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The Date of the Olive Trees in the Garden of Gethsemane

The olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane are about 900 years old and were all shoots of a single tree, according to a three-year study by the National Research Council announced last week in Rome. From TerraSanta.net:

The research results show that three of the eight olive trees (the only ones on which it was technically possible to carry out the study), as dating from the middle of the twelfth century. Hence, the trees are about nine hundred years old. But one point needs to be made clear: the date indicated refers only to the aboveground part of trees – the trunk and foliage. In fact, the same research has shown that the part below ground, i.e. the roots, is certainly more ancient.
The outcome of the investigation must also be put in relation with ancient travel chronicles of pilgrims, according to which the second of Gethsemane basilica was built between 1150 and 1170 (the period during which the Crusaders were engaged in the reconstruction of the great churches of the Holy Land and Jerusalem in particular). It therefore seems likely that, during the construction of the Basilica of Gethsemane, the garden was rearranged, creating a renovation of the olive trees present at that time.

The rest of the story describes the genetic relationship between the trees. Pat McCarthy (seetheholyland.net) informs me that radiocarbon tests carried out by the University of California in 1982 dated some of the tree roots to 2,300 years old. I have not been able to locate a reference for that study yet. Reuters covers the story here.

Garden of Gethsemane olive trees, tb051906423

Ancient olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane

Tagged Jerusalem

Weekend Roundup

Frank Moore Cross died this week. Hershel Shanks has written some reflections on their relationship.

James Davila describes his experience as a student. Eisenbrauns has a 50% sale on a volume of 55 key articles he wrote. Chuck Jones has created a list of his articles available on JSTOR. And Frank
Moore Cross: Conversations with a Bible Scholar is available as a free ebook.

A two-part interview with Robert Mullins on the new excavations of Abel Beth Maacah is now available at The Book and the Spade.

The Smithsonian Channel delayed the release of the documentary on the “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife.”

Hershel Shanks disagrees with Harvard Theological Review’s decision to delay publication of the article.

The historic souk of Aleppo, Syria, is a battleground today.

The Dead Sea will live again: Wayne Stiles explains and includes a slideshow, a video, and a map.

The 200th anniversary of the rediscovery of Petra is celebrated in a new exhibition in Basel.

“From Papyrus to Print: A Journey through the History of the Bible” is the central exhibit at the new
Bible and archaeology museum at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Rachel Hallote will be lecturing on “Not-So-Innocents Abroad: The Beginnings of American Biblical Archaeology” on October 28 at Emory University.

Manfred Bietak will be lecturing on “Recent Discoveries at the Hyksos Capital, Tell el-Dab‘a
(Egypt)” on November 12, 7:00 PM in Hinkson Hall, Rodine Building, Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School.

HT: Al Sandalow, Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

The Siq of Petra
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Dead Sea, Lectures, Museums, New Exhibits, Syria, Weekend Roundup

Conference Report: Innovations in Archaeology in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Post reports on recent discoveries made in connection with development projects in the Jerusalem area. (Emphasis added.)

In order to secure the necessary construction permits from the Interior Ministry, public works projects need approval from the IAA [Israel Antiquities Authority]. Preconstruction surveys during preparation for the expansion of Highway 1 around the Motza Interchange have yielded a plethora of new discoveries, including Iron Age buildings at Tel Motza, explained Dr. Doron Ben Ami, a chief researcher at the HU archeology institute. At the Motza Stream, archeologists discovered ruins dating back to the Neolithic period and an enormous underground water reservoir from the Crusaders.
Pre-construction surveys of the Ramot highway have yielded discoveries of Roman terraces. And when baseball fans in Ramat Beit Shemesh decided to build a baseball field, they discovered a new field of dreams: Just a few centimeters below the surface, there were hundreds of clay pots and figurines.
Nearby, archeologists discovered an enormous burial ground from the Bronze Age.
Even in the posh Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia, construction of fancy new apartments can sometimes lead to the most startling archeological discoveries. A 6-meter-high column was unearthed during construction of a new apartment building on the leafy neighborhood’s Abarbanel Street, leading scholars to believe it could have been a Byzantine era quarry. The column was mostly likely destined for one the magnificent cathedrals of the era before it cracked and became dangerous to move.

The full story is here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem

Picture of the Week: Appian Way with Ancient Paving Stones

(Post by Seth M. Rodriquez)

When people think of “biblical archaeology” they usually think of cities such as Jerusalem, Jericho, or Capernaum. However, sometimes a road can be just as valuable as an archaeological “site.”

Our picture of the week is from Volume 15 of the revised and expanded version of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, which focuses on Rome. The photo is entitled, “Appian Way with Ancient Paving Stones.”

Although never explicitly mentioned in Acts 28, there can be little doubt that the Apostle Paul walked this road as he traveled from Puteoli (Acts 28:13) to Rome (Acts 28:14). From Puteoli, Paul and his escort of Roman soldiers probably travelled north to Capuae (also spelled Capua) where they travelled the rest of the journey to Rome on the Appian Way. In his 1962 work on Archaeology and the New Testament, Merrill F. Unger describes the journey in this way:

Not far from Puteoli at Capua, Paul and the group got on the Appian Way which connected with Rome via The Forum of Appius and The Three Taverns. Extensive sections of this well-paved road, planned by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus in 312 B.C., still exist, lined with tombs, sites of ancient Roman villas, and ruins of ancient aqueducts. … From Capua it was 132 miles to Rome. …

Since the Appian Way from Capua to Terracina Romeward skirted near the shore, picturesque vistas of land often combined with a magnificent view of the sea. …

At the Forum of Appius, 43 miles from the metropolis on the Tiber, Paul and the group had a pleasant surprise. Some of the believers at Rome, Luke writes, “came to meet us” (Acts 28:15), employing a word (apantēsis) technically used for the official welcome of a visiting dignitary by a deputation which went out of a city to greet him and conduct him on his way for the last part of his journey. …

Now on both sides of the Appian Way were seen the tombs and funerary memorials of the generals, conquerors, and distinguished men who had raised an obscure Italian town to the position of the first city of the world, and surrounded it with a halo of martial glory unexcelled by any other metropolis. Many of these illustrious Romans had passed over this same road to enjoy a magnificent triumph in the city. But the prisoner who that day was surrounded by a retinue of converts and a few Roman soldiers was being led in a triumph far more memorable than that of any victorious Roman general.

Excerpt is taken from Merrill F. Unger, Archaeology and the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962), 314-316, and can be purchased here. This and other photos of Rome are included in Volume 15 of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands and can be purchased here.

Tagged Picture of the Week

Wednesday Roundup

Ross Burns has created a website to mirror his Monuments of Syria with photos, itineraries, and maps. He has also put many photos on Flickr (with watermarks).

Luke Chandler explains why the excavators of Khirbet Qeiyafa have decided to return for one more partial season, with the remainder to be spent at either Socoh or Lachish.

Paleobabble addresses Simcha Jacobovici’s Conspiracy Fantasy.

Ferrell Jenkins reports on new discoveries at Paphos, Cyprus.

The Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology has a helpful list of links to universities and institutions with archaeological programs in Israel.

Tagged Pseudo-Archaeology, Resources, Shephelah, Syria

Haaretz: Following the Dream of a Third Temple in Jerusalem

Haaretz’s article on the Third Temple and Jewish visits to the Temple Mount is probably the most thorough and helpful report I’ve read on the subject.

They are proposing what they consider to be the key to solving all of our problems: building a Third Temple. In the meantime, they are trying to get permission to pray on the Temple Mount, where Jewish religious ritual has been prohibited since East Jerusalem was taken by Israeli forces in the 1967 war.
Shortly after the war, the government decided not to allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount ‏(which is known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary, and is the site of two major Muslim holy places, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock‏). Jews could pray below the Mount, at the Western Wall, Israeli authorities decreed.
In terms of religious ritual, the Temple Mount remains a Muslim preserve. According to a survey conducted by the joint directorate of the Temple movements, only 17 percent of Israeli Jews, religious and secular alike, want to see a Third Temple built. However, the numbers shoot up in regard to the possibility of praying on the Temple Mount, with 43 percent of the secular public and 92 percent of the religious public in favor, which averages out to 52 percent of the entire Jewish public.
The police, though, are convinced that allowing Jewish religious ritual to be performed on the Temple Mount will stir unrest among Muslims on a scale that is hard to gauge. Accordingly, the police make every effort to enforce the long-standing government decision, even though this involves repeated skirmishes with the Temple movements. Some of their activists, Yehuda Glick among them, are barred from even approaching the entrance to the Temple Mount.

The full, lengthy article describes a meeting with leaders interested in rebuilding the temple, a visit to the Temple Mount on a bride’s wedding day, the modern Bezalel, preparations for rebuilding the sacrificial altar, and a plot to blow up Al-Aqsa Mosque.

HT: Bill Soper

Replica of the temple overlooking the Temple Mount
(Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount