AUSTRALIA’S OWN MAGAZINE OF ANCIENT HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

VOL 21 • NO 3
JUNE/JULY 2014
DIGGINGS
The Importance
of the Rosetta Stone
Ancient Egyptian
Mathematics
Mystery of the
Temple Mount

The
Secret
on the Ness
Discovering the archaeological
riches of the Heart of Orkney
A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE SPECIALISING IN ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
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 CHAEOLOGY C
AR O
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Digging
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SE

up
the past

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What secrets of the past have been unearthed in this unique and
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 Contents June / July 2014
VOL 21 • NO 3

Features Departments
Egyptian Mathematics Editor’s Comment
The mathematics used to build Archaeology and Tarawa
our architectural achievements
began around 5000 years ago. News from Jerusalem
New Excavation in the
Crucifixion: Jewish Quarter
History and Practice
The Romans didn’t invent it, but New Testament
they did perfect it, culminating Archaeology
in the best-known usage of all The James, Brother of
time: the death of Jesus Christ. Christ, Controversy

Mystery of the Temple Archaeological Insights

Mount and Interesting Facts
Hidden in the masonry and Seven Less-visited
annals of the great Jewish Temples of Egypt
Temple are clues to the
future. The final instalment The Archaeologist
of Digging Up the Future. Sir Flinders Petrie, Father
of Modern Archaeology
Under the Ice
Global warming is thawing some News From the World of
amazing ancient artefacts. Archaeology
The Secret on the Ness Diggings Noticeboard
The Ness of Brodgar is attracting Diggings Crossword
a lot of attention? But why?

The Rosetta Stone:

Important Now, On the cover
Important Then The Ring of Brodgar, a Neolithic henge in
This key to Egypt’s past Orkney, Scotland, bathed in the rays of
contains so much more. a rare sunny Scottish sunset. The henge
is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
known as the Heart of Orkney, and home of
The Innocents Abroad some intriguing archaeological discoveries.
Mark Twain steals ashore Photo by Moonmeister—Masterfile.com
in the dead of night to see
the sites of Athens. For Subscriptions and contact details tap
here or email editor@diggings.com.au or
phone us on 1800 240 543.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS (ISSN 1322-6525) is published bimonthly. Copyright © 2014 Adventist Media Network, all rights reserved.
The contents of ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form, wholly or in part, without the
written permission of the publisher. Seventh-day Adventist Church (SPD) Limited ABN 59 093 117 689. Locked Bag 1115, Wahroonga, NSW
2076, Australia Phone: 1800 240 543 or +61 2 9847 2222. Volume 21 Number 3, 2014 Issue No 122 June / July 2014.


ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS digital contains links to third-party video clips, as indicated by the movie icon.
Their inclusion does not imply endorsement by ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS of all opinions and assertions
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 EDITOR’S COMMENT

ARCHAEOLOGY
AND TARAWA
I
AM WRITING THIS EDITORIAL HIGH ABOVE THE PACIFIC AS I Mike Caba’s insightful “Crucifixion:
head home from nearly four weeks on the remote Pacific island of Tarawa, History and Practice” (page 14) is a
which sits within the country of Kiribati, astride the equator. Tarawa was must-read. And if you loved, or even
the site of the most horrific fighting between Japanese and American forces hated maths at school, you will enjoy
during World War 2. It is said only three coconut trees were left standing around Suzette Hartwell’s “Egyptian Mathematics
Beito, the location of most of the fighting. Thousands of lives on both sides were (page 7), which explores mathematics
tragically lost. War relics, including two huge Japanese guns, can still be seen. in ancient Egypt. In this issue, we also
One bunker in particular caught my attention; it is severely pocked by bullets, conclude the editor’s four-part series
shells and shrapnel of various sizes. I thought of the men on both sides who had Digging up the Future with “Mystery of
died here some 70 years ago. the Temple Mount” (page 20).
But you’re probably wondering what this has got to do with DIGGINGS, Finally, a good number of you have
ancient history and archaeology? Well firstly, I thought it would be fascinating decided to join one of our 2014 DIG-
to excavate here in and around some of these war relics. What more would we GINGS tours (see advertisement page
discover about some of those soldiers, the Japanese occupation of Tarawa and the 32). You will notice that you can hop
battle? It made me realise even more what archaeologists are up against in their on and hop off at any point to fit your
quest to uncover the past. After the fighting on Tarawa, the Americans would time and budget. The cut off date for
have gathered up and destroyed most of the material remains left behind by the bookings is fast approaching, so if you
conquered Japanese. Little on the surface except for concrete and rusting steel would like to join us, please contact us
would have remained. The ancients would have done similar things. When they before the end of June. In the meantime,
conquered a city they would have taken the spoils of value and destroyed or left enjoy your reading of this edition of
behind what was of no use or too big to transport. Little wonder most excavations ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS.
reveal relatively few material remains.
Secondly, my real purpose for being in Kiribati was to share some amazing
discoveries of ancient archaeology with these very friendly people. Like many others,
they were amazed to see how much biblical history and its ancient predictions
concerning ancient and modern civilizations have been verified by archaeology,
ancient history and current events. Now, enough of my travels.
What do have when you mix together global warming, the
Rosetta Stone, the ancient practice of crucifixion, the Jerusalem
Temple Mount, ancient Egyptian maths and a trip to the
remote Orkneys of Scotland? An interest-packed edition
of ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS! We have included
articles on each of those areas and more in this issue.
You will be fascinated by Kerri Hillsdon’s cover story
“The Secret on the Ness” (page 34); in “Under the Ice”
(page 28) Maia Coghlan reveals how global warming is
helping some incredible archaeological discoveries to
be made; and Daryn Graham in “The Rosetta Stone
and Ptolemaic Egypt” (page 40) goes
beyond the stele’s significance in the
deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs,
for which it is usually referenced, to
the history of why the inscription
was written in the first place. I’m
sure you’ll find it both intriguing
and educational.

RIGHT: A Japanese battle-damaged

WW II heavy coastal battery on
Tarawa’s south-west coast.

ARCHAEOLOGY AND TARAWA

 PHOTO: KENNETH GARRETT— NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
Egyptian
Mathematics Maths was elementary to ancient Egypt,
but what was its roots? Suzette Hartwell tells.

ABOVE: Ivory inventory tags found in a royal tomb at Abydos, Egypt, from around 3300 bc. They are believed to be the earliest known
application of mathematics in ancient Egypt. As interpreted by Günter Dreyer, the number of strokes on each tablet in the upper row
records the size of a piece of fabric, with one stroke equal to one square cubit (about two and a quarter square feet). On the left is a
bird and a mountain symbolising the sunlight that emerges in the east every morning. And on the right, two symbols show the origin of
delivered goods—a tree stands for “agricultural estate”; a dog identifies the estate’s founder.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014

A
S AN ADVANCED CIVILISATION IN ITS DAY, THE MATHEMATICAL SYMBOLS
Egyptians applied mathematics extensively to their major Some symbols used for the mathematical numbers
achievements in engineering, architecture, administra- were also used in day-to-day writing. Some easily
tion, painting, drawing, inventory, land measurement recognised examples are as follows:
and astronomy. Their primitive mathematical system was based
on a decimal and repetitive order technique that used seven
hieroglyphic symbols, a system that endured to the Ptolemaic 10
period of 332–30 bc, where we then observe examples written in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Demotic. And like any scientific discipline, Egyptian mathematics 100
developed significantly over the many centuries in between.
But when and where did it begin?
The recent discovery of some small, ivory inventory tags found
in a royal tomb at Abydos, suggests somewhere around 3300 bc.
The tags, measuring some 2 cm x 1.5 cm, have been matched to the 1000 10,000 100,000 1 million
content of the earthenware jars in which they were found, in what
is believed to be the earliest known application of mathematics in
ancient Egypt on record. The jars were placed within Tomb U-J, a * Hands upraised by the god Ha or Heh represents
royal burial site at Abydos, associated with the pharaoh Scorpion, one million
which some archaeologists attribute to Dynasty Zero (0).
* Tadpole represents 100,000
NUMBERS * Finger represents 10,000
The mathematical protocol followed a simple but very specific * Lotus plant represents 1000
order: the largest number was written first, then the next largest * Coiled rope represents 100
and so on, in descending order. Also, some symbols used for the
* Animal hobble represents 10
mathematical numbers were used in common day-to-day writing.
An extraordinary demonstration of such hieroglyphs and * An oblique stroke represents 1, two strokes for 2,
their use in ancient Egyptian mathematics is found on the and so forth up to 9.
Narmer Macehead, a carved ivory ritual object now housed in Although no symbol existed for zero, sometimes
the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. It depicts significant offerings a scribe would allow a gap or space between
to the pharaoh of 400,000 oxen, 1,422,000 goats and 120,000 numbers, as if it were present.
prisoners, with the attendant hieroglyphs being so numerous as Therefore, the year 2014 would be expressed as
to defy explanation here. However, it stands as a stunning pictorial follows: two lotus plants, representing 2000; one
statement unto itself. animal hobble, representing 10; and four oblique
Another fine example of the use of hieroglyphs in early Egyptian strokes, as 4—2014.

PHOTO: ALAMY
mathematics, the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, is in the British
Museum. This astonishing papyrus, inscribed in hieratic on
both sides, measures almost two metres long by 32 centimetres
wide. It contains 84 mathematical problems that include
fractions, area and volume, multiplication and division
and geometry. It is believed scribes used the papyrus as

RIGHT: The Narmer Macehead, dated to the reign of king

Narmer in the 31st century BC whose serekh is engraved
on it. The bottom register records a count of 400,000
cattle, 1,422,000 sheep and 120,000 men, the latter
being represented as bound captives.

ABOVE: Slab Stella of Old Kingdom Egyptian princess Nefertiabet
(2590–2565 bc) from her tomb at Giza. The painting on limestone
is now in the Louvre, Paris. Some symbols used for mathematical
numbers were commonly used in her day-to-day writing.
BELOW: The cubit rod of Maya, a high official in Tutankhamun’s
royal treasury, is a particularly well-preserved cubit rod. The cubit
unit of length is approximately 52.5 cm.
a text of study by copying and learning the examples, then
solving the problems.
Its value lies not in the maths lessons it contains but
as an historic manuscript. It is written on both sides, one
composed in the thirty-third year of the reign of Apophis,
a Hyksos pharaoh of the 15th dynasty (about 1650–1550 bc)
and acknowledged as a copied document from an earlier 12th
PHOTO: URIAH WELCOME
dynasty (about 1985–1795 bc) one. The other side mentions
year 11 and the capture of various named Egyptian towns,
possibly relating to the time of the Egyptians–Hyksos conflict
before the New Kingdom (1550–1070 bc). (You can view
this magnificent papyrus first-hand on our Museums Tour
in September.)
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
PHOTO: EINSAMER SCHUTZE
LENGTH
The cubit was a unit of physical measurement represented
by a straight rod of a set length, marked with fractions along
its span. It was crucial in the laying out of wall grids and
for drawing and carving. Cubits were made in two sizes:
first, the standard cubit (44.9 cm), which was fixed at six
palm-widths of the hand, and second, the royal cubit (52.4
cm), determined by seven palm-widths. Each palm is further
divided into four equal divisions by a vertical finger (as is
the case with a literal human hand). Consequently, a royal
cubit comprised seven palm-widths divided into 28 fingers,
whereas the standard cubit was six palms equalling 24 fingers
in length. The hieroglyph chosen to represent the cubit is that
of a man’s forearm from elbow to the tip of his middle finger.
Examples of guidelines forming a squared grid are still to
be found in some tombs, such as that of Horemheb in the
Valley of the Kings, where an unfinished wall scene depicts
these lines in an arrangement ready for the finished image
to be apportioned to it. These grids were essential, so that
general scale and the canon of proportion for the human
figure could consistently be applied in accordance with
PHOTO: PATRICIA FELIX

the drawing protocol of the time. (For a discussion on the ABOVE: To measure large distances a rope knotted at equal
importance and purpose of Egyptian wall scenes, see “From distances, most likely cubits, was used. Such a rope and its use is
Here to Eternity,” ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS, Vol. 19, shown here in the 18th Dynasty tomb of Menna in Thebes.
No. 6, 2012, pages 50–54. For the representation of ancient
BELOW: The Palermo Stone, which recorded information on
Egyptian images and why they were composed into unique taxation, religious ceremonies, building works, trade and military
depictions, see “The Representation of Ancient Egyptian expeditions of ancient Egypt, also revealed the royal cubit was
Images,” Vol. 20, No. 4, 2013, pages 38–43.) used to measure the
One particular use for the royal cubit was the measurement annual Nile flood.
of the annual Nile flood. Evidence of this is carved into the
Palermo Stone, now located in the Palermo Archaeological
Museum, Sicily (smaller fragments of it are displayed in
the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and Petrie Museum,
London). The importance of knowing the annual
flood level lay in the consequential ability to estimate
the ensuing grain harvest, vital to the running of
the Egyptian economy.
A well-preserved example of the royal cubit rod
exists in the Louvre Museum, Paris. It belonged to
Maya of the New Kingdom 18th Dynasty, the royal
treasurer to Tutankhamun and later Horemheb.
The cubit has a bevelled edge and five longitudinal
surfaces with the divisions of palms and further
fractions comprising halves to sixteenths. The 28
divisions of fingers are further marked on the upper
surface with a corresponding god drawn in each area.
Another two cubits belonging to the architect Kha
from Deir el-Medina, were found in his tomb, one a

EGYPTIAN MATHEMATICS

1 foundations. In the temple of Edfu, a text denoting a king
8 ritually taking part in the formalities states, “I take the stake
1 1 1
2 4 16
1 In addition to the Eye of Horus’ ability to protect and
32
1 the eye was used to represent a specific fractional part,
64
ABOVE: Arithmetic values represented by parts of the Eye of
Horus. In ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic orthography, isolated
parts of the Eye of Horus symbol were used to write various
fractions.
gilded wooden example, a gift from the pharaoh, and the
other a working cubit, hinged in the centre for convenience.
Both are on display in the Egyptian Museum, in Turin, Italy.
AREA
To measure more extensive divisions of land, a rope knotted
at equal distances, most likely cubits, was used. An excellent
example of this is preserved on the tomb wall of Menna at
Thebes, which dates to the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom.
As Scribe of the Field, he oversaw the measurement of land, a
vital occupation given that the land needed to be re-measured
annually following the Nile flood. Then, stones were used to
delineate the land area. An important ceremony, known as
“Stretching the Cord,” was held at the time of measuring land
Can We Still
Believe the Bible?
As one of the most ancient of texts, with clear
provenance, the Bible cannot be ignored let alone
dismissed from history. But, can we believe the Bible?
Retired academic Dr Bryan Ball answers that question
in this revised edition of the book of the same name.
Post: cheque or money order (AUD$ and
NZ$ only) to Diggings: Locked Bag 1115,
Wahroonga, NSW 2076, Australia
Or phone: 1800 240 543
including
with your credit card details.
KJV 400th anniversary edition
containing 2 new chapters
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
prior to the building of temples, important structures and
and I hold the handle of the mallet. I hold the [measuring]
cord with Seshat” (Edwards, 1975:259). Examples of other
building instruments in use at the time, such as plum bobs,
builders squares and square levels, have been found in the
tomb of Senedjem from Deir el-Medina and are inscribed
with his name and other hieroglyphic religious text.
provide for the living and the dead, in another context, the
eye represented mathematical fractions. Each segment of
with different values being attributed to each element. As
the Eye of Horus may be represented left- or right-facing,
the largest section begins with a half, represented by the
white section of the eye facing the nose, and halving again
with each subsequent section in the order of pupil (¼), the
eyebrow (⅛th), the opposite white section as 1/16th, the spiral
as 1/32th and the plumage or teardrop as a 1/64th.
CONCLUSION
So, if you have the opportunity to visit a museum that
displays any units of weight, length or volume used in ancient
Egypt, pause for a moment and cast your gaze over these
seemingly simple artefacts and ponder their significance
in the advancement of this most magnificent of ancient
civilisations. For just as we marvel at the mathematical
knowledge required to consummate today’s architectural
achievements—think Sydney Opera House and its associated
construction problems—ancient Egyptians, as in so many
other fields of human endeavour, had trod this path some
5000 years ago. u
AUS
$2 5
(NZ$3
0)
postage
 News from Jerusalem
With Jerusalem correspondent Daniel Herman
New excavation in the
Jewish Quarter
A N EXCITING DIG IS GOING
on at a site in the Jewish Quarter
of Jerusalem. A large-scale excavation
was made in the Jewish quarter during
the 1970s, following the return of the
area to Israel. (Between 1948 and 1967,
Jordan held the Jewish quarter).
Recently, rebuilding of a synagogue
destroyed in the 1948 war was undertaken,
<< SCROLL SEE MORE IMAGES—TAP TO ENLARGE >>
and in a recent visit to the site I was
excited to see my friend and colleague
Dr Oren Gutfeld directing a salvage
times (13th to 15th centuries ad) to the
Judaic First Temple period (10th to 6th
century bc) and at some places Oren’s
excavation at its base, prior to recon- team reached bedrock! Digs at such
struction. With pride, Oren presented to sites in the heart of the Old City of
me a wealth of pottery shards, some of Jerusalem may expose very important
nearly complete vessels, most of which finds, so stay tuned!
were from Classical periods.
The finds range from Muslim Mamluk
And renewed
excavations at Qumran

