| Avdat |
| 'Avdat – |
| On Destruction, Restoration and Authenticity |
| Orderer | Israel Nature and Parks Authority |
| Implemented by: |
Arch. Ram Shoeff
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In 2005 UNESCO declared a segment of the Incense Route in Israel a World Heritage Site. The declaration includes sections of road, milestones, a number of khans and fortresses, as well as four of the six ancient cities that were constructed along the route: 'Avdat, Mamshit, Shivta and Haluza. Some four years later, on the night of October 5, 2009, vandals struck in 'Avdat. The damage along the main street of the Byzantine quarter and in the region of the churches and temples located in the western part of the acropolis was extensive. Stone walls were toppled or smeared with paint, arches and columns were knocked over and unique architectural elements were defaced. The physical and visual destruction to the site was enormous. The fact that the site is included in the World Heritage list contributed to the government’s decision to provide funds for its rehabilitation. The resources that were allocated created an opportunity not only to rehabilitate the damaged parts of the site, but to carry out an in-depth study of the finds and comprehensive conservation and development planning of the site. In order to facilitate the conservation work a team of conservators was set up headed by Olga Finkelstein of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Shmuel Zohovitsky of the Nature and Parks Authority. The planning team included the engineer Lily Sokhnov and the author as the project’s architect. Orit Bortnik, the head conservator of the southern district of the Nature and Parks Authority, directed the project.
The first reaction of the authorities that were involved in the rehabilitation was to restore the site to its previous state, prior to the vandalism. However, we very quickly reached the conclusion that the damage that was done provided an opportunity for discussing a number of essential issues such as: authenticity versus tourism needs, the extent of the restoration, how should the site be presented to the public, etc. At most of the antiquities sites that have been developed as tourism sites discussions of this sort take place after the fact, remain theoretical only and ultimately do not affect the site. In the case of 'Avdat we could study the conservation of the site, its development and presentation to the public over the years as a national park, and implement our conclusions in planning its rehabilitation.
In the first stage we gathered all of the information about the archaeological excavations that were conducted at 'Avdat from 1958 under the direction of Michael Avi-Yonah and later headed by Avraham Negev and others. It turns out that the excavations conducted in the early years were done so without proper documentation, a fact that hampered us in studying the conservation process. The information that was collected during the work was based on a number of sources: a study and analysis of the site itself, historical photographs from different periods and various sources, a comparison with other archaeological sites of the period, and a variety of texts. Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini, an archaeologist with the Southern Region of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who excavated at the site and is an expert on the archaeological sites of the Negev in the Roman-Byzantine period, accompanied us throughout the project. Even today there still remain some question marks regarding the authenticity of various parts of the site.
In the second stage we analyzed the existing reconstructions at the site and their scientific veracity. We examined to what extent they are based on knowledge and an analysis of the finds, and how much of them is a free interpretation on the part of the archaeologist, the conservator or the planner that worked there.
One of the interesting issues we encountered concerns the reconstructions from the 1960s that were damaged by the vandalism. For example, the vandals toppled almost all of the columns of the northern church. The southern row of columns was characterized by stone bosses on the tops of the columns which faced the church’s southern wall. After studying the matter at length we concluded that the columns were incorrectly reconstructed, that is to say, there was no architectural basis in the structure for their restored appearance. We assumed that the bossed-drums that were placed on the tops of the columns were remains of temples that were there prior to the construction of the churches. Furthermore, on the basis of the data we can state with certitude that they were never part of the northern church. At this point we had to grapple with the question of whether we should return the church’s columns to an incorrect state of restoration. Apart from the scientific data we possessed, there were other considerations to take into account now. For example, over the years the row of bossed-columns that was defaced had become one of the hallmarks of 'Avdat. A photograph of it even appears on the front page of the brochure that is distributed to visitors upon entering the site; hence we pondered whether in restoring the church we needed to consider what the public knows and identifies with the site. After all, this is how it has looked since its very first days as a national park. Another argument that was raised against our attempt to limit the interpretation at the site was that this is the way it was when UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site and any change to the site might adversely affect its recognition as such.
Another discussion that was held regarded the image of the archaeologist, Avraham Negev, a central figure in the archaeology of the State of Israel, who among other things was responsible for most of the excavations at 'Avdat and the restorations there. Does the legacy of the excavating archaeologist have any historical significance of its own? Are we required to adhere to his interpretation, even if our understanding of the site has changed over the years? This was perhaps the most complicated issue of all since 'Avdat is so closely identified with the almost mythical figure of Avraham Negev and his extensive research of the Nabataean world.
The solution for the northern church like the site in general was mixed.First and foremost the destructive materials which were used in restorations done between the 1960s and 1990s (iron rods, cement, etc) were dismantled and removed from the site. The restoration was done utilizing materials that were in keeping with the original construction: limestone, marble and lime-based mortars. For the conservation measures implemented in response to the vandalism at the site we had come up with a better understanding of the remains of this fascinating and unique city in such a way that we minimized the amount of interpretation that does not rely on knowledge.
Restoration of the Chancel Screen in the Southern Church
While gathering the historical information such as archaeological reports and photographs, we discovered that the chancel screen around the bema in the southern church were restored in the past but had been dismantled over the years. All that remained in its place was a single stone slab on the northern side of the bema. Seeing that the church is used as a prayer site by many Christian groups that arrived there from different parts of the world, and since we thought it extremely important to replace the chancel screen for the purpose of displaying the church structure, we felt it appropriate to re-erect the chancel screen around the bema.
A preliminary search of the chancel slabs and posts turned up nothing, and it seemed that these remains were lost. Therefore the first restoration proposal was based on modern materials such as iron. That changed when Olga began working on the stone elements located in the storeroom at the site. Among the stone artifacts were parts of two of the three missing slabs, as well as a number of pieces belonging to the chancel posts. Having found the original stone items the project’s steering committee revised its position. It was now decided that the restoration of the chancel screen would be based on the original elements while the missing components – the slab that was lost, the front chancel slabs and the posts – would be produced from stone. In studying the existing elements of the chancel screen we learned that the screens on both sides of the bema were apparently made of limestone, whereas the screens and posts in front of the bema were marble. This assessment is based on, among other things, marble fragments that remained embedded in the support channels of the front chancel screen. These conclusions led to the decision that the missing slab and posts on the sides of the bema be manufactured from pale yellow-brown colored limestone, while the elements that comprise the front chancel screen be made of light colored Marmara marble, streaked with gray-light blue veins.
Yuval Avraham of the Israel Antiquities Authority Conservation Department was responsible for drawing up the detailed plans for the implementation of the restoration. We prepared a three dimensional model in order to examine the implications of the chancel screen’s restoration, and we also used it when presenting the proposal to the project’s steering committee. Olga conserved and restored the original marble chancel screen fragments she found in the site’s storeroom and attached them to complete chancel screen slabs. By the end of the process the chancel screen will be composed of original limestone slabs that were connected and completed, a slab and several posts made of new limestone and slabs and posts made of marble.
Daniel Kish was responsible for the stone work and a search carried out by him revealed that the marble slabs that exist in Israel do not match those of the chancel screen. The solution decided upon was to order them from a quarry in Turkey that was provided with plans in order to carry out the initial stone-cutting and dressing of these marble items. While the stone elements were being prepared, work began on preparing the bema for the installation of the chancel screen. These preparations included the planning and implementation of the support elements that were to be positioned beneath the edges of the bema. The stone items will be connected to the support elements by means of stainless steel rods.
While planning the chancel screen a question arose regarding the completeness of the original screen. In Byzantine period churches the chancel screen usually surrounds the bema on three sides: the north, west and south (besides the chancel screens on the sides of the bema). And this was how Avraham Negev marked the chancel in the excavation publication. When we examined the area of the chancel screen we were surprised to discover that while remains of the screen at the front of the bema and on the two sides were fairly visible (pieces of slabs, deeply dressed support channels, etc), the support channels on the northern and southern sides of the bema were very shallow or nonexistent. Moreover, in the two chancel posts positioned in the corners of the bema slots were found for stabilizing the screen only at the front of the bema. Because of the multitude of doubts regarding the enclosure of the central bema toward the north and south, we decided to forego restoring these parts of the chancel screen for the time being.
As of now the work is still incomplete. We are anticipating the arrival of the marble elements imported from Turkey, in the hope that they will fit the requirements we set forth in the planning (dimensions, hue, etc). Connecting all of the chancel screen’s parts into a single object is not a simple task. We assume it will be necessary to make changes and adjustments to the stones when positioning them in place in the church.
The chancel screen restoration project along with the restoration of the entire region of the bema, including the floor of the bema and the altar table, bring to a close three years of work conserving the 'Avdat archaeological site and its development. It is our hope that in this way we have contributed to a better and more accurate presentation of this site and to its preservation for us and for coming generations.
The rehabilitation of 'Avdat was a fascinating journey, not only because of the attributes of the site but also because of the theoretical discussion that went along with it.
Ram Shoeff
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June 2013
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To view the figures, click on the figure caption
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