Strata
Gamla Excavators Want to Keep Digging
The on-again off-again peace talks between Israel and Syria have cast an air of uncertainty over archaeological excavations in the Golan Heights—the disputed region northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Archaeologist Danny Syon of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) is reluctant to mix politics with archaeology, but after three seasons of renewed excavations at Gamla, which have revealed two impressive first-century A.D. buildings, Syon wants to keep working.
Previous excavations at Gamla, a dramatic mountaintop outpost in the southern Golan, uncovered evidence of a key battle between Jewish rebels and Roman soldiers in 67 A.D., as well as remains of one of the earliest ancient synagogues ever found.a Syon, who has renewed excavations with Zvi Yavor, a veteran of the earlier dig, said he did not know how the peace talks would affect their dig, but he was keeping an optimistic outlook. He plans to be back in the field this spring if he can obtain financing: “The only thing I am able to say with a reasonable amount of security is that no matter what happens we will continue to work on Gamla. The only thing is that we might need passports. That’s what peace is all about, isn’t it?” Syon said.
One of the two buildings his team has excavated was apparently a wealthy Jew’s villa, built some 1,900 years ago, in the last decades before the Great Jewish Revolt against Rome in 67 A.D.
“It has the finest example of a building facade in all of Gamla, better even than the synagogue [discovered in the earlier excavations],” Syon said. “It is distinguished by very fine workmanship and has a beautifully sculpted exterior.”
So far, archaeologists have excavated three rooms in the villa: a basement room, a room above and behind the basement which includes a balcony that extends back into the mountain, and a third room that Syon thinks may have been a courtyard. According to Syon, they have “absolutely no idea” how large the villa is yet, since much of it is still embedded in the mountain.
Although the villa itself is impressive, the excavators were disappointed with the remains they found inside the rooms—a large quantity of pottery sherds and some coins. “The finds were not really outstanding, so we can’t say much about the inhabitants of the building,” said Syon.
The excavators hope that the second building will reveal more about the inhabitants of the area. For lack of a better word, they are calling it a basilica, Syon said. In Roman times a basilica was a long rectangular hall used in cities as a public building and gathering place for citizens. At Gamla two long walls, built of large stones, divide the hall into three long parallel spaces—perhaps rooms. The central room has a raised podium at one end. The northern wall of the structure survives to a height of 13 feet.
“Before we started to excavate, we had wondered whether in a city the size of Gamla there was a second synagogue,” said Syon. “The fact that we now have a new type of public building in a Jewish city from the Second Temple period is very important and intriguing.”
In addition, noted Syon, much effort has gone into restoration and development work at Gamla in the past three years. Visitors can now see a “much better looking” site as they walk on new trails that run throughout the town.
This is the type of care that is being taken at all Golan archaeological sites, regardless of the political situation, said the IAA’s Golan director Moshe Hartal.
“I don’t know what will happen in the future, but as long as these sites are under our control, we are responsible and we are looking after them as if they will be ours forever. After all, these relics are for all of us, not just for Israel,” said Hartal. But he admits that he harbors no illusions about continuing his archaeological work in the Golan if the area is returned to Syria. “I have no doubt [the Syrians] won’t let us even lift one little hammer.”
Team Hopes to Find More Seals at Kedesh
Spurred by the discovery of a massive hoard of bullae—stamped pieces of clay used to seal documents—the excavation team at Tel Kedesh hopes it is on the verge of uncovering an entire ancient bullae archive. Nearly 2,000 bullae were uncovered last summer in a single 1-meter by 1-meter-square excavation area at Kedesh, located in the Upper Galilee, about 22 miles north of Tiberias. According to dig directors Sharon Herbert of the University of Michigan and Andrea Berlin of the University of Minnesota, the bullae were discovered in a late Hellenistic era building, measuring 120 by 170 feet, also discovered last summer.
As is often the case in archaeology, the bullae were discovered accidentally. The dig’s faunal analyst had requested that the excavators search for bird and fish bones, so volunteers were carefully sifting the earth in one corner of a room of the large building. The hoard they found is one of only 11 such Hellenistic bullae collections known and is the fourth largest uncovered in situ. of the room was excavated last year, Herbert and Berlin expect to find more bullae this season and are excited by the prospect of obtaining a complete bullae archive.
The bullae still display a wide range of remarkably clear images, thanks to a second-century B.C. fire that destroyed the building but acted as a kiln for the clay. Some of the bullae bear images of Greek gods, goddesses and mythological scenes (such as Ganymede, Aphrodite, and Zeus as an eagle); others depict “Persian-style” animals such as a panther carrying a spear; and still others include portraits of the Phoenician fertility goddess Tanit. One particularly interesting bulla shows a figure seated on a rearing horse—and all of these images are less than an inch wide!
Berlin suggests that the quantity and diversity of the bullae are a clue to the function of the building—and of the site itself. “The variety of sizes, images and even clay types indicates that the bullae have many different, perhaps even far-flung, origins,” she told BAR. Along with the size of the building and other storage facilities, the hoard of bullae indicates that Tel Kedesh may have been a major administrative center during the Hellenistic era.
Can’t Publish? Don’t Excavate!
A group of influential archaeologists and antiquities officials from Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Greece, Britain and America has called for a crackdown on archaeologists who fail to publish the results of their work promptly. Their call came late last year at a conference in Cyprus convened specifically to address the issue of unpublished excavations.
The group issued a resolution urging governmental bodies and funding organizations to ensure that “no permits are made available for further excavations and surveys by archaeologists who have not yet submitted for publication final reports or the results of excavations and surveys carried out by them.”
The signatories included Vassos Karageorghis, antiquities director of Cyprus from 1963 to 1989; David Blackman, director, British School of Archaeology at Athens; Uzi Dahari, deputy director, Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA); Christos Doumas, Athens Archaeological Authority; Sophocles Hadjisavvas, director, Cyprus Department of Antiquities; Aristea Kavvadia, Ministry of Culture, Greece; Amihai Mazar, professor of archaeology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Robert Merrilees, director, Cyprus American Research Institute; James Muhly, director, American School of Classical Studies, Athens; and Fauzi Zayadine, deputy director, Jordan Department of Antiquities.
The resolution also called on antiquities authorities to prepare a publication timetable for each dig. If the timetable is not met, the material from the excavation “should be allocated to other archaeologists to publish.”
“The problem is very acute,” Karageorghis, the catalyst behind the conference, told BAR. “Excavators die, and their results remain unpublished.”
Karageorghis, who today works for the Leventis Foundation, which seeks to protect the cultural property of Cyprus, credited BAR’s two-volume Archaeology’s Publication Problem for raising his awareness of the issue. The root of the problem, he said, is not lack of money or time, but psychological fear. “It’s a kind of phobia. People don’t dare to put down in black and white their thoughts. They’re insecure,” Karageorghis said.
Asked whether a reported crackdown by IAA chief Amir Drori on excavators who had not published was having an effect, Karageorghis replied, “I don’t think so. Much remains unpublished. I know people who have not published who are still excavating. I will not name names.”
Karageorghis himself tried to set a good example by ceasing to excavate and devoting himself to publication four years before his retirement as antiquities director. When the sixth volume of his Kition excavation report comes out next year, Karageorghis told BAR, he will have published all his work. “And I excavated for 37 years,” he added. Asked if any excavator can match that publication record, Karageorghis gave a little laugh. “I don’t think so,” he said.
Vessel on View in State-of-the-Art Exhibit
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Fourteen years after its dramatic discovery, the famous “Sea of Galilee Boat,” sometimes called the “Jesus Boat,” has found a permanent home. The vessel, which dates back to the time of Jesus and the disciples he called to be “fishers of men,” first came to light in 1986 during a severe drought that exposed portions of the Galilee lake bed. Painstakingly extricated from the mud that encased it, the boat was initially moved to a conservation pool on the grounds of the Yigal Allon Centre in nearby Tiberias. Under the meticulous care of archaeological conservators, it remained there for nearly a decade and a half. But in February the 2,000-year-old fishing vessel made one final trip. With the conservation process completed at last, the boat was lifted from its humble surroundings and transferred to a state-of-the-art exhibit hall inside the Yigal Allon Centre’s Man in the Galilee Museum. The new attraction is likely to make the museum a choice destination for the multitudes flocking to Israel this year. And justly so: As boat conservator Orna Cohen points out, this is a wonderful opportunity to view “the only authentic object from the period of Jesus on display in its natural habitat.” For those readers who don’t have Israel on their itinerary this year, Shelley Wachsmann’s fascinating account of the boat’s recovery is definitely worth a fresh look (“The Galilee Boat—2,000-Year-Old Hull Recovered Intact,” BAR 14:05).
Bulldozers Damage Prehistoric Site
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has expressed outrage at what its northern region director, Zvi Gal, is calling “the worst catastrophe caused, with prior knowledge, to an archaeological site in the ten years that I have held this post.” The incident last December involved a drainage operation near the prehistoric site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, located north of the Sea of Galilee on a mile-long strip of land along the banks of the Jordan River. Earlier excavations at the Gesher site had yielded artifacts and fossils dating back more than 750,000 years, including flint and stone tools similar to those found at Stone Age sites in Africa. But officials at the IAA fear that damage caused by the controversial dredging operation may have rendered the site useless for further archaeological research.
The dredging operation was part of a long-standing plan to prevent the frequent floods that plague both the farmlands and the infrastructure of the nearby Hula Valley. Apparently frustrated by delays resulting from ongoing discussions with the IAA, the Kinneret Drainage Authority decided to proceed with the project in mid-December, when they moved crews of bulldozers and other heavy equipment onto the Gesher site. The IAA, however, quickly obtained a court injunction that stopped the drainage authority’s work in its tracks. Referring to the operation as an act of “cultural vandalism,” Gal maintains that the dredging occurred at night and in direct defiance of a written directive from the IAA instructing the drainage authority to refrain from any work that would affect excavations at Gesher. But officials at the Kinneret Drainage Authority counter that they commenced their work only after they perceived that IAA-imposed restrictions would make it impossible for them to perform a socially necessary job that, they maintain, falls squarely within their legal jurisdiction.