K HIRBET QUMRAN (“RUINS

of Qumran”) is an ancient site on
a small plateau above the north-west
shore of the Dead Sea. Most of Qumran
was excavated in the 1950s, because
of the discovery of the invaluable and
famous Dead Sea Scrolls nearby.
While no scrolls were found in
Qumran itself, the site bears several
anomalies, the most striking being the
large number of stepped, plastered
pools, despite the limited availability
of fresh water in that area.
Most scholars identified these stepped
pools as Jewish ritual baths, but in
the 1990s, two Israeli archaeologists
Y. Magen and Y. Peleg developed an
alternative interpretation—that the
pools in Qumran were actually for
production of pottery vessels.
Indeed, Qumran bears two kilns,
and some of its pottery was locally
made, but did it really need such large
clay soil containers?
Visiting Qumran a few weeks ago,
I was excited to see Peleg excavating
one of the last stepped pools at the
site. His team was uncovering the
steps leading to the bottom of the
pool, right in front of tour groups, and
just two hours before my arrival they
had found fragments of a big stone
purity vessel in the fill. Such large stone
vessels are known to have been used
by Jews in antiquity for purification
purposes; they are even mentioned
in the New Testament. In the story of
the wedding in Cana, “Nearby stood
six stone water jars, the kind used by
the Jews for ceremonial washing, each
holding from twenty to thirty gallons
. . .” (John 2:6).
The find of a purity vessel in the
stepped pool strengthens my view
that the pools were indeed related
to purification, but Peleg is still not
convinced and holds to his alternative
theory. Excited by this discovery, I
requested to join this dig, but Peleg’s
boss resisted me because of “insurance
issues.” While this was disappointing,
PHOTO: DANNY HERMAN

I do hope to follow the excavation

and report on any new finds coming
from the site.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014

 Byzantine monastery
mosaic exposed in Negev
A MONASTERY DATING TO THE
Byzantine period was discovered
at the entrance to Hura in the northern
Negev during the course of an Israel
Antiquities Authority (IAA) salvage
excavation in the building of a highway
interchange. The structure, measuring
20 × 35 meters, is divided into halls
built along an east-west axis. The most
outstanding of these are the prayer hall
and dining room, due to the breathtak-
ing mosaic carpets revealed in them.
The prayer hall is paved with a mosaic
on which a pattern of leaves is vibrantly
portrayed in blue, red, yellow and green
colours. The dining room floor is a
colourful mosaic pavement depicting
<< SCROLL SEE MORE IMAGES—TAP TO ENLARGE >>
floral motifs, geometric decorations,
amphorae, baskets and even a pair
of birds.
According to Daniel Varga, excavation
director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities
Authority, “It seems that this monastery,
located near the Byzantine settlement
of Horbat Hur, is one monastery in a
series of monasteries situated alongside
a road that linked Transjordan with the
Be’er Sheva’ Valley”.
The mosaic carpets also include four
Greek dedicatory inscriptions denoting
the names of the monastery’s abbots:
Eliyahu, Nonus, Solomon and Ilrion,
and the dates when the pavements were
constructed in the different halls. (These
inscriptions also aided archaeologists
in dating the monastery to the second
half of the sixth century ad.) One of
NEWS FROM JERUSALEM—NEW EXCAVATION IN THE JEWISH QUARTER
the inscriptions is bilingual; in addition
to the Greek there is also a section of
the inscription written in the Syriac
language.
The monastery’s western wing, which
is divided into four service rooms, is
paved with a white mosaic, much of
which was destroyed following the
collapse of the building at the end of
the Byzantine period.
Various pottery assemblages were
discovered during the excavation of
the monastery. These include large
storage vessels, such as different kinds
of amphorae and jars, cooking pots
and bowls. In addition, numerous glass
vessels ascribed to the Byzantine period
were discovered, as well as coins. These
finds indicate a rich material culture in
the monastery. u
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
 Crucifixion
HISTORY AND
PRACTICE
There was no harsher or more humiliating way to die. Follow Michael J. Caba
as he searches for insight into this ancient means of execution.
I
T WAS A DIFFERENT TIME. IT WAS A CRUEL
time. In fact, it was an era that employed vicious and
bloodthirsty punishments as public entertainment. One
such instance is relayed to us by the ancient author
Philo who graphically described a time of festival in ancient
Egypt during the Roman era under Prefect Flaccus Avillius.
About this merciless ruler Philo had this to say:
. . . he commanded living men to be crucified . . . and
he did this after they had been beaten by scourging in
the middle of the theatre; and after he had tortured
them with fire and sword . . . [they] were hung up,
were tortured on the wheel, were condemned, and
were dragged to execution through the middle of the
orchestra; and after this beautiful exhibition came
the dancers, and the buffoons, and the flute players,
and all the other diversions of the theatrical contests.1
As barbaric as this may seem to modern readers, it is but
one of many accounts from antiquity describing the practice
of crucifixion in all its harsh reality.
Further, though modern viewers did get a clearer picture
of the ancient practice through the movie The Passion of the
Christ that depicted the violent punishment and death of
Jesus, the fuller history—and reality—of crucifixion remains
a mystery to many. The contemporary person tends to think
of this punishment as somehow unique to Christ and his
followers, but such was not the case; indeed, it was quite
common in parts of Europe and Asia in antiquity. Accordingly,
let us take a look at the broader contours of the history and
practice of crucifixion with the hope of gaining some insight
into this ancient means of execution.
SOME BACKGROUND
The English word cross comes from the Latin word “crux,”
and leads eventually to the word crucifixion.2 Yet, divining
the source of the word is easier than locating the precise
starting point of the practice, especially when it is noted that
the gruesome procedure of punishing a person by suspending
them on a piece of wood, either dead or alive, reaches far
back in time to primitive and unrecorded peoples and eras.
Nonetheless, a suitable place to start our survey is with
the nasty Assyrians, a brutish group if ever there was one.
To give just a short sample of their cruelty we need only to
note that they actually bragged about, amongst their other
cruelties, flaying their enemies.3 Yet, despite their decidedly
beastly nature, they had a delicate artistic side as well, and
with it they proudly portrayed their handiwork of impaling
victims on large stakes as shown in Figure 1. This picture
comes from the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh, and
portrays the assault in roughly 700 bc by the Assyrian king
CRUCIFIXION: HISTORY AND PRACTICE
ABOVE: Simon of Cyrene (Jarreth Merz) helps Jesus (Jim Caviezel)
carry his cross in a scene from Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of The
Christ which gave viewers a clearer picture of the ancient practice
of crucifixion. The contemporary person tends to think of this
punishment as somehow unique to Christ and his followers, but
such was not the case.
Sennacherib on the Jewish city of Lachish,4 which, for those
who are interested, is an attack also referred to in the Bible
(2 Kings 18:17). Further, in forthright dispassionate terms,
Sennacherib gives us this concise claim about one of his
other victories: “I assaulted Ekron and killed the officials
and patricians who had committed the crime and hung their
bodies on poles surrounding the city.”5
Though not precisely the same as our mental image of
crucifixion which envisions a person nailed to a T-shaped
cross, arms outstretched, still the idea behind impalement
is similar to the act we commonly think of. Indeed, in actual
practice, the scheme of punishing a person by suspending
them on a stake was accomplished by a variety of means.
Nonetheless, the basic purpose in all of the varieties was
essentially the same, that is, to punish an adversary in as
cruel a manner as possible, both physically and mentally
(e.g., shame) with the intention of discouraging others from
engaging in behaviour for which the suspended individual
was purportedly guilty—thus the public display. In essence,
it was intended as both a horrible punishment and a dire
warning.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
THE PERSIANS
PHOTO: PHILIPPE ANTONELLO—IMAGE.NET
Moving ahead in time from the Assyrian era, we come to
the Persians whose empire, beginning in the sixth century
bc, ran for more than 200 years, stretching from Turkey to
India. Though often characterised as “tolerant,” they were
not averse to brutality (actually, to a lot of brutality) when
it suited their purpose. In fact, the writings of the Greek
historian Herodotus contain a number of references to the
practice of crucifixion by the Persians. For instance, the
following passage indicates a strong propensity toward the
practice via a massive display in an honoured city:
Thus was Babylon taken for the second time. Darius
having become master of the place, destroyed the
wall, and tore down all the gates; for Cyrus had done
neither the one nor the other when he took Babylon.
He then chose out near three thousand of the leading
citizens, and caused them to be crucified, while he
allowed the remainder still to inhabit the city.6
Though this type of wanton mass execution of defenceless
enemies may seem unnecessary, one might possibly entertain
the act of crucifixion if it were used against, say, a rapist; and
so, Herodotus relates that the Persian king Xerxes intended
its application on just such a perpetrator. The historian says,
“He had previously raped the virgin . . . for which reason King
Xerxes intended to have him impaled.”7
Importantly, this instance brings out a feature common
 to the punishment by crucifixion, namely, it was often
reserved for the vilest of criminals; and in this we begin
to get an inkling as to why the crucifixion of Christ was
so unjust in the minds of many. Indeed, how could such a
noble and just individual end up experiencing a punishment
generally reserved for criminals? In fact, to some who hear
the story of his crucifixion, it just doesn’t make sense, but
more on this later.
THE GREEKS
Taking another step forward in time, the great Persian
Empire was to meet its demise at the hands of Alexander
the Great in 330 bc; however, the vicious and humiliating
practice of crucifixion would continue. For instance, after
Alexander conquered the city of Tyre on the coast of Lebanon,
he poured out his wrath on the vanquished losers with a
mass crucifixion related as follows: “After that the king’s
wrath furnished the victors with an awful spectacle; 2000
men . . . hung nailed to crosses along a great stretch of the
shore.”8 Clearly, the advanced culture of the Greeks that
had swept across the ancient world retained a significant
barbarity at its core.
Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 bc, the
lands he had conquered were divided between four of his
generals, with the eastern section of the territory referred
to as the Seleucid Empire, which in turn often had control
of the Jewish homeland. From this empire there eventually
came a king by the name of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a man
of some infamy in Jewish eyes for having sacrificed a pig on
the altar in the Jewish Temple and other assorted offenses.9
In addition to his sacrilegious behaviour, he churned out
cruelty to a prodigious degree as is noted by the following
description from the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus.
This quote relates to actions taken by Antiochus against
the Jews who opposed him and it is one of the more brutal
accounts of crucifixion that we have from all of antiquity:
. . . on which account they everyday underwent great
miseries and bitter torments; for they were whipped
with rods and their bodies were torn to pieces, and
were crucified while they were still alive and breathed:
they also strangled those women and their sons whom
they had circumcised, as the king had appointed,
hanging their sons about their necks as they were
upon the crosses. And if there were any sacred book
of the law found, it was destroyed; and those with
whom they were found miserably perished as well.10
From this type of portrayal we can see the continued
utilization of crucifixion, even by purportedly civilised
cultures, on both conquered people and the criminal elements
of ancient society. With this fact the question still nags: how
is this type of punishment fit for one such as Jesus who was
neither a criminal nor a conquered person?
THE JEWS
And now to the Jews. Even as they often served as the
victims of crucifixion, some of the Jews were not above
using the procedure themselves, even, surprisingly enough,
on fellow Jews. As an example, during the rule of Alexander
Jannaeus (c.103–76 bc) there was civil war among the Jewish
people, and from this conflict a mass execution by crucifixion
is attributed to the very hands of the ruler himself. Josephus
tells us in the following quote how Jannaeus took revenge
on his Jewish countrymen who had opposed him during
the civil war:
. . . and when he had taken the city, and gotten the
men into his power, he brought them to Jerusalem, and
did one of the most barbarous actions in the world to
them; for as he was feasting with his concubines, in the
sight of all the city, he ordered about eight hundred
of them to be crucified; and while they were living,
he ordered the throats of their children and wives
to be cut before their eyes. This was indeed by way
of revenge for the injuries they had done him; which
punishment yet was of an inhumane nature . . . .11
Clearly, disturbing examples of humanity’s inhumanity are
on display as we continue to examine incidents of crucifixion.
Yet, it is not just the horrors of the past that should intrigue
us in modern times; it is understanding and insight that we
seek. So as we survey these points in time, we need to keep
adding points of perception; and among the Jews there is
one point of particular note we need to consider, one that
will give some insight into the most famous—or infamous—
crucifixion of all, that of the biblical Jesus.
The Jewish Torah contains this interesting reference in
Deuteronomy 21:22, 23:
If a man is guilty of a capital offense and is put to
death, and you impale him on a stake, you must not
let his corpse remain on the stake overnight, but must
bury him the same day. For an impaled body is an
affront to God: you shall not defile the land that the
Lord your God is giving you to possess.12
Note, while this particular translation uses the phrase
“impale him on a stake,” others capture the same idea but use
such phrases as “exposed on a pole” (NIV) or even “hang
him on a tree” (KJV). In any case, the idea remains the same,
specifically, a dead body left hanging in public view is also
an affront to God. Thus, not only was a crucified person
considered an outsider among people, that person was of-
fensive to God Himself. In essence, a crucified soul inhabited
a very low place, if not the lowest place in all of existence.
But again, why was Jesus of Nazareth, the so-called Son of
God, placed in such a low position?
THE ROMANS
Not to be outdone by their predecessors, the Roman
Empire was a master of this deadly art. Examples are plenti-
ful, with Julius Caesar providing a fine case in point. After
being captured by pirates, Caesar managed to escape and
returned to avenge his tormentors with some torment of
his own. Plutarch relates the event:
He went to Pergamum, took the pirates out of prison
and crucified the lot of them, just as he often told
them he would do when he was on the island and
they imagined that he was joking.13
CRUCIFIXION: HISTORY AND PRACTICE

pierced the bone and fastened him to
the wood.
LEFT: A model of the foot with the nail.
RIGHT: Figure 3. Diagram showing the
method of crucifixion.
Further, when the Jewish revolt against the Romans
occurred (ad 66–73), the final siege of Jerusalem turned
into a bloodied landscape of crucifixions. Josephus is again
our source and he relates the following actions by Roman
soldiers against their Jewish enemies:
“They were first whipped and then tormented with
all sorts of tortures, before they died . . . the soldiers
out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews,
nailed those they caught to the crosses in different
postures, by way of jest.”14
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
PHOTO: WWW.BIBLELANDPICTURES.COM / ALAMY ILLUSTRATION: PETE CHADWELL
TOP LEFT: Figure 2.
The heel bone of a
crucified man, discovered
in 1968, with the iron nail that
As an additional observation, it can be seen from these
words of Josephus that persons assigned to death by crucifixion
were often brutally tortured prior to the final act itself—and
then sadistically treated as playthings.
Yet, even though many crucifixions occurred in ancient
Israel, only one person’s skeletal remains have ever been
found that give clear evidence of having suffered this pun-
ishment. In 1968, the bones of a man were discovered in an
excavation in the north-eastern area of modern Jerusalem,
and the archaeologist responsible for the find identified the
remains as coming from the Roman period of Jerusalem’s
history.15 The remains, which are now in the Israel Museum,
include an iron nail still in place through the right heel
bone (Figure 2). Interestingly, investigators examining the
remains came to the conclusion that the man was affixed to
the upper horizontal bar of a cross by ropes—not nails, as
no further damage was found in his other bones—and that
each leg was nailed to each side of the vertical timber of the
cross (Figure 3).16 This scenario further serves to point out
the variety involved with the process when it is noted that
Jesus was nailed by both his feet and hands/wrists to the
cross (cf. John 20:25). Still, whatever the method used, the
process was meant to facilitate a slow and agonizing death,
and, despite various claims to the contrary, it appears that
there is uncertainty as to the precise cause of death; in fact,
a variety of causes could have led to the demise of the victim
including heart failure, asphyxiation, shock and more.17
Furthermore, as one scholar has noted, we see that the
Romans followed the typical pattern of applying this pun-
ishment to those of low rank, “For a host of crimes Rome
punished criminals of low status with aggravated or ultimate
punishments (summa supplicia), which included exposure
to wild beasts, crucifixion and burning alive.”18 Without a
doubt then, “Crucifixion was widespread and frequent, above
all in Roman times”19; with the most well-known crucifixion
of all having taken place at their hands.
 RIGHT: In the first three
centuries of early Christian
art, the crucifixion was
rarely depicted because the
concept of the risen Christ
was so central to the Christian
faith. In the 4th century AD,
crucifixion imagery began to
appear in art, such as in this
illuminated manuscript in ad
PHOTO: THE YORCK PROJECT.

