Showing posts with label treasure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label treasure. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Divers Find Sunken Treasure Off Israel's Coast

Divers Find Sunken Treasure Off Israel's Coast

Wednesday, February 18, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff
A group of recreational divers this month discovered the largest cache of gold coins ever found in Israel while diving in the ancient sunken harbor of Caesarea.
The group of divers immediately notified the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which sent an underwater team to recover the treasure.
“They discovered the gold and have a heart of gold that loves the country and its history,” said the IAA’s director of the Marine Archaeology, Kobi Sharvit, of the recreational divers. Of course, Israel severely punishes anyone who pockets an archeological find with up to five years in jail.
But this particular find was surely tempting, with its nearly 2,000 gold coins dating back to the 11th century, when the land was ruled by the Fatimid dynasty based in Cairo. Experts believe the coins either belonged to a large merchant ship or were collected taxes en route to the capital in Cairo when the transport ship sunk.
Another IAA official noted that the coins were in near perfect condition, and required no special cleaning or other conservation efforts.
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Friday, February 6, 2015

Overlooked Treasure - Bill Yount

Posted: 05 Feb 2015 
 Have we overlooked the treasure in older people in rest homes? I visited my mother in an assistant living center a few days ago. I met an eighty some year old sister who was a missionary to the Indians. She showed us photos of her life story. A newspaper article read about her mother who was blind for sixteen years and suddenly could see. This sister shared how one day she hugged her mother and said, “Lord, I want Momma to see.” Suddenly her mother got her sight back.

She went on to tell other stories how she had the gift of healing for many people. I said to her. “Would you pray for me? I have a bone spur that still gives me pain.” Before she prayed, she said, “You will feel heat in my right hand as I touch your neck. And you will be fine in the morning.” That night I slept without pain and it has never come back. While I was among these older people the Lord said to me. “I am giving you the wisdom of the ancient. Thanks for visiting Me.”

Blessings,

Bill Yount

www.billyount.com 

Monday, June 9, 2014

Treasure Every Moment With Your Earthly Father - LEONARD R. DAVIDSON

Father and son
Cherish every moment you can with your earthly father. (iStock photo)

Treasure Every Moment With Your Earthly Father




Over thirty-three years ago, my paternal grandfather passed away. We called him Paw Paw and my dad loved him very much. 
Paw Paw loved to listen to his "45" of Tennessee Ernie Ford on his console record player and walked through the house singing at the top of his lungs. He had a lava lamp on top of the TV and an old fashioned cuckoo clock on the wall. Even with thick coke-bottle glasses he still had to use a magnifying glass to read his Bible, which he did the first thing every morning and the last thing every night. He loved Jesus with all of his heart. In church he would "amen" after almost every sentence.
Paw Paw died suddenly from a massive heart attack while at work. He was 80 years old. I remember my dad hugging me and saying, "I hope I can make it without him. I talked to him so often. I already miss him ..."
My grandmother, Dad's mom, was 10 years younger than my grandfather and we called her Gran Gran. They got married when she was 16 and were married for 54 years. Gran Gran was so special. She was a hairdresser (we called them "beauticians" back then), and always smelled like the solution she used when she gave permanents. Every night she would rub lotion on her hands, and it was a treat for each grandchild to sit next to her and let her rub the extra (by design I think) on our hands. We argued to see who would sit next to her at church, because she always held the hand of the child sitting next to her.
One time, when I was very young, I got in trouble while my family was visiting her home. I ran into the kitchen where she was cooking, and hid behind her skirt. She turned and looked at my dad and said firmly, "Ramon Eldon, you are not going to spank this boy in my house!" Right then I thought that it might be a very good thing if we moved in with her permanently
Although he traveled all over the world, Dad never missed a day calling her, and when she died at 96 my dad was holding her soft sweet hand. For many weeks after she went to heaven, Dad caught himself picking up the phone to call her. He loved her deeply.
May of 2010, shortly before Father's Day, Dad stepped onto the shores of heaven. Many sermons have been preached, and many songs sung about a saint who has gone home wanting to see Jesus first. You know, I believe our Savior is so gracious that He looked at my dad and said, "Go hug your mom and dad. Visit with them. Catch up. You and I have eternity together." And Dad would do just that. He would hug the two people he had loved more than words could say.
While he was here I talked to him every day. In the last four years of his life he spent many days sitting on his recliner praying for me. Every time I talked to him he finished our conversation by saying, "I love you Leonard ... with all of my heart!"
Someone said that my dad lost his battle with cancer, but Dad lost no battle. My dad loved Jesus deeply. Fervently. Passionately.
Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:54 that "when this mortal is clothed with immortality ... death has been swallowed up in victory" (HCSB, emphasis added).Jesus said in John 11:25-26 that He is the resurrection and the life. If we believe in Him we will never die. Today, Dad would declare that, "to be alive was Christ ... but to die is so much better."
 A man who is one of my dearest friends and mentors has expressed often that we should give honor to whom honor is due. So, please understand when I would say, "Dad, this devotion was written to honor you. Well done, brave Warrior. You finished strong. You were my best friend. I miss you more than words could express. You finished well. I love you ... with all of my heart!"
This Father's Day, treasure the time you have with your earthly father. Embrace the wonderful memories and discard any negative ones and the emotions attached to them. Let the God of all comfort remind you of His great love and if your father is now in His presence, know that you will be reunited and spend eternity enjoying both.
Prayer Power for the Week of 6/9/2014
As we approach Father's Day this week, take time to thank God that He is eternally our Heavenly Father and will never leave or forsake us. Thank Him that He's promised to be a father to the fatherless, and the One who takes us in even if our natural fathers and mothers forsake us. Pray for those who have lost their dads through death, divorce or abandonment, and take time to honor yours if he is still available, and his memory, if he's not. Pray for our military and their families, especially those dads currently away from home. Continue to pray that believers would work and pray together for revival in our nation and the expanding of God's kingdom. Remember Israel and pray that our leaders would have wisdom in dealing with the issues affecting the nation and the world. Psalm 27:10; Psalm 68:5; Heb 13:5b; John 11:25  
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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Another Photographic Treasure Trove Discovered: 120-Year-Old Colored Slides from Chatham University, Part 1

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 19 Nov 2013 02:21 PM PST
The Western Wall in Jerusalem (hand-colored, Chatham University Archives, circa 1890) The photo's caption reads "Jesus' Waiting Place." A case of bad handwriting? Other photographers of the time captioned their pictures, "Jews' Wailing Place."

In the need for library and archival preservation, modern technology is certainly a friend of antiquity.  Vintage photographs, some stored for over a century in old libraries, are now being digitized and often posted Online.  Such is the case with this treasure of "Holy Land Lantern Slides" we found in Chatham University's archives.

Chatham University, a 150-year-old women's undergraduate school in Pittsburgh, digitized their slides in 2009.  According to Rachel M. Grove Rohrbaugh, the school's archivist and public service librarian, "most of the slides roughly date to circa 1880-1900.  We don’t have specific information on the photographer(s) or how they were used here at Chatham, but they were likely used for instruction in world history or cultural studies."


View of Hinom Valley in Jerusalem (Chatham University Archives, circa 1880). The photo, probably taken from near the Jaffa Gate, shows the Montefiore windmill, built in 1858, and the Mishkenot Sha'anaim homes beneath it. Are the blades of the windmill blurry because they were moving? That could provide a date for the photo: The mill stopped turning in 1876.

Kerosene lanterns designed to 
project slides  (YouTube)
We thank Chatham University Library for permission to publish these well-preserved hand-painted lantern slides.  

In the 1880s, before movies or electricity, pictures such as these were projected in front of classes or audiences using a kerosene-lit lamp fitted with special lenses.

The slides were produced by optical manufacturers who sold the lanterns. The makers of the Chatham slides were identified by Chatham's archivist as T.H McAllister Co. and Williams, Brown, and Earle, of New York and Philadelphia respectively. 



Joseph's Tomb in Nablus (Shechem)
(Chatham University Archives, circa 1880)

Inside the Jaffa Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. The moat on the right of the picture indicates the picture was taken prior to the 1898 arrival of the German emperor. when the moat was filled in. What does the large sign at the end of the road read? (Chatham University Archives)


An enlargement of the picture shows a sign, "Mission to the Jews," inside the Jaffa Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem.

German, Anglican, and Scottish Protestant church missionaries were very active in the Holy Land in the late 19th century. 

At the time, this intersection of the Old City was probably one of the busiest ones in Jerusalem.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.
Click on the captions to view the originals.


Next: Part 2 of the Chatham Collection

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Unearthed treasure confirms Jewish history in Jerusalem

Unearthed treasure confirms Jewish history in Jerusalem

Thursday, September 12, 2013 |  Ryan Jones, Israel Today 
Recent excavations near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem unearthed a literal treasure trove once again confirming an ancient Jewish presence in the city.
Led by archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University, the excavating team found a total of 36 gold coins, gold and silver jewelry and a very special gold medallion.
On the medallion can be seen the images of a menorah (seven-branched candelabrum), a shofar (ram's horn) and a Torah scroll. Researchers believe the medallion was in fact an ornament for a Torah scroll, perhaps the oldest such adornment ever found.
For Dr. Mazar, the discovery, especially of the Torah ornament, is downright sensational: "We have already made many discoveries in this area from the time of the first Jewish Temple. But the image of a seven-branched candelabrum has totally surprised us."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fully shared that sentiment, stating in a phone call to Dr. Mazar: "This is a magnificent discovery. Nationally, it attests to the ancient Jewish presence and to the sanctity of the place; this is as clear as the sun and it is tremendous. ...This is historic testimony, of the highest order, to the Jewish People's link to Jerusalem, to its land and to its heritage – menorah, shofar, Torah scroll. The essence of the Jewish People could not be any more succinct and clear. This is a wonderful gift to the Jewish People."
The treasures were found 50 yards from the southern wall of the Temple Mount. "The most likely explanation for the location of the treasure is that it was intended as a contribution to the building of a new synagogue in the vicinity of the Temple Mount," explained Dr. Mazar. "However, one can assume that this mission was not successful."
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Dr. Eilat Mazar


“And he said unto me: ‘What seest thou?’ And I said: ‘I have seen, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes, yea, seven, to the lamps, which are upon the top thereof…” (Zechariah 4:2)

Third generation archaeologist Eilat Mazar, of Hebrew University, revealed Monday morning (Sept. 10, 2013) that an unusual cache of gold coins and other related artifacts, dating to the seventh century CE, were discovered this summer at the Ophel excavation site near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
“We have been making significant finds from the First Temple Period in this area, a much earlier time in Jerusalem’s history, so discovering a golden seven-branched Menorah from the seventh century CE at the foot of the Temple Mount was a complete surprise,” Mazar said.  The discovery is being called the “Ophel treasure,” and consists of 36 gold coins, as well as some gold and silver jewelery and a large medallion embossed with a menorah (seven-branched candelabrum), a shofar (ram’s horn) and Torah scroll, and hanging from a chain.  This is especially significant because it points to a Jewish presence in the area at the time.
The menorah continues to be an important Jewish symbol today, serving as the emblem of the state of Israel, where it is flanked by two olive branches, as described in the book of Zechariah.  The original menorah was constructed, at God’s command, from a single piece of gold (Exodus 25:31-40) and lit first in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple.  It was also famously depicted on the arch of Titus, commemorating the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Mazar points out the chain on the medallion as a clue to its original use.  She explains it was likely an ornament for a Torah scroll.  It was found buried along with a smaller gold medallion, two pendants, a gold coil and a silver clasp, likely all ornaments for the scroll.  The coins were found loose, leading to the theory that they were abandoned when the bearer failed in his task.  “It would appear that the most likely explanation is that the Ophel cache was earmarked as a contribution toward the building of a new synagogue, at a location that is near the Temple Mount,” said Dr. Mazar. “What is certain is that their mission, whatever it was, was unsuccessful. The treasure was abandoned, and its owners could never return to collect it.”
The coins, dating to the reigns of various Byzantine emperors from the mid-fourth to early seventh centuries, were discovered a mere five days into the excavation and just 50 meters (164 feet) from the Temple Mount, in the ruins of a Byzantine public structure.  Lior Sandberg, numismatics (currency) specialist at the Institute of Archaeology, identified this as the third collection to be found in Jerusalem excavations.
Given the date of the items and the manner in which they were found, Mazar estimates they were abandoned in the context of the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 614 CE.
After the Persians conquered Jerusalem, many Jews returned to the city and formed the majority of its population, hoping for political and religious freedom. But as Persian power waned, instead of forming an alliance with the Jews, the Persians sought the support of Christians and ultimately allowed them to expel the Jews from Jerusalem.
The Ophel project has been funded by Daniel Mintz and Meredith Berkman of New York since 2009. The project includes archeological excavations, the processing of the finds for publication, as well as the preservation and preparations of the site for its opening to the public.
The Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out the preservation works and preparing the site for the public for an unspecified date.
Article from: Breaking Israel News

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Angel Oak of Johns Island, SC



Angel Oak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Angel Oak in March 2010; The man standing under the tree is 5 feet 11 inches (180 centimeters) tall.

The Angel Oak Tree is a Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) located in Angel Oak Park on Johns Island near Charleston, South Carolina. The Angel Oak Tree is estimated to be in excess of 400-500 years old, stands 66.5 ft (20 m) tall, measures 28 ft (8.5 m) in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet (1,600 m2). From tip to tip Its longest branch distance is 187 ft.

The tree stands on land that was part of Abraham Waight's 1717 land grant.

The oak derives its name from the estate of Justis and Martha Angel, although local folklore told stories of ghosts of former slaves would appear as angels around the tree.

History


Angel Oak in July 2008.

The Angel Oak was damaged severely during Hurricane Hugo in 1989 but has since recovered. The City of Charleston has owned the tree and surrounding park since 1991.

Development is beginning to encroach on the site of the Angel Oak. In 2012, plans to build a 500-unit apartment complex that would be as close as 160 yards (150 m) to the Angel Oak were challenged in court by the Coastal Conservation League; their concerns included the construction's effect on available groundwater and nutrients.

The Angel Oak is located on John's Island near Charleston, South Carolina. The Angel Oak tree is featured prominently in the book, The Locket, by Emily Nelson.


(The following 12 photos were taken by Steve Martin - June 13, 2013)





Mary Smith and Laurie Martin
- June 13, 2013 on road to Angel Oak