Byzantine Boomtown

Archaeology Magazine ^ | May/June 2025 | Jason Urbanus

[SunkenCiv]

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have unearthed parts of a Roman and Byzantine settlement just outside the modern city of Kiryat Gat. The researchers believe the settlement was founded in the first century b.c. and flourished for more than 600 years, thanks to its location along an important road connecting the Judean Mountains with the coastal plain. The settlement seems to have been especially prosperous during the fifth and sixth centuries a.d., based on evidence of an extensive building campaign as well as distinctive types of pottery, coins, and decorative marbles found at the site. Also dating to this period are remnants of successful winemaking and ceramic industries, which produced goods for use by local communities as well as for export throughout the Mediterranean.

This Byzantine expansion of the Roman settlement seems to have been centered around a newly established monastery, which had a chapel featuring an ornate mosaic floor. The mosaic's colorful design includes crosses, lions, doves, flowers, and geometric patterns. At its center is a passage in Greek from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Deuteronomy that reads, "Blessed are you when you come in, and blessed are you when you go out." Around 10 buildings have been uncovered to date, but experts believe that much of the settlement remains buried and that it is likely the largest and most significant Roman-Byzantine site ever discovered in southern Israel.

[SunkenCiv]

Roman and Byzantine settlement, Israel

Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority

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• Exquisite Byzantine Mosaic Unveiled in Israel [06/10/2025]

[fidelis]

"The settlement seems to have been especially prosperous during the fifth and sixth centuries a.d."

I'm just happy Archeology Magazine used A.D. (anno domini: Year of Our Lord) instead of the silly C.E (Common Era).

[kiryandil]

Kiryat Gat also spelled Qiryat Gat, is a city in the Southern District of Israel.

It lies 56 km south of Tel Aviv, 43 km north of Beersheba, and 68 km west southwest of Jerusalem.

In 2022 it had a population of 64,437.

[tumblindice]

The town too tough to die: ‘It had a man for breakfast every morning’.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

I’m always interested in reading about prominent Roman / Byzantine settlements like this that ultimately faded away and became ruins. Antioch and Palmyra come to mind too. It makes me wonder how many US cities will be ruins in a thousand years.

[SunkenCiv]

Uh, probably all of them. :^) 1000 years is a long time.

[SunkenCiv]

Construction workers clearing rubble from destroyed houses in Maarat al-Numan revealed the entrance to a mysterious subterranean tunnel. AP News reports that archaeologists from the Idlib Directorate of Antiquities were called to the area to investigate and discovered a hidden 1,500-year-old burial complex. The site contained two chambers, each featuring six rock-cut tombs. A cross was carved into the top of one of the columns that separated the graves. "Based on the presence of the cross and the pottery and glass pieces that were found, this tomb dates back to the Byzantine era," said Hassan al-Ismail, director of antiquities in Idlib. The region of Idlib in northwest Syria, which was strategically located on the route between Damascus and Aleppo, is known for its plethora of archaeological monuments, especially its co-called Dead Cities, a cluster of Byzantine-era settlements that were abandoned around the eighth century. To read about a rare burial of a nun uncovered in a Byzantine monastery north of Jerusalem, go to "Bound for Heaven."

Hidden Byzantine Tombs Found Beneath Houses in Syria
Archaeology Magazine | June 10, 2025