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The excavation site in the Russian Compound. One can see the sling stones on the floor, which are tangible evidence of the battle that was waged here 2,000 years ago. (Yoli Shwartz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)
Excavation Reveals Spot Where Romans Breached Jerusalem’s Wall 2,000 Years Ago
“And they burnt the house of God, and broke down the wall of Yerushalayim, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.” II Chronicles 36:19 (The Israel Bible™)
Exciting evidence of the breaching of the third wall that surrounded Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period was uncovered last winter in the Russian Compound at the city center. The discovery was made in an archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted in the location where the new campus of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is slated to be built. In the course of the excavation, archaeologists discovered the remains of a tower jutting from the city wall. Opposite the tower’s western facade were scores of ballista and sling stones that the Romans had fired from catapults at the Jewish guards who were stationed at the top of the tower.
According to Dr. Rina Avner and Kfir Arbib, excavation directors on behalf of the IAA, “This is a fascinating testimony of the intensive bombardment by the Roman army, led by Titus, on their way to conquering the city and destroying the Second Temple. The bombardment was intended to attack the sentries guarding the wall and provide cover for the Roman forces so they could approach the wall with battering rams and thereby breach the city’s defenses.”
A 2,000 year old jar as it was discovered in the field. (Yoli Shwartz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)
The historian Josephus, an eyewitness to the war, provided many details about this wall. According to him, the wall was designed to protect the new quarter of the city that had developed outside its boundaries, north of the two existing city walls. This quarter was named Beit Zeita. The building of the Third Wall was begun by King Agrippa I; however, he suspended its construction so as not to incur the wrath of Emperor Claudius and to dispel any doubts regarding his loyalty. The construction of the Third Wall was resumed some two decades later by the defenders of Jerusalem, as part of fortifying the city and the Jewish rebels’ preparations for the Great Revolt against Rome.
Josephus described in detail the route of the wall that began at Hippicus Tower, which is now identified with David’s Citadel. From there the wall continued north to the enormous Psephinus Tower, which defended the northwestern corner of the city wall. At that point the wall turned east and descended toward the Tomb of Queen Helena, which is identified with the place known as the Tombs of the Kings.
A spearhead from the battle against Titus’ army. (Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)
It seems that the new discovery has resolved a debate among researchers reaching back to the early twentieth century, as to the location of the third wall and the question of Jerusalem’s boundaries on the eve of the Roman onslaught led by Titus. According to the dig in the Russian Compound, we now have proof of the wall’s existence in that area.
The excavation findings will be presented at a conference entitled “New Studies in the archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region,” Thursday, October 27, at the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
THIS SCALE WEIGHT BELONGED TO A PRIEST IN ISRAEL'S SECOND TEMPLE
by Eli Mandelbaum
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
JERUSALEM JOURNAL
"I went pale and ...felt a small tremble to see the name of the high priest."
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Nearly 2,000 years after the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, archaeologist Dr. Oren Gutfeld of Jerusalem's Hebrew University has found a scale weight from that period. Apparently, it belonged to the family of the high priest—and which has his name carved on it.
The weight was found as part of the excavation carried out at the Tiferet Israel Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. The Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out the dig together with Hebrew University, and it is being funded by the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Ltd.
This is the second time that such a weight has been uncovered. Excavations at the nearby Burnt House found a similar weight.
Gutfeld explained that he himself unearthed the weight, which has two lines of Aramaic text and a lyre between them. This was initially obscured by a burnt layer, which is presumably from the burning of Jerusalem. While the first line of text has not been fully deciphered, the family name of the high priest was discernible.
"It doesn't happen very much that I get emotional when I find artifacts. But here, I went pale and even felt a small tremble to see the name of the high priest."
The Tiferet Israel Synagogue was built in the 19th century, but when the Jordanians seized the area, it was destroyed. In 2014, a cornerstone was laid for its rebuilding, but an excavation of the site has since expanded. Artifacts have been uncovered from the Ottoman, the Mamluk, the Byzantine, the Second Temple and the First Temple periods.
Gutfeld expanded, "New mikvehs (ritual baths) that we didn't know about and their heating system have been uncovered."
The findings from the Second Temple period were about a meter beneath the building's floor. They also include stone and glass tools, rings, pottery and candles that were put there for storage.
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This is a lightly edited version of the original article published by YNet News at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4854160,00.html
The peace activist archeologists of Emek Shaveh want us to move away from treating archeological findings as evidence of one's faith and nationality, which basically means that they want Jews to forget about their particular past.
Instead of focusing on Jewish history, Emek Shaveh wants to "reinstate the archaeological past as a universal human narrative." The goal of all of this is to counter the claim of Israel's historical right to this land.
Ancient artifacts, however, resist the idea of one universal narrative simply because they tell a particular story of a particular people. Though archeological sites and the findings therein need to be interpreted, the reconstruction of the past is still a science governed by evidences. In other words, archeological sites resist turning myths into narratives (the first is fact-based and the second is not).
Some evidences, like coins, yield precise historical information. Others, like a wall, contain far less information. Evidences of varied qualities therefore enable a reasonable reconstruction of the past.
Universal narrative, on the other hand, would have you believe that though Americans built the Hoover Dam on American soil, it should be regarded as a human narrative rather than American history. Sure, Americans are humans, but it is undeniably true that those humans who built the dam were Americans.
The sixteen silver and bronze coins found near the city of Modi'in last May represent one of countless evidences that refuse to yield to the universal narrative idea. These rare coins bear names like Yehohanan, Judah, Jonathan and Mattathias, all Hasmonean kings who ruled over Israel from 140-37 BCE. Other coins from the same cache are imprinted with the image of the Seleucid Greek king Antiochus IV, known also from the Book of Maccabees, and from the feast of Hanukkah.
The Israel Antiquities Authority has determined that the coins were minted in Tyre between 135-126 BCE, so precise is the information that can be extracted from them.
Abraham Tendler, the head of the excavation, has said the dig site itself is most likely a Jewish estate and "the cache may have belonged to a Jew who hid his money in the hope of coming back to collect it, but he was unlucky and never did return."
Tendler, true to the demands of his discipline, leaves the reconstructed story undetermined. The coins' imprints however confirm the known, that there were Hasmonean kings and a king named Antiochus. These coins testify once again to the bond which exists between the Land of Israel and the Jewish people which can't be dissolved by some magic formula, be it a narrative or forgetfulness by design.
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“And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines; and David waxed faint.” II Samuel 21:15 (The Israel Bible™)
A Philistinecemeteryhas been discovered for the first time in Israel, possibly shedding light on the mystery of the Philistines’ origins. According to biblical accounts, the Philistines were the arch-foes of ancient Israel.
“After decades of studying what the Philistines left behind, we have finally come face to face with the people themselves,” said Daniel Master, a professor of archaeology at Wheaton College. “With this discovery we are close to unlocking the secrets of their origins.”
Archaeologists and scholars have long searched for the Philistines’ origin. Artifacts found in the cemetery, which date back 2,700 to 3,000 years, may support the biblical account of the Philistines as migrants who arrived on the shores of ancient Israel from western lands in approximately the twelfth century BCE.
“Ninety-nine percent of the chapters and articles written about Philistine burial customs should be revised or ignored now that we have the first and only Philistine cemetery found just outside the city walls of Tel Ashkelon, one of the five primary cities of the Philistines,” said Lawrence Stager, Dorot Professor of the Archaeology of Israel at Harvard University.
The discovery was made by the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon more than thirty years after the excavation began. The digs that took place in Ashdod, Ekron, Ashkelon, and Gath have shown how culturally distinct the Philistines were from their Israelite contemporaries.
Philistine burial practices were not like those of the Bronze Age Canaanites, nor were they similar to burial practices in later Iron Age Judea. The Philistines buried their dead primarily in pits that were dug for each deceased individual: male or female, adult or child. Later, more bodies were sometimes placed in the same pit, which was dug again along roughly the same lines, but the new remains were interred with their own grave goods. The cemetery was also found to contain evidence of cremations, together with pit interments and multi-chambered tombs.
After quelling Bar Kochba’s revolt in the Roman province of Judaea in 135 CE, Emperor Hadrian renamed the area Syria Palaestina, for the Israelites’ ancient enemies.
Research on artifacts found at the site, including bones, ceramics, jewelry and weapons, may connect the Philistines to related populations elsewhere in the Mediterranean Basin. Bone samples taken from the site are also being tested in order to ascertain the Philistines’ origins.
Physical anthropology member documents discovered skeleton in Ashkelon excavation. (Photo: Melissa Aja/Leon Levy Expedition)
Most of the items found in the graves were storage jars, small bowls, and decorated juglets filled with what is believed to have been perfumed oil. While bracelets and earrings were found upon some of the remains and weapons with others, most of the individuals seem not have been buried with personal items.
The discovery was made in Ashkelon, a key port and maritime trade center from the Bronze Age to the Crusades, when it was destroyed and left uninhabited until modern times.
The excavation was organized and sponsored by the Leon Levy Foundation; the Semitic Museum at Harvard University; Boston College; Wheaton College; and Troy University, under license from the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
An international research team has located a tunnel in Lithuania used by Jewish prisoners to escape Nazis during World War II, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.
The team from Israel, the U.S., Canada and Lithuania used mineral and oil exploration scanning technology to pinpoint the 100-foot-long tunnel located in the Ponar forest about 10 kilometers from Vilnius, Lithuania.
Since 1944, the Ponar site has held the remains of 100,000 people executed by the Nazis, including 70,000 Jews shot and buried from July 1941 through July 1944.
The prisoners dug for 76 nights using their hands, spoons and improvised tools to make the tunnel.
"As an Israeli whose family originated in Lithuania, I was reduced to tears on the discovery of the escape tunnel at Ponar. This discovery is a heartwarming witness to the victory of hope over desperation," said Jon Seligman of the Israel Antiquities Authority. "The exposure of the tunnel enables us to present, not only the horrors of the Holocaust, but also the yearning for life."
Eighty Jewish prisoners attempted an escape from the Nazi extermination pits at Ponar on April 15, 1944, the last night of Passover. About a dozen survived the trek out of the tunnel and made it to the forest and river past the camp. Eleven prisoners survived the war and gave testimonies.
"This project represents the new frontier for the study of archaeology and the Holocaust and the integration with national histories," said Richard Freund, professor of Jewish History at the University of Hartford. "Geoscience will allow testimonies of survivors—like the account of the escape through the tunnel—and many events of the Holocaust to be researched and understood in new ways for generations to come."
“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in Him I take refuge; my shield, and my horn of salvation, my high tower.” Psalms 18:3 (The Israel Bible™)
Above: Volunteers at work in the archaeological excavation. (Photo: Yoli Shwartz/IAA/JNi Media)
The Israel Antiquities Authority is promoting a national plan for comprehensive archaeological excavations in the Judean Desert caves, and for rescuing the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are among the earliest texts written in the Hebrew language. The plan is carried out in cooperation with the Heritage Project in the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, and Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev (Likud).
Israel Hasson, director-general of the IAA, said in a statement, “For years now our most important heritage and cultural assets have been excavated illicitly and plundered in the Judean Desert caves for reasons of greed. The goal of the national plan that we are advancing is to excavate and find all of the scrolls that remain in the caves, once and for all, so that they will be rescued and preserved by the state.”
The cave where the archaeological excavation is being conducted is situated c. 80 meters from the top of the cliff and c. 250 meters above the base of the canyon. (Photo: Guy Fitoussi, courtesy of the IAA Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery)
Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev said in a statement, “The antiquities robbers are plundering the Land of Israel’s history, which is something we cannot allow. The Dead Sea scrolls are an exciting testament of paramount importance that bear witness to the existence of Israel in the Land of Israel 2,000 years ago, and they were found close to the Return to Zion and the establishment of the State of Israel in the Land of Israel. It is our duty to protect these unique treasures, which belong to the Jewish people and the entire world. I will work to increase the punishment against those that rob our country’s antiquities.”
Last week, the IAA took a first step in the plan by commencing a complicated and extraordinary archaeological excavation in search of scrolls in Nahal Tse’elim. A team from the IAA’s Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery accompanied by researchers from the Caves Research Center of the Hebrew University and hundreds of volunteers from across the country is participating in the excavation, which is taking place with the support of the Heritage Project in the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs.
The excavation is being directed by archaeologists Dr. Eitan Klein, Dr. Uri Davidovich, Royee Porat and Amir Ganor. For many years, IAA inspectors have been proactively enforcing the law in the desert, during the course of which they have made a number of seizures and foiled bands of antiquities robbers that sought to become rich through the detrimental exposure of items of great historical importance. However, these actions are a mere drop in the ocean and the IAA stresses that only by excavating all of the scrolls in the ground and transferring them to the state, will it be possible to ensure their well-being and preservation for future generations.
In November 2014, inspectors of the IAA’s Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery apprehended a band of robbers, residents of the village of Sa‘ir near Hebron, in the act of plundering the contents of the Cave of the Skulls in Nahal Tse’elim. The suspects who were caught “red-handed” were arrested on the spot, interrogated, and later sentenced and served a prison sentence, and are required to pay the State of Israel a fine of $25,000. At the time of their arrest they were in possession of important archaeological artifacts that date to the Roman period, c. 2,000 years ago, and the Neolithic period, c. 8,000 years ago.
Access to the cave is complicated and for safety’s sake requires the use of rappelling equipment. (Photo: Yoli Shwartz, courtesy of the IAA/JNi Media)
In 2009 an ancient papyrus that was written in Hebrew and dates to the Year Four of the Destruction of the House of Israel (139 CE) was seized. The papyrus was confiscated in a joint operation by the IAA’s Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery and the Israel Police during a meeting with antiquities dealers in which the papyrus was offered for sale for the amount of $2 million. The investigation of the robbers revealed that this papyrus had also been discovered in Nahal Tse’elim. The contents of it, which mention the towns and settlements in the area of the Hebron hill-country, suggest that the papyrus was part of an archive of documents belonging to Jews who fled to the desert from the Hebron area after the Bar Kokhba uprising. Now, the IAA hopes to find similar documents.
The Cave of Skulls, where the excavation is taking place, is located about 80 yards from the top of the cliff, and about 750 ft above the base of the canyon. Because of the difficulty in reaching the site, the IAA obtained a special permit from the Nature and Parks Authority to construct an access trail, which requires the use of rappelling equipment for the safety of the participants in the excavation. More than 500 volunteers and field personnel from Israel and abroad were required for the undertaking, and they are sleeping and living in a camp in desert field conditions. Many requests by individuals offering to participate have been denied because of the lack of infrastructure to provide for such a large group of archaeologists, volunteers and interested parties. The current excavation season will end in another two weeks, assuming this will be sufficient time in order to extract the valuable archaeological information from the cave.
The ancient text that dates to the Year Four of the Destruction of the House of Israel (139 CE), which was seized in a joint operation by the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery and the Israel Police. (Photo: Shai Halevi, courtesy of the Leon Levy Digital Library, IAA/JNi Media)
According to Amir Ganor, director of the IAA’s Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery, “The excavation in Nahal Tse’elim is an operation of extraordinary complexity and scope, and one that has not occurred in the Judean Desert in the past thirty years. Despite the rigorous enforcement actions taken against the antiquities robbers, we still witness acts of severe plundering that unfortunately are possible in such large desert expanses. There are hundreds of caves in cliffs in the area, access to which is both dangerous and challenging. In almost every cave that we examined we found evidence of illicit intervention and it is simply heart-breaking. The loss of the finds is irreversible damage that cannot be tolerated.”
Israel Hasson, director-general of the IAA, added, “It is exciting to see the extraordinary work of the volunteers, who have lent a hand and participated in the excavation in complicated field conditions, out of a desire to join in an historic undertaking and discover finds that can provide priceless information about our past here. The time has come for the state to underwrite broad action so as to rescue the cultural assets of enormous historical importance while they still remain in the caves. Substantial amounts need to be allocated which will allow the IAA to embark upon a large-scale operation for studying the desert, including the caves, and excavating the artifacts. After all, the Dead Sea scrolls are of religious, political and historical importance to Jews, Christians and all of humanity.”
A hiker recently found a 2,000-year-old Roman gold coin of which there is only known to be one other example, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday.
The coin carries an image of the Emperor Augustus, founder of the Roman Empire, who ruled from 27 BCE until his death in 14 CE, and was minted by Emperor Trajan in 107 CE.
Only the British Museum in London has another coin like it, which, until the recent discovery, was thought to be the only one in the world.
Laurie Rimon, of Kibbutz Kfar Blum, was hiking with friends in the eastern Galilee in the north of country when the group arrived at an archaeological site. Rimon saw something shiny lying on the ground in the grass and, after picking it up, realized she was holding an ancient gold coin. The group contacted the IAA, which quickly sent a representative out to the location.
Laurie Rimon with a 2,000-year-old coin she found whilef hiking. (Samuel Magal, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)
Danny Syon, a senior numismatist at the IAA, explained that Trajan ordered coins struck with images of previous Roman emperors to honor their memory.
“On the reverse we have the symbols of the Roman legions next to the name of the ruler Trajan, and on the obverse – instead of an image of the emperor Trajan, as was usually the case, there is the portrait of the emperor ‘Augustus Deified,’ Syon said. “This coin is part of a series of coins minted by Trajan as a tribute to the emperors that preceded him.”
“It was not easy parting with the coin,” Rimon admitted. “After all, it is not every day one discovers such an amazing object, but I hope I will see it displayed in a museum in the near future.”
Nir Distelfeld, an inspector with the IAA Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery, praised Rimon for turning over the coin.
“This is an extraordinarily remarkable and surprising discovery. I believe that soon, thanks to Laurie, the public will be able to enjoy this rare find.”
The IAA plans to reward Rimon’s honesty by presenting her with an official certificate in appreciation of her good citizenship.
Distelfeld urged members of the public who find ancient artifacts to contact the IAA immediately and arrange for a representative to meet them in the field so that the site of the find can be excavated.
“That way we can also gather the relevant archaeological and contextual information from the site,” he noted.
Symbols of the Roman legions next to the name of the ruler Trajan on a 2,000 year old gold coin found in northern Israel. (Samuel Magal, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)
According to Donald T. Ariel, head curator of the coin department at the IAA, “The coin may reflect the presence of the Roman army in the region some 2,000 years ago – possibly in the context of activity against Bar Kochba supporters in the Galilee – but it is very difficult to determine that on the basis of a single coin.”
Bar Kochba led an ultimately doomed Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in the land of Israel during 132-136 CE.
“Historical sources describing the period note that some Roman soldiers were paid a high salary of three gold coins, the equivalent of 75 silver coins, each payday. Because of their high monetary value soldiers were unable to purchase goods in the market with gold coins, as the merchants could not provide change for them,” Ariel said.
“While the bronze and silver coins of Emperor Trajan are common in the country, his gold coins are extremely rare,” he continued. “So far, only two other gold coins of this emperor have been registered in the State Treasures, one from Givat Shaul near Jerusalem, and the other from the Kiryat Gat region and the details on both of them are different to those that appear on the rare coin that Laurie found.”
Trajan was emperor from 98 CE until his death in 117 CE. During his reign the empire reached its greatest size and he sponsored construction projects whose remains can be seen to this day.
