Eisenbrauns has a terrific sale this weekend on Shimon Gibson, Jerusalem in Original Photographs, 1850-1920. Gibson not only had access to some rare photographs, but his knowledge of the subject is extraordinary. Only $15 at Eisenbrauns. ($48 at Amazon)
I correctly identified Heather’s choice of Hippos (Sussita), Israel in the latest round of “When on Google Earth,” and that gives me the privilege of challenging my readers to identify this site and its major period of occupation in the comments below.
The rules of When on Google Earth are as follows:
Q: What is When on Google Earth?
A: It’s a game for archaeologists, or anybody else willing to have a go!
Q: How do you play it?
A: Simple, you try to identify the site in the picture.
Q: Who wins?
A: The first person to correctly identify the site, including its major period of occupation, wins the
game!
Q: What does the winner get?
A: The winner gets bragging rights and the chance to host the next When on Google Earth on his/her own blog!
You can follow along on the Facebook group. Here is a list of previous sites and winners:
| # | Host: | Victor: | Site: | Period: |
| 1 | Shawn Graham | Chuck Jones | Takht-i Jamshid / Persepolis terrace, Iran | Achaemenid period |
| 2 | Chuck Jones | PDD | Church of Saint Simeon at Qalat Siman, Syria | 5th-6th c. CE |
| 2.1 | Chuck Jones | Paul Zimmerman | Qal’at al-Bahrain | 16th c. CE |
| 3 | Paul Zimmerman | Heather Baker | Baraqish (Yathill), Yemen | Minaean (1st millennium BCE) |
| 4 | Heather Baker | Jason Ur | Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan | ca. 2600-1900 BCE |
| 5 | Jason Ur | Dan Diffendale | Monte Albán, Oaxaca, Mexico | 1st-5th centuries CE |
| 6 | Dan Diffendale | Claire of Geevor Mine | Segontium, Caernarfon, Wales | 77ish to about 390 CE |
| 7 | Claire of Geevor Mine | Ivan Cangemi | Carn Euny, UK | ca. 500 BCE-100 CE |
| 8 | Ivan Cangemi | Southie Sham | Monks Mound (Cahokia), IL, USA | fl. 1050-1200 |
| 9 | Southie Sham | Dan Diffendale | Gergovia, France | fl. 1st c. BCE |
| 10 | Dan Diffendale | Dorothy King | Kastro Larissa/Argos, Greece | ca. 1100 CE |
| 11 | Dorothy King | Daniel Pett | Utica, Tunisia | C8th BCE– C2nd CE |
| 12 | Daniel Pett | Neil Silberman | Caesarea Maritima, Israel | 1st century CE–Present |
| 13 | Neil Silberman | Chuck Jones | Graceland, Memphis, TN, USA | 1939 CE–Present |
| 14 | Chuck Jones | Aphaia | Bam Citadel, Iran | pre-C 6th BC–C19thCE |
| 15 | Aphaia | Daniel Pett | Myrina, Lemnos, Greece | Classical Greek–present |
| 16 | Daniel Pett | Paul Barford | Dambulla Cave Temple, Sri Lanka | 1st century BCE |
| 17 | Paul Barford | Scott McDonough | Rosetta (Rashid), Egypt | Ptolemaic, Mamluk |
| 18 | Scott McDonough | Lindsay Allen | Ani, Turkey | Medieval, C10th-14th CE |
| 19 | Lindsay Allen | Heather in Vienna | South Shields, England, UK | Roman Imperial |
| 20 | Heather | Scott McDonough | Suomenlinna/Sveaborg fortress, Finland | 1748-present |
| 21 | Scott McDonough | Chuck Jones | Derbent, Republic of Dagestan | Sasanian-present |
| 22 | Chuck Jones | Paul Barford | Amphitheatre of Aquincum, Hungary | Roman |
| 23 | Paul Barford | Geoff Carter | The Cursus, (Stonehenge) Wiltshire | Neolithic |
| 24 | Geoff Carter | Ferhan Sakal | The Heuneburg, South Germany | Iron Age |
| 25 | Ferhan Sakal | Lindsay Allen | Sura, Syria | Roman |
| 26 | Lindsay Allen | Andrea Kay | Bannerman Castle, Hudson River, US | C20th |
| 27 | Andrea Kay | David Powell | Taposiris Magna, Alexandria, Egypt | C1st BCE |
| 28 | David Powell | Billy | Ross Abbey, Galway, Ireland | Medieval |
| 29 | Billy | Geoff Carter | Great Zimbabwe, Africa | C11th – 14th CE |
| 30 | Geoff Carter | Heather | Elsdon Castle, England | C11th – 12th CE |
| 31 | Heather | Geoff Carter | Volubilis, Morocco | Roman |
| 32 | Geoff Carter | Paul Barford | Su Nuraxi, Barumini, Sardinia | C15th – 6th BCE |
| 33 | Paul Barford | Ferhan Sakal | Arkona, Germany | Medieval |
| 34 | Ferhan Sakal | Heather | Arslantepe, Turkey | Chalcolithic – Byzantine |
| 35 | Heather | Ferhan Sakal | Mahabodhi Temple Complex, India | 3rd century B.C. – 6th CE |
| 36 | Ferhan Sakal | Billy | Borobudur, Buddhist shrine, Indonesia | 9th century B.C. – 6th CE |
| 37 | Billy | Ferhan Sakal | Browns Island, New Zealand | c. 13th century – 1820 |
| 38 | Ferhan Sakal | Andrea Kay | Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn, Oman | 3rd millennium B.C. |
| 39 | Andrea Kay | Matt B. | Serabit el-Khadim, Egypt | 2nd millennium B.C. |
| 40 | Matt B. | Andrea Kay | Valsgärde grave field, Sweden | Swedish Vendel /Iron Age |
| 41 | Andrea Kay | Lindsay Allen | Siwa oasis, Egypt | fourth century B.C. -Roman |
| 42 | Lindsay Allen | David Gill | Castle of Pont Steffan, Wales, UK | Medieval |
| 43 | David Gill | Nigel | Hay Castle, Wales, UK | 12th century |
| 44 | Nigel | Heather | Olympos, Turkey | Hellenistic – Roman |
| 45 | Heather | Ferhan Sakal | Carnuntum, Austria | Roman |
| 46 | Ferhan Sakal | Troels Myrup | Knossos, Greece | Bronze Age |
| 47 | Troels Myrup | Alun Salt | Aggersborg, Denmark | Viking |
| 48 | Alun Salt | Geoff Carter | Marsala, Sicillia. | Punic/Roman |
| 49 | Geoff Carter | Matt B | Springfield Lyons, UK | LBA (/Saxon) |
| 50 | MattB | Geoff Carter | Kalkriese in Osnabrück, Germany | Roman |
| 51 | Geoff Carter | Ferhan Sakal | Grimes Graves, Norfolk, UK | Late neolithic |
| 52 | Ferhan Sakal | Oliver Mack | Heraqla, ar-rashid,syria | Late C8 CE |
| 53 | Oliver Mack | Matt B | Welzheim, Germany | Roman |
| 54 | Matt B | Geoff Carter | Birka, Sweden | Viking |
| 55 | Geoff Carter | Heather | Nemrut Dagi, Turkey | C1 bce |
| 56 | Heather | Geoff Carter | Choirokoitia, Cyprus. | Neolithic |
| 57 | Geoff Carter | Jaime | Woodhenge, UK | Late Neolithic |
| 58 | Jaime | Geoff Carter | Gorgora Nova, Ethiopia, | C17th (CE). |
| 59 | Geoff Carter | Nathan T.Elkins | Firouabad, Iran | C3rd CE |
| 60 | Nathan Elkins | Paul Barford | Portus, Italy | Roman |
| 61 | Paul Barford | Heather | Delos, Greece | Classical-Hellenistic Greek |
| 62 | Heather | Geoff Carter | Gordion, Turkey | 1500-700 BCE |
| 63 | Geoff Carter | CFeagans | Vix, France | 6th-5th C BCE |
| 64 | CFeagans | Alun Salt | Newark Great Circle, OH | 100 BCE |
| 65 | Alun Salt | Eloy Cano | Agra, India | 1556-1658 |
| 66 | Eloy Cano | Troels Myrup | Göbekli Tepe, Turkey | 10-8th millennium BCE |
| 67 | Troels Myrup | Heather | Kanhave canal, Samsø, Denmark | 8th c. CE/Viking |
| 68 | Heather | Troels Myrup | Butrint, Albania | 10th c. BCE-18th c. CE |
| 69 | Troels Myrup | Paul Zimmerman | Birketain, Jordan | Roman |
| 70 | Paul Z. | Oliver Mack | Cueva de Menga/Viera, Spain | 3rd mill BCE |
| 71 | Oliver Mack | Heather | Dur-Kurigalzu, Iraq | 14th-12th c BCE |
| 72 | Heather | Todd Bolen | Hippos, Israel | Roman-Byzantine |
- Tagged Challenge
A Second Temple period hall near the Western Wall has been excavated and restored. The “Hall of Ages” is scheduled to be opened to the public in a few weeks. HT: Joe Lauer
The Baptist Press has a story on the “Joseph coins,” in which they quote Steven Ortiz and Robert Griffin as skeptical.
G. M. Grena has some comments about the upcoming ASOR meetings at his LMLK blogspot, including this note of interest to Qeiyafa watchers:
By the way, Prof. Garfinkel will have some interesting photos of jar handles with special impressions that in many ways parallel the LMLK phenomenon.
BAS reports that from January to August 2010 the Oriental Institute will launch a new exhibit
“Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-20.”
