{{Short description|Archaeological site in Israel}} {{About||the Jamnia in Galilee|Jamnith}} {{Infobox ancient site |name = Yavne-Yam |native_name = יבנה־ים (Hebrew), Minet Rubin (Arabic)<ref name="NegevGibson"/> |image = Tel Yavneh-Yam (20).JPG |alt = Tel Yavneh-Yam |caption = |map_type = Israel |map_alt = |map_size = |location = Mediterranean shore, near [[Palmachim]] |region = [[Gan Raveh Regional Council]] |coordinates = {{coord|31|55|22|N|34|41|36|E|region:IL-M_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |type = [[Tell (archaeology)|Tell]] |part_of = Settlement |length = |width = |area = |height = |builder = |material = Stone |built = |abandoned = 12th century |epochs = [[Bronze Age#Near East timeline|Middle Bronze Age]]<ref name="NegevGibson"/> to Early Islamic Period |cultures = |dependency_of = |occupants = |event = |excavations = 1967-1969<br>1992-present |archaeologists = Jacob Kaplan<br>Moshe Fischer |condition = ruins |ownership = |management = |public_access = Yes |website = |notes = }} '''Yavne-Yam''' ({{langx|he|יבנה ים}}, also spelled '''Yavneh-Yam''', literally '''Yavne-Sea''') or '''Minet Rubin''' ([[Arabic]], literally '''Port of Rubin''', referring to biblical [[Reuben (biblical person)|Reuben]]; {{langx|el|Ἰαμνιτῶν Λιμήν}})<ref name="YYH">{{cite web |title=Yavneh-Yam - History |url=http://www.tau.ac.il/~yavneyam/history.htm |publisher=Yavneh-Yam Project |access-date=2016-01-24}}</ref><ref name="NegevGibson">{{cite book |title=Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land |chapter=Jabneh; Jabneel; Jamnia (a) |author=Avraham Negev and Shimon Gibson |year=2001 |location=New York and London |publisher=Continuum |page=253 |isbn=0-8264-1316-1 }}</ref> is an archaeological site located on Israel's [[Southern Coastal Plain (Israel)|Southern Coastal Plain]], about 15&nbsp;km south of [[Tel Aviv]]. Built on [[eolianite]]<ref name="YYG">{{cite web |title=Yavneh-Yam - Geography |url=http://www.tau.ac.il/~yavneyam/geography.htm |publisher=Yavneh-Yam Project |access-date=2009-10-12}}</ref> hills next to a small promontory forming the sole anchorage able to provide shelter to seagoing vessels between [[Jaffa]] and the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]],<ref name="IAA1">{{cite web |title=Underwater Archaeology - Yavneh-Yam Anchorage |url=http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=16&subj_id=146#MMMas |publisher=Israel Antiquities Authority |access-date=2009-10-12}}</ref> Yavne-Yam is notable for its role as the port of ancient [[Yavne]]. Excavations carried out by [[Tel Aviv University]] since 1992 have revealed continuous habitation from the second millennium BCE up to the [[Middle Ages]]; the famous [[Yavne-Yam ostracon]] is named after the site.

==History==

===Bronze and Iron Ages=== Surveys and excavations undertaken at Yavne-Yam during the 1950s and 1960s have revealed the existence of a large fortified site, consisting of a square enclosure with freestanding ramparts and marked by fortified gates, dating from the Middle and Late [[Bronze Age]], during the second millennium BCE.<ref name="YYE">{{cite web |title=Yavneh-Yam - Excavations |url=http://www.tau.ac.il/~yavneyam/excavation.htm |publisher=Yavneh-Yam Project |access-date=2009-10-13}}</ref> This has also been confirmed by underwater surveys undertaken in the harbor, which have uncovered pottery characteristic of the period.<ref name="IAA1" /> Yavne-Yam may be the coastal city of ''Muḫḫazu'' (''mHz'') mentioned in the [[Amarna letters]],<ref>Stieglitz R. 1974. Ugaritic Mhd – the harbor of Yabne-Yam? ''Journal of the American Oriental Society 94'', pp. 137-138.</ref><ref name="JM">[http://www.jewishmag.com/98mag/yavnehyam/yavnehyam.htm Archeology in Israel - Yavne Yam]</ref> a name reminiscent of the [[Aramaic]] word for port.<ref name="YYH 2">{{cite web |title=Yavneh-Yam - History |url=http://www.tau.ac.il/~yavneyam/excavation.htm |publisher=Yavneh-Yam Project |access-date=2009-10-13}}</ref> It was inhabited during the late [[Iron Age]], as testified by the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] pottery and scarabs found at the site, as well as the discovery of Eastern Greek Pottery and several Hebrew-inscribed [[ostraca]] in nearby [[Mesad Hashavyahu]]. During the late 7th century BCE, the region apparently passed from Egyptian to [[Kingdom of Judea|Judean]] control, and was populated by [[Israelites]], [[Canaan]]ites, [[Phoenicia]]ns and perhaps even [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]].<ref name="YYE" />

