Galilee Archives - Page 77 of 84

First-Century House Excavated in Nazareth

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced today that for the first time archaeologists have found a building in Nazareth from the time of Jesus. The residential dwelling was revealed in excavations adjacent to the Church of the Anunciation and dates to the Early Roman Period (40 BC – AD 70).

According to the excavation director, Yardenna Alexander:

The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus. The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period. From the few written sources that there are, we know that in the first century CE Nazareth was a small Jewish village, located inside a valley. Until now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth; however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed to this period.

The full press release is here (temporary link), and it includes a couple of photographs (zip).

The AP reports:

The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres (1.6 hectares). It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders, said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.
[. . .]
At the site, Alexandre told reporters that archaeologists also found clay and chalk vessels which were likely used by Galilean Jews of the time. The scientists concluded a Jewish family lived there because of the chalk, which was used by Jews at the time to ensure the purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels.
The shards also date back to the time of Jesus, which includes the late Hellenic, early Roman period that ranges from around 100 B.C. to 100 A.D., Alexandre said.
The absence of any remains of glass vessels or imported products suggested the family who lived in the dwelling were “simple,” but Alexandre said the remains did not indicate whether they were traders or farmers.
[. . .]
Work is now taking place to clear newer ruins built above the dwelling, which will be preserved. The dwelling will become a part of a new international Christian center being constructed close to the site and funded by a French Roman Catholic group, said Marc Hodara of the Chemin Neuf Community overseeing construction.
Alexandre said limited space and population density in Nazareth means it is unlikely that archeologists can carry out any further excavations in the area, leaving this dwelling to tell the story of what Jesus’ boyhood home may have looked like.

Expect a media frenzy with the timing of this story a few days ahead of Christmas. A minor sidenote: this discovery should put to rest the theory of at least person who has claimed that since Nazareth is mentioned in the first century only in the New Testament, the city did not exist at that time. It is true that Nazareth is not mentioned in Josephus and other contemporary sources, but that is only an indication of how insignificant the town was.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee

Discovery in Nazareth To Be Announced

Joe Lauer writes:

This morning the IAA’s Spokesperson circulated a notice to journalists inviting them to a Press Conference to be held tomorrow morning, December 21, at which "The IAA will Reveal a New Archeological Find in Nazareth". The meeting point will be behind the Church of the Annunciation, next to the upper entrance to the old school of Saint Joseph at 10:20 AM. The notice does not give a hint of what that "New Archeological find" is, although I suspect that some list recipients are in the know (and some might think that it may have something to do with a fast-approaching date on the calendar). So, stay tuned.

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee

The Dragnet on the Sea of Galilee

Sea of Galilee, drawing in dragnet, mat04570

Dragnet in use on the Sea of Galilee, early 1900s

Matthew 13:47-48 (NIV) “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.”

“The jarf or ‘drag net’ is as much as 400 metres long. In mesh it is as fine as the shabakeh. It is used at the Lake chiefly during daylight, but along the Bay of Acre many of these nets are employed after the sunset with lanterns and torches to illuminate the scene. The net is paid out of a boat in an immense semicircle, the two ends being near the shore. The upper side floats by means of corks, the lower is kept down by small lead weights. As soon as the net is in position the men on the shore commence the process of hauling it in. Four men, if possible, take charge of each extremity, they have long ropes fixed to the lower and upper corners so that they drag in the bottom at the same time as the top. In order that a steady and uninterrupted pull may be kept up they merely fix the ropes to their belts, and each man nearest the landward end of the ropes, as soon as there is room, leaves off his hold there and runs forward to seize the ropes at the net-end as they come in shore. The fishermen consider it a matter of importance that when once the net has commenced to come in, there should be no pause in its progress. As the centre parts begin to come into shallow water some of the fishermen assist its progress by jumping or diving into the water and lifting the weighted lower side over the large stones. This is particularly necessary at Tiberias, where there are many large stones all over the bottom. Finally the net reaches the shore, having ‘gathered of every kind’ (Matt. xiii, 48). Clearly the net here described was the draw net.” Source: E. W. G. Masterman, “The Fisheries of Galilee,” Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement (1908): 45.

The photo and quotation are taken from the Traditional Life and Customs volume of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection (Library of Congress, LC-matpc-04570).

