October 2009 - Page 5 of 7 - BiblePlaces.com

Jaffa Gate Closure

Recently a friend alerted me to a discussion online about major renovations to be started soon in the vicinity of Jaffa Gate. Among other things, this will close the gate off to vehicular traffic. If they dig anything up, chances are very high that they’ll find something of significance, which will slow their progress down even further. A source in Jerusalem relates the following:

1. The gate is being closed to car traffic due to road renovations.

2. They may leave one lane open for one-way traffic.

3. The gate is supposed to close soon after Succot (which ended a few days ago).

4. A Muslim policeman “who isn’t trustworthy” said that the gate would NOT reopen ever.

5. Shop owners are concerned about how they will receive supplies.

This is not the first time the authorities have done major work on the road here.

Jaffa Gate area from east, with Crusader moat of Citadel visible in foreground. Date of photograph: 1898-1907. From the new Jerusalem CD.

Tagged American Colony Photos, Jerusalem, Then and Now

Weekend Roundup

Brian Janeway has written on “New Discoveries Relating to the Apostle Paul” at the Associates for Biblical Research blog. The focus of the article is the recent analysis of the alleged tomb of Paul, but he also comments on some related finds.

Eric Cline has posted a good primer at Bible and Interpretation on the all-important 10th century BC debate in biblical archaeology. In about ten minutes of reading, you get a number of good insights into the nature of the debate and the archaeological discipline as a whole. The article is adapted from his new book, Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction (168 pages; $9 at Amazon).

I mentioned previously the Old Testament version of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, edited by John H. Walton and available in 5 volumes in November ($157 at Amazon, plus shipping surcharge). Chris Heard notes that the Genesis commentary is now available for reading on Scribd through the month of October.

Logos has a new pre-publication special of 19 volumes in a “History of Israel Collection.” You have to qualify just what a collection with that title means, because it is not the essential works on the subject. Rather these are volumes from the Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies series published by Sheffield and T. & T. Clark. In other words, these are highly specialized, very expensive books. The collection is now available for $300 ($16/volume), which is about the cost of any two volumes. (A quick search at Amazon found Banks for $180, Wood for $25, McNutt for $50, Grabbe for $216, and Younger [not Youger] for $251). If you want it, buy it now, before the price jumps to $1300.

Tagged Italy, Resources

Book Sale: Jerusalem in Original Photographs

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)

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources

When on Google Earth 73

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

Midweek Roundup

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

Nabatean Site of Avdat Vandalized

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