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(Post by A.D. Riddle)

This blog noted before that the final excavation reports for Ashkelon were being made available as free pdf downloads. Volume 3, published last year by Eisenbrauns and covering Ashkelon in the 7th century B.C., is now available for download.

And from Gath (Tell es-Safi), Aren Maeir gives a period-by-period summary of the 2012 season which concludes this week. Of particular interest is what appears to be a section of the Late Bronze city wall (photo here).

HT: Ancient World Online.

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Paul Lapp’s description of his April-May 1967 excavations at Tell er-Rumeith (Ramoth Gilead?) provide some interesting insights into the life of an archaeologist nearly 50 years ago. The account continues from yesterday’s post:

“The first few hours on the mound were chilly and windy, but by the time of the coffee break at 9:45, the sun had warmed the tell to a comfortable degree. The fifteen minute respite sustained us until noon when work stopped for 45 minutes. After lunch we excavated for three more hours till 4 o’clock when the laborers began to return to Ramtha and we fortified ourselves with tea and bread. Invariably most of the field supervisors then returned to their plots to draw the top plans or help one another with section drawings. Darkness would force us to leave the mound and return to our camp by six o’clock. It was then almost time for supper. After a half hour elapsed in the mess tent we were ready to begin the pottery reading. We had worked out a system so each knew when he was due at the pottery tent, and in that way there was no delay. The remainder of the evening was given to preparation of the field books. Pressure lamps are not conducive to the kind of precision that is required for keeping records so one has to be careful to double-check each entry. The field book up to date, it was then almost eleven o’clock and time to retire for the night. From that moment on no human sound broke the stillness of the night in the plains of Gilead. Every minute of sleep counted in order to be ready to face the rigors of the next day’s work.

Tell er-Rumeith, possible Ramoth Gilead, tb060503006
Excavations at Tell er-Rumeith, possibly Ramoth Gilead
(photo source)

“Our camp consisted of about a dozen tents, mostly of the small variety, and was located to the east at the base of the mound, which is largely a rocky outcrop. With the exception of several chilly nights at the beginning of the season and a strong wind which cost us a half-day’s work, the weather was nearly perfect. The countryside was green when we began and golden when we finished—just in time, for we were beginning to lose our workers to the grain harvest. Despite our pre-Easter apprehensions over the severe winter rains, it proved to be an ideal time for the campaign. In the end we felt we had a complete enough story of the tell to abandon the site to some future excavator, and we were determined to set down the story as soon as possible. However, the unforeseen event of June has delayed this report.

“My last diary notation on the Rumeith dig reads, ‘The end of a phase or an era.’ This was written on May 12, 1967; the first entry dates back to the sounding of the spring of 1962. I was thinking of the loss of Aboud, who had always been my right hand man at excavations, of the talk of major changes for the Jerusalem School [of ASOR], of the fact that this was the last campaign of a small scale that I would conduct as part of the School’s annual program. At the time, however, I was not thinking of the Six Day War, though the final words of my diary were fulfilled like an ancient prophecy. This accounts for the disjointedness of this letter, begun in Amman during the war, continued in Tehran and Athens, and finally finished in Jerusalem. Incidentally let me take this opportunity to thank all our ASOR friends for their kind expressions of concern during the crisis, to give assurance that the Lapp family is safely and happily back home in Shafat, and to express the hope that some of you will have the opportunity to visit us during the coming year.”

Travel from east Jerusalem to Tell er-Rumeith on the heights of Gilead was not difficult in April and May 1967 as there was no international border to cross. As he observes, everything was to change the next month.

Paul Lapp died tragically in a swimming accident in Cyprus a few years later. His wife, Nancy Lapp, edited these essays and prepared it for publication while raising their five young children.


The Tale of the Tell is still available both new and used from the publisher and Amazon and may be available in your local library as well.

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I always enjoy reading stories of early explorers in the land of Israel as well as personal accounts of excavation experiences. A little book of essays written by Paul W. Lapp is still in print 35 years later and for good reason. The Tale of the Tell begins with several chapters introducing the nature of archaeology in a clear and concise manner, and the rest of the book contains brief accounts of Lapp’s work at other sites in Israel and Jordan, including Wadi ed-Daliyeh, Gibeah (Tell el-Ful), Taanach, and Bab edh-Dhra. The final chapter describes his work at a site that he believed was biblical Ramoth Gilead. The introduction to his excavations is interesting for a number of reasons, including the daily schedule, the future archaeologists on staff, and other personal details. Lapp writes:

“The winter of 1967 was an unusually cold and wet season in Jerusalem, and it reached its climax in the form of a blizzard on Easter Sunday, March 26. The Rumeith dig was scheduled to get underway on the first day of April, but there was some doubt whether the inclement weather would allow us to comply with our plans. We were fortunate to have some ideal weather right after Easter, so on tale-of-the-tell-archaeological-studies-by-paul-w-lappMarch 30 the first contingent headed for Rumeith, and on the following day the rest of the staff followed with equal enthusiasm. The 1967 campaign took place between April 1 and May 12, a period of six weeks on a five-day week basis.

Out of deference to our Moslem workers we observed the weekly holiday on Friday; out of consideration for the staff Saturday was also included. At the end of the work-day each Thursday the staff wasted no time as they hurried to Jerusalem to re-enter civilization at the American School in the form of a bath and a change of clothes. After being sandblasted for several days each week on the wind-swept mound, the latter were very much in order.

“The Rumeith expedition was jointly sponsored by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the American Schools of Oriental Research. The budget was provided by the former, and the equipment and transportation by the latter. The staff was composed of the following: Howard M. Jamieson, who represented the Pittsburgh Seminary as codirector and also functioned as treasurer and field supervisor; Susan E. Culp of the University of Pennsylvania, anthropologist and field supervisor; Gavriel Flores, C.SS.R., a Brazilian and student at the Ecole Biblique, field supervisor; also Gustav Jeeninga from Anderson College, Indiana, Edward D. Grohman from Knoxville College, Tennessee, Philip J. King from St. John Seminary, Boston, Robert A. Hutchison from St. Charles, Illinois, and Walter E. Rast from Valparaiso University, Indiana, field supervisors; Thomas Schaub, O.P., from the Ecole Biblique and Aquinas Institute in Dubuque, architect; Fouad Zoghbi of Bethlehem, draftsman; Issa Zoghbi, Bethlehem, assistant draftsman; Aletta Jeeninga of Anderson, registrar; Sister Marie McNamara of Rosary College, River Forest, Illinois, pottery mending; Ahmed Odeh, representative of the Jordan Department of Antiquities. The service staff included Aboud Dhib Nasif as driver and camp manager; Kamel Ikhdayir as cook with two assistants; and Nasir Dhiab as chief technical man with eight assistants from Taanach, Samaria, Balatah, and Bab edh-Dhra’. The staff was very dedicated and worked together in a spirit of warm friendship and good humor.

“The days and weeks spent at Tell er-Rumeith were busy ones. The day began shortly after six o’clock when there would be a great rush to the water storage tank to fill a basin with cold water for the morning ablutions. Breakfast was served shortly thereafter, and it consisted of hot cereal, eggs, bread, and coffee. This was more than adequate preparation for a full day’s work. The workers began to arrive from Ramtha during our breakfast period, which meant that they were well ahead of the seven o’clock roll-call.”

The continuation of the account will be posted tomorrow.

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Bryant Wood has posted a summary of this season’s excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir.

Joe Yudin recommends a short, wet hike near the Sea of Galilee.

Wayne Stiles explains why Shechem is the “most important crossroads in central Israel.”

He has also created the best illustrated page on the first-century boat in Galilee.

Ferrell Jenkins has discovered a way to keep tabs on the water level in the Sea of Galilee.

The discovery of gold coins in Apollonia and Kiryat Gat has led to an increase in illegal digging at sites in southern Israel. (A longer article and photos are available in an IAA press release in Hebrew.)

Israel’s Attorney-General says that all construction on the Temple Mount must adhere to existing laws.

An individual has filed a complaint with Israeli police against the playing of soccer on the Temple Mount.

Matthew Kalman’s story on the trial of the James Ossuary and Jehoash Tablet from The Jerusalem Report is now available for purchase in Kindle format (with free borrowing for Prime members).

The ASOR weekly roundup is here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

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 (Guest post by Seth M. Rodriquez. For an introduction to this series, see last week’s post.)

This week’s photo comes from Volume 2 of the revised and expanded edition of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.  It is entitled “Cliffs Near Michmash and Geba from Southeast” (photo ID #: tb092706140).  However, the name of the picture does not do justice to the thrilling events that took place here in the time of King Saul.

First Samuel 13 tells us that shortly after Saul was crowned king, the Philistines had penetrated deep into Israelite territory.  Normally the Philistines controlled only the coastal plains, but at this point in history they were attempting to gain control over the hill country as well.  They were encamped at Michmash in the territory of Benjamin, in the heart of Israelite territory (1 Sam 13:5).  Saul mustered his troops but suffered a defeat (1 Sam 13:6-7).  He was in dire straits and his character was put to the test as he waited for Samuel to arrive and offer sacrifice on behalf of the troops (1 Sam 13:8).  Saul cracked  under the strain and offered the sacrifice himself, incurring God’s judgment (1 Sam 13:9-15).  This chain of events only made matters worse and the Philistine army started spreading out from Michmash, gaining control over the heart of Saul’s kingdom (1 Sam 13:16-18).

This was the situation that Jonathan found himself in, yet unlike his father his character blossomed under such difficult circumstances.  First Samuel 14 provides us with the story.  The picture above shows the cliffs that separated the Philistine camp at Michmash and the Israelite camp at Geba.  The modern name for this valley is the Wadi Suweinit.  The cliffs on the left side of the photo led to Geba and the cliffs on the right to Michmash.  The Bible refers to these cliffs in this way:

“Within the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.” (1 Sam. 14:4-5, ESV.)

The camps were only about a mile apart.  There is a pass between the two sites at the head of the valley (near the top center of the photo) where the main road was and still is today.  That strategic pass through the area was probably the reason the Philistine soldiers chose to camp at Michmash: if they camped close by, they could monitor and control the traffic through the pass.

However, instead of approaching the Philistine garrison on the main road through the pass, Jonathan decided to surprise the Philistines by scaling the cliffs.  Verse 13 tells us that Jonathan climbed up to the Philistine camp “on his hands and his feet.”  Amazingly, he takes only his equipment bearer with him: two soldiers against an entire garrison.  His reasoning for the attack is a testimony to his great faith:

“Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised.  It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” (1 Sam 14:6, ESV.)

In the end, God rewarded Jonathan’s faith by giving him the victory.  He and his equipment bearer killed 20 soldiers and the rest were thrown into a panic (1 Sam 14:14-15), which provided the Israelites with an opportunity to win a great victory.  (You can read the rest of the story here.)  Many things have changed in the land of Saul and Jonathan over the last 3,000 years, but these cliffs still stand today as a silent witness of the faith and heroic deeds of Jonathan.

This photo is included in Volume 2, “Samaria and the Center” of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands can be purchased here.
For more on Michmash, Geba and the pass, go here.

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