AUSTRALIA’S TOP MAGAZINE OF ANCIENT HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

VOL 15 NO 2 APR/MAY 2008

DIGGINGS

EXCAVATING CARCHEMISH
EGYPTOLOGISTS START YOUNG
UNROBBED BURIAL CHAMBER DISCOVERED
CYRENE: AN ANCIENT CITY IN LIBYA
02 AUS $7.20 (incl GST) NINEVAH AND ITS REMAINS
NZ $8.20 (incl GST)
PRINT POST APPROVED
9 771322 652000 PP235723/00003
ISSN 1322-6525

A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

 Tutankhamun,
the Making of
a Legend

T
he Petrie Museum Friends
are excited to announce the launch of our
20th Anniversary celebrations with a series
of major events.
Our opening event will be a Twentieth Anniversary
Conference: Tutankhamun, the Making of a
Legend with Professor David Silverman, Curator of
‘Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs’
currently showing at the O2 in London.
This high-profile event will take place on
Saturday May 31st 2008 at the Bloomsbury Theatre,
Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH.
Professor Silverman is serving as the national
curator, advisor and academic content creator for
‘Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs’.
In 1977 he was in charge of curatorial content for
the ‘Treasures of Tutankhamun’ at Chicago’s Field
Museum, so the current exhibition brings him full
circle.
Dr Silverman is the Eckley B Cox, Jr Professor
and Curator at the University of Pennsylvania. He
also is the chairman of the Department of Near
Eastern Languages and Civilizations and the curator-
in-charge of the Egyptian collection at the University
of Pennsylvania Museum.
There is no-one better qualified to lecture on this
topic. This will be a rare opportunity to hear this
passionate and highly distinguished Egyptologist
lecture in this country.
The event runs from 10am - 5pm and is open to
non-members as well as members. Tickets are on sale
at the Bloomsbury Theatre Box Office, (London).
Call them on 020 7388 8822 or book online at www.
thebloomsbury.com
Jan Picton
Secretary, Friends of the Petrie Museum
(Tel: 07761 823129) H.R.A. Institute of Archaeology,
UCL. j.picton@ucl.ac.uk
Sessional lecturer, Egypt and the Ancient Near East
 Contents
ARCHAEOLOGICAL

DIGGINGS
ABN 58 683 370 124
Published every two months by
David Down, PO Box 341 4 Editor’s Comment: Copyrighting the Pyramids
Hornsby NSW 2077 Australia
Free-call: 1800 240 543
Fax: (02) 9012 0882 5 Excavating Carchemish
Email: editor@diggings.com.au
www.diggings.com.au 8 Egyptologists Start Young
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
David Down 10 Tut Wows London
PRODUCTION EDITORS
Michael Browning
Carie Browning 11 Unrobbed Burial Chamber Discovered
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Marie Carter
CORRESPONDENTS
14 The Two Brothers at the Manchester Museum
Egypt: Jane Akshar
Iran: Mohammad Reza Azimi 16 News From Jerusalem
Israel: Daniel Herman
Jordan: Loay Olayyan
Lebanon: Farid Khoury 18 This Is What You Said
Turkey: Ahmet Baykal
Britain: Kendall Down 21 Subscription Information
COPY EDITOR
Noel Carter
ADVERTISING 24 Cyrene: An Ancient City in Libya
Advertising Manager
advertising@diggings.com.au
VIDEO PRESENTER 31 Beneath the Sands of Time
Jan Belling
PRINTING 34 Recent Excavations in Jerash
Signs Publishing Company
Warburton, Victoria
AUSTRALIAN 36 James: The Man Behind the Ossuary Box
NEWSAGENT DISTRIBUTION
Gordon and Gotch Ltd
42 Machaerus: The Execution Site of John the Baptist
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Australia A$41.90
Diggings PO Box 341
46 Persian Wars Part 3
Hornsby NSW 2077
Free-call: 1800 240 543 50 Unearthing the City of David
New Zealand NZ$47.00
Diggings PO Box 82214
Highland Park, Auckland 2143 54 Chester’s Roman Sites
Great Britain £21
Diggings 66 Ffordd Pennant
Gallt Melyd, Denbighshire LL19 8PE
58 Vintage Photographs from Princeton University
United States US$21.90
Diggings PO Box 738 62 Nineveh and its Remains Part 1
Middletown CA 95461
Toll-free: 888-573-8035
All other countries $A62.00 66 Wordsearch
Payments in Australian currency or
send credit card details to Australia This Issue’s Cover: – The coffins of Manchester Museum’s Two Brothers, Khnum-
Prices include GST Nakht and Nakht-Ankh discovered by Flinders Petrie in 1907. Professor Rosalie
David OBE, describes these discoveries in her new book The Two Brothers: Death
Vol 15 No 2 2008 and the Afterlife in Middle Kingdom Egypt, launched 8th November 2007. The
Issue No 85 Two Brothers will be the subject of the Manchester Museum Day School led by
© Archaeological Diggings 2008 Professor David and her team on 17th May 2008. See details p14.


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 
Editor’s Comment
Copyrighting the pyramids
D
r Zahi Hawass, Head of Egypt’s Supreme
Council of Antiquities, has displayed much zeal
in promoting archaeology in Egypt. Restrictions
have been imposed on the number of visitors
allowed into pyramids and tombs, photography in museums
has been banned and admission prices to temples and tombs
have sky-rocketed. His latest device to raise revenue has been
to propose a law that would require anyone who made a replica
of any artefact in Egypt to pay royalty on it.
Such a law may be enforceable in Egypt but it is unlikely
to be valid in countries outside Egypt. Dr Hawass has not
only death masks and scarabs in mind, but pyramids (such
as Khafre’s pyramid above), and sphinxes. Fortunately he
recognises the limitations. When asked about the huge pyramid
in Las Vegas that houses the Luxor Hotel he pointed out that
though it was an external replica, it was internally nothing like
the interior of any of the pyramids of Egypt.
Dr Hawass may have more success extracting royalty
from local Egyptian artisans who are reproducing copies of
artefacts within Egypt. I have purchased many such items - a
Tutankhamen death mask, the Narmer Palette, and a relief of
Akhenaten and his Queen Nefertiti holding their daughters on
their laps, to mention just a few. I doubt if the makers of these
replicas paid any royalty to the government.
I have also made some replicas on my own account. For

 Vol 15 No 2 2008
twenty two consecutive years I gave a series of lectures in the
Sydney Opera House and usually displayed some replicas
to attract and interest patrons. I actually had an artist paint
pictures on plywood of the walls of Tutankhamen’s tomb
chamber. I assembled these and installed Tut’s death mask and
other items copied from his tomb. If these new laws could be
enforced I would have to pay royalty on them.
I really think Egypt would be the loser if these new laws
could be implemented, because such displays do much to
popularise Egypt and its fantastic monuments. That in turn
would induce more tourists to travel to Egypt, and Egypt is
largely dependent on tourist dollars for its income. Tourism
is the country’s main industry. More Egyptians are employed
in tourism than any other industry in the country.
I have often been invited to lecture to children in school
classrooms. Far from being restive, I have found kids enthralled
with the story of Egypt and its pyramids, temples and tombs.
I have made one metre high replicas of the Step Pyramid and
the great pyramid of khufu. The kids are fascinated by these
working models, and of course they love to handle the small
replicas of scarabs and ankhs that I pass round.
Archaeological Diggings
EXCAVATIng
Carchemish
By David Down

C
a r c h e m is h was flowed from south to north. Apparently
an important city in a very they assumed that all rivers flowed
strategic position straddling northwards and when Thutmosis found
the Euphrates River. The this river flowing in the wrong direction
northern side was called Karkamis he reported it. He says that he erected a
which now belongs to Turkey and is stele here to commemorate his victories
about 60 km south of Gaziantep. The but that stele has never been found.
southern side belongs to Syria and is In the days of Rameses II there The traditional view is that the Hittites
100 km northeast of Aleppo. A Japanese was a great battle between the Egyptian were wiped out by the Peoples of the
team wants to excavate here. armies and the Hittites at Kadesh on the Sea about 1200 BC, but the Assyrians
Some important battles have banks of the Orontes River in Syria. under Shalmaneser III in the 9th century
been fought at Carchemish. Pharaoh Both sides claimed victory and the BC, and Sennacherib in the 8th century
Thutmosis I marched his army north Egyptians withdrew. The Hittites made BC recorded all-out war against the
and reached the Euphrates River which Carchemish an important outpost of Hittites. They were still there, and what
to his astonishment flowed from north to their empire. is more the names of the Hittite kings
south. The Egyptians had only ever seen What followed has caused a lot of in those centuries were the same as for
one river and that was the Nile which confusion in the archaeological world. the earlier Hittites.
Above: Rameses II fought the Hittites at Kadesh. The battle was inconclusive and the two kings subsequently made a non-
aggression treaty, a copy of which was found on the acropolis of the Hittite capital Hattusis. It is now in the Istanbul Museum.
Below: A relief on the north wall of the temple of Karnak depicts Sethi I, the father of Rameses II, riding in his chariot during his
war against the Hittites. © M Browning


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 5


6 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
 This is absurd. Obviously they were against you this day, but against the Carchemish was not identified
the same Hittites, the same kings, but house with which I have war, for God until 1876 when George Smith, who
whereas the Assyrian records are spot commanded me to make haste. Refrain found the Gilgamesh Epic tablets in
on, the Egyptian records need to be from meddling with God who is with Nineveh, recognised it. The British
shortened to bring the Hittites down to me, lest he destroy you” (2 Chronicles Museum excavated there from 1911
Assyrian times and recognise that the 35:20,21). until World War I broke out in 1914.
Hittites the Egyptians warred against Josiah would have none of it and The archaeologists involved were D
were the same Hittites as the Assyrians “came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo. G Hogarth, R C Thompson, Leonard
were fighting. And the archers shot King Josiah”, Woolley, who later made a name for
All this is particularly relevant fatally wounding him. He was taken himself excavating Ur of the Chaldees,
to the finds at Carchemish. Here a in a chariot to Jerusalem where he and T E Lawrence, yes, Lawrence
lot of exciting Hittite artefacts were died. (v23,24). But it did not profit the of Arabia who started out as an
found. Dated by synchronisms with Egyptians. Babylon was successful archaeologist.
the Assyrian records they are regarded in its battle against the Assyrians and According to the Turkish Daily
by most scholars as vestiges from the Egyptians and Necho had to beat a News the latest plan is to clear an area
earlier Hittite Empire. O R Gurney, in hasty retreat. on the Turkish side of the city which the
his book The Hittites, calls it “a strange The prophet Jeremiah wrote a Turks call Karkamis. Prince Tomohito
afterglow” (p39) whatever that means. poem about this battle. “The word of Mikasa of Japan is also an archaeologist
The fact is that the Hittites were actually the LORD which came to Jeremiah and he applied in person to the Turkish
alive and well in the 8th century BC, and the prophet against the nations, against Ministry of Culture to work in Karkamis
that is confirmed by the Bible records. Egypt, concerning the army of Necho, and his request has been granted.
When the Syrian army besieging king of Egypt, which was by the River These will not actually be
Samaria heard the sound of a great army Euphrates in Carchemish, and which excavations in the true sense of the word.
they fled in disorder. They said to each Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon The site has been horribly distorted by
other, “Look, the king of Israel has hired defeated” (Jeremiah 46:1,2). The poem local activities and this latest work will
against us the kings of the Hittites and is recorded in verses 3-12 for any who be more a mopping up operation taking
the kings of the Egyptians to attack us” like to read it. Carchemish was finally more than one year in preparation for
(2 Kings 7:6). That was no Carchemish conquered by the Assyrian King Sargon regular excavations at a later stage.
afterglow. The Syrians put the Hittites II in 717 BC. —DKD
ahead of the Egyptians. They were more
scared of them than Pharaoh’s army. Facing page: Relief of a Hittite banquet scene. It illustrates the large element of
These were the Hittites at the zenith of gender equality in Hittite culture, in contrast to Egypt where females were usually
their power. depicted on a small scale compared with royal males. © M Browning
In the 7th century BC the Babylonian
armies under King Nabopolassar and his Below: Found in Carchemish, this is the base of a statue. The base is in the Ankara
son Nebuchadnezzar were expanding Museum but the upper part which was found in the original excavations has been
their empire and the Egyptians decided lost. No one knows what happened to it. © Archaeological Diggings
not to wait until they reached the
borders of their country. Pharaoh
Necho marched his army northwards
on the way to Carchemish to support
the remnants of the Assyrian army.
This necessitated passing through the
kingdom of Judah and King Josiah
of Judah decided to resist him, with
disastrous results.
After all this, when Josiah had
prepared the temple, Necho, king
of Egypt, came up to fight against
Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah
went out against him. There followed a
strange exchange of messages between
the two kings. Josiah was a good king
and had done a lot for his country and
his God, but it seems in this instance
God was on the Egyptian side.
Necho “sent messengers to him
saying, What have I to do with you
king of Judah? I have not come out

7
 EGYPTOLOGISTS
START YOUNG!
By Marie Carter

I
t started with an email was found by Professor Otto Schaden thinks that chocolate should inhabit the
from a student: and his team and you can see his dig bottom section of the food pyramid, and
diary on the web at www.kv-63.com. loves to keep others entertained. He is
Hi Marie, What was in these coffins? Not a highly social only child. His thirst for
My name is Logan. I am studying people, but they were filled with textiles, books has been insatiable since he was
Egyptian furniture for my 1st grade pots, garlands of flowers (by now a toddler, and he began reading quite
social studies class. I am learning a lot dead and dried out - but still looking independently at 2 years old. The world
about beds, headrests, and stools. I can’t like flowers) and other items. And that books has opened up for him, as a
find any information that explains why surprise, surprise, what else was found four year old First-grader, knows no
Ancient Egyptian beds were higher at in a coffin? Soft fluffy pillows! KV63’s boundaries. When his school began to
the head than the foot. Do you know? textile expert described them as being study Ancient Egyptian Civilization, he
Thanks, stuffed with small feathers or a down- dove in head first. Of all of the possible
Logan Agnew like material and layers of a “linen” topics to choose for his project, he
fabric. The covers were of a fine “linen” chose furniture ... and then began the
Well, actually I didn’t know so I fabric and were held together with very wide-eyed discoveries, books, pictures,
emailed the Egyptologists’ Electronic fine precise stitches. e-mails, and, of course, more questions!
Forum and an Egyptologist from We have included pictures of Logan’s excitement for learning excites
Germany sent me the answer. From the Logan’s project ‘Furniture in Ancient everyone around him. With Mom and
references she mentioned she found the Egypt’ and a few words from his mother, Dad’s helping hands, he created these
writers “thought that the beds are lower Lynn Agnew: small models from wood, pipe cleaners,
at the feet, because they represent a Logan is a 4 year old boy who and felt. Logan attends a local private
holy animal and the sleeper lies on its
back. The hind legs of an animal (lion,
cow, bull) are naturally lower than the
animal’s head and so the foot end of the
beds are the same. Hence the beds need
also a foot-board which stops the sleeper
sliding downwards and off the bed.”
I told him about the pillows that had
been found. A few years ago, Professor
Rosalie David from Manchester
University England, found an ancient
Egyptian pillow stuffed with twigs in
a tomb. We thought “Ah, they did have
pillows and not just those hard head
rests.” However, being stuffed with
twigs it did not sound very soft.
Then in 2006 an underground room
containing several coffins was found
in the Valley of the Kings at Luxor in
Upper Egypt. The underground room
has been called KV63. KV for Kings’
Valley (or Valley of the Kings) and 63
because it is the sixty-third “tomb” to be
found in the Valley of the Kings. King
Tutankhamun’s tomb was KV62. KV63


 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
school that provides student-directed
learning for gifted children. When he
puts his books down, he enjoys dancing,
drama, soccer, baseball, and playing
with his treehouse!”
vvv
Now I can report on Logan’s
presentation. Again in the words of
Logan’s mother Lynn:
The Egypt Open house presentation
was an example of his contagious,
bubbly nature. It was an outstanding
afternoon. The children were actually
fidgeting, waiting for someone to arrive
at their booth, so that they could spill
their thoughts and research into every
brain they could access. Logan told
everyone about the furniture models we
crafted together. I’m afraid one elderly
lady’s ear was bent for so long, she had
a difficult time standing upright again
once Logan stopped to get a bit of juice
as his “throat was dry from all of the
presenting.”
Logan also presented e-mails from
nine Egyptologists from all around the Logan is now learning about Indian
world, who answered his questions. tribes, like the Pequots, and things that ODD FACTS ABOUT
I think Egypt, and its fascinating archaeologists have found out about the
history, has made a mark on our family way they lived. He now wants to know
EGYPT
after this experience. It made me wish how archaeologists learned so much • The Great Pyramid at Giza holds
I had paid better attention in my own about people and the way they lived a constant temperature of 20 degrees
history class, decades ago. I would when there were no written records left Celsius or 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
have loved to see it all through my son’s behind. Read the answer in the next Ha, until you get a couple of hundred
curious eyes. issue. tourists in it. The perspiration from
their body heat and the moisture from
their breath were contributing to the
degradation of the ancient stone inside.
That is why the numbers visiting the
Great Pyramid have been limited.
• At the age of about 13 years old
you were considered and adult.
• Priests removed all hair from
their bodies including eyelashes and
eyebrows for their rituals.
• The real name of Egypt is actually
Misr. It was the Greeks who named it
Egypt after it’s fall.
• In Ancient Egypt there where just
a few who knew how to read and write.
About 99% did not.
• The longest river in the world
is the Nile - although opinions differ.
Others claim the Amazon is the longest.
They say it depends on how you
measure it!

Let me know if there is something

you want to know about ancient
Egypt. —MC


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 
TUT CONTINUES
TO WOW LONDON
By Marie Carter
Images by Kenneth Garrett,
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of
the Pharaohs, Official Companion Book
© 2005 National Geographic Society

10
V
isitors to the O2
Centre in London are
still being stunned by the
wealth and quality of the
workmanship of the artefacts displayed
there. Return visits are not uncommon,
for a second and third visit help the
visitor understand the complexities of the
lives of Tutankhamun and his family.
Many shrines and boxes containing
statuettes of the various deities were
found in his tomb treasury. One unusual
and striking item is a gilded wood statue
of Herwer otherwise known as Horus
the Elder. This 58cm statuette is from
Tutankhamun’s tomb.
You can read all about this statue
on page 205 of Tutankhamun and the
Golden Age of the Pharaohs by Zahi
Hawass available at the exhibition at
the O2 Centre (Millennium Dome)
until 30 August 08 and from National
Geographic.
Travelling with Tutankhamun is
the red-gold gilded wood coffin of his
paternal great-grandmother Tjuya. Her
face has a faint smile and her eyes are
made of obsidian and calcite set in blue
glass with even red dots in the inner
corners. Below her broad collar of gold
and coloured paste Nut the sky goddess
spreads her protective wings over Tjuya.
Hieroglyphic inscriptions of spells
and incantations have been engraved
where the mummy straps would be on
the mummy itself. It is noteworthy to
mention that KV46 the tomb of Yuya and
Tjuya (Queen Tye’s parents) was found
largely intact. Although robbers had
been there, it appears they hadn’t been
too greedy. When discovered in 1905
it contained a great cache of funerary
equipment in remarkable condition.
Just when Tut thought he was going
home he finds that he will be going to the
Dallas Museum of Art, to open 3 October
2008. —MC
Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings

Above: Miroslav Barta (right) and restorer of the mission
Martin Dvorak inspecting the burial prior to its restoration
and documentation. Clearly visible is the wooden headrest
and the stone vessel.
Why is the head not on the headrest? Maybe it was difficult
to break the stiff and partly embalmed neck of the mummy.
Below: Canopic jars discovered in the chamber which
originally contained the mummified viscera of Neferinpu.

Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008
Unrobbed burial
chamber from the
pyramid builders’
era discovered
by Dr Miroslav Bárta
T
he story of the exploration of
the mysterious tomb of priest Neferinpu in South
Abusir, who lived in ancient Egypt in the 24th
century BC has been unfolding already for two years
and its end is still nowhere within our sight. The tomb itself was
discovered in the spring of 2006, and in the same season, the
corridor chapel which housed the cult of this priest and another
three members of his family was also brought to light.
The tomb itself measured 14 x 9 metres and the eastern
part of its superstructure contained a long corridor chapel, to
the west of which there are the mouths of five shafts. The shafts
lead to the tomb’s substructure and to five burials, four of which
have been examined hitherto. The chapel also contained, still
in situ, the lower part of the so-called false door belonging to
priest Neferinpu (Anubis is beautiful), a magical gate which
connected the ancient Egyptians with the realm of the dead
to the west of the Nile valley. The decoration of the limestone
door was executed in unusually high quality and besides
Neferinpu’s name and his and his son’s idealized figures, the
decoration included also the list of his titles. Therefore we
know that he was employed as a mortuary priest in the Abusir
pyramid complex of the king Neferirkare and in the sun temple
of Niuserre in Abu Ghurab. The chapel had originally contained
another three false doors. These have, however, been destroyed
probably already in antiquity.
Neferinpu was also a king’s confidant, overseer of the
11
Above: The tomb as seen from the east. It shows openings of six shafts and the eastern facade. Beside Neferinpu some other
members of his family were buried inside his tomb. There are two more shafts to be explored in the spring of 2009.

judgement hall, priest of the goddess of justice Maat and royal
herald. Such a sequence of titles is typical for ancient Egyptian
officials, who could hold both priestly and secular offices.
The burial chamber was explored in close cooperation
with the Egyptian scientists from the Supreme Council of
Antiquities during last November, and it necessitated the
cooperation of a number of scholars and scientists from various
fields. The burial chamber was well hidden at the bottom of a
10 metre-deep shaft, and the entrance was covered by a wall
of mudbricks. After this wall had been carefully dismantled,
the entrance to the burial chamber appeared. The chamber
measured approximately 4 x 2 metres and was a little less
than 1.3 metres high, and it was to a large extent occupied
by a large limestone sarcophagus containing the intact body
of the ancient Egyptian dignitary. Items of burial equipment
were scattered around the sarcophagus, including 10 beer jars
with sealings, wooden canopic chest with four limestone cases
for the mummified viscera, 75 limestone vessels for symbolic
offerings of food and drinks, offerings of beef, and a stone
blade. The beer jars (one for each day of the ancient Egyptian
week) should have originally contained beer, but as the ancient
Egyptians were usually rather pragmatic even in their faith,
they filled them only with Nile mud to lower the expenses.
The greatest surprise, however, was the burial itself. After
the limestone lid had been shifted aside under very strict
security measures, we were looking at the badly mummified
and almost destroyed body of Neferinpu himself and at his
personal belongings. He lay stretched out on his back and
with his head to the north. Along his left side there was a
long wooden staff decorated with golden strips, and his left
hand held the kherep sceptre, a symbol of his high rank and
authority. At his left shoulder there was a beautiful wooden

Right: Sarcophagus
and some parts of
the burial equipment
as discovered upon
opening the entrance.
In the forefront a row of
nine sealed beer jars
(the tenth fell off and
is seen on the extreme
right). No 11 shows
a pile of miniature
limestone vessels,
Nos 12-17 refer to the
decayed wooden box
with canopic vessels and
some pottery piled on
top of it.


12 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
 Above: The in situ partly mummified burial found in the
sarcophagus. The sarcophagus chest is plain and roughly
hewn lacking any decoration as it was the common
practice under the given period.

Right: Detail of the buried priest Neferinpu showing his

skull, the headrest and a small necklace still around
his neck. The small faiance beads originate from a
disintegrated beaded matting net (?) once placed on his
head.

Below right: Lower part of the false door of Neferinpu. It

shows large figures of Neferinpu and a smaller figure of
his oldest son Kahesuf. The cartouche on the left is King
Niuserre, 6th king of the 5th Dynasty and the cartouche on
the right is King Neferirkare 3rd king of the 5th Dynasty.

head-rest and somewhat closer, a small alabaster vessel

originally containing aromatic oil. He was also wearing a
golden collar. His arms, head and wrists were decorated
with bracelets of faience beads, of which several hundreds
were found.
According to preliminary anthropological findings,
Neferinpu died at the age of approximately 50 years – this
means that he reached quite an old age for an ancient
Egyptian.
The years 2008 and 2009 should bring the final answer
to the numerous questions connected with this tomb, above
all with respect to the additional unexplored underground
rooms, which are still awaiting the archaeologists in the
tomb. Even now it is, however, clear that his intact burial
chamber represents a unique source of knowledge for the
many disciplines that are employed in the course of Czech
excavations on the pyramid field at Abusir.
One of the first presentations of the discovery within the
Old Kingdom context will be given in Sydney, August 14-15,
2008 at Macquarie University’s Annual Conference.

If you wish to support our Abusir project please contact the

author at miroslav.barta@ff.cuni.cz.


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 13
 Manchester Museum Day School

The Two B ro t h e rs a t t h e
Manchester Museum:
Researching and displaying
Egyptian Mummies
Saturday 17th May 2008
The Manchester Museum,
The University of Manchester
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
Cost £30; £15 for full-time students
Please contact Phyllis Stoddart on 0161 275
2643 for further information or email her at
phyllis.stoddart@manchester.ac.uk (also for
booking forms)
•••
PROGRAMME
9.45-10.00: Registration
Session 1: The Two Brothers: Life and Death
in Middle Kingdom Egypt
10.00-10.05: Dr Joyce Tyldesley: Welcome
10.05-11.00: Prof Rosalie David: The Two
Brothers: Their Secrets Revealed by Science
11.00-11.15: Coffee break
11.15-12.00: Glenn Godenho: State and Society
in Egypt’s Middle Kingdom
12.00-12.45: Claire Malleson: A case study of
Itjtawy
12.45 - 2.00: Lunch (not provided): an opportunity
to look around the gallery

Session 2: Researching and Displaying

Egyptian Mummies
2 . 0 0 - 2 . 3 0 : Dr Steven Snape: Ethnicity in
Ancient Egypt: The Case of the Two Brothers
2 .3 0 -3 . 0 0 : Prof Piotr Bienkowski: The Ethics
of Ancient Egyptian Remains
3.00-3.30: Dr Karen Exell: The Redevelopment
of the Egypt Galleries at the Manchester
Museum: Methods and Ideas.
3. 3 0 - 4 . 1 5 : Tea break and informal afternoon
Question and Answer Session


14 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
 CLUB NEWS
SYDNEY
The next club meeting will be on the 20th of April 2008 at
3:00pm. The club meets at the Wesley Centre, 220 Pitt St,
Sydney (near Town Hall station) on the third Sunday of
each month. Admission $4.00; Concession $3.00. For more
information please phone (02) 9477 3595.

BRISBANE
The Diggings Club meets on the second Sunday each
month at 1:00pm in the Central City Library, 266 George
St, Brisbane. For further information phone Veronica Mason
on (07) 3219 3097.

GOLD COAST
The Pharos Club meets in Southport on the first Saturday of
each month at 1:00pm. For information on meetings, contact
the President, Maureen Hughes on (07) 5531 1394.

ADELAIDE
The Ancient Egypt Study Group meets on the first
Tuesday of each month 7:30-9:30pm in Clarence Gardens,
Adelaide. The hieroglyphs study group meets on the third
Tuesday of each month. Phone (08) 8276 7945.

Authentic Roman Medieval Artifacts

• Bronze buckles 100-600 AD • Medieval Horseshoe 1100-1400 AD

• Bronze Handle Dagger 100-300 AD & 1884 Antique Print •

wFramed arrowheads, buckles, keys etc

wJewellery creations using ancient
bronze artifacts

Prices start from $35.00

Free postage insurance for Australian customers

PO Box 2165 Carlingford NSW 2118 Ph: 0423 193 427

www.ancientshapes.com.au paul@ancientshapes.com


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 15
 Our Jerusalem Correspondent
DANIEL HERMAN
brings you another report

News from Jerusalem

Philistine Male Organs
Found at the Tel es-Safi

I
n this last season of excavations at
Tel es-Safi, a site 40 kilometres south west of Jerusalem
identified with Philistine Gath, archaeologist Aren Maier
of Bar-Ilan University announced the discovery of seven
small clay phallic-shaped objects.
Two such ceramic phalluses had been recovered already
in 2004, but now it seems that these items were part of a
common Philistine cult, one which should be studied in greater
detail. Phallic shaped objects are very rare in Semitic material
cultures, but appear in Egyptian context, and are quite well
known in Aegean and Greek context.
So these finds add to the accumulating evidence recovered
at various Philistine sites in Israel over the years, suggesting
that the origin of the Philistine was from the Aegean region,
between modern Turkey and Greece.
Furthermore, Maier suggests that these items can also
explain a difficult term in the Old Testament – the ophalim
(‘opalim’). Ophalim are mentioned in I Samuel 5:6&11, and
in I Samuel 6:4-5, as some kind of a plague inflicted on the
Philistines. Later, when returning the ark of the covenant,
the Philistines also gave the Israelites “five gold ophalim” (I
Samuel 6:4).
English editions of the Old Testament translated this word
in terms such as “hemorrhoids”, “swellings”, or “tumors”. Yet

Two of the phallic shaped objects recovered in the excavations in Tel es-Safi excavations, a site identified with the Philistine city
of Gath. According to the excavator of the site, Professor A Maier, these items were part of Philistine cult practices; and such
items, Maier suggests, were the golden OPHALIM which the Philistines included as offerings when returning the Ark of the
Covenant to the Israelites (I Samuel 6:4-5). Photo: Tel es-Safi/Gath archaeological project


16 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
Maier is of the opinion that this term is really referring to the
male organs of the Philistines, the membra virile. Although this
term is nowhere else used in any Semitic language to describe
the male organ. In biblical Hebrew the cognate word ophel has
a meaning of high, lofty, or raised.
This approach is supported by another Biblical narrative.
In I Samuel 18 King Saul dares David to bring him “a
hundred Philistine foreskins” in order to marry his daughter,
Michal. David, without hesitation, carries out this challenge
successfully: “David and his men went out and killed two
hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented
the full number to the king so that he might become the
king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal
in marriage” (I Samuel 18:27).
It seems that Saul and David were aware of the fact that
foreskins were of special cultic significance to the Philistines,
and besides the obvious painful and humiliating act, cutting
off the foreskins of Philistines may have had also a religious
significance, perhaps for both sides. It may also highlight the
contemptuous references in the Bible to “the uncircumcised
Philistines” (1 Samuel 17:26, 36; 31:4).
Perhaps this practice of the Philistines was not just a
neglect of circumcision, but a feature of their culture and
religion. Both the Egyptians and the Israelites practised
circumcision and the Philistines were in between them, so it
is not as though they could have been ignorant of the custom.
It was a deliberate choice on their part.
Maier consulted with several urologists, but they could
not conclude whether the clay phallic shaped objects were
circumcised or not. Yet seven phallic shaped bronze objects
found in 1996 at Ascalon, another major Philistine site, do
seem to resemble an uncircumcised male organ. What the
exact use and meaning of such items was in Philistine culture
and religion still remain an enigma.
Those interested to volunteer in the next season of
excavations at Tel es-Safi/Gath can register at www.dig-gath.
org. You can also follow the excavation at the web blog of Prof
A Maier at http://gath.wordpress.com.
Biblical name found
on Seal in City of David
O ngoing excavations by Dr Eilat Mazar in the City
of David, the site of Canaanite and Biblical Jerusalem,
have yielded many finds to date, but a recently discovered
stone seal seems to be of special importance, and good reason
for excitement.
Stone seals and clay stamped seals (Bullae) are rarely
found, as only high officials had personal stamps in Biblical
times: Joseph was given the Pharaoh’s seal when reaching a
high position in Egypt (Genesis 41:41-44); Jezebel ordered
king Ahab, her husband, to stamp with his royal seal an order
she wished to send (I King 21:8).
At the City of David quite a few Bullae were recovered by
the different archaeological expeditions, attesting that Biblical
Jerusalem was an administrative centre for the kingdom of
Judah and Israel. Yet few seals have been found, even in

Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008
capital cities like Jerusalem and
Samaria.
The recently revealed seal
is of an elliptical shape (2.1 x
1.8 cm) and is made of a black
stone. It depicts two bearded
priests standing on either side of
an incense altar, with their hands
raised forward in a position
of worship. A crescent moon
appears on the top of the altar.
Below the scene, three
Palaeo-Hebrew letters read
The Tamach Seal
“TMH” (“[belonging to]
Photo by Edwin Trebels,
Tamach”. There were no vowels courtesy of Dr Eilat Mazar
in early Hebrew). Such a name is
known from the book of Nehemiah: “These are the children of
the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had
been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon
had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah...
the children of Tamach ...” (Nehemiah 7:6, 55).
This find is perplexing. One of the main goals of the
Jews who returned from the exile was to restore the temple in
Jerusalem and its religious practices to Yahweh, the single god
of the Jews. Yet the scene seems to describe Babylonian rituals!
The crescent depicted above the altar is known to represent
Sin, the chief god of the Babylonians.
Mazar is of the opinion that although the cultic scene
seems Babylonian, it did not seem to disturb the Jew who
owned it. Perhaps Mazar is right, but whether the seal alludes
to traces of idol worship among the Jews or not, this seal is
one of the very few cases where an archaeological find bears
a clear name that can be matched in the bible, and in matching
layers. I call such occasions “BINGO!” Excavators call it a
reason for a press announcement.
Last minute Addition
Following the publication of the “Tamach” seal by Eilat Mazar,
several Scholars have criticised her reading. Usually seals have
the text chiselled on them in a ‘negative’ way, and only when
the stamp is used, the proper ‘positive’ reading is formed. And
indeed if the name on this seal is read from left-to-right and
the letter on the left is examined more carefully, it becomes
clear the name mentioned on the seal is actually ShLMT, or
“Shlomit”, in retrograde.
This name is found in the Bible, and from the same time
frame as in the previous reading. The book of Chronicles,
for instance, mentions Shlomit who was the daughter of
Zerubabel, a descendent of the Judean king Jehoiachin (I
Chronicles 3:19).
The name Shlomit also appears in Ezra 8:10. Which
Shlomit owned this seal remains unknown, but her name is
now clear.
The dig is being sponsored by the Shalem Center,
a Jerusalem research institute, and the City of David
Foundation.
Shalom
17
T his is what you said...
Dear Diggings, Dear Diggings,
I felt I just had to write to you firstly to thank you for your I would like you to know how much I am enjoying the new
wonderful magazine which I have subscribed to for several coloured Diggings Journal. Well done. Also I have received
years now. Secondly about the article on the book of Esther the book [Unwrapping The Pharaohs] which I am enjoying
which I have been very familiar with since a young child due reading.
to the fact that our family name Carcas appears in it, in some K F Taylor, Southport, QLD
Bibles referred to as a chamberlain and in other accounts as a
eunuch. Quite a bit of research has been done on our family
tree by cousins in England, though I did already know quite
a lot from my paternal grandparents. We want to hear from you!
It seems we are descended from Portuguese Jews. My
grandfather and my father and three uncles were all butchers Write to us with your questions, offer
by trade in London, so the name was very apt, though the an opinion or just share something of
name Carcas also has other meanings. It seems it is also quite
common in Portugal as workers saw my brother’s name on his interest. We will be giving away one of
lunch pail and thought he was Portuguese. our fantastic Diggings shirts for the
I migrated with my family to Australia in 1956 as a sixteen year
old and two years later married a Greek from Thessaloniki. We
best letter each issue.
have been to Greece three times together and so it was of great
interest to see your pictures of your 2007 trip which brought Send your letters to: ‘This Is What You
back great memories of archaeological sites we had visited. Said’ at PO Box 341 Hornsby NSW
S A Norris, Keysborough, VIC
2077 AUSTRALIA or
Dear Diggings, editor@diggings.com.au
I wish to discuss an article that has appeared in the Oct/Nov
07 edition of Archaeological Diggings, ‘The Golden Rats of
Abydos’. I hadn’t heard of rats being worshipped before by the
ancient Egyptians, so I looked into this a little further. R Duff
Despite looking like a long-nosed mouse, shrews are not
rodents and not closely related. The shrew family is part of
the order of Soricomorpha.
The Egyptians actually mummified shrews (called ‘m’m) and
there are a few on display at the Egyptian museum in Cairo.
One specimen (JE91913) is enclosed in a limestone coffin
with a carved image of shrew on top, serving as a handle.
These mummified animals have been found in Saqqara, Giza,
Akhmin and Thebes among other locations. Shrew mummies
have been found in wood, limestone and bronze sarcophagi,
and in some cases, several shrews have been found together
in a bound package.
During the Pharaonic period, shrews were not worshipped
as a major cult, although during and after the Late period
they rose in status. As the representation of a sacred animal,
shrews were associated with Horus of Letopolis (Ausim) and
in its manifestation of Horus Mekhentienirty, was known as
‘the blind and seeing god’. Although shrews have small eyes
and would appear as being blind, they are quite capable of
navigating at night.
Shrews have also been linked with the sun god Ra (Chapter 145
Book of the Dead), and the goddess Wadjet, taking the form
of a shrew in order to save Horus from the evil Seth.
Hope this is of interest for you and your readers.
S Hartwell, via email


18 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
 Come with us in April 2009!

2009 MIDDLE EAST TOUR

T he 2009 Diggings Middle East tour will depart in April. Spend three exciting weeks travelling through Egypt, Jordan, and
Israel. Travel in air-conditioned coaches and stay in first class hotels offering excellent meals - breakfast and dinner are
included each day. Highlights include:
EGYPT
Pharaonic Village and Cairo Museum
Tutankhamen’s treasures and tomb
Pyramids of Saqqara and Giza
Temples of Karnak and Luxor
Valley of the Kings and royal tombs
Medinet Habu and Deir el Bahari
Temples of Abu Simbel and Philae
Through the Sinai Desert
JORDAN
Petra: The Treasury and High Place
The ancient Roman theatre and tombs
ISRAEL
Nazareth and Capernaum - sail on the Sea of Galilee
The Dead Sea Caves - swim in the sea where you cannot sink
Stand on Masada where 960 Zealots committed suicide
Jerusalem’s streets and bazaars, holy sites and archaeology
Wade through Hezekiah’s water tunnel to the pool of Siloam

TRAVEL IN COMFORT AND SAFETY WITH SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THE WAY!
Then, if you wish, join us at our dig site for a week of archaeological exploration!
No experience necessary and all age groups welcome
To receive a free brochure outlining the itinerary and costs, send us the form below, or phone:

1800 240 543

Email editor@diggings.com.au
Or download the brochure from www.diggings.com.au
Lic Travel Agent: Harvey World Travel (Toronto) 64 The Boulevarde, Toronto NSW 2283 Lic No: 2TA 4798

Post this form to: Please send me the brochure for the
PO Box 341 Hornsby
2009 Middle East Tour
NSW 2077 AUSTRALIA
Name......................................................................................................
AD Apr/May 08

PO BOX 82214 Highland Park Address..................................................................................................

AUCKLAND 2143 NZ
...............................................................................................................
19
PO Box 738 Middletown Postcode..................................................................
CA 95461 USA
Our new look Diggings Journal is great value with 32 pages of news and colour pictures!

Newsflashes from DIGGINGS

DIGGINGS Our monthly news journal containing
the latest reports from the world of
archaeology.
Diggings Journal is our monthly publication and contains the latest reports from the
world of archaeology. Printed below are a few brief excerpts from a recent issue. For SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS
more, take out a subscription at only A$29.90 (NZ$38.00, US$32.00 or UK£16). editor@diggings.com.au

AUSTRALIA
Books and Bones found at Tel Diggings news journal A$29.90
scrolls el-Amarna Payment in AUS currency/credit card to:
Diggings
PO Box 341

W e take printing presses for

granted. They churn out copy
after copy of a tract, magazine or book
A khenaten was one of the last
Pharaohs of the powerful 18th
dynasty; He had a conviction that the



Hornsby NSW 2077
AUSTRALIA
Free-call 1800 240 543
and each one is exactly the same as the sun disc, named Aten, should be the Fax: (02) 9012 0882
others, but it was not always like that. supreme god to be worshipped, so he
Manuscripts had to be copied by hand decided to Abandon Karnak, where
and accuracy did not always happen. Amun was regarded as the father of the NEW ZEALAND
So what chance do we have of knowing gods, and established a new capital half Diggings news journal NZ$38.00
Payment in NZ currency/credit card to:
that the Bibles we now have are accurate way between Karnak and Memphis in
Diggings
copies of the originals? Volume 42 the north. It was called Akhetaten. PO Box 82214
of the magazine Buried History has It was a beautiful, well-laid out city on Highland Park, Auckland 2143
printed a learned article by Professor a plain encircled by a ring of hills on NEW ZEALAND
S D Charlesworth which analyses this the east and the river Nile on the west.
question. Now known as Tel el Amarna it has been
excavated by archaeologists from the UNITED KINGDOM
Cave men wore time of Flinders Petrie to the present, Diggings news journal £16
Payment in UK currency/credit card to:
boots one hundred years later.
Diggings
66 Ffordd Pennant

C onventional evolutionary theory

has it that ancient cave men were
scantily clothed and walked barefooted,
Why not subscribe? Fill out
the form below and send



Gallt Melyd
Denbighshire LL19 8PE
UK
it to the address closest
but according to a report in New Scientist,
archaeologists found some 40,000 year to you. For details on how
to subscribe to the journal USA & CANADA (US edition only)
old skeletons in a cave near Beijing in
Diggings news journal US$32.00
China which suggested that these cave plus the magazine, see the Payment in US currency/credit card to:
men wore boots. So maybe they weren’t following page. Diggings
40,000 years old after all. PO Box 738
Middletown CA 95461
USA
YES! Please send me a subscription to Diggings Journal Toll-free: 888-573-8035
Fax: 707-987-3120
NAME........................................................................................................................................
ADDRESS.................................................................................................................................. ALL OTHER COUNTRIES
SUBURB....................................................................................STATE.................................... Diggings news journal A$51.00
Payment in AUS currency/credit card to:
POSTCODE.......................................... PHONE..................................................................... Diggings
PO Box 341
TOTAL PAYMENT for subscriptions as above $......................................................... Hornsby NSW 2077
I HAVE ENCLOSED (tick one) ❑ Cheque ❑ Money Order ❑ Int. Bank Draft AUSTRALIA
Please make Cheques/Money Orders payable to ‘Diggings Magazine’ IF YOU NEED A TAX INVOICE please
OR debit my credit card (tick one) ❑ Visa ❑ Mastercard ❑ Amex request at the time of ordering.

Card No

☎
Office Use Only
Exp Date
Date Processed: ____/____/____ AUS 1800 240 543
20
Name on Card........................................................................... Amount: $ _____._____ ____
Exp Date: AD ____/____
USA 888-573-8035
Signature................................................................................... DJ ____/____
 Fill out the form below and post to the address nearest you

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

DIGGINGS Archaeological Diggings

Australia’s top magazine of Australian Edition
ancient history and archaeology
1 yr AUD$41.90 6 issues
ABN 58 683 370 124
2 yrs AUD$76.50 12 issues
3 yrs AUD$111.10 18 issues
SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS
editor@diggings.com.au US Edition
1 yr USD$21.90 6 issues
AUSTRALIA 2 yrs USD$43.80 12 issues
Archaeological Diggings A$41.90 3 yrs USD$65.70 18 issues
Both AD & Diggings (Aus only) A$63.80
Payment in AUS currency/credit card to:
Diggings
PO Box 341
Hornsby NSW 2077 NAME (BLOCK LETTERS)...........................................................................................................
AUSTRALIA
ADDRESS.......................................................................................................................................
Free-call 1800 240 543
Fax: (02) 9012 0882 SUBURB/TOWN..............................................STATE............................POSTCODE...................

NEW ZEALAND PHONE.............................................................
Archaeological Diggings NZ$47.00
Email address (if applicable)...........................................................................................................
Both AD & Diggings (NZ only) NZ$77.00
Payment in NZ currency/credit card to:


Diggings
PO Box 82214 ❑ YES! Please send me a subscription ❑ 1 yr ❑ 2 yrs ❑ 3 yrs

AD Apr/May 08


Highland Park, Auckland 2143
NEW ZEALAND
❑ ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS magazine
UNITED KINGDOM
❑ BOTH journal and magazine
Archaeological Diggings £21 ❑ New subscription: Start with Feb / April / June / Aug / Oct / Dec issue
Both AD & Diggings £37 OR
Payment in UK currency/credit card to: ❑ Renewal
Diggings



66 Ffordd Pennant
Gallt Melyd
Denbighshire LL19 8PE
❑ YES! please send a GIFT subscription ❑ 1 yr ❑ 2 yrs ❑ 3 yrs

❑ ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS magazine

UK
BOTH journal and magazine
USA & CANADA (US edition only) ❑
Archaeological Diggings US$21.90 ❑ New subscription: Start with Feb / April / June / Aug / Oct / Dec issue
Both AD & Diggings (US only) US$53.90
OR
Payment in US currency/credit card to:
Diggings ❑ Renewal
PO Box 738
Middletown CA 95461 GIFT IS FOR: NAME (BLOCK LETTERS)................................................................................
USA ADDRESS.......................................................................................................................................
Toll-free: 888-573-8035
Fax: 707-987-3120 .........................................................................................................................................................
(US edition is one month behind Aust.)
SUBURB/TOWN..............................................STATE............................POSTCODE...................
ALL OTHER COUNTRIES
Archaeological Diggings A$62.00
Both AD & Diggings A$113.00 PAYMENT DETAILS
Payment in AUS currency/credit card to:
Diggings TOTAL PAYMENT for subscriptions as above $.........................................................
PO Box 341 I HAVE ENCLOSED (tick one) ❑ Cheque ❑ Money Order ❑ Int. Bank Draft
Hornsby NSW 2077
Please make Cheques/Money Orders payable to ‘Diggings Magazine’
AD Apr/May 08

AUSTRALIA
OR debit my credit card (tick one) ❑ Visa ❑ Mastercard ❑ Amex
IF YOU NEED A TAX INVOICE please
request at the time of ordering.
Card No

☎
Office Use Only
AUS 1800 240 543 Exp Date
Date Processed: ____/____/____
21
USA 888-573-8035 Name on Card........................................................................... Amount: $ _____._____ ____
Exp Date: AD ____/____
Signature................................................................................... DJ ____/____
 DVDS
Filmed on location in the Middle East $12
AU$12, NZ$14, US$10 each
❐ Egypt
The Pyramids of Egypt (47 mins)
Temples and Tombs of Egypt (39 mins)
❐ Ancient Empires
The Lost Empire of the Hittites (30 mins)
The Winged Bulls of Assyria (33 mins)
Babylon the City of Gold (30 mins)
❐ Secrets in the Sand
A fast-moving tour of the Middle East, covering Egypt, Jordan and
Israel. (40 mins)
❐ Archaeology Unearthed
Two programs filmed during the Diggings excavation of Beth Shemesh.
(total 46 min)
❐ The Gladiators
The amphitheatres and gladiators. Filmed at ancient Beit Govrin.
(54 mins)
❐ Tales from Byzantium
The history of a city with three names, presented by Kendall Down.
(40 mins) PLUS the 2001 dig at Tell Mareshah. (15 mins)
❐ Gods and Gold: Seven Cities
A tour of the seven cities of western Turkey including Ephesus, site of
the famed temple of Diana, and Pergamos. (68 mins)
❐ Solomon’s Kingdom
David Down takes you to Syria and Lebanon to see the evidence for
Solomon.
❐ Petra
Kendall Down guides you through the rose-red city of Petra and tells
the story of John Burckhardt’s discovery. (Note: some wind noise).
(138 mins)
❐ Archaeology Update
Filmed in the Middle East May 2006. The latest finds in Egypt, Jordan
and Israel: the temple at Petra; secret passage in the pyramid; the obelisk
of Caesarea and more. (75 mins).

PAYMENT DETAILS
NAME..................................................................................................................................
NZ US
ADDRESS.............................................................................................................................
SUBURB.............................................................................. STATE...................................
$14 $10
each each
POSTCODE......................................... PHONE.................................................................
TOTAL PAYMENT for DVDs above $........................................................................ DIGGINGS
I HAVE ENCLOSED (tick one) ❑ Cheque ❑ Money Order ❑ Int. Bank Draft PO BOX 341 Hornsby NSW 2077
Please make Cheques/Money Orders payable to Diggings Magazine AUSTRALIA
OR debit my credit card (tick one) ❑ Visa ❑ Mastercard ❑ Amex PO BOX 82214 Highland Park
Auckland 2143 NEW ZEALAND
Card No PO BOX 738 Middletown CA 95461
USA

☎
Exp Date
22
AUS 1800 240 543
Name on Card.................................................... Signature....................................................................
USA 888-573-8035
 Medieval Iron
Arrowheads
By Paul& Janis McIsaac of Ancient Shapes
T
he bow and arrow
has been used for hunting
of food and warfare since
the beginning of time. The
discovery of the first stone arrowheads
Fig A
in Africa would indicate that the bow
and arrow were invented and used there,
thousands of years ago.
Over the millennia arrowheads
have been made from shale, stone,
bronze and iron. The construction and
specific application particularly of
iron arrowheads has led to the creation
Fig B of many different designs over the
centuries. Preserved and segmented
iron arrowhead remains are found today
all over Europe and Asia, particularly
eastern European countries or what used
to be part of the old Soviet Union.
This subject of arrowheads is
vast. This article will focus on iron
arrowheads that were in common
use from about 800 AD to 1400 AD.
Remains of earlier iron arrowheads
would be scarce and fragmented if
found at all. It is well documented that
Fig C
most of the early arrowheads before
100AD were made of bronze, which
in most cases does not decompose like
iron does.
The manufacture
of Ancient Iron
The manufacturing of iron into
objects has been known since (2500
BC). For the ancients, working with iron
during that time was difficult. Iron melts
at a very high temperature, slightly
over 1500 degrees Celsius. The ancient
Fig D
iron furnace could not reach a high
enough temperature to melt the iron ore,
therefore a process was established to
create a workable carbon free iron that
could be hammered into a desired shape
on an anvil. This process has one major
drawback: only small items could be
Fig E
manufactured. For many centuries iron
arrowheads were manufactured by using
this procedure.
Types of Iron
Arrowheads
Iron arrowheads are very hard to
categorise, as battlefields would have
been littered with iron and bronze
arrowheads and weapons from (BC
– 1700AD). Most of the iron arrowheads
found today are medieval dating from
700 to about 1400 AD. Many different
types and sizes of iron arrowheads
were used over many centuries, but
to simplify matters there were only a
few categories that all types would fall
under.
A n t i - c ava l r y o r a n t i - k n i g h t
arrowheads, designed to bring down the
horse along with the rider. They could
not be removed easily from a horse or a
man, thereby requiring the arrow to be
removed by being pushed through the
flesh. Some of the arrowheads for this
purpose were called swallow-tailed, as
they resemble the wings of a bird.
Anti-infantry arrowheads are very
broad and heavy compared to the
armour piercing arrowheads, which are
narrow and have three cutting blades
with a sharp point, totally different to
the anti-cavalry types.
Ancient Shapes has arrowheads, as
well as many other items displayed on
their website. Visit www.ancientshapes.
com.au.
Figure A: Anti-cavalry Medieval
Arrowhead (7- 10 X 23 MM)
Figure B: Armour Piercing Medieval
Arrowhead (5-7 X 12-14 MM)
Figure C: Swallow Tail Medieval
Arrowheads (7-8 X 28 MM)
Figure D & E: Anti-infantry Medieval
Arrowheads
23
 CYRENE
An Ancient City in Libya
T
h e an c i e n t si t e
of Cyrene is located in eastern
Libya. Originally a Greek
colony founded in 632 BC it
was taken over by the Romans in 96 BC
and they expanded and renewed the city
during the 500 years that it lay under
their control. Abandoned after the Arab
invasions of AD 642 it remains one of
the most magnificent archaeological
sites in the Mediterranean. Cyrene
is perhaps best known today by the
reference in the New Testament to
‘Simon of Cyrene’, the man who is
reputed to have carried the cross for
Jesus on the way to his crucifixion.
The city of Cyrene is justly famous
for its superb natural setting - it is
located on the edge of a spectacular

