The Kenyon Institute of Jerusalem

A few years ago, the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem was renamed the Kenyon Institute, after the late Dame Kathleen Kenyon who is best known for her excavations in Jericho and Jerusalem. The school’s website states its purpose:

The Kenyon Institute is proud to present cutting-edge research in the humanities and social sciences in the form of lectures and seminars throughout the year. The Lecture Series is an opportunity for Visiting Research Fellows and other researchers, both on CBRL-funded and non-affiliated projects, to present preliminary results on their work in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

A look at their lecture series, however, shows that their involvement with politics has taken over from their stated objective:

Tuesday 3 May 2011, 5pm (World Press Freedom Day)
Journalism in the time of Revolution:  How do journalists deal with the challenges of covering conflict and rapid political and social change?
Dr Ehab Bessaiso, Media Expert and Lecturer, Cardiff University (via Skype); Nick Pelham, Correspondent, The Economist; Nasser Atta, Journalist, ABC; Khalil Assali, Chairman, Jerusalem Press Club; Sa’id Ghazali, Blogger, hankashtika.blogspot.com

Tuesday 24 May 2011, 5pm
Democracy from below: Lessons from the revolutions
Dr Samir Awad, Professor of International Studies, Birzeit University; Omar Shweiki, Acting Director and Research Scholar, Kenyon Institute, Council for British Research in the Levant

Tuesday 31 May 2011
Rock-cut Tombs in Petra and Jerusalem: some similarities and differences
Dr Lucy Wadeson (CBRL Fellow and University of Oxford)

Stephen Rosenberg, who posted the Bible and Interpretation‘s “Archaeology in Israel Update – April 2011”, advises the following:

The lectures now current both fail to serve British scholarship or to serve the original purpose of the School, the promotion of archaeology in the region. We trust that the CBRL and the Amman School will take the appropriate action to correct the position.

The lecture on the rock-cut tombs in Petra, however, appears to deal with archaeological similarities and differences with tombs found in Jerusalem, but I fail to see what journalism and revolutions have to do with archaeology, as it appears to serve a particular political agenda.

There are some beautifully decorated rock-cut tombs in Jerusalem, which certainly have some similarities with those in Petra. We believe to have identified the Tomb of Annas the High Priest, an elaborately decorated tomb in the Hinnom Valley. Gustav Dalman, who, together with his son Olaf, investigated this tomb in 1925, called this tomb the most beautifully decorated rock-cut tomb between the Mediterranean and Petra:

This drawing shows the reconstructed facade of the Tomb of Annas. The drawing shows the triple-gated entrance to the tomb's anteroom. There are indications that the tomb once carried a superstructure and so could be identified as a monument. © Leen Ritmeyer
The inner burial chamber of the Tomb of Annas was highly decorated and had kokhim burial niches in the walls. The body of Annas was probably placed in the kokh (burial niche) disguised by the fake door in the wall on the right.© Leen Ritmeyer

Jerusalem City calls for the Mughrabi Gate to be destroyed within two weeks

The Mughrabi Gate, located just above the Western Wall in Jerusalem, is the only entrance to the Temple Mount for non-Muslim tourists. After the collapse of the earthern ramp in 2004, a wooden bridge was erected as a temporary solution until a new and safer bridge could be built to replace the old dirt ramp. We reported on this problem in previous posts here, here, here and here.

The Jerusalem Post reported today that:

The Jerusalem City Engineer sent a strongly worded letter to the Western Wall Heritage Fund on Sunday, stating that the temporary bridge to the Mughrabi Gate must be destroyed within two weeks, or the city will tear it down.

His  reasons were that the structure had become “hazardous due to deteriorating physical conditions”. The fragility of the temporary bridge is evident from this picture:

The Mughrabi Bridge at night. Photo: © Nathaniel Ritmeyer

“The municipality said that since the [Western wall] heritage fund received the necessary permits in March to build a replacement bridge, there is no reason to continue using the old bridge.”

