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Lost or Stolen!
Three Egyptian artifacts left the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 1, 1992, but never arrived at their New York gallery destination. A reward of up to $50,000 is being offered for their safe return and/or any information leading to their recovery and the apprehension, arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for their disappearance. The missing items are a 13-inch-high bronze mirror with a handle in the form of the god Bes from about 1450 B.C. (above, left); a 5.5-inch-high granite portrait head (above, right) dating to about 1300 B.C., and a fourth-century B.C. black diorite head, 7.5 inches high. Anyone with information should contact Maxon Young Associates, 45 West 45th Street, Suite 1100, New York, New York 10036 (1-800-766-2779) or the nearest office of the F.B.I.
Tel Tamar Dig Seeks Volunteers
The excavation team at Tel Tamar needs volunteers for their fourth season of digging, from March 17 through 31, 1993. Unlike most digs, Tel Tamar will accept volunteers even for a single day.
Tel Tamar marked the southern boundary of Solomon’s kingdom according to Dr. Rudolph Cohen of the Israel Antiquities Authority, director of the excavation at the site. Located about 40 miles south of the Dead Sea, the city served as a major fortress guarding the border and as the tax station for caravans traveling from the east to the Mediterranean. The Bible’s oldest record of the city occurs in Genesis, which mentions “the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazon-tamar” (14:7). It also appears on the list of cities in which King Solomon carried out construction (1 Kings 9:18) and as the southern boundary of the post-Exilic Israel prophesied by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47:18–19, 48:28).
The city’s Solomonic gates are among the best preserved in Israel, and the city walls are the most massive of any City in Israel except Jerusalem. Other discoveries in past seasons include house foundations, pottery, ovens, Roman baths and, most important, the seal of the southern kingdom of Judah. This season, archaeologists will excavate the foundations of the site’s royal housing and will begin reconstruction of the city to turn it into a national park.
The cost for volunteers, including room and board, is $50 a day. A two-week package including a tour of Israel and air fare from Chicago is available for $1,695.
For more information, contact Dr. DeWayne Coxon, Blossoming Rose, 360 West Pine St., Cedar Springs, MI 49319 (telephone: 616-696-3435).
New Dig-Study Program
“Explore Israel ’93, ” a new two-month program, combines a month of study in Jerusalem with an opportunity to dig at Sepphoris in the Galilee (see “New Mosaic Art from Sepphoris,” BAR 18:06; “Mosaic Masterpiece Dazzles Sepphoris Volunteers,” BAR 14:01). The first course in Jerusalem (May 24–June 18) will cover the history and archaeology of Jerusalem and contemporary Israel. The second, under the leadership of Ehud Netzer, combines digging with studying in Sepphoris (June 20–July 23). Both courses offer optional academic credit. Volunteers who want only to dig, but not participate in the academic aspects, are welcome to come for a two-week minimum stay. For more information, contact “Explore Israel,” 155 Fifth Ave., Room 504, New York, NY 10010-6802, (212) 533-7800.
New Dates for Tell Jawa Dig
The excavation at Tell Jawa, in Jordan—one of the digs listed in our survey of volunteer opportunities in “Casting Call For The World’s Longest-Running Drama,” BAR 19:01—has changed the dates for its 1993 season. The new dates are May 20 through July 8.
Correction
The photo of excavation area G at Tel Dor in “The Many Masters of Dor,” BAR 19:01, was reversed.
BAR Scholarships for Dig Volunteers
BAR is offering two scholarships to help defray expenses of people who wish to volunteer on an archaeological dig but who can’t afford to go. To apply, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope along with a letter describing yourself, your financial need and why you want to volunteer on a dig, to Biblical Archaeology Society, 3000 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20008.
Lost or Stolen!
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