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Project Description
The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project (JCHP) is an interdisciplinary cultural heritage research project focused on the history and archaeology of Jaffa.
Yafo, ancient Jaffa (Gk. Joppa; Ar. Yafa), is situated on the south side of the modern city of Tel Aviv on the coast of Israel between Caesarea and Gaza, about 60 km northwest of Jerusalem. The site consists of an ancient tell built on a kurkar sandstone ridge overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and during various periods also included a sprawling lower city. As a major tell and port along the coast of the southern Levant its occupation reflects most periods from the Middle Bronze Age through the present. Jaffa, therefore, joins a select number of sites that shared extensive connections not only with neighboring sites in the coastal plain but also with distant maritime commercial centers throughout the Mediterranean world.
The project was initiated in January 2007 by its co-directors, Martin Peilstöcker (Israel Antiquities Authority) and Aaron A. Burke (University of California, Los Angeles). It is a collaborative effort between a number of participating institutions including its senior partners, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, and additional partners including Johannes Gutenberg-Universität in Mainz, Germany, and The Old Jaffa Development Company. The project is affiliated with the American Schools of Oriental Research.
The activities of the JCHP consist of four overarching initiatives: research, publication, conservation, and outreach.
Archaeological research at Jaffa includes the integration of marine and terrestrial archaeological excavations, environmental analyses, and GIS mapping. Historical research of the site in all periods is equally instrumental to properly understanding the cultural and environmental evolution of Jaffa through the ages. Like historical research, the study of Jaffa’s changing environment provides a better understanding of the factors that governed the site’s selection as both a settlement and major port along the coast of the southern Levant. This work is part of an annual excavation program that began in 2007. Beginning in 2008 this field program includes an archaeological field school that is focused on the training of its participants in field work, documentation, lab analysis, and cultural heritage management.
The JCHP has developed a detailed publications program to address the lack of publication of Jaffa's remains, particularly for archaeological research following more than sixty years of excavations. The publication of the excavations of Jacob Kaplan and Haya Ritter-Kaplan at Jaffa are divided into two major initiatives that also include specialist studies. Excavations by the IAA and the joint IAA-UCLA project are also included within this publication program.
The JCHP is also creating partnerships on individual conservation projects within the project to concentrate on the preservation of both artifacts exposed by previous and ongoing excavations at Jaffa as well as architectural monuments in and around Old Jaffa. The outreach programs of the JCHP are supported by the Jaffa Museum of Archaeology, the IAA Education Programs, and the Jaffa Visualization Project (Experiential Technologies Center, UCLA).
The JCHP serves as a coordinating body for researchers who share the goals of revealing, researching, preserving, and presenting the cultural heritage of Jaffa. Researchers from UCLA come from the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Department, the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, and the Experimental Technologies Center and a number of other institutions.
Developments and Updates
2009 Archaeological field school of the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, June 27–July 30. For information, see Cotsen Institute of Archaeology field school program page.
See feature in 2008 issue of Backdirt, published by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press at UCLA.
First Season of the JCHP: Excavations, Analysis, and Kaplan Publication Preparation. See results on Israel Antiquities Authority website.
For general information about the JCHP, please visit the JCHP’s homepage. Interested in keeping up on the latest developments? Join our Facebook group.
Contact Information
For more information regarding UCLA participation in the JCHP and opportunities for involvement contact:
Aaron A. Burke
Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, Co-Director
Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Dept. and the Cotsen Institute of ArchaeologyUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Email the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project.
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