After more than 17 excavation seasons, the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon, under the aegis of the Harvard Semitic Museum, continues to thrive. We are planning new excavations for the summers of 2007-2011. In 1985, philanthropist Leon Levy and archaeologist Lawrence E. Stager, Dorot Professor of the Archaeology of Israel at Harvard University, teamed up to begin excavations at the seaport of Ashkelon on the coast of the Mediterranean in Israel. Today, Leon Levy's vision continues through the work of Shelby White and the Leon Levy Foundation, which has pledged funding for five more years of excavation at Ashkelon under the directorship of Daniel Master, Associate Professor of Archaeology at Wheaton College.

In 2007, Dr. Master will lead a field team to Ashkelon to complete the excavation areas begun by Professor Stager. We will focus on the completion of Grid 38, the only area at Ashkelon with a sequence that traces all periods of Ashkelon's occupation from the Early Bronze Age through the Islamic Crusader periods, and the only area at Ashkelon that provides a complete record of the Philistine occupation from their arrival in the early 12th century B.C. to the city's destruction at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar in 604 B.C. Grid 38 stands in the well-trafficked center of the National Park in Ashkelon, an area popular with the many campers and locals who visit the seaside park.

In addition to work in Grid 38, the 2007 team will investigate areas for future excavation using ground penetrating radar (GPR). In 1993, Professor Stager's team uncovered a portion of the medieval Islamic Rampart that encircled Ashkelon. At the bottom of the rampart, the team discovered a Fatamid Arabic inscription describing the construction of the fortifications into which Crusader shields had later been cut. While GPR cannot locate particular artifacts such as this inscription, it can assist in revealing further remains of the Jaffa Gate and ramparts preserved at the northeastern corner of Ashkelon. If discovered, their excavation and exposure would broaden our understanding of Ashkelon's role during the Islamic and Crusader periods. In 1815, archaeologist Lady Hester Stanhope uncovered one of the major Basilicas of the Roman forum. The artist David Roberts in 1839 included in his painting of Ashkelon the Basilica and a Roman temple, neither of which is visible to the visitor today. Using GPR, we hope to rediscover and later excavate these Roman remains.

With the generous support of Shelby White and the Leon Levy Foundation, ancient Ashkelon has a bright future. The next five years promise to produce some important final report volumes from Professor Stager alongside exciting new excavations led by Dr. Master.

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