Safed (Zefat), Jerusalem Street: Crusader-Period Remains in the Vicinity of the Castle (pp. 45*–84*)

Authors

Hervé Barbé, Israel Antiquities Authority

Abstract

The excavation on Jerusalem Street, Safed uncovered remains that once occupied a terrace on the western slope of a hill, below the thirteenth-century medieval castle. A detailed picture of the Crusader period emerged from the synthesis of stratigraphic analyses, Carbon-14 dating and the study of the various finds, i.e., pottery, metal objects, glass, coins and faunal remains. The pottery and glass finds date to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Coins from the construction, occupation and destruction layers all date to the Ayyubid or Frankish periods, between 1146 and 1243–1248 CE. Based on the numismatic finds, it is feasible to attribute the destruction of the site to 1244, when the Khwarezmians devastated the areas surrounding the castle without, however, attacking the castle. The results of the excavation conform with the historical sources.

Keywords

Iron Age, Frankish period, Ottoman period, Mamluk, Sultan Baybars, pig bone

Recommended Citation

Barbé, Hervé (2015) "Safed (Zefat), Jerusalem Street: Crusader-Period Remains in the Vicinity of the Castle (pp. 45*–84*)," 'Atiqot: Vol. 81, Article 11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70967/2948-040X.1581
Available at: https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol81/iss1/11