Difference between revisions of "Oboda / Avdat"
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Revision as of 14:35, 25 September 2011
- SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see Category:Oboda (subject)
- ANCIENT SOURCES: see Oboda (sources)
Oboda / Avdat was one of the Nabatean Cities (then Roman and Byzantine) in the Negev.
Overview
The city was established by the Nabateans on a mountain ridge in the center of the Negev highlands. Like Elusa, Nessana, Rehovot, Sobata, and Mampsis, Oboda was born as a road station for the caravans along the Incense Route connecting Petra with Gaza.
Oboda was named after the Nabatean king Obodas II, who was worshiped as a deity and according to tradition, was buried there. The city flourished especially during the reign of Aretas IV Philopatris (9 BCE - 40 CE), when the acropolis was fortified and a large temple built within it. Agricultural project were carried out to sustain the population.
At the time of Malichus II, the city was razed by Arab tribes. The city was rebuilt by the last Nabatean king, Rabbel II Soter (70–106 CE).
The Roman conquest of 106 CE brought about new periods of prosperity that continued in the Byzantine period, when the city became renowned mainly for the production of wine. The city was damaged by earthquakes, destroyed by the Persians in 614, and abandoned in the 7th century.
Oboda in ancient sources
Oboda in scholarship
The site was first "rediscovered" and mapped in 1870 by E.H. Palmer and C.F. Tyrwhitt-Drake. More detailed investigations were conducted in 1902 (A. Musil), 1904 (A. Jaussen, R. Savignac, and H. Vincent), and 1913/14 (C.L. Woolley and T.E. Lawrence), with trial digs at the site by D.H. Colt in 1937.
Large-scale excavations were undertaken in the 1950s directed by Michael Avi-Yonah (1958) and Avraham Negev (1959–60) on behalf of the National Parks Authority and the Hebrew University. Negev resumed excavations in 1975-79 (with R. Cohen) and later in 1989 excavated on the acropolis. More recent excavations were conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority by G. Tahal, O. Katz and P. Fabian (1992-93), and by T. Erickson-Gini (1999–2000).
Oboda in fiction
The ruins of Oboda were the filming location of Jesus Christ Superstar (1973 Jewison), film.