Inside BAR
Following centuries of tradition, most modern scholars assume that the Temple in Jerusalem once stood where the magnificent blue-tiled mosque, the Dome of the Rock, now dominates the Temple Mount. An archaeological excavation on the Temple Mount is of course out of the question. But Hebrew University physics professor Asher S. Kaufman has, since 1967, tackled the problem from every other angle, using ancient Jewish literary sources, modern aerial maps and detailed measurements of numerous ancient hewn rock cuttings, cisterns and wall remains on the Temple Mount to guide him. In “Where the Ancient Temple of Jerusalem Stood,” Kaufman presents his intricate and compelling argument for a new location for the First and Second Temples—about 330 feet north of the Dome of the Rock. Kaufman even locates the Foundation Stone—still to be seen—on which the Ark of the Covenant once rested beneath a little-known cupola called the Dome of the Tablets.
A native of Edinburgh, Kaufman’s studies at the University of Edinburgh were interrupted by service in the Royal Air Force during World War II. As part of the war effort, Kaufman helped design a new RAF gunsight for the bright skies over the Pacific. Kaufman emigrated to Israel with his family in 1959 and joined the Hebrew University faculty as the country’s first plasma physicist. He enjoys hiking and pursues an interest in the study of local weather and its connection to weather reports recorded in ancient literature. But “most of my time in recent years,” he readily admits, “has been devoted to the Temple research, which is an all-absorbing activity encompassing many disciplines.”
Unfortunately, some of the significant evidence on which Kaufman relies can no longer be seen: it has been covered or removed by Moslem authorities who control the Temple Mount. In an important editorial—accompanied by “before” and “after” pictures—BAR declares that “Ancient Remains on the Temple Mount Must Not Be Destroyed.” BAR proposes five basic rules to prevent further depredation of these ancient remains and to insure that any exposed ancient remains will be reported to the scholarly world.
The name Aroer in the Bible applies to three different cities, or perhaps four—scholars do not agree. One of these Aroers is mentioned only once, in 1 Samuel 30:26–28. The verse, “And David Sent Spoils to the Elders in Aroer,” is the title of an article by Avraham Biran, the distinguished Israeli archaeologist who excavated this Aroer, in Israel’s Negev desert, from 1975 to 1981. The five-acre site (twice as large as nearby Beersheba) produced abundant archaeological remains, but not a one was from the time of David.
A third-generation Israeli, Biran served his government for 24 years in high-level positions. Formerly the director of Israel’s Department of Antiquities, Biran is now chairman of the Israel Exploration Society and director of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology of Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion, in Jerusalem. He has led the important Tel Dan excavations in the Galilee for the past 15 years (see “The Remarkable Discoveries at Tel Dan,” by John Laughlin, BAR 07:05).
“News from the Field” brings BAR readers the first detailed account and the first published pictures and drawings of a discovery announced recently in newspapers around the world—the earliest archaeological artifact from Jerusalem bearing the name of God. Leading archaeologists quickly heralded the find as “sensational.” Etched on a tiny rolled strip of silver, the inscription dates to the seventh century B.C. In “The Divine Name Found in Jerusalem,” Tel Aviv University archaeologist Gabriel Barkay tells BAR readers about his discovery of this rolled amulet and explains why it remained unread for three years.
Barkay, a member of BAR’s editorial advisory board, describes Jerusalem as “the most excavated site in the Holy Land.” His own dig, on a ridge west of Mt. Zion, began in 1979. Barkay has been on the teaching staff of Tel Aviv University since 1971 and has excavated at Susa, in Iran, and at Lachish, Megiddo, Mamshit and Siloam, in Israel.
In this issue, BAR Jr. and Scholars’ Corner present two perspectives on the same subject—fortresses in ancient Israel. “Five Ways to Defend an Ancient City,” by Oded Borowski, paints a clear picture for BAR Jr. readers of several types of fortification vital to any ancient city. Borowski is the director of the Semitic languages division in the department of Modern Languages and Classics at Emory University. In Scholars’ Corner, “Network of Iron Age Fortresses Served as Military Signal Posts” presents archaeological evidence to identify a military outpost that was the source of a famous sixth-century B.C. letter found at Lachish.
More digs in Israel have put out calls for volunteer excavators. As a supplement to “Excavation Opportunities 1983,” BAR 09:01, BARlines includes “More Dig Information for Volunteers in 1983,” as well as a large number of announcements about events all over this country and in Jerusalem that BAR readers may want to attend.