Discoveries Archives - Page 134 of 157

Qeiyafa Inscription Details

Aren Maeir, archaeologist of Gath, was at the Jerusalem conference today at which Haggai Misgav presented his reading of the Qeiyafa ostracon. Maier reports on the meeting and provides an English translation.

You need to go to Maeir’s blog for the data and some of his thoughts, but I offer a brief comment. If you study these things from afar, you may be unimpressed with the fragmentary inscription and the difficulty of making any sense out of it (indeed, one respondent suggested that it’s a sort of lexical list). And if this inscription was one of thousands found, it would likely be yet undeciphered or published like many archive texts today. But this text apparently dates to 1000 BC, which is a period of great discussion these days among archaeologists and biblical scholars. To give one example, scholars debate today the degree of literacy at this period; this ostracon indicates proficiency in Hebrew some distance from the capital city of Jerusalem. Certainly the mention of the words “judge” and “king” at this period are provocative. It will be interesting to see how the discussion goes and if any views are changed because of this potsherd.

Tagged Discoveries, Shephelah

Large Mikveh Discovered Near Western Wall

A large ritual bathing installation from the 1st century A.D. has been excavated in the Western Wall Tunnels. From Arutz-7:

It is located about 30 meters past the entrance to the Tunnels, in the general direction of the Western Wall. Once it becomes open to the public, the 11 broad steps leading down to the mikveh will be seen approximately 8 meters below floor level.
Josephus, the famous turncoat general and historian of the period, wrote that the administrative and governmental center of Jerusalem was located at the foot of the Temple, and that among the buildings there were the National Council and the Lishkat HaGazit, Chamber of Hewn Stone, where the Sanhedrin – Israel’s Supreme Court – convened. The archaeologists feel that it is possible that the luxurious hall aside the mikveh was originally one of these structures.
Archaeologist Alexander Ohn, the director of the dig, explains: “It is interesting to note that in the middle of the first century, changes were made in the grand structure. It was no longer used for public administrative purposes, and in its western wall a large mikveh was installed – with 11 steps descending into the immersion pool. It appears that Jerusalem was growing at this time, and with it the need to provide a solution for the increasing numbers of people who came en masse to Jerusalem, especially on the pilgrimage festivals (Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot), and Tabernacles (Sukkot)). Ritual immersion in a mikveh and precise observance of the laws of purity were an inseparable part of Jewish life at this time; the importance of a mikveh, especially in this location, was great.”

The complete article is here. The Israel Antiquities Authority press release (temporary link) includes two high-resolution photos (zip).

UPDATE: Joe Lauer notes some additional photos in this brief AP article.

UPDATE (9/26): Leen Ritmeyer has written an illustrated post about the discovery, including clarification of some portions of the JPost article.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

1st Century Synagogue Found at Magdala

The Israel Antiquities Authority has announced, with a rather mild headline, the discovery of a synagogue at Magdala (Migdal) dating from 50 B.C. to A.D. 100. I would consider this big news, even though, as far as I can tell, no one is reporting it yet (except Joe Lauer, who always seems to know everything first).

Magdala was the home of Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’ disciples. That, together with the fact that its location was near the center of Jesus’ ministry (Capernaum, Chorazin, Gennesaret, etc.), makes it quite likely that Jesus visited Magdala. Matthew records that “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,” and I see no reason that Magdala would be excluded (Matt 9:35; cf. 4:23). Thus it is likely, in my opinion, that Jesus visited this synagogue.

Magdala from above

This is not the same thing as saying, as they did last year, that “archaeologists have discovered vases of perfumed ointment which may have been used by Mary Magdalene to anoint the feet of Jesus.”

This is not the first synagogue excavated that Jesus visited. He almost certainly was in (an earlier version) of the Capernaum synagogue, may have been in the Chorazin synagogue (though there is a dating problem), and could have been in the Gamla synagogue. We know of other 1st century synagogues, but it is most unlikely that Jesus visited those at Herodium and Masada, particularly since they were constructed after his death.

The discovery is most significant to me because it puts Magdala “on the map,” so to speak. Before this synagogue was found, visitors would only zip by the site on the highway while a rushed tour guide cried out, “there is Magda…well, too late. It was behind those trees and next to the ferris wheel.” More intrepid explorers could do no better than stand at a fence and look at a few old walls.

Hopefully these new excavations will give the world a chance to see a portion of this ancient town.

The IAA has three high-res photos you can download (zip file), and the press release begins as follows:

A synagogue from the Second Temple period (50 BCE-100 CE) was exposed in archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is conducting at a site slated for the construction of a hotel on Migdal beach, in an area owned by the Ark New Gate Company. In the middle of the synagogue is a stone that is engraved with a seven-branched menorah (candelabrum), the likes of which have never been seen. The excavations were directed by archaeologists Dina Avshalom-Gorni and Arfan Najar of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The main hall of synagogue is c. 120 square meters in area and its stone benches, which served as seats for the worshippers, were built up against the walls of the hall. Its floor was made of mosaic and its walls were treated with colored plaster (frescos). A square stone, the top and four sides of which are adorned with reliefs, was discovered in the hall. The stone is engraved with a seven-branched menorah set atop a pedestal with a triangular base, which is flanked on either side by an amphora (jars).
According to the excavation director, Dina Avshalom-Gorni of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “We are dealing with an exciting and unique find. This is the first time that a menorah decoration has been discovered from the days when the Second Temple was still standing. This is the first menorah to be discovered in a Jewish context and that dates to the Second Temple period/beginning of the Early Roman period. We can assume that the engraving that appears on the stone, which the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered, was done by an artist who saw the seven-branched menorah with his own eyes in the Temple in Jerusalem. The synagogue that was uncovered joins just six other synagogues in the world that are known to date to the Second Temple period”.

The full release is here. I don’t know enough yet to comment on the relationship of this newly excavated building to another previously excavated at Magdala which was identified (with controversy) as a synagogue. From the photos and the decoration, there should be little debate as to the function of this building.

Magdala from the north, early 1900s

This photograph is one of 600 high-resolution images in the newly released Northern Palestine CD, volume 1 of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection. Photo: Library of Congress, LC-matpc-07447 (but currently misidentified there).

Tagged American Colony Photos, Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee

Bar Kochba Coin Cache Discovered

A press conference by Hebrew University is being reported at GNews, with beautiful photographs of the finds.

The largest cache of rare coins ever found in a scientific excavation from the period of the Bar-Kokhba revolt of the Jews against the Romans has been discovered in a cave by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Bar-Ilan University.
The coins were discovered in three batches in a deep cavern located in a nature reserve in the Judean hills. The treasure includes gold, silver and bronze coins, as well as some pottery and weapons.
The discovery was made in the framework of a comprehensive cave research and mapping project being carried out by Boaz Langford and Prof. Amos Frumkin of the Cave Research Unit in the Department of Geography at the Hebrew University.

The discovery included 120 gold, silver, and bronze coins, many in excellent condition. You can read the rest of the article here. As other news sites prepare stories, you can find them via this Google News link.

As for the “Cave Research Unit,” when word gets out about that, I bet they get lots of applicants!

UPDATE: The story is now covered by the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, and Arutz-7.

UPDATE (9/16): Joe Lauer notes a link with interviews (mp3) of the archaeologists who discovered the coins.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Judah

Weekend Roundup

A PhD student has discovered a fragment of Codex Sinaiticus under the binding of an 18th-century book. The parchment contains part of Joshua 1:10 and dates to A.D. 350.

Azusa Pacific University has purchased five Dead Sea Scrolls fragments from a book dealer in southern California. “This acquisition will set Azusa Pacific University apart from all other Christian institutions of higher education in the world,” said Paul Gray, vice provost for graduate programs and research and dean of the University Libraries. As an educator, I think this is a publicity stunt which will do little more than give them bragging rights for recruiting. How about this as an idea for setting apart a school and improving education: build an extension campus for your students in Israel.

CNN carries the story of the Middle Bronze passageway discovered in Jerusalem, together with a 2.5 minute video that includes interviews with archaeologists Reich and Shukrun.

A carved stone with Egyptian signs from the First Dynasty has been discovered at Tel Bet Yerah (Khirbet Kerak) on the southwestern shoreline of the Sea of Galilee (photos here).

HT: Joe Lauer and Ferrell Jenkins

UPDATE (9/11): NPR has a 4-minute radio interview of Ronny Reich (with written transcript)

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem

Massive Canaanite Wall Found in City of David

The discovery of a massive fortified walkway leading to Jerusalem’s Gihon Spring has been announced by archaeologists Ronny Reich and Eli Shukrun. Excavations so far have uncovered a portion of a Middle Bronze wall that is 26 feet (8 m) high and 75 feet (24 m) long. The wall apparently protected a passageway that led from the fortified city of Jerusalem down the eastern slope of the City of David to the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley.

The discovery is reported in a press release of the Israel Antiquities Authority and a story in Arutz-7, soon to be followed by all the major news outlets. There are some parts of the story that don’t make sense or are inaccurate.

“This is the most massive wall ever discovered in the City of David,” Reich said. “It is tremendously large in terms of its dimensions, thickness, and size of the rocks used. It appears that they protect a walk-way used to walk down from some tower atop the hill towards the spring.”

That statement is fine, but then Reich is quoted as saying,

This is the first time we have found such massive building in Jerusalem from before the period of King Herod.

But he said the same thing years ago, for his excavations of the Pool and Spring Towers reveal monumental construction from the Middle Bronze Age. Perhaps he means that collectively all of his excavations in the past decade have found such construction “for the first time.”

The new double wall/passageway is apparently related to the Pool and Spring Towers which protected Jerusalem’s water supply at this same period. When discovered, there was a mystery as to whether these were free-standing towers outside of Jerusalem’s wall. My guess is that this new wall “connects the dots” and explains how Jerusalemites accessed these towers without exposing themselves to enemy attack.

Connecting discoveries to biblical figures increases interest, but few people would agree with the article’s assertion that this was the time period of Abraham. The wall dates to 1800-1700 BC, while the biblical chronology puts Abraham’s death closer to 2000 BC.

My favorite quote of the article is a statement I’ve often heard archaeologists make, but which rarely seems to make it into print.

The new discovery shows that the picture regarding Jerusalem’s eastern defenses and the ancient water system in the Middle Bronze Age 2 is still far from clear.

And then this:

Despite the fact that so many have excavated on this hill, there is a very good chance that extremely large and well-preserved architectural elements are still hidden in it and waiting to be uncovered.

The IAA release invites you to see the discoveries in person.

The fortification will be revealed to the public for the first time tomorrow (Thursday, September 3), within the framework of the 10th Annual Archaeological Conference on the discoveries in the City of David. Admission to the conference is free and the public is invited. Unique artifacts from all of the excavations at the site, such as the gold earring that was found in the excavation at the Givati Car Park, will be presented in the conference. In addition, before the conference, visitors can participate in any of 17 different tours that will be guided by scholars there.

Two high-resolution photographs of the wall are available here or here (direct link to zip file).

The official (and beautiful) website of the City of David is here.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem