Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

2,000-Year-Old Hebrew Scroll Fragment Found

A portion of an ancient papyrus scroll has been recovered from two Palestinian thieves in Jerusalem yesterday. Haaretz reports:

The rare historical document, handwritten in Hebrew on papyrus paper and estimated to be more than 2,000 years old, is a bill surrendering property rights. The document was written by a widow named Miryam Ben Yaakov, and hails from a period in which the people of Israel were exiled from the area and very few Jews remained.
The scroll also, unusually, clearly indicates a precise date on the first line: “Year 4 to the destruction of Israel”. The intention is, presumably, either to the year 74 C.E. (the year when the Second Temple was destroyed during the Great Revolt) or to 138 A.D. (the annihilation of the Jewish settlement following the Bar Kokhva revolt).
The Israel Antiquities Authority said on Wednesday that the scroll was an “exceptional archeological document, of the like but a few exist,” adding that similar scrolls had been sold worldwide for sums as high as $5-$10 million.

The story is also covered by the Associated Press, the Jerusalem Post, and Arutz-7. The Israel Antiquities Authority press release is here, and separately you may download a high-resolution image of the document.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Discoveries

Oldest Place on Earth is in Israel’s Desert

From FOXNews.com:

Weathering — wind and water, freezing and thawing — takes its toll, and longer-term changes caused by volcanic activity and sliding crustal plates, known as tectonic activity, fold today’s ground into tomorrow’s interior.
The constant makeover of the planet is typically fastest in the mountains, slower in the tectonically inactive deserts.
But a new study of ancient “desert pavement” in Israel’s Negev Desert finds a vast region that’s been sitting there exposed, pretty much as-is, for about 1.8 million years, according to Ari Matmon and colleagues at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
It is the oldest known vast expanse of surface area. In fact it is more than four times older than the confirmed next oldest desert pavement, in Nevada, according to an article at the web site of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The scientific report is in the current issue of GSA Bulletin. The FoxNews article does not give any indication of where in the desert this “pavement” is located, but it does include a couple of photographs.

Tagged Discoveries

New Archaeological Garden in Jerusalem

From Arutz-7:

A new archaeological garden dubbed “Peace be within thy Palaces” will be dedicated outside the Knesset chambers on Tuesday, the day after the 18th Knesset begins what is likely to be a long, hot summer session….
If the MKs want to find some peace, they can stroll through the Knesset’s new archeological garden, which includes 50 artifacts on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority. They date from the Second Temple period through the Ottoman period.The heaviest item is a five-ton stone from the Temple Mount wall, dating from the Second Temple period.
Also on display is an olive press, ancient inscriptions, large impressive mosaics and a large Ottoman drinking installation.

The story includes a photo of a beautiful mosaic from the Kidron Valley.

UPDATE: Joe Lauer sends along a link to the press release and 4 photos (zip) by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Tagged Jerusalem, New Exhibits

Babylon Ruins Reopen

The New York Times reports on the reopening of the ruins of Babylon to the public.

BABYLON, Iraq — After decades of dictatorship and disrepair, Iraq is celebrating its renewed sovereignty over the Babylon archaeological site — by fighting over the place, over its past and future and, of course, over its spoils. Time long ago eroded the sun-dried bricks that shaped ancient Babylon, the city of Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, where Daniel read the writing on the wall and Alexander the Great died. Colonial archaeologists packed off its treasures to Europe a century ago. Saddam Hussein rebuilt the site in his own megalomaniacal image. American and Polish troops turned it into a military camp, digging trenches and filling barricades with soil peppered with fragments of a biblical-era civilization. Now, the provincial government in Babil has seized control of much of Babylon — unlawfully, according to the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage — and opened a park beside a branch of the Euphrates River, a place that draws visitors by the busload…. Now with the support of some officials in Baghdad, the local government has reopened the excavated ruins of Babylon’s ancient core, shuttered ever since the American invasion in 2003. It has done so despite warnings by archaeologists that the reopening threatens to damage further what remains of one of the world’s first great cities before the site can be adequately protected.

The full story is here.

Tagged Tourism

Volunteer Opportunity at Philistine Gath

Prof. Aren Maeir, archaeologist directing the excavations of Philistine Gath, mentions that there are still openings for this summer’s excavation. He adds, “Remember – talking about the ANE, archaeology and the Bible, without actually experiencing excavations – is like a Bedouin who lives in the Sahara learning to swim thru a correspondence course…” He writes:

EXCAVATION AND FIELDSCHOOL OPPORTUNITY IN ISRAEL

FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DAVID AND GOLIATH: DIG PHILISTINE GATH – THE
TELL ES-SAFI/GATH ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT

JULY 5 – 31, 2009

THE SITE

Tell es-Safi/Gath (Hebrew Tel Tsafit), Israel, is a commanding mound located on the border between
the Judean foothills (the Shephelah) and the coastal plain (Philistia), approximately halfway between Jerusalem and Ashkelon. At about 100 acres in size, it is one of the largest and most important pre-Classical period archaeological sites in Israel. Tell es-Safi is identified as Canaanite and Philistine Gath (known from the Bible as the home of Goliath and Achish) and Crusader Blanche Garde. The site was inhabited continuously from the Chalcolithic period (5th millennium BCE) until 1948 CE.

THE PROGRAM

All able and willing people between 16 and 80 are invited to join us for a unique and exciting experience uncovering the history and culture of the Holy Land. In addition to participating in all facets of the excavation process, participants will be provided with an opportunity to learn cutting-edge techniques of field archaeology, gain experience in archaeological science applications (with a unique program in inter-disciplinary archaeological science in the field), hear lectures about the archaeology and history of the region and related issues, and go on field trips to nearby sites of historical/archaeological and/or contemporary interest. Participants will join a young, vivacious team comprised of staff, students and volunteers from Israel and the world-over. Students can earn either 3 or 6 university credits through Bar-Ilan University, the second largest university in Israel.

Accommodations (including kosher food) will be provided at idyllic Kibbutz Revadim, a short drive
from the site. Rooms (4-6 per room; single and double rooms available at extra charge) are air-conditioned and there will is to the Kibbutz pool. And don’t forget the weekly, Thursday evening, Bar-B-Q!

WORKDAY (more or less)

6am to 1 pm excavation; Afternoon: various excavation related processes (such as pottery reading) and occasional tours; Evenings: occasional lectures. We work Sunday afternoon to Friday mid-day.

You can get more details here, and the registration form here (pdf).

Tagged Excavations, Opportunities, Philistines

New Excavation Blog: Tall Jalul

In my opinion, one of the sites in Jordan with the most potential is Tall Jalul. The largest tell south of Amman, Jalul has not yet been identified with a biblical site (and there are plenty of names to choose from). Five seasons of excavations have been conducted since 1992, and the site was occupied from the Late Bronze Age to the Persian period. Discoveries include a paved approach ramp, two gatehouses, large tripartite building, clay figurines, and engraved seals. You can read a longer summary here.

Excavations for the 2009 season will commence on May 25 and you can follow along on the new Tall Jalul Dig Blog. They have already made several interesting posts, including a couple of (large) PowerPoints about the previous excavation seasons. Among the interesting slides, there is a good aerial photograph of the tell on slide 27 of part 2.

Tall Jalul paved approach ramp to city gate, June 2004

Tagged Excavations, Jordan