Yavne-Yam (, also spelled Yavneh-Yam, literally Yavne-Sea) or Minet Rubin (Arabic, literally Port of Rubin, referring to biblical Reuben; ) is an archaeological site located on Israel's Southern Coastal Plain, about 15 km south of Tel Aviv. Built on eolianite hills next to a small promontory forming the sole anchorage able to provide shelter to seagoing vessels between Jaffa and the Sinai Peninsula, Yavne-Yam is notable for its role as the port of ancient Yavne. Excavations carried out by Tel Aviv University since 1992 have revealed continuous habitation from the second millennium BCE up to the Middle Ages; the famous Yavne-Yam ostracon is named after the site.
It was this Hellenization which eventually led to the Seleucid-Jewish conflict of the 2nd century BCE. What begun as tensions between hellenized and observant Jews, in 166 BCE erupted into an open revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Cities that had been thoroughly hellenized, such as Yavne (Iamnia) and Yavne-Yam, suffered the brunt of the Maccabean Revolt. According to 2 Maccabees, Judas Maccabeus, first leader of the revolt, "attacked the people of Jamnia by night and set fire to the harbor and the fleet, so that the glow of the light was seen in Jerusalem, thirty miles distant." 2 Maccabees 12:9 Discoveries at the site and elsewhere, however, cast doubt on this account. During a preliminary survey conducted in December 1986, a fragmentary Greek inscription was found in Yavne-Yam, documenting correspondence between Seleucid king Antiochus V Eupator and the local Sidonian community. Dated to the summer of 163 BCE, it reveals the longstanding cooperation of the town with Seleucid authorities, at a time when inland Yavne was known as a base for operations against the rebels. 1 Maccabees 5:58-59 Furthermore, the discovery on Delos of altars erected by the citizens of Iamnia and the persistence of Greek ware in the archaeological record have led archaeologists to believe Yavne-Yam had in fact resisted Maccabean attacks and remained a free Greek city for decades after the rebellion. It was eventually sacked and incorporated into the Hasmonean state in the late 2nd century BCE, during the rule of John Hyrcanus or Alexander Jannaeus.
Following the Islamic conquest of the 7th century, the port became known by various names such as mahuz Yibna (harbor of Yavne), mahuz a-tani (second harbor, the first being Ashdod-Yam), or Minet Rubin (harbor of Rubin), after the nearby traditional burial place of biblical Reuben. These appear in works of prominent Arab geographers Al-Muqaddasi and Muhammad al-Idrisi. It became a Ribat, a fortified coastal lookout point where prisoner exchanges with the Byzantines were carried out, and a citadel, still partially visible today, was built on its southern promontory. The transformation of the town into a military outpost led to the departure of the non-Muslim population.
For reasons unknown, the site was abandoned in the 12th century. It is nevertheless depicted in several medieval maps such as Abraham Ortelius' 1584 map, where it appears as Jamnia Iudeorum Portus (Jamnia, the Jewish harbor).
Since 1980 underwater surveys have also been taking place in the harbor. These have revealed shipwrecks, anchors and fishing devices, all suggestive of intense maritime activity from the Bronze Age to modern times. In 2008, a lifeguard diving at the site found an Ophthalmos, a 4th or 5th century BCE marble discus measuring 20 cm in diameter. Resembling an eye, these adorned the bow of ancient ships and were supposed to protect the ships from the evil eye, envy and danger, while also assisting navigation. That same year, Moshe Fisher and Itamar Taxal on behalf of Tel-Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology conducted archaeological research at the site.Israel Antiquities Authority, Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2008, Survey Permit # G-65
Prominent finds from Yavne-Yam and its vicinity are on display at Beit-Miriam, the museum of nearby Kibbutz Palmachim.
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