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Report from Jerusalem, #27, 16th November 2010

Israel Antiquities Authority

Last month the Reshut haAtiqot (Israel Antiquities Authority, IAA) celebrated its 20th anniversary. Before that it had been the Israel Department of Antiquities within the Ministry of Education, but in 1990 it became an independent body with its own budget and leadership structure. As will be known from these reports, the IAA has figured largely in most of the archaeological work in Israel and is responsible for much of the recovery and restoration of the important sites in the country. The IAA now numbers a permanent staff of about 450 men and women, many of them highly qualified experts in their various fields. The work is directed from Jerusalem but spread among local offices throughout the country. There are storage depots and workshops in several locations and new headquarters are in the process of being constructed in Jerusalem, adjacent to the Israel Museum and the Bible Lands Museum, which will concentrate all the various activities in one ambitious building. Besides the straightforward work of site excavation, and particularly rescue digs, the IAA has an active department for publications and preservation and restoration work. Education is important and staff are encouraged to undertake further professional training, to upgrade their academic degrees, and are sent abroad to lecture at international conferences.

Dead Sea Scrolls coming on line

As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced its plan to digitalize the complete remains of the Dead Sea Scrolls to make them available to the public on line. In order to do this the IAA has teamed up with Google’s Israel Research and Design Centre in a $3.5 million project. The technology will enable each layer of each fragment to be viewed in colour and will make it unnecessary for the original pieces to be handled any more. It is planned to start the work before the end of the year and Google will then find a way to present the material on the Internet, together with transcriptions, translations and associated material. It is hoped that the first images will be available in Spring 2011 and work will then proceed continuously on the 30,000 fragments that have to be recorded in this way.

Mosaic floor at Tel Shikmona

The site was partly excavated from the 1950s to the 1970s and then fell into neglect and became used as a refuse tip. A new expedition by the University of Haifa, which is nearby, has cleaned the site and, on digging further, has uncovered some extensive floor mosaics of 6th century CE. The site lies by the sea shore west of Haifa, and was part of a major city in the area between 4th century BCE and the Muslim conquest of 7th CE. The previous finds included an Egyptian tomb, a Persian fortress and many elite items of Middle Bronze age. The mosaic presently being exposed and cleaned belonged to an ecclesiastical structure of the Byzantine period and will be exhibited as part of a public archaeological park connected to Hecht Park (connected with the Hecht Museum in the University building).

Professor Ehud Netzer, in Memoriam

On 28th October Ehud Netzer died, aged 76. His sudden death came as a great shock to all archaeologists in Israel and no doubt further afield as well. Netzer had retired as Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University recently but was still very active in expeditions in Israel and Albania and was busy on further publications of his work. He was the world expert on the colossal constructions of Herod the Great and had spent thirty years at the site of Herodion, some of it looking for the king’s tomb, which he finally located in 2007. As a result he travelled around the world describing this remarkable discovery. He continued his work at the site and was in a meeting with the Hebrew University to finalise plans to exhibit the frescoes he had uncovered at Herod’s private theatre at the site. It was then that he leaned against an unsafe wooden barrier and fell down 3m. backwards causing a massive concussion from which he never recovered. This was a tragic end to a distinguished career that started as a site architect under Yadin at Masada, and finished clarifying most of the important monuments of the Hasmonean and Herodian periods in Israel.

Stephen G. Rosenberg
W.F. Albright Institute, Jerusalem

Report from Jerusalem, #26, 14th October 2010

Herod’s private theatre at Herodion

In the wake of the rediscovery of the tomb of Herod, Prof. Ehud Netzer has now fully excavated a room identified as Herod’s private box at the centre of the 400-seat theatre on the eastern slopes of Herodion. It was decorated by Italian artists sent from Rome in about the year 15 BCE, some eleven years before Herod died, at which point the theatre went out of use. The plastered private box was decorated with painted ‘windows’ looking to a Nile scene and a seascape with a sailing vessel, as well as human and animal figures. The theatre is being restored by the Hebrew University and it is hoped that it will be open to the public next year, but it can already by seen in outline from the upper part of Herodion.

Figure of Tyche at Sussita

In a private house in the Hellenistic city of Sussita (Hippos), above the eastern shore of Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), Prof. Arthur Segal and Dr. Michael Eisenberg of Haifa University have found a fragment of fresco depicting Tyche, the goddess of fortune (and city goddess), together with the figure of a maenad, associated with the god Dionysus in his rites, dated to the 3rd century or early 4th century CE. This large house and its decoration remained in use in the Byzantine period and thus, according to the finds, these cultic images were not removed with the coming of Christianity, when several churches were built in Sussita.

Ring of Apollo found at Dor

A ring of the early Hellenistic period (late 4th century BCE) was found at Tel Dor, on the coast, north of Caesarea. According to Dr. Ayelet Gilboa, of Haifa University, it is a rare find and shows that high-quality jewellery was appreciated and affordable in a provincial port like Dor. The head on the ring was identified as an image of Apollo, the sun god – and god of healing, prophecy and music. It is an embossed image on a bronze signet ring used as a seal honouring the god. It was found in the same area as a gemstone with the miniature head of Alexander the Great and an elaborate mosaic floor that formed part of a major public building or large residence, uncovered during an earlier season.

Samaritan Synagogue south of Bet She’an

In an excavation south of Beth Shean directed for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) by Dr. Walid Atrash and Yaakov Harel, a mosaic floor from a Samaritan synagogue dating to the 5th century CE was uncovered. This would have remained until the Muslim Conquest of 634 CE. The ruins of the large hall of the synagogue face Mt. Gerizim, the holy site of the Samaritan Temple, and the mosaic has an inscription that the archaeologists read as: ‘This is the temple…’, which would refer either to this synagogue (if it were called a ‘temple’) or to the one formerly on Mount Gerizim site itself.

This synagogue is one of several in the Beth Shean area, once a major centre of Samaritans, and lies close to Nablus (Shechem), not far from the village that is still home to the remaining Samaritan community.

10,000th birthday of Jericho

The city council of Jericho is anxious to attract tourists to the earliest city in the known world, dating back to 8000 BCE. Besides the actual remains of the ancient city, now undergoing its fifth major excavation, this time by an Italian team, the local authority is promoting two other ancient features to interest tourists. One is an ancient sycamore tree with a massive hollow trunk two metres in diameter that, according to local legend, is the tree climbed by Zacchaeus, the short tax collector who, according to the Gospel of Luke (19:1-10), was trying to get a better view of Jesus. A new museum and visitors’ centre is planned, adjoining the tree. However, there is another dead, glass-covered sycamore in the courtyard of the nearby Greek Orthodox Church that claims the same venerable history.

The second feature for development is the colourful mosaic paving of the Hisham Palace, adjoining north Jericho, where the largest local mosaic is being uncovered for public display. Both the museum and the mosaic depend on raising the necessary finance, for the building and for a weather shield for the mosaic. Another problem is that Jericho, located in the Palestinian National Authority, is currently not open to holders of Israeli passports, but it is hoped this may change in the near future.

Forgery trial draws to a close

After five years, the defence has completed its case and Judge Aharon Farkash is due to give his verdict in the local Jerusalem Court before the end of the year, after considering the opinions of many legal and scientific experts and 12,000 pages of evidence. The case has boiled down to a focus on two major artefacts: the Yehoash tablet and the inscribed Ossuary of James, brother of Jesus, and to two defendants, Oded Golan, a Tel Aviv collector, and Robert Deutsch, a dealer and expert on ancient seals. The judge has already said that he will find it nearly impossible to reach a decision where the experts themselves cannot agree, and that he does not see that the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that, if there is forgery, the defendants have carried it out. The prosecution was brought by the IAA, who must await the verdict with some trepidation.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg
W.F.Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem

Report from Jerusalem, #25, September 2010

Ancient treasures in Gaza

There was a report last August about the difficulties of presenting archaeological remains in and around Gaza city. Much work has been done in the area in the past and much remains to be done, but at present organized digs are difficult to arrange and stray finds or rescue digs are open to unpreventable looting. In addition, contractors are loathe to report any finds to the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, as they will send a team of investigators and the building work will be held up for long periods. As a result discoveries are not notified and small finds are just covered over or looted by the contractors.

The Director of the Ministry, Mohammed Kheila, points out that funds for rescue work have been allocated, but his staff is small and unable to deal with all the many sites, both on private and public projects. Hayam al-Bitar, head of the Hamas Government Museums Department, says that they try and educate the public in the importance of the ancient findings and arrange suitable exhibitions, but they are hampered by lack of appropriate materials for cleaning and preservation due to the Israeli embargo on non-essential goods.

Philistine Temple at Tel es-Safi, near Kiryat Gat

Tel es-Safi (Tel Tsafit), identified as Biblical Gath, is being excavated by a team from Bar-Ilan University under the direction of Prof. Aren Maier. A Philistine temple building has been excavated, dating to the 10th century BCE, including two large column bases that would have supported pillars to the roof, and may have defined the inner sanctum of the temple. Several walls on the site appear to have collapsed outwards due to a severe earthquake. Prof. Maier speculates that it may have been the earthquake of c.750 BCE mentioned in the books of Isaiah (2:19, 21) and Amos (1:1, 4:11: 6:11, 9:1), and speculates that, judging by the damaged walls, it may have been of an intensity of 8 on today’s Richter scale. The excavators also found evidence of the siege equipment used by Hazael of Damascus in his destruction of Gath in around 830 BCE.

Reopening of Israel Musem in Jerusalem

There was a special ceremony in early August for archaeologists to celebrate the opening of the archaeological wing of the Museum, recently renovated on a large scale. All the existing exhibits have been newly presented in a most attractive new setting. Of special interest is a new room that presents details of some of the famous pioneers of archaeological work in Israel/Palestine. Individual sections are devoted to the work of Sir William Flinders Petrie, to Felicien de Saulcy (who worked in Jerusalem, Herodion and Airaq al-Amir) and Conrad Schick, several of whose Temple models are shown. There is also a section on the work of the Palestine Exploration Fun; the original theodolite, used for the Survey of Western Palestine by Charles Warren and others, is exhibited.

Heavy Gold Coin from Tel Kedesh

The heaviest gold coin ever found in Israel was uncovered recently at the dig in Kedesh led by Sharon Herbert and Andrea Berlin of the University of Michigan and University of Minnesota. Dating to the time of the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruling from Alexandria, the obverse shows the head of Queen Arsinoe Philadelphus, wife (and half-sister) of Ptolemy II, and the reverse has two overlapping cornucopia, symbols of plenty. The unusual size and weight (27.71 g), suggest that the coin, minted in Alexandria, was used for ceremonial purposes to honour the queen, rather than as currency. It was minted by one of her successors, Ptolemy V, in 191 BCE.

According to Dr. Donald Ariel, head of the IAA Coin Department, the coin – a mnaieion – had a nominal value of one mina, equivalent to 100 silver drachmas, and is then a and would have been equivalent in value to half-a-year’s average senior salary, about $80,000 today. Tell Kedesh, south of Kiryat Shemona, has been shown to be the administrative seat of the satrap (governor) during the Persian period and continued as such under the Ptolemies who reigned over Israel/Palestine after the death of Alexander the Great, until they were ousted by the Seleucids in 198 BCE. The coin was found by the central administrative building that housed public rooms and an archive.

Cameo of Eros from Givati Car Park site, Jerusalem

The large building site opposite the City of David Visitors’ Centre has recently offered up another piece of jewelry (previously there were gold and pearl earrings) of the Roman period. This time it is a small figure of Eros in relief cut into semi-precious pale blue onyx placed on a dark brown onyx background. The piece is only 1 cm. long and 0.7 cm. wide. It may have been enclosed in an oblong metal setting and used as a ring or even an earring. The figure of Eros is resting with his left hand on a reversed torch, an image that symbolizes the loss of life, according to Dr Doron Ben Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets, who are leading the excavation of the site by the IAA.

A Moabite Temple

Last week an announcement from Amman reported on the finding of numerous sacred vessels within an Iron Age shrine (c.1200-539 BCE) at Khirbet ‘Ataroz (Biblical Ataroth) near to Madaba, south-west of Amman. According to Ziad al-Saad, Jordan Antiquities Chief, the structure measured 9 m. by 4 m., had a raised platform and two antechambers, and stood in an open courtyard of 12 m. by 12 m. The excavation turned up over 300 sacred vessels and figurines, including a bull figurine depicting the god Hadad, circular clay vessels, lamps and altars. The dig is being conducted with La Sierra University of California and the pieces will be exhibited in Jordan’s new Archaeological Museum on the Acropolis in Amman. We await further news of this important find.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg
Albright Institute, Jerusalem

Report from Jerusalem, #24, July 2010

Honey Bees at Tel Rehov, Bet Shean Valley

During excavations at Tel Rehov, under the direction of Prof. Amihai Mazar of the Hebrew University, thirty intact beehives were found in 2007, as well as evidence of over another 100 hives made of straw and clay. From their context these hives could be dated to about 900 BCE. It was surprising to find these hives in the middle of the city, and the residue of the hives, which included bee fragments, were sent for biological analysis by Prof. Guy Bloch of the HU Department of Ecological Science. He confirmed the great age of the hives that had become carbonized, and he found remnant of bee larvae and pupae, remnants of wings and legs.

The type of bee was different from the local Syrian species, and not similar to the known Egyptian or Persian varieties, but was found to be related to the Anatalyan type found in central Turkey. It may have been that they were indigenous to Israel in antiquity or that they were somehow imported to the region. The reason for their use at Rehov was that the species is known for their high productivity as well as their docility, which made them suitable for an urban setting. Evidence was found of moving bees in large pottery hives and an Assyrian stamp of the 8th century BCE (from elsewhere) showed that some bees had been brought 400 km. from the Taurus mountains in Turkey, to a southern location. Bloch therefore speculated that the Rehov beekeepers had started with the Syrian variety but, after finding them too aggressive for an urban location, they had taken the trouble of importing the more docile species from Turkey in the north.

Jerusalem: Herod’s Gate reinaugurated

Four years into a five-year programme of renovation of the Old City walls, the work to Herod’s gate, at the north-east sector, has been completed. It is one of the seven major gateways and all its stonework has been repaired, cleaned and repointed. Ugly electrical and drainage conduits have been removed or concealed and the interior of the gate refurbished. The gate dates from 1539 and leads into the Muslim Quarter. The work was co-ordinated with the local residents so as not to disrupt their busy commercial activities during the four months of the facelift.

The complete renovation project is funded by the Prime Minister’s Office, administered by the Jerusalem Development Authority and executed by the Conservation Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The next phase of the work will concentrate on the Damascus Gate and the Lion’s Gate, on the north and east walls of the Old City. During work near the Damascus Gate, the workmen found an area of shattered stone that concealed an old hand-grenade. The police were called and it was identified as a Turkish-era weapon and removed it for controlled detonation. It was considered to have lain hidden in the wall for at least eighty years.

Jerusalem: large medieval monastery fresco

Remains of the 9m. x nearly 3m. high fresco were discovered during rescue excavations in the Kidron valley, next to Gethsemene in 1999. The fresco probably came from a wall of 12th century Abbey of St Mary of the Valley of Jehoshaphat. At the time it had to be cut up and taken for safekeeping into the storage rooms of the Israel Museum to avoid being destroyed by the sewage line that was being built in the valley, and it is now being restored by expert Jacques Nagar and prepared for exhibition in the newly renovated Israel Museum, which is opening its doors this week.

