An archaeobotanical analysis of the Islamic period occupation at Caesarea Maritima, Israel

An Intrasite Analysis of Agricultural Economy at Early Islamic Caesarea Maritima, Israel

“…The city was founded by Herod the Great in 22 BCE in honor of Caesar Augustus, and was built on an orthogonal plan flanked by agricultural lands (Gil 1992;Holum 2014;Ramsay and Holum 2015). Caesarea Maritima was the thriving capital city of the Byzantine province Palestina Prima and served as the main seaport of Palestine during this period (Avni 2014:41-42).…”

“…Caesarea Maritima was the thriving capital city of the Byzantine province Palestina Prima and served as the main seaport of Palestine during this period (Avni 2014:41-42). In 640 CE, the city capitulated to a treaty with Muslim general Mu'awiya as the Islamic empire expanded (Gil 1992:59), and many wealthy inhabitants fled (Holum 2011;Ramsay and Holum 2015). Thereafter called Qaysariyya, the city was ruled under the Umayyad (661-750 CE), Abbasid (750-969 CE), and Fatimid (969-1101 CE) caliphates.…”

“…The role of capital was transferred from Caesarea Maritima to Lodd in 640 CE, and again transferred to Ramla in 717 CE (Avni 2014). Despite its shift in administrative importance, Caesarea Maritima remained an important and prosperous medium-sized town through the Early Islamic period (Avni 2014;Ramsay and Holum 2015).…”

“…Archaeobotanical studies from the Early Islamic period (c. 636-1100 CE) in the Near East are relatively few (e.g., Ramsay and Holum 2015; van der Veen 2011) and generally discuss plant data at the scale of the site or excavation area, rather than by specific context. This approach characterizes the agricultural economy of a site by discussing broad patterns of presence and deposition of plant species and plant parts, providing data on what and how much is present.…”

Anthropogenic overprints on natural coastal aeolian sediments: A study from the periphery of ancient Caesarea, Israel

“…1b) led Ad (2009) to suggest that the coastal agricultural system Ramsay and Holum, 2015). Other sources point out that even after the Crusader conquest, and during the 12 th century until the battle of Hattin (1101 to 1087 CE), Caesarea was still involved in agricultural production of wheat, olives, citrus and figs (Prawer, 1972;Ramsay and Holum, 2015). Recent work has identified similar grey sand units between eroded berms in the Yavne dune field (Fig.…”