Posted on 09/15/2011 4:45:37 PM PDT by decimon
Ancient harbor at Yavneh-Yam was used for hostage exchange, says TAU researcher
Archaeologists have long known that Yavneh-Yam, an archaeological site between the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast, was a functioning harbor from the second millennium B.C. until the Middle Ages. Now Tel Aviv University researchers have uncovered evidence to suggest that the site was one of the final strongholds of Early Islamic power in the region.
According to Prof. Moshe Fischer of TAU's Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Cultures and head of the Yavneh-Yam dig, the recent discovery of a bath house from the Early Islamic period which made use of Roman techniques such as heated floors and walls, indicates that Arabic rulers maintained control of the site up until the end of the Early Islamic period in the 12th century AD. Considered alongside other datable artefacts such as pottery, oil lamps and rare glass weights this architectural feature demonstrates that Arabic control was maintained in Yavneh-Yam at a time when 70 percent of the surrounding land was in the hands of Christian crusaders.
The fortress was inhabited by military officers but not by high powered rulers, explains Prof. Fischer. Written Arabic sources from the same period, identifying Yavneh-Yam as a harbour, suggest that those who inhabited the fortress were responsible for hostage negotiations between the Arabic powers and the Christian crusaders, and the harbor itself served as
(Excerpt) Read more at aftau.org ...
Yam is the deity of the primordial chaos and represents the power of the sea untamed and raging; he is seen as ruling storms and the disasters they wreak. The gods cast out Yam from the heavenly mountain Sappan (modern Jebel Aqra; "Sappan" is cognate to Tsephon. The seven-headed dragon Lotan is associated closely with him and the serpent is frequently used to describe him."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamm
Side dish ping.
Cool.
|
|
GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
![]() |
|
Thanks decimon. |
|
|
This is fascinating stuff. If we go forward in time, we can speculate that Popeye the Sailor was modeled after the priests of Yam.
After all, wasn’t his mantra, “I Yam that I Yam.”
I blame myself, but society is also to blame.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Popeye is a creature of his environment, completely. He’s just a caricature.
http://www.tau.ac.il/~yavneyam/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.