The neighborhood by the sea
As part of the series of Haifa neighborhood stories and as a continuation of the previous article in Hai Fe (in which we focused on the Al-Atika neighborhood), in this article we will discuss the Bat Galim neighborhood, which together with Al-Atika, actually constituted the ancient city of Haifa.
The current neighborhood was built in 1920 right on the beach, with some of the neighborhood's houses touching the sea. This makes Bat Galim one of the most beautiful and unique neighborhoods in Haifa and in the country in general, since there are only a few places in Israel where you can see historic residences just a few meters from the sea.
The archaeological research in the neighborhood
The archaeological information about the history of the ancient settlement in the neighborhood comes from the archaeological surveys and excavations: already from the 1965s, there are records of archaeological remains that were seen in the area adjacent to the Rambam Hospital, which were discovered during the excavation of foundations for construction purposes. An archaeological survey by a team led by Yaakov Olimi and Avraham Ronan on behalf of the Association for the Archaeological Survey of Israel and the Antiquities Authority. Starting in 1966, a number of inspection and rescue excavations were carried out, mainly in the area of the Rambam Hospital, as part of the study of the area before construction and development work was carried out at the hospital.
As for the historical periods, descriptions of buildings in Old Haifa can be found in the descriptions of researchers starting in the 19th century, such as Victor Gren and the survey on behalf of the British Foundation for the Investigation of Palestine (PEF). In recent years and starting from the twentieth century, a number of preservation surveys were also done which documented historical buildings in the neighborhood and some of the buildings still exist to this very day, as buildings that have been declared for preservation.
The results of the archaeological surveys and excavations
During the survey carried out in the years 1965-1966, a number of sites were recorded throughout the neighborhood where signs indicating ancient sites were visible on the surface: for example, a number of sites were recorded in which a bulk of pottery from the Roman period was found (in the area between Hay'il Street and today's Paz station), as well as recorded in the area The grounds of the Rambam Hospital have settlement levels and remains of ceramics and glass dating from the Hellenistic period to the Byzantine period (from the 4th century BC to the 7th century AD). Near the beach, remains of quarries were recorded which the researchers estimated were used to produce salt. During the survey, historical buildings that were built in the XNUMXs as well as the Templar flour mill were also documented.
A number of archaeological excavations were conducted in the area of the Bat Galim neighborhood, all inspection and rescue excavations conducted by the Antiquities Authority, and in the area of the Rambam Hospital. The excavations from 1998, which were carried out by the Antiquities Authority, brought up the remains of a settlement from the Roman period to the early Islamic period. Among the findings are See ponds for dyeing fabrics that date back to the Byzantine period and a water canal from the early Islamic period (8th century AD).
Additional excavations were conducted in the area of the hospital in 2006 (in the area where the underground parking lot and the new children's department of the hospital are located today), under the management of Karam Said on behalf of the Antiquities Authority. The findings were not well preserved, but included, among other things, the remains of large buildings with plaster floors. The buildings were mainly dated to the Byzantine period (6th-7th century AD). A unique find was the filling under one of the floors, which included a handstone from the Neolithic period (the new stone, i.e. the end of the Stone Age), which was dated approximately 9000 years before our time. This remains indicates that there was a settlement belonging to this period in the area, but such a settlement has not yet been found.
Additional excavations were conducted in the hospital area in 2008, as part of rescue excavations prior to the expansion of the emergency room, under the management of Karam Said of the Antiquities Authority. These findings revealed the remains of mosaic floors that were part of a monastery and a church dating from the Byzantine period. The mosaic floor was colorful and included decorations of geometric patterns. Floors with similar mosaics were found in the ancient churches at sites such as the ruins of Chesh, Sukhmata and more. Among the unique finds was a stone baptismal font. According to the assessment of the diggers at the site, the find indicates the beginning of settlement in Old Haifa already in the Persian period (5th century BC) and it continued until the early Islamic period (8th century AD). The mosaic floors of the church or monastery date from the 5th-7th centuries AD.
The fact that even in modern times, two monasteries were built on the site (the two stone-built monasteries are still to this day at the entrance to the Rambam Hospital), indicates the importance of the place for the Christian community even in the Byzantine period. According to the archaeological research, the place was finally abandoned in 614 CE, With the Persian - Sasanian conquest.
