Queries & Comments

006

King David’s Palace

It Runs in the Family

What a great article on finding David’s palace by Eilat Mazar! (“Did I Find King David’s Palace?” 32:04) It reads like a keen-witted detective story. She is a most impressive lady, following her smart ideas despite little encouragement from other scholars in her field. Her famous grandfather [Benjamin Mazar] would be proud.

Trembling

The newly revealed remains of King David’s palace are so awesomely impressive that I almost tremble at the photographs.

Destroys Revisionist Theory

Eilat Mazar’s article on King David’s palace was very thorough and well-written. The piece also understated its claims. But whether or not she has found King David’s Palace, the building destroys a major tenet of revisionist theory, i.e., that Jerusalem was an unimportant village at the time of the United Monarchy of David and Solomon.

Editor’s Mistake

The article on David’s Palace looks great, but there was an important mistake. The re-creation of the column on page 21 (January/February 2006 issue) is inaccurate. Such capitals never stood either in a row or in a hall, but were most probably situated at the gate of a great structure and did not stand on a column. This is illustrated in the reconstruction of the Hazor Gate, in the Israel Musuem, in which the capital is very similar to the capital from the City of David.

The writer works on Eilat Mazar’s City of David excavations.

Thank you for this correction. The error is attributable directly to the editor. He also added to the caption the incorrect notice that the hall would hold rows of such columns. We hope that he will be more careful in the future. —Ed.

008

First Person

Keep the Politics Out of It, Shanks!

It’s bad enough that Hershel Shanks uses his magazine for his own private whine-a-thon about the Israel Antiquities Authority, but now he’s interjecting his own politics when he says “Like the Bush administration and its claims regarding WMDs [weapons of mass destruction], the Israel Antiquities Authority is digging itself into a deeper hole.” (First Person, “Probing for ‘Why?’” 32:01) Not all of us agree with the left’s Bush-bashing. Politics don’t belong in this magazine, and I wish Shanks would remember that.

One or the Other, but Not Both

I do not know or care who the “First Person” is, but if he wants to write a column about Bush, fine. If he wants to say things about the Israel Antiquities Authority, do it.

Biblical Archaeology a Turnoff

I fear you will never get a wide circulation with a name like Biblical Archaeology Review. That title is not likely to attract new subscribers of wide-ranging interests, or who are wary of religious proselytizing. I hope you will consider changing the magazine’s name.

Dad’s Smoking Inspired Her

I thoroughly enjoy your magazine and assiduously read every article. My interest in archaeology began when I was six or seven and I questioned my mother about the drawing of a pyramid on the pack of Camels that my father smoked. She explained the Egyptian practice of entombing pharaohs in pyramids and later I read everything I could find on the subject. In a classroom discussion on ambition (third or fourth grade), I announced that I wanted to be an archaeologist before I could even spell the word.

DON’T Cancel My Subscription

Please forgive me if I do not open with the traditional BAR salutation: Cancel My Subscription! I wouldn’t want an over-eager intern to take it literally. Indeed, I wish you offered lifetime subscriptions. I have greatly enjoyed every issue since I discovered BAR in the gift shop at the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, circa autumn 1984.

Prohibition Didn’t Work Either

I’ve been struck recently by how similar in approach to prohibition is the effort of many today to stop the traffic in unprovenanced artifacts—prohibit their publication. A similar approach was tried years ago in the United States to stop the deleterious consequences of improper “traffic” with alcoholic beverages—prohibit all access. That effort failed, probably for the same reasons that forbidding publication of unprovenanced artifacts will 010not stop looting. The presence of evil in the world affects every aspect of life. It may ultimately be more effective to enter fully into the life of this messy issue rather than stand aloof, pointing the accusing finger.

Crusader Castles

Blessed Brother Gerard Started It

Adrian Boas (“The Rugged Beauty of Crusader Castles,” 32:01) states that “the Hospitaller Knights of Saint John were founded to care for the pilgrims and defend the roads and frontiers.” He suggests that this occurred after the fall of Jerusalem to the Crusaders in 1099.

Actually, the Order of Saint John traces its origins to as early as the 1070s when a group of merchants from Amalfi, Italy, established a hospice to care for sick pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. The first leader of the group was Blessed Brother Gerard.

Following the fall of Jerusalem in 1099, a number of the Crusader Knights, seeing the work of Gerard, joined his group. The facilities of the hospice evolved into a “hospital” in the modern sense of that term, and the brothers became known as “the Hospitallers of Saint John.”

It was not until about 1120 that the Order was asked to take up military arms, in addition to its hospitaller work, to defend the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Saint John of Jerusalem is better known today as the Order of Malta.

Chariots on the Left?

Did the Romans drive their chariots on the right or left side of the road? I’m trying to understand why the British drive on the left and the rest of the world drives on the right.

Do any of our readers know the answer?—Eds.

Correction

The Khirbet Qazone grave section drawing (“What Did Jesus’ Tomb Look Like?” January/February 2006) should have been attributed to J.M. Farrant of the Hellenic Society for Near Eastern Studies.—Ed.

Apology

In our March/April issue, we mistakenly printed an incorrect telephone number for our subscription services. To our dismay, the misprinted toll-free number led to a service completely inappropriate for our magazine. We deeply apologize for any embarrassment or discomfort this error may have caused our subscribers.

The correct toll-free number for subscriber services is 1-800-678-5555.