Tag: IAA

Report from Jerusalem #74, 30th November 2015

Acra Citadel Found

In the second century BCE in the fight with the Maccabees, the Syrian Greek Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes erected a citadel called the Acra in Jerusalem to control and watch over events on the Temple Mount, where the Maccabees had recaptured the Temple.  As the Temple Mount was higher than the surrounding areas, the Acra would have had to have been a tower high enough to oversee the Mount, and its location has been sought for many years by archaeologists but without avail.  However in the last few weeks, scholars from the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) working at the Givati parking lot just south of the Temple Mount have unearthed the massive foundations of what they consider to have been a high tower, perhaps twenty metres in height, and which they now think were the foundations of the Acra tower, which, if high enough, could have been used to supervise the activities on the Temple Mount. In addition to the tower foundations, the IAA found the base of an adjoining wall and the remains of a sloping rampart located to keep attackers away from the base of the wall and the tower. They also found evidence of the remains of a battle around the base of the tower in the form of lead sling shots, ballista stones and arrowheads, some of them in bronze, with the sign of a trident stamped on them, symbolizing the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. These would have been evidence of the battle conducted by the Maccabees in an attempt to storm the tower, which was hampering their activities on the Temple Mount.

Fine Mosaic in Lod

During excavations by the IAA at a large villa of the Roman period in th Neveh Yerek area of Lod, twenty kilometers south-east of  Tel Aviv, a brilliant mosaic was uncovered in what had been the living room floor of the villa, which stood in a neighbourhood of wealthy dwellings. The mosaic depicts scenes of hunting, figures of animals, fish and birds, with vases and baskets of flowers, and the archaeologists said that the images indicated a highly developed artistic ability. The work was found as the ground was being prepared for a visitor’s centre, in the name of Shelby White and Leon Levy, to view another colourful mosaic, already found in the courtyard of the mansion, which had measured approximately twelve metres square.  The mosaic will be lifted and shown in several museums at home and abroad and it will then be returned and the villa and the two mosaics will be displayed to the public.

Oldest Domesticated Seeds Found in Galilee

The world’s oldest domesticated Fava seeds have been found in the Galilee, in Israel. It is considered that the Fava bean (vicia faba), which bears large pods with edible seeds, dates back for more than ten thousand years, making them the world’s oldest domesticated seeds. They were found in storage pits after they had been husked, and the seeds were of a uniform size, indicating they were all cultivated and harvested at the same period of the year.  At this time an agricultural revolution was taking place throughout the region, when animals and plants were being domesticated and it is clear from several finds that the Galilee was the main producer of legumes at this period.

Early Statuette Found by Young Boy

Itai Halperin, an eight year old boy on a day trip with is family around Bet Shemesh, picked up a round ceramic object and soon realized it was the ancient head of a small statue and turned it over to the IAA, who recognized it as the head of the sculpture of a naked fertility goddess.  They considered it to be of the period between the eighth and sixth centuries BCE and its find area would indicate that this was a place controlled by the kingdom of Judah, of which Bet Shemesh was a prominent city. The find was important according to the IAA and Itai was awarded a special archaeological certificate to celebrate his find. He thanked them and said that he wanted one day to be like the celebrated Indiana Jones.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg,

W.F Albright Institute of Archeological Research, Jerusalem

This report comes to members of AIAS from Stephen Rosenberg in Israel. It represents his personal assessment. The Society takes no responsibility for the content.

Report from Jerusalem #72, 25th August 2015

Ancient Torah Fragment Restored

The Byzantine synagogue of Ein Gedi was excavated forty-five years ago and a charred scroll fragment was retrieved from the ark.  The fragment could not be deciphered at the time, according to Dr. Sefi Porath, the excavator,  and it was eventually scanned by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and sent to Prof. Brent Seales of Kentucky University, whose software was able to recognize the first eight verses of the Book of Leviticus of the Hebrew Bible, The discovery was quite astonishing to Pnina Shor of the IAA’s Dead Sea Scrolls Project, who said that “ we can now bequeath to future generations part of the Bible from the Ark of a 1,500 year-old synagogue.”

Obscure Drawings Found on Second Temple Ritual Bath

The mikveh (ritual bath) was discovered two months ago during the construction of two nursery schools in the Arnona district of Jerusalem when an ancient cave was uncovered. The mikveh was dated to the first century CE, according to the IAA, and one wall was found to be covered with Aramaic inscriptions and drawings of a boat, a palm tree and other plants. The archaeologists, Royce Greenwald and Alexander Wiegmann said such an assembly of symbols from the Second Temple period was extremely rare and for them to be found on the walls of a mikveh was a puzzle, as were the inscriptions themselves.  They have now been removed to the conservation laboratories of the IAA for further study, decipherment and preservatory treatment. It is hoped that the inscriptions can then be read after which they will eventually be put on show to the public.

Chicken Bred for Mass Consumption in Fourth Century BCE

According to researchers at Haifa University, the first instance of breeding chickens and eggs for mass consumption took place in the area of Lachish two thousand three hundred years ago, before the practice spread to Europe. Professors Gilboa and Bar-Oz said that underground breeding facilities of the Hellenistic period had been found in the lowland area, which indicated local use, and the large numbers of bones at a great number of sites showed the potential for an export industry, which may have supplied other parts of the Middle East and even spread to Europe as well.

Washington Museum to Show Israeli Antiquities

The Museum of the Bible, which is due to open in Washington DC, USA in 2017, will have a large area reserved for temporary exhibitions, and it is planned to set out an area of four thousand square feet for a show of Israeli antiquities, according to a press release issued by Israel Hasson, director of the IAA, “which will make the archaeological heritage of Israel and the vital work conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority accessible to people around the world.”

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg

W.F Albright Institute of Archeological Research, Jerusalem

Report from Jerusalem #70, 11th June 2015

Mummies in Chile Subject to Melting

The Museum at the University of Tatapaca in northern Chile houses a number of mummies dating back to 5000 BCE, believed to be the oldest in the world, according to the curator Mariela Santos. Over the last few years she has noticed that the mummies are melting, disintegrating and turning into a mysterious black ooze. The staff have called in a Harvard scientist Ralph Mitchell, a bacteria specialist, to investigate. He has come to the conclusion that the mummies are victims of climate change, due to the increased humidity over northern Chile in the last ten years, and the common micro-organisms have become voracious consumers of collagen, the main component of the skin of the mummies. Mitchell warned that this was the first case known to him but that the phenomenon may be increasing and affecting other valuable remains in other locations.

The mummies in question are known as the Chinchorro mummies. There are about 120 at the museum and date from a community of hunter-gatherers. They are unusual in that they include human foetuses, and the early deaths are considered to have been due to arsenic poisoning caused by drinking water poisoned by volcanic eruptions. The mummies have survived due to the arid conditions of the Atacama Desert where they were excavated. Mitchell and the museum curators are working on a solution and consider that humidity and temperature control offer the best solution. To achieve that a new museum is planned at cost of $56 million, by the Chilean government, where each mummy will be housed in its own glass cubicle with its own microclimate, and it is hoped that will save them. But Santos is not optimistic and said: “from the moment they are taken out of the ground they start deteriorating.”

Ancient Treasures of Palmyra Threatened

Islamic State fighters are in occupation of Palmyra, whose remains were designated as a UNESCO world heritage site and listed as being in danger in 2013. The fate of its antiquities remains unclear. Also known as Tadmur, Palmyra was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world, and stands at the intersection of important routes to Damascus and Homs. Two weeks ago, while fighting was proceeding at two kilometres from the city Syrian antiquities Chief Abdulkarim said that the international community was not doing anything to protect the antiquities but “would weep and despair” after the damage had been done, as had happened in Iraq. In Palmyra, he said, the Roman-era colonnades, some well-preserved temples and a theatre were under direct threat from the Islamic extremists who were converging on the city.

Hasmonean Aqueduct Exposed in Jerusalem

During the construction of a sewage line in the Har Homa district to the south of Jerusalem, a section of the lower aqueduct constructed by the Hasmonean kings to distribute water throughout the city two thousand years ago, was found by archaeologist Ya’akov Billig, director of the excavation for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). According to Billig, the aqueduct had been built in open areas around the city, but due to modern expansion, it was now buried under several residential areas. The aqueduct was one of the principal sources of water for the inhabitants and was preserved for two thousand years until replaced by a piped and pumped system in modern times. Due to its historic interest, the aqueduct will be further exposed, studied and preserved by the IAA, who plan to make sections accessible and visible to the public.

Oldest Musical Image Found in Western Galilee

A cylinder seal impression of the Early Bronze Age of about 3000 BCE was identified by the IAA as the scene of a Mesopotamian wedding in which the king has sexual congress with a goddess, and the seated figures are holding a musical instrument that looks like a lyre. Yoli Shwartz of the IAA said, “the seal’s engraving includes music and dancing, a banquet, a meeting between the king and the goddess and their sexual union.” Archaeologists claim that the inscription represents the sacred marriage rite conducted by the king with a priestess, representing the goddess, and was a necessary ritual to increase fertility of the crops and animals. The small relic, the oldest representation of a musical instrument yet found in Israel, will be exhibited to the public at a forthcoming symposium at the Hebrew University to be entitled, “Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll”.

Visitors Archaeology Centre Approved Conditionally

A large visitor’s centre planned to be built over the Givati Parking lot, located opposite the City of David entrance and south of the Dung gate, has been approved by the National Planning Appeals Board, subject to severe restrictions. The plan was to build a large complex of exhibition spaces, offices, parking places and facilities for visitors on pilotis or stilts so as to preserve the existing archaeological remains on the site. There were objections to the plan, known as the Kedem Centre, from two environmental groups that thought it was very near to the City walls and would oversail them visually and destroy the archaeological remains on the site. The Kedem Centre was the brainchild of the Elad Foundation, who are sponsoring the City of David excavation, and wanted to see a suitable complex to provide facilities for visitors coming to the site and give them an explanation of its importance. The plan has now been approved but with the condition that it be reduced in size and height so as not to dominate this sensitive area. Another condition has been that the plan for the preservation of the archaeological remains must be submitted for public approval before building work commences.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg

W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem

Report from Jerusalem #69, 4th May 2015

Egyptian Style Artifacts from Southern Cave

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently displayed artifacts unearthed from a cave near Tel Halif, 15 km. north of Beersheba. The items were found during a looting probe and date to the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age, say from 1500 to 1000 BCE. Yuli Schwartz of the IAA said that the thieves had been thwarted and the IAA were now carrying out a salvage excavation. She said that more than 300 pottery vessels of alabaster, seals and seal impressions had been found, as well as jewellery of bronze, shell and faience in considerable quantities. The appearance of the artifacts were in an Egyptian style and suggest that there had been an Egyptian governmental centre in the area at the time, Many of the stone seals were scarab-shaped with Egyptian images, and several were inscribed on semi-precious stones from Egypt and the Sinai.

Some had the names of Egyptian Pharaohs, one had a sphinx with the name of Thutmose (c.1480 BCE), another with the name of Amenhotep (c. 1370 BCE), and one with the name of Ptah, god of Memphis. It appears the objects were mainly made in Egypt but some were of Israelite work using Egyptian methods and motifs. Dr. Ben-Tor of the Israel Museum noted that most of the finds dated to the 15th and 14th centuries BCE when Canaan was ruled by the Egyptians. The excavation continues and the finds have been transferred to the IAA laboratories for cleaning and further study before being put on display again.

Praise for Finders of Undersea Gold Coins

The divers who discovered the largest hoard of gold coins ever found in Israel were honoured at a recent ceremony at the Nebe Shuayb Druze shrine in the Galilee. They had found 2,600 gold coins of the Fatimid period on the seabed in near-perfect condition, and they reported it immediately to the IAA. Most of the coins bear the name of the Fatamid Caliph al-Hakim bi Amra-Allah who is believed to have founded the Druze religion in 1017 CE, and therefore the find was of tremendous interest to the Druze community, and their spiritual leader Sheikh Tarif attended the ceremony. The IAA said that they were proud to connect the Druze to their local past. No information was given as to how the coins had ended up on the sea-bed in Caesarea harbour. At the ceremony the six divers were presented by the IAA and the Caesarea Corporation with certificates of exemplary citizenship and with a replica of one of the gold coins.

