Piety and Patriotism—Secularism and Skepticism: The Dual Problem of Archaeological Bias

Home > Magazines > BAR > January/February 1981

It was the day before the excavation was scheduled to end. Heinrich Schliemann, the German archaeologist who discovered the site of Troy, had his crew of 80 workmen furiously digging through the tel’s various strata in quest of museum-worthy artifacts from the Homeric city (which he thought was at the bottom of the tel). Then, on June 14, 1873 an incomparable treasure of gold was found. That evening, after adorning his young Greek wife with the ancient jewelry, he reportedly told her: “You are wearing the treasure of Helen of Troy.” Today, scholars are agreed that Schliemann, in his […]

You have already read your free article for this month. Please join the BAS Library or become an All Access member of BAS to gain full access to this article and so much more.

Join the BAS Library!

Already a library member? Log in here.

Institution user? Log in with your IP address or Username

Endnotes

Eusebius, Life of Constantine, Vol. 3, pp. 25–40.

Kathleen M. Kenyon, The Bible And Recent Archaeology, John Knox Press, Atlanta, 1978, p. 96.

Kathleen M. Kenyon, Jerusalem: Excavating 3000 Years of History, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1967, Chapter II. Kenyon, Digging Up Jerusalem, Praeger Publishers, New York, 1974, Chapter 5. Hershel Shanks, The City of David, Bazak Publishers Ltd., Tel Aviv, 1973, pp. 15–22 and 99–108. See also: 2 Samuel 5:7; 1 Kings 2:10; Psalm 48.

See “Gamla: The Masada of the North,” BAR 05:01.

See “Megiddo Stables or Storehouses?” BAR 02:03.