Galilee Archives - Page 69 of 84

Wednesday Roundup

Archaeologist Aren Maeir is interviewed on Fox News about the significance of his excavations of Philistine Gath.

Eilat Mazar is interviewed on the Book and the Spade about her discovery of the “walls of Solomon.”

Joe Zias has responded to Simcha Jacobovici’s 46-page defense of his “nails of the cross” “documentary.”

Leen Ritmeyer explains why he finds implausible the recent proposal by Finkelstein, Koch, and Lipschits that ancient Jerusalem was centered on the Temple Mount.

Some people are unhappy over an amendment to the Antiquities Authority Law which will allow the government minister to appoint the board members.

The famous city of Capernaum is explored in the most recent column by Wayne Stiles at the Jerusalem Post.

The excavations of Sidon are profiled in the Daily Star.

According to the New York Times, Egyptian antiquities minister requires $15,000 per speaking engagement and makes up to $200,000 a year as an “explorer-in-residence” for National Geographic.

I don’t know what workers under Hawass earn, but he probably makes more than the collective salaries of hundreds of them.

A Polish visitor to Israel has successfully “walked on water” after four days of practice and fifty failed attempts using a kite and surfboard.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Weekend Roundup

Discovery: Ancient Sabbath Boundary Inscription in Galilee

From the Jerusalem Post:

An ancient rock inscription of the word “Shabbat” was uncovered near Lake Kinneret this week – the first and only discovery of a stone Shabbat boundary in Hebrew.
The etching in the Lower Galilee community of Timrat appears to date from the Roman or Byzantine period.
News of the inscription, discovered by chance Sunday by a visitor strolling the community grounds, quickly reached Mordechai Aviam, head of the Institute for Galilean Archeology at Kinneret College.
“This is the first time we’ve found a Shabbat boundary inscription in Hebrew,” he said. “The letters are so clear that there is no doubt that the word is ‘Shabbat.’”
Aviam said Jews living in the area in the Roman or Byzantine era (1st-7th centuries CE) likely used the stone to denote bounds within which Jews could travel on Shabbat. The Lower Galilee of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages had a Jewish majority – many of the Talmudic sages bore toponyms indicative of Galilee communities.

The Jerusalem Post report continues here and includes a photograph of the inscription. Timrat is located about 4 miles (6 km) west of Nazareth.

The BibleWalks Blog has the story of the discovery, more photographs, and directions to the inscription.

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee

NPR Radio: Reading Ancient Graffiti

The Weekend Edition of NPR News features a story of Karen Stern’s study of ancient graffiti.

[Karen] Stern, 35, is an archaeologist and an assistant professor in the history department at Brooklyn College. Her passion is the tomb graffiti of the ancient Jews in what was then Roman Palestine. Graffiti has been “published, but sort of disregarded,” she says. “Whereas I think it is intimate, vocal and spontaneous, and adds to the historical record.”
[…]
An expedition to the Southern Galilee a few hours north ends at the site of one of the country’s richest burial sites: Beit She’arim. It is both national park and necropolis; a city of the dead dating back to the first century. There are more than 30 excavated tombs here.
[…]
It’s in the Cave of Coffins that Stern points to two inscriptions in ancient Greek. They are tiny and clustered near niches once holding oil lamps.
One says, “Take courage, Holy Parents of Pharcitae, udes adonitas — no one is immortal.” Stern explains that the dead who are being brought into the catacombs shouldn’t feel that they are weak just because they’ve passed on.
She reads aloud the other inscription: “Good luck on your resurrection.”

The article continues with a report of her visit with Boaz Zissu to a hidden cave at Horvat Lavnin in the Shephelah where they each discovered a new inscription. The NPR website includes the 13-minute audio and 16 photographs.

Horvat Lavnin, possible site of biblical Achzib, in the Shephelah of Judah

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Shephelah

2011 Summer Excavation Schedule

Some summer excavations in Israel have already begun, and many more will commence within the next month. Five excavations began yesterday or today: Tel Burna, Kefar HaHoresh, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Wadi Hamam, and Tel Gezer.

Three more excavations hit the field next week: Tel Hazor, Tel Kabri, and Khirbet Summeily. Those beginning in late June or early July include: Tel Dor, Tel Megiddo East, Tell es-Safi (Gath), Tel Akko, and Hippos-Sussita. Two teams wait until the heat of the summer before getting underway, but both are located next to the beach: Yavneh-Yam and Apollonia-Arsuf.

If you want to volunteer for a dig but cannot participate in the summer or for a lengthy duration, you might consider two year-round operations: Temple Mount Sifting Project and the Dig-for-a-Day program at Maresha (Bet Guvrin).

Last year we published a list of blogs reporting from the excavations and we may prepare another one for this year. (Any tips on such blogs are appreciated.)

The following list is organized chronologically and based upon dates given at the Find a Dig site, published by the Biblical Archaeology Society.

