For the first time ever, two ancient vaulted tombs dating back at least 1,700 years, adorned with magnificent murals depicting Greek mythological figures, people, plants, and animals, will be unveiled to the public. This exciting initiative results from a collaboration between the Ashkelon Municipality and the Israel Antiquities Authority to develop and integrate the city’s exceptional heritage resources into its public areas, benefiting both residents and visitors.
These ancient vaulted structures are located near the Ashkelon marina, nestled within a public area surrounded by residential towers. The Ashkelon Municipality decided to make the site accessible to the public, transforming a previously neglected space into a welcoming public garden containing the two tombs. A single glance inside these tombs opens a window to an ancient and fascinating world.
Ashkelon’s mayor, Tomer Glam, remarked, Ashkelon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and while we shape and design the city’s future, we ensure a place of honor for its glorious and rich past. In recent years, we have carried out a real revolution in preserving historical sites. We made these sites accessible to city residents and the general public, organized events, and produced educational, cultural, and tourism programs to connect the city’s history with its present.
The first tomb, discovered in the 1930s about 300 meters from the beach, is a sand-filled vaulted burial structure. This tomb was excavated by a British expedition and dates back to the early 4th century CE. It comprises a main hall with four adjoining burial chambers.
This passage is decorated with a series of murals remarkable in their quality and craftsmanship, featuring representations of Demeter, the Greek mythological goddess of the earth and grain.
Other images include plants such as vines and grape clusters; various types of leaves and branches; and depictions of nymphs, mythological nature spirits adorned with lotus crowns and holding jugs from which water flows.
The tomb murals also showcase diverse birds, deer, children picking grape clusters and placing them in baskets, a figure playing the Pan flute, and a wide range of other images.
Particularly striking is the head of Medusa, the Gorgon, a monstrous female face with hair made of snakes. According to Greek mythology, her gaze could turn those who looked at her to stone.
Another decorated vaulted tomb in the public garden was relocated here from another site in Ashkelon in the 1990s to ensure its preservation. This tomb, uncovered in an excavation led by Dr. Elena Kogan-Zehavi from the Israel Antiquities Authority, dates back to the 2nd century CE.
At the center of the structure is a hall whose walls are decorated with colorful paintings of human figures, birds, and other images from the animal and plant worlds. Around the hall are vaulted loculi in which decorated lead coffins with human, animal, and plant motifs were discovered.
In recent months, these structures and their decorations have undergone a complex preservation process executed by conservation experts. According to Mark Abrahami, head of the Art Conservation Department at the Israel Antiquities Authority, Ancient wall paintings are generally not preserved in Israel’s humid climate. Since the paintings were in a relatively closed structure, they were protected, to some extent, for decades. Naturally, exposing the centuries-old paintings to air and humidity caused discoloration and deterioration.
We had to carry out a long and sensitive process to stop and repair the ravages of time and weather. Some paintings had to be removed from the walls for comprehensive treatment in conservation laboratories before being returned to the site. The other walls of the structure were cleaned, the pigments of the paintings were enhanced, and the entire building was strengthened and stabilized to preserve it for future generations.
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