Jerusalem Archives - Page 145 of 195

Weekend Roundup

Tragic news comes out of Israel this week as a massive forest fire has killed more than 40 people and destroyed more than 10,000 acres on Mount Carmel. If you’ve traveled with me in the last 7-8 years, you probably spent a night at Kibbutz Beit Oren, which suffered great damage. For several photos of the mountain (in better days) and a map, see Ferrell Jenkins’ post. The fire may not be put out for another week.

Archaeologists are now studying ancient sites without ever visiting them, thanks to a NASA satellite.

Arizona State University archaeologist Stephen H. Savage has been studying Khirbet en-Nahas and with NASA’s Earth Observing-1 satellite been able to determine where “the ore is coming from; which parts of the site were used for smelting and which were not; and that different parts of the site were drawing ore from different regions.

Jennie R. Ebeling has an interesting and well-illustrated summary of discoveries made at Hazor in recent years.

Jweekly.com has a brief article summarizing the discoveries at Magdala.

Reading Acts has a brief summary of James Charlesworth’s presentation at NEAS in which he discussed whether the pool of Bethesda and the pool of Siloam were ritual baths (miqva’ot).

Shimon Gibson has the opportunity to publish important archaeological finds from excavations on Mount Zion in the 1970s and he is now raising funds. Making a donation is particularly quick if you have an Amazon account. Even a small contribution will help!

The winners have been selected for this week’s give-away of the Holy Land Revealed DVD set. It is perhaps notable that both winners live outside of the United States.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Weekend Roundup

Roman Bathhouse Discovered in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced today the discovery of a second-century Roman bathhouse in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. The excavation was being conducted in advance of construction of a ritual bath (miqve). According to archaeologist Ofer Sion:

It seems that the bathhouse was used by these soldiers who were garrisoned there after suppressing the Bar Kokhba uprising in 135 CE, when the pagan city Aelia Capitolina was established. We know that the Tenth Legion’s camp was situated within the limits of what is today the Old City, probably in the region of the Armenian Quarter. This assumption is reinforced by the discovery of the bathhouse in the nearby Jewish Quarter which shows that the multitude of soldiers was spread out and that they were also active outside the camp, in other parts of the Old City.

Roman bathhouse in Jerusalem. Photo courtesy of IAA.

The discovery of a paw print on one of the roof tiles created some excitement:

Another interesting discovery that caused excitement during the excavation is the paw print of a dog that probably belonged to one of the soldiers. The paw print was impressed on the symbol of the legion on one of the roof tiles and it could have happened accidentally or have been intended as a joke.

Dog paw print in Roman tile. Photo courtesy of IAA.

Yuval Baruch, Jerusalem district archaeologist, explains the larger significance:

What we have here is a discovery that is important for the study of Jerusalem. Despite the very extensive archaeological excavations that were carried out in the Jewish Quarter, so far not even one building has been discovered there that belonged to the Roman legion. The absence of such a find led to the conclusion that Aelia Capitolina, the Roman city which was established after the destruction of Jerusalem, was small and limited in area. The new find, together with other discoveries of recent years, shows that the city was considerably larger than what we previously estimated. Information about Aelia Capitolina is extremely valuable and can contribute greatly to research on Jerusalem because it was that city that determined the character and general appearance of ancient Jerusalem and as we know it today. The shape of the city has determined the outline of its walls and the location of the gates to this very day.

The press release and three high-resolution photos (including the two photos above) are available at the Israel Antiquities Authority site (temporary link). The story is also reported by the Jerusalem Post, Arutz-7, and CNN.

UPDATE (11/23): The Jerusalem Post now features a 2.5 minute video of the discovery. Several new photos are posted at CBS News.

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem

National Geographic: Archaeological Views on David’s Kingdom

The cover story of the current issue (December 2010) of National Geographic is entitled “Kings of Controversy,” and it considers the archaeological debate over the kingdom of David and Solomon.

The story is interesting and well-written, and it gives a good presentation of the debate from a mainstream perspective.

On one side is Israel Finkelstein, somehow considered the “establishment, a Goliath fending off upstart assaults on his chronological order.” On the other side, those launching the “upstart assaults” are such novice scholars as Amihai Mazar, Thomas Levy, Eilat Mazar, and Yosef Garfinkel. The writer got his Davids and Goliaths mixed up, for it is actually Finkelstein’s theory which is the late-comer and the minority position among scholars today.

If you’re at all interested in what archaeologists are saying today about this contested issue, the article is worth your time. The photo gallery is viewable at a separate link.

Tagged Jerusalem, Shephelah

2011 Calendar: Gates of Jerusalem

Lamb & Lion Ministries has just released its 2011 calendar, featuring photographs of the gates of Jerusalem by BiblePlaces.com. The calendar may be purchased for $5 through their website.

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources

Weekend Roundup

Anson Rainey will be lecturing in the Chicago area on “The Order of Sacrifices in Levitical Ritual” in the inaugural lecture of a new series: “The Trinity Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology Lecture.” For more details on the Nov 15 lecture, see here.

The Albright Institute in Jerusalem is hosting a “Workshop on the History and Archaeology of the Negev and Edom in the Iron Age” on December 12. For more details, see this flyer.

Ehud Netzer was remembered in a broadcast this week on LandMinds.

A special exhibit opened at the British Museum this week entitled, “Journey through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.” Ann Wuyts has some related information.

Atiqot has placed their two most recent issues online. Arutz-7 explains the significance of this journal.

There are a couple of new articles about the irrigation system at Ramat Rahel.
Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled against a petition intended to stop the destruction of artifacts on the Temple Mount.

If you’ve ever wondered if Jews are or are not allowed to walk on the Temple Mount, you now have your answer.

There has been some discussion online recently about Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem in light of UNESCO’s claim that the Jewish holy place is actually a Muslim mosque. Leen Ritmeyer has the best images and discussion, but my guess is that it probably was a Muslim shrine before it was “Rachel’s Tomb.” In any case, the biblical evidence is decisively against the authenticity of the site.

Maybe I’ll explain more one of these days, but for the real short answer, see 1 Samuel 10:2. [I now see Jim Davila’s request for an explanation, so I’ll bump it up on my priority list and try to post on it soon.

UPDATE: That explanation is here.]

HT: Joe Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Weekend Roundup

Clean-Up Planned for Mount of Olives Cemetery

From the Jerusalem Post:

Prominent Jewish leaders around the world have joined forces to create an international- watch committee to clean up the Mount of Olives cemetery. The leaders say the cemetery has fallen into “utter chaos” since Israel regained control of the area in 1967. The committee is planning a kick-off event to raise public awareness on Saturday night at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.
“There isn’t a Jewish cemetery in the world that’s as neglected,” lamented Menachem Lubinsky, a New York businessman whose parents are buried in the cemetery.
He told The Jerusalem Post that his brother Avraham hatched the idea for an international committee after visiting their parent’s grave this past spring, when he noticed eight nearby graves destroyed with a “the kind of maliciousness that defies imagination.”
In May, the State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss released a report that slammed successive governments for not providing basic maintenance and security in the cemetery. Last week, the Knesset State Control Committee, headed by MK Yoel Hasson (Kadima), said the government had agreed to refurbish 20,000 graves by the end of 2013 – about 7,000 per year. Some 200 security cameras will also be installed in, and around, the cemetery.

The full story is here.

Cemetery on Mount of Olives

Tagged Jerusalem