Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Recording Released of Golden Bell of Jerusalem

A commenter on the previous post about the discovery of the golden bell in Jerusalem alleged that the archaeologists’ interpretation of the find was influenced by ideological concerns and that the object was not a bell at all.

Independent Media Review Analysis (IMRA) has now released a recording of the bell.

This is the tiny golden bell which was lost in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago during the Second Temple period found among ruins near the Old City. The bell, which is thought to have been an adornment which was sewn onto the garments of a senior official, was uncovered during excavation work on a drainage channel in the City of David, just south of the Old City walls. “It seems the bell was sewn on the garment worn by a high official in Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period,” an IAA statement said.
The recording of the bell provided by Udi Ragones, Ir David Foundation Spokesman.
[IMRA: IMRA has requested a sound file of the bell. If one takes the sound of the single bell and prepares a series of staggered overlays of the sound of the bell it will be possible to recreate what was heard over two thousand years ago when the high official walked in Jerusalem.]

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

Israeli Returns Ossuary to IAA

From Haaretz:

A Tel Aviv resident returned a Second Temple period artifact to the Antiquities Authority after realizing the item was an ossuary.
The man, who works in the field of art and design, contacted the authority inspectors at his own initiative, saying he purchased the ossuary from an antiquities dealer some time ago. He told them he kept the ancient artifact in his bedroom, until one of his friends told him this was a small coffin used to store bones a year after the burial. He said he was repelled by the thought that he slept with a coffin in his room.

The full story is here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Sea of Galilee and Lake Michigan Become “Sister Lakes”

From the Jerusalem Post:

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and National Infrastructures Minister Dr. Uzi Landau signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Jerusalem on Sunday establishing a “Sister Lakes” relationship between Lake Michigan and the Kinneret, to foster an educational exchange for research toward maintaining the two very critical bodies of water. Some issues of common interest between the two leaders include maintaining water quality, preserving fisheries, eliminating harmful invasive species, curbing algal proliferation and keeping water levels high – all of which are crucial to supplying ample water to the respective populations, the officials said.

The full story is here.

Tagged Galilee

Recent Excavations at Shechem

From FoxNews.com:

Working on an urban lot that long served residents of Nablus as an unofficial dump for garbage and old car parts, Dutch and Palestinian archaeologists are learning more about the ancient city of Shekhem — and preparing to open the site to the public as an archaeological park next year. The project, carried out under the auspices of the Palestinian Department of Antiquities, also aims to introduce the Palestinians of Nablus, who have been beset for much of the past decade by bloodshed and isolation, to the wealth of antiquities in the middle of their city. "The local population has started very well to understand the value of the site, not only the historical value, but also the value for their own identity," said Gerrit van der Kooij of Leiden University in the Netherlands, who co-directs the dig team. "The local people have to feel responsible for the archaeological heritage in their neighborhood," he said. The digging season wrapped up this week at the site, known locally as Tel Balata.

The full story is here. I’m less optimistic than the archaeologists that the local people will care for the archaeological heritage or take the steps necessary to encourage tourism.

Tagged Excavations, Samaria

Golden Bell Discovered in Jerusalem

From the Jerusalem Post:

A golden bell ornament that archeologists believed belonged to a priest or important leader from the Second Temple period, was found in an ancient drainage channel in ruins next to the Western Wall on Thursday, the Antiquities Authority announced. The small bell, which has a loop for attaching to clothing or jewelry, was found underneath Robinson’s Arch. The area underneath the arch was formerly the central road of Jerusalem, which led from the Shiloah Pools in the City of David to the Old City and the Temple Mount. The excavations were led by the Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and financed by the City of David Foundation, which runs the archeological park across the street. “It seems the bell was sewn on the garment worn by a high official in Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period (first century CE),” the excavation’s lead archeologists, the Antiquities Authority’s Eli Shukron and Prof. Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, said in a statement. “The bell was exposed inside Jerusalem’s main drainage channel at that time, among the layers of earth that had accumulated along the bottom of it.”
They believed that the bell fell off the official’s clothing while he was walking along the road and rolled into the drainage channel, where it has sat for nearly 2,000 years.

The story continues with the biblical verse that is the basis for the archaeologists’ claim that this was part of the high priest’s garments. James Davila questions the priestly connection. A large photograph of the object is posted at Dawn.com. Leen Ritmeyer has posted an illustration of the high priest’s garments.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem

Khirbet el-Maqatir 2011 Report

With the absence of Bryant Wood from this year’s excavation, Gary Byers directed the team working at Khirbet el-Maqatir, a site proposed to be biblical Ai of Joshua’s time. Byers has summarized the findings of the season:

This year’s focus was three different time periods in three different parts of the site. 1.) The 4th-6th century AD Byzantine monastery on the rise to the northwest 2.) The 2nd century BC through 2nd century AD Hellenistic/Roman settlement on the low rise to the northeast 3.) Our major focus and the reason for choosing Khirbet el-Maqatir in the first place, the 15th century BC fortress of Ai from Joshua’s time in the saddle between these other two sets of ruins To our disappointment, three squares which we hoped would identify remains of city walls or interior structures from Joshua’s time went to bedrock without finding any architecture of significance. But in the other nine squares, we found interesting material related to our other two focus periods. Unfortunately, for the first time since we began excavating at Khirbet el-Maqatir, Dr. Bryant Wood was not in the field with us. He was home recouping from a recent stem cell transplant procedure and chemotherapy. His health continues to improve and his spirits are good. (Please continue to lift him up in prayer). But this year he is getting his information from square supervisor reports and analysis, back home, of the objects and pottery we found. This writer was with Dr. Wood when he first stepped on the site in 1994, and has participated with him in every dig season since. Consequently, it was my responsibility to lead the team in his absence. Every digger understood the situation and did their part to make things run smoothly. Of course, without Dr. Wood, it didn’t (!), but excavation results were still quite meaningful – no doubt empowered by the prayer support of folks back home. Our major interest in Khirbet el-Maqatir is the fortress of Ai from Joshua’s time. That period is also my special area of interest, so no one was any more disappointed than I when we did not find any architecture associated with Joshua’s Ai. I have been known to suggest that the Hasmonean, Roman and Byzantine periods are just modern history and not that interesting! But this year’s finds from these periods actually turned out to be pretty interesting, even to me.

The report continues with descriptions of the discoveries related to the Byzantine church, the Hellenistic-Roman settlement, and the 15th century BC fortress.

Tagged Excavations, Samaria