BARlines
BAS Gives $10,000 for Publication of Yadin Excavations; BAR Readers Invited to Contribute
The Biblical Archaeological Society, publisher of BAR and Bible Review, has contributed $10,000 to the Yigael Yadin Memorial Fund, specifically earmarked for the publication of the results of Yadin’s excavations.
Until his death in 1984, Yadin was Israel’s leading archaeologist and a frequent contributor to BAR.a He died unexpectedly and suddenly, leaving much work relating to the results of his excavations unfinished.
After his death, The Yigael Yadin Memorial Fund was established by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Exploration Society. The fund seeks to raise money to establish an endowed chair in Yadin’s name at Hebrew University, where he taught, and to provide funds for the publication of his excavations. A number of noted scholars have agreed to complete this work of publication.
BAR Editorial Advisory Board member Jonas C. Greenfield, of Hebrew University, and Joseph Naveh, also of Hebrew University, have agreed to publish the Hebrew, Aramaic and Nabataean documents found in the famous Cave of Letters in the Judean Wilderness near the Dead Sea. The documents date to the second century A.D., the time of the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome led by the almost legendary Bar Kokhba. Some of these letters were actually dictated by Bar Kokhba whose correct name was apparently Bar Kosiba. The cache includes important private documents in Greek that will be published by Naphtali Lewis, distinguished professor emeritus of City University of New York. This group hopes to complete its work by early 1986.
Yadin never published the final volume of his excavations at Hazor, which he believed was conquered by Joshua’s army.
Amnon Ben-Tor, one of Yadin’s three literary executors (the other two are Nahman Avigad and Joseph Aviram) will supervise the publication of this volume. This manuscript should be completed by summer 1986. Ben-Tor, who now teaches at Hebrew University, worked with Yadin at Hazor. The excavations were undertaken between 1955 and 1968.
None of the final report of Yadin’s Masada excavation of 1964–65 was ever published. A publication committee has now been established and is already working full speed. It includes a number of scholars who have been assigned different aspects of the material, such as architecture, glassware, pottery, stoneware and jewelry, inscriptions and ostraca, leather objects and textiles, scrolls, and historical background.
Between 1967 and 1970, Yadin excavated at Megiddo. Yigal Shiloh, who now directs the City of David dig in Jerusalem, was Yadin’s principal assistant at Megiddo. Shiloh has agreed to prepare the Megiddo results for publication.
Yadin’s last excavation was in 1983 at Beth Shean. He himself was working on the publication of this material almost to the day he died. His principal assistant on this excavation, Shulamith Geva, has already completed the manuscript for publication soon in the QEDEM series.
BAR readers are invited and encouraged to contribute to the Yigael Yadin Memorial Fund. The names of those who contribute will be published in a future issue of BAR. All contributions are tax-deductible under United States law. Send your contributions to Biblical Archaeology Society—Yadin Fund, 3000 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20008.
BAS’s Israel-at-Leisure Tour Rated
We have tried—unsuccessfully—to refrain from printing some of the comments made by participants in BAS’s Israel-at-Leisure tour last spring. In the end, we could not help sharing their reactions with you.
“The seriousness and depth of knowledge of our archaeologist guide, Mattanyah Zohar of Hebrew University was what I liked best about our tour. The tour was very balanced, the leisure periods were very welcome to me for making my own discoveries around the different cities visited.”
“The tour more than met my expectations. It was a great learning experience combined with pleasurable relaxation. The accommodations were good and your staff was cooperative and understanding.”
“Hotels and food are always important. These were good. The smallness of the group was also good. How did the tour meet my expectations? Wonderful!”
“The small number of people with a common interest but coming from varied points of view made for a lively and informative experience, with lots of discussion. I have never traveled on a tour before, and never expected I would. However the itinerary really piqued my fancy. I was absolutely delighted!”
“This trip fulfilled a lifetime dream of my husband’s. I expected to be bored, but loved it all—Abe [Neustadter, the BAS escort] did a great job of caring for us. We felt it was a plus to have a small group.”
“I appreciated having the boat on the Sea of Galilee to ourselves.”
“Having four different archaeologists speak with us was a real ‘bonus.’ It gave a change of pace and another perspective. It was a super tour.”
Geraty Named President of Atlantic Union College
Lawrence T. Geraty, excavator of Heshbon and recently appointed associate editor of Biblical Archaeologist, has accepted a new post as president of Atlantic Union College (AUC), a small, liberal arts Seventh Day Adventist school in South Lancaster, Massachusetts.
Geraty has spent the past 12 years at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, where he founded and directed the Institute of Archaeology and established the Siegfried H. Horn Archaeological Museum, named after his predecessor at Andrews. Geraty reports that the Andrews administration “has promised continued strong commitment to archaeology” after his departure and that as long as that is in evidence he plans to “cooperate with AU’s Institute of Archaeology which [he] worked so hard to build up.”
Along with his new administrative duties at AUC, Geraty intends to “keep his trowel in the dirt.” As director of the Madaba Plains Project, he’ll be excavating at Tell el-Umeiri in Jordan in 1986.
Two New Exhibits at Harvard-Semitic Museum
“Mysteries, Ancient Curses and Curiosities” and “19th Century Flora and Fauna from the Holy Land” will be displayed at the Harvard Semitic Museum until January 7, 1986.
“Mysteries, Ancient Curses and Curiosities: From the Curator’s Cabinet” exhibits inscriptions and monster figures on second-millennium B.C. boundary stones and on ceramic incantation bowls from the sixth or seventh century A.D.; figurines and amulets of the demon-god, Bes; statues of a Sumerian king, Gudea of Lagash; animal-shaped pottery vessels; and Egyptian mummy cases.
The exhibit also displays rare Roman-Byzantine glass—bowls, juglets and other domestic objects produced nearly 2,000 years ago in today’s Israel, Jordan and Lebanon. Many pieces have acquired a patina—a multi-colored shimmering iridescence, the result of centuries-long chemical changes.
Children and their families can observe and guess the identities of a number of “museum mystery objects”; the functions of these artifacts have stumped archaeologists.
Moving from archaeology to natural history, “19th Century Flora and Fauna from the Holy Land: The Merrill Collection” shows museum visitors objects gathered by Selah Merrill, who surveyed the area east of the Jordan River in the 1870s, then served as United States consul in Jerusalem at the turn of the century. A dedicated collector, Merrill accumulated rocks, fossils, sand, minerals, shells, seeds, herbs, spices and birds. Many of the specimens are displayed in their original glass jars.
The Harvard Semitic Museum is located on the campus of Harvard University at 6 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. amd Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For exhibit information, call (617) 495–3123.
Albright Institute Names Assistant Director
Dr. Thomas Levy will fill the newly created position of assistant director of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research.
A graduate of the University of Arizona, Levy studied with William G. Dever and has, in recent years, been associated with the Beer-Sheva Museum. From 1982 to 1983 he conducted research at several Chalcolithic sites in the Negev under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This past year he served as an honorary research fellow at the Albright Institute.
In his new position, Levy will take over many of the administrative responsibilities of director Seymour Gitin, leaving Gitin more time to publish his recent research.
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