The Apollonia National Park

At the top of the cliff, high above a small natural anchorage, people first settled some 2500 years ago. Thus began the fascinating history of Apollonia.

Remains of settlements that existed here for 1800 years were uncovered by an expedition of the Tel Aviv institute of Archaeology, headed by Israel Roll.
The site is located in the within a national park, which the Israel Nature and Parks Authority has prepared for visitors.

The History of Apollonia
The first settlement on this site was founded by the Phoenicians at the end of the sixth century BCE (the Parsian period). The Phoenicians called the place Arsuf after one of their deities, Reshef, god of war and storms. The Phoenicians took advantage of the sea, fishing for snails from which they produced purple dye. They also used the natural cove as an anchorage for the ships that linked them to the world of the Greeks.

During the Hellenistic period, between the fourth to the first centuries BCE, the residents of Arsuf identified Reshef with the good Apollo, and therefore renamed their city Apollonia. Later, the Coastal Plain, including Apollonia, was captured by the Hasmoneans. The historian Josephus Flavius mentions Apollonia as one of the coastal cities ruled by Hasmonean King Alexander Janneus (Antiquities of the Jews 13:4:395).

The Mediterranean Sea from Apollonia

During the Roman period, from the first to the third centuries CE, Apollonia flourished and became a real city. A Samaritan community, and perhaps a Jewish community as well, lived in Apollonia during the Roman and Byzantine periods. During the fifth and sixth centuries of the Byzantine period, the city – at that time known as Suzussa – reached the height of its development, and became the main port city for the southern Sharon Plain. Its area covered 70 acres and it possessed wine and oil presses and a well-developed glass industry. A magnificent church stood in the southwestern part of the city at this time.

The town was unfortified, and boasted a sophisticated water system based on collection of surface runoff in cisterns. During the Early Islamic period, from the seventh to the eleventh centuries CE, the city was ruled by the Muslims, who renamed it Arsuf and surrounded it with a wall in order to protect it from attack by the Byzantine fleet. At this time, the city was densely populated, but it shrank to 22 acres in size.

The Observation point of the Crusader Fortress

In 1099 CE, after the fall of Jerusalem to the Crusaders, they turned their attention to Arsuf but failed to conquer it. In the spring of 1101 CE, Crusader King Baldwin I conquered the city with the aid of the Genoan fleet. The Crusaders renamed the city Arsour.

In the mid-twelfth century CE, the entire area of the southern Sharon Plain was awarded to a noble Crusader family and Arsour became the regional capital. The Crusaders strengthened the walls of the former Muslim city, digging a dry moat around them for additional protection. In the wake of the Crusader defeat at the Battle of Hittin in 1187 CE, the city came under control of the Muslims for four years. The Crusader victory at the Battle of Arsur 1191 CE was to determine control of the Land of Israel for an additional one hundred years.

In 1241 CE, the Crusaders, led by Jean d'lbelin d'Arsour, began construction of a fortress in the northern part of the town. With his death in 1258 CE, control of the city passed to his son, Belian the Ist. Belian was unable to withstand the continuous pressure of Mameluke Muslim attacks. He therefore transferred control of his Southern Sharon fiefdom, including Arsour, to the Hospitaller Knights, and a few hundred soldiers of this order took up residence in the fortress. In the spring of 1265 CE, Arsour was attacked by the Mameluke Sultan Bibars, at the head of a large and powerful army.

Sling stones in Apollonia

The ensuing battle lasted for forty days until the city fell. When the Crusader soldiers holding out within the fortress saw that there was no hope, they agreed to surrender on condition that they be allowed to leave the city.

Baibars agreed, however after entering the fortress, he forced its defenders to destroy and burn it, and took them prisoner. Thus the end came to the city of Arsour and its fortress, which had only stood for 24 years! The Mamelukes established a military outpost here that was eventually abandoned. The fortress was never again inhabited.

Plant Life at Apollonia
On the kurkar (calcareous sandstone) ridge near he sea on which Apollonia is perched, the main factors influencing the flora in this vicinity are strong winds bearing salt spray from the sea, the brittle nature of the limestone, and the sandy covering. The plants growing on the ridge are highly resistant to both the salt spray and the sandy cover. Plants like the shrubby saltbush (Atriplex halimus), the lavender (Limonium virgatum), prickly drop-seed grass (Sporobolus virginicus), and the evening primrose (Oenothera drummondii) flourish here.
A forest of Mt. Tabor Oak (Quercus ithaburensis) once existed east of Apollonia. The destruction of the forests of the Sharon began in the Crusader period, when the wood was harvested for construction and fuel, and continued through the Ottoman period. Today, no vestige of the oak forest remains in the vicinity of Apollonia.

Apollonia National Park

Touring the Site:

The Long Route:

The Southern Moat:
The Southern Moat can be seen near the parking lot, before the entrance to the national park. The moat, which was dry, was part of the fortifications of the Crusader city. It surrounds the city on three sides; on the western side the city was naturally protected by the vertical kurkar (calcareous sandstone) cliff. The moat is supported on one side by the city rampart and on the other side by a wall. It is approximately four meters deep and ten meters wide.

Observation Point of the Roman Villa:
The observation point is located along the path that follows the wall dating from the Early Islamic and Crusader periods. On the other side of the wall, remains can be seen of Byzantine installations the use of which is unclear.
The Roman Villa existed here in the first and second centuries CE. It was planned and constructed according to Roman architectural tradition, including a central open courtyard surrounded by a colonnade and roofed rooms.

The Sea Path:
The tour route along the wall path above the sea passes remains from various periods:

The Wall – This wall was constructed during the Early Islamic period, apparently in the days of the Umayyad Caliph Abd-el Malik (685-705 CE), and was restored during the twelfth century by the Crusaders. The wall, which surrounded the city on all sides, is approximately one meter thick. Parts of the wall collapsed over time, and its remains can still be seen on the beach.

