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“Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and will tell thee great things, and hidden, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3 (The Israel Bible™)
Archaeologists from Tel Hai College, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced the discovery of a 4,000-year-old dolmen, a large table-like stone structure, near Kibbutz Shamir in the Upper Galilee. The dolmen is marked by its huge dimensions and the artistic decorations engraved in its ceiling.
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, the dolmen was discovered inside a large chamber measuring 2 by 3 meters, and was covered by an enormous stone estimated to weigh at least 50 tons, one of the largest stones ever used in the construction of dolmens in the Middle East. The dolmen itself was enclosed in an enormous stone heap (tumulus) approximately 20 meters in diameter, and its stones are estimated to weigh a minimum of 400 tons. At least four smaller dolmens that were positioned at the foot of the decorated dolmen were identified inside the stone heap.
“In other words, what we have here is a huge monumental structure built hierarchically (with a main cell and secondary cells). This is the first time such a hierarchical dolmen has been identified in the Middle East,” said the IAA in a release.
“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.
The incense shovel after having been cleaned in the Israel Antiquities Authority metallurgical laboratories. Photo: Clara Amit (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority/TPS)
2,000-Year-Old Bronze Artifacts Tied to Temple Unearthed Near Sea of Galilee
“And Aaron shall burn thereon incense of sweet spices; every morning, when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn it.” Exodus 30:7 (The Israel Bible™)
An ancient bronze shovel and jug tied to the religious rituals of the Second Temple were discovered in archaeological excavations at Magdala – an important Jewish town dating back to the period of Roman antiquity, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Tuesday, April 5.
During an ongoing excavation project, a group of volunteers from Chile discovered an ornate bronze incense shovel and a matching bronze jug believed to have stored incense or coals for ritual use.
“The incense shovel that was found is one of ten others that are known in the country from the Second Temple period. From early research it is thought that the incense shovel was only used for ritual purposes, for the embers and incense that were burnt in ritual ceremonies,” Dina Avshalom-Gorni, the Chief archaeologist on behalf of the IAA, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).
The incense shovel as it was found in the excavation. ( Eyad Bisharat, Israel Antiquities Authority/MFA)
According to Avshalom-Gorni, incense shovels are known worldwide as ritualistic and religious implements in ancient religions, and their use has permeated into Judaism. The book of Exodus states: “You shall make the altar…you shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and firepans; all its utensils you shall make of bronze,” a quote which ties these artifacts to the rituals of the Jewish Temple, at least symbolically.
“We know that these are certainly sacred tools, perhaps pertaining to the local synagogue discovered on this site, a synagogue which was quite grand and rich and important in the region,” Avshalom-Gorni explained to TPS. “It’s a rare and exciting find.”
The site is located near the town of Migdal along the western shore of Sea of Galilee. Migdal, or Magdala as it was known by its Latin name, was a large Jewish fishing and trade town in the Early Roman period. It is mentioned in Jewish sources, and at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple it served as a main military base for the ancient Jewish historian and general Josephus.
Another famous denizen of the city, according to the Christian tradition, was the penitent prostitute Mary Magdalene—named for her birthplace Migdal.
The jug as it was discovered in the excavation. (Photo: Eyad Bisharat/Israel Antiquities Authority/TPS)
In recent years the IAA has been leading extensive excavations at the site, overseen by the archaeologists Dina Avshalom-Gorni and Arfan Najar, in partnership with the Anahuac University of Mexico’s Dr. Marcela Zapata-Meza and with the help of volunteers from Mexico, Chile, Spain and Italy.
“It is a very impressive site and is open to the general public. The land actually belongs to a private developer from the Catholic Church, who planned to build a hotel for pilgrims on that plot,” Avshalom-Gorni explained.
According to Israeli law, before approving construction on any building project in the country IAA experts must first survey the plot to assure it will not damage an archeological site.
The stone with the menorah symbol which was discovered in the synagogue at Magdala. (Photo: Yael Yulowich, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority/MFA)
“We began exploratory digs in 2009 and little by little it became evident to us and to the Catholic Church that we have discovered a major site which was dated to the exact time of the ministry of Jesus in the Galilee, and the home of Mary Magdalene,” she added.
The landowner then decided to turn the location into an open-air museum alongside the ongoing excavations, which continue to produce thrilling archaeological finds.
