After this there was a strong archaistic fashion, much like that under Hadrian; in both cases it may have arrested decay, but it did not lift the art up again.
Most of the compositions in the literary language, whether old or archaistic, are in a stilted style and often with parallelisms of phrase like those of Hebrew poetry.
The necropolis, too, has been discovered, but not systematically excavated; but objects of the first Iron age, including a sword of Aegean type (thus confirming the tradition), have been found; also remains of a building with Doric columns of an archaistic type, remains of later buildings in brick, and inscriptions, some of them of considerable interest.
There are also remains of the town wall in the "polygonal" style, and above the town are several massive platforms for supporting buildings, in a more archaistic form of this style; these may well belong to the Roman period, and the latter even to the empire.