Perspectives on the Ancient World from Mesopotamiato the Mediterranean
Vol.59 No.2
June 1996
Should BA change its name?
The response to our reader survey has been overwhelming: more opinions than imagined and more ardor than anticipated. Serials librarians, lifelong subscribers, long-tenured dirt archaeologists, and new fans have all chimed in. A sample of comments follows, representing the breadth of views and depth of convictions among BA's readers. More to come in the next issue, along with a tabulation of the survey results.
IT ;S"Z
* The problem I have seen with the name Biblicalin the title is that many people think the magazine should only reflect Christian interests. I always thought Biblicalin the title meant areas spoken at in the Bible or at the same time periods of Bible happenings. Edna Toll, Westntinster,California * Please continue to focus on the cultures of the entire Near East and avoid emphasis on the Bible. * Biblical is not appropriate; expansion would be great. Content could still cover traditional topics. The title is too limiting for the content. * In fact the magazine now deals with the history and region of the Near East. The title should reflect this. JaneA. Barlow, Shiutesbury,Massachusetts * To me BiblicalArchaeologistsounds contradictory and too limited. * As the contents of each issue show, Biblicalarchaeology, i.e., the archaeology of Palestine, is only one of the many subjects being discussed. A change of the name would also indicate cont. next . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .page
It's not too late to register your opinion:
should Biblical
Archaeologistchange its name or not?
What's your view? II
II IIII-
* The removal of Biblical from the title would be counterproductive. For most people ,n our society the Bible provides their only contact with our-ancient Near-Eastern roots. Also, public sympathy and government support for this research often are based on the connection with biblical backgrounds. James E. Miller, Madison, Wisconsin * As a librarian responsible for cataloging journals, I am not in favor of name changes. A 60 yr. reputation and name recognition are important. * Periodicals of all kinds change their names far too frequently and usually their reasons for doing so are not very compelling. Librarians like me complain because we have to provide records so that people can find the information they need quickly and easily. As scholars, you should be the first to know the value of research. Please don't make it harder. * It depends upon the motive. I imagine it is economic as much as anything..... Perhaps even more than continued debate over the possibility of a biblicalarchaeology.In any case-any change from mission brings a change in the essential nature cont. next . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . ...page . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . .... . . . . . . ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . Stronglyagree 1 2
3
BA is a great name and should be maintained.
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The content of the magazine should focus on the Bible.
IO
I
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I
Comments:
I H
Stronglydisagree 4 5
. . .
e of the organization. The original deire toproj a "reliable account of archaeological di ~c ries as they relate to the Bible," from founder G.E. Wright (BA 1 (1938):4), has always been the magazine's strength. The name describes that goal very effec-
that the unscientific holy alliance between biblical theology and archeology which was the main reason for excavating in Palestine in the 19th and early 20th century has finally been dissolved and not too early, since it has obfuscated important historical facts. Gerd T.
Schlos,Tucson,Arizona * The name BiblicalArchaeologistimplies a focus that we were correctly taught as students, the science of archaeology should not have; that is a specific, or apparent, agenda when dealing with cultural remains. Luciano Celentano,
Toronto,Ontario * Viewing and interpreting the entire Near East as an adjunct to the Bible not only is an obscene and politically motivated endeavor, but it runs counter the spirit of peace in the mod-
em Near East.AntoineSamman,El Sobrante,California * The title is quite misleading. Very few of the articles are biblical in nature. Very few even inform of sites or situations that are directly relatable to the Bible. If the current mix of articles continues to predominate, it would be nice to change the title
to reflectcontent.FrankeJ. Zollman,MountVernon,Ohio * I like its more scholarly tone than BAR. However, each has it place and I think the similarity of names has become confusing to more of us interested in Near Eastern archaeology. Was actually discussing the confusion of names with a colleague
Connecticut last week! NancyBernard,Greenwich, * The popular appeal of the magazine must seek to compete with BAR without compromising its scholarly integrity. Few scholars are well-read enough in both biblical studies and archaeological studies to write the kinds of "generalist" articles that are needed for this appeal. M. Pierce Matheney, Kansas
tively. * The name should be kept because it is widely recognized and respected. To remove biblicalwould lessen the support and interest of the various faith communities for whom the Bible is important, and would give BA a purely academic orientation. The present mix of articles gives the journal and its title their definition for readers. The focus is on the Bible, but the depth of
field is very large. DouglasM. Parrott,Riverside,California I have no problem with the name BiblicalArchaeologist.It reflects journal's origin, its scholarly focus and the interests of its readers. Why change it? JamesMuhly, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania Even though BiblicalArchaeologistno longer accurately describes the magazine's content, it should be retained. This title accurately reflects the history of the discipline in the USA and even if the field has fortunately reinvented itself, why hide from the past? Rather, the content of the magazine, with special focus issues, etc., has successfully confronted the issue that we no longer study the ANE simply to illuminate biblical studies. That says more than any title change could hope to, and encapsulates the more modem approach. If the title BA is dropped the publication will undoubtedly be dropped from many seminary/theological institute libraries, just the audience, and broadening target that needs to be reached. So, while title and content are no longer in lock-step, it is a contradiction that does not do violence to where the field came from, where it is, and where it is going.
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to the Mediterranean Perspectiveson the AncientWorldfromMesopotamia A Publicationof the AmericanSchoolsof OrientalResearch 74
Volume59 Number2 June1996
TheStrangeSearchfortheAshesof the RedHeifer
Danielc Browning, Jr.
page 74
Neverheardof the "searchforthe ashesof the RedHeifer?"Is VendylJonesabsentfrom the indexof your latestbook on the Dead Sea Scrolls?Whileoccasioningmanya scholarlyblankstare,VendylJonesandhis excavationsin theCaveof theColumnin thevicinity of Qumranhavevast popularappeal.Withan idiosyncraticreadingof the CopperScroll, Jonesclaims to know the hiding place of the ashes of the Red Heifer.His excavations have produceda substancehe claims as the long-hidden remainsof the incense mixtureused in the JerusalemTemple.Do Jones'sclaimshave any merit?Can he be safely havea responsibilityto respond ignoredas a harmlessfoolor do competentarchaeologists publiclyto his assertions?
90
Terqaandthe Kingdomof Khana
MarkChavalas The ancienthistoryof Syriabecomesmorevivid with each passing archaeologicalseason.Recentexcavationsat Terqahaveaddednew chaptersto theurbanizationof thethird millenniumas well as the competitiveOld Babylonianperiod.In the thirdmillennium BCE Terqaserved as an importantbridge between coastal sites of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamiaproper.Its massive defensive system testifiesto its strategicimportance.AfterMarifellto Babylon,the twenty-acretellruledmuchof the middleEuphrates and featureda largeadministrativecomplexand a templeof Ninkarrak.
104
i?• *ried .
-.real
LawrenceDavidson The work of archaeologistsin Palestinein the 1920sconstitutedbig news: newspapers such as TheNew YorkTimesturned the story into one of dramatic proportions. The theater."Storiesof discoverytook on a melodramatic presscreatedan "archaeological Theactof excaqualitythatemphasizedtheuniversalsignificanceof biblicalarchaeology. vationbecametheconfirmationof the truthof the Bibleand its world-envelopingvision. How did this "theater"play in Peoria?In subtleways, a temporaltranspositionwas carout.Storiesdescribedthebiblicalpastwith sufficienttheatricaleffectto makeit more thanthe Arabpresent,with tangibleconsequencesfor the futureof Palestine.
115
The Disappearanceof the Goddess Anat: The 1995 West Semitic Research
1'5B
•Ugaritic :.
BiblicalArchaeologyandthe Press:ShapingAmericanPerceptionsof Palestinein the FirstDecadeof the Mandate
page 90 122
••
i
Projecton UgariticEpigraphy Theodore J.Lewis
The Syrianwarriordeity Anat:was she a cannibalor a lover with a "fatalattraction?" Theslenderepigraphiccordupon whichscholarshavelong hung suchdepictionsof this goddess has now been definitivelysevered.In theirphotographof the famous tabletKTU1.96,WestSemiticResearchProject'sUgariticprojectprincipalresearchers WayneT.Pitardand TheodoreJ. Lewis have provided the firstepigraphicallyreliable recordof thetablet.Voilh:thegoddessAnatdisappearsfromthe textas does thecertainty of threeand a half decadesof scholarlyreconstructionsof her cannibalisticnature.
The Enigmaof the Shekel Weightsof the Judean Kingdom YigalfRonen Inscribed stone and bronze shekel weights are a distinctive feature of Late Iron 11 Judahwhere they were used to weigh pieces of silver in monetarytransactions.But a curiouscircumstancehas always plagued theirinterpretation.The weights themselves arearrangedin a system of 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 40 shekels,but the hieraticnumerals inscribedon themare1,2,5,10,15, 20,30, and 50.Anothercuriosityhas neverbefore been noticed: why does the system of weights employ base eight when people in Judahcountedby units of ten or six?YigalRonencan solve both enigmas. On the Cover:Ugaitictablet KTU1.96, photographed by W. Pitardand T.Lewis as part of West Semitic ResearchProject'sUgariticproject.Thistablet has traditonally offered one of the more colorful episodes for characterizingthe nature of the goddess Anat. UnderWSP'sphotographic lens, however, the name Anat disappearsfrom the tablet and, with it, one vivid and scandalous aspect of her personality.CWSRP
From
the
Editor
This issue of BA ranges from the tiny cuneiform impression made clear under a sharply focused camera lens to the subtle shaping of political perceptions manifest in splashy newspaper headlines. The articles expose the sometimes tenuous base but tenacious staying power of ideas, whether entrenched scholarly interpretations or broad public opinion. How many stories have been built like inverted pyramids on the sixty-year old readof ing a single cuneiform word? Believed to be mentioned at the opening of one Ugaritic tablet, the Canaanite divinity Anat became associated with some rather violent appetites. Lewis and Pitard's photographic prestidigitation, conclusively re-reading the signs so that Anat's sobriquet disappears, ought to transform the goddess's reputation. We shall see. It may well be that the tale of Anat's cannibalism or hearty sexual appetite is too salacious or grotesque to die, like some modern "urban legends" ("thumb found in pickle jar!!"). Anat's storied behavior may be too emblematic of an assumed cultural divide between the Canaanites and the Israelites to be abandoned. Perhaps, on the other hand, our growing consciousness of the involvement of scholarly constructs in political realities will allow this new reading to move us toward a new valuation of the "'other" that has no need for de-humanizing contrast. Such tendencies toward a more global vision were certainly not widespread in the early part of this century. The New YorkTimes'spresentation of the archaeological "conquest" of Mandate Palestine offers an easy quarry for historian Lawrence Davidson's analysis of the newspaper's role in shaping the place of this land on the mental map of public opinion. Lifting up the reality of Palestine's biblical past meant a corresponding devaluation of the life of its Arab present. In this archaeological theater, the Holy Land acted as the underpinning of progressive Western civilization even as it was rescued from the shackles of its "oriental" dereliction. The tendencies in TheNew YorkTimes'sreporting of biblical archaeology have hardly left us. The last time archaeology and the Bible were together on the Times'sfront page (apart from the Dead Sea Scroll controversy), the headline read: "Archeologists Unearth 'Golden Calf' in Israel" (July 25, 1990; A 1:2). The WashingtonPost's subsequent offering of the same story casts TiheTime'saccent in relief: "Possible Early 'Golden' Calf Found in Israel" (Jul 28, 1990; C 12:3). The change in the location of the quotation marks (the find was indeed a calf, but not golden; it was cast of bronze with a partially preserved silver overlay) immediately tones down the biblical associations. Similarly, the adjective "early" signals the fact that the diminutive figurine could itself have had nothing directly to do with the Exodus narrative (the calf was interred at the end of the Middle Bronze II period, ca. 1550 BCE).Does The Timesmerely know better how to coin a catchy headline (cf., "The Goddess Anat Disappears") or does its portrayal of a verifiable biblical past continue the paradigm, laid down in the 1920s, of religio-cultural identification with the Holy Land? Both the manifest politics and the questionable archaeology of the "golden age of biblical archaeology" have made most archaeologists circumspect about identifying connections between the archaeological and biblical record. The Times's headline, however, confirms the continuing appeal of this world of ideas, an appeal that comes to prominence in a figure such as the idiosyncratic religious leader Vendyl Jones. Archaeologist Daniel Browning shows that Jones's search for the cultic treasures of Qumran's Copper Scroll represents single-minded prospecting alloyed with self-serving translations of ancient texts. Yet many lay people will not have the wherewithal to evaluate Jones's claims. The overt tie between his "archaeological" search and an incendiary religio-political agenda makes scholarly silence about work that can "safely be ignored" potentially hazardous. Sound archaeological commentary on popular belief cannot be evaded. Archaeologists long for the clarity of the perfectly focused, composed, and exposed photo and also covet the front page prominence given to the artifact or site that strikes a chord in the broader cultural story. Mostly we navigate the unstable waters between the two aspirations.
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BiblicalArchaeol Perspectives on the Ancient World from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean
Editor David C. Hopkins Art Director Bucky Edgett, LuckyProductions Book Review Editor Michel Fortin Arti-Facts Editors Bruceand Carolyn Routledge
EditorialAssistants MaryPetrinaBoyd,EllenRowseSpero EditorialCommittee KennethG.Hoglund JefferyA. Blakely ElizabethBloch-Smith DouglasA. Knight MaryJoanLeith BetsyM. Bryan GloriaLondon J.P.Dressel ErnestS. Frerichs JodiMagness Ronald S. Hendel
RichardS. Hess
Gerald L. Mattingly
GaetanoPalumbo
Paul Zimansky
SubscriptionsAnnualsubscriptionratesare$35 forindividualsand$45forinstitutions.Thereis a specialannualrateof $28forstudents,thoseover 65,physicallychallenged,or unemployed.Biblical is alsoavailableas partof the Archaeologist benefitsof someASORmembershipcategories. PostageforCanadianandotherinternational addressesis an additional$5.Paymentsshould
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The
Strange Search for
the
Ashes of
the
Red Heifer Two views of 3Q15 CopperScroll,cut 12, showing columnvi of the text with top lighting. Owing to the curvatureof the cut piece, only the text on the rightside of the column is discerniblein the left-hand photo. MA O) are clearly The wordsspr chd(7r visible in line 5. On the right,only the left part of the text can be read;the rightedge curvingup toward the viewer.The letters9m qll (tIn IV.), "there(isa) qalal,"on which VendylJones bases his searchfor the Ashes of the Red Heifer,can be seen at the (left) end of line 4. Photographsby Bruceand KennethZuckerman,WestSemiticResearch in collaborationwith the Princeton TheologicalSeminary.CourtesyDepartment of Antiquities,Jordan.
By Daniel C. Browning, Jr.
S5A
ATA SMALLBAPTISTCOLLEGE PROFESSOR OF RELIGION in
the South, I am frequently asked to speak in local
churches.Wheneverpossible,I use the opportu-
nity to talk about archaeologyand the Bible,allowing time for questions from the congregation. More often than not, someone in the group will ask about the "search for the Ashes of the Red Heifer." They are referring to the work of the controversial Vendyl Jones, who dug for a number of years in a cave at Qumran.Jonesclaims that the Copper Scrollindicates his cave is the hiding place of the ashes of the Red Heifer. While most scholars have ignored Jones's work, it has 74
BiblicalArchaeologist59:2 (1996)
enormous popular appeal because of its eschatological allure for various groups. This appeal is furthered by Jones's great charisma, both in person and through the secular and religious media. A high level of awareness of his excavation efforts exists among certain elements of the religious public, both Christian and Jewish. Since virtually no recognition of Jones'stheories or excavation appears in scholarly or semischolarly publications, a tremendous information gap has developed between scholars and lay persons on this issue. I decided to take on this investigation as an effort to bridge that gap. It is my hope that scholarswill benefit from a review of the work of Vendyl Jones and that interested lay persons will receive a balanced and informed assessment as well.
Temple. The Messiah, according to later tradition, will prepare the tenth and last of the Heifers (Strikovsky 1972:13). Indeed, there is a great deal of speculation about the possibility of an eschatologicalrole for the ashes in medieval Jewish literature. Vendyl Jones assertsthat the Ashes of the Red Heifer were hidden away along with other objectsof Israel'scult just prior to the Temple'sdestructionby the Romans in 70 CE.The recovery of these items, he avows, will resultin the re-establishment of the Sanhedrin, the Levitical priesthood with the sacrificial system, and the return of all observant Jews to the Land of Israel (Researcher1989:30). Therearepolitical implicationsof Jones'sscenarioin addition to the religious ones. Jones points out that the second sura of the Moslem Koran is entitled "The Cow." He relatesthe sura's title to the Ashes of the Red Heifer and says, VendylJones (right)shown in Aprilof 1992 at a Bedouin encampmentnear the north end of the Dead Sea. Photo by Larry Banks.
TheCopperScrolland the Ashesof the RedHeifer
Jones's excavation efforts have their basis in his reading of certain passages in the enigmatic Copper Scroll, or 3Q15 (see sidebar,"TheCopper Scrolland the Workof Vendyl Jones"). One section of the scroll-the twenty-sixth cache-lists items buried in the "Caveof the Column,"including a vessel specifiedby the Hebrew word qalal.In the Mishnah (Para3:3) the word is used to describe a vessel which held the Ashes of the Red Heifer. Jones contends that the qalal mentioned in the Copper Scroll is that vessel. The Red Heifer-more properly Red Cow-sacrifice is described in Numbers 19. The Cow was slaughtered outside the camp and burned. This process resulted in ashes which were mixed with spring water to produce the Waterof Purification (Num 19:17-19). This solution was used for the ritualcleansing of anyone who became impure through contact with a dead body or any object which became polluted by corpse contamination. The rite is unique in that, while a sacrifice, it was performed away from the altar of the sanctuary. Furthermore, though the process was intended to remove impurity, individuals who contacted the Cow, its ashes, or the water of purification were considered unclean (Num 19:7-10,21). The rabbis recognized that the enigmatic nature of the sacrifice provided the potential for scorn by enemies of the Jews.' According to the Mishnah, the ashes were divided into three parts:one was kept on the Rampart,one on the Mount of Olives, and one divided among the twenty-four courses of priests (Para3:11). The water for purification was mixed from ashes placed in a jar (here called qalal)at the entrance to the Temple Court. There is some indication that the ashes continued to be used after the destruction of the Temple and into the Talmudicperiod. The Mishnah mentions there were only seven (according to Rabbi Meir) or nine (according to the Sages) Red Heifers burned (Para3:5), it having become impossible to sacrifice more after the destruction of the
According to Islamic interpretation, when The Cow is found the nation in possession of the ashes of the Red Cow will become head of all nations. All nations will then submit to that Holy Nation....Thus, the recovery of the Red Cow will bring a true and lasting peace between all the Sons of Abraham (Researcher1989:30;Ellis 1981b).
Jones'sSearch
By his own account, Jones began working on the problem of the location of the "Cave of the Column" while in Israel in 1967. The previous entry in the Copper Scroll (3Q15 v 12)refersto a nhlhkp, "WadiKippa,"or "Wadiof the Dome." Jones tells how he searched for other references to this wadi without success. A chance meeting, however, with Israeli archaeologist Pessach Bar-Adon was his lucky break. BarAdon had much experience in the Judean Wilderness (cf. Greenhut 1993). According to Jones (1993b; Seal 1992:142), in September of 1968 he was investigating the Qumran area, newly acquired by Israel in the Six-Day War.Above a short wadi, unnamed on Bar-Adon's maps of the area, Jones saw a dome-like formation in the rocks. Adjacent to the wadi he found twin cave openings. Jones was convinced that the wadi was the WadiKippa,and that the two cave entrances represented the "Cave of the Column" mentioned in the Scroll. Initial examination of the site appeared to find the cave's bedrock floor. According to Jones, however, he noticed that the ceiling and sides of the cave exhibited a "verticalstrike"that is, the layers of rock were not flat-while the cave floor was horizontal. With the help of some Arab boys, Jones says, he dug through the floor which turned out to be "concrete" and several feet below hit a plaster floor (Seal 1992:142).He was determined to excavate the cave. Although Jones is not a professional archaeologist, an excavation license was obtained using Bar-Adon's standing, an arrangement which continued through several seasons of digging. WithJonesproviding the money, excavationbegan in 1977 with a few volunteers and continued with a larger group in 1982.Most of the work involved the removal of tons BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
75
A A-gQumran
nd Vicinity
Cave
OilJuglet 3Q'3
/
Cave
of
Column
the
Jericho If
The twin entrancesof the "Caveof the Column"flankingthe "column"of rockthat separatesthem. Though referredto as a single cave, the two entrancesdo not actuallygive accessto the same cavity.The entranceshave been greatlyenlarged by the excavations of VendylJonesfrom 1977 to 1989. Photo by LarryBanks.
.
1?
lai
Qu ra
Khirbet
,
ZEn
10
Gedi IN
43
of rock that had collapsed from the ceiling onto the cave floors. Digging was concentratedin the more northernopening, since the Copper Scroll entry specifies the "northern entrance"as the location of the cache which includes the qalal. Finds were limited to small amounts of pottery and flint. Nevertheless, Jones related a sand-filled pit and large flat stones to his reading of the Copper Scrolland thus provided an impetus for another season of excavation (Ellis 1982ah). In 1983, excavation continued, primarily in a "passage between the two caves as described in the scroll" ([Jones] 1983). At the end of the season, the danger of collapse made further excavation of this passage impossible (Baker 1983:116). Bar-Adondied in 1985,leaving Jones without the archaeologist needed to obtain the excavation license. Nevertheless, Joneswas able to work alone for the 1986season, which ended in disappointment. Jones eventually began a relationship with Joseph Patrich, who wanted to reexamine other caves in the Qumran area.Jones provided the money, Patrichprovided the necessary credentials, and a license was obtained. Patrichand a small staff-paid with Jones's funds-worked in other caves (Patrich 1989:32-42), while Jones continued excavation of the Cave of the Column in 1988. Tremendous amounts of rockwere removed using an innovative conveyor system. Jones interpretedthe lines in the Copper Scrollimmediately after the mention of the qalal (3Q15 vi 7-10; see comparative translations in sidebar) as instructions to dig nine cubits under a large stone to locate a passage into the "column" separating the two entrances of the cave. Using this understanding as a guide, digging began under a large stone and excavators followed a passage into the column until it was impossible to continue. Thus ended the 1988 season. After the volunteers returnedto the U.S.,Jones claims to have seen a "blue aura,"created by "a beautiful diffusion 76
BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
The environsof Qumranand the Caveof the Column,explored by VendylJones. Othernames mentioned in the text are shown, as well as the IsraelGrid.Map by DanielBrowning.
