Excavations Archives - Page 68 of 97

Construction May Destroy Ancient Port of Gaza

A report from the Media Line describes plans to construct a boardwalk along the beach of Gaza City.

Archaeologists are concerned that the construction will destroy remains from the city’s past.

The Tourism and Antiques Ministry in Gaza has come out against the plan to give displaced residents land in the Beach Camp, saying they have archeological remains of an ancient port from the Roman era.
“These lands are the location of very important archeological sites. Excavations were conducted on this site from 1995 till 2005 by the French School of Antiques and Excavation,” says Hayam Al-Bittar, the head of the ministry’s museums department. “We should be doing our best to protect this site, not to offer it as compensation for people to build on it who don’t appreciate their heritage and history.”
She has vowed to file a complaint to the cabinet and, if all else fails, will resign from her position. “Not on my watch,” Hayam warns. “We will not rest until we ensure the safety of this location.”
The United Nations Education and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) and the French School of Antiques and Excavation are backing her, but an informal survey of Gazans about the corniche and its impact finds little concern about the damage to the archeological remains.

The full article is here.

Beach south of Gaza City

Tagged Excavations, Philistines

Excavate at Khirbet el-Maqatir in 2012

After some years away from the site, the Associates for Biblical Research have recently returned to excavating Khirbet el-Maqatir, a candidate for the city of Ai destroyed by Joshua.

The location of Joshua’s Ai has been a matter of mystery and controversy since the beginnings of archaeological research in Israel. Scholars have concluded that the location of Joshua’s Ai is at et-Tell. They have also used this conclusion to discredit the Biblical account of Joshua 7-8 because there is no evidence of occupation at et-Tell during the time of Joshua. We believe they are incorrect, not the Bible.
Since 1995, under the direction of ABR Director of Research Bryant G. Wood (PhD, University of Toronto), ABR research and excavation has uncovered important archaeological finds at Khirbet el-Maqatir, just .6 miles (1 km) west of et-Tell. The discoveries include a city gate and wall system, large amounts of pottery from the time of Joshua, evidence of destruction by fire, ancient coins, a house dating to the first century AD, and a Byzantine monastery. This area is located about 9 miles due north of Jerusalem, near the modern villages of Beitin and Deir Dibwan.

I’ve worked at the Maqatir excavation for a number of seasons and I would offer three reasons for you to seriously consider joining the team this year.

1. The opportunity to be part of a dig which has the potential of revolutionizing our archaeological understanding of Joshua’s Conquest.

2. The opportunity to work and live alongside committed Bible believers, including first-class scholars such as Bryant Wood and Eugene Merrill.

3. The opportunity to learn about biblical archaeology and Joshua’s conquest through evening lectures.

In addition, the team is based at the beautiful Yad HaShmonah, a guest house in the Judean hills overlooking the coastal plain. Because this excavation runs for two weeks, you are not required to make a longer commitment of three to six weeks as at other digs.

More information about the site, its potential significance, and volunteering this summer is available at maqatir.org.

Excavating at Khirbet el-Maqatir

Tagged Excavations, Opportunities, Samaria

More Excavation in the Western Wall Tunnels

In his column today at the Jerusalem Post, Wayne Stiles traverses the length of the Western Wall underground, recommending this as an ideal way to get more out of your day in Jerusalem.

Traveling though these excavated tunnels a few weeks ago, I saw several discoveries made in recent years. The steps of a very large mikveh (ritual bath) are visible about 10 meters below the modern path (noted previously on this blog here).

Eastern steps of mikveh built next to western wall of Temple Mount

Last month, they finished excavating and opened up to visitors a new portion of the Struthion Pool.

This is located to the east of the part of the pool that once served as the terminus of the tour.

Struthion Pool

Excavations continue in the Great Hall, not far from the location of the largest stone in the Temple Mount.

Excavations in the Great Hall, January 2012

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

New Excavations Slated for Azekah

One of the most significant cities in the Shephelah of Judah, Azekah has never been scientifically excavated. Victim to the spades of Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister and Frederick J. Bliss in 1898-99, Azekah’s secrets have remained hidden while major expeditions have studied the nearby cities of Gezer, Beth Shemesh, Gath, and Lachish. Now the Wissenschaftlich-Theologisches Seminar of Heidelberg University has joined with Tel Aviv University to lead an international consortium in a survey and excavation of the site and vicinity.

The excavation will be directed by Oded Lipschits and Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University along with Manfred Oeming of Heidelberg University. The first season runs from July 15 to August 24, 2012 and volunteers are encouraged to apply. Three courses are offered for credit for university students.

The importance of Azekah is clear from its mention in Assyrian and biblical texts.

The Canaanites escaping from Joshua’s attack fled as far as Azekah (Josh 10:10-11).
The Philistines and their giant Goliath were camped between Azekah and Socoh (1 Sam 17:1).
Rehoboam fortified Azekah (2 Chr 11:9).
An Assyrian king, possibly Sargon II, said of the city, “Azekah is a stronghold which is situated in the midst of the mountains, located on a mountain range like a pointed dagger, it was like an eagle’s nest and rivaled the highest mountains and was inaccessible even for the siege ramps and for approaching with battering rams it was too strong.”
Azekah was one of the two last cities holding out against the Assyrian king Sennacherib (Jer 34:7; cf. Lachish Letter #4).
Azekah was resettled after the Babylonian exile (Neh 11:30).

HT: G. M. Grena

Azekah and Elah Valley from the east

Tagged Excavations, Shephelah

Interpretation in Archaeology

William Dever:

There are few “facts” in archaeology. There are artifacts which can become “data,” but only when they are properly excavated in context, interpreted in relation to a pertinent question, and published (i.e., “given”) in full. The notion that the archaeologist is an “objective” scientist, who approaches a site with a mind that is a tabula rasa, is incredibly naïve—and dangerous. We see in the dirt only what we are sensitized to see; and unfortunately, we unwittingly destroy the rest of the evidence in getting it.

Source: William G. Dever, “Archaeology, Syro-Palestinian and Biblical,” in Anchor Bible Dictionary 1: 362-63.

Excavations of Megiddo under Yigael Yadin, April 1967 Source: Views That Have Vanished

Tagged Excavations

Western Wall Plaza Excavation Results

Over the years I’ve mentioned the excavation at the “back” of the Western Wall prayer plaza. The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review has a report by the excavators on their discoveries at the site from 2005 to 2010. Since I expect some curious student to ask me in a couple of days about the big hole in the ground, the article arrived at a good time for me. I made a few notes as I read the article that I thought I’d share here.

The earliest remains at this spot indicate that it was used as an Iron Age quarry.

Later in the Iron Age, a four-room house was constructed here. This was a Jerusalemite’s home sometime after Hezekiah fortified the Western Hill with a new wall (part of which is known today as the “Broad Wall.”) The house may have been destroyed by the Babylonian assault in 586, but this is not certain. Several personal seals were found in the building, including one depicting an Assyrian-style archer.

Curiously, there is no evidence of occupation at the site in the Babylonian, Persian, or Hasmonean periods (586-50 BC).

In the New Testament period, the Lower Aqueduct ran through this area, bringing water from
“Solomon’s Pools” to the Temple Mount. The only other discovery from the 1st century was a ritual bath (mikveh).

The most impressive remains at the site are that of a monumental street. This cardo is similar in size and design to its counterpart to the west, located today in the heart of the Jewish Quarter, but the archaeologists say that the eastern cardo was constructed in the Roman period by Hadrian (whereas the southern extension of the western was built by Justinian c. 530).

All the details are presented in a much more interesting style in the January/February 2012 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. The article, with all of its illustrations, is currently available online, no subscription required.

(Yellow box = present excavations; red box = Byzantine Valley Cardo previously revealed)

Western Wall prayer plaza with excavations, May 2008

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem