Tag: Gihon

Report from Jerusalem #45, 14th September 2012

“Seal of Samson” found near Beit Shemesh

A small seal has been found on the floor of a house dated to the 12th century BCE at the site of Tel Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem. It shows a human figure in combat with a four-legged animal. In size it is only 12mm across and the figures are very diagrammatic, but as the period and location fit with the Biblical story of Samson and his unarmed fight with a lion (Judges 14:6), it has been dubbed the Samson seal, though Prof. Shlomo Bunimovitz of Tel Aviv University, who is in charge of the dig at Beit Shemesh, is careful to say this is for convenience only and does not imply that such a combat took place, nor does it support in any way the existence of the heroic figure of Samson.

Exhibition of Vessels from Tel Qashish

The contents of a favissa, or store of disused cultic objects, uncovered at Tel Qashish in 2010 is now on display at the Haifa National Maritime Museum. Tel Qashish lies about 2 km north of Yokneam and 20 km southeast of Haifa. The artifacts are dated to the 13th century BCE and, according to the exhibition’s curator Avshalom Zemer, it is the first time that a discarded treasure of that early date has been found and displayed.

The hoard was found in a pit of limestone rock and comprised 200 artifacts, many rare and previously unknown, that originated from Mycenaean Greece and Cyprus as well as locally. The local items include goblets (one with a human face) large and small cylindrical stands, incense burners and libation chalices, which indicate that they have come from a nearby temple, which has not yet been found, nor has any local deity been identified. The imported ware included bowls, juglets, cooking pots, cup-and-saucer sets from Cyprus, and stirrup jars and flasks from Greece. The imports imply strong trade connections with the Aegean, which suggested that the exhibition be placed in the Maritime museum, but the artifacts are the property of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) who conducted the salvage dig that uncovered the hoard before the Haifa Bay gas pipeline was laid.

Highway Extension Uncovers Early Figurines

During extension of Highway Route One at Motza, west of Jerusalem, archaeologists discovered two small figurines, one of a ram and one of a wild bovine, The carvings in limestone are remarkably precise, according to Dr. Hamoudi Khalaily, co-director of the dig for the IAA . The pieces are dated to the Pre-pottery Neolithic B (approx. 8th millennium BCE) and according to the excavators are contemporary to the period when nomadic hunters were changing to a sedentary agricultural life. The other director of the dig, Anna Elrikh, believes that the figurines are related to the domestication of these animals that took place at the time. Other finds at the site include stone-age tools, and funereal and cultic objects, which have not yet been shown to the public.

Reservoir Under Outer Wall of Jerusalem Temple

During work on the underground tunnel to the Temple Mount from the Gihon area, the excavator Eli Shukron, working for the IAA, uncovered access to a vast underground reservoir or cistern measuring 12m by 5m and 4.5m high. It is dated to the First Temple period (pre 586 BCE) because it has the same type of wall plaster used in nearby cisterns in the Gihon area, which have been dated by pottery. The special plaster used to waterproof the stone walls has been found in several earlier locations and is claimed to be an Israelite invention that made the storage of winter water a practical proposition. The reservoir would have been filled by rainwater seeping down from the Temple Mount and because of its size Eli Shukron believes it was a public facility used by the Temple priests as well as by pilgrims. This is the first time that evidence of stored water has been found so near to the site of the Temple. It is not yet clear how the water was brought to the surface, though it was probably by means of skins lowered through openings in the roof of the reservoir.

Recording of Heritage Sites in Israel

During the months of September and October 2012 Wikimedia has organized a photography competition that will record cultural sites throughout 32 countries, including Israel. The work is organized by “Wiki loves Monuments” and Wikimedia Israel and will enable the public to download all the photographs free of charge when completed. The images of Israel will include over 600 buildings and ancient monuments, many religious sites as well as listed buildings in the older Jewish and Arab neighbourhoods. The organizers will select the ten best photographs taken in Israel, which will be submitted to the world-wide committee, and the best images will win local cash prizes. But all accepted images will become available to the public at no charge, according to Wikimedia.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg,

W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem

Report from Jerusalem #41, 24th April 2012

Two Bullae Found in Jerusalem

Two bullae, which were found several years ago by Dr. Eilat Mazar in the City of David, one by the Large Stone Structure (which Mazar thinks may have been the palace of David) and one by the northern or Nehemiah’s tower, are currently in the news because they are on display in America. One is in the name of Yehukhal ben Shelemyahu and the other Gedelyahu ben Pashhur, both known as ministers of King Zedekiah (597-587 BCE). They are two out of the four ministers who asked the king for Jeremiah to be put to death for spreading defeatist sentiments, and when the king said, “Behold, he is in your hands”, they threw him into a pit of mire (Jer. 38:1-6) from which he was later rescued.

Egyptian Scarab Found in City of David

A tiny scarab in the name of the Egyptian god Amun-Ra, written in hieroglyphics and with the imprint of a duck, was found at the Gihon section of the National Park by Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Dr. Joe Uziel. It is only 1.5 cm long and was probably used to stamp documents in the 13th century BCE when Egypt ruled Canaan and, according to the excavators, it is a unique find in the area.

Stolen Sarcophagus Covers Found in Jerusalem

Inspectors of the IAA have recently seized two Egyptian sarcophagus covers from a dealer’s store in the Old City. The covers are of wood with the virtual features of the deceased painted and modelled in plasterwork. They were pronounced genuine by the IAA and dated, one to the Late Bronze Age and one to the Iron Age. The covers had been neatly cut into two for easier transportation and the authorities think that they came to Israel via Dubai and Europe. The IAA say that legislation is now in place, since April 20th, to prevent the importation of any antiquities that have not been certified as legally exported from their country of origin. The Egyptian Government is requesting the return of the two covers and negotiations are in progress with the Foreign Ministry.

Syphonic Water Channel at Bet Yerah

During the construction of a new water carrier from the south to the city of Tiberias, the remains of an ancient water channel to Tel Beth Yerah, were unearthed and the work was delayed to enable a rescue dig to be carried out. The dig uncovered a pipeline from the ancient ‘Berenice aqueduct’ to the site of Hellenistic Bet Yerah, on the shores of the Kinneret, south of Tiberias. The pipeline had to cross the original riverbed of the Jordan, by sinking down to its level and rising on the other side up to the Tel.

This was done by means of a syphon built out of substantial interlocking basalt blocks, and the excavators found that this line had been built over an earlier pipeline of short interconnecting clay pipes, that had obviously failed under the considerable water pressure involved. The excavators, led by Yardenna Alexandre of the IAA, found that the large basalt blocks, or at least some of them, had probably been taken from the Early Roman-period syphon of Hippos-Sussita, on the east shore of the Kinneret, when it fell out of use. The basalt blocks, one of which had been carved out of a worn Corinthian capital, had a central channel with a bore of 30cm diameter while the earlier clay pipes were of only 8 to 10cm internal bore. The substantial water supply from the syphon was connected to a luxurious bathhouse adjacent to an early Islamic Ummayad palace, whose remains had been originally misinterpreted as an early synagogue and mikvah. This fact, together with the find of two bronze coins, would date the elaborate syphonic channel to the 7th century CE.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg,

W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem