Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup

Hershel Shanks has weighed in on the Israeli government’s astonishing about-face on the Jehoash Inscription.

Gordon Govier and I discuss the “palace of David” discovery in this week’s broadcast of The Book and the Spade (direct link here).

Luke Chandler has an exclusive scoop on recent finds from Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Ferrell Jenkins has posted a beautiful aerial photo of Gezer.

Wayne Stiles writes about 5 Christian Sites in Jerusalem You Should Know About.

My memory of whitewater rafting on the Jordan River is more thrilling than what this Haaretz writer
describes, but maybe it’s just grown with the telling.

This article about antiquities thieves in Jordan reveals that some ancient sites are guarded by
powerful genies.

The Garden of Eden is to become a national park in Iraq. (If you don’t see a guard armed with a
flaming sword, it may be a swindle.)

Accordance is ending the summer with some deals sure to interest those who love Bible geography,
history, and archaeology.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Walls of alleged “palace of David” at Khirbet Qeiyafa.
Photo by Steven H. Sanchez

Tagged Forgery, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Mesopotamia, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

IAA: Jehoash Tablet Is an Antiquity

Matthew Kalman has a very interesting article on the latest in the Jehoash Ossuary trial, reporting that the Israeli government is now demanding to keep the artifact on the basis that it is authentic! Kalman reports:

In a stunning about-turn, after losing a 10-year legal effort to prove that an Israeli antiquities collector faked an inscription from Solomon’s Temple, Israel’s deputy state attorney begged the high court in Jerusalem on Wednesday to allow the Israeli government to keep the artifact on the grounds that it is “an antiquity.”
Oded Golan, the Israeli antiquities collector who was acquitted of forging the Jehoash Tablet after a seven-year criminal trial, said he had offered to loan it to a museum for study and public display, but he would fight the attempts by the state to confiscate it.
[…]
Following Golan’s arrest, a panel of experts appointed by the Israel Antiquities Authority declared the Jehoash Tablet and the James ossuary fakes. Golan and four others were indicted in December 2004 on multiple counts of forgery and accused of being members of an international antiquities forgery ring. None of the charges held up in court.
A year after Golan’s acquittal, Judge Farkash ordered the prosecution to return the Jehoash Tablet, the James ossuary and the other items to Golan.
But after arguing for a decade that the Jehoash Tablet was a fake, the prosecution has suddenly decided it is an antiquity, and therefore the property of the state under the 1978 Israel Antiquities Law.

Read the full report for quotations from the prosecutor and defendant. Kalman concludes with the hint that a compromise may be in the offing. See here for expert analysis that the inscription is genuine.

Jehoash Inscription.
Photo by Matthew Kalman

Tagged Forgery, Jerusalem

Answer: Most-Eroded Site in Israel

The site identified as the most eroded site in Israel is Tell Jemmeh, located on the bank of the Nahal Besor about 7 miles (12 km) due south of the city of Gaza. The site was identified as biblical Gerar by W. J. Phythian-Adams and Sir Flinders Petrie. Benjamin Mazar’s suggestion that Tell Jemmeh is Yurza is now commonly accepted. Yurza is mentioned in Egyptian and Assyrian texts but not in the Bible. The source of the quotation is the “Jemmeh, Tell” article by the late Gus W. Van Beek in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, volume 3, page 677.

We had a number of good responses in the comments yesterday, all of which show that there are many severely eroded tells in Israel. The correct answer was given by Dr. Carl Rasmussen, but if you’re feeling bad that you lost out, you can take comfort in the fact that you lost to someone who has written one of the best Bible atlases!

Tell Jemmeh side washed out by Nahal Besor, tb050701352

Tell Jemmeh, showing erosion caused by the Nahal Besor.
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, volume 5

Tagged Challenge, Negev

Name the Place: Most-Eroded Site in Israel

Can you identify this site?

“[The site] originally occupied a mesa encompassing an area of 4.92 hectares (12.15 acres). It is the most-eroded major site in Israel, the N end having been destroyed by flash floods in Nahal [X], and the S end by severe erosion. The area on the top of the mound is now reduced to 0.26 hectares (0.64 acres) from an estimated original area of 3.04 hectares (7.51 acres). The site is the highest point in the landscape, reaching a height of 22 m (71 feet) above present ground level. Its upper 15.50 m (50 feet) is occupation debris of successive towns.”

If you know the answer, you’re welcome to post it in the comments below. If you discover the answer by research, please do not post it in the comments below. I’ll post the answer, source of the quotation, and a photo tomorrow.

Tagged Challenge

Weekend Roundup

The best way to get up to speed on the major discoveries at Hazor from the Bronze Age is with Amnon Ben-Tor’s article on the ASOR Blog.

A brief report of the finds and surprises from the season at Gezer has been written by the excavators.

This year’s excavations of Gath are over, but Aren Maeir is making us wait for a summary of “one of the most productive, interesting and overall great seasons we have had since the project began (in 1996…).” Check out the rest of his blog for season-end photos.

Though most tourists skip Ashkelon, this Haaretz article reveals how the site is “a treasure full to bursting.”

I failed to note previously a couple of articles following up on the discovery of the “palace of David” at Khirbet Qeiyafa. A Baptist Press article provides some balanced coverage. And excavation volunteer Luke Chandler gives his personal perspective.

The theater in Assos is being renovated to accommodate events for up to 5,000 people.

Mark Wilson provides some background for 1 Corinthians 3:17 from the destruction of the Ephesian temple of Artemis.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology is now reduced to $235. It’s currently out of
stock, and I don’t know how long the discount will last. (This is an unusually large discount when compared with other Oxford sets such as OAENE, OEAGR, and OEBB.)

HT: Jack Sasson

The theater and acropolis of Assos
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, Western Turkey

Tagged 10th Century, Excavations, Galilee, Philistines, Resources, Shephelah, Turkey

Wednesday Roundup

The discovery of an ancient olive press in Jerusalem was announced yesterday.

The “Naked Archaeologist” is suing one of its many critics in Israeli court.

Megiddo V: The 2004-2008 Seasons is now available from Eisenbrauns.

The warm springs of Sachne/Gan HaShlosha are one of the best places to swim in Israel, particularly on a school day when the crowds are absent.

The BibleMap App connects every chapter of the Bible with Google Maps.

Chris McKinny has been leading students from The Master’s College IBEX program at the Tel Burna Excavation Project for several years. His work is the subject of a new article on the college’s website.

Luke Chandler shares a 7-minute video of a recent field trip to the important site of Gezer.

Tourists will surely be affected by the massive renovation of Highway 1 between Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem.

The warm springs of Sachne/Gan HaShlosha
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Jezreel Valley, Resources, Shephelah, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup