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Loan Siloam Inscription: Don't Believe It

I read this story yesterday in the Washington Times and ignored it, because I thought it was in error.

I’ve since seen it mentioned in blogs online as if the story was credible. Jay Bushinsky of the Washington Times begins his report:

An ancient inscription memorializing Jerusalem’s salvation from Assyrian invaders 2,700 years ago is to be returned to the Holy Land from Turkey for study and public display. Israel has been trying for about 20 years to recover the artifact, which marks one of the most important turning points in Hebrew history.

I think this story is bogus for the following reasons:

1. No one else is reporting this. I hardly think that the Washington Times knows something that no one else does. You can check online news sources easily by searching for “Siloam Inscription” at Google News (here is that link).

2. A story like this would be broken by the Israel Museum or a major government agency, and not only are they not mentioning it, the WT story does not cite them. The story is long, but the length is deceptive as only the first sentence mentions the return.

3. About a month ago, various news outlets reported some discussion of the matter. The essence of the story was that a Turkish official agreed to consider some sort of loan. In the Middle East, such “consideration” is a far cry from a decision. And a decision is very different than action. In other words, this isn’t “news” until the inscription is sitting in Jerusalem.

What I think happened is that this reporter read some of those stories too quickly and wrote an article based on a misunderstanding.

By the way, if you want to take a picture of the inscription, don’t wait until it comes to Jerusalem.

The Israeli authorities won’t allow it, I’m certain. You’ll do better to go visit it in Istanbul, where you can take pictures. Which is far better anyway, because there are so many great artifacts on display that won’t be coming to Jerusalem on loan. There would be a certain irony as well if the Siloam Inscription came to Jerusalem the next couple of years, as hundreds of the best archaeological finds in Israel are locked up out of sight of visitors.

Tagged Analysis, New Exhibits

Buy Land in Israel

In the category of “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that,” the “Israel Land Development Corporation” is now offering plots of land in Israel for sale online. Without leaving the comfort of your own home or having to sign closing papers, you can own some of the Holy Land “forever.” The details are here, but before you punch in your credit card details to pay $118 for that one square foot of dirt, know that I personally have a special going on right now. For only $99, I will send you a better map than they are offering, and a much more beautiful certificate. Just mail me a check and there will be lots of warm fuzzy feelings of “joy and pride.” If you don’t feel them, I will.

Tagged Not an April Fool's Joke

An Archaeologist Describes Temple Mount Destruction

Joseph Lauer sent along a list of recent articles describing the on-going destruction of antiquities on the Temple Mount. That list is below. The one I want to highlight is the report by Zachi Zweig on the BAR website. Those interested in the more technical aspects of what exactly is being found/destroyed will appreciate the detailed information, photos, and the link to a video Zweig took.

For those who don’t know, Zweig is the one who initiated the rescue dig of the Temple Mount debris dumped in the late 1990s (under the direction of G. Barkay). These are sad days for those who love Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

Excavations in West Bank

The Jerusalem Post reports on the number of excavations that have taken place in the West Bank or Gaza Strip since 1967.

About 15 percent of the total number of archaeological excavations conducted in Israel over the past 40 years took place across the Green Line, a study released Wednesday showed.
The Tel Aviv University study reveals that approximately 1500 excavations had been carried out at some 900 different sites across the Green Line over the last four decades, which comes to about 15% of the total number of excavations conducted in Israel during that time.
The study, by Dr. Rafi Greenberg and Adi Keinan of the university’s Department of Archeology and Near Eastern studies, found that the peak of academic involvement in the excavation of east Jerusalem occurred in the first decade following the unification of the city in 1967, while the height of academic activity in the West Bank came between the rise of the Likud to power in 1977 and the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987.

A few points of interest from this brief article:

1. Many of the sites related to Israel’s ancient history are located in the West Bank, and 15% is a very small number for such an important area. There is much to be done here, and it won’t happen if Israelis do not have access because a) there are not many Palestinian archaeologists; b) the Palestinian people are largely uninterested in sites related to Jewish history.

2. The article doesn’t give the total number of excavations in Israel since 1967, but there apparently have been 10,000 (1500/.15).

3. Israeli archaeologists should be hailed for studying these sites and gaining much knowledge from them, instead of being vilified as “occupiers.” Some of the important Israeli excavations in this area include Herodium, Shiloh, Jericho (Tulul abu el-Alayiq), Mt. Gerizim, and Mamre. Sites that need more excavation include Samaria, Tirzah (Tell el-Farah North), Bethel and vicinity, Tekoa, and Jericho (Tell es-Sultan).

