BARlines

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Lecture

Shelley Wachsmann to Speak on Galilee Boat

Readers who were fascinated by archaeologist Shelley Wachsmann’s saga of the excavation and preservation of the Galilee boat (“The Galilee Boat—2,000-Year-Old Hull Recovered Intact,” BAR 14:05) will have the opportunity to hear him speak on the subject on January 7, 1989. Wachsmann is scheduled to deliver his public lecture to the Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology, which will be held January 5–9 at the Baltimore, Maryland, Convention Center. For more information, write to Karen Sullivan, 2838 Edgerlea Road, Vienna, VA.

Inspired Idea

Biblical Archaeology Takes to the Airwaves

After excavating at Tel Aphek under the direction of Tel Aviv University professor Moshe Kochavi in 1978 and after reading BAR for many years, veteran reporter Gordon Govier was inspired to create a weekly radio program devoted to Biblical archaeology. The 15-minute show is called “The Book & the Spade.” It airs on WNWC (FM 102.5 in Madison, Wisconsin), a non-commercial station owned by Northwestern College.

The program has featured numerous prominent scholars and a wide variety of topics. Among the 1987 episodes were interviews with Dr. Seymour Gitin of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, who discussed the archaeology of the Philistine cities; Northwestern College’s Dr. Charles Aling on Egyptology; Dr. John Trevor of Claremont College, concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls; and the late Israeli archaeologist Dr. Yigal Shiloh, who excavated the City of David in Jerusalem. For its excellence, the program recently won an Angel at the 11th Annual Angel Awards, sponsored by Religion in Media, an international and inter-religious organization that celebrates positive messages in the media.

Govier, the news director for WNWC, began producing the show in 1983, and it has aired regularly ever since. From the start, Govier received the support and assistance of professor Keith Schoville, of the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies, who is the president of the Madison Biblical Archaeology Society.

“The Book & the Spade” is broadcast at 12:15 p.m. on Saturdays and repeated at 6:45 a.m. on Sundays. Another season of new episodes began in September. Although the show’s broadcast range is limited to a 65-mile radius, tapes of past episodes are now being made available at the cost of $2 per episode plus $2 for the tape (so six episodes on a single tape, for example, would cost a total of $14). For a list of available topics and interviewees and for information on how to order, write to: WNWC FM Radio, 5606 Medical Circle, Madison, WI 53719.

Dig Opportunities

Tell el ‘Umeiri—Madaba Plains Project

When Jephthah subdued the Ammonites, “he smote them … as far as Abel-keramim” (Judges 11:33), whose ruins today constitute Tell el ‘Umeiri, a Jordanian site about 37 miles east of Jerusalem. Occupied from about 3000 B.C. to nearly 500 B.C., the site has been linked with the Ammonite king Baalis (Jeremiah 40:14) and with Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 B.C.). In past seasons, excavators have found an early sixth-century B.C. bulla with the inscription, “Belonging to Milkom-or, the servant of Baalyasha” (the Baalis of Jeremiah 40:14), and a jar handle stamped with the cartouche of Thutmose III.

From June 19 through August 8, 1989, archaeologists hope to dig more deeply into the tell and to extend their search for tombs. Volunteers are expected to stay at least four weeks. The cost is $1,600 for the full season or $900 for half the season; this covers full dormitory-style room and board at the Baptist School in Amman, about 15 minutes from the tell by bus. The deadline for submission of Jordanian security forms is March 15.

Up to eight quarter-hours of academic credit will be offered through Andrews University in consortium with Atlantic Union College, Canadian Union College, Wilfrid Laurier University and Walla Walla College. Tuition varies from school to school.

Contact: Institute of Archaeology, Andrews University, Barrien Springs, MI 49104; tel.: (616) 471–9779; or, for those seeking academic credit, Douglas R. Clark, Consortium Director, Walla Walla College, College Place, WA 99324; tel.: (509) 527–2456.

Exploration

New Search for Caves and Scrolls in the Judean Desert

Inaccessible caves that pock the limestone cliffs in the Judean Desert served as the repository of the Dead Sea scrolls, found in 1947–1948, and as a refuge for Jewish revolutionaries and Christian ascetics in the first and second centuries A.D. Now volunteers have a chance to participate in a genuine adventure of exploration, discovery and excavation, as archaeologists launch a new expedition to the Judean Desert caves.

From December 29, 1988, through January 22, 1989, the Judean Desert Exploration and Excavation Project will attempt to locate and explore additional caves and to excavate pockets in landslides in the hope of finding more scrolls and artifacts. Professor Robert Eisenman, chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at California State University, Long Beach, and Dr. Joseph Patrich of the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology—the author of “Reconstructing the Magnificent Temple Herod Built,” BR 04:05—will lead the project.

All participants in the project will be automatically enrolled in a three-unit Extension course given by California State University, Long Beach. The course will provide instruction in excavation techniques, methods of cave and desert exploration, Jewish/Christian sects, Scroll research and Second Temple history.

The $2,250 cost for volunteers includes transportation, tuition, and board at Kibbutz Yetav. Participants must supply their own hardhat, dustmask and sleeping bag. Persons who wish to join the group in Jerusalem may deduct approximately $850 from the cost. In addition to fieldwork, the project has scheduled tours of Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, the Shrine of the Book, and important sites in the Judean Desert, such as Masada and Wadi Murabba’at.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old and in good health, and they should have university or other experience. A nonrefundable fee of $10 must accompany all applications. November 28 is the last day to register.

For more information, contact: Professor Robert Eisenman, Chair, Dept. of Religious Studies, #304, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840. Phone: (213) 985–5341 or 985–4947; or (714) 962–0548.

Correction

Incorrect volume numbers appeared on the covers and contents pages of the May/June and July/August 1988 BAR. The proper volume number for these issues is XIV.

Lecture