Hot as it is, summer in Israel sees an increase in archaeological activity, not least because it’s a great opportunity for students on break to get course credit volunteering at one of the many fascinating dig sites. At Tel es-Safi, archaeologists believe they’ve uncovered the ancient Philistine city of Gath, complete with a pillared temple — …
Sept. 10-12, and now Norouz. Is it just coincidence that the Cyrus Cylinder, a 2500 year old document sometimes described as the first declaration of human rights and attributed to the founder of the Persian Empire, traveled from its museum home in the West (UK) to the Middle East (Iran) on September 10 (2010) for an exhibit that began …
A small clay object with scratches decipherable by only a few people in the world can nevertheless still move nations. Sometimes called “the first charter of human rights,” this text inscribed on a cylinder of clay comes from Cyrus II, founder of the Persian Empire and called “messiah” by the biblical prophet Isaiah. It dates back to the …
I remember when King Tut was all the rage — the impressive displays of luxury items from Tut’s tomb, the mummy himself, “Walk like an Egyptian”… Well, he’s back in the news, this time in a most 21st century way. This time archaelogists with their cool cool stuff and rugged outdoorsy romanticism aren’t the prime movers. Rather …
Archaeologists recently discovered a temple, with two great pillars, in what was once the Philistine city of Gath. And they discovered evidence of a huge earthquake. One of the Bible’s most dramatic stories tells about the not always admirable but surely impressive Samson who, duped by his lover Delilah, loses the secret to his power (his hair) …
Must something be situated in time and space to be true? Must one believe that somewhere on Earth there’s an old boat that survived a flood sent by God in order to accept that the biblical story is, well, true? Some say yes. Absolutely yes. And so they search for the ark’s remains… and search and …
