Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Conference Report: Innovations in Archaeology in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Post reports on recent discoveries made in connection with development projects in the Jerusalem area. (Emphasis added.)

In order to secure the necessary construction permits from the Interior Ministry, public works projects need approval from the IAA [Israel Antiquities Authority]. Preconstruction surveys during preparation for the expansion of Highway 1 around the Motza Interchange have yielded a plethora of new discoveries, including Iron Age buildings at Tel Motza, explained Dr. Doron Ben Ami, a chief researcher at the HU archeology institute. At the Motza Stream, archeologists discovered ruins dating back to the Neolithic period and an enormous underground water reservoir from the Crusaders.
Pre-construction surveys of the Ramot highway have yielded discoveries of Roman terraces. And when baseball fans in Ramat Beit Shemesh decided to build a baseball field, they discovered a new field of dreams: Just a few centimeters below the surface, there were hundreds of clay pots and figurines.
Nearby, archeologists discovered an enormous burial ground from the Bronze Age.
Even in the posh Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia, construction of fancy new apartments can sometimes lead to the most startling archeological discoveries. A 6-meter-high column was unearthed during construction of a new apartment building on the leafy neighborhood’s Abarbanel Street, leading scholars to believe it could have been a Byzantine era quarry. The column was mostly likely destined for one the magnificent cathedrals of the era before it cracked and became dangerous to move.

The full story is here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem

Wednesday Roundup

Ross Burns has created a website to mirror his Monuments of Syria with photos, itineraries, and maps. He has also put many photos on Flickr (with watermarks).

Luke Chandler explains why the excavators of Khirbet Qeiyafa have decided to return for one more partial season, with the remainder to be spent at either Socoh or Lachish.

Paleobabble addresses Simcha Jacobovici’s Conspiracy Fantasy.

Ferrell Jenkins reports on new discoveries at Paphos, Cyprus.

The Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology has a helpful list of links to universities and institutions with archaeological programs in Israel.

Tagged Pseudo-Archaeology, Resources, Shephelah, Syria

Haaretz: Following the Dream of a Third Temple in Jerusalem

Haaretz’s article on the Third Temple and Jewish visits to the Temple Mount is probably the most thorough and helpful report I’ve read on the subject.

They are proposing what they consider to be the key to solving all of our problems: building a Third Temple. In the meantime, they are trying to get permission to pray on the Temple Mount, where Jewish religious ritual has been prohibited since East Jerusalem was taken by Israeli forces in the 1967 war.
Shortly after the war, the government decided not to allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount ‏(which is known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary, and is the site of two major Muslim holy places, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock‏). Jews could pray below the Mount, at the Western Wall, Israeli authorities decreed.
In terms of religious ritual, the Temple Mount remains a Muslim preserve. According to a survey conducted by the joint directorate of the Temple movements, only 17 percent of Israeli Jews, religious and secular alike, want to see a Third Temple built. However, the numbers shoot up in regard to the possibility of praying on the Temple Mount, with 43 percent of the secular public and 92 percent of the religious public in favor, which averages out to 52 percent of the entire Jewish public.
The police, though, are convinced that allowing Jewish religious ritual to be performed on the Temple Mount will stir unrest among Muslims on a scale that is hard to gauge. Accordingly, the police make every effort to enforce the long-standing government decision, even though this involves repeated skirmishes with the Temple movements. Some of their activists, Yehuda Glick among them, are barred from even approaching the entrance to the Temple Mount.

The full, lengthy article describes a meeting with leaders interested in rebuilding the temple, a visit to the Temple Mount on a bride’s wedding day, the modern Bezalel, preparations for rebuilding the sacrificial altar, and a plot to blow up Al-Aqsa Mosque.

HT: Bill Soper

Replica of the temple overlooking the Temple Mount
(Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount

New Resource: Israel Topographical Relief Map

I’ve been asked many times over the years if I know of a place where one can purchase a 3-D relief map of Israel. The first one I ever saw was hand-crafted and not for sale. Some years later I found a company making large maps. While I knew one guy who actually carried the small (6-foot) edition back as “luggage” from Israel, this is impractical for most.

I just learned that Preserving Bible Times, Inc. is selling 10” x 20” 3-D relief maps. These are now available in both framed ($39) and unframed ($29) versions, with shipping of $9.95 for the first map and $1.95 for additional maps in the same shipment. Take a look at the images below to see the quality and detail.

To order, contact the good folks at Preserving Bible Times at 410-953-0557 by mail at PBT, POB 83357, Gaithersburg, MD, 20883. Questions can be directed by email here. This can be a great resource for home, church, school, clubhouse, beach house, or treehouse. The timing is perfect for Christmas as well.

