Resembling a camel’s hump, the site aquired the name GAMLA which in Aramaic means camel. The Hebrew equivalent of the name being Gamal. Located in the southern Golan Heights, it was part of the tribal allotment of Menasseh & was the capital of the Golan district of the Galilee.
The site has revealed masses of archaeological finds. One find in particular proves that Gamla was an integral part of the land, given by the Almighty to the Jewish people as an everlasting possesion.
Not one but two olive oil presses & two mikvaot (ritual baths) were uncovered. One mikva was unearthed adjacent to the synagogue & the other adjacent to one of the two olive oil presses. When an olive press is located adjacent to a mikve (incorrectly labelled tub in the site plan) it implies the production of olive oil for Temple use only. Oil for use in the Temple had to be produced within the borders of the land & workers had to be ritualy purified before commencing production. Farmers would therefore have to immerse themselves in a mikve before beginning the process of extracting oil. In addition, the olives had to be harvested from trees within the Holyland. Gamla satisfies all criteria & is not, as Israel's detractors claim, occupied territory.
Evidence of an early bronze age settlement (3300 B.C.E-2200 B.C.E.) is provided by the remains of Dolmens, which were made up of a horizontal slab supported by three or more upright stones & built to commemorate the dead. The Talmud describes Gamla as a walled city during the time of Joshua, which corresponds to the Late Bronze Period (1550 B.C.E - 1200 B.C.E.).
The town was transformed into a military outpost during the Hellinistic Period (332 B.C.E. – 167 B.C.E.) by the Seleucids, a dynasty that attained power from 332 B.C.E to 167 B.C.E. During the Hasmonean period, (167 B.C.E. – 63 B.C.E.) whilst under the leadership of Alexander Yannai the town was captured in 90 B.C.E.,making it home to a flourishing Jewish community until the great revolt againts Rome. (66 C.E. - 73 C.E.).
Joseph ben Matityahu later known as Josephus Flavius was the commander of the Jewish forces in both the Galilee & Golan at the time. Six months prior to the siege of Gamla he had given himself up to the Romans at a site named Yodvat. ( I have an article on Yodfat on my website blog). After being pardoned by the Romans & adopting a new name, Josephus wrote extensively about the Roman occupation of the Holyland.
Whether he did or didn't "sell out" to the Romans is a subject that is vigorously debated to the present day. As my wife said, " His innocence or guilt is dependent on his intent". She later added “Did he want to record Jewish history for later posterity, or did he want to save his ass”. Personally, I think a little of both.
Gamla is located on a pointed spur & except for the eastern side is surrounded by deep ravines. In other words, its natural defenses were formidable. It took three Roman assaults to conquer the city, the first two having been succesfully repulsed. According to Josephus the third Roman assault commenced in 67 C.E. with 55 000 Roman troops under the leadership of Vespasian, the future emperor of Rome. The troops congregated in what is today's parking lot which overlooks the site. The intensity of the battle is evidenced by the discovery of a huge number of ancient weapons which included ballistaballs (rounded stones) & bolts (arrowheads), the amounts of which are unsurpassed anywhere in the Roman Empire.
Other weapons of war unearthed on site included the ballista which could be characterized as a gaint catapilt. The weapon launched either bolts or ballistaballs & had a maximum range of 460 meters.
Pila (pilum in the singular), is a javelin which was hand held & consisted of an iron shank of approxiamately 2 meters in length & capped with an arrow head.
Siege hooks, which were similar to battering rams but equiped with a different type of head piece. The head piece comprised of a pointed pry bar for penetration, & hooks to allow for retraction. This enabled the soldiers to splinter wooden doors or remove stones out of a wall.
In addition, Roman military protective gear such as helmets & armour scales were found scattered throughout the site.
According to Josephus, Gamla had a population of roughfly 9000 souls. Contemporary sources maintain that this figure is exaggerated. The population did however increase as Gamla absorbed many refugees fleeing the Roman advance. According to Josephus, 4000 of the inhabitants were killed in defense of the city & the remaining 5000 which included woman and children threw themselves into the surrounding ravines rather than being taken captive by the Romans, hence the secondary title "Masada of the north".
From its capture & destruction by the Romans in 67 C.E., the ancient ruins of Gamla remained untouched until the 1967 six day war when Israeli archaeologists began to investigate the site.
It would be sacrilegious of me not to mention that Gamla is home to the largest nesting colony of Griffon vultures in Israel. A vulture is a bird of prey that feeds mainly on carrion (carcasses of dead animals). They are in essence the janitors of the natural world and prevent the spread of desease. On a personel level I find that the divine hand is more exposed in the natural world & therefore easier to see. Griffon vultures for example, have bald heads & necks which allow them to access the innards of dead animals & avoid infection that could result from soiled feathers. This coupled with sharp hooked beaks for tearing meat make them perfectly designed for their role as janitors of the natural world.
Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect). Website : rontraub-tours.com Photo's : Rimonah Traub & internet. Map & Site plan : Internet.
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