The First Marathon - Olive and Date Archaeology

With Clyde Billington

Centuries before the famous running messenger who told the tale of the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon, another messenger took the tale of a disastrous Israelite defeat at the hands of the Philistines back to the Israelite Temple at Shiloh. The message was just the opposite, but the distance was about the same. And thus, today there is a marathon race in Israel that goes from Tel Aphek, the site of the battle, to Tel Shiloh. In addition to this fascinating story that connects archaeology to sports, we have two more stories that connect archaeological research to two important foods of the region: olives and dates. These stories and more in this week's program, discussing stories from the news digests of the latest issue of ARTIFAX, our biblical archaeology news magazine.

tags: Marathan Shiloh Aphek Ebenezer Olives Dates Methusaleh

Ziklag, Huqoq, and First Century Fast Food

With Clyde Billington

More news items to discuss from the many news reports in the summer issue of ARTIFAX, the biblical archaeology news magazine. Ziklag, a city associated with King David, has been tentatively identified at a dozen different locations in Israel but now finally we have the correct location, says archaeology Yosef Garfinkel. (Other archaeologists are not so sure.) More mosaic discoveries in this summer's excavations at Huqoq, at the site of a fifth century synagogue overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The mosaics depict the Exodus spring of Elim, and the four beasts of Daniel 7. We also discuss a photo from professsor Carl Rasmussen, showing a first century thermopolia, a fast food establishment excavated at Pompeii. In the first century this is where people got their food because they didn't have kitchens in their high rise apartments.

tags: Huqoq David Garfinkel Mosaic Ziklag Elim Daniel fast food thermopolia

Daily Life in Ancient Israel

With Cynthia Shafer-Elliott

There are many mentions of food in the Bible but what was their daily diet like? That's one of the questions that concerns Cynthia Shafer-Elliott, a professor of Hebrew Bible and Archaeology at William Jessup University. We discussed what archaeology has dug up to complement what the Bible tells us about eating habits of the ancient Israelites.

tags: Israel Bible Tel Halif diet recipes food