Jerusalem Archives - Page 142 of 199

Wednesday Roundup

The theft of dozens of antiquities from Eleusis (Eleusina, Elefsina) has been solved and the items recovered by Greek police.

Nearly 2,000 artifacts smuggled out of Turkey have been recovered and returned this year alone. The article notes that the country has almost 200 museums.

The Israeli government approved a plan to rehabilitate the polluted Kishon River. After the three-year process is complete, plans call for converting the area into a park with bicycle and walking paths.

Leen Ritmeyer comments on Israel’s largest underground stream, discovered recently in construction of the railway under Jerusalem.

Wayne Stiles explains the historic significance of Beth Shean and its attraction to archaeologists. The article also includes a two-minute aerial fly-over of the ancient city.

The NY Times profiles the full-size replica of Noah’s Ark being built in Holland. One consideration the original builder did not have: making the boat fire-proof. The article mentions the possibility of the ark visiting London for the Olympic Games next year as well as interest from Texas and Israel. A photo shows how impressive the boat is.

After raising $3 million for the replica of Noah’s Ark in Kentucky, an updated webpage now provides details about various sections of the theme park. Visitors will enjoy seeing reconstructions of the Tower of Babel, a walled city, and a first-century village. The children’s area will include zip lines.
Yuval Baruch, Jerusalem District Archaeologist, is interviewed on the LandMinds radio show.

An article in Popular Archaeology reviews the excavations of copper mines in the Aravah and the possible implications for our understanding of the time of Solomon.

Israel is celebrating today “Jerusalem Day,” and the unification of the city in 1967 is remembered in the return of Jehuda Hartman to the Western Wall to “update” an iconic photo. Hartman comments on some of the great changes to the Western Wall area in the last four decades.

HT: Explorator, Jack Sasson

Tagged Greece, Jerusalem, Weekend Roundup

Walk a Mile Underneath Jerusalem

Matti Friedman, writing for the AP, describes the various “underground tours” that are open to tourists in Jerusalem. He also touches on the political and religious complications.

Underneath the crowded alleys and holy sites of old Jerusalem, hundreds of people are snaking at any given moment through tunnels, vaulted medieval chambers and Roman sewers in a rapidly expanding subterranean city invisible from the streets above.
At street level, the walled Old City is an energetic and fractious enclave with a physical landscape that is predominantly Islamic and a population that is mainly Arab.
Underground Jerusalem is different: Here the noise recedes, the fierce Middle Eastern sun disappears, and light comes from fluorescent bulbs. There is a smell of earth and mildew, and the geography recalls a Jewish city that existed 2,000 years ago.
Archaeological digs under the disputed Old City are a matter of immense sensitivity. For Israel, the tunnels are proof of the depth of Jewish roots here, and this has made the tunnels one of Jerusalem’s main tourist draws: The number of visitors, mostly Jews and Christians, has risen dramatically in recent years to more than a million visitors in 2010.
But many Palestinians, who reject Israel’s sovereignty in the city, see them as a threat to their own claims to Jerusalem. And some critics say they put an exaggerated focus on Jewish history.

The story continues here. The underground “route” that Friedman describes begins with a walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel (or its alternate, the Siloam Tunnel). Then, later this summer, one will be able to enter the Roman drainage system and walk all the way to the Western Wall plaza. In several years, a new route will take visitors on the first-century street beneath the prayer plaza. That will link up with the Western Wall tunnels which run north along Herod’s well-preserved retaining wall.

For more of the political angle on the “Underground Jerusalem” excavations, see last month’s article in Haaretz (noted here). For some additional photographs, see Leen Ritmeyer’s post.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Western Wall tunnel: northern section through Hasmonean aqueduct

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Tourism

Government to Invest $83 Million in Jerusalem

From the Prime Minister’s Office:

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