Tag: LBA

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, #28, 5th January 2011

Non-Destructive Investigation By X-Ray

Prof. Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University has discovered a method of investigating clay and other materials by non-destructive methods, using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry . Having built up a data-base of results from former intrusive methods, he can now organize the analysis by merely scanning the object and comparing the results with the previous data. The scans will then show the type of clay or other material and its geographical origin. He is thus able to examine new finds and also older museum specimens without the need to break off a piece or cut off a sample. The method has been used on the Late Bronze Age fragment of a cuneiform letter from the City of David excavations that is dated to the El-Amarna period. Prof. Goren’s analysis shows that the tablet material is the Terra Rossa soil from around Jerusalem and it is therefore most probable that the item was written by a scribe in the Jerusalem area and may indeed have been part of a letter dictated by the Jebusite king Abdi-Heba to Egypt, to the court of Amenhotep III or IV at El-Amarna, and the fragment may have been part of the copy retained by the sender.

Aelia Capitolina, A Roman Bathing Pool in Jerusalem

During excavations for a new mikvah (ritual bath) in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, a rescue dig by the IAA, directed by Dr. Ofer Sion, uncovered a large bathing pool that had been used by the Tenth Legion (Fretensis) of the Roman army in about 200 CE.  Evidence of the Roman build was the large number of floor and roof tiles with the stamp of the legion, and the many stamped roof tiles show that the facility was completely roofed. The location in the Jewish Quarter, some distance from the presumed army HQ in the Armenian Quarter, shows that the occupying soldiers were spread out throughout the city. The Tenth Legion was involved in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and later in the rebuilding of the city by Hadrian, after the abortive Bar-Kochba revolt of 135 CE. when it was renamed Aelia Capitolina.

The excavators were amused to find one of the roof tiles impressed with the paw marks of a dog.  Presumably the cur had walked over the wet tiles that had been spread out and left to dry.

Monastery of St. George in Wadi Qelt, West of Jericho

On 30th November a ceremony was held at the Monastery to celebrate the completion of a new road to St. George’s, that had been built by the Ministry of Tourism and other bodies to improve access, at the request of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III.  The present road had suffered damage from flash floods and a minor earthquake over the last few years, and the new one will make it easier for pilgrims and tourists alike, to visit this remarkable 5th-7th century complex of buildings that appear to hang from the side of the steep desert mountain over the lush green wadi below.

It is thought that the original buildings were constructed above a fourth-century synagogue. They were destroyed during the Persian invasion of Jerusalem in 614 CE. and later restored by the Crusaders. The interior boasts some very fine icons and frescoes. Today, St. George’s is one of only six monasteries still active in the Judean desert area.

Funding for Restoration of Historic Sites

In the context of the National Heritage Plan announced last February, the first tranche of 91 million shekels (16 million sterling) has now been allocated for work to 16 major sites, ancient and modern. One of the archaeological sites is Herodion, where work was recently halted due to the tragic death of Ehud Netzer. It can now continue with restoration of the unique frescoes at the small theatre, that will be preserved and made ready for presentation to the public by experts from the Hebrew University.

Another site will be the large Byzantine-period synagogue at Umm el-Kanatir, in the Golan heights, which is being restored piece by piece using computerized technology organized by Yeshu Drei and archaeologist Haim Ben-David.

Sudden Fierce Storm , Destruction and Discovery

Winter in Israel started with a destructive storm on 12th and 13th December, that wreaked havoc along the Mediterranean coast in particular. Many sites were affected but worst of all was Caesarea. Some of the foundations of the northern aqueduct were exposed and parts of the Crusader city wall suffered fractures due to subsidence. The Crusader-period breakwater, that protected the southern arm of the Herodian harbour was broken into three pieces and the port wall left unprotected from southern wave damage. Repair work will have to begin very shortly to avoid major damage to the ancient port.

At Ashdod-Yam, the ancient fortress close to the shore suffered damage.

In ancient Ashkelon, at the national park, there was damage to a mosaic floor and a row of several columns was overturned. On the beach ten metres below, the storm that hit the cliffs exposed and toppled a classic white marble Roman statue about 1.2m high. It was headless and without arms but depicted a fine female figure in a carefully folded toga and sandals and has been presumed to be of Aphrodite. It is from a bath house, exposed at the head of the cliffs, and may have been part of the dedication of the baths, that are dated to c. 300 CE.

Early Homo Sapiens from Cave in Israel, 400,000 Years Ago?

In 2000 Prof. Avi Gopher and Dr. Ran Barkai of Tel Aviv University discovered the Qesem Cave where they claim to have found the earliest evidence of modern man. The cave is near Rosh Ha’ayin, about 20 km. east of Tel Aviv, and the archaeologists have located a series of human teeth that they claim are closer to the dental apparatus associated with anatomically modern Homo Sapiens, rather than their earlier brothers, the Neanderthals. They have found in the cave evidence of flint knapping, the mining of sub-surface materials for flint production, hunting and the cutting and sharing of animal meat, evidence of regular burning and so on, all activities associated with anatomically modern Homo Sapiens.

The claim is that these findings antedate the earliest evidence of anatomically modern Homo Sapiens from Africa and thus the scholars claim that the species existed at the Qesem cave many years earlier than presently realized. The dating of the teeth to between 400,000 and 300,000 years ago is however not yet at all clear and further results from the ongoing excavations are awaited before reaching any firm conclusions.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg,

W.F.Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, 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