Inside BAR
Cover Story: Gamla—The Masada of the North
Shmaryahu Guttman is a maverick, a self-made archaeologist without a university degree or a consortium of supporters; a 69-year-old kibbutznik with ten grandchildren whose faith in the accuracy of Josephus led him to discover “Gamla, the Masada of the North.”
Guttman came to Palestine with his parents in 1912 from England. They were part of the wave of immigration, called the second aliyah, which brought idealistic, Zionist Jews to Palestine to help rebuild their neglected land. Life was harsh and by the time he was 12 both of Guttman’s parents had died. In 1933 he joined kibbutz Na’an on the Sharon Plain, where he lives today. Guttman is no newcomer to archaeology. He studied with the greats of Israeli archaeology—Sukenik, Stekelis, Avigad and Mazar—and he worked with Yigael Yadin at Masada. In Yadin’s popular account, Masada, about the great excavation at that site, he wrote the following tribute to Guttman:
“There is no doubt that the major role in turning Masada into the educational attraction and place of pilgrimage it has become was played by Shmaryahu Guttman, who for many years dedicated much of his energy, time and ingenuity to the study of Masada. Not only was he the first—in 1954—to describe correctly the ‘snake path’ (the eastern access to the mountain) with all its serpentine turns, but he was also the first to restore the path, excavate its gate and reconstruct the Roman camp A. In addition, he greatly advanced the study of Herod’s water system; and finally, it was he who spurred the scientific institutions in Israel to undertake the excavations at Masada.”
Guttman firmly believes that his discoveries so far, in two short seasons at Gamla, have revealed only a small portion of what is hidden below the knife-ridged hill.
The Fall of Gamla
As military commander of the Galilee during the Jewish revolt against Rome, Flavius Josephus (imaginatively portrayed here in oriental garb) was a failure; he was deceitful and probably cowardly. But as the historian of his times his name is honored.
Born Josephus ben Matthias, he was descended on his mother’s side from Jonathan, the Hasmonean high priest. He travelled to Rome at age 26 and upon his return to Palestine he argued with the Jewish zealots against their intention to rebel against Rome. Losing his argument, he joined the rebellion in 66 A.D. as commander of Jewish forces in the Galilee.
Josephus’ troops fled before the Roman armies led by Vespasian and his son Titus. Josephus and forty followers took refuge in the stronghold of Jotapata, choosing to die at their own hands rather than to fall to the Romans. All the defenders, save Josephus and one other, died in fulfillment of the vow. Josephus surrendered to Vespasian, whom he flattered by predicting that he would become emperor. By this prediction Josephus saved himself from execution.
Two years later, his prophecy fulfilled, Josephus was freed; he took the name Flavius, the family name of the Roman emperors.
In later years he devoted himself to writing the great works of history for which he is famous, especially the Jewish War, which told the story of the Jewish revolt against Rome including “The Fall of Gamla” and the Antiquities of the Jews.
Phoenicians in Brazil?
Currently living in Jerusalem where he is editing the Dead Sea Scroll of the Book of Samuel from cave 4 at Qumran, Frank Moore Cross is a distinguished linguist and Biblical scholar. At Harvard University, Cross is Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages and occupant of the Hancock Chair, Harvard’s third oldest endowed professorship.
The many books and articles to his credit include The Ancient Library at Qumran (Greenwood Press, 1961), Qumran and the History of the Biblical Text (Harvard University Press, 1975) and Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Harvard University Press, 1973). To BAR Professor Cross has contributed “The Dead Sea Scrolls and The People Who Wrote Them,” BAR 03:01 and “The Historical Importance of the Samaria Papyri,” BAR 04:01. Since 1953 he has been a member of the International Committee responsible for editing and publishing the Dead Sea Scrolls.
In “Phoenicians in Brazil?” Professor Cross discusses the authenticity of the Paraiba inscription, a confusing and controversial inscription from Brazil, purporting to prove Phoenician contact with the New World in the sixth century B.C.
At home in Lexington, Massachusetts, Frank Cross gardens avidly and enjoys hybridizing plants in his spare time.
The World’s First Museum
Professor of Classics and Chairman of the Department of Classics at New York University, Lionel Casson is the author of “The World’s First Museum and the World’s First Archaeologists.”
Well-known for his book Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World (Princeton University Press, 1971), an historical reference work drawing upon the discoveries of modern marine archaeology, Professor Casson continues to pursue this area of special interest and expertise, ancient maritime history. Having lived for the past 13 years in Rome, he is currently engaged, appropriately enough, in a major study of the trade and sea connections of Rome to the Far East.
Author of Ancient Egypt, a volume in the Great Ages of Man series, (Time-Life Books, 1965), and more recently, Daily Life in Ancient Egypt and Daily Life in Ancient Rome (Horizon, 1976), Casson writes about ancient peoples and translates their literature with grace and humor for a 20th century audience.
Also in this issue:
• An unprecedented offer to BAR leaders. Free for the asking—“Biblical Archaeology After 30 Years (1948–1978)” by Siegfried H. Horn. A lively survey, with extensive bibliography, of three decades of excavation in the Biblical Near East. See “Free to BAR Subscribers: 30-Year Survey of Biblical Archaeology.”
• A report on BAR Archaeological Preservation Fund’s new project in Israel—restoring Biblical Ebenezer, a village in the Samarian foothills from which the Israelites went forth to battle the Philistines. See “BAR Readers to Restore Israelite Village from the Days of the Judges.”
• Ebla political storm continues to swirl in Queries & Comments. Samuele Bacchiocchi rebuts charges made by readers in letters disagreeing with his article, “How It Came About: From Saturday to Sunday,” BAR 04:03.