Ashkelon – Submerged Canaanite–Philistine Anchorage and Dog-Harbour
Ashkelon Anchorage · Ascalon · Ashqelon
Early Bronze to Crusader (c. 3500 BCE – 1270 CE)·Canaanite / Philistine / Phoenician / Hellenistic / Roman / Crusader·🇮🇱 Southern District, Ashkelon, Israel
About
About Ashkelon – Submerged Canaanite–Philistine Anchorage and Dog-Harbour
Ashkelon (Ascalon) – Canaanite–Philistine pentapolis port (c. 3500 BCE–1270 CE) whose built harbour was never a walled basin but a pair of protected offshore anchorages north and south of the tell's promontory, now submerged 2–4 m after 2 m Holocene rise. Clarke's 1990s sonar and diver survey found Early Bronze anchor stones, Philistine bichrome sherds, and Hellenistic mooring weights 300 m offshore, plus a low submerged rubble 'dog-leg' breakwater 50 m off the south beach at –2.5 m. The medieval harbour (Fatimid/Crusader) mole footings overlie it. Ashkelon's offshore 'dog-harbour' (Middle Bronze anchor field) is the earliest Levantine philistine anchorage type.
Why it mattersEarliest Philistine harbour type (roadstead not basin) in Levant; anchors philistine maritime trade and 12th c. BCE Sea Peoples economy.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether northern vs southern roadstead was primary in Philistine period
- 02Chronology of dog-leg breakwater (Hellenistic vs Crusader)
Theories
- 01Dog cemeteries on tell link to harbour Canaanite cult
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Anchorage EB III; Philistine emporium 12th c. BCE; Hellenistic quay 3rd c. BCE
- Period
- Early Bronze to Crusader (c. 3500 BCE – 1270 CE)
- Culture
- Canaanite / Philistine / Phoenician / Hellenistic / Roman / Crusader
- Purpose
- Philistine wine, olive oil and textile export; Crusader supply port
- Abandoned
- 1270 Baibars destruction + dune silting
- Rediscovered
- Stager Harvard excavations 1985–; Clarke offshore survey 1990s
- Excavation
- Submerged
Anchorage EB III; Philistine emporium 12th c. BCE; Hellenistic quay 3rd c. BCE
Initial construction
c. 1247 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
31.6610° N · 34.5470° E · -3 m · 3 mapped features
Northern Roadstead Anchor Field
anchorageEarly Bronze to Philistine anchor scatter 300 m off north beach at –3 m
31.6625° N · 34.5460° ESouthern Dog-Leg Breakwater
moleSubmerged rubble breakwater 50 m at –2.5 m south of tell promontory
31.6590° N · 34.5455° EAshkelon Medieval Mole Footings
harbourCrusader mole footings overlying Philistine anchorage at shoreline
31.6605° N · 34.5480° E