Dead Sea Archives - Page 25 of 30

Balsam Plants Living Again at En Gedi

A few years ago, scientists succeeded in raising a date palm tree from a 2,000-year-old seed found at Masada. Now botanists are attempting to revive the balsam plant. From an article published last week in Haaretz:

Saplings of the balsam plant that have been cultivated in Kibbutz Ein Gedi’s botanical garden for the past two years are a first test of the possibility of bringing the legendary bush, which flourished in the Second Temple period, back to the Dead Sea region, two scholars told a Jerusalem audience yesterday.
Speaking at a conference organized by the Elad association in Jerusalem’s City of David, Prof. Zohar Amar and Dr. David Iluz of Bar-Ilan University described their research into the plant’s identity.
Since the 1970s, there have been several failed attempts to acclimate the plant believed to be balsam, one of ancient Palestine’s most economically significant plants, to modern-day Israel. But the staff of Ein Gedi’s botanical garden are optimistic that the current effort will succeed.
The plant is mentioned dozens of times in ancient sources, from the Bible to the Talmud, as well as in Greek and Roman writings. The most prestigious perfume known in the ancient Near East was produced from it, and it was also known for its healing qualities.
The balsam plantations in the Dead Sea area were under direct royal control, and the methods of cultivation and production were a closely guarded secret and a powerful political tool. For example, the balsam groves in Jericho became a bone of contention between Cleopatra of Egypt and Herod the Great. During the Bar Kokhba Revolt, in the second century CE, Jewish fighters uprooted the plants so they would not be captured by the Romans.

The story continues here. There is quite a bit of variety in the translations for balsam, but you may recall some of these:

Genesis 37:25 (HCSB) Then they sat down to eat a meal. They looked up, and there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt.

2 Samuel 5:23 (NIV) so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

Song of Solomon 5:13 (NAS)
“His cheeks are like a bed of balsam,
Banks of sweet-scented herbs;
His lips are lilies
Dripping with liquid myrrh.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Dead Sea, Technology

Weekend Roundup

The Turkish government is building a 10-foot high wall around a cemetery along the eastern wall of the Old City of Jerusalem, according to signs posted there. The municipality has confirmed the report.

John the Baptist’s bones have been found in a monastery on a Bulgarian island in the Black Sea, according to government officials. They have everything to prove the identification except for evidence.

Extracts of the Cyrus Cylinder have been found in China carved on horse bones. The question is when the copies were made.

The French will finance a “national museum” in Bethlehem and train museographers, in a one million dollar deal signed recently. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2012.

The Jewish Tribune has a story on the woman who discovered the Jerusalem cuneiform tablet.

Contrary to what I wrote before, the tablet was actually discovered during sifting in March. I mixed up a couple of different unannounced sensational discoveries.

Raphael Golb, accused of impersonating Dead Sea Scrolls scholars, has rejected a plea offer in Manhattan Criminal Court. For background, see here.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Judah, Pseudo-Archaeology

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The renewed campus of the Israel Museum was inaugurated yesterday, as reported in articles in the Jerusalem Post and Arutz-7. I don’t like the idea that the amount of display space has doubled but fewer items are on display.

A report at Device Magazine has some additional details about the cuneiform fragments found at Hazor. They date to the 18th-17th centuries and include the words “master,” “slave,” and possibly “tooth.” It is not clear whether the tablet was written at Hazor or brought to the site from somewhere else. The article (and a similar one at Arutz-7) includes photos.

The current excavations of Megiddo are profiled in this Jerusalem Post article. The team had the privilege recently of hosting Lord and Lady Allenby.

The Galilean synagogue discovered this summer at Horvat Kur is the subject of a brief article published by the university excavating the site.

The Second Qumran Institute Symposium will be held October 21-22, 2010 at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The subject is “The Jewish War agaist Rome (66-70/74): Interdisciplinary Perspectives.” Nearly all of the lectures are in English and most sound quite interesting.

Chris McKinny has posted some aerial photos of Tel Burna and labeled some of the observable features on the surface. What a dream to have a site without later periods “in the way.” Chris’s wife
Mindy has some nice photos of the recent excavation of Burna.

The excavations of a temple at Tel Tayinat in Turkey are profiled by the Ottawa Citizen.

A Brazilian mega-church is building a $200 million replica of Solomon’s temple, although unlike the original, this will seat 10,000 people.

HT: Paleojudaica and Joe Lauer

Tagged Dead Sea, Galilee, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

The first excavation season at Tel Burna has concluded. They had a fantastic season, and they would be most grateful for some support. They’ll have aerial photos taken and posted on the blog next week.

Robert Cargill has written an insightful essay on the “Misuse of Archaeology for Evangelistic Purposes,” specifically with reference to the recent “discovery” of Noah’s Ark.

In his recent Asia Minor Report 9, Mark Wilson (Seven Churches Network) notes that the Black Sea Studies series has been made available online for free by the publisher. In particular, he points to volume 7 as providing useful background on the early Christian communities mentioned in 1 Peter 1:1.

Analysis of the Temple Scroll suggests that it was written at Qumran.

The Israeli army is keeping the ruins of the Samaritan temple closed to the public because they say it is too dangerous. The Samaritans are unhappy because of the entrance fees they could be charging.

The July/August issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is available, and the article on the destruction of Pompeii is online for free. I’m looking forward to reading the article on Jezreel.

The Magdala Center is the Catholic plan for a Galilee pilgrimage center, the “Notre Dame of the Galilee.” They plan to complete excavation of the on-site “synagogue” (see previous post) in one year and the rest of the city in three years.

If you’ve ever taken a series of photos with the intention of stitching them together to create a panorama, you might check out the free Microsoft Research Image Composite Editor (ICE).

Tagged Dead Sea, Galilee, Italy, Shephelah, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Jordan River To Be Dry Next Year

The Jerusalem Post has an interesting report on the dramatic decline of the Jordan River. The annual flow of the river is now about 3% what it was one hundred years ago, all of it sewage.

Unless urgent action is taken, large sections of the Lower Jordan River, which runs from Lake Kinneret to the Dead Sea, will dry out next year, according to a study released on Sunday by EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME). The NGO ran tests over a year to determine how much water would be needed to rehabilitate the river and damage had been caused by the lack of water in it. Israel, Jordan and Syria divert 98 percent of the flow for their respective country’s use. In the 19th and early 20th century, 1.3 billion cubic meters of water cascaded each year down rapids and rolled over waterfalls on the way down to the lowest point on Earth – the Dead Sea. In 2009, just 20 m.cu.m. to 30 m.cu.m of water pooled and sluggishly flowed through the river’s channels – all of it sewage. Sewage runs from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan into the river. However, two new sewage treatment plants, one in the Beit She’an area and the other in the Jordan Valley Regional Council area, are set to begin operating over the next year and a half. While FoEME praised the construction of the two plants, it warned that unless fresh water replaced the amounts of sewage water that would be removed, the once mighty Lower Jordan River would become a cracked and dry riverbed through much of its 100-km. length. […] The lack of fresh water has also destroyed much of the ecosystem both within and next to the river, the study found. Fifty percent of macro-invertebrates have disappeared because the river no longer flows swiftly and is highly saline. Examples of macro-invertebrates include flatworms, crayfish, snails, clams and insects. Otters have disappeared from the Jordan and the willow trees that once lined its shores have all disappeared, FoEME Israel Director Gidon Bromberg said during a media tour of the river on Sunday. FoEME determined that 400 m.cu.m. of water each year would be needed to rehabilitate the river, gradually rising to 600 m.cu.m. In addition, the river would have to flood once a year to rehabilitate the shores. The river has not flooded since the winter of 1991-92, Bromberg said.

Read the full article here.

Tagged Dead Sea

Qumran Caves 1 and 2

One of the most common questions I am asked when at Qumran is the location of the Dead Sea Scrolls caves. There are 11 caves, discovered between 1947 and 1956, and some are in the limestone cliffs while others are in the marl terrace next to the site. Fortunately for tour guides, one of the caves is easily visible from Qumran and visitors snap their shot of Cave 4 and leave happy.

Most guides do not know where the other caves are. They don’t need to know. Access is either difficult or impossible, in the case of the marl terrace caves (4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10). The caves in the limestone cliffs require a hike, are unmarked, and are not easy to find even if you’ve been there before. Finding photographs of many of the caves is also difficult, though I tried to change that in the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands (and see now, Hanan Eshel’s Qumran, though even there one of the cave photographs is mis-identified and the photo of another is reversed).

The cave that the more intrepid would like to find is Cave 1. Two of my colleagues and I spent half a day in the late 90s climbing all over the cliffs in the picture below. We had given up when the last of us spotted it on his way back to the car. But that didn’t make it any easier to find the next time I went looking. Years later I took a friend, and when he went back with a group in tow, he couldn’t find it.

If finding Cave 1 (or 2) is something that has haunted you, hopefully this blog post and photos will help. If you prefer this in a printable pdf file that you can take with you on your next trip, you can download that here.

This is the most important photograph, for it gives you a frame of reference. The photo was taken from the road leading north from Qumran to the settlement of Kallia. The view is obviously to the west.

You cannot see Cave 1 from the road, or from anywhere approaching the cave, because it is hidden behind a large rocky outcropping and the cave faces south. The key to finding it is to look for the large rock that juts out on the right side of the draw (circled above).

I do not recommend climbing to Cave 1. The terrain is very difficult, and you will probably get hurt if you try. I highly recommend you consult with your lawyer first, and if he releases me, my family, and all of my current and former friends from any and all liability, then you can attempt it, if you are accompanied by your medical doctor.

In the unlikely event one should attempt it, you would climb past the rocky outcropping and just behind it, on the right, you would see Cave 1 (pictured above). The original cave is the hole on top.

Excavators cut away the area below in order to make the larger entrance today. Inside Cave 1 were found the seven original Dead Sea Scrolls: Isaiah A, Isaiah B, Manual of Discipline, War of Sons of Light, Thanksgiving Scroll, Genesis Apocryphon and Habakkuk Commentary. The cave has been excavated and no traces of any finds can be seen today.

Cave 2 is a bit like a silver medal at the Olympics, and it doesn’t excite most people. But if want to be able to see a cave without climbing up the dangerous mountainside, you can see Cave 2 from the perspective shown above. Again, use the reference photo above to get in the area, and then this photo to narrow in on the precise cave (center top). As with Cave 1, climbing to Cave 2 is difficult and not recommended.

Caves 3, 6, and 11 are all easier to reach, so these may be a better option for you. Knowledge of the location of these caves is more widespread, so I will forego writing out directions to those.

Tagged Dead Sea, Tourism