Tagged American Colony Photos, Galilee

Omrit Excavations 2009

I was invited this year to attend the Bible and Archaeology Fest in New Orleans. This was the 12th annual series of lectures sponsored by the Biblical Archaeology Society. While most professors and graduate students attend the annual professional meetings of SBL and ASOR, this series is targeted toward those with a high level of interest but who have less training. Many of the lecturers commented that they enjoy the conference so much because the attendees are so highly motivated. I certainly found that to be true, and I personally enjoyed the conference. The presenters were all first-rate. They were articulate, well prepared, and engaging. All of them illustrated their lectures with visual aids. I can recommend the series to you without hesitation or reservation. I didn’t agree with everything the lecturers said, but my thinking was never unprovoked. Hopefully some of that will come up in a short series I hope to post here.

I’ll start the series with the presentation on the 2009 excavations of Omrit, given by Co-Director, Dan Schowalter. I noted Omrit here recently when the archaeologists made public their theory that the Omrit temple, and not the one at Caesarea Philippi (Banias), should be equated with King Herod’s imperial temple.

In excavations since 1999, archaeologists have identified three successive temples at the site. The first, dubbed the “Early Shrine,” was built not earlier than 50 BC and probably went out of use not later than 20 BC. Schowalter suggested that the builders of Temple Two were unaware of the Early Shrine until they began construction. They thought the Early Shrine was a tomb and so they left unguentaria behind, but the excavators think they were incorrect in their identification.

Temple One is credited to King Herod, and the archaeologists believe this is the temple that Josephus mentions as being near Paneion (Caesarea Philippi; Ant. 15.10.3). Built in 20 BC, this temple was much more impressive in construction than the Early Shrine. For reconstruction diagrams, see this page at Macalester College’s website.

Temple Two was an expansion, built c. AD 80, which included a colonnade and staircase. The columns were about 30 feet (10 m) tall, and niches (for statues?) flanked the monumental staircase.

This temple may have been destroyed in the earthquake of AD 363.

In the future, archaeologists would love to discover the ancient name of the site. A Greek boundary inscription with the name of Emperor Diocletian (late 3rd century) was broken off and the city name was not preserved.

Survey work in January 2011 will benefit from last summer’s grass fire. The site is much larger than the temple area and includes an acropolis which is elevated above the temple site.

The government has proposed plans that would provide parking and an access path to the site.

Currently, it’s a challenge to find by car and impossible to arrive by bus.

Some of the impressive architectural pieces from the temple will be part of a new display in the Biblical and Archaeology Wing of the Israel Museum, slated to open next summer.

For a few photos of the temple, see this previous post.

UPDATE: I’ve been asked about the date and time of the next Bible and Archaeology Fest. If it
follows the pattern of previous years, it will be November 19-21, 2010 in Atlanta.

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Lectures

Favorite Water Hike: Nahal Yehudiyeh

One of my favorite hikes in Israel is along the Nahal Yehudiyeh in the Golan Heights. You have to swim, and in non-summer months the water is a bit chilly. But it’s an exciting hike in many ways.

Arutz-7 has a story which includes the details you need to know before you go. One sample:

Hiking the upper section of Nahal Yehudia is considered to be appropriate for good hikers who can swim, as there are a couple of places where you have to climb down the rock face with the help of handholds or a ladder into a deep pool that you have to swim across. Note that you must start out on the well-marked trail by noon.
The hike starts above the wadi on the red trail, walking through a deserted Syrian village of basalt field stones built on the remains of an earlier Jewish town from the Roman-Byzantine period.
Remains of a wall have led archaeologists to suggest that Yehudia is Soganey, one of the three fortresses (the other two are Gamla and Sele’ukya) in the Golan built by Josephus at the time of the Roman Revolt.

I don’t know how easy it is to find any more, but a great resource for adventures like these is the book by Joel Roskin, Waterwalks in Israel (Jerusalem Post, 1996).

Nahal Yehudiyeh waterfall

UPDATE: The author of the article, Shmuel Browns, has commented below. Take a look at his website for a more comprehensive article and photos.

Tagged Galilee, Tourism

Magdala Project Blog

A recent comment on a previous post has alerted me to the existence of the Magdala Project Blog. It appears to be current (the most recent post was 4 days ago), and it is loaded with lots of information and photos. Recent posts include:

Another one that may be of interest to readers are statistics of the Sea of Galilee, with data from the Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection.

You can also see a slide show from the Magdala excavations here.

Tagged Excavations, Galilee