Discoveries Archives - Page 101 of 153

Roman Road Discovered near Jerusalem

Last month the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a Roman road running from Jaffa to Jerusalem. From the IAA press release:

An ancient road leading from Yafo [Jaffa] to Jerusalem, which dates to the Roman period (second–fourth centuries CE), was exposed this past fortnight in the Beit Hanina neighborhood in northern Jerusalem. The road remains were revealed in an archaeological excavation the IAA conducted in Beit Hanina prior to the installation of a drainage pipe by the Moriah Company.
The wide road (c. 8 m) was bounded on both sides by curbstones. The road itself was built of large flat stones fitted to each other so as to create a comfortable surface for walking. Some of the pavers were very badly worn, indicating the extensive use that was made of the road, and over the years the road also underwent a series of repairs.
According to David Yeger, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “Several segments of the road were previously excavated by research expeditions of the IAA, but such a finely preserved section of the road has not been discovered in the city of Jerusalem until now”.
“The Romans attached great importance to the roads in the empire. They invested large sums of money and utilized the most advanced technological aids of the period in order to crisscross the empire with roads. These served the government, military, economy and public by providing an efficient and safe means of passage. Way stations and roadside inns were built along the roads, as well fortresses in order to protect the travelers. The construction and maintenance of the roads was assigned to military units, but civilians also participated in the work as part of the compulsory labor imposed on them by the authorities.”

The press release includes more information and three high-resolution images are available here.

Roman road discovered near Jerusalem.
Photo by Assaf Peretz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

Claim: Evidence Discovered of the Tabernacle at Shiloh

Archaeologists who have been excavating for several years at the biblical site of Shiloh are now claiming to have discovered evidence for the location of the tabernacle. From Israel HaYom:

Archaeologists discover holes carved into the ground in Shiloh which could have held the beams of The Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting, which, according to the Bible, housed the Ark of the Covenant.
The Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting — which, according to the Bible, housed the Ark of the Covenant — was a temporary structure made of wooden beams and fabric, not materials cut out for thousands of years of survival.
Nevertheless, undaunted, archaeologists have searched for evidence of the Tent of Meeting for years, which they posited would be found in ancient Shiloh (next to the settlement of Shiloh in the Binyamin region). Now it appears their efforts have borne fruit, yielding assumptions that the Tent of Meeting indeed stood there.
The findings, which will be presented at a conference of the Shiloh Association scheduled to take place this week in ancient Shiloh, include the discovery of holes carved into the ground which could have held the beams of a temporary structure.
Because the Tent of Meeting and Ark of the Covenant were portable, archaeologists are considering the possibility that the Tent of Meeting stood there. The Tent of Meeting served as a place of prayer and sacrifice until the First Temple in Jerusalem was built by King Solomon.
Near the holes, in the northern part of Tel Shiloh, structures were unearthed that correspond to the dates when Joshua first settled the land of Israel until the period of King David’s reign.
One of these structures was found to contain ceramic vessels as well as three large taboon clay ovens.

The article explains why archaeologists believe these vessels were used in the tabernacle. Thee excavators also found a section of the city wall of Shiloh. Arutz-7 also reports on the discovery.

Background and photos of the site of Shiloh are here, and images of a tabernacle replica in southern Israel are here.

Area of tabernacle discovery before excavations.
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, volume 2.

Tagged Discoveries, Samaria

Hiding in Jerusalem: New Evidence for Roman Siege

Evidence of the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 has been found in excavations near the Western Wall of the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. From the Jerusalem Post:

The Antiquities Authority on Thursday unearthed for the first time a small 2,000-year-old cistern near the Western Wall that connects an archeological find with the famine that occurred during the Roman siege of Jerusalem during that era.
The cistern – found near Robinson’s Arch in a drainage channel from the Shiloah Pool in the City of David – contained three intact cooking pots and a small ceramic oil lamp.
According to Eli Shukron, the excavations director for the Antiquities Authority, the discovery is unprecedented.
“The complete cooking pots and ceramic oil lamp indicate that the people went down into the cistern where they secretly ate the food that was contained in the pots, without anyone seeing them,” he said. “This is consistent with the account provided by Josephus.”

The Jerusalem Post story continues with Josephus’ description of the last desperate days of the Roman siege.

The story is also reported by Arutz-7, and the Israel Antiquities Authority press release includes high-res photos (direct link). A 3-minute video shows the discovery with audio in Hebrew.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Photographs by Vladimir Naykhin/Israel Antiquities Authority.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem

Possible Discovery of Dalmanutha

Ken Dark recently lectured at the University of Edinburgh on the archaeology of Nazareth and the Plain of Gennesaret (Ginosar). Summaries of these lectures are available online.

While I find highly dubious his suggestion that there was “no road between Nazareth and Sepphoris”—what sort of physical evidence would you expect to find for a road from an agricultural village of a few hundred people?—I am very interested in his claim to have discovered a “very large, but previously-unrecognised, Late Hellenistic, Roman-period, and later, settlement” between Magdala and Kibbutz Ginosar. He suggests that the site may be the Dalmanutha of Mark 8:10.

“About four thousand men were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.” (Mark 8:9–11)

Because the parallel account in Matthew 15:38–16:1 has “vicinity of Magadan,” some scholars believe that Dalmanutha was another name for Magadan/Magdala. Mendel Nun has proposed that Dalmanutha be identified with a small anchorage north of Magdala (Anchor Bible Dictionary 2:4). Dalmanutha may not be a proper name but simply the Aramaic word for harbor.

You can read the lecture summaries and see the bibliographic details at the blog of the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins.

HT: Charles Savelle

Plain of Gennesaret from Arbel, tb032507715

Plain of Gennesaret (Ginosar) from Arbel. Is this the region of Dalmanutha?
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee

Wednesday Roundup

Matti Friedman posts new photos and information about the royal (proto-Aeolic) capital discovered in a water tunnel not far from Bethlehem.

The first official Israeli exhibit in the Louvre is the Lod Mosaic. It opens tomorrow and runs through August 19.

Wayne Stiles explains why Nazareth Village is not just another tourist trap.

The Jewish Voice suggests 13 Must-See Museums in Israel.

Jerusalem Experience has a new video of the Pools of Bethesda.

All of the articles of the latest issue of Atiqot are now online.

Ferrell Jenkins recommends the new Satellite Bible Atlas for tours anywhere in Israel.

The Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem
Photo from the Pictorial Library, volume 3

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources

Weekend Roundup

Shmuel Browns has posted a series of high-res photos of the new mosaics at Bet Qama.

Donald Trump wants to build Israel’s second 18-hole golf course. It will be located along the coast between Ashkelon and Ashdod.

Israel’s Water Authority will begin allowing 1,000 cubic meters of water per hour to flow out of the Sea of Galilee into the Jordan River.

Wayne Stiles shows why Beth Shemesh is an appropriate place to reflect on the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost).

Coastal plain south of Ashdod once claimed by the Philistines and now the proposed location of Donald Trump’s golf course.
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

Tagged Discoveries, Holidays, Jordan Rift, Philistines, Shephelah