Posted on 04/12/2004 3:29:48 PM PDT by blam
In Israel, a New Highway Leads to an Ancient Christian Past
By GREG MYRE
Published: April 11, 2004
Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times Israeli archaeologists studied what are believed to be Christian ruins of the fifth or sixth century discovered by workers building a highway.
ETANYA, Israel — This seaside town had a simple plan to add an interchange to the country's main coastal highway. But in a small land with a long history, almost anyplace one sticks a shovel in the ground, one strikes an ancient civilization.
As is often the case, the earthmovers and cranes are not allowed to churn up a construction site until the state archaeologists first get a peek at what lies beneath.
Sure enough, just a foot below the surface, a Christian community from the Byzantine era, dating from either the fifth or sixth century, presented itself just to the west of bustling Highway 2, and right in the middle of the planned interchange on the southern edge of Netanya.
After two months of digging at the site, archaeologists have produced increasingly intriguing finds. Limestone foundations of a religious site have been unearthed, built around a series of well-preserved tile mosaics. The Israel Antiquities Authority believes that it was either a church, or possibly a convent, according to written records from the period.
The site includes the base of a baptismal font and a crypt that was presumably for a holy person, the archaeologists say.
Nearby, they found foundations of buildings that were used for storing agriculture products. Items like pottery, coins and bones have been removed, but archaeologists would like to spend several more months on the project.
"We would still have to dig much more to get the full picture of life here," said Gili Hillel, one of two archaeologists from the Antiquities Authority in charge of the excavation. "It is a large site, but we don't yet know how large."
The Israeli authorities have halted the digging, but now they face a perennial quandary in the duel between the ancient and modern.
Should this tantalizing site be preserved and more fully explored, or should it be covered with a thick layer of asphalt in order to improve traffic flow on congested Highway 2?
"Our job is to find the balance between the needs of developing the country and preserving antiquities," said Yossi Levy, an archaeologist with the Antiquities Authority who is in charge of the Netanya region. "I want to believe that we are able to make most people happy."
The Antiquities Authority conducts about 250 "rescue excavations" annually, most of them prompted by plans for new construction projects. These digs can last from a few days to several months, depending on what they turn up.
When artifacts are found, the Antiquities Authority has three basic options.
All development can be blocked if the site is deemed extremely important. If the site has little or no significance, then the builders may proceed, and need not worry about destroying the remains. The third option, and the one most often adopted, is for the building to go ahead, but in a way that preserves the site and the artifacts.
Because Israel is essentially one big archaeological site, there is a limit to what can be preserved and displayed. In this case, the Antiquities Authority has decided the site should not be destroyed, and it is trying to figure out how to proceed.
It could be left open to the public by building a bridge above it, though that would be expensive. A less costly possibility, and the one that appears most likely to be adopted, would be to rebury the site carefully so that it will not be harmed and then to build the road over it.
Rami Gobernik, a spokesman for the Netanya municipality, said the city would preserve the site, but had not made a final decision on how to proceed.
Such compromises are part of most major construction projects in Israel, like the trans-Israel highway. It runs north and south, and about 50 miles of the planned 150 miles has been completed. Reuven Levon is the chief engineer on the project.
"We've spent a lot of time and millions of shekels making preliminary studies before we even started with the engineering plans," Mr. Levon said. "You are always looking for an equilibrium between engineering, antiquities and the environment. It's not an obstacle, it's part of the business here."israel,
Where's Etanya?
ML/NJ
You are projecting what you would do.
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