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The Kinneret Regional Project is excavating Tel Chinnereth (Kinneret) and studying its environs on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  This season they have focused their attention on Horvat Kur, and their efforts have been rewarded with the discovery of a synagogue dated to the 4th century.

Taken all the available evidence together, it seems very likely, that KRP 2010 has discovered a part of the western wall of yet another ancient Galilean synagogue. Together with the well-known synagogues at Capernaum and Chorazin (both ca. 5th / 6th c. CE) and the recently discovered ones at Khirbet Hammam (2nd / 3rd c. CE) and Magdala (1st c. CE), the new synagogue at Horvat Kur (tentatively dated to the 4th / 5th c. CE) adds new evidence for a very tight net of synagogues in a relatively small area on the Northwestern shores of the Lake of Galilee.

You can read the full report here (and a copy here).  Nothing in the article was very clear about its location, so I did a little work to locate the site and create a map using Google Earth.  As you can see, the site is in close proximity to some important New Testament locations.  The distance from the site to the water’s edge is about one mile. 

It will be interesting to see if they discover anything from the 1st century.  The report states that the site was inhabited from the Early Roman to the Early Medieval period, and Early Roman usually designates the period before Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70.

sea_galilee_northwest

Map of northwest shoreline of Sea of Galilee
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An Ottoman weapon was found by conservationists restoring the Old City wall of Jerusalem.  Police sappers were called on to destroy the 100-year-old object.  From Haaretz:

A 100-year-old Turkish hand grenade was recently discovered during conservation work being conducted near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday.
A conservation team from the authority, under the direction of conservator Fuad Abu Taa, on Monday was dismantling fragments of crushed stone that needed to be replaced in the city wall, when they found a fist-size chunk of metal in the wall’s core.

The story continues here (with photo).

Turkish soldiers marching past American Colony, mat06378

Turkish soldiers marching past American Colony towards Damascus Gate, circa 1900

This photo is from the Early 20th-Century History volume of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection (Library of Congress, LC-matpc-06378).

In May, we posted a then and now photo of Damascus Gate.

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Caspari Media Review reports on this article from Haaretz:

Under the title "There’s a way but no gospel," Tali Cheruti-Sober reported on the difficulties experienced by Maoz Yinon in opening up the "Jesus Trail." Despite enlisting the support of the Government Tourist Office, erecting basic sign posts, publishing a map, and creating a web site, they have been virtually left to run the trail by themselves – with the help of international volunteers. "’We’re talking about a national site in the possession of the State which has no public sponsor to develop and market it,’ says Yinon, ‘and that’s a great pity.’" Typically, however, this is not the end of the story. Rather than investing in the already-existing trail, the Jewish National Fund has plans to implement a rival "Gospel Trail" – "a plan initiated in 2000, buried in the Intifada, and abruptly resurrected. The trail – like its name – is almost identical to the Jesus Trail. … It will be signposted by black basalt stone markers very expensive to prepare. New trails will be blazed – and the cost: three million shekels, with an option of development. The fact that two virtually identical trails will be marketed separately to the same tourist market does not put off the project’s organizer, Amir Moran: ‘We are dealing with principles according to which heritage paths are being built and for which comprehensive and organized work is necessary. … We have no opposition to a private project, but that isn’t the way of the State.’"

There must be a lot of better ways to spend that money.  We’ve noted the original “Jesus Trail” before here and here and here.

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Acacia tree near Eilat, tb022704005

A few months ago, Ferrell Jenkins posted a photo of an acacia tree.  His photo, like the one above, shows a typical tree in southern Israel.  The question I’ve always had is: how can you make the ark of the covenant, measuring about 4 by 2.25 by 2.25 feet, out of a tree with so little wood?

Here’s the answer:

Acacia tree in Wilderness of Sin, tb032506825

I didn’t have my tape measure handy for recording the size, but the people in the photo give perspective.  This tree is located in the Sinai peninsula, only a few dozen miles from Jebel Musa, the traditional location of Mount Sinai.

The observation is made in Picturesque Palestine (1882) that the acacia seyal tree is the “only timber tree of any size in the Arabian Desert” (4: 53).

Wady Feiran, pp4070 Acacia tree in Wadi Feiran.  Source: Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4.
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Excavators at et-Tell (Bethsaida?) have found a gold coin from the 2nd century AD.  From the Omaha World-Herald:

The coin, which weighs 7 grams, is 97.6 percent gold, Arav said.
The find was unexpected because Bethsaida primarily was home to humble fishermen, he said. Arav said somebody must have been doing good business a little more than 100 years after the birth of Christ.
The gold coin, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, carries the image of Antoninus Pius, the 15th Roman emperor, who reigned between A.D. 138 and 161.
“Before newspapers, coins fulfilled the job of disseminating information. In our case, Antoninus wanted to announce that the Senate designated him to the position of a consul for the second time. This position was among the highest at Rome.”
The Bethsaida coin is the first Antoninus Pius gold coin excavated in Israel, Arav said, and as far as he knows, it’s the first discovery of this particular kind of coin.

The full story is here.

HT: Paleojudaica

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The first excavation season at Tel Burna has concluded.  They had a fantastic season, and they would be most grateful for some support.  They’ll have aerial photos taken and posted on the blog next week.

Robert Cargill has written an insightful essay on the “Misuse of Archaeology for Evangelistic Purposes,” specifically with reference to the recent “discovery” of Noah’s Ark.

In his recent Asia Minor Report 9, Mark Wilson (Seven Churches Network) notes that the Black Sea Studies series has been made available online for free by the publisher.  In particular, he points to volume 7 as providing useful background on the early Christian communities mentioned in 1 Peter 1:1.

Analysis of the Temple Scroll suggests that it was written at Qumran.

The Israeli army is keeping the ruins of the Samaritan temple closed to the public because they say it is too dangerous.  The Samaritans are unhappy because of the entrance fees they could be charging.

The July/August issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is available, and the article on the destruction of Pompeii is online for free.  I’m looking forward to reading the article on Jezreel.

The Magdala Center is the Catholic plan for a Galilee pilgrimage center, the “Notre Dame of the Galilee.”  They plan to complete excavation of the on-site “synagogue” (see previous post) in one year and the rest of the city in three years.

If you’ve ever taken a series of photos with the intention of stitching them together to create a panorama, you might check out the free Microsoft Research Image Composite Editor (ICE).

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