Experts Digging In Israel Uncovered A Breathtaking Structure Linked To A Notorious Biblical King

But then the dig is covered up, and the archaeologists move on. And the secrets of the building that the statue had adorned remain covered in dirt for several decades. It’s not until 2008 that work restarts, and finally the secrets of what lies beneath Tel Ashkelon Park are revealed in all their glory.

What was there originally was smashed in an earthquake that rocked Israel. But it has not entirely been forgotten. Now not only have archaeologists uncovered this monument to Ashkelon’s Roman past, but they have big plans for it. It will rise again, and people who visit the city will have the chance to wonder at what lay buried for so long.

The city of Ashkelon has existed for a very long time. It dates back to the Stone Age, having been first founded in 8,000 B.C. And it became important as the biggest seaport in the nation of Canaan during the Middle Bronze Age. This is about 2,000 to about 1,550 B.C.

Such an important and thriving city became a juicy target for conquerors. And the Philistine people took it over in 1,150 B.C. As we know from the Bible, these people had an ongoing conflict with the Israelites. In later times, a new conqueror showed up: the Babylonians. They destroyed the city in the 600s B.C.

Ashkelon had been an important city before its destruction, one of those that formed a Philistine state. You may recall it from the Bible: it’s the city where Delilah snipped Samson’s hair to rob him of his strength. It was well sited, sitting on the Via Maris, a trading route between Egypt and Syria, and this positioning made it flourish as a center for trade.

Given this important location, it’s no great surprise that a city would rise up again in the same place. By the time the Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great, came to the area in the 300s B.C, Ashkelon had risen again. But It was now a thriving seaport, crucial to regional trade, under his reign. 

Yet come the first century B.C. a new set of conquerors turned up. These were the Romans, and they would control the region known as Judea for several centuries. And Judea had its own rulers in those days, but they were firmly under the Roman thumb. A man with a name familiar to us took power in the late years before Christ.

This was Herod, who’d be known as “the Great.” He’d only take full power in 37 B.C., but once he had, he made his name as a builder. Judea prospered under Herod, although he doesn’t get a good write-up in the Bible. He’s known to us as the guy who wanted to massacre the innocents, a jealous and vicious tyrant.

Whatever the truth of that, Herod was originally thought to have been born in Ashkelon. That’s now considered to be untrue, but even so, he endowed the city with a great deal of architecture. The seaport sprouted fountains, colonnades and bathhouses and other structures, as the city flourished under his rule.

Israel Antiquities Authority dig chiefs Saar Ganor, Rachel Bar-Natan and Federico Kobrin issued a statement about Ashkelon in May 2021. They wrote, “The writings of the historian Josephus mention Herod’s construction in the city of Ashkelon and list fountains, a bathhouse, and colonnaded halls.” So it seems clear that he was heavily involved in the city.

It would be no surprise, then, if it was ever proven that Herod had favored Ashkelon. It was an important trading city, with a focus on producing wine. And the Romans were so keen on the port that they freed it from taxation. But their day would also pass, and the city went through a succession of hands, including Byzantines, Muslims and Crusaders, until it was abandoned in the 13th century. It was only reborn in the 1940s. 

The city today is once again thriving, although its biggest draw is now the beach rather than trade. But given its storied past, Ashkelon is home to intriguing archaeological discoveries. Among these have been a Roman grave, a church from the Byzantine era and a metallic statue that is eerily reminiscent of the Bible tale of the golden calf.

South of the modern city is Tel Ashkelon Park. This is where the older cities lay. It’s a busy site for archaeologists eager to learn the secrets of the area. The park includes ruined churches, the walls of the Crusader city and ramparts fashioned by the Canaanites. Among the park’s features is a garden full of sculptures from Roman times.

One particular site has become of note, and it’s the dig that is of interest to us. It was first worked on in the 1920s. Then British archaeologists turned up a huge statue from the Roman era. It featured Nike, who was the goddess of victory, standing on Atlas, the giant who holds up the Earth.

That wasn’t the only treasure that the Brits found on the site. They also dug up a statue from another culture, in this case, Egypt. The goddess whom it featured was Isis. She was portrayed as Tyche, who was one of Aphrodite’s daughters, and served as a goddess of fortune.

What’s perhaps peculiar is that having dug up these ruins, the British team put them back under the soil again. This was ordered by John Garstang, who was in charge of the dig. But in reality this wasn’t as strange as it seems, because it was often done to keep the ruins from harm.

Yet archaeologists didn’t bother with the site for many years after, only returning in 2008. It was clear, however, that this was an important archaeological area. Another dig would follow in the next decade, and once it was completed in 2018, several bodies came together to rebuild the ancient setting. 

It seemed like a good idea. Because the two digs had turned up something huge, which gave the experts a much greater understanding of the past. And reconstructing it would allow tourists to get a taste for the ancient time it represented. But what was it that the archaeologists had found?

Archaeologist Rachel Bar-Natan shared with the Jerusalem Post in May 2021 that they’d known it was huge before the digs. She said, “[John] Garstang had already calculated the dimensions of the building.” He’d also spotted marble columns that suggested that here was the building mentioned by Josephus: yes, the “colonnaded hall” was part of a huge basilica.

“Basilica” today implies a cathedral or an important church, but that wasn’t the case in pre-Christian times. In the Roman day, it was a civic center. It had a central space and two halls that lay off to the side. The intention was for it to serve as a gathering place for the people of the thriving port city.

But was this built by Herod? The directors of the excavation think it was. They told U.K. tabloid the Daily Mail, “Herodian coins discovered in the bedding of the structure’s ancient floors show that it was built at the time of one of the greatest builders ever to have lived in the country.”

The building had to be large and would have towered above the city of Ashkelon. People came here to do business and pursue legal affairs. They would have also been in attendance for religious ceremonies and performances. The whole complex, central hall and two wings, would have had a roof, it’s believed. 

The excavation directors explained to the Daily Mail, “The hall was surrounded with rows of marble columns and capitals, which rose to an estimated height of [42 feet] and supported the building’s roof.” Those columns and capitals would have been gloriously ornate, featuring carvings of plants and the eagle that symbolized Rome. So altogether the building must have been imposing in its day.

The archaeologists concluded that Herod’s reign had overseen the building of the basilica. But the marble features date from much later. They were created in the late second century A.D., during when the Severan dynasty controlled Rome. Then, come Garstang’s excavation, the columns, capitals, and statues were raised from the ground.

Throughout the Severan dynasty, the basilica saw wide-scale renovations. The marble work dates to this period. And archaeologists have found close to 200 pieces that were made out of the material. From the same period comes a little theater, known in the day as an odeon, which was attached to the site.

But the marble wasn’t local to Ashkelon, and it had to be brought in. It was shipped from across the Roman empire, including from Asia Minor. Archaeologist Ganor told Israeli newspaper Haaretz in May 2021, “You can see in your mind’s eye ships laden with marble, sailing to Ashkelon.”

The basilica may have seemed like the building for the ages, but it wasn’t destined to last for long. In A.D. 363 a huge earthquake shook the area. The building was ruined and had to be abandoned. And the archaeologists said that, “the effects of the seismic waves are clearly visible on the building’s floor.”

Plus when the Muslims took over Ashkelon, they used parts of the ruined basilica in other structures. A spokesperson for the IAA said in a statement, “There is evidence from the Ottoman period that marble items were cut up for use as paving stones, and some of the beautiful architectural features were taken for building construction.”

Ganor explained to Haaretz, “The best of it was taken to Jaffa [an area in Tel Aviv].” Yep, there was plenty of material for the Muslims to use. The best guess today is that the basilica measured roughly 330 feet by 130 feet. But the columns that formed its colonnade towered more than 40 feet in the air.

Even so they left behind hundreds of tons of material in the 200 odd items that have been found. And the stuff taken by the Muslims didn’t all just vanish into thin air. Jaffa’s Mahmudiye Mosque, Tel Aviv’s largest mosque, contains parts of the marble that had once decorated the basilica.

But the archaeologists do not intend to allow the basilica simply to lie in ruins. Their plan is to reconstruct at least some of it. They’ll put columns and sculptures where they originally belonged, for example. And as many as 17 of the columns will be restored in the colonnade, which should give folks a decent idea of its appearance back in its heyday.

And inside the basilica will sit a massive pillar. It was lifted into the building – not an easy task given that it weighs many tons. It sits in the middle of a floor that is undergoing restoration. When it’s finished, it will fill the basilica. There will not be a roof, however, but there will be enough detail for visitors to be able to picture how the building once looked.

At the southern end of the basilica, the statues of the goddesses and gods will rise again. That’s not all: the odeon is also going through a phase of renewal. This will see it given modern seats – a little more comfortable than the Romans enjoyed! – with a stage for performances.

In May 2021 the IAA couldn’t give any details of when it expected the project to finish. But it did say that seats would be placed in the odeon “in the coming months.” Visitors to the Tel Ashkelon Park would have the option of sitting there and watching the “performance” of the moment: the restoration of the basilica.

Once the project is finished, visitors will have the option to enter the basilica and walk around it, taking in the scale. And it’s some scale: this is the largest basilica in Israel. By comparison, it’s just under half the length of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

The restoration will also include more than a mile of pathways that will allow visitors to explore the history of Ashkelon. These will be laid around the park itself to tie different features together, almost like a trail. A statement suggested that they would be, “designed to showcase and provide better access to the park’s unique nature, heritage and landscape.”

Ashkelon mayor Tomer Glam seemed delighted with the project and its goals for the area. He told the Daily Mail that it, “will contribute significantly to the park’s natural beauty and strengthen its status as the most beautiful and well-kept national park in Israel.”

Glam made a further statement about the park, saying, “The Ashkelon National Park is one of the most important ancient sites, both in Israel and in the world, and time and time again it emerges as one of the most visited sites in the country.” With wonders such as the basilica to add to the attraction of the nearby beach, it’s no wonder.

And Glam was in no doubt that the project would increase the park’s overall appeal. He said, “I am convinced that the restoration and conservation work in the park, the new archaeological discoveries, and the development work – including new accessible paths – will contribute significantly to the park’s natural beauty.”