Tag: Madaba

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, #21, March 2010

The Samaritans, Death and Birth

Eleazar ben Tzedaka ben Yitzhaq, the Spiritual leader of the Samaritan Community was laid to rest on February 4th 2010 in the small cemetery south of Nablus. He was 83 years old and it was claimed that he was the 131st holder of the position of High Priest since Aaron. The Samaritans claim to have lived near Nablus, formerly Shechem. since before the Babylonian Exile, and some would say even before the fall of Samaria to the Assyrians in 722 BCE. They have preserved their version of the Torah in an archaic script similar to Paleo-Hebrew.

The present community of 730 persons is concentrated at Kiryat Luza, a small hill town above Nablus, near to Mount Gerizim, which they view as the site of their former temple, which was destroyed by the Maccabean king John Hyrcanus. Both the Palestinian Governor of the Nablus Region and the Israeli officer heading the Civil Administration gave eulogies in Arabic in praise of the deceased High Priest and described his role, in providing a bridge between the Palestinian community and the Israeli Defence Forces, in glowing terms.

An offshoot of the Community lives in Neveh Pinchas, a neighbourhood of Holon, south of Tel Aviv and, at the beginning of March, a circumcision ceremony was held there for the latest male addition to the tiny community, Shahar Yehoshua. It was a rare event, attended by nearly half of the whole community and by six of their priests in long robes and red fezzes, marking the important addition of this new member to the small Samaritan community.

Byzantine Main Road into Jerusalem

Excavations at the west entry to the Old City, leading to David Street, the start of the Arab Shuk, have revealed the original pavings of the Byzantine period, far below the present surface. Thanks to work by the Jerusalem Development Authority in renewing the present underground infrastructure, the Israel Antiquities Authority was able, under director Dr. Ofer Sion, to excavate this very busy part of the Old City.
At a depth of 4.5 m below the present level, the IAA uncovered metre-long paving flagstones of a street that corresponded to a main thoroughfare from the west shown on the famous Byzantine mosaic map of the sixth century CE in St. George’s Church at Madaba, Jordan.

Arabic Inscription of 910 CE found in Jerusalem

During renovation work at a private house in the Jewish Quarter, a small stone fragment, about 10 x 10cm. was found inscribed in Arabic. It has been dated to the Abbasid period and the rule of the Caliph al-Muqtadir. It appears to express the thanks of an army veteran to the “Emir of the Faithful” for the gift of a tract of land in the area. It may signify the way the Caliph rewarded his troops and established a core of faithful supporters in Jerusalem while he ruled from faraway Baghdad. The find was made by Annette Nagar of the IAA and the fragment was read and dated by Prof. Moshe Sharon of the Hebrew University.

Large Byzantine Wine Press found near Kibbutz Hafetz Haim

A massive industrial-size wine press has been found in the Nahal Sorek area, famous for its vineyards. The site is not far from Ashkelon and the wine may have been processed for export to Egypt, or even Italy, according to Uzi Ad of the IAA, in charge of the excavation.
The installation is a sophisticated one, including an octagonal mosaic-paved treading floor leading to two holding vats and then, via stone strainer grids, to two collection vats. The whole system covers an area of more than 15m. square. The region is designated as agricultural land for settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip in 2005, and it is hoped to preserve the remains within the new farmland.

City Wall in Jerusalem of the Solomonic period?

A massive wall, 70m. long and 6m. high was recently uncovered in the area between the City of David and the southern wall of the Temple precinct by Dr. Elath Mazar, working with the IAA and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The remains of the wall include an inner gatehouse, a corner tower and portions of another major structure. Mazar claims that the remains are of the 10th century BCE and testify to a ruling monarch who was able to organize such major construction, her reference to the elusive king Solomon. The gatehouse is of the standard four-chambered type. The adjacent structure is dated by pottery to the 10th century BCE and contained a number of large storage jars, one of them inscribed to a court official. There was also found a number of “lemelekh” jar handles, which suggests that some of the work may belong to the later period of the seventh or eighth century BCE. This is a most important discovery but confirmation of dating must await further excavation and evaluation.

National Heritage Plan 2010

At the end of February the Israeli Government issued a list of one hundred and fifty sites of national historical importance which will receive funding to help preserve and maintain their important status and facilitate public access without damage to the remains. The sites include the “trans-Israel footpath” that extends from Metulla to Elath, but is mainly concentrated on archaeological locations such as Masada and modern historical sites like Tel Hai. Although the Heritage Plan is largely non-controversial, and has been welcomed by all the usual site preservation agencies, as allocating Government funds to their upkeep, two sites have raised criticism from the Palestinian Authority. They are the Cave of the Patriarchs (Qever haMakhpelah) in Hebron and the Tomb of Rachel near Bethlehem. Both sites are in the area that may become part of the future Palestinian State and opposition to the designation has been strongly voiced by the Palestinian Authority, though the Plan is one for preservation only of the national heritage sites and there is no question of annexation.

Stephen Rosenberg,
W.F.Albright Institute, Jerusalem