of iridescent aura of blue sky" ([Jones] 1988a:1-6), at the entrance to the passage into the column. Jones related this effect to "the blue opening" in his reading of column I of the Copper Scroll.This fueled hopes that the excavation was on the right track and that the excavator would find the ashes during the following season. Jones resumed the excavation during the firsthalf of 1989-still in cooperationwith Patrichbut with disappointing results in the Cave of the Column ([Jones] 1989:2-3). In the meantime, Patrich continued to explore nearby caves. In 1988 one of them produced a juglet from the first century CE which still contained a fluid. The substance may be balsam oil, produced from the now extinct balsam tree (Patrich and Arubas 1989). Patrich announced the find to the media in February1989 and it made headlines around the world. Though Patrich barely mentioned the involvement of Jones and his Institute for Judaic Christian Research (IJCR),2 Jones got considerable local press because of the find (e.g., Lewis 1989:1, 11). Jones refers to the oil as the perfume of Achor, the "Holy Anointing Oil used in the Temple...called shemen afarsimon," claiming-without reference-that, "theCopper Scrollnames this perfume as being one of the items hidden in the caves of the Valley of Achor" ([Jones] 1989b:1-2). The quest resumed in 1992 with two significant changes. First, Jones terminated his relationship with Joseph Patrich, primarily because of a financial dispute. This left Jones without a qualified Israeliarchaeologistthrough whom to gain an excavationlicense.3Also, the excavationwas shifted to a smaller cave, which lay slightly to the north and at about
with the view toward the east dig three cubits and there is the kalal and under it one book" (Researcher 1992:9).A search during the 1989 season had indeed discoveredan opening "witha view toward the east." This cave was dubbed "the North Entrance to the Cave of the Column," and the 1992 work was concentrated there. At the mouth of the cave, excavation revealed a rock-covered,ramp-like buildup of debris that seemed to be laid by human activity.This overlaid a rocklined pit that terminated in the bedrock floor at the mouth of the cave. A lens of red materialat the bottom of the pit continued over the floor and filled a shallow trench-like cavity. Marvin Antelman, a rabbi and chemical consultant at the Weizman Institute's Department of Nuclear Physics, analyzed the materA (left) Officialsof the IsraelAntiquitiesAuthorityand VendylJones (right)inspectthe ial, which appeared to be organic in nature. Based on the results Jones southwesternentrance of the Caveof the ColumnApril1,1992.Photo by LarryBanks. held a press conference at the cave on 8 May 1992, at which Antelman A (right)The southwestern entranceto the Caveof the Column(upperleft). The figures at convinced" announcedthathe was "80%/o lower rightstand in the opening of a "passagebetween the two caves"going into the that the substance represented the "column"of rockseparatingthe two entrances.Inwhat amounted to tunneling, tons of rock remains of the incense mixture used in were removedfrom this area in 1988 using a conveyorsystem.Photo by DanielBrowning. the Temple (Griffin 1992a:28;1992b:13) The 1992excavation ended in controversy.Two days after the press conference, the IsraelAntiquities Authority moved to shut down the excavation on the grounds that a permit had not been issued-because a qualified Israeli archaeologist was not involved in the project (JerusalemPost 1992:28). While the media reportedthat the excavation was shut down, Jones claims to have continued digging "to the very end, plus four days!" ([Jones] 1992). Since 1992, Jones has concentrated on the north end of the Dead Sea, where he locates the site of ancient Gilgal.Jones announced his intent to utilize remote sensing equipment to "determine exactly where the Tabernacleof Moses actually stood" and "recover the complete Tabernacle so that it can be placed in its original position" ([Jones]1993:1-2).Between Februaryand May of 1994,Jones explored the area with volunteers and claims to have discovered the exact location of the Tabernacle,using "satelliteimagery."The work was conWorkat the "NorthernEntranceto the Cave of the Column,"April2, ducted in a security zone under the authority of the Israeli 1992.The originalsmallopening was enlarged duringVendylJones's excavationsaroundthe cave'sentrance.View to south-southwest. military.No Israeli archaeologists or the Antiquities AuthorPhoto by LarryBanks. ity were involved. According to an IJCRnewsletter (IJCR 1994), "Vendyl and some of the excavation team were able to walk directly to the SE cornerand, using the anomalie [sic] the same level as the Cave of the Column. This move was based on a different reading of the Copper Scroll advorods, were able to obtain approximate measurements." The team defined an enclosure and immediately interpreted cated by Jones's then-wife, Zahava Cohen. Instead of giving it as the boundary of the Tabernacle. In places, the wall instructions to dig "at the north entrance," the lines following mention of the Cave of the Column (3Q15vi 3-5) were was exposed on the surface and further exposed by excanow taken to read: "At the entrance on the side by the north vation. They found a pottery sherd, tentatively dated to BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
