The History and Archaeology of the City of Lod

Archaeological findings indicate that Lod was founded about 8,000 years ago (during the Neolithic period) near the Ayalon River. Archaeological excavations have uncovered mud houses and even graves where the city's inhabitants were buried. Since its founding, Lod has been inhabited throughout the historical periods of the Land of Israel and, as far as we know, is the only city in the Land of Israel that has maintained such impressive settlement continuity.   Even Jerusalem, Caesarea, and Acre were uninhabited at certain times, while Lod remained populated throughout.

Lod entered the pages of history during the famous Egyptian campaign of Pharoah Thutmose III, who passed through Lod on his way to subdue an alliance of Canaanite and Syrian cities near the city of Megiddo.

 Egyptian records show that Lod was an important point on the “Way of the Sea,” the most important “ancient highway” in the ancient East.

Starting in the Persian period, Lod became an important center for the Jewish community. Later, during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods, Lod was a major center of spiritual and literary creativity, and many of the greatest rabbis lived and worked there. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who was associated with Tzippori in the Galilee, often visited Lod and was active there.

During the Roman period, when the land was ruled by their mighty Empire, the rulers recognized Lod as a central crossroads in the Land of Israel. Seven Imperial Roads connected Lod with all the important centers of the country, and thus the Romans turned the city into the beating heart of the Land of Israel. In those days, Lod was called “DIOSPOLIS,” “City of God,” and as befitting a city of God, magnificent temples were built there, and it became a city that rivaled Caesarea, Beit She'an, and other Roman cities in its splendor. Excavations in the city have uncovered magnificent Roman villas with mosaic floors, marble furniture, gold coins, and jewelry. The highlight of the finds from this period is the mosaic floor uncovered in a Roman villa from the 4th century CE, in a neighborhood now called “Neve Yerek.” The mosaic floor depicts magnificent ships and sea creatures, suggesting that the owner of the villa was a seafarer and chose these scenes to adorn his home.

The magnificent mosaic floor of the city of Lod was uncovered in 1996 and is undoubtedly the most impressive of all the floors of its kind in Israel and one of the most impressive in the ancient world.

George, who was born and lived in Lod, later became an officer in the Roman army. George chose to spread Christianity throughout the world at a time when Christianity was considered a crime and was strictly forbidden to soldiers. Many legends tell that during one of his journeys, George encountered a threatening dragon, fought it, and defeated it.  The scene of the battle between Saint George and the dragon became one of the most important in Christian art throughout the world.

Due to his missionary activities, George was executed by the Roman army and became a martyr, known throughout the Christian world as Saint George. Many years later, his bones were brought to Lod for burial, and his tomb can still be visited today in the underground crypt of the Greek Orthodox Church in the city.

During the Byzantine period, it was decided to rename the city of Lod to Georgiopolis, the City of George.   Large and magnificent churches were built in the city.

In the 7th century, the Muslims conquered the country. The Muslim rulers established Lod as the civil capital of Jund Filistin (the province of Palestine) after recognizing the city's centrality and its status as the heart of the country.   Only after about 80 years did the Muslims establish the neighboring city of Ramla, which was built specifically to serve as the capital in place of Lod, which they considered too closely associated with Roman-Byzantine culture.

When the Crusaders conquered the Land of Israel, they were well aware of George's city, so they built a magnificent Cathedral in Lod, of which only an apse and some artworks remain, which were later incorporated into the Greek church.

The Mamluks drove the Crusaders out of the Land of Israel in the 13th century and took control of Lod. They built the Al-Omari Mosque in the city and constructed the Jindas Bridge over the Ayalon River, north of the city. The Jindas Bridge, which still stands today, is one of the most impressive ancient bridges in the Land of Israel.

During the Ottoman period, Lod became a central town in the Ayalon River basin and an important center for the olive oil industry and its products. In the city's Peace Park, there are several magnificent stone buildings that were used until about 60 years ago for the production of olive oil and oil products.   A beautiful Khan (Khan Khilo), several mosques, and beautiful stone houses were built in the city, some of which have survived to this day.

When the British conquered the country, they realized (like their Roman predecessors) that Lod was the central and natural crossroads of the Land of Israel.   Therefore, they decided to build the central railway station in the city, connecting Cairo in the south and Damascus in the north. North of the city, the British built the country's international airport, which was called Lod Airport until the death of Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion when it was renamed Ben Gurion Airport.

New Settlers in the Old City

At the end of the fighting, when the conquest of the city was complete, the remaining Arab residents were concentrated in the old center of Lod. This area was closed off by order of the Military Governor, and entry was allowed only to those with his permission. Apart from those responsible for the security of the settlement, no Jewish civilians lived in Lod. Since entry to the city was permitted only with a permit, and movement to it was minimal, very few of the new immigrants who arrived in 1948 knew of its existence. Thus, the city remained deserted until December 1948.

At the end of 1948, the Jewish Agency's Absorption Department appointed veteran workers to prepare the place for the arrival of new settlers in the city. The first immigrants were supposed to arrive from the transit camps and temporary immigrant houses, but they were in no hurry to come to Lod. The physical condition of the city was far from inspiring. The tin shacks, tents, and makeshift huts of the transit camps seemed to the immigrants a better alternative than a dilapidated house in Lod.

Since the rubble had not been cleared from the city before the first residents arrived, the place looked very neglected. The first immigrants who were brought there for a tour did not return. The first group of immigrants to arrive in Lod included several families from Poland and Romania. Most of them refused to stay and preferred to return to their transit camp. Another group consisted mainly of immigrants from Bulgaria. Since most of them were members of Zionist movements in their countries of origin and were convinced that the Land of Israel could only be acquired through suffering, they were willing to make sacrifices. They settled in the intact buildings that remained in the western part of the city. Along with the group of settlers, several veterans of the country who had been members of kibbutzim arrived in Lod. Due to their positions in the Jewish Agency and the government, they decided to set a personal example and remain with the immigrants they had taken in.

And so, in a half-destroyed city, without water, sewage, or lighting, the first settlers remained, proving to all those who were afraid to come to Lod that it was possible to live there.

Slowly, without any persuasion from the new Lod residents, thousands of settlers arrived in Lod from the transit camps in Be'er Ya'akov, the immigrant houses in Ra'anana, and the settlements in the Jerusalem Corridor, and within less than six months, the number of residents (at the beginning of 1949) reached 5,000.  As the number of residents grew, it became clear that the Military Government had to be abolished and a municipal authority established to take care of the city's needs.

In April 1949, civilian rule began in the city. The powers of the Military Governor were gradually reduced, and at the beginning of the month of Tammuz 5709 (July 1949), shortly after Lod was declared a city, he ended his term of office.

By the end of 1949, Lod already had about 5,000 residents. In the years that followed, the city continued to develop rapidly, many factories were established, and its population rose to 19,000 in 1960 and 40,000 in 1980.