First Person: Archaeological Politics—Why Is Israel Different?

006

Not long ago, a news report landed on my desk describing an Egyptian archaeological project. The Egyptians were going to excavate the 1.7-mile avenue of the sphinxes that, almost 3,500 years ago, linked the grand temples of Luxor and Karnak. More than 1,350 sphinxes lined this glorious, but now buried, path.

There was only one problem with the project: 2,000 people now lived on the buried path. They would have to be dispossessed and relocated. The Egyptians allocated half of the project budget of 60 million Egyptian pounds to compensate these families who will be moved.

Another Egyptian archaeological project would require the demolition of the entire village of Gurna, located near the Valley of the Kings. The village was sitting over ancient tombs. Nearly 3,200 homes would have to be demolished. The government built new homes for the villagers about 2 miles away. Some villagers complained that the new houses weren’t big enough, but that was it.

The mention of the dispossessed Egyptian settlers was only an incidental part of the article, which was really about the planned projects.

All nations, including the United States, take pride in their history. We, too, want to explore our past, even when it’s not something to be proud of, like our country’s history of slavery.

If we discovered a house in private hands where Lincoln had lived for a short time, you may be sure that the government would acquire it by purchase or eminent domain and make it into a national monument and tourist attraction. If it were taken by eminent domain (that is, by government edict), our constitution provides that the owner must be paid “just compensation.”

This is what happens in the United States, and this is what appears to be happening in Egypt—and all over the world.

In every country except one.

The City of David is a small hillock of 10 or 12 acres south of the walled Old City of Jerusalem. It was here that the city was confined from the Early Bronze Age (more than 4,000 years ago) until about 700 B.C. Then the city expanded to adjacent areas, but the City of David, as it is known, remained a critical part of the city.

All agree on this. And all agree that the area is rich both historically and archaeologically. The problem is that there are a few dozen private Arab homes on the site. In any normal country, this would not be a problem. But this is Israel.

Some of these homes in the City of David may be affected by the archaeology. The archaeologists are digging in a tunnel under some of these homes. If damage is done, the owners, in Israel as in the United States, are entitled to just compensation. But this should hardly be an international cause célèbre.

Two major archaeological teams are currently operating in the City of David, one led by Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the other by Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University. Despite the criticism directed at these excavations, there is one aspect that has not and cannot be criticized: the quality of the archaeology. The quality of the archaeology is impeccable. Even though many scholars disagree with Eilat Mazar’s archaeological conclusion that she has found the palace of King David, this is a disagreement concerning her interpretation of the finds. Even her critics agree, however, that she is an excellent field archaeologist.^a

The complaint of the small group of vocal protestors is not with the professionalism of the archaeologists, but with the political views of the funders of the archaeology. Even the protestors do not question the professionalism of the archaeologists digging here, but rather the politics of the funders. In another column, I have noted that all funders throughout history have political agendas, whether evangelical Christians, right-wing Jews or something in between.^b Indeed, in the matter of political views, nothing is clearer than those of the protestors whose politics, not archaeology, obviously drives them.

The situation in the City of David is in sharp contrast to the situation just north of the City of David—on the Temple Mount, administered by the Muslim religious authority known as the Waqf. The Waqf has excavated hundreds of tons of earth on the Temple Mount in order to build a staircase down to an underground mosque.^c The excavation was performed by 074a bulldozer, rather than by professional archaeologists. The excavated earth was dumped in the adjacent Kidron Valley. Not only the government of Israel, but the country’s Supreme Court was loath to intervene, despite the clear illegality of the project. The tons of precious soil excavated by the Waqf is still being sifted by Israeli archaeologists Gaby Barkay and Zachi Zweig and volunteers from around the world. Their finds are extraordinary—from delicate Roman-period figurines to First Temple period bullae and inscriptions.

In this magazine we try to stay out of politics. But when politics intervenes in archaeology, it is time to speak up.

Not long ago, a news report landed on my desk describing an Egyptian archaeological project. The Egyptians were going to excavate the 1.7-mile avenue of the sphinxes that, almost 3,500 years ago, linked the grand temples of Luxor and Karnak. More than 1,350 sphinxes lined this glorious, but now buried, path. There was only one problem with the project: 2,000 people now lived on the buried path. They would have to be dispossessed and relocated. The Egyptians allocated half of the project budget of 60 million Egyptian pounds to compensate these families who will be moved. Another Egyptian archaeological […]