The coloured fresco depicts Jesus in the centre flanked by Mary to his right and John the Baptist to his left, both seeming to plead for forgiveness for Humanity. There are further incomplete figures and a Latin inscription from St. Augustine that reads “Who injures the name of an absent friend, may not at this table as guest attend” which is a warning against loose talk. According to Jon Seligman of the IAA, who was in charge of the original discovery, this will be an opportunity for the public to see one of the few remaining frescoes in Israel.

Wadi Ara, near Katzir Harish: bronze tablet is chariot-wheel pinhead

During excavations by Prof. Adam Zertal of Haifa University in 1997 at El-Ahwat in the Wadi Ara, a small bronze circular tablet was found, only 2 cm. in diameter and 5 mm thick. It depicts the head of a woman with large wheel-like earrings and has now been identified by scientist Oren Cohen of Haifa University as the decorative plaque set on the end of the linchpin that held the axle of a Canaanite chariot. He came to his conclusion after seeing similar objects on the chariots in the battle scenes in the Temple of Ramses III in Luxor, Egypt.

Dating from its context in the ‘Governor’s House’ of the town, it is suggested by Zertal that the 12th century BCE pinhead may have served one of the 900 chariots of the foreign general Sisera in his fight with the Israelites under Deborah and Barak at the battle of Mount Tabor in the lower Galilee. Zertal claimed 13 years ago that the site of El-Ahwat was most likely the Haroshet Hagoyim mentioned in the Book of Judges (4:2) as the headquarters of Sisera. It appears that having one’s head on such a linchpin was a sign of insult and indignity, and that this woman depicted here was a Hittite goddess, one hated by the Egyptians and presumably also by the Canaanites, who were being led by Sisera.

Bethsaida, north of the Sea of Galilee: unique gold coin found

In this year’s excavations, directed by Dr. Rami Arav, of University of Nebraska at Omaha, a gold coin of Antoninus Pius (138-161 CE) 15th Roman Emperor, was found in a residential building of this town of fishermen, mentioned in the New Testament as being visited by Jesus.

The coin was minted to announce that Antoninus Pius had been designated consul by the Roman Senate for the second time, a very high honour. It is the first such coin found in Israel, having the head of the Emperor on the obverse and the goddess Pietas before an altar on the reverse. The coin is 98% gold, and weighs 7gm. It is unusual to find such a high-value coin in a provincial town, but a silver coin had been found there in a previous season and it is possible that the town was an active trading post on the shores of the lake that attracted wealthy merchants from further afield.

Jerusalem: fragment of cuneiform tablet found near City of David

A 2cm by 4cm fragment of a larger document was found in fill from the Ophel area, north of the City of David, in excavations directed by Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University. It is only a tiny fragment but the cuneiform writing is of a good quality and indicates that it was the work of an expert scribe working for a high-level administration. The date assigned to the context is 14th century BCE and shows that it was contemporary with the El Amarna correspondence that was exchanged between the Egypt of Akhenaton and prince Abdu-Heba of Jerusalem.

The piece has been identified by Prof. Wayne Horowitz of the Hebrew University as being of high quality but there is insufficient of it to read its meaning, although a few words such as ‘you were’, ‘to do’ and ‘later’ are mentioned.

Nevertheless the fragment indicates the importance of Jerusalem at this early date. Mazar described this piece as one of the most important finds of her dig and thought that the appearance of one fragment might well lead to the discovery of further pieces of this document.

Tel Hazor in the north: another cuneiform fragment

Several fragments of cuneiform tablets were recently found in the palace area of Tel Hazor, during excavations directed by Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman of the Hebrew University. The language is Akkadian and the words ‘slave’, ‘master’ and ‘tooth’ have been deciphered, which makes the subject similar to one treated in the Code of Hammurabi of the 18th century BCE from Elam and Mari in the East.

