Ashdod is city on Israel’s Mediterranean cost ca 40 km south of Tel Aviv. In the Iron Age Ashdod was situated on a small tell ca. 5 km inland from the sea. with harbor on the coast. (A tell is:” an artificial hill created by many generations of people living on the same spot.) When a village was conquered it was often destroyed and
rebuilt by the new rulers. Because of this the level rises, forming a mound. Most of the tells are formed by mudbricks, which disintegrate rapidly. Excavating a tell can reveal buried structures, such as government and or military buildings, religious shrines, and homes, located at different depths, depending on their date of use. They often overlap horizontally, vertically, or both.) Excavations at tell Ashdod are taking us back into the Bronze Age (17th century BCE) The Canaanite city was fortified with earth walls and had a 2-entryway city gate.
In the beginning of the 12th century the Philistines conquered the city and started to rebuild the city with bigger and stronger fortifications. The city and the natural harbor on the sea became an important center of export from dyed woolen purple fabric and garments. During the late Iron Age and the Hellenistic period the city was several times destroyed and after longer or shorter periods rebuilt. Ashdod is mentioned
13 times in the Bible. In 1 Samuel 5 we can read: “After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of
the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground
before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors”. Till today there are no archaeological proofs found.
In 63 BCE. Ashdod was conquered and destroyed by the Roman warlord Pompeaus . In 55 BCE the Roman general Gabinius rebuild the city. He did the same with several other cities without protective walls. In the year 30 BCE Ashdod came under the rule of King Herod the Great. King Herod rebuilds the city in Herodian stile and trade with other Mediterranean cities flourished again.
The 7th century CE Ashdod came in Muslim hands. The famous Muslim caliph, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, who reigned from 685–705 CE, constructed in Ashdod on the sea, on top of Byzantine remains a coastal fortress. (He was also the caliph who built the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.) The fortress became the Arab name Minat al-Qal’a." meaning, “The harbour with the fortress" The fortress was built, as part of a coastal defence system to protect “Ashdod on the sea.” from being attacked by the Byzantines. There was a string of strongholds along the Mediterranean coast. These strongholds were situated in sight of each other. In times of danger, messages could be sent by beacons of fire in the night and smoke signals during the day. Two wells were dug in the fortress to provide water for the soldiers and horses. The wells were replenished by means of gutters and drainpipes to collect the rainwater from the roofs.
In 1033 the fortress was destroyed by a strong earthquake and abandoned.
Archaeological excavations are showing that the fortress was restored and reused by the Crusaders. Nicolas de Beroard, who was one of the knights from lord Hugh of Ramla, oversaw the stronghold in 1169. The fortress (40x 60 meter) was surrounded by 6 till 7 meters high curtain walls. (A curtain wall is a defensive wall between 2 towers of a castle fortress or town. The fortress had 4 round corner towers and 2 semi-circular towers on both sides of the huge city gates. The gates were situated in the seaside and the other one on the land side of the fortress. The centre of the fortress consists of a courtyard surrounded by domed rooms. After the defeat of the Crusaders in the Holy land the Muslims destroyed the fortress due to fears that the Crusaders might come back to invade it from the sea.
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