High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Yavneh-Yam (Hebrew: , literally Yavneh-Sea, Greek: ) is an archaeological site located on Israel's southern Mediterranean coast, 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 sea-going vessels between Jaffa and the Sinai, Yavneh-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. Surveyed and explored during the 1950s and 1960s, Yavneh-Yam was first excavated between 1967 and 1969 by Tel Aviv district archaeologist Jacob Kaplan. Concentrating on the perimeter fortifications, Kaplan unearthed a number of superimposed gates dating from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. Excavations by Tel Aviv University resumed in 1992, under the direction of Prof. Moshe Fischer. These are still ongoing and are centered around the coast, bay and promontory. In 2007, a 6th century Byzantine villa featuring a mosaic floor depicting trees and fruit baskets was uncovered at the site.