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Excavations in Israel and Jordan 2012

There may be a record number of excavations this summer, and I’ve taken the list at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs site and supplemented it with sites listed at Biblical Archaeology Society and a few others.

Particularly popular regions are the Shephelah with 7 digs (Gezer, Tel Burna, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tel ‘Eton, Tell es-Safi/Gath, Socoh, and Azekah) and the Huleh Basin with 4 digs (Omrit, Abel Beth Maacah, Dan, and Hazor). If you prefer to work near the ocean, you have 5 options (Tel Achziv, Ashkelon, Jaffa, Tel Akko, Apollonia-Arsuf) and 4 more if you want to be close to the Sea of Galilee (Bethsaida, Tiberias, Tel Bet Yerah, and Hippos).

The excavations are listed in the chronological order from the starting date.

Already Concluded

Ein Gedi Jan 2-26

Caves of the Judean Desert April 29 – May 10

Currently In Progress

Hurvat Eres May 15 – June 25

Qumran May 16 – June 10

Omrit May 16 – June 22

Tel Achziv May 19 – June 15

Tell Jalul May 20 – June 8

Abel Beth Maacah May 22-24

Shikhin/Asochis May 22 – June 21

Tel Megiddo East May 24 – June 12

Beginning Later This Month

Khirbet el-Maqatir May 26 – June 9

Tel Gezer May 27 – June 15

Beginning in June

Ashkelon June 8 – July 21

Tel Burna June 10-29

Abila June 15 – Aug 1

Megiddo June 16 – Aug 2

Bethsaida June 17-30

Tel Dan June 21 – July 19

Tiberias June 24 – July 20

Khirbet Qeiyafa June 24 – July 21

Tel Hazor June 24 – Aug 3

Kfar HaHoresh June 24 – Aug 3

Tel ‘Eton June 24 – July 6

Tel Bet Yerah June 24 – July 26

Jaffa June 29 – Aug 3

Tel Akko June 30 – July 28

Beginning in July

Hippos (Sussita) July 1-26

Tell es-Safi/Gath July 1-27

Tel Akko July 1-28

Marj Rabba July 10 – Aug 17

Socoh July 15 – Aug 3

Azekah July 15 – Aug 24

Beginning in August or Later

Apollonia-Arsuf Aug 6-31

Khirbet Feinan Oct 1 – Nov 21

Tell el-Hammam Jan 10 – Feb 21

In addition, excavations are on-going at Magdala, Maresha/Bet Guvrin, Jerusalem, and other sites
with salvage digs under the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Excavations in Tiberias (source)

Tagged Excavations

Seal Impression from Bethlehem Discovered in Jerusalem

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced today the discovery of a seal impression with the name of Bethlehem.

The first ancient artifact constituting tangible evidence of the existence of the city of Bethlehem, which is mentioned in the Bible, was recently discovered in Jerusalem.
A bulla measuring c. 1.5 cm was found during the sifting of soil removed from archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out in the City of David. The sifting is underwritten by the ‘Ir David Foundation’ in a project being conducted in the Emek Tzurim National Park.
A bulla is a piece of clay that was used for sealing a document or object. The bulla was impressed with the seal of the person who sent the document or object, and its integrity was evidence the document or object was not opened by anyone unauthorized to do so.
Three lines of ancient Hebrew script appear on the bulla:
בשבעת Bishv’at [in the seventh]
בת לחם Bat Lechem [Bethlehem]
[למל]ך [Lemel]ekh [for the king]
According to Eli Shukron, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “it seems that in the seventh year of the reign of a king (it is unclear if the king referred to here is Hezekiah, Manasseh or Josiah), a shipment was dispatched from Bethlehem to the king in Jerusalem. The bulla we found belongs to the group of “fiscal” bullae – administrative bullae used to seal tax shipments remitted to the taxation system of the Kingdom of Judah in the late eighth and seventh centuries BCE. The tax could have been paid in the form of silver or agricultural produce such as wine or wheat”.
Shukron emphasizes, “this is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible, in an inscription from the First Temple period, which proves that Bethlehem was indeed a city in the Kingdom of Judah, and possibly also in earlier periods”.

Too much can be made from this discovery, especially with the emphasis of the last sentence above.

The existence of Bethlehem in the period of the Old Testament is not disputed, and an inscription this late is not as helpful as one would be from the time of Ruth or David. Nonetheless, it is a nice discovery which adds another piece of data to our understanding of the Judean kingdom.

The closest biblical connection that one can make to this time period (late 8th or 7th century) is the prophet Micah, who derided the failed leadership of his day (chapter 3), predicted a restored Davidic kingdom (chapter 4), and expected that Bethlehem would produce the awaited king, one whose origins are from ancient times and who would “be their peace” (chapter 5).

The full press release is here and a high-resolution photo is here (also below). The story is reported by the Jerusalem Post, Reuters, the Associated Press, and many others.

Bethlehem bulla.
Photograph by Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Judah

Gold Jewelry Discovered at Megiddo

We first noted this discovery in March, but more details are available now that the media has picked up the story. From the Jerusalem Post.

The Megiddo cache is notable for its abundance of gold jewels, including nine large earrings and a ring-seal. It also includes than a thousand small beads of gold, silver and carnelian – a semi-precious stone of orange-to-amber hue. All of the artifacts are in good condition.
One of the collection’s most remarkable items is a gold basket-shaped earring bearing the figure of a bird, possibly an ostrich. Experts believe one of the items may be the first of its kind ever discovered in Israel, and that its use of gold points to possible Egyptian influence. Megiddo, the Armageddon of Christian Scripture, was for centuries a major trading post on the Egypt-Assyria trade route.
So far 25 Iron Age jewelry hoards have been uncovered in Israel, with most of them containing only silver artifacts.
“The hoard includes a lot of gold items, which have origins in Egypt,” said Eran Arie, a Tel Aviv University archeologist who was supervising the dig at the time of the jewels’ discovery.

The full story is here. More photos of the Iron I objects are posted at the Megiddo website.

Last night I was reading an interview with Cyrus Gordon, who made an interesting comment about the discovery of gold in the land of Israel.

I also went to see [W. M. Flinders] Petrie at Tell el-Ajjul, which he thought was ancient Gaza. He was wrong, but he found more gold in that one year than archaeologists have found in the past hundred years in every site combined (Scholars on the Record, p. 163).

Petrie worked at Tell el-Ajjul from 1930 to 1934; the interview with Gordon was first published in BAR Nov/Dec 2000.

Tagged Discoveries, Jezreel Valley

$100 Million for Biblical Tourism in Jerusalem

On the 45th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification, the Prime Minister’s cabinet approved spending nearly $100 million to develop sites in the city. The Jerusalem Post has limited details:

Tourism in Jerusalem dominated the agenda at the meeting, where the cabinet approved NIS 350 million over the next seven years to develop sites and infrastructure in the capital, with a focus on biblical tourism. Israel hosted 2.8 million foreign visitors in 2011.
Eighty percent of them visited Jerusalem and 30% stayed at least one night in the city.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, every million tourists add NIS 5.5 billion to the economy and create 30,500 jobs.
Approximately NIS 20m. of the tourism funding will be directed toward the Mount of Olives Cemetery.
The plan is to renovate 15,000 graves and install 150 security cameras to stop desecration and stoning attacks.
Part of the money will also go to improve the “green lung” of Jerusalem’s parks and open spaces.
The money will be used to develop the Slopes of Mount Scopus national park, next to the Arab neighborhood of Isawiya, which residents oppose because it will stop their neighborhood from expanding.
Netanyahu tasked the Jerusalem Development Authority with overseeing the development of biblical tourism sites. “[The money] will enable us to build biblical sites in the city that will enhance and explain our link to the land of the Bible, to Zion, and also allow millions of people, no less, millions of people to have a direct appreciation of Israel’s heritage as it finds expression in the Bible,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.

The full story is here.

Cemetery on Mount of Olives (source)

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism

Weekend Roundup

A Byzantine olive press has been discovered in Modi’in.

Christopher Rollston argues that the script of the Qeiyafa Ostracon is “definitely not Old Hebrew.”

The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit that was on display at Discovery Times Square in New York City has moved to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia where it will remain until October 14.

James Charlesworth adds his voice to the discussion of the Talpiot Tomb II and the “Jonah Ossuary.”

Among other things, he writes that “it is as absurd to claim that the Patio Tomb clearly
preserves the remains of some of Jesus’ first followers as it is unwise to pronounce such a possibility as unthinkable.”

The ASOR Blog reviews the broader world in their Archaeology Weekly Roundup.

Tagged Discoveries, Weekend Roundup

Day of Archaeology 2012

From dayofarchaeology.com:

Following on from the success of 2011, we are happy to announce that this year’s Day of Archaeology is scheduled for June 29, 2012! Last year’s event brought out 400+ archaeologists, and almost 450 separate posts including lots of photos, video, audio and more. You can read more about the Day of Archaeology at About the Project, but the general hope is that by raising awareness about the truly diverse nature of archaeology, we will also in turn emphasize the vital role that archaeology plays in preserving our past for everyone’s future. We want anyone with a personal, professional or voluntary interest in archaeology to get involved, and help show the world why archaeology is vital to protect the past and inform our futures.

Sounds interesting. You can check out the website here. You can read entries from last year here.

Tagged Excavations