Water Reservoirs – A system of plastered water reservoir dating from the Byzantine period.

Water Reservoirs – A rock-cut cistern to collect rainwater, above which a barrel arch was constructed. On the southern side of the arch is a clay pipe, which channeled the water into the cistern. The date of the cistern is unknown, however throughout history it is clear that the city's water supply depended on the collection of rainwater in rock-cut cisterns.

Pool – The pool was lined with stones and used to collect water, apparently during the Byzantine period.

Lime kiln – The lime kiln was used at the end of the Ottoman period to burn limestone for the production of lime used in construction. The kiln was dug into the ground and had a circumference of four meters. It was lined with stones and topped by a dome. The stones intended for burning were placed on top of the roof, while the fire burned inside the kiln. Lime production took between three to six days.

Remains of the Crusader Town Wall – These remains can be seen near the lime kiln. Excavations carried out in this area uncovered structures from the Crusader period. Also revealed were earlier structures from the sixth century BCE (the Persian period), when Phoenicians occupied the site.

The Crusaders' Fortress
The fortress was constructed, beginning in 1241 CE, at the highest point of the tell. It is surrounded by a moat and three systems of fortifications: The outer fortification system included a retaining wall, semi-circular towers and a gate. The inner fortifications systems consisted of a 18 feet-high perimeter wall paralleling the outer fortifications systems and standing higher than them. This wall actually functioned as the outer wall of a row of rooms that surrounded the fortress courtyard. The third fortification system consisted of a ten-meter-high stronghold tower, or keep.

The Crusader Port in Apollonia

1. Observation Point of the Crusader Fortress – The dry fortress moat, 30 meters wide and 14 meters deep, defended the fortress. Entrance to the fortress was by means of a bridge above the moat (the observation point is located above the bridgehead). From the end of the bridge, entrance to the fortress was indirect.

2. Observation Point – The battle over the Fortress: Crusader Arsour fell in a land-battle against an army led by Mameluke Sultan Baibars. The battle took place in the spring of 1265 CE and lasted forty days. The Mameluke force was strong and well organized; its soldiers filled the moat with wooden beams that enabled them to approach the ramparts with their siege machines. They dug tunnels in the direction of the fortress, and shot ballista stones and arrows. The Crusader defenders burned the wooden beams, dug opposing tunnels, and shot ballista stones and arrows of their own. But the Mameluke army overcame the Crusaders and took the city, and the fortress fell three days later. The Mamelukes forced the Crusaders to destroy the fortress and took them captive.

3. The Inner Gate of the Fortress – This gate rises to a height of two stories and was protected by two semi-circular towers. The gate included an iron portcuills, behind which were two wooden doors. It was roofed and there were benches on each side. The gate, as excavated, verifies the description of the inner gate that appeared on the seal of Seigneur Belian 1st, whose residence was at Arsour.

4. The Fortress' Courtyard – The courtyard is located on the lower floor of the fortress, and is 28 meters long and 10 meters wide. The courtyard floor was composed of rough plaster. An ascent led from here to the second floor of the fortress, and a descent to two subterranean halls. The courtyard was surrounded by rooms, and the keep was located on its western side.

5. The Northern Hall – This hall contained a semi-circular tower. The area of the hall is 5x12 meters. Its walls were covered with white-stucco and have been preserved to a height of 4 meters. There is no evidence here of a second floor, and the use of the hall remains unclear.

6. Storage Installation – A round structure, 3.30 meters in diameters, the walls of the storage installation were constructed of ashlars (hewn stones) and covered by a stone dome. The floor was constructed of old grinding stones. This room was apparently used for the storage of grain and other food products.

7. Grinding Installation – A round structure, 3.40 meters in diameters, its floor was made of limestone. At its center was a round stone with a hole in the middle, used as the axis for a millstone. This installation was apparently used to grind grain for flour. A few hundred soldiers lived inside the fortress, and the mill provided them with flour for bread.

8. Kitchen – On one side of the kitchen are the remains of five stoves and on the other side, two plastered pools and a water channel.

9. Dining Hall – The soldiers stationed in the fortress dined in this room. Numerous clay bowls typical of everyday dining during the Crusader period, were discovered in the fortress. Glazed plates were also discovered, decorated with designs typical of the period.

10. Observation Point of the Keep – The keep was an octagonal, 30 feet-high tower constructed over a gradated arch. This was the third system of fortifications of the fortress, and was also the highest. The keep affords a view of the Crusader port, at the entrance of which were two towers, one on each side. The remains of the two towers can be seen jutting out of the water. With good visibility, from this point Jaffa appears to the south and Caesarea to the north. Both of these cities were also Crusader port towns. The keep also affords a view of the remains of the fortress and the inner entrance gate.

11. The Burnt Room – After the Crusaders surrendered to the Mamelukes, the Mamelukes, forced them to destroy and burn the fortress. The evidence of the fire can be seen on the walls of this room. From this room, Crusader soldiers shot ballista stones and arrows at the mameluke soldiers, as they did from the other rooms that faced the bridgehead and the moat. Within the fortress, 2200 ballista stones were discovered, most of them near the inner gate.

12. Observation Point of the Outer Fortifications of the Fortress – The moat can be seen from this point, as well as the bridgehead that led to the outer gate of the fortress.

The Short Route:

A walk on an unpaved road leads directly to the Crusader Fortress. On the way, the remains of the lime kiln can be seen, as well as a view of the sea, the fortress, and the crusader port.
Along the path are signs that tell about the fortress and the battle that took place here between the Crusaders and the Mamelukes.