BARlines
Archaeological Papers at National Meeting for the Most Part Boring
Every year, late in December, scholars interested in religion converge by the thousands for what are called the “annual meetings”—the joint national convention of the Society of Biblical Literature, the American Academy of Religion, and the American Schools of Oriental Research.
In 1982, the annual meetings were held in New York from December 19 through December 22. As usual, hundreds of papers were read, often simultaneously, on every subject from “Shamanism in Suburbia” to “Excavations at the Neolithic Village of Ain Ghazal.”
The archaeologically oriented papers are presented under the auspices of the American Schools of Oriental Research, commonly referred to by the acronym ASOR, pronounced with a long A.
All the leaders of ASOR were there, but a depressingly large number of them did not read any substantive archaeological papers. Among those leaders of the American archaeological community who were there but who failed to present substantive papers were James Sauer, Eric Meyers, William Dever, Philip King, Frank Moore Cross, David Noel Freedman, Ernest Frerichs, Edward Campbell, Joseph Callaway, James Ross, Nancy Lapp, James Strange, Joe Seger, Kevin O’Connell and Dan Cole.
Almost all of these people are good friends of BAR, and our readers will recognize many of their names from past issues. We hope we will be forgiven for saying how disappointing it was to be in the company of these great scholars and seminal thinkers, yet not to hear from them on the subject in which we are most interested—how archaeology is contributing to our understanding of the Biblical world, in the broadest and most detailed sense of the term “Biblical world.”
For the most part, the excavation reports that were read at the meetings were boring—descriptions of the stratigraphic sequence and of the pottery that securely or insecurely, as the case may be, helped to define and date the strata. This is essential, to be sure, but problems of larger concept should also be considered.
There were a number of exceptions of course—and we do not mean to denigrate these exceptions. Indeed, a number of these exceptions will be appearing in future issues of BAR (as will articles by people in the foregoing list). But it seemed to us that the major focus of most of the archaeological leadership was on institutional administration and academic politics, rather than on substantive scholarship. Perhaps this was because ASOR’s business meetings were held simultaneously with the reading of substantive papers. ASOR might well consider holding its business meetings prior to the three or four days devoted to the reading of papers.
One of the business matters that came before the ASOR Board of Trustees was whether to change the name of the magazine we refer to as our scholarly cousin, the highly respected Biblical Archaeologist. An ad hoc committee appointed to look into the question unanimously recommended that the scope of the journal be expanded “more fully to reflect the research interest of ASOR” and that its name be changed to ASOR Archaeologist. The new name was to have a subtitle stating “Incorporating Biblical Archaeologist.”
By a vote of eight to two, this recommendation of the ad hoc committee was adopted by the Executive Committee of the Trustees.
The full Board of Trustees accepted the recommendation to expand the scope of the journal, but voted not to change the magazine’s name, pending further consideration.
Israel Numismatic Journal Revived
After a hiatus of 14 years, the Israel Numismatic Journal has been given a new life.
Founded in 1963 by the late Leo Kadman, the first three volumes appeared between 1963 and 1967. Publication has now been resumed under the editorship of Professor Dan R. Barag of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Volume 4 appeared in 1981 and Volume 5 will appear shortly.
Coinage and currency are important sources of evidence for the study of the Holy Land’s history and culture from the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods through Medieval times.
Volume 4 includes articles about a minute silver coin from the fourth century B.C. from Samaria bearing the name ‘Jeroboam’ (A. Spaer) and a bronze coin of Agrippa II bearing a portrait identified as the king’s sister Berenice, a royal lady of questionable reputation (J. Maltiel-Gerstenfeld). Another article argues that the first Hasmonean ruler to strike coins was John Hyrcanus I (135–104 B.C.), not Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 B.C.) (D. Barag and S. Qedar). Professor Barag also reviews the geographical distribution of Bar Kokhba coins from controlled excavations in an attempt to delineate the area ruled by the rebels during the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome (132 A.D.–135 A.D.)
Copies of this English-language journal are available from the Israel Exploration Society, P.O. Box 7041, Jerusalem, Israel. The price is $16.00, postage included. Members of the Israel Numismatic Society and Israel Exploration Society are entitled to a 20% reduction.
Ringling Collection Tours Florida
John Ringling, of circus fame, amassed an extensive collection of Cypriote art for his museum in Sarasota, Florida. Selections from this collection will begin a year’s tour of Florida this spring, in an exhibit designed by Ringling Museum of Art guest curator and BAR Advisory Board member, Norma Kershaw. Along with weapons, statues and votive figures, the exhibit, called “Ancient Art from Cyprus,” includes objects of daily use—ceramic and glass vessels, lamps, jewelry and carefully crafted toilet articles.
