o f f ace. 4

T heir h earts a re not m ild,

a nd

t hey d o n ot l isten t o w heedling. T hou a rt a lone; t here i s n o m essenger w ith t hee, n o a rmy h ost b ehind t hee. T hou f indest n o s cout, t hat h e m ight m ake t hee a way o f c rossing. T hou c omest t o a d ecision b y g oing f orward, a lthough t hou k nowest n ot t he r oad. S huddering s eizes t hee, ( the h air o f) t hy h ead s tands u p, a nd t hy s oul l ies i n t hy h and. T hy p ath i s f illed w ith b oulders a nd p ebbles, w ithout a t oe h old f or p assing b y, o vergrown w ith r eeds, t horns, b rambles, a nd " wolf's p aw ." T he r avine i s o n o ne s ide o f t hee, a nd t he m ountain r ises o n t he o ther. T hou g oest o n j olting, w ith t hy c hariot o n i ts s ide, a fraid t o p ress t hy h orse t oo h ard ( ...) T hou s tartest t o t rot. T he s ky i s o pened E sc.: H e c omes o ut o f t he w ooded v alley i nto t he o pen]. T hen t hou t hink est t hat t he f oe i s b ehind t hee. T rembling s eizes t hee. I f o nly t hou h adst a h edge o f s hrubs, t hat t hou m ightest p ut i t o n t he o ther s ide! T he h orse i s p layed o ut b y t he t ime t hou f indest n ight-quarters. T hou s eest t he t aste o f p ain!" H ere w e h ave t he g ood f ortune t o r ead a n a ccount o f t he d ifficult ies t o b e e xperienced b y a l onely c ivilian o n h is t ravels. I t i s t he o nly s uch a ccount p reserved f rom a ncient t imes, a part f rom b rief n otes f rom B yzantine t imes ( see b elow ). H owever, a s n oted a bove, t here i s n o l ack o f s ources d emonstrating t he i mportance o f t he V alley o f J ezr eel a s ab attle f ield. T he t wo p assages i llustrate t he p roblems o f c rossing t he p asses w hen t hese w ere u nsafe o r i n e nemy h ands. I n B iblical t imes w e h ave t he r ecord o f t he b attle b etween D ebor ah a nd S isera. 9 A s i ndicated b y G .A . S mith, 1° a t i ssue was p ossessi on o f t he V alley i tself. T his h ad b een s o f ar i n t he h ands o f t he C anaanites w ho t herefore w ere i n a p osition t o c ut o ff t he n orthern t ribes, Z ebulun a nd N aphtali f rom t he s outhern. A f eature o f i nterest i n t he d escription o f t he b attle i n t he S ong o f D eborah i s t hat, b ec ause o f f looding b y t he r iver K ishon , t he p lain was i n a s tate i n w hich i t w as i mpossible f or c hariots t o m anoeuvre. F urther t o t he E ast, n orth o f t he t own o f J ezreel, t ook p lace t he b attle b etween G id eon a nd t he M idianites, i nvaders f rom t he E ast. 11 A fter a n ighta ttack t he e nemy w as d riven b ack b y G ideon t owards B eth S hean a nd a cr oss t he J ordan. T hese t wo b attles a re t o b e d ated i n t he 1 2th c entury B C. 12 A t t he e nd o f t he e leventh c entury t he P hilistines, i nhabitants o f t he c oastal p lain, m ustered a t A phek ( Antipatris) a nd e ntered t he V alley o f J ezreel u ndoubtedly b y M egiddo, a cross t he w ell-known p ass- 3 S aul's t roops " were e ncamped b y t he f ountain w hich i s i n J ezreel." T he b attle, f ought n ear M t. G ilboa, e nded i n P hilistine v ictory. C . 9 24 B C P harao S hishak c arried o ut a m ilitary e xpedition i n P alestine. H e s ubd ued B eth-Shean, S hunem a nd T aanakh i n t he V alley o f J ezreel ( but n ot J ezreel i tself), M egiddo a nd t hence m arched o ver W adi A ra t o t he S har on. 14 A gain i n 6 09 B C d efeat w as s uffered b y J osiah w hen h e t ried t o s top P haraoh N echo o n h is m arch t o t he N orth i n t he v icinity o f M egiddo. 1 5 W e m ay n ote t hat b oth i n t he B ronze A ge a nd i n t he I ron A ge B eth S hean a nd M egiddo w ere m ajor t owns. I n t he n inth c entury, h owever, O mri made t he t own o f J ezreel h is w inter r esidence, w hile t he s ummer h ouse was a t S amaria. 16 T he p osition o f M egiddo w as c ommented u pon a bove w hile w e s hall r eturn t o i ts s uccessor C aparcotna ( Legio ) 5

b elow .

S mith i n h is c hapter X VII h as g iven a n e xtensive d escription o f t he s trategic p osition o f B eth S hean. " It i s a lmost t he f arthest-seeing, f arthest-seen f ortress i n t he l and, a nd l ies i n t he m ain p assage b etw een E astern a nd W estern P alestine." S mith n oted t hat, b ecause o f i ts s trong a nd i solated p osition i t s erved " less o ften a s a n o utpost o f W estern P alestine t han a p oint o f v antage a gainst i t." J ews n ever g ained l asting c ontrol o f t he c ity. W hile M egiddo a nd J ezreel l ost t heir i mport ance a s c ities i n t he H ellenistic a ge,

t o b ecome m ere v illages w ith a

r oad-station o r m ilitary f ort, B eth S hean r emained a f ree c ity. 1 7 I t was t he o nly c ity o f t he D ecapolis w est o f J ordan, a nd i ts l argest c ity,according t o J osephus.18 T his w as a r esult o f t he c ity's p osition a s d escribed b y S mith. I n t he J ewish R evolt t he J ews o f S cythopolis w ere t he f irst a nd o nly g roup w hich a ctively s ided w ith t heir f ellow c itizens a nd j oined b attle a gainst t he J ewish i nsurgents.

1 9

S cythopo-

l is a t t his p eriod n o l ess t han i n p revious a ges w as a m ajor c ity c ont rolling t he m ain p assage b etween t he l ands E ast a nd W est o f t he R iver J ordan. A s w e s hall s ee b elow, t here w as a d irect c orrespondence b etw een t he p rosperity o f B eth S hean a nd n eighbouring c ities a cross t he J ordan o n t he o ne h and, a nd t he i mportance o f t he h ighway l inking t his r egion w ith b oth t he c oastal p lain a nd w ith t he E uphrates o n t he o ther. W hen t hese c ities d eclined a fter t he M uslim c onquest, a lternative r outes c ame t o b e p referred. I t i s n o c oincidence t hat, i n t he m odern s tate o f I srael, B eth S hean, c ut o ff f rom i ts n atural h interland a cross t he r iver, h as n ot s een t he r apid g rowth c haracterising c ities i n t he c oastal p lain. P arad oxically t his h as b enefitted a rchaeology a nd t he p resent s tudy w as p ossible o nly b ecause l ess w as d estroyed b y i ndustrialization t han i n t he c oastal p lain. T he h istory o f b oth t he V alleys o f J ezreel a nd o f B eth S hean e ver s ince t he A rab c onquest s hows t hat g reat f ertility a nd a n a bundance o f w ater b y t hemselves d o n ot i nsure t he p rosperity o f t he a rea. B efore c ontinuing t he d iscussion o f t he C aesarea-Scythopolis r oad i t m ust b e n oted t hat a nother s trategic r oad f rom B eth S hean g ave a ccess t o t he i nterior o f J udaea, t hrough t he J ordan v alley a nd westw ards, f rom C oreae o r J ericho. T his r oad w ill b e t he s ubject o f a nother p aper. A f actor w hich m ade t he r oad b etween C aesarea a nd S cythopolis

f ar

m ore i mportant t han i t w ould h ave b een o therwise, w as t he c onstruction b y H erod o f a n e xcellent h arbour a t C aesarea, b etween 2 2 a nd 1 0 B C. 20 S o f ar t he o nly g ood h arbour b etween T yrus a nd G aza h ad b een t hat o f P tolemais ( Akko), w hich t herefore s erved a s t he h arbour o f S outhern S yria. C aesarea n aturally w ould a ttract a ll t he t raffic a nd c ommerce f rom T ransjordan, w hich o therwise w ould h ave t o t ravel t o G aza o r A cco. T he c onstruction o f a s afe h arbour a nd c ommercial c entre c ertainly c hanged p atterns o f t rade. C aesarea a ttracted b oth J ews a nd g entiles, w hich c aused t ension a nd, i n 6 6, a n e xplosion o f v iolence. I t a lso b ecame p rosperous q uickly a nd o ne o f t he m ajor t owns i n J udaea a s w ell a s t he s eat o f R onan g overnment. I t w as H erod's m ost s uccessful u rban p roject i n t he c ountry. A nother t own must b e m entioned h ere, b ecause H erod, i n a s ense, i ntended i t t o b e w hat L egio ( Caparcotna) b ecame u nder Hadrian: a f ort o ccupying t he V alley o f J ezreel a nd, a t t he s ame t ime, L ower G alilee. G aba w as i n t he G reat P lain, a djacent t o C armel a nd t wenty s tades f rom B esara ( Beth S hearim ). A lthough t he i dentification o f t he s ite i s s till u ncertain, i ts m ilitary i mportance i s n ot. 21 G aba c ontrolled t raffic

6

b etween t he V alley o f J ezreel a nd P tolemais A cco. H erod s ettled a c olony o f d ischarged c avalry-men i n t he t own . I t i s a m atter o f i nter est t hat H erod s ettled h is v eterans a n a s ite o n t he r oad t o P tolem ais, w hile H adrian, i n t he s econd c entury, e stablished a l egionary f ortress o n t he r oad t o C aesarea. T his s eems a p aradox . I t p robably s hows t hat, i n t he p eriod w hich f ollowed t he f oundation o f C aesarea, t he r oad c onnecting t hat c ity w ith t he V alley o f J ezreel c ame t o b e m ore i mportant t han t hat b etween P tolemais ( Acco ) a nd t he V alley. I n a ny c ase, i t i s c lear t hat H erod's m ilitary h eadquarters f or t he V alley o f J ezreel w ere a t G aba a nd t hat C aparcotna-Legio t ook o ver t his f unction u nder H adrian-if n ot a fter t he F irst R evolt, f or L egio m ay h ave b een a f ort b efore t he a rrival o f a l egion.

T he

R oman

P eriod

T he c onstruction o f R oman r oads w as a m ilitary m atter. T his i s t rue i n g eneral a nd a ttested i n t he c ase o f t he r oad u nder d iscussion. I t i s t herefore w orth d welling u pon R oman t roop-movements a long t his r oad. T he f irst i nstance r ecorded w as i n A D 3 7 w hen V itellius, g overn or o f S yria, w as o rdered b y T iberius t o u ndertake a c ampaign a gainst t he N abataean A retas. T his m arch a s p lanned o riginally w as t o t ake h im t hrough J udaea p roper, o n h is way f rom A ntioch t o P etra. H owever, w hen h e h ad a rrived a t P tolemais, a J ewish e mbassy w ent t o m eet h im a nd e ntreated h im n ot t o m arch t hrough t heir l and, b ecause t he i mages a ttached t o t he m ilitary s tandards w ould g ive o ffence t o t he J ews. V it ellius c omplied w ith t he r equest a nd o rdered h is a rmy t o m arch t hrough t he G reat P lain. 22 I n S chürer I ( 1973), p . 3 88, n . 1 47, i t i s n oted t hat " in t he p assage u nder d iscussion t he p lain r eferred t o i s t hat b eginning a t P tolemais. V itellius m ade h is a rmy m arch t hrough i t s outhe astwards, a nd t hen p resumably a cross t he J ordan a nd f urther s outhwar d ; i .e. v ia S cythopolis, P ella a nd G erasa o ver w hat was l ater t o b ecome t he v ia T raiana. T his s hows w hat w e a lready i ndicated i n m entioning t he i mportance o f C aesarea's h arbour. T he v alley o f J ezreel a fforded n ot o nly a p assage f rom t he c oastal p lain n orth-eastwards. I t a lso l inked t he S yrian c oast w ith A rabia. S mith c alled t his " the G reat R oad o f t he E ast" ( Chapter XX ). " In t he R oman p eriod i t c onnected t he A sian f rontier o f t he E mpire w ith t he c apital. C hariots, m ilitary t roop s, c ompanies o f o fficials a nd m erchants, p assed b y t his r oad, b etween t he G reek c ities e ast o f J ordan a nd P tolemais, t he p ort f or R ome." T his i s, hrhaps, a n o verstatement. T he N orth S yrian c oast w ith S eleu cia a nd i ,-. tioch f ulfilled t his f unction t o a g reater e xtent. W e m ay a lso a dd t hat w hat i s s aid o f P tolemais, w as t rue o nly u ntil H erod b uilt C aesarea. A cco h ad b een a n i mportant c ity i n t he B ronze A ge a nd I ron A ge a nd i s m entioned i n E gyptian s ources. 2 1 H owever ,t i t e njoyed g reat p rosperity, p articularly i n t he H ellenistic p eriod. " U nder t he l ater S eleucids i t i s k nown t o h ave b een a m ilitary b ase. 25 A s a p ortc ity i t w as s uperseeded b y C aesarea . I t r emained, h owever, t he " gatew ay" i nto J udaea f or a nyone m arching a long t he S yrian c oast. C ambyses p assed t hrough P alestine o n h is way t o E gypt i n 5 25 B C a nd, a ccording t o S trabo ( XVI 2 5 o perations.

[ 758])

h e a ppears t o h ave u sed A cco f or h is b ase o f

I n 3 74 A rtaxerxes M nemon a gain m ustered h is

I n 2 18/17 A ntiochus s pent t he w inter a t A cco.

2 7

f orces t here2 6

I n 3 9 B C H erod l anded

a t P tolemais. 28 I n 4B C V arus, d uring t he d isturbances a fter H erod's d eath, a ssembled h is f orces t here. 2 9 T he m arch-route o f V itellius i n A D 3 7 h as b een m entioned a bove. A gain i n 3 9/40 w hen G aius o rdered t hat a s tatue w ith h is e ffigy b e s et u p i n t he t emple o f J erusalem , t he 7

g overnor o f S yria,

P etronius,

r eceived i nstruction t o p roceed w ith

p art o f t he S yrian a rmy t o J udaea t o e nforce c ompliance. P etronius m arched f rom A ntioch t o P tolemais, i ntending t o s pend t he winter t here P T his l ong l ist w as g iven f or t wo r easons. I t i llustrates why t he f irst R oman r oad b uilt i n P alestine w as p recisely t he o ne f rom A ntioch t o P tolemais.

T he s econd r eason i s t hat m ost t ravellers o r a rmies g oing

s outh f rom P tolemais ( or t he r everse) w ould c ross t o t he c oastal p lain b y t he p ass o f M egiddo, r ather t han a round t he C armel r ange, k eeping t o t he b each. A s i ndicated b y S mith a nd A haroni, p . 4 6, t he l atter p assage w as v ery d ifficult b ecause o f t he f orests, s wamps a nd s ands i n t he w estern p art o f t he A cco p lain;

t herefore, r eferences

t o t he u se

o f t his r oute a re q uite r are ( it i s, h owever, i ndicated o n t he T abula P eutingeriana ). A s l ong a s t he h ill c ountry a s f ar a s C armel w as n ot o ccupied b y e nemies t he e asiest r oute f rom P tolemais t o t he c oastal p lain d id n ot t ake t he s ea-path r ound C armel, b ut t he r oad t o M egiddo ( later L egio), a nd t hence t hrough W adi A ra t o t he c oastal p lain . 31 O ne s ould not, o f c ourse, d eny t he e xistence o f a r oute a round C armel. T he e xistence o f S hiqmona ( Sicaminum ) i s p roof e nough o f t his. I t i s i mp ortant, h owever, t o r ealize t hat t he w estern s ection o f t he r oad d isc ussed i n t his s tudy w as, i n f act, p art o f t he c oastal r oad f rom S yria t o E gypt. I n o ther w ords, t he t wo b ranches o f t he ' Via Man s' b oth p assed t hrough W adi ' Ara.' F rom R abbinical s ources i t f urther a ppears t hat t he n ormal r oute f or t ravellers f rom G alilee t o J udaea l ed p ast K efar O tnay ( = C aparcotna-Legio) a nd A ntipatris ( Apheq). 32 O n t he o ther h and, t hose t ravelling f rom P tolemais s outheast t o A rabia w ould aparcotna-Legio t o S cythopolis, a s d id t he a rmy o f u se t he r oad f rom C V itellius i n 3 7. A ll t his s erves t o e mphasize a nd e xplain t he i mport ance o f t he s ite o f M egiddo a nd,

l ater,

o f L egio.

T he f irst s tage o f R oman r oad-construction i n t he c ountry w as a r esponse t o l ocal t roubles. T he p aving o f t he r oad f rom A ntioch t o P tolemais f ollowed i mmediately u pon t he e stablishment o f a v eteran c ol ony a t P tolemais, b etween A D 5 2 a nd 5 4. 33 T his p roject f ollowed i mmed iately u pon a v ery s erious c onflict b etween J ews a nd S amaritans which w as i nvestigated o n t he s pot b y U mmidius Q uadratus, g overnor o f S yria. T he m ilitary nature o f t he p roject i s n ot i n d oubt. T he f irst t o u se t he n ew r oad w ith a n a rmy w as C estius G allus i n A D 6 6. He s tarted o ut f rom A ntioch a nd m arched b y w ay o f P tolemais, C aesarea, Lydda a nd B ethH oron t o J erusalem . 34 N ext y ear P tolemais s erved a s V espasian 's b ase o f o perations f or t he c ampaign i n G alilee.3 5 I t i s a c haracteristic d ifference b etween C estius G allus a nd V espasian t hat t he f ormer m arched s outhwards f rom P tolemais b efore s ubduing a ll o f G alilee.3 6 T his c ost h im t wo t housand m en. V espasian k ept h is b ase a t P tolemais a nd o nly a fter t he s ubjugation o f a ll o f G alilee d id h e m ove h is h eadquarters t o C aesarea. R egarding V espasian's c ampaign i n G alilee b efore t his m ove w e m ay n ote o ne p oint o f i nterest. I mmediately a fter h is a rrival a t P tolemais t he i mportant t own o f S epphoris i n G alilee s ent a n e mbassy p romising s upport a gainst t heir f ellow-Jews a nd r equesting a f orce f or t heir p rotection. 3 7 V espasian a ssigned t hem a m ixed f orce o f 1 000 c av alry a nd 6 000 i nfantry u nder t he c ommand o f t he t ribune P lacidus.

3 8

T his f orce, a ccording t o J osephus, " first e ncamped i n t he G reat P lain," i .e. i n t he V alley o f J ezreel, s omewhere n ear ( or a t) C aparcotna ( Leg io) " and t hen d ivided, t he i nfantry t aking u p q uarters i n t he t own f or i ts p rotection, t he c avalry r emaining i n c amp." A ccordingly t hey d id n ot m arch d irectly t o S epphoris t hrough t he h ills o ver w hat,

i n

1 20, was p aved a s t he R oman r oad f rom P tolemais t o S epphoris, b ut t hey m arched t hrough t he p lain t o C aparcotna ( Legio ) a nd m ade t heir c amp 8

s omewhere i n t he V alley. I n t he s ummer a nd a utumn o f 6 7 V espasian q uartered t he 5 th a nd 1 0the l egions i n C aesarea, a nd t he 1 5th l egion i n S cythopolis.39 A fter t he c ampaign i n G aulanitis, t owards t he e nd o f 6 7, t he 1 0th l egion s tayed a t S cythopolis, a nd t he 5 th a nd 1 5th w ere s ent t o C aesarea. 40 T he 1 0th l egion w as c ommanded b y M . U lpius T raianus t he E lder, V espas ian h imself s pent t he winter a t C aesarea. E arly i n 6 8 o perations s tarted a gainst P eraea ( Trans-Jordan ). T he C aesarea-Scythopolis r oad m ust have b een u sed a gain, a s V espasian h imself m arched o n G adara, c apital o f P eraea, w hich s urrendered i n M arch. 41

t he

A ll t hat h as b een s aid s o f ar e asily e xplains why t his w as t he f irst R oman r oad c onstructed i n t he p rovince o f J udaea i n A D 6 9, a ppears f rom t he m ilestone o f t hat y ear ( see b elow, i nscr. 1 ).

a s

We h ave n o f urther i nformation o n t he m ovements o f t roops a long t he r oad d uring t he F irst R evolt. I n a ny e vent, t he r oad w ill h ave s erved t o c ut o ff t he J ews i n G alilee f rom t hose i n J udaea. T he V alley o f J ezreel u sed t o b e e xtremely m uddy i n w inter. 42 T hanks t o t he n ew r oad t his w as n o l onger a p roblem . T here c an b e l ittle d oubt t hat t he r oad c ontinued b eyond S cythopolis t o P ella a nd G erasa a lready i n t he F lavian p eriod, f or m ilestones o f A D 1 12 d iscovered b etween P ella a nd G erasa r ecord r estoration o f t hat r oad.43 M oreover, i t s eems t hat t he E lder T rajan, a s g overnor o f S yria ( 73/4 - 7 6/7), h ad a s pecial i nter est i n t he d evelopment o f t he c ities o f t he D ecapolis. 44 H e c ertainly w as r esponsible f or t he c onstruction i n 7 5 o f a s econd R oman r oad i n t he r egion which l ed t o P almyra a nd t hence t o S ura o n t he E uphrates. 45 I n t his p eriod G erasa b ecame i ncreasingly a ffluent. 46 W e m ay a ssume a lthough t here i s n o e vidence t o p rove t his - t hat p art o f t he t rade w hich b rought t he t own i ts p rosperity m oved a cross t he r oad t o C aesarea, f or C aesarea w as t he p ort c losest t o t he D ecapolis. I mmediately a fter t he a nnexation o f t he N abataean k ingdom i n 1 06 ah ighway w as c onstructed f rom B ostra - c apital a nd l egionary b ase t o t he R ed S ea . T he r oad m ore o r l ess c orresponded t o t he a ncient T ransjordanian c aravan r oute, t he K ing's R oad.4 7 T his s ystem w as b est c onnected with t he c oastal p lain t hrough t he S cythopolis - C aesarea r oad. T he e astern t rade w hich r eached t he D ecapolis o ver t he v ia T rai ana t hus c ould b e t aken e ither t o s outhern S yria o r t o C aesarea, t he b est p ort o n t he P alestinian c oast. T he s ame was t rue f or g oods f rom t he n ortheast, f rom P almyra a nd t he E uphrates r egion. A gain, t here i s n o e vidence which a llows u s t o t race s uch p atterns o f t rade, b ut t he p rosperity o f S cythopolis a nd C aesarea s peaks f or i tself. T he m ilitary i mportance o f t he S cythopolis-Caesarea r oad i s e asier t o m easure. P robably i n 1 17 a nd c ertainly b efore 1 20 a l egion w as b ased a t C aparcotna ( Legio). T he d ate i s d etermined b y m ilestones a lr eady p ublished. 48 N o f urther c omments a re n eeded o n t he s ite o f t he f ortress a nd i ts s trategic a dvantages - t actically, w e m ay n ote, n earby T el Megiddo i s m uch s tronger. I t w as t he l egion's t ask t o s afeguard a nd c ontrol c ommunications b etween n orth a nd s outh P alestine o n t he o ne h and a nd b etween t he c oastal p lain a nd T ransjordan o n t he o ther. L ike o ther l egionary f ortresses o f t hat p eriod i ts s ite was n ot c hosen u nd er t he a ssumption t hat i t e ver would h ave t o b e d efended u nder s iege. W hether t he l egion a nd i ts c astra s erved t heir p urpose d uring t he R evolt o f B ar K okhba w e d o n ot k now. T he o nly l iterary s ource w hich

9

r efers t o

i ts e xistence i n t he s econd c entury i s

t he T abula P eutinge-

r iana. T he T abula m entions ' Caporcotani' ( i .e. C aparcotna) a s a r oads tation o n t he S cythopolis - C aesarea r oad. T hat i s a n i ndication o f t he d ate o f t he m ap's s ource f or t hP a rea, f or t he f act t hat i t i s m entioned a t a ll p resupposes t he e xistence o f t he l egionary b ase w hich e xisted t here f rom 1 17-120 o nward. T he n ame C aporcotani d erives f rom t hat o f t he v illage K efar O tnay. I t a ppears a s i c cu rapKoTyci i n P tol emy V 1 5, 3 , w ho w orked i n t he m id-second c entury. I t i s f ound a gain a s C aparcotna o n a s eries o f i nscriptions f rom t he t ime o f A ntoninus P ius. 49 O n t he o ther h and, t he p lace i s c alled L egio i n l ater s ources a nd o n am ilestone w hich p robably m entions C aracalla. 5 ° We d o n ot c laim t hat i t i s p ossible t o e stablish a s pecific d ate f or a ny o f t he v ersions o f t he m ap w hich, u ltimately, b ecame t he P eutinger T able. Y et i t m ay b e n oted t hat v arious f eatures i n t he P alestinian s ection o f t he m ap a lso b elong t o t he s econd c entury.

J erusalem i s c alled A elia

C apitolina ' antea d icta H ierusalem '. T hat c ould n ot h ave b een w ritten b efore 1 30. O n t he o ther h and, t he r e-foundation o f L ydda a s D iospolis a nd o f B eth G ovrin a s E leutheropolis i n A D 1 99/200 i s i gnored 5 1 a nd s o i s t hat o f E mmaus a s N icopolis. 52 T he n ew n ames o ccur, f or e xample, i n E usebius' O nomasticon ( passim ) a nd i n t he A ntonine I tinerary, b oth o f t he t hird c entury. 5 3 A s p ointed o ut b y K ubitschek , t he m ap h as b een r evised b efore i t w as c opied o n t he s heets w e n ow h ave. N o s ingle d ate c an b e g iven f or t he m ap a s aw hole. 54 E ven s o i t i s c lear t hat t he P alestinian s ection o f t he T abula P eutingeriana r eflects t he s ituation f rom Hadrian t ill S eptimius s everus. T he d istances g iven b y t he t abul a f or t he C aesarea - S cythopolis r oad a re 2 4 m . f or t he s ection S cyt hopolis - C aporcotani a nd 2 8 m iles f or t he s ection C aporcotani C aesarea. T his c orresponds t o a ctual d istances i n s o f ar a s t hese c an b e m easured. M oreover, i t a lso c orresponds t o t he d istance g iven b y t he m ilestone o f A D 6 9. T he m ilestone w as d iscovered a t a d istance c orresponding t o 6 m . f rom C aporcotani a nd i ndicates a d istance o f 3 4 m . f rom C aesarea ( i.e. 2 8 + 6 ). 55 F inally i t m ay b e n oted t hat t his i s t he o nly r oad o n t he m ap l inking t he c oastal p lain with T ransjordan, n orth o f t he N egev a nd s outh o f t he T yrus - P aneas r oad. K efar

O tnay i s m entioned

i n an umber o f R abbinical s ources a s a

v ill ge, i nhabited b oth b efore a nd a fter t he R evolt o f B ar K okhba b y J ews a nd S amaritans. 56 F or t he p resent s tudy i t i s o f s pecial i nterest t hat K efar O tnay a nd A ntipatris a re m entioned e xplicitly a s h alting p laces

o n t he u sual r oute f or J ews

v ice v ersa.

t ravelling f rom G alilee t o J udea o r

5 7

T he V itonine I tinerary d oes n ot r efer t o o ur r oad. I t i s m ent ioned, h owever, i n t he I tinerarium B urdi plense a s p art o f av oyage f rom B ordeaux t o t he H oly L and ( AD 3 33). 58 A fter t ravelling f rom A nt ioch o ver

t he c oast r oad t o C aesarea t he p ilgrim p roceeded a s f ollows:

I nde e st t ertio m iliario m ons S yna, u bi f ons e st i n q uem m ulier s it l auerit, g ravida f it. c iuitas M aximianopoli c iuitas I sdradela

m ilia X VIII m ilia X

C iuitas

m ilia X II

A ser,

S cithopoli

u bi f uit v illa I ob

m i na X VI

c iuitas N eapoli

m ilia X V

I nde m ilia X XVIII e untibus H ierusalem i n p arte 1 0

s inistra e st v illa q uae d icitur B ethar. I nde H ierusalem

m ilia X II

F it a C aesarea P alestina H ierusalem u sque m ilia C XVI, m ansiones 1 111, m utationes 1 111. T he p ilgrim f rom B ordeaux t hus t ravelled f rom C aesarea t o J erusal em by w ay o f L egio ( = Maximianopolis), J ezreel ( = I sdradela ), S cythop olis a nd N eapolis. T he d istances i ndicated a re t otally w rong: 1 8 m . i nstead o f 2 4 m . f or t he s ection C aesarea - L egio a nd 2 2 m . i nstead o f 2 8 m . f or t he s ection L egio - S cythopolis. T he i tinerary s tates t hat t here w ere 4 m ansiones a nd 4 m utationes b etween C aesarea a nd J erusalem, b ut i t l ists, i n f act, 4 c ivitates a nd 2 v illae. I t g ives a s t he t otal d istance b etween t he t wo t owns 1 16 m ., while t he s um o f t he s ections a s g iven i s 1 11 m . T he n umbers i n t he I tinerary, h owever, a re u nrel iable a nywhere a nd t he n umbers o f m ansiones a nd m utationes n owhere c orrespond t o t he n umbers o f p laces l isted. 59 T he i nterest o f t his s ource f or o ur p urposes l ies i n t he r oute c hosen a nd i n t he r eference t o Maximianopolis a nd J ezreel. T his i s t he e arliest s ource which m ent ions t he t own M aximianopolis. I t i s u ncertain when i t w as f ounded. T he t own a wes i ts n ame e ither t o M aximianus H erculius, D iocletian's c olleague ( 286-304) o r t o M aximianus G alerius ( 305). A bel s uggests t he f ormer, A vi-Yonah t he l atter, b oth w ithout m entioning t he a lternative P S ince D iocletian's c olleague n ever w as a ctive i n t he E ast a nd a s G al erius w as A ugustus o f t he E astern p rovinces, w e s hould p erhaps p refer t he l atter. I n t hat c ase t he t own was f ounded i n 3 05. a s a bishopric a n l ists o f A D 3 25, 3 47, 5 18 a nd 5 36. 61

I t i s m entioned

T he I tinerarium B urdigalense i s t he e arliest p ost-biblical w ork w hich r efers t o J ezreel a s a n e xisting s ettlement. J osephus k new o nly t he B iblical t own s o i t m ust h ave b een r esettled i n t he p eriod b etween t he First R evolt a nd t he b eginning o f t he f ourth c entury. 62 T he I tinerary, f inally, s hows t hat a long t he r oads t here was a s ystem o f h alting p laces f or p rivate i ndividuals which i ncluded J udea. T he n ext s ource w hich m ust b e d iscussed,

a lthough i t d oes n ot m en-

t ion t he r oad e xplicitly, i s E usebius' O nomasticon. I t i s r oughly c ontemporary w ith t he I tinerary, w ritten p robably a round A D 3 30. 63 E usebius m entions L egio ( Acyv l iv) f requently b ecause h e u ses i t a s a p oint o f r eference f or t he l ocation o f o ther p laces i n t he a rea. H e a lso m entions J ezreel a nd,

o f c ourse,

S cythopolis.

H e c alls t he V al-

l ey o f J ezreel T ö p gya T r E ( Siov X eye c Ivos o r ' campus m aximus L egion is' i n J erome's t ranslation. T his i s n ot a r eference t o t he t errit ory o f L egio,

l et a lone t o l egionary t erritory.

I t i s am eans o f

d istinguishing b etween t he V alley o f J ezreel a nd t he J ordan v alley w hich a lso c ould b e c alled T ö p gya u ediov. 64 E usebius n owhere m entions t he t own Maximianopolis a nd i nvariably c alls i t L egio, a n i ndication t hat h e u sed o lder s ources ( Maximianopolis p robably e xisted o nly c . 2 5 y ears when h e w rote). Y et A vi-Yonah a ssumes t hat " The e xtent o f i ts t erritory i s d efined b y t he v illages w hich m easured t heir d istances f rom i t..." ( sc. f rom L egio i n t he O nomasticon). 65 T his i s a n i mport ant p oint f or t he a rea h ere d iscussed a nd o f i nterest f or t he a dmin istrative h istory o f t he w hole c ountry a nd m ust t herefore b e d isc ussed. A vi-Yonah f ollowed B eyer a nd A lt i n t wo a ssumptions: a ) t he d istances m arked o n m ilestones a re a n i ndication o f t he e xtent o f

1 1

c ity a reas.

b )

T he d istances i n t he O nomasticon w ere t aken f rom a

r oad m ap w hich i tself w as b ased o n t he R oman m ilestone s urvey o f t he c ountry . T he i ndications o f d istance i n t he O nomasticon t herefore a re a ssumed t o r eflect c ity t erritories.66 T he f irst a ssumption h as b een d iscussed e lsewhere. 6 7 M ilestones d efinitely d o n ot i ndicate c ity t erritories. T hus t he s econd a ssumption n ecessarily i s a f allacy a lso. Y et i t m ay b e u seful t o s tress t hat t he O nomasticon a s i t i s c an b e a s ource o f i nformation f or t he t erritorial h istory o f P alestine o nly w hen i t e xplicitly s tates t hat a p lace b elongs t o a c ertain a rea. F irst t he a ssumption r egarding E usebius' s ource. I t m ust b e a dm itted t hat w e s imply d o n ot k now w here h e o btained h is c ontemporary i nformation, a part f rom t he f act t hat, a s b ishop o f C aesarea, h e w ill h ave h ad a ccess t o t he g overnor's a rchives. 6 8 E usebius f requently s tates t hat a c ertain p lace b elongs t o t he t erritory o f a c ity.69 P laces l ying o n p ublic r oads a re m arked a s s uch .7 0 E usebius a lso m ent iones m ilitary g arrisons. M ost p laces, h owever, a re s mall v illages w hich d id n ot l ie o n a ny p ublic r oad a nd c ould b e l ocated o nly b y r ef erring t o t he n earest k nown l andmark . A m isleading e lement i s t he t erm a npeiov = l apis, m iliarium o r, p lural, m ilia i n J erome's t ranslat ion. T his t erm o riginally o f c ourse m eant ' milestone', b ut c ould l ater a lso b e u sed f or ' mile' w here t here w as n o m arker o f a ny k ind. T his i s c lear f rom t he f act t hat d istances i n s outhern B abylonia a re i ndicated b y t he s ame t erms. 71 N o o ne w ould c laim t he e xistence o f a R onan r oad b etween S eleucia a nd B abylon. I n a ny c ase, m ost v illages i n t he O nomasticon a re f ar r emoved f rom R oman r oads a nd t hey c annot h ave a ppeared o n m aps b ased o n am ilestone s urvey. T his i s n ot t o d eny t hat E usebius f ound t he i nformation h e r eproduces i n t he a rchives i n C aesarea . T here m ust h ave b een g ood m aps t here, b ut w e h ave n o r eason t o a ssume t hat E usebius w as m ore i nterested i n a dministration t hat h e c laimed t o b e - o r a s m uch a s m odern h istorians w ould h ave l iked h im t o b e. E usebius, t hen, m ay h ave u sed d etailed m ilitary m aps o f t he p rov ince, o f t he k ind d escribed b y V egetius i n aw ell-known p assage, 7 2 o r h e m ay h ave s een m aps r ecording t he s urvey o f t he p rovince f or t ax p urposes s uch a s f ound a t O range. 73 B oth w ould h ave s hown p ublic r oads b ut t hey w ere n ot r oad-maps a nd E usebius w ould h ave e xtracted t he i nformation n eeded t o c larify t he t opography, n ot t he a dministrat ive a rrangements r egarding t he s ites h e m entions. 7 4

a ) b ) c )

T o s um u p: R oman m ilestones c annot b e u sed t o t race c ity-territories. T he c ontemporary i nformation i n E usebius' O nomasticon i s n ot d er ived f rom R oman r oad m aps b ut f rom s ome o ther s ource. E usebius w as i nterested p rimarily i n c larifying t opography . I f h e c ould u se R oman r oads o r c ity t erritories t o d o s o h e w ould, b ut w e s hould n ot a ttempt t o e xtract i nformation f rom h is w ork w hich h e h imself d oes n ot c laim t o p rovide.

A ccordingly m uch o f w hat w e r ead a bout c ity t erritories i n t he w orks o f A .H.M . J ones, A bel a nd A vi-Yonah m ust b e r econsidered. T o r eturn t o t he s ubject o f t he p resent s tudy, i t m ay b e c onclud ed t hat E usebius d oes n ot f urnish a ny i nformation o n t he t erritory o f L egio. L egio a ppears a s t he m ain p oint o f r eference i n t he V alley o f J ezreel. E usebius d oes n ot m ention t he p resence o f a g arrison 1 2

w hich p robably i s s ignificant.

7 5

H e d oes n ot d escribe i t a s a t own

e ither. 76 H e d escribes J ezreel a s " a v ery s ignificant v illage b etw een S cythopolis a nd L egio." S cythopolis i s c alled " an i mportant c ity o f Palestine" ( 16, 2 ; 5 4, 9 ) a nd f requently m entioned a s a p oint o f r eference. E usebius n owhere m entions t he t erritory o f t he c ity.

o f

S cythopolis i s m entioned o nce b y Ammianus ( xix 1 2, 8 ) a s t he s ite t rials f or h igh t reason i n AD 3 59: " it s eemed m ore s uitable t han

o ther p laces f or t wo r easons, b ecause i t i s r ather o ut o f t he way a nd b ecause i t i s h alfway b etween Antioch a nd A lexandria whence m ost o f t he accused w ere b rought."7 7 T hat, w e m ay a ssume, s ums u p n icely t he p osition o f t he t o w n i n t hat p eriod. I t w as a r ather r emote a dminist rative c entre ( as c ompared w ith m ajor c ities l ike A lexandria a nd A ntioch a nd e ven C aesarea Maritima ), b ut s till m ore c entral t han a ny o ther

i n t he i mmediate s urroundings.

I n t he l ate f ourth a nd e arly f ifth c entury J erome was a ctive a s a n a uthor. H is w orks c ontain a f ew s cattered s tatements o f i nterest f or t he p resent s tudy: " Adadremmon ( ...) u rbs e st j uxta J ezraelem , q uae hoc o h m v ocabulo n uncupata e st, e t h odie v ocatur M aximianopolis i n c ampo M ageddon" e tc. 78 a nd: " supra d iximus J ezraelem, q uae n unc i uxta M aximianopolim e st, f uisse m etropolim r egni S amariae p rope q uam s unt c ampi l atissimi, e t v allis n imiae v astitatis, q uae p lus q uam d ec em millium t enditur p assibus. 7 9 A round A D 4 00 a t t he l atest P alestine n orth o f t he N egev w as s ubd ivided i nto t wo p rovinces, P alaestina P rima w hich i ncluded I dumaea, J udea p roper, S amaria a nd p art o f t he o ld P eraea a nd P alaestina S ecunda w hich i ncluded t he V alley o f J ezreel, G alilee, p art o f t he D ecapolis a nd o f t he G olan h eights. 80 T he c apital o f t he f irst p rovince r emained C aesarea, w hose g overnor n ow h ad l ess a uthority t han b efore. S cythopol is became c apital o f t he s econd p rovince. T he S cythopolis - L egio r oad t hus c onnected t he t wo p rovincial c apitals.

d ucts

T he r oad f urther m ust h ave b een i mportant f or t he e xport o f p rof rom t he a rea a round S cythopolis. T he t own was a f amous c entre

o f l inen-production. L inen, m entioned i n v arious s ources, 81 was m ade f rom f lax w hich g rew i n a bundance a round t he s ea o f G alilee. 82 T he v alley o f B eit S hean i n p articular w as f amous f or i ts f ertility. " If p aradise i s i n t he l and o f I srael t hen B eth S hean i s i ts e ntrance." 83 I ts f ertility a nd t hat o f G alilee i n g eneral i s w ell-attested i n T alm udic s ources.

8 4

T he c ivil a dministration o f t he p rovinces i s t abulated i n t he S ynecdemos o f H ierocles ( c. 5 35) a nd i n t he D escriptio O rbis R omani o f G eorgius C yprius ( early s eventh c entury ). 85 C aesarea a ppears a s c apit al o f P alaestina I , S cythopolis a s t hat o f P alaestina I I w ith M axim ianoupolis a s o ne o f t he c ities o f t hat p rovince. I n t he I tinerary a scribed t o A ntoninus P lacentinus ( AD 5 70) S cythopolis i s n amed " civit as metropolis G alilaeae, i n m onte p osita ..." 86 I n 6 14

t he P ersian k ing C hosrau I I t ook D amascus.

8 7

H e t hen a d-

v anced i nto G alilee, w here h e was s upported b y t he J ews, a nd c aptured C aesarea . T hen f ollowed t he o ccupation o f a ll o f P alestine which l asted u ntil 6 28. T he A rab c onquest o f t he c ountry c ame b oth f rom t he s outh ( past

1 3

A ela ) a nd f rom t he n orth-east. 88 A fter t he c apture o f D amascus t he B yzantine f orces a ttempted t o h alt t he A rab a dvance f irst n ear t he c rossing o f t he Y armuq a t A dra 'a a nd t hen n ear S cythopolis. T he B yz antines f ortified t he t own a nd d estroyed t he c analization-system s o a s t o m ake t he s urrounding c ountry i mpassable - a c lear i ndication o f t he d evelopement o f t his s ystem a nd o f i ts i mportance f or t he a rea . T he A rabs b lockaded t he t own, i ntending t o w ait t ill t he w ater w ould d ry u p i n t he s ummer. H owever, t hey d efeated t he B yzantines w hen t he l atter a ttacked t hem o n t heir o wn g round.

A fter t he A rab c onquest. T he C aesarea - S cythopolis r oad w as t he m ajor e ast - w est c onnect ion t hroughout t he R onan p eriod a nd i n t he B yzantine p eriod e ven m ore s o b ecause i t l inked t he t wo p rovincial c apitals o f n orthern P alestine . T he A rab c onquest r esulted i n a c omplete c hange i n t he a dministr ation o f t he c ountry. T he c apital o f t he n orthern p rovince, J und e l U rdun, w as t ransferred f rom B eisan ( Beth S hean ) t o T abariya ( Tiberias). R amleh, n ewly f ounded, b ecame t he c apital o f t he s outhern p rovince , J und e l F alastin. 89 W ith t he t ransfer o f t he t wo a dministrative c ent res a way f rom C aesarea a nd B eth S hean t raffic a lso b egan t o m ove w ith g reater f requency a long a d ifferent a xis. T he c ountry's m ain h ighway n o l onger r an f rom e ast t o w est, b ut f rom s outh-west ( Ramleh ) t o n orthe ast ( Tiberias a nd, t hence, t o D amascus). T he b asic f acts o f g eograp hy, o f c ourse, d id n ot c hange a nd t he r oad s till p assed t hrough W adi ' Ara w ith L gjun a t t he e astern e nd. T he m ilitary i mportance o f t he e ast - w est l ine w as n ot d iminished b y a dministrative c hange. A ccordingly w e a re i nformed t hat S aladin , i n 1 186, a ttempted t o i nvade P alestine b y w ay o f B aisan a nd t he V alley o f J ezreel. H e c ame a s f ar a s A in J allud ( the s pring o f E in H arod ) b ut w as f orced t o w ithdraw w ithout g iving b attle. 9 ° N ear A in J allud a gain a b attle o f g reat h istorical s ignificance w as f ought i n 1 260, w hen t he M ongol a rmy, a pproaching f rom t he E ast m et w ith t he M ameluk t roops. T hanks t o t he M ameluk v ictory t he M ondol a dvance w estward w as h alted a nd t he i nvasion o f E gypt a nd N orth A frica p revented 9 1 T he M ameluks t hemselves w ere d efeated i n 1 516 b y t he T urks. T he d ecisive b attle t ook p lace a gain n ear B eisan. N o f urther a ttempt w as m ade t o o ppose t he i n v aders u ntil S ultan S elim r eached G aza .9 2 A nother f amous b attle, k nown a s t he " Battle o f M t. T abor", t ook p lace n ear A fulah i n 1 799. A v ast T urkish a rmy a ssembled t here f or t he p urpose o f f orcing N apoleon t o r aise t he s iege o f A cre, d efended w ith t he a id o f S ir S idney S mith. T he T urkish a rmy m anaged t o s urround a F rench a rmy-unit c ommanded b y K leber. N apoleon h imself b rough r einf orcements ( along t he o ld P tolemais - D iocaesarea - L egio r oad ). W hat f ollowed r eminds o f t he b attle o f S isera a nd B arak , m entioned a bove . T he T urkish c avalry ( some 1 5000 m en ) w as d riven i nto t he s wamps o f t he h ead-waters o f t he r iver K ishon . T he T urkish a rmy f led t o M t. T abor a nd t o t he J ordan.

9 3

1 4

T his

s urvey m ay be c oncluded w ith t he " Battle o f Megiddo" i n t he

F irst W orld W ar.On S eptember 1 9th,

1 918 B ritish t roops

u nder A llenby

a ttacked t he T urkish f ront n orth o f t he Y arkon r iver. F ollowing t he B ritish b reakthrough t he 1 0th C avalry B rigade o f t he 4 th D ivision, h eaded b y t he 2 nd L ancers R egiment a nd a rmoured c ars s wept u nchecked n orthwards a cross t he c oastal p lain. T hey c rossed t he C armel r ange t hrough W adi A ra a nd o ccupied A fulah a nd B eisan. T ogether w ith A draa t hese w ere k ey-sites t hen a s i n t he R oman p eriod. B y t hat t ime a b ranch o f t he H ejaz r ailway r an o ut w estwards f rom D eraa. I t c rossed t he J ordan n orth o f B eisan a nd f orked a t A fulah. O ne b ranch m ade f or H aifa, t he o ther t urned s outh t o S amaria. T his was t he s ole l ife-line o f t he T urkish a rmies. W ith t he o ccupation o f t he C armel p asses, A ful ah, B eisan a nd D era'a A llenby m anaged t o c ut a ll t he T urkish l ines o f c ommunication a nd r etreat.

A llenby d uly b ecame Viscount o f M egiddo.94

Many o f t he b attles w hich d etermined t he f ate o f P alestine w ere f ought i n t he V alley o f J ezreel. A s c an b e s een f rom t he l ist p resent ed a bove, t he c ountry c an b e i nvaded b y s everal r outes, f rom t he n orth, n orth-west a nd s outh-west, b ut n o p ower c an c ontrol t he c ountry w ithout a f irm h old o n t his v alley a nd t he C armel p asses. Y et, a s a lr eady n oted, t he C aesarea - L egio - S cythopolis r oad l ost i ts i mport ance a s a n e ast-west r oute a fter t he A rab c onquest, s o m uch s o, i n f act, t hat t he t ravellers i n t he n ineteenth c entury d id n ot r ecognize t he e xistence o f a r oad b etween B eisan a nd L ejün. T he f irst t o n otice aR oman r oad r unning w estwards f rom B eisan w ere I rby a nd M angles. 95 T hey t hought i t w ent t o P tolemais. R obinson r ecognized t hat i t r eally l ed t o Z er'in ( Jezreel) 96 O therwise t he r oad had c eased t o e xist l ong a go. T he m edieval A rab g eographers d o n ot m ention t he e xistence o f a r oad b etween L ejün a nd B eisan. 97 B eisan g radually d eclined a fter t he A rab c onquest.

9 8

T he m ain c ommercial r oad, a ttested, a s a lready m entioned, i n e arly A rab s ources, r an f rom R amleh t o T iberias a cross Wadi ' Arah a nd p ast L ejün ( Lejün r etained i ts i mportance a s a r oadstation, t hough n ot a s a m ilitary s ite). 99 F rom T iberias t he r oad c ontinued t o D amascus. T his r oad f requently i s m entioned b y t he t ravellers o f t he n ineteenth c ent ury - b ut n one o f t hem n oticed t hat o ne c ould t ravel t o B eisan f rom L ejün. A nother r oad m entioned f requently i n t he n ineteenth c entury r an f rom J enin t o N azareth. 100 I t was t he u sual r oute f or t hose t ravel l ing f rom J erusalem t o N azareth. A t hird r oad a cross G ilboa ( Beisan-Fuqu'aJ enin) w as u sed a lready i n R oman t imes. T here e xisted a l ocal t rack i n t he J ezreel Valley b ut t his r an s outh o f t he R iver H arod, a t t he f oot o f t he M ountains o f G ilboa f rom B eisan p ast B elt A lpha t o J ezreel.

I t i s r arely m entioned a nd o f l o-

c al s ignificance o nly. 1 01 T here i s n o r ecord o f a ny t raffic b etween L ejün a nd B eisan u ntil t he b eginning o f t he t wentieth c entury. 1 02 I n 1 905 t he H ejaz r ailways ystem w as e xtended w est o f t he J ordan,

p assing t hrough t he V alley o f

J ezreel, a s n oted a bove. T hus i nternational t raffic p assed t hrough t he valley a gain. T his p art o f t he r ailway, h owever, f unctioned f or ab rief p eriod o nly, u nlike t he R oman r oad d iscussed i n t he p resent w ork, w hich was a n i mportant h ighway f or a lmost s ix c enturies. I n t he p eriod o f t he B ritish m andate a r oad was c onstructed b etween t he

1 5

M egiddo c rossroads a nd B eth S hean, p ast A fula .1 0 3 T his r oad , h owever, i s n ow o f l ocal s ignificance o nly. I t f ollows a lmost t he s ame a lignm ent a s t he R oman r oad, b ut i t c arries n o t raffic b eyond B eth S hean w hile i ts a ncient p redecessor s erved a s t he m ain l ink b etween t he c oast a nd T ransjordan.

1 6

NO T E S 1 .

F or t he R oman r oad-system i n g eneral s ee: p hie I I,

2 22-32;

M .

A vi-Yonah,

T homsen;

I EJ 1 (1950),

A bel, Uogra-

5 4-60 = T he H oly L and,

1 81-7; i d. R E S uppl. X III ( 1973), 4 36-43; I . R oll i n: A ctes I xe C ongr s I nternational d ' tudes s ur l es f ront r eres r omaines 1 972 ( 1974), 5 03-11; i d. Map o f t he R oman R oad-System i n J udaea, 3 d C entury A D ( 1976); i d. Q admoniot9(1976), 3 8-50 ( Hebrew ) = C athedra ( English, f orthcoming ); B . I saac, P EQ 1 10(1978), 4 7-60. 2 .

R .G . G oodchild, B erytus 9 ( 1948), 9 1-127; s ee a lso: A . A lt, Z DPV 5 1 ( 1928), 2 53-264. I . M ayer, N ofim ( 11-12 ( 1979), 3 9-46 ( Hebrew ).

3 .

S .

4 .

A haroni,

5 .

B . M aisler Z DPV 5 8

D ar a nd S . A pplebaum ,

P EQ 1 05

( 1973),

9 1-9.

4 9-52. ( 1935),

7 8-84; A .

A lt,

Z DPV 7 0

( 1954),

1 54-166;

f or a d ifferent o pinion s ee Z . M eshel, I EJ 2 3 ( 1973), 1 62-6; s ee n ow: Z . I lan , E retz I srael 1 5 ( 1981 ), 3 73-5 ( Hebrew, E nglish s umm ary ). 6 .

A haroni,

1 40-1;

7 .

A NET, 2 35.

8 .

ANET,

9 .

J udges 4 ,

I EJ 9 ( 1959),

1 10-6.

4 77-8. 5 .

1 0.

C hapter X IX ;

c f.

A haroni,

2 01ff: b elow, n .

4 2.

1 1.

J udges 6 ,

1 2.

A haroni,

1 3.

1 S am .

1 4.

A haroni, 2 83ff.

1 5.

2 K ings 2 3.

1 6.

2 K ings 9 . 1 4-20. T his i s ab eautiful d escription o f t he u nbroken view o f t he w hole p lain w hich t he s ite a ffords. C f. 1 K ings 2 1.

1 7.

S chürer I I ( 1980), 1 42-5; A . R owe, B eth S han I : T he H istory a nd T opography o f B eth S han ( 1930), 4 2-53; M . A vi-Yonah, I EJ 1 2(1962), 1 23-134; G . F uks T he H istory o f B eth-Shean ( Scythopolis) f rom t he

3 3 f f. 2 40f.

2 9;

c f.

A haroni,

2 9-30;

2 58.

2 C hron.

3 5.20-4;

c f. A haroni,

3 51.

b eginning o f t he H ellenistic A ge t o t he e nd o f t he B yzantine P er iod ( Unpublished P h.D. T hesis, O xford).

1 7

1 8.

B J I II 9 ,

7 ( 447).

1 9.

B J I I 1 8,

3 ( 466)

2 0.

F or t he h istory o f t he t own s ee: J . R ingel, C esaree d e P alestine: e tude h istorique e t a rcheologique ( 19-75); L .I. L evine, C aesarea u nder R oman R ule ( 1975); C .T. F risch ( ed.), C aesarea M aritima I :

f f.

S tudies i n t he H istory o f C aesarea M aritima ( 1976).

F or t he d ate

o f t he c onstruction o f t he h arbour s ee S chürer I , 2 91; 2 93; c f. S chürer I I, 1 16. F or a n a ccount o f r ecent e xplorations i n t he h arbour s ee A . R abban, Q admoniot 1 4 ( 1981), 8 0-8 ( in H ebrew ). 2 1.

F or G aba s ee: B J I II i ,

1 ( 36 ); A nt.

X V 8 ,5

( 294);

Vita 2 4

( 115

f f.). C f. S chürer I I, 1 64-5. G uerin, G alilee I , 3 95-7 s uggested i dentification w ith S heikh I breikh which i s n ow k nown t o b e B eth S hearim . A . A lt, Z DPV 6 2(1939), 3 -21 p roposed w ither J elamet e lM ansura ( pp. 1 6 f .) o r Q ira ( pp. 1 7 f .), b ut t he r emains o n t hese s ites g ive n o s upport f or t he i dentification. B M aisler, HUCA 2 4 ( 1952-3), 7 5-84 s uggested e l H arithiye a nd t his w as t entatively a ccepted b y A vi-Yonah, G azetteer, 5 7. E l H arithiyeh ( She'ar H a' a makim ), h owever, i s n ot i n t he V alley o f J ezreel but n orth o f t he n arrow p ass w hich s eparates i t f rom t he P lain o f A kko . T hat r ules o ut t his i dentification, f or J osephus, i n t he Antiquities, c learly s tates t hat G aba was " in t he G reat P lain", while i t m ay b e i nferred f rom t he V ita t hat t he ud ecurio o f t he G reat P lain" w as s tationed a t G aba. A b oundary-stone o f G aba w as f ound a t H irbet G adora, e ast o f Q iriat B ialik ( 158.247), c f.: S cri t a C las sica I sraelica 4 ( 1978), 1 35. T his s hows t hat t he s outhern p art o f t he P lain o f A kko d id b elong t o G aba, b ut J osephus l eaves n o d oubt t hat t he s ite w as i n t he V alley o f J ezreel, near M t. C armel. R ecently i t h as b een s uggested t hat G aba m ust b e s ought a t T el A bu S husha ( Tel S hosh, G R 1 633 . 2 246), n ear M ishmar H a te mek . T he s ite c ontrols a s econdary r oute f rom ' Arah p ast K efrein, m entioned b elow, C hapter I I, n . 2 9. T he d istance f rom S imonias = T el S himron i s a l ittle o ver 7 m .

a nd c orresponds w ith t he 6 0 s tades o f J ose-

p hus' V ita . T he d istance t o B esara = B eth S hearim i s m ore t han 5 m . w hich i s f ar m ore t han t he 2 0 s tades o f t he s ame p assage. S mall e xcavations a t a nd n ear t his s ite have s hown t hat t here w as a s ettlement o f s ome i mportance i n t he R oman p eriod, c f.: H adashot A rheologiyot 8 ( 1963), 2 1; 6 5-6 ( 1978 ), 6 f .; 7 6 ( 1981 ), 1 5 f . a nd c over. A l ead w eight b earing t he i nscription: r ABH / C IH / H L. w as d iscovered o n t he s ite ( a p hotograph a ppeared i n t he ' Jer usalem P ost'

o f N ovember 2 7,

1 981 ).

T he w eight was

d iscovered

i n a n o live-press w ith p ottery o f t he f irst-sixth c entury A D. A t t he s ame t ime a n a s rueduct w as f ound i n t he n eighbourhood. 2 2.

6 la T OÜ p Er iXou T r E6fou

2 3.

A haroni,

A nt.

X VIII 5 ,

3 ( 120-2).

p assim ; E ncyclopedia o f A rchaelogical E xcavations,

I ,

1 4ff. 2 4. 2 5.

S chürer,

S EG X X 4 13; S tevens,

2 6.

I I,

e d.

1 21-5; K adman, T he C oins o f Akko-Ptolemais X IX 4 04 f .:

S . A pplebaum, E ssays i n h onour o f C .E.

B . L evick ( 1975),

D iodorus X V 4 1;

( 1901 ).

6 4

P ompeius T rogus,

1 8

f ., n . P rol .

4 8.

1 0.

2 7.

P olybius V 6 1-2.

2 8.

A nt.

X IV 5 ,1 ( 394); B J I1 5,3 ( 290).

2 9.

A nt.

X VI 1 0,9

( 288); B J I I 5 ,1 ( 67-8).

3 0.

A nt.

X VII 8 ,2

( 262); B J I I 1 0,1 ( 186-7).

3 1.

S mith n otes t hat N apoleon, i n . 1 799, a lthough m aking f or A cco, d id n ot t ake t he p ath r ound C armel . N ote a lso t he e xample o f S t. P aula w ho, t ravelling f rom P tolemais t o C aesarea, d id n ot k eep t o t he s ea, b ut c rossed t he p lain o f M egiddo: J erome, v ita S t . P aul., e p. 1 08 ( PG 2 2, c ol. 8 82 f .).

3 2.

T os.

3 3.

T hese m atters a re d iscussed b y B . I saac i n " Chapters i n t he H ist ory o f J erusalem i n t he S econd T emple P eriod", ( 1980), 3 46-7. ( Hebrew ) = T alanta ( 1981), ( English, f orthcoming ).

3 4.

B J I I 1 8,9 ( 499) f f. S churer I , s tarted o ut f rom A lexandria.

3 5.

B J I II 2 ,4 ( 29)

3 6.

B J I I

3 7.

B J I II 2 ,4 ( 30 f f.).

3 8.

B J I II 4 ,1 ( 59).

3 9.

B J I II 9 ,1 ( 412)

4 0.

B J I V 2 ,1 ( 87-8).

4 1 .

B J I V 7 ,3 ( 413-18).

4 2.

A d escription o f t he a rea a s i t w as i n 1 860 i s i nstructive ( Charl es W . W ilson, T he L and o f G alilee a nd t he N orth ( 1880, r eprint. 1 975), 3 0-1). W est o f A fula W ilson s aw " a s mall s wamp, s ometimes a l ake, t he r esort o f w ild f owl, w here f locks o f t he s tilted p lov er d aintily s tep." I n c onnection w ith t he b attle b etween B arak a nd S isera h e d escribes " one o f t he s torms s o f requent i n t hat r egion w hich s uddenly b urst f rom t he e ast ( ...) a nd t he r ush o f t he t orrent d own t he h ills n ot o nly s welled t he K ishon t o a n u nf ordable d epth, b ut t urned t he w hole o f t he l ow-lying p lain, s pongy a nd s oft a t a ny t ime, a t o nce i nto a t reacherous s wamp." N ote a lso: C .R . C onder, T ent W ork i n P alestine ( 1880), C hapter I V, p p. 5 8-70, ' The G reat P lain o f E sdraelon'. T his i s a n i nterest ing d escription o f t he p lain a t t hat t ime. H e o bserves a .o. t hat t he s tream a t L ejün h ad g reat f orce e ven i n s ummer.

4 3.

C f. P . T homsen, Z DPV 4 0 ( 1917), n os. 2 15, 2 16, 2 18a, 2 20; S . M itt mann, B eiträge z ur S iedlungsgeschichte d es n ördlichen O stjordanl andes ( 1970), 1 57-8; K utsch, Z DPV 8 1 ( 1965), 1 32-7.

4 4.

S ee o n t his G .W .

G ittin 7 :9

1 8,9

( ed.

Z uckermandel,

C f. S chürer I , 2 94-5.

3 31 ).

4 87 m istakenly s tates t hat h e

f f.

( 506).

B owersock, J RS 6 3 ( 1973), 1 33 f f. 1 9

4 5.

S ee H . S eyrig, S yria 1 3 ( 1932), 2 70-2. I t w as n ot a p aved r oad. S ee b elow, p . 9 7 f or i ts c ontinued e xistence a s p art o f t he D iocl etianic r oad.

4 6.

C f. C .H . K raeling, G erasa, C ity o f t he D ecapolis ( 1938), 3 95 f f.

4 7.

F or t he v ia T raiana S ee T homsen, o p. c it.; a dditional r eferences i n G .W . B owersock, J RS 6 1 ( 1971 ), 2 37-8 ; f or t he p reliminary r ep orts a n r ecent a rchaeological s urveys o f p art o f t he r oad s ee S . T h . P arker, A DAJ 2 1 ( 1976), 1 9-31; D . G raf, A DAJ 2 3 ( 1979), 1 21-7; 2 5 ( 1981 ), ( forthcoming ). F or t he K ing 's H ighway s ee a bove, p . 3 .

4 8.

B . I saac a nd I . R oll, L atomus 3 8 ( 1979), 5 4-66; Z PE 3 3 ( 1979), 1 49-156. T he d ate i s n ot a ffected b y t he c riticism o f J .R . R ea, i bid. 3 8 ( 1980), 2 20-1. C f. o ur r eply i n Z PE ( 1982, f orthcoming ).

4 9.

S ee b elow, n otes 5 6,57 f or t he R abbinical s ources which m ention K efar O tnay; f or C aparcotna o n i nscriptions s ee b elow , p . 8 4, n . 2 2; 2 3.

5 0.

S ee b elow, p .84 , n .27.

5 1.

C f. H ill, B MC P alestine, x xiii; l xv ; c f . J . H asebroek , U ntersuchung en z ur G eschichte d es K aisers S eptimius S everus ( 1921), 1 20.

5 2.

C f. H ill, o p.

5 3.

D . v an B erchem h as a rgued t hat t he A ntoninus A ugustus o f t he I tin erary i s C aracalla a nd t hat t he w ork w as g iven i ts f inal f orm i n t he t ime o f D iocletian: M ems. S oc. N at . d es A ntiquaires d e F rance 2 1 ! ( = 8 e s er. 1 0) ( 1937), 1 66-81 ; C RAI ( 1973), 1 23 f f.

5 4.

K ubitschek, R E X , s .v . K arten , c ols. 2 126-44; a nd h is r eview o f M iller, I tineraria R omana i n G ötting ische G elehrte A nzeigen f or 1 917, p . 2 1. O n t he P eutinger m ap i n p articular s ee: I . F inkels tein, P EQ ( 1979), 2 7-34; s ee h owever G .W . B owersock , i bid. ( forthcoming ).

5 5.

C f.

5 6.

M . G ittin, 1 :5; 7 :7; t os G ittin 1 :4 ( ed. Z uckermandel, 3 23) a nd 7 :9 ( 331 ); t os. D emai 5 :3 ( 56); t os. B ekhoroth 7 :3 ( 541 ); c f. b

c it.,

I saac a nd R oll,

l xxxi. E usebius, c hron, a d a nn .

J RS 6 6

( 1976),

3 9

f f;

2 21/2 .

1 5.

B ekhoroth, 5 5a . 5 7.

t os. G ittin 7 :9 ( 331). W e m ay a dd t hat t he J ewish s ources f ind i t w orth m entioning t hat R . G amaliel a nd R . S imeon b en G amaliel m ade d ecisions a t K efar O tnay. T he f act t hat t here w as a l egionary f ortress t here i s i gnored.

5 8.

I tineraria R omana I ( ed. C untz ), p p. s eries L atina, v ol. 1 75, p p. 1 3-14.

5 9.

orpus C hristianorum , 9 4-5 = C

pparatus o f C untz's T he m istakes a re a ll l isted i n t he c ritical a e dition.

2 0

6 0.

6 1.

F .-M . A bel, G eographie d e l a P alestine I I Y onah, T he H oly L and ( 1966), 1 22-3. I ndex P atrum Nicaenorum ( eds.

(3 1 967),

1 75 f .; M .

G elzer a nd H ilgenfeld),

3 1;

A vi-

S chwartz,

A cta C onciliorum O ecumenicorum , I I, 3 64; M . L e Q uien, O riens C hrist ianus I I ( 1740, r epr. 1 958), 7 03-4. 6 2.

J os. A nt. v iii 1 3, 6 o f J ezreel i s c alled L egio n i n t he p eriod t er J ezreel. F or t he

6 3.

S ee K lostermann's

6 4.

S ee; A bel,

6 5.

A vi-Yonah, T he H oly L and,

6 6.

i bid.

6 7.

I saac, P EQ 1 10

6 8.

K lostermann's

i ntroduction,

6 9.

F or e xamples,

s ee b elow .

7 0.

E .g . A ser, m entioned i n t he I t. B urd. a s a v illa o n t he S cythopol is - N eapolis r oad a ppears i n t he O nomasticon 2 6, 2 3-4 a s a 1631111

i ntroduction, p p.

G eographie I ,

1 28.

KUT1 6VT WV

( 346) e t p assim . A s n oted b elow, t he Valley " the G reat P lain" o r " the G reat P lain o f u nder c onsideration . I t i s n ever c alled a ft own v . s upra, p . 5 a nd i nfra, p . 3 3.

4 11-3;

ä n5 N go, 4

5 7-9;

T i6XE W

S chürer,

I ,

3 88, n .

1 47.

1 41.

f ollowing A . A lt, ( 1978),

4 26;

i x-x .

I T TI

Z DPV 5 4

( 1931),

I saac a nd R oll, p .

2 13 f f. Z PE 3 3

( 1979), 1 51.

x vi.

E l cueö l roXiv L . )

VEVTEK U1 SE K6n W

( I T I PE

N

T I T X E 46 e. I n t he L atin t ranslation: " villa d escendent ibus a N eaPoli S cythopolim, i n q uinto d ecimo l apide i uxta u iam

upbc

UtTili

p ublicam." I n s ome c ases t he i nformation i s c ombined; e .g. o f S ara i t i s s aid t hat i t w as a v illage i n t he t erritory o f E leuther opolis, 1 0 m . o n t he r oad t o N icopolis ( 156, 1 5-6). 7 1.

P liny, NH v i 3 0, ( sc. a S eleucia )

1 22: " (...) C tesiphontem i uxta t ertium a b e a l apidem i n C halonitide c ondidere P arthi." O f s e-

l eucia i t i s s tated t hat i t w as f ounded " intra X C l apidem" f rom B abylon. I n M esopotamia w e f ind a m onastery o f S t. S ergius " quod u no c irciter m iliari d istat a d icto o ppido

( sc.

aB etsaloe)"

B etsaloe " quod e st m illiario s exto ( elsewhere: s exto l apide) a D iscartas u bi r ex d egebatuDiscarta i s t he w ell k nown R oyal P alace north-east o f C tesiphon ( Acts o f S . A nastasius P ersa 2 2 J an., i n: G . H offmann, A uszüge a us S yrischen A kten P ersischer M artyrer ( 1880),

4 36; 4 30 a nd 4 35.

7 2.

V egetius, E pitoma R ei M ilitaris i ii,

7 3.

C f.

7 4.

T his m ay b e i llustrated b y a f ew e xamples.

O .A .W. D ilke,

i s d escribed ( 130, r oad t o P tolemais.

6 .

T he R oman L and S urveyors

( 1971),

c hapter 1 1.

T he v illage o f M agdiel

1 -2) a s a K u l l in p cy6Än 5 m . f rom D or o n t he T hat, a ccording t o t he t heory d iscussed,

w ould m ake i t a v illage i n t he t erritory o f D or. Y et D or i s d esc ribed a s b eing " now d eserted", 9 m . f rom C aesarea o n t he r oad t o P tolemais ( 78, 8 -10; 1 36, 1 6-7). W hose t erritory i s E usebius d escribing?

N ext:

t he v illage o f A phek was n earby t he l arge 2 1

v illage o f A endor ( 34, 1 1), w hich o bviously c an h ave h ad n o t err itory. A endor w as " at t he f ourth m ile" s outh o f M t. T abor ( there c ertainly w as n o R aman r oad l inking t he t wo), 3 4, 8 -9. O ther v illages l ocated w ith r eference t o M t. T abor a re S oulem ( 158, 1 1-12), S ion ( 158, 1 3) a nd N azareth which i s d escribed a s l ying " opposite L egio, 1 5 m iles f rom t here t o t he e ast, n ear M t. T abor" ( 138, 2 5-139, 1 -2). S hould w e c onclude t hat Nazareth was i n t he t erritory o f L egio o r o f M t. T abor? M t. T abor w as a m ount ain, n ot a c ity a nd c an h ave h ad n o t erritory. A ccording t o E usebius t here w as a v illage n amed " Dabeira o n M t. T abor i n t he t erritory o f D iocaesarea." ( 78, 6 -7). I t c ould s carcely b e c learer t hat E usebius s ays e xactly w hat h e m eans. W hen h e i s i nterested i n t opography h e d oes n ot c laim t o c onvey i nformation o n p olitical g eogr aphy a nd w hen h e r efers t o c ity-territories h e makes i t c lear t hat h e i s d oing s o: T his m ay b e i llustrated b y t wo f inal e xamp les: B aethacath w as " a v illage o f S amaria, 1 5 m iles f rom L egio i n t he G reat P lain" ( 57, 2 6-58, 1 ). T he v illage o f G abatha w as " in t he t erritory o f D iocaesarea n ear t he G reat P lain o f L egio n ( 70, 9 -10). 7 5.

E usebius v ery f requently m entions g arrisons, e .g . a t Z oara ( 42, 3 ); B ersabe ( 50, 3 ); T hamara ( 8, 4 ); C armel ( 118, 7 ); T heman ( 96, 1 20-1); M efaath ( 128, 1 22-3); M aledomni ( 25, 1 3). A t A ela h e r ec ords t he p resence o f t he L eg . X F ret. ( 6, 2 0). I t i s n ot c lear w hen t he L eg . V I F errata l eft i ts b ase a t L egio f or g ood. R itterl ing s uggests t hat i t m ay h ave l eft i n t he r eign o f S everus A lex ander: R E X II, s .v . L egio, c ols. 1 593 f .

7 6.

J erome, i n h is t ranslation, w rites: o ppidum L egio .

7 7.

E t e lecta e st s pectatrix s uppliciorum f eralium c ivitas i n P alaest ina S c;thopolis, g emina r at l one v isa m agis o mnibus o pportuna, q uod s ecretior e st e t i nter A ntiochiam A lexandriamque m edia, u nde m ulti p lerumque a d c rimina t rahebantur.

7 8.

J erome,

i n Z achar.

7 9.

J erome,

i n H oseam I , 5 ( PL 2 5,

8 0.

T he t erminus a nte o f l ist o f p rovinces i n " primam , s ecundam a c s ee A bel, G 4pgraphie

8 1.

E xpositio T otius M undi e t G entium, 3 0-31 ( ed. R ouge) = M . S tern, G reek a nd L atin A uthors a n J ews a nd J udaism , I I, ( 1980), n o. 4 77: " Neapolis e t i pse c ivitas g loriosa e t v alde n obilis. T ripolis e t S cythopolis e t B yblus e t i psae c ivitates i n i ndustria p ositae. ( ... ) I n l inteaminea s unt h ae: S cythopolis, L aodicia, B yblus, T yr us, B erytus q uae l inteamen o mni o rbi t errarum e mittunt, e t s unt e mittentes i n o mni a bundantia. S imiliter a utem e t S arepta a t C aes area e t N eapolis, q uomodo e t L ydda, p urpuram a lithinam . O mnes a utem p raedictae c ivitates g loriosae e t f ructiferae i n f rumento, v ino e t o leo * h i e t o mnibus b onis a bundant * " I n t he t ariff-law o f D iocletian l inen f rom S cythopolis i s l isted f irst a s t he m ost c ostly: E dictum D iocletiani, 2 6-8 ( ed. S . L auffer, 1 971 ), p p. 1 69 f f. S ee t he T almudic s ources: B ereshit R abba 1 9 ( ed. T heodor, p .

x ii, 1 1 ( PL 2 5, 1 589 ). 8 66).

t he d ivision i s 4 09. T his i s t he d ate o f a t he C odex T heodos. v ii 4 , 3 0 w hich m entions t ertiam P alaestinam ." F or t he a rrangements I I, 1 71 f f. S ee a lso b elow, p . .

2 2

1 70; i bid. 2 0, P . C f. S chürer, v ol.

1 96; Q iddushin i i, 6 2c; 22 K etubbot v ii, i i, 6 8, n . 2 13; S tern, o p. c it., p . 4 98.

8 2

b . M o Te d Q atan 1 8b.

8 3

b .

8 4.

•

' Erubin 1 9a.

F or t he V alley o f B eth S hean, nomy o f G alilee i n g eneral,

8 5.

H ierocles,

S ynecdemus

g ius C yprius, 8 6.

3 1c.

( ed.

s ee: b . K etubbot 1 12b.

s ee:

A vi-Yonah,

( ed. B urckhardt,

G elzer,

1 890),

F or t he e co-

T he H oly L and,

1 893),

7 17,

8 -720;

2 01-6. G eor-

9 97-1042.

A ntonini P lacentini, I tinerarium 8 ( ed. G eyer = C SSL, v ol 1 75, p . 1 33 a nd r ecensio a ltera, p . 1 59). T his p ilgrim t ravelled f rom P tolemais t o D iocaesarea a nd t hence t o M t. T abor a nd T iberias. F rom T iberias h e t urned s outh t o S cythopolis a nd o nward t o S ebaste.

8 7.

F or t he P ersian c onquest o f P alestine s ee: A .

C ouret,

' La p rise

d e J erusalem p ar l es P erses e n 6 14' R evue d e l 'Orient C hretien 2 ( 1897), 1 25-64, w ho w as c riticized b y S . V ailhg. i bid. 6 ( 1901 ), 6 43-9; P .P. P eeters, M al. U n. S t. J oseph 9 ( 1923-4), 1 -42, p ubl ished a n A rab t ext r elevant f or t his s ubject ( without t ranslation ) . 8 8.

F or t he A rab c onquest o f P alestine s ee E ncyclopaedia o f I slam 2 I ( 1960), 1 138-9, s .v. ' Baysan' ( J . S ourdel-Thomine); I . A brahams, C ampaigns i n P alestine f rom A lexander t he G reat, T he S chweich L ect ures 1 922 ( 1927), 4 1; S ee a lso: H .O. L ock, T he C onquerors o f P alestine t hrough F orty C enturies ( 1920), 7 1 f . A n i nvasion t hat n ever h appened d eserves a p lace i n a f ootnote: I n t he ' historical novel' o f J udith H olophernes i s r epresented a s i nvading J udaea b y way o f t he V alley o f J ezreel. N o p recise r oute i s g iven, b ut i t i s s tated t hat h e m arched f rom D amascus t o E sdraelon a nd e ncamped f or a m onth b etween G aba a nd S cythopolis t o c ollect s upplies ( Jud ith, 3 , 9 -10). A s o bserved b y S chürer, G eschichte d es J üdischen Volkes i m Z eitalter J esu C hristi I II ( 1909), 2 31, n . 2 0, t he a ut hor o f t he b ook o f J udith h as n ot c reated a n i maginary g eography.

8 9.

C f.: E ncyclopaedia o f I slam2 I I,

9 10-12,

s .v .

' Filastin'

( D .

S our-

d el ); E nc. I slaml, I V, 1 031 f . s .v. a l-Urdunn ( 2) ( Fr. B uhl). S ee t he A rabic t exts i n t ranslation e d. A .S. M armardji, T extes g eog raphiques a rabes s ur l a P alestine ( 1951 ), 1 02-4. H ere t he f ollowi ng s ources a re c ited: I bn H urdadbeh, 7 8 f f. ( AD 8 64); I stahri, 6 5 ( AD 9 51) a nd M aqdisi, 1 905 ( AD 9 85). T he j ourney f rom T iberias t o R amleh i s d escribed a s t aking t hree d ays, o ne d ay t o L ejün ( 20 A rabic m .), t he s econd t o Q alansawa ( same d istance ), t he t hird t o R amleh ( 24 m .). B eisan a ppears a s a s tation o n t he T iberias J ericho a nd T iberias - N ablus r oads. C f. u nder t he M oslems ( 1890), 4 10 f .; 4 92 f . s ee M armardji , 3 7 f . A l M aqdisi ( AD 9 85)

G . L e S trange, P alestine F or B eisan i n t his p eriod s till d escribes i t a s a

l arge c ity w ith a n a bundance o f w ater a nd m any p alm-trees. I drisi ( 1154) a nd A bu-1 F ida ( 1321) c all i t a s mall t own. Y aqut ( 1225) s ays B eisan i s p estilential. T he c hange i n o rientation o f t he r oad-system c learly a ppears f rom t hree r eferences t o A in J allud which d escribe i t a s s ituated o n t he r oad f rom B eisan t o N ablus ( Marmardji , p . 1 52). O nly o ne r eference i ndicates t hat p eople

2 3

t ravelled f rom L ejün t o B eisan ( ibid. 1 90 = a l-Qalasandi I V, 1 54, d ated A D 1 418). F or B eisan i n t his p eriod s ee f urther: E nc. I slam 2 I , 1 138 f . ( J. S ourdel-Thomine). 9 0.

W illiam o f T yre, ( below, n . 9 1).

9 1.

R .

( RHC O cc.

I ),

x xii,

2 6.

G rousset, H istoire d es C roisades I II

E nc.

I slam ,

( 1936),

l oc.

c it.

6 03-5.; M aqrizi,

H istoire d es S ultans M amelouqs ( trans. Q uatremä 're, P aris, 1 845) I 1 , 9 0-104; E ncyclopaedia o f I slam 2 , s .v. ' Ayn D jalut', c ols. 7 86 f . w ith f urther l iterature a nd s ources; f or a dditional s ourc es s ee: n . 8 5. 9 2.

R .S. H umphreys, F rom S aladin t o t he M ongols

( 1977),

4 71,

F or t he b attle n ear B eisan s ee: W .H. S almon, A n A ccount o f t he O ttoman C onquest o f E gypt i n t he Y ear A .H. 9 22 ( AD 1 516) ( 1921), 9 6.

S almon p ublished a t ranslation o f t he A rab c hronicle o f Mu-

h ammad i bn A hmed i bn I yas, a n e ye-witness. T he m ain f orce o f S elim , h owever, c rossed t he J ordan n orth o f L ake T iberias a nd m arched t o K han e l-Lejjun p ast T iberias a nd M ount T abor; c f. H . E dhem, T agebuch d er ä gyptischen E xpedition d es S ultans S elim I ( 1916), 3 . A s p ointed o ut b elow, p . 1 5 ,t his w as t he m ain r oute l inking P alestine w ith S yria i n t he A rab p eriod, while t he o ne p ast B eisan h ad l ost m uch o f i ts p revious i mportance. 9 3.

C . d e l a J onqu nre, L 'expedition d 'Egypte, I V ( 1869), 3 93-437. N apoleon's f ailure t o t ake A cco, h owever, m eant t he e nd o f h is h opes t o c ut o ff B ritish c ommunications w ith I ndia.

9 4.

T he O fficial H istory o f t he G reat W ar, E gypt a nd P alestine, ( 1930), 5 13-546 ( esp. 5 18-521).

9 5.

C .L. I rby a nd J . M angles, T ravels i n E gypt a nd N ubia, S yria a nd t he H oly L and ( 1847), 3 03.

9 6.

E .

R obinson, L ater B iblical R esearches i n P alestine

a nd n . W arren,

1 .

T he n ext r eference c an b e f ound i n :

T he R ecovery o f J erusalem

( 1871),

( 1856 ),

I I

3 29

C h . Wilson a nd C h.

m ap f acing p . 4 40.

m ap s hows a t rack r unning f rom K han a l A hmar N .W .

T he

o f B eisan t o

S hutta ( Shatta ), Q umieh ( Qumia, n ow E n H arod), E n J alud, Z erin ( Jezreel). O n t he m ap, h owever, t his t rack i s n ot i ndicated a s a n o ld r oad. T he s ame t rack a ppears a n t he m ap o f t he S urvey o f W estern P alestine. 9 7.

V .

s upra, n .

9 8.

A vi-Yonah,

8 9.

I EJ 1 2

( 1962),

1 34 s tates t hat t here was

a m ovement

o f t he J ewish p opulation - a nd p ossibly o ther m embers o f t he l ower c lasses o ut o f B eth S hean a nd b ack t o t he c ountry. T he o nl y s ource c ited,

C odex T heodosianus X 2 0,

8 ,

i s h ardly a f irm

b ase f or s uch a c onclusion. 9 9.

L ejün r etained i ts i mportance f or a c onsiderable t ime a fter t he A rab c onquest. D uring t he 1 6th c entury P alestine c onsisted o f t he s anjaks o f G aza, J erusalem, N ablus, L ejün a nd S afad, a ll f orm ing p art o f t he W ilayatof D amascus. I n 1 660 t here s till were l iwas o f S afad a nd e l-Lejün. C f. E ncyclopaedia o f I slam 2 , I I,

2 4

9 12, s .v . F ilastin ( D. S ourdel). H . M aundrell, A j ourney f rom A leppo t o J erusalem i n 1 697, ( 1703; r epr. i n 1 963 f rom t he e d.

o f

1 810), 7 5: " ... w e c ame t o s mall b rook n ear w hich w as a n o ld v ill age a nd a g ood k ane c alled L eggune: n ot f ar f rom w hich w e t ook u p o ur q uarters t his n ight." M aundrell t ravelled f rom A cco t o J enin. 1 00.

S ee V .J.

S eetzen,

R eise d urch S yrien,

I I,

1 52-7; E .

R obinson,

B iblical R esearches i n P alestine, I II, 1 59-80; E . d e S aulcy, N ar rative o f a J ourney, I , 7 8-83; H . B . T ristram , T he L and o f I srae l, I , I n t he s eventies o f t he p revious c entury t he c astle o f ' Zerin' w as s till u sed a s am anzal ( inn; l iterally: a p lace f or u nloading ) o pen t o a ll t ravellers o n t heir w ay t o o r f rom N azar eth. C f.: C .W. W ilson, T he L and o f G alilee, 2 8. 1 01.

F or t he s ection B eisan - B eth A lpha s ee:

R obinson, L ater B iblical

R esearches i n P alestine, 3 36 - 3 39; f or t he s ection B eth A lpha J ezreel s ee: V . G ugrin, D escription d e l a P alestine, I , 2 99-323. F or a t rack r unning n orth o f t he R iver H arod v , s upra, n . 9 6 . T his i s n ot o therwise a ttested i n t he p revious c entury. A s n oted b elow, t here w as o nly l ocal t raffic i n t he e astern p art o f t he V alley o f J ezreel ( see p . 2 6). T he u sual r outes t o B eisan r an t hrough L ower G alilee ( Acco - N azareth - B eisan ) o r o ver t he G ilb oa m ountains ( Jenin - F uku'ah - B eisan). T he l atter w as a n o ld r oute. I t h as r ecently b een s urveyed b y M r. R ami A rav, w ho i nform ed u s t hat h e f ound t races o f R oman c onstruction . I t w as n ot m arked b y m ilestones a nd c learly o f l ess i mportance t han t he r oad t hrough t he V alley. 1 02.

C f. V . S chwöbel, Z DPV 2 7 ( 1904), 7 2 f . F or t he n ineteenth c entury i t w ill s uffice t o q uote R obinson, B iblical R esearches, I II, 2 27: " Singular a s i t m ay a ppear, a fter s o many c enturies, d uring which P alestine h as b een o verrun w ith s warms o f p ilgrims a nd t ravellers, t here y et e xists n o c orrect i ntelligible a ccount o f t he e astern p ortions o f t his p lain."

1 03.

T he m ap p ublished b y t he B ritish W ar o ffice i n 1 915 a lready i ndic ates t his a s a n i mportant s trategic r oute, p resumably b ecause i t r an p arallel t o t he r ailway. A llenby m ust h ave u sed t his m ap when p lanning t he c ampaign d escribed a bove. A s n oted b elow , p . 3 7 ,n . 2 4, t he B ritish m ap i s t he f irst t o s how t he m odern a lignm ent b etween M egiddo a nd A fula i nstead o f t he t wo t racks m arked o n t he S WP m ap.

I t i s p ossible t hat t he T urkish g overnment a l-

r eady c onstructed t his r oad.

2 . 5

I I D ESCRIPTION

O F

T HE

R OAD

P revious e xploration A s

i ndicated a bove,

f rom t he A rab c onquest t ill t he b eginning o f

t he t wentieth c entury t here w as a lmost n o t raffic b etween B eisan a nd L ejün a nd, a s a r esult, t he e xistence o f t he R oman r oad r emained u nrec ognized f or a l ong t ime. 1 E ven t he o therwise r emarkably c omplete S urvey o f W estern P alestine d oes n ot r ecord t he r oad, a lthough o ther r oads i n t he V alley o f B eth S hean a re i ndicated. T hose who t ravelled t o B eisan d id s o f rom A cco v ia N azareth o r f rom J enin via F uku ta h, a voiding t he V alley o f J ezree1. 2 Y et t he R oman r oad f rom C aesarea t o S cythopolis p ast L egio i s a ttested b y a ncient s ources. I t a ppears o n t he T abula P eutingeriana a nd i n t he I tinerarium B urdigalense. 3 T he i mportance o f C aesarea, L egio a nd S cythopolis w as w ell r ecognized. 4 H ence t he f irst s cholar w ho r ecognized t he e xistence o f t he r oad a nd p roposed t o i dentify C ap arcotna a s t he s ite o f t he l egionary c astra w as R itterling, a n a ncient h istorian w orking i n G ermany, v isited P alestine. 5

r ather t han o ne o f t he t ravellers who

T he l iterary s ources w ere t he o nly e vidence a vailable u ntil t he n ineteen-twenties, w hen a g roup o f m ilestones w as d iscovered a t S hatta ( see b elow M ile V II). 6 T hese, t ogether w ith o ne o f t he milestones f rom T el T umis ( see b elow, M ile 1 ), w ere p ublished b y t he l ate P rof. M . A vi-Yonah. 7 A dditional m ilestones w ere d iscovered b y N . Z ori d uring h is a rchaelogical s urvey o f B eth S hean V alley i n t he p ast f our d ecad es. 8 I n t he y ears 1 971-9 i nvestigation o f t he r oad was u ndertaken b y t he a uthors o f t he p resent p aper, a s p art o f t he a ctivities o f t he I srael M ilestones C ommittee. 9

T he E vidence 1 .

H istorical s ources d iscussed a bove.

2 .

M ilestones l isted i n t he i nventory b elow .

3 .

P revious s urveys. A .

B .

T he S urvey o f W estern P alestine u nder t he d irection o f C onder a nd K itchener. A rchaeological e vidence a ccumulated i n t he F iles o f t he D ep artment o f A ntiquity o f t he B ritish M andatory G overnment, l ist o f w hich w as p ublished i n 1 976.

C .

A dditional m aterial a ccumulated i n t he f iles o f m ent o f A ntiquities o f t he S tate o f I srael,

2 6

t he D epart-

l isted i n t he

a

O fficial G azette ( 1964), p p.

( Reshumot, Y alqut H apirsumim ) N o.

1 091

1 349-1561 ( with S upplements). W e d o n ot p ublish

a ny m aterial f rom t he f iles b ut h ave i ncluded r elevant r efer ences t aken f rom t hese p ublications. D . 4 .

T he s urvey c arried o ut b y N .

Z ori ( v.

s upra).

Maps. A .

T he S urvey o f W estern P alestine Map I X .

B .

T he m ap o f t he G erman H igh C ommand ( 1918) 1 :50.000,

( 1880),

S heets V III a nd

o n a s chale o f

S heets 4 3 a nd 4 4.

C .

T he m ap p ublished b y t he B ritish W ar O ffice ( 1915) o f 1 :168.960.

o n a s cale

D .

T he m aps p ublished b y t he B ritish M andatory G overnment ( 1941), o n a s chale o f 1 :20.000, b ased o n t opocadastrial s urveys u nd ertaken i n 1 924-30. T he 1 :100.000 m aps p ublished i n 1 947, w hich w ere b ased o n t he 1 :20.000 m aps a nd o n s urveys u ndert aken i n 1 924-34.

E .

5 .

T he S urvey o f I srael M ap, p ublished i n 1 976, o n a s chale o f 1 :50.000. T his i s o ur m ain s ource o f r eference f or t he t opog raphy o f t he a rea a nd f ormed t he b asis o f o ur m ap o f t he r oad. T he r elevant s heet-numbers a re: 6 -1, 5 -11 a nd 3 -1V .

A ir-photographs. W e a re g rateful f or p ermission t o s tudy a ir-phot ographs i n t he c ollection o f t he S urvey o f I srael. A ll w ere t ak en b y t he R oyal A ir F orce. A .

S eries J OB 2 10

( 1941 ), N os.

P 19 M 12 a nd M 14.

B .

S eries P S 1 8, n os. 6 001-6003 a nd P S 2 5, n os. B oth s eries w ere t aken i n 1 945.

C .

S eries D EV 3 1 ( 1946), n os.

6 039-45;

5 076-8;

5 081-3.

6 157-63.

T he R oad T he R oman r oad s tarts a s t he c ontinuation o f w hat s eems t o h ave b een t he D ecumanus M aximus o f S cythopolis. T his m ain a rtery r uns a ppr oximately e ast-west a long t he s outhern b ank o f t he R iver H arod w hich f lowes t hrough t he c ity. A t t he w estern e nd o f t he D ecumanus a p aved s ection w as u ncovered i n 1 953. 10 T he p avement c onsists o f l arge r ect angular f lagstones a rranged i n a d iagonal p attern. F urther t o t he w est t he R iver H arod c urves s outhward a nd t he s treet i s c arried a cross t he s tream b y a b ridge w ith o ne a rch . R emains o f t he R oman b ridge a re s till v isible u nder t he T urkish o ne, b uilt o ver i t a t t he t urn o f t he c entury. 11 T he b ridge i s d iscussed i n a s eparate s ection ( below, p p. 4 2ff). I mmediately w est o f t he b ridge a s w ell a s c . 5 00 m . f urther t o t he w est w e c arried o ut e xcavations f or w hich s ee b elow,

p . 4 0f.

2 7

T he r oad l ed o ut o f t own t hrough t he w estern t own-gate w hich h as c ompletely d isappeared. 12 T he n ame o f t he g ate i s g iven b y aH ebrew i nscription o n am osaic i n t he s ynagoeue r ecently e xcavated a t T elR ehov, c a. 5 k m . s outh o f B et S he'an . 13 L ines 6 -7 o f t he i nscription r ead: " From t he W est w hich i s t he ' pyle' o f ' Zeira ' t o t he e nd o f t he ' ritzpah' . 114 T he w estern g ate o f S cythopolis a pparently w as c alled ' the p yle o f Z eira '. T he w ord ' ritzpah' = " pavement", v ery l ikely i nd icates a p aved r oad a nd, i f s o, m ust r efer t o ap aved s ection o f t he h ighway t o L egio-Caparcotna. 1 5 T his v iew i s s upported b y a rchaelogic al e vidence. A t a d istance o f c a . 4 00 m etres w est o f J isr e l K han--a p oint w ell o utside t he g ate--a p aved s ection o f t he r oad t o S cythopolis w as d iscovered. T he p avement i s s imilar t o t hat o f t he D ecumanus, r ec orded a bove: l arge r ectangular f lagstones ( between 5 0 x 3 0 c m . a nd 7 0 x 5 0 c m .), a rranged i n a d iagonal p attern . T his r epresents a v ery h igh s tandard o f r oad c onstruction, m uch m ore s ophisticated t han w as u sual i n t his p rovince. T he i nscription f rom R ehov s uggests t hat t his e xcellently p aved s tretch o f t he h ighway t o C aparcotna w as k nown i n B et S he'an a nd i ts s urroundings a s ' the p avement' f or s hort. S o f ar f lagstones h ave b een d iscovered o nly a t t his s pot. I t i s t herefore i mpossible t o s ay a t p resent h ow f ar t he p aved s tretch o f r oad c ontin ued, o r, t o u se t he t erm o f t he i nscription, w here p recisely w as t he e nd o f t he tr itzpah'. I n r ecent l iterature t he p avement i s m entioned o nly b y I rby a nd M angles ( supra, p . 1 5 , n . 9 5 ) w ho n oted t hat b eyond t he b ridge ' may b e s een t he p aved w ay w hich o nce l ed t o Akka". ( 1)

W est o f t he b ridge a nd n orth o f t he r iver i s T el N aharon ( Tel e l J isr o n o lder m aps). T he D ept. o f A ntiquities L ist § 63, p . 6 9 n otes: " Artificial m ound, w ith r emains o f b uildings, a rchitectural f ragments; p aved a ncient r oad, t ombs." A ll t his i s s till v isible . T he t ombs a re l ocated a long t he r oad l eading o ut o f t own, a ccording t o t he u sual p attern n ear a ncient c ities. T he T el a pparently w as a B yzantine s uburb o f S cythopolis. I n 1 977-8 l imited r escue e xcavations w ere c arr ied o ut i n t he e astern p art o f t he s ettlement. R emains o f B yzantine h ouses a nd a s hop o r w orkshop h ave b een u ncovered. A s tray f ind w orth m entioning a re t wo b eautiful h eads o f l arge s tatues o f A thena , p robably R oman c opies o f c lassical G reek p ieces. 16 F rom J isr e l-Khan c a 8 00 m . w estward t he R oman r oad i s m arked b y a s till e xistent d irt-track o n am odest r idge. M any d isplaced f illing a nd p aving-stones a re v isible o n b oth s ides o f t he t rack . L ooking b ack t owards B et S he'an o ne n otices t hat t he r oad b ears d irectly o n a n t he a ncient T el o f B et S he'an. A pparently t he s urveyors when p lanning t he r oad w ere s ighting t heir l ine u pon t he T el, t his b eing t he h ighest p oint i n t he s urroundings. 17 F urther o n t races o f t he r oad h ave b een o bliterated b y m odern f ish p onds. E xamination o f a ir-photographs, t aken i n t he w inter o f 1 9444 5, w hen t hese f ish-ponds w ere f ar l ess e xtensive, r eveals c lear t rac es o f t he r oad, c ontinuing n orth o f a nd p arallel t o t he R iver H arod. I t i s s Aen .pursuing a n a pproximately w est-north-west d irection, m aking f or T el T umis, w here t he f irst g roup o f m ilestones w as d iscovered ( below , p . 2 9). ( 2)

B etween T el N aharon a nd T el T umis, a t e l-Qantara ( GR 1 960.2129) w as a n a ncient s ite, n ow c overed b y f ish-ponds. T he D ept. o f A nt iquities L ist, § 63, p . 6 9 n otes: " Traces o f f oundations, b ridge o f a queduct". Z ori I , n o. 1 96, p . 1 84 r ecords: " Architectural r emains 2 8

i ncluding c olumns o f b asalt a nd s andstone. Near t he e dge o f t he s ite a re t he r emains o f am ill o f P ompeian t ype. P ottery: R oman, B yzantine, e arly A rab. I n t he i mmediate s urroundings R oman a nd B yzantine c oins h ave b een f ound." ( 3) T el T umis i s a t G R 1 954.2131. T he D ept. o f A ntiquities L ist, § 63, p . 6 2 n otes: " Artificial m ounds, f oundations, m osaic f loors, R oman m il estones." Z ori, I , n o. 2 41, p . 1 90 q uotes a D ept. o f A ntiquities f ile: " Very l ow m ound, r ecent p ottery, b esides t he f ield-track h ewn s tone. T races o f r uins ( Roman v illa), s arcophaguses o n t he r oad." Z ori a dds: " On t he s ite c an b e f ound R oman a nd B yzantine p ottery a s w ell a s m any e arly A rab s herds. A b ronze s tatue f rom t he s ite w as t aken t o J erusal em ..." S ee a lso n o. 2 42 f or t he m ilestones o n t he s ite. T he r oad p asses

t o t he n orth o f t he t el a nd c ontinues a long t he

s ame l ine. B eyond t he t el t his l ine i s a lso i ndicated a s a f ield-lane o r p ath o n t he 1 :20.000 m ap, based o n t he t opocadastral s urveys o f 1 924-30. T he m ilestones o f M ile I I w ere v ery p robably d iscovered i n s itu a t G R . 1 943. 2 139, a s r ecorded b y Z ori, I , n o. 3 05, p . s pot i s r ight o n t he l ine o f t he f ield l ane m entioned.

1 90.

T his

A m ilestone i ndicating M ile I II w as f ound a t S hatta ( see p . 3 0), w hile a t t he p resumed o riginal l ocation ( GR 1 930.2144) a f ish-pond i s s een o n t he a ir-photograph s tudied. A fter a g ap o f a pproximately 5 00 m . t he l ine i s t aken u p a gain b y t he a ir-photograph, b y t he m ap o f t he S urvey o f W estern P alestine, a nd b y t he 1 :20.000 m ap. T he l ine n ow i s s een p ursuing a n a pproximately n orth-north-east d irection a nd b earing o n t he s pot w here M ilestone I V w as f ound ( GR 1 938. 2 157 T he m iles tone w as i n f act f ound 8 0 i n . f rom t he a ncient t rack . S ee b elow , 5 7). B y t his s harp t urn n orthwards t he r oad a voided c rossing a nd r ecrossing t he R iver H arod, m aking i nstead f or t he G alilean s lopes w ith t heir b as altic s ubsoil, m uch m ore s uitable f or r oad-building t han t he a lluvial s oil o f t he V alley o f H arod. M eanwhile i t i s n ot c lear w hy t he r oad h ad t o p ursue s uch a s outherly c ourse t ill t he t hird m ile i nstead o f h eading f or t he h ills d irectly f rom t he g ate.

1 8

B eyond M ile I V a ll v isible t races c ease o n t he a ir-photographs b ut t he l ine o f t he r oad c an b e f ollowed o n t he S WP M ap a nd o n a m ap p ublished i n 1 871 ( v. s upra, p . 2 4, n . 9 4). T he a ntiquity o f t he a lignment i s p roved b y m ilestones. T hey i ndicate t hat t he r oad t urned w estward a t M ile I V , c ontinuing b etween 1 00 a nd 3 00 m . n orth o f - a nd p arallel t o, t he m odern h ighway f rom B et S he'an t o A fula. I t p ursued i ts c ourse o n t he e dge o f t he s outh s lopes o f t he S heluhat T zevaim ( Mile V ), s outh o f t he s ettlement o f B et H ashitta ( the p resumed l ocat ion o f M ile V I) ( 4)

a nd a cross t he narrow S hatta-valley

( Mile V II).

A t G iv 'at T zevaim ( Ras e l-Furein), G R 1 931.2173, n ear M ile V a nd n orth-east o f t he r oad, Z ori d escribes i nteresting r emains ( II,

n o. 1 24, p . 8 5). W alls m ade o f basalt w ere u ncovered w hich, t o j udge f rom a s mall n umber o f s herds, b elong t o t he R oman a nd B yzantine p er iods. T he b uilding s tood o n t op o f a h ill a nd Z ori s uggests t hat t his m ay h ave b een a f ort g uarding t he r oad. F our o ther s ites m ust b e m entioned i n t he i mmediate s urroundings o f B eth H ashittah.

2 9

( 5 )

a . A t G R 1 926. 2 171, a pproximately h alf a k ilometer S W o f t he s ite l ast m entioned u sed t o b e a n a ncient s ite c alled H urvat Q ipodan ( Khirbet S abir), m entioned i n t he S urvey o f W estern P alestine . A ccording t o Z ori, I I, n o. 1 23, P . 8 5, r uins o f b uildings w ere s een i n t he p ast b ut n othing i s v isible n ow . I t m ust h ave b een d eserted b y 1 870. ( 6)

b . A t G R 1 921 .2172 a gain c . h alf a k ilometer S W o f t his s ite a s mall m onastery h as b een e xcavated, c onsisting o f e ight r ooms b uilt a round a s quare c ourtyard. I n t wo r ooms w hich s erved a s t he c hapel m osaics w ere f ound. I n t he o ther r ooms w ere a gricultural i ns tallations. I t w as o ccupied i n t he f ifth a nd s ixth c enturies A D. S ee: Y . A haroni, B IES 1 8(1954), 2 09-15; E nc . A rch. E xc. H oly L and, I II, 8 78-9. ( 7)

c . A t G R 1 919.2178 n ear B eth H ashittah s everal c isterns a nd o live presses h ave b een f ound. P ottery: B yzantine a nd e arly A rab ( Zori, I I, n o. 1 22, p . 8 5). 1 9 ( 8)

d .

A t G R 1 913.2162, 1 km . s outh o f B eth H ashittah, s outh o f t he m odern r oad a nd n orth o f t he R iver H arod i s a n a ncient s ite c alled H orvat S hemot ( Tel a l F irr). H ere a w ell k nown H ellenistic i ns criptiem w as f ound f or w hich s ee b elow, p .104 : W hen f irst p ublished i t w as c alled " A G reek i nscription f ound n ear H efzibah". T he i nscript ion w as i ndeed d iscovered o n t he f ields o f H efzibah, b ut t he s ite i s c loser t o B eth H ashittah, o n t he n orth b ank o f t he r iver, w hile H efzib ah i s s outh o f t he r iver. A nother f ind o f i nterest i s a s teatite s carab o f t he s ixth-fourth c entury B C ( Zori, I I, n o . 1 25, P . 8 6, f ig . 3 6). O n t he s ite P ersian a nd H ellenistic p ottery w as f ound ( Zori, o p. c it., p . 8 7, f ig . 3 7). ( 9)

A pproximately o ne k m . w est o f B eth H ashittah, a t G R 1 903. 2 175 u sed t o b e t he r uins o f t he d eserted A rab v illage S hatta . T his i s t he s pot o f M ilestation V II, b ut m ilestones f rom o ther s tations w ere a lso f ound i n s econdary u se i n t he v illage ( see b elow , p . 58). T he A rab v illage w as e stablished o n a n a ncient s ite. R egarding t he s ite t he D ept. o f A ntiquities L ist § 63, p . 6 2, n otes: " Foundations, c olumns, r ock-cut p its, b uried c olumns, o ld c emetery 2 k ms. t o t he n orth." Z ori, I I, n o. 1 19, p . 8 4, r ecords t he f ollowing f inds: 1 .Architectural f ragments s uch a s m entioned a bove. 2 .An a ltar w ith a r elief o f a n o x-head

( Pl.

2 1.

5 ).

3 .Pottery: a f ew s herds o f t he P ersian p eriod, m ore H ellenistic w are, s ome R oman a nd m uch B yzantine m aterial. T he g reatest q uant ity b elongs t o t he e arly A rab p eriod. 4 .A g nostic s tamp: A F EM S-2 . e h )5.A l ittle d istance t o t he w est r emains o f w hat m ay h ave b een a n i ndustrial i nstallation w ere d iscovered w hen f ish-ponds w ere e xc avated. 6 .The p ottery f ound o n t his s ite w as B yzantine.

3 0

7 .

C oins p icked u p i n t he a rea o f t he f ish-ponds r ange f rom Hellenist ic ( Antiochus V I, 1 45-142 B C) t o l ater U mayad. ' Shütta'

i s o ne o f t he m ore p rominent l ocal c entres o n the S WP

m ap. F urther o n i t p assed s outh o f t he s ettlements o f T el Yosef V III),

E in H arod

( Mile I X ),

G eva ( presumed l ocation o f M ile X ),

( Mile and o f

K efar Yehezqel ( Mile X I). A t t his p oint t he r oad s eems t o have t urned s outhward a nd, a fter c rossing a s hallow r iverbed, c ontinued north-west. H ere a s ide-path f orks o ff t o t he l eft a nd c limbs w estward t o t he a nc ient v illage o f J ezree1. 20 R emains o f t his p ath a re s till visible a t t he n orthern e nd o f t he s ite. T he c ourse o f t he m ain r oad i s i ndic ated b y t he m ilestones X III,

X V,

X VI.

( 10) A n e xtensive a ncient s ettlement e xisted o n G iv'at Q umi ( Qumiyah). ' Koüni' a nd N ain ( Na'im - N ein, n orth o f t he L ittle H ermon = Giv'at H amore) a re t he o nly p laces r ecorded i n t his a rea o n J acotin's map ( File 4 5, p artie d roite), a part f rom S cythopolis a nd Z ezin ( Zer'in), O n t he S WP m ap K ümieh a nd S hütta a ppear a s t he t wo m ost p rominent c ent res b etween J ezreel a nd B eisan. T he s ite i s a t G R 1 88. 2 18 and i s n ow o ccupied b y t he Q ibutzim E n H arod a nd T el J oseph . I t has been t ent atively i dentified w ith ' Kyamon which f aces E sdraelon ', mentioned i n J udith 7 , 4 . I t i s b riefly m entioned i n t he D epartment o f Antiquities L ist Z ori,

6 2, p . 6 7 ( Kh. Q umia ). T he s ite i s d escribed e xtensively by I I, n o. 1 08, p p. 6 9-76, f igs. 2 9-32. T he h ill o n which t he s et-

t lement l ay r ises c . 1 .

1 60 m .

a bove t he V alley.

O n t op o f t he h ill w ere f ound r emains o f t he B yzantine period: r ock-cut c isterns, s arcophagi, i ndustrial i nstallations, a rchit ectural f ragments.

2 .

On t he n orthern p art o f t he h ill:

f ragments o f s arcophagi,

an

o live-press. 3 .

O n t he s outhern p art o f t he h ill: T ombs a nd r ock-cut cisterns ( a t otal o f 2 8) a s w ell a s p resses ( wine o r o live ), s ee f ig. 3 2. T wo o f t hese h ave b een c leaned o ut i n 1 978, c f. H adashot Arkheol ogiyot ( Archaeological N ewsletter), 6 7/8 ( 1978), p . 7 4. Pottery: P ersian t o B yzantine. C oins h ave b een f ound o f a ll p eriods f rom t he s econd c entury B C o nward, i ncluding a g old c oin o f Heraclius.

( 11) N E o f K efar Y ehezqel a n a ncient s ite h as b een f ound marked a s K hirbet T uba'un o n t he S WP m ap ( GR 1 847.2197). I t i s i n fact a ppr oximately 1 km . n orth o f t he R oman R oad. T he o nly r eference t o t he s ite i s i n Z ori, I I, n o . 1 01, p p. 6 6-7. Z ori s aw r emains o f buildings, c olumn d rums a nd p arts o f b asalt c orn m ills. A s mall e xcavation p rod uced a m osaic f loor a nd p ottery o f t he 3 d c entury A D - E arly Arab. A n umber o f c oins h ave a lso b een f ound r anging i n d ate f rom Marcus Aurel ius t o E arly A rab. ( 12)

C . 1 .5 km . w est o f K efar Y ehezqel, a t G R 1 826.2192, c . 3 50 i n . north o f t he m odern r oad r emains o f a b uilding w ere s een which

m ay h ave b een c onnected w ith t he R oman r oad. u p o n t he s urface. Z ori,

I I, n o.

1 02,

p .

R oman p ottery was

6 7.

Milestation X I w as f ound a pproximately 1 .5 k m .

3 1

picked

S E o f

t his

s pot.

S ee Z ori 's c omments ( II, n o . 1 03, p . 6 7). 1 k m . W E o f K . Y ehezqel i s a s ource : E in T uba'un ( Tuvnia ), m arked a lso o n t he S WP m ap. ( 13)

I n t he V alley, 1 .5 k m . s outh o f K efar Y ehezqel a nd 1 k m . s outh o f t he R oman r oad a n umber o f b uildings w ere e xcavated a t G R 1 848. 2 174. S ee: Z ori, I I, n o. 1 06, p . 6 9, f ig . 3 0. T he s ite w as o ccupied i n v arious p rehistoric p eriods a nd p ottery f inds s uggest c ontinuous o ccupation f rom t he P ersian t o t he B yzantine p eriods. ( 14)

M a 'ayan H arod ( Ain J alud), G R 1 836.2173, a pproximately 1 k m . w est o f t he p revious s ite. T his i s t he m ost i mportant s ource n orth o f t he M ountains o f G ilboa. I t i s m entioned i n c onnection w ith a n umber o f battles m entioned a bove. A s f or t he a rchaeological r emains o n t he s ite, Z ori, I I, n o. 3 6, p . 2 3, o bserves t hat t hese " are s omewhat d isa ppointing ." T here i s n o e vidence o f t he e xistence o f a s ettlement. T here a re r emains o f w ater d ucts a nd m ills f rom t he A rab p eriod. Z ori d escribes r ock c uttings, a w ine p ress a nd a t omb. T he D epartment o f A ntiquities L ist § 62, p . 6 7, m entions: P ool c ut i n t he r ock . M ilestones. T he l atter i s a n i nteresting i tem . W e h ave n ot s een t hese s tones a nd we h ave n o o ther s ource o f i nformation . T he s ame i s t rue f or R oman milestones r ecorded a t T el a l F irr, G R 1 88.216, ( the s econd s ite o f t hat n ame i n t he e astern p art o f t he V alley ), c . 5k m . s outh-east o f E in H arod. T here a re t wo p ossible e xplanations: a .

T hese m ilestones w ere n ot f ound i n s itu. T hey c ould, l ike t he s tones f ound i n S hatta, h ave b een m oved f rom t heir o riginal s ite a nd u sed i n A rab b uildings.

b .

A lternatively t his m ight b e t he o nly e vidence w e h ave o f ah ypot hetical p arallel r oad s outh o f t he R iver H arod. T his m ight h ave c ontinued e astward a t m ilestation I II w here t he r oad a s w e k now i t t urns t o t he n orth. W e s hould m ention t hat o n t his a lignment a R oman c ippus w as f ound, b earing t he n umeral X VI ( at G R 1 908. 2 152, c f. Z ori, I I, n o. 1 17, p p. 8 2-3 a nd s ee b elow, p .89 ) . T he c ippus w as d iscovered p recisely i n t he m iddle b etween M ilestation I II a nd t he p uzzling g roup a t T ell a l F irr a nd t he d istance f rom b oth i s 1m ile. I t m ust b e e mphasized, h owever, t hat w e h ave n o o ther t estimony o f t he e xistence o f aR oman r oad h ere a nd t he e vidence m ay b e u nreliable.

( 15)

O ne s ite n ot f ar f rom E in H arod m ay b e m entioned: N ear m odern G id'ona, c . 1k m . S E o f t he s ource r emains o f a s mall B yzantine a nd e arly A rab s ite h ave b een s een ( at G R 1 841 .2171; s ee Z ori, I I, n o. 3 8, p . 2 4). A l ittle d istance t o t he e ast a s ite o f 8 0 x 9 0 m . p rod uced p rehistoric p ottery, s ome R oman a nd m ore B yzantine a nd E arly A rab m aterial. ( 16)

A t t he f oot o f t he h ill o n w hich a ncient J ezreel l ay, 1 k m . t o t he E ast i s E in J ezreel ( Ein e l M eita, A in e l M eiyiteh o r E in a l

Meivita o n v arious o lder m aps), G R 1 819.2182. T he D epartment o f A ntiq uities L ist § 62, p . 6 7 r ecords: F oundations, c lay p ipes, t rough, R oman s herds, B yzantine c oin. Z ori, I I, n o. 3 3, p . 1 9, d escribes t he s ite w hich l ay j ust a bove t he s ource o verlooking f ertile l and, s uita ble f or a griculture. T he p ottery w as m ostly e arly, b ut t here w ere a f ew H ellenistic a nd P ersian s herds.

3 2

( 17)

J ezreel ( Zer'in, Z ir li n ), G R 1 812.2181 . T he r elevant h istorical s ources h ave b een d iscussed a bove, p .10 ,13 . T his i mportant s ite h as n ever b een e xcavated. T he r emains o n t he s urface a re d escribed b y Z ori , I I, n o. 3 4, p p. 1 9-23. I t l ies o n a s houlder p rotruding f rom M t. G ilboa, 1 16 m . a bove s ea-level. I t c ontrols t he n arrow p assage b etween t he w estern a nd t he e astern p art o f t he V alley w ith t he L ittle H ermon ( Giv'at H amoreh ) a f ew k m . t o t he n orth. I t c ommands a n u nbroken v iew a cross t he w hole V alley f rom M egiddo t o B eth S hean. W ater was s upplied b y E in J ezreel j ust m entioned a nd a nother w ell i n t he n orth-west. Z ori d escribes a c ruisader c hurch b uilt p ossibly o n a n e arlier B yzantine s tructure, s everal m osaics, r emains o f o ther b uildings, m any t ombs a nd s arcophagi a ll o ver t he s ite. A s mall a rea i n t he n orthern p art o f t he s ite w as e xcavated. T he f inds a ll b elong t o t he t hird a nd f ourth c entury A D ( Pl. 5 , 5 -6; 6 , 1 -4; 7 , 1 -5). P ottery f ound o n t he s urface a ll o ver t he s ite b elongs t o v arious e arlier p eriods. Z ori m entions o ne H ellenistic p iece a nd a n umber o f R oman a nd B yzantine s herds. T he m ap o f t he G erman H igh C ommand ( 1918) i ndicates t he r oad b etw een Z er'in a nd A fula a s a d irt t rack i n g ood c ondition. S mall a nd l arger s tones s cattered o n a s outh-east t o n orth-west c ourse n ear M ile X VI p ossibly m ark t he r oad. I t s hould b e n oted t hat t he d istances b etween m iles X V a nd X VIII d o n ot c orrespond t o R oman m iles. E ither t he m ilestones h ave b een m oved o r t he r oad d id n ot f oll ow t he s ame a lignment a t a ll t imes. 21 A t m ile X VIII t he R oman r oad i s marked b y av ery m odest e mbankment a nd a s catter o f s tones. A f arm er, w orking t he f ield, t old u s t hat h e u sed t o n otice d itches o n b oth s ides o f t he e mbankment. ( 18)

M odern Q ibbutz M erhaviah i s b uilt o n t he s ite o f F uleh, G R 1 79. 2 23. O n t his s ite u sed t o b e t he r emains o f a c ruisader c astle: L a F iave, c astrum F aba, o f w hich n othing n ow i s l eft. 22 N earby n umer ous r emains o f e arlier p eriods h ave b een f ound, c f.: Z ori, I I, n o. 7 7, p . 5 3; P l. 1 5, 3 . T he H ellenistic, R oman a nd B yzantine p eriods a re w ell r epresented a mong p ottery, c oins a nd o ther f inds. W orth m entioni ng a re a H ellenistic s tatuette o f H orus, a s arcophagus a nd a C orint hian c apital. ite ncient s he a A fula, G R 1 77.223 i s c . 1 .5 k m . w est o f F uleh . T een e xcavated b y i s i n t he c entre o f t he m odern t own a nd h as b ettlement i n v arious s everal a rchaeologists. 23 T his w as a n i mportant s P e r s i a n t o t h e E arly p rehistoric p eriods, b ut v ery f ew r emains o f t he s e c o n d c e n t u r y A D t o R oman p eriod w ere f ound. R emains d ating f rom t he s e t t l e m e n t o f s o r t s t he B yzantine p eriod a re v ery m odest, a lthough a ( 19)

u ndoubtedly e xisted. rossroads b elongs I t i s c lear t hat t he p rominence o f A fula a s a c f r o m t h e H e l l e nistic t o t he B ronze A ge, w hile F uleh h ad t his f unction t o t he B yzantine p eriods. A fulah i s s ituated o n t he r oad f rom M egiddo p ast T abor t o T iberias, w hile F uleh l ies o n t he i ntersection o f t he L egio-Scythopolis a nd G inae-Diocaesarea r oads. I t s hould b e n oted t hat t he a lignment o f t he r oad b etween M ile X II a nd M ile X X w as c hosen s o a s t o a void t he t ributaries o f t he Q ishon. 3 3

F rom t he m odern t own o f A fula t o C aparcotna t wo o ld t rackways a re k nown. 24 B oth r un n orth o f a nd p arallel t o t he m odern h ighway f rom A fula t o M egiddo. T he s outhern t rack l eads t hrough a n a rea k nown a s ' Birket e l F uleh' - i ndicated a s ' Marsh i n W inter' o n o ld m aps-- a nd c rosses t he R iver Q ishon a s w ell a s an umber o f i ts s maller t ributar ies. I n s hort, t his l ine t raverses a n a rea o f l ow g round a nd m arshes. T he n orthern t rack, h owever, c ircumvents t he ' Birket e l F uleh', c rosses t he R iver Q ishon a t am ore s uitable s pot a nd o nly o ne o f i ts t ributar ies. I t r uns t o t he a ncient s ite o f K hirbet L idd a nd k eeps o n h igher g round. T he m ilestone a t M ile X VIII w as d iscovered h alfway b etween t he t wo p aths, c a. 5 00 m . f rom e ach. H owever, m ore t o t he W est, t he r oad m ust a t a ll t imes h ave f ollowed e ither a n orthern o r a s outhern a lignment. T opographical f actors c ertainly f avor a n orther l ine. T his l ine, i n f act, j oins a nother k nown R oman r oad, c onnecting L egio-Caparc otna w ith D iocaesarea ( Sepphoris). I t i s l ikely t hat t he r oad f rom S cythopolis m et t he r oad f rom D iocaesarea a t K hirbet L idd, a t G R . 1 713. 2 242, 3 m iles f rom L egio-Caparcotna . B etween K hirbet L idd a nd C aparc otna t hese t wo r oads w ould t hen f ollow a s ingle a lignment. T his s ect ion w as s urveyed a nd d escribed b y M . H ecker i n 1 958-59, when t he d irt-track , v isible o n t he a ir-photograph a nd m aps m entioned a bove, w as s till v isible. 25 ( 20) K hirbet L idd i s a n e xtensive s ite, s o f ar u nexplored. S WP, v ol . I I, 6 6 n otes: " Traces o f r uins w ith a p illar s haft near s pring ." P art o f t hese r uins i s s till v isible. T he l ine c rosses N ahal D orekh ( Wadi e l-Taruq ) a t GR . 1 695.2229, s outh o f m odern H ayogev . H ere H ecker m entions f ragments o f am iles tone, c a. 2 50 m etres f rom t he f ind-spot o f o ur N o. X XII ( two m iles f rom C aparcotna). T he l ine t hen r uns p arallel t o N ahal Q ini ( Wadi e lL ajjun ), a t t he w est f oot o f a r idge c alled i n A rabic ' Edh D hahr'. I t p asses t he r uins o f H urvat M uzav ( Khürbet e l-Khazna, G R . 1 688.2220), w here a d edication t o S arapis o f t he e arly t hird c entury b y a p rimus p ilus o f t he V I F er. w as d iscovered i n t he 1 9th c entury. 26 T he S WP, v ol . I I, 6 0 r ecords ( s.v. K hurbet e l K huzneh ): " Foundations o f g oods ized b uildings; s everal s hafts o f c olumns; p ortions o f b roken s arcop hagi; a b roken C orinthian c apital; t ombs; a s culptured b lock , l ike a n a ltar" ( presumably t he a ltar w as r e-discovered b y S chumacher). T he e ntire a rea i s n ow u nder c ultivation a nd n o r emains a re v isible o n t he s urface. B etween t he f ind-spot o f M ile X XII a nd C aparcotna t he l ine i s s till e xtant a nd i ndicated o n m odern 1 :50.000 m aps a s a d irt-track . I t p ursues a m arkedly d irect c ourse i n t he d irection o f t he f ields o f Q ibbutz M egiddo, c alled ' el M anach ' b y S chumacher ( see below ). I t C urv es i n o rder t o c ross a w adi a nd t hen t he m odern r oad t o H aifa a t 1 679. 2 206, e ast o f Q ibbutz M egiddo a nd n orth o f t he r uins o f ' el M anakh '. T he d istance f rom t he f ind-spot o f t he s econd m ilestone, n oted b y M . H ecker, t o t his p oint i s 2 800 m ., a n i ndication t hat i t i s l ess t han 2 00 m . f rom t he b eginning/end o f t he r oad. I t i s, o f c ourse, v ery i mp ortant t o k now t his p oint, f or t his g ives u s t he s ite o f t he l egionar y f ortress, a s y et u nexcavated. A 1 :5000 p lan o f t he t opography o f t he a rea w as p ublished b y G . S chumacher. 2 7 T he r oad d iscussed h ere i s i ndicated o n h is p lan ( made i n 1 904) a s " Strasse n ach ' Affule u nd D amask".

3 4

T his i s n ot t he p lace t o d iscuss t he l egionary f ortress a nd i ts s ite, o r t he l ater t own o f Maximianopolis. B oth s hould be f urther e xplored a nd e xcavated. T he l ocation i s k nown i n g eneral, t hanks t o t he milestones m entioned a nd b rick-stamps f ound o n t he s pot. A f ew w ords o f e xplanation a re n eeded, h owever,

why we c annot n ow

d iscuss i n d etail t he R oman r oad f rom L egio t o C aesarea.

T he s ection

i mmediately w est o f L egio o ught t o h ave b een e asy t o t race. a R oman b ridge b etween t he s ite o f t he c astra ( Schumacher's

T here i s ' el M anach ')

a nd t he o ld K han e l-Lejün. 28 T he b ridge s till e xists. T he o ld m aps, n otably S chumacher's p lan a nd t he S WP m ap s how t hat t he r oad which l ed o ver t he b ridge a cross Wadi e s-Sitt ( Nahal Q ini, o ne o f t he t ributar ies o f t he Q ishon ), w as o ne o f t hree t racks m aking f or Wadi

' Ara f rom

t he V alley o f J ezreel. T he i nternational h ighway a lways r an t hrough Wadi ' Ara ( Nahal ' Iron), s o t his i s where w e s hould l ook f or t he R oman R oad a s w ell. T here e xist t wo r eports w e k now o f, w hich m ight i ndicate t hat t here w ere r emains o f a R oman r oad t o b e s een i n W adi ' Ara. von W ildenbruch c laims t o h ave r eached K han e l-Lejün t ravelling a long a ' via R omana i n g ood s tate o f p reservation: 29

S chumacher,

t he f irst e xcavator o f M egid-

d o, c laims t o h ave s een f ragments o f a t l east f our u ninscribed m iles tones a long t his r oad. I t m ust b e a dmitted, h owever, t hat P rokesch a nd R ussegger, w ho t ravelled t he s ame r oad d id s ee no s uch r oad, 3° a nd t he s ame i s t rue f or R obinson. 31 R obinson t herefore a ssumed t hat t he R oman r oad t o C aesarea r an f urther s outh-east. 32 A s r egards t he m iles tones s een b y S chumacher, T homsen a lready n otes t hat i t i s u ncertain w hether t he r emains s een b y S chumacher r eally r epresent milestones. 33 A lmost d ecisive w ould s eem t o b e t he t estimony o f t he S WP. O n t his m ap t he r oad t hrough W adi ' Ara i s n ot m arked a s R oman a nd n o m ilestones a re i ndicated. T his i s i mportant, f or t here a re f ew i nstances where t he S WP m ap f ails t o r ecognize a R oman r oad,

i f i t a ppears

o n t he m np

a t a ll. W e o urselves h ave f ound n o t races o f a R oman r oad o r o f m ilestones i n t he W adi, a lthough a t horough s earch was m ade. Villagers a ll a long t he r oad w ere c onsulted a nd c ould b e o f n o a ssistance. F or t he t ime b eing w e c onclude t hat t here a lmost c ertainly w as a R oman r oad t hrough W adi ' Ara, b ut n o t race o f i ts r emains h as b een s een i n r ecent y ears. C onversely t he r oad m ay h ave f ollowed a nother a lignm ent, o ver t he h ills. I f s o t his h as n ot y et b een f ound, n or c an i t b e s aid t hat w e k now o f t he e xistence o f a r oute m ore a ttractive t han t hat t hrough W adi

' Ara.

3 5

N O 1 .

V .

s upra, p p. 1 4 f . ;

C . R .

T

E

S

C onder a nd H .M . K itchener,

T he S urvey

o f Western P alestine I I ( 1882), 1 00. T he r oad i s n ot i ncluded i n t he c lassic p aper b y P . T homsen, Z DPV 4 0 ( 1917), 1 -103. 2 .

A cco - N azareth - B eisan: t he Holy L and

( 1822),

J .S. B urckhardt, T ravels

3 42-4.

i n S yria a nd

A cco - J enin: H . M aundrell, A J our-

ney f rom A leppo t o J erusalem i n E aster A D 1 697 ( Oxford, 1 703, r epr. 1 963), 7 4-7. J enin - B eisan: V . J . S eetzen, R eise d urch S yrien. P alästina ... ( 1854), v ol I I, 1 59-62; S WP, l oc. c it. T hese r oads r eplaced, t o a c ertain e xtent, t he C aesarea - L egio S cythopolis l ine, t he e xplanation b eing t he d ecline o f C asearea. 3 .

S ee

4 .

V .

5 .

R heinisches M useum 5 8 ( 1903),

6 .

t he d iscussion, s upra,

p p. 5 f;

a bove p p.10-12.

1 3. 6 34 - 5 .

Avi-Yonah s aw t hat t he m ilestones p roved t he e xistence o f a r oad b etween L egio a nd S cythopolis. H e d id n ot s ee t hat t his w as p art o f a r oad b etween C aesarea a nd t he l atter p lace. I nfluenced b y nineteenth-century t ravellers r ather t han b y a ncient s ources h e t hought i n t erms o f a l ine P tolemais-Legio-Scythopolis a nd o f a nother C aesarea-Legio-Diocaesarea; c f. T he H oly L and, m ap 2 4; R E Suppl. X III, s .v. P alaestina, c ol. 4 40.

7 .

I n QDAP 1 2

8 .

P ublished i n: T he B eth-Shean V alley, T he 1 7th A rchaeological C onv ention, J erusalem ( 1962), 1 35-98 ( Hebrew ) = Z ori I ; T he L and o f I ssachar, a n A rchaeological S urvey ( 1977, i n H ebrew ) = Z ori I I.

9 .

T his s urvey w as c arried o ut i n 1 971-2 b y I R oll a nd P . T hey w ere j oined i n 1 972 b y B . I saac. C f. P reface.

1 0.

Z ori I ,

1 1.

F or a p hotograph o f t he T urkish b ridge b uilt o ver t he r emains o f t he Roman b ridge, s ee A . R owe, B eth-Shan I ( 1930), P late 1 2.

1 2.

C .

R .

( 1946),

9 8-102.

P orat.

1 80.

C onder,

S WP I I,

1 05, n otes b riefly t hat " On t he West

( of

t he c ity) a n a ncient g ateway w as r emarked", w ithout a dding a ny s pecific i nformation. I n h is g eneral p lan o f t he c ity ( ibid., p lan f acing p . 1 05) h e i ncorporates t he R oman b ridge i n h is p res umed l ine o f t he w all, t hereby i ndicating t hat t he b ridge w as s omehow a ttached

t o t he g ate.

T he a uthors o f t he p resent p aper

made a n i nvestigation o f t he w estern a rea o f a ncient S cythop p ol is a nd d id n ot o bserve a ny r emains o f t his g ate.

3 6

1 3.

A p reliminary p ublication h as a ppeared i n H ebrew p eriodicals: F . V ito, A ti c lot 7 ( 1973/4 ), 1 00-104; Y . S ussmann, T arbiz 4 ( 1973/4), 8 8-158; i d. Q admuniot 8 ( 1975), 1 23-8. I t w as a nnounced t hat a f ull t reatment i s t o a ppear s hortly i n I EJ. T he i nscription b el ongs t o p hase I II o f t he s ynagogue, t entatively d ated t o t he 6 th a nd 7 th c enturies A .D. b ut i s b ased o n o lder R abbinical t exts.

1 4.

Y .

1 5.

F or t he t erm ' ritzpah', s ee M . J astrow, A D ictionary o f t he T arg umin, t he T almud B abli a nd Y erushalmi a nd t he M idrashic L iterat ure I I ( 1903 ), 1 795; J . L evy, W orterbuch ü ber d ie T almudim u nd M idraschim, I V ( 1924), 4 67-8; S . K rauss, T almudische A rchäologie I ( 1910), 3 6.

1 6.

F . V itto, Q admoniot 1 1 ( 1978), 6 7-70 w ith p hotographs ( Hebrew ). T he e xcavations u ncovered r emains o f aB yzantine i ndustrial o r c ommercial i nstallation o f t he f ifth a nd s ixth c entury A D . I t w as d estroyed b y f ire i n t he s ixth c entury a nd n ot r e-occupied.

1 7.

W e o we t his o bservation t o P rof. J . M ertens w ho p articipated i n o ne o f o ur e xcursions t o t he a rea.

1 8.

F or a g eological m ap o f n orthern I srael, s ee A tlas o f I srael ( 1970), m ap I II/I. S . A pplebaum h as s uggested t hat t he c ourse o f t he r oad w as i nfluenced b y p revious c enturiation o f t he a rea. A m ap w ith l ines w hich m ay p reserve t he p attern o f R oman l and d iv ision w as p ublished b y h im i n S homron ( 1970), 1 51-5 ( Hebrew ). T he c ourse o f t he r oad p resented a bove f its i nto t his p attern , f olbowing a pproximately a s uggested d ecumanus a nd o ne o f t he c ard ines o f t he c enturial g rid. S ee a lso b elow, p . 3 2.

1 9.

S ee a lso: H adashot A rkheologiyot 5 6 ( 1975),

2 0.

T his p ath i s i ndicated o n t he S WP m ap a nd o n W ilson's m ap. s upra, p . 2 4, n . 9 6). W hether i t i s a ncient w e c annot s ay.

2 1.

T he g roup o f m ilestones X VI A d oes n ot f it a ny p ossible l ine f or t he r oad h ere d iscussed. I t m ay h ave m arked a b ranch f orking o ff t owards D iocaesarea o r t he a lignment o f t he S cythopolis-Caparc otna r oad m ay h ave c hanged. S ee b elow , p . 6 1 .

2 2.

S ee t he d escription b y G u6rin, D escription d e l a P alestine V I, G alilge I , 1 09-11: S WP I I. 4 1.

2 3.

F or A fula s ee: E nc. A rch. E xc. H oly L and, I 3 2-6, w ith b ibliog raphy o n p . 3 6; a dd: J . S hapira a nd N . Z ori, A lon 5 -6 ( 1957), 2 20-3; Z ori, I I, n o. 7 6, p . 5 2).

2 4.

B oth a re m arked o n t he m aps m entioned a bove a nd o n a ir-photograp hs t aken i n 1 941, n os. 1 2-14, s eries J OB. T he m ap o f t he B ritish W ar O ffice o f 1 915 i ndicates a r oad f rom t he M egiddo c rossroads t o A fula w hich f ollows t he l ine o f t he m odern r oad. T he s ection L egio- L idd o f t he R oman r oad a ppears a s p art o f t he r oad t o N az areth o n t his m ap. O n t he G erman m ap o f 1 918 t he l atter s ection

S ussmann, 22 .

c it.,

1 15 a nd 1 18.

2 0. ( v .

a ppears a s a r oad w hile t he s ection L idd - A fula i s i ndicated a s a t rack . 3 7

2 5.

M . H ecker, B IES 2 5 ( 1961), 1 75-86 ( Hebrew ).

2 6.

T ell e l-Mutesellin I ( 1908), Q DAP 1 2 ( 1946), 8 9-90.

2 7.

o p.

2 8.

F or a g ood d rawing f rom t he p revious c entury, s ee: W ilson, L and o f G alilee ( 1880, r epr. 1 975), p . 2 4.

2 9.

v on W ildenbruch, M anatsber. d er G eogr. G es. B erlin, N . F olg. I , p . 2 33 ( inaccessible t o u s), q uoted b y E . R obinson, L ater B iblic al R esearches ( 1856), 1 19, n . 2 .

3 0.

R ussegger, f .

3 1.

R obinson, o.

3 2.

T he S WP m ap s hows v arious t racks m aking f rom t he V alley f or t he a rea o f U mm e l F ahm , b ut n one o f t hem w ould s eem t o have b een o f m ore t han l ocal s ignificance a nd n one i s m entioned a s a ncient. T he S WP, v ol. I I, p p. 4 9 f . n ote t hat t he m ain r oad t o L ej i an " appears t o b e a ncient". T he S WP i ndicates t hat a b ranch l eft t he m ain r oad a t K h. ' Arab, r unning n orth-east. " It p asses b y t he o ld r uined K han o f e l M äwiyeh a nd t hrough K efrein , d escend ing t hence s ome 5 00 f eet i n 3m iles t o j oin N o. 1 ( Jenin - H aif a ) a t T ell A ghbarieh. I t w as p robably t he o ld l ine f rom N azareth t o S haron, b ut t he p ath t hence t o Nazareth l eads o ver a b ad p art o f t he K ishon, w here t here a re d angerous p ools." T here i s n o i nd ication t hat t his w as a R oman r oad n or a ny r eason t o b elieve t hat t his t rack w ould h ave b een p referable i n R oman t imes t o t he r egular r oute p ast L egio.

3 3.

G . S chumacher, M itteilungen u nd N achrichten d . D eutschen P aläst ina V ereins ( 1903), 5 -8; P . T homsen, Z DPV 4 0 ( 1917), n os. 2 332 41, p p. 6 9-70, w ith n . 2 .

1 63-5; p ublished b y M . A vi-Yonah ,

c it., T afel I .

I II,

1 23 f .; C . R itter,

c it.,

T he

D ie E rdkunde ( 1850), X VI,

5 93

1 18 f .

3 8

A ncient s ites a long t he r oad N o . Name 1 .

G R

D ate

R emarks

T el N aharon ( T. e l J isr)

1 966.2128

2 .

e l-Qantara

1 960.2129

R ,B,EA

b uildings

3 .

T el T umis

1 945.2131

R ,B,EA

v illa , b uildings

4 .

G iv 'at T zevaim ( Ras e l-Furein )

1 931.2173

R ,B

f ort

5 .

H .

S uburb o f S cythopolis

Q ipodan ( Kh .Sabir )1926.2172

( ?)

b uildings

1 921.2172

B ,EA

m onastery

1 919.2178

R ,EA

c isterns, p resses

1 913.2162

P ,H

i nscription A ntioc hus I II.

S hatta

1 903.2175

P ,H,R,B,EA

s ettlement

9 a.

t

T I

1 0.

Q umi

6• 7 .

B eth H ashittah

8 .

H .

S hemot ( T. F irr)

a l-

i ndustrial i nstalation

1 88.218

P ,H,R ,B

1 847.2197

( late )R ,B,EAbuildings

1 .5 k m . W . o f K efar Y ehezkel

1 826.2192

b uildings

1 3.

1 .5 k m .

1 848.2174

P ,H,R ,B

1 4.

E in H arod(Ain J alud )

1 836.2173

E A

s ettlement

1 5.

G id'ona

1 841.2171

B ,EA

s mall s ettlement

R ,B,EA

s mall s ite. s mall s ite

1 1. K h. T uba'un 1 2.

S . o f i d.

1 5a.E. o f i d. 1 6.

l arge s ettlement

I f

E in J ezreel ( Ein e l M eita )

1 819.2182

P ,H.

1 7.

J ezreel ( Zer'in)

1 812.2181

H ,R (late R ),B

1 8.

M erhavia ( el F uleh )

1 79.223

H ,R ,B

s ettlement ( crusaderf ortress L a F i ve )

1 9.

A fulah

1 77.223

P ,R ,B

m ostly p rehistoric a nd I ron A ge.

2 0. K h. L idd

1 71.224

s ettlement,

2 1. K h.

1 68.222

I nscription P .P. o f V I F err.

e l K hazna

s pring

T he n umbers o f t he s ettlements r efer t o t he n umerals i n t he m arg in o f t he d escription o f t he r oad a nd o n t he m ap ( see f old-out). P = P ersian; H = H ellenistic; R = R oman; B = B yzantine; E A = E arly A rab. W hen t he i ndication o f ap eriod i s u nderlined t his m eans t hat r emains o f t hat p articular p eriod p redominate. O ccupation i n o ther p eriods

( prehistoric,

I ron Age , C rusaders, e tc.)

t able.

3 9

i s i gnored i n t his

E xcavations n ear B eth S hean A t t wo s ites n ear B eth S hean t renches w ere c ut a cross t he r oad . T hese d id n ot p rovide u s w ith a ny d atable m aterial, b ut p roved t hat t here w ere t wo s tages o f c onstruction, w hich c ould c learly b e d isting uished. T he f irst e xcavation w as c arried o ut i n M arch o f 1 977, c . 5 00 m . w est o f t he R oman ( and m odern ) b ridge, a t G R 1 9636.21280. H ere t he o riginal p avement w as s till e xtant. T wo p arallel t renches w ere c ut a t r ight a ngles t o t he R oman r oad, 1 5 m . a part. T he r oad h ere l ies a n t he n orth b ank o f t he R iver Harod a nd t he l and c onsequently s lopes d own s outhward t o t he w ater. I n t he n orthern p art o f o ur t rench w e f ound t hat t he n atural r ed s oil h ad s een d ug a way t o a d epth o f 9 0 c m . w hile o n t he s outh s ide a b ank h ad b een t hrown u p s o a s t o m ake u p a n h orizontal r oad-bed. T he bank i s s upport ed b y a r etaining w all, 9 0 c m . h igh . S tage I : T he e arlier p avement r ests o n a f illing o f t wo l ayers, t he l ower c onsisting o f r ed s oil a nd s tones a nd t he u pper o ne o f g rey d ust. T he p avement i tself c onsists o f f lat, u nworked b asalt s tones o f c . 2 0 x 3 0 c m ., f itted t ogether i n a n i rregular p attern. A t t his s tage t he r oad h ad a w idth o f c . 1 0 m . S tage I I: O n t op o f t he e arlier p avement a f illing o f c . 3 0 c m . t hickness h ad b een t hrown, c onsisting o f b rown-grey e arth a nd s tones. B etween n ew k erbs a s econd p avement w as l aid, c onsisting o f l arge, r ectangular f lagstones, c . 7 0 x 4 0 c m ., a rranged i n a d iagonal p attern . T he w idth o f t he r oad w as n ow 9 m .. I t w as r educed b y o ne m eter o n t he s outh s ide o f t he r oad. I n t he s pace b etween t he n ew s outhern k erb a nd t he o ld r etaining w all a d itch h ad b een d ug, p arallel t o t he r oad. O n t he b ottom o f t his d itch a c lay w ater-pipe w as f ound, m ade o f s ections w ith a n i nner d iam . o f 3 0 c m . T he d itch was f illed i n w ith r ed e arth a nd s tones, o bviously b efore t he c ompletion o f s tage I I, b ut a fter t he c onstruction o f s tage I . A s econd e xcavation w as c arried o ut i n F ebruary o f 1 978 n ear t he R oman/Turkish b ridge o ver t he r iver H arod ( Jisr e l-Khan ). O ne t rench w as c ut i mmediately n orth-west o f t he b ridge a nd p arallel t o t he m od ern r oad - p arallel a lso t o t he a xis o f t he R oman r oad. S ince t he R oman r oad w as h ere a lmost e ntirely c overed w ith m odern a sphalt, w e c ould n ot c ut a t rench a t r ight a ngles t o t he a ncient r oad. W e c onsid ered i t p ossible t hat t he R oman r oad w ould h ave t urned w estward t o r un a long t he r iver-bank a nd p ast T el N aharon w ithout a scending t his h ill. W e t herefore m ade a nother t rench 3 0 m . w est o f t he m odern r oad t o c heck t his p ossibility. I n t he f irst t rench n ear t he b ridge t he R oman r oad w as s een c or np rizing t he s ame t wo s tages o f c onstruction t hat w ere e ncountered 5 00 m . f urther w est. I n t he s outhern p art o f t he t rench t he f oundations o f t he r oad r est o n am ixture o f u nworked s tones a nd c oncrete w hich b elongs t o t he s tructure o f t he R oman b ridge. I n o ur t rench t he n ort hern e dge o f t his s olid l ayer c ould b e o bserved a nd i n t he n orthern p art o f t he s ection t he r oad r ests o n r ed v irgin s oil.

4 0

S tage I :

T he e arlier p avement r ests o n a f illing o f s tones a nd

l umps o f c oncrete i n g rey e arth. T he p avement c onsists o f u nworked b asalt s labs f itted t ogether i n ab ed o f c oncrete. S tage I I; O n t op o f t his l ies a nother f illing, c onsisting o f g rey e arth, s tones a nd l umps o f c oncrete. T he l ater p avement c onsists a gain o f r oughly d ressed, l arge b asalt f lagstones a rranged i n a d iagonal p att ern. S ection t hrough t he R oman b ridge . T he R oman b ridge w as m uch w ider t han t he T urkish o ne, b uilt a fter i ts c ollapse o n i ts r emains. O n t he s outh b ank o f t he r iver r emains o f t he R oman a rch c an s till b e s een, e ast o f t he T urkish b ridge. A s t he c ent ral p art o f t he a rch h as c ollapsed a s ection c an b e s een i n t he r em ains o n t he s outh b ank . H ere t he s ame f our l ayers c an b e d istinguis hed, b elonging t o t wo s tages o f c onstruction o f t he r oad. B etween t hose l ayers a nd t he l arge b uilding b locks o f t he b ridge c an b e s een al ayer o f u nworked s tones e mbedded i n c oncrete. F or t he a rchitecture o f t he b ridge, s ee b elow, p p. 4 2 f f. A n a ncient q uay. T hirty m eter w est o f t he m odern r oad, a s e xplained a bove, w e d ug a not her t rench, m easuring 7 .50 x 1 .50 m ., a cross a d irt-track w hich r uns w estward b etween t he n orth b ank o f t he r iver a nd T el N aharon . W e h oped t o f ind t he r oad a gain, b ut d id n ot f ind a ny t race o f i t. W e d id, h owever, f ind a t hick w all r unning p arallel t o t he r iver, t he r evetm ent a pparently o f a q uay. N orth o f t his w all a p avement w as f ound o f u nworked s tones f itted t ogether. I n t his t rench w e f ound s herds o f t he L ate R oman p eriod a nd, i n g reater n umbers, o f t he E arly A rabic p eriod. O nly a fter w e h ad c ompleted t his e xcavation d id w e n otice a s ourc e w hich i ndicates w here o ne m ight s earch f or t he r oad i n t his a rea. I n t he S WP, v ol. I I t he d ecumanus, l ater e xcavated b y Z ori ( supra, p . 2 7 ), i s s hown o n t he m ap o f B eth S hean ( Beisan ), o pposite p . 1 04. I t c rosses J isr e l-Khan a nd t hen o ne t rack c ontinues n orthwards w hile a nother f orks o ff n orth-west, a scending T el N aharon. T his t rack i s marked ' pavement' a nd u ndoubtedly r epresents t he R oman r oad. W e d id n ot f ind a ny r emains o f i t o n t he s urface i n t his a rea.

4 1

T he R oman b ridge

i n d escriptions o f t he 1 9th c entury

S ince t he R oman b ridge i s n ot n ow i ntact a nd p artly d isfigured b y t he T urkish s tructure w e q uote h ere d escriptions b y t hose w ho s aw i t i n a b etter s tate. R obinson,

L ater B iblical R esearches,

3 29:

" In t he p lain W .

b y

N . w e n oticed a b ridge w ith R oman a rch o ver t he J alüd, a nd b eyond i t, a ccording t o I rby a nd M angles ( p. 3 03), m ay b e s een t he p aved w ay w hich o nce l ed t o A kka." i bid., n ote 1 :"This w e d id n ot s ee. r ather t o Z er'in; w hence i t b ranched o ff G uerin,

S amarie I ,

2 99:

" Nous

T he a ncient R oman r oad

l ed

i n v arious d irections."

f ranchissons

l 'Oued D jaloud s ur

u n p ont a ntique d 'une s eule a rche, b ätie e n p lein c intre a vec d e m agn ifiques b locs b asaltiques, e t r ecouvert d e d alles s emblables, d e g rand e s d imensions." T ristram, L and o f I srael, 4 99 f . ( quoted b y R itter, I I, 4 15 f f. ) : " we c rossed b y a f ine R oman b ridge o f a s imple a rch m uch d ecayed. C onstructed, h owever,

o f h ard b lack b asalt,

i t h as b een a ble t o w ith-

s tand i n s ome d egree t he r avages o f t ime a nd t he c arelessness o f M osl ems." S WP, t ic a shlar.

v ol I I,

1 12 d escribes

t he b ridge a s " a f ine a rch o f b asal-

I t i s r emarkable a s b eing a s kew b ridge, b ut built a s

t hough a s traight o ne. T he r oadway, w hich h as n o p arapet i s s kewed, h aving a b ase e qual t o o ne-third o f t he r oadway: t he v oussoir j oints a re p erpendicular t o t his l ine, b ut t he h aunches o f t he a rch a re p aral lel t o t he s ides o f t he s tream . T he a rch i s 3 9 f eet s pan, 1 4 f eet r ise i n c lear,

31 /2 f eet t hickness o f m asonry." S ee a lso t he

t here.

4 2

s ketch

T he B ridge o ver t he R iver H arod b y

L uigi M arino

T he R iver H arod ( in A rabic: J alud) i s s panned by a b ridge a t a s pot, n orth o f B eth S hean, w here t he v alley w idens. T he t opographic a nd s trategic i mportance o f i ts l ocation i s n ot c onspicuous, b ecause t he r oad d escends c onsiderably t owards t he b ridge, t o c limb a gain a ft er p assing o ver t he b ridge. 1 T he b ridge h as a s pan o f o nly 8 .5 m .; t he h eight o f t he k eystones i s 4 .5 m ., a nd t he t otal width, p arapets i ncluded, i s m ore t han 9 m . B etween t his b ridge a nd t he n ew o ne, a bout 5 0 m . u pstream , t he b anks o f t he r iver a re p rotected by t wo m assive, s traight w alls, r ecently b uilt. D ownstream , h owever, t he r iver f lows b etween e mbankments w hich a re o nly p artially r einforced. T he a ncient b ridge, u sually c alled " Roman', h as e xtensively b een r econstructed i n t he 1 9th c entury. T he b ridge i n i ts p resent s hape 2 h as a f acing o f s mall a shlars 3 w hich h igher u p a re l aid i n h orizontal c ourses, b ut, a t al ower l evel, i ncline s lightly t owards t he a rch w hich i s n ot v ery p ointed. T he a rch i s c onstructed w ith a l intel a nd a d ouble r ow o f v oussoirs w hich a re l aid o ne u pon t he o ther, b ut d o n ot a lways f it e xactly . T he v oussoirs a re p laced d irectly o n t he a ncient m asonry. T he 1 9th c entury r econstruction c an b e c learly o bserved o n t he w estern s ide, w here t here a re n o r emains o f t he R oman s tructure; a n i nscription o n t he p arapet c ommemorates t he r ebuilding o f t he b ridge b y t he T urkish a uthorities i n t he r eign o f A bdul Hamid I I ( 1876-1909) 11 T he e astern s ide i s m ore i nteresting b ecause h ere s ubstantial R oman r emains a re e xtant. T hese p ossibly b elonged t o t he masonry o f t he v ault a nd t he s upport u nderneath t he a ncient r oad. 5 R oman m asonry i s c learly v isible o n t he n orth b ank w here t he a ncient a shlars a re s till i n p lace u p t o ah eight o f a bout 1 m ., i .e. t he height a t which t he a rch b egins t o c urve. S till m ore o f t he a ncient masonry i s p reserved o n t he s outh b ank w here i t r eaches a h eight o f n early 3 m . T he R oman a shlars, l aid i n a p attern o f " opus p seudoisodomum", a re p arallelepip ida, w hile a f ew a re s lightly w edged. 6 T he s urface o f t he i ntrados i s f inished m ore c arefully a nd m arks l eft b y a s mall p ointed c hisel m ay b e i dentified. T he e dges a re s lightly r ounded, a t t imes h eavily w orn, w ithout a ny t race o f g rout i n t he i nterstices between t he s tones, p erhaps i n c onformity w ith t he b uilding - p ractice o f l eaving e mbras ures o n t he a djoining s ides s o a s t o i ncrease t he a dherence o f t he g routs. T he e xposed s tones w ere m ore r egular i n s hape a nd w ell j oint ed i n o rder t o p rotect t he n ucleus o f c ement a gainst e rosion . T he m assive s upport o f t he r oadway c onsists, l ower d own, o f " opus c ementicium", c ontaining l arge s tone b locks, s imilar t o, b ut n ot a s r egular a s t he f acing o f t he a rch. T he p aving s tones a re l aid i n ab ed c onsisting o f c hips o f s tone a nd g rout. T he u pper s ection p resents a n i nteresting s tratigraphy i n w hich t wo p avements c an be r ecognized, o ne o n t op o f t he o ther. 7 T he s equence c an b e o bserved i n t he b reach p ro-

4 3

d uced b y t he c ollapse o f t he b ridge a nd i n a t rench , r ecently m ade i n t he p avement f or t he i nstallation o f p ipes. T he o lder p avement c ons ists o f c arved s tones l ying w ith t heir p olished s ides e xposed i n a b ed o f g rout w ith b ig p ebbles a nd c hips o f s tone. 8 T he l ater p avement l ying 4 5 c m , h igher, c onsisted o f a t hin l ayer o f c ement w ith s ome a ggregate a nd f ragments o f b rick, i n w hich t he w ell-jointed p aving s tones a re l aid. 9 T he s tones h ave a p arallelepipidal s hape a nd a re p art ially c overed w ith a ccumulated e arth. T hey a re s imilar t o t hose l yi ng i n t he s ection o f t he r oad d iscovered s outh-east o f t he b ridge i n t he d irection o f t he T el. T he s tones h ere a re l aid i n t he s ame p att ern a s t hose o n t he b ridge. T hese t wo p hases c an a lso b e d istinguished t hrough a nalysis o f t he k inds o f g rout, s amples o f w hich w ere t aken a t d ifferent h eights a nd d epth. 10 S ources d escribing t he s ituation p receding t he T urkish r econs truction a re c ited a bove, p . 4 2 . A s tudy o f t he b ridge m ust i nevit ably s tart f rom t he s tate o f t he b ridge a fter i ts 1 9th c entury r econs truction. A nalysis o f t he s ources a nd d irect v erification o f t he e xtant r emains o f t his m onument a re n ot a lways s ufficient t o d eterm ine i ts f ormer c ondition. T herefore t he p icture t hat c an b e s ketched i s i ncomplete a nd w ill r emain h ypothetical i n m any r espects. C ertain i s t hat t he b ridge, e ven i n i ts p resent c ondition, f orms a v ery i nter esting m onument, 1 1 f or a t l east t wo r easons: a s a n a rchitonic o bject i t i s i mportant b oth f or t he h istory o f a ncient P alestine a nd f or t he s tudy o f R oman c ivil e ngineering, p articularly f or t he b uilding-techn iques e mployed. 12

T he R oman b ridge, m odel T he h ypothetical r econstruction h ere p roposed s tarts f rom t he a ssumption t hat t he b ridge w as a s kew b ridge b ut w ith h aunches p arall el t o t he r iver b anks. T his c ondition, c ertainly q uite u nusual, m ay h ave b een j ustified b y t he p resence, a t t he t ime, o f o lder i nstalla-

4 4

t ions, a nd b y t he c oncomitant - a nd p erhaps u rgent - n eed f or a s upp ort o n s olid g round. M oreover, i t m ay b e o bserved t hat " it i s r eas onable t o a ssume t hat t he l ocation o f b ridges s ituated o n s ensitive s pots w as p redetermined b y t raffic m oving c onstantly o ver p rimitive f ootbridges b uilt b y t he f irst u nknown i nhabitants o f t he r egion ." 1 3 T he i ndications C onder g ives r eflect c onditions t hat w ere q uite d iff erent f rom t oday 's, but i t i s s till p ossible t o v erify t hese d iffer ences. A t t he t ime t he b ridge c onsisted o f ab arrel v ault w ith a r homboidal b ase - i .e. i n s pace i t f ormed a r ectangle a nd t wo s emic ylindrical t riangles, n ot n ecessarily e qual t o o ne a nother. T his h ypothesis m ay b e p roved b y t he d irection o f t he R oman r oad, s ections o f w hich a re e xtant, a nd b y t he p osition o f t he h aunches o f t he v ault, w hich a re p arallel t o t he s tream . T his c onfirms t he d escription i n S WP r egarding t he r elation b etween w idth a nd h eight o f t he f ront a rch . W here G uerin m entions a f ull r ound a rch ( "plein c intre"), C onder, i n f act, g ives m easurements r eferring n ot t o as emi-circle b ut t o a s emie llipse. M oreover, i t m ust b e n oted t hat t he v ertical b ut o blique s ection o f a c ylinder p roduces n ot a c ircle b ut a n e llipse . T he a nal ysis o f t he r elation b etween t he w idth a nd t he h eight o f t he a rch o f t he a ncient f acade p roduces a s ection w hich h as t he s ame a ngle w ith r espect t o t he c urrent o f t he r iver a s t he s ection t hat i s t he r esult o f g raphic c onstruction b ased o n t he a ctual p lan o f t he b ridge. W e a ssume, t hen, t hat t he R oman b ridge h as t he s ame d irection a s t he R om an r oad. 14 T he b arrel v ault, r esting o n s upporting s houlders ( today p art ially b uried), w as f ormed b y p arallelepipedal a shlars l aid i n h oriz ontal c ourses, p arallel t o t he h aunches o f t he b ridge ( a s imple c urv ed v ault), 1 5 w ith a r ectangular g eneratrix s tarting f rom t he g eometr ic c entre o f t he v ault,(with a 4 .25 m . c hord, f ollowing t he t echnique o f a rches o f r adial a shlars t hat w as p racticed i n t he M editerranean a rea ). 16 I t i s c lear t hat t he c ourses w ere s taggered i n t he d irecti on o f t he s tream . P erhaps t he c onstructive a nd f ormal p roblems c onn ected w ith t he u se o f h eading v oussoirs w ere r esolved b y t ooling o n t he s pot e lements t hat f irst w ere u sed i n s till u nfinished s hape, b ut t hat c ould b e f inished a fterwards. 1 7 T he w eight o f t he v arious g eometrical c omponents w as s upported b y p rogressively t ransferring p ressure t o t he e arth a nd b y h eavy b utt resses. T oday o nly o ne b uttress o n t he s outh b ank i s e xtant, a lthough m utilated. T he o ther w as p robably i ncorporated i n t he r ecent w alls a nd p erhaps p artially d emolished.I 8 A s r egards t he f ront w alls, w e m ay a ssume t hat t hese w ere f aced w ith b locks o r s labs o f s tone, s et w ith g rout o r h eld b y m etal c ramps. T he i nterior w as m ade o f a c ong lomerate o f c ement p robably w ith a p artial f illing o f e arth a nd g rav el. I t h ad a m aximum k eystone w idth o f 1m .1 9 C omparison o f t his w idth, r ecorded a lso b y C onder, w ith t he r elative h eight o f t he t wo p avements, m ay s uggest t hat t he b ridge, a t t he s tage c orresponding t o t hat o f t he e arlier p avement, w as, p ossibly s lightly, c ambered. F rom t he d escriptions o f t he b ridge p revious t o t he T urkish r ec onstruction i t i s n ot c lear w hat w as i ts e xact s tate o f p reservation . H owever, w e m ust t ake i nto a ccount t he p ossibility t hat t hese d escript ions w ere i nfluenced b y f amiliarity w ith r epresentative e xamples a nd t hat t hey d erived f rom o ther m odels, a c ircumstance o ften c haracterist ic o f r eports o f

1 9th c entury t ravellers.

4 5

I t i s p robable t hat t he R oman b ridge w as i n ab ad s tate o f p res ervation a nd t hat t he T urkish r ebuilding w as n ecessary a s a c onseq uence. Y et w e s hould n ot e xclude a ltogether a nother p ossibility, n amely t hat t he T urkish a ctivity h ad a s ymbolic s ignificance. T he p reservation o f ab ridge o n t hat s pot w as j ustified b y t he e vidently f avourable l ocation a nd b y t he a dvantage, n o l ess i mportant, o f u sing e xisting f oundations a nd m aterial a vailable o n t he s pot. T hese c ons isted b oth o f r emains w hich d erived f rom p arts w hich h ad c ollapsed p reviously a nd o f t hose m ade a vailable b y t he s ystematic d estruction o f d elapidated s tructures. I t m ay b e a ssumed t hat t he w eakest p art o f t he b ridge w as t he v ault. 2° T he h aunches w ere s trong, h igher t han t he n ecessary " third o f t he w hole" a nd wider t han n ecessary a s w ell. T his w ill h ave c aused t he c ollapse o f t he c entral p art o f t he v ault w hich s urely h ad s ome c ritical p oints p recisely i n t he t wo s emi-cylind rical t riangles. T he T urkish r e-building m ay t hus b e d escribed a s a r econstruct ion o f t he b ridge w ith r e-utilisation o f e xisting s tructures, w hile , o n t he o ther h and, i ts p osition a nd g eneral c haracteristics w ere a lt ered. T he s kew b ridge w as r eplaced b y o ne a t r ight a ngles t o t he s tream , i n a ccordance w ith c hanges i n t he r oad-system i n t he a rea. 21 T he m asonry o f t he n ew b ridge w as f inished w ith a shlars, p roduced p rob ably b y c utting u p R oman b uilding-stones, a nd s et w ith a y ellowish a nd h ighly s andy g rout. 22 T he u se o f s maller-sized s tones, t he p oor s kill o f t he T urkish b uilders a nd i nspiration f rom m odels b elonging t o a t radition w hich d id n ot k now t he f ull v ault, a ll t his l ed t o t he r econstruction o f t he b ridge w ith a p ointed a rch . T his f act f urther d istorts t he g eneral a ppearance o f t he R oman b ridge. 2 3 T he p resent s tate o f p reservation o f t he b ridge i s g enerally s atisfactory, b ut s ome d etails g ive c ause f or c oncern. T he m ain p robl ems a re c aused b y t he p resent s tate o f a bandonment o f t he b ridge, n ot ably t he d amage c aused b y t he w ater w ashing a way t he w alls, i n p artic ular t he n ecks w here t he i nterior s tructure h as b een e xposed. I nfilt ration o f w ater, t ogether w ith v ibrations f rom h eavy t raffic c aused l ocal s ubsidence a nd a d anger o f c ollapse o f p arts o f t he s tructure. E specially t hreatened a re t he s kewed w all w hich a ttaches t he b ridge t o t he r ocks o n t he N orth b ank , a nd p art o f t he R oman b ase o f t he s pur o f t he b uttress o n t he S outh b ank . T he T urkish p laster s hows m any c racks a nd d eteriorates s eriously. N oteworthy t oo i s t he d amage c aused t o t he b ridge b y t he d ense v egetation. T he b ridge, a lthough t ransformed a nd t hus, t o a c ertain e xtent, d isfigured, i s s till o f i nterest a nd u ndoubtedly d eserves p rotection. I t i s n ecessary t o s afeguard t he p reservation o f t he m onument, w hile r ejecting, o f c ourse, a ny d ubious i nterpretative r econstruction, w hich w ould e ntail d ismantling a nd r estoration t o i ts a pparent o riginal s tate. O ne m ust w ork , r ather, w ithin t he l imits o f a c ritical m ethod ology w hich r espects e very p hase a nd e very h istorical s tage.

T he r elationship b etween t he b ridge o ver t he R iver H arod a nd o ther R oman c onstructions i s c lear i n g eneral, b ut a n umber o f t echn ological a nd t ypological a spects a re p roblematic. A part f rom a f ew b uildings o f p articular a rchitectonic a nd s ymb olic s ignificance w hich d emanded t he a doption o f u nusual t echniques 4 6

i t c an b e s aid t hat i n g eneral a ncient a rchitecture, e specially i n s o-called s uburban a reas, w orked w ith w ell-tested t echniques. T hese w ere e mployed d uring s everal c enturies a nd i n av ast a rea . T his f act, a lthough i ncreasing t he n umber o f c ases f or c omparison, i n f act s er iously r educes t he p ossibility o f i nterpretation. T he m ost i mmediat ly c omparable s tructures a re f ound i n I taly, 24 S pain, 2 5 N orth A fric a ,26 a nd i n t he N ear E ast. 27 F or c omparable i nstances o f s kew-bridges w e m ust m ention t he P onte P icchiato a d O rte, w hich f orms a n a ngle o f a bout 1 0° w ith t he a xis o f t he r oad, t he b ridge o f S . G iovanni d e' B utris a t M assa M art ana ( 15 °) a nd t he P onte F onnaia, a lso n ear M assa M artana ( Perugia, U mbria ), o n t he F laminian W ay, o ver t he N aia R iver. T he l atter b ridge i s t o u s o f p articular i nterest b ecause i t p resents a nalogies w ith t he B eth S hean b ridge. I t i s, i n f act, t he o nly o ne, s o f ar, w hich m ay g ive u s a n i dea o f t he o riginal s tate o f t he b ridge a t B eth S hean . T he P onte F onnaia i s 8m . h igh ( but o nly 1 .7 m . a bove i ts i mpos t ) , h as a 3 .4 m . s pan a nd o nly o ne b arrel-vault. T he a xis o f t he t unnel, 1 5 m . d eep, f orms a n a ngle o f 6 0° w ith t he r oad. L ike t he B eth S hean b ridge, t he P onte F onnaia a lso h as a s tructure w hich i s, a pparently, o ver-dimensioned i n p roportion t o t he f orce o f t he r iver. T he P onte F onnaia, s till i ntact a part f rom s mall s ections a nd f rom i ts s upers tructure, i s d escribed b y B allance a s f ollows: " ...

t he a rch,

a part f rom b eing b uilt o n t he s kew,

i s o f s traight

f orward c onstruction, w ith a g enerally s emicircular e xtrados, t hough t he b ottom v oussoirs p roject i n s ome c ases b eyond t he m ain c urv e a nd a re b onded i nto t he v ertical w all. E ach v oussoir i s p rovided w ith a p rojecting l ug a t i ts u pper e nd, w hich f its i nto a s lot o n t he n ext b elow i t. I rons c lamps d o n ot s eem t o h ave b een u sed." 28 O f p articular i nterest a re t he h eading v oussoirs i n t he v ault a nd t heir b onding i nto t he v ertical f açade w alls a ccording t o a s yst em w hich, w e m ay p resume, w as u sed a lso a t t he b ridge o ver t he R iver H arod. I nteresting a s w ell a re t he j oints b etween t he w alls o f t he t unnel a nd o f t he f açade, s et w ith a shlars w ith a cute a nd o btuse a ng les. T he v oussoirs o f t he v ault a re t hicker t han t he a shlars o f t he v ertical w alls a nd t hey h ave a n a verage l ength o f 1i n . T hey a re b uilt w ithout g rout a nd s upported b y a c onglomerate o f c ement a nd r ammed e arth.

4 7

N o 1 .

t

e

s

T he b ridge i s i ndicated o n t he t opographic m ap n o. 1 95-210, s cale 1 :10.000 ( 1965) a t - 1 41.32 m . b elow s ea l evel. A ncient m aps d o n ot r efer t o t his b ridge a t a ll, e ven w here t he c ity o f B eth S hea n i s i ndicated. T he b ridge i s m entioned b y M . A vi-Yonah, T he M ap o f R oman P alestine ( 1940). S ee b elow F igs. 7 ,8 a nd P l. V f f.

2 .

T he b ridge w as s tudied d uring a s urvey i n F ebruary, 1 978. T he w ork w as c arried o ut w ith t he p articipation o f f on t G raizer, a t t he t ime a s tudent a t t he I stituto d i S toria d ell' A rchitettura e R estauro d ei M onumenti d ell' U niversita d i F irenze. O n b ehalf o f P rof. C . P ietramellara ( cattedra " C" d i R estauro ) D orit G raiz er s tudied t he p roblems r egarding t he s tate o f p reservation o f t he b ridge.

3 .

S ome o f t he b locks a re r egular a nd w ell-finished, but o ften t hey a re v ery a symmetric a nd r oughly c arved. T he m easurements o f t he a shlars v ary, b ut t hey a verage 2 5 c m . h ., 2 5 c m . w . a nd 2 0-30 c m . 1 .

4 .

O n t he o pposite s ide o ne o f t he s tones o f t he p arapet b ears a n i ncised s ymbol, p erhaps h eraldic. I ts s ignificance i s n ot c lear t o m e. S ee P late I X c a nd d .

5 .

T he h igher ( later ) p avement l ies a t a n a verage h eight o f 6m . a bove w ater-level.

6 .

T he a verage m easurements: 5 0-60 x 6 0-100 x 3 0-40 c m . T he r emaini ng a shlars a re m ore r egular i n s hape i n t he u pper c ourses, i .e. t he c ourses w hich r equired g reater e ffort f rom t he masons. I n t hese c ourses t he j oints a re m ade w ith g reater a ccuracy .

7 .

T he R oman r oad i s d iscussed e lsewhere i n t his v olume.

8 .

T he a verage m easurements a re:

2 0-25 x 1 5-20 x 8 -10 c m .

9 .

T he a verage m easurements a re:

4 0 x 6 0-100 x 2 0-4 c m .

1 0.

T he a nalysis w as c arried o ut b y P rof.

S ergio V annucci

o f

t he

C entro p er l a M ineralogia e l a G eochimica d ei S edimenti, p resso l 'Istituto d i M ineralogia d ell' U niversita d i F irenze. F or t he a nalysis, s ee t he a ppendix t o t his c hapter. 1 1.

T he r ecent b uilding o f ap arallel r oad a nd b ridge p ut a s top t o t he u se o f t he R oman b ridge. U ndoubtedly t his i s o f g reat a dvant age t o t raffic, b ut i t a lso e nhances t he d anger o f neglect, s ince t he b ridge w ill n o l onger b e m aintained a s i t w as w hen s till b eing u sed.

4 8

1 2.

Ancient t echnical s tudies d o n ot d iscuss b ridges i n p articular, a lthough m any b ridges a re n oteworthy i nstances o f a ncient a rchit ecture. U sually b ridges a re t reated t ogether w ith o ther r elat ed s tructures, s uch a s v aults, a rches, a queducts a nd m asonry i n g eneral . W e s hould m ention f irst o f a ll V itruvius a nd F rontinus, D e A quis u rbis R omae. S econdly t here e xist s tudies a t l east f rom t he 1 6th c entury o nwards. Y et o nly f rom t he e nd o f t he l ast c ent ury w as t he m aterial r elating t o a ncient b ridges t reates m ethod ically i n m ore s ystematic s tudies. S ome o f t hese a re p art o f m ore g eneral r esearch . C f.: A . C hoisy ( 1873, 1 929); A . L eger ( 1875); C . M erkel ( 1899); G . I . R ivoira ( 1921 ); T . A shby ( 1935); M . E . B lake ( 1947); G . L ugli ( 1952, 1 957); L . C rema ( 1959); m ost r ecently: P . G azzola ( 1963) a nd B . W ard-Perkins ( 1970). T hese a re c omprehensive s tudies. A s r egards s pecific g eographic a reas a v ery r ich l iterature e xists. F or t he b ridges e xtant i n I srael, w e m ay r efer t o t he w ork o f P . G azzola, P onti r omani, c ontributo a d u n i ndice s istematico c on u no s tudio c ritico b ibliographico ( 1963), w ith e x te nsive b ibliography. P rof. G azzola e xamined t he J isr-Jindas, a b ridge a t L ydda, c onstructed i n t he M iddle A ges f rom R oman m asonry; t he b ridge o f E l-Majami o ver t he J ordan R iver. H e a lso m entions t he b ridge o ver W adi E s-Suweida, t he j isr E sS oda, t he B eth J erak, t he J isr E l-Allan a nd t he W adi E s-Sig b ridg es.

1 3.

P .

1 4.

T he g raphic r econstruction w as b ased o n t he o bservation o f t he R oman r emains w ithout a ny p ossibility o f c hecking t he e xistence a nd n ature o f s tructures w hich m ight h ave b een i ncorporated i n t he T urkish b uilding. T he i dentification o f o ther R oman r emains i s o ften d ifficult b ecause t hey a re b uried u nder a l ayer o f e arth a nd d ebris. F or a p ossible g raphic d efinition o f t he a nc ient b ridge o ne e lement i s p erhaps o f p articular i nterest: t his c an b e o bserved o n t he p lan i n t he f orm o f a s light v ariation o f t he a lignment. I t i s e ven m ore e vident i n t he s ection w here t he f inishing o f t he m asonry c learly s hows a d ifference a t a l ine w hich m ay i ndicate t he w estern e dge o f t he R oman s tructure. H ere t he T urkish m asonry p erhaps w as i nserted, e nlarging t he s upport o n t he g round f or t he t ransformation o f t he o riginal s kew-bridge t o o ne a t r ight a ngles t o t he s tream . T he a ddition i s 2 .55 m . ( see p lan, f ig . 7 ).

1 5.

R . G oodchild n otes t hat w e f ind o nly r arely s kewed a rches, b ut e ven t hose a re b uilt w ith h orizontal c ourses ( in : " Strade e C omm unicazioni n ella t erraferma, c on u n p aragrafo s ui p onti, s ulle d arsene e s ui f an " S taria d ella t ecnologia ( Torino, 1 962),518). T he p eculiarity o f t he B eth S hean b ridge a nd i ts g eometry i s

G azzola, o p.

c it., p .

1 5.

c lear a lso f rom t he s mall m odel, m eant,of c ourse, o nly t o g ive a g eneral i mpression ( Pl.IX . b ). I n f act t his s ystem c ould b e r ei ntroduced i n c urrent b uilding-practice. A n a nalysis o f s uch c ons tructive p eculiarities i s g iven b y A . C hoisy, L 'art d e b ätir c hez l es R omains ( 1873 ), 1 37 w here t he ' voüte b iaise' i s d efined a s tu ne v oüte d roite c oup6e o bliquement p ar d es p lans r ayonnants l 'axe d u b 6rceau, e t l es j oints p ar c es p lans p erpendiculaires ä c e e eme a xe .." T he c onstruction o f s uch s tructures i s c omplic ated b y t he d anger o f s liding o f t he t ympanum, s upported a s i t i s b y a s kewed e xtrados. C hoisy c ites t he e xample o f t he s o-ca lbe . 4 9

g ate o f A ugustus a t P erugia ( 120-80 B .C.). O f i nterest i s t he s ketch o f t his g ate ( Pl. X X), w hich s hows t he d isposition o f t he v oussoirs o f t he v ault, l aid s taggered i n h orizontal c ourses, e ven t hough t he p lan i s s kewed. I n t he c ase o f t he b ridge n ear B eth S hean t here w ill h ave b een n o d anger o f s liding b ecause t he w idth o f t he s tructure a t k eystone-height w as l imited. 1 6.

T o t he R omans i s g enerally a ttributed t he m erit o f having d evel oped t o i ts f ullest e xtent t he a rchitecture o f t he a rch a nd o f t he v ault i n g eneral. H owever, t hey a re n ot n ow t hought t o h ave i nvented t he a rch, b ut t o h ave a dopted i t f rom t he E truscans. W e m ust a ccept t he h ypothesis w hich h olds t hat t he a rch w as c reated s pontaneously a nd i ndependently i n v arious p arts o f t he a ncient w orld. T he R omans a dopted t he a rch a nd t he v ault a nd m ade t hem t he b asic a nd c haracteristic e lements o f t heir a rchitecture. M any w orks a re e xtant a nd o ffer, t herefore, a w ide r ange o f t ypes, b ut, o n t he o ther h and, t he d ate o f m any o f t hese i s u ncertain. N o f irm c hronology c an t herefore b e e stablished f or t he w hole s eries. C f.: G . L ugli ' considerazioni s u n' o rigine d ell' a rco ac onci r adia n', P alladio 2 ( 1952 ), 9 -31 . L ugli h as c ompiled a c atalogue, f ollowing t he e arlier l ists o f R . D elbruck, H ellenische B auten i n L atium I I ( 1912) a nd G . S aflund, L e m ura d i R oma r eppubl icana ( 1932). A rches a re a ttested i n t he M editerranean r egion i n t he f ifth a nd f ourth c entury B C, a nd e arlier s till, i n A ssyria a nd E gypt, ( for t hose c f.: P errot a nd C hipiez, H istoire d e l 'art d ans l 'antiquit4 ( 1882-1903). T he m ore i nteresting e xamples b el ong t o t he p eriod f rom t he f ourth t ill t he f irst c entury B C . B ridges h ave b een c lassified a ccording t o v arious c riteria : s tructure a nd m aterial ( e.g . E .B. V an D eman, ' Methods o f D eterm ining t he D ate o f R oman C oncrete M onuments', A JA 1 6 ( 1912 ); s tyle ( e.g . G . G iovannoni, L a t ecnica e dilizia p resso i R omani ( 1969)); b oth s tyle a n t echnical f actors c ombined ( e.g. M .H. B allance, ' The R oman B ridges o f t he V ia F lamina ', P BSR 1 9/6 ( 1951)). T he l ists i n t hese w orks, a re i nteresting b ut b y n o m eans e xhaustive. T he w ork o f P . G azzola ( op. c it., s upra n .12) d oes n ot p retend t o b e e xhaustive e ither, b ut t his r emains a b asic c ontribution w ith i ts f ull d iscussion o f o ver 3 00 b ridges.

1 7.

F or R oman b uilding t echniques s ee G . L ugli, L a t ecnica e dilizia r omana ( 1957). O f i nterest a re a lso: M . F rezier, L a t hgorie e t l a p ratique d e l a c oupe d es p ierres e t d es b ois p our l a c onstruct ion d es v oütes o u t rait6 d e s tdrgotomie a l 'usage d e l 'archit ecture ( Strassburg - P aris, 1 738), e specially B ook I V, p p. 1 21 f f . and P l. 3 6; a nd G . R ondelet, T rattato d elle c ostruzioni i n p ietra d i t aglia e d ella S tereotomia ( Mantova , 1 840), e specially t he c hapter o n a rches, g ates a nd v aults, w ith P lates X XXIV , X XXVII a nd X XXVIII. T hese s tudies a re r elatively r ecent, b ut s till i n m any r espects d erive f rom t he R oman b uilding-tradition.

1 8.

A t p resent n othing i s k nown a bout t he f oundations a nd t he s ystem o f s upport o n t he g round. T he j unction b etween t he a rtificial s tructure o f t he b ridge a nd i ts n atural s upport w as p erhaps e ff ected w ith t he u sual s ystem o f s teps, c ut i n t he r ock a nd f illed w ith c oncrete. T hese m ay p ossibly b e o bserved i n t he buttress, p art o f w hich i s v isible o n t he s outh-east s ide u nder t he b ase o f t he R oman r oad.

5 0

1 9.

A r ough c alculation o f t he l oad o f t he b ridge, b ased o n e xisting r emains, p roves t hat i t d id n ot e xceed 3 -4 k g/cmq a t m ost, w hen t he b ridge w as i ntact. S uch a l oad c an e asily b e s upported b y g round w ith a n a verage r esistance s uch a s t hat o n w hich t he b ridge s tands.

2 0. I t i s a lmost a lways t he c entral p art o f t he v ault a nd n ot t he s truct ural e lements w hich c ollapse, b ecause t he l ack o f v ertical p iers m akes i t i mpossible f or t he s upport t o t opple o ver o utwards a s a r esult o f t he p ressure o f t he v ault. H owever, w e m ust a lso n ote t he t hesis o f M . B erucci, w ho s tates t hat t he h eight o f aR oman v ault i s a lways l ess t han t he n et a perture w ould a llow . H e s ugg ests t hat t he r elationship b etween h eight a nd w idth o f a s truct ure c overed b y av ault i s t he r esult o f a n " esthetic p ostulate b ased o n p rojection" C f. M . B erucci, R agioni S tatiche a d e stet iche d elle p roporzioni d egli a mbienti c operti a v olta ' B olletino d el C entro S tudi d i S toria d ell' A rchitettura ( 1958). 2 1.

T he R oman r oad c ertainly w as n ot u sed a t t he t ime w hen t he b ridge w as r e-constructed. I t w as p erhaps u sed o nly a s a s ource o f b uilding m aterial, w hile t raffic a lready f ollowed t he a lignment o f t he m odern r oad. T hus w e m ay u nderstand t he i ndication o n t he P lan o f S cythopolis i n t he S WP a s a t opographical r econstruction w hich i s t o b e t aken a s a s ymbolic r epresentation.

2 2.

I t i s p robable t hat t he s ame s tones w ere u sed i n r e-worked c ond ition f or t he c onstruction o f t he h ydraulic i nstallation, a m ill, w hich w as b uilt i n t he s ame p eriod, s ome 1 00 m . d ownstream o n t he n orth b ank o f t he r iver.

2 3.

W e c ould n ot u ndertake a n i nvestigation o f c ontemporary d ocum ents r elating t o t he r econstruction o f t he b ridge. S uch r esearch i n t he T urkish a rchives w ould b e i mportant, f or i t m ight a llow o f a r eal h istory t o b e w ritten o f t he b ridge, b ased o n v erified f acts i nstead o f h ypothetical m odels. I t w ould a lso b e h ighly i nteresting t o s tudy t he r emains o n t he s pot m ore i ntensively . T he s tructures - e specially t hose w hich a re n ow h idden - s hould b e i nvestigated b y a rchaeological e xcavation, w hich w ould b e e asy t o d o n ow, s ince t he b ridge n o l onger s erves a ny t raffic.

2 4.

F or i nstance t he b ridge o f T orre P astore a t C ivitacastellana ( 325 m . s pan, w ith t uff a shlars l aid i n ap attern o f h eaders a nd s tretchers w ith b evelled s ides); t he P onte R itorto, a lso a t C ivit a, 6 m . s pan; t hose a t S anta M artinella ( Rome ) o n t he V ia A urel ia; t he P onte P icchiato a t O rte ( 14.50 m . s pan ); t he P onte d el D iavolo a t B ieda ( with t hree f ull a rches, b uilt w ith i rregular a shlars); t he P onte N ascoso a t C ivitatomassa; t he b ridge a t P ior aco; t hose o f G ualdo T adino a nd o f L oano.

2 5.

W e s hould m ention, a .o., t he b ridges a t S evilla ( extant, w ith t wo f ull a rches), a t P ebla, w ith t hree a rches; t he r uins, o f t he b ridge o ver t he R iver A mbroz a t C äceres w hich i n a ntiquity w as 9 .30 m . s pan, b ut n ow r emain o nly o ne o f t he s houlders a nd t he i mpost o f t he v ault.

2 6.

S mall b ridges i n t he S iliana V alley i n T unisia ;the a queduct b ridg e a t K hamisah, w ith a f acing o f a shlars a nd a c oncrete f illing;

5 1

t he b ridge o f G astal a t T ebessa, b oth i n A lgeria; t he b ridge o ver W adi Z ivana i n L ybia, a n o lder b ridge, r econstructed i n t he r eign o f J ustinian. I t i s a t estimony o f t he p ersistance o f c ertain b uilding-types a nd c onstruction-practice i n R oman t imes. 2 7.

T he b ridge o f M aameltein o f t he t hird-fourth c entury ( 12 i n . s pan ); t he b ridge o ver t he N ahr A bul-El-Assuad i n L ebanon; t he b ridge o ver t he B olan-Su a t K iatha i n S yria, a n o lder b ridge r econstruct ed i n t he s econd c entury.

2 8.

B allance, o p. c it. ( supra, n . 1 6), 1 02 a nd P l. 1 7. S ee a lso: E . M artinori, L a V ia F laminia ( 1929), 1 60-2; G . L ugli, o p. c it. ( supra, n o . 1 7), 3 40 f .; 3 56; M . E . B lake, A ncient R oman C onst ruction i n I taly f rom t he P rehistoric P eriod t o A ugustus ( 1947) I , 2 13; G azzola, o p. c it. ( supra , n . 1 2), 5 9-60.

5 2

AP P E N D I X b y

S .

V annucci

O n 4 s amples o f g rout ( identified b y t he s ymbols a dopted i n t he li tem x ") m ineralogical-petrographic s tudies h ave b een c arried o ut i n o rder t o e stablish t heir c omposition, t he r aw m aterials u tilized a nd p ossibl e d ifferences t hat m ay b e c onnected w ith t he v arious b uilding p hases. T he m acroscopic f eatures o f t hese 4 g routs a re t he f ollowing : S ample A - T he c ob i s c oarse a nd a s mall q uantity o f p ure b inder, u nm ixed w ith a ggregate i s p resent. T he s ize o f t he l atter v aries f rom r ough s and t o f ine g ravel. W e n otice a g reat n umber o f c arbonized v egetable f ragments. T he c onsistency, a nd i n p articular t he t ensile s trenght, a re m oderate; t here a re c lear s igns o f d issolut ion a nd r eprecipitation o f t he b inder. S amples B a nd C - T he t wo a re e ssentially i dentical. T heir m ixture i s c oarse, t hough m uch m ore h omogeneous t han t hat o f s ample A a nd t here i s n o c oncentration o f p ure b inder. T he a ggregate i s c omposed o f e lements o f a l arger a verage s ize ( up t o 1 c m .) a nd t he r ougher e lements a re w ell r ounded. C arbonized v egetable f ragments a re v ery r are. T he c onsistency i s f airly g ood, t hough s igns o f d issolut ion a nd r eprecipitation a re m ore f requent t han i n s ample A . I n p art icular, i n t he w hole m ass o f t he s amples, w e n otice s ome d eposits, s mooth o r " curly", o f a c lear a nd c olourless m aterial. T he o nly d iff erence b etween t he t wo s amples i s t his: i n g rout B t he a ggregate i s p artly c omposed o f " cocciopesto", i n w hich a f ragment ( of a bout 1 c m .) o f p resumably a chromatic b aked c lay w as f ound. S ample D - I t p resents c haracteristics a nalogous t o s ample A .

V ege-

t able r emains, n ot a ll w holly c arbonized, a re e ven m ore a bundant. P henomena o f d issolution a re l ess r emarkable a nd i ts c ons istency i s r eally g ood. O n t he f ollowing t able w e r eport t he m ineralogical, q ualitative a nd s emiquantitative, c omposition, d efined b y X -ray d iffractometry o n r ep resentative q uantities o f t he 4 g routs. M ineralogical c omposition S ample

Q

P

C

H

a

4

2 2

6 0

-

1 4

b

t r

-

8 0

c

t r

-

8 0

7

1 3

1 8

5 5

6

1 9

d

2

1 0

F

1 0

Q = q uartz; P= p lagioclasio; C= c alcite; H =h alite ( NaC1); F = p hillosilicates, a rgillaceous a nd a ccessory o res ( calculated a s d ifference t o 1 00). 5 3

A s w e m ay n otice, t he g routs, h ere c onsidered, i nclude a q uartzy-felds pathic a ggregate i n a q uantity a bout e quivalent t o t hat i ncluded i n b inder

( lime).

A s

f or s amples B a nd C a k ind o f a ggregate, d eri-

v ing f rom c alcareous r ocks, h as b een u tilized a nd t herefore i t i s h arder t o e stimate t he r elation b etween a ggregate a nd binder o n t he b asis o f t he m acroscopic i nvestigation .A s maller q uantity o f l ime, a s c ompared w ith t he p receding s amples, s eem t o h ave b een u sed a nd t his q uantity m ay b e c alculated a s a bout 4 0%. T he u se o f t wo a ggregates w ith a d ifferent c omposition a nd o rigin m ust b e c onnected w ith t wo b uilding s tage,

d ecidedly a t d ifferent t imes.

A n i nteresting d atum i s r epresented b y t he p resence o f s odium c hloride i n s amples B , C a nd D , e ven i n r emarkable q uantities, which a ppears u niformly d istributed i n t he m ass o f g rout.

I t i s i mpossible t o g ive

a r eliable e xplanation o f t his p henomenon w ithout a ny i nformation o f g eolithological k ind a bout t he a rea i n w hich t he b ridge l ies a nd a bout t he p lace o f o rigin o f t he e mployed a ggregates. H owever, i t w ould b e o f g reat i nterest t o b e a ble t o c heck w hether t he p resence o f s odium c hloride i s p rimary ( "contamination" o f a ggregate ) o r r ather s econdary

( present i n t he s oil u nder t he f oundation )."

5 4

I II In v e n t o r y

of

mi l e s t o n e s

T he m ilestones a re l isted a ccording t o t heir f ind-spot i n g eograp hical o rder f rom S cythopolis t o L egio-Caparcotna. F or e ach m ilestone a n e ight-figure N ational G rid r eference n umber ( GR ) i s g iven, w hen f easible. W hen m ilestones w ere n ot f ound i n s itu, b oth t he f ind-spot a nd t he p resumed o riginal l ocation a re g iven . P art o f t he m ilestones w ere p ublished b efore b y M . A vi-Yonah ( supra, n . 7 ) a nd N . Z ori, I . T he i nscriptions a re l isted s eparately i n c hronological o rder. A ll m ilestones a re o f l imestone. T he m ajority a re o f w uggy c retacious m aterial, a f ew a re o f a rgillacious c retacious l imestone ( e.g. n os. X VIII I ; X VI 1 ; I I 2 ; I II 2 ). S ome a re e ocene , c ontaining n ummulites a nd f ragments o f c hert ( e.g . n os. I II 1 a nd V II 3 ). O utcrops o f a ll t hree a re f ound a ll a long t he r oad a nd p etrographic a nalysis o bviously c annot h elp t o d etermine t he q uarries o f t he s tone. W e m ay a ssume t hat t he n earest o utcrops w ere q uarried f or t he m ilestones. T he s ame i s t rue f or o ther r oads i n t he a rea, s uch a s t he L egio - D iocaesarea r oad a nd t he o ther r oads a round B eth S hean. F or t hese o bservations w e a re g rateful t o M r. S . C ohen. A nalysis o f t he s hape o f t he s tones h as n ot l ed t o p ositive c onclusions e ither. A ll m ilestones a ppear t o h ave b een m ade o ut o f o ne p iece, a s quare b ase s urmounted b y ap illar. T he P ill ar m ay h ave m ouldings a t t he t op o r a t t he b ase o r b oth, b ut t hat i s t rue f or a ll p eriods. N o d istinctive w orkmanship c ould b e r ecogn ized f or a ny o ne p eriod ( an e xception i n t his r espect i s t he c arefull y m ade s eries o f A D 1 20 o n t he L egio - D iocaesarea r oad, c f.: I saac a nd R oll, L atomus 3 8 ( 1979), 5 6 n . 1 4). M ile

I

F ound a bout 5 0 m . e ast o f T el T umis, G R . 1 955.2132. I n s itu o r v ery c lose t o i t . T wo m ilestones. Z ori ( p. 1 90) m entions " a n umber o f m ilestones" b ut w e s aw o nly I 2 , w hich r emained o n t he s pot. I n t he n ineteen-forties I 1 w as t ransferred t o t he R ockefeller M useum ( Inv. N o. R . 9 34), w here w e e xamined i t b y c ourtesy o f t he I srael D ep artment o f A ntiquities a nd M useums. P ublished b y A vi-Yonah , p . 1 00, n o. 2 5 a nd Z ori, p . 1 90, n o. 1 46 ( 242 ). I 1 s een M arch a nd O ctober 1 975.

I 2 i n D ecember 1 971.

I 1 . M oulding a t t op a nd b ottom o f p illar . B ase - h . 0 .54; 1 . 0 .61; w . 0 .70. P illar - h . 1 .51, u pper d iam . 0 .50; l ower 0 .65. M ouldi ngs: u pper d iam . 0 .55; l ower 0 .70. C ompletely p reserved a nd i n g ood c ondition. P rimary c arved i nscription c overed w ith p laster, b earing a s econd i nscription. S ee I nscr . n os. 1 0 a nd 2 1. I 2 . B ase - h . 0 .68; 1 . 0 .50; w . 0 .63. P illar - h . 1 .12; d iam . u pper 0 .42; l ower 0 .45. W ell p reserved. N o t races o f i nscription.

5 5

M ile I I F ound a bout 1 k m . S W o f S ede N ahum , G R . 1 943.2139. N ear t he o rig inal l ocation. 3m ilestones. Z ori, p . 1 94, m entions 5 , b ut w e f ound 3 , o ne o f w hich w as b roken i nto t wo p ieces ( II 1 ). N ow i n B et S turman M useum , E n H arod, I nv . n os. X II/9/293 = I I 1 ; X II/20/304 = I I 2 ; X II/ 2 3/307 = I I 3 . P ublished b y Z ori, 1 94, n o. 1 65 ( 305). S een D ecember 1 971 a nd A pril 1 972. I I 1 . D amaged a nd w orn . B roken i nto t wo p ieces w hich f it t ogether. B ase - h . 0 .40; 1 . 0 .42; w . 0 .46. P illar - h . 1 .40; u pper d iam . 0 .41; l ower 0 .49. I nscr. n o. 1 8. I I 2 . B ack s moothed a nd h ole d rilled i n t he m iddle f or s econdary u se . B ase - h . 0 .53; 1 . 0 .48; w . 0 .35. P illar - h . 1 .60; u pper d iam . 0 .40; l ower 0 .45. T races o f i llegible r ed - p ainted i nscription o n r emains o f a t hin l ayer o f p laster. I I 3 . W orn; t op o f p illar b roken . B ase - h . 0 .35; 1 . 0 .53; w . 0 .46. P illar - h . 1 .30; u pper d iam . 0 .43; l ower 0 .45. T races o f i lleg ible i nscription i n r ed p aint o n at hin l ayer o f p laster. M ile I I A ? T he O fficial G azette ( Reshumot, Y alqut H apirsumim ), N o. 1 091 ( 1964), p . 1 411, m ap 6 3 n otes u nder t he h eading ' Sede Nahum ', a t G R 1 959.2141: " SE o f t he Q ibbutz, R oman m ilestones". W e h ave n o o ther s ource o f i nformation r egarding t hese s tones . N either M r. N . Z ori n or M r. P orat o f t he D epartment o f A ntiquities h ave s een t hem . T he e vid ence, t herefore, m ay b e u nreliable. I f t here w as a m ilestation a t t his s pot t his w ould b e o f i nterest f or t he h istory o f t he r oad . T his i s t he s ite w here o ne w ould s earch f or t he s econd m ilestation i f t he r oad e ver f ollowed a n a lternative a lignment, r oughly c orresponding t o t he m odern B ritish r oad. T his w ould b e t he c ourse o ne w ould h ave e xp ected t he r oad t o f ollow i n t he f irst p lace, b ut s o f ar t he e vidence i s n ot e nough t o c onclude t hat t here w as i ndeed a p arallel r oad. M ile I II 2m ilestones. I II I f ound a t S hatta ( cf. M ile V II, b elow, p . 5 8 ) i n s econdary u se a s b uilding m aterial. I II 2 f ound b y P inchas P orat o f t he D epartment o f A ntiquities n ear t he f ish-ponds o f Q ibbutz S ede N ah um ( probably i n s itu ). N o m ilestones w ere s een a t t he p resumed o rigin al l ocation ( GR 1 930.2144 ). N ow i n B et S turman M useum , E in H arod, I nv . n os. X II/1/285 = I II I ; X II/64/5501 = I II 2 . I II 1 s een D ecember 1 971;

J une 1 973 a nd M ay 1 974;

I II 2 s een D ecember 1 977.

I II 1 . B ase a nd l ower p art o f p illar m issing ; m oulding d amaged; p illar i n g ood c ondition. P illar - h . 1 .02; u pper d iam . 0 .43; l ower 0 .47; m oulding - d iam . 0 .55. I nscription n o. 7 p ublished b y A vi-Yonah, n o.

2 0, p .

9 9.

I II 2 . P art o f ap illar, f erence - 1 .69.

t op a nd b ase b oth m issing . H .

I nscription n o.

5 6

2 .

0 .66;

c ircum-

M ile I V F ound 2 km . n orth-west o f S ede N ahum , G R 1 938.2157, i n s itu o r n earby. 3 m ilestones. N ow i n B et S turman M useum, I nv . n os. X II/22/ 3 06 = I V 1 ; X II/19/303 = I V 2 ; X II/8/292 = I V 3 . S een D ecember 1 971; J une 1 973 a nd M ay 1 974. I V 1 .

O nly a f ragment o f t he p illar h as b een p reserved. d iam . 0 .51. I nscription n o. 2 2.

I V 2 .

B ase a nd l ower p art o f c olumn m issing ;

w ell p reserved. t ion n o. 1 9.

h .

0 .85;

u pper d iam .

h .

0 .30;

u pper p art o f p illar

0 .41;

l ower 0 .45.

I nscrip-

I V 3 .

U pper p art o f p illar m issing; r emainder b adly w orn. B ase - h . 0 .47; 1 . 0 .56; w . 0 .45; p illar - h . 0 .98; d iam . 0 .48. I nscript ion n o. 1 1. M ile V

F ound 1 k m . s outh-east o f B et H ashitta , G R . 1 924.2163 i n s itu o r n earby. 1 1 p ieces o f m ilestones. F ound i n s itu w ere V 3 a nd 4 . V 5 1 1 a ll w ere r emoved b y f armers a nd f ound a bout 3 00 m . d ownhill t o t he s outh, n ear t he m odern B et S hean-Afula r oad. V 1 a nd 2 s how t heir o riginal l ocations i n t he i nscriptions a nd w ere f ound r eused a s b uildi ng m aterial i n S hatta ( cf. M ile V II).

V 1 a nd 2 a re l ost;

V 3 a nd 4

a re a t B et-Hashitta; V 5 -11 r emained o n t he s pot. V 1 a nd 2 w ere p ubl ished b y A vi-Yonah, p p. 9 8-9, n os. 1 7 a nd 2 1. N os. V 3 -11 w ere s een i n A pril 1 972. T he s queezes o f V 1 a nd 2 w ere s tudied b y c ourtesy o f t he I srael D epartment o f A ntiquities. ✓ 1 .

A vi-Yonah, l oc. c it.: " Limestone f ragment, s lightly m oulded o n t op. L ength 1 .01 m .; d iam . t op 0 .45." I nscription n o. 3 .

✓ 2 .

A vi-Yonah, l oc. c it.: " Limestone f ragment, l ength 1 .62 m ., d iam . u pper 0 .43, l ower 0 .52. M oulding 5 c m . h igh." I nscription n o. 8 .

✓ 3 .

T wo s ides c hiselled d own i n s econdary u se. B ase - h . 0 .63; 1 . 0 .69; w . 0 .62. P illar - h . 1 .50; u pper d iam . 0 .50; l ower 0 .64.

No t races o f i nscription. ✓ 4 .

T wo s ides c hiselled d own i n s econdary u se. B ase- h . 0 .32; 1 . 0 .52; w . 0 .30. P illar - h . 1 .51; l ower d iam . 0 .51. N o t races o f i nscrip-

t ion. ✓ 5 .

O nly p art o f b ase a nd p illar p reserved. B ase - h . h .

✓ 6 .

0 .40;

✓ 1 0.

P illar -

O nly a s mall f ragment o f b ase a nd p illar p reserved.

✓ 7 a nd 8 .

✓ 9 .

0 .34.

0 .23. N o t races o f i nscription.

P art o f p illar, b roken i nto t wo p ieces. h . u pper 0 .35.

P art o f p illar.

h .

T races o f

1 .05;

l ower d iam .

i nscription.

0 .48. N o t races o f i nscription.

P art o f b ase a nd p illar.

B ase - h .

t races o f i nscription. 5 7

0 .40.

P illar - h .

0 .13. N o

V 1 1.

F ragment o f p illar, h . 0 .48. N o t races o f i nscription . M ile V I N o m ilestones h ave b een f ound. M ile V II

F ound r eused i n t he a bandoned v illage o f S hatta, G R . 1 903.2176. T otal o f 2 6 m ilestones, 7 o f w hich b ear a n i nscription . T aken f rom s everal s pots o n t he S cythopolis-Caparcotna r oad. T he o riginal s pot o f 3o f t hem ( III 1 , V 1 , V 2 ) i s g iven b y t he i nscriptions. O riginal s pot o f t he r emainder u nknown. S ome m ust h ave b een t aken o f M ile V II, a bout 6 00 m . s outh-west o f S hatta. A ll m ilestones f ound a t S hatta a re t reated a s o ne g roup. T he f ind-spot o f V II 2 4 i s n ot q uite c ertain . T he i nscription s hows t hat i t m arked t he s eventh m ile, p robably o n t he S cythopolis - L egio r oad. I II 1 , V II 2 a nd V II 3 a re n ow i n t he B et S turman M useum , E in H arod, I nv. n os. X II/1/285; X II/11/295 a nd X II/12/296. V II 5 -9 a re i n t he s ettlement o f B eth H ashitta . V 1 -2; V II 1 , 4a nd 1 0-23 a re l ost. V II 2 4 s tands n ear t he h ouse o f M r. N . Z ori , Q ibbutz E n Harod. T he m ilestones w ere f irst r eported b y N . M akhouly, i nspector o f a ntiquities i n J anuary 1 928 a nd a gain i n 1 943, w hen h e made s queezes o f t he 7 i nscriptions. S ee h is r eports N os. N . 3 71, J an . 1 928; N . 3 427 o f 5 -3-1943; A TQ/780 o f 6 -3-1943 a nd 2 3-9-43, p resently i n t he f ile o n S hatta a t t he D epartment o f A ntiquities, R ockefeller M useum , I srael. T he i nscribed s tones w ere e xamined a gain b y M . A vi-Yonah, a ssisted b y N . Z ori a nd p ublished i n 1 946 ( Avi-Yonah, p p. 9 8-9, n os. 1 7-23). V II 2 , 3a nd 5 -9 w ere s een i n D ecember 1 971. T he s queezes o f t he l ost m ilestones V 1 ,2; V II 1 a nd 4 w ere e xamined i n 1 975 a t t he R ockefeller M useum , J erusalem, b y c ourtesy o f t he I srael D epartment o f A ntiquities a nd M useums. V II 1 . M . A vi-Yonah, 9 8, n o. 1 8: " Limestone f ragment, 0 .88 m . i n l ength, d iam . t op 0 .50, b ottom 0 .52, m oulding 0 .05 h igh ." I ns cription n o. 4 . V II 2 . O nly t he m id-section o f t he p illar p reserved. h . 0 .65; 0 .53. I nscription n o. 5 .

d iam .

V II 3 . U pper p art o f p illar w ith m oulding . P illar - h . 0 .75; u pper d iam . 0 .45; l ower d iam . 0 .46; m oulding d iam .: 0 .48. I nscript ion n o. 9 . A vi-Yonah, n o. 2 2, p . 9 9. l ong, l ower

V II 4 .

A vi-Yonah, 9 9, n o. 2 3: " Limestone f ragment 1 .16 m . d iam . 0 .47, u pper d iam . 0 .50." I nscription n o. 1 4.

V II 5 .

0. P illarC omplete. V ery w orn. B ase - h . 0 .35; 1 . 0 .65; w . 0 .5 nscription . h . 1 .18; u pper d iam . 0 .55; l ower 0 .60. N o t races o f i

V II 6 . B ase m issing . P illar v ery w orn. h . o f i nscription.

1 .15; d iam .

o t races 0 .47 . N

2. P illar V II 7 . C omplete. V ery w orn. B ase - h . 0 .65; 1 . 0 .64; x i . 0 .6 o f i n s cr iptkn . -h . 1 .60; u pper d iam . 0 .50; l ower 0 .58. N o t races

5 8

V II 8 .

C omplete. V ery w orn. B ase - h . 0 .34; 1 . 0 .55; w . 0 .55. P illar - d iam . l ower 0 .52. N o t races o f i nscription .

V II 9 .

C omplete. V ery W orn. E lliptic b ase. B ase - d iam . 0 .57 a nd 0 .49. P illar - l ower d iam . 0 .50. N o t races o f i nscription.

V II 1 0-23. L ost. V II 2 4. B ase m issing . P illar d amaged a nd b roken i nto t wo p ieces. h . 1 .57; d iam . u pper 0 .42; l ower 0 .57. I nscription n o. 1 2. M ile V III

1 971,

N . Z ori, i n h is b rochure T el Y oseph i n a ntiquity ( Tel-Yoseph, H ebrew ), n o. 1 65, n otes t hat i n t he n ineteen-thirties s everal

b ases o f m ilestones w ere s een o n t he s outh s lope o f T el-Qumi n ear t he m odern B et S hean-Afula r oad, G R . 1 885.2172. T he g ibutzim ' Ein H arod I hud a nd M euhad a nd T el Y oseph a re n ow l ocated o n t he w est a nd s outh s lopes o f T el Q umi . T he d istance f rom t his p oint t o t he n ext g roup o f m ilestones i s a bout 1 700 m . T he m ilestones m entioned b y Z ori m ust h ave b een p ushed d ownhill i n as outheasterly d irection b y f armers. I n A pril 1 972 n o m ilestones w ere s een o n t his s pot. S ee a lso Z ori, I I, n o. 1 09, p . 7 6 a nd P l. 1 9, 1 . N ote, h owever, t hat t his i s ap hoto o f I X 1 ( Inscr. 1 5). M ile

I X

F ound n ear t he o ld e ntrance o f Q ibbutz E n H arod, G R . 1 869.2176, i n s itu o r n earby . 6m ilestones. Z ori ( op. c it., s upra M .VIE D, n o. 1 69 m entions 9 f ragments o f m ilestones. I X I a nd 5 n ow i n B et S turman M useum , ' Ein H arod, I nv . n os. X II/5/289 a nd X II/16/290. I X 2 i n G eva . I X 3 -4 i n T el Y oseph. I X 1 s een D ecember 1 971; I X 2 i n A pril 1 972; I X 2 -5 s een J anuary 1 972 a nd J une 1 973. ( discovered i n 1 946).

C f.

Z ori,

I I, n o.

1 07, p .

6 9

I X 1 . U pper p ortion o f p illar l ost. T he r est i n g ood c ondition . B ase h . 0 .77; 1 . 0 .55; w . 0 .44. P illar - h . 0 .73; d iam . u pper 0 .37; l ower 0 .42. I nscription n o. 1 5. I X 2 .

U pper p ortion o f p illar l ost. R emainder w ell p reserved. B ase h . 0 .57; 1 . 0 .55; w . 0 .47. P illar - h . 0 .83; d iam . u pper 0 .37; l ower 0 .41. T races o f i llegible i nscription . I X 3 . U pper p ortion o f p illar l ost, r emainder d amaged. R ough a t b ack. P illar n ot a p erfect c ircle b ut f lat a t b ack. B ase - h . 0 .64; 1 . 0 .57; w . 0 .47. P illar - h . 0 .86; l ower d iam . 0 .54. N o t races o f i nscription. I X 4 . U pper p ortion o f p illar m issing, r emainder d amaged a nd w orn . B ase - h . 0 .63; 1 . 0 .57; w . 0 .58. P illar - h . 0 .87. I X 5 .

F ragment. h . 0 .80; u pper d iam . M ile

X

N o m ilestones h ave b een f ound.

5 9

0 .42.

I nscription n o.

2 0.

M ile

X I

T wo m ilestones f ound a t K efar Y ehezqel, G R 1 841.2188, i n s itu o r n earby. C f. Z ori, I I, n o. 1 03, P . 6 7 ( with c omments o n t he s ite). N ow a t K efar Y ehezqel; s een A pril 1 972 ( XI I a nd 2 ). O ne m ilestone f ound n ear t he f ish-ponds o f Q ibbutz J ezreel ( not i n s itu ). m an M useum, i nv. n o. X II/63/5500 = X I 3 . X I 1 .

Now a t B et S tur-

S tone b roken i nto t wo p ieces w hich f it t ogether. p illar m issing. M oulding a t b ase. B ase - h . 0 .63; 0 .42. P illar - h . 1 .50; l ower d iam . 0 .44; m oulding - h . t ion n o. 1 6.

U pper p art o f 1 . 0 .56; w . 0 .06. I nscrip-

X I 2 .

U pper h alf o f p illar m issing. V ery w orn. B ack o f p illar is f lat. B ase - h . 0 .64; 1 . 0 .50; w . 0 .42. P illar - h . 0 .42; l ower d iam . 0 .44. N o t races o f i nscription.

X I 3 .

F ragment o f a p illar ( top), d amaged a t b ack. c ircumference - 1 .52. I nscription n o. 1 3.

P reserved h .

0 .86;

M ile X II N o m ilestones h ave b een f ound. M ile X III F ound 1 .5 km .

e ast o f Q ibbutz J ezreel.

G R 1 819.2191,

a l ittle

d istance S . o f i ts o riginal l ocation o n t he s lopes o f t he h ill. 1 m iles tone. N ow i n t he Q ibbutz. S een M ay 1 975. M entioned b y Z ori, I I, n . 7 9,

p .

5 3.

X III 1 . B ase l ost. P ilar w orn. h . N o t races o f i nscription. M ile

1 .12;

d iam .

u pper 0 .46;

l ower 0 .49.

X IV

N o m ilestones h ave b een f ound. M ile X V F ound a bout 2 km . n orth o f J ezreel. G R 1 797.2210. X V 5w as d isc overed s everal h undreds o f m eters t o t he w est, a ccording t o m embers o f t he q ibbutz. 5 f ragments. X V 1 r emained o n t he s pot. XV 2 a nd 3 a re i n t he B et S turman Museum, E in H arod, I nv. n os. X II/31/4477 a nd X II/ 3 0/4476. X V 4 a nd 5 a re i n t he Q ibbutz J ezreel. S een A pril 1 972 a nd May 1 975. M entioned b y Z ori,

I I, n o.

7 8,

p .

5 3.

X V 1 . U pper p art o f p illar, v ery w orn. h . 0 .90; w er 0 .59. N o t races o f i nscription. X V 2 .

u pper d iam .

B ase a nd l ower p ortion o f p illar, v ery w orn. l ar h ave a n e lliptic s hape.

0 .60; w .

0 .39.

P illar - h .

0 .61;

B ack i s f lat. l ower d iam .

N o t races o f i nscription.

6 0

l o-

B oth b ase a nd p il-

B ase - h .

0 .39

0 .53;

( w )

0 .61;

1 .

a nd 0 .55 ( 1).

X V 3 .

U pper p art o f p illar. i nscription.

V ery w orn . L ower d iam .

X V 4 .

F ragment o f p illar, i nscription.

X V 5 .

C omplete a nd i n g ood c ondition.

d amaged. h .

0 .35;

d iam .

0 .57. N o t races o f

0 .45.

N o t races o f

I n r e-use a h ole w as d rilled a t

t he a ngle o f b ase a nd p illar. R ough a t b ack . B ase - h . 0 .47; 1 . 0 .40; w . 0 .50. P illar - h . 1 .18; u pper d iam . 0 .40; l ower 0 .49. N o t races o f i nscription. M ile

X VI

F ound a bout 6 00 m . s outh o f M oshav M erhavia, G R . 1 791.2222, n ot i n s itu. 1 m ilestone b roken i nto s everal p ieces; t hree o f t hese a re n ow i n B et S turman M useum , E n H arod, I nv. n os. X X/56/5047; X II/58/5050; X II/59/50501. S een M ay 1 975. X VI

1 .

0 .77

B ase c omplete, p illar b roken i nto s everal p ieces. B ase - h . 0 .52; 1 . 0 .48; w . 0 .52. P illar - h . o f f ragment: 0 .27; 0 .39; l ower d iam 0 .51. M oulding a t t op. T races o f l ettering. M ile X VI A

F ound n earby a nd s outh o f t he b us s tation o f M oshav M erhavia, G R 1 797.2224. E ight p ieces. 1 -5 n ow i n M oshav M erhavia; 6 -8 i n Q ibbutz M erhavia. X VI A 1 . t races o f X VI A 2 .

U pper p art o f p illar, with m oulding a t t op. V ery w orn ; h . 1 .00, u pper d iam . 0 .47, l ower 0 .51, h . o f m oulding 0 .10. N o i nscription. F ragment o f p illar; v ery w orn. l ower 0 .51.

XVI A 3 .

N o t races

h .

0 .78, u pper d iam .

0 .50,

o f i nscription.

F ragment o f a p illar; v ery w orn; h .

0 .74. N o t races o f i ns-

c ription. XVI A 4 .

S mall f ragment o f p illar;

v ery w orn .

X VI A 5 . B ase a nd l ower e nd o f p illar; w ell p reserved. 1 .

0 .63; w .

0 .51; p illar - h .

0 .33;

d iam .

B ase - h .

0 .56;

0 .54. N o t races o f

i nscription. XVI A 6 .

B ase a nd l ower e nd o f p illar.

B ase - h .

0 .45; p illar - h .

0 .50.

0 .33;

d iam .

0 .33;

1 .

0 .59; w .

X VI A 7 .

C omplete; i rregularly w orked, e specially w hat a ppears t o b e t he b ack o f t he s tone. N o t races o f i nscription. B ase - h .

0 .45;

0 .55; w .

1 .

XVI A 8 .

0 .56;

p illar - h .

F ragment o f p illar. r us?). h .

0 .94;

G roup X VI A was

u pper d iam .

0 .52.

T races o f i nscription ( Septimius S eve-

d iam .,

f ound c .

1 .72;

u pper 0 .50;

8 00 m .

l ower 0 .54.

f rom X VI a nd a bout t he s ame d is-

t ance f rom t he n earest a pproximation o f t he r oad. T here c an b e n o d oubt t hat t he s tones o f X VI A w ere f ound i n s itu s ince t he e ight

6 1

p ieces w ere f ound t ogether. T his s tation m ust r epresent e ither a d iff erent a lignment o f t he s ame r oad o r i t m ay b elong t o a nother r oad r unning n orthward, w hich i s n ot o therwise a ttested i n t his a rea. t he t ime b eing t his q uestion m ust b e l eft o pen .

F or

M ile X VII N o m ilestones h ave b een f ound. M ile X VIII F ound a bout 5 00 m . w est o f t he t own o f A fula, G R . 1 756 .2235, i n s itu . 1m ilestone. P ublished: B . I saac a nd I . R oll , J RS 6 6 ( 1976), 1 51 9. S een D ecember 1 974, F ebruary a nd M ay 1 975. N ow a t B et S turman M us eum , E n H arod. X VIII 1 . B roken i nto t wo p ieces, b ase d amaged, p illar s omewhat d amaged b y a gricultural i mplements. B ase - h . 0 .66; 1 . 0 .44; w . 0 .42. P illar - h . 1 .33; d iam . u pper 0 .43; l ower 0 .45. I nscription n o. 1 . M iles X IX-XX N o m ilestones h ave b een f ound. M ile

X XI

T he O fficial G azette ( v. s upra, p . 2 7), p . 1 387, m ap 3 3, r ecords: " Kh. L idd, G R 1 709.2241: t hird m ilestone o f R oman R oad f rom L egio t o S epphoris." T here i s n o o ther r ecord o f t his s tone a nd we h ave n ot s een i t. Y et t he l ocation i s t he p resumed s ite o f M ilestation X XI. T he D epartment o f A ntiquities L ist, p . 3 3 n otes: " GR 1 71.224 - K h . L idd: T races o f r uins w ith p illar-shaft n ear a s pring ." T he p illars haft m ay l ater h ave b een r ecognized a s am ilestone o r t hose r espons ible f or t he c ompilation o f t he G azette m ay h ave m ade a m istake i n d escribing a s am ilestone a p illar m entioned i n t he a rchives b ut n ot s een b y a nyone a fterwards. M ile X XII F ound a bout 1 km . s outh o f H ayogev, G R 1 698.2227, 2 50 m . f rom t he s pot w here M . H ecker ( supra, p . 3 8, n . 2 5) n oticed f ragments o f a m ilestone. T he f ragments m ust h ave b een r emoved b y f armers f rom t he o riginal s pot,where H ecker s aw t hem, t o t he s pot w here t hey w ere r ed iscovered. N ow i n Q ibbutz M erhavia. S een M ay 1 975. X XII 1 . T he s tone i s b roken i nto t hree p ieces. O ne s ide e ntirely c ut d own a nd s moothed i n r e-use. N o m easurements, r elevant t o t he o riginal s hape o f t he s tone, c ould b e t aken . I nscription n o. 1 7. M iles X XIII a nd X XIV N o m ilestones h ave b een f ound. F ind-spot u nknown 1 .

A m ilestone, n ow i n t he B et S turman M useum , E n H arod, X II/17/301.

i nv. n o .

T he s pot f rom w hich i t w as t aken c ould n ot b e 6 2

verified. I n t he M useum a re a lso m ilestones o f t he r oad f rom S cythopolis t o t he n orth. T he m ilestone c ould t herefore also have s tood o n t his r oad. S een J une 1 973 a nd M ay 1 975. Base lost. U pper p art o f p illar w ell p reserved. h - 0 .85; d iam . u pper 0 .46; l ower 0 .48; d iam . i ncluding m oulding 0 .50. I nscription no. 6 . 2 .

M ilestone n ow i n t he B et S turman M useum , i nv . n o. X II/2 4 /3 08., f ound i n s econdary u se i n ah ouse o n t he n orth b ank o f t he River H arod. N o f urther i nformation a vailable. B ase - h . 0 .35; 1 . 0 .50; w . 0 .35. P illar - h . 1 32; d iam . 0 .50. N o t races o f inscript ion.

6 3

< H H


s N P OTS C DS 1

P late X III.c

I nscr.

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P late X III.d

1 36

I nscr.

9 ( VII.3).

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AC / A f i \0 1 e ( 4 C E-( )

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AC M, :I AA P late X IV .a

I nscr. P late X IV .b

1 0

( 1.1)

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f A T E TAN R o A NTON INÖÄv CN FE o rE A v(NF Afr o r

P late X IV .c

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P late X IV.d

( IV .3)

1 37

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P late X V .b

( VII.24)

P late X V .c

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1 4 ( VII.4)

I nscr.

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1 39

( XI.1),

u pper p art.

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P late XVII.a

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I nscr.

( XXII.1)

1 6

( XI.1),

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F olding p lan, s ites i ndicated b y A rabic n umerals.

1 .

T el N aharon

2 .

e r Q antara

3 .

T el T umis

4 .

G iv 'at T zevaim ( Ras e l-Furein)

5 .

H urvat Q ipodan ( Khirbet S abir)

6 .,

G R 1 921.2172

7 .

G R 1 919.2178

8 .

H orvat S hemot ( Tel a l F irr )

( Byz . monastery )

9 ,9a S hatta 1 0.

Q umi ( Qumiyah)

1 1

K hirbet T uba'un

1 2

G R 1 826.2192, n ear K efar Y ehezc iel

1 3

G R 1 848.2174, n ear K efar Y ehezc iel

1 4

M a'ayan H arod ( Ain J alud )

1 5

G id'ona

1 6

E in J ezreel ( Ein e l M eita )

1 7

J ezreel ( Zer'in )

1 8

F uleh

1 9

A fulah

2 0

K hirbet L idd

1 42

T HE R OMAN

R OAD

km 0

I

S CYTHOPOL IS L END 2

3

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M TS.

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MOUNTA INS

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M ILESTAT ION

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2 10

SCYTHOPOL IS ( BETH -SHAN)

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SOURCE

1 70

i i s r e l K h a n

B e th A lpha'Z

H ILLS

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0

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S de Nahum

1 80

1 90