Digging with Darren » Archaeology

Google / IAA Launch Digital Dead Sea Scrolls Online

Darren — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:12:00 +0000

Today, Google and the Israeli Antiquities Authority / Israel Museum officially launched the Digital Dead Sea Scrolls site. This is a watershed in DSS studies. By making these hi-res (If you’re thinking like 20-50 megapixels, think again. Try a whopping 1200 megapixels. Whoa…!) multi-spectrum images freely available to the public online for the first time ever.

With the launch of this site I believe that DSS studies will take off like a parabola curve. This site is making available to both scholars and laymen alike what has previously never been accessible to more then a select few specialists. It’s been over 60 years since their discovery and they are finally making their way to the public arena. I’m sure Hershel Shanks is dancing a jig right about now.

Right now they are offering 5 of the most important (and complete) scrolls, but I’m sure more will follow. Currently available is: The Great Isaiah Scroll, the War Scroll, The Temple Scroll, The Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll and the Community Rule Scroll. They even have English translations of the text as you scroll over the different sections. You can zoom in incredibly close and see the fine details of the text and the scroll. It is quite impressive. Be sure to check it out!Similar Posts:

Lead Codices & The Discovery of Atlantis

Darren — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:41:05 +0000

Let’s face it. The “discovery” of the 70 some odd lead codices, said to be of either Christian or Kabbalistic origin have been THE BUZZ on the internet the last few days. But why? Because they are (for the moment) an inexplicable archaeological mystery, steeped with intrigue and sensationalism… Just the type of stuff from which our favorite movies are made. Their discovery has had the Yahoo! News, BBC and now the Christian Science Monitor all jump on the band wagon, reporting on this discovery, adding to the credibility of the find.

But many scholars & laymen alike are having serious doubts about their authenticity, and asking some good questions which should give us pause. A recent post from the rogueclassicist catalogs a lot of these in his latest post entitled, “Lead Codices Silliness.” Although I disagree with him on one or two points, I think he does a great job at bringing the assessment back to reality, rather than leaving it to the realm of melodrama. One thing he mentions in passing is an allusion to a report concerning the recent & alleged discovery of Atlantis. Just last week it was reported by the Jerusalem Post that Hartford University Prof. Richard Freund claims to have not only found the lost, sunken city of Atlantis, but that it turns out to actually be the biblical city of Tarshish (remember Jonah?).

So how do the lead codices connect to Atlantis, you might be asking? Really, only in one way – sensationalism. Although we have seen a great resurgence in biblical archaeology in the last decade or so, we have also seen the crazies come out of the closet and try to capitalize on the renewed interest. When we can claim that Atlantis has been found through the use of Google Earth, we can easily create all kinds of outlandish claims in other arenas within the archaeological realm.

Lastly, it looks like all of this is starting to come to a head. Aaron Eby (Boundary Stones, Biblical Kosher, etc.) recently posted a new link to PaleoJudaica exposing a previous copper codex belonging to David Elkington as an absolute fake, and are related to the Jordanian cache of codices. What a shame. How many scandals does it take to get these guys to wake up?

Will anything from these ever be more than a fraud? Let’s keep hoping…Similar Posts:

Lead Codices Followup

Darren — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 22:25:43 +0000

Today, I came across a followup on Yahoo! News regarding the 70 credit card sized lead codices which were found in Jordan and thought to be of Christian origin. Many are quick to call this discovery equivalent (or even superior) to the Dead Sea Scrolls. While the jury is still out on just how important (and more importantly how authentic) these codices are to the archaeological and religious world, they are garnering an extremely high interest.

I happened to look at my Google Analytics report for today, and my site visits looked like a parabola. As of 5:00pm today my blog had received over ten (10) times my normal visits, 90% of which hit my site because they were looking for information on the lead codices. My highest entry page was my post on the lead codices, which raised the question as to whether they were Kabbalistic in origin as some have reported, or Christian as most seem to be favoring.

Anyway, back to the followup. According to this article, the codices seem to find an affinity with first century Christianity. It states,

Philip Davies, emeritus professor of Old Testament Studies at Sheffield University, told Pigott he was “dumbstruck” at the sight of plates representing a picture map of ancient Jerusalem. “There is a cross in the foreground, and behind it is what has to be the tomb [of Jesus], a small building with an opening, and behind that the walls of the city,” Davies explained. “There are walls depicted on other pages of these books, too, and they almost certainly refer to Jerusalem.

Quite a description. But is it too good to be true? Only time will tell. I would love to hear your thoughts…

Newly Found Lead Codices – Christian or Kabbalistic?