Recent excavations on Cyprus have given the island prominence on the archaeological map of the Mediterranean and have given archaeologists new information with which to evaluate the Ringling collection, begun in the 1920s. Between April 1983 and April 1984, “Ancient Art from Cyprus” will tour Sarasota, Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Gainesville and Tampa. For details, write to The Ringling Museum of Art, P.O. Box 1838, Sarasota, Florida 33578.
Mitchell Dahood Memorial Lecture at Loyola University, Chicago
David Noel Freedman, editor of the Anchor Bible series and director of the Program on Studies of Religion at the University of Chicago, will speak on “Mitchell Dahood, Scholar and Gentleman,” at a memorial lecture in honor of Father Dahood, March 8, at Mullady Theatre, Lake Shore Campus, Loyola University of Chicago. Freedman’s lecture will deal with the Bible and texts from Ebla and Ugarit. More specifically, it will discuss Hebrew poetry (especially the Psalter) in the light of Northwest Semitic languages and literature.
For 25 years, until his sudden death on March 8, 1982, Father Dahood was Professor of Northwest Semitic Languages at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He became known for his analysis of classic Hebrew poetry, proposing many new and controversial readings in the Hebrew text. (See “Mitchell Dahood—In Memoriam,” BAR 08:03, and “Are the Ebla Tablets Relevant to Biblical Research?” BAR 06:05.)
Biblical Interpretation Lecture Series at Dropsie College
Prominent Bible and history professors from the United States and Israel bring new perspectives to problems in Biblical interpretation at the Dropsie College Guest Lecture Series in Philadelphia this spring. On March 16, Samuel T. Lachs of Bryn Mawr College will speak on “Rabbinic Sources for New Testament Studies—Use and Misuse.” Mordechai Cogan of Ben Gurion University in Beersheba, Israel, will present “2 Kings 18:13-14th Year of King Hezekiah: A New Look at an Old Riddle” on April 13, and on May 4, Meshullam Margolit of Bar-Ilan University, Israel, will discuss “The Transgression of Moses and Aaron—Numbers 20:1–13 A New Interpretation.”
Albright Institute Lectures
BAR readers planning a trip to Israel this spring should include a visit to the Albright Institute or the Rockefeller Museum for one of several outstanding lectures sponsored by the Albright Institute: March 20, “Shiloh of the Israelite Period,” and April 24, “The Dead Sea Scrolls Reconsidered,” by Jonas Greenfield, at the Rockefeller Museum; April 21, “Conversations in Archaeology,” with Nachman Avigad, and June 2, “Recent Excavations of a Byzantine Church in Jordan,” by Jean-Baptiste Humbert, at the Albright Institute.
More Dig Information for Volunteers in 1983
Emmaus and Horvat Eged
Emmaus, located at an intersection of ancient roads, was a market town and spa during the Second Temple period. Judah Maccabee, leader of the Jewish revolt against Syria, defeated the Syrians in a decisive battle at Emmaus in 165 B.C. This Emmaus may also be the site where Jesus appeared to two of his disciples after his resurrection (Luke 24).
Excavations at Emmaus, which is about 20 miles west of Jerusalem, will be conducted from July to August, 1983 under the direction of Mordechai Gichon and Moshe Fischer of Tel Aviv University.
The excavations will focus on a thermae or bathhouse from the late Roman and Byzantine periods that is unusually well preserved. It even has its original roof. A massive free-standing water tower and adjacent structures have been found.
The Tel Aviv University team is also excavating Horvat Eged, a mountain fortress about a mile east of Emmaus. The fortress was originally built in the late Hellenistic or early Hasmonean period. In about 132 A.D., Bar-Kokhba’s men cut a beehive-like network of subterranean rooms in the rock—this was a clandestine base for their revolt against Rome. One of these rooms has been partially cleared; it yielded many interesting small finds.
The Emmaus excavations are both a study dig and a summer educational-recreational camp. Volunteers may take a two-credit course in Archaeological Techniques and Interpretation, attend lectures and discussions and participate in swimming outings and trips to explore the surrounding countryside.
