Page 121 - A Walk to Caesarea / Joseph Patrich

A Walk to Caesarea: A Historical-Archaeological Perspective 107

powder, preserved its softness even when exposed

during the excavations. It was known in the Roman

world as an insect repellant, recommended for use in

granaries. The mortar was mixed in oily water – a by-

product in the process of producing olive oil in a press.

The granaries were paved in crude white mosaic,

with a cavity in the center of the floor into which 01 2 cm
leftover grains could be gathered. Only one of the
Fig. 117
granaries (in Warehouse III) was paved with flagstones. The underground granaries Amulet in the form of inlay
stone. Depicted on one side
were constructed in groups of two (in Warehouse I), three (in Warehouse III), four is a harvester with a broken
back and on the other, a
(Warehouse V), and even six (in area NN east of the Cardo). In a pair of granaries Greek inscription asking for
healthy hips (a lumbago
in Warehouse III (Fig. 116a–b) the ashlar walls were preserved to their full height. amulet)

The roofing of the underground spaces was by thick wooden beams whose ends Fig. 118
The office of Warehouse I,
were set in special indentations left in the upper course of the ashlars. These beams paved with a colorful mosaic

carried the mosaic floor of the rooms above. A square feeding opening delineated

by stones was left in the center of the mosaic floor (see above, Fig. 37 on p. 35).

The warehouses and granaries in which the three main products of the agricultural

yield were stored – wheat, oil, and wine – inform us that the landowners adopted

the approach expressed in this Midrash: “Rabbi Yohanan said: ‘blessed shalt thou

be in the field’ (Deut. 28:3) – that thy estate shall be divided in three [equal]

portions of cereals, olives and vines” (BT, Bava Mezia 107a). A similar approach

is shown in a mosaic inscription found in a villa outside the walls of Caesarea (see

Fig. 2 above, p. 2).

Among the interesting finds in the granaries: a stone inlay amulet with one side

depicting a reaper with a broken back and on the other, a Greek inscription asking

for healthy hips (Fig. 117). Also of note are two earthenware ovens (tabuns), the

first in Warehouse I, and the second in Warehouse V, and fragments of millstones.

These finds indicate that not only grains were sold here but also baked bread. In

Warehouses I, II, III, and IV private wells were uncovered.

In the façade of Warehouse I – the most impressive warehouse in its plan and

structure – two pilasters adorned the broad entrance leading from the decumanus

into an ante chamber. To its right is a mosaic-paved room with an underground

dolium at its center. This room was apparently used

for retail sales. Going on from there, one reaches the

courtyard covered with paving stones and surrounded

by pilasters that supported arches. Two underground

granaries are situated west of the courtyard and north

of them is a room with a colorful mosaic floor, a

plastered stone bench and another bench, which was

built at a later stage over the mosaic floor, and on its

eastern side a kind of separate exedra. From the plan

and furnishings of this room, one may suggest that

this was the office of Warehouse I (Fig. 118). South

of the courtyard there is a dolia hall c. 30 m long