Early Islamic Ultimate Stronghold Uncovered

Yavne-Yam A former port was used for the exchange of hostages, a Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers.

Archaeologists have always known that the Yavneh-Yam, Israel among the archaeological city of Tel Aviv and Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast, the port was a function of the second millennium BC to the Middle Ages.

But researchers at TAU ​​said they found evidence suggesting that the site was one of the last bastions of Islamic power in the region soon.

TAU Prof. Moshe Fischer Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern cultures and the head of Yavneh-Yam search said the recent discovery of a bathing house of the Islamic era first made use of Roman techniques, such as underfloor heating and walls, which is an indication that the Arab leaders maintained control of the site until the end of the first Islamic period in the 12th century.

The researchers say that when taken together with other datable objects such as pottery, oil lamps and glass flake rare architectural feature that shows that the Arab control was maintained at Yavneh-Yam at a time when 70 percent of the surrounding land was in the hands of Christian crusaders.

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