The Jerusalem Post has a couple of recent articles related to Jerusalem and archaeology.
Police stop Islamic work on Temple Mount – The police won’t stop the Muslims from digging up the ground but they’ll stop them from replacing tiles. I wouldn’t call this progress.
Digging too deep? – A report on the political aspects of the excavations in the City of David.
As always, don’t believe everything you read.
A seal recently discovered in the City of David reads “Rephaihu (ben) Shalem.” Archaeologist Aren Maier, who directs the on-going excavations at Philistine Gath, reports on an inscription which may be connected to the word “Rephaim,” mentioned in the Bible in various places including 2 Samuel 21:16-22.
UPDATE (3/4): The post above has been greatly altered from the original. This inscription is from Gath, not Jerusalem, and it was incised on a jar, and is not a seal. Thanks to Aren Maier for the correction. My apologies to all for the errors. When word comes of the second seal found in the City of David, I’ll note it on this blog.
For many years, the accessible source for ancient texts related to the Bible was Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET), edited by J. B. Pritchard. A few years ago Context of Scripture (COS), edited by Hallo
and Younger, was completed, giving a more extensive and up-to-date source for these texts. ANET still has its place though because
1) all sources more than a decade old provide references only to ANET and
2) ANET has some materials not included in COS.
COS has been available in Logos format for a few years ($300 here), and now ANET has been announced as a pre-publication special, which means 1) it will only be produced if enough orders are placed and 2) you can get it for less money if you order now ($60 instead of $80).
The publisher of this biography has posted the following on the ANE-2 list.
I’m pleased to announce publication of the first full length biography of archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon by Miriam Davis, a historian at Delta State University. Miriam had full access to the Kenyon family’s materials and interviewed dozens of archaeologists on 4 continents for her work. The book is published in a series sponsored by the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, which provided the peer review. It’s also been reviewed by Bill Dever and Tom Holland, among others (see their comments on our website). The official blurb:
Dame Kathleen Kenyon
Digging Up the Holy Land
by Miriam C. Davis
978-1-59874-325-8 cloth
978-1-59874-326-5 paper
March 2008 272 pages, photos Dame Kathleen Kenyon has always been a larger-than-life figure, likely the mostinfluential woman archaeologist of the 20th century. In the first full-length biography of Kenyon, Miriam Davis recounts not only her many achievements in the field but also her personal side, known to very few of her contemporaries. Her public side is a catalog of major successes: discovering the oldest city at Jericho with its amazing collection of plastered skulls; untangling the archaeological complexities of ancient Jerusalem and identifying the original City of David; participating in the discipline’s most famous all-woman excavation at Great Zimbabwe. Her development (with Sir Mortimer Wheeler) of stratigraphic trenching methods has been universally emulated by archaeologists for over half a century. Her private life–her childhood as daughter of the director of the British Museum, her accidental choice of a career in archaeology, her working at bombed sites in London during the blitz, and her solitary retirement to Wales–are generally unknown. Davis provides a balanced and illuminating picture of both the public Dame Kenyon and the private person. The book will be available in paperback next week in the US and in April in the UK, EUrope, and the Middle East. for more information or to order:
http://www.lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=129 Mitch Allen, Publisher
Left Coast Press, inc.
Amazon has the paperback for $25, minus 5% if you buy it before it is released. A couple of other biographies of “biblical archaeologists” that I have read and enjoyed include: A Prophet from Amongst You: The Life of Yigael Yadin (Silberman) and William Foxwell Albright: A 20th Century Genius (Running and Freedman). Good surveys of the history of “biblical archaeology” include A Century of Biblical Archaeology (Moorey) and Shifting Sands: The Rise and Fall of Biblical Archaeology (Davis).
I don’t remember seeing this published elsewhere and you might miss it under the title “What Happened to the Clerks and Merchants of the 8th Century BCE?” Ronny Reich and Eli Shukrun have discovered more seals in the City of David, these from the 8th century (the time of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah). These excavators had previously discovered a collection of seals from the 9th century, and these did not bear inscriptions. But they recently found two stone seals and three bullae (seal impressions), all inscribed with Hebrew names. The best preserved has the name “Rephaihu (ben) Shalem.” The article is brief and includes a photo of the complete seal.
Though they operate without much fanfare, Reich and Shukrun’s excavation in Jerusalem over the last 13 years has produced more interesting results than probably any other dig in Israel, including discovery of the two towers at the Gihon Spring, the reinterpretation of Warren’s Shaft, the discovery of the Pool of Siloam, and many other related architectural features and small finds.
HT: Joe Lauer
If you’re keeping up on the damage caused to the Temple Mount by multiple “excavations” of dubious legality, you’ll be interested in the report, “The Latest Damage to Antiquities on the Temple Mount,” published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. The report surveys the situation since the 1990s, most of which is well-known to those who have followed the news, but this report handily summarizes the main points. The major focus of the article is who is in control and thus who is responsible. It concludes:
The Waqf, the Islamic Movement, and various Islamic groups have exploited the situation and have seriously damaged Temple Mount antiquities. The Israel Police plays the dominant Israeli role and its activities are coordinated with the prime minister’s office and the office of the attorney general, while the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Jerusalem municipality have only limited influence over what is done at the Temple Mount.