Buildings and central centers in the neighborhood today:
The main emphasis of this article is to reveal to the readers the lesser known archaeological side, since this part is currently covered under the surface. However, in Bat Galim there are several buildings that are evidence of the rebuilding of the neighborhood in 1920. To read a little more about these buildings and sites, you can go to the article published in Hai Pa at the link:
The houses in the neighborhood
The residential houses of the neighborhood from the 1965s have been partially preserved until today. The main construction in the 1966s (as documented in the Antiquities Authority survey in XNUMX-XNUMX) was construction of kurkar (sandstone) stones. Later, from the XNUMXs to the XNUMXs, the houses were built of limestone with concrete roofs.
- Scandinavian house: Built in 1923 as a residence by the Crescenti family (today at 14 Aliya Street). The name was given to the building after it became a hostel for volunteers from Scandinavian countries.
- Al-Zuara Monastery: The monastery is at the entrance to Rambam Hospital and was founded in 1894 by Carmelite nuns who came to Israel from France. During the Ottoman period when the Ottomans expelled the nuns the building was used as a hospital but the nuns returned to it and stayed there until 1936 when they moved to Carmel.
- Saint Joseph Monastery: It is located opposite the Carmelite Monastery and was built between 1912-1914. It is currently used, like the second monastery, by the Rambam Hospital.
- The Templar Windmill: Established in 1874, and is considered the first building erected by the Templars in what is now known as the Bat Galim neighborhood. The mill was powered by the wind, but at one point was powered by a steam engine.
- Casino Bat Galim: The building has been used since the 1930s for recreational activities for the community. The original building was destroyed and what we see today is a concrete building, part of a building that was built later which also had a pool and a ballroom.
- Aharon Rosenfeld House: Home of Rosenfeld, one of the shipping pioneers in Israel and the founder of the Bat Galim neighborhood.
- Rachel and Yitzhak Samsonov family homes complex: The house of Yitzhak Samsonov who was one of the first veterinarians in Israel. The first assembly of veterinary doctors in Israel was held in this house, in 1922.
- Beit Pinchas Margolin: Lawyer and member of the Haifa City Council. The house was built in 1923.
The Bat Galim neighborhood is considered very unique, both because of its location on the seashore and because it is rich in history and long-standing heritage. The archaeological find presented in this article allows us to determine the southernmost border of Old Haifa (mainly during the Roman-Byzantine period), which is in the area of the neighborhood, where the Rambam Hospital is today.
Most of the buildings and historic centers that stand out in the area of Bat Galim nowadays are mainly related to the renewal of its construction, starting in 1920. Various articles and articles have been published about these buildings and monuments, such as the article published in Hai Fe (the link above), and therefore I thought it appropriate to present here the archaeological find that is not visible Today is visible.
For Bat Galim, like the eye of the sea, beautiful memories are stored in the brain.
Not long ago, the beautiful neighborhood of Bat Galim celebrated its 100th anniversary. We don't hear about any program to mention the date. On the other hand, in 1949 they celebrated the first jubilee in a big way, don't you celebrate 100 years?
Moshe Noy Neuzen? Yes you are right
Revision Givat Shekmona
Fix !
I meant the hill that is located in the aroma of the Bat Galim neighborhood
As a native of Bat Galim, and a former Galimi daughter in his soul, I feel a personal obligation and even on behalf of my many childhood friends to thank Dr. Kamil Sari for the very instructive article and for all those special revelations about the history of the neighborhood, it is true that we did not know much about the ancient findings except the The fact that the only place we emphasized our efforts to reach was Givat Shmona, which is located in the Douma of the neighborhood, where we discovered mosaic stones, and collected them specially to play the game of five stones that was so famous at that time among the children of the neighborhood.
For me, as a competitive swimmer in the past..every trip to the Bat Galim pool was always exciting, including competitions in Maccabiah, championships, jumping from the Migdal. I understood that the management was under the care of the Margolis family.
Even though I knew the shirt was covered. I particularly visited the ban. I sat at the foot of the entrance to the cafe opposite the pool.
There were markers
Thank you for the interesting and enriching information about my hometown??❣️
Thank you very much Dr. Kamil Sari for an interesting and enriching article!
I wonder why Sherl Lutz 4 does not appear anywhere and as far as I know it was the first villa that was built and belonged to the representative of the Turkish Sultan. At that time Bat Galim was not called Bat Galim and was actually a fishing village.
Very interesting! Thank you! How can I arrange a tour?
You can coordinate directly with me. All my details are on the facebook page "just a moment" or my name is kamil sari
Beautiful and very interesting article!! In recent years, my wife and I have been staying at the Bat Galim Hotel (also an ancient building from 1930, which I think has been renovated) and walking around the neighborhood and along the boardwalk. Indeed an amazing neighborhood both in the past and in the present.
We, born in Bat Galim, also think this way and often come for walks in the neighborhood to pass by the house we lived in and by the houses of our friends to the seashore where we happily spent our childhoods... lots of good memories???❤️
Where can you see the findings, and what do the numbers on the TCA mean? Maybe you should add a legend?
Hello, the findings are being processed at the Antiquities Authority laboratories. A small part is displayed at the entrance to Rambam Hospital. The numbers on the map indicate the number of the site as surveyed by the Antiquities Authority team. You can go to the Antiquities Authority website to see the map and read the results of the survey: http://survey.antiquities.org.il/#/MapSurvey/14
Regarding adding a legend: absolutely right
As a rep
Hello, how do you get the photo with the red dots, and the detail of each and every dot???
Thanks in advance.
Greek licorice
As I wrote on the Antiquities Authority website, here is a link: http://survey.antiquities.org.il/#/MapSurvey/14
As a rep
The mosaic will indeed be preserved. It was removed from the site because it was necessary to expand the emergency room of Rambam Hospital. The plan is to return the mosaic to display in Bat Galim since it belongs to the place. Efforts are being made to return it to display in Rambam, but it is possible in any public building in the Bat Galim neighborhood
One of the most special neighborhoods in the country that should have been a global gem and instead looks like a trash can. Years of criminal neglect. What is the fate of the amazing mosaic floor. Why didn't they keep it?
Very important and very interesting article, thank you very much!
Thank you for the information!
It should be mentioned that ancient Haifa was located in the area of Rambam. This is also where the last battle of a Jewish army on the land of Israel, against the Crusaders, took place about a thousand years ago.
Very true and therefore this article comes directly after the article about ancient Haifa
So beautiful and so neglected 🙁
magnificent! Worth a visit.
We are happy to arrange a tour
Really interesting article, I enjoyed reading and learning and finding out more about the neighborhood that I love so much. Kudos to everyone who was and is engaged in the work of discovery and preservation, and of course to Dr. Kamil Sari, the author of the article.
Kudos to whoever edited the very interesting article about the entire history from then until today. The only question is did they find salt or not?
It's good to mention all those people, archaeologists, veterinarians, evaluation and mining, really moving, thank you
Hello: No salt found. The estimate that these are quarries for the production of salt is an estimate. There is a complete study by Dr. Ehud Galili on the production of salt in ancient times and a book by Dr. Ehud Galili has been published. I recommend it to those who are interested
Fascinating to read, thank you very much!
exciting. You should add a map with the sites mentioned.
In the article there is a map, an aerial photograph with the location markings of the sites and it is from a survey by the Antiquities Authority. You can add a map with streets
It is very strange that among the first buildings of Bat Galim, "Beit Hasan" was absent, which was the home of the crown prince of the neighborhood and the initiator of its construction. Binyamin Hasan, son of a descendant of Shafaram, married into the Crescenti family. The house stands there to this day and is a candidate for preservation
Why mention buildings whose demolition is expected shortly? It is strange that Samsonov's house was mentioned, some of its outer walls were recently destroyed.
The article mainly dealt with the sites and the archaeological find. I chose the historical buildings at random, only a few of them with a link to a previous article that was published in Hai Pa. The goal was not to ignore the historical buildings because I am an archaeologist and therefore I referred to a link to another article showing the buildings and the modern history of the neighborhood
My emphasis in writing the article was on the unknown archaeological find. And so I added a link to another article in which the historic houses of the neighborhood are mentioned. What appears in the neighborhood is just a random sample I chose to encourage readers to enter the link and read about the rest of the buildings. I mentioned this thing in the article which is partial and I recommend reading in another article about the historical buildings
Indeed, the Bat Galim neighborhood in Haifa has a fascinating Haifa history. Kudos to R. Kamil Sari, director of the northern region of the Antiquities Authority, for what he wrote on the Hai Pa website of Nega and Yaron Karmi. Yesher Chakh. Shabbos Shalom.
Thank you very much for the response. A special neighborhood indeed