#1639
2018-12-11
Jezreel Valley Regional Project Update, part 2
With Matthew Adams
More on the Jezreel Valley project and sites other than Megiddo that are being investigated in this area.
tags: Tel Jezreel Tel Shimon
#1638
2018-12-04
Jezreel Valley Regional Project Update
With Matthew Adams
In the flat farm fields between the archaeological tel of Megiddo and the Megiddo prison a mile away lie the remains for the only major Roman Legion base known in the eastern Roman empire. Inside the prison itself, archaeologists have discovered the remains of a second century Christian prayer house, one of the earliest known Christian worship buildings. Matthew Adams, director of the Albright Institute in Jerusalem, fills us in on the latest details of the excavations that are part of the Jezreel Valley Project, and what will be happening when the prison is decommissioned and moved, by order of the Israel Supreme Court.
tags: Megiddo Roman Legion Legio prison Prayer house
#1637
2018-11-27
The Church of Nicea and Maresha Seal Impressions
With Clyde Billington
A church has been discovered at the site of the Council of Nicea, a critical meeting in A.D. 325 that shaped the history of the Christian church. And it's ten feet under water. That's one of the stories from the news digest in the latest issue of ARTIFAX. We also discuss some Hellenistic seal impressions found in an underground chamber at Maresha, a Hellenistic gold item found at the Givati Car Park excavation in Jerusalem, and the discovery of a first century tomb in Jordan filled with cartoons. That is, drawings on the wall, and some have captions in ancient Aramaic.
tags: Turkey Aramaic bullae Archaeology Nicea Meresha cartoons
#1636
2018-11-22
Beit Lehi, Jordan Valley Camps, and Jerusalem Cable Car
With Clyde Billington
More news items from the Autumn issue of ARTIFAX, starting with the excavation at Beit Lehi, "the house of the jawbone." Lots of inscriptions in caves at this site, 60 miles SW of Jerusalem, lots of Hellenistic remains, a Byzantine church and one of the earliest Muslim mosques in Israel. Excavations of stone structures in the Jordan Valley, first identified by Adam Zertal, now continuing under a new archaeological team. Zertal suggested that these structures may have been corrals for early Israelites, who lived in tents, and possible evidence for the Exodus. A cable car plan is being discussed that is generating some controversy. The cable car would cross the Hinnom Valley to Mt. Zion and end at the Dung Gate of the old city.
tags: inscriptions Church Jerusalem Mt. Zion Exodus Israelites Beit Lehi Shephelah Hellenistic period mosque Jordan Valley Cable Car Dung Gate
#1635
2018-11-13
Jerusalem Inscription/The Scroll vs. The Codex
With Clyde Billington
The cover story of the latest issue of ARTIFAX magazine reports on the discovery of an inscription from 100 BC that mentions Jerusalem. The inscription was found at the west end of modern Jerusalem, near the central bus station. It appears 2,000 years ago this was a small pottery village that served the nearby city of Jerusalem and the pilgrims who visited its temple. We also discuss a column by Larry Hurtado in the November/December issue of Biblical Archaeology Review which reports that it were the early Christians who pioneered a new innovation in writing, the codex, which eventually displaced the scroll. The evidence is overwhelming, and fascinating.
tags: Jerusalem Inscription Dodalos potter village scroll codex Christian writers Scripture