BARlines

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You Can Never Find One When You Need One

Last year we reported on two stone toilet seats that had been excavated in the City of David, just to the south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.^a The article also referred to two toilet seats that had been discovered earlier in Jerusalem and to two others said to have been found in Jordan. Rupert Chapman, in the January–June 1992 issue of Palestine Exploration Quarterly, writes that the reference to one of the supposed finds in Jordan, at Tell es-Saideyh, appears to be a misunderstanding; no toilet seat was found there. But even as Chapman was removing, so to speak, one toilet seat, he was bringing another one to light.

While organizing the records of the Palestine Exploration Fund, of which he is executive secretary, Chapman came across a photograph and a description of a toilet seat like the ones BAR reported, found in Jerusalem in 1925 by the Rev. J. Garrow Duncan, who was digging on behalf of the Fund. The toilet seat was located in the City of David near the well-known stepped stone structure, though the precise location of the find remains vague, Chapman writes. References to the seat were deleted from Duncan’s excavation report, evidently a victim of 1920s British sensitivities on matters of personal hygiene.

The surprisingly low number of toilet seats that have been discovered from the ancient Levant has been a mystery to archaeologists. Chapman suggests that toilets with cesspits were in fact “quite common, either within the houses (in walled towns) or outside them (in villages and the countryside), but that the majority had wooden seats, and in many cases wooden superstructures also, which have long since perished.” Chapman suggests further that many ostensible storage pits may have actually served as toilets and recommends that soil from pits be tested for evidence of human waste.

BAR takes a back seat to no one when it comes to keeping readers informed on this dimly lit corner of archaeological research. BAR will make its readers privy to the latest discoveries and we will convey the flush of excitement that archaeologists will no doubt feel should they lift the lid on any new—or should we say old?—toilet seats.

New Editor for Biblical Archaeologist

David C. Hopkins, professor of Hebrew scripture at Wesley Theological Seminary, in Washington, D.C., will succeed Eric Meyers as editor of Biblical Archaeologist (BA). The quarterly journal is published by the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) and has a circulation of 5,000, primarily among academics.

Meyers, 52, has served in the position for ten years and described the transition as “passing the torch,” adding that it was time to let a younger generation of scholars move into positions of greater responsibility. The December 1992 issue, the last under Meyers’ editorship, will feature a letter to readers from Meyers reviewing developments in the field during the past decade.

Hopkins, 39, has been associate editor of the journal for the past two years. The March 1993 issue, Hopkins’ first as editor, will contain a retrospective on William F. Albright. Hopkins said he had no radical plans for the magazine, wanting instead “to solidify the first-rate scholarship and presentation” of the journal. His main goal will be to have BA “reflect what ASOR scholars are researching,” he said. Hopkins 023added that he plans to have more theme issues and to use occasional guest editors.

Fitzmyer Elected President

Joseph A. Fitzmyer, emeritus professor of Biblical Studies of Catholic University and one of the world’s leading Dead Sea Scrolls scholars, was elected president for 1992–1993 of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS) at its annual meeting in August in Madrid, Spain. The SNTS publishes a quarterly international journal, New Testament Studies. The next annual meeting of the SNTS will be held at the University of Chicago, August 9–13, 1993.

Museum Guide

In the Tomb of Nefertari: Conservation of the Wall Paintings

November 12, 1992–February 21, 1993

Focusing on the theme of conservation, this exhibit documents the six-year effort of the Getty Conservation Instimte and the Egyptian Antiquities Authority to preserve the wall paintings in the tomb of Nefertari, in the Valley of the Queens in western Thebes, in Upper Egypt. The paintings have been restored to much of their original splendor and show Queen Nefertari, favorite wife of Ramesses II, on her journey to the afterlife in the company of the gods.

The exhibit features a life-size, photographic replica of one of the tomb chambers; a scale model of the tomb complex; panels explaining the problems faced by the conservators and the solutions they devised; and 33 works of art relating to Nefertari. The exhibit will travel to the Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City (April–July 1993) and to the Fundació “la Caixa,” Barcelona, Spain (fall 1993).

In other museum news, the City of David exhibit, described in Museum Guide, BAR 17:02, continues at the Mizel Museum of Judaica through November 15, 1992. The museum is located at 560 South Monaco Parkway, Denver, CO 80224.

Correction

In “Masada—Arms and the Man,” BAR 18:04, the caption on page 65 mistakenly said that Camp A quartered 2,000 soldiers. This is actually the number for Camps A, D, G and H combined. The correct figure for Camp A is about 500. We thank Rory Riddler of St. Charles, Missouri, for bringing to our attention this editorial error.

You Can Never Find One When You Need One