Elusa. From Nabataean Trading Post to Late Antique Desert Metropolis

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Michael Heinzelmann, since 2/2025
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 457987972

The ancient desert city of Elusa was the economic, religious and cultural center of the Negev from the 2nd/3rd century until the beginning of the early Islamic period. Originally founded in the 3rd century BC as a caravan station along the 'Incense Road' leading from Arabia to the Mediterranean, it gradually developed into an important urban center, bishop's seat and administrative capital even after the decline of Nabataean long-distance trade, thanks to a flourishing wine-growing industry. With a built-up area of 45 hectares and a population of around 8-10,000, Elusa was the only real city in this region, equipped with a theatre, baths and a large number of churches. Its advantageous location, also on the pilgrimage route to Sinai, year-round availability of groundwater and a large agricultural hinterland favoured this development. Nevertheless, the almost 1000-year history of Elusa's settlement shows profound caesuras and transformation processes, which were essentially determined by three factors: a precarious natural environment, changing political conditions and the location in a dynamic contact zone between Nabataean-Arabic and Mediterranean cultures. While our knowledge of the mostly rural or proto-urban Negev settlements has reached a good level, their impulse-giving urban center, Elusa, remained virtually unexplored for a long time. It is only since 2015 that the city and its surrounding area have been systematically analyzed in a research project led by the applicant. These investigations have already yielded considerable new insights and revealed the great research potential of Elusa. However, various important aspects still need further investigation, including questions about the early development of the city, its sacral topography and domestic culture, waste management and economic structure. Applying a multidisciplinary research approach the project aims to achieve as holistic an understanding of the city as possible, encompassing its overall urban structure and long-term development as well as its social, economic, religious and cultural characteristics and processes of change. The study of Elusa thus makes an important contribution to the research of an extraordinary settlement landscape that prospered for many centuries on the edge of the ancient world and under ecologically and economically challenging conditions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemalige Antragstellerin: Professorin Dr. Sabine Schrenk, until 2/2025