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Abstract

The Yavne excavation project was undertaken in an area of approximately 3466 dunams in advance of the construction of a vast new neighborhood adjacent to the existing railroad to respond to local population growth. This included, inter alia, the paving of new access roads to the neighborhood and the implementation of large-scale infrastructure, both of which would greatly affect the original landscape. The Yavne area is known to be dotted with archaeological remains, entailing excavation and documentation, and thus, the planning authorities were confronted with questions of sustainability and preservation of ancient cultures. The Yavne excavation was termed ‘mega-project’ as it incorporated thousands of squares excavated by 300 workers and supervised by 20 archaeologists and administrative personnel. A large logistics center was built on-site, consisting of staff offices and laboratories. The excavation also served as a field-school for training dozens of students of archaeology, as well as a focal point for community activities attended by thousands of participants during holidays. The fieldwork encountered several problems, such as appalling weather conditions and the unexpected Covid-19 epidemic, which called for special adaptations. These were subsequently overcome due to the high professional and administrative abilities of the Israel Antiquities Authority teams, who managed to perform fieldwork continuously. The mega-project at Yavne is the largest and most complex archaeological undertaking so far in Israel. It revealed a multi-layered site, spanning large areas to the east and southeast of the ancient mound of Tel Yavne. This task was accomplished through the full cooperation of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel Land Authority and the Municipality of Yavne.

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