Randall Price answers the question in a 15-minute video available at truelife.org. The video is clearly aimed at those who are less familiar with the subject and it covers discoveries from both the periods of the Old and New Testaments. Price is the author of the recently published Rose Guide to the Temple.
A press release from the American Friends of Tel Aviv University announces the recent discovery of a holy place that was not always a holy place.
Tel Aviv University researchers have uncovered a unique 11th-century BCE sacred compound at the site of Tel Beth-Shemesh, an ancient village that resisted the aggressive expansion of neighboring Philistines. The newly discovered sacred complex is comprised of an elevated, massive circular stone structure and an intricately constructed building characterized by a row of three flat, large round stones. Co-directors of the dig Prof. Shlomo Bunimovitz and Dr. Zvi Lederman of TAU’s Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology say that this temple complex is unparalleled, possibly connected to an early Israelite cult — and provides remarkable new evidence of the deliberate desecration of a sacred site.
[…]
After ruling out the use of the site as a domestic structure, the researchers knew that they had found something unique. Excavations revealed almost only shards of painted chalices and goblets found spread on the floor but no traces of domestic use. One of the three flat stones was surrounded by animal bone remnants, and the two other stones were seemingly designed to direct liquids. These clues convinced Prof. Bunimovitz and Dr. Lederman that they had uncovered a likely place of sacred worship.
But the temple didn’t remain sacred. Samples of earth taken from layers above the destroyed temple and analyzed at the Weizmann Institute of Science revealed astonishing results. Directly above the temple was a packed-in layer containing phytoliths (remains of weeds that are commonly eaten by livestock) and spherulites (microscopic remnants of manure produced by grass-eating animals), indicating the presence of animal pens directly on top of the sacred site, explains Prof. Bunimovitz. Intermittent burning in order to clean the pens likely resulted in the concentrated state of the layer.
This desecration was no accident or coincidence, the researchers believe. Instead, it represents the see-saw of political might between the Philistines and the local population. Presumably the Philistines gained temporary control of Beth-Shemesh, and brought in livestock to live on what they knew had been a sacred site to their enemies.
The article does not mention Samson, but this is roughly the period when he lived in the town across the valley.
HT: David Coppedge
View from the excavations of Beth Shemesh towards Samson’s place of birth and burial
- Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Shephelah
A new 3-minute video produced by Azusa Pacific University should certainly capture interest and motivate volunteers for the new excavation at Abel Beth Maacah. You might consider showing it to a class or other interested group.
Azusa Pacific Presents: Abel Beth Maacah
HT: Chandler Collins
- Tagged Excavations
From the IAA press release:
A rare well dating to the Neolithic period was uncovered in recent excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority carried out at ‘Enot Nisanit’, along the western fringes of the Jezreel Valley prior to enlarging Ha-Yogev Junction (Highway 66) by the National Roads Company. Archaeologists estimate the well was built approximately 8,500 years ago.
During the excavations the skeletal remains of a woman approximately 19 years of age and a man older than her were uncovered deep inside the well. How did these come to be in the well? Was this an accident or perhaps murder? As of now the answer to this question remains a mystery.
According to Yotam Tepper, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “What is clear is that after these unknown individuals fell into the well it was no longer used for the simple reason that the well water was contaminated and was no longer potable”. Tepper adds, “The impressive well that was revealed was connected to an ancient farming settlement and it seems the inhabitants used it for their subsistence and living. The upper part of the well was built of stones and its lower part was hewn in the bedrock. Two capstones, which narrowed the opening, were set in place at the top of the well. It is c. 8 meters deep and its upper part measures about 1.3 meters in diameter”.
Tepper says, “Numerous artifacts indicating the identity of the people who quarried it – the first farmers of the Jezreel Valley – were recovered from inside the well. The finds include, among other things, deeply denticulated sickle blades knapped from flint which were used for harvesting, as well as arrow heads and stone implements. The excavation of the accumulations in the well shaft yielded animal bones, organic finds and charcoal which will enable future studies about the domestication of plants and animals, and also allow researchers to determine the exact age of the well by means of advanced methods of absolute dating”.
‘Enot Nisanit is located one mile north of Tel Megiddo. The full press release and six high-res photos are here.
UPDATE: The story is being reported, with some sensational titles, in the Jerusalem Post, Arutz-7, The Times of Israel, and Reuters.
HT: Joseph Lauer
Well discovered in Jezreel Valley. Photo by Yotam Tepper, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Skeletal remains discovered inside well. Photo by Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
- Tagged Excavations, Jezreel Valley
Hershel Shanks: Authentic or Forged? What to Do When Experts Disagree? His example: Geologists vs. philologists on the Jehoash Inscription.
Michael S. Heiser recommends the archive of ISIS, the journal of the ancient chronology forum.
Charles E. Jones lists titles relating to antiquity from the Brooklyn Museum Publications now available online.
A husband and wife team have been leading an excavation of ‘Ayn Gharandal in southern Jordan.
“A new ancient city considered to be the Zeugma of the West and thought to be one of the lost cities of Anatolia has been unearthed in İzmir.” (Hurriyet Daily News)
The Exhibition Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology is now open at the Discovery Science Center in southern California.
Israel: Seeing is Believing – This six-minute film has some nice footage. The focus is as much on the modern as on the ancient.
At only $8.54, the ESV Study Bible for the Kindle is a great deal. Note that the index feature does not work with Kindle 1, Kindle Fire, or the Kindle apps.
HT: Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson, G. M. Grena
- Tagged Excavations, Forgery, Jordan, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup
Israel’s left-wing newspaper, Haaretz, reports on an agreement between Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority for a new excavation in the City of David.
A right-wing organization active in settling Jews in controversial parts of East Jerusalem, is providing the funds for excavations by Tel Aviv University archaeologists on a contentious site near the City of David.
The excavations funded by the Elad organization have drawn the ire of Palestinian residents, as well as international and Israeli left-wing organizations. Some archaeologists say that the methodology – tunneling under village houses, and the speed at which the excavations are to be performed – violates accepted professional norms.
This is the first time a university has decided to formally take part project in such an excavation. The dig will be conducted by Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology in coordination with the Israel Antiquities Authority, which will transfer funds from Elad to the university.
[…]
The excavation plans envisions work in what is known as area E, in the lowest part of the park, adjacent to the El-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan, where the Jerusalem Municipality is planning to establish a park called “King’s Garden.”
Critics question the role of Elad in the dig. “It’s hard to believe that the Antiques [sic] Authority, with its meager budget, has suddenly found sources to fund someone else’s projects,” says archaeologist Yoni Mizrachi of Emek Shaveh.
TAU archaeologist Prof. Rafael Greenberg, another Emek Shaveh activist, is more outspoken: “This is a clear politicization of research. Whoever is familiar with the area is aware that all the diggings are annexed to Elad, supervised by Elad, and separate from the site of the City of David. In practice, the project is to become part of Elad’s settlement drive.”
You can decide who is guilty of the “politicization of research.” Greenberg is wrong to imply that the archaeologists working in the City of David are forced to produce results compatible with a right-wing agenda. But you can understand why it’s driving the left-wingers nuts that one of their own would join the “enemy.”
The full article provides responses by Tel Aviv University and Elad.
Area E in the City of David. View to the north.
Photo from the Jerusalem volume.
Photo from the Jerusalem volume.
- Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem