September 2012 - Page 3 of 5

New Excavations: Palmahim, Nahariyya, and Jerusalem

Three excavation reports were published yesterday by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

In Palmahim, on the coast south of Tel Aviv, archaeologists uncovered a large and unique Chalcolithic cemetery with fourteen circular tombs and six ossuaries.

In Nahariyya, excavations revealed a portion of the Roman road running from Acco to Tyre.

On the west side of Jerusalem, an agricultural farmstead from the Iron, Roman, and Byzantine periods was excavated. The discoveries include three winepresses, a watchman’s hut, three quarries, a couple of caves, and farming terrace walls.

All of the reports include maps, plans, and photographs.

“Chain-type burials” from the Chalcolithic period near Palmahim.
Photo by IAA.

Tagged Excavations, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem

Picture of the Week: Cnidus Bull with Garlands

Acts 14 records an awkward situation that the Apostle Paul found himself in during his first missionary journey:

Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them. (Acts 14:8-18, ESV)

The ancient city of Lystra is located in central Turkey today. A few pictures of the site can be found in Volume 9 of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands. It was a mainly market town and, as can be surmised from this passage, it contained a temple to Zeus.

However, our picture of the day comes from Volume 10 of the revised and expanded edition of the PLBL, which focuses on Western Turkey. The photo is entitled “Cnidus Architectural Fragments, Bull with Garlands” (photo ID #: tb062206733). This picture illustrates verse 13 (in bold above) which mentions the priest of Zeus bringing “oxen and garlands” so that he could offer sacrifice. This seems to have been a common practice, not only in Lystra but in several other places as well. Several carvings of bulls with garlands have been found in this region of the world.

The picture above is one example of this common architectural motif. (Click on the picture for a higher resolution.) This object was found at Cnidus, a city on the western edge of modern Turkey. It is a fragment of a decorative pillar depicting a bull’s head on each side. The heads are connected by a garland, and tassels can be seen hanging down on either side of each bull’s head. Within the garland are clusters of grapes and possibly some other fruit.

At least four examples of this motif can be seen in the PLBL collection:

Volume 9
“Pisidian Antioch stone with bull and garlands, tb010201834”

Volume 10
“Cnidus architectural fragments, bull with garlands, tb062206733”
“Ephesus fragment with bull and garlands, tb041405323”

Volume 12
“Samos Pythagorio Roman baths fragment with bull and garlands, tb061606256”

Little insights from archaeology such as this can add interest to the retelling of a familiar story and grab the listener’s attention. Over the last few generations, many societies in the world (including the U.S.) have become extremely visually oriented. Whether it watching television, going to the movies, or surfing the Internet, much of what people do today is visual. Pastors and teachers should seek to meet people where they are and use multimedia resources to their advantage to communicate their message. And similar to Paul and Barnabas, we need to make every effort that our message is not misunderstood.

This and other photos of the Cnidus are included in Volume 10 of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands and can be purchased here. More information and a photo of Lystra can be found on the BiblePlaces website here.

Tagged Picture of the Week

Wednesday Roundup

Eilat Mazar has resumed excavations in the (so-called) Ophel, and her partners at Armstrong College plan to provide regular updates. They begin with an on-location interview of Mazar.

Excavations continue to reveal Egyptian presence in Joppa from the New Kingdom period.

Mark Fairchild’s search for ancient synagogues in Turkey is profiled in the local press. The article includes an interesting video by Fairchild of his discoveries.

In light of an article in the Wall Street Journal, Charles Savelle reflects on the value of knowing biblical geography.

Ferrell Jenkins is back in Israel and he shares a rare photo of Jacob’s well.

King Tut and his predecessors may have been afflicted with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Did you forget to celebrate the 2000th anniversary of Caligula’s birthday?

Clean-up of the polluted Kishon River is finally scheduled to begin, 12 years after divers were found
to have contracted cancer.

The cedars of Lebanon are threatened by climate change.

As Rosh HaShanah (the New Year) begins in Jewish homes around the world at sundown on Sunday,

Wayne Stiles reflects on the Gezer Calendar and other ways we keep time.

The 50th anniversary of Lawrence of Arabia inspires Anthony Horowitz to travel to Jordan.