Tagged Analysis

Temple Mount "Excavation" Update

Leen Ritmeyer has posted his thoughts on exactly what wall has been uncovered in the illegal excavations. Most scholars of his caliber wouldn’t take the time to explain things so clearly for us mere mortals. Thank you, Leen. Read it here. Arutz-7 gives the take of another archaeologist on what has been revealed:

Gideon Charlap, a top Jerusalem architect and Temple Mount expert, told Arutz-7 what he saw when he visited the Temple Mount on Tuesday: “The Arabs there are digging a deep north-to-south trench, up to a meter [1.1 yards] deep. It is being dug in the area that served during Holy Temple times as the Ezrat Nashim [the area known as the Women’s Courtyard, though it was not reserved only for women -ed.]. The trench passes through three east-to-west walls, according to my calculations – walls that probably served as separations for the Temple’s offices and the like. This means that the destruction is tremendous…”

The award for the Joke of the Day goes to Mufti Mohammed Hussein, the top Muslim cleric in Jerusalem. “We don’t harm the antiquities, we are the ones who are taking care of the antiquities, unlike others who destroy them,” he said. Jerusalem archaeologist Eilat Mazar:

“No other country in the world would allow such grave damage to its most precious archaeological treasures,” Mazar said.

I wonder if there are any parallels to this situation. What other country would not be screaming bloody murder at such a situation? Dr. Eilat Mazar:

Anyone can realize that remnants of both the First and Second Temples are there, and can guess what damage is being done by the tractor. The most precious findings are just rolling around there and are available to be found – and instead they have a tractor there! If I would try to work with a tractor at one of my digs, the Antiquities Authority would stop me immediately! With a tractor, it’s impossible to make any type of careful examination of the earth and pieces being dug up.

Imagine if Ben-Tor brought a tractor to speed things up at Hazor, or if Maeir used one at Gath. Can you not imagine that the IAA would shut the dig down in seconds? But not here, at the most important archaeological site in the country. And why not? Politics. It’s much easier to sacrifice thousands of years of history for the sake of a few minutes of peace. This would all be so much simpler if we took the viewpoint of Palestinian worshipper Ismael Ramadan.

“I grew up and I see [with] my eyes and I see this is [a] mosque. I don’t see [a] temple,” he said. Like many Palestinians, he believes the temples never existed. “It’s not true,” he said. “No Temple.”

Gabriel Barkay has been sifting debris from the last major illegal excavation on the Temple Mount, and some of the discoveries were announced yesterday at the eighth annual City of David archaeological conference.

The project, now in its third year, entails scrutinizing truckloads of earth removed by the Waqf in 1999. Among the ancient finds were numerous stone tiles intended for flooring, some of which have been identified as designed for use in the Roman-era mosaic work known as opus sectile, in which colorful tiles were cut into shapes and fitted into geometric patterns. “The discovery of stone tiles used in opus sectile flooring in [earth from] the Temple Mount is one of the most important discoveries of the dirt-sifting work,” Barkai said, “and it might aid in reconstructing the appearance and character of the Temple’s outer courtyard.”

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Bahat: Archaeologists Politically Motivated; Wall Must Not Exist

The AFT has a follow-up to yesterday’s article on the discovery of a wall from the Second Temple.

The article is headlined “Doubts over ‘second temple remains’ in Jerusalem.” The headline is misleading. The only one casting doubts in the article is Dan Bahat, who has a record for distorting evidence related to the Temple Mount. He admits that he hasn’t seen the wall, and his reaction is but a knee-jerk response to the claims of other archaeologists who he says are “waging a politically inspired campaign, systematically for several years, to strengthen Israeli control over the esplanade.”

Even assuming that this charge is true, that doesn’t change the nature of construction that is being revealed and possibly destroyed on the Temple Mount. The fact that the police haven’t stepped in doesn’t mean anything; they didn’t step in when thousands of tons of earth were removed in the late 1990s either. I mentioned in the last post that Barkay is a trustworthy voice on the subject; I can’t say the same for Bahat. In addition to his appearances in the media, his Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem is filled with errors. I use portions of it with students, but with cautions. The maps are very helpful and generally more reliable. (I list some better books here.)

UPDATE: The Jerusalem Post now covers the story.

Tagged Analysis, Jerusalem, Temple Mount