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Jordanian Students Learn Archaeology

Students from the International Academy Amman recently were given hands-on experience in excavating the ancient city of Gadara (cf. Matt 8:28). From the Jordan Times:

Digging in trenches in northern Jordan was far from 18-year-old Aoun Jumaa’s definition of “fun”.
But after the International Academy Amman (IAA) student spent the past week excavating at Um Qais as part of his school’s community action and service programme, he said he has gained appreciation of the Kingdom’s “exciting” archaeology.
“I have been to Um Qais, but I have never seen it like this before,” he said.
The programme offers students the unique opportunity to explore their past and open up avenues for their futures.
The 20-odd students quickly learned that an archaeologist’s day is by no means an easy one. Starting at dawn, the students were in the trenches digging, cleaning and shovelling all morning, and after a short lunch break, they sorted and washed pottery shards and attended evening sessions on pottery identification and cultural interpretation.
Meanwhile, they devoted their evening hours to research projects, interpreting their finds and writing down their analysis, according to IAA teacher and programme coordinator Andy Daily.

The full article is here.

HT: Joe Lauer

Gadara nymphaeum with Sea of Galilee in distance

Tagged Excavations, Jordan

Ptolemaic Coin Hoard Found in Egypt

From the AFP:

Archaeologists have uncovered bronze coins bearing the image of ancient Egyptian ruler King Ptolemy III in an oasis south of the capital, the culture ministry announced on Thursday.
Also found by the Egyptian team were necklaces made of ostrich eggshell, it said.
The 383 items dating back more than 2,250 years were found near Lake Qarun in Fayum oasis, around 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Cairo, the ministry said in a statement, adding that they were in excellent condition.
The coins weighed 32 grams (1.12 ounces) each, with one face depicting the god Amun and the other the words “king” and “Ptolemy III” in Greek along with his effigy, the statement said.

You can see a photo of all the coins, stacked but uncleaned, here. Middle East Online has a photo of the discovery site.

HT: Joe Lauer

Lake Qarun, near location of discovery

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt

St. Paul’s Anchor Offer

If you hurry, you can get a special copy of The Lost Shipwreck of Paul by Robert Cornuke.

According to the email advertisement, you don’t want to miss this:

BASE Institute has in it’s [sic] possession a small piece of lead from anchor #3 of the 4 anchors believed to be from Paul’s Shipwreck. This unique offer will include Robert Cornuke personally taking the piece of lead and drawing the image of an anchor on the front page of the book. Also, a signature will be included by Robert Cornuke certifying that the lead transfer image is from the actual anchors as described in The Lost Shipwreck of Paul book.

Cornuke sounds like one of those televangelists.

In unrelated news, if you purchase the complete set of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands right now, the author will personally glue a few grains of sand to the CDs and his signature will certify that these are actual pieces of dirt from the land where Jesus walked. Don’t wait; order now!

For links to several articles on the Malta shipwreck, see here. For other previous appearances of the former policeman on this blog, see here, here, here and here.

Tagged Not an April Fool's Joke, Pseudo-Archaeology

DigSight, Winter 2010

The latest issue of DigSight is now available. DigSight is the quarterly newsletter published by the Institute of Archaeology of Southern Adventist University.

The eight-page issue features a summary of the papers presented on Khirbet Qeiyafa at the 2009 ASOR meeting, as well as a review of the debate on the Qeiyafa Ostracon. If you’ve had trouble keeping up, this is the place to start.

In the final article, Michael Hasel provides a well-written response to those sensational archaeological discoveries of arks and giants made by nurses and firemen.

Tagged Pseudo-Archaeology, Shephelah

Jaffa Gate Restored

After months of repair, the scaffolding has been taken down from Jaffa Gate. The restoration process included cleaning, filling gaps between stones, and replacing stones. From Arutz-7:

The large black curtain covering Jaffa Gate, one of the two most famous gates leading in and out of the Old City of Jerusalem, was removed this morning at the official Jaffa Gate Rededication Ceremony. The celebrated large stone entrance underwent two months of preservation work, in the framework of a program to refurbish the Old City walls. The current walls of the Old City were built mainly by Sultan Suleimon of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The current refurbishing work, which began three years ago, seeks to repair the damages of the ravages of time and neglect. At Jaffa Gate, large boulders and stones were strengthened, bullet marks were demarcated, designs and ornaments were restored, and the entire gate was cleaned.

The article includes a video interview of Yoram Saad of the Conservation Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority (3 min).

Tagged Jerusalem

Antiquities Thieves Arrested in Shephelah

Officers from the Israel Antiquities Authority arrested four antiquities thieves illegally excavating a site near Moshav Zecharya in the Shephelah. They were charged with crimes that bring up to five-year prison sentences. From the Jerusalem Post:

“Me and my men noticed a vehicle parked near the site close to Moshav Zecharya. Over the last few months we have discovered holes in the ground left by potential robbers on the site, so we had reasons to believe that the vehicle belonged to them. We snuck up to the site and saw the men digging a deep hole near one of the ancient walls. When we saw what they were doing we immediately arrested the perpetrators and called the border police unit to take them away to the police station, where they spent the night before seeing a judge the next morning,” said Ganor.
[…]
Ganor said that the alleged robbers, like everyone involved in the trade of archeological artifacts, were looking to get rich from their findings. “Where archeologists see history, robbers see dollar signs. The hope of finding valuables, be they ancient coins, jewelry or even pottery, is what drives them to destroy centuries of history.”
According to Ganor, every year 150 robbers are caught in the act of digging up archeological sites. Of these, 85 percent are charged and convicted. Ganor said that the Antiquities Authority knows of 300 archeological sites that are dug up every year and estimates that there are probably 300 more that they don’t know of.
“Israel has more than 30,000 archeological sites. Many of them have stories or legends about buried treasure hidden within them. Dreams of ancient riches are what drive the robbers to commit the crimes,” said Ganor.
“The robbers are very familiar with the land, often more than us. They know where the sites are and know where to look for valuables. Sometimes they also dig up graves in search of objects that were buried alongside the deceased.”
Ganor said it was impossible to profile the average robber. “Unfortunately it is a problem that exists in all segments of the population. There are Jews, Arabs, Palestinians, even foreign nationals – all share the dream of digging up the find that will make them rich.”

The full article is here.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Shephelah