Qedem 51
Ramla. Final Report on the Excavations North of the White Mosque
2010
The present volume presents the results of probe and salvage excavations carried out in several areas north of the White Mosque in Ramla. The archaeological remains discovered reflect a clear stratigraphic/chronological continuity from the first half of the eighth until the eleventh century. The earliest remains, of at least two large buildings and installations, date from the establishment of the city in the Umayyad period during the first half of the eighth century. The discovery of a large quantity of metal slag and of numerous furnaces, water channels, and cisterns, all dating from the late eighth to the eleventh century (the Abbasid and Fatimid periods), points to the existence of a large industrial area built alongside residential areas. Settlement at the site was interrupted at the height of its development by an earthquake in the mid eleventh century. Late Islamic small finds, along with a near lack of architectural remains, point to later settlement of a merely transitory nature in this period.
The rich finds from the excavation contribute much to the understanding of Ramla’s historical and urban development. Chapters are devoted to the extensive assemblages of pottery, glass, coins, metal artifacts, metallurgical remains, stone vessels, clay figurines, and bone artifacts. To date, this is the largest and most comprehensive of the archaeological reports published on excavations in Ramla, and it is sure to serve as a tool for a wide range of future scholarly research.