Jerusalem Archives - Page 149 of 199

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

Falling Stones Endanger Women at Western Wall

From Arutz-7:

A recent report by engineers says that the condition of the Mugrabi Gate is continuously deteriorating and that a few incidents of rocks collapsing from it were recently reported.
The Mugrabi Gate is the only entry point for Jews and other non-Muslims to the Temple Mount.
Jerusalem District Archaeologist Yochanan Zeligman recently addressed a letter to Israel Antiquities Authority Director-General Shuka Dorfman, in which he warned that “a danger exists to the crowd in the women’s section of the Western Wall Plaza, as well to those who walk on the temporary bridge, should stones fall from above.”
The temporary bridge to which Zeligman referred is a wooden pedestrian pathway to the Temple Mount which was constructed in 2007 after a landslide two years earlier made the earthen ramp leading to the Mugrabi Gate unsafe and in danger of collapse. Zeligman’s letter was based on a report he submitted which determined that since the construction in the Mugrabi Gate has not yet been completed, there are sections which are unsupported and could endanger visitors to the site.
Archaeologist Dr. Gabi Barkai, Jerusalem Prize Winner, member of the Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, and lecturer at Bar Ilan University, spoke with Arutz7 on Thursday and expressed his sorrow that the Mugrabi Bridge is not being maintained for illogical political reasons.

The story continues with Barkai giving the background to the ramp. The Temple Mount was closed to non-Muslims until 2003, not 2008 as stated in the article.

New temporary ramp (left) alongside original ramp leading to Mugrabi Gate. Al Aqsa Mosque and the Mount of Olives are visible in the background.

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg has written a summary of major archaeological stories in September.

Aren Maeir critiques an article in the current issue of BASOR in which three geologists argue that
Hezekiah’s Tunnel took about four years to dig and was constructed not by Hezekiah but by his son Manasseh.

Leen Ritmeyer has just released “The Ark of the Covenant: Its Journey from Sinai to Jerusalem” digital image collection. I’ve used a number of these images from the slide set over the years, but now Leen writes that so much has been added that the CD is “an entirely new presentation.”

I received some criticism for daring to suggest that last week’s 60 Minutes report on the excavations in the City of David would be one-sided. But according to this eight-point critique by CAMERA, I was right. Another website responds to the claim that there is “no evidence” of King David in
Jerusalem.

Carol Meyers will be lecturing this week in Fort Worth. Her title is “Holy Land Archaeology: Past Meets Present” and tickets are $20. Details are here.

Claude Mariottini points out National Geographic’s slideshow on “12 Ancient Landmarks on Verge of Vanishing.” The photo of Nineveh is striking, but I can’t agree with the inclusion of Hisham’s Palace (Jericho) in the list. It is surprising to me that the description of the ruins of Famagusta in Cyprus does not mention the city’s ancient name, Salamis. Barnabas and Saul (Paul) landed here on Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:5).

The photograph in the blog header was taken twenty years ago this week. I was with a group of students from the Institute of Holy Land Studies excavating with Amihai Mazar at Tel Beth Shean.

Even in late October that place is hot!

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup