Jerusalem Archives - Page 155 of 199

Status Quo for the Upper Room

The Vatican will not be taking control of the Upper Room (Room of Last Supper, Coenaculum) according to this report in Arutz-7:

Israel National News has learned that the Last Supper Room is off the negotiating table, at least for now, in talks between Israel and the Vatican orchestrated by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.
[…]
One of the most difficult points of contention between Israel and the Vatican is the question of who controls the Last Supper Room. The room is said to mark the burial site of Kings Solomon and Hezekiah, and is also located in the same structure that houses the tomb of King David. Further complicating the matter is the fact that the building is known as the oldest Catholic church in the world, and has also served as a synagogue and as a mosque — in fact, Muslim inscriptions can still be seen on its walls. To simplify matters, the Last Supper Room was taken out of the agreement. “We basically reached the principle that it will not be part of this agreement,” the source said. “We have wanted the status quo, and they have wanted sovereignty,” since negotiations began 11 years ago. “At this point, it will not be discussed as part of this agreement, which is progress.”
Progress was also apparently made on the issue of Israel’s right to expropriate land when necessary, albeit not without some caveats. The status quo was maintained on most of the 21 disputed properties in the Land of Israel, but there were six outstanding exceptions in which Israel has allegedly agreed not to confiscate land “unless there is an extreme need”: the Mount of Beatitudes, Tabha, Capernaum, the Church of the Annunciation, Mt. Tabor and the Garden of Gethsemane. “Obviously if there is a security situation, the State of Israel can expropriate, as is the sovereign right of any nation,” the source said. “After 11 years, that’s real progress,” he said.

The full story is here.

Traditional Upper Room, Jerusalem

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism

Weekend Roundup

The latest LandMinds program features Wheaton professor Daniel Master concerning his excavations of Ashkelon. This year they are focusing on periods before and after the Philistine occupation.

Another recent LandMinds program interviews Amnon Ben-Tor, excavator of Hazor. The second part of the show features the directors of the survey and excavation team of Tel Burna (Bornat), possible biblical Libnah.

Over on PaleoBabble, Michael Heiser has announced a new online institute in which you can study the Bible, the ancient languages, ancient history, and more for a very low price.

In Jeremiah 32, the Lord tells the prophet to purchase a plot of land even though the Babylonians are about to conquer the city. If you want to see how archaeological background can help us to understand the details of a biblical story, check out Gordon Franz’s “archaeological exposition” of the passage.

360Cities has some beautiful panoramas from Egypt, including the Pyramids in Giza and the Karnak Temple in Luxor.

If you haven’t had a chance to walk through the sewers of ancient Jerusalem, Ferrell Jenkins is guiding tours today.

Tagged Egypt, Jerusalem, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Northern Hinnom Excavations

A month ago, I noted an excavation in the northern Hinnom Valley of Jerusalem that was investigated and photographed by Tom Powers. The architecture was partly obscured in those photographs by tarps.

Reader Roi Brit passed the area a few days ago and noted that the excavation appears to have stopped and the tarps have been removed. Craig Dunning has sent some photographs he took this morning.

View of excavations, looking north

View of excavations, looking south. The artisans’ quarter is visible in the background.

Close-up of excavations

Jerusalem from southwest. Area of excavations is circled in red.

If anyone knows more about what we’re looking at, let us know.

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem

Mysterious Holes at Pool of Siloam

If you have visited the Pool of Siloam since it was first discovered in the summer of 2004, you may have noticed some strange holes in otherwise beautiful paving stones running along the pool’s edge.

Pool of Siloam pavement with mysterious holes

Sometimes holes were made in pavement for door sockets, but that hardly seems likely here given their placement. In theaters, holes which held poles for the fabric roof are sometimes found in the seating area. Given the suggestion that the Pool of Siloam served as a ritual bath (miqveh) in the 1st century, one could conceive of a need for curtains for protecting privacy. But this doesn’t seem to fit the configuration of the holes at the site.

Over on his blog, Tom Powers has advanced a new idea. I think it’s the best suggestion I’ve heard so far, but I’m not sure that I’m convinced yet. If you have any ideas or have heard other suggestions, chime in on the comments there.

Tagged Jerusalem

Israel Museum To Open July 26

Two months from today, the $100 million renovation of the Israel Museum is slated to be completed and the doors of the new galleries opened to the public. From Art Daily:

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, inaugurates its renewed 20-acre campus, featuring new galleries, orientation facilities, and public spaces, on July 26, 2010. The multi-year expansion and renewal project was designed to enhance visitor experience of the Museum’s art, archeology, architecture, and surrounding landscape, in complement to the original architecture and design of the campus. Led by James Carpenter Design Associates of New York and Efrat-Kowalsky Architects of Tel Aviv, the $100-million project also includes the comprehensive renovation and reconfiguration of the Museum’s three collection wings and the reinstallation of its outstanding encyclopedic collections. […] The Israel Museum has seen tremendous growth since the 1965 opening of its original landmark campus, designed by Alfred Mansfeld and Dora Gad as a modernist reference to Jerusalem’s Mediterranean hilltop villages. The Museum’s architectural footprint has increased ten-fold since its opening, and its collections have grown significantly throughout its history, particularly in the past ten years. The project, which broke ground in June 2007, encompasses 80,000 square feet of new construction and 200,000 square feet of renovated and expanded gallery space within the Museum’s existing 500,000-square-foot architectural envelope. The $100-million capital campaign supporting the Museum’s campus renewal, completed in December 2009, is the largest collective philanthropic initiative ever undertaken for a single cultural institution in the State of Israel. The Museum is also nearing completion of an endowment campaign, and has raised nearly $60 million toward its $75-million goal, which will bring the institutional endowment to a total of $150 million, comprising the largest endowment for any cultural institution in the country.

Tomorrow, May 27, the museum will honor International Museum Day, and admission to the museum is free to individuals. Details (in Hebrew) are here.

Tagged Jerusalem, Museums

Damascus Gate, Then and Now

Damascus Gate, early 1900s

This photo, taken by the American Colony photographers in approximately 1910, shows Damascus Gate on the northern side of the Old City of Jerusalem. At the time, the Ottoman authorities were building new shops lining the street outside the gate. These structures were removed in later years.

Notice also on the skyline of the Old City that the domes of the Hurvah and Tiferet Israel synagogues are visible. These were both destroyed in the 1948 war. The most prominent tower belongs to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, dedicated in 1898. The domes on the right side belong to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The recent photo below shows the area in the early morning before traffic picked up.

Damascus Gate, January 2010

Tagged American Colony Photos, Jerusalem, Then and Now