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home page > Faculty > Tel Aviv University ... > Excavations & Projects > Apollonia-Arsuf Excavation Project
View of Apollonia-Arsuf looking north
Directed by: Prof. Oren Tal
Apollonia-Arsuf is located in the northwestern part of the modern city of Herzliya on a kurkar (fossilized dune sandstone) ridge overlooking the Mediterranean shore (Fig. 1). The site lies 17 km north of Joppa and 34 km south of Caesarea. The ground of the eastern part of the site rises 35m above sea level, and from there gently slopes down to the west, to about 20m above sea level, and from there gently slopes down to the west, to about 20 m above sea level (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 – site plan
The first systematic excavations at Apollonia-Arsuf were carried out in 1950, north of the Medieval town wall on behalf of the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums, first by I. Ben-Dor and then by P. Kahane. These salvage excavations were carried out against the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) plant that occupied great part of the site, leaving its western part relatively unharmed. Ben-Dor excavated several trial trenches down to virgin soil, from which he ascertained that this part of the site never served as a residential area; discovering a series of three different types of winepress, which indicate that the site served as an industrial quarter of the Byzantine town. Kahane worked on a larger scale, throughout the entire area, in six different places, three of which provided substantial architectural remains. The excavator's main discoveries included three types of structures belonging to three different periods, Late Roman tombs, Early Byzantine oil presses and Late Byzantine / Early Islamic raw glass furnaces. Unfortunately, the exact locations of the excavated areas of 1950 season remains largely unknown. In 1962 and 1976, following development works at the IDF plant area, a polychrome mosaic floor and several bases of columns, located along an east-west line, were uncovered (Area K), all belong to a Byzantine church.
The first large-scale excavations at Apollonia-Arsuf were carried out in 1977 by I. Roll who directed seventeen seasons of excavations at the site until 2004. The 1977 season was a salvage excavation on behalf of the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums (in areas within the IDF plant), whereas only in 1982, the project became an academic excavation, on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University (outside the IDF plant area). The 1996 season was a contract excavation, initiated by the then legal owner of the entire area of Apollonia-Arsuf, the Israel Lands Authority, in areas within the IDF plant because of its planned evacuation. The request was to undertake a series of trial excavations in the area that extends from the Crusader town-gate (Area J) to the east, with the purpose of determining the maximum extension of the ancient site, and defining its eastern limits.
The 1998, 1999, and 2000 seasons excavations were organized as a joint venture of Tel Aviv University, Institute of Archaeology and the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul of Porto Alegre, Brazil with the financial backing of the Municipality of Herzliya and the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority.
In 2001 the site of Apollonia-Arsuf became a national park. In 2004 the site was formally recognized as one of the 100 most endangered world monuments by the World Monuments Fund. In 2006 it was included in the tentative list of world heritage Crusader castles by UNESCO. In 2007 it became the case-study of a National Science Foundation grant, titled III-CXT-Core Large: Computer Vision Research: Promoting Paradigm Shifts in Archaeology (Grant #0808718). All these naturally emphasize the importance of continuing archaeological excavation and conservation (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 – Crusader castle, looking northeast
In 2006 an eighteenth season of excavations was carried out in conjunction with the Artemis and Martha Sharp Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World of Brown University. This season was a transition during which the directorship and responsibility over the future excavations at Apollonia-Arsuf were transferred from I. Roll to O. Tal. In 2009 a nineteenth season of excavations at Apollonia-Arsuf was made. It was a fruit of collaboration between of Tel Aviv University, Institute of Archaeology and Brown University, Division of Engineering researchers (headed by David B. Cooper), partially funded by the National Science Foundation. Brown University researchers were responsible for computer vision research (digital archaeology), documenting of the site excavations, archaeological remains paradigm shifts for the promotion of the archaeological research in Israel and beyond.
While the 2010 (the twentieth) season ran independently as a study-dig of Tel Aviv University, Institute (and Department) of Archaeology, excavations at the site (the Apollonia National Park) from 2012 to 2016 are the fruit of collaboration between Tel Aviv University and the University of Tübingen (Germany) (headed by Prof. Dr. Barbara Scholkmann), partially funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), with the aim of investigating "The Crusader Town of Apollonia / Arsur (Israel): Structure – Cultural Adaptation – Urban-Rural Relations". This joint project aims at a better understanding of the European and local cultural influences that dictated the structure and organization of the town of Arsur and its hinterland. The town's abandonment after its Mamluk destruction led to a unique archaeological setting in which the Crusader layers were left largely undisturbed by later settlement activities and thus are highly suitable for intensified archaeological research. These layers are the object of extensive light detection and ranging (LIDAR) analysis as well as geo-magnetic surveys, allowing the reconstruction of the original topography and the design of the entire medieval town by detecting the layout of structures still hidden below the ground. The finds from the excavations complete the picture gained through the surveys by allowing insights into the material culture and daily life activities of the town's inhabitants.
The 2012 and 2013 (the twenty-first and twenty-second) seasons of excavations were also salvage excavations, initiated by the legal owner of the site's eastern outskirts, the Israel Lands Authority. In a series of trial and rescue excavations in the area that extends outside the deserted IDF plant to the coastal highway (Road No. 2), we have examined the site's immediate hinterland and its character in the face of future building developments therein.
The site of Apollonia-Arsuf was occupied as early as the Chalcolithic period and the Iron Age II but it is in the context of the Persian period that Apollonia-Arsuf became a coastal urban center, under Sidonian hegemony. We learn from the tomb inscription of Eshmun'azor 2nd, king of Sidon of the late 6th century BCE, that the Persian (Achaemenid) king, granted him Dor and Joppa, the mighty lands of grains in the Sharon Plain. This statement actually infer that the entire geographical unit of the Sharon Plain was in Sidonian hands, most probably as tribute for the participation of his fleet during the first Persian military campaigns to Egypt. Another historical reference that implies on the site's administrative status is the Periplus of pseudo-Scylax (4th century BCE), stating that both Dor and apparently Joppa are under Sidonian suzerainty. It seems thus that throughout its existence under Achaemenid rule Apollonia-Arsuf was subject to the Dor Province. Being the main town and haven of the southern Sharon Plain it became the chief commercial and probably industrial centre of the region. The town's dwellers, the Phoenicians, left their linguistic mark on the town by naming it after one of their gods, that is Resheph. Even though the town's Phoenician name was not attested in writing and its conquerors and foreign inhabitants quickly renamed it, it nonetheless was not forsaken for at some later point, the Arabs reinstated the Semitic name, that is Arsuf which may suggest that in Persian times the site was named Arshoph. The settlement at this time is represented by two strata over an area of less than 20 dunams. These strata contain minor architectural remains, presumably domestic in nature, in Area H and a large refuse pit in Area D. The finds, ranging in date between the late 6th and late 4th centuries BCE, include mostly common pottery but also imported wares, fragments of male and female terracotta figurines and a fairly large number of Sidonian coins. A unique discovery is a 4th century BCE Pentelik marble relief (11 x 15 cm) of the Totenmahl (funerary banquet) type (Fig. 4). The scene depicts a bearded man in front view, dressed in a mantle and reclining on a couch (kline). In his right hand is an elongated object, probably a rhyton, while his left hand holds another object which may be aphiale. Opposite the man, seated at the left end of the couch, is a woman in profile with her hair bound in a sakkos, wearing a chiton and resting her feet on a footstool. In her left hand is a cup-like object, while her right hand apparently rests on her thigh. Behind the woman, two smaller figures stand in profile, facing the reclining man, their hands raised as if in worship: a bearded male and a veiled female, both dressed in a chiton. At the top left comer is a bust of a horse within a frame. At the lower right comer, the lower body of a krater is visible, next to an offering table with turned legs. Underneath the table, a coiled serpent stretches towards the reclining man. To the left of the table there is a pedestal-like altar. The presence of such an object at Apollonia-Arsuf should be attributed to the connections of the town with the Greek world (especially Attica), as is demonstrated by other archaeological finds retrieved from the site. The relief's connection with a cult of a hero or the heroised mortal dead strongly suggests the presence of Greek individuals who practiced such a cult at the site. Whether this dead hero was buried at the site or in his homeland is impossible to determine, although one cannot exclude the presence of a Greek family who settled at the site and buried one of its commemorated members.
Fig. 4 – Totenmahlrelief
It is during the Hellenistic period that the site was renamed Apollonia. We have evidence that the Phoenician god Reshef was already identified with the Greek deity Apollo as early as the 4th century BCE. It is thus not surprising to learn that the site was affected by the region's Hellenization or rather lingual revolution; Arshoph became Apollonia,Dor became Dora, and Joppa became Ioppe. Archaeologically, the settlement maintained the size of that of the Persian period and is represented by a single stratum with minor architectural remains in Area H, and a refuse pit in Area D. The finds, ranging in date between the late 4th and late 2nd centuries BCE, mostly include common pottery but also imported wares and stamped amphora handles. All indicate that the site was abandoned in Early Hasmonean times, apparently in the frame of Alexander Jannaeus territorial expansions in the Sharon Plain. The poor preservation of both the Persian and Hellenistic strata at the site is due to the intensive building activities in later periods.
It is in the Roman period that the site is first mentioned in the historical sources. Flavius Josephus lists Apollonia among the cities belonging to the Jews under Alexander Jannaeus together with Joppa. Pliny and Ptolemy list Apollonia among the coastal cities of Iudaea-Palaestina. The depiction of Apollonia on the Peutinger map along the coastal highway, between Joppa and Caesarea, indicates that it served as an official leg on the country's Roman imperial road network. The most significant remains of the Roman period occupation at the site are undoubtedly those of a typical Roman villa of the peristyle type uncovered in Area E in the south part of the site. Located against the southern flank of the Early Islamic town wall, the villa was built on a platform carved out from the natural sandstone rock. Measuring some 21.5 x 24 m, the building was laid out in the precise directions of the four cardinal points. As the western facade of the dwelling faces the sea, it seems clear that this was a villa maritima, which could have belonged to a foreign rich merchant or a local magnate who may have undergone Romanization (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5 – The Roman villa (Area E), aerial view (on left) and plan (on right)
Fig. 6 – Artistic reconstruction of the Roman villa
A peristyle courtyard occupies the center of the building, which is surrounded by square piers supported by a stylobate. To its south is a long corridor that crosses the entire building from west to east. In the upper parts of two of the walls at the eastern end of the corridor are plastered niches that recall the lararia of the typical Italian dwelling. Three shorter corridors surround the other sides of the courtyard. The walls of the villa were remarkably well built, with large kurkar ashlars set into grey cement, which was the typical construction method of the Roman period (Fig. 6). On the whole, the structure was built according to the standard of the Latin foot (pes), which measures about 0.3 m. The thickness of the inner walls, with the exception of the walls of the peristyle, ranges between 0.4 and 0.45 m, corresponding to one cubitus (0.45 m).The central courtyard, with interior dimensions of ca. 6.45 x 3.85 m, corresponds to 22 x 13 pedes; and the corridors measuring 2.4 m on average correspond to 8 pedes. Overall, the interior dimensions of the rooms seem to correspond to the standard of the Latin foot as well. The villa's design as an unfortified and isolated open dwelling facing the Mediterranean Sea was previously unknown in Iudaea.
This private structure, built to emphasize leisure, privacy, tranquility, social status, and economic wealth, clearly reflects an aspect of the Romanization of the coastal plain of Judaea that was apparent in the late 1st century CE. In a later phase of the villa's use, the entrances to several rooms were intentionally blocked in a rather careless manner, perhaps indicating that several of the living rooms had been turned into storage rooms for more modest owners. The entire complex then suffered a sudden and violent destruction, probably caused by a devastating earthquake in 113/114 or 127/128 CE.
Most of the finds from the villa came from the later phase and include table, cooking and storage vessels, and local and imported lamps (Fig. 7). Smaller quantities of stone and glass vessels, bone objects and human and animals figurines were also discovered.
Fig. 7 – Selection of pottery vessels from the Roman villa later phase
Fig. 8, left – Gravestone of Zoila; Fig. 9, right – Greek inscription of the church's mosaic floor (Area K)
Another important Roman find is a gravestone with a Greek inscription, that is presently housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. It has a rectangular frame, surmounted by a pediment with acroteria at the corners and a rosette inside the tympanum. It can be translated as follows: "Here lies Zoila, thirty years of age, who loved her husband. (Died in the year) 233, 26 of Apellaios. Courage" (Fig. 8). As previously mentioned, Flavius Josephus mentions Apollonia as one of the cities inhabited anew by the order of Gabinius, and the year 233 apparently refers to the Gabinian era which started in the year 57 BCE, indicating that 176 CE is the probable date of this inscription.
A polychrome mosaic floor and several column bases placed along an east-west line were uncovered in 1962 and 1976 in Area K. These elements belonged to a Byzantine church, of which only a part of the nave has survived. The preserved part of the pavement is decorated with stylized geometric and floral patterns, framed interwoven motifs, and birds inside round running medallions. The most impressive part of the mosaic floor is a three-line Greek inscription framed in a tabula ansata, intended to be read when facing east. The inscription is partly damaged but the following reading is suggested: "I am a church better than ambrosia and nectar, and Marinos erected me exalting God-extolled-for-His wisdom and ever ruling his pure and mystic spirit" (Fig. 9).
The inscription was formulated in dactylic-hexameter verse and has a clear poetic character. Its metaphoric language was meant to make a declaration – ostensibly by the church itself – that it was built by one Marinos who was well acquainted with Classical Greek culture. Moreover, the words "ambrosia" and "nectar" point to a tradition reminiscent of the highest achievement of Greek literature, that is, the Homeric epic. However, the inscription also emphasizes, in a very clear manner, the superiority of the Christian Church over the Classical tradition, which resulted from the Church's ruling wisdom, pure nature, and mystic spirituality. The decorative pattern of the compound and its inscription indicate a 5th-6th century CE date. This church may have served as the seat of the bishops of Sozousa, that is, Byzantine Apollonia. Other architectural remains attributed to the Byzantine period are confined primarily to a series of industrial installations such as water cisterns, wine- and oil-presses, primary glass kilns, and others of unclear function. The primary glass kilns, or furnaces, deserve special attention due to the rarity of these finds. Two glass furnaces were reported to have been excavated as early as 1950 by Kahane, but were attributed an Early Islamic date, another glass furnace was discovered during the 2002 season in Area N (Fig. 10), and an additional furnace was discovered during the 2006 season in Area O, but this may already has been noted by Kahane in 1950. It immediately became apparent that this furnace is an isolated ashlar-built structure consisting of two parts: a melting chamber (of about 5.0 m x 3.8 m); and a firing area (of about 3.8 m x 1.6 m) with two conical-shaped firing chambers that opened onto the melting chamber. A large glass slab (about 4.45 x 2.95 m) was found on the melting chamber floor, which was separated from the firing area by a segmented stone wall. Extracting the slab required the roof of the installation to be dismantled after the glass had solidified and cooled. This was done by hammering and removing chunks of various sizes, as can be seen by the dents created on the preserved remains. The entire installation was overlain with fired mud-bricks. The high-quality raw glass that was extracted was transparent-blue and greenish-blue with a few bubbles. However, the glass from the preserved northwestern and southeastern corners of the melting chamber was yellowish-green and yellowish-brown, resulting from the amount of oxygen it absorbed (a high oxygen level leaves a bluish-greenish tinge and a low oxygen level renders a yellowish tinge). Numerous chunks of raw glass were discovered during the excavations. We may assume that chunks of insufficient weight or size for trade were discarded; they were probably removed from the slab while it was being extracted. We also found under the glass furnace a few pottery body fragments from a well-known type of Palestinian bag-shaped jar of Late Byzantine date. The firing chambers in the glass furnace from Apollonia-Arsuf were located on the west, and the melting chamber was on the east. The two firing chambers facing west were open to sea winds, thus facilitating the airflow that otherwise would have required the use of bellows. The roof of the melting chamber was probably vaulted, with a few openings (or chimneys) to provide better air circulation. In the Late Byzantine period, the "crater" stretching between Areas E and M was one of the main dumps of the town of Sozousa. Some 10 tons of Late Byzantine pottery was retrieved in the excavations of Area E and an additional 13 tons was sorted from Area M in the 2006 season alone! The pottery, glass, metal, and stone vessels and objects reflect the inhabitants' daily ware. There are also several burials of the Byzantine period in the immediate environs of the site, notable among them are built cist tombs that were found undisturbed alongside with a damaged mausoleum.
Fig. 10 – Glass furnace (top) and chunks of raw glass (bottom) (Area N)
Reference must be made to other important Byzantine finds that were found at the site during the 1880s:
A marble statue of a standing eagle with contracted wings, with a monogram that reads ΙΟΥΛΙΑΝΟΣ, apparently referring to the Byzantine emperor Julian (361-363 CE).
A fragment of a marble relief showing the lower part of two horse legs. This iconographic document, albeit fragmentary, is of great importance because it is directly related to the contentious issue of when and where the common use of horseshoes began.
A wide limestone lintel of a tomb which bears a Greek inscription that reads "One is the living God. Babas (son) of Maximus, grandson of Kosmas, made the burial monument for Marcellina Justina."
The historical documentation of Early Islamic Arsuf is supported by several archaeological finds. Long stretches of the town wall were uncovered in the southern and western parts of the site (Areas E and H) and the earliest finds unearthed in the inner adjoining rooms date to the reign of the Ummayyad Caliph 'Abd el-Malik (685-705 CE). The initial phase of a market street, of which a section of some 65 m have been uncovered, was exposed in the eastern part of the site (Areas B and C) (Fig. 11).
Fig. 11 – Early Islamic market (Areas B and C), plan (on left), artistic reconstruction (on right)
Various buildings flanking both sides of the street and serving as shops and food-stalls date to the same period. These finds indicate that Early Islamic Arsuf became a fortified town, with a large part of it having been rebuilt according to a comprehensive urban plan already at this early stage.
Excavations in the Crusader town-gate (Area J) revealed two construction phases of the town-gate, both from the Crusader period (Fig. 12).
Fig. 12 – Crusader town-gate (Area J), photo (on left), plan (on right)
Large-scale excavations were conducted in the Crusader castle (Area F), exposing practically all the components of the castle's latest phase (Fig. 13). These include the following elements described from the inside outward: (1) a central irregular courtyard surrounded by broad halls; (2) the main pentagonal fortification complex, including a gate protected by two semicircular towers with an additional semicircular tower on each side in the east, and a donjon and two square corner towers in the west; (3) an external fortification with a contour corresponding largely to that of the main fortification but at a lower elevation and with a wider opening ; (4) a broad, deep moat bounded by an outer retaining wall; (5) a system of vaulted halls and retaining walls along the cliff at the western facade of the fortress, which largely collapsed falling to the base of the ridge; and, finally (6) a port facility, of which the foundations of the northern and southern breakwaters have been preserved. A particularly unique find published by the Italian scholar S. Paoli in 1733 is the official seal of Balian of Ibelin's short lordship (1258-1261 CE) found in Malta.
Fig. 13 – Crusader castle (Area F), photo (on left), plan (on right)
Fig. 14, left – Balian's seal; Fig. 15, right – Selection of glazed bowls from the Crusader refuse pit (Area F)
Its reproduction shows (Fig. 14) a fully armored knight brandishing his sword and galloping to the right on a caparisoned horse. The surrounding inscription reads: "Ba(lian) d'Ybel(in) s(eigneur) d'Ars(ur) co(n)establ(e) dou reaume d(e) I(e)r(usa)l(e)m" (= "Balian of Ibelin, lord of Arsur, constable of the kingdom of Jerusalem"). The other side depicts a castle with crenellated fortifications, as well as two corner towers and a gate dominated by a central donjon. The inscription around it reads: "Ce est le chastiau d(')Arsur" (= "This is the castle of Arsur"). The reproduced document, though schematic, provides a unique iconographical representation of the lord of Arsur and his castle. in mid-March 1265 CE a large and well-prepared Muslim army under the personal command of Baybars laid siege to Arsur. From the Crusader's point of view, Arsur was relatively well prepared. Its town and castle were strongly fortified, well-provisioned, and defended by some 2,000 warriors, with about 270 of them belonging to the Brothers of the Order. Excavations show that during the Mamluk siege, tons of dirt was intentionally piled against the interior walls of the Crusader town fortifications, and buildings built against these fortifications were intentionally covered with dirt in order to strengthen them. A stone and cement foundation (3-m-wide and 17-m-long) found in Area P seems to have been built on that occasion and may have been used to convey ballista machinery. On April 26, 1265 CE, after forty days of siege, a concerted attack was carried out and the town was taken by storm. The surviving defenders took refuge in the castle and continued to fight with superb courage. However, after three more days of fierce fighting, Muslim warriors took control of part of the castle's fortifications and were able to raise the banners of Islam over the walls. The Hospitallers, after having lost up to 1,000 warriors including 90 knights, asked to surrender on the condition that the survivors would be free to leave. Baybars at first agreed but then broke his word and all of them were taken into slavery. Moreover, he forced the Christian prisoners to participate in the systematic demolition of their own stronghold. The entire site of Arsur was razed to the ground and left in ruins. This final destruction is largely attested by thick conflagration layers and ruins that were uncovered in the excavated areas all over the fortified site in general, and in the castle in particular. A unique discovery found in the Crusader castle is the refuse pit of the besieged containing numerous local and imported pottery vessels (Fig. 15), plain and luxury glass vessels, metal and stone artifacts. The importance of this assemblage lies in its absolute dating, March-April 1265 CE.
RECENT MAIN DISCOVERIES
One of our main discoveries came from Area O in the north part of the site, where a large mosaic floor winepress (9.8 x 7.5 m) was uncovered with a Greek inscription in the center of its treading floor (in the 2006 and especially the 2009 season). The inscription reads: "One only god, help / Cassianos together with (his) wife / and children and everyone." The inscription's formula and the finds we discovered during excavations in the area point to Samaritan ownership of the complex in Byzantine times (5th-6th centuries CE) (Fig. 16). Such dedicatory inscriptions are mostly known from Samaritan cult buildings (synagogues); it is possible that the winepress may form part of a larger structure of a public nature associated with cultic activity. The winepress' settling (fermentation) pit (about 3 x 2.2.5 m) is among the largest ever discovered in Israel. Based on the archaeological evidence the winepress ceased to function in the first half of the 6th century CE (possibly in relation to the Samaritan revolt [529 CE]).The winepress was damaged by an earthquake (apparently that of 749 CE), that is after its abandonment.
Fig. 16 – A Samaritan winepress (Area O)
In the Crusader castle (Area F), which is the prominent architectural complex of the site, the 2009, 2010 and 2012 seasons of excavations were focused on the western part on top of the coastal cliff, in order to expose subterranean complexes and remove part of the dirt load from the cliff in order to facilitate future arrangements for better rainfall drainage (Fig. 17). The excavations uncovered parts of castle's western façade and a series of subterranean halls aligned in a north–south axis. These are yet to be fully exposed from the debris of the fallen donjon where the castle's chapel may have existed (Fig. 18). Evidence for post-destruction (1265 CE) occupation in this area is already apparent.
Fig. 17 – Crusader castle western façade (foreground) (Area F)
Fig. 18 – A Crusader door jamb (showing the mutilated head of a horned monster) retrieved from fills of the castle western façade (Area F)
Excavations in the Crusader castle in 2012 also yielded a hoard of 106 Fatimid and two Zirid gold dinars and fractions (Fig. 19). Based on the archaeological evidence the hoard's burial date corresponds to the castle destruction. As the hoard is relatively earlier it may have been buried twice; first in the context of the site occupation by the Crusades in 1101 and second in the context of its destruction by the Mamluks in 1265.
Fig. 19 – A hoard of Fatimid and Zirid gold dinars and fractions from the castle (Area F).
In Area R, located in the centre of the medieval walled town, and excavated in 2006, 2009 and 2009, we have uncovered an industrial installation of the Byzantine period that was later incorporated in a dwelling of the late Crusader period (13th century CE). This Crusader-period dwelling was partially uncovered. Its original foundations comprises of three rooms; two on the south and one on the east part of the excavated area. The two rooms on the south were found abandoned with complete and restorable pottery and glass vessels on their floors (Fig. 20), whereas the one on the east probably formed part of the courtyard and it revealed paved working surfaces and an intact clay oven (tabun). The upper layers we excavated in the Byzantine installation which later on became a refuse pit, included pottery and glass vessels of the Crusader period (12th-13th centuries CE), whereas the lower layers included pottery and glass vessels of the Early Islamic period (8th-11th centuries CE). Still the only physical connection between the later building and the installation can be placed in the mid-13th century CE based on the pottery and glass evidence; it is likely that the building was abandoned in the context of the Mamluk conquest of the site (March-April 1265).
Fig. 20 – Plan of the architectural remains in Area R (on left), an assemblage of pottery vessels from the late Crusader building floors (on right)
Additional Crusader-period dwellings were also unearthed in Areas T and U after being mapped in magnetic survey and excavated in 2012, 2013, 2014 2015 and 2016 in the southern part of the walled town. The plans of these buildings comprise of a central courtyard surrounded by rooms of different size and function, and their history of occupation goes back to the Early Islamic and Byzantine periods (Fig. 21).
Fig. 21 – Dwellings of the Crusader period (Area T), photo (on left), plan (on right)
Excavation in Area U (located in relative proximity to the southern and western fortifications) began in 2012 and ended in 2013, and provided evidence of continuous inhabitation from the Byzantine to the Crusader period (Fig. 22). Floors of kurkar (fossilized dune sandstone) ashlars and a rudimentary white mosaic with reddish panels, as well as a collection of finds attest to the area utilization in the Byzantine period. During the Early Islamic period a rectangular built enclosure divided by few partition walls was erected whose finds attest to a domestic character. Noteworthy is a vaulted cesspit close to its northeastern corner appended by a built sunken chamber. With the Crusader occupation early in the 12th century a few architectural changes in the complex were made especially in its eastern part. Scorch marks and intentional fills of rubble and earth material may suggest a destruction by the Ayyubids in 1187 and rebuilding by the Crusades in the early-mid-13th century. This is attested by the apparent levelling of the area's eastern part, where a retaining wall set in opus spicatum was discovered. Occupation fills in the area's upper level revealed 13th century finds. Some WWI militaria were also found in the area attesting to its use during the historically documented stay of British forces at the site from December 1917 to August 1918.
Fig. 22 – Plan of the architectural remains in Area U, photo (on left), plan (on right)
In Area L, located the southwestern corner tower of the Crusader town fortifications and excavated in 2010, we have uncovered the fortification system of the Crusader town on top of the fortification system of the Early Islamic town; both were in fact constructed upon Byzantine architectural remains (Fig. 23).
Fig. 23 – Plan of the architectural remains in Area L, photo (on left), plan (on right)
In Area S, located in the far western end of the site adjacent to the western section of the Early Islamic town wall and excavated in 2010, we have unearthed the remains of the wall, as well as its foundations. Excavations also uncovered a casemate of the wall whose floor was partially paved with blocks of stones. The floor was dated based on the pottery evidence to the Early Islamic period (8th-9th centuries CE). Earlier remains (namely industrial installations) dated to the Late Byzantine period that occupied the area prior to the foundation of the Early Islamic fortification system were also discovered. These were appended by a modest assemblage of decorative architectural items dated to the Late Byzantine period that were found out of context in the excavated area. These items point to the possibility that the area to its east, which is much elevated, occupied a public building or a manor house.
In Area L, located the southwestern corner tower of the Crusader town fortifications and excavated in 2010, we have uncovered the fortification system of the Crusader town on top of the fortification system of the Early Islamic town; both were in fact constructed upon Byzantine architectural remains.
In Area M, in the south part of the site, outside the walled town area, excavated in 2006 and 2009, we dug a large 6th-7th centuries CE refuse pit and under which a hoard of 4th-5th centuries CE bronze coins was revealed.
Area W, in the western part of the site, and excavated in 2012, formed a positive trial for the site's magnetic survey. We have revealed a Late Byzantine / Early Islamic period silo built of perpendicular (headers) blocks (1.8 m inner diameter). At a certain stage, probably in the 7th century, the silo went out of use and formed a dumping facility were refused organic and un-organic matters were discarded.
Works in additional newly opened areas were carried out in 2012 with the financial backing of the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority in the context of a planned disabled pathway around the Apollonia National Park:
In Area P1 (an extension of Area P, excavated in the 2003, 2004 and 2006 seasons), segments of plastered wall structures apparently of the Late Byzantine and Early Islamic period, built (in part) upon earlier mosaic floor were uncovered under a thick layer of whitish mortar-like uneven paving close to top soil. The latter was apparently laid in the context of the defense works against the Mamluk attack, as it is located inside and opposite to the 21 m breach in the medieval town wall. Among the findings recovered are several Crusader/Mamluk period arrowheads identical to those recovered in the castle and a few lamps and coins of the same time frame (as found in Area P). The area's upper level thus provide a material manifestation of Crusader defenders trying to avoid the Mamluk forces to burst into the town.
In Area P2 which is a 5 x 5 m square dug across the moat (on its southern side) opposite to Area P1, we unearthed the outer wall of the Crusader-period moat to its full thickness (1.1 m). The area was found however cleaned of any findings.
In Area Q which is located across the Crusader castle's moat where remains of the through bridge were recorded, digs seek at uncovering the main town-street that lead to the castle. Excavations in this area were followed by a geo-radar survey yet revealed no architectural remains but for some scattered building stones and patches of packed-earth floor. It seems that the Crusader-period street level was dismantled in the context of the Israel Military Industries plant development works.
In Area X which is located in the center of the walled town and upon the current visitors pathway, we cleaned an intact Early Islamic/Late Byzantine-period cistern of some 4 x 2 m and 4 m deep. The cistern holds two original openings, and it seems that it served a dwelling that awaits excavations.c#In the 2014 season an important discovery was made on the earlier mosaic floor, a bi-lingual inscription that was probably placed in the hall of a Samaritan synagogue of the Early Byzantine period; the inscription reads: "One only god / who helps / Gadiona / and Iulianus / and all who deserve it"; that of the Aramaic (written in Samaritan script) may be translated as "(made it from his) possession in this place." (Fig. 24).
Fig. 24 – A bi-lingual inscription (Area P1)
In Area AA1 several plastered installations were exposed, including round and square collecting vats paved with mosaics (Fig. 25). The vats were part of a winepress in which two construction phases from the Byzantine period were discerned. In the early phase, the press included two small, round collecting vats; in the later phase it was expanded to three large vats, one rounded and the other two—square. The walls of the winepress were built of medium-sized kurkar stones bonded with grayish white mortar. The winepress had a treading floor, close to surface level, which was apparently destroyed by later activity. In the southern part of the area, several sections of a work surface built of medium-sized fieldstones, probably dating from the Byzantine or Early Islamic period, were exposed. A single pit grave excavated in the center of the area was aligned in an east–west direction and is identified as a Bedouin grave.
Fig. 25 – Aerial view of the architectural remains in Area AA1
In Area CC (the largest area of excavations in the site's eastern outskirts) a huge refuse pit (diam. in excess of 30 m) dating to the Late Byzantine period was exposed (Fig. 26). The stratification in the area was uniform: a surface layer of sand covered a layer of potsherds (maximal thickness c 1 m) and an underlying layer of alluvium. The pit contained numerous artifacts, including pottery vessels, glass sherds, glass industrial waste, metal objects and animal bones, as well as more than 200 complete Samaritan oil lamps and more than 700 coins. Althoughthe refuse pit is attributed to the second half of the Byzantine period, parts of it may have been used for short periods of time within this period. In Area CC2 the excavation yielded a wall built on virgin soil and aligned in a north–south direction. Pottery dating to the Byzantine period was found alongside it.
Fig. 26 – Aerial view of Area CC
A series of underwater surveys were conducted at the seaside remains of Apollonia-Arsuf by E. Grossmann. An underwater inspection team of the Israel Antiquities Authority headed by E. Galili also undertook sub-aquatic activities there (Fig. 27). These surveys (carried out in the late 1980s and early 1990s) show that Apollonia-Arsuf possessed two maritime installations; a sheltered, partially built anchorage and a built facility at the foot of the Crusader castle (rectangular in plan, about 80 m from north to south and 33 m from east to west). In the sheltered anchorage opposite the fortified town the eastern face of the sandstone reef was carved and smoothed. Massive conglomerates, large blocks and ashlar stones were placed on the reef and near it, which denotes its role as a man-improved breakwater. In the sheltered anchorage area, a large number of stone anchors of various types were found, as well as sounding leads, and vessels and nails made of bronze. The more impressive finds include fragments of a life-size bronze statue of a male, a bronze statuette of the goddess Minerva, a lead strip (roof-tile?) with Greek letters, and a carved marble vase. The pottery assemblage found in the sheltered anchorage include sherds from the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods, but fragments of storage jars and pithoi of the Byzantine period were most dominant. This brings to Grossman's conclusion that Apollonia, an industrial center with overseas trade connections, had two contemporaneous maritime installations in Byzantine times; one for international trade and the other, smaller, serving local fishermen and coastal trade. This also indicates that the activity of the anchorage reached its peak in the Byzantine period, that is, at the same time when the town of Apollonia-Arsuf (then named Sozousa) reached its largest expansion. In the east of the anchorage near the coastline, the remains of a large structure were surveyed, which included large ashlars, as well as marble and granite columns. From the large quantity of Byzantine storage jar fragments found there, it seems that the building functioned as a Byzantine maritime storehouse. During Grossmann's survey of the maritime installation located at the foot of the Crusader castle, mortar samples from the jetties were subjected to chemical tests and analyzed. The tests show that, although the jetties proper date to the Crusader period, their foundations were laid much earlier, in Byzantine times. Moreover, the foundations of the northern pier seem to have been built in a way similar to the harbor building method described by Vitruvius (V, 12, 2-6). It is worth noting that the entrance to both maritime installations (the sheltered anchorage and the built facility) open towards the southwest. The entrance to the anchorage is a natural opening in the sandstone reef, whereas in the built facility it is clearly man-made. This southwest location for the entrances differs radically from the other harbors in Palestine, both past and present, where the entrance faces northwest. This is done to prevent the south-to-north long-shore current, which is prevalent the Eastern Mediterranean coast bringing with it sediment from the Nile Delta, from entering the harbors. However, it seems that at Apollonia-Arsuf, the opposite (southwest) location for the entrance was preferred, with the idea of permitting the entry of the long-shore current into the harbor. This can be explained by a geological observation of three nodal points along the Israeli coast, one of them close to Apollonia-Arsuf, where the sea current reverses and runs in a southerly direction. Most probably also in antiquity the current along this shore ran in the same, reversed, direction, this being the explanation for the unusual placing of the harbor entrances facing south, for the purpose of de-silting by natural current action. Alternatively, a more sophisticated rationale may have been to counteract seaborne sedimentation allow current-driven de-silting of its basin. In this case, the gaps left across the foundations of the northern pier in the built facility at the foot of the Crusader castle (possibly by wooden forms, placed there in compliance with the Vitruvian method) could have served as flushing channels. If so, it is not clear at all whether the system worked at the time or not.
Fig. 27 – Site plan with underwater remains
WORLD WAR I REMAINS
The site of Apollonia-Arsuf played a role during WWI, as in the 22nd-23rd December 1917 a new British line was formed by the British troops at the site. The evidence on the new line and the entrenchment of the troops therein is given in cases first hand; a testimony of a man who fought at Arsuf is recorded in E. Thompson (Crusader's Coast, London 1929, 12-25): "Vaults and masonry, that served us for makeshift trenches, are overgrown with datura and scrub; … Will the archaeologist of later ages, examining pillars and tumbled castle, think of us who burrowed in rock-tombs and hid in caves at the cliff root, while the 5,9's [i.e. 150 mm cannon] rapped on the flowery pastures overhead?" (Thompson 1929, 24-25). Another testimony on Arsuf is documented in W.T. Massey (How Jerusalem Was Won: Being the Record of Allenby's Campaign in Palestine, London 1919, 235-236): "At a later date, when digging at Arsuf, these Scots came across some marble columns which had graced a hall when Apollonia was in its heyday. The glory of Apollonia has long vanished, but if in that age of warriors there had been a belief that those marble columns would some day be raised as monuments to commemorate a great operation of war the ancients would have had a special veneration for them. Three of the columns marked the spots where the Scots spanned the river, and it is a pity that they cannot tell the full story to succeeding generations." Indeed these Proconnesian marble columns that probably originated in a Byzantine Apollonia/Sozousa became three memoranda on which inscriptions were carved commemorating the deeds of the 155th, 156th and 157th Brigades of the 52nd Division against the Turks, while crossing the Yarkon (Nahr el 'Auja) river erected in three different respected locations of the crossing, i.e. at Tell Qudadi (on the north bank of the Yarkon estuary), Kikar Hill (Giv'at Beth HaMitbchahim) and Ramat Gan (in the intersection of Ben Gurion and Aba Hillel Streets), and visible to this very day.
The material evidence of troops staying and training at the site between late December 1917 to September 1918 is attested by many finds, among which are ammunition containers, canned food, fragmented helmets, cartridges, musket/shrapnel balls, bullets, etc. Relatively often buttons of cloths were discovered. One of the more interesting finds was a kit of morphine ampoules still intact (Fig. 28) in the upper levels of the excavated Area S (above). On the aerial photographs the emplacements of the troops are visible.
Fig. 28 – A kit of morphine ampules (Area S)
The Apollonia-Arsuf excavation is an on-going research project. We intend to continue excavations at Apollonia-Arsuf in order to gain better understanding on the site's economic basis and political affinity, as well as its cultural and economic interactions with other Mediterranean centers during its periods of successive occupation. The mention of the site in several historical sources for the Roman period on the one hand, and the limited extent of architectural remains discovered in the excavations on the other, invite us to examine further the reasons for its historical importance at this time. As the central site for primary (and probably secondary) glass production on the coastal plain in the Byzantine period, we intend to map all the furnaces discovered at the site in order to track chronological sequences and chemical compositional differences. We also intend to continue unearthing specific elements of the Crusader castle (such as the moat and western halls) for a better understanding of its architectural plan. Furthermore, we wish to investigate further the site's underwater archaeology. The results of the recent seasons provide a better understanding of the site and in particular the social and occupational history of the Early Byzantine and Crusader periods.
EXCAVATION STAFF
Oren Tal (2007- )
Israel Roll (1977-2006) (in memoriam)
Co-Director – Barbara Scholkmann (2012-2016)
Field Director (German Team) – Annette Zeischka-Kenzler
Field Director (Israeli Team) – Hagi Yohanan
Landscape Archaeology – Hauke Kenzler
Registrar – Tamar Harpak
Surveyor – Slava Pirsky
Photographer – Pavel Shrago
Volunteers Coordinator – Ilan Shachar
Alexander Glik – WWI Militaria
Mark Iserlis – Thin-section Analysis
Ruth Jackson-Tal – Glass
Robert Kool – Numismatics
Nili Liphschitz / Andrea Orendi – Archaeobotany
Henk Mienis – Mollusks
Lidar Sapir-Hen / Miriam Pines – Archaeozoology
Arno Patzelt / Martin Waldhör – Geophysical Surveying
Itamar Taxel / Elisabeth Yehuda – Pottery
Marcio Teixeira Bastos – Thin-section Analysis / Lychnologist
Roll, I. and Ayalon, E. 1989. Apollonia and Southern Sharon: Model of a Coastal City and its Hinterland. Tel Aviv. (Hebrew).
Survey Map
Gophna, R. and Ayalon, E. 1998. Archaeological Survey of Israel: Map of Herzliyya (69). Jerusalem.
Roll, I. and Tal, O. 1999. Apollonia-Arsuf: Final Report of the Excavations. Volume I: The Persian and Hellenistic Periods (with Appendices on the Chalcolithic and Iron Age II Remains). Tel Aviv University, Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology 16. Tel Aviv.
Tal, O. 2020. Apollonia-Arsuf: Final Report of the Excavations. Volume II: Excavations Outside the Medieval Town Walls. Tel Aviv University, Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology 38. University Park/Tel Aviv.
Tal, O. ed. In preparation. Apollonia-Arsuf: Final Report of the Excavations. Volume III: Crusader Arsur.
Collective Studies
Roll, I., Tal, O. and Winter, M. eds. 2007. The Encounter of Crusaders and Muslims in Palestine as Reflected in Arsuf, Sayyiduna 'Ali and Other Coastal Sites. Tel Aviv: HaKibbutz HaMeuchad (Hebrew).
Tal, O. ed. 2011. The Last Supper at Apollonia: The Final Days of the Crusader Castle in Herzliya. Tel Aviv: Eretz Israel Museum. (Bi-lingual Hebrew/English).
Specific Researches
Amitai, R. 2005. The Conquest of Arsuf by Baybars: Political and Military Aspects. Mamluk Studies Review 9: 61-83.
Amitai-Preiss, N. and Tal, O. 2015. A Lead Bulla from Apollonia-Arsūf with the Place Name Arsūf; Ashkenazi, D. and Tal, O. Appendix: Archaeometallurgical Characteristics of the Bulla. Israel Numismatic Research 10: 191-206.
Ashkenazi, D., Golan, O. and Tal, O. 2013. An Archaeometallurgical Study of 13th-Century Arrowheads and Bolts from the Crusader Castle of Arsuf/Arsur. Archaeometry 55/2: 528-548.
Ayalon, E., Tal, O. and Yehuda, L. 2013. A Twelfth Century Oil Press Complex at the Crusader Town of Arsur (Apollonia) and the Olive Oil Industry in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 1/4: 259-291.
Birnbaum, R. and Ovadiah, A. 1990. A Greek Inscription from the Early Byzantine Church at Apollonia. Israel Exploration Journal 40: 182-191.
Fischer, M. and Tal, O. 2003. A Fourth-Century BCE Attic Marble Totenmahlrelief at Apollonia-Arsuf. Israel Exploration Journal 53: 49-60.
Freestone, I.C., Jackson-Tal, R.E. and Tal, O. 2008. Raw Glass and the Production of Glass Vessels at Late Byzantine Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel. Journal of Glass Study 50: 67-80.
Galili, E., Dahari, U. and Sharvit, J. 1992. Underwater Survey along the Coast of Israel. Excavations and Surveys in Israel 10: 160-166.
Galili, E., Dahari, U. and Sharvit, J. 1993. Underwater Survey and Rescue Excavations along the Israeli Coast. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 22: 61-77.
Galor, K., Roll, I. and Tal, O. 2009. Apollonia-Arsuf: Between Past and Future. Near Eastern Archaeology 72/1: 4-27.
Grossmann, E. 2001. Maritime Tel Michal and Apollonia: Results of the Underwater Survey 1989-1996. BAR International Series 915. Oxford.
Heidemann, S., Zeischka-Kenzler, A. and Tal, O. 2018. A Magical Rock Crystal Gem from Apollonia-Arsūf, Israel; Ashkenazi, D., Dvir, O. and Tal, O. Appendix: Mineralogical Characterization of the Magical Rock Crystal Gem from Apollonia-Arsūf. Journal of Islamic Archaeology 5/2: 225-239.
Jackson-Tal, R.-E. and Tal, O. 2013. Crusader Glass in Context: The Destruction of Arsur (Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel), April 1265. Journal of Glass Study 55: 85-100.
Kahane, P. 1951. Rishpon (Apollonia); B. Bulletin of the Department of Antiquities of the State of Israel 3: 42-43 (Hebrew). [For English summary see Perkins 1951, below].
Kaplan, E.H. and Kaplan, B. 1975. The Diversity of Late-Byzantine Oil Lamps at Apollonia (=Arsuf). Levant 7: 150-156.
Khalilieh, S. H. 1999. The Ribat System and its Role in Coastal Navigation. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient42: 212-225.
Khalilieh, S. H. 2008. The Ribāt of Arsūf and the Coastal Defence System in Early Islamic Palestine. Journal of Islamic Studies19/2: 159-177.
Kool, R. and Tal, O. 2015. 'Underground' Money in an Outremer Estate: Token Molds and Lead Tokens from Crusader Arsur. Israel Numismatic Research 10: 215-228.
Mirkin, D., Cvikel, D. and Tal, O. 2016. Arsur Castle Maritime Installation (1241-1265 CE). Palestine Exploration Quarterly 148/4: 294-312.
Perkins, A. 1951. Archaeological News: The Near East. American Journal of Archaeology 55: 86-87.
Pines, M., Sapir-Hen, L. and Tal, O. 2017. Crusader Diet in Times of War and Peace: Arsur (Israel) as a Case Study. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 36/3: 307-328.
Pines, M., Sapir-Hen, L. and Tal, O. 2017. Consumption and Disposal Practices in the Southern Levant in Late Antiquity: Animal Bones from 'Aπολλωνία/Σώζουσα's Hinterland as a Case Study. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 133/2: 186-204.
Raphael, K. and Tepper, Y. 2005. The Archaeological Evidence from the Mamluk Siege of Arsuf. Mamluk Studies Review 9: 85-100.
Roll, I. 1996. Medieval Apollonia-Arsuf: A Fortified Coastal Town in the Levant of the Early Muslim and Crusader Periods. In: Balard, M. ed. Autour de la première Croisade. Actes du Colloque de la Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East (Clermont-Ferrand, 22-25 juin 1995). Paris: 597-606.
Roll, I. 2006. Apollonia-Arsuf: A Coastal Town of the Eastern Mediterranean Shore in Early Christian and Byzantine Times. In: Harreither, R. et al. Akten des XIV Internationalen Kongresses für Christlische Archäologie. Wien: 681-685.
Roll, I. 2008. Der frühislamische Basar und die Kreuzfahrerburg in Apollonia-Arsuf. In: Piana, M. ed. Burgen und Städte der Kreuzzugszeit. Petersberg: 252-262.
Roll, I. and Arubas, B. 2006. Le château d'Arsur: Forteresse côtière pentagonale du type concentrique du milieu du XIIIe siècle. Bulletin Monumental 164/1: 67-81.
Roll, I. and Ayalon, E. 1987. The Market Street at Apollonia-Arsuf. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 267: 61-76.
Roll, I. et al. 2000. Apollonia-Arsuf during the Crusader Period in Light of New Discoveries. Qadmoniot 33: 18-31. (Hebrew).
Roll, I. and Tal, O. 2008. A Villa of the Early Roman Period at Apollonia-Arsuf. Israel Exploration Journal 58: 132-149.
Roll, I. and Tal, O. 2009. A New Greek Inscription from Byzantine Apollonia-Arsuf / Sozousa: A Reassessment of the Heis Theos Monos Inscriptions of Palestine. Scripta Classica Israelica 28: 139-147.
Rudin, T., Tal, O., Taxel I. and Feldstein, A. 2018. Two Burial Caves at Kefar Shemaryahu: More on Samaritan and Christian Interactions in the Byzantine-Period Central Coastal Plain. Liber Annuus 68: 269-302.
Sapir-Hen, L., Pines, M. and Tal, O. 2014. Animal Economy and Social Diversity in Byzantine Apollonia/ Sozousa. Levant 46/3: 371-381.
Shachar, I. 2000. Greek Colonization and the Eponymous Apollo. Mediterranean Historical Review 15/2: 1-26.
Sussman, V. 1983. The Samaritan Oil Lamps from Apollonia-Arsuf. Tel Aviv 10: 71-96.
Tal, O. 1995. Roman-Byzantine Cemeteries and Tombs around Apollonia. Tel Aviv 22: 107-120.
Tal, O. 2000. Some Notes on the Settlement Patterns of the Persian Period Southern Sharon Plain in Light of Recent Excavations at Apollonia-Arsuf. Transeuphratène 19: 115-125.
Tal, O. 2009. A Portable Sundial from Byzantine Apollonia-Arsuf / Sozousa? Semitica et Classica 2: 91-96.
Tal, O. 2009. A Winepress at Apollonia-Arsuf: More Evidence on the Samaritan Presence in Roman-Byzantine Southern Sharon. Liber Annuus 59: 319-342.
Tal, O. 2010. Apollonia-Arsuf 2006, 2009. Israel Exploration Journal 60: 107-114.
Tal, O. 2012. A Portable Sundial from Apollonia-Arsuf Revisited. Semitica et Classica 5: 245-248.
Tal, O. 2015. A Bilingual Greek-Samaritan Inscription from Apollonia-Arsuf/Sozousa: Yet More Evidence of the Use of Heis Theos Monos Formula Inscriptions among the Samaritans. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 194: 169-175.
Tal, O. 2019. Apollonia/Sozousa: Its Immediate Hinterland in Byzantine Times. In: Lichtenberger, A., Tal, O. and Weiss, Z., eds. Judaea/Palaestina and Arabia: Cities and Hinterlands in Roman and Byzantine Times. Volume 44, Panel 8.6; Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology Cologne/Bonn, 22 – 26 May 2018. Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World, edited by M. Bentz and M. Heinzelmann. Heidelberg: Propylaeum. Pp. 67–80.
Tal, O. 2020. A Samaritan Synagogue of the Byzantine Period at Apollonia-Arsuf/Sozousa? Religions 11: 127. [DOI: 10.3390/rel11030127]
Tal, O. and Baidoun, I. 2010. A Hoard of Mamluk, Ottoman and Venetian Coins (Fifteenth to Sixteenth Centuries) from Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel. Numismatic Chronicle 170: 484-493.
Tal, O., Jackson-Tal, R.E. and Freestone, I.C. 2004. New Evidence of the Production of Raw Glass at Late Byzantine Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel. Journal of Glass Study 46: 51-66.
Tal, O., Kool, R. and Baidoun, I. 2013. A Hoard Twice Buried? Fatimid Gold from Thirteenth Century Crusader Arsur (Apollonia-Arsuf). Numismatic Chronicle 173: 261-292.
Tal, O. and Roll, I. 2018. The Roman Villa at Apollonia (Israel). In: Métraux, G. P. R. and Marzano, A., eds. The Roman Villa in the Mediterranean Basin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 308-316.
Tal, O. and Taxel, I. 2012. Socio-Political and Economic Aspects of Refuse Disposal in Late Byzantine and Early Islamic Palestine. In: Matthews, R., Curtis, J., et al. Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 12-16, April 2010. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. Pp. 497-518.
Tal, O. and Taxel, I. 2017. More Than Trash – Cultic Use of Pottery Lamps Found in Late Antique Dumps: Apollonia (Sozousa) as a Test Case. In: Tal, O. and Weiss, Z., eds. Expressions of Cult in the Southern Levant in the Greco-Roman Period: Manifestations in Text and Material Culture. Contextualizing the Sacred 6. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. 181-193.
Tal, O., Taxel, I. and Zeischka-Kenzler, A. 2018. A Basmala-Inscribed Jug from Arsur's Mamluk Destruction of AD 1265: The Religious Manifestation of a Christian-Used Table Vessel? Journal of Near Eastern Studies 77/1: 91-98.
Tal, O. and Teixeira Bastos, M. 2012. Intentionally Broken Discus Lamps from Roman Apollonia: A New Interpretation. Tel Aviv 39/1: 105-115.
Tal, O. and Teixeira Bastos, M. 2015. More on the Intentionally Broken Discus Lamps from Roman Palestine: Mutilation and Its Symbolic Meaning. In: Blömer, M., Lichtenberger, A. and Raja, R. eds. Religious Identities in the Levant from Alexander to Muhammed: Continuity and Change. Contextualizing the Sacred 4. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. 345-368.
Wexler, L. and Gilboa, G. 1994. A Signet Ring from the Apollonia-Arsuf Excavations. Tel Aviv 21: 288-291.
Wexler, L. and Gilboa, G. 1996. Oil Lamps of the Roman Period from Apollonia-Arsuf. Tel Aviv 23: 115-131.
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It is not expected that any snow that will fall this Thursday will be enough to open area winter trails for snowmobiles and cross county skiers anytime soon. No matter what the conditions are outside this weekend, the Antigo Bike and Ski Club will be holding their second-annual "Breakfast at Gartzke" event on Saturday morning. Club member Joe Hermolin talked about the event and the club during Wednesday's WATK-AM 900 Arby's Breakfast Club.
The lack of snow may not be good for the recreation lover, but Hermolin says it does give the club plenty of time to ensure the trails at Gartzke Flowage, located in the Town of Polar, are ready for when the snow falls. "Mowing, because it is available for hiking on the trails, and every fall and in the spring we do some major trail work. So were ready for the snow."
As for the event, the club did it for the first time last year and got a good result with around 60 people showing up. Hermolin is hopeful that it is just as popular this year, which starts at 8 a.m. "We'll have waffles, sausages, people can bring if they have their favorite toppings. We'll have coffee and hot chocolate all at the shelter. There is a shelter...cozy little building; we have a fireplace there, it will be warm, picnic benches."
Hermolin adds that the event is intended for both club members and non-members as it is a way for the Antigo Bike and Ski Club to get more information out about them and see if they can get new members to join. "We want to introduce people, and I should say families too. We try to be a children friendly group. I hope that families with little kids come and introduce the kids to these kind of activities. And it is for members and non-members, particularly non-members, like to get them all involve in some sort of outdoor activity."
More information about the club can be found online at antigobikeandskiclub.com.


text:
Shantinatha temple, Ramtek is a major Jain  (pilgrimage site) in the Indian state of Maharashtra, located between the villages of Ramtek in Nagpur district.

About temple
Shantinatha temple is situated near the Fort and Rama temple. The temple was constructed in the 11th—12th century. The temple has undergone renovations, and new shrines were added to the temple complex. The temple is a yellow sandstone structure and is considered an excellent example of North Indian architecture. The main shrine houses an  idol of Shantinatha. The sub-shrines were erected in 18th—19th century by an accountant serving in the court of House of Bhonsle during the reign of Raghoji I Bhonsle.

The temple also has a  equipped with modern facilities, including a  (restaurant).

See also
 Gajpanth
 Kumbhoj

References

Citation

Bibliography

Books

External links

Jain temples in Maharashtra
11th-century Jain temples

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
President Trump's transgender military ban has impact on Fort Bliss soldiers
by: Sandra Ramirez
Posted: Jan 24, 2019 / 10:36 PM MST / Updated: Jan 24, 2019 / 10:52 PM MST
There is outrage across the country as the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump's transgender military ban to go into effect.
Here in the Borderland, there is concern from transgender military service members from Fort Bliss who are left wondering what this could mean for their military careers.
"There's a lot of fear, anger and many different emotions that these people are experiencing because things aren't really clear right now," said Victoria Doster with the Borderland Rainbow Center.
Doster is an intern at the Borderland Rainbow Center, a non-profit that provides support services for the LGBTQI community in El Paso.
She's also transitioning out of the military and has seen firsthand how this ban is impacting soldiers.
"You do have the other part of people who are not accepting," Doster said.
She says because of the treatment they're getting and the uncertainty they're facing, service members from Fort Bliss are seeking the center's help.
"On Sunday's, we also provide an adult transgender group, which there's a pretty large presence of active duty military folks who attend that," Doster said.
The ban is now in the hands of the lower courts that work through the legality of it.
The Borderland Rainbow Center says it's working with attorneys to make sure they keep up to date with any changes.
Doster says she's counting on the ban to be overturned so that any man or woman willing to serve our country can.
"At the end of the day, we're all humans," she said. "A human is a human is a human and a soldier is a soldier is a soldier."
More Military Stories
Veterans now have access to urgent and walk-in clinics in El Paso
by Shelby Kapp / Jul 16, 2019
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) - The Mission Act was implemented in June of 2019 that allows veterans to receive care at urgent and walk-in health care clinics in the Borderland. Something the Department of Veteran Affairs is calling "community care."
It gives veterans a more convenient way to access treatment within the community at clinics for minor injuries and illnesses such as colds, strep throat and pink eye.
Newlywed military couple loses home and all belongings from fire at East El Paso apartments
A newlywed active duty couple had to cut their honeymoon short after learning their apartment was destroyed.
"We woke up to these photos that literally had our apartment up in flames. It was just the most shocking thing we could've ever experienced in that moment," Lauren Johnson told KTSM
Spc. Keenan and wife, Lauren Johnson, said they got the call while on their honeymoon from a friend who was dog sitting at the couples apartment.
"For us to lose this is really losing such a part of who we became together," Johnson said.
As we reported, the fire happened early Saturday morning at the Shadow Ridge apartments off Viscount Boulevard. The Johnsons' apartment along with 7 other units on the top floor of the complex were burned in the fire, and resulted in a total loss of their belongings.
Fort Bliss welcomes new Garrison Commander
by KTSM Staff Report / Jul 10, 2019
FORT BLISS, Texas (KTSM) -- Fort Bliss welcomed its new Garrison Commander during an on-post ceremony on Tuesday.
Colonel Steve Murphy handed over duties to Colonel Stuart James. The Garrison Commander is responsible for the day-to-day operations for all personnel on post.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: How to solve system of differential equations in MATLAB? When I try to use dsolve to solve symbolically, it cannot find an explicit solution:
T = 5;
r = 0.005;

dsolve(
'Dp11 = p12^2/r - 4*p12 - 2',
'Dp12 = p12 - p11 - 2*p22 + (p12*p22)/r',
'Dp22 = 2*p22 - 2*p12 + p22^2/r',
'Dg1 = g2*(p12/r - 2) - 1',
'Dg2 = g2*(p22/r + 1) - g1',
'p11(T)=1',
'p12(T)=0',
'p22(T)=0',
'g1(T)=0.5',
'g2(T)=0')

syms x1 x2
x = [x1; x2];
u = -inv(R)*B'*(P*x - g)

u = -(p12*x1 - g2 + p22*x2)/r

dsolve(
'Dp11 = p12^2/r - 4*p12 - 2',
'Dp12 = p12 - p11 - 2*p22 + (p12*p22)/r',
'Dp22 = 2*p22 - 2*p12 + p22^2/r',
'Dg1 = g2*(p12/r - 2) - 1',
'Dg2 = g2*(p22/r + 1) - g1')

T = 5;
r = 0.005;
dsolve('Dp11 = p12^2/0.005 - 4*p12 - 2','Dp12 = p12 - p11 - 2*p22 + (p12*p22)/0.005','Dp22 = 2*p22 - 2*p12 + p22^2/0.005','Dg1 = g2*(p12/0.005 - 2) - 1','Dg2 = g2*(p22/0.005 + 1) - g1')
dsolve('Dp11 = p12^2/0.005 - 4*p12 - 2','Dp12 = p12 - p11 - 2*p22 + (p12*p22)/0.005','Dp22 = 2*p22 - 2*p12 + p22^2/0.005','Dg1 = g2*(p12/0.005 - 2) - 1','Dg2 = g2*(p22/0.005 + 1) - g1','p11(5)=1','p12(5)=0','p22(5)=0','g1(5)=0.5','g2(5)=0')

Then I try the following to solve and plot graph but the following can not be solved
by ode45, failure at t = 2.39e-001 Unable to meet integration tolerances without reducing the step size below the smallest value allowed (4.44e-016) at time t
Then I try y0 = [0 0 0 0 0] it can solve however it is not the terminal condition.  How should I solve this?
t0 = 0;
tf = 5;
y0 = [1 0 0 0.5 0];
[X, Y] = ode45(@exampleode, [t0 tf], y0);

function dy = exampleode(t, y)
r = 0.005;
dy = zeros(5, 1);
dy(1) = y(2)^2/r - 4*y(2) - 2;
dy(2) = y(2) - y(1) - 2*y(3) + (y(2)*y(3))/r;
dy(3) = 2*y(3) - 2*y(2) + y(3)^2/r;
dy(4) = y(5)*(y(2)/r - 2) - 1;
dy(5) = y(5)*(y(3)/r + 1) - y(4);

A: dsolve is decent at solving linear differential equations. Your problem is that you're throwing a non-linear differential at it which appears to be more then it can handle.
Look at this way: there is no general solution for a fifth degree polynomial equation: each solution must be found numerically.
Re your second problem, not sure if you picked up on this, but your equation is extremely unstable!
[X, Y] = ode45(@exampleode, [t0 0.238], y0);
plot (X,Y)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Guerbigny is een gemeente in het Franse departement Somme (regio Hauts-de-France) en telt 254 inwoners (2004). De plaats maakt deel uit van het arrondissement Montdidier.

Geografie
De oppervlakte van Guerbigny bedraagt 8,3 km², de bevolkingsdichtheid is 30,6 inwoners per km².

Demografie
Onderstaande figuur toont het verloop van het inwonertal (bron: INSEE-tellingen).

Externe links

Gemeente in Somme


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text:
Community Composting Event November 2016
CRNS and the Federation of City Farms and Gardens held a successful "Community Approaches to Composting" event in Edinburgh recently. Community organisations from across Scotland, came together to network and share their knowledge of all things community composting related. The morning session was held at the Grassmarket Community Project venue and we heard presentations from Tarland Community Composting Project in Aberdeenshire and Whitmuir Community Farm in Midlothian. After lunch there were site visits to the Royal Hospital Community Garden and the Redhall Walled Garden where we saw a number of different composting systems in action. This event demonstrates that there is still a good amount of community composting activity happening right across Scotland and both CRNS and the FCFCG are keen to strategically support this work in 2017. Presentation from CRNS Presentation from Tarland Community Composting Presentation from Whitmuir Community Farm
CRNS Annual Conference 2016
CRNS Annual Conference 'The Voice of the Sector – The Vision of the Members' This year's conference was a vibrant and dynamic event which focussed very much on 'collaboration,' between CRNS members and the private and public sector. Held in Perth Concert Hall and sponsored by Zero Waste Scotland the conference was officially opened by Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform. Ms Cunningham's speech emphasised the governments' commitment to climate change, circular economy and the importance of reuse and really set the scene for the day. Iain Gulland, CEO, Zero Waste Scotland next spoke about Scotland leading the way in the circular economy with a dynamic & pioneering reuse/repair sector before handing over to David Wood, CEO, CRNS who delivered a keynote on CRNS' current operational and strategic activities. Collaboration on a whole different level was the subject of the next keynote delivered jointly by Barry Philips, Category Analyst, Scotland Excel, Colin McKee, Community Regeneration Manager, Cunninghame Furniture Recycling Company and David Wood. This section of the conference was dedicated to launching the CRNS Reuse Consortium, a potentially transformational 17 member consortium that will look to provide reuse furniture through the Scottish Welfare Fund and support communities in a more responsible manner. CRNS was delighted to have Eric Weisman-Morel, Communications & Development Director, Eco-mobilier join us from Paris, to provide a real and very valuable insight into the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) on furniture and mattresses. Eric explained through a very visual presentation how this levy works in France and the benefits it brings to communities and the environment. The final keynote of the day came from Heather Anderson, 2000m2 Field of Enquiry Engagement, Whitmuir Community Farm.
Schools Challenge The national schools challenge in the summer asked both primary and secondary schools throughout Scotland to come up with an idea for making things last at their school. The thinking behind this year's challenge was all about generating suggestions that might make a noticeable difference to schools and to the environment in general. Pupils were tasked with putting forward a proposal which would result in less waste at school, change the thought process of students and teachers when they have finished with school items and that could perhaps even reduce costs for schools. The overall aim of the challenge remained the same as last year and that was to engage pupils to think about reuse, repair and recycling and the impact it has on the environment. Schools were asked to submit a brief overview of their idea including: Details of their School and Eco Committee Details of their idea for making things last, with examples of the items they intend to reuse, repair or recycle Suggestions for communicating their idea to teachers, students and parents alike Plans on how they would engage the local community An explanation of how their idea would make a positive impact on their school, their community and the environment We received some fantastic entries with some really innovative and novel ideas and after giving them all due consideration,we came up with our winners. Representatives from both schools were invited along on the day of the conference to receive their cheques and award certificates. The winner, in the secondary school category, was Abercorn Secondary School, Glasgow. Abercorn is a school for students who require additional support for learning and their idea was to recycle disposable plastic bottles, using them to


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text:
Q: Push-forward of nef divisors via finite morphisms Let $f:X\rightarrow Y$ be a finite morphism between smooth projective varieties, and let $D$ be an effective nef but not ample divisor on $X$.
Consider the divisor $f_{*}D$ on $Y$. Is $f_{*}D$ nef but not ample as well ?

A: I suppose you want $f$ to be surjective, otherwise $f_*D$ is not defined. Then $f_*D$ is nef: for any curve $C\subset Y$, $\ (f_*D\cdot C)=(D\cdot f^*C)\geq 0$.   But it might very well be ample. Consider a smooth quadric $Q\subset \mathbb{P}^3$, and let $f:Q\rightarrow \mathbb{P}^2$ be the projection from a point outside $Q$. Let $D$ be a line contained in $Q$. Then $D$ is nef, not ample, but $f_*D$ is a line in $\mathbb{P}^2$, hence ample.


I am writing this from the balcony of our lovely seaside villa in the Philippines, in full view of one of the most beautiful bays in the world that breathes the fresh ocean mist on my face mixed with the intoxicating sweet scent of tropical flowers <g>.
Yes folks, I'm in the unspoiled paradise called the Philippines- that tiny speck of a country in Southeast Asia. Truth to tell, I can't believe I'm here right now. People have warned me not to go, with talks of terrorists, kidnappers and whatnot. But I have to say, the Philippines is an amazing country. I can't even begin to tell you why. And it's so surprising that this piece of heaven gets very little promotion despite its incredible tourism potential.
First thing we see in the morning.
For starters, it has more than 7,000 islands. I've just been to 5 cities on 2 of the islands and already I'm awestruck. Ric and I love the exotic food. The kids can't stop raving about the water sports – from diving off of waterfalls in the crystal clear mountain rivers of the interior to snorkeling in the pristine beaches and bays, or kayaking out to the floating slide that is moored in the bay right off of our front dock – its been love at first sight, and second, and third… But what strikes me most are the people who are just so lovely and friendly.
I can go on and on. But I should reserve my Philippine travel blog to another time.
Enjoying all these, the culture, food, sights, Ric and I are once again reminded of how blessed we are to be able to explore nature's magnificence.
Decades ago, this quote would've sounded really "insensitive" because only a few could afford to travel back then. Traveling was considered a luxury.
Things have changed so much. Now, we have budget airlines, packaged holidays, and backpackers' hotels, which have made traveling within everyman's means. Even teenagers can afford long-haul travel.
While I believe it's still true that it is best to explore the world when you are young (and when you're middle aged, and when you're old, and do we ever have to stop….?), it's even more true that one of the secrets of staying young is to travel. Being a stranger in a strange land, you are bound to experience everything for the first time. First time to ride a water buffalo (Stefan, our 5-year-old, had an AMAZING time driving his first water-buffalo-powered ox cart. He really sat next to the driver and helped hold the reins – but HE thought he was driving). First time to taste duck embryo or balut (OK I confess – this is one "delicacy" I've decided to pass on, but who knows- YOU might like it <g>). First time to speak a new language.
Think of that moment when you did something for the first time. Quite exhilarating isn't it?
Our time here in the Philippines has truly been amazing – and I'm sure I'll have a few more things to report before we leave in early October. But all of these things wouldn't have been possible if not for our very helpful Filipino friends who facilitated our extensive travel planning.
If there's one thing Ric and I have learned in planning a meaningful trip, it is to always "ask the locals". After all, a "meaningful" trip means learning about the country's people and culture – not just doing a 26-countries-and-215-monuments-in-36-hours sort of experience. So we make an extra effort to avoid five star hotels (with the exception of the occasional weekend getaway), crowded sites, and other touristy places. We always remind ourselves that we are travelers, not tourists.
After the tropics, we are headed home to Virginia for a few months then off to the snowy slopes of Europe <g>.
And before heading to Europe next February, we would like to ask our friends from there to help us plan our trip. We would love to do all the "snow and winter stuff" with the boys that first month, then spend the next few months enjoying Spring in the warmer areas of the Continent.
As a guideline, we are not fans of packaged tours, which means we don't stay in hotels and resorts. If you could suggest a charming cottage or inn in a town, that would be great. We want to spend time with the locals to experience their culture, customs and of course their food.
I'm also looking at brushing up on my French, both the language and the cuisine. I'm embarrassed to admit my high school and college French is getting a little rusty and my French cuisine could use a little "refining" <g>. You may also throw in suggestions on where I could expand my Italian repertoire.
Aside from these, we would love to discover Europe's best kept secrets which we won't find in a packaged tour. What are your hometown's tucked away places? Any side trips we should consider? How about your most sacred sites or revered places?
Of course we are also looking forward to that European winter holiday. But we don't have a clear idea yet what an ideal European winter vacation would be like. I would love to hear what you have to say. The boys are raring to ski the slopes. What is the best place where we can pick up skiing lessons?
I would definitely appreciate your suggestions and advice. Let me know by sharing your ideas here.
I think I'm STILL stuffed from all the food we had for our Thanksgiving last week! As you may very well know, our family loves to live well and eat well. <g> And there is no dieting going on here since Christmas and the other winter holidays are just around the corner. For us that means another round of delicious meals and family gatherings.
Yes, I always end up doing most of the kitchen work <g>, but it's fun and I really enjoy it – lucky for me so does Ric, our boys Chandler and Stefan, and pretty much everyone else in our extended families.
[RIC] Liz just does the cooking, the boys and I do all the cleaning –and trust me, Liz loves cooking a whole lot more than we love cleaning, but since we get to eat Liz's cooking it all works out.
Every year for the past 12 years or so we've gotten together with our extended families and friends for either Thanksgiving or Christmas – sometimes if I'm feeling REALLY crazy – I do both.
These feasts usually have between 12 and 20 people in attendance depending on which side of the family it is and what friends can make it. So to make my life easier for the past few years, we've adopted a fun new "tradition" where I compile a list of options for the holiday menu and let everyone vote on what we'll serve. Everyone who is attending gets to participate and vote — men, women, children — everyone gets in the game.
It gets pretty spirited and often becomes very intense! Debates are not uncommon, especially on the finer points of the rules — can we have more than one choice per category; should all family members be allowed to vote, including the four-legged ones; and other technicalities that they try to bring to the table.
In case you're curious, I have the final say in these matters. I'm the judge, jury, court of appeals and of course, the chef. Last year my parents were trying to be able to get extra votes for their dogs for our Thanksgiving feast. I said only 2-legged family members were allowed to vote so they "filed an appeal" claiming I was discriminating against "4-leggedness". I of course heard the appeal, but since my docket was full, the case didn't get heard until January. <g> Final ruling – only 2-legged family members can vote.
You are probably wondering why I'm telling you all of this. Well there're really 2 reasons. One is it's just another way for me to further share my life with you. And two it just so happens that I want you to be a part of this year's process.
You see we're spicing things up this year by trying something new. This year Chandler turns 13 on the 20th of December – so we're doing our big family gathering to celebrate that. Which will leave the 4 of us (Ric, Chandler, Stefan, and myself) to have the first quiet family Christmas that either of our boys can remember. Everyone LOVES the voting system so much so that no one wanted to let it go. But it just doesn't make sense for only 4 of us.
So here's the deal – we thought wouldn't it be fun and exciting, to open it up to YOU and let you help us to choose what we should donate to the food bank for the holiday meal. Now, the menu below is what our family voted on for Christmas dinner last year and we can use the same options for this year.
The stakes are definitely bigger this time though. Not only do you get to participate in our little tradition, you'll also get to win a prize!
Aside from the pleasure of participating in how we live life and enjoy our holiday traditions (as well as doing some good by supporting a food bank), you'll get a chance to win some of our products.
A digital copy of my book, "Successisms," will go to those who participate.
Who knows? You might even be featured here in our blog to share your own holiday traditions with everyone.
How exciting is this? I can feel my palms itching to do this already.
Lastly, as with any good election worth participating in, you can suggest other choices that you really want but don't see here.
I am looking forward to your votes! This is going to be another mouth-watering and exciting Christmas dinner, I can just feel it now – and it's for a fantastic cause!
Do you have your own holiday traditions you want to share with us? Send me a comment below.
I've invited Adaire Mercer, to write for Make More, Live More, Give More from time to time. She'll actually be a mainstay blogger – just to spice things up. But I'll still be doing my regular posting so you'll still hear from me.
Adaire is a writer by profession and she'll just give her two cents on various topics related to the blog. So watch out for her unbiased opinions.
Anyway, please say hello to Adaire and give her a warm welcome in the comments section below.


LG is heavily rumored to be announcing two new Android Wear devices very soon; the Watch Sport and Watch Style. These will be the first devices to run Android Wear 2.0, and new leaked details have confirmed a few of the features onboard.
The leak has confirmed one of the new watches will come with Android Pay, while Google Assistant will be built into both of the wearables.
A reader of Android Authority has found the user manuals for both the Watch Sport and Watch Style, which confirm the features as well as showing how Android Wear 2.0 works.
It has confirmed you can use the LG Watch Sport for mobile payments. To use Android Pay on the wearable, you'll need to launch the Apps screen, tap Android Pay and then tap your wearable on the reader.
If this is true, it means it will take a few more steps to work compared to Android Pay on your phone where you only need to unlock your screen and tap the phone on a payment terminal.
It also confirms that to launch Google Assistant, you'll just need to say "OK Google" directed at your watch. That will work on both the LG Watch Sport and Style.
Assistant will then offer a variety of features. It will allow you to send a text, set an alarm or even access Google Fit features, meaning you can ask to see your heart rate without even touching the wearable.
There's always a chance these user manuals could be elaborate fakes, but both documents look like the booklets we've seen with other LG products so it looks like each could be the real thing.
Rumors suggest LG is ready to launch the watches as soon as tomorrow - February 8 - and if that's true, we'll see the full picture of how each of the devices will work.
Leaked details for the LG Watch Sport suggest a price of $349, while the Watch Style will be a touch cheaper at $249.


text:
Balian Buschbaum (* 14. Juli 1980 in Ulm) war unter seinem Geburtsnamen Yvonne Buschbaum in der deutschen Leichtathletik im Stabhochsprung erfolgreich und beendete die Sportlerlaufbahn im November 2007.

Leben
Buschbaum ist 1,70 m groß, wog zu Wettkampfzeiten 55 kg und trainierte unter Herbert Czingon. Buschbaum errang mehrfach den Titel der Deutschen Jugendmeisterin und wurde 1999 Deutsche Meisterin im Stabhochsprung. Die damalige deutsche Rekordhöhe von 4,42 m übersprang Buschbaum am 28. Juni desselben Jahres. Bereits zuvor hatte Buschbaum mit 4,37 m einen neuen Juniorenweltrekord aufgestellt. 2003 wechselte Buschbaum vom VfB Stuttgart zum ABC Ludwigshafen und schließlich zur Saison 2007 zum rheinhessischen TuS 1897 Saulheim, um sich auf die WM-Saison mit dem Höhepunkt im japanischen Osaka vorzubereiten. Größte Erfolge waren zwei dritte Plätze bei den Leichtathletik-Europameisterschaften 1998 und 2002 sowie der sechste Platz bei den Olympischen Spielen 2000 in Sydney.

Buschbaum outete sich am 21. November 2007 als trans Mann, beendete endgültig seine sportliche Laufbahn und befand sich 2007/2008 bei der Bundeswehr im Berufsförderungsdienst. Um sich körperlich an das empfundene Geschlecht anzupassen, begann Buschbaum Ende 2007 eine Hormontherapie und unterzog sich später einer geschlechtsangleichenden Operation. Buschbaum begründete die Entscheidung mit einem seelischen Ungleichgewicht – seit vielen Jahren befinde er sich im falschen Körper. Mit der psychischen Belastung begründete Buschbaum auch seine verletzungsanfälligen Achillessehnen. Im Laufe seiner Karriere war Buschbaum viermal an den Füßen operiert worden. Zum neuen Vornamen Balian wurde er durch den Film Königreich der Himmel inspiriert, in dem Balian von Ibelin "alles verliert und sich dann auf eine Reise begibt, auf der er sich selbst und seine Aufgaben kennenlernt". In die Öffentlichkeit ging er, da es in der Gesellschaft nur wenige und ungenaue Informationen sowie wenige Anlaufstellen gebe, "deswegen habe ich gedacht: Ich muss was ändern, ich muss aufklären".

Balian Buschbaum arbeitete bis zum Ende der Hallensaison 2012/13 als Stabhochsprungtrainer in Mainz.

Sonstiges
Buschbaum nahm im April 2013 an der sechsten Staffel der Tanzshow Let's Dance teil. Seine Profi-Tanzpartnerin war Sarah Latton. In der vierten Show schied er aus.Im Oktober 2019 startete er bei Ninja Warrior Germany, konnte sich aber nicht für das Halbfinale qualifizieren.

Erfolge
 1997: Deutsche Jugendmeisterin der B-Jugend
 1998: Deutsche Jugendmeisterin, 4. Platz Juniorenweltmeisterschaften, 3. Platz Europameisterschaften
 1999: Deutsche Meisterin, Deutsche Juniorenmeisterin, Deutsche Jugendmeisterin, Junioreneuropameisterin, 14. Platz Weltmeisterschaften
 2000: Deutsche Hallenmeisterin, Deutsche Meisterin, Deutsche Juniorenmeisterin, 2. Platz Europa-Cup Superliga, 6. Platz Olympische Spiele
 2001: Deutsche Hallenmeisterin, 6. Platz Hallenweltmeisterschaften, 7. Platz Weltmeisterschaften
 2002: 3. Platz Deutsche Hallenmeisterschaften, 2. Platz Halleneuropameisterschaften, 2. Platz Europa-Cup Superliga, 2. Platz Deutsche Meisterschaften, 3. Platz Europameisterschaften
 2003: 2. Platz Deutsche Hallenmeisterschaft, Deutsche Meisterin, 6. Platz Weltmeisterschaften

Werke
 Blaue Augen bleiben blau. Mein Leben. Krüger, Frankfurt 2010, ISBN 978-3-8105-2619-9.
 Frauen wollen reden, Männer Sex: wie verschieden sind wir wirklich, Herr Buschbaum?  Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt 2013, ISBN 978-3-596-19337-0.
 Warum Diversity uns alle angeht. Wie ich der wurde, der ich immer war. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2022, ISBN 978-3-596-70718-8

Weblinks

 Website von Balian Buschbaum

Einzelnachweise

Teilnehmer der Olympischen Sommerspiele 2000
Olympiateilnehmer (Deutschland)
Stabhochspringer (Deutschland)
Deutscher
Deutscher Meister (Leichtathletik)
Sportsoldat (Bundeswehr)
LGBT im Militär
Sportler (Ulm)
Transgeschlechtliche Person
Geboren 1980
Mann
Teilnehmer an Let's Dance
Leichtathlet (VfB Stuttgart)


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