Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Threats to Cairo Museum

The deteriorating situation in Egypt has affected the archaeological museum in Cairo. While some locals attempted to take advantage of widespread riots by looting the museum, other Egyptians formed a barricade to prevent access. Two mummies lost their heads before the army arrived. From the Associated Press:

Early Saturday morning, Egyptian army commandoes secured the museum and its grounds, located near some of the most intense of the mass anti-government protests sweeping across the capital.
Before the army arrived, young Egyptians — some armed with truncheons grabbed off the police — created a human chain at the museum’s front gate to prevent looters from making off with any of its priceless artifacts.
“They managed to stop them,” Hawass said. He added that the would-be looters only managed to vandalize two mummies, ripping their heads off. They also cleared out the museum gift shop.

The story reports that the museum is still threatened by the potential collapse of a neighboring building. Tanks are protecting the museum in Luxor.

The Cairo Museum entrance in calmer days

Tagged Egypt, Museums

New Book: Daughter of Lachish

I enjoy historical fiction, but I seem to be unable to combine my interest in the biblical world with a good story because worthwhile books are just not being written. I was happy to hear that Tim Frank has just published a book set in the late 8th century of Judah. Daughter of Lachish tells the story of a girl who survived the siege of Sennacherib and tries to rebuild her life in its aftermath. From the bookjacket:

The mighty Assyrian army has invaded the tiny kingdom of Judah to crush the rebellion against the great king Sennacherib. After a long siege, the Assyrians capture the fortified city of Lachish. They show no mercy to the vanquished people. But one girl is able to escape-Rivkah. She hides in the hills and finds refuge in the company of other survivors. In a devastated land they seek to rebuild their lives. The words of the prophet Micah-spoken to the people over many years-speak to Rivkah anew, allowing her to see the events in a new light.

Drawing on extensive scholarly research, Daughter of Lachish brings to life the world of Ancient Judah. It melds archaeology and biblical studies to tell a story of the people who first heard the words of the Psalms and Prophets. It is a story of one girl, her search for a place in the world, and her quest to make sense of loss and joy. Through her eyes we experience the daily tasks, the seasons of the agricultural year, the bonds that hold together a household and a village, and the tensions that threaten to tear them apart.

Tim Frank brings extensive knowledge of the ancient world to his writing, serving as a supervisor at the Lahav Research Project (Tell Halif), excavating at Tel Burna (near Lachish), and presently working in the Middle Eastern collection at the Cobb Institute of Archaeology. Judith McKinlay praises Frank’s abilities as a storyteller:

I could not stop reading this story. This is a biblical world engagingly alive, with its carefully researched details of the Assyrian war machine devastating life in eighth-century Judah and its strong characters determined to survive. I felt for Rivkah, survivor of Lachish. With biblical passages interwoven, most significantly the prophecies of Micah, met in person in the latter part of the novel, it is also a tale true to the biblical faith.
—Judith McKinlay, University of Otago

Full details and ordering information are here. The book costs more than your average mass-market work of fiction and that’s because this isn’t a book for the “mass market.” For a great education that takes me on a delightful journey, I’m happy to pay a little more, with hopes that we’ll see more such works in the future.

Tagged Resources, Shephelah

Archaeology in Israel Update

The Bible and Interpretation has the latest “Archaeology in Israel Update” by Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg. He reports on six stories from November and December 2010.

Non-Destructive Investigation by X-Ray: X-ray fluorescence spectrometry allows for non-destructive analysis of clay and other materials.

Aelia Capitolina, A Roman Bathing Pool in Jerusalem: Excavations revealed where soldiers of the Tenth Roman Legion free time.

Monastery of St. George in Wadi Qelt: A new access road has been completed.

Funding for Restoration of Historic Sites: Sixteen sites will receive additional government funding, including the Herodium.

Sudden Fierce Storm, Destruction and Recovery: The site with the most damage is Caesarea.

Early Homo Sapiens from Cave in Israel, 400,000 Years Ago? Ancient teeth were discovered near
biblical Aphek.

The full review is here.

Tagged Excavations, Technology

Photos and Video of the Jerusalem Water Channel

The channel from the Western Wall area to the Pool of Siloam is not yet open to the public, but you can get a look inside with photos posted by the Israel Antiquities Authority. Three high-resolution images are currently available at this page (or try this direct link to the zip file).

You can also watch a 3-minute video posted by the Israel Antiquities Authority, with archaeologist Eli Shukrun showing off the results of seven years of his work.

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem

More on the City of David Channel

Archaeologist Eli Shukrun gave the Jerusalem Post a tour of the recently completed excavations of the drainage channel that runs from the area of the Western Wall to the Pool of Siloam. The article includes details that have not been previously reported. From the Jerusalem Post:

The channel was an early drainage system for the city of Jerusalem, which emptied into the Shiloah Pools on the southern end, in today’s Silwan neighborhood. Archeologists believe that the other side of the channel is near Nablus gate [Damascus Gate]. The channel was extensively excavated more than 100 years ago by British explorer Charles Warren in 1867 and archeologists Bliss and Dickey in the 1890s. The southern section of the channel has been open to the public for many years, but this was the first time that it was discovered that it is a continuous channel, about 600 meters long altogether.
[…]
Shukron led the Post on a tour of the channel following the announcement on Tuesday afternoon. The channel is about 1/3 of a meter wide and ranges in height from one to two meters, and is between 15 to 20 meters underground. The channel’s clearing also allowed archeologists to see the lower stones of the Kotel that are currently underground, though Shukron dismissed the Kotel stones as the least exciting part of the project.
“You know the Kotel already; that’s already been overdone,” he said, hurrying past the bottom of the Kotel to point out an underground mikve (ritual bath) and an ancient manhole.
[…]
Shukron also pointed out the remnants of previous explorations, including old wires and writing on the wall in French. He stressed that the channel did not go anywhere near the Temple Mount or the mosques, in contradiction to some claims. The channel follows the Tyropoeon Valley, which is the lowest area in ancient Jerusalem. “That’s why I can’t go up to the Temple Mount, because the Temple Mount is high. There’s no way that a drainage pipe could reach there,” Shukron explained.

The full story includes a photo of the ancient manhole. The excavations are also reported by Arutz-7 and Ynetnews.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem

Channel Opened from Siloam to Old City

As noted here over the weekend, archaeologists have completed excavation of a drainage channel that ran below street level in the 1st century. It is now possible to walk along the street and then through the channel from the Pool of Siloam at the south of the City of David up to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park just inside the Old City walls. In the future visitors will be able to exit the tunnel in the Davidson Center, the archaeological museum at the southwest corner of the Temple Mount.

This will effectively create a protected route of passage for visitors through a sometimes dangerous Arab neighborhood. Tourists would enter the archaeological area on the north end of the City of David, walk down to “Area G” before entering the Warren’s Shaft. From this point, visitors have two options. Those who are more adventurous and prepared to get wet can walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Others may choose the dry Siloam Tunnel. Once at the Pool of Siloam, the tourist can walk along the newly excavated street (first photo below) and then through the newly excavated drainage channel (second photo below).

First-century street in the City of David. Photo courtesy of Alexander Schick.

Drainage channel below first-century street in the City of David. Photo courtesy of Alexander Schick.

From Haaretz:

The Israel Antiquities Authority has completed an archaeological dig of a tunnel that will enable visitors to cross under the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, not far from the Temple Mount.
The tunnel, which was uncovered during excavations conducted over the past few months, was formerly used for drainage and dates back to the Second Temple. It links the City of David in Silwan with the Archaeological Park & Davidson Center, which is located near the Western Wall.
The Antiquities Authority stressed that the newly uncovered tunnel does not come near the Temple Mount and that it has no plans to dig in that direction.
The digging had been going on for seven years and was delayed for about a year by order of the High Court of Justice, after Silwan residents filed a petition claiming the dig was damaging their homes.

The full story is here. Earlier reports about these excavations are linked to in a previous post.

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem