Tag: inscription

Report from Jerusalem #64, 10th November 2014

Earthquake and Recent Finds at Susita

Excavation continues at Susita, the site on the hills overlooking the east bank of Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee. The finds were discovered under the roof of a building that collapsed in the earthquake of 363 CE. Susita was also called Hippos as it sits like a horse on a hilltop 350m. above the lake. According to the excavator, Dr. Michael Eisenberg of Haifa University, the collapsed building, the largest on the site, was a basilica that served as a marketplace, and a number of skeletons were discovered under its collapsed roof. One of them was of a young woman who was wearing a golden dove-shaped pendant. Also found was the marble leg of a statue that may have been 2m. high, that of a god or an athlete. The earthquake of 363 was a powerful one and completely destroyed the city, which took twenty years to be rebuilt and, according to Eisenberg, there was a later earthquake of 749 CE, which destroyed the city completely – the city was never rebuilt. The city had a bastion of the Roman period that overlooked the lake and there the archaeologists found a catapult-like machine that would have been 8m. long and could have launched massive stone ammunition, some of which was still extant at the site.

Ancient Mikveh – Recent Graffiti, South of Beit Shemesh

In a rescue dig at the Ha’Ela junction, before the widening of Route 38, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has uncovered an ancient mikveh, believed to be dated to about 100 CE, and a massive water cistern of about two hundred years later. Great interest centred on the fact that the ceiling of the cistern had been scratched with the names of two Australian soldiers at the time of the British Mandate. According to Yoav Tsur of the IAA, the find “allows us to reconstruct a double story – a Jewish settlement of the second century CE, probably against the background of the Bar-Kochba Revolt and another story, no less fascinating, about a group of Australian soldiers who visited the site 1,700 years later and left their mark”. They left their names, Corporals Scarlett and Walsh and their numbers in the RAE (Royal Australian Engineers) with the date 30/5/1940.

According to the IAA, research shows that Scarlett died in 1970 and Walsh in 2005, but the IAA will contact their families to tell them about the find. The Israel National Roads Company has agreed to slightly change the junction layout so that the finds can be incorporated in the adjacent landscaping.

Latin Inscription Found in Jerusalem

Although found in July, this inscription from the time of the reign of the Emperor Hadrian was only recently displayed to the public at the Rockefeller Museum. It is on a large stone, weighing one ton and was found in secondary use as part of the cover of a deep cistern, with part of the stone cut out in a semi-circle to accommodate a small manhole cover to the cistern.

The inscription reads (in translation):

To the Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, son of the deified Traianus Pathicus, grandson of the deified Nerva, high priest, invested with tribunician power for the fourteenth time, consul for the third time, father of the country (dedicated by) the tenth legion Fretensis Antoniniana

It is dated to the year 129/130 CE, when Hadrian was touring his eastern colonies and dedicated the rebuilt Jerusalem as Colonia Aelia Capitolina. The inscription is in fine classic Roman lettering and according to Dr. Rina Avner who led the IAA team that located it, “there is no doubt that this is one of the most important official Latin inscriptions that have been discovered in this country.”

The other half of the inscription, which was found many years ago by the French diplomat Charles Clermont-Ganneau, is on display in the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum at the Lion’s gate of the old City.

The new inscription find was the subject of a day-long seminar last week at the Rockefeller Museum, where it will shortly be put on permanent display.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg

W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem

Report from Jerusalem #37, 6th December 2011

Arabic Inscription of the Crusader Period

An inscription in Arabic bearing the name of the Crusader ruler Frederick II and dated 1229 was recently discovered on a grey marble slab on the wall of a building in Tel Aviv, probably fixed there many years ago. According to Prof. Moshe Sharon of the Hebrew University who deciphered it, this was the only Crusader inscription ever found in Arabic and probably came from the citadel that Frederick built in Jaffa, and on which he describes himself as King of Jerusalem. He hailed from Sicily and was the leader of the Sixth Crusade of 1228-1229. It is known that he was fluent in Arabic, his court was attended by many Muslim scholars and ambassadors and for that he was excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX. He was friendly with the Egyptian Sultan and won from him an armistice that made him King of Jerusalem without a fight. The titles of the inscription are readable in the Arabic but the remaining text has not survived. It is not yet clear where and when the slab will be exhibited to the public.

Palestine Authority (PA) Recognised by UNESCO: Impact on Archaeology

As a result of the recognition of the PA as a member state by UNESCO on October 31st, the PA is applying to UNESCO for grants to cover repair work to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and in particular for the sum of $12 million for essential repairs to the roof. The historic building of the Byzantine period is in urgent need of repairs which have not been carried out for many years by the three Christian denominations that administer it.

On another tack, the PA, now a member of UNESCO, has threatened to sue Israel for stealing and destroying Arab and Muslim antiquities. The renovation of the Mughrabi Bridge in Jerusalem is on hold until the PA’s intentions are clarified and (it is to be hoped), resolved.

Date Palm Grown from Seed Discovered at Masada

A seed uncovered in the 1960s at Masada, later planted in a secret location by scientists, has now sprouted and grown to an eight-foot high date palm. It has recently been replanted at Kibbutz Ketura in Arava, southern Israel. From a rare species it is hoped it will henceforth produce fruit for food and medicinal purposes.

When the sapling was 15 months old the original seed was shown by C.14 investigation at the University of Zurich to be from the period of the Roman siege of Masada in 73 CE. This species of palm was identified with Judaea and depicted on Roman coins as a symbol of the defeat of the Great Rebellion of 66-70 CE.

Coins Found Below Base of Outer Temple Wall

Further excavations by Eli Shukron of the IAA and Prof. Ronnie Reich of Haifa University inside the drainage channel at the foot of Robinson’s Arch have uncovered part of the base of the western Herodian retaining wall to the Jerusalem Temple and exposed coins that are dated to the Roman Governor Valerius Gratus of 15-16 CE. As this is some twenty years after the death of Herod the Great, it demonstrates that this part of the wall was built after his death, according to Prof. Reich.

The coins were found in a mikveh (ritual bath) that was part of a residential area that had been destroyed to make way for the massive retaining wall to be founded on bedrock. The coins indicate that this western part of the wall was probably built later than the one on the eastern and southern sides and was planned by Herod but only constructed by his grandson Herod Antipas.

This discovery caused a minor sensation among scholars in the press, but it has always been known that Herod, who started the Temple reconstruction in 22 BCE, never saw it completed at his death in 4 BCE. The work was not totally finished until about 60 CE and then, tragically, the completed Temple stood for only ten years before it was destroyed by the Romans.

The Gospel Trail North of Lake Kinneret

Last week the  Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov officially opened the Gospel Trail along the north side of the Lake of Kinneret in the Galilee, which will run for 63 kms (39 miles) from north of Tiberias on the west side of the lake eventually to Kursi on the opposite east bank. The Trail will pass through most of the important Christian sites along the banks, such as Magdala, Tabgha, Capernaum and Bethsaida. Prepared by the Ministry of Tourism and the Jewish National Fund, the Trail consists of comfortable stone footpaths, sun and rain shelters and parking areas. The plan is to include hostels and hotels for the many Christian pilgrims that are expected to visit the area, which is sacred to the memory of Jesus, who spent much time in the fishing villages along the lake after he was evicted from Nazareth.

Archaeological excavations along the route have been conducted over many years by the Franciscan Fathers of Capernaum and the IAA and a joint application was made over the last few years to UNESCO to have the area designated as a site of Historic Interest.  The application has so far not succeeded as the management of the Trail has not yet been fully organized between the many different ownerships involved.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg

W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem

 

Report from Jerusalem, #20, January 2010

Earliest settlers at Gesher B’not Ya’akov site, north of Lake Kinneret

This site on the banks of the Jordan has yielded evidence of very early artifacts of the Acheulian culture, according to researchers from the Hebrew University, so early in fact, that they seem to indicate human activity half-a-million years earlier than previously thought. There was in this area a freshwater lake (later Lake Hule, now drained) that changed over the years and which supported “a hundred thousand years of hominid occupation”. The evidence comes from a high density of fish and crab bones indicating the earliest signs of fish consumption by prehistoric people. There are remains of charred wood and signs of processing of basalt and other stone hand tools located around a hearth. The tools are in the form of hand axes, scrapers, and choppers, as well as hammers and anvils that suggest the processing of nuts for roasting and eating.

The evidence of dating is not clear and sceptics have suggested that the remains could be typical of any date of camping site with fish bones, nutshells and a hearth. It remains to be seen what further evidence of dating the Hebrew University researchers will be bringing forward.

Taliban, one of the Lost Tribes?

A senior research fellow at the Institute of Haematology of Mumbai (Bombay) has been awarded a grant to the Technion of Haifa to study the possibility that the core of the Taliban movement has a blood link to one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. This subject, which up to now has been in the realms of fantasy, is given a certain legitimacy by the fact that the examination of DNA samples and links can now be put on a scientific basis. Shahnaz Ali, an Indian scientist, will be supervised by Prof. Skorecki of the Technion who is well-known for researching Jewish genetic origins.

The majority of the Afghan Taliban are Pashtuns, and it has been their belief that they are the descendants of the Afridi Pathans, and there is a popular theory that their tribes are descendants of the Israelite tribe of Ephraim, that was exiled by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.
Shahnaz has taken extensive blood samples of the local Taliban population and the grant will enable him to analyse them at Haifa, where the work is expected to take up to one year.

Khirbet Qeiyafa (Valley of Elah fortress) ostracon deciphered.

The pottery shard with ink writing, uncovered last year by Prof. Yossi Garfinkel at the above site, has now been deciphered by Prof. Gershon Galil of Haifa University. It is written in ink in a form of Paleo-Hebrew script on five lines separated by a series of dashes, an unusual feature. Galil notes that the language is Hebrew as it uses certain words, such as “almanah” (widow) not used in the language of adjoining cultures. The sentiments expressed, such a taking care of slaves and strangers, are not to be found in the writings of neighbouring nations, but relate closely to social issues expressed in Hebrew writings, such as Isaiah 1:17, Psalms 72:3 and Exodus 23:2.

Galil postulates that the fact that scribes were active at this period in peripheral areas such as this site, must indicate that in the capital and other urban areas, scribes were perhaps even better trained and able to record significant data.

The ostracon, judging by the context in which it was found, is of the tenth century BCE and is therefore the earliest example of Hebrew writing known so far (presumably some experts consider it earlier than the Gezer Calendar). Galil also notes that the writing is evidence of a kingdom that administers a form of justice in its territory, and this would indicate an administration existing in the tenth century BCE, which would be the period of King David, according to the Biblical chronology.

The text of the shard, in English (as published by Galil) is as follows.

“You shall do (it), but worship the (Lord),
Judge the sla(ve) and the wid(ow)…. judge the orph(an),
(and) the stranger. (P)lead for the infant…. plead for the po(or and)
the widow. Rehabilitate (the poor) at the hands of the king.
Protect the po(or and) the slave…support the stranger”.

This is a most important find but the reading printed here made by Galil is strongly challenged by some scholars and not accepted by Garfinkel himself. It seems that for some reason Galil, who is a fine historian but not known as an epigrapher, has rather jumped the gun and come to a reading and to conclusions that are not accepted by many archaeologists and epigraphers. One looks forward to seeing the full scholarly publication of the text, when hopefully we can expect to see a consensus on the reading and its implication for the history of the period.

Early settlement at Ramat Aviv, north of Tel Aviv.

There was intelligent life in Tel Aviv eight thousand years ago, and near the University! The Israel Antiquities Authority have recently uncovered a structure in Ramat Aviv dating it to between 7,800 and 8,400 years ago. It lay on the northern bank of the Yarkon river, where it was joined by its Ayalon tributary, the kind of well-watered site selected by the earliest settlers, who left behind basalt bowls and animal remains, including hippopotamus bones and sheep/goat teeth, according to Ayelet Dayan who directed the dig for the IAA.

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