Israel's Coast Archives - Page 34 of 34

Gold Coin Cache Discovered in Apollonia

A university student has discovered 108 gold coins valued at more than $100,000 in excavations of a Crusader castle about 25 miles north of Tel Aviv. From Haaretz:

A gold cache, one of the largest ever found in Israel, was discovered last week in a dig in the Apollonia National Park, near Herzliya, heads of the archaeological project said.
The 400-gram gold stash, unearthed by a joint Tel Aviv University and Nature and Parks Authority team, is currently valued at over $100,000.
The excavation began three years ago as part of work to prevent the collapse of the cliff on which the Crusader fortress in the Apollonia park stands. Since then the diggers have discovered numerous findings shedding light on the Crusaders in general and on the last days of the 13th century fortress in particular.
Findings include hundreds of arrow heads and catapult stones from the battle in which the Mamluks conquered the castle from the Crusaders. In a landfill dug at the site diggers found shards imported from Italy and rare glass utensils.

The full story is here. The Hebrew edition includes three photos.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Apollonia Crusader castle (photo source)

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Israel's Coast

Wednesday Roundup

The first two volumes of Harley and Woodward’s History of Cartography can now be downloaded for free from the University of Chicago Press (a value of more than $1,000). The links to the volume contents and chapter pdfs are on the left sidebar.

I always tell my class that Ramah, Samuel’s hometown, sits at the crossroads. Though it is known today as A-Ram, the geographical dynamic has not changed.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has unveiled its latest acquisition of a Dead Sea Scroll, a fragment from Leviticus.

In Jerusalem and throughout Israel this is Passover/Holy Week/Spring Break:

Nearly half of a million people visited Israel’s parks and nature reserves on Sunday.
Western Christians celebrated Easter in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Large crowds are visiting ancient Aphek/Antipatris but may be unaware of its significance.
The Holy Fire ceremony is on Saturday.

Those posing as Roman soldiers outside of the Colosseum have been thrown to the lions.

Wayne Stiles reveals what Jaffa’s greatest export is.

Two items of particular interest at Christianbook.com this week:

NIV Archaeological Study Bible, Bonded Leather Red 1984, from $85 down to $30.
The Holy Land for $.99.

HT: Bill Soper, A.D. Riddle

Tagged Israel's Coast, Italy, Jerusalem, Resources

Q&A: Mount Carmel and the Sea

Question: Does your collection include a picture of where Mount Carmel runs into the sea? I recall seeing a picture once showing the impracticability of travel along the sea. –J.B.

Answer: There actually is a narrow strip of land along the water’s edge that is traversable, unlike the cliffs that plunge into the Mediterranean at Rosh HaNiqra. But in ancient times and modern, travelers have preferred the passes through Mount Carmel. One of the reasons for this in antiquity was the difficult, marshy conditions in the Haifa area.

This first photo comes from the “Acco” group on volume 1 of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

This second one comes from the “Haifa” set on volume 1 of the American Colony and Eric Matson Collection.

Both give a sense for the proximity of the edge of Mount Carmel to the sea. You can also check out the view on Google Earth.

Tagged American Colony Photos, Israel's Coast