Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
New Underwater Digs Off the Israeli Coast Reveal Harbor Structures for the First Time
Speaker
Professor Thomas Levy
Coordinator
Jerry Kent
Early research on coastal Israel revealed a thriving
ancient activity in metallurgy, which could be used
to determine cultural activities of the time, including
trade. With ships providing most of the carriage
of materials, one would expect to find significant
harbor structures; however, little evidence of such
structures has been found. Coastal area in Israel
between Haifa and Caesaria is now being explored
and it appears that harbor structures dating back
to the Hellenistic and Roman eras did exist, but
that they were submerged by sea level rise. This
lecture will discuss an underwater excavation study
and touch on related findings such as an ancient
Phoenician ship that sank off the coast.
ancient activity in metallurgy, which could be used
to determine cultural activities of the time, including
trade. With ships providing most of the carriage
of materials, one would expect to find significant
harbor structures; however, little evidence of such
structures has been found. Coastal area in Israel
between Haifa and Caesaria is now being explored
and it appears that harbor structures dating back
to the Hellenistic and Roman eras did exist, but
that they were submerged by sea level rise. This
lecture will discuss an underwater excavation study
and touch on related findings such as an ancient
Phoenician ship that sank off the coast.
Speaker Bio
Presenter: Thomas Levy, a Distinguished
Professor, holds the Norma Kershaw Chair in the
Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring
Lands at UC San Diego. He is a member of the
Department of Anthropology and Judaic Studies
Program and leads the Cyber-Archaeology
research group at the Qualcomm Institute,
California Center of Telecommunications and
Information Technology (Calit2). He is the recipient
of a number of awards.
Professor, holds the Norma Kershaw Chair in the
Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring
Lands at UC San Diego. He is a member of the
Department of Anthropology and Judaic Studies
Program and leads the Cyber-Archaeology
research group at the Qualcomm Institute,
California Center of Telecommunications and
Information Technology (Calit2). He is the recipient
of a number of awards.
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