The newly discovered fragments will be published, together with others found previously, by Prof. Wayne Horowitz of the Hebrew University. They form the largest body of cuneiform documents so far discovered in Israel. The collection indicates that Hazor was an important trading, administration and cultural centre in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages.

Work on site continues with the excavation of a large monumental Bronze Age building where the team hopes to recover further fragments.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg,
Albright Institute, Jerusalem

Report from Jerusalem, #23, June 2010

Medieval aqueduct in Jerusalem

An aqueduct from the Ottoman period was uncovered at the north end of the Sultan’s Pool just west of the Old City walls. It can be dated to 1320 CE and was carried on nine arches, two of which have been found, across the valley. This was part of a much earlier system that brought water from Solomon’s Pool at Bethlehem to inner Jerusalem. The Ottoman rulers reused and rebuilt part of the ancient aqueduct and later converted it to a metal pipeline. The archaeologists knew of its existence from 19th century photographs but the arches did not come to light until repairs were made recently to the present water supply. The early photograph showed an inscription dating to 1320, dedicated to Sultan Nassar al-Din Muhammad Ibn Qalawun, according to Yehiel Zelinger, who led the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The findings will be preserved in the redevelopment of the Sultan’s Pool area, south-west of the Jaffa Gate.

Graves in Ashkelon

We have mentioned previously that work to the Barzilai Hospital emergency underground shelter facility was held up due to the location of graves on the site. After a lengthy period of Government indecision, the work is now going ahead, and the IAA have been authorized to excavate the bones, which are considered to be of pagan origin, although this is disputed by some orthodox protesters. The bones will be carefully collected and handed over to the Religious Ministry for safekeeping. During his work on the site, Dr. Yigal Israel, of the IAA, uncovered a drum-shaped base with carved garlands that is considered to have been a Roman altar, which further underlines the pagan nature of the cemetery, that would have served Hellenistic Ashkelon.

Middle Bronze Age cultic artifacts found in Yoqne’am

In an emergency dig by the IAA before the laying of a natural gas pipeline in the north, a cache of over 100 artifacts was uncovered in a rock hollow along the route. According to director Edwin van den Brink of the IAA, some of the small vessels, containing liquids and dated to 3,500 years ago, came from Cyprus and Mycene (Greece). The items were probably buried after going out of use, indicating that they had served a cultic function associated with a nearby shrine, and were not just to be destroyed but had to be buried. The site lies at the foot of the Tel at Yoqne’am, in the Yezri’el Valley, and the IAA has agreed to exhibit the artifacts later in the year.

MBA Tombs in Nazareth

After considerable work on a site in central Nazareth, due to be developed as an hotel and shopping mall, bones were uncovered and a halt was called to the work, for fear of demonstrations by religious groups. However the work was reorganized to be completed in just one long day, as was done recently, under the direction of Yardenna Alexandre (nee Rosenberg) of the IAA. The excavation went to a depth of 10 metres and exposed four MBA shaft tombs, one of a warrior buried with his weapons, and one that had been reused in the Iron Age. Full details are not yet available.

18th Anniversary of the Bible Lands Museum

This Museum, which stands opposite the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, has been celebrating its 18 years of existence with anniversary lectures and a special exhibition named Angels and Demons. The exhibition is devoted to Jewish magic through the ages and the catalogue contains learned articles, including one by Prof. Mark Geller of University College, London. The opening Ceremony was addressed by Sir John Boardman, of Oxford, who lectured on ‘Greeks going East’. From this one can see that the Museum, which was founded by the late Dr. Elie Borowski in 1992, and is directed by his widow Batya, has now become a respectable centre of learning and excellence and we have come to appreciate the wonderful range of artifacts and the scholarship that has accompanied their display. There are some excellent models and it is a great resource for teaching schoolchildren.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg,

W.F.Albright Institute, Jerusalem