Darren — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:38:22 +0000

In Israel, a new archaeological “discovery” of sorts is buzzing and making bold claims that they may be the next “Dead Sea Scrolls.” They include a collection of scrolls as well as 70 lead codices (ancient scripts bound in book form, rather than as scrolls). However, we have conflicting reports on the nature of these “newly found” artifacts. They are owned by “Hassan Saeda, a Bedouin farmer in Galilee who says they have been in his family’s possession since his great-grandfather found them in a cave in Jordan, a century ago.” Although there is still a lot of skepticism surrounding these artifacts, there are some strong voices that are willing to attest to their authenticity, wanting to avoid another possible Shapiro Affair.

Christian or Kabbalistic?

Right now we seem to either have two camps on the theory of origins and contents of these manuscripts. However, this may be a result of the various text which may be present among the collection. According to one source, these manuscripts “could hold a contemporary account of the last years of Jesus.” According to another source, they appear to be Kabbalistic with references to Bar Kochba and Shimon bar Yochai, and “the nature of the content indicates a magical incantation style of writing.” Both reports confirm that the manuscripts are not just comprised of Hebrew or Greek text, but images and symbols which are in need of deciphering. Some of these codices are also said to be sealed and have created speculation that they may possibly be “secret writings referred to in the apocryphal Book of Ezra.”

How can these theories be so divergent? Just look at the early theories surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls, and all of the controversy and imagination that has lead to cloak & dagger speculation in the last half a century, including John Allegro’s laughable “The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross.” When indecipherable manuscripts come to light, it seems sensational imagination rules the roost.

One legitimate reason for the diverse interpretation may simply be there are multiple types of documents contained within the cache, not dissimilar to the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. The different scholars are merely examining two different texts, which contain seemingly polar information. The quick evidence I see for this is the one article’s description of the codices, compared to the photo made available in the other article (the photo I have included at the top of this article). In the first article, the codices are described as being “tiny credit-card-sized volumes.” However, in the photo you can see that this particular codex is much larger than this.

Conclusion

Either way, we will have to wait and see what turns up by way of translation and authentication. Either way, it will be an exciting journey. Hopefully, the reports will be out sooner than later, and the texts of these discoveries will find their way to the public much sooner than the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Cairo Geniza Fragments or the Oxyrhyncus Papyri.

Update: Further Reading

I have just been made aware of these other (and more extensive) articles on this discovery:

Also, here is another (better) image of a codex:

Lead codex with cryptic text and images visible

Follow Up

I have posted my first follow up here.Similar Posts:

Temple Update: Sanhedrin Chamber of Hewn Stone Blueprints Revealed

Darren — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:09:11 +0000

Aerial view of the Chamber of the Hewn Stone

Recently, the Temple Institute released the blueprints for the Chamber of the Hewn Stone (the Lishkat haGazit, in Hebrew), the area of the Temple complex in which the Sanhedrin would convene. This is very exciting to see, and makes the possibility of the Holy Temple’s rebuilding somewhat tangible. Even more so is the computer-generated, virtual “fly-through” that they have created as well. You can really visualize what it might be like.

If you’re not familiar with the Chamber of Hewn Stone, it probably because there’s not a great deal of information circulating about it. This chamber was used by the Sanhedrin for judgement. They would hear cases and deliberate upon them in this area.

When Israel became occupied by foreign powers, the Sanhedrin removed themselves from this location as an act of protest, since their power was essentially stripped from them (particularly in the area of capital cases). Although I had thought it took place much earlier, the Jewish Time Line Encyclopedia (p.93) says this took place in 29 C.E.

Some have claimed that this would have been where Jesus would have been taken and tried upon his arrest. However, there are several problems with this assumption, two of which are 1) The Sanhedrin could not try capital cases at night (Sanhedrin 35a-b), and 2) he was not tried by the Sanhedrin proper. He was sentenced before a kangaroo court, which did not legally have the authority to any sentence at all.

Also interesting is the fact that of all of the parts of the Holy Temple which they could have been the initial focus, the Chamber of the Hewn Stone was chosen. Why? According to the Temple Institute,

The Sanhedrin Chamber of Hewn Stone is but a single chamber in the northern wall of the Holy Temple. It was chosen as the initial focus of the blueprint project, not because of its architectural significance, per se, but because of its overwhelming spiritual significance to the world. The seventy elders of the Sanhedrin have been vested with the authority of the seventy elders whom G-d commanded Moshe to appoint in the desert…

These elders are not only judges, but also teachers who task is to ensure that “for out of Zion shall the Torah come forth, and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3).

But could this also be a dual fulfillment of prophecy? Psalm 118:22 says:

“This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.”