The political ramifications, however, are such that nothing will probably done for a long time to come, which is good news for the many tourists that visit the Temple Mount every day.

50th anniversary of The Anglo Israel Achaeological Society

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the society has invited Prof. Ami Mazar to lecture on: “Archaeology in Israel: Achievements and the current state of research”. The lecture will take place at the Stevenson Lecture Theatre in the British Museum, London at 6.00 pm on Monday, June 27th.

The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society (AIAS) was founded in 1961 by Professor Yigal Yadin, Dr Alec Lerner, Leon Shalit and Dr Richard Barnett. The aims of the society are to:

  • Make recent developments in the archaeology of Israel and neighbouring countries more widely known in the UK
  • Provide a series of illustrated public presentations explaining and informing on recent archaeological findings and new theories
  • Regularly publish Strata, an internationally respected journal consisting of original research papers
  • Provide grants for students of Middle Eastern Archaeology

Ami is one of Israel’s most outstanding archaeologists, with an impressive record of research and excavations. He has been a good friend since 1973, when we participated in an IDF archaeological survey of the Bashan region, southeast of Mount Hermon. After producing publication plans of his excavations at Tel Qasileh, I worked as surveyor for Ami at Tel Batash (Timnah of the Philstines) from 1978 till 1989.

His lecture will be of great interest to lovers of Israel and its history.

 

Glo available on iPad & iPhone worldwide

Glo with British Text for iPad and iPhone is now live on many app stores internationally! Download today, and get Glo Lite for FREE with full offline access to the bestselling NIV Bible.

You can see Glo in action in this video.

Virtual World Project

This new website offers virtual tours of archaeological sites and is worth visiting.

The Virtual World Project is designed for educational purposes, with teachers and students in mind. The project offers two modes for viewing the archaeological sites (Tour and Presentation mode). See the help screens for further information on using the project. Audio commentary is being added to many of the sites (see Herodium, Dan, Qasr Bshir, and Ramm, among others).

The project is continually being updated. Find out what is new in the project by visiting the project’s Blog. Click on the “Project Blog” link here or below. The project should be linked and accessed through its own domain at www.virtualworldproject.org

HT: Jack Sasson

“Jesus and the Temple” Symposium in Boca Raton, FL

From December 15 – 17, 2011, a symposium on “Jesus and the Temple” is planned to take place in Boca Raton, Florida.

Focal Question: How significantly and in what ways did the Temple and its cult help define the social and spiritual life of early Jews, including Jesus and his earliest followers?

Purpose: To correct the popular impression that Jesus despised the Temple and its cult because he attacked the money changers and was apparently condemned by the leading high priests [the historicity of each event must be discussed]. To raise questions which are focused on pre-70 Jews, Jesus, his followers and the Temple and to seek a new consensus on the grid questions.

My topic will be “Imagining the Temple Early Jews Knew”.

Here are the details of the symposium.

Jerusalem – The Biography, Simon Sebag Montefiore

Good to see this book on Jerusalem (see previous post) in the list of Sunday Times (UK) bestsellers – for 15 weeks already! And it’s due for more exposure on Sunday, May 5th, when Montefiore speaks at the Hay Festival near us here, in the Brecon Beacons, Wales, UK.

The new Jordan Museum

The Jordan Museum is expected to open in June 2011.


The Jordan Museum has the following aims:

  • Research and documentation of Jordan’s archeology, folklore and modern history,
  • Education and information dissemination programmes to the public,
  • Collection, conservation and protection of artifacts and materials,
  • Exhibition, permanent or temporary, of artifacts and cultural heritage materials of Jordan.

The Archaeological and Historical Gallery is the largest gallery in the museum and will present Jordan’s history and culture from the Lithic Ages up to the Islamic periods (including the Rashidi and Ottoman Caliphates).

The Hebrew Dead Sea Scrolls are being moved from the old Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman to this new museum.

It is to be hoped that some of the most important artefacts in the old museum will be moved as well, such as the Copper Scroll, the Balaam inscription and the tables and benches from Qumran.

This bench and table from Qumran are in need of conservation and deserve a better display. Photo: Leen Ritmeyer

The benches and tables were part of the Scriptorium at Qumran:

A reconstruction of the Scriptorium at Qumran showing the benches and tables in the upper story. © Leen Ritmeyer

Israel Independence day

Tomorrow is Independence day – Yom Ha’atzmaut in Israel. My suggestion for a great family picnic spot is Ramat haNadiv National Park.

Leen Ritmeyer (right) planning the reconstruction of the Herodian/Byzantine farm at Ramat haNadiv in 1988.

After the picnic you could visit the Herodian/Byzantine farm (Mansur el-Aqab) which I reconstructed many years ago.

Another interesting sit is Horvat-Eleq – an Herodian Fortress with adjacent water features, a columbarium and bathhouse.

Horvat Eleq, drawing by Adam Hook

Hag sameach – happy holidays!

 

 

 

Excavating the City of David – Where Jerusalem’s History Began

Recently we returned from a trip to Australia – hence the absence of blogs – and I was excited to receive this long-awaited book in the post.

Ronny Reich, Excavating the City of David – Where Jerusalem’s History Began

Ronny Reich has excavated in several locations in Jerusalem for over 40 years, starting in 1969 as surveyor on Prof. Nahman Avigad’s team in the Jewish Quarter (a position he held till 1978 when I took over this post, after he had left for the Israel Dept. of Antiquities and Museums) and in the City of David, together with his colleague Eli Shukron, since 1995.

This book is a fascinating account of the history of the City of David. The first part of the book recounts the activities of the many excavators who worked in this area and in the second part, Reich reconstructs the history of the City of David based on the results of all of the archaeological excavations.

The story of the early exploration begins with a description of the visit on April 17, 1838 by Edward Robinson to the Gihon Spring, the ever-flowing water source that determined the location of the City of David. This is followed by the account of Charles Warren’s daring walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which Reich prefers to call the Siloam Tunnel. Reich then examines the explorations of many other excavators, such as Schick, Bliss and Dickie, Weill, Macalister and Duncan, Kenyon, Shiloh and others. Each investigator added a little to our understanding of the history of this site and Reich’s useful analysis of these findings makes it easier to fit them into an overall picture of the development of the City of David.

His own and Shukron’s explorations added much to our understanding of the waterworks in this location, especially how the different components, such as the Siloam Tunnel and the different channels worked together. His explanation of the construction of the Siloam Tunnel and how Channel I was used as a “spirit level” to make sure that the water of the Gihon Spring flowed smoothly to the Siloam Pool makes for exciting reading.

The excavations round the Gihon Spring revealed that the spring and its approach from the city were strongly fortified in the Jebusite period. Two massive walls created a safe approach to a Rock-cut Pool from which water could be drawn.

This book was written, according to Reich, “First and foremost … for lay readers who love the history of Jerusalem”. I found Reich’s discussion of the historical interpretations of the different finds honest and frank. He acknowledges, however, that he is a skeptic and minimalist where the Biblical text is concerned and has difficulty reconciling the text and the archaeological remains. He discusses these problems in a special boxed section called “Biblical traditions: David, Solomon and the United Monarchy”, which is well worth reading and may help in an accurate examination of the Biblical text.

The book is illustrated with many beautiful photographs, but I would like to have seen more interpretative drawings showing how certain features fit together. The text is easy to read, but a final edit should have weeded out mistakes in spelling and syntax.

The book was published by the Israel Exploration Society in Jerusalem, it has 384 pages and 207 illustration (most of them in color), Hard Cover, and measures 10 x 7.5 inches. 
   ISBN: 9789652210821

Price: $49.95