The city of Ashkelon lies in southern Israel, overlooking the sea, a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip. It has always been a crucial junction on the route to and from Egypt, a strip of land where peoples and cultures have alternated. RAFAEL LEWIS University of Haifa “Tel Ashkelon is considered to be one of the most important coast lines of the Holy Land and many regard it as the southern gate to the Holy Land. What is less known is that Ashkelon was also a very important during the Roman, Byzantine and Crusader period”. We are in the highest part of the ancient settlement of Ashkelon, from which the whole area is overlooked. A strategic location, a stone's throw from one of the entrances to the city, the "Jerusalem Gate." An Italian-led archaeological excavation campaign called "AskGate" is underway here, involving an international and multidisciplinary team. It is promoted by the University of Florence and funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. CECILIA LUSCHI Director “Askgate” – University of Florence (DIDA) "Ashkelon becomes paradigmatic of what the Mediterranean is in general and of the Italic presence, which from the Romans to the medieval and Crusader periods inhabited these places." The excavation takes place in the area designated as the church of Santa Maria in Viridis. The site has already been excavated by Harvard University's Lion Levi Expedition in 1985 and again between 2014 and 2016. RAFAEL LEWIS University of Haifa “We came back to this place because we felt there’s still something important to explore here.” The site was a place of Christian worship in both the Byzantine and Crusader periods. The discovery of Arabic inscriptions had suggested reuse as a mosque, but the discovery of some crosses changes the perspective again: CECILIA LUSCHI Director “Askgate” – University of Florence (DIDA) "The crosses and a presumably Greek inscription are coordinated with the upper inscription in the niche and make us lean toward an Arabic-speaking Christian community." The other line of research concerns the use of the building before the Byzantine period. Among the most interesting elements is a particularly developed water system, clearly Roman in character. CECILIA LUSCHI Director “Askgate” – University of Florence (DIDA) "This site is particularly important because of the presence of water: a basin, a lead collector leading to an inspection pit and a cistern. But the most interesting thing is this apse that has a water mouth at its foot." A few meters from here the Roman-era cardo and decumanus intersect, and further downstream are a series of "public" buildings, from the amphitheater to the basilica of Herod the Great. CECILIA LUSCHI Director “Askgate” – University of Florence (DIDA) "We will eventually expect to see if there was a Roman implementation of a public water system here. It would become a kind of urbanization, early Roman settlement, which differs from ancient Ashkelon which is on the two hills." Several clues and new findings point in this direction: RAFAEL LEWIS University of Haifa “We also found a big coin that seems to be from the later part of the Roman period, the second or third century”. LAURA AIELLO Researcher in Architecture - University of Florence (DIDA) "We found at this time part of the wall face. Having found it again gives us confirmation that this whole part was covered with marble." Everything that is unearthed, the findings that emerge from the excavations, the areas of excavation, are shown on maps that are constantly being updated. MARTA ZERBINI PhD student in Architecture - University of Florence (DIDA) "We manage to keep track of the whole succession of the excavation, and so we are able to redraw everything we find and have the plans, floor plans, and all the drawings we need." The Ashkelon site still has a long story to tell and promises to continue to amaze. Read More