Jerusalem Archives - Page 95 of 197

Chisel Discovered from Temple Mount Construction

Archaeologists excavating in the area below Robinson’s Arch along the southern end of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount have discovered a metal chisel used to shape the stones in the first century.
The Israel Antiquities Authority has not issued a press release yet, but Haaretz has learned of the discovery.

Archaeologists have found a stonemason’s chisel that they believe may have been used by the builders of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Actually Eli Shukron, an archaeologist working for the Israel Antiquities Authority, found the chisel last summer while digging at the lower base of the Western Wall, south of the Western Wall courtyard. However, the IAA has preferred to remain silent on the discovery, based on the need to study the tool and other evidence further before issuing any statements, it explained.
Shukron has been digging in the area of the City of David and the Western Wall together with Prof. Ronny Reich for the past 19 years, until a few months ago. In recent years Shukron had been excavating inside a tunnel found to lead from the City of David into the Old City, passing beneath its massive stone wall and ending at the Western Wall.
[…]
The chisel is just one of many archaeological treasures that Shukron and Reich reported from the area. Other finds include a Roman sword, cooking vessels from the period of the Great Rebellion, a gold bell that they think may have adorned the robe of the High Priest, and a ceramic seal apparently used to confirm the suitability of sacrifices brought to the Temple.
[…]
“People pray and kiss these holy stones every day, but somebody carved them, somebody chiseled them, somebody positioned them,” Shukron says. “They were workers, human beings, who had tools. Today for the first time we can touch a chisel that belonged to one of them.”

The full article in Haaretz (registration/subscription required) explains the basis for dating the construction of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount to one of the rulers after King Herod.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Chisel used in construction of Western Wall
Photo by Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority

Western Wall excavations below the ancient street level near discovery location

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

Aren Maeir will be lecturing on the Philistines in Kansas City and Chicago later this month.

Carl Rasmussen ran into a pack of wild boar at Caesarea Philippi and some in his group managed to get photos. (I’ve managed the former but never the latter.)

Israeli police arrested five Jews attempting to sacrifice a goat at the Temple Mount for Passover.

A couple of tombs from the 26th Dynasty were discovered in Pr-Medjet. Luxor Times has photos.

The ruins of Palmyra have suffered from the Syrian civil war, and the New York Times provides an update.

The ASOR roundup has more stories from archaeology around the world.

Bibles-Online is a new site that allows you to view every page of rare and antique copies of the Scriptures, including the 1521 Erasmus Greek NT, the 1535 Coverdale Bible, the 1549 Matthew-Tyndale Bible, and others.

Wayne Stiles is offering a significant discount on his new audiobook this weekend before it is available at Audible.com. I’ve highly recommended the print version of Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus in the past and now the audiobook is available for less than $7.

HT: Jack Sasson, Charles Savelle

Tagged Egypt, Holidays, Jerusalem, Lectures, Philistines, Resources, Syria, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Now online: the video of Eugene Merrill’s recent lecture on “Ai and Old Testament Chronology: Who Cares?”

Places of the Passion Week in 360-Degrees – Wayne Stiles shares some new photos.

The ASOR Blog has a series of posts about Passover and Jesus:

The Last Passover of Jesus, by James H. Charlesworth
Passover as Jesus Knew It, by Helen K. Bond
Did Jesus Celebrate Passover in Sepphoris?, by Eric M. Meyers

Also on the ASOR Blog: 10 Tips for Packing for a Dig

The sale of a Nebuchadnezzar II cylinder set a world auction record.

Now available for Kindle: Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament with English translation ($6.99)

iPad users can purchase the HebrewBible app here ($9.99).

Happy 6th Blogiversary to BibleX!

HT: Ted Weis

Tagged Excavations, Exodus-Conquest, Holidays, Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup

City of David Visitors’ Center Approved

More than a decade ago, work began for the construction of a new parking lot just south of the Dung Gate in Jerusalem. In the process, archaeological excavations revealed significant finds, including a building once claimed to be the palace of Helene of Adiabene. In recent years, plans were formed to establish a large visitors’ center in the former parking lot. This presumably would replace the current visitors’ center which hovers over ruins believed to be the palace of David. Last night a municipal committee approved plans for construction of the new center. From Haaretz:

The Jerusalem Regional Planning and Building Committee approved the construction of a controversial visitors’ center for the City of David just outside the Old City walls. The committee heard objections to the huge project for eight hours before approving it Thursday evening.
[…]
The proposal was submitted by the Elad association, the right-wing group that administers the City of David National Park, and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and has the support of the Jerusalem municipality.
The plan calls for the construction of a museum, visitors’ center and auditorium in the area known as the Givati parking lot, some 20 meters from the Old City wall and 100 meters from the Western Wall. It will also constitute a new gateway to the City of David National Park. The building is to be 7 meters tall and cover 16,600 square meters. Beneath a planned parking lot, finds discovered at the site in recent years are to be preserved and made accessible.
“The Jerusalem Regional [Planning] Committee heard the objections to the Kedem Center plan in Jerusalem and thought that the plan to build the visitors’ center will aid in exposing the important archeological finds to the broader public and serve as a focus for tourism that will help in developing the city of Jerusalem,” read the Interior Ministry’s announcement of the approval.

The full article describes some of the objections and the planning committee’s requirements. The story is also reported by Arutz-7. Several months ago the Jerusalem Post reported the objections of a group of archaeologists, though the basis for their views seems to be primarily political and not archaeological. In reviewing previous stories posted on this blog, I see that a nearly identical story was reported in February 2012; it is not clear what is different this time around. For more images, see the Hebrew version of the Haaretz article.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Silwan - Ministry of Interior - February 13, 2012

Proposed Kedem Center near City of David.
Image by Ministry of Interior

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Tourism

City of David Excavations Concluded

The Jerusalem Post reports on the conclusion of excavations in the City of David around the Gihon Spring. Under the direction of Ronny Reich and Eli Shukrun, excavations were focused on the water systems of ancient Jerusalem for about 15 years. This brief article and accompanying video focuses on one aspect of the dig—the Canaanite fortress built over the spring.

“The Spring Citadel was built in order to save and protect the water of the city from enemies coming to conquer it, as well as to protect the people going down to the spring to get water and bring it back up to the city,” said Director of Development in the City of David, Oriya Dasberg.
The citadel is believed to have protected the Gihon spring, described in the Book of Kings as the location of King Solomon’s anointing.
The Spring Citadel is the largest Canaanite fortress yet discovered in Israel, and is believed to be the largest known fortress pre-dating the reign of King Herod, according to the IAA.

A two-minute video explains what they found and why it took so long. The best resource on the excavation is Ronny Reich’s Excavating the City of David.

New excavations have begun on the eastern slope of the City of David under Tel Aviv University.

Gihon Spring excavations and visitor center, tb031614817

Gihon Spring excavations within City of David Visitor Center

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem

Magnificent Burial Cave Looted in Jerusalem

The Israel Antiquities Authority captured a group of thieves attempting to sell eleven ossuaries looted from a tomb in Jerusalem. The IAA issued a press release about the arrest and plunder today.

A number of suspects were apprehended in the early hours of Friday (28.3) in a joint operation by inspectors of the IAA Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery and detectives and patrolmen of the Shefet police station in Jerusalem. They were caught while in possession of eleven decorated stone ossuaries – ancient coffins – that the Jewish population used for burial in the Second Temple period, two thousand years ago. Some of the ossuaries still contained the skeletal remains of the deceased.
[…]
Shallow engravings, etched in the past by means of a sharp stylus, were found on the walls of two of the seized ossuaries. They cite the names of the deceased whose bones were collected in the coffins. One of the engraved ossuaries that were found bore the name “Ralfin”, written in squared Hebrew script characteristic of the Second Temple period. This name is apparently a Hebraized form of an unusual Roman name. According to Dr. Eitan Klein, deputy director of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery, who examined the ossuaries, “this is the first time this name appears on an ossuary from the Land of Israel”. On the other ossuary is a Greek inscription that could not be deciphered, and below it the name “Yo‘azar”, in squared Hebrew script. The name Yo‘azar is a common Jewish name in the Second Temple period, and occurs in contemporary written sources, such as Josephus’ writings. The name appears in this form and a slightly different form – “Yeho‘azar” – on numerous Jewish ossuaries from this period.
Some of the ossuaries were engraved with inscriptions in squared Hebrew script, characteristic of the Second Temple period and some bore Greek inscriptions, including the names of the deceased.
According to Dr. Eitan Klein, “these are singular finds. The inscriptions on the ossuaries provide us with additional characters and names from amongst the Jewish population in the Second Temple period, and the motifs adorning the ossuaries will supplement our knowledge with new information about the world of Jewish art in this period”. Dr. Klein stated, “There is no doubt that the ossuaries were recently looted from a magnificent burial cave in Jerusalem. Remnants of paint remained on top of the ossuaries and the containers themselves belong to the group of “magnificent Jerusalem” ossuaries that were manufactured in the city in antiquity”.

The full press release is here. High-resolution images are available from this link.

Photographs by the IAA Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem