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Ataroth Temple Follow-up

The reports last week on the Iron Age temple discovered at Ataroth (Ataruz) did not include comments from the American director who has overseen work on the site for the last decade. A story in the university’s denomination’s news network gives some more information (and one photo of the temple).

“[This is] the largest and best-preserved temple from the biblical period. It will shed important light on the cultic, or religious, life of that period,” said Dr. Chang Ho Ji, chairman and professor in the Counseling and School Psychology department and a collaborating faculty in the History department of La Sierra University, a Seventh-day Adventist school in Riverside, California.
[…]
“This is an extremely important find and one that has relationships to biblical history; it is very exciting,” said Dr. Lawrence Geraty, president emeritus of the school and an archaeology professor there, in an e-mail to Adventist Review. Geraty pioneered the cooperation among several Adventist institutions, including Atlantic Union College, Canadian Union College, Andrews University, and La Sierra, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, starting in 1984 with a dig at Tall al-‘Umayri.
Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DoA) Director General Ziad Saad announced the recent discovery as the largest early Iron Age II temple in the region, dating back to between 1000 and 800 BC.
The multi-chambered temple, which includes a 20-by-20-meter courtyard, yielded over 300 cultic artifacts, leading experts to believe it was once a political and religious base for either the Moabite or the northern Israelite kingdom.

The full report is here. Previous notices on this blog can be found here and here. Joe Lauer notes a similar story in the Jordan Times.

Tagged Discoveries, Jordan

Lost City in Egyptian Desert

Yale Alumni Magazine has a fascinating and well-written article on the discovery of Umm Mawagir.

The NY Times article is less interesting but has better illustrations.

For much of the twentieth century, Egyptologists shied away from explorations in the vast sand sea known as the Western Desert. An expanse of desolation the size of Texas, the desert seemed too harsh, too implacable, too unforgiving a place for an ancient civilization nurtured on the abundance of the Nile. In spring, a hot, stifling wind known as the Khamsin roars across the Western Desert, sweeping up walls of suffocating sand and dust; in summer, daytime heat sometimes pushes the mercury into the 130 degree–Fahrenheit range. The animals, what few there are, tend to be unfriendly. Scorpions lurk under the rocks, cobras bask in the early morning sun. Vipers lie buried under the sand.
When Egyptologists finally began investigating the Western Desert, they gravitated first to the oases. But in 1992, a young American graduate student, John Coleman Darnell, and his wife and fellow graduate student, Deborah, decided to take a very different tack. The couple began trekking ancient desert roads and caravan tracks along what they called “the final frontier of Egyptology.” Today, John Darnell, an Egyptologist in Yale’s Near Eastern Languages and Civilization department, and his team have succeeded in doing what most Egyptologists merely dream of: discovering a lost pharaonic city of administrative buildings, military housing, small industries, and artisan workshops. Says Darnell, of a find that promises to rewrite a major chapter in ancient Egyptian history, “We were really shocked.”

The article continues here.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt

Lectures on David and Solomon in Los Angeles

The American Jewish University of Los Angeles is hosting a lecture series in February on the first two kings of the Davidic dynasty. For registration details, see their website.

What Do We Know About the REAL David and Solomon, the Most Glorious Kings of Ancient Israel, and How Do We Know It?
Sunday, February 27 * 9:30am – 4:30pm

In a fascinating day of biblical and archaeological exploration, a group of eminent biblical scholars and archaeologists will broaden our understanding of the life and times of David, the warrior, and Solomon, the wise. They will consider the facts, sift through the evidence and explain their significance.

Please join us as Mr. Fred Simmons author of King David, A Play in Prose and in Verse on How a Poor, Young Shepherd Boy Became the King of Israel, introduces the program, and Dr. Ziony Zevit, AJU Professor of Biblical Literature and Semitic Languages, introduces the topic and our speakers.

Dr. William Schniedewind, Professor of Biblical Studies and Northwest Semitic Languages, UCLA, David and Solomon: How the Bible Tells Their Story and How a Historian Reads It.

Dr. Carleen Mandolfo, Professor of Hebrew Bible, Claremont School of Theology, David and Solomon on the Silver Screen: How Hollywood Tells Their Story and Influences Our Understanding.

Dr. Jon Seligman, Chief Archaeologist, Jerusalem District, Israel Antiquities Authority, The Archaeological Footprints of David and Solomon in Jerusalem.

Dr. Michael G. Hasel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Archaeology, Southern Adventist University, Recent Excavations and the Battle Between David, Goliath and the Archaeologists.

Tagged Lectures

Ataroth in the Bible

Following yesterday’s post on the discovery of the Moabite temple at Ataroth, I thought it might be helpful to note the biblical significance of this site. It’s not a very well-known place, but I was
surprised just how much we know from the Bible and extrabiblical sources.

In the time of Moses, Ataroth was one of the cities requested by the tribes of Reuben and Gad following the conquest of the land of Sihon the Amorite (Num 32:3). You may recall that at first Moses was upset with this request, thinking that they were afraid to enter the Promised Land with its formidable enemies (as was the previous generation). But after some clarification, Moses granted their request and the Gadites fortified the city (Num 32:34).

The presence of the Gadites at Ataroth is confirmed in the Moabite Stone about 550 years later. King Mesha claims to have conquered the city: “Now the men of Gad had always dwelt in the land of Ataroth, and the king of Israel had built Ataroth for them; but I fought against the town and took it and slew all the people of the town as a satiation (intoxication) for Chemosh and Moab” (ANET 320).

Mesha ruled in the middle of the 9th century, so unless King Uzziah of Judah regained the land, the area around Ataroth may have remained Moabite for several centuries. Perhaps the recently discovered temple was built in the aftermath of Mesha’s conquest.

An obscure note in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles may indicate that the Gadites had moved further north by the 8th century (1 Chr 5:17).

Scholarly consensus locates biblical Ataroth at Khirbet Attarus/Ataruz. There is also a Rujm Attarus and a Jebel Attarus. Khirbet Attarus is located 8 miles (14 km) northwest of Dhiban on the west slope of Jebel Attarus. MacDonald gives a list of more than a dozen scholars who agree on this identification (“East of the Jordan,” 113).

Ataroth is east of the Dead Sea and north of the Nahal Arnon, which constituted Moab’s northern border (map from biblos.com)

MacDonald writes, “Khirbat ‘Atarus is a good example for the location of biblical Ataroth, agreeing with both biblical information and the Mesha Inscription. The preservation of the biblical name at the site and archaeological remains from the Iron Age are also evidence for this choice” (114).

MacDonald’s excellent work is available, along with other ASOR titles, in restricted pdf format from Boston University’s website. (Only viewing is allowed.)

For more on the Hadad figurine discovered in the temple, see Ferrell Jenkins’s post.

Tagged Jordan

Temple Discovered in Ataroth, Jordan

It was just another roadside stop on my quest to find and photograph every biblical site known in the country of Jordan. While most tourists, even those biblically oriented, don’t visit much more than Petra, Jerash (Gerasa), and Mount Nebo, there are dozens of other sites in Jordan mentioned in the
Old Testament. I was at one of these when my traveling partner decided he had seen enough piles of rocks and was going to wait in the car.

This site, however, was more than a pile of rocks. Recent excavations had revealed some walls, floors, and a cave. As I made a circuit around the site, I had the distinct impression that I was looking at a temple. I cannot recall now all the features that led me to this conclusion, but by the time I returned to the car I was absolutely convinced that I had “discovered” a temple at biblical Ataroth (modern Attarus or Ataroz).

Some later research revealed that excavators from LaSierra University believed they were working on an Iron Age temple. The natural question for me was whether this was a Moabite temple or an Israelite temple. I was not privy to the details, and these could be ambiguous in any case (faithless Israelites do not look very different from their neighbors). Biblically we know that this area, the Medeba Plateau, shifted hands several times between the Israelites and their cousins. Perhaps you recall Jephthah’s declaration that this land belonged to Israel for 300 years (Judges 11:26). At the time he was contesting Ammonite control, but at other times it was the Moabites who were trying to expand into the land that Israel conquered under Moses (Numbers 21:21-35).

Yesterday news of the temple discovery was published by the Associated Press (HT: Joe Lauer). The story notes that about 300 vessels and deity figurines were uncovered, most in the last few months. It also attributes the temple to the Moabites. Such a designation does not surprise me for two reasons.

First, the Moabites probably controlled this area more than the Israelites did. Second, there are political reasons for not associating ancient Israelites with the country of Jordan. But if you’re thinking that the Israelites would never have a temple outside of Jerusalem, then you haven’t read your Bible very well. The Israelites had shrines all over the place. Even Solomon built a high place to the Moabite god for his Moabite wife (1 Kings 11:7).

The AP article has only two photos about the discovery, both showing artifacts. Below are two images of the temple itself, both taken six years ago. Apparently it was the recent discovery of the figurines that led to the press conference only now announcing the temple.

Iron Age temple at Ataroth

“Holy of holies” of Iron Age temple

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jordan, Travels

New Store for Bible Geography Publications

One of my favorite book catalogues to browse is that published each year by Carta. As the premiere publishing company devoted to the historical study of the land of Israel, Carta can quickly fill up my wishlist. Among Carta’s best known publications is The Sacred Bridge, by Anson F. Rainey and R. Steven Notley.

If you live in the States (or anywhere outside of Israel), accessing Carta’s products is not easy. They have apparently chosen not to work through the regular publishing channels in the US, thus making it difficult to order their works through bookstores or Amazon. Eisenbrauns has served as their exclusive US outlet for some years, carrying a certain portion of Carta’s publications.

Carta is now going directly to the public through the creation of their own website and webstore.

Now all of their materials are available for easy purchase, though since the company is based in Jerusalem, shipping costs and time reflect international travel. Yet if you plan ahead, order several items at once, and don’t need to return anything, you can now purchase what before required a trip to the bookstores of Israel.

Here are some books and other publications that I would recommend from various categories:

Bible Atlases: The Sacred Bridge or its cheaper abridged version, Carta’s New Century Handbook and Atlas of the Bible. Not recommended: Carta’s Comprehensive Bible Atlas on CD-ROM.
Jerusalem: The Quest and Jerusalem Street Atlas. Not recommended: The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem.
Biblical Wall Maps: Carta’s Map of Israel
Israel Road Maps and Travel Guides: Israel Road Atlas, Israel National Parks and Nature Reserves, Ein Gedi, Qumran, and Masada.
Biblical Archaeology: The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, Jerusalem in the Year 30 A.D.

Some of these may be available through Amazon-type stores, and even more may be purchased from Eisenbrauns. For the full catalogue, the place to go is http://www.bible-books-maps.com/.

I haven’t even made it to what I expected to be the main point of this post, but given limitations of time (mine and yours), I’ll save that for another day.

Tagged Resources, Tourism