We know this is in fulfillment of Jesus, the Messiah. However, could it also be connected to the Chamber of Hewn Stone, the literal “stone” which was once rejected now becoming the “cornerstone” of the rebuilding of the House of God? Just a thought…Similar Posts:

Israelites found in Ancient Egypt

Darren — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:05:36 +0000

For a long time, archaeologists and biblical minimalists have renounced the idea of an Israelite captivity in Egypt corresponding to the biblical record of the Exodus. Today, evidence has been published to the contrary. Manfred Bietak, director of the Institute of Egyptology at the University of Vienna and of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo, has published an article in the Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) citing several evidences of the existence of ancient Israelite slaves in Egypt.

Although he draws on a number of sources, Bietak’s impetus was the recent unearthing of Israelite-style four-room homes found among Medinet Habu, opposite Luxor in Egypt near the remains of the temple of Ay and Horemheb. He compares these homes to the many which have been found in excavations in the land of Israel, and notes the distinct similarities of pattern & function, making a clear point to say they are not Egyptian at all in design.

This is an important discovery by which archaeology begins corroborating the evidences of the biblical record yet again. And although the timeline doesn’t seem to entirely match, this is a great moment for those anyone who both appreciates the science of archaeology, but holds to the authority of the biblical record.

Read the very detailed article here.

Update:

In 2009 there was evidence found in Egypt of the biblical Joseph. The coins contained both Joseph’s Hebrew and Egyptian name, along with an image of a cow to represent Pharaoh’s dream. You can read about it here and here.Similar Posts:

Police find 2nd Temple-era coins, jugs during arms raid

Darren — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:10:18 +0000

Jerusalem Post reports the following:

Police officers stumbled on a large stash of jugs and coins dating back from the Second Temple era in the Galilee village of Mazara on Thursday, during an arms raid.

The archeological finds were kept in a yard belonging to family suspected by police of keeping arms.

After finding the artifacts, a representative of the Israel Antiquities Authority was called out to the scene, and he dated the findings to the Second Temple period.

Read the full report here.

Similar Posts:

1,500 Year Old Church Unearthed in Israel

Darren — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:10:33 +0000

Yesterday Israeli archaeologists presented the public with the first glimpse of an ancient church from approximately 1500 years ago. Hirbet Madras, a site located in the hills of Judea, southwest of Jerusalem, a Byzantine church has been discovered and unearthed over the last two months. It sports an “unusually well-preserved” mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks. Thought at first to be an ancient synagogue, the site is now known to be a church due to several stones being engraved with crosses.

And, for whatever reason, they also suspect it to conceal the tomb of the biblical prophet Zechariah. It will only be available for viewing for another week before archeologists cover the site with dirt to protect it until a full preservation effort can be mounted.

Read the full story on the NPR website.

Read about it on Discovery.comSimilar Posts:

Pagan Influences in Christianity & Judaism

Darren — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:11:14 +0000

Beth Alpha synagogue mosaic

Many people have disparaged Judaism as being filled with paganism, particularly orthodox Judaism’s rabbinic leadership. Some even claim that it is satanic at the root (G-d forbid). Many people have had similar remarks about Christianity, especially when they discover Messianic Judaism and discover all that Christianity has forgotten over the last two thousand years in relationship to it Jewish origins. Everything is then questioned, and its origins suspect. For instance: What is the origin of the Christmas tree? Was it originally an asheroth pole? What about the Easter bunny, and the name “Easter” itself? Are they connected to Ishtar, the pagan goddess of fertility? Was the star of David originally a magical symbol used by the pagans? Questions such as these continue to pound away at both Judaism and Christianity.

Biblical Archaeology Review recently published an article examining pagan symbols in Jewish worship, specifically looking at the various synagogues unearthed in Israel which portray zodiac symbolism in their floor mosaics. The most famous is the Beth Alpha synagogue, which sports a very large floor mosaic (28×14 meters, roughly 90×30 feet) whose central panel shows the complete zodiac. It is described as follows:

Figures of four women were at the four corners, with inscriptions (in Hebrew) identifying each as a season of the year. Inside the square was a wheel, 3.12 meters in diameter, with a smaller circle (1.2 m) in its center. The wheel was divided into 12 panels, each with a figure and a name identifying it as a sign of the zodiac. And in the center, a man was pictured driving a quadriga (four-horse chariot) through the moon and stars. Rays of the sun were coming out of his head; it was clear that he was Helios, god of the sun.¹

This article continues to describe in detail several such synagogues found in Israel with this type of imagery. Although there is still some mystery surrounding the use of these symbols (particularly in a house specifically designed for study & worship), I feel the author’s explanation of them plausible.

This brings a lot of questions to mind (for which I do not have the answers). When and how were pagan symbols introduced into Judaism and Christianity? What do we “accept” and what do we “reject”? Where do we draw the line? How far is too far? Are there such things as coincidence? What are the “majors” and what are the “minors” in all of this? If others believers continue to unknowingly incorporate pagan symbolism in their sincere worship, what is our responsibility? These are a lot of difficult questions. Fortunately, someone has done a lot of homework on the subject.

First Fruits of Zion has recently published a 4-disc audio teaching on this very subject. It’s called “What About Paganism?” Toby Janicki tackles this subject and brings in a ton of information relating to both Christian and Jewish practice which may or may not be pagan in origin and gives suggestions as to our response. This is a good starting point to get some honest discussion on the table in regard to this topic, rather than living on our assumptions. It is based on historical evidences and the teachings of Yeshua. When we abide in the teachings of our Master, Yeshua, we will “know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

From the BAR article. ↩

Similar Posts:

Stone Vessel with ‘Priestly Inscription’ Uncovered In Jerusalem

Darren — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:07:22 +0000

Last week, Israel National News reported a very unique find has been made near the Zion Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. It’s a limestone ritual vessel from the Second Temple period inscribed with not one, but 10 (ten!) lines of Hebrew or Aramaic text (which is still being debated). This is an extremely rare find, the first of its kind. Archaeologists say that because of the rare script used. Although the letters are very clear, they say it could take up to six months to translate the text, due to the unfamiliar cursive script. Can’t wait to find out what it says…

You can read the full report here:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132655Similar Posts:

Second Temple Stone Quarry Discovered

Darren — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:04:52 +0000

This Monday, Arutz Sheva posted news of a new archaeological discovery which is fascinating, especially to those of us who have recently attended the FFOZ Shavuot conference focusing on the Beit HaMikdash (the Holy Temple). Archaeologists have recently discovered a stone quarry used for the stones of the Herod’s Temple. More information can be found here: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132231Similar Posts:

Identity Theft Arrest Related to Dead Sea Scrolls Dispute

Darren — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:54:39 +0000

If you’re not familiar with the saga surrounding the discovery, acquisition, translation and subsequent publications of the Dead Sea Scrolls, you don’t have enough excitement in your life. For the latest criminal investigations involving a major case of lashon hara, read up on the latest article from the New York Times in which a debate regarding the identity of the Qumran community ends up in an arrest for identity theft.Similar Posts:

Jericho: City of Giants?

Darren — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:14:12 +0000

Walls of Jericho

Recently, BAR (Biblical Archaeology Review) published an article by Ronald S. Hendel connecting the origins of Jericho with the giant descendants of the Nephillim. His article is based on a connection he makes with the Grecian cities of Mycenae, Tiryns and Argos, and the enormous width of their walls. According to Greek mythology, these cities were built by the giant Cyclopes. Thus Hendel deduces that since the walls of Jericho were similar in size to these corresponding ancient cities, Joshua and the Isrraelites may have made a natural association with their biblical counterparts, “children of Anak” (Numbers 13).

You can read the full article here.Similar Posts:

Messiah son of Joseph Tablet Follow-up

Darren — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:55:31 +0000

Another article related to my post Jewish Resurrected Messiah Text Causing Buzz can be found on the Biblical Archaeology website here:

http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=34&Issue=5&ArticleID=14Similar Posts:

Qumran NOT Related to DSS Manuscripts?

Darren — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 23:11:00 +0000

Yesterday the New York Times released a follow-up article based on one published in the most recent edition of Biblical Archaeology Review. It seems that there are a small, but growing number of archaeologists who are now re-examining the link between the Qumran Community and the cache of scrolls found among the caves along the Dead Sea. After ten years of working with the Qumran excavations, archaeologists, Yizhak Magen and Yuval Peleg of the Israel Antiquities Authority are now saying that Qumran is in no way connected to the scrolls which have been linked to the community almost since they surfaced in the middle of the last century.

Not only that, but they are denying Qumran’s connection to monasticism and an Essene identity as well. They conclude that the community at Qumran was a secular establishment was no more than a pottery factory, and that the repository of scrolls came from a divergent collection of sources fleeing from Roman persecution. One seemingly tell-tale sign is the conspicuous lack of a single manuscript addressing the topic of celibacy, a cornerstone of Essene doctrine. This, along with an extensive repository of pottery equipment and pottery-related items among the community, as well as the absence of any religious writings actually found “in” the Qumran sector have given this team of archaeologists a fair amount of evidence to support this theory. Read up on it when you have a chance.Similar Posts: