Excavations Archives - Page 65 of 97

Cave Discovered in Gezer Water System

This week a team excavating the ancient water system at Gezer discovered a natural cavern that measures 26 by 30 feet with a height of up to 7 feet. The date of the system is still under discussion, but it may belong to the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1500 BC). From Baptist Press:

The team, under the direction of the NOBTS Center for Archaeological Research, located a large open section in the cave at the eastern end of the ancient water system at Tel Gezer in Israel…. The team still plans to locate the water source for the system and explore the entire cave, seeking a possible rear exit and pottery evidence to help date its construction in future digs. […] "We’re able to see a part of the cave that Macalister never saw," Parker said. "This leaves the possibility that there is another entrance [to the cave] from another location off the tel…." "We did some sound tests to see if we could hear inside the cavern from outside on the tel," Parker said. "The sound was very clear, which leads us to believe that it leads to some sort of opening or fissure in the rock that in ancient days the water may have traveled outside the tel." At the start of this dig season the team intended to open the entire mouth of the cave. However, the left side of the mouth was blocked with boulders and the rest of the cave was filled with silt and dirt. So the team continued a probe along the southern wall that they began in 2011. About 26 feet into the probe, Warner and Parker made a crucial decision. With time running out on this year’s dig, Warner and Parker wanted to expose more of the interior of the cave.

The full story is here. The team has posted a five-minute video with the archaeologists chatting in the cave. Gezer breakthrough from Baptist Press on Vimeo. HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup

The Archaeology in Israel Update—May 2012 reviews the major stories, including the Qeiyafa shrines, Megiddo jewelry, Bethlehem bulla, forgery trial, and more.

A summary of the recent survey of Abel Beth Maacah indicates a long history of occupation.

Ferrell Jenkins asks and answers the question of whether Paul docked in Perga or Attalia on his first missionary journey.

In a new article, Reinhard Achenbach argues that the Qeiyafa Ostracon is written in Hebrew and should be translated “Give rights to slaves and to widows! Give rights to orphans and foreigners!

Protect the rights of the poor and protect the rights of minors!”

Israeli Archaeological Activity in the West Bank 1967-2007: A Sourcebook is now available as a free pdf. We noted the searchable online map version in 2009. An introduction to the study can be found at the UCLA Newsroom.

The Past is Yet to Come… is a short video introducing the Israel Antiquities Authority and the significance of its work.

A large satellite photographic map of Israel is now available from Our Rabbi Jesus, with free shipping through Monday.

HT: G. M. Grena, Charles Savelle, A.D. Riddle

Tagged Excavations, Resources, Turkey

Wednesday Roundup

Gary Byers has posted a summary of Week One for the excavation of Khirbet el-Maqatir (Ai?).

Lawyer Hershel Shanks reflects on the James Ossuary trial verdict and on-going antics of the Israel Antiquities Authority in a Jerusalem Post op-ed.

Wayne Stiles suggests 7 Israel Museum “must-sees.”

The Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel has condemned vandalism of the Hammat Tiberias synagogue by religious Jews (Hebrew).

The Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project intends to “capture traces of pigments . . . and the geometric detail of the relief.”

Locust swarms are moving through north Africa.

For a limited time, free Kindle books are available for:

HT: Bible X, Bill Soper, Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Excavations, Italy, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Politics and the City of David

An article this week at The Christian Century doesn’t break any new ground on the political dimensions of the excavations in the City of David, but for those looking for an introduction to the subject, this is an easy place to begin.

The Israelis have continued to dig all around Jerusalem, while the Palestinians have tried to stop digs that they see as infringements on their sacred territory. In the 1990s, Muslims undertook their own dig on the southeast corner of the Temple Mount as part of providing new access to the Marwani Mosque (also known as Solomon’s Stables). The dig was criticized by Israelis for taking place without the proper archaeological supervision, and some Israeli archaeologists charged that the Muslim excavators hid evidence of ancient Jewish presence at the site.
Recently, attention has been focused on a site known as the City of David, which lies just south of Jerusalem’s Old City. Archaeologists are exploring a site on and around the stream of Gihon, a site associated with the origins of the city. Jerusalem, like so many cities, was founded on or near a water source.

The article has a few basic mistakes, and each side will disagree with parts of the presentation, but as an introduction to the subject, it serves its purpose.

City of David and Mount of Olives from southwest, tb091306406

City of David (center) and Silwan (right) from south (source)

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem

Excavations in Israel and Jordan 2012

There may be a record number of excavations this summer, and I’ve taken the list at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs site and supplemented it with sites listed at Biblical Archaeology Society and a few others.

Particularly popular regions are the Shephelah with 7 digs (Gezer, Tel Burna, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tel ‘Eton, Tell es-Safi/Gath, Socoh, and Azekah) and the Huleh Basin with 4 digs (Omrit, Abel Beth Maacah, Dan, and Hazor). If you prefer to work near the ocean, you have 5 options (Tel Achziv, Ashkelon, Jaffa, Tel Akko, Apollonia-Arsuf) and 4 more if you want to be close to the Sea of Galilee (Bethsaida, Tiberias, Tel Bet Yerah, and Hippos).

The excavations are listed in the chronological order from the starting date.

Already Concluded

Ein Gedi Jan 2-26

Caves of the Judean Desert April 29 – May 10

Currently In Progress

Hurvat Eres May 15 – June 25

Qumran May 16 – June 10

Omrit May 16 – June 22

Tel Achziv May 19 – June 15

Tell Jalul May 20 – June 8

Abel Beth Maacah May 22-24

Shikhin/Asochis May 22 – June 21

Tel Megiddo East May 24 – June 12

Beginning Later This Month

Khirbet el-Maqatir May 26 – June 9

Tel Gezer May 27 – June 15

Beginning in June

Ashkelon June 8 – July 21

Tel Burna June 10-29

Abila June 15 – Aug 1

Megiddo June 16 – Aug 2

Bethsaida June 17-30

Tel Dan June 21 – July 19

Tiberias June 24 – July 20

Khirbet Qeiyafa June 24 – July 21

Tel Hazor June 24 – Aug 3

Kfar HaHoresh June 24 – Aug 3

Tel ‘Eton June 24 – July 6

Tel Bet Yerah June 24 – July 26

Jaffa June 29 – Aug 3

Tel Akko June 30 – July 28

Beginning in July

Hippos (Sussita) July 1-26

Tell es-Safi/Gath July 1-27

Tel Akko July 1-28

Marj Rabba July 10 – Aug 17

Socoh July 15 – Aug 3

Azekah July 15 – Aug 24

Beginning in August or Later

Apollonia-Arsuf Aug 6-31

Khirbet Feinan Oct 1 – Nov 21

Tell el-Hammam Jan 10 – Feb 21

In addition, excavations are on-going at Magdala, Maresha/Bet Guvrin, Jerusalem, and other sites
with salvage digs under the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Excavations in Tiberias (source)

Tagged Excavations

Day of Archaeology 2012

From dayofarchaeology.com:

Following on from the success of 2011, we are happy to announce that this year’s Day of Archaeology is scheduled for June 29, 2012! Last year’s event brought out 400+ archaeologists, and almost 450 separate posts including lots of photos, video, audio and more. You can read more about the Day of Archaeology at About the Project, but the general hope is that by raising awareness about the truly diverse nature of archaeology, we will also in turn emphasize the vital role that archaeology plays in preserving our past for everyone’s future. We want anyone with a personal, professional or voluntary interest in archaeology to get involved, and help show the world why archaeology is vital to protect the past and inform our futures.

Sounds interesting. You can check out the website here. You can read entries from last year here.

Tagged Excavations