1130 - Oldest Seed and Oldest Church

Sometimes, in our conversations about archaeology, we not only talk about old but oldest. There's something special about that claim, particularly when it involves a living seed that is 2,000 years old. On this week's program we revisit Methusaleh, the name given to a date palm seedling that is thriving at an undisclosed location in Israel. The seed that was planted for Methusaleh was part of a cache recovered from the excavation of Masada by Yigael Yadin, 40 years ago. It was planted five years ago. Prior to Methusaleh the oldest seeds that had been successfully planted were 1300-year old Lotus seeds discovered in China almost 100 years ago.

Also on this week's program we review press reports of claims that the world's oldest church has been discovered at Rihab in northern Jordan. We join the archaeological experts who are skeptical about this claim, since there's been little real evidence to back up this claim. We agree with archaeologist Stephen Pfann, who says the best evidence for the oldest church in the world was dug up a few years ago under the floor of a prison near the famous archaeological site of Megiddo. It's sometimes called the Armageddon Church.

852 - Rami Khouri and the Temple at Pella

This program from the Book & the Spade archives goes back to 2002, an interview with Rami Khouri on the archaeology of Pella. Pella is known in history as the place of refuge for first century Christians who fled Jerusalem when it was attacked by Rome during the first Jewish revolt. But within the last ten years quite a bit of archaeology has been done there, delving into earlier periods. And one of the things they found is a very large pagan temple.

Rami Khouri is a highly respected journalist who is currently editor-at-large for the Daily Star of Lebanon. He writes about Middle Eastern politics mostly, these days, but his real love is archaeology.

1129 - James Ossuary Trial update

After 70 witnesses for the prosecution, the defense has begun to offer its arguments in the case of the Ossuary of James, the brother of Jesus, which has been litigated in a courtroom in Israel for several years now. On today's program, a trial update. Also, some reflections on efforts by two archaeologists to resolve some of the differences between Jews and Palestinians.

853-854 Semitic Inscriptions and the Roots of the Alphabet

From the Book & the Spade archives, a set of interviews from 2002 featuring Frederick Dobbs-Allsopp, a professor of Old Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. As I say in the introduction, the beginnings of the alphabet are tied to the story of the Bible: same time, same place, same people (roughly). Photos of Professor Dobbs-Allsopp and colleagues, working on the Wadi Al-Hol inscriptions, are available at the West Semitic Research Project website.