Archaeological Survey of Israel

Survey jeeps at Akrabbim

The archeological survey of Israel aims to survey the entire area of the State of Israel documenting and mapping all its archaeological sites. Executing the survey was entrusted to the Israel Antiquities Authority, as they map, measure, photograph the sites while collecting important information about them.

History

Anchoring and clearing the ladder above the Cave of Horrors in the Judean Desert in 1953

Israel's archaeological survey expedition headed by Yohanan Aharoni in the Judean desert. In the center Moshe Kochavi, to the left, Yosef Aviram, 1950's-1960's

Since the Middle Ages, travelers visiting the Land of Israel, wrote and published their impressions about it, but they were not of a scientific or systematic nature. During the 19th century, professional research of the Land of Israel began as scientists began visiting and exploring it. Among those researchers we can name Ulrich Jasper Seetzen, Henry Baker Tristram, Victor Gruen, William Francis Lynch, Edward Robinson and others. Their areas of interest were diverse and did not necessarily focus on archaeology, but in their books they also documented sites a fact that still contributes today and is considered as valid sources of information, especially regarding sites that have disappeared over the years.

The first major survey of the Land of Israel was carried out by the PEF Survey of Palestine, a British foundation established in 1865 to survey the Land of Israel. The survey, named "Survey of western Palastine", set out to map all of Land of Israel west of the Jordan River, south of the Litani River in the north to the Beersheba River in the south. The survey began in January 1872. Among the directors of the survey were Claude Conder and Horatio Kitchener. Based on this survey they published in 1880 the map of the Israel Exploration Fund. This map continues to be used by various researchers.

During the British Mandate period, almost no archaeological surveys were conducted. The antiquities department of the Mandate government concentrated on archaeological excavations. The Foundation for the Study of the Land of Israel established the British School of Archeology in the Land of Israel and collaborated with the Department of Antiquities, but it also mainly dealt with excavations. The Director of Surveys in the Department of Antiquities was Philip Langstaff Ord Guy, he held this position until 1927. He was then appointed Director of the British School of Archaeology, and in this position conducted a survey of Israeli coastal plain and the Negev. The survey that took place between the years 1936-1939 was never published. With the establishment of the State of Israel, Guy was joined the Israel Antiquities Authority and served as Director of Excavations and Survey until his death in 1952.

The survey after the establishment of Israel

The first jeep of the emergency survey

Surveyors camp at Nahal Sirpad

Surveyors in the fields. Be'er Tuvia map

After the establishment of Israel, Shemuel Yeivin, the first director of the antiquities department, suggested to David Ben-Gurion "to conduct an archaeological survey in the area of the State of Israel, so that future generations in the country will know about the history hidden in the land of the new state". After Israel was established, various surveys were conducted throughout the land in different resolutions, but no systematic survey of the entire area was carried out. This was about to change in the following years

One of the pioneers of the Negev survey was Nelson Glueck. He surveyed the area in the late 1940's and 1950's, as well as the area across the Jordan to the east. He identified 1,500 sites, of which 500 were in the Negev, most of which were sites from the Iron Age and the Nabatean period. His assistant was Beno Rothenberg. Rothenberg began in 1959 the Southern Arabah survey which concentrated on the study of the copper industry which led to the development of archaeometallurgy. The survey revealed 194 sites from the Ketura junction southwards, some of which had already been documented before.

David Ben-Gurion's retirement in 1953 to the Negev increased interest in this area. Shemuel Yeivin ordered Emmanuel Anati, who was at the beginning of his career as an archaeologist, to go down to the Negev. The survey he carried out was done without proper equipment, topographical maps except for a map at 1:250000 km. In this survey he discovered Mount Karkom, a place he researched for many years.

Along with the Negev and Arabah survey, additional surveys were conducted in the 1950s. Ya'akov Olami conducted a survey of prehistoric sites in Mount Carmel, and N. Tzuri conducted a survey in the Beit She'an Valley. In 1954, a surveyors' conference was held at Oranim Academic College in Kiryat Tiv'on. During the conference they laid out the outlines for a systematic survey of Israel. The northern region was divided in o 44 districts. The survey in this area was conducted by Yohanan Aharoni, it was done with the help of 47 volunteer surveyors from localities within the surveyed areas. The survey in the northern region was published in his 1956 book entitled "Survey in the Galilee: Israeli Settlements and Their Pottery" which dealt with the settlement of the 12 tribes. The published findings of the survey led to the recognition of its great importance.

In the 1950s Yohanan Aharoni was the pioneer surveyor of the Judean desert. During this period, 4 expeditions surveyed the caves of the Judean desert and ancient buildings, in 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1960 in the area between Ein Gedi and Masada.

The surveys were conducted by volunteers from the kibbutz movement, sometimes at high personal risk. One of the caves was the Cave of Letters, the findings were discovered by Yigael Yadin. in 1961 Pessah Bar-Adon discovered the Nahal Mishmar hoard was discovered.

The Association for the Archaeological Survey of Israel

Exposed building ruins on the stream cliff located north of Nir Banim

In 1962, the Archeology Council promoted the subject for archaeological survey. The goal was to establish an orderly body that would specialize in archaeological surveys and work alongside the "Antiquities Division".

In 1964, the "Association for the Archaeological Survey of Israel" was established by various archaeologists and its first director was Dr. Ze'ev Yevin. Its purpose was to systematically produce scientific surveys. The founding conference of the association was held in Haifa on July 19, 1964. At the request of Abba Hushi, the survey association began its operation with a survey in the Haifa area to help with the city outline plan. The mayor at the time, Abba Hushi, supported the association by funding Part of its activities. The chairman of the association was Avraham Biran, who simultaneously served as director of the antiquities department.

Establishing the association led to many organized survey teams that would work systematically according to 1:20,000 maps. The systematic survey led to substantial discoveries of many new archaeological sites.

Part of the association's activity was the survey abandoned Arab villages after the War of Independence in order to locate and document buildings with archaeological-historical value. The survey began in 1965 before the Six Day War and continued until 1970. In June 1967, following the Six Day War, an extensive survey began in Judea and Samaria with the aim of creating an updated archaeological site map of the area. The survey was conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Defense. It began in October 1967 and continued during 1968. The sectors heads of the Judea and Samaria survey were:

Yehuda region - Moshe Kochavi

The Judean Desert and the Jordan Valley - Pessah Bar-Adon

Land of Benjamin and Mount Ephraim - Zecharia Kallai

The land of Ephraim and the Manasseh Hills - Ram Gophna and Yosef Porat.

The Golan Heights - Claire Epstein and Shmarya Guttman

The survey results were published in 1972 in the book Judea Samaria and the Golan – the archaeological survey of 1968" which was the association's first publication. Due to the large amount of surveys conducted resulted with a large number of surveyors that gained extensive experience, and in following years they themselves became survey leaders in the field of archeology in Israel. As years past by, the number of survey teams increased. In the 1970's, the following survey teams operated:

Ashkelon area - Ariel Berman

Jezreel Valley - Avner Raban

Issachar Plateau and Beit She'an valley - Zvi Gal

West Samaria - Shim'on Dar

Lod area - Ram Gophna

North Sinai - Eliezer Oren

Judaean Mountains - Amihai Mazar

Nahariya and Amka area - Rafael Frenkel

Tulkarm - Yehuda Na'eman

Lahav area - David Alon

Hevel Lakhish - Yehuda Dagan

Ein Gedi area - Gideon Hadas

Sharon plain - Eitan Ayalon.

The peace agreement between Israel and Egypt that was signed in 1979 led to the evacuation of Sinai in 1982. This resulted in the transfer of military forces from Sinai to the Negev. As a result, an emergency survey began in the Negev. One of the most important surveys was the "Ovda Valley Survey". The survey revealed a large concentration of sites on the eastern side of the valley, exactly where the base was intended to be built. Its construction would have ruined 104 sites that were unknown until then. As a result, the plans for the base construction were changed, only one site remained the area of ​​the base and a salvage excavation was done on the site.

In 1984, twenty survey squads were operating simultaneously in the field. By then, about 60 survey maps were completed and over 20,000 new sites were found. In 1985 a workers' committee was established within the association and in 1986 the first labor agreement was signed. During the association's activity there was a problem to publish the completed survey maps. Therefor by the end of its activity 71 maps had been reviewed, but only 8 of them have been published.

Israel Antiquities Authority survey framework

In summer of 1988, Amir Drori became the antiquities department manager at the Ministry of Education. He established the Israel Antiquities Authority. On September 1, 1989, the Antiquities Authority Law was approved, defining its areas of operation and responsibility, and on April 1, 1990, the Antiquities Authority was officially founded, subordinate to the Ministry of Education.

The Authority's establishment, ended the Association for Archaeological Survey activity. Its surveys responsibilities were transferred to the Authority and many of its employees were taken in. The Israel Antiquities Authority, created a survey excavations and research department, which coordinates survey activities. The association transferred its entire survey archive, an action that did not help to publicate survey maps due to lack of budget. From its establishment until 2014, 13 new maps were reviewed within the authority.

The authority was engaged in promoting on its website surveys that have already been conducted. Between the years 1990-1995 under the field manager Alon de Groot, 15 maps were published. In the following years 1995-2002, as Dr. Mordechai Hayman managed the survey field, 10 more maps were published and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was introduced. During his time, a "development survey" also began to operate, it was carried out to locate sites in areas intended for development. Over time this method became the main source of funding for archaeological surveys in the Antiquities Authority. Between 2002 and 2010, the survey was managed by Yehuda Dagan. During his period, it was also decided to stop publishing written surveys and to upload all of them to the web, including all surveys that have already been published. In 2011, Ofer Sion was appointed as the head of the survey.

Survey working method

Israel's area was divided into squares, each one of 100 square kilometers. The areas designated for development were given higher priority to be surveyed as the aim was to advance surveys and mapping of archeological sites before they were destroyed by development and construction projects. The survey editors worked with 1:20,000 scale maps, designated for a specific survey squad. Surveyors systematically walked through the area and collected information from the field for further processes with additional information collected from various sources.

The surveys were later published as books. Each survey included a survey map, a list of sites, the nature of the sites while describing the remains found according to its timeline. Additionally, there is information regarding its place in the landscape, illustrations, photographs, period maps as well as a bibliography. Each book included alphabetic site keys according to site names and an additional key by period. The sites on the map are presented in geographical order from north to south and west to east.

The names of the sites are based on various sources, including the names appearing on the PEF map, the names from the days of British rule, as well as the names announced in the "List of Tombstones and Historical Sites"

The map of the Land of Israel was originally divided into 267 squares. The numbers start in the northwest and go in a numeric order of rows east and south. Most of the squares on the coastline also include areas within the sea. Map number 1 is the Achziv map. Map number 267 the southernmost map of Eilat. After the Six Day War, additional squares of the Golan Heights and Judea and Samaria were added. The original system had not changed, and the new squares sized 10x10 km were given sub-numbers. In the Golan Heights, 14 survey maps have been added. In Judea and Samaria, 44 survey maps have been added. In addition, 3 more survey maps have been added: Map 48/1 which includes the sea area opposite Caesarea to the west of Binyamina map numbered 48. The map of Herzliya-west includes the sea area west of the map of Herzliya numbered 69, and map 251/1 the map of Har Ait east in the Arabah. Today the total area of the Israel is divided into 328 squares, as each square being a separate survey map. The northernmost maps are in the Golan Heights: Maps 8/1 Map of Mount Dov, and Map 8/2 Map of Mount Hermon. The most eastern maps are in the Golan Heights: Mount Akash map - 15/2, south of it Mount Peres map - 18/3 and Givat Orha map - 36/3 south of the Mount Peres map.

The survey website

Around 2006 the Israel Antiquities Authority decided to stop printing survey books and to start uploading all the information to its website, so it will be available for the public. The site was launched in 2009, when Map 49, Map for Regavim, was uploaded to the site. In 2010, map 256, the map of Sayarim valley in the Negev, was published. The site got a big boost in 2011 as during that year many additional maps were uploaded. The main page of the site shows a map of the Land of Israel divided into the survey squares, marked with different colors according to the state of the survey. Clicking on a square will bring up the information related to that survey square. The information appears in two tabs:

Introductions tab - includes information relating to the entire survey map such as names of the surveyors and editors, if there is a printed edition, edition publication date, the year it was uploaded to the website, general information regarding the survey map area analysis according to surveyed sites. The division of the sites by periods. Periodic maps of the survey map and bibliographic list.

Sites tab - includes a list of surveyed sites according to site's names, with the site number appearing next to each name on the same survey map. The site number next to the name is the same as the site number on the map.

Clicking on a certain site tab brings up the information about the site in another tab. It includes the name of the site in Hebrew, additional names, field number, coordinates on the New Israel Network and the international network, the historical periods found on site according to the findings in the field, as well as a description of the findings and remains. A bibliographic list referring specifically to the site, photos and maps if any, as well as a small find drawing. Not every site includes all the information according to the specified level of detail.

Clicking on the tab also causes the site to be marked on the survey map with a prominent brown dot, making it easier to find sites on the map. On the right top corner of the site there is a link to a list of all surveyed maps in alphabetic order. The list includes the name, the number of the map and the names of the surveyors. In addition, the website allows to conduct search according to the following parameters:

Map name

Site name

period

type of finding

Surveyors name

Search by free text

Survey completion status

The maps on the site are marked in different colors according to the completion status of the survey (completion data is correct as of May 3, 2015):

Dark green color - the survey was published only as a book but has not yet been uploaded to the website. - Only Ashkelon map no. 92.

Light green color - published as a book and on the website - 52 maps

Purple color - published on the website only. - 61 maps

Blue color - a survey that is being edited which means that the survey in the field is finished and the survey report is being written and edited - 48 maps

Red color - active survey - 10 maps

Yellow color - completed field survey which means that the field work is over and the material must be collected and written - 8 maps

White color - unsurvey area - 69 maps

Gray color - a past license which means that a license was given to carry out a survey, but the survey was not carried out or only partially carried out - 32 maps

Mustard color - maps in the territories of Judea and Samaria (under the responsibility of the Antiquities KMT in the military administration) - 67 maps

A total of completed surveys are 114 maps which constitute 34.7% of the total area planned for survey. There are 113 maps available on the website.