Iamnia-on-the-Sea; Yavneh-Yam; Minet Rubin Complete

Description

Known as Iamnia-on-the-Sea (Yavneh-Yam), the site occupies a coastal location between Jaffa and Azotus (Ashdod), approximately 7.5 km northwest of Iamnia. Excavations carried out in the 1990s produced evidence for several periods of activity. The settlement experienced particular prosperity in the Hellenistic era, a conclusion supported by the recovery of substantial quantities of fine pottery. A noteworthy discovery is a Greek inscription preserving part of a royal decree: it contains a fragment of a petition submitted by the Sidonian inhabitants of the site to Antiochus Eupator, along with the Seleucid monarch’s reply. Subsistence and economic pursuits included fishing, and, in keeping with patterns known from Phoenician coastal communities, a purple-dye industry is indicated by finds of murex shells. Material from the Roman and Byzantine periods was also documented. Two Samaritan inscriptions associated with the site did not derive from the official excavations but were obtained from local Arab residents of the modern village. Image source: https://www.biblewalks.com/yavneyam Further reading: CIIP III Introduction to Iamnia, p. 151-157. https://www.biblewalks.com/yavneyam