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the "2nd Bronze Age." Jones announced his discovery to the media, saying that the discovery is "greaterthan Troy,greater than Pompeii" (O'Sullivan 1994). This new effort-despite initial appearances-is related to the search for the ashes. Jones has always maintained that his discovery of the ashes would lead to the discovery of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle and, hence, to the re-establishment of the sacrificial system (Ellis 1981a; Griffin 1992b:13).Jones earlierenvisioned this process unfolding on the Temple Mount (Ellis 1981c), apparently accepting a theory which places the Second Temple somewhat north of the present mosque (Kaufman 1983:40-59). This theory is quite popular with both Christianand Jewish groups whose eschatology envisions an imminent rebuilding of the Temple. Regardless, any attempt to establish a Jewish religious presence on the Temple Mount-the exact location notwithstanding-would provoke a crisis in Jerusalem. In recentyears,however, Joneshas used a variety of prooftexts to insist that when he finds the Tabernacle,it must be restored in Gilgal rather than Jerusalem. He now claims (1992d:10; 1993b) that the Copper Scroll twice mentions the Tabernacle in conjunction with the Cave of the Column. Jones also cites a tradition (2 Macc 2:4-5) that the Tabernaclewas hidden away by Jeremiah in a cave on Mt. Nebo along with the Ark of the Covenant and other objects of Israel's cult. He proposes (1992d:10-11)that the Essenes moved these objectsfrom Mt. Nebo and hid them in the Cave of the Column, along with the Ashes of the Red Heifer.
< A rock-covered slope at the mouth of the "Northern Entranceto the Caveof the Column,"as exposed on April 2,1992. Thiswas part of a buildup that appeared to be laid by human activityover a pit found to contain a red materialwith an organic appearance.Photo by LarryBanks. V Dismantlingof the rock-covered slope or rampin front of the "NorthernEntranceto the Caveof the Column,"April4, 1992.The size of the stones comparedto the fracturedrockbehind and above the seated figure was one indicationthat the buildup might be the resultof humanactivity.The white-painted line on the rockface indicatesthe originalground level before excavation. Photo by LarryBanks.
Assessment What is one to make of all this? Is the search for the ashes a legitimate venture? Although it is difficult to give a quick and fair appraisal of Jones's efforts, they may be challenged at several points. We shall begin with Jones's interpretation of the Bible and rabbinical literature. Biblical Interpretation According to Jones, the Bible predicts that a Gentile will find the ashes and restorethe Tabernacle.His principalprooftext is Amos 9:9-12,where the prophet delivers God's promise of restoration to Israel. The key verses are 11 and 12. The Authorized Versionof verse 11 reads: "Inthat day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof;and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old."Jones (1992d:11)takes this as a promise that the physical Tabernaclewill be restored.The word translated "tabernacle,"however, is sukkah,meaning "booth/hut," ratherthan the normal word used for the Tabernacle,mifkan. Nowhere is sukkahused as a direct reference to the Tabernacle. Thus, most recent translations render the verse: "In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old;" (RSV). The Septuagint (LXX)and Acts 15:16, which quotes the verse, use the Greek skene,which means tent. This Greek word is also used in the LXXto refer to the Tabernacle, but usually with modifiers (i.e., "the Tent of Testimony").In any case, the Amos passage is not a reference 78
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to the restorationof the Tabernacle,but rathera prediction of the restoration of the kingly line of David. Indeed, this is the emphasis of Acts 15:16,where Amos 9:11-12is quoted by James. Jones (1992d:11)goes on to cite Amos 9 as evidence that Gentiles will actually carry out the restoration of the Tabernacle,reading the last phrase of verse 12, "Thus saith the L-rd, all the Gentiles which are called by my name doeth this." "Doeth" translates a singular participle which must refer to the action of the Lord, not that of the Gentiles. In addition, the phrase "says the LORD," is used to emphasize and punctuate several significant statements in Amos 9. and modThe word "does this"is found after"says the LORD" ifies Lord rather than the more remote "Gentiles." This is reflected in every major translation, such as the RSV,which reads, "'thatthey may possess the remnant of Edom and all