586 from the Syriac Rabbula

Gospels. This is believed to be
the earliest known Christian
depiction of a crucifixion
showing the Eastern form of
the image at the time.

IN CONCLUSION
By way of this brief survey, we have seen the widespread But why Jesus? Why would he be treated as one who
practice of crucifixion in its various forms, from single was evil, as one of low status before God and man? Such
stakes to other wooden configurations. The sufferers, being an enigma is difficult to unravel; yet, at this point of ten-
affixed by a variety of means, were often physically tortured sion, the Christians laid claim to one of their central beliefs,
beforehand, and, in many cases, psychologically humiliated specifically, Jesus took upon himself the punishment that
as well, with final death occurring via a variety of possible was due to the rest of us. In truth, he really did not deserve
bodily failures. Further, the overall practice was reserved it, but he nonetheless willingly took the punishment that was
primarily for the most reviled of perpetrators, including rightfully meant for others. As a spokesman for this belief
criminals, traitors, enemy combatants and the like. In effect, once said, “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was
it was a horrible punishment reserved for the despised and it crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us
was used to warn an observant public of the consequences peace was on him.”20 u
meted out for certain behaviours.
Footnotes:
1. Philo, The Works of Philo: Complete and Herodotus, trans. George Rawlinson in Penguin, 2005), 256.
Unabridged, New Updated Edition, trans. Great Books of the Western World, vol.
14. Josephus, qtd. in M.W. Maslen and P.D.
C.D. Yonge (United States: Hendrickson 5, M.J. Adler, ed. (Chicago: Encyclopedia
Mitchell, “Medical theories on the cause
Publishers, 1993), 732. Britannica, 1990), 123.
of death in crucifixion,” Journal of the
2. J.F.G. Cross, The New International 7. Herodotus 4.43 in R.B. Strassler, ed., Royal Society of Medicine, 99 (2006), 185.
Dictionary of the Bible: Pictorial Edition, The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories,
15. A. Tzaferis, “Jewish Tombs at and
J.D. Douglas et al., eds. (Grand Rapids: trans. A.L. Pervis (New York: Pantheon,
near Giv’at har-Mivtar, Jerusalem,” Israel
Zondervan, 1987), 241. 2007), 99.
Exploration Journal, 20 (Jerusalem: IES,
3. For examples see: The Ancient Near 8. Quintus Curtius, History of Alexander, 1970) 18–32.
East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures, vol. 1, trans. J.C. Rolfe (London: Loeb
16. J. Zias and E. Sekeles, The Crucified
J.B. Pritchard, ed. (Princeton: Princeton Classical Library, 1946), 205.
Man from Giv’at har-Mivtar: A
University, 2011), 246–272.
9. For examples see: Josephus, The Works Reappraisal, Israel Exploration Journal, 35
4. The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, (Jerusalem: IES, 1985), passim.
of Texts and Pictures, J.B. Pritchard, ed. trans. W. Whiston (Peabody, MA:
17. M.W. Maslen and P.D. Mitchell, passim.
(Princeton: Princeton University, 2011), Hendrickson, 2004), 322–324.
plate 101. 18. D.G. Kyle, Spectacles of Death in
10. Josephus, The Works of Josephus:
Ancient Rome (New York: Routledge,
5. A.L. Oppenheim, Sennacherib Complete and Unabridged, 324.
1998), 53.
(704–681): The Siege of Jerusalem in
11. Ibid., 361.
The Ancient Near East: An Anthology 19. M. Hengel, Crucifixion in the Ancient
of Texts and Pictures, J.B. Pritchard, ed. 12. TANAKH. (Philadelphia: Jewish World and the Folly of the Message on
(Princeton: Princeton University, 2011), Publication Society, 1985), 307–308. the Cross (Philadelphia: Fortress Press,
270. 1977), 38.
13. Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic,
6. Herodotus 3:159, in The History of trans. R. Warner and R. Seager (New York: 20. Isaiah 53:5.

CRUCIFIXION: HISTORY AND PRACTICE

 Digging up

Mystery of the
the Future:

Temple Mount
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
 23
Gary Webster takes us into the annuls of the great Jewish
Temple on a journey through history and into the future.
W
HEN ARIEL SHARON, A FORMER PRIME
Minister of Israel, visited the Temple Mount
in Jerusalem on 28 September 2000, he
unleashed a storm—the second Intifada—
that led to the deaths of some 3000 Palestinians and 1000
Israelis. So, what is so significant about the Temple Mount
that a mere visit would result in so much strife? One needs
to visit the Temple Mount to find out.
Located at the visual centre of the Temple Mount platform
is the golden Dome of the Rock, so-called because of the
golden dome that sits above a rock from where, according
to some Islamic scholars, the prophet Muhammad ascended
to heaven with the angel Gabriel. Other Islamic scholars
believe that the prophet ascended to heaven from the Al-
Aqsa Mosque, which is located on the far southern side of
the mount. The whole Temple Mount is thus regarded as
the third holiest site in Islam by Muslims, so little wonder
the Palestinian Muslims were unimpressed with Sharon’s
visit to the site.
So given the sensitivity, why did Sharon go there?
The Rock, or Foundation Stone, under the Dome and its
surrounds are the holiest site in Judaism. According to the
Bible, Jewish tradition and Josephus (Antiquities i. 13.1), this
is Mount Moriah, the site where an intriguing story took
place. The biblical book of Genesis informs us that at the
command of God, Abraham came to this place to sacrifice
his son Isaac (Genesis 22:2). On the way to Moriah, Isaac
asked his father where was the sacrificial lamb, to which
Abraham, not yet able to bring himself to tell his son that
he would be the sacrifice, replied, “My son, God will provide
 SCROLL SEE THE HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:7, 8).
When they arrived at Moriah, Abraham informed Isaac
of God’s strange command, whereupon Isaac obediently
complied and his father bound him and laid him on a stone
altar. As he was about to take the life of his son with his knife,
a voice from heaven called out, “No don’t do it, Abraham.
I was just testing you as to whether you really loved me”
(Genesis 22:9–12). At that point Abraham saw a ram trapped
in a heavy thicket, took it and offered it in the place of his son,
thereupon naming the place, Jehovah-jireh, which means, “In
the mount of the Lord it shall be seen” (Genesis 22:13, 14).
But what would be “seen” on this mountain?
TALE OF THREE TEMPLES
About 1000 years later on this same mountain, King
Solomon built the first permanent Jewish temple in 957 bc
(2 Chronicles 3:1). The place where the temple or house of
God was built became known to the Jews as the Mountain
of Yaweh (Isaiah 2:3). An inscription from 700 bc scratched
on a rock wall of a tomb near Lachish contains the words
“the [Mount of ] Moriah thou hast favoured, the dwelling of
Yahweh” (J. Naveh, IEJ 13 (1963), 85, 86).
No conclusive archeological evidence for the existence
of Solomon’s Temple has been found to date except for two
objects related to the Temple: an ivory pomegranate that
mentions priests in the house of YHWH (Jehovah) and the
Jehoash inscription, which records the Temple’s restoration
under Jehoash. However, the authenticity of both of these
artefacts has been challenged and they are both the subject
of controversy. Solomon’s Temple was destroyed at the time
 of the third raid against Jerusalem by the Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc.
The second temple was constructed under Zerubbabel
from 520–515 bc. This temple was completely rebuilt by
Herod the Great, who went so far as to even replace the
foundation stones and to smooth off the surface of the
Temple Mount. Thus, it became known as Herod’s Temple.
Work on the temple proper began in 20/19 bc and took 18
months to complete. Over the next eight years, the outer
buildings, including the cloisters, were completed. But the
work of decoration and embellishment continued until the
procuratorship of Albinus (ad 62–64). At the time of Jesus
Christ (ad 27), the rebuilding had been in progress for 46
years (John 2:20).
The Rock, or Foundation Stone, beneath the Islamic Dome
of the Rock is believed to be the location of the so-called
“Holy of Holies” of the Temple, which was destroyed along
with the rest of it by the Romans in ad 70. Later, Roman
governors used the remains to build palaces and the Temple
of Jupiter. Still later, the Byzantines built a church on the
mount. But it was not until the Dome of the Rock was
constructed (ad 687–691) were the surviving remnants of
the temple removed.
Remnants of Herod’s Temple have been discovered. In
1871, Charles Clermont-Ganneau identified a Temple warning
<< SCROLL SEE MORE IMAGES—TAP TO ENLARGE >>
DIGGING UP THE FUTURE—MYSTERY OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT
inscription forbidding Gentiles entry to the sacred precincts
of the temple. Notice the translation:
No foreigner may enter within the balustrade around
the sanctuary and the enclosure. Whoever is caught,
on himself shall he put blame for the death which
will ensue.
REMAINING WALLS AND DOORS
After the 1967 Six-Day War, archaeologists found that
the wall of the Temple Mount extended all the way around
the Temple Mount forming part of the city wall near the
Lion’s Gate. The Western Wall where the Jews come to pray
is therefore not the only remaining part of Herod’s Temple.
The walls of the platform contain several gateways, which
are all blocked. In the east wall is the Golden Gate and the
remains of a much older gate dated to the time of Herod’s
Temple have been discovered. The present gate was probably
built in the ad 520s as part of Justinian’s building program
in Jerusalem, which lies on top of the ruins of the earlier
gate in the wall.
On the southern wall or face, are the Huldah Gates, with
three arches, and the Double Gate with two arches, which
is partly obscured by the remnants of a Crusader building.
Commoners entered through these now plugged up gates
that led through colonnades to the top of the platform, one
 PHOTO: WILSON
ABOVE: Main gate, Lachish archaeological site, Israel. Not far from here an inscription was
discovered in a tomb that called Moriah the dwelling of YAWEH.

of which can still be seen. Then, the Southern Wall was designed as a grand
entrance. Below the wall, archeologists have found thousands of mikvehs
(ceremonial bathtubs) for the ritual purification of the worshippers and a
stairway leading from the mikveh area to the now blocked entrance gates.
In the western face, near the southern corner, is the Barclay’s Gate.
Also in the western face, hidden by later construction but visible via the
recent Western Wall Tunnels is Warren’s Gate, which is located due west
of the Dome of the Rock. Jutting out from the western face near the southern
corner can be seen the beginning of an arch known as Robinson’s Arch. This
arch once spanned the gap between the top of the platform and higher ground
farther away. The arch was used by priests as their entrance.
Inside the walls, the temple platform was supported by a series of vaulted
archways called Solomon’s Stables, which still exist. The temple itself was
constructed of white marble, which gleamed in the sunlight. In 2007, ar-
chaeologists discovered a quarry compound that possibly provided Herod
with the stone for his Temple. Coins, pottery and an iron stake date the
quarrying to be about 19 bc. Archaeologist, Ehud Netzer, suggested that
the large outlines of the stone cuts suggest they represent a massive
public project that must have been worked on by hundreds of slaves.
The massive, typically Herodian stones seen in the Temple Mount
retaining wall may well have come from this quarry.
Stones, including one that marked the blowing of the trumpet for
Jewish festivals and thrown down by the Romans from the Western
PHOTO: WIKIKATI

LEFT: A replica of the ivory pomegranate bearing an ancient Hebrew

inscription, “Sacred donation for the priests in the house of YHWH.” It
was believed the pomegranate adorned a sceptre used by the high priest in
Solomon’s Temple.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014

 << SCROLL SEE MORE IMAGES—TAP TO ENLARGE >>
Temple wall, were discovered by Benjamin Mazar’s excava-
tions in 1968. Sculpted on the arch of Titus in Rome, one
can see a seven-branched candlestick, an important piece of
temple furniture, being carried away by the Romans. Since
the destruction of Herod’s Temple by the Romans in ad 70,
there have been no Jewish temples built in Jerusalem.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLES
But what was the significance of these temples? Solomon’s
Temple and the Second Temple were based on the struc-
ture and function of a movable temple constructed under
the leadership of Moses (see Exodus 25–31). Each temple
consisted of a courtyard in which were an altar for burn-
ing animal sacrifices and a sacred wash basin. The temple
proper consisted of a building with two rooms. The first
was the Holy Place, in which bread was placed on a table,
the Menorah branched-candlestick to give light and an altar
for the burning of incense. The second room was called the
Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place, which contained only
one piece of furniture—the Ark of the Covenant, so called
because it contained the two stone tablets upon which was
written the Ten Commandments, by God Himself, given to
Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 31:18).
Sacrifices and offerings were made by the temple priests
for both the nation and individuals on a daily basis. But
aside from the work that went on in the temple day by day,
the Jews also had seven annual festivals. First were the four
spring festivals: Passover; Feast of Unleavened Bread; First
Fruits; and Pentecost. And, second, the three autumn festivals:
Trumpets; Day of Atonement; and Tabernacles. But at the
heart of both the Jewish daily and annual temple services
were the animal sacrifices and the application of the blood
of those sacrifices.
So what was the purpose of all these temple sacrifices? The
answer is found in that cursed prophecy of Daniel 9:24–27
examined in the previous issue (“The Curse of The Forbidden
Prophecy,” Vol. 21, No 2). For the benefit of readers without
access to that, I will present a short review. I gave evidence
that not only were copies of Daniel’s book dating to 100–200
bc discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the book
appears to have be a favourite among the inhabitants of the
Qumran community.
PROPHETIC CODE
The setting of Daniel’s ninth chapter is just after the
Medes and Persians conquered the city of Babylon. Daniel,
realising that the prophet Jeremiah’s predicted 70 years of
captivity under Babylon is about to end, is praying that God
will show mercy to Israel and bring about the restoration
of Israel and Jerusalem (Daniel 9:1–20). Suddenly, the angel
MYSTERY OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT

ABOVE: Relief on the Arch of Titus showing the Romans carrying
away the Menorah, a seven-branched candlestick from Herod’s
Temple, after the destruction of Jerusalem in ad 70.
Gabriel appears and announces a 70- (prophetic) week or
490- (literal) year period of time for Israel to make a course
correction:
“Seventy weeks of years are decreed concerning your
people and your holy city, to finish the transgression,
to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to
bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision
and prophet, and to anoint the most holy place.”
(Daniel 9:24, RSV)
Gabriel continued, giving Daniel the starting date for this
time prophecy:
“Know therefore and understand, that from the
going forth of the command to restore and build
Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be
seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The street shall
be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome
times.” (Daniel 9:25, NKJV)
From archaeological discoveries of Aramaic papyri on
Elephantine Island, Egypt, we were able to calculate the
starting year of the prophecy (the decree given by Artaxerxes
I to restore and rebuild Jerusalem) was the year 457 bc.
The prophecy stated that Jerusalem would be rebuilt under
troublesome circumstances. The biblical record informs
us that Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem the Arabian tried
by ridicule, intimidation and threats to prevent Nehemiah
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
PHOTO: GARY WEBSTER
from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:19; 6:1).
Archaeologists found this same Sanballat’s name mentioned
in an Aramaic papyrus letter of 407 bc from the Jews of
Elephantine Island to Bigvai (Bagoas), the Persian governor
of Judah. The letter is a request for the rebuilding of a Jew-
ish temple on Elephantine, which had been destroyed by
Egyptian pagans.
Archaeological evidence for Geshem has also been dis-
covered. The Brooklyn Museum houses a silver bowl dated
to the fifth century bc (the time of Nehemiah), upon whose
rim is an inscription stating that Geshem was the King of the
Arabian tribe of Kedar. There is little doubt this Geshem was
one of Nehemiah’s opponents in the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
TIMES AND MORE TIME
From the starting date of 457 bc until the arrival of the
Messiah (or the Christ) would be a period of 69 weeks (7 plus
62) of years, or 483 years, which ended in ad 27, the year
Jesus of Nazareth was anointed (the Hebrew word Messiah
and the Greek word Christ both mean “anointed”) with the
Holy Spirit at His baptism. Jesus not only claimed to be the
Christ or Messiah, but to have arrived on time according to
this incredible prophecy of Daniel when after His baptism
he declared, “The time is fulfilled” (Mark 1:15; John 4:25, 26).
Daniel’s prophecy continued:
“After the sixty two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but
not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is
to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The
end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the
war desolations are determined.” (Daniel 9:26, NKJV)
 Sometime after the 69 weeks of years (verse 25 states that
the 62 weeks follows after the seven weeks) or 483 years,
two remarkable events would occur: first, Messiah would be
cut off or killed (not for Himself but for others) and, second,
the city of Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed a
second time.
First, the very year of the Messiah’s death was predicted:
“Then he [Messiah] shall confirm a covenant with
many for one week; but in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering . . . .”
(Daniel 9:27, NKJV)
Gabriel had already discussed 69 weeks of years of this
70 weeks-of-years prophecy, leaving just one week or seven
years left. The prophecy informs us that in the middle of that
last week or seven-year period, the Messiah would cause the
sacrifices and offerings to cease. So let’s return to the Jewish
temples and take a closer look at those sacrifices and offerings.
Day in and day out, and at the annual festivals mentioned
above, lambs were sacrificed for the sins of individuals and
the nation. The priests then took some of the blood of the
slain animal into the temple itself. You may recall from the
Easter story that at the very moment, the crucified Christ
died on Golgotha’s hill, back in the temple in Jerusalem, the
curtain, which separated worshippers from the most sacred
room in the temple where God’s presence was revealed, was
torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50, 51). There is some
considerable significance in this.
Discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls were almost two
complete scrolls of the prophet Isaiah. An amazing prophecy
made around 700 bc and found in Isaiah 53 informed the
reader that when the Messiah would come, He would take
the sins of all men on Himself and thus be killed like the
sacrificial lambs in the temple (Isaiah 53:5–8).
When the Christ died on Golgotha—the ultimate Sacrifice
to which all the previous ones pointed—there was no longer
need for animal temple sacrifices and offerings, which could
never take away humanity’s guilt (Hebrews 10:4). It is in
this sense that Messiah “took away temple sacrifices and
offerings.” They had only served to point human beings to
the real and greatest Sacrifice. Now that Messiah had taken
the sins of humankind on Himself and died in their place,
there were no barriers to God and thus the temple curtain
was torn, exposing the Holy of Holies. Hence, in the scores
of New Testament manuscripts that have been discovered,
Jesus Christ is called “the lamb of God that takes away the
sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Since, according to Daniel’s prophecy, the Messiah was
to arrive in ad 27 at the end of the 69th week-of-years, and
we saw that Jesus of Nazareth was anointed with the Holy
Spirit at His baptism in ad 27 (Luke 3:1, 21, 22), the middle
of the last week or seven-year period would be 31 ad. The
Gospel of John, in recording four Jewish Passovers during
the ministry of Jesus Christ (John 2:3; 5:1; 6:4; 12:1), provides
evidence that 3½ years did indeed elapse between His baptism
at the end of ad 27 and His crucifixion in 31 ad. While Daniel
predicted some 500 years before the event that the Messiah’s
death would occur in the year 31 ad, the psalmist David
prophesied some 1000 years before His death, that He would
die by crucifixion (Psalm 22:16). (For more information on
the history of crucifixion, see Mike Caba’s insightful article,
“Crucifixion: History and Practice,” page 15).
Just 40 years later, the final part of Daniel’s amazing
prophecy met its fulfilment:
“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be
cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the
prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and
till the end of the war desolations are determined.
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one
week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring
an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing
of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
even until the consummation, which is determined,
is poured out on the desolate.” (Daniel 9:26, 27)
This was fulfilled in ad 70 when the Roman army under
Titus destroyed both the city of Jerusalem and its temple,
or sanctuary. Just days before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ
also predicted this tragic event:
Now as He drew near, He saw the city [Jerusalem]
and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even
you, especially in this your day, the things that make
for your peace! But now they are hidden from your
eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies
will build an embankment around you, surround
you and close you in on every side, and level you,
and your children within you, to the ground; and
they will not leave in you one stone upon another,
because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
(Luke 19:41–44)
This incredible 70-week or 490- (literal) year prophecy not
only assures us that Jesus was and is the Messiah, but that He
can indeed do for all humanity what the Bible declares He
has done: forgive sin and change the lives of those who put
their trust in Him. Little wonder Sir Isaac Newton called this
prophecy “the foundation stone of the Christian religion.” u
Sources:
“Dome of the Rock,” in Encyclopædia Britannica Online
(Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014).
Mi’raj, The Night Ascension (Al Islam.org), retrieved 27 May, 2014.
“Dome of the Rock,” in Sacred Destinations (www.sacred-
destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-dome-of-the-rock), retrieved,
27 May 2014.
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary Dictionary, Vol. 8, 413,
978, 979, 1098–1102.
“Temple Mount”; “Dome of The Rock”; “Second Temple”
(Wikipedia), retrieved March 2014.
“Temple of Herod,” Jewish Encyclopaedia (jewishencyclopedia.
com/articles/14304-temple-of-herod), retrieved, 27 May, 2014
“Ivory pomegranate ‘not Solomon’s’ ” (news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
middle_east/4123595.stm), 24 December, 2004.
Siegfried H. Horn, “Elephantine Papyri and Daniel 8:14,” in
Ministry, August 1981.
MYSTERY OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT
UNDER
THE ICE
As the ice begins to thaw in the alpine regions of the world, Ice Archaeology
is showing a fertile future, as Maia Coghlan has discovered.

A
LTHOUGH THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ARE ALMOST
always presented as a negative, for the world of archaeology this is not
ABOVE: The east ridge of the Fineilspitze
proving to be the case. Rather, as millennia-old ice and glaciers recede in the Ötztal Alps on the Austrian–Italian
from its effect, it is delivering some intriguing surprises. From Neolithic border, where Oetzi’s body was found in
artefacts to a recently discovered Iron Age tunic, a lost hunter to a lost World War September 1991 by two walkers.
II aeroplane, the melting ice has opened something of a gold mine, with several
major discoveries in the past year alone. RIGHT: A replica of Iceman Oetzi at the
exhibition “20 Years of Oetzi” at the South
ITALY Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, in Bolzano.
The melting and retreat of snowfields and ice has allowed for the discovery
INSET RIGHT: Anton Koler and Markus
of multitudes of ancient archaeological artefacts and even long-dead people. Pirpamer undertaking their first attempt
Oetzi—the “Ice Man”—is a millennia-old man found in a thawing glacier in the to remove the ancient corpse from the
Italian Alps in 1991 was among the first. While not a recent find, his discovery has ice. The lack of necessary tools and the
allowed for unprecedented scientific research into his times that continues today. constant flow of meltwater, meant the
Often described as the world’s oldest murder mystery, Oetzi was found by hikers two men worked virtually under water,
with an arrow in his back. His incredible preservation extended to the blood he resulting in damage to the corpse’s left hip.
shed before dying and researchers discovered red blood cells around the wound.
 PHOTO: PAUL HANNY
SOUTH TYROL MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY—www.iceman.it

UNDER THE ICE
RECONSTRUCTION BY: KENNIS, SOUTH TYROL MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Scientists even determined what he ate for his last meal:
wild goat, deer and barley. His body also contained pollen
that he would have ingested from drinking stream water.
The team working on Oetzi’s body believe that the meth-
ods they developed in analysing his blood can be of use to
modern forensics, as it is difficult to determine the exact age
of a blood sample. This means that Oetzi isn’t just a cool
find for the historian, he also helped sharpen the research
tools of modern science.
In the Schnidejoch Pass, close to where Oetzi was discov-
ered, there’s been a plethora of archaeological finds made
thanks to the melting of the ice. The oldest from the site is
a fragmented bowl made from elm wood, dated to between
4500–4300 bc; a Bronze Age disc-headed pin measuring
23 cm in length, similar to pins found in the Rhone Valley,
and the only example of a pin of this kind found anywhere
except in the Rhone Valley.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
ABOVE: Oetzi, as he was discovered by German
hikers, only partly jutted out of the ice. At this
point nobody could have imagined that the dead
man and the objects around him were soon to
become a 20th century archaeological sensation.
LEFT: Oetzi’s grass-netting and deerskin shoes, the
oldest of their kind in the world.
NORWAY
Snow patch surveyors in the mountains of
PHOTO: PAUL HANNY | SOUTH TYROL MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY—WWW.ICEMAN.IT
Norway, have likewise made some intriguing
discoveries, unprecedented in number, age
and their quality of preservation. The newly
revealed artefacts, include Neolithic arrow
and bow fragments thought to be up to 6000 years old.
Martin Callanan of the Norwegian University of Science
and Technology has identified the bow and arrow finds as
strictly unique. A woollen tunic dating to approximately ad
300, and found on the Lendbreen Glacier in Norway, is one
of few examples of textiles from this period. It gives our first
insight into the warm clothing worn by early Scandinavian
hunters. Made from two different types of sheep’s wool, with
visible signs of wear that includes two repair patches, this
piece of material has provided us with an incredible glimpse
into these mysteries of these people.
IN CONCLUSION
The discovery of such never-before-seen artefacts is a
clear indication that our world is changing. Over the past
10 years, Norway’s melting snow has contributed more than
half of the entire collection of archaeological artefacts found
 over the past century.
More and more such ancient artefacts will be
discovered in various other cold-weather locations
as global warming bites; the challenge is to retrieve
them before they degrade due to exposure to air
and sunlight. Some items are discovered by hikers
and even more by local reindeer hunters who work closely with the
snow patch surveyors.
If our planet’s temperature wasn’t changing, then those Neolithic
weapons, that Iron Age shirt and even Oetzi would have gone undetected
forever. Such finds are incredibly valuable for historians, archaeologists
and scientists alike.
Ice archaeology is a relatively under-represented field of endeavour,
but one with a fertile future. u

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UNDER THE ICE

TOUR 1

FOOTSTEPS
24 August – 21 September
2014

Travel to Iran, Jordan, Israel

TOURS 2 014
and Turkey. Visit important
archaeological sites and walk
in the footsteps of emperors,
powerful women, prophets,
mighty armies, Paul and
Jesus. This 28-day hop-on,
hop-off tour allows you to join
us at any point, to tailor-make
it to fit your time and budget.
You can also link it to our
Great Museums and/or Lost
Civilisations tours, allowing
you the flexibility to visit
other places. Don’t miss this
opportunity of a lifetime.
Book now!
For more information
contact us at:
Locked Bag 1115, “Excellent! I thoroughly enjoyed the tour.”
Wahroonga, NSW 2076 —Brian McGill, Perth, WA
FREE-CALL

1800 240 543 “Wonderful, enjoyed it, with

FAX new experiences every day.”
(02) 9847 2200 —Heather Kluske, Murray Bridge, SA
EMAIL
editor@diggings.com.au

“Absolutely fantastic and
Iran was awesome. Very impressed.”
—Keith & Wendy Jeynes, Sunshine Coast, QLD
TOUR 2
GREAT MUSEUMS
21 – 28 September 2014
Visit the world’s greatest
archaeological museums: the
Pergamon, in Berlin, the Louvre in
Paris and the British Museum in
London. Also see the most famous
sites in these three great European
cities. This 7-day mini tour replaces
our dig for this year, allowing you to
see up close many of the world’s most
famous ancient artefacts from the
Middle East, Iran and Europe. You
can take this tour on its own, or add
it after Tour 1 or take it before you
commence Tour 3.
Don’t wait! Book now!
TOUR 3
LOST
CIVILISATIONS
28 September – 25 October 2014
Come on an unforgettable round-
the-world experience as we visit the
ancient civilisations of Egypt, Rome,
and Pompeii. Travel to Mexico and
Peru to see how the ancient Aztecs,
Maya and Incas lived. This inspiring
28-day hop-on, hop-off tour of
discovery allows you to join us at any
point to fit your time and budget. You
can link it to the Great Museums and/
or Footsteps tours.
Enquire and book now, as the tour
cut-off date is approaching.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
 The Secret
on the Ness BY KERRI HILLSDON
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADAM STANFORD

 << SCROLL SEE MORE IMAGES—TAP TO ENLARGE >>
In March 2014, the ongoing excavations at the Ness of Brodgar
in Scotland’s remote north, following a string of awards*
were nominated in the “Best Archaeology Category” of the
British Archaeological Awards. Although they didn’t win, the
nomination implies there is something of great significance
about this mysterious ruin, a ruin that until 12 years ago
no-one knew existed.
R
ISING WITHOUT GRANDEUR BETWEEN
two lochs on the largest island in the Orkneys
(Mainland), is a thin strip of land called the Ness of
Brodgar. There are no trees in sight and a constant,
blustery wind attempts to uproot the hardy grasses and
shrubs pinned to the rocky, undulating ground. The land
bridge is around 150 m (500 feet) at its widest, only a few
meters at its narrowest and a low hill stretches along its
nondescript length. Heavy skies often lay low upon this place,
creating a hemisphere above mountains that form a natural
amphitheatre around the two lakes, enclosing a landscape
that has barely changed in 5000 years.
The Orkneys are thick with prehistory sites and the most
well-known of these lie in The Heart of Orkney. The Neolithic
people have immortalised their presence with the enormous
Ring of Brodgar, the tops of which can just be seen to the
north-west, the Stones of Stenness visible to the south-west
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
and the Maes Howe barrow tomb across the water to the
south-east. The Ness of Brodgar links the three. For longer
than there is evidence, people have traversed this isthmus’
track way. For centuries, life moved over the Ness unimpeded.
Leaving Brodgar for a moment, we journey 800 km south
to one of the world’s most famous monuments: Stonehenge.
Henges are the churches of the time and this stone circle is the
grandest ‘cathedral’ of them all. It is the jewel in the Salisbury
Plain; an ancient environment that embodies the Neolithic
people’s ingenuity and religion. Because of Stonehenge and
the many other worn monuments that stretch across the
southern half of England, archaeologists have surmised that
Neolithic ritual culture developed in the south of Britain and
gradually moved northward, through Scotland and into the
far-flung northern isles. It was the safest bet.
In 1999, UNESCO granted The Heart of Orkney monu-
ments World Heritage Listing. The area protected ranged
from the Bookan graves in the north, the Barnhouse village
in the south and the Maes Howe barrow to the south east.
It incorporated large numbers of burial, settlement and
ceremonial sites, many of which remain unexcavated. The
famous Skara Brae, a 5000-year-old buried village to the
north-west, was also included but listed within its own
small area.
After the Listing was granted, geophysical surveys on the
ABOVE: Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark (centre), specialist in late
Skara Brae
upper palaeolithic to post medieval lithic industries of the British
Isles, lends a hand supervising the structure of the Ness of Brodgar.

monuments and surrounds were conducted in 2002, first by

GSB Prospection then ORCA Geophysics, which is a part of Loc

the University of the Highlands and Islands. A gradiometre, Ring of Brodgar

OR

ho

which measures magnetic resistance under the surface, was

fH
arr

used in a process called magnetometry. This device detects

ay

subtle changes in the earth, reading the unique magnetic NESS OF

KN

BRODGAR Maeshowe
fingerprints of each type of solid matter. From this, a composite Loch of tomb
map was compiled by a computer, allowing the surveyors Stenness
to have a visual of what lay beneath their feet. The Ness of Unstan Tomb Standing Stones
EY

Brodgar was scanned as a matter of course. of Stenness

The following year, in 2003, a large stone slab was ploughed

up near the south-west end of the Ness. Thinking the slab
might be a burial cist (pronounced ‘kist’), two archaeologists
were dispatched to preserve what may be rare human remains.
But curiously, it wasn’t a cist they found, it was part of a large
rectilinear building. A resistivity survey was then conducted
to examine the full extent of the section and combining the
results with the previous geophysical survey, the scientists
came to an astonishing interpretation.
Covering six acres of land, hidden for millennia
under a thin layer of peat, trodden on, driven on,
occasionally built on and essentially ignored for
all that time, were the remains of structures;
approximately one hundred of them.
The spaghetti-like mass of shapes that
emerged in the prints suggested ancient,
sophisticated buildings “indicative of

PHOTO: HUGO ANDERSON WHYMARK
ABOVE: Site director Nick Card, from the University of Highlands
and Islands, holding a very rare carved stone ball discovered in 2013.
settlement” that were encased by a thick wall and all on a
scale never seen before. Quickly, a 2004 excavation season
was commissioned.
Lead by archaeologist Nick Card, a team opened eight
exploratory trenches in the first season. It was soon confirmed
the unremarkable rounded ridge was entirely artificial
and finds near the surface indicated the structures could
tentatively be dated to the late Neolithic period, or around
2300 BC. Neolithic buildings of this
shape and size were unknown
prior to this and what
40
had been an inconsequential hillock on a little spit of land
had become the United Kingdom’s historical discovery of
the decade!
Since then, excavations at the Ness of Brodgar have occurred
each summer season and it’s been described by many who
have worked here as the archaeologist’s dream site. Its clean
walls, copious finds and limited later construction on the
hill’s surface means the remains are providing more informa-
tion about this period than any other excavation has before.
Only around 10-15% of the site has been cleared thus far and
already it’s overwhelmed even the most cynical historian.
For the first four years, speculation continued to rage
about its purpose. Nothing had been found like this in
Britain and internationally, the only relatable sites were two
in Malta. Although the Ness site was originally ventured
to be a settlement, what ancient settlement required outer
walls to be more than two metres thick? No one had ever
seen rectangular Neolithic houses with multiple, erratically-
sized entrances. The evidence didn’t fit with a settlement.
So, perhaps it was a temple? However, Neolithic-period
temples are so rare in Europe, this loaded term would only
be committed to with indisputable evidence. This mystery
was enticing and aroused the imagination of everyone who
laid eyes on the excavation.
Piece by piece, season by season, the earth was scraped back.
Constructed of skilfully stacked flat slate pieces, individual
buildings rose between pathways, odd hearths appeared in
doorways, the strange and enormous enclosure wall seemed to
force passage through the precinct and hundreds of artefacts
emerged, all dating to before the Bronze Age. Patterned and
even painted stones were uncovered, testifying in its heyday,
the structures would have been colourful and eye-catching.
The finds included both whale ivory and stone mace heads
(symbols of status), a small fired-clay figure now called ‘The
Brodgar Boy’, slabs of rock engraved with geometric patterns
and an ingeniously carved stone ball.
Most importantly, there was a telling lack of domestic
flints, pottery and household waste which usually accom-
panied settlement. There was no other explanation, it had
to be ceremonial.
Archaeologists can now conclude that on the Ness of
Brodgar is one of the rarest of rare Neolithic temple complexes.
And, just as amazing, is that while the Salisbury Plain henges
and ceremonial pathways bear a striking resemblance to
these monuments, they are several centuries younger. The
discovery of the Ness complex, its purpose and
significance had literally turned British
prehistory on its head.
Evidence suggests the temple
had functioned for a thou-
sand years. It had endured
multiple rebuilds by the
local farming communities
who dedicated their sacred
space to the seasons and
landscape from which they
LEFT: Pot fragments discovered at
the Ness of Brodgar.
 << SCROLL SEE MORE IMAGES—TAP TO ENLARGE >>
were entirely governed. They worshipped pagan gods and
ancestors by performing cleansing and passage ceremonies
and most likely progressed from building to building as part
of this ritual, leaving hundreds of sacred objects behind for
their deities.
Then, approximately 600 years after the complex was
first built, the massive Ring of Brodgar was constructed to
the north and the temple’s internal buildings were replaced
with a single, large structure (25 x 25 metres/82 x 82 feet).
Archaeologists have conjectured that for the next three
centuries, the single building and Ring to the north became
the final destination on a sacred pilgrimage from life to death.
Finally, the Ness of Brodgar temple, already ancient by its
own standards, went out of use in around 2300 BC. Evidence
points to the locals heralding the end of the temple’s era with
a momentous party that could have lasted days and hosted
masses of people. This is known because just beside the en-
closure wall was a pile of bones of approximately six-hundred
cattle, all carbon dated to the same time of approximately
2300 BC. Six-hundred cattle can feed ten-thousand people
and cut and burn marks indicate they feasted well.
After the cattle slaughter, no further evidence remains to
support further use and either by the natural progression
of time, or even by the partiers themselves, the walls were
pulled down and the foundations buried. A new era of
technology had begun - the Bronze Age - forever changing
religious practices and beliefs and the old temple was sent
extravagantly back into the earth where it lay in secret for
4000 years until a geophysicist and his modern machine
stumbled across it.
The temple on the Ness of Brodgar remains the most
evocative of ancient sites discovered in Britain. Eight-five
percent of this site still remains within the earth and many
expect this once commonplace hill to surprise for many
years to come. u
* Awards include: Winner, Current Archaeology
Research Project of the Year, 2011; Winner,
Andante Travel Archaeology Award, 2012.
NOTE: This has been only a brief overview of the
discovery of this incredible site. For the full story,
visit www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/nessofbrodgar/
Unless otherwise noted, all photographs are
by Adam Stanford. To see more of Adam’s
work, visit www.aerial-cam.co.uk or

visit the Aerial-Cam Facebook page
www.facebook.com/AerialCam
THE SECRET ON THE NESS
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
The
ROSETTA
STONE
Important Now,
Important Then
It not only recorded history, it unlocked history. Without the Rosetta Stone, the
mystery of Egypt might have remained just that. Daryn Graham explains.

T
HE IMPORTANCE OF THE FAMOUS ROSETTA
Stone to Egyptology and the study of the ancient
world cannot be overestimated. This iconic arte-
fact, discovered in 1799, bearing inscriptions in
Greek, Demotic (the languish of ordinary Egyptians) and
hieroglyphic languages, was the key to deciphering and
translating the baffling Egyptian hieroglyphs that decorate
tombs and temples.
The Rosetta Stone, a granodiorite commemorative
stone measuring 114.4 cm high, 72.3 cm wide and 27.93 cm
thick, weighs some 760 kg (1676 lb.) and was discovered
by Pierre-François Bouchard, a French soldier, during
Napoleon Bonaparte’s Egyptian expedition in 1799.
Recognising implicit value of its trilingual inscription
to the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics, the
discovery sparked immediate excitement; it was most
likely the means of understanding Egypt’s ancient past.
Lithographic and plaster cast copies were made and
began to circulate, many of which found their way to
the museums of France.
Back in Egypt, things were going from bad to worse
for the French. Nelson and the British Navy had already
sunk the French fleet and armed insurrections against
the French erupted throughout Egypt. In 1801, Napoleon
was forced to quit the country altogether and the Rosetta
Stone fell into the hands of the British army, who shipped
it to London.
However, it wasn’t until 1824 that the hieroglyphics
on the Stone were finally deciphered and published. The
breakthrough came in Paris by Jean-François Champollion,
a language expert and a professor of history at Grenoble
University. It took him two years, but by comparing the three
sets of writing on the stone faces, Champollion decoded the
mysterious Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was the breakthrough
that provided the key to unlocking the door to the history
and mystery of ancient Egypt.
But, was the Rosetta Stone’s place in the history of ancient
Egypt itself? What was its context?
RECORD OF HISTORY
In fact, what the Rosetta stone revealed about life in Egypt
under the country’s Ptolemy rulers is almost as fascinating
as its more contemporary narrative.
The Rosetta Stone comes from a time in Ptolemaic Egypt’s
history in which the Ptolemaic regime (323 bc to 31 bc) went
into decline, eventually to be overthrown by the Romans.
The conquests of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great
changed the political landscape of both ancient Greece and
the wider Near East on a massive scale. No longer would
the city-state rule. The autocratic successors to Alexander
would control vast stretches of territory through centralised
bureaucracies linking the cities as never before. Those cities
would henceforth become thriving cosmopolitan hubs of
long-distance commerce and cultural exchange.
The greatest of all of such cities was Alexandria in
northern Egypt. Founded by Alexander himself on an
earlier settlement, from the outset it was perfectly designed
and located to be a great city as the capital of Alexander’s

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Egypt. With its deep harbours and its situation between
Lake Mareotis in the Nile delta and the Mediterranean Sea
the metropolis was a link between Africa, Asia and Europe.
Little wonder, when building began there, that Alexander’s
soothsayer, Aristander, predicted that the city would “abound
in resources and would sustain men of every nation.”
When Alexander died in 323 bc, his four generals carved
up his conquests, which stretched from Greece to India.
Ptolemy I, the son of Lagus, took control of Egypt, establishing
a dynasty there known as the Ptolemies. From the beginning,
Ptolemy wanted to make his kingdom the world’s finest, with
Alexandria as its capital. It was there that learning and the
arts would find a home; its library, containing some 490,000
volumes, was the largest in the ancient world. There too, a
museum and university were founded and the Hebrew Bible
was translated into Greek (the Septuagint). A nearby island,
Pharos, would in time be linked to the mainland and on it
the greatest of all the ancient lighthouses, the Pharos light,
which would guide merchant and naval vessels into the city’s
two great harbours.
Ptolemy (and his Ptolemaic successors) didn’t interfere
with the way of life of common Egyptians, despite declaring
himself to be the Pharaoh (albeit a Macedonian one). But as
Pharaoh, Ptolemy I was directly responsible for the sustenance
of his Egyptian subjects, so he made certain that farming
along the Nile was carried out efficiently and effectively in
order to keep them fed.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
PHOTO: BAUTSCH
ABOVE: A giant copy of the Rosetta Stone greats visitors to
the Place des Écritures at Figeac, France. This monument by
Joseph Kosuth pays homage to the birthplace of Jean-François
Champollion, who published the first translation of the Rosetta
Stone hieroglyphs in 1822.
However, despite this somewhat idyllic picture, the reality
was quite different. Papyri written by ordinary Egyptians reveal
that most of the Nile’s grain and other products, were never
to be used by the Egyptians themselves but was directed to
Alexandria for export around the Mediterranean. From the
profits, the Ptolemaic regime enriched itself, using much of
the income to maintain an exclusively Greco-Macedonian
army of mercenaries who kept control of the country. The
Egyptians themselves were barred from this army, so they
would never get a taste of power or the means to throw off
their Ptolemaic overlords. And with the system in place
and functioning, it would have seemed to the first of the
Ptolemies that their dynasty was unassailable.
In less than a century, Ptolemy IV Philopater would
become king. He was a weak ruler and his court lacked unity
and direction. With the king preferring self-indulgence to
fixing his crumbling society, the economy and his army of
mercenaries, his power began to decline.
Meanwhile, to the north, a second empire spawned by
Alexander, the Seleucids with Antiochus III at its head,
mobilised, looking to expand the realm from its centre in
 RIGHT: Relief of Ptolemy I portrayed as the Greek wine-god,
Dionysus (ca. 367–283 BC). Ptolemy I was the founder of the
Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. This relief probably decorated the
curved armrest of a bed or other piece of furniture. The Ptolemaic
often chose to portray themselves to their Greek subjects in the
guise of figures from Greek mythology.

Antioch in Syria. In 217 bc, Antiochus marched on Palestine,

an area ruled by the Ptolemies, with his well-trained army of
some 60,000 men. Ptolemy was roused from his carousing.
Since his own army numbered only 30,000 soldiers, the king
dispensed with custom and enlisted another 20,000 native
Egyptians to meet the Seleucid king. With his enlarged army
prepared, Ptolemy marched north and met Antiochus at
Raphia, near today’s Gaza in Palestine. In the battle that
ensued, Ptolemy’s army, incredibly, emerged victorious,
thanks largely to the ability of his generals and the
bravery and training of the native Egyptian contingent.
The battle of Raphia proved to be pivotal in the
Egyptian history about to be made. For as the Greek
historian Polybius expressed it, “they [the Egyptians]
were elated by the success at Raphia and could no longer
endure to take orders, but looked out for a figure to
lead them, as they believed they were now able to fend
for themselves” (History, 5. 107. 1–3).

PHOTO: WALTERS ART MUSEUM

Also, native Egyptian discontent had been brewing
for some time. The Rainer Papyrus records how that for
some years, the Egyptians had hated the city of Alexandria;
they felt it to be a foreign city imposing its harsh will upon
them and they looked forward to a day when their Egyptian
gods would will that its fame as a “sustainer of men from
every nation” be made a thing of the past. But until Raphia,
the subservient Egyptians had not the means to capitalise
on their suppressed sentiment and rid themselves of the
Macedonian king and capital.
Now that thousands of Egyptians had been armed and
trained to fight, their grievances could be solved through
the powerful voice of civil war. This, together with the
drying up of the Ptolemies’ foreign trade markets, which
had caused a sharp rise in taxation and inflation, created a
critical mass and the Egyptian resentment exploded in an
open rebellion. First, it was a guerrilla insurgency, but then
turned into all-out warfare led by Egyptian priests. It was
successful, such that the entire Upper Egypt area gained
independence, once more ruled by a native Pharaoh.
BEGINNING OF THE END
The loss of the strategic and productive Upper Egypt region
further weakened the Ptolemies’ power, with revenues and
resources drying up. This meant that even fewer mercenaries
could be employed. Taxes and inflation rocketed. But that
only firmed the resolve of the Egyptians to rule themselves.
When in 204 bc Ptolemy IV died, his successor to the throne,
Ptolemy V, was still a boy. Family and courtiers, who were
interested only in themselves, dominated his early rule and
not the plight of their adopted country. Eventually the regime
was forced to surrender Palestine to Antiochus III, when he
again appeared there at the head of a large army.
But as Ptolemy V grew older, he learned how to rule
effectively, and
also how to restore
peace to the country. The key, as he saw it, was to repair
relations with the highly influential Egyptian priesthood,
who held sway over the minds and hearts of all Egyptians.
The priesthood, too, saw advantages in reconciling with
the king. With Antiochus on the horizon with his army,
the priests decided on the devil they knew and in 196 bc
Ptolemy V and the Egyptian priesthood compromised and a
reconciliation was achieved: the Ptolemies would continue
to rule, but only on behalf of their native Egyptian subjects;
taxes would be reduced and debts to the crown forgiven; the
Egyptian priesthood would be given access to funds to use
at its discretion, thus replenishing the temple coffers; and
produce from the Nile farming was given them, alleviating
the hunger of the priests, who were given greater autonomy.
And so, it came about that in order to celebrate this event,
that on the 27th March 196 bc, commemorative inscriptions
were set up in every Egyptian temple, each written in Greek,
Demotic and hieroglyphs. And it is one of these that is the
Rosetta Stone as we have it today, containing the declaration
of the reforms.
The Rosetta Stone records how Ptolemy V, who it describes
as “the young one, who has received royalty from his father,
the lord of crowns, whose glory is great, who established
Egypt and is pious towards the gods” (lines 1, 2), provided
“many benefits to the temples” and to all “those who dwell

THE ROSETTA STONE: IMPORTANT NOW, IMPORTANT THEN


ABOVE: A Greek, Hellenistic period silver Tetradrachm displaying
the bust of Ptolemy V, minted between 204–180 BC.
in them and all the subjects in his kingdom” (lines 9, 10).
Those benefits included the restoration and decoration of
numerous temples across Egypt, as well as the upholding
of “the privileges of the temples and of Egypt in accordance
with the laws” (line 33). In return for all this, Ptolemy was
awarded great honours by the Egyptian Priesthood. As
the Rosetta Stone records, “the priests of all the temples
throughout the land have resolved to increase greatly the
[honours] existing [in the temples] for King Ptolemy the
everlasting, beloved of Ptah, God Manifest and Beneficent”
(lines 36–38). Among those honours were that statues of
Ptolemy V be set up in every Egyptian temple alongside
these commemorative inscriptions, (line 54) and that those
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statues be worshipped three times a day by temple priests
as possessing the same status as any Egyptian god (lines 39,
40). Ptolemy’s birthday and accession day were also to be
celebrated as festivals (lines 46–48).
MORE THAN A MONUMENT
In a way, then, the Rosetta Stone is also a monument
to cooperation between ruler and subject. But it is
also a pointer to lost opportunity. To many Egyptians,
Ptolemy’s overtures were too little and too late. The
nationalist movement remained and Ptolemaic power
continued to decline due to its arrogance, inciting
further unrest that would continue until the Romans
arrived. Such arrogance is testified in the fact the first
Ptolemaic ruler to learn to speak Egyptian was Cleopatra
VII, who was the very last of the Ptolemaic rulers. The
Ptolemies were completely out of touch with concerns and
plight of ordinary Egyptians.
The importance of the Rosetta Stone itself to ancient Egypt
is in what it said, which was considerable. And for the histo-
rian, it gives a context against which the Ptolemaic dynasty
could be judged: while Ptolemy V was able to compromise,
his successors, with the possible exception of Cleopatra VII,
were neither willing nor able to seek that common ground
that might have united the country and preserved them as its
rulers. Consequently, the regime continued to decline until
it fell to the Romans in 31 bc, when Octavian, the nephew
and heir of Julius Caesar, defeated Cleopatra at the battle
of Actium. Octavian would go on to become Rome’s first
PHOTO: THEODORA WILBOUR FUND
emperor, more commonly known to us as Caesar Augustus,
and he would keep Egypt in his own power for his own special
use. Such was its strategic importance to him and to Rome.
The Stone in it time was a key to civil rule and life, and in
our time a key to unlocking that life and history. It stands
today behind glass in the British Museum, a solid testament
to history. u
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
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 New Testament Archaeology
NUMBER 52

