Excavations Archives - Page 47 of 93

Weekend Roundup

Leen Ritmeyer has photos and interpretation of the latest illegal excavations on the Temple Mount.

Ritmeyer suspects the revealed wall line may be the northern boundary of the 500-meter square pre-Herodian Temple Mount.

New excavations began at Tel Hebron this week.

Gershon Galil has translated the earliest Jerusalem alphabetic inscription be a reference to “wine part.”

Some rare fabrics dyed with extract from the murex shell have been discovered. The three colors found “represent the most prestigious colors in antiquity: indigo, purple and crimson.”

A couple of Top Discoveries of 2013 have been posted: Gordon Govier (Christianity Today) and
Noah Wiener (Biblical Archaeology Society).

In 2012, from time to time I surveyed excavation reports published by the Israel Antiquities Authority. I did not have time for that in 2013, but you can peruse the list here.

Scholars are using Google Earth to trace ancient trade routes around Antioch of Syria.

Currently on exhibition at the Israel Museum: Mapping the Holy Land II: Cartographic Treasures from the Trevor and Susan Chinn Collection.

Logos Bible Software has a pre-publication sale on Biblical Archaeologist/Near Eastern Archaeology 1992–2011 ($140).

Timothy Valentino has written an outstanding eulogy for Professor David A. Dorsey.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson, Charles Savelle

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Judah, Museums, Resources, Technology, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Royal Water System Excavated in Judean Hills

Some intrigue surrounded the recent discovery of a well-preserved Israelite proto-Aeolic capital when the tour guide who stumbled across it reported that the authorities told him to keep silent about it, ostensibly for political reasons. For the background and photos, see this report from last April.

This week a story in Arutz-7 claims that the secret location will be revealed next Friday. The article begins:

The location of a major archaeological find that was kept secret until now will be revealed to the public on Friday, next week. The find is being touted as a royal castle that could have belonged to Israel’s most celebrated king – the Bible’s King David.

There are several problems with this sensational report: (1) this type of architecture in Judah dates to several centuries after the time of David; (2) the impressive proto-Aeolic capital is in a water system and evidence of a palace is so far lacking; (3) the location has already been published in D. Ein-Mor and Z. Ron, “An Iron Age Royal Tunnel Spring in the Region of Nahal Rephaim,” in G. Stiebel et al., eds., New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region, 2013. An abbreviated version is available online in Hadashot Arkheologiyot. (This reference comes from Zachi Dvira, via Joseph Lauer.)

It is possible that by overreaching in claims, the media may obscure the true significance of this discovery. Rather than speak of palaces and David, the comparison should rather be made with Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

(1) Both of these tunnels are water systems that bring water from a spring to a storage pool. (2) These are two of the longest underground water channels in the Judean hills, with Hezekiah’s Tunnel running 1,750 feet and the new one at ‘Ain Joweizeh running about 700 feet. (3) Both date to about the 8th century BC, with the date of the ‘Ain Joweizeh tunnel coming from a comparative analysis of other proto-Aeolic capitals found in Judah and Jordan. (4) Both seem to have royal connections, with the Siloam Inscription in Jerusalem and the royal architecture at ‘Ain Joweizeh.

What was the purpose of the ‘Ain Joweizeh tunnel? The excavators suggest that it may have been connected to “an estate or royal palace similar to Ramat Rahel here during the eighth–seventh centuries BCE; another possibility is a settlement from this period that is mostly buried beneath the farming terraces covering the ravine.” Presumably significant features are not visible on the surface and the excavators did not have the time to begin a large-scale excavation of the area. The proximity of the site to the security wall may complicate present or future attempts at excavation.

The site is located 5.5 miles (9 km) southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem, 3.5 miles (5.5 km) northwest of Bethlehem, and just down the slope to the west of Har Gilo. The map below shows the site circled in red.

Western environs of Jerusalem
Map from the Survey of Western Palestine (1881)

Western environs of Jerusalem
Screenshot from Google Earth

http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/Images//6087-1.jpg

Location map and plan of the spring based on Marcus and Ben-Yosef and Ron. Image from Hadashot Arkheologiyot

http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/Images//6087-4.jpg

Proto-Aeolic capital in location
Image from Hadashot Arkheologiyot

http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/Images//6087-3.jpg

Reconstruction of proto-Aeolic capital
Image from Hadashot Arkheologiyot

Another image showing the inside of the tunnel itself is posted at Maariv. (HT: Joseph Lauer)

Tagged Excavations, Judah

Hasmonean Building Discovered in City of David

The holiday of Hanukkah is an appropriate time to announce the discovery of a Hasmonean-period building in Jerusalem. The structure is located in the Central Valley just south of the Dung Gate in the former Givati parking lot. The Israel Antiquities Authority describes the find in a press release.