With the court injunction in place, the IAA has indicated that it is preparing to take further legal action against the drainage authority and its director, Eitan Sat. Meanwhile, experts continue to assess the damage done to this significant prehistoric site. As one of the very few locations outside Africa where Stone Age tools have been discovered, Gesher is critically important to archaeologists who study the migratory patterns of Homo erectus—the precursor to modern humans who moved north from Africa and possibly through Israel. Whether Gesher will yield more clues to this very ancient human mystery may well depend upon the extent of the damage recently inflicted by some very modern human tools.
Student Charged with Stealing Antiquities from Dump Site
In contrast to the swift court action it took to prevent damage to a prehistoric site in northern Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has done little but wring its hands over damage done to the Temple Mount by the Muslim religious trust known as the Waqf (see “Furor Over Temple Mount Construction,” BAR 26:02). At the center of the Jerusalem controversy are the mounds of earth that were carted away from a construction project undertaken by the Waqf in the southeastern quadrant of the Temple Mount. Removed from the Mount in the middle of the night, the earth was unceremoniously dumped in the nearby Kidron Valley, thereby rendering contextless a potential trove of archaeological information.
Strongly critical of the way the Waqf handled the construction project, the IAA has itself faced criticism for its stance against a group of archaeology students who sifted through the Kidron Valley dump site. The students raised the ire of IAA officials when they took advantage of a conference at Bar-Ilan University to formally present some of their findings from the dump. Accusing the students of “pillaging” an archaeological site, IAA agents raided the apartment of group leader Zachi Zweig, then had police arrest the third-year archaeology student on a charge of stealing antiquities. Zweig was released by the police after questioning. But news of his ordeal has raised more than a few hackles. Noting the IAA’s inability to take official action against the Waqf, some observers have decried the incongruity of the authority’s swift and forceful response to Zweig, who continues to insist that political motivations have caused the IAA to miss “the opportunity of a lifetime to get archaeological information from the Temple Mount.”
Exhibitions
Culture and Continuity
Ongoing
The Jewish Museum, New York
The Jewish Museum in New York has reopened one floor of its permanent exhibition, Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey, which explores 4,000 years of Jewish culture and history. Included are archaeological objects representing Jewish life in Israel and the Mediterranean region from 1200 B.C.E. to 640 C.E.; a collection of Hanukkah lamps from Israel; and examples of menorahs from around the world; with ancient pieces as well as interpretations by contemporary artists.
For more information, visit the Jewish Museum on-line at www.thejewishmuseum.org, or call 212–423-3200.
Syria: Land of Civilizations
Traveling exhibit
Encompassing some 400 objects from Syria’s long history, this spectacular traveling exhibit illuminates the complex story of Syria through its architecture, jewelry, engravings and sculptures.
Land of Civilizations will be on display at Quebec’s Musée de la Civilisation (May 31, 2000 to January 7, 2001); it then moves to the Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton (Feb. 10–May 13, 2001); the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose (June 13–Sept. 2, 2001); the American Museum of Natural History, New York (Oct. 10, 2001–Jan. 6, 2002); and the Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver (Feb. 15–June 2, 2002).
Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur
Traveling exhibit
In one of the most storied excavations of this century, Leonard Woolley uncovered the ancient Sumerian city of Ur, believed to be the Biblical birthplace of Abraham. Woolley’s most spectacular discovery was a group of 16 undisturbed burials, which he called the Royal Tombs. This traveling exhibit features some of the 4,500-year-old grave goods: gold jewelry and semiprecious stones, ancient musical instruments, cylinder seals depicting royal celebrations, weapons made of precious metal, and a large selection of artifacts from a queen’s tomb. Royal Tombs of Ur will travel from the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York (May through September 2000) to the Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago (October 2000 to January 2001), to the Detroit Institute of Arts (February to May 2001).
A. Arrow case
B. Lyre cover
C. Epaulet
D. Throne decoration
What It Is, Is …
A. Arrow case
A Scythian warrior once slung over his shoulder a bow and arrow case, or gorytos, decorated with this golden plaque. The Scythians, nomadic horsemen who traveled across the steppes of Europe from the seventh to third centuries B.C., were extremely fond of gold jewelry, weaponry and other objects, and often commissioned them from the Greek craftsmen with whom they traded.
Dating to the fourth century B.C., this gorytos cover is 19 inches long and weighs more than 2 pounds. Human figures occupy the two main registers; the top border depicts animal combat; and a lotus and palmette frieze runs along the bottom of the case. Discovered in 1954, the gold plaque can be seen in Gold of the Nomads, an exhibit at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore (through May 28). The exhibit will then travel to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.
MLA Citation
Footnotes
See Avraham Negev, “Understanding the Nabateans,” BAR 14:06.