Ottoman Jaffa: From Pilgrims’ Anchorage to Regional Center.
Yoav Arbel2017
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Abstract
Salvage excavations conducted over the last two decades in Jaffa, Israel, yielded substantial remains from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries. Excavated sites included a flea market, a fishermen's harbor, a former prison, an old hospital, busy commercial streets and other irregular archaeological settings. The results tell a different story than that which is conveyed in the street-level records of nineteenth century Western travelers. They described a stagnant, plague-ridden backwater of the crumbling Ottoman Empire, governed by inept and corrupt officials. Yet comprehensive research reveals a dynamic period of urban expansion and notable efforts in construction, infrastructure and aesthetics. Within a relatively short period, a dormant and neglected harbor evolved into a vibrant community where Europe met the Ottoman Levant in an array of tangible and spiritual aspects. By the turn of the 20th century Jaffa boasted European neo-classic buildings next to Near Eastern vaulted halls, church steeples near mosque minarets, serpentine lanes linked to fine paved streets, underground sewer systems, night illumination and markets trading local and European goods. However, development demanded some ruthless measures: ramparts were dismantled, orchards uprooted and bazaars demolished. Hundreds of burials discovered in recent excavations under modern streets belonged to a 19th-century municipal cemetery of which all tombstones were removed and to which no visible evidence remains. In the course of research, material remains are examined along with original texts, maps, artwork and early photographs. These remarkable historical documents reflect various angles of urban growth and alteration, their effects, patterns and social cost. Thus, beyond its local importance, the investigation of 19th-century Jaffa exemplifies archaeological, textual, cartographic, artistic and photographic resources combined to shed light on broad change processes in a traditional city.
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The Archaeology of Urban Change: 19th Century Jaffa.pdf
Settled almost continuously since its foundation c. 1800 BCE (Kaplan, 1972: 75), Jaffa is one of the oldest still-functioning harbor towns on the Mediterranean coast (Fig. 1). Its population over the ages – Canaanites, Phoenicians, Jews, Arabs and others - was often subdued by foreign invaders vying for the harbor, the trade routes passing near the town, and the fertile agricultural lands surrounding it. Egyptian pharaohs, Hellenistic kings, Roman and Byzantine emperors, Muslim and Crusader rulers, Turkish sultans, and French and British generals all dominated the town at one time or another. Jaffa consequently experienced many fl uctuations in its political, economic and social fortunes. Recent archaeological excavations have indicated signifi cant expansion in the early Hellenistic (4th-3rd centuries BC), Byzantine (4th-7th centuries AD) and Crusader (1099-1268 AD) periods, and withdrawal to the boundaries of the ancient mound in others (Arbel, 2011:191; Foran, 2011: 112; Peilstöcker and Burke, 2011: 177). Yet a turning point in the city’s history was reached in the 19th century, marked by intriguing efforts of the Turkish authorities to introduce modernity while preserving its Muslim-Ottoman character. Neo-classic government buildings were built next to vaulted Arab coffee houses, church steeples rose near minarets of mosques, serpentine lanes linked newly paved streets, and local products were sold in Jaffa’s markets next to imported commodities. Unlike earlier phases of prosperity, the urban growth and profound changes of this period were irreversible.
The Archaeology of Mandate-Period Jaffa
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 2021
Excavations in Jaffa since the 1940s uncovered remains from the city's original inhabitation until the twentieth century. Investigation and analysis focused on the Middle Bronze II to the Byzantine periods. The later phases received far less attention. Ottoman and British Mandate layers were dug through with only basic documentation, if any, being considered irrelevant to archaeology. Yet, changing approaches proved the potential of the systematic study of architecture and artifacts from the recent past, despite and within related textual and illustrated information. Archaeological data provided new perspectives on Jaffa's fast transition from a small eastern Mediterranean backwater, economically dependent on farming and a deficient harbor, into a vibrant and cosmopolitan urban center. The tangible remains of the city's late nineteenth and early twentieth-century history attest to the unprecedented changes and ordeals the Holy Land as a whole experienced during that time.
The History and Archaeology of Jaffa 1
2011
In 2007 the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project (JCHP) was established as a joint research endeavor of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Among the project’s diverse aims is the publication of numerous excavations conducted in Jaffa since 1948 under the auspices of various governmental and research institutions such as the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums and its successor the Israel Antiquities Authority, as well as the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project. This, the first volume in the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project series, lays the groundwork for this initiative. Part I provides the historical, economic, and legal context for the JCHP’s development, while outlining its objectives and the unique opportunities that Jaffa offers researchers. The history of Jaffa and its region, and the major episodes of cultural change that affected the site and region are explored through a series of articles in Part II, including an illustrated discussion of historical maps of Jaffa from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Recent archaeological discoveries from Jaffa are included in Part III, while Part IV provides a first glimpse of the JCHP’s efforts to publish the Jacob Kaplan and Haya Ritter-Kaplan legacy from Jaffa. Together the twenty-five contributions to this work constitute the first major book-length publication to address the archaeology of Jaffa in more than sixty years since excavations were initiated at the site.
Concepts and Facts of Late Ottoman Jaffa: Cartographic Records and Archaeological Evidence
Proceedings of the International Cartographic Association, 3., 2021
The ancient city of Jaffa experienced considerable changes during the 19th century. The effects of warfare, extensive reconstruction and urban expansion turned the Jaffa of 1900 into a markedly different place than the town Napoleon besieged in 1799. Although textual, artistic and photographic records reflect these long-term changes, it is maps drawn by military and civilian European engineers that provide the most comprehensive illustrative testimony. Recent archaeological efforts have, moreover, added yet another perspective to this mosaic of sources. Among the material evidence providing valuable insight into Jaffa's 4000 years of history, data on the later phases of Ottoman rule is particularly intriguing. We now have previously unavailable material confirmation and more detailed records in a higher resolution for urban expansion over farmland and cemeteries, road paving, public construction and the dismantling of fortifications. The joint cartographic and archaeological testimonies offer a more realistic outlook on a period, which, until recently, had been subjectively perceived through military and religious filters, or the critical and often derogatory perspectives of explorers, adventurers and tourists. The challenges the Ottoman authorities faced were numerous and complex; cartographic and archaeological evidence has increased our understanding of the means, investment and planning they employed to maintain control over a thriving and heterogeneous harbor town during a period of profound transformation.
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2014
Jaffa and the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, Fig. 1 Aerial photograph of the Jaffa's old city illustrating the effects of Operation Anchor, 1936. Note that the shape of the destroyed area on the mound resembles an anchor J 4150 Jaffa and the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project Key Issues/Current Debates/Future Directions/Examples Jaffa and the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project 4151 J J Jaffa and the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, Fig. 2 The JCHP's organizational framework J 4152 Jaffa and the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project zone around tell; Zone 3, area of lower city during Ottoman towns that falls outside Zones 1 and 2 Jaffa and the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project 4153
Maritime Activity at Jaffa during the Mamluk and Early Ottoman Periods: The Ceramic Evidence from Ramla.
G.D. Stiebel, D. Ben-Ami, A. Gorzalczany, Y. Tepper and I. Koch eds. In Centro. Collected Papers, Volume I. Motion, Movement and Mobility. Tel Aviv University. , 2022
Jaffa was a port of call for merchant ships from across the Mediterranean throughout most of its long history. This port also witnessed armies, explorers and pilgrims passing through on their way to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. These activities are well attested in the historical record, as well as by numerous archaeological excavations. However, during the mid-Mamluk and Early Ottoman periods (mid-14th to 17th centuries CE) maritime movement at the Jaffa port diminished considerably and the city appears to have been gradually abandoned. Consequently, only few written sources refer to Jaffa and hardly any archaeological finds dating from this period have been unearthed. This paper will examine ceramic evidence from the vicinity of Jaffa, in particular from Ramla, and will show that this evidence indicates the activity of Venetian and perhaps other European merchants in Jaffa during the mid-14th to 17th centuries and illuminates relationships and networks unattested in the written record.
Excavations of the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, 2008–2014
History and Archaeology of Jaffa 2
Preliminary report for the results of excavations by The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project in the Visitor's Center (Area C, 2008–2009) and the Ramesses Gate and Lion Temple (Area A, 2011–2014).
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The History and Archaeology of Jaffa 2
The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project series, Vol. 2, 2017
Since 2007, the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project has endeavored to bring to light the vast archaeological and historical record of the site of Jaffa in Israel. Continuing the effort begun with The History and Archaeology of Jaffa 1, this volume is a collection of independent studies and final reports on various excavations. These include: overviews of archaeological research in Jaffa, historical and archaeological studies of Medieval and Ottoman Jaffa, reports on excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority at both the Postal Compound between 2009 and 2011 and at the Armenian Compound in 2006 and 2007, and studies of the excavations of Jacob Kaplan and Haya Ritter-Kaplan in Jaffa on behalf of the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums from 1955 to 1974.
Jaffa and the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project
Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2013
A Panoramic View of Late Ottoman Jaffa from November 1860 by Louis Vignes
Burke, Aaron A., Katherine S. Burke & Martin Peilstocker (eds.)The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project 2 , The History and Archaeology of Jaffa 2. Los Angeles 2017, 2017
The Jaf fa culT u r a l her i Tag e P ro J e c T ser i e s, Volume 2 a a r o n a . B u r k e a n d m a r T i n P e i l s T ö c k e r , s e r i e s e d i T o r s
The Tel Aviv University Excavations in Ancient Jaffa, Vol. I
Salvage Excavation Reports 12, 2024
Ancient Jaffa from the Persian to the Byzantine period
2018
Editors' Preface extensive efforts to locate them. In the summer of 2012, for example, well after the research conducted for the present volume, more than 400 plans were found in a rooftop storage facility at Kaplans' residence. These were mostly daily plans with robust notations from the Lion Temple excavations (1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974), but their sudden and surprising appearance serves as a reminder of how uncertain the extent of Kaplan's record keeping is and the sense of what percentage of that collection has been accounted for. Second, the condition of excavated remains and records following Jacob Kaplan's excavations also impede straightforward reconstructions of contexts. Many metal artifacts, mudbrick samples, and other organic remains are severely decomposed after many years in the humid storerooms of the museum. Many of the primary documents from which contexts can be reconstructed, such as writing on boxes, have seriously degraded, making it sometimes impossible to be sure of artifact's contexts. Such conditions also impede the reconstruction of contexts, which pose a third limitation on the use of the collection. Although for a great many if not most finds contexts can be reconstructed, many "branches" within the stratigraphic hierarchy cannot be fully associated with the excavation's stratigraphy. Artifacts from such "orphaned" contexts are thus only useful as markers of presence and absence of an artifact in Jaffa. Finally, limitations concerning data collection and recording conventions preclude certitude concerning contexts at times. Insufficient elevations-a frequent problem on excavations-are but one example of the challenge of re-situing artifacts and pottery buckets from these excavations. For early excavations, a lack of localized or daily top plans also challenge locating some finds and thus identifying their contexts. Limited photography during the 1950s likewise confines our understanding of the development of the excavation of certain contexts. Despite these challenges, which are common to many unpublished, legacy archaeological datasets, a great deal can be done with the available materials. The present volume specifically highlights Jaffa's archaeology from the Persian Period to the end of the Byzantine Period. The Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods are well reflected in Jaffa's archaeological record both on the mound itself (Tel Yafo) and throughout the lower town from salvage excavations, which include both architecture and a robust assemblage of artifacts. Together they reveal the vicissitudes of Jaffa's history as a port on the eastern Mediterranean that, despite its relatively small size, played an outsized role in connecting the central coast and highlands to the Mediterranean from its earliest history. Since before the project's inception in 2006 Orit Tsuf began consultations with Martin Peilstöcker on a number of issues concerning the location, evaluation, analysis, preparation, and publication of the materials presented in this volume. Because Orit began this work before the project started, she faced the daunting task of locating, identifying, documenting, analyzing, and making sense of the materials that remained from Kaplan's work. The result was a realization that rebuilding the stratigraphy of the site was not realistically possible alongside the already considerable challenge of analyzing the artifact assemblage of Persian to Byzantine period finds. In consultation with the JCHP's directors, the most reasonable course seemed to address the range of finds, particularly the best examples of types and those recovered from clear stratigraphic contexts, but to leave a more exhaustive effort to reconstruct Jaffa's stratigraphic sequence as a separate project. Part of the stratigraphic analysis to be completed is being addressed by the publication of Bronze and Iron Age contexts underway by Burke and Peilstöcker (see Burke 2011), as well as for the final publication of JCHP excavations in the Visitor's Center (i.e., Area C) in 2008 and 2009 (see Burke et al 2014)). Without repeating the table of contents of this volume, it is perhaps important to underscore that a number of other excavated materials hold considerable potential for further shedding light on the artifacts and the Persian to Byzantine period contexts. The remaining studies have not been neglected, but will be published in future studies and contextualized insofar as possible. Among these are some architectural elements, faunal remains (including fish bones and shells), a few botanical samples from Area A in the 1970s, chipped and ground stone artifacts, stamped jar handles. 2 Faunal remains are to be published by Ed Maher, fish bones by Omri Lernau, shell by Inbar Ktalav, and botanical remains by Andrea Orendi, chipped stone by Kobi Vardi, and stamped handles by Gérald Finkielsztejn. Sadly, residue analyses on previously excavated ceramics demonstrated no foreseeable utility, owing most likely to the fact that all ceramics were thoroughly cleaned 2 Coins from Jaffa have appeared in a number of previous studies, as Tsuf notes in her work. Inscriptions, notably those from Abu Kabir, have also been recently published (see Ameling et al 2014).
The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project: Objectives, Organization, Strategies, and Implementation
The History and Archaeology of Jaffa 1, edited by M. Peilstöcker and A. A. Burke. The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project 1. Monumenta Archaeologica 26, A. A. Burke and M. Peilstöcker, general eds., 2011
This article is the introductory article to the volume edited by the authors. As such it makes reference to the contents of the volume, while providing an overview of the project, which was established in 2007, and outlining the historical and archaeological problems that will be investigated, as well as the methods used and various other aspects inherent to an urban archaeological research project such as this.
Urban Archaeology on the Outskirts of Tel Yafo (Jafa): An Introduction
'Atiqot, 2020
Introduction for the 100th volume of Israel Antiquities Authority's "'Atiqot" publication stage, dedicated to urban archaeology in Jaffa. Reports of five sites containing remains from the Middle Bronze to the British Mandate periods. The article describes the significance, challenges and main achievements of archaeological research in Jaffa over the last three decades.
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