1202-1203 Top Ten Most Important And Exciting Excavations in Israel

I've never done this before on The Book & The Spade, presented a condensed audio version of one of MY talks on Biblical Archaeology. But the Milwaukee Area Biblical Archaeology Society was kind enough to invite me and I put together a presentation for them covering some of the most important excavations we've featured in recent months on The Book & The Spade and in the pages of ARTIFAX magazine.

It might not be hard to guess what is the top dig on my list: the recently launched excavation at Khirbet Qeiyafa, also known as the Elah Fortress. As I say in my talk, the line between fact and legend in Biblical Archaeology seems to pass through the tenth century, the time of David and Solomon . This is a tenth century site that seems to have a lot of potential to address that debate. No big new discoveries there in 2009, as far as I'm aware, but nonetheless I think this is the most important dig going right now. For the rest of the Top Ten, give a listen, and let me know what you think I've left off.

1201 - Shasu of Yahweh

Even earlier than the Merneptah stele, there's evidence of the Israelites in Egyptian inscriptions. Two tomb inscriptions dating to the reigns of Ramses II and Amenhotep III mention Shasu of Yahweh. Professors Charles Aling and Clyde Billington, my colleagues in producing ARTIFAX, our quarterly magazine, discuss their article on this topic which appears in the latest issue. This information is strong evidence for the early date of the Exodus.

Here's an interesting article:

Excavations have been taking place at Bethsaida, near the NE shore of the Sea of Galilee for almost 25 years. This interesting first century site also has important remains from 1000 B.C., when it may have been the city of Geshur, home of the mother of Absalom. Rami Arav of the University of Nebraska Omaha directs the excavation. UNO has an annual archaeology conference. Here's a report on the most recent conference.

1200 - One million artifacts on display in Israel

A news item got my attention, "One million artifacts on display in Israel." That's where we start our discussion this week. Israel's archaeological riches are on display all over the country, not just in the big museums in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. For instance, I mention a visit to Kibbutz Ein Shemer to do an interview with archaeologist Adam Zertal a number of years back. We sat in a corner of a museum at the kibbutz (shown) that was dedicated to Zertal's archaeology. The rest of the museum focused on Ein Shemer's agricultural history. The Alon museum at Kibbutz Ginosar features "The Jesus Boat," the remains of a 2,000-year old boat found along the shore of the Sea of Galilee in 1986. Just a couple of examples of what's on display all over Israel. Israel has dozens and dozens of museums, which are catalogued on this page.

On this week's program we also discuss recently announced plans by the Israel Antiquities Authority to have private antiquities collectors register their collections with the government. There may be a flood of important archaeological discoveries to come from these collections, numbering around 100,000, IF collectors allow the IAA access to their collections. Not sure how they're going to accept this idea. It'll be interesting to watch.

1199 - The Lost Tribes of Israel, and the ruins of Cyrene

This week's program ranges east and west of the traditional Holyland to look at archaeology and what it has revealed about the Lost Tribes of Israel, who were carried off by the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. And then we turn our attention to the ruins of Cyrene in eastern Libya. Jews from Cyrene played an influential role in the early Christian church. It wasn't just Simon of Cyrene, who carried the cross for Jesus on the way to Golgotha. Cyrene is mentioned several tims in the book of Acts, residents of which played an important role in establishing the Christian community in Antioch. Cyrene today is waiting for comprehensive archaeological investigation that could reveal important information on the Jewish community of the first century A.D.

One major component of archaeology in Israel is salvage archaeology (as opposed to institutional archaeology--that planned and carried out by college professors and volunteers). Salvage archaeology is often done in front of bulldozers. It takes place wherever construction is planned or in-progress. The Jerusalem Post has a great article explaining salvage archaeology, called Guardians of the Underground.

1197 - Khirbet Qeiyafa inscription and Lod Mosaic updates

Some late breaking news items popped up just as we prepared to record some more programs, so we have the details on this week's program. The Khirbet Qeiyafa inscription is one of the oldest examples of Hebrew writing. It was discovered a little over a year ago and now finally we have some idea of what it says, thanks to Aren Maier's weblog. Aren reported on a conference in Jerusalem where the inscription was discussed, and then provided a rough translation.

We also focus in on a report on what was found when the Lod mosaic was raised: footprints that were 1700 years old. It's amazing that the technology of raising a mosaic to move and preserve it is so precise that scholars can now study what was underneath the mosaic.

1196 - BAR's 200th issue

One of our favorite sources of information, ever since we began doing this program, is Biblical Archaeology Review. In fact, when we first started doing this program, it was about our only source of information, outside of the international edition of The Jerusalem Post and a few stray articles in the newspaper. We don't always agree with BAR, but it takes Biblical Archaeology seriously, and we like that.

The latest issue, the 200th issue, has some articles that are worthy of comment, including Gabriel Barkey's roundup of the results of the Ketef Hinnom excavation. There was a lot more than a couple of amulet scrolls containing the oldest known Bible texts found in those burial caves. Another article is a Top Ten review of some of the top discoveries of Biblical Archaeology. The list doesn't include the Dead Sea Scrolls, but maybe the DSS transcends such a list.

Some great articles, and BAR makes a great companion to The Book & The Spade and our own magazine, ARTIFAX.

This issue of ARTIFAX also recognizes some of the top recent books about Biblical Archaeology, including Eric Cline's From Eden to Exile, a book we discussed with Eric a year and a half ago.

In the book Eric does a great job in summarizing what archaeology has to tell us about a number of Biblical scenarios. He does it again in an online article focusing on whether David and Solomon existed, and what archaeology has to say. He sums it up rather clearly.

1196 - Alexander the Great Gemstone and Jerusalem's Canaanite Wall

A great adventure story for a young lady named Megan Webb, who decided to go to Israel as a volunteer on the Tel Dor excavation. Digging in a dusty corner of a Hellenistic era building, Megan turned up the most exciting find of this past summer's dig season, a gemstone with the image of Alexander the Great. Archaeology, one of the few sciences were complete amateurs can make major discoveries.

This week's program also discusses the discovery of a major Canaanite wall, dating back to nearly the time of Abraham, in excavations neat the Gihon spring. The excavation of a 2,000-year old Mikva ritual bath in the area of the Western Wall tunnel has turned up remains of some major 2,000-year old buildings, including what may have been the home of the Sanhedrin. Lots of exciting discoveries to report on this week's program.

1195 - Magdala synagogue and menorah

Archaeologists have been excavating at Magdala, the ruins of an ancient village along the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Magdala is the traditional home of Mary Magdalene. The 2,000-year old synagogue they are excavating is no doubt one of the synagogues visited by Jesus during his ministry in Galilee, it's just a couple of miles from Capernaum. The menorah found at this site is the oldest depiction of a menorah that has ever been found, and may more closely resemble the menorah depicted in the famous Arch of Titus in Rome. This is an exciting discovery, a location we will certainly expect to visit in future Holyland study tours.

We also discuss some coins found by archaeologists that date to the time of the Bar Kochba revolt, 130-133 A.D., and reports of ancient coins uncovered in the Egyptian Museum that are linked to the patriarch Joseph. The latter story sounds highly suspicious to us, there are a lot of unanswered questions regarding its claims. When a discovery of this nature sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

1193-1194 Matthew Kalman: The James Ossuary Trial continues

The trail over the authenticity of the James Ossuary inscription ("James the son of Joseph, brother of Jesus) is heading into its fourth year in Jerusalem. Only one journalist has sat through the almost 100-courtroom sessions so far, and he is our guest on these programs.

Is the James Ossuary the only archaeological discovery that's connected to Jesus Christ? Or is it an audacious fabrication? Will we ever know? This trial may not settle the question but it does have some interesting things to say about archaeology. I think you'll enjoy hearing the insights of Matthew Kalman, as he discusses the courtroom action and personalities. You can also read his reports on the ossuary trial (including the recent TIME magazine article), on his James Ossuary weblog.

1192 - Tel Tayinat Update

Earlier this year we talked with Timothy Harrison about the Tel Tayinat excavations, in the same general area as Antioch. But Timothy Harrison is excavating in an earlier period, an Iron Age temple in fact, where he's found some cuneiform tablets, according to the latest reports.

We also mention excavations at another Turkish site, Laodicea (one of the seven cities of Revelation), as well as Sidon, a Lebanese city just north of Israel.

1191 - Another Jerusalem update

A seemingly large proportion of archaeology in Israel is taking place in Jerusalem these days, in particular the oldest part of Jerusalem, which is called Silwan, or the City of David.

On the latest update, we're talking about Roman mansion found in the dig at the Givati Car Park construction park. There's a report of a street collapse in Silwan from the Palestinian media, not a lot of additional information available. And then there's word from the excavation along the city wall on Mt. Zion that we visited during last year's tour. They found a stone cup with an Aramaic inscription. The content of the inscription hasn't been released yet.

1190 - Hippos-Sussita, Ramat Rahel, and the Mistress of the Lionesses

Some of the results of the 2009 excavation season are reported in this week's program, as well as a 2008 discovery we haven't had a chance to discuss yet. And, it just so happens, we were able to visit the excavation sites of Hippos-Sussita and Ramat Rahel for the first time during our 25th Anniversary Book & The Spade Study Tour a year and a half ago. (Pictured, the Hippos-Sussita Forum)

1188-1189 Luke Chandler: Volunteer at Khirbet Qeiyafa

Since we started doing this weekly program 26 and a half years ago, we have continually encouraged our listeners to get involved and do archaeology themselves. On occasion we have talked with some who have actually volunteered, and that's what these two programs are about. Luke Chandler has a blog where he's written about his excavation experience this past summer at Khirbet Qeiyafa, otherwise known as the Elah Fortress. And since that's probably where I would have gone had I chosen to work on an excavation this summer, clearly one of the most important digs now underway, I decided I'd like to talk with him about his experiences. So, listen to the programs, read the blogs, and experience what digging was like at Khirbet Qeiyafa during the summer of 2009.

Uncovering history can be a very transcendant experience. Describing what it was like to open up the second city gate of Khirbet Qeiyafa (most cities had only one gate), Luke told me: "After moving a lot of the stones and making it somewhat passable, I went inside to get a break with my co-worker. And it occurred to me as we were going through the gate, that we were the first two people to pass through that gate in well over 2,000 years."

For another perspective on archaeology and volunteerism, check out the Jerusalem Post article on the Ramat Rachel excavation.

1187 - Eric Cline: Tel Kabri, Archaeology and Social Media

Eric Cline filled us in on his excavations at Tel Kabri last year (he also digs at Megiddo on alternate years). The dig at Kabri wrapped up just a few days ago and we checked in with Eric to see how it went. Tel Kabri is one of the sites where it was possible to follow what was going on through social media, specifically through the excavation's weblog. Hundreds of photographs of the excavators at work, posted on Facebook, can be accessed through the weblog site. It gives a pretty realistic portrayal of what it's like to be a volunteer on an excavation. We also spent some time talking about social media, such as Facebook, Weblogs and Twitter, speculating on what impact they may have on archaeology. These unique communications tools are just starting to be used by archaeologists (professionals and volunteers).

Mosaic Museum and the Beautiful Lod Mosaic

The discovery of one of the largest and most beautiful mosaics ever found in Israel was announced 13 years ago, during one of our Book & The Spade tours. We missed seeing it then, the itinerary wasn't flexible enough, but now we're looking forward to seeing it during a future tour. After being covered up for more than a dozen years, Israeli officials are finally preparing to refurbish the mosaic and then put it on display. This beautiful mosaic graces the cover of the latest issue of our ARTIFAX magazine, and is one of our main topics of discussion on this week's program.

