Apollonia, Arsur Castle: Preliminary Report

In July and November 2018, March and May 2019 and August and September 2020 three excavation seasons were conducted at the Arsur Castle in the Apollonia National Park (Arsuf; License Nos. G-32/2018, G-55/2019, G-62/2020; map ref. 1819/6779). The excavations are part of an Israel Science Foundation (ISF) funded project, ‘Contextualizing the Architectural Language of the Military Orders: Reconstructing the Frankish Crusader Castle of Arsur in Light of Its Recently Discovered Chapel’ (Research Grant No. 2050/17). The excavations were directed by O. Tal (Tel Aviv University), in collaboration with V. Shotten-Hallel (Israel Antiquities Authority) and H. Yohanan (Israel Nature and Parks Authority) and the assistance of T. Harpak (registration). Other participants include, E. Milstein and R. Shnabel (registration and field supervision), V. Pirsky and S. Alon (surveying, drafting and orthophotography), S. Flit (photography), R. Jackson-Tal (glass), R. Kool (numismatics), M. Fischer (Byzantine-period spolia), A. Glik (World War I militaria), M. Pines (archaeozoology), Y. Asscher (mortar and plaster analyses), A. Karasik (laser scanning) and D. Zell (photogrammetry and 3D modelling). The labor force comprised mostly hired workmen, on average 15 each season.