===Hellenistic Port=== [[File:Greek Inscription from Jamnia-on-the-Sea (2).JPG|thumb|Inscription documenting correspondence between [[Antiochus V Eupator|Antiochus V]] and Yavne-Yam's Sidonian community]] The material culture uncovered at the site suggests that under [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] rule, Yavne-Yam was inhabited by Phoenicians from [[Sidon]],<ref name="YYH 2" /> also revealing a strong Hellenic influence. [[Alexander the Great]]'s conquest of the [[Levant]] magnified such effects, and Yavne-Yam displays the prosperity and increased Hellenization of the population resulting from the political changes brought about by the [[Ancient Macedonia|Macedonian]] conquest and subsequent [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic]] and [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] control.<ref name="YYE" />

It was this Hellenization which eventually led to the Seleucid-Jewish conflict of the 2nd century BCE. What begun as tensions between hellenized and observant Jews, in 166 BCE erupted into an open revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Cities that had been thoroughly hellenized, such as Yavne (Iamnia) and Yavne-Yam, suffered the brunt of the [[Maccabean Revolt]].<ref name ="YYE" /> According to [[2 Maccabees]], [[Judas Maccabeus]], first leader of the revolt, "attacked the people of Jamnia by night and set fire to the harbor and the fleet, so that the glow of the light was seen in Jerusalem, thirty miles distant."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/maa-mam/maccabees/2macc12.html |title=2 Maccabees 12:9 |access-date=2020-03-26 |archive-date=2015-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330022513/http://www.livius.org/maa-mam/maccabees/2macc12.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Discoveries at the site and elsewhere, however, cast doubt on this account. During a preliminary survey conducted in December 1986, a fragmentary Greek inscription was found in Yavne-Yam, documenting correspondence between Seleucid king [[Antiochus V Eupator]] and the local Sidonian community. Dated to the summer of 163 BCE, it reveals the longstanding cooperation of the town with Seleucid authorities,<ref name="YYE" /> at a time when inland Yavne was known as a base for operations against the rebels.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/maa-mam/maccabees/1macc05.html |title=1 Maccabees 5:58-59 |access-date=2020-03-26 |archive-date=2018-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220194425/http://www.livius.org/maa-mam/maccabees/1macc05.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Furthermore, the discovery on [[Delos]] of altars erected by the citizens of Iamnia and the persistence of Greek ware in the archaeological record have led archaeologists to believe Yavne-Yam had in fact resisted Maccabean attacks and remained a free Greek city for decades after the rebellion. It was eventually sacked and incorporated into the [[Hasmonean]] state in the late 2nd century BCE, during the rule of [[John Hyrcanus]] or [[Alexander Jannaeus]].<ref name="YYH 2" />

===Roman, Byzantine and Islamic=== Jewish independence in Judea came to an end in the 1st century CE and the region gradually came under [[Roman Empire|Roman]] control. Although archaeological remains from the Roman period are scant, Yavne-Yam is nevertheless mentioned in contemporary literature, including the works of [[Josephus]], [[Pliny the Elder]] and [[Ptolemy|Claudius Ptolemaeus]]. It re-emerged as a prosperous center of commerce during the [[Byzantine]] period, when it was populated by Christians, Jews and [[Samaritans]]. In the 5th century, Empress [[Aelia Eudocia]] sponsored the construction of a church and a hostel in the town, which was also the residence of [[Peter the Iberian]], a [[Georgian Orthodox]] saint.<ref name ="YYH"/>

Following the [[Early Muslim conquests|Islamic conquest]] of the 7th century, the port became known by various names such as ''mahuz Yibna'' (harbor of Yavne), ''mahuz a-tani'' (second harbor, the first being [[Ashdod-Yam]]), or ''Minet Rubin'' (harbor of Rubin), after the nearby traditional burial place of biblical Reuben. These appear in works of prominent Arab geographers [[Al-Muqaddasi]] and [[Muhammad al-Idrisi]].<ref name="YYH 2" /> It became a [[Ribat]], a fortified coastal lookout point where prisoner exchanges with the Byzantines were carried out, and a citadel, still partially visible today, was built on its southern promontory. The transformation of the town into a military outpost led to the departure of the non-Muslim population.<ref name="IAA2">{{cite web |title=Yavneh-Yam in the transition from the Byzantine Period to the Islamic Period |author=Itamar Taxel |language=he |url=http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=16&subj_id=146#MMMas |publisher=Israel Antiquities Authority |access-date=2009-10-16}}</ref>

For reasons unknown, the site was abandoned in the 12th century.<ref name="JM" /> It is nevertheless depicted in several [[medieval]] maps such as [[Abraham Ortelius]]' 1584 map, where it appears as ''Jamnia Iudeorum Portus'' (Jamnia, the Jewish harbor).<ref name="YYH" />

==Excavations== Surveyed and explored during the 1950s and 1960s, Yavne-Yam was first excavated between 1967 and 1969 by Tel Aviv district archaeologist [[Jacob Kaplan]]. Concentrating on the perimeter fortifications, Kaplan unearthed a number of superimposed gates dating from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages.<ref>Seevers, B. [http://eagle.nwc.edu/pdfs/nwc/68/4ChamGates.pdf Four-Chamber Gates In The Ancient Near East From The Middle Bronze Through The Iron Ages]{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Excavations by Tel Aviv University resumed in 1992, under the direction of Prof. [[Moshe Fischer]]. These are still ongoing and are centered on the coast, bay and promontory.<ref name="YYE" /> In 2007, a 6th-century Byzantine villa featuring a mosaic floor depicting trees and fruit baskets was uncovered at the site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Archaeologists discover sixth-century mosaic floor near Palmahim |author=Ofri Ilani |url=https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/890786.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211051018/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/890786.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 11, 2007 |publisher=[[Ha'aretz]] |access-date=2009-10-17}}</ref> Excavations on the promontory in 2011 revealed a Roman-style bathhouse within the 9th century Early Islamic period fortifications. The use of Roman technology at such a late date was previously unknown. The bathhouse is also the only known example of a bathhouse in an Islamic fortress.<ref>{{cite web|title=Islamic era Don Juan built Roman-style bathhouse|publisher=Jerusalem Post|first=Arieh|last=O’Sullivan|date=September 14, 2011|url=https://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=237967|access-date=September 17, 2011}}</ref>

Since 1980 underwater surveys have also been taking place in the harbor. These have revealed shipwrecks, anchors and fishing devices, all suggestive of intense maritime activity from the Bronze Age to modern times.<ref name="IAA1" /> In 2008, a lifeguard diving at the site found an ''Ophthalmos'', a 4th or 5th century BCE marble discus measuring 20&nbsp;cm in diameter. Resembling an eye, these adorned the bow of ancient ships and were supposed to protect the ships from the evil eye, envy and danger, while also assisting navigation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rare 2,500 Year Old Marble Discus that was meant to Protect Ancient Ships from the Evil Eye was Found in the Sea by a Lifeguard and Turned Over to the Israel Antiquities Authority (7/13/2008)|url=http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=1410&module_id=#as |publisher=Israel Antiquities Authority |access-date=2009-10-17}}</ref> That same year, Moshe Fisher and Itamar Taxal on behalf of [[Tel-Aviv University]]'s Institute of Archaeology conducted archaeological research at the site.<ref>[[Israel Antiquities Authority]], [http://www.antiquities.org.il/m_digs_eng.aspx?shana=2008 Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2008], Survey Permit # G-65</ref>

Prominent finds from Yavne-Yam and its vicinity are on display at Beit-Miriam, the museum of nearby Kibbutz [[Palmachim]].

==See also== * [[Mesad Hashavyahu]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Yavne Yam}} * [http://www.tau.ac.il/~yavneyam/ The Yavneh-Yam Project] at Tel Aviv University.

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gan Raveh Regional Council]] [[Category:Former populated places in West Asia]] [[Category:Hasmonean Judea]] [[Category:Maritime archaeology in Israel]] [[Category:Ancient sites in Israel]] [[Category:Bronze Age sites in Israel]] [[Category:Iron Age sites in Israel]] [[Category:Classical sites in Israel]] [[Category:Geography of Central District (Israel)]] [[Category:Yavne]] [[Category:Tells (archaeology)]]