Framed version

Close-up of Sea of Galilee and Golan Heights

Close-up of Jerusalem area and Dead Sea

Tagged Resources

Weekend Roundup

Have they found a “smoking gun” proving that the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife was forged?

A plan to build a water reservoir west of Jerusalem near Har Adar is being opposed because it will mean the loss of 800 pine, cypress, and oak trees.

Shahar Shilo will speak about new discoveries from Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and the City of David in Simi Valley, California next week. I know that he is speaking in Dallas and probably elsewhere, but I do not have public links for those events.

“The Metropolitan Museum of Art today launched MetPublications, a major online resource that offers unparalleled in-depth access to the Museum’s renowned print and online publications, covering art, art history, archaeology, conservation, and collecting.”

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is online (digital subscription required).

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Conference: Water in Antiquity

The Cura Aquarum in Israel will be held next week at Neve Ilan. Many of the lecture topics are of interest.

Monday October 15, 2012 (Neve Ilan Hotel)

Session A: 09:00 – 10:30 Ancient water systems in Israel 1
Chairperson Jim Parker

1. Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel? The Gezer Water System Project – Dan Warner, Tsvika Tsuk, Jim Parker and Dennis Cole

2. A New Assessment of the Upper Aqueduct to Jerusalem: its Date and Route – David Amit and Shimon Gibson

3. Dating and engineering of Siloam Tunnel, Jerusalem – Amos Frumkin and Aryeh Shimron

Session B: 11:00 – 12:50 Ancient water systems in Israel 2
Chairperson Dennis Cole

4. The Inverted Siphon Pipelines to Tel Bet Yerah/es-Sinnabris – Yardenna Alexandre

5. The “’Otzar” in Ancient Ritual Baths: Second Temple Period Innovation or Anachronistic Interpretation? – Yonatan Adler

6. When were the Qanat Systems introduced to the Holy Land? – Yosef Porath

7. The Early Islamic aqueducts to Ramla and Hebron – Amir Gorzalczany and David Amit

Session C: 14:15 – 15:15 Ancient and modern water systems in Israel 3
Chairperson Ronny Reich

8. Touring Israel’s ancient water systems – Tsvika Tsuk

9. Water in Israel and in the Middle East – past, present and future – Shimon Tal

Session D: 15:35 – 17:00 Turkey 1
Chairperson Werner Eck

10. Grundwassernutzung in der hethitischen Hauptstadt Hattusa um 1600 v. Chr. – Hartmut
Wittenberg

11. Ancient Water Systems of the Lamas Çayi and the surrounding hinterland – Dennis Murphy

12. Die Datierung der römischen Kaikos- und Madradag-Kanalleitungen in Pergamon – Henning Fahlbusch

Session E: 17:20 – 18:50 Turkey 2
Chairperson Henning Fahlbusch

13. Das städtische Abwassersystem von Pergamon – seine Entwicklung in hellenistischer und römischer Zeit – Kai Wellbrock

14. The aqueducts and water supply of Tralleis – Eddie Owens

15. Antike Wasserbauten von Antiochia (Tuerkei) – Mathias Döring

Tuesday October 16, 2012 (Neve Ilan hotel)

Session F: 08:30 – 09:30 The Military
Chairperson Mathias Döring

16. Das Heer und die Infrastruktur von Städten in der römischen Kaiserzeit – Werner Eck

17. Water as weapon and military target in Ancient Mesopotamian warfare – Ariel Bagg

Session G: 09:50 – 11:20 Groundwater and Roman Aqueducts
Chairperson Eli Dror

18. Ground water use and understanding in ancient times: lessons for today and tomorrow – Michael Knight

19. Sinter deposits in Roman aqueducts – Gül Sürmelihindi and Cees Passchier

20. The Atlas Project of Roman Aqueducts (ROMAQ) – Cees Passchier, and Gül Sürmelihindi
Session H: 11:50 – 13:15 Greece and Spain – Sanctuaries, Mills and Aqueducts
Chairperson Dennis Murphy

21. The role of water in ancient sanctuaries. The Sanctuary of Amphiaraos – Anna Androvitsanea

22. When Ceres commands her nymphs – An investigation of the relation between mills and aqueducts in the antique Mediterranean – Stefanie Preißler

23. The Glass kiln (Horno de Vidrio), a drop tower in the water supply to the city of Toledo (Spain) during the Roman era – Marisa Barahona

More details about the conference are available here.

HT: Jack Sasson

Hezekiah’s Tunnel in Jerusalem

Photo: Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, volume 3

Tagged Italy, Jerusalem, Lectures, Shephelah, Turkey