Interbellum Judea 70-132 CE: an Archaeological Perspective

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chapter 1 Interbellum Judea 70-132 CE: An Archaeological Perspective

Boaz Zissu

Introduction

Judea is the ancient name of the hilly southern part of the Land of Israel and is bordered by Samaria in the north, by the Jordan River and the Dead Sea in the east, by the coastal plain in the west and by the Negev in the south. It is divided into several geographical regions: the Judean Hills, further divided into the Bethel, Jerusalem, and Hebron Hills, the Judean Desert to the east, and the Shfela or foothills to the west (fig. 1.1). Judea was devastated by two calamitous wars, the Jewish War1 and the Bar Kokhba War, which took place within a span of roughly 65 years. In the sum- mer of 70 CE, the Romans burned the Temple and razed Jerusalem, depriving the Jewish people of their religious, national, and economic center. Despite this disaster, the rural settlements in Judea recovered within a generation.2 The Bar Kokhba War that ensued must be considered against the backdrop of this reconstruction. The revolt was fought and led by rural Judean Jews, and its primary theater of war was the countryside. Archaeological information about rural Judea is scattered and fragmentary. This article aims to illuminate certain material-culture aspects of this region during the years between the two wars.3 We shall begin with a survey of the changes made by the Roman admin- istration to stabilize the situation in Judea following the Jewish War. We will then examine the documentary evidence about the scope of the damage to

1 We shall call it that. Other names used are the War of Destruction, the Great Revolt, and the First Jewish-Roman War. 2 For an extensive discussion of the situation in Judea in the wake of the Jewish War see Schwartz, ‘Jewish Survival’. 3 I am grateful to the Koschitzky Chair of the Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Isra- el Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University, which supported the preparation of this article, to Noam Greenberg and Lenn Schramm for the English translation, and to Profs. Joshua Schwartz and Peter J. Tomson for reading the manuscript and suggesting valuable comments.

Caesarea Philippi

Gischala Settlements/Cities Roman military camp Ptolemais/Akko

GALILEE Sea of Galilee Tiberias Hippos Sepphoris

JEZREEL Gadara Legio (Caparotna) a

S e Caesarea Scythopolis Pella Tel Shalem TRANSJORDAN SAMARIA

e r r a n e a n Jerash Flavia Neapolis Mount e d i t Gerizim rdan M

Joppe/Yafo River Jo

Lydda Gophna Philadelphia Jamnia/Yavneh Jericho Bethhoron Jerusalem Qumran Bethar Ashkelon Herodion JUDEA Beth Govrin Machaerus Gaza Hebron En Gedi Dead Sea

Masada Beer Sheba

Mamshit 0 15 30 Zoar Km NABATAEA ARABIA

Figure 1.1 Map of Judea