James Henry Breasted had received a large donation from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to establish the Oriental Institute in 1919 and quickly organized an expedition to travel across the Middle East to acquire objects for the Institute and identify sites for excavation. World War I had just ended, the political map of the Middle East had not yet been redrawn, and it was a dangerous time to be travelling through the region. The exhibit will present the incredible adventure story of the Breasted expedition through photographs, excerpts from letters, original documents from the archives, and objects purchased on the trip.
BAS is now offering a free e-book entitled “Israel: An Archaeological Journey” (requires quick registration if you haven’t already). The contents include:
- The Fury of Babylon: Ashkelon and the Archaeology of Destruction, by Lawrence E. Stager
- Vegas on the Med: A Tour of Caesarea’s Entertainment District, by Yosef Porath
- How Jewish Was Sepphoris in Jesus’ Time?, by Mark Chancey and Eric M. Meyers
- Where Masada’s Defenders Fell, by Nachman Ben-Yehuda
- A New Reconstruction of Paul’s Prison, by Ehud Netzer
- Tagged Egypt, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Temple Mount
The Nabatean site of Avdat was vandalized on Sunday night and two Bedouin have been arrested, including the site’s sole security guard. From Ynet:
Hundreds of archeological artifacts were found smashed, walls smeared with yellow and brown paint, and oil paint was smeared on the ancient wine press. Items hundreds and thousands of years old were severely damaged. […] "We came in the morning and found the place in shambles," described Shapira, "They broke the staircase, destroyed the walls, and painted on them. The worst is that the two most ancient churches in Israel were destroyed, and 13-foot columns were shattered with hammers along with artifacts and the authentic marble alter, which is the most important (artefact) in the city."
The Jerusalem Post has the story and a couple of photos. The Haaretz Hebrew article has two photos (but not the English version). The Ynet article (Hebrew) has a gallery of 11 photos. If you prefer a three-minute video (Hebrew), you can find that here. Thanks to Joe Lauer for all of the links.
- Tagged Negev
The photo below shows another very familiar place in Jerusalem, at the northwestern corner of the Old City walls. This site, I believe, may be distinguished as the location most often renovated in the modern city’s history. I’ve long suspected that the municipality, which has its offices on the north side of this square, uses the area as training grounds for its construction crews.
This American Colony photo shows how the area looked sometime between 1932 and 1946. The round building on the right served as Barclay’s Bank on the lower floor and basement, while the rest of the building held offices of the City Hall. Because it was located next to “No Man’s Land” from 1948 to 1967, the building’s facade today bears pockmarks from the hostilities. Mayor Teddy Kollek’s office was in the second floor of this building for many years.
This picture could have been taken many times since, as the area has been torn up time and again to install various traffic features, water fountains, and pedestrian walkways. This photo was taken in December 2006 after the construction of a traffic tunnel. The round building is in the distant center.
This photo was taken in July 2009 by Peter Wong and looks west (the municipal building is off to the right). It shows excavations of the area, including what appears to be a cistern in the top center.
Shortly after Peter took this photo, the area was cemented over.
- Tagged American Colony Photos, Excavations, Jerusalem
A Turkish newspaper reports that the government will fund the restoration of a 1st century A.D. lighthouse from Patara. I wouldn’t believe everything you read in the article, but if it was built very early in the reign of Nero, it is possible that the apostle Paul saw it on his visit mentioned in Acts 21:1-2. (Nero reigned from 54 to 68, and Paul’s visit was in approximately 57.)
The Turkish government has allocated a budget to restore an ancient lighthouse, believed to be the world’s oldest.
Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay said Wednesday that his ministry would grant 800,000 Turkish Liras for the restoration of Nero’s Lighthouse, discovered four years ago in the ancient city of Patara, located near today’s Mediterranean town of Gelemiş in Antalya province.
[…]
The lighthouse has been dated to around A.D. 60 because the name of Nero, the Roman emperor at the time, was found on significant remnants of the circular inscription that surrounded the structure.
[…]
The team came across the ruins of the historical lighthouse, which stands 60 meters from the sea today, during excavation work done in Patara in 2005. “It was covered under an 11-meter high sand dune,” Işık told daily Milliyet at the time. “We had to remove approximately 3,000 truck loads of sand to uncover it. But it should be restored, or we will lose it forever.”
[…]
“The world’s oldest lighthouse was known to be the one in Lacaruna, Spain,” Işık said. “The lighthouse we have found is 60 years older than the one in Spain. It has ancient Hellenistic features. The bronze inscriptions indicate that this was a monument of the roman period.”
Işık said they believed the lighthouse was destroyed by a tsunami because a human skeleton was found among the ruins. The skeleton could have belonged to a lighthouse keeper who was trying to escape a tsunami but was crushed under the lighthouse’s stone blocks, she said.
The full article is here.
HT: Explorator
Patara lighthouse. Sea is just visible on right.- Tagged Turkey
