The Israeli city of Ashkelon was an important trading center in Roman times. The remains of a 2,000-year-old basilica – a magnificent Roman building that was once the center of public life – testify to this significant past. New excavations and reconstructions reveal the enormous size and splendor of the structure, which was then the largest basilica in Israel.
Even if we associate the term basilica with church buildings today, this type of building goes back to originally secular buildings from the time of the Romans. Back then, these hall structures, criss-crossed by rows of columns, served as public buildings in which trade was carried out, court sessions were held and public debates took place. Some religious ceremonies were also held in these magnificent ancient buildings.
Magnificent building from the time of Herod
One of the largest Roman basilicas in the Middle East once stood in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. Around 2000 years ago it was an important trading port, where ships from Asia Minor and the European Mediterranean ports docked. The ruins of an ancient theater and the basilica show the importance of the city during Roman times. “The basilica was built under Herod the Great – according to a historical source, his family came from Ashkelon,” explain excavation manager Rachel Bar-Natan from the Israel Antiquities Authority and her colleagues. “Coins from Herodian times found in the structures of the ancient floor testify that this basilica was built in the time of this ruler, who is famous for his buildings.”
The excavations unearthed around 200 marble finds with a total weight of hundreds of tons, including dozen of column capitals with plant motifs. Some of these columns are decorated with eagle reliefs – the symbol of the Roman Empire, as the archaeologists explain. Analysis of the marble suggests that this material came from Asia Minor and was brought to Ashkelon by ship. “The huge building was roofed over and divided into three areas – a central hall and two side aisles,” report Bar-Natan and her colleagues. “The hall was encircled by rows of marble columns that rose about 13 meters and supported the roof of the building. The floor and walls of the building were also made of marble. “
Destroyed by an earthquake
Huge statues that archaeologists had unearthed decades ago also bear witness to the basilica’s former splendor. Below is a statue of the Roman goddess of victory Nike, who is supported by the spear-bearing god Atlas. A statue of the Egyptian goddess Isis was also found, depicting the goddess as Tyche and thus the city’s goddess of luck. From the finds and historical records it appears that the basilica of Ashkelon was renovated again in the second and third centuries, provided with additional marble decorations and supplemented by a small theater, according to the research team.
In 363, however, the magnificent ancient building was destroyed in a strong earthquake. The traces of this catastrophe can still be seen today in the cracks and faults in the floor of the structure. After the basilica was destroyed, it was not rebuilt. When Ashkelon came under the rule of the Islamic Abbasids and Fatimids a few centuries later, workshops and other work buildings were built on its ruins. Some of the marble debris was built into the walls of these new buildings, others were cut up and used as paving stones.
In the course of their excavations, the archaeologists brought this rubble back together and partially reconstructed it. Among other things, one of the massive marble columns was put up again and the former floor of the basilica was restored. Further pillars are to follow. Some of the large statues that were taken away by previous excavation teams are also to be returned to their original location. The aim is to give visitors to the Archaeological Park of Ashkelon a better impression of the former splendor of these Roman buildings, as Bar-Natan and her colleagues report. The Roman basilica then fits into a history path that extends from the oldest Canaanite archway to old fountains, the Roman basilica and the Odeon to the fortifications of the crusaders from the Middle Ages.
Source: Israel Antiquities Authority