Jerusalem Archives - Page 141 of 198

Government to Invest $83 Million in Jerusalem

The Cabinet will, on Sunday, 29.5.11 [May 29, 2011], at the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem, hold a festive meeting to mark Jerusalem Day. At this meeting, the Cabinet is due to approve the multi-year Merom Plan, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is advancing in cooperation with the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Development Authority. The goal of the plan is to economically strengthen the capital city via two main growth engines. The first is to invest NIS 145.5 million [$41.9 million] in strengthening Jerusalem as a tourist city. The second is to invest NIS 71.4 million [$20.5 million] in strengthening the city a center of research, development and bio-technology industry. A further NIS 70.5 million [$20.3 million] will be invested in additional complementary measures to develop the city economically. Thus, the budget for the 2011-2016 Merom Plan will stand at almost NIS 290 million [$83.6 million]. A designated budget will be approved each year by a steering committee in keeping with the pace of implementation, the budget law and the outline of the Plan. In addition to the Merom Plan’s budgetary framework, the Tourism Ministry will allocate NIS 75 million [$21.6 million] to encourage hotel construction in Jerusalem. The goal is to increase the supply of hotel rooms in the capital and enable it to attract millions of tourists per annum.

The full press release is here. I would note that building more hotel rooms may only decrease the quality of the experience of visiting Jerusalem.

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism

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

Wednesday Roundup

The Israeli State Comptroller report released yesterday finds that the Muslim work in “Solomon’s Stables” was destructive and illegal.

It is dangerous to travel in the Middle East, but not because of war or terror. You’re much more likely to die in a car accident. The traffic fatality rate average is nearly three times that of Europe.

It is not only crazy drivers that one must fear in Israel, but rockslides. A man driving on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway found his car destroyed when passing the Hemed Junction near Abu Gosh.

A new park near the Ben Gurion Airport will be three times the size of Central Park in New York City, built on top of a large garbage dump.

The largest dish of hummus was created last year in Abu Gosh (and then again surpassed in Lebanon), but honors for the largest falafel ball go to a chef in Santa Clarita, California. [What else do Abu Gosh and Santa Clarita have in common? Answer: Proximity to two campuses of one of the best educational institutions in the world.]

Israel received a lot of rainfall in April, but it’s not enough. And the water level of the Dead Sea is now 1,358 feet (424.44 m) below sea level.

Dennis Dufrene looks back at the “discovery” of Noah’s Ark by the Hong Kong group last year and concludes that “All of these issues point to the fact that the NAMI find was most certainly a hoax.”

Abu Gosh, formerly home to the largest hummus dish and near location of recent rockslide. The Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway cuts across the photo. View from the southeast.

Tagged Jerusalem, Pseudo-Archaeology, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weather

Hinnom Valley Excavation Report

A year ago yesterday this blog noted the excavation of an arched bridge in the Hinnom Valley. The current issue of Hadashot Arkheologiyot includes a final excavation report by Yehiel Zelinger.

The Sultan’s Pool, which was built in the upper part of the Ben-Hinnom Valley, is located in the lowest spot of the region and was therefore used as a reservoir for floodwater. To maintain the elevation of the aqueduct that passed through the pool, a bridge was constructed to support the aqueduct over the valley. The bridge is visible in photographs taken at the end of the nineteenth century (Fig. 2); however, it was covered over with alluvium during the twentieth century.

[…]

Conrad Schick was the first to describe the aqueduct and the bridge that carried it when he documented the Sultan’s Pool and its surroundings in 1898. The detailed plan and sections that accompany his article enabled the reconstruction of the aqueduct and the bridge; however, they are useless for dating the remains. The Lower Aqueduct provided water to Jerusalem as of the Hasmonean period and continued to function until the Ottoman period. Due to its prolonged use and the numerous repairs made to it, it is difficult to date the different phases. The method of construction in the southwestern section of the aqueduct is similar to sections of the aqueduct that were exposed in the past and were dated to the Early Roman period. The arch bridge, however, is dated to the Mamluk period, based on the dedicatory inscription from 1320 CE that was incorporated in it (it is visible in photographs but has not yet been exposed).

The report concludes:

The aqueduct was probably built originally in the Hasmonean period and crossed the channel in the Ben-Hinnom Valley on a bridge that was destroyed due to neglect or floods and a new bridge had replaced it in the Mamluk period.

The article includes five illustrations, including a plan and section of the excavation.

The Hinnom Valley from the south, taken between 1907 and 1914. The arched aqueduct passed through the area of the buildings and may have been visible when this photo was taken. This photo is from the Jerusalem volume of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection (Library of Congress, LC-matpc-07473).

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem

Wednesday Roundup

SourceFlix has a new five-minute video entitled “The Crags of the Wild Goats.” The footage of the ibex in the mountains above En Gedi is much more than what the average visitor ever sees.

J.P. van de Giessen has begun a new group on Biblical Flora that you may want to join.

Rachel Hallote makes a case against the repatriation of archaeological artifacts in the current issue of BAR magazine.

Leen Ritmeyer has a brief review of Ronny Reich’s Excavating the City of David: Where Jerusalem’s History Began (previously mentioned here).

Robert Cargill provides more evidence that Simcha Jacobovici’s latest documentary on the crucifixion nails is “perhaps the weakest argument he has ever made—a dubious achievement” indeed.

In the end, Simcha Jacobovici’s claim that he has discovered the nails used in Jesus’ crucifixion is a figment of his vivid imagination, lacking any evidence or basis in reality whatsoever. So, in an attempt to salvage his unsustainable theory, Simcha reaches for the age-old weapon used by all pseudo-scientists: the claim of conspiracy.

Tagged Jerusalem, Museums, Pseudo-Archaeology, Weekend Roundup