24
24
By Dr Michael Birrell
escarpment overlooking the sea. The
city is located in the mountainous and
wooded district known as Cyrenaica,
a green and prosperous district which
stands in sharp contrast to the desert
which lies eastward to Egypt and west
to the area of Tripolitana.
The region of Cyrenaica was
inhabited from ancient times, populated
by the indigenous Berber people. The
earliest Greek interest in the region is
thought to have occurred in the 14th
Century BC when traders sailed along
the coast and left evidence in the form
of broken pottery. This pottery is derived
from Crete and can be dated to the
Late Minoan IIIA2 – presumably these
sherds indicate the presence of a small
Cretan trading post or port of call.
Cyrene sanctuary of Apollo © M Birrell
Vol 15 No 2 2008
The city of Cyrene was founded,
according to historical tradition, by
Greek settlers from the Aegean island
of Santorini in 632 BC. Rather than
founding a city directly on the coast,
they chose an easily defended location
near a fresh-water spring on a high
plateau which was located 20km
from the sea. The foundation of the
city, according to the Greek historian
Herodotus, was accomplished after the
colonists consulted the famous oracle
of Apollo at Delphi – in many ways
the city of Cyrene is physically similar
to Delphi, being built on a series of
terraces overlooking the sea, and one
wonders whether the colonists were ‘re-
creating’ Delphi in North Africa. The
city that they founded was named after a
Archaeological Diggings

nymph called Cyrene who, according to
myth, was a slayer of lions and beloved
of the god Apollo, the patron deity of
the city.
Cyrene is spread over a wide area
and consists of a number of distinct
urban zones. To the west is the local
high point or acropolis, a defended
‘upper city’. The main settlement was
in the centre of the city and was based
around the agora or ‘marketplace’ which
was spread out on a plateau. To the north
of the main city, and located on a terrace
at a slightly lower level, is the sanctuary
dedicated to the god Apollo. To the
south, outside the city proper, is the
temple to Demeter, Goddess of Grain,
while to the east, somewhat isolated on
a separate hill, is the sacred enclosure
of Zeus, King of the Gods.
From its establishment in 632 BC
down to 440 BC Cyrene was ruled
by eight kings who were alternately
named Battus and Arcesilas. The
kings probably lived on the fortified
acropolis to the west of the city. This
area is largely unexcavated and thus
is still poorly understood, but it would
undoubtedly have contained significant
religious and urban structures.

Archaeological Diggings
The agora of Cyrene © M Birrell
The traditional founder of the city,
Battus I, was said to have been cured
of a stutter when he encountered a lion
in the hills nearby. The shock enabled
him to give a loud yell for help, and
henceforward he was cured. A cenotaph,
or symbolic tomb, for this king was
subsequently built on the eastern side
of the Agora.
Another famous king from this early
period was Arcesilas II, nicknamed ‘the
Cruel’, who is known from a beautiful
‘black-figure’ painted vase now in Paris.
It shows him supervising the loading
of silphium into the hold of a boat.
Silphium was a natural plant product
which enabled Cyrene to prosper. In the
ancient world it was worth its weight in
silver and was regarded as a panacea,
being used as a pickle, sauce, aperitif,
purgative, astringent, antiseptic and
aphrodisiac. Over-harvesting of the
plant, however, eventually led to its
extinction.
The earliest datable monument at
Cyrene is the small temple of Apollo
Archegata, located in the SW corner of
the Agora. It is dated to the period 620-
600 BC, thus confirming the traditional
foundation date of the city. Around the
Vol 15 No 2 2008
same time (about 600 BC), a temple to
Demeter was constructed outside the
city, about 200m south of the agora - it
is now being excavated by a team of
American archaeologists. A precious
find from the Demeter temple site was
an archaic kore or ‘maiden’ statue which
can be dated to the period 575-50 BC.
Pottery found in the area came originally
from Corinth, Athens, Rhodes, Chios
and Samos, indicating the extensive
early trade links of Cyrene.
The main sacred precinct of Cyrene,
the sanctuary of Apollo, developed
500m NW of the agora was accessible
by a Sacred Way leading down from
the city centre. Two early temples were
constructed here: one dedicated to the
god Apollo and the other to his sister
Artemis. The precious fresh-water
spring which flows here from a cleft
in the hill was the main reason for the
positioning of the sanctuary, and the
reason for the location of the city as a
whole.
The original Apollo and Artemis
temples, built around 550 BC, were
relatively simple, consisting of
Mycenaean style rectangular chambers
with no colonnade around the outside.
25

Parts of these early structures are still
preserved in the later rebuilding of the
temples.
In 525 BC the Persian army, at the
instruction of King Cambyses, invaded
Cyrenaica having already conquered
Egypt. The Persian soldiers looted the
city and destroyed the earliest Apollo
temple. Eventually the Persian forces
were expelled and this temple was
rebuilt, this time in a much grander
fashion. It was now constructed as a
more modern ‘Doric’ style structure
with a central shrine and surrounding
colonnade.
Also constructed in the aftermath of
the Persian invasion was the third main
cult centre at Cyrene, the ‘Doric’ temple
of the God Zeus. It is located about
700m NE of the agora. The impressive
head of the original 6th Century BC
Zeus statue has been reconstructed from
fragments and is now on display in the
excellent site museum.
The heart of the early Greek city
was the agora which developed as
an open air market incorporating the

26
The Temple of Apollo © M Birrell
symbolic tomb of the city’s founder,
Battus I. As the centuries passed the
agora became increasingly elaborate
as various buildings were added around
the perimeter. Enormous white marble
altars, dedicated to the chief gods of the
city, were constructed around the edge
of the open square.
On the west side of the agora was
a round shrine. This appears to have
been dedicated to Demeter, Goddess
of the Grain. She was also intimately
associated with the Greek concepts of
the Underworld. According to the myth,
her daughter Persephone was dragged
down into the underworld and bound
to Hades (its lord) by being given a
pomegranate seed, representative of
first sexual contact with a new husband.
Persephone’s mother Demeter went on
strike and refused to allow any grain to
grow until her daughter was returned
to her. Eventually, Persephone was
allowed to return to the surface to visit
her mother, doing so during the spring,
thus explaining the sudden growth of
new plants at this time. The young
Vol 15 No 2 2008
goddess, because she returned from the
realm of Hades, became an important
symbol of rebirth after death. This
shrine of Demeter in the agora would
have been the venue for various rites
of passage by local girls (such as birth,
marriage, childbirth) and was a place of
offering for those wishing to duplicate
Persephone’s return from Hades.
At its height, in the Hellenistic
Period (332-30 BC), Cyrene is thought
to have had as many as 300,000
inhabitants, making it one of the largest
cities in the Mediterranean. The graves
of this period, which surround the city
on all sides, are amongst the most
impressive of any city in the Greek
world. Numerous tombs have been
catalogued and they cover about 20
square km – they are arranged along
regular streets of the dead which follow
the contour lines of the terraces. The
most spectacular tombs are located in
the natural terraces directly below the
Apollo sanctuary. Some tombs are rock
cut while others have stone sarcophagi
located around a central court.
Archaeological Diggings
 Many of the sarcophagi from Cyrene
have an unusual horizontal space left in
the pitched roof. This was designed to
hold a faceless female statue, carved
only from the waist up, which was
meant to represent Persephone rising up
from the grave. Such representations are
thought to have symbolically functioned
to help the dead rise from the grave.
The earliest monumental theatre at
Cyrene dates to around 500 BC. It was
built 200m west of the Apollo sanctuary
and has a spectacular view across the
coastal plain. Performances took place
in a semi-circular orchestra while the
spectators sat on stone benches carved
into the slope of the hill. Subsequently,
during the Roman period, when the afterwards, the Battiad dynasty was pursuits and many famous scholars
residents were less interested in overthrown by a democratic revolution. came from the city including the
theatrical performances, the theatre A copy of the constitution survives poet Callimachus (305-240 BC), and
was transformed into a gladiatorial in a detailed inscription. It granted the scientist Eratosthenes (275-194
amphitheatre by the addition of further franchise to 10,000 property owners, BC). Eratosthenes is renowned as
seating on the northern side. Fights took and created a senate of 101 members, being the first scholar to calculate the
place in the circular arena. Ten doors a popular assembly of 500 and a circumference of the earth, doing so
leading to various cages around the edge council of generals. The Greek historian with amazing accuracy. Queen Berenice
housed the animals. Herodotus visited the site in this period II, wife of Ptolemy III, was also born
The last of the Battiad kings, and has left us a fascinating and detailed in the city.
Arcesilas IV, was famous for his description of the city (Book IV). A number of buildings were
prowess in chariot racing. In 462 BC The democratic period of Cyrene constructed in the Ptolemaic Period.
he won the 4-horse race at Delphi lasted 140 years but was brought to The most important of these was the
and commissioned the Theban poet an end in 322 BC when Ptolemy I of enormous gymnasium of Cyrene. The
Pindar to commemorate his momentous Egypt annexed Cyrenaica and made complex consisted of an enormous
victory. This is the 4th Pythian ode, it part of his kingdom. The Ptolemaic square surrounded by colonnades
probably delivered at Cyrene. Shortly period saw the flourishing of intellectual and was connected to the agora by a
Above: Statue of Persephone from a grave Below: The Demeter temple in the agora © M Birrell


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 27
27
remarkable 130m colonnade decorated
with statues of Hermes and Heracles.
In 96 BC a very strange thing
happened which altered the history
of Cyrenaica for ever. The local ruler
Ptolemy Apion, a scion of the Ptolemaic
Dynasty in Egypt who had been given
control of Cyrenaica as his personal
fief, gifted the region to Rome in his
will rather than assigning it to another
member of his family. Ptolemy Apion
was here following in the footsteps
of other Hellenistic Kingdoms like
Pergamum in Turkey which had also
been given away to Rome. The rise of
the mighty Roman Empire was probably
considered inevitable and many
rulers of small kingdoms around the
Mediterranean considered subjugation
to Roman rule inevitable. Rather than provincial Roman Governor. pirates in 67 BC or the defeat of Antony
risking conquest and destruction it was On the east side of the Agora the and Cleopatra by Octavian at the Battle
therefore considered sounder policy to Romans erected a magnificent statue of of Actium in 31 BC.
just accept Roman control peacefully. the Goddess Victory standing on a ship’s During the later part of the reign
The Romans, however, were prow. Under her feet two dolphins are of Augustus the pre-existing Ptolemaic
surprised by the bequest and took some represented leaping out of the water. The gymnasium was converted into a Roman
time to do anything about it. It was not exact meaning of the monument remains style Forum. The colonnaded court
until 74 BC that Rome finally created obscure – scholars argue as to whether was henceforth to be used for political
the province of Cyrenaica with Cyrene it commemorates the victory of the and administrative activity rather than
as its capital and therefore base for the general Pompey over the Mediterranean athletic pursuits, since these no longer

Above: The Necropolis of Cyrene Below: The theatre of Cyrene © M Birrell


28 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings

played such an important role in society.
On the northern edge of the Forum, a
large basilica was built in the Flavian
Period (about AD 79), to function as the
judicial and financial centre of the city.
This was a massive hall with colonnades
running down the length of the building
forming a main hall and two side aisles.
The judges would have been seated in
the apse at the western end of the hall.
Above: The Ptolemaic gymnasium Below: The Baths built by Trajan © M Birrell

Archaeological Diggings
The Romans made further additions
to the town centre in the Second Century
AD. A large theatre building, perhaps
better understood as a roofed Odeon,
was constructed during the reign of
Trajan (early 2nd Century AD). This
is located on the western side of the
Forum. It would have been used for
theatre but may also have functioned
as a meeting hall for the administration
Vol 15 No 2 2008
of Cyrenaica. In the reign of Hadrian, a
small temple was built in the centre of
the Forum, probably functioning as a
shrine to the deified Emperor.
A major Jewish revolt against
Roman rule brought devastation to
Cyrene during the reign of Trajan
in AD 115. There were many Jews
spread throughout the Middle East
with a sizeable number having come
to Cyrenaica in the aftermath of the
destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The
Jews included a number of religious
zealots who were opposed to Roman
control of their religion in Judea.
A Jewish rebel called Lucas took
control of Cyrene and his fellow Jews
undertook widespread destruction of
public buildings. The greatly revered
temple of the god Zeus, which had stood
since 500 BC, was thoroughly destroyed
during the revolt. The columns of
the temple were brought down by
undermining the plinths and setting fire
to wooden props.
The Zeus temple was subsequently
repaired on a much more impressive
scale. Construction work took place
slowly but by the reign of Commodus,
29
70 years later, the finished temple
was larger than either the Athenian
Parthenon or the famous temple of
Zeus at Olympia. The blocks which
make up the shrine of the temple are a
monumental 2m by 4m. Inside the shrine
was a new colossal statue of Zeus, eight
times life size. The main features of the
body were fashioned from stone while
the clothes were made of gilded stucco.
Fragments of this statue, including a
foot and fingers, are preserved today in
the site museum.
A large Roman-style bath complex
was built on the eastern side of the
Apollo sanctuary during the reign of the
Emperor Trajan. The baths had under
floor heating and hot and cold pools for
clients to relax in. The bath complex,
like most other civic buildings in the
city, was badly damaged during the
Jewish revolt and subsequently repaired
during the reign of Hadrian as recorded
in a fascinating inscription from the
site. The complex was subsequently
richly adorned with statues, the most
famous example being an image of the
goddess Venus which was exposed in a

30
30
thunderstorm in 1913.
Cyrene went into something of
a decline in the Fourth Century AD.
During the reign of Diocletian (in AD
303) the capital of the Province of
Cyrenaica was transferred west to the
coastal city of Ptolemais and Cyrene
therefore lost its pre-eminent position
in the region. Cyrene, like most Roman
cities in North Africa, was devastated
by the major earthquake which hit the
region in AD 365, causing a tsunami in
the Mediterranean. The port of Cyrene,
Apollonia, was very badly damaged.
During the earthquake the ancient
temple of Apollo was destroyed, as
were numerous other buildings such as
the baths.
The city, now much reduced in
prosperity, continued to function as a
minor urban centre in the Fifth Century
AD. A Christian basilica was built
about 400m east of the Forum in this
period, indicative of the increasing
presence of the new religion. In its first
phase it measured 40 by 30m with an
apse on the east side. In the second,
Byzantine, phase of the 6th Century
The Temple of Zeus © M Birrell
Vol 15 No 2 2008
the apse was transferred to the west
end, a defensive wall was built around
it and the floors were decorated with
mosaics showing birds, a gazelle,
rabbits, a milking scene and a Nilotic
scene. These late alterations, and the
Baptistery, were built with reused
material (a sarcophagus formed the
font!) indicating the increasing poverty
of the population.
Cyrene was finally destroyed by
the Arabs who arrived as an invading
force in AD 642. They permitted a small
Berber Kingdom to exist under their
control but the once great city no longer
functioned as a significant regional
centre. Cyrene gradually fell into ruin
and today it preserves remarkable
remains from its once glorious past.
On-going archaeological excavation
continues to reveal innumerable
treasures. —MB
Dr Michael Birrell leads tours to
Roman North Africa including Cyrene
and Apollonia. Go to his website at
www.bcarchaeology.com for more
information.
Archaeological Diggings
 Curator Adolf Klasens in Aboe Rash (1954-1959)
‘Beneath the Sands of Time’
exhibition on 400 years of
archaeological research in Egypt
O
n 2 9 N ov e m b e r , an ov e rvi e w
exhibition about 400 years of Dutch archaeological
work in Egypt opened at the Dutch National
Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van
Oudheden). ‘Beneath the Sands of Time’ presents a picture of
the motivations, methods and discoveries of the Dutch who
trekked into the desert in search of cultural treasures from
ancient Egypt. Attention is also devoted to the museum’s
own excavations, which started 50 years ago last year, and the
research in Saqqara (near Cairo), where museum curators still
make special discoveries every year.
The exhibition leads visitors via a time line along four
centuries of Dutch research. From the adventurers, collectors
and merchants who trekked to Egypt from the 17th century

Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008
on, the first Dutch who worked at sites as draughtsmen or
photographers in the 19th century, to the latest discoveries
by the museum’s Egyptologists, drawn from personal notes,
diary entries, drawings, paintings, photos, sound and film clips.
Among the over 300 objects on display, largely excavated by
Dutch archaeologists, are tomb sculptures, the mummy of a
falcon, reliefs, necklaces and pottery bowls and pitchers.
Special attention is devoted to the museum’s excavations
and the museum’s current research in Saqqara. The excavations
are conducted annually in cooperation with the University of
Leiden. The team of curator Maarten Raven and the expeditions
of his predecessors Adolf Klasens and Hans Schneider, have
on multiple occasions brought remarkable monuments to light.
They discovered the tombs of the minister of finance Maya
31
 (of whom the museum also has three lovely monumental
sculptures), of high priest Meryneith and of the royal cupbearer
Ptahemwia, all dating to the days of the pharaohs Akhenaton
and Tutankhamen (1353-1323 BC). In the exhibition, a tent
presents their workspace, with materials like picks, shovels,
drawing materials, maps and film clips of the archaeologists in
action. In a mock-up, the lovely wall paintings from the Nubian
church of Abdallah Nirki that the museum itself excavated can
be admired with a mini-camera. Next to it is a reconstruction
of a house from the Nubian village of Shokan, where a story
about life in the village is told. The exhibition can be visited
until 11 May 2008.
Visitors can discover ancient Egypt for themselves and
imagine themselves as Egyptologists with the computer games
‘Eternal Egypt’ and ‘Trail of the Mummy’ at the IBM game
tables in the museum’s central hall. A full-colour publication
about 50 years of archaeological research by the museum in
Egypt accompanies the exhibition. In addition, the RoMeO
Friends Association has dedicated a special issue of its
information bulletin to the 400 years of Dutch research which
preceded that period, and there are lectures about current Dutch
excavations in Egypt.
The exhibition was made possible by the support of IBM
Nederland B V and the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund.

Top left: Curator Hans D Schneider at work in the

underground grave chamber of Inioea.
Middle left: Coptic incense burner. Found at the excavation of
the church at Abdallah Nirki (1964). Bronze, 10th-15th c AD.
Below: Notes, diaries and drawings of the Egyptologists.
Top right: Wooden mummy coffin emerging from the sand.
Saqqara, 1999.
Middle right: Wall painting from the Nubian church at
Abdallah Nirki (1964). 10th cent. AD.
Bottom right: Egyptian workmen with pick, Saqqara.
Far right: Studying and drawing the ceramic fragments,
Saqqara (© Herman Wouters, Hollandse Hoogte)


32
32 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
33

34
34 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
 Recent Excavations
in Jerash
By Loay Olayyan

J
e r as h , o n e o f t h e
well preserved Greek-Roman
cities, is a very attractive place
for archaeologists, since a large
area from ancient times has not yet
been excavated. During the last season
of excavations the Islamic Jerash
project (sponsored by the University
of Copenhagen with additional support
from the Department of Antiquities of
Jordan) was able to uncover important
ruins that increased understanding of the
development and history of the Islamic
period buildings.
The initial excavation of the
bathhouse, conducted during the 2002
and 2004 seasons, saw the complete
exposure of the hypocaust system in
the late antique bathhouse. A sewer
running east toward the Cardo and
another expanding towards the north
were exposed together, along with a
room below ground level located east
of the hypocaust system.
Based on archeological data from
the previous seasons it was evident
that the hypocaust system was heated
by just one furnace which was located
south of the hypocaust. A large quantity
of charcoal pieces was collected which
indicates that the primary source of fuel
was wood.
These excavations have also
revealed several important elements
relating to the bathhouse architecture.
Firstly, the locations of a frigidarium
(a cold bath) and a trepidarium (a basin
with warm water) have been established
together with the furnace and service
area. Secondly, the bathhouse was
constructed with the cold water area
Facing page: Editor David Down
walking along the Cardo toward the
forum at Jerash.
Right: A view of the Forum and Cardo
from the top of the South Theatre.
Photos © M Browning
situated towards the north where the
shadow would have facilitated a natural
lower temperature. The warm area in the
southern end was for the caldarium (hot
bath). There was also a second entrance
to the hypocaust from the service area
which has been identified.
vvv
Continued investigations of the
Qiblah (prayer hall) have led to a
number of interesting discoveries such
as a Mihrab located at the western end
of the Qiblah. A Mihrab is a niche set
into the middle of the Qibla wall to
indicate the direction of Mecca, the
holy city. This is in addition to the
central Mihrab. Further excavations
have confirmed a stepped entrance in the
west wall of the mosque, and in the same
area two complete ceramic oil lamps
were recovered. One is a ninth or tenth
century type, while the other appears to
be later, possibly middle Islamic.
Digging continued along a row of
shops built between the Cardo street and
the mosque. Two shop units and a large
stepped entrance in the east wall of the
mosque were uncovered. The steps are
semi-circular in plan increasing in radius
with each step down. The staircase was
part of an imposing entrance leading
from the Cardo street to the east portico
of the mosque courtyard.
Two more shops were excavated
representing the north end of the mosque
row of shops. Below one of the shops a
fine group of complete pottery vessels
was found. Their discovery appears to
confirm use of the shop in the first half
of the eighth century. Excavation on the
western half of the Qiblah uncovered
Ayyubid or early Mameluk pottery at
the floor level, suggesting either the
continued use of the mosque into the
twelfth century AD, or its restoration
about that time.
The excavation of the mosque and
underlying bathhouse has resulted in
the recovery of 1378 coins, or coin-
like objects. Nearly all are of copper
alloy, most of which are very small and
excessively corroded. Coins which were
found, and architecture of the mosque,
both indicate that the mosque is dated
back to the eighth century AD, some
time in the reign of the caliph Hisham
Bin Abd Almalek (724-743 AD).
—LO

35
 The James Ossuary Box. It was on display at the Royal Ontario Museum from November 15, 2002 to January 5, 2003.
The Man behind the Ossuary Box
S
in c e 2 0 0 2 , t h e
James Ossuary box has inspired
archaeologists and historians
alike. This is because it is
inscribed with the words “James, son
of Joseph, brother of Jesus” in Aramaic.
Could this be a reference to James the
brother of Christ? This is a question
many have asked since the box was
made public in 2002.
F o r t h e n e g a t iv e , t h e r e i s
inconsistency in the inscription. The
words ‘James, son of Joseph’ appear to
be written by a different hand to ‘brother
of Jesus’. Prosecutors in Oded Golan’s
(the most recent owner) court case over
the authenticity of the inscription on
the box, therefore, argue that ‘brother

36
James
By Daryn Graham
of Jesus’ was added later, by Golan, to
enhance the box’s fame and value.
On the positive, however, both parts
of the inscription have been dated to
the 1st century AD, and anyway, this is
not the only case of a 1st century AD
ossuary inscription being written by two
different inscribers. The Yohahanan box
discovered in 1968 is another example.
Also in a recent development, FBI
investigators have given evidence in
Golan’s trial of how they knew of it in
its present form way back in the 1980’s
– long before the box became famous
and valuable.
But who exactly was this James and
why is this ossuary box so important?
According to Christian tradition
Vol 15 No 2 2008
James was a son of Joseph from a union
prior to his marriage to Mary, making
James Jesus Christ’s half brother. While
there is no mention in the biblical
nativity stories of Joseph’s children,
they certainly existed as gospel and
other Christian writings reveal. As there
is no mention of Joseph during Jesus’
ministry it is likely that he had died by
then leaving Mary, alone, to look after
Jesus and his half sisters and brothers,
of which James was one.
James is mentioned in both ancient
Jewish and Christian sources. A letter of
his, written around 60 AD even survives,
preserved in the New Testament. This
letter was intended for circulation
among the Jewish people he loved so
Archaeological Diggings
dearly. Although our knowledge of the
life of James remains far from complete,
we still possess valuable information on
who this man was.
Hegesippus, a Christian who
wrote in the early 2nd Century AD,
recorded that James was brought up
a Nazarite complete with its abstinent
restrictions for the purpose of sobriety.
(See Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.
23). Luke also states that James and his
family, including Jesus, also attended
the Passover festival in Jerusalem
every year (Luke 2.41f). These two
facts reflect James’ Jewish convictions
from an early age, convictions he would
later overhaul only after a life-changing
encounter with the risen Christ.
James’ Nazarite lifestyle may have
made him apprehensive of accepting
Jesus as the Jewish Messiah prior to
that encounter. After all, Jesus drank
wine sometimes, as the gospels state.
Certainly, Jesus was somewhat of an
embarrassment to his family during his
ministry. At at least one public social
gathering they even commented that
they believed Jesus to be “out of his
mind”! (Mark 3. 21)
Unperturbed, Jesus taught his
A close-up of the Aramaic inscription on the side of the James Ossuary Box. Translated, it reads, “James, son of Joseph,
brother of Jesus”. Notice the more pronounced nature of the right half of the inscription to that of the left.

Archaeological Diggings
audiences that if they lived according
to the will of God, it was they who
would be considered his true family.
Such messages James would later take
to heart. But in the meantime, even
up to Jesus’ crucifixion, James was
no believer. During the crucifixion,
Jesus entrusted his mother’s care to
his disciple John, who was no relation,
indicating that not one of his brothers
were believers.
Then, a dramatic change. After the
resurrection, Jesus appeared to him, and
James was convinced of his brother’s
divinity for the rest of his life. He became
active in, and devoted to, the Christian
community in Jerusalem, adopting
Jesus’ teachings wholeheartedly. He
aspired to live completely according
to the will of God, as his brother had
taught, writing “faith without deeds is
dead.” (James 2.26)
His epistle shows how James
considered prayer to be essential in
practising God’s will. (James 5.13)
Hegesippus, a Christian writing at the
start of the 2nd century AD, recorded
that James even developed calluses on
his knees, like a camel’s, from kneeling
in the temple, praying for forgiveness
Vol 15 No 2 2008
for his beloved fellow-Jews.
Other teachings of Jesus which
James lived by included: repentance,
and the concept of Jesus knocking
at everyone’s door inviting them to
salvation.
Such evangelism was a strong
feature of James’ life after his conversion.
And he appears to have had success in
this area. Hegesippus recorded that by
his strength of character alone James
could win converts to the Christian
faith. James’ writings show just how
much such converts meant to him. He
believed that by their conversion they
were being brought closer to God. Such
loving beliefs earned him the nickname
‘the righteous’, among both Jews and
Christians.
However, James’ conspicuousness
marked him out as a target for the
Jewish authorities, especially when their
previous target, Paul, left for Rome in
62 AD. James was brought before the
Sanhedrin convened by the High Priest
Ananus. But, convening the Sanhedrin,
and any decisions made by it, had to be
approved by Roman authorities. With
the Roman governor abroad, Ananus
had no such approval. So, illegally,
37
Ananus and the council forced James
to publicly recant at the next Passover
when Jerusalem’s population swelled.
Such a recant was important to Ananus
as James’ evangelism was challenging
the Jewish establishment.
Accordingly, at Passover, James
was positioned on a high point of the
temple by the Jewish authorities to
recant in full view of the masses. But his
words were not what Ananus expected.
“I tell you”, he shouted to his audience,
“He [Jesus] is sitting in heaven at the
right hand of the Great Power, and
will come on the clouds of heaven”.
With that, the crowd erupted, yelling
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
But as a mark of the divide between
these jubilant Jews and their otherwise
rulers, the Jewish authorities had James
thrown down, stoned, and beaten to
death. His last recorded words were, just
as Jesus had said at his own execution,
“I beseech thee, Lord God and Father,
forgive them; they know not what they
are doing”. James, heroically, never
gave up his love for his brother even to
the point of death.

38
The consequences of James’ death
were immense. Ananus, of the Jewish
Sadducean sect, was immediately
removed from office, and with his
demise, so too the Sadducees lost their
political importance.
Outside the local scene, Jews and
Christians marked the breakdown of
Jewish-Roman relations which resulted
in war as divine retribution for James’
killing.
James’ mark on history even
extended beyond political and military
spheres. His beliefs in charity,
repentance, and assurance of faith were
taken up and used by the writers of the
Didache, a later 1st century AD Christian
manuscript ‘rediscovered’ in 1883 by
Philotheos Bryennios in a library in
Istanbul. Though not canonical, it was
a collection of Christian teachings
intended for the benefit of rural Syrians.
James’ teachings are still admired
among Christians today.
James’ era has been idealised by
following generations as the “virgin
church” – a time of moral purity among
Christians.
Vol 15 No 2 2008
With all this in mind, the James
ossuary box is not just a novel artefact,
but a piece of the amazing fabric of
ancient society. Perhaps it really was
a resting place for Christ’s brother
James.
Such boxes were often inscribed
with titles the interned were particularly
famous for. For example, one discovered
in 1990 is inscribed with ‘Joseph, son of
Caiaphas’ in Aramaic and most certainly
held the remains of a son of Caiaphas,
a 1st century AD High Priest. The
James ossuary box inscription definitely
consisted of James’ titles. Eusebius
recorded that “James … was known as
the brother of the Lord; for he too was
called Joseph’s son”. (Ecclesiastical
History 2.1) The similarity between
this statement and the ossuary box
inscription is striking. So if the box
was not for our James, then one could
still be correct in saying that our James’
ossuary box probably had exactly the
same inscription on it anyway.
The James Ossuary box is currently
located in Tel Aviv, Israel.
—DG
Archaeological Diggings
 ‘THE CASBAH
AUTUMN TOUR’
Libya & Tunisia
Departs 27th August 2008. Visit
some of the best kept archaeological
secrets in North Africa. See Leptis
Magna, Cyrene and Sabratha in
Libya and Bulla Regia, El Djem and
Carthage in Tunisia.

‘IRAN & THE YEMEN’

This unique small group tour departs
27th October 2008. We will take you
to the amazing historical Persian
cities of Tehran, Esfahan and Shiraz.
You can wander the streets of ancient
Persepolis and visit the fabled region
of the ‘Queen of Sheba’.

(Australia)
“Leaders in tours to Libya & Tunisia since 1994”
“Specialists in tours to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”
Email: info@middleeasttours.com.au
Website: www.middleeasttours.com.au
Phone: (02) 9605 3981 Mobile: 0418 229 070
2TA 5806

DIGGINGS SHIRTS Try David Down’s popular

Embroidered with our colourful Tutankhamen logo, these Digging Up the Past
poly-cotton shirts are selling fast! Course - Online!
White Red Royal Blue Khaki
& Gold
sizes S, M, L and XL
Don’t miss out! We have already sold out of
XL in Royal Blue & Khaki

• Encounter the ancients in Egypt, Assyria,

Babylon, Persia, Sumer, Petra & Israel
now only $35.95 • Easy format, no cost, no obligation Course
price in Australian dollars and includes p&h
within Australia and GST
from Adventist Discovery Courses Australia
PO BOX 341 HORNSBY NSW 2077 www.DiggingUpThePast.com.au
Ph 1800 240 543


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 39
 16 Days touring Egypt and Jordan!

EGYPT AND JORDAN

Departing September 30 2008
T he Archaeological Diggings team are planning a 16 day tour of Egypt and Jordan. See the amazing Pyramids and Temples and
Tombs of Egypt, then travel to Jordan and explore the wonders of Petra. Stay overnight at the foot of the traditional Mt Sinai
and visit the Santa Katarina monastery. Climb to the top of Mt Sinai. Travel in air-conditioned coaches and stay in first class hotels
offering excellent meals - breakfast and dinner are included each day. Highlights include:
EGYPT
Pharaonic Village and Cairo Museum
Tutankhamen’s treasures and tomb
Pyramids of Saqqara and Giza
Faiyyum Oasis and Pyramid of Hawarra
Ancient remains of Kahun
Temples of Karnak and Luxor
Valley of the Kings and royal tombs
Medinet Habu and Deir el Bahari
Temples of Abu Simbel and Philae
Sound and Light show at the Pyramids
Visit the monastery of St Katherine
Climb Mount Sinai
JORDAN
Petra: The Treasury and high place
The ancient Roman theatre and tombs
Climb to the High Place of Sacrifice

TRAVEL IN COMFORT AND SAFETY WITH SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THE WAY!
To receive a free brochure outlining the itinerary and costs, send us the form below, or phone:

1800 240 543

Email editor@diggings.com.au
Or download the brochure from www.diggings.com.au
Lic Travel Agent: Harvey World Travel (Toronto) 64 The Boulevarde, Toronto NSW 2283 Lic No: 2TA 4798

Please send me the brochure for the Post this form to:
AD Apr/May 08

2008 Tour of Egypt and Jordan PO Box 341 Hornsby

NSW 2077 AUSTRALIA
Name......................................................................................................
Address.................................................................................................. PO BOX 82214 Highland Park
AUCKLAND 2143 NZ

...............................................................................................................
40 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
Postcode................................ NSW ...................................................... PO Box 738 Middletown
CA 95461 USA
 BELZONI AT
BRISTOL
Giovanni Battista Belzoni - Italian showman, engineer,
explorer of Egyptian antiquities and artist

S
ee a collection of Belzoni’s
watercolours at Bristol’s City Museum & Art
Gallery, Queens Road Clifton, Bristol. BS8 1RL
United Kingdom See also their website www.bristol.
gov.uk/museums.
Museum open daily, 10am-4pm. The Belzoni
exhibition runs until Sun 29 June 08.
The image on the left is of Seti I (Men-Maat-Re, see
cartouche) from his tomb. See full story next issue.

Image from the Belzoni collection, Bristol’s Museums,

Galleries & Archives, UK. Used with permission.

Flats in
Luxor
Offering luxury
accommodation
and individualised
tours

Go to
www.flatsinluxor.co.uk


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 41

42 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
Fifteenth in our series on
New Testament Archaeology
Machaerus
The execution site of John the Baptist
A
fter giving the
“Sermon on the Mount”
and performing the “Swine
Miracle”, reviewed in my
previous articles, all the synoptic
Gospels describe how Jesus returns to
Capernaum for some unknown time,
and performs various acts. According
to Luke he then heals an ill woman, and
brings back to life the daughter of Yair,
“head of the Synagogue” at Capernaum
(Luke 8:40-56). At this stage Jesus also
ordains 12 disciples to announce of the
arrival of “kingdom of Heaven” (Luke
9:1-6).
Luke then mentions that “Herod the
tetrarch” hears of the deeds occurring
in the north, and is confused whether
this is John the Baptist, or one of the
Biblical prophets who returned from
the dead. “But Herod said, ‘I beheaded
John. Who, then, is this I hear such
things about?’ And he tried to see him.”
(Luke 9:9).
“Herod the tetrarch” is no doubt
Herod Antipas (4 BC-39 AD), one of the
sons of Herod “the Great” (37-4 BC).
The parallel passages in both Matthew
(14:1-12) and Mark (6:14-29) mention
important additional details: earlier
Herod Antipas had imprisoned John the
Baptist after being accused by him of
violating the contemporary Jewish Law
of marriage, since he married Herodias,
the ex-wife of his brother, Herod Philip.
Furthermore, Herodias instigated her
daughter Salome to dance before Herod
Antipas, and requested John’s head as
reward. Herod followed her request, and
so he gave an order that John the Baptist
be beheaded.
The site of imprisonment and
execution of John the Baptist is not
mentioned anywhere in the New
Testament, but it is known from the
parallel description by Josephus
Flavius, the first century AD historian:

Archaeological Diggings
By Daniel Herman
“Accordingly, he [John the Baptist]
was sent a prisoner, out of Herod’s
suspicious temper, to Macherus, the
castle I before mentioned, and was
there put to death” (Antiquities of the
Jews 18.5.2). According to Josephus
this execution really stemmed from the
fear of Herod Antipas of the piety and
charisma of John the Baptist.
Macherus/Machaerus (Michvar
in Hebrew) is identified at Qalat
el-Mishnaqa (“The fortress of the
gallows”), a fortified hilltop 45 km
E of Jerusalem, on the eastern side
of the Jordan valley, overlooking the
northern part of the Dead Sea. The site is
protected on three sides by deep ravines.
The name of the site is preserved in the
name of an Arab village on the plateau
east of the mountain – Mukawir.
Machaerus was first developed by
the Hasmonean kings in the first century
BC, and was re-developed again by
King Herod “the Great” during his reign
(37-4 BC).
According to Josephus, Herod “the
Great” protected the mountain top by
a fortress wall 100 metres long and 60
metres wide, with three corner towers,
each 30 metres high. A palace was built
in the centre of the fortified area “which
was after a magnificent manner, wherein
were large and beautiful edifices” (War
of the Jews 7.6.2). A water system
which included several cisterns enabled
the collection of large amounts of rain
water.
After the death of Herod “the
Great” in 4 BC, his kingdom was
split between three of his sons. Herod
Antipas inherited the governorship
of the Galilee and the eastern side of
the Central Jordan valley (The Perea)
including Machaerus. It was during
his reign that John the Baptist was
imprisoned and beheaded there. After
the death of Herod Antipas, Machaerus
Vol 15 No 2 2008
passed to Herod Agrippa I (37-44 AD),
and then came under Roman control.
During the Jewish rebellion against
the Romans (66-73 AD), the Jews
took control of the site. After a battle
which reached the stage of a Roman
siege around the site, the Jewish rebels
capitulated before the Roman attack
had begun. The rebels were allowed to
leave, and the fortress was torn down,
leaving only the foundations intact. The
site was never settled again.
Macaherus was first visited and
identified in 1807 by the German explorer
U J Seetzen. The first archaeological
excavations were carried out at the
site by the American archaeologist J
Vardaman in 1968. In 1973 A Strobel
identified and studied the Roman
siege wall around the mountain top.
Excavations at the site continued with
the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum
in the years 1978-1981, and by the
Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and
Antiquities in 1992-1993.
The excavations recovered a palace
designed around a central courtyard,
including an elaborate bath and mosaic
floors. On the lower eastern slope
more architectural remains were
revealed. Large water cisterns were also
documented on the side of the mountain.
The lack of remains from a later period
attest that the Roman destruction of
the site in 72 AD was systematic and
complete.
Today part of the palace on the
hilltop is paved and restored, but most
of the site is still waiting to be properly
excavated and developed for tourism.
—DH
Facing page: An aerial view of
Machaerus. Photo used with
permission © Jane Taylor
www.janetaylorphotos.com
43
 Editor David Down explores the prison at Machaerus where John the Baptist is said to have been held.
He was later executed at the order Herod Antipas. © Archaeological Diggings

Herod Antipas
Although the Gospels title “Herod” all the kings of the house Special thanks to
of Herod, modern literature usually refers to Herod “the great”

Jane Taylor
(reigned 37-4 BC) when providing the title “Herod” alone.
The other Herods mentioned in the Gospels were all sons and
grandsons of Herod “the great”: Herod Archaelaus (4 BC- 6
AD), Herod Philip (4 BC-34 AD), Herod Antipas (4BC-39 Photographs
AD), Herod Agrippa I (37-44 AD), and Herod Agrippa II
(50-c. 100 AD). Jane Taylor is a writer and photographer who
Herod Antipas was one of the three sons who inherited only
part of his father’s kingdom: the Galilee and the Eastern
has lived in Amman, Jordan since 1989. She
side of the central Jordan valley (the Perea). Accordingly his has photographed Jordan, Yemen, Egypt,
title was not “King” (BASILEWS), but “Ruler of a quarter” Saudi Arabia, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Ethiopia,
(TETRACHOS). In the Galilee Herod Antipas developed Iran, Peru, Turkey, China, Nepal, South
much the city Sepphoris, and at the Sea of Galilee he Africa, Botswana and Namibia. She has also
founded a new city, which he named ‘Tiberias’* in honor of
the contemporary emperor Tiberius (14-37 AD). This city is
photographed in Iraq for UNICEF and other
inhabited to this day, and serves as a regional centre. relief agencies to show the effects of the war and
In 39 AD Antipas was accused by his nephew Herod Agrippa sanctions on the people of Iraq, in particular the
I (37-44 AD) of conspiracy against the new Roman emperor children. To view her photographs and see her
Caligula, who sent him into exile in Gaul. Accompanied there range of books, visit her website:
by Herodias, he died at an unknown date.
Herod Antipas minted small denominations of Bronze coins.
Observant of the second order in the Ten Commandments, www.janetaylorphotos.com
none of his coins bear his image.
* Our annual tour group stays in a luxury hotel here.


44 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
 Back issues
Purchase any 6 of our
back issue magazines for just

$25.00
(subject to stock availability)

OR
Purchase our entire back issues
collection on CD or DVD for

$195.95
Vol1 No1 - Vol15 No1
The CD includes a copy of the AD Index
Index also available seperately for $10. Offer available until 31 May 2008.

Call us on
1800 240 543 to order

DIGGING UP
THE PAST
with David Down

n ex c i t i n g i n t r o d u c t i o n
A to the ancient
world in 12 easy lessons written by David Down.
Provided as a free service by the Adventist Discovery
Centre, the first two lessons are entitled Land of the
Pyramids and The Egyptian Empire. Write to us at
the address below, or email us, giving your name
and address. Or register online on our website. The
first booklets arrive in the mail, FREE and without
obligation.
Or do the entire course online at
www.diggingupthepast.com.au

DISCOVERY CENTRE
PO Box 1115, Wahroonga, NSW 2076, AUS
PO Box 76 - 281, Manakau City, NZ
Phone: (02) 9847 2222
Fax: (02) 9847 2200
Mailed lessons available in AUS and NZ only


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 45
 Greek Hoplite with horses and chariot from 6th century BC. © Archaeological Diggings
The Persian Wars
H
e r o d o t us
concluded his account of
the ‘Persian Wars’ with
the year 479 BC. But the
war continued, and was recorded by
Thucydides, a contemporary.
Thucydides’ historical account
from 479 BC down to 411 BC includes
valuable information about Greco-
Persian affairs. He was an Athenian
general and discerning historian and was
thus in a perfect position to competently
interpret and record events.
After the Persian army’s defeat in
mainland Greece, the Hellenic forces
still committed to war, their targets
being the remnants of the Persian forces

46
Part 3
By Daryn Graham
dotted around the Aegean Sea. Sestos, in
the Dardanelles, which was in Persian
hands, fell to them. Then Pausanias, the
Spartan general who was a dominant
figure in the war effort on the mainland,
joined the forces, and Byzantium and
much of Cyprus fell to him.
Pausanias’ successes, however,
corrupted him with a “dictatorial
arrogance”, to quote Thucydides. He
even intrigued with Persia to seize
power over the Greeks. Little wonder
this made him unpopular among the
freedom-loving Greeks who looked
for a solution among the welcoming
Athenian generals – generals such as
Cimon, a truly able Athenian leader.
Vol 15 No 2 2008
Pausanias was recalled by Sparta,
and replaced by a certain Dorcis,
about whom the ancient sources are
almost completely silent. But not quite
completely. Tantalisingly, Thucydides’
remark that Dorcis, too, was unpopular
among the Greeks suggests he held
the same dictatorial aspirations as
Pausanias. The ancient philosopher
Aristotle’s statement that Spartan
commanders, like Dorcis, were power-
thirsty certainly supports this.
Such thirst for power was not a
problem exclusive to the Spartans.
Themistocles, that enterprising Athenian
in the war against Persia, is said to have
had a hand in Pausanias’ schemes.
Archaeological Diggings

Bust of Thucydides residing in the
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.
Ancient tradition also has it that after
Themistocles’ later defection to the
Persian court, he even planned to invade
Greece with Persian arms.
B u t h e eve n t u a l l y d e c i d e d
otherwise for fear of the talented Cimon.
Themistocles may have been a turncoat,
but he knew he could not defeat Cimon,
who was devoted to, and in command of,
the Greeks after Pausanias tried a second
time to seize control over them.
As punishment for his actions, the
Spartans once again recalled Pausanias
and, when he arrived, executed him
there by the cruel means of starvation
– an act which appalled Greeks for
generations. From such great power did
Pausanias fall! The Spartans, ashamed of
their commanders’ continual corrupted
conduct, relinquished leadership of the
war-effort to the enthusiastic Athenians.
Sparta and a number of its allies then
withdrew from the war.
Cimon, now in command, promptly
captured Eion on the Strymon River in
northern Greece. Impressed with the
area, he planned the future Athenian
colony there to secure Greek control
throughout the region. This was because
located nearby was the kingdom of
Thrace, which was allied with Persia
and hostile towards the Athenians for
years.

Archaeological Diggings
Maintaining his policy of local
security, Cimon then captured and
colonised the island of Scyros. It had
been held by pirates and its location in
the centre of the Aegean meant that it
was crucial to his policy.
A brief war with Carystus in
Euboea, the largest island in the Aegean,
followed. Thucydides gives no explicit
reason for Carystus’ hostility, though
he did record that numbers of Euboeans
were involved in Pausanias’ intrigues
with Persia. Inscriptions from eastern
Greece, and traditions from other parts,
including Sparta and Athens, also
show that plotting with the Persians
was widespread among Greeks at this
time. We may, therefore, infer from the
historical climate that Carystus was
also collaborating with them – a sound
reason for Cimon’s military response.
However, the Athenians, like
the Spartans before them, became
corrupted by their successes and power,
putting “the severest pressure”, to
quote Thucydides, on the other Greeks.
When Athens initially took control
of the war-effort, tribute and military
contributions were expected of the other
participating Greek states. Those states
became known as the ‘Delian League’.
To ensure allegiance to it, all member
representatives ceremonially threw
pieces of iron into the sea, swearing that
the League would last until they floated
to the surface – sure evidence of their
hatred towards their enemy.
However, in time the League
members, disheartened by Athenian
arrogance, contributed less militarily
and more monetarily. This resulted
in a well-funded Athens bearing the
Vol 15 No 2 2008
brunt of more of the fighting, adding to
their expertise in war. Thus when other
League members found the courage to
rebel, Athens conquered them.
Such was the case when the
island of Naxos rebelled. Thucydides
recorded that “After a siege Naxos was
forced back to allegiance”. This heavy-
handedness “continued in the cases of
the other allies as various circumstances
arose” he added.
But the Athenians actually had
strong reason for subduing Naxos.
A growing Persian war-fleet was
anchored at the Eurymedon River in
Pamphylia to the east. By the 460’s
BC the fleet included hundreds of
ships. Cimon certainly could not take
counter-measures with Naxos’ rebellion
in the rear – and Naxos would have
been a danger in the event of a Persian
attack. In 467 BC, with Naxos finally
secured, Cimon took action – and with
devastating effect. 200 enemy triremes
(ancient warships) at Eurymedon were
either captured or destroyed by the
Greeks.
The victory was so total, however,
that League members felt the alliance
redundant. Soon the island of Thasos,
in the northern Aegean, revolted. But
they were defeated too. Near Thasos
was Thrace, still hostile to Athens,
and a Persian military force in nearby
Chersonese, as another ancient source,
Plutarch, recorded. It is unclear whether
or not Thasos intended on allying
itself with this Persian force, but, the
Athenians did not take the risk.
As we can see, Athenian leadership
had to contend not only with a clear
outside enemy, Persia, but also with an
47
enemy within – those Greeks wishing to at all costs. Under his leadership Pericles’ time in power as a ‘Golden
defect. Both were very real obstacles for Athens led Greece in democracy, arts Age’ for Athens, albeit an age which
the realization of any concept of Greek and architecture, even if the city’s culminated in the Peloponnesian War
victory. Athens was determined to put ventures were now funded by the (431-404 BC) fought between Athens
an end to Persian resistance in the area, Delian League’s tribute. In fact, under and Sparta. But that, alas, is another
but had to be careful to maintain her Pericles’ leadership, the marvellous story.
resources to do so, and so sustaining the Parthenon at Athens was built thanks to —DG
lucrative Delian League was essential. this tribute collected from the League,
In the years to come Athens and or rather, empire. Consequently, with This article concludes the series of
Sparta fell out. In 464 BC a large good reason, the contemporary Sicilian ‘The Persian Wars’ by Daryn Graham.
earthquake in Sparta prompted the politician Hermocrates later declared If you have missed an issue and would
city’s lower classes to rebel. The ruling that although the Delian League was like to catch up on the part that you
Spartan citizens, called Spartiates, designed to fight Persia, it had resulted missed, contact us for a copy of a back
appealed to Athens who sent military in Athens substituting “her own empire issue at $5.70. Or take advantage of our
aid. However, after it was discovered for that of Persia”. back issues special on page 45.
that the Athenians were actually plotting Today, historians generally regard
with the lower classes for revolution in Below: Marble portrait bust of Pericles - Roman copy of an original portrait by
Sparta itself, the Spartiates sent them Kresilas, in the British Museum, London. Facing page: The Parthenon at Athens,
back to Athens. Greece, was built under the leadership of Pericles.
Disgraced and furious at this
treatment, Athenian ties with Sparta
were severed and Cimon was even
sent into temporary exile. Ostraka
– pottery shards used in Athens for
public ostracism voting – have survived
bearing Cimon’s name.
Athenian imperialism developed.
In the 450’s BC Athenian-led forces
attacked far afield. An Athenian force
under Cimon, returned from his exile,
even won several victories at Cyprus. It
was there he was fatally wounded. He
died doing what he will be remembered
for most – fighting against foreign
tyranny.
With Cimon’s death ended any
reconciliation between Athens and
Sparta – he had previously been a leading
advocate of friendship between the two.
In 431 BC their animosity spiralled into
a war that lasted decades. Nevertheless,
with Cimon’s final military victory, a
peace treaty was drawn up between
Athens and Persia. The latter agreed to
withdraw some distance from the coast
of Asia Minor thus effectively conceding
control over that area to Athens.
However, Athenian-Persian relations
did not heal overnight. Some Delian
League members even complicated
matters by obtaining Persian help in
the hope of securing their freedom from
Athens. How times had changed! Still,
the Greek world at last secured some
breathing space.
With Cimon’s passing, power in
Athens fell into the hands of Pericles,
who openly encouraged his fellow-
Athenians to maintain their empire


48 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings

Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 49
49
 Unearthing the
City of David
I
t’s been called the
Givati Parking lot, a rather small
parking area just down the road
from the Dung Gate, going east. At
present half of it is a restricted area as it
is now a very active archeological dig.
Volunteers from the Hebrew University
and young local Arabs are digging
furiously under the direction and the
auspices of the Israeli Antiquities
Association.
They are going to go down to
bedrock, which is the Herodian period
2000 years ago. All we see now are
Byzantine remains. We are on the
western ‘shoulder’ of the City of David.
Here we see the ‘destructive profession’
in action. Some of these Byzantine
walls will remain for exhibition only.
Until recently no one thought there was
anything under this old dusty parking
lot.
Most of this activity and dig

50
By Hela Crown-Tamir
actually began in 1996 when the City
of Jerusalem was preparing to celebrate
its 3000 year anniversary from the time
of King David.
As you enter the City of David Park
itself you can go to a small theatre and
see a 16 minute movie in 3D giving you
the story overview of the City of David,
and in a Hollywood style clip you can
understand what is being discovered
and opened up from the past. There
are City of David replicas inside the
theatre itself.
From the rooftop of the theatre
there is a spectacular view of the entire
area - the city David conquered. “David
took the stronghold of Zion, that is the
City of David” (II Sam 5:7). Why here?
The City of David is only 120 metres
at its widest. The land slopes down the
hill to the Gihon Springs. Eilat Mazar,
one of the leading Israeli archeologists,
estimates that it is only about 42 dunam,
Vol 15 No 2 2008
less than 11 acres. David built his city
here because of the water source, the
Gihon Spring. It is still flowing today.
Take a metal staircase down to
another restricted area and you come to
the most exciting part of the present dig.
Here is what is believed to be the Palace
of King David. Was it here, somewhere
in these rooms, that Solomon was
conceived by Bathsheba? People are
here working most of the day at a
fast pace under the IAA. ‘ … David
built homes for himself in the City of
David; and he prepared a place for the
Ark of God, and pitched a tent for it’ (I
Chron:15:1).
Captain Charles Warren started
excavations here in 1867 under the
Palestine Exploration Fund, when
present day Israel was under the
Ottoman Turks. The Turks were here
for 400 years before the British marched
in on December 11, 1917, the first day
Archaeological Diggings
 Facing page: The City of David as seen from the Mount of Olives. Restoration work and old ruins can be seen aound the
outside of the walls. © David Price Above: The Jerusalem Archaeological Park. The new dig site is just around the corner from
this site. The grey dome of the El Aqsa Mosque rises over the top of the wall in the background.


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 51
of Hanukah, and Lord Allenby declared
the British mandate.
Warren enjoyed the favour of the
Turkish authority and was able to carry
out his work. It is said that he had a
Bible in one hand and a pick axe in the
other. He was searching for the original
City of David which we are uncovering
today. Warren’s shaft further down the
hill is visited by hundreds of tourists
daily.
The funding for this present dig
has come largely from Rothschild’s
and others. Mazar was able to
obtain this funding for this present
active archeological dig and we are
discovering something new daily.
Earlier excavations were conducted
by Dame Kathleen Kenyon, a British
archaeologist. Unfortunately she died
without making a final report which is
critical in such an important dig.
We can see the ‘house of Ahiel’
identified by bullae (seal impressions)
and shards which were found with his
name on them. More than 51 bullae in
perfect condition have been discovered.
It is surmised that a twelve-storey
building, part of the Palace of David,
was attached to this wall.
On the right is the oldest Iron Age
toilet seat ever discovered. Scientific
study has examined the soil beneath,
revealing pollen seeds and worms.
There are still live parasites in the soil.
They had bad sanitation there.
Further down is an area not yet open
to the public. It is next to Hezekiah’s
tunnel, also a site used and visited by
hundreds of tourists daily. The area is
an active dig and lower down is a pool
measuring 15 by 10 metres. Perhaps
this was the area where King David was
anointed by Samuel.
In 1996, when the City of Jerusalem
was preparing celebrations for the City
of David, the IAA was able to purchase
all of the land at the newly discovered
Shiloah Pool. A water pipe broke and
when the workmen commenced repairs
they discovered what has turned out to
be the actual Pool of Shiloah. It was here
that Jesus cured the man who was blind
(John 9:1-7).
There was a church here called
the Church of the Springs, but it was
destroyed by the Turks. Where is the
real tomb of King David? Is it here too?
Excavations may provide the answer.
It is down below here that another
restricted area is being dug. Large
amounts of pottery have been found
from the Second Temple, Herodian
period from 2000 years ago. The actual
steps are here, leading down from the
Temple Mount to the Pool of Shiloah.
There remains more than 13 metres
of soil and dirt above. Sophisticated
equipment for holding beams and
structures have been brought here so the
excavation can continue. There are also
security guards all over the sites.
Josephus talked about what
happened here in War of the Jews. It
was two weeks after the destruction of
the temple by Titus in 70 AD and more
than 2000 Jewish people hid and tried
to escape from the Romans. They were
found and slaughtered. Archaeologists
have discovered their cups and pots,
plates and dishes in perfect condition.
There is a lot to do, and a lot more to
discover in this most exciting of Israel’s
present archaeological digs. The book
of Deuteronomy speaks of “the precious
things of the earth” (Deuteronomy
33:16). We are uncovering them daily.
—HC

Marie’s Guide to the

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN WWW GALAXY
Do you want to know the tomb number of some resident in the Valley of the Kings? Do you want to
check up on some Egyptology terms, find out about some god or explorer? Then visit:
http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/resources/glossary_Term.html
for a glossary of Egyptological Terms, Deities, Explorers and Tomb Owners/Rulers.
In the explorers section, see link at the top of the glossary page, I was amused to find this entry “Abdel
Rassul family In the 1870s, the Abdel Rassul family of Qurna discovered and plundered the cache of
royal mummies in TT320 at Dayr al Bahri until they were apprehended.”
So, “explorers” is a pretty wide term. If you are looking for Douglas Derry you will find him listed there
even though he is an anatomist. Also Harry Burton the photographer who worked with Carter in the
clearing of KV62 (Tutankhamun). You will find that Rene Edouard Devilliers du Terrage was a French
engineer who accompanied Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt.
However, the real explorers, who would probably rather be referred to as Egyptologists, like Howard Carter,
James Burton, Carl Nicholas Reeves, and Elizabeth Thomas (no Amelia Edwards?) are there too.
TOMB IMAGES
Click on “sites” in the right hand side of the home page.Then select a tomb from the pull down menu
which will take you to the description page of the selected tomb pages. On that page there are another
two links related to that tomb - images and related links. Click on images and you will see images of the
decoration, the outside and a plan of the tomb.
Onya TMP


52 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
 Quality reading for your children!

. 9 5
9
*$4
Each monthly issue of Wacky but True contains
78 pages in full colour and lots of strange but true
facts of nature, science, history and real life!

I would like a subscription to Wacky but True

Name.............................................................................................

Address................................................................................
To subscribe to Wacky but True, choose
one of the options below: ......................................................................................................

•Post this form with payment to the address State.....................................Postcode..........................................

closest to you
Phone....................................
•Subscribe online at www.wackymag.com.au
❑ I have enclosed a cheque/money order for $...........................
•Phone 02 4959 2268 with your credit card
details ❑ I would like to pay by credit card ❑ Visa ❑ Mastercard ❑ Bankcard
•Fax 02 8211 5274 with your credit card details Card No........................................................................................

Exp Date...................................
Phone 02 4959 2268
Signature.......................................................................................
Fax 02 8211 5274
www.wackymag.com.au WACKY MAGAZINE
PO Box 785 TORONTO NSW 2283 AUSTRALIA
* Contact us for prices for NZ, USA, UK, & Asia PO Box 82214 Highland Park AUCKLAND 2143 NZ
PO Box 738 Middletown CA 95461 USA
Please make cheques payable to Wacky but True


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 53
 CHESTER’S ROMAN SITES
T
r av e l l ing in t o
Chester by rail from nearby
Wales you enter the old
Roman city over the River
Dee, onto a viaduct with the Roodee
racecourse below on the right. This
vast sward was once the site of Roman
Chester’s massive harbour. A section
of the old harbour wall - which was
also part of the then city walls - can
still be seen on the landward side of the
racecourse.
In Roman times, the Dee flowed
next to that section of the city, but down
the centuries the land and riverscapes
changed, the old harbour area gradually
becoming a large expanse of flat land.
The Dee, which has its source in Wales
and empties into the Irish Sea, would
have made an ideal supply and trading
waterway for the Romans.
Besides the harbour wall, the main
Roman sites are the amphitheatre - the
largest uncovered in Britain - the Shrine
of Minerva, and the Roman Gardens.
These, and lesser ones, and the main
museum, the Grosvenor, are in relatively
close proximity to each other, making
for comfortable exploration. Good maps
are available from tourist information
centres.

54
By Ross Southernwood
Chester, in north-west England,
became one of the great military centres
of Roman Britain when Fortress Deva
was built there almost 2000 years ago.
This fortified town now lies buried
beneath modern Chester.
The XXth Legion, conquerors of
the Iceni warrior queen Boadicea (or
Boudicca) in the Iceni-Trinovantes
rebellion of AD 60-61, began building
Deva (pronounced “Dewa”) - a divine
name, shared with that of the Dee in
those times - circa AD 74-78 to repel
invading Welsh tribes, the Romans
having decided effective control of
north Wales could be only operated
from a point which looked north-east
and west. It was used as a base for the
conquest and organisation of north
Wales.
However, it has been suggested the
occupation of Chester by legionaries
had been preceded by earlier military
use of the site, which may well date
to the time of the British province’s
then governor, Suetonius Paulinus, in
AD 59. The II Adiutrix legion, which
came to Britain in AD 71 from central
Europe, was, too, eventually stationed
at Chester.
Chester was to survive an outbreak
Vol 15 No 2 2008
of plundering and burning by northern
tribes c mid-190s, while another invasion
south by these tribes, c 293-6, led to
the fortress being heavily damaged in
296. Nonetheless, this damage, as that
inflicted elsewhere, was repaired. The
military occupation of Chester ended
during the ’80s of the fourth century
AD.
The amphitheatre, where popular
entertainments such as circuses and
gladiatorial combat took place, is
situated outside what would have been
the old city walls on Little St John
Street opposite one of the main tourist
information centres. Although only
partly excavated, it is nevertheless
an impressive site, boasting sloping
embankments, arena floor and walls
which indicate its full elliptical design.
Stoneworks, too, partly uncovered,
these possibly being the entrances to
underground chambers beneath the arena
and seating tiers to accommodate men,
animals and props for performances.
Following three successful seasons of
investigation between 2004-06, the
aims of the fieldwork part of the project
have been achieved and post-excavation
assessment and analysis is being carried
out, findings to be ultimately published.
Archaeological Diggings
Proposals for future excavations are still with prudence and wisdom. To her, too, which leads down to the riverside.
being considered by English Heritage was ascribed the invention of numbers Although called the Roman Gardens,
and Chester City Council as part of and of musical instruments, especially this name seems only to apply to what
what is termed “the long-term legacy” wind. So, not surprisingly Minerva - a Roman recoveries have been unearthed
of the project. This dig has received goddess representing many things - had and placed there: parts of columns,
high praise as a community heritage a shrine at Chester: after all, it was a structures from the baths and the like.
project from Britain’s Department military and trading centre. Even so, it is an attractive laid-out
of Culture, Media and Sport. In its The Roman harbour wall has over stepped area, well treed and planted.
paper, Culture and Creativity in 2007, the centuries been built on by succeeding A minor Roman surface site is
the department cites the project as an walls but is quite visible below the some old stone or brickwork diagonally
example of work “which has showcased additions. It lies adjacent to Nuns opposite the amphitheatre and near an
a large-scale excavation to the public, Road, not far from Nuns’ intersection old city gateway where Little St John
whilst at the same time acting as a with Grosvenor Road, with steps from Street curves into Souter’s Lane. This
training programme for archaeology Nuns leading down to a broad concrete may have been part of an outer extremity
undergraduates”. platform next to the wall. of the city wall, some other fortification,
The Shrine of Minerva, a Roman The Roman Gardens are off Souter’s or maybe a storage facility or stables.
goddess, is a large carving on a stone Lane, not far from the amphitheatre, There is no indication to just what. And
outcrop in what is now Edgar’s Field
Park on the far side of the Dee outside Above: A panoramic view of Chester from across the Dee River.
the city’s centre. The park runs down to Below: Old stonework, with Ross Southernwood atop, near the amphitheatre. This
may have been part of an outer extremity of the city wall, some other fortification or
the river’s edge and can be best accessed
a storage facility or stables.
by crossing the Old Dee Bridge. In
Rome, Minerva was a member, with
Jupiter and Juno, of the triad worshipped
in the Capitoline temple built by the
Etruscan kings. She was an old Italian
goddess - thought to be of Etruscan
origin - whose cult was widespread
throughout the peninsula, but at an
early date identified with the Greek
goddess Athena, and so a goddess of
war. In this respect, Minerva’s worship
ousted that of Mars. She was believed
to protect warriors in battle. The cult of
Minerva, Jupiter’s daughter, has also
been associated with crafts, trades,
the arts, and medicine, while in post-
classical times, identified much more

55
while walking through the city centre,
by chance I came across an excavation
of some stonework from Roman times,
now partly under a modern building,
which is glass covered, offering passers-
by a glimpse of the ancient past.
Products made from Purbeck
marble have also been found in Chester,
as at other British Roman sites. This
marble, from the Isle of Purbeck - a
peninsula in Dorset - was used for
mortars (as in mortar and pestle) and
for tablets for important inscriptions.
The variety favoured was greyish-white
in colour, and formed a fine speckled
background to the vermilion lettering in
cinnabar (minium) favoured in Roman
monumental inscriptions.
Besides the cult of Minerva,
Chester has also yielded evidence
for the practice of that of the Indo-
Persian sun god Mithras. Not surprising,
since Mithraism, one of the so-called
mystery religions and introduced into
the Hellenistic world in the second-
century BC, spread throughout the
The amphitheatre, the largest uncovered in Britain, remains only partly excavated. These stoneworks were possibly entrances
to underground chambers below the arena, left, and seating tiers to accommodate men, animals and props for performances.

56
Roman sphere in the first century AD
- particularly to the frontier provinces
where it was popular with the army.
Artefacts showing much of the
city’s Roman heritage can be seen at
the Grosvenor Museum, in Grosvenor
Street, which has among its rooms the
Webster Roman Stones Gallery, the
Newstead Roman Gallery, a Timeline
Gallery and a Lecture Theatre.
Roman “life and death” can be
particularly explored in the Stones
Gallery, the stones being relief sculptured
blocks and slabs memorialising the daily
life and avocations of the deceased,
which were placed on tombs. In Britain,
as elsewhere, such sculptured blocks and
slabs were later used in the foundations
and repair of walls, thus when discovered
in modern times provided a record of
ancient life - and helped in establishing
dates. Among the Roman walls in
Britain to have yielded these finds in
abundance is the Constantian north
wall of Chester, producing a variety of
material from a most interesting series
© R Southernwood & E Crew
Vol 15 No 2 2008
of small monuments.
An on-site museum, situated at
the Dewa Roman Experience facility,
in Pierpoint Lane, near Bridge Street,
has a collection of artefacts and pottery
from Chester and elsewhere in the
Roman Empire of the day. Remains of
the fortress can be seen in a three-metre
deep excavation, while dig discoveries
can be handled and seen in the “finds”
room.
The tourist information centre
opposite the amphitheatre has large
illustrated display boards depicting
the city’s Roman past, with part of the
centre set aside for archaeological work
where finds are cleaned, examined and
re-assembled. Visitors can view this
work being done. Various artefacts are
on display in this area.
Among the continuing
archaeological work were excavations
last year in Grosvenor Park near the
amphitheatre. One of the aims of the
excavators was to establish what the
area was used for during the Roman
Archaeological Diggings
period. A specific target was a ditch,
found in 1899, and again more recently
during an archaeological evaluation,
which uncovered a complete adult
human female skeleton buried in the top
of the ditch. Radiocarbon dating gives
a burial date of between AD 130-340,
prompting questions on whether this
was part of a cemetery or an isolated
burial - and if isolated, why this place
was chosen?
After Rome withdrew from Britain,
Chester disappeared into the obscurity
of the Dark Ages, re-emerging 200
years later as Legacaestir, an important
military, commercial and religious
settlement of Anglian Mercia and
subsequently of Anglo-Scandinavian
England. As Cestre, the town was
refortified in 907, and rapidly became
the wealthiest in north-west England.
Later came the Norman Conquest and
Chester moved, along with the rest
of the country, into the beginnings of
what ultimately became the Britain of
today. —RS

Above: The shrine of the Roman goddess Minerva in Edgar’s Field Park on the far side of the River Dee outside Chester’s
centre. Below: The Roman Gardens showing sections of Roman columns unearthed and placed there. The author’s wife,
Elaine Crew, is flanked by the columns. © R Southernwood & E Crew


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 57
57

VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS AT
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
By Marie Carter
T
h r o ug h t h e
generosity of the Department of
Art & Archaeology, Princeton
University, Princeton, we
are able to bring you more vintage
photographs. This issue we feature
images of the old city of Jerusalem.
Again our thanks to Shari T Kenfield,
Curator, Research Photographs at
Princeton.
The first vintage photograph shows
the exterior of the east side of the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre - one of
Christianity’s most venerated places

58
of worship. This part was built by
the Crusaders sometime before 1180.
This is where visitors and pilgrims of
today enter the traditional site of the
crucifixion and burial site of Jesus
Christ. The right entrance door was
blocked after 1187 as part of Muslim
control of the site after the Crusaders
were defeated. The church still stands
at the end of Via Dolorose, the Path of
Sorrows, believed by many Christians
to be the path along which Jesus carried
his cross to Calvary.
Another vintage photograph records
Vol 15 No 2 2008
Left: Exterior of the east side of the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre - one of
Christianity’s most venerated places of
worship. The church exterior has not
changed much over the years since
this vintage photograph was taken.
Facing page: The Washing of the Feet
ceremony being carried out outside
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
the Washing of the Feet Ceremony.
The picture shows Greek Orthodox
monks and other dignitaries carrying
out the ceremony of footwashing in
commemoration of Jesus’ actions on the
night before he was crucified. Just before
the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of
the twelve disciples as a sign that they
must be humble enough to serve each
other. It also served as a symbol of the
washing away of sins (see John chapter
13). Many Christian denominations still
remember the event. In the Catholic
Church, the Pope washes the feet of
poor men and women in a service in
St Peter’s Basilica in Rome on the
Thursday before Easter. In the Anglican
Church, the ceremony has been replaced
by a church service in which the Queen
gives purses containing specially minted
Maundy coins to pensioners gathered
together for the occasion. In many
Protestant denominations, the ceremony
of footwashing is conducted at the same
time as the Communion service and
everyone takes part in washing their
partner’s feet.
The third vintage photograph on
the site of the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre shows worshippers at the
12th and 13th Stations of the Cross -
the traditionally identified place where
Jesus died and was taken down from
the cross. There is a rock behind glass
underneath the place of crucifixion just
inside the entrance doors shown above.
This limestone slab dates from 1808,
when the prior 12th-century slab was
destroyed. On the wall behind the Stone
is a mosaic depicting Christ’s anointing
for burial.
There will be more vintage
photographs in the next issue.
—MC
Archaeological Diggings

Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 59
 Right: Part of the mosaic found on
the wall behind the Stations of the
Cross. © M Browning

Below: Worshippers at the 12th

and 13th Stations of the Cross - the
traditionally identified place where
Jesus died and was taken down from
the cross.

Facing page: The 12th and 13th

Stations of the Cross as they are
seen today. © M Browning

60
 Each with 36 pages of colour
pictures!

AMAZING
DISCOVERIES
Three booklets on the ancient world: Egypt, Israel and
Mesopotamia (including Petra). Full colour pictures
on every page make each book an intriguing visual
introduction to the ancient world. Each booklet features
short articles by different authors with maps and
background information. Suitable for school projects.

NOW ONLY $9.95 set of 3

price includes p&h within Australia
DIGGINGS PO BOX 341 HORNSBY NSW 2077
or phone 1800 240 543
Please make cheques payable to ‘Diggings Magazine’


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 61
Nineveh and its Remains
M
any years ago
I was browsing through
a second hand bookshop
in London when I
noticed two grubby volumes entitled
Nineveh and its Remains by Austin
Henry Layard. I pounced on them,
and assuming indifference asked the
attendant the price. When he said five
pounds I could not get the money out
of my pocket quickly enough. I do not
know how many times I have since read
these volumes, or chapters from them.
I love them so much I felt I should
share some of them with readers of
Archaeological Diggings.
Later I purchased another book
which I thoroughly enjoyed. Layard
of Nineveh, a well-researched book
by Gordon Waterfield on the life
and adventures of Austin Layard,
a remarkable character, an intrepid
adventurer, and a brilliant scholar.
He is best known for his excavations
in Nineveh. In fact, on the wall of St
Margaret’s Chapel in London, right next
to Westminster Abbey, is this impressive
inscription (pictured below), “I pray

62
62
Part 1
By David Down
you remember Henry Austin Layard,
discoverer of Nineveh.”
Actually that is not the way he
would have wanted to be remembered.
His father was a member of Parliament
and Layard aspired to a political career.
In fact, after only five years’ excavating
he returned to London and got into
politics. If fate had treated him more
kindly he may even have become Prime
Minister of England. He did become
a successful member of parliament
and was appointed under-secretary for
foreign affairs of the British government.
Subsequently, he was appointed British
ambassador in Madrid and later in
Constantinople, about the highest
political appointment that could be
assigned at that time.
Layard was descended from a
family of Hugenots who fled to England
to escape persecution in France. His
father was not well off and went to
France in the hope of improving his
finances. Henry was born there on
March 5, 1817. So French was his
mother tongue, an asset that was to
prove helpful in later life. His father also
Vol 15 No 2 2008
took him to Italy where he acquired the
Italian and Greek languages.
He had a rich uncle, Benjamin
Layard, who insisted on calling him
Austin as his first name, and that is the
name that appears on his book. When
his father died at the age of 51, Henry
became the head of the family. His uncle
had done well financially in Ceylon
and suggested that Henry could join
him there. Henry liked the idea and as
there was another young man, Edward
Mitford, heading for Ceylon to grow
coffee, they decided to travel together.
The major problem was that Mitford
was a shocking sailor and could not
face a sea voyage. The only alternative
was by land.
Layard did a crash course in law to
fit him for a position with his uncle in
Ceylon and they set out in July 1839.
Layard was 22 and Mitford 32. On the
way Layard purchased a Turkish pipe
and became an inveterate smoker. Smith
Elders had given Layard 200 pounds for
him to send a journal of their travels to
be published and his mother gave him
300 pounds. They could use coaches and
Archaeological Diggings
 The French consul at Mosul in Iraq was Paul Botta who excavated Khorsabad, the capital city of the Assyrian king Sargon II.
Very little of his excavations remain to be seen today. © Archaeological Diggings
ferries until they reached Dalmatia but
then public tansport gave out and they
had to buy saddles for horses they used
along the way. Layard had never ridden
a horse but soon learned how.
On page one of his book Layard
wrote, “During the autumn of 1839
and winter of 1840, 1 had been
wandering through Asia Minor and
Syria, scarcely leaving untrod one spot
hallowed by tradition, or unvisited
one ruin consecrated by history. 1 was
accompanied by one no less curious and
enthusiastic than myself
“We were both equally careless
of comfort and unmindful of danger.
We rode alone; our arms were our only
protection; a valise behind our saddles
was our wardrobe, and we tended our
own horses, except when relieved from
the duty by the hospitable inhabitants
of a Turcoman village or an Arab tent.
Thus unembarrassed by needless luxury
and uninfluenced by the opinions and
prejudices of others, we mixed amongst
the people, acquired without effort their
manners, and enjoyed without alloy
those emotions which scenes so novel,

Archaeological Diggings
and spots so rich in varied association,
cannot fail to produce.
“1 look back with feelings of
grateful delight to those happy days
when, free and unheeded, we left at dawn
the humble cottage or cheerful tent, and
lingering as we listed, unconscious
of distance and of the hour, found
ourselves, as the sun went down, under
hoary ruin tenanted by the wandering
Arab, or in some crumbling village
still bearing a well-known name. No
experienced dragoman measured our
distances and appointed our stations. We
were honoured with no conversations by
pashas, nor did we seek any civilities
from governors. We neither drew tears
nor curses from villagers by seizing
their horses, or searching their houses
for provisions: their welcome was
sincere; their scanty fare was placed
before us; we ate, and came and went
in peace.”
They reached Constantinople on
September 20, 1839, and that is where
Layard got a dose of malaria. The doctor
marked out an area on his abdomen to
be leeched to draw off all the bad blood.
Vol 15 No 2 2008
Layard recovered despite the treatment,
and they continued their journey. Layard
was not a religious man but he was very
familiar with the Bible records and was
delighted to reach Jerusalem. Layard
had read the exciting adventures of
Burckhardt in finding the lost city of
Petra, and nothing would do but he go
there. Everyone told him it would be
disastrous and Mitford would not have
a bar of it and stayed in Jerusalem.
Layard reached Petra but local
Bedouin were hostile and he was
lucky to escape with his life. On the
return journey he was robbed of all his
possessions but by a stroke of good luck
got them back again. When he reached
Jerusalem he found that Mitford had
given up waiting and had headed for
Damascus. Layard followed him but
by the time he arrived there Mitford
had gone. Layard caught up with him in
Aleppo and they continued their journey
together.
Layard takes up the story. “I left
Aleppo, with my companion, on the
18th of March. We still travelled as we
had been accustomed - without guide
63
 A reconstructed wall and gateway in Calah, now called Nimrud. In the background is what remains of the Ziggurat, or temple
tower, at Nimrud. © Archaeological Diggings
or servants. The road across the desert
is at all times impracticable, except to
a numerous and well-armed caravan,
and offers no object of interest. We
preferred that through Bir and Orfa.
From the latter city we traversed the low
country at the foot of the Kurdish hills, a
country little known, and abounding in
curious remains. The Egyptian frontier,
at that time, extended to the east of
Orfa, and the war between the Sultan
and Mohammed Ali Pasha being still
unfinished, the tribes took advantage of
the confusion, and were plundering on
all sides. With our usual good fortune,
we succeeded in reaching Nisibin
unmolested, although we ran daily risks,
and more than once found ourselves in
the midst of foraging parties, and of
tents which, an hour before, had been
pillaged by the wandering bands of
Arabs. We entered Mosul on the 10th
of April.
“During a short stay in this town we
visited the great ruins on the east bank
of the river, which have been generally
believed to be the remains of Nineveh.
(now known as Kuyunjuk). We rode

64
also into the desert, and explored the
mound of Kalah (Known as Calah in
the Bible. Genesis 10:11). Sherghat,
a vast ruin on the Tigris, about fifty
miles below its junction with the Zab.
As we journeyed thither we rested for
the night at the small Arab village of
Hammum-Ali, around which are still
the vestiges of an ancient city. From
the summit of an artificial eminence
we looked down upon a broad plain,
separated from us by the river. A line
of lofty mounds bounded it to the cast,
and one of a pyramidical form (this
would be the ziggurat of Calah) rose
high above the rest. Beyond it could be
faintly traced the waters of the Zab. Its
position rendered its identification easy.
This was the pyramid which Xenophon
had described, and near which the ten
thousand had encamped: the ruins
around it were those which the Greek
general saw twenty-two centuries
before, and which were even then the
remains of an ancient city. Although
Xenophon had confounded a name,
spoken by a strange race, with one
familiar to a Greek ear, and had called
Vol 15 No 2 2008
the place Larissa, tradition still points to
the origin of the city, and, by attributing
its foundation to Nimrod, connect it
with one of the first settlements of the
human race.
“Kalah Sherghat, like Nimroud,
was an Assyrian ruin: a vast, shapeless
mass, now covered with grass, and
showing scarcely any traces of the work
of man except where the winter rains
had formed ravines down its almost
perpendicular sides, and had thus laid
open its contents. A few fragments of
pottery and inscribed bricks, discovered
after a careful search amongst the
rubbish which had accumulated around
the base of the great mound, served
to prove that it owed its construction
to the people who had founded the
city of which Nimroud is the remains.
There was a tradition current amongst
the Arabs, that strange figures carved
in black stone still existed amongst
the ruins; but we searched for them in
vain, during the greater part of a day in
which we were engaged in exploring
the heaps of earth and bricks, covering
a considerable extent of country on
Archaeological Diggings
the right bank of the Tigris. At the “They spent the next night by the Tigris, started excavating there, but with no
time of our visit the country had been lighting a huge fire to keep away lions success. The secret of Layard’s success
abandoned by the Bedouins, and was which were still found in the jungle parts in his activities in the Middle East was
only occasionally visited by a few by the rivers” (p45). his ability to identify with the people he
plunderers from the Shanimar or Aneyza The pair stayed in Baghdad two met. There was no aloofness or sense of
tents. We passed the night in the jungle months, long enough to learn the superiority. He became one of them.
which clothes the banks of the river, and Persian language, and then rode on to In Constantinople Layard was
wandered during the day undisturbed Hamadan in Persia where they came offered a job in the British embassy,
by the tribes of the desert. A Cawass, to the parting of their ways. Mitford which he accepted. In the meantime,
who had been sent with us by the Pasha wanted to take the safer northern route Botta had moved his work to Khorsabad
of Mosul, alarmed at the solitude, and via the Caspian, and Layard wanted to where he had spectacular success. In
dreading the hostile Arabs, left us in take the more dangerous route to the fact he wrote to Layard and said, “Come,
the wilderness, and turned homewards. south. They went their separate ways. let us have some archaeological fun at
But he fell into the danger he sought to Layard never did reach India and Khorsabad”. Layard did not accept
avoid. Less fortunate than ourselves, at Ceylon. Ever a defender of just causes the invitation, but he did convince
a short distance from Kalah Sherghat, he became involved with the Bakhtiari the British ambassador, Sir Stratford
he was met by a party of horsemen, and tribe in their resistance to the Persian Canning, that it was not in the British
fell a victim to his timidity.” government and for two years he stayed interests to allow the French to find
It would be easy to pass over with them. But it was a lost cause and all the winged bulls. Canning gave
this casual reference to the fate of Layard returned to Baghdad, where the Layard some of his own private funds
the unfortunate Cawass, but this was British embassy asked him to take some and in 1843 Layard returned to Mosul.
the danger Layard and Mitford faced despatches to Constantinople. His archaeological career was about
every day of their journeys but they On the way, at Mosul, he met the to begin.
seemed immune to the threats to their French consul, Paul Emile Botta, who —DKD
lives and continued on their dangerous was likewise interested in the mounds
journey. Their objective was still Ceylon of Kuyunjik. Here was where Layard’s To read more about Layard’s travels,
but already we can sense a change of fluent French contributed to a close read David’s next report in the Jun/Jul
interest in Layard. He wrote, “These friendship between the French Consul issue of Archaeological Diggings.
huge mounds of Assyria made a deeper and the English adventurer. Later Botta
impression upon me, gave rise to more
The ancient Assyrians were fond of winged bulls with human faces. They usually
serious thoughts - and more earnest placed them flanking gates in the city walls. This would make a strong impression
reflection than the temples of Balbec on those entering the city through these gates. In Khorsabad, Botta unearthed a
and the theatres of lonia.” winged human-headed bull which he sent back to the Louvre Museum in Paris.
That sounds a bit absurd - the
desolate mounds of Nimrud more
impressive than the huge pillars of
Baalbek? Only a potential archaeologist
could see it that way. However, they
continued their journey.
“In the middle of April I left Mosul
for Baghdad. As 1 descended the Tigris
on a raft, I again saw the ruins of
Nimroud, and had a better opportunity
of examining them. It was evening as
we approached the spot. The spring
rains had clothed the mound with the
richest verdure, and the fertile meadows,
which stretched around it, were covered
with flowers of every hue. Amidst
this luxuriant vegetation were partly
concealed a few fragments of bricks,
pottery and alabaster upon which might
be traced the well-defined edges of the
cuneiform character” (p7).
Layard did not elaborate on the rest
of the journey. To him it was routine,
but Waterfield fills in a few details.
Each night they had to pull into the
river bank to get some sleep. He wrote,


Archaeological Diggings Vol 15 No 2 2008 65
WORDSEARCH Please note:
C heck your answers
with the solution
from last month. If you Our Middle East Tour begins on the
would like to submit 15th of April and finishes on
a Wordsearch puzzle, the 20th of May.
please send your entry
(with the solution) to As most of our staff will be away on
Diggings PO Box 341 the tour, please be aware that there
Hornsby NSW 2077.
will be a delay in processing orders
M G G G A E M D N X D C and enquiries during this time.
U T R Y L U E D O E H A We thank you for your support
E I U E M T L D M R I R and patience!
N J D M E E M E I N E C
The Diggings Team
T I Y V I K T N C R B H
P D T F N E T G M Q Y E
I I C S R S E M A J L M
P V L O U M A Z A R A I R Duff
E A A P L A I R O N P S
D D A F S D D M I X I H
A T L O T S I R B Q O Q
H Z W W T K N M K J N I

From the clues below, work out the word and then find in the
scrambled letters above. Words can be horizontal, vertical or
diagonal, and may be backwards or forwards. Look for the
solution in our Jun/Jul 2008 issue.
1. The Belzoni exhibition is here...................................p41
2. Prof Rosalie ______ found an ancient pillow............p 8
3. The Pool of Shiloah was found when this broke.....p52P
4. Ptolomy ______ willed Cyrene to Rome...................p28
5. Via Dolorose means the _____ of Sorrows................p58
6. Henry Layard’s middle name.....................................p62
7. This city straddles the Euphrates River......................p 5
8. IBM game, ‘Trail of the _________’.........................p32
9. Goddess of grain........................................................p25
10. Number of beer jars found in Neferinpus’ chamber..p12
11. Shrine of Minerva is found in Edgar’s ____ park......p55
12. Tutankhamun’s paternal great-grandmother..............p10
13. A frigidarium is a _____ bath....................................p35
14. He captured the island of Scyros...............................p47 Back cover: The Tower of David, also known as the Citadel.
15. She found the ‘Tamach’ seal, Dr _______.................p17 It has been converted into a museum where visitors can
16. _______ Antipas executed John the Baptist..............p43 learn about the history of Jerusalem. Visitors can also climb
17. This metal melts at a very high temperature..............p23 the tower to view the archaeological garden below and get a
18. He is said to have been Jesus’ half brother................p36 magnificent view of the old city. At night many of Jerusalem’s
monuments, including the Citadel itself, are placed in
19. The name of the river in Chester................................p54
floodlights. The result is spectacular.
20. Cyrene was founded by _______ settlers..................p24


66 Vol 15 No 2 2008 Archaeological Diggings
 UNWRAPPING
THE PHARAOHS
by David Down

David Down’s book on the history of Egypt, with

a detailed explanation of the revised chronology
advocated by Archaeological Diggings. Hardcover,
with 240 pages and hundreds of colour pictures.
Included with the book is a free 90 minute DVD.

$50.00
Get your
copy now!

Free-call
1800 240 543
PO Box 341 Hornsby
NSW 2077
AUSTRALIA

Price in Australian dollars and includes postage and handling within Australia only