Dome of the Rock, Tension over Carpet Renewal

The Islamic Trust, the Waqf, have recently replaced the worn carpet inside the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The IAA were not informed of the change and it only came to the notice of Zachi Dvira, a colleague of Gabi Barkai, who saw pictures of the move on pages of Islamic Facebook and expressed concern to the IAA, who were unaware of it. The concern is not with the change of the modern carpet but with the floor below which could have been examined when the old carpet was lifted.

It seems that the floor below is covered with tiles of the Crusader period, and these were removed or changed without proper supervision. Under the tiles the earlier floor might have shown evidence of earlier pavings or the existence of another floor below. The IAA should have been informed and could have done the necessary research and taken photographs. The Israeli government will not allow the work to be opened up again due to delicate relations with the Jordanian government, who financed the operation. According to the Waqf management the work was long overdue and they said “our work in the Dome is transparent, we are only putting down carpet, nothing more, nothing less.” The suspicion by some commentators, is that the Waqf are trying to remove all traces of the Crusader geometric flooring of the 11th century CE, as pieces had previously appeared in Gabi Barkai’s sifting of the earlier material that was illegally removed by the Waqf without supervision in 1999.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg

W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem

 

 

Report from Jerusalem #68, 1st April 2015

Prize for Professor Ahituv

It was announced that Prof. Shmuel Ahituv of Ben Gurion University in Beersheba would be awarded the Israel Prize in Biblical Research on Independence Day, which falls on 23rd April this year. The Israel prize is the highest civilian honour awarded in Israel and is given on an annual basis. Prof. Ahituv is one of the leading Biblical scholars in Israel and was founder of the Ben Gurion University Press and the last editor of the Biblical Encyclopaedia, who brought that great and definitive work to a successful conclusion.

Rare Coins Discovered in Northern Cave

Three members of the Israeli Caving club discovered a cache of silver and bronze coins after crawling for hours through narrow caves in Northern Israel recently. They reported their find to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) who announced that the coins were from the time of Alexander the Great in the late fourth century BCE. Yoli Shwartz of the IAA added that near the coins a cloth bag or satchel was also located which contained silver rings, bracelets and earrings. It was thought that the coins and the jewellery had been hidden by their owners during a period of governmental unrest at the death of Alexander, when conflict developed between his successors, and the owners had been unable to return to retrieve their valuables. The finders were commended by the IAA for their early notification of the treasure and the IAA said that the coins would now be cleaned and examined before being exhibited to the public. The other artifacts would also be examined further to check their dating, which it was believed went back to the Hellenistic period and probably even earlier.

Ancient Beer-Making Pottery in Central Tel Aviv

The IAA announced that pieces of pottery used in the manufacture of beer by Egyptians were uncovered in a salvage dig in central Tel Aviv, where the construction of office blocks was due to start. The IAA dated the pieces to the Early Bronze Age of five thousand years ago and, according to Diego Barkan, director of the excavation, some of the pottery fragments were of large ceramic basins made in an Egyptian manner to prepare beer. The pieces were made with some organic material for strengthening, which was not a local tradition, and suggested that it was Egyptians that had manufactured it while living in the area. Barkan said, “Until now we were only aware of Egyptian presence in the northern Negev and southern coastal plain…..now we know that they also appreciated what the Tel Aviv region had to offer, and they knew how to enjoy a mug of beer just as the Tel Avivians do today !” Other finds at the site included a bronze dagger and flint tools dating to the Chalcolithic period of c. 4000 BCE.

Porcupine Diggers in Central Israel

A clay lamp of about 500 CE was recently found by the IAA on a heap of soil, at the Horbat Siv ruins in the Emek Hefer valley, north-east of Netanya. The accumulation of soil was created by the underground activities of a porcupine digging itself a new burrow in the area. The porcupines will dig their underground burrows sometimes fifteen metres long and will throw out the spoil and any archaeological items in their way. The IAA announced with a bit of humour: “ We call on all porcupines to avoid digging their burrows at archaeological sites and warn that such digging without a licence is a criminal offence that on prosecution can lead to a prison sentence.”

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg

W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem,