Jaffa 2004 Overview

The Port Town of Ancient Jaffa, Israel
Orit Tsuf

Jaffa is one of the oldest port cities on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The city is located between Caesarea and Gaza, about 57 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem.

Old Jaffa is built upon a cliff, at the foot of which the ancient port stretches out, protected by a rocky reef. In Arabic the city is called Yafa el-'Abqa ("Old Jaffa") or al-Qal'a ("The Fortress"). At Tel Yafo (the archaeological mound at Jaffa), a number of levels of inhabitation were uncovered, the remnants of which were preserved over several extensive areas. Continuity of settlement ranges from the 18th century BC into the present, concomitant with the changing political situations through the ages. Between 1955 and 1989 excavations were carried out at Jaffa by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Museum of Antiquities in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority. These were supervised by Dr. Yaakov Kaplan and succeeded in uncovering parts of Jaffa's history from the Middle Bronze to the Muslim periods, highlighting the important role of the ancient site since the Biblical Time.

No report has ever been published of Jaffa excavations. Moreover, none of the material has been organized as yet toward scientific publication. All written documentation left behind by Dr. Yaakov Kaplan is today located in the Rockefeller Archives in Jerusalem, while the artifacts are stored in the Jaffa Museum of Antiquities, Tel-Aviv-Yafo, Israel.

Excavations were carried out at a number of locations and have prime important as research themes:
• The Sidonian City
• Jaffa as Hellenistic planned city
• Political aspects- The Roman city
• Commerce and Trade in Jaffa's harbor
• Funerary traditions

Publication of Jaffa excavations report will be supported by the Israel Antiquities Authority, which has declared the Tel a national site.