The James,
brother of Christ,
controversy By Daniel Herman

M
OST OF MY REPORTS
on the archaeology of the
New Testament deal with
historical and archaeological
sites, such as my most recent report present-
ing the ancient metropolis of Caesarea. But
occasionally the report focuses on a specific
artefact, as in this case.
The New Testament of the Bible on several
occasions mentions the apostle James as one
of the brothers of Jesus (see Matthew 13:55;
Mark 6:3; Acts 12:17; Galatians 1:19) and who
appears as a leading figure among the first
Christians in Jerusalem (see Acts 12:17; 15:13;
PHOTO: PARADISO

Galatians 2:9). Although the New Testament Jesus of brother Joseph son of Jacob (James)
doesn’t state so, Christian tradition places this
James as the first bishop of Jerusalem. His final ABOVE: The ossuary believed by some to be that of Jesus’ brother James.
demise and cause of death is not included in INSET: The translation of the inscription, read right to left.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014

 the New Testament narrative.
However, Jewish historian Flavius Josephus
does record a James who was stoned to death
by Jewish authorities after being accused
of heresy in ad 62 (Ant. 20:9). Although
this is possibly James the brother of Jesus,
some historians suggest it could well refer
to a different person by the same name.
If indeed James was stoned to death and
then buried by his family or followers, what
are the chances of finding a bone box—an
ossuary—bearing his name and, possibly,
his family tie to Jesus of Nazareth? The
possibility seems so remote that no one
has ever even suggested this as an option.
But that is exactly what happened about a
decade ago.
In 2002, a popular archaeological peri-
odical, the Biblical Archaeological Review,
published the existence of a bone box
typical of Jewish burial customs of 2000
years ago, one bearing the name of the
deceased chiselled on its side, one “James,
Son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.”
All three names mentioned were common
in their time, but of the hundreds of small
inscribed stone coffins found in Judaea
from Classical periods, only one included
the name of the deceased’s brother. And
in this case, the names on this bone box
were all figures well known from the New
Testament—James; his father, Joseph; and
PHOTO: DANNY HERMAN
NEW TESTAMENT ARCHAEOLOGY—THE JAMES, BROTHER OF CHRIST, CONTROVERSY
his brother, Jesus. One can only guess at the
probability of two groups of three persons
in the same relationship being present in
those times.
Mentioning a brother was not common
among burial inscriptions; if a relative is
mentioned at all, it is usually the father alone.
And why did this James care to mention
his brother? Perhaps only because he was
the famous Galilean executed by Pilatus.
If indeed this is so, then this ossuary is
the single most important directly Christian
archaeological discovery ever made. The
possibility that the actual bone box of
one of the close family members of the
Jesus of Nazareth, founder of New Testa-
ment Christianity, has been uncovered is
mind-boggling.
But is it indeed so? Is this really the bone
box of Christ’s brother?
There is a problem with the “discovery,”
the main one being that the bone box wasn’t
actually “found” in a proper excavation at
all, but rather “surfaced” in the antiquities
market where it was said to have been the
property of an “anonymous” collector.
Which brings its provenance, and thus its
legitimacy, into question.
Within a year, the identity of the owner was
revealed by the Israeli magazine Haaretz as
one Oded Golan, an engineer who collected
antiquities. He claimed to have owned the
RIGHT: Daniel Herman with Oded Golan,
in a 2003 interview.
bone box for years, but only in 2002 had he
realised the huge significance of the item
in his possession.
The Israel Antiquities Authority then
launched a special commission to investigate
the artefact and a year later, stated that while
the bone box itself was from antiquity, the
inscription (or parts of it, at least) that it
bore were of more contemporary origins.
In fact, Oded Golan was then accused of
forging several antiquities in conspiracy with
others, among them prominent antiquities
dealer, Robert Deutsch, and brought to
trial on related charges. The trial ended
in 2013 with the acquittal of both Golan
and Deutsch.
So if Oded was cleared of the charges,
does that mean that the inscription on the
ossuary is genuine?
I’ve been following the case for years,
and even interviewed Oded at the time for
DIGGINGS. I’ve read countless opinions in
favour of the authenticity of the inscription,
as well as many others refuting it. My only
conclusion is that perhaps, in the future,
better methods of analysis will determine if
the inscription is genuine. In the meantime,
I’m sure, the controversy will continue to
simmer. u
 PART 2—ATHENS

T he
Innocents
Abroad by Mark Twain

Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad chronicles the author’s

(Samuel Langhorne Clemens) “Grand Tour” excursion from
the US to Europe and the Levant. It was originally written as a series
of dispatches for a newspaper, which were collected into book form
and published in 1869. It is a humorous and satirical look at tourists
of the day, with many of his travelling companions taking the trip as
something of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. And for those who’ve ever
done so themselves, his descriptions will sound familiar.
Travelling aboard the steamer USS Quaker City, the travellers cross the Atlantic to North Africa, take a train
from Marseilles to Paris, then head south to Italy, where they rendezvous with the Quaker before heading to
Greece, Turkey, the Holy Land and, finally, Egypt. In this issue, the second of a series, the tourists arrive at
Piraeus, the port of Athens, Greece, eager to ascend the heights to the Acropolis.

W
E ARRIVED, AND ENTERED THE ANCIENT
harbor of the Piraeus at last. We dropped
anchor within half a mile of the village. Away
off, across the undulating Plain of Attica, could
be seen a little square-topped hill with a something on it,
which our glasses soon discovered to be the ruined edifices
of the citadel of the Athenians, and most prominent among
them loomed the venerable Parthenon. . . .
In the valley, near the Acropolis, (the square-topped hill
before spoken of,) Athens itself could be vaguely made out
with an ordinary lorgnette. Every body was anxious to get
ashore and visit these classic localities as quickly as possible.
No land we had yet seen had aroused such universal interest
among the passengers.
But bad news came. The commandant of the Piraeus
came in his boat, and said we must either depart or else
get outside the harbor and remain imprisoned in our ship,
under rigid quarantine, for eleven days! So we took up
the anchor and moved outside, to lie a dozen hours or so,
taking in supplies. . . .
All hands were on deck, all the afternoon, with books
and maps and glasses, trying to determine which “narrow
rocky ridge” was the Areopagus, which sloping hill the
all the trouble, we could be certain of only one thing—the
square-topped hill was the Acropolis, and the grand ruin
that crowned it was the Parthenon, whose picture we knew
in infancy in the school books.
We inquired of every body who came near the ship,
whether there were guards in the Piraeus, whether they
were strict, what the chances were of capture should any
of us slip ashore, and in case any of us made the venture
and were caught, what would be probably done to us? The
answers were discouraging: There was a strong guard or
police force; the Piraeus was a small town, and any stranger
seen in it would surely attract attention—capture would
be certain. . . .
At eleven o’clock at night, when most of the ship’s
company were abed, four of us stole softly ashore in a small
boat, a clouded moon favoring the enterprise, and started
two and two, and far apart, over a low hill, intending to
go clear around the Piraeus, out of the range of its police.
Picking our way so stealthily over that rocky, nettle-grown
eminence, made me feel a good deal as if I were on my way
somewhere to steal something. . . .
Shortly we came upon an ancient stone aqueduct, built
upon arches, and from that time forth we had ruins all
PHOTO: DREAMSTIME.COM

Pnyx, which elevation the Museum Hill, and so on. And
we got things confused. Discussion became heated, and
party spirit ran high. Church members were gazing with
emotion upon a hill which they said was the one St. Paul
preached from, and another faction claimed that that hill
was Hymettus, and another that it was Pentelicon! After
about us—we were approaching our journey’s end. We
could not see the Acropolis now or the high hill, either, and
I wanted to follow the road till we were abreast of them, but
the others overruled me, and we toiled laboriously up the
stony hill immediately in our front—and from its summit
saw another—climbed it and saw another! It was an hour of

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014

 ABOVE: The square-topped hill of the Acropolis, with the
grand ruin of the Parthenon.

RIGHT: The famous “Porch of the Maidens,” with six draped

female figures (caryatids) supporting the columns of the
temple of Erechtheion, dedicated to both Athena and
Poseidon. Twain’s Greek guide incorrectly referred to this
building as the Temple of Hercules.

exhausting work. . . . We hurried across the ravine and

up a winding road, and stood on the old Acropolis,
with the prodigious walls of the citadel towering
above our heads. We did not stop to inspect their
massive blocks of marble, or measure their height,
or guess at their extraordinary thickness, but passed
at once through a great arched passage like a railway
tunnel, and went straight to the gate that leads to
the ancient temples. It was locked! . . .

We crossed a large court, entered a great door,
and stood upon a pavement of purest white marble,
deeply worn by footprints. Before us, in the flood-
ing moonlight, rose the noblest ruins we had ever
PHOTOS: GARY WEBSTER | MASTERFILE.COM

looked upon—the Propylae; a small Temple of

Minerva; the Temple of Hercules, and the grand
Parthenon. [We got these names from the Greek
guide, who didn’t seem to know more than seven
men ought to know.] These edifices were all built
of the whitest Pentelic marble, but have a pinkish
stain upon them now. Where any part is broken,
however, the fracture looks like fine loaf sugar. Six
caryatides, or marble women, clad in flowing robes,
support the portico of the Temple of Hercules,
but the porticos and colonnades of the other

THE INNOCENTS ABROAD— BY MARK TWAIN

 << SCROLL SEE MORE IMAGES—TAP TO ENLARGE >>
structures are formed of massive Doric and Ionic pillars,
whose flutings and capitals are still measurably perfect,
notwithstanding the centuries that have gone over them
and the sieges they have suffered. The Parthenon, originally,
was two hundred and twenty-six feet long, one hundred
wide, and seventy high, and had two rows of great columns,
eight in each, at either end, and single rows of seventeen
each down the sides, and was one of the most graceful and
beautiful edifices ever erected.
Most of the Parthenon’s imposing columns are still standing,
but the roof is gone. It was a perfect building two hundred
and fifty years ago, when a shell dropped into the Venetian
magazine stored here, and the explosion which followed
wrecked and unroofed it. I remember but little about the
Parthenon, and I have put in one or two facts and figures
for the use of other people with short memories. Got them
from the guide-book.
As we wandered thoughtfully down the marble-paved
length of this stately temple, the scene about us was strangely
impressive. Here and there, in lavish profusion, were gleaming
white statues of men and women, propped against blocks
of marble, some of them armless, some without legs, oth-
ers headless—but all looking mournful in the moonlight,
and startlingly human! They rose up and confronted the
midnight intruder on every side—they stared at him with
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
stony eyes from unlooked-for nooks and recesses; they
peered at him over fragmentary heaps far down the desolate
corridors; they barred his way in the midst of the broad
forum, and solemnly pointed with handless arms the way
from the sacred fane; and through the roofless temple the
moon looked down, and banded the floor and darkened the
scattered fragments and broken statues with the slanting
shadows of the columns.
What a world of ruined sculpture was about us! Set up
in rows—stacked up in piles—scattered broadcast over the
wide area of the Acropolis—were hundreds of crippled
statues of all sizes and of the most exquisite workmanship;
and vast fragments of marble that once belonged to the
entablatures, covered with bas-reliefs representing battles
and sieges, ships of war with three and four tiers of oars,
pageants and processions—every thing one could think of.
History says that the temples of the Acropolis were filled
with the noblest works of Praxiteles and Phidias, and of
many a great master in sculpture besides—and surely these
PHOTOS: GARY WEBSTER
elegant fragments attest it.


We walked out into the grass-grown, fragment-strewn
court beyond the Parthenon. It startled us, every now and
then, to see a stony white face stare suddenly up at us out
of the grass with its dead eyes. The place seemed alive
with ghosts. I half expected to see the Athenian heroes of
 twenty centuries ago glide out of the shadows and steal
into the old temple they knew so well and regarded with
such boundless pride.
The full moon was riding high in the cloudless heavens,
now. We sauntered carelessly and unthinkingly to the edge
of the lofty battlements of the citadel, and looked down—
PHOTOS: ARIY ZIMIN—DREADMTIME.COM | MASTERFILE.COM | TODD BOLEN,—BIBLEPLACES.COM
ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Some of the broken statues that
Twain would have seen scattered over the Acropolis, these ones
are part of the Theatre of Dionysus; the Temple of Hephaestus,
known in Twain’s time as the Temple of Theseus due to the
assumption it housed the remains of the Athenian hero Theseus.
Today, inscriptions from within the temple have associated it

a vision! And such a vision! Athens by moonlight! The firmly with Hephaestus; the rock–cut platform, the bema, where
prophet that thought the splendors of the New Jerusalem the fourth century BC statesman Demosthenes thundered his
were revealed to him, surely saw this instead! It lay in the philippics and fired the wavering patriotism of his countrymen.
level plain right under our feet—all spread abroad like a
picture—and we looked down upon
it as we might have looked from a
balloon. We saw no semblance of a
street, but every house, every window,
every clinging vine, every projection
was as distinct and sharply marked
as if the time were noon-day; and yet
there was no glare, no glitter, nothing
harsh or repulsive—the noiseless city
was flooded with the mellowest light
that ever streamed from the moon,
and seemed like some living creature
wrapped in peaceful slumber. On its
further side was a little temple, whose
delicate pillars and ornate front glowed
with a rich lustre that chained the eye
like a spell; and nearer by, the palace
of the king reared its creamy walls
out of the midst of a great garden of
shrubbery that was flecked all over

THE INNOCENTS ABROAD— BY MARK TWAIN

with a random shower of amber lights—a spray of golden
sparks that lost their brightness in the glory of the moon,
and glinted softly upon the sea of dark foliage like the pal-
lid stars of the milky-way. Overhead the stately columns,
majestic still in their ruin—under foot the dreaming city—in
the distance the silver sea—not on the broad earth is there
an other picture half so beautiful!
As we turned and moved again through the temple, I
wished that the illustrious men who had sat in it in the
remote ages could visit it again and reveal themselves to
our curious eyes—Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Socrates,
Phocion, Pythagoras, Euclid, Pindar, Xenophon, Herodotus,
Praxiteles and Phidias, Zeuxis the painter. What a constel-
lation of celebrated names! But more than all, I wished
that old Diogenes, groping so patiently with his lantern,
searching so zealously for one solitary honest man in all
the world, might meander along and stumble on our party.
I ought not to say it, may be, but still I suppose he would
have put out his light.

 THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly
We left the Parthenon to keep its watch over old Athens,
as it had kept it for twenty-three hundred years, and went
and stood outside the walls of the citadel. In the distance was
the ancient, but still almost perfect Temple of Theseus, and
close by, looking to the west, was the Bema, from whence
Demosthenes thundered his philippics and fired the wavering
patriotism of his countrymen. To the right was Mars Hill,
where the Areopagus sat in ancient times and where St.
Paul defined his position, and below was the market-place
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
where he “disputed daily” with the gossip-loving Athenians.
We climbed the stone steps St. Paul ascended, and stood
in the square-cut place he stood in, and tried to recollect
the Bible account of the matter—but for certain reasons, I
could not recall the words. I have found them since:
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit
was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given
up to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue
with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in
the market daily with them that met with him. . . .
“And they took him and brought him unto Areopagus,
saying, ‘May we know what this new doctrine whereof
thou speakest is?’ . . .
“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars hill, and said,
‘Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are
too superstitious; For as I passed by and beheld your
devotions, I found an altar with this inscription: To
worship, him declare I unto you.’—Acts, ch. xvii.
It occurred to us, after a while, that if we wanted to get
home before daylight betrayed us, we had better be moving.
So we hurried away. When far on our road, we had a part-
ing view of the Parthenon, with the moonlight streaming
through its open colonnades and touching its capitals with
silver. As it looked then, solemn, grand, and beautiful it will
always remain in our memories. u
 7
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS AND INTERESTING FACTS

Lesser-known
Temples of Egypt
Temples abound across Egypt and, as any tourist will tell you, you quickly become overwhelmed
by the number you visit and the mass of tourists that accompany you. Here, however, are
seven lesser-known temple sites off the beaten track, where you can appreciate the beautiful
architecture without the crowds, submersing yourself in the mystical past of the country.

Mediterranean Sea

Cairo

1 7

SA B
A
6

RA
U IA
D
NI

I
LE

Re
dSe
a

EGYPT
5
4 Aswan

S U DA N
Touch this icon to discover the
lesser known temples of Egypt
3 Aswan
Dam
2
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EL-RASOUL. MAP IMAGE: MOUNTAIN HIGH MAPS.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS AND INTERESTING FACTS—7

 T he
Archaeologist
Sir Flinders Petrie
father of modern archaeology

S
IR WILLIAM MATTHEW FLINDERS PETRIE,
an English Egyptologist, was popularly awarded
the title of “father of modern archaeology” with
good reason.
He was born in Kent, England, in 1853 to William Petrie
and his wife, Anne, the daughter of Captain Matthew
Flinders, surveyor of the Australian coastline. Undoubtedly
young Flinders received his love for archaeology from his
mother who was not only an Egyptologist, but also spoke
six languages. His father, William, was a gifted electrical
engineer who developed carbon arc lighting.
The Petrie household was Christian and Flinders was
educated at home, having no formal education. Taught by
his father how to survey accurately, a foundation was laid
for his archaeological career. At only eight years of age,
he was tutored in French, Latin and Greek. Amazingly,
even at that young age, upon hearing rough shovelling out
of the contents of an ancient Roman villa, he protested,
saying that the earth should be pared away, inch by inch,
to see all that was in it and how it lay.

PHOTOS OF PETRIE: COURTESY OF UCL, PETRIE MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY

Reflecting back on this experience in his late seventies,
he wrote, “All that I have done since was there to begin
with, so true it is that we can only develop what is born
in the mind. I was already in archaeology by nature.”
Petrie married Hilda Urlin in November 1896, and with
her had two children, John and Anne. Petrie taught himself
trigonometry and geometry at a young age, eventually becom-
ing a practical surveyor in the south of England. During this
time, he studied Stonehenge and was able to determine the
unit of measurement used in its construction. From this, at
age 24 in 1880, he published his first book, Stonehenge: Plans,
Description and Theories, a book that became the basis for
future discoveries at that site.
The same year he began his more than 40 years of archaeo-
logical exploration in the Middle East, when he travelled
to Egypt to make an accurate survey of the Giza pyramid
plateau. There, he became the first to properly investigate
how they were constructed. His published report of this
triangulation survey, with its analysis of the architecture
of Giza therein, was exemplary in its methodology and ac-
curacy and still provides much of the basic data regarding
ABOVE: Portrait of the Egyptologist and archaeologist William
Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942), dated 23 October, 1903.
the pyramid plateau to this day.
Upon his return to England at the end of 1880, Petrie
wrote a number of articles on his exploits. He also met
journalist Amelia Edwards, an Egyptologist and patron of
the Egypt Exploration Fund. She became a strong supporter,
using her substantial influence to have him invited into the
newly appointed professorship of Egyptology at University
College, London, in 1892. Petrie accepted and served in that
position until 1933.
As a result of his new position, in November 1884, Petrie
returned to Egypt to begin excavations. He first went to a
New Kingdom site at Tanis, where using his more careful and
methodical methods, made several small but significant finds
which under the old system would likely have been missed.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014

 ABOVE: At Sehel Island near Aswan, Petrie climbed the
cliff face to photograph thousands of early Egyptian
inscriptions. On the summit stands the Island’s most
famous rock inscription, the Famine Stele, which speaks
of a seven-year period of drought and famine during the
reign of the 3rd Dynasty pharaoh, Djoser.

RIGHT: Petrie taking a photograph while working

at Abydos, in 1899. Petrie was among the first
archaeologists to use photography to record
excavations and finds, pioneering archaeological
photography in Egypt.

Petrie was tireless. In 1887, while waiting for

more funds to continue his excavations at Tanis,
he cruised the Nile photographing its important
sites. At Sehel Island near Aswan, he climbed rope
ladders to draw and photograph thousands of early
Egyptian inscriptions on a cliff face. (They record
ambassadors to Nubia, famines and wars.) From
there he went to the burial site at Faiyum where
he discovered the village of the Pharaonic tomb workers. with reference to similar finds made in
Following all this, he excavated Nile Delta sites at Naukratis Egyptian contexts. His work at this site was only the second
and Daphnae. From pottery discovered, he was able show stratigraphic study in archaeological history, the first being
PHOTO: VENERATIO—MASTERFILE.COM

that these sites were former ancient Greek trading posts. It
was an important discovery, because from it he deduced that
history could be reconstructed by a comparison of potsherds
(pottery fragments) at various levels of an excavation.
In 1890, during a six-week season of excavation at Tell
el-Hesi, Petrie introduced into Palestine the concept that
a tell is a man-made mound of successive, superimposed
settlements. He dated these by their associated, deeply
stratified ceramic remains and he “cross-dated” this pottery
that at Troy by the German, Heinrich Schliemann.
It was in the considerable excavations made by these
two men that we see the beginnings of the examination
of successive levels of a site. Prior to this, archaeologi-
cal excavations had just been haphazard digging, which
produced a jumble of unrelated artefacts. Most of Petrie’s
archaeological contemporaries questioned his hypothesis
that chronology could be established by potsherds, but with
progressive archaeological sophistication, the examination

THE ARCHAEOLOGIST—SIR FLINDERS PETRIE


LEFT: Flinders Petrie excavating at Memphis, Egypt, around 1910.
In the late 1800s and early twentieth century, many archaeologists
looked chiefly for spectacular finds and discarded the rest. Petrie
established that every single find is important to decoding history.
and classification of broken pottery became routine.
During the next 40 years, this indefatigable archaeologist
explored and excavated more sites in the Middle East. But
what Petrie considered to be his most important find came
in early 1896. His team were excavating a temple built by
Merenptah, the son and successor of Ramesses II, at Luxor.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF UCL, PETRIE MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
They discovered a statue of Merenptah himself, the first
known portrait of this king. But even better was to follow
when, at the same site, he discovered the famous Merneptah
Stele. Wilhelm Spiegelberg, a noted German philologist and
a member of his archaeological team, was able to read it.
The inscription of Merenptah records the triumphs of
Merneptah over the Libyans and the “Peoples of the Sea.”
However, near the end of the text Spiegelberg was puzzled
by a word—the name of a people or tribe whom Merenptah
had victoriously smitten—”I_si_ri_ar.” Petrie’s imaginative
mind quickly supplied the solution: “Israel!” Spiegelberg

BELOW: The Sphinx on display Petrie’s gift to America—centenary of a sphinx

at the Penn Museum in 1915. A
Sphinx is a lion with a human
head, representing the Egyptian
king as protector of his people
and conqueror of the enemies of
Egypt. This sphinx is the largest in
the western hemisphere.
PHOTO: PENN UNIVERSITY
Philadelphia, U.S.A
I N 1913, A MASSIVE PIECE OF GRANITE
arrived in Philadelphia that forever changed
the scope of the Penn Museum’s collection.
from Memphis, Egypt. The Sphinx—the
largest such stone sculpture in the Western
Hemisphere and the sixth largest in the
This was the arrival of the Sphinx, an ap- world—caused a stir when it landed in the city.
proximately 15-ton single piece of red granite It also helped put the Penn Museum and

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014

 RIGHT: Stele of Merneptah at the Cairo Museum. Petrie
discovered the stele in 1896, at Thebes, in Merneptah’s mortuary
temple. Merneptah was the son of Ramses II. The stele describes
the military campaign undertaken in 1207 BC and records the only
mention of Israel ever found in Egypt.

agreed. At dinner that evening Petrie prophesied, “This

stele will be better known in the world than anything else
I have found.” It was the first mention of the word Israel
in any Egyptian text and the news made headlines when it
reached the English papers.
Across his career he wrote more than 100 books and nearly
900 articles and reviews. His book Methods and Aims in
Archaeology, in which he defined the goals and methodology
of an archaeologist, was published in 1904. Interestingly,
in it he notes that getting results in research is dependent
on possessing broad knowledge and an insatiable curiosity.
Petrie was knighted in 1923 for services to British archaeol-
ogy and Egyptology, eventually dying in 1942, aged 89, in
Jerusalem. u
Sources:
The Biblical Archaeologist Sir William Flinders Petrie
(American Schools of Oriental (Palestine Exploration Fund,
Research, 1997), 35. 2000).
Margaret S. Drower, Flinders “Sir Flinders Petrie,” in
Petrie: A Life in Archaeology Encyclopædia Britannica Online
(1995), 221. (Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.,
T.E. James, “Petrie, William,” 2014).
in Oxford Dictionary of “Flinders Petrie, Archaeologist,”
National Biography. in Some famous archaeologists
William Matthew Flinders & Archaeology (Age of the
Petrie, Seventy Years in Sage.org).
Archaeology (H. Holt and “Flinders Petrie” (Wikipedia),
Company, 1932), 10. retrieved April 2014).

its then-fledgling Egyptian collection
on the map.
The Sphinx bears the names of the
Pharaoh Ramesses II and his son and
successor, the Pharaoh Merenptah,
both of whom reigned in Egypt’s 19th
Dynasty (1292–1190 BC).
Its arrival at the Museum can also
be credited to two prominent figures
in the world of archeology: Sir Wil-
liam M. Flinders Petrie, the renowned
archaeologist who excavated the Sphinx,
and Sara Yorke Stevenson, a driving
force behind the founding of the Penn
Museum and curator of the Egyptian
and Mediterranean sections.
“[Stevenson] was instrumental in
getting some of Philadelphia’s prominent
residents who had been to Egypt to make
donations to Penn so that she could
accumulate a collection that would
provide collections for people who did
not have the means [to travel to Egypt],”
says David Silverman, curator-in-charge
of the Penn Museum’s Egyptian Section.
“She went off to Egypt and became a
good friend of Petrie.”
Because Penn had supported some
of Petrie’s expeditions, he supplied the
University with some of the objects
he uncovered at the site, including
the Sphinx.
When Petrie found the Sphinx, it
had been buried in sand for much of its
post-pharonic history, which preserved
the body and inscriptions. The face,
however, was eroded, having been
exposed to centuries of windblown sand.
The Sphinx was shipped from the
site in Memphis across the ocean on
a German steamship and arrived in
Philadelphia in early October 1913. Upon
arrival at the Museum, it was hoisted
over the wall by a team of workmen,
and then placed on the lawn.
Silverman says the Sphinx stayed
outside the Museum for three years
before it was moved inside in 1916 and
is now located in the Coxe Memorial
Wing, along with other items in the
Museum’s Egyptian collection
One hundred years after its arrival in
Philadelphia, the Sphinx still resonates
with visitors, says Silverman. It not only
bears a significant resemblance to the
Great Sphinx of Giza, but its massive
size makes the granite statue a unique
and significant object of interest. It is
also displayed at the Museum in context,
with columns and other architectural
elements from the Palace of Merenptah,
excavated by Museum scholars in the
early 20th century.
“The Sphinx relates to the sun god,
and it’s during this time that the religion
of the sun god is at its peak,” he notes.
“[A sphinx] is a way for the king to
relate to the sun god.”
—Heather A. Davis, Penn University

THE ARCHAEOLOGIST—SIR FLINDERS PETRIE

 News from the World
of Archaeology

Charming find Female priests found Incredible cache

Sardis, Turkey Rome, Italy Jerusalem, Israel

I N AD 17, A MASSIVE EARTH-

quake destroyed much of the city
of Sardis, in western Turkey. Tacitus
describes it as, “Lofty mountains were
levelled, tracts that had been level
reared aloft, and that flames flashed out
amid the havoc” (Annals of Tacitus, II,
46, 47). It took the residents decades
to rebuild the city but the lingering
fear of the destructive quake lived on
well passed that, as demonstrated in a
recent discovery.
In the 2013 excavation period, archae-
ologists were digging a building dated
to just after the earthquake, that sat
directly above an earlier, elite building
destroyed in the disaster. Beneath the
floor, they found two small pots, each
containing bronze tools, a coin and
one amazingly intact eggshell. A neat
circle had been chiselled in the egg,
removing the yoke and white before
interring it in the container.
The objects were lucky charms, left
in a personal ritual to keep further evil
forces (i.e., earthquakes) away.
Eggs have appeared in superstitious
ritual throughout many ancient cultures.
They were used in divination, magic
rituals and health, in addition to diets
and cosmetics. Even the Jewish Torah
(Deuteronomy 22:5–7) advises the
Israelites to not disturb a nesting bird
“so that it may go well with you and
you may have a long life.”
While there are no records as to
T HE VATICAN HAS OPENED A
restored burial chamber below
northern Rome that is home to frescoes,
that some say, controversially depicts
women as priests in the early church.
The Catacombs of Priscilla, which stretch
for many kilometres and include the
earliest known image of the Madonna
and Child (dated around ad 230) have
undergone a five-year restoration.
Two frescoes show, according to
supporters of women in the priesthood,
scenes of women priests, including a
woman in a robe with her hands up in
the position used by priests for public
worship. Frabrizio Bisconti, superin-
tendent of the Vatican’s archaeology
commission, said that interpreting
the women in the images as priests
was “fable.”
—Noah Rayman
BELOW: A fresco inside the catacomb of Priscilla’s “Cubiculum of the Veiled Woman” room
showing a woman with outstretched arms like those of a priest saying mass.
A CACHE OF ANCIENT POTTERY
jugs has been given to the Israel
Antiquities Authority (IAA) from, of all
places, someone’s basement. Although
it’s common for artefacts to be offered
to the Antiquities Authority from the
general public, the phone call alerting
staff to the horde was underwhelming,
given the quality and volume of the
basement’s contents.
When archaeologists arrived at the
home of the caller in the Galilee town
of Poriya Illit they were amazed to find,
neatly wrapped in cloth and stacked in
boxes, a large number of ancient, rare
pottery vessels, many intact.
One vase with a tall frame and high
handles was immediately recognised
as being approximately 3000 years
old, dating to the time of King David.
A later piece, a round urn, was dated
PHOTO: DAVID MACCHI

what the Sardis house’s particular

ritual was, to find such a perfectly
preserved 2000-year-old eggshell is
certainly lucky.
—Kerri Hillsdon

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014


to the Byzantine period about 1500
years ago.
The finds came from the Mediter-
ranean Sea floor, dragged up by a single
fisherman over many years. The Mediter-
ranean is littered with the remains of
lost cargos over the thousands of years
that it has been used as a highway for
trade and travel; consequently, ancient
finds caught in nets are common. In this
case, the fisherman carefully wrapped
and stored his treasure, unknown until
his death.
—Jerusalem Post
Swahili culture of old
Songo Mnara, Tanzania
O NCE UPON A TIME, THERE
was a medieval culture that gained
great wealth and influence during the
13th to 16th centuries ad. The culture
had its own currency, built elaborate
stone buildings and was ruled by kings.
But it’s not in Europe, Asia or the Middle
East; it was based on two small islands
off the coast of modern-day Tanzania,
and it’s not a fairy tale!
For several seasons, archaeologists
have been excavating the former city
of Songo Mnara, an off-shoot to the
much larger and better-known Kilwa
Kisiwani, on an island to the north.
Here is where the Swahili (meaning
“The Coast People”) gained dominance
and Songo Mnara’s ruins indicate many
lived and prospered here. Elaborately
carved mosques, roads, sewage systems
and houses remain, leaving an intricate
knowledge of these advanced people.
It is known by historical records that
merchants would travel to Songo
Mnara on seasonal winds, stay with
the residents for months and return
when the winds were favourable. This
meant a large exchange of ideas and
languages occurred on these islands.
There are many years of excavations
remaining on Songo Mnara and
archaeologists are consistently surprised
by what they find. This town indicates
it was part of a complex pearl necklace
along the eastern coast of Africa, both
independent and yet dependent on the
thread of the all-important marine
trading systems.
—Archaeology.org
World’s oldest
weather report
Egypt
A N INSCRIPTION ON A 3500-
year-old stone block found in
Egypt could provide evidence for a
more accurate chronology of the ancient
Middle East.
THE ARCHAEOLOGIST—NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF ARCHAEOLOGY
PHOTO: UNESCO— RON VAN OERS
A new translation of a 40-line inscrip-
tion on the two-metre-tall calcite block
called the Tempest Stela describes rain,
darkness and “the sky being in storm
without cessation, louder than the cries
of the masses.”
Two scholars at the University of
Chicago’s Oriental Institute believe the
unusual weather patterns described on
the slab were the result of the devastat-
ing volcanic explosion at Thera, the
present-day island of Santorini in the
Mediterranean. Because volcano erup-
tions can have a widespread impact on
weather, depending on wind direction,
the Thera explosion would likely have
caused significant disruptions in Egypt.
The translation now suggests that
Egyptian pharaoh Ahmose ruled at a
time closer to the Thera eruption than
previously thought, a finding that could
change scholars’ understanding of a
critical juncture in human history as
Bronze Age empires realigned.
The Tempest Stela dates to the reign
of the pharaoh Ahmose, the first pharaoh
of the 18th Dynasty. His rule marked the
beginning of the New Kingdom, a time
when Egypt’s power reached its zenith.
The block was found in pieces in
Thebes, modern Luxor, from where
Ahmose ruled Egypt. If the stela does
describe the aftermath of the Thera

ABOVE: The new translation the Tempest
Stela suggests Egyptian pharaoh Ahmose I
ruled at a time 30 to 50 years earlier than
previously thought.
catastrophe, the correct dating of the
stela itself and Ahmose’s reign, currently
thought to be about 1550 bc, could
actually be 30 to 50 years earlier.
“This is important to scholars of
the ancient Near East and eastern
Mediterranean, generally because the
chronology that archaeologists use is
based on the lists of Egyptian pharaohs,
PHOTO: COURTESY OF METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
and this new information could adjust
those dates,” said Moeller, assistant
professor of Egyptian archaeology at
the Oriental Institute, who specialises
in research on ancient urbanism
and chronology.
In 2006, radiocarbon testing of an
olive tree buried under volcanic residue
placed the date of the Thera eruption at
1621–1605 bc. Until now, the archeological
evidence for the date of the Thera eruption
seemed at odds with the radiocarbon
dating, explained Oriental Institute
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
postdoctoral scholar Felix Hoeflmayer,
who has studied the chronological
implications related to the eruption.
However, if the date of Ahmose’s reign
is earlier than previously believed, the
resulting shift in chronology “might solve
the whole problem,” said Hoeflmayer.
The revised dating of Ahmose’s
reign could mean the dates of other
events in the ancient Near East fit
together more logically, scholars say.
According to David Schloen,
associate professor in the Oriental
Institute and Near Eastern
Languages & Civilizations on
ancient cultures in the Middle
East, it realigns the dates of
important events such as
the fall of the power of the
Canaanites and the collapse of
the Babylonian Empire. “This
new information would provide
a better understanding of the
role of the environment in the
development and destruction of
empires in the ancient Middle
East,” he said.
For example, the new chronology
helps to explain how Ahmose rose to
power and supplanted the Canaanite
rulers of Egypt-the Hyksos-according
to Schloen. The Thera eruption and
resulting tsunami would have destroyed
the Hyksos’ ports and significantly
weakened their sea power.
Some researchers consider the text on
the Tempest Stela to be a metaphorical
document that described the impact of
the Hyksos invasion. However, Ritner’s
translation shows that the text was more
likely a description of weather events
consistent with the disruption caused
by the massive Thera explosion.
Ritner said the text reports that
Ahmose witnessed the disaster—the
description of events in the stela text
is frightening.
The text describes the “sky being
in storm” with “a tempest of rain” for
a period of days. The passages also
describe bodies floating down the Nile
like “skiffs of papyrus.”
Importantly, the text refers to events
affecting both the delta region and the
area of Egypt further south along the
Nile. “This was clearly a major storm,
and different from the kinds of heavy
rains that Egypt periodically receives,”
Ritner said.
In addition to the Tempest Stela, a
text known as the Rhind Mathematical
Papyrus (see “Egyptian Maths,” page 6)
from the reign of Ahmose also makes
a point of mentioning thunder and
rain, “which is further proof that the
scholars under Ahmose paid close
and particular attention to matters of
weather,” Ritner said.
Marina Baldi, a scientist in climatology
and meteorology at the Institute of
Biometeorology of the National Research
Council in Italy, has analysed the
information on the stela along with her
colleagues and compared it to known
weather patterns in Egypt.
A dominant weather pattern in the area
is a system called The Red Sea Trough,
which brings hot, dry air to the area
from East Africa. When disrupted, that
system can bring severe weather, heavy
precipitation and flash flooding, similar
to what is reported on the Tempest Stela.
“A modification in the atmospheric
circulation after the eruption could have
driven a change in the precipitation
regime of the region. Therefore, the
episode in the Tempest Stela could be
a consequence of these climatological
changes,” Baldi explained.
Other work is underway to get a
clearer idea of accurate dating around
the time of Ahmose, who ruled after the
Second Intermediate period when the
Hyksos people seized power in Egypt.
That work also has pushed back the dates
of his reign closer to the explosion on
Thera, Moeller explained.
—Newswise,
University of Chicago
Archaeology library
largest in Middle East
Jerusalem, Israel
The Israel Antiquities Authority
(IAA) is constructing the Middle East’s
largest archeological library (pictured)
in Jerusalem. The library, to be called
The Mandel National Library for the
Archeology of Israel, will be home to
some 150,000 volumes, including 500
rare books and 1000 periodicals, as part
of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s
Schottenstein National Campus for the
Archeology of Israel, currently under
construction in Jerusalem.
The campus will serve as the new
education, research, conservation and

illumination centre and headquarters
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY
of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The
complex, located on Museum Hill adjacent
to the Israel Museum and overlooking the
Hebrew University Givat Ram Campus,
will ultimately house around two million
archaeological objects, among them
15,000 Dead Sea scrolls and fragments,
viewable conservation and restoration
laboratories, an archaeological education
centre, roof-top exhibition gardens
and more.
The adjacent Jack, Joseph and Morton
Mandel National Archeological Archives
will contain the IAA’s archive as well as
maps, permits, plans and publications
of excavations going back to the British
Mandate period.
Both buildings, made possible by
a donation from the Cleveland-based
philanthropic Mandel Foundation, are to
be part of the authority’s Schottenstein
PHOTOS: EGYPTIAN MINISTRY OF ANTIQUITIES
National Campus for the Archeology
of Israel, currently under construction.
According to the foundation, its
primary mission is to “provide outstanding
leadership for the nonprofit world.”
—Israel Antiquities Authority
A lost pharaoh and a
forgotten dynasty
Egypt
T HE NEWLY DISCOVERED TOMB
of pharaoh Senebkay dates to ca. 1650
bc during Egypt’s Second Intermediate
Period. The identification was made by
Dr. Wegner and Kevin Cahail, Ph.D.
student, Department of Near Eastern
Languages and Civilizations, University
of Pennsylvania. The tomb of Senebkay
consists of four chambers with a decorated
limestone burial chamber. The burial
chamber is painted with images of the
NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF ARCHAEOLOGY
LEFT: The Mandel National Library,
Jerusalem, under construction, with
the proposed finished product (inset)
on Museum Hill adjacent to the Israel
Museum, overlooking the Hebrew
University.
goddesses Nut, Nephthys, Selket and
Isis flanking the king’s canopic shrine.
Other texts name the sons of Horus and
record the king’s titulary and identify him
as the “king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Woseribre, the son of Re, Senebkay.”
The skeleton of the previously un-
known pharaoh Woseribre Senebkay
was still in the tomb. Senebkay’s tomb
was badly plundered by ancient tomb
robbers who had ripped apart the king’s
mummy as well as stripped the pharaoh’s
tomb equipment of its gilded surfaces.
Nevertheless, the Penn Museum ar-
chaeologists recovered the remains
of King Senebkay amidst debris of his
fragmentary coffin, funerary mask and
canopic chest. Preliminary work on the
king’s skeleton of Senebkay by Penn
graduate students Paul Verhelst and
Matthew Olson (of the Department of
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations)
indicates he was a man of moderate
height, about 1.75 m (5’10”) tall, and
died in his mid to late 40s.
The discovery provides significant
new evidence on the political and social
history of Egypt’s Second Intermediate
Period. The existence of an independent
“Abydos Dynasty,” contemporary with
the 15th (Hyksos) and 16th (Theban)
Dynasties, was first hypothesized by
Egyptologist K. Ryholt in 1997. The
discovery of pharaoh Senebkay now
proves the existence of this Abydos
dynasty and identifies the location of their
LEFT: The skeleton of the pharaoh King
Woseribre Senebkay, whose mummified
casing appeared to have been ripped apart
by looters in ancient times.
 << SCROLL SEE MORE IMAGES—TAP TO ENLARGE >>
royal necropolis at South Abydos in an
area anciently called Anubis-Mountain.
The kings of the Abydos Dynasty placed
their burial ground adjacent to the tombs
of earlier Middle Kingdom pharaohs
including Senwosret III (Dynasty 12, ca.
1880–1840 BC), and Sobekhotep I (ca.
1780 BC). There is evidence for about
16 royal tombs spanning the period ca.
1650–1600 BC. Senebkay appears to be
one of the earliest kings of the “Abydos
Dynasty.” His name may have appeared
in a broken section of the famous Turin
King List (a papyrus document dating
to the reign of Ramses II, ca. 1200 BC)
where two kings with the throne name
“Woser . . . re” are recorded at the head
of a group of more than a dozen kings,
most of whose names are entirely lost.
The tomb of pharaoh Senebkay is mod-
est in scale. An important discovery was
the badly decayed remains of Senebkay’s
canopic chest. This chest was made of
cedar wood that had been reused from
the nearby tomb of Sobekhotep I and
still bore the name of that earlier king,
covered over by gilding. Such reuse of
objects, like the reused sarcophagus
chamber found during the summer,
provides evidence that suggests the
limited resources and isolated economic
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014
situation of the Abydos Kingdom which
lay in the southern part of Middle
Egypt between the larger kingdoms
of Thebes (Dynasties 16–17) and the
Hyksos (Dynasty 15) in northern Egypt.
Unlike these numbered dynasties, the
pharaohs of the Abydos Dynasty were
forgotten to history and their royal
necropolis unknown until this discovery
of Senebkay’s tomb.
“It’s exciting to find not just the tomb
of one previously unknown pharaoh,
but the necropolis of an entire forgotten
dynasty,” noted Dr. Wegner. “Continued
work in the royal tombs of the Abydos
Dynasty promises to shed new light on
the political history and society of an
important but poorly understood era
of Ancient Egypt.”
Fortress in City of David
Jerusalem
A MASSIVE CANAANITE-ERA
structure, believed to have been
largest fortress in Israel until the time
T AP HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO ON THE EXCAVATION
OF THIS MASSIVE CANAANITE-ERA FORTRESS
(VIDEO PLAYBACK REQUIRES AN ACTIVE INTERNET CONNECTION)
King Herod’s walls were built, has
been revealed after 15 years of what is
considered one of the most complicated
archeological digs ever conducted
in Israel. Excavation work on the
fortifications of the Gihon Spring, a
large Canaanite structure dating back
to 1800 bc has been unveiled at the
City of David National Park outside
the Old City of Jerusalem.
Professor Ronny Reich of the
University of Haifa and Eli Shukron
of the Israel Antiquities Authority led
the excavation, which progressed slowly
as the site remained open to hundreds
of thousands of tourists a year.
The fortifications, whose immense
walls are seven meters (23 feet) thick
and were built using two- to three-metre
(7–10-foot) blocks of stone, protected
the biblical Gihon Spring. The immense
walls isolate access to the water source,
leaving only a single westerly approach
to the spring.
—Israel Antiquities Authority
DIGGINGS
NOTICEBOARD
Events of interests relating to the world of Middle Eastern Archaeology

DIGGINGS Seminars SEMINAR locations—

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS presents a series SOUTH NEW ZEALAND
of archaeology-based seminars, Ancient Mysteries Geraldine
Reveal the Future. DIGGINGS editor Gary Webster’s Stonebridge Function Venue
presentations include displays of ancient artefacts. His 842 Winchester-Geraldine Road
2014 presentations are: “Secrets of the Lost Scrolls,” a Geraldine
journey to Egypt to see the fabulous treasure of King Saturday, June 28; 2 pm
Tutankhamun, and to Persia and Israel, revealing why Ashburton:
archaeology is important and relevant to the present; Ashburton Senior Centre Hall
“Evidence Unearthed,” visiting the lost civilisation 206 Cameron Street
of Petra (the fabulous city hewn from rock), Turkey Ashburton
and Iraq; and “The Prophetic Code,” a presentation Saturday, June 28; 7 pm
of some of the ancient mysteries of Egypt and the
Levant and what they reveal of the present—and Contact: Paul Gredig
phone 021 815 246 or 021 815 246
what they predict about the future. email paulgredig@clear.net.nz

Reprint: Diggings issue 2013 No. 4 Clubs

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Corrections Reader Presentation
Archaeological News (April-May, Windsor, NSW Sydney, NSW
page 50) included a news item entitled The Tebbutt Room, Macquarie University holds regu-
“Excavating under Al-Qaeda’s watchful Hawkesbury Central Library lar seminars and one-off events on
eye” that referred to the excavation’s Thursday 19 June, 6–7 pm Ancient World Studies. For more
sponsoring organisation as the “Alto information, run an internet search on
Palo-based NGO, Global Heritage Author and DIGGINGS contributor “Macquarie University ancient world
Fund.” The entity is in fact based in Daryn Graham will present the lecture history seminar.”
Palo Alto. “Bringing Rome to Its Knees: Who
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ceiling of the Pompeii Forum baths” and Parthia will also be available for on the first Saturday of each month at
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read “decorated with cofferings to the phone (02) 4560 4460.
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 1 2

DIGGINGS CROSSWORD
3

4 5

6 7 8

9 10 11

12 13 14

15

16 17

18

19 20 21

22 23

24 25 26

27 28 29

30 31 32 33 34

35 36

37 38 39 40

41 42

43 44

ACROSS
3 Part of god Horus’ body
representing number (p10)
5 Controversial collector of
antiquities (p47)
6 Where Ahmose ruled
Egypt from (p61)
10 Iceman killed with this
weapon (p28)
13 Hieroglyphic symbol for
100,000 (p7)
14 God of the Beneficent as
Rosetta Stone states (p44)
16 Traditional site of the
Temple Mount (p22)
17 A successor to Alexander
the Great (p42)
19 The remains of a life
21 Most regular of Jewish
temple sacrifices (p25)
22 Bird used to describe
shortest route
23 Rome is capital of
24 Mediterranean volcano
25 Based on conviction not
proof
27 One of four Jewish spring
festivals (p26)
30 Only Egyptian stele to
mention Israel (p59)
33 Dated tree buried under
volcanic residue (p62)
36 Between here and there
38 Despised by the masses
39 Port of Athens
41 Stones Songo Mnara is
constructed of (p61)
42 Temple of Erechtheion
dedicated to (p51)
43 Oldest city of Egypt (p55)
44 Home to the Ness of
Brodgar (p36)
DOWN
1 Seven-branch candlestick
of Judaism (p26)
2 Rock–cut platform of
ancient Athens (p51)
4 The future foretold
7 Iceman of the Alps (p28)
8 Let fall to the ground
9 Rosetta language (p40)
11 Bone box (p46)
12 Sage of ancient Israel (p26)
15 A meeting of minds for
community good
16 Ceremonial bathtub of
Judaism (p24)
18 Jewish section of Old
Jerusalem (p11)
20 Rosetta Stone discovered
by whom (p40)
22 Translated the Rosetta
Stone in 1822 (p42)
25 Part of human body
representing a cubit (p8)
26 Greek historian who
describes crucifixion (p16)
28 Sacrificial ram trapped by
this (p22)
29 The last of the Ptolomies
(p44)
31 Imagine as a future
possibility
32 Elements of water on
Periodic Table
34 Soapbox speaker at Mars
Hill (p48)
35 Greek pillar used in the
Parthenon (p49)
37 Royal cubit used to
measure this (p9)
40 Buildings in state of decay

22. Champollion 25. forearm 26. Herodotus 28. thicket 29. Cleopatra 31. envision 32. HO 34. Paul 35. Doric 37. flood 40. ruins
DOWN: 1. Menorah 2. Bema 4. prophecy 7. Oetzi 8. dropped 9. Demotic 11. ossuary 12. Daniel 15. council 16. Mikveh 18. Quarter 20. Bouchard
24. Thera 25. faith 27. Pentecost 30. Merenptah 33. olive 36. road 38. reviled 39. Piraeus 41. coral 42. Athena 43. Crocodilopolis 44. Orkneys
ANSWERS ACROSS: 3. eye 5. Golan 6. Luxor 10. arrow 13. tadpole 14. Ptah 16. Mount Moriah 17. Ptolemy 19. skeleton 21. Daily 22. crow 23. Italy

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS—June / July 2014

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 R N E W
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T I S S U L D I G G I
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NEW E REVE
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HAE
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FEATURING
◗ In Search of Sinai

◗H
 uman sacrifice:
The good, the bad and the truly ugly
◗ Failed states: Why ancient civilizations collapsed

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