Inside BAR

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No name of an ancient site in Israel has passed into common parlance the way Megiddo has, thanks to the prophecy in the Book of Revelation that the battle at the end of days will take place there. Armageddon is a corruption of the term Har Megiddo, Mount of Megiddo. It is not Megiddo’s possible role in the future, however, that interests archaeologists, but rather its past. Excavated three times this century, Megiddo has more than enough scholarly riches to reward a fourth major dig: Bronze Age palaces, Canaanite temples, Egyptian monuments and Israelite gates and … perhaps … Solomon’s stables, to name a few. Excavators Israel Finkelstein and David Ussishkin explain why they are going “Back to Megiddo.” Included in their comprehensive survey is a sampling of Megiddo’s famed “Ivory Treasure.”

Finkelstein is professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University and has dug at Tell Aphek, in southern Sinai, Izbet Sartah and Shiloh. He is the editor and co-author of the just-published final excavation report on Shiloh (Tel Aviv Univ. Institute of Archaeology) and author of The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement (Israel Exploration Society, 1988). Finkelstein’s articles for BAR include “Searching for Israelite Origins,” BAR 14:05, and “Raider of the Lost Mountain—An Israeli Archaeologist Looks at the Most Recent Attempt to Locate Mt. Sinai,” BAR 14:04.

A colleague of Finkelstein’s at Tel Aviv University, Ussishkin has chaired that school’s archaeology and ancient Near Eastern studies department and has headed its Institute of Archaeology. He directed the excavations at Tel Lachish and Betar and has dug at Kultepe, Chalcolithic Beer-Sheba, Hazor, Megiddo and Masada. In addition to numerous technical articles, Ussishkin is the author of The Village of Silwan (Israel Exploration Society/Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 1993), on the Judean kingdom era tombs outside Jerusalem, and of The Conquest of Lachish by Sennacherib (Tel Aviv Univ. Institute of Archaeology, 1982). Ussishkin serves on BAR’s editorial advisory board and has appeared frequently in these pages, most recently with “Restoring the Great Gate at Lachish,” BAR 14:02.

Sixty years ago, excavators thought they had recovered Solomon’s Stables in two areas at Megiddo, but subsequent research has dated the structures about a century after Solomon. Graham I. Davies thinks he may have spotted, underneath the later structures, glimpses of the stables that truly were built by the famed monarch. These glimpses came not at Megiddo itself but in the process of reviewing earlier excavation reports. Davies raises the tantalizing question, “King Solomon’s Stables—Still at Megiddo?”

Davies is reader in Old Testament studies at Cambridge University and director of studies in theology at Fitzwilliam College. He holds degrees in classics and theology from Oxford, where he studied Palestinian archaeology with Kathleen Kenyon. Davies edits the Palestine Exploration Quarterly and is the author of The Way of the Wilderness (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1979), Megiddo (Eerdmans, 1986) and of two commentaries on Hosea (New Century Bible Commentary, 1992 and Old Testament Guides, 1993). His other interests include hill walking, rugby andrailways.

ALL ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION HAS CEASED, the headlines would say, if it were not for the 005efforts of volunteer diggers. Once again, dig directors from Holy Land sites ranging from the Chalcolithic period to the Byzantine period seek volunteers to help them carry out their work in the coming season. “1994 Excavation Opportunities” features descriptions of 27 digs at 26 sites in Israel and Jordan and a convenient summary chart of vital information about each dig. Even if you have no interest in volunteering, you can bring yourself up to date on the latest “prize finds,” extraordinary discoveries from two different sites.

Before you decide where you want to dig, however, you may want to consider the “Eight Not-So-Obvious Questions to Ask Before Joining Your First Dig,” in which Jo David speaks from experience.

David received her rabbinical ordination in 1991 from the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York City. She currently serves as the rabbi of Congregation B’nai Elohim, a Reform synagogue in Scarsdale, New York. David has written numerous nonfiction books and articles; her most recent book, a textbook on Jewish life-cycle events, will be published in the spring of 1994.

The faded photographs of early archaeological excavations conjure up Dickensian images of dreary 19th century working conditions. Endless rows of local peasants, including young children, work dully but diligently in these outdoor “artifact factories,” while overseers with whips ensure a steady flow of work. Today’s color snapshots offer a much brighter image of digs, primarily because they focus on a new breed of equally diligent—but more enthusiastic and competent—workers: Trained volunteers now do much of the dirty work on digs, and their participation has greatly benefited the field, observes Kenneth Atkinson, who traces the evolution of “Diggers—From Paid Peasants to Eager Volunteers.”

Atkinson’s passion for archaeology bloomed on his first excavation at Meroth, where he discovered 135 coins in his first few hours of digging. Atkinson has since acted as square supervisor at Banias and Gamla. When not digging, Atkinson, who received his B.S. from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, is working on his Master of Divinity degree at the University of Chicago. He hopes to earn his Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible as he continues to pursue his interest in Biblical studies and archaeology.

A small correction in the translation of a previously published Dead Sea Scroll has recently catapulted that text from obscurity to a position of importance. The correction brought to light the name of a historical figure, one of only a few to appear in the scrolls. Esther Eshel, Hanan Eshel, and Ada Yardeni explore the implications in “Rare Dead Sea Scroll Text Mentions King Jonathan.”

A doctoral student at Hebrew University, Esther Eshel served as associate curator for Semitic Epigraphy in the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem in 1991 and 1992. In 1990 she worked as an assistant to Professor John Strugnell, for whom she is currently studying thirteen texts from Qumran Cave 4.

Hanan Eshel, Esther’s husband, received his Ph.D. in Jewish History from Hebrew University in 1993. Currently a lecturer in the Department of Land of Israel Studies at Bar-Ilan University and at Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, Eshel has directed excavations at Ketef-Jericho, Mackuk Cave, a cemetery in Wadi Muraba‘at and a refuge cave of Bar-Kokhba rebellions in Nahal Hever. His previous BAR article was “How I Found A Fourth Century B.C. Papyrus Scroll on My First Time Out!” BAR 15:05.

Ada Yardeni began her academic career as a student of graphic design at Bezalel Art School in Jerusalem. She then attended Hebrew University, where she received her Ph.D. in Hebrew and ancient Semitic languages. She wrote her dissertation on the Aramaic and Hebrew documents in cursive script from Wadi Murabba‘at and Nahal Hever. In addition to articles for scientific journals, Yardeni has published several books, including three volumes of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt (with B. Porten) and The Book of Hebrew Script.

No name of an ancient site in Israel has passed into common parlance the way Megiddo has, thanks to the prophecy in the Book of Revelation that the battle at the end of days will take place there. Armageddon is a corruption of the term Har Megiddo, Mount of Megiddo. It is not Megiddo’s possible role in the future, however, that interests archaeologists, but rather its past. Excavated three times this century, Megiddo has more than enough scholarly riches to reward a fourth major dig: Bronze Age palaces, Canaanite temples, Egyptian monuments and Israelite gates and … perhaps … […]