2011 Excavations Already Concluded

Tamar (Mezad Hazeva): February 20 – March 8, 2011; May 9 – May 22, 2011

Tel Gezer Water System Project: May 21 – June 11, 2011

Khirbet el-Maqatir: May 21 – June 4, 2011

2011 Excavations Presently Underway

Tall Jalul (in Jordan): May 3 – June 17, 2011

Tiberias: May 22 – June 17, 2011

Bethsaida: May 22 – June 25, 2011

Ashkelon: June 5 – July 15, 2011

Tel Burna: June 12 – June 30, 2011

Kefar HaHoresh: June 12 – July 7, 2011

Khirbet Qeiyafa: June 12 – July 22, 2011

Wadi Hamam: June 13 – July 15, 2011

Tel Gezer: June 13 – July 15, 2011

2011 Excavations Not Yet Begun

Tel Hazor: June 19 – July 29, 2011

Tel Kabri: June 19 – July 28, 2011

Khirbet Summeily: June 20 – July 20, 2011

Tel Dor: June 28 – August 5, 2011

Tel Dor 2: June 28 – August 6, 2011

Tel Megiddo East: July 2 – 28, 2011

Tell es-Safi (Gath): July 3 – 29, 2011

Tel Akko: July 3 – July 29, 2011

Hippos-Sussita: July 3 – 30, 2011

Yavneh-Yam: July 18 – August 12, 2011

Apollonia-Arsuf: August 1 – September 11, 2011

Long-running excavations not in the field this year include Megiddo, Tel Rehov, and Dan.

Excavations at Gezer

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan, Shephelah

Wednesday Roundup

A plan by the Israeli government will save the southern end of the Dead Sea from rising waters by harvesting salt.

“Beersheba. Just say the name, and images come to mind of an old, crusty patriarch leaning on his staff in the dry winds of the wilderness.”

Leen Ritmeyer comments on the report that the temporary bridge to the Mughrabi Gate must be removed within two weeks.

The Bible Gateway Blog answers the question: “How should we respond to sensational archaeological claims?”

A 39-year-old archaeology student was arrested for looting archaeological sites, including Tel Shikmona near Haifa. He was caught by the IAA Theft Prevention Unit when he left his cell phone at the site.

The 4th meeting of the Forum for the Research of the Chalcolithic Period will be held on June 2, 2011, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The conference title: “50 Years of the Discovering of the Nahal Mishmar Treasure.” A full schedule of the program is here.

Eric Meyers writes in The Jewish Week on the earliest synagogues known archaeologically. He does not agree with those who wish to re-date many of these synagogues to the 4th-6th centuries. Of the period immediately after AD 70, he writes:

In my view this period in the history of Judaism was as definitive as the period after the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE when the exiled Judeans not only survived but managed to pray without the Temple and began the task of editing the books of Scripture that would help them maintain their identity and keep the traditions of former times. The first centuries after 70 CE also led to publication of the Mishnah by 200 CE and many of the early biblical commentaries. It is unimaginable that all of this literary creativity, along with the development of the synagogue liturgy, could have happened without a physical setting in which it could take shape. The most logical setting is the synagogue as a structure where the Torah was read, translated and interpreted; where homilies were given; and where the liturgy was sung and recited.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Dead Sea, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Negev, Pseudo-Archaeology, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

David Hendin describes the conclusion of a two-week season of excavating at Sepphoris with Eric and Carol Meyers.

Israel’s water crisis is over, says the former head of the Water Authority. No, it’s not, says the Authority’s spokesman. “We will be under the red line this summer in all three main reserves.”

Giovanni Pettinato, well known for his work in translating the Ebla tablets, has passed away.

John Lund, a 70-year-old tour guide from Utah, was arrested this week in Israel for selling stolen antiquities. He allegedly made $20,000 from recent sales, but only had to post bail of $7,500. (Does that make sense to anyone else?) James Davila faults the media for calling Dr. Lund an Egyptologist despite the fact that “he is a retired adjunct lecturer in areas that have nothing to do with ancient history.” He concludes that, “it has become obvious that the media could not identify an Egyptologist if one rose up from an alabaster coffin in front of them”!

A number of interesting travel pieces have been written in the last week or two:

Ferrell Jenkins has located a portion of the Roman road in the eastern Galilee near the Golani Junction.

Jenkins also points out Carl Rasmussen’s photos that reveal just how oppressive a khamsin in Jerusalem is.

Shmuel Browns describes Mount Arbel and what you can see on a hike in the area.

Joe Yudin takes his readers to the places of Gideon’s life, including his hometown of Ophrah, the Hill of Moreh, and the Spring of Harod.

Wayne Stiles continues his weekly “Sights and Insights” column with a visit to Tel Arad’s Early Bronze and Iron Age cities.

Jonathan Goldstein investigates some of the more modern attractions in Nazareth.

Tagged Galilee, Jerusalem, Negev, Weekend Roundup