HT: Explorator, Jack Sasson

Wadi Rum. Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Holidays, Italy, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Samaria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Magazine: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible

Southwestern News has a full issue devoted to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible. Published by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, currently hosting an exhibition on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the magazine has some valuable content, including:

Historic photographs from the Ecole Biblique collection
A description of the current exhibition and how to prepare for a visit
A feature of the iScroll kiosks
The story of the initial Scrolls discovery (that buys into the lie of the innocent shepherd)
“Why the Dead Sea Scrolls Matter”
Suggestions for further reading
Information on the school’s M.A. and Ph.D. programs in Archaeology and Biblical Studies, including a list of offered classes
And more

The issue is available via issuu and may be printed or saved as a pdf file.

HT: Alexander Schick

Tagged Dead Sea, Museums

Conservation Work Completed on Jerusalem’s Old City Gates

Conservation work on the Lions Gate (aka St. Stephen’s Gate) has been finished, according to a press release issued by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The work of preserving and stabilizing the Lions Gate in the Old City’s eastern wall has been completed. This impressive gate is the last of the seven open gates of the city wall that were meticulously and professionally treated in recent years by the Conservation Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority. This was done within the framework of the comprehensive project of conserving and rehabilitating the Old City walls, at the initiative of and with funding provided by the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Prime Minister’s Office.
At the start of the conservation work on the Lions Gate the project engineers discovered that the sentry’s post situated above the gate’s entrance, which was where the soldier guarding the tower once stood, was in danger of collapse. The sentry’s post was entirely dismantled, broken stones in it were replaced and it was returned and secured to its original place on the wall. The two lions carved on either side of the gate also underwent conservation and cleaning.
Within the framework of the conservation work carried out on the Old City walls in Jerusalem, which lasted five years, the walls were conserved which had been built and renovated in the mid-sixteenth century by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman I. Both sides of the wall were treated for a total distance of c. 3,800 m. Each and every one of the stones in the wall was photographed with a laser, documented and studied. Approximately 1,000 deteriorating stones were stabilized; c. 2,000 square meters at the top of the wall were stabilized and sealed to prevent the penetration of water; c. 350 merlons and embrasures were conserved and the stone work in them was completed; c. 2,000 square meters of stones in the wall were dismantled and rebuilt due to vegetation that had taken root in them and a total of c. 5,000 square meters of the walls’ surface were cleaned.

The press release includes quotes from several officials as well as 12 high-resolution photographs of the work on seven of the Old City gates.

Lions Gate circa 1910 (photo source)

Tagged Jerusalem

The Location of the Royal Palace in Jerusalem

Where was the royal palace in Jerusalem during the time of the monarchy? Most scholars have assumed that it was located to the south of Solomon’s temple, between the ancient city and the summit of Mount Moriah. In a 2009 article, David Ussishkin suggests that the palace was built to the north of the temple for the following reasons:

1. It is more logical that the king would desire to isolate his royal compound from the population so that everyone traveling from the city to the temple would not pass by it.

2. In a number of ancient cities, the palace was built at the edge of the acropolis. This was true at the Hittite capital of Hattusha, the Late Bronze cities of Ugarit and Megiddo, as well as a nymber of Assyrian cities including Calah, Nineveh, and Dur-Sharrukin.

Ussishkin notes some difficulties with his hypothesis:

1. Some biblical texts indicate that the palace was south of the temple (Neh 3:25-29; 12:37).

2. The royal acropolis was located in the center of some cities, including Samaria and Zincirli-Sam’al.

I would also question the premise that Solomon would desire to be isolated from the people. God’s intention for Israel’s king was that he would represent the nation to God and vice versa (Deut 17:14-20; 1 Kgs 3:7-10; Ps 72:1-4). The first story of Solomon’s kingship is his adjudication of the case of the dead infant (1 Kgs 3:16-29). The isolation that may have been desired by other kings of the world may not have been appropriate for the king in Jerusalem.

Absent archaeological investigation of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, it is impossible to confirm the location of the home of Judah’s kings.

Ussishkin’s proposal is a small portion of his article “The Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the First Temple Period: An Archaeologist’s View,” found on pages 473-83 of Exploring the Longue Durée: Essays in Honor of Lawrence E. Stager, ed. J. David Schloen. This thick book is loaded with many articles of interest to students of biblical archaeology.

The Temple Mount from the north. Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, volume 3.

Tagged Analysis, Jerusalem, Temple Mount