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TEL LOD

INTRODUCTION

Numerous salvage excavations were conducted on Tel Lod during the 1990s. The stratigraphy of the mound differs from area to area, but it appears that, except for a few short gaps, it was occupied from the beginning of the Pottery Neolithic period, through the Bronze and Iron Ages, and intermittently in later periods to the present. The site is located at a distance from major trade routes and was never fortified. The earliest settlement appears to have been situated at the northern part of the mound, alongside the streambed. During the Middle Bronze, Late Bronze, and Iron Ages, the settlement moved about half a kilometer to the south. In the Roman and Byzantine periods, the mound was largely abandoned and settlement concentrated to its south, in the area of today’s Old City of Lod.

Excavations at Tel Lod were conducted in 1995 on behalf of Tel Aviv University by H. Khalaily and A. Gopher, and later on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority: in 1996 by E. Yannai and R. Badich, in 1997 by E. van den Brink, and most extensively in 2000 by E. Yannai and O. Marder.

EXCAVATION RESULTS

In the 1995 excavations, a stone floor was uncovered with finds from the Persian period. Below it were a number of mud-brick structures dating to the Pottery Neolithic A (referred to by the excavator as the Lodian culture, synonymous with the Jericho IX culture). In the 1996 excavations, remnants of Byzantine industrial installations were exposed; they overlay a spot for preparing the dead for burial and a cemetery of the Roman period, which were superimposed over settlement remains from the Iron Age I–II, the Late and Middle Bronze Ages, and the Pottery Neolithic A period (the Sha‘ar ha-Golan culture). In the 1997 excavations, a number of strata from the Early Bronze Age IB were exposed, overlain by the remains of an industrial area of the Byzantine period.

The large-scale excavations conducted in 2000 took place on the northern slope of the tell, beneath the former municipal stadium. Construction of the stadium in the 1950s severely damaged the ancient remains nearest the surface. Nine settlement strata were revealed, from the Pottery Neolithic A period to the Early Bronze Age II. The latest stratum contained mixed finds from various periods ranging up to the time of the British Mandate.

STRATUM IX: THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD. A number of Neolithic sherd concentrations were found in depressions and pits in the sand dune and clay soil below the mound. Most of the pottery vessels were made of clay tempered with large amounts of organic matter, and numerous sherds were decorated with paint and incising; some were burnished. Such sherds belong to the Lodian culture. Sherds decorated in the Yarmukian style were uncovered in the 1996 excavations.

STRATUM VIII: THE CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD. Pottery sherds of the Chalcolithic period were retrieved from a number of pits and hollows in the sand dune below the mound. The jar and pithoi fragments were grooved and incised with a broad-toothed comb; some jar rims were adorned with an applied rope decoration. Alongside the large, closed vessels were fragments of large and small bowls, bowls atop tall fenestrated pedestals, coronets, and churns. Also found were fragments of basalt bowls, grinding vessels, and violin-shaped figurines.

STRATA VII–VI: THE EARLY BRONZE AGE IB. No evidence was found in any of the excavations for occupation during the Early Bronze Age IA. In the 1997 excavations, four Early Bronze Age IB strata were uncovered, the uppermost containing Egyptian finds. The only evidence of the Early Bronze Age I in the 2000 excavations (area A) was a shallow hollow containing vessels imported from Egypt, basalt weights, and locally produced pottery. The imported pottery vessels are attributed to Naqada IIIC, the reign of the Egyptian King Narmer, corresponding to the Early Bronze Age IB. Yet it would appear that there was no Early Bronze Age IB settlement in this area, the sporadic finds having been discarded in a hollow or pit beyond the limits of the settlement. In both areas B and C, to the east and south of area A, several fieldstone foundations of mud-brick walls were exposed; and in area B, the broad stone foundations of a circular building were revealed. Floors associated with these walls were overlain by ceramics typical of the Early Bronze Age IB. On the edge of the settlement, between areas A and B, the complete skeleton of a donkey was exposed in situ, buried inside a pit in virgin soil.

Most of the vessels of this period, apart from cooking pots and some jars, were red slipped. Some of the large jars were slipped on the exterior with a thick layer of lime, and small jars were white slipped and decorated with thin vertical red stripes. The imported Egyptian vessels are mostly pithoi and jars, variously sized and made of well-levigated fabric fired at high temperatures. Before firing, six serekhs of the Egyptian King Narmer and one serekh of King Ka were incised on these vessels. Also found were several narrow-necked bottles with a ring rim, medium-sized bottles with a yellowish white wash, small jars with a short rounded rim, and cylindrical vessels made of light yellow clay with a thin groove below the ring rim. There were also bowls made of a dark orange porous fabric tempered with copious amounts of organic matter. From the same porous material were made large, deep, lotus-shaped bowls. This rich assemblage of Egyptian vessels from Lod includes all the known types from sites in the southern regions of Israel, such as the terrace at Tel Ḥalif (Naḥal Tilla), Tel ‘Erani, Tel Ma’aḥaz, Tell es-Sakan, and ‘En Besor.

STRATA V–II: THE EARLY BRONZE AGE II. In areas A and B of the 2000 excavations, a planned settlement of the Early Bronze Age II was uncovered, divided into blocks of buildings separated by roads and alleyways paved with small pebbles, stone chips, and ceramic fragments. The mud-brick walls lacked stone foundations and were laid on leveled surfaces of the virgin ḥamra soil or the sand dune. In area D, a rectangular building made of trapezoidal mud bricks was exposed. In the northern part of area B, the walls were preserved to a height of six to eight courses. Beaten earth floors overlain by pottery vessels and other finds were exposed both inside and around the buildings. The buildings were generally irregular in shape; some were rectangular, others square, their shape dictated by the available space between buildings and paved alleyways. The entire infrastructure, both buildings and alleyways, was razed several times. The number of phases is not consistent in each of the building clusters, and it seems that some were repaired numerous times while others were repaired only once or twice. An open area lacking remains extended to the north in area A and seemingly marks the northern limit of the settlement.

The pottery-production techniques of the Early Bronze Age I continued into the Early Bronze Age II. These include the treatment of large jars and pithoi with a lime slip, and the decoration of white-slipped jars with red stripes. The ceramic assemblage contains a range of small and thin carinated bowls of well-levigated clay with a horizontal lug handle, as are known from Aphek and other sites of this period. Also found were fragments of metallic ware jugs, small jars, and platters.

A cylinder seal was found on the stratum VI floor of an Early Bronze Age building in area C. The seal, measuring 3.5 cm long and 1.8 cm in diameter, was coarsely engraved with a geometric pattern. Similar cylinder seals were found in the Early Bronze Age II stratum at Arad.

AN IRON AGE WINEPRESS. An Iron Age industrial installation was exposed in 2000 in area G, northwest of the Early Bronze Age settlement. The installation consisted of four vats sunken into the sand, 1.30 m in diameter and c. 1.50 m deep. A sedimentation pit, 30 cm in diameter and 20 cm deep, was exposed at the bottom of each vat. The vat walls were lined with a thick layer of pebbles covered by numerous layers of white plaster, in places forming a coating up to 10 cm thick. Connecting each pair of vats was a plastered basin, 40 cm in diameter and 20 cm deep. The surface level around the installation was severely damaged, and it is difficult to discern if there were plastered surfaces around it for treading the grapes. Pottery sherds of the ninth century BCE were found in and immediately around the vats. Similar installations have been found in the Yarkon River basin, and at Tell Qasile, Jaffa, and Gezer.

ELI YANNAI

THE FLOOR MOSAIC

A floor mosaic was discovered during a salvage excavation in 1996 on he-Ḥalutz Street in Lod. The excavation was directed by M. Avissar on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The carpet is 9 m wide and more than 17 m long. It is of exceptional quality and in an excellent state of preservation. Discovered about 1 m below the surface, the mosaic was covered by debris that contained many vividly painted fresco fragments, some fairly large and well preserved. The numerous pottery fragments found in this debris included imported amphorae of the third–fourth centuries CE, and coins, most dating from the third century CE and none later than the fourth century CE. Based on these finds and stylistic considerations, the mosaic can be dated to the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth century CE.

The mosaic probably adorned the reception hall of a Roman villa. The northern and western walls of this hall can be traced along the boundaries of the floor; they were terre pisée walls erected on a rubble foundation, and covered by thick layers of plaster. Part of the base of a white-washed terre pisée wall has survived on the western side of the floor. The southern end of the floor has not been preserved due to modern road works, but the rubble foundation of the southern terre pisée wall has been found. A fragment of a massive stone wall to the northeast cannot be dated with certainty and its architectural context is unclear. The wall may have contained a doorway or opening into the hall. The eastern edge of the mosaic was damaged when a step, crudely paved in coarse white tesserae, was added during a later phase. This sole repair suggests that the building existed for only a short time. The rapid crumbling of the terre pisée walls sealed the floor, thus preserving the mosaics in pristine condition.

The mosaic floor consists of two colorful rectangular carpets and a broad transverse band separating them, all set against a white background. The northern carpet is especially large, comprised of three panels and a white frame with stylized flowers and a thin black borderline. The northern of the panels consists of nine hexagonal medallions and two half medallions, all enclosed within a guilloche band and a wave pattern. The medallions are inhabited by representations of fish and birds, as well as wild beasts in hunting scenes. The square middle panel, framed by a wide braided band, consists of a central hexagon surrounded by a network of guilloches forming squares and groups of three triangles, which together create a 12-sided polygon. In each group of triangular panels, a fish and two birds are represented. Two of the square panels show wild beasts and their prey, the western square contains a pastoral scene, and the southern square a krater flanked by two felines. The central octagon is occupied by a lion and lioness, confronting each other from two mountaintops separated by a body of water. A mythological sea creature (ketos) frolics in the water. A group of animals—an elephant, a giraffe, a rhinoceros, a tiger, and a water buffalo—is depicted at the foot of the mountains. A pair of dolphins flanking Neptune’s trident appear in each corner of the square. The south panel portrays a marine scene, with fish, a dolphin, and mollusks scattered in abundance around two merchant ships, one sailing west, the other anchored and facing east, sails folded. A cesspit dug in the Ottoman period damaged this part of the mosaic floor and obliterated much of one of the ships. The scene also includes four unidentified triangular objects, probably lobster pots. A damaged panel with a decorative frame adjoins the northern carpet from the east; it depicts a tripod table supporting a krater between two amphorae. The orientation of the panel differs from that of the other panels and may have faced an entrance in the east wall.