But there's more. It was announced just a few weeks ago that a mosaic museum, highlighting some of the beautiful mosaics found around Israel, is now open on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. If you're ever been on that road, you probably remember there's not much there, except for a few bedouin tents and the building they called the Inn of the Good Samaritan. Well that building and its environs has an interesting history (even if it wasn't the Inn of Jesus' parable), and now it has been converted to a mosaic museum.

We also spent some time on the programming discussing how our coverage of archaeology has changed over the past 26 years. When we started there were only a couple of sources we were able to rely on. Now the internet gives us all kinds of options, including social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Learn more about some of this season's excavations by checking these websites:

• The Elah Fortress


• Blogger at Elah Fortress dig


• Tel es Safi-Gath


• Tel Kabri


• Ashkelon


• Mt. Zion/Jerusalem


• Khirbet El-Maqatir


• Tall Jalul in Jordan

Other excavations have websites also, but these are the ones (except for the Tall Jalul story) that seem to be updated more frequently.

1185 - Sarcophagus of Paul and Seal of Saul

Recent news stories have reported on discoveries related to Paul and Saul. One is the Paul of the New Testament, the other is someone named Saul who lived about 800 years earlier.

The Vatican recently announced details of the latest archaeological investigation into the traditional burial place of the Apostle Paul, under the altar at the St. Paul Outside the Walls church in Rome. At almost exactly the same time, it was announced the oldest image believed to depict the Apostle Paul had been identified in the catacombs of St. Thecla. Both of these announcements marked the end of the Pauline year, declared by the Roman Catholic church to mark the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of St. Paul.

In other recent archaeological news, there was a story of a bone seal found in Jerusalem, with the name of Saul engraved on it, dated to roughly the 9th century B.C. The identity of this particular Saul is not known but this is another example of the many seals and seal impressions that are surfacing in the many archaeological excavations in Jerusalem. These are the kinds of finds that would be extremely rare elsewhere in Israel, but in Jerusalem they are not rare.

1184 - New Quarries Sited

Several reports of discoveries of ancient quarries are discussed on this program. One is an underground quarry just north of Jericho. The other is in Jerusalem, one of three quarries discovered in the last few years that have been linked to the building of the Second Temple under Herod. These Jerusalem quarries are linked to the temple in part by pottery and coins that are found that date to that era, but also because of the massive size of the stones that seemed to have been quarried there. No other site in Jerusalem needed stones that big.

I had a chance to visit one of the other of those three quarries during last year's trip to Jerusalem. It was in an area called Ramat Shlomo, the Heights of Solomon. Hence, the photo.

1181-1183 Yuval Goren: Iron Age Seal Impressions

I first heard of Yuval Goren in connection with the James Ossuary investigation. He's the one who marshaled the evidence that the inscription was a forgery. That conclusion is still open for debate, since the issue is still being hashed out before a judge in Israel.

So depending on who you read, he may be seen as a villain (Hershel Shanks and BAR) or a hero (Nina Burleigh in her book Unholy Business). I showed up for his public lecture at Harvard University last November and found him much friendlier than expected (based on what I'd read and his official photo, above). He gave me permission to record his lecture and gave an excellent presentation on his research into Iron Age seal impressions (or bullae, as they're called).

More and more of these seal impressions have been turning up in recent years, some bearing the names of people who are found in the Bible, in part because there's a lot of archaeology going on in some of the oldest areas of Jerusalem. In fact some of the bullae are being found in or near the very area where some archaeologists (like Eilat Mazar) believe the palace of King David was located.

So in these three programs we present some very informative comments by Yuval Goren on a very current issue in Biblical Archaeology.

880 - The Roots of Writing with Denise Schmandt Besserat

The story of how writing developed in Mesopotamia became a little clearer through the research of Denise Schmandt Besserat. As she relates in this program from our Book & The Spade archives, she was researching clay and she kept finding these little tokens all over the place. Eventually she realized that understanding the use of the tokens shed light on the development of writing.

The photo above was taken at a display on writing at the University of Chicago Oriental Institute Museum.

1180 - Shroud of Turin Gap Explained

This program looks at a recent news story that offers an explanation for one of the gaps in the story of the Shroud of Turin. We also spend some time discussing what's happening in the politically sensitive City of David area, right outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.

1179 - eBay's Impact on Archaeology and Looting

As with most innovations, the internet has been a mixed blessing. But on this program we discuss an internet innovation that many thought would be a curse on archaeology but has instead turned into a blessing: eBay. Here's the article. We also discuss Babylon, open to visitors once again, as well as the catacombs of Rome and Bethlehem.

And here's some program news: We are making improvements in our online distribution of The Book & The Spade. If you've had trouble downloading our programs through iTunes, try it again. With the help of listener Jerry Gassie we've updated our podcast program and it should work better now. Also, watch for a new website with improved functionality, coming soon. One final note, we're now on Facebook, for those who want to communicate through social networking.

1178 - Foot-shaped stone structures and the world's longest aqueduct

Some intriguing stories discussed on this program. The first item is a series of discoveries of early Iron Age stone structures in the shape of a foot, which may have something to do with the relationship of the foot to the ownership of land (See Ruth 4:7). At least that's what archaeologist Adam Zertal is suggesting.

The second half of our program focuses on an example of Roman engineering at its finest, a second century aqueduct that stretched for 66 miles, across mountains and valleys, from a marsh in Syria to some of the cities of the decapolis in what is today the nation of Jordan.

1177 - Matt Waters on Cyrus the Great

A few months back we mentioned that the tomb of Cyrus the Great was being reconditioned. (Here's a recent update.) On this program we have a chance to learn a little more about Cyrus and what made him so great. Our guest is Matt Waters, a professor of ancient history at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

The Cyrus Cylinder, a monumental inscription by Cyrus the Great, is on display at the British Museum. This article has a new translation of the cylinder and also points out that Cyrus the Great was the world’s first secular leader who championed human rights and freedoms. In the Bible, he championed the rights of Jews and other peoples to return to their homelands, after being captured and exiled by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.

1174-1176 Ancient Synagogues of Israel with Jodi Magness

Jesus spoke often in the synagogues of the Galilee [Matt 4:23]. They were a part of Jewish life in the first century. But where and how they developed is still a mystery to scholars. In this series of programs, archaeologist Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, discusses the information that is available on ancient synagogues, including the synagogue in Capernaum, which is probably not as old as many scholars believe. Jodi Magness is one of the top scholars of Biblical Archaeology in the U.S. and this is an insightful series of conversations. It's always fun to talk with her because of the energy and passion she brings to her conversations and lectures on archaeolgy.

For a short summary of her presentation, here's a story on her lecture before the Madison Biblical Archaeology Society.



Last winter we talked with Timothy Harrison about his lectures at Tel Tayinat in southeast Turkey, near the area which later became Antioch on the Orontes. He's just announced the discovery of an important ancient temple on the site.

1173 - Byzantine Mosaics

This weeks program features a discussion of the beautiful art of Byzantine mosaics, with reference to some recently discovered and restored mosaic floors. (Shown, an element of the "Mona Lisa of the Galilee" floor at Sepphoris.)

1172 - Roman Theater at Tiberias

Excavations have begun at the Roman Theater on the south edge of Tiberias. This promises to be a major new archaeological attraction to this area. Excavations have been going on here for a decade and a half but now they're finally getting around to the theater. This should be very interesting.

1171 - Abraham's Gate at Dan

News reports say that Abraham's Gate at Tel Dan is now open to the public, and it's the oldest arched mud brick gate in the world. Well, not so fast. First of all, what does open to the public mean? Can the public walk through the gate? No indication of that. As far as we know the far side of the gate is still covered with fill, after being originally excavated three decades ago. It seems as if the gate today is just as open as it was a year ago when we visited it during out 25th anniversary Book & the Spade tour. Oops, just added the photo from last year and I guess it wasn't as open as I thought. Let's say it's now as open as it was the previous time we visited, about ten years ago. They've done some work on it to protect it from the elements, but still, I don't think you can walk through this gate like you can the remains of the mud brick arched gate at Ashkelon.

And that brings up the other issue, Ashkelon also claims to be the oldest mud brick arched gateway in the world. Both date to approximately 1750 B.C. Which is oldest? We put the question to archaeologist Ross Voss, who has worked at both sites. He says the Ashkelon gate that you see at Ashkelon today is one of a succession of four gates, and the Ashkelon gate that is seen is slightly older than the Dan gate, by a decade or two. Which isn't much when we're talking almost 4,000 years ago.

The final issue, Abraham probably didn't go through that Dan gate. The Bible says he chased the kidnappers of Lot to the area of Dan, but doesn't necessarily say he went through the gate. Many Bible scholars would date Abraham a century or two previous to the Dan gate, also.

So that's what we talked about this week.

1167-1170 Walter Kaiser - Archaeology and the Bible

Walter Kaiser has taught the Old Testament to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of America's pastors. He taught at Wheaton College, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has written or contributed to over 50 books. Although now retired he still holds the position of President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and Ethics at Gordon-Conwell.

We were privileged to have Dr. Kaiser come and lecture on The Top Archaeological Finds of the Biblical Periods. This lecture is a great introduction to Biblical Archaeology, as is Dr. Kaiser's book, The Old Testament Documents, Are They Reliable and Relevant? published by InterVarsity Press. The lecture as a whole can be downloaded from our website, http://www.radioscribe.com/bknspade.htm.

1165 - 1166 Randy Smith - Tel BeerSheva

From Dan to BeerSheva, the Bible says, about the length and breadth of ancient Israel. We've gone to Tel Dan numerous times. The last time we were in Israel was the first time we included Tel BeerSheva on the itinerary. And there was a surprise waiting there for us, a newly excavated water system. Our commentary is from professor Randy Smith of the Christian Travel Study Program. Our tour intersected with professor Smith's tour several times (not surprising since we used his travel agent) and we profited from his expertise greatly.

On the second segment professor Smith discusses two more unusual features of Tel BeerSheva, a reconstructed horned altar that was discovered on the site, and the ancient well at the city gate, the deepest well in ancient Israel.

1164 - Timothy Harrison on Madeba

In the floor of St. George's Church in Madeba, Jordan, is one of the oldest maps of the Middle East. The sixth century Madeba map is referenced from time to time, in part because it's one of the most accurate ancient depictions of Jerusalem. Occasionally we also mention some of the other beautiful mosaics in Madeba (it's known as the City of Mosaics).

Seldom do we mention the archaeology of Madeba. But now excavations are underway and Timothy Harrison brings us up to date on what archaeologists are starting to find at this ancient, Biblical city, mentioned in Numbers 21:30 and Joshua 13:9.

This is the last of three programs with Timothy Harrison, a professor at the University of Toronto, and the president of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

1162-1163 - Timothy Harrison, Tel Tayinat

Tel Tayinat is an important Bronze Age site in Turkey, in the same neighborhood as Antioch, which also became a very important site in the following centuries. This interesting excavation is uncovering new information about the Hittites as well as the Philistines.

In addition to being Professor of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto and the Project Director of the Tell Tayinat Project in Turkey, Timothy Harrison is the president of the American Schools of Oriental Research, the main professional organization for archaeologists working in the Middle East.

HISTORICAL NOTE: It has come to our attention that The Book and The Spade was also the name of a movie made in 1967, focusing on a Jordan River Valley excavation by Dr. James Pritchard, of the University of Pennsylvania. The movie has been converted to video and is now online.