Ashkelon National Park
| Ashkelon National Park | |
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| גן לאומי אשקלון | |
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| Nearest city | Ashkelon |
| Coordinates | 31°39′50″N 34°32′45″E / 31.66389°N 34.54583°ECoordinates: 31°39′50″N 34°32′45″E / 31.66389°N 34.54583°E |
Ashkelon National Park (Hebrew: גן לאומי אשקלון) is an Israeli national park along the shore of the Mediterranean sea southwest of the city of Ashkelon.
The national park is situated in the heart of ancient Ashkelon. It is surrounded by a wall built in the mid-12th century by the Fatimid Caliphate. The wall was originally 2,200 meters in length, 50 meters in width and 15 meters in height. The remains of the wall are located in the eastern and southern parts of the national park.
The site contains archeological remains of the different civilizations that lived in the area, including Canaanites, Philistines, Persians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims and Crusaders. Roman remains include marble and granite columns and capitals, a Roman basilica and Roman statues. The site also features a Middle Bronze Age gate with the world's earliest arch, dating back to approximately 1850 BCE.
In 1815, Lady Hester Stanhope's expedition to Ashkelon constituted the first modern archaeological excavation in Palestine. Using a medieval Italian manuscript as her guide, she persuaded the Ottoman authorities to allow her to excavate the site in search of a large hoard of gold coins allegedly buried under the ruins of the Ashkelon mosque. The governor of Jaffa, Abu Nabbut (Father of the Cudgel) was ordered to accompany her. On the second day of digging, the lower foundation walls of the mosque were discovered at a depth of three or four feet, along with fragments of marble pillars, a Corinthian capital, a faience vessel, and two small pottery phials. Further exploration revealed several distinct phases in the history of the structure, leading to the conclusion that the site had originally been a pagan temple converted into a church and then a mosque. Stanhope's main find was a seven-foot headless marble statue, which was smashed and thrown into the sea.
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