In recent months remains of an impressive building from the Hasmonean period (second century BCE) are being unearthed in excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is directing in the Giv‘ati parking lot, located in the City of David in the Walls Around Jerusalem National Park. The excavations are sponsored by the “Friends of City of David”.
The building stands c. 4 meters high and covers an area of c. 64 sq. m. The building’s broad walls (more than one meter thick) are made of roughly hewn limestone blocks that were arranged as headers and stretchers, a construction method characteristic of the Hasmonean period.
Although numerous pottery vessels were discovered inside the building, it was mainly the coins that surprised the researchers. These indicated the structure was erected in the early second century BCE and continued into the Hasmonean period, during which time significant changes were made inside it.
According to Dr. Doron Ben Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets, the excavation directors on behalf to the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The importance of this discovery is primarily because of the conspicuous paucity of buildings from the Hasmonean city of Jerusalem in archaeological research, despite the many excavations that have been conducted to date. Apart from several remains of the city’s fortifications that were discovered in different parts of Jerusalem, as well as pottery and other small finds, none of the Hasmonean city’s buildings have been uncovered so far, and this discovery bridges a certain gap in Jerusalem’s settlement sequence. The Hasmonean city, which is well-known to us from the historical descriptions that appear in the works of Josephus, has suddenly acquired tangible expression”.

The story is also reported by Arutz-7 and Israel HaYom.

We’ve reported on excavations at this same area many times in the past:

Feb 2012: New Visitor Center Approved for City of David (with 2 photos)
Aug 2010: Cameo Stone Discovered in Jerusalem’s Central Valley
Sept 2009: Petition Against City of David Excavations Rejected
Aug 2009: Roman Building Excavated in City of David
Jan 2009: Roman Figurine Discovered in Jerusalem
Dec 2008: 264 Gold Coins Found in City of David
Nov 2008: Beautiful Earring Found in Jerusalem
Aug 2008: City of David Excavation Report (with photo)
Dec 2007: Palace of Queen Helena Found? (with aerial photo)

Hasmonean period building uncovered in Jerusalem

Hasmonean building in Jerusalem.
Photo by Assaf Peretz, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority.

Jerusalem from the southwest Click photograph for higher-resolution version.

UPDATE (12/4): Eric Welch has sent this photo taken at the excavations during the summer.

Excavations in Givati parking lot. The three chambers in the foreground correspond with the chambers on the right side of the top photo.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem

Weekend Roundup

The collapse of the great civilizations of the Late Bronze Age was the result of climate change, says a new study published in Tel Aviv. A preliminary list of 2014 excavations in Israel is now available. The Carmel Caves have been named the newest UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem has opened “The Book of Books” exhibition based on the collection of Hobby Lobby owner Steve Green. Archaeologists are mapping the ancient aqueducts of Rome with the help of lasers and robots. A new BAR Archive DVD is available, providing all issues of the magazine from 1975 to 2012. Wayne Stiles is offering both of his excellent books at a great discount. And this weekend will be the last chance to get them autographed. They make a great Christmas gift for you or someone else… The Virtual Bible Project is profiled in the Baptist Press. After many years of slow progress, Dan Warner has now teamed with Logos Bible Software to add to the four reconstructions already completed. J. B. Hennessy died this week. HT: Bill Soper, Jack Sasson, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer Caves on Mount Carmel
Photo from Samaria and the Center

Tagged Excavations, Israel's Coast, Italy, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

IAA Catches an Antiquities Thief

From the Jerusalem Post:

Antiquities Authority anti-theft officers and police from the Kiryat Gat station arrested a man on Sunday from Moshav Sde Moshe suspected of stealing antiquities from archeological sites in the Lachish region.
A few months earlier, Antiquities Authority enforcement officials caught him with a metal detector digging illegally in an archeological site, and they began to perform surveillance on him.
[…]
The arrest came two days after Antiquities Authority enforcement officials caught three men, two from Beit Lehem [Bethlehem] and one from Kfar Nahalin, illegally digging in an archeological site in Eila [Elah] Valley, near Beit Shemesh.
According to enforcement officials, the antiquities theft industry is a highly lucrative multi-million dollar illicit business involving illegal excavators, dealers and collectors working in Israel, the West Bank and abroad.
The most highly-skilled excavators come from villages in the South Hebron Hills, where generations have made a living illegally excavating antiquities from archeological sites within the Green Line. They search for all types of relics, but particularly coins from the Bar-Kochba era, which can fetch thousands of dollars from collectors abroad.

The full story is here. For every one they catch, there are probably 99 they miss.

UPDATE: A follow-up article is posted here.

Tekoa corner of large building, tb111706982

Illegal excavations at the biblical city of Tekoa
Photo from Judah and the Dead Sea

Tagged Excavations

Archaeology for the Kids

The Jerusalem Post reports on an excavation near the coast south of Haifa where thousands of teenagers are taught the value of archaeology each year.

The Tel Esur dig is the largest communal excavation in the country, [Dr. Shay] Bar said. “It’s a project of the community, for the community, for the education of the children of this community,” Bar said last week at the dig’s makeshift headquarters. He said that different skills involved in archaeology – from the meticulous digging required to unearth artifacts to careful record keeping – allow the teenagers to discover their talents. “Here they open like a flower,” he said. “They are flourishing.” On a typical day in Tel Esur, 150 children from four different schools work at different areas at the dig site, supervised by 20 staff members, volunteers and the students’ teachers. The teenagers don’t necessarily mix with students from other schools, in order to simplify the logistics, Bar said. Still, students from Arab and Jewish schools “can work five meters from each other” on a common project under the supervision of researchers from a variety of backgrounds, he said. At points throughout the day, students take a break from digging to hear short educational lessons about archaeology. Instead of discussions about who recently owned the land, the archaeologists attempt to instill an appreciation for the craft of the research. “They have to understand the value of history before they understand the relationship to different ethnicities that existed here,” said Netanel Petrushka, one of the archaeologists.

The full story is here.

Tagged Excavations, Israel's Coast