The excavation camp is at Nes Harim in the Judean mountains. Costs, including accommodations, board, participation in afternoon activities and tuition, will probably range between $10 and $14 per day. For more information, write to Emmaus Excavations, Department of Classical Studies, Division of Archaeology, Yad Avner, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
Tel Yin’am
Excavations at Tel Yin’am, in lower Galilee, will focus on Late Bronze Age II (1400 B.C. to 1200 B.C.) and Iron Age I (1200 B.C. to 1000 B.C.) levels. Harold Liebowitz of the University of Texas at Austin will lead the excavations, which will take place from June 14 to July 22, 1983. Two college courses (three credits each) will be offered. Tuition for both courses is $322. (Tuition is less for Texas residents.) Field trips are offered, and volunteers can swim in the Sea of Galilee. Volunteers will stay at Moshavah Yavne’el, a cooperative community near the site. Cost is $40 per week; minimum stay is two weeks. For further information, write to Professor Harold Liebowitz, Department of Oriental and African Languages, University of Texas, 2601 University Avenue, Austin, Texas 78712, or to Dr. Harold Greenberg, 16 Frankfurter Street, Petah Tikvah 49612, Israel.
Gamla
Gamla, the Masada of the north, fell to the Romans in 67 A.D., three years before the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Gamla was one of the first strongholds conquered by the Romans during the First Jewish Revolt; Masada was the last.
Excavations at Gamla in the Golan Heights have been directed for several years by Shmaryahu Guttman, who reported in “Gamla: the Masada of the North,” BAR 05:01, about the discovery of a well-preserved basalt building there that he identified as a synagogue—the only one yet discovered that was built before the Roman destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. For more information about the excavations at Gamla, write to Shmaryahu Guttman, Kibbutz Na’an 73263, Israel.
The Negev
Illegal excavations, as well as new roads and housing developments, often threaten to destroy archaeological sites. The Negev Rescue Excavations and Survey, an ongoing project under the direction of Rudolf Cohen of the Israel Department of Antiquities, conducts emergency salvage excavations at sites throughout the Negev. For more information, write to Negev Rescue Operations and Survey, P.O. Box 586, Jerusalem 91004, Israel.
Chorazim
A magnificent pilaster—probably from a synagogue ark of the law—was recently discovered at Chorazim, a site northwest of the Sea of Galilee (see “Has Another Lost Ark Been Found?” BAR 09:01). Chorazim is mentioned twice in the New Testament. The town and its synagogue flourished during the Talmudic period (third–sixth centuries A.D.).
Excavations at Chorazim during July and August, 1983 will be directed by Ze’ev Yeivin of the Israel Department of Antiquities and will focus on Byzantine and Talmudic period remains. No fees will be charged for accommodations; no credit courses will be offered. Minimum stay is two weeks. For more information, write to Dr. Ze’ev Yeivin, Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums, P.O. Box 586, Jerusalem 91004, Israel.
Tel Qatif
Tel Qatif, a Chalcolithic and Persian period site in the Negev, will be excavated from April 21 to April 29, 1983 by a team under the direction of Eliezer Oren of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. For more information, write to Professor Eliezer Oren, Division of Archaeology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba 84105, Israel.
Khurvat’Uza
An Iron Age (Israelite) stratum will be excavated from June 5 to July 1, 1983 at Khurvat’Uza, a tel near Arad in the Negev. Itzhaq Beit-Arieh of Tel Aviv University and Bruce Cresson of Baylor University will lead the excavations. Accommodations are in a hotel (with a swimming pool) in Arad. No credit courses are offered. Volunteers must stay at least one week. Write to Dr. Bruce Cresson, Department of Religion, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76703, or to Dr. Itzhaq Beit-Arieh, Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Tel Haror
Excavations at Tel Haror and a nearby Chalcolithic (fourth millennium B.C.) site will be carried out from July 24 to August 5, 1983, and from August 7 to August 19, 1983, within the framework of the comprehensive survey and excavations in the “Land of Gerar” in the northwestern Negev. The dig director is Eliezer Oren of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Undergraduate and graduate courses are offered through Ben-Gurion University and Brandeis University; lectures and field trips to other excavations are planned. Volunteers must stay at least two weeks. Accommodations, in the Ben-Gurion University dormitories, cost $15 per day. For further information, write to Martha Morrison, Department of Classical and Oriental Studies, Rabb 141, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02154.
Tell el-’Oreme
Early and Late Bronze Age and Iron Age levels will be explored from September 4 to October 15, 1983 at Tell el-’Oreme, a site on the Sea of Galilee. Volkmar Fritz of Johannes Gutenberg University in West Germany will direct the excavations. Lectures and field trips are available; no credit courses are offered. Registration fee is $80. Free accommodations are available in a nearby youth hostel. Volunteers must stay at least three weeks. For further information, write to Dr. Volkmar Fritz, Fachbereich Evangelische Theologie der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Postfach 3980, 6500 Mainz 1, West Germany.