Strata
016
One For the Road
Ancient Rest Stop Discovered on Mount of Olives
A sprawling Byzantine monastery complex recently excavated on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives may have been a last-chance watering spot for travelers leaving Jerusalem on the main road to the desert oasis of Jericho.
“It was a huge monastery that also functioned as a road service station—a last chance to get water before going off into the desert,” said Jon Seligman, Jerusalem regional archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). “[Travelers] could take a bath and feed and water their animals and deal with their spiritual needs as well. There was a huge amount of water here, well beyond the needs of a few monks.”
Dating from the fifth to eighth century A.D. and covering an area of about 60 by 55 yards, the monastery was discovered last summer by bulldozers preparing the way for a new road. On the very first day that tractors came to clear the way, they exposed a corner of a mosaic that proved to be the floor of a large public building.
Excavators called in to investigate the site identified the structure as the chapel of the monastery. Inside they found various ecclesiastic objects, including chancel screens, architectural details with crosses on them, iron crosses and part of what may have been a sixth-century marble altar table, beautifully decorated with a scene of hunters and lions.
A second mosaic, with a Greek dedicatory inscription reading “In the days of Theodorus the priest and the monastery father Kyriacos this work was done,” was uncovered in what may have been the monastery’s dining room.
The site also includes a number of stables replete with stone feeding troughs and eroded metal rings used to tether animals. In addition to the monastery, excavators discovered a stone vessel factory from the late Second Temple period (first century B.C. and first century A.D.) nearby.
But it is the water system, with its series of large canals and cisterns, that has led Seligman to identify the site as a way station for travelers. Seligman told BAR, “We didn’t realize the complexity of the water system until we started digging and saw that a bathhouse and a huge water pool were interconnected by a system of siphons.”
“The importance of this site is to understand how people traveled back and forth to Jerusalem and how they dealt with one of the major problems of the road—namely water,” Seligman said. “This area was arid but obviously they were collecting lots of water here and irrigating, so it would have been much greener than it is now.”
The IAA does not have the funds to prepare the site for the public or to protect it from the elements, so once the current work is completed the remains will be covered over again. The path of the new road will veer as far from the site as safely possible.
017
Archaeology Makeover
Gift to Israel Museum Will Bring Galleries Up to Date
A ten million dollar gift from Canadian billionaires Andrea and Charles Bronfman will be used to modernize and expand the Israel Museum’s archaeology wing.
The existing wing, which dates to the museum’s opening in 1965, houses one of the world’s foremost collections of Biblical, Jewish, early Christian and Islamic antiquities. It too was built with the help of a gift from the Bronfman family, who recently sold their Seagram Company to a French media conglomerate. In the 35 years since the archaeology wing opened, however, the ever-expanding body of newly excavated material from sites throughout Israel has grown too large for the available space.
With this new donation—the single largest gift ever received by the museum for the renovation of existing galleries—the museum will be able to reorganize the galleries and bring them up to date with current archaeological research. The money will also be used to create new space for temporary exhibits and recent archaeological finds and to showcase pieces from the museum’s permanent collection that have never before been displayed to the public. When completed, the redesigned wing will cover nearly 40,000 square feet, including outdoor space for exhibiting ancient sculptures.
The Israel Museum’s archaeological collection spans 1.5 million years, from prehistoric times through the 18th century C.E. The world-class collection carries with it a social obligation, according to museum director James Snyder. “Given our role as Israel’s encyclopedic museum of art and archaeology,” Snyder says, “and given the unique and vitally important nature of our archaeological holdings, we have a responsibility to make these objects available to the broadest spectrum of the public … in the most knowledgeable and accessible way.”
Museum officials expect the renovations to take up to five years. The new wing will be renamed in honor of Charles Bronfman’s parents, Samuel and Saidye Bronfman.
And the Winner Is …
Best BAR Article Named
“Excavating Hazor,” a two-part article by Amnon Ben-Tor and Maria Teresa Rubiato (co-author of Part II) about the key site in northern Israel, has been named the best article to appear in BAR in 1998 and 1999. The article was published in the March/April 1999 and May/June 1999 issues ( “Excavating Hazor, Part 1: Solomon’s City Rises from the Ashes,” BAR 25:02, and “Excavating Hazor, Part 2: Did the Israelites Destroy the Canaanite City?” BAR 25:03). The selection was made by Duke University’s Eric M. Meyers and Harvard University’s Lawrence E. Stager, both frequent contributors to our pages.
The Bible describes Joshua’s fiery conquest of Hazor—“the head of all those kingdoms” (Joshua 11:10)—as the culmination of the Israelite conquest of Canaan. Later, the city was rebuilt and fortified by Solomon (1 Kings 9:15). In keeping with Hazor’s importance in early Israelite history, Yigael Yadin led a major excavation at the site in the 1950s (with a final season in 1968). The dig was the most important excavation undertaken up to that time by the nascent state of Israel and served as a training ground for most of today’s senior Israeli archaeologists. In the 1990s, Ben-Tor, a former student of Yadin, returned to Hazor to lead an excavation named in Yadin’s honor. Ben-Tor was especially interested in fixing the date of the city’s destruction and in establishing the identity of the destroyers.
In giving the award to Ben-Tor and Rubiato, Meyers and Stager write that the Hazor article “presents the new finds from the current excavations in a most compelling way and greatly informs the debate on the history of the United Monarchy. It also presents important new data regarding the destruction of the Canaanite city.” Meyers and Stager conclude, “This two-part article provides material that must certainly be taken into account in the ongoing debate on Israelite origins and the United Monarchy.”
The Best of BAR award is made possible by the generous support of the Leopold and Clara M. Fellner Charitable Foundation, through its trustee Frederick L. Simmons.
018
Accolades and Awards
A Roundup of Recent Honors
Some already brilliant reputations have gained added luster in recent months as organizations, institutes and even the government of France have recognized the outstanding contributions of archaeologists and Bible scholars.
Last year, France’s prestigious Cross of the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor was bestowed upon Jean-Baptiste Humbert. A skilled excavator who has worked at sites in Jordan, Iran, Israel and the Gaza Strip, Humbert has been affiliated with Jerusalem’s École Biblique et Archéologique Française since 1973. His nomination to the Legion of Honor came from French president Jacques Chirac, who remarked, “The presence of this great scholar, who has integrated into his excavation team young Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, has significantly contributed to the prestige of France in this region.”
Another veteran excavator, Yizhar Hirschfeld, has been named a recipient of this year’s Irene Levi-Sala Book Award in the Archaeology of Israel. Bestowed every two years by Ben-Gurion University, the award recognizes an outstanding book in each of three categories related to archaeology in Israel—final excavation report, scientific publication and popular nonfiction book. Hirschfeld received the award for his recently published work Ramat Hanadiv Excavations: Final Report of the 1984–1998 Seasons. Also honored this year were Claire Epstein for her monograph The Chalcolithic Culture of the Golan and nautical archaeologist Shelley Wachsmann for his Seagoing Ships and Seamanship in the Bronze Age Levant. BAR readers will remember Epstein and Wachsmann for their articles, “Before History—The Golan’s Chalcolithic History,” BAR 21:06, and “The Galilee Boat—2,000-Year-Old Hull Recovered Intact,” BAR 14:05.
Others receiving honors this year include distinguished Hebrew University scholars Haim Tadmor, an Assyriologist, and David Flusser, a specialist in early Christianity; the pair were awarded the Rothschild prize, which promotes arts and culture in Israel. Meanwhile, another Hebrew University scholar, archaeologist Amnon Ben-Tor, was honored this past spring when the Israel Museum conferred on him its prestigious Percia Schimmel Award for Distinguished Contribution to Archaeology in Eretz Israel and the Lands of the Bible. In citing his long list of achievements, the museum recognized Ben-Tor not only as a pioneer in the field of regional archaeology, but also as a teacher of extraordinary gifts. It has been a good year for Ben-Tor; he has also just won praise for best article in BAR.
Finally, Sidnie White Crawford has been named president of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research. Crawford, who currently chairs the department of classics and religious studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has published extensively on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Her three-year term began July 1.
Mark Your Calendar
Egyptian Treasures from the British Museum
October 7, 2000–January 2001
Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, California
From one of the world’s greatest collections of Egyptian antiquities come more than 120 items covering 3,000 years of Egyptian history, art and culture: gold jewelry; ivory and glass cosmetic cases; bronze statuettes and stone sculptures; furniture; papyrus Books of the Dead with painted vignettes and a coffin still containing a mummy.
For more information, call 714-567-3600 or visit www.bowers.org.
Facts, Artifacts and Bible Stories
Eight weekly lectures, October 23–December 11, 2000
University of Judaism Extension, Los Angeles
Renowned scholars explore various facets of Biblical archaeology. Amy-Jill Levine begins with “Jesus’ Jewish Setting.” Jonathan Tubb speaks on “Jezebel’s People: The Phoenicians and Their Influence on Israel” on November 13, and William Dever will delve into Biblical Israel with “Excavating Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Genesis and in the Bronze Age” on December 4. Andrea Berlin concludes with “New Light on the Period of the Maccabees.” The lectures are sponsored by the Simmons Family Charitable Foundation.
For more information, call 310-440-1246.
Drink and Be Merry: Wine and Beer in Ancient Times
July 30–November 5, 2000
The Jewish Museum, New York
Relax in a Roman banquet room and visit an ancient wine shop, complete with storage jugs and a rare lion-headed measuring table—all part of a new exhibit exploring the production and marketing of wine and beer in ancient Israel. Among the oldest—and most popular—alcoholic beverages known, wine and beer hold a special place in the art and archaeology of the ancient Near East. This exhibit, organized by the Israel Museum, showcases the importance of wine production and trade in Israel, starting in the fourth millennium. Highlights include ritual objects, drinking vessels, banquet scenes in stone reliefs and mosaics, wine jars and serving tables. Beer, though never important in Israel, played an important role in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Beer-making was the only profession considered to be under divine protection! Pottery jars and models of breweries are included.
For more information, call 212-423-3200 or visit the museum’s Web site at www.thejewishmuseum.org.
016
What Is It?
A. Harness cheek pieces
B. Earrings
C. Belt buckles
D. Amulets
018
What It Is, Is …
A. Harness cheek pieces.
These two eighth- or seventh-century B.C. bronze pieces testify to the important role horses played in the ancient Near East. They were found in a grave in Luristan, in the western mountains of Iran. Famous for their bronze work and horse trappings, the people of the region are believed to have been wealthy, skilled craftsmen. Numerous ancient bits, saddles and harnesses have been recovered from Luristan, but widespread looting in the area since the 1920s makes it impossible to determine their precise origins.
One For the Road
Ancient Rest Stop Discovered on Mount of Olives
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