Archaeologists are preparing to reveal an entire medieval compound in the city of Acre in northern Israel. This hidden city beneath a city was populated by Crusaders and then covered for centuries under rubble after a military attack that destroyed it.
This compound was about the size of two footballs and was last used in 1291 when a Muslim army overwhelmed Acre's Christian garrison and leveled it.
The existing city of Acre was built by Ottoman Turks in 1750, and effectively preserved the earlier city, but also hid it for hundreds of years.
"It's like Pompeii of Roman times — it's a complete city," Eliezer Stern, the Israeli archaeologist in charge of Acre told the Associated Press.
Stern said the town was "one of the most exciting sites in the world of archaeology."
One section that the archaeologists are preparing to reveal to the public is an arched passageway underground. Inscribed in plaster on one wall was a coat of arms — graffiti left by a medieval traveler. Nearby stretched a cobblestone main street complete with a row of shops that once sold souvenirs like clay figurines and ampules for holy water.
Acre has existed for at least 4,500 years, but reached its pinnacle after the Crusaders conquered it in 1104. Under their rule it became a busy trading area dominated by competing orders of soldier-monks, who often fought among each other in the streets. Other Europeans living in the city were merchants from cities like Genoa, Venice and Pisa.
Acre became renowned for being a cesspit of corruption, violence and sexual proclivity. Many European criminals, outlawed in their own lands, fled there. One French Bishop, Jacques de Vitry, who arrived in the city in 1216 was horrified by what he found there describing it as “totally depraved” and “filled with prostitutes”.
"When I entered this horrible city and found it full of countless disgraceful acts and evil deeds, I was very confused in my mind," he wrote.
The Israeli Antiquities Authority now considers Acre one of its richest heritage sites and whole teams of archaeologists are sifting through its ancient streets and buildings hoping to uncover further historical treasures.
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