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.