Mughrabi Bridge Construction Delay Recommended

Haaretz carries a story similar to that noted here yesterday in Ynetnews, reporting that Israel is “shocked” that Jordan would lie about their agreement with Israel.

They follow up with another in which the police recommend that construction on the bridge be delayed from next week until September, when presumably the eyes of the world will be on the UN’s debate over statehood for the Palestinians. From Haaretz:

Ever since an earthen ramp leading to the gate collapsed in 2005 and was replaced by a temporary wooden bridge, the security establishment has been dragging its feet over building a more permanent structure to link the Temple Mount entrance to the Western Wall plaza.
In recent weeks security officials have been engaged in feverish debate over when to begin work.
[…]
Police officials at the meeting contradicted the municipal officials’ assessment that the current bridge was unsafe, and said it did not need replacing right now.
[…]
However the adviser to the Jerusalem District of the police said that any violation of the status quo on the Temple Mount would rally Arab opposition and lead to riots throughout the capital.
The adviser said that it would be best to postpone construction until September when the attention of the Arab would not be focused on Jerusalem because of the expected vote on Palestinian statehood in the United Nations at that time.
Other officials in the police’s Jerusalem District said they believed quiet will prevail in Jerusalem because the East Jerusalem Arab community rejects what they see as disruptive influences like the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement.

The full story is here.

It’s worth remembering that this debate is not about the Temple Mount itself but an external access route to the Temple Mount. Sensitivities in Jerusalem are high. See yesterday’s post for links to the history of this issue.

HT: Joseph Lauer

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Jordan and Israel Clash over Bridge to Temple Mount

From Ynet News:

A diplomatic crisis is brewing between Israel and Jordan over the planned renovations of the Mughrabi Gate Bridge, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.
Plans for razing the old Mughrabi Gate bridge, which leads from the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem to the to the al-Aqsa Mosque and Temple Mount, in favor of a new one have been in the works for a while.
According to the report, the bridge was to be torn down next week, but upon signing the final agreement, Israel was stunned to learn that Jordan, along with Egypt, Iraq and Bahrain, filed a complaint against Israel with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) over the planned renovations.
The motion asks for a UNESCO censure of Israel. Jordan is also demanding that UNESCO order Israel to stop the archeological excavations in the Old City.
In the petition, Amman said it was “concerned over a decision by the Jerusalem Planning and Construction Committee concerning the Mughrabi Gate.”
Jerusalem was reportedly enraged by the move and immediately began trying to thwart it.
Jordan initially denied ever signing any agreement with Israel pertaining to the bridge. It admitted doing so only following US pressure.

The story continues here.
Previous stories (with photos) of the bridge date back to Feb 2010, Dec 2007, Feb 2007, Dec 2006, and earlier.

HT: Joseph Lauer

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Biblical Archaeology Conference in Fort Worth

BibleX has word of The Future of Biblical Archaeology Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Riley Center on the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is hosting The Future of Biblical Archaeology Conference on Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15, 2011. Scheduled speakers include William G. Dever, Steven Ortiz, Tom Davis, James Hardin, Dale W. Manor, Karen Borstad, Laura Mazow, Abby Limmer, Jennie Ebeling, Alysia Fischer, Elizabeth Willett, and Heather Reichstadt.

Registration fees are reduced before September 30. The official website includes information about the speakers, the schedule, and registration.

Next year SWBTS will host an “exclusive exhibit” on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible, running from July 2, 2012 to January 11, 2013.

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2011 Excavation Blogs

The following is an updated version of last year’s list of excavation blogs. If you know of any additional blogs, please send them along and we’ll add them to this list.

Ashkelon – this is a primarily an educational blog written by one of the supervisors.  The season began June 5 and wraps up on July 15.

Bethsaida – the 25th season wraps up this weekend (May 22 to June 25), but no additional updates will be added to the site this year. New photos will be posted on the excavation’s Facebook page.

Tel Burna – the summer season is underway (June 12-30) and the directors are posting weekly roundups and photos. The archaeologists working here believe that their site is biblical Libnah.

Gath – this continues to be the best excavation blog I know of, thanks to the tireless work of the archaeologist, Aren Maeir.  This year they are excavating July 3-29, but Maeir updates the blog year-round.


Gezer – the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary excavation deserves a blog. The anonymous assistant professor who blogs at The Biblical World is working in the excavation (June 13 to July 15) and he is posting regularly about everything but archaeology. Aren Maeir lectured to the crew on 
Monday; perhaps they’ll learn from his excellent example.


Tall el-Hammam – the official website provides season summaries, but there appears to be no blog updating readers during the winter excavation seasons (upcoming: January 12 to February 23, 2012). Interested parties may wish to contact the leadership in order to receive periodic email updates.


Hazor – excavations began this week (June 19 – July 29), but I am unaware of any blogging about the excavations. The official Tel Hazor Facebook page is rather limited, but perhaps the volunteers will create a Facebook page as they did last year.


Hippos (Susita) – the website indicates that the 2011 season will run July 3-30.  Mark Schuler has a blog for the Concordia University excavations of the Northeast Insula Project.  Other members of the team have blogs listed at virtualdig.org.


Tell Huqoq – excavations began at this Galilean site under the leadership of Jodi Magness. Volunteer Brad Erickson is posting regular entries about his experience and weekend travels.

Tall Jalul – this year’s excavation concluded last week (June 17), but Owen Chesnut may add updates periodically throughout the year.  Though not as well known, this site is one of the largest in Jordan.

Kabri – this is a new blog for the excavations running from June 19 to July 28. To this point five days of photos have been posted and a volunteer has described her experience without resorting to use of the shift key.

Magdala – this year-round excavation may be on a break right now, to judge from the lack of recent blog entries. Universidad Anáhuac México Sur has a new website for the project (in Spanish). You can also follow along by Twitter @magdalaisrael.


Khirbet el-Maqatir – the two-week season ended June 3.  Dig summaries were posted at the blog of the sponsoring organization, the Associates for Biblical Research.


Omrit – Omrit 2009 and Omrit 2010 have not been succeeded by Omrit 2011, as far as I can tell.

Excavations have been conducted, as Volunteer JJ proves with his onsite fashion photos. A note at this blog suggests the season ended on Friday, with the desired finds found in the balk during clean-up.


Khirbet Qeiyafa – the Elah Fortress website, with all of its photos and summaries, has been deleted. 

The Hebrew University website is infrequently updated.  The excavation season this year is June 12 to July 22.  Blogger Luke Chandler is volunteering in July and may have some reports in the weeks to come. 

Khirbet Summeily – excavations began this week as part of the Tell el-Hesi Joint Archaeological Project, but no field updates are yet available. Volunteer Jared Wilson has a blog in place.

Temple Mount Sifting Project – this blog provides periodic updates on related issues, but daily finds are not reported. 

In addition to the standard blogs and new sources (for major discoveries), a couple of radio 
programs are available online to keep you up to date with interviews with the archaeologists.  These include the The Book and the Spade (Gordon Govier) and LandMinds (Barnea Levi Selavan and Dovid Willner).

What should be added to this list?  If you know of something that is regularly updated (blog, Facebook, or twitter), please post a comment or send me an email (tbolen92 at bibleplaces.com).

Excavating in City of David, tb112603988

Excavations in the City of David
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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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