In the narrow band separating the two main carpets is a krater flanked by peacocks. Tendrils with leaves issue from the krater and birds are shown among the leaves. Glass tesserae were abundantly used in this band.

The southern carpet is divided into two panels. The northern of the two, which is enclosed in a double frame with rhomboids and a braided motif, shows birds perched on branches. The panel was damaged when a modern water pipe was laid. The southern panel, only partly preserved, includes an intertwining design forming hexagonal medallions inhabited by birds, fish, and various animals, including two mythological beasts. The panel is enclosed in a frame made of a braided band and geometric motifs. Glass tesserae were employed in this carpet as well.

MIRIAM AVISSAR

Main publications: J. J. Schwartz, Lod (Lydda), Israel: From its Origins Through the Byzantine Period, 5600 B.C.E.–640 C.E. (BAR/IS 571), Oxford 1991; ibid. (Review), PEQ 125 (1993), 177–178; N. Blockman, The Lodian Culture (Jericho IX) Following the Excavation at Newe Yarak, Lod (M.A. thesis), Tel Aviv 1997 (Eng. abstract); R. Gophna & I. Beit-Arieh, Map of Lod (80) (Archaeological Survey of Israel), Jerusalem 1997; B. -Z. Rosenfeld, Lod and its Sages: The Period of the Mishnah and the Talmud, Jerusalem 1997 (Heb.).

Studies: L. Gershuny, ESI 10 (1991), 20; J. Kaplan, ABD, 4, New York 1992, 346–347; A. Rosenberger & A. Shavit, ESI 13 (1993), 54–56; A. Gopher (& A. Rosenberger), ibid. 14 (1994), 85–86; id. (& N. Blackman), ‘Atiqot 47 (2004), 1–50; A. Feldstein, ESI 19 (1997), 50*; H. Khalaily & A. Gopher, ibid., 51*; E. C. M. Van den Brink, ESI 19 (1997), 49*–50*; 110 (1999), 47*–48*; id., AJA 102 (1998), 768–769; id., Egypt and the Levant , London 2002, 286–305; id. (& E. L. Braun), In Quest of Ancient Settlements and Landscapes, Tel Aviv 2002, 167–192; S. Golan, ESI 112 (2000), 65–66; O. Shmueli, ibid., 66*–67*; E. Yannai & O. Marder, ibid., 63–65; E. L. Braun, Egypt and the Levant , London 2002, 173–189; id., Egypt at its Origins: Proceedings of the International Conference “Origin of the State, Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt,” Krakow, 28.8.–1.9.2002 (Barbara Adams Fest.; Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 138; eds. S. Hendricks et al.), Leuven 2004, 508–517; id., MdB 162 (2004), 42–45; M. Rosen-Ayalon, Art et archéologie islamiques en Palestine (Islamiques), Paris 2002, 115–117; H. Torgë, ESI 115 (2003), 44*; Y. Arbel, ibid. 116 (2004), 40*; Y. Goren, ‘Atiqot 47 (2004), 51–55; Y. Paz et al., Salvage Excavation Reports 2 (2005), 114–158.

Later Periods (includes The Floor Mosaic)

R. Reich, ‘Atiqot 25 (1994), 190; A. Kloner, Aram 8 (1996), 119–122; S. A. Kingsley, Minerva 8/4 (1997), 45–47; M. Avissar, ESI 17 (1998), 169–172; 20 (2000), 64*–65*; id., “Couched as a Lion…Depictions of Animals from the Leo Mildenberg Collection (Reuben & Edith Hecht Museum Catalogue 16), Haifa 1999, 55–56; id., Tropis VI: Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity, Lamia 1996 (ed. H. Tzalas), Athens 2001, 47–54; Y. Selinger, BAIAS 16 (1998), 75–84; E. Kogan-Zehavi, ESI 20 (2000), 65*; A. Ovadiah (& S. Mucznik), Assaph B/3 (1998), 1–18; id., Art and Archaeology in Israel and Neighbouring Countries: Antiquity and Late Antiquity, London 2002 (index); E. Friedheim, JSRS 9 (2000), xxi; Y. Paz, TA 27 (2000), 295; B. Zissu & H. Eshel, INJ 14 (2000–2002), 157–158; F. E. Udoh, PEQ 134 (2002), 130–143; E. Haddad & M. Avissar, IJNA 32 (2003), 73–77; Y. Arbel, ESI 116 (2004), 40*; Z. Friedman, IJNA 33 (2004), 164–167; B. Rosen, ibid., 167–168.

Color Plates

TEL LOD