the nations who are called by my name,' says the LORD who does this."Amos 9:9-12cannotbe takenas a promise to restore the physical Tabernacle,or as a prediction that Gentiles will be the agent of such an act. Jones also cites 1 Kgs 8:41-42 as evidence that Gentiles will restore the Tabernacle (Researcher1989:30; 1988c:4). The passage is part of Solomon's prayer of dedication of the Temple, in which he appeals to God to hear the prayer of Gentiles there,and simply has nothing to do with the restoration of the Tabernacle.One rathersuspects thatJones, having begun his effort, needed some biblical passages to provide a basis for his work and that these passages were retranslated or interpreted allegorically to fit his needs. The apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees relates a tradition that, just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah secreted away the Tabernacleand the Ark of the Covenant in a cave on Mount Nebo (2 Macc 2:4-8). Jones uncritically accepts this story (1992d:10), despite the fact that there are several competing accounts of the fate of the Tabernacleand Ark in Jewish literature(Ginzberg 1966:45).Jones's selective application of such accounts is typical of his use of traditional material.4 Jones thus enters the treacherous realm of using documents of faith as a guide for, and confirmation of, his field work. This represents a questionable approach, no matter which documents of faith are used. Nevertheless, arguments about such methodologies rarely change anyone's opinion. Therefore,the real test of Jones's work will be found in other areas. It is to those that we now turn. Jones'sUse of the CopperScroll Any assessment of Jones's search must concentrate on his translation and interpretation of the Copper Scroll (see sidebar of comparative translations). The Qalal.It is importantto note that the Ashes of the Red Heifer are not mentioned in the Copper Scroll.Jones's search hinges principally upon the appearance of the word qalal in column 6, line 4. Qaalal is a rareword in Hebrew, and does not appear in the Bible. It designates a type of clay or stone vessel, sometimes small, but varying in size (Brand1953:497). It has been suggested that the chalice appearing on some Jewish coins minted during the First Jewish Revolt is a representation of a qalal(Brand 1953:498).In Rabbinical literature qalalprimarily is used to designate a container for the ashes of the sin-offering-that is, the Ashes of the Red Heifer.It is on this point that Jones makes his case. The question is, does qalalnecessarily indicate the vessel containing the ashes, or can it mean any such jar? Jones's Copper Scroll translation (Researcher 1992:2, 9) reads, "dig three cubits and there is the kalal and under it one book." He specifies the qalal despite the fact that no article is supplied for qalalin the scroll. It might be argued that if qalalwas used exclusively for the vessel that contained the ashes, it would be considered a proper noun and would thus not require the preformative definite article h (Williams 1976:18). The way in which qalal is used in the Mishnah, however, mitigates against this view. It is true that
Jewish Coinfrom the third year of the FirstJewishRevoltagainst Rome.The chaliceon the obverse may representthe qalal in which the Ashes of the Red Heiferwere kept. Photo from Reifenberg, AncientJewish Coins(Jerusalem:RubinMass, 1940),PI.X, no. 141.
in the Mishnah qalal is used primarily in reference to jars which contained the ashes of the sin-offering. But in each section where the term is so used, it is introducedby the fuller description, "a qalalof sin-offering"(Para3:3;10:3).The modifying phrase suggests that qalal alone was insufficient to define the vessel. That qalalwas used for other vessels is confirmed by a Toseftapassage (ToseftaPara10(9).7)which uses the terms "qalalof sin-offering" and "qalalof terumah" (the priests' share of the produce; Temura4a) as distinct and separate items. Thus, the use of qalalin the Copper Scroll cannot be interpreted as a definite reference to the Ashes of the Red Heifer. Vessel of Dama. To support his contention that the ashes are referred to in the Copper Scroll, Jones cites its repeated use of the term klydmc,"vessel(s) of demaC." He connects the reference to a Talmudic story about Dama ben Nathina, a righteous Gentile who donated a red heifer to the Sanhedrin. As the story goes, Dama refused to sell a precious stone needed for the High Priest's breastplate to the Sanhedrin because, to do so, he would have to disturbhis sleeping father. Because of his filial devotion, Dama was blessed by God who caused a red cow to be born into his herd. When the Sanhedrin came to purchase the cow, Dama refused payment except for the money lost in the sale of the precious stone Zar.23b-24a;also JerusalemTalmud Pe'a1, (Qidd.31a;CAbod. 15c top). Jones maintains (1993b;IJCR1992b) that the vessel used for the Ashes of the Red Heifer was subsequently called the "vessel of Dama" in honor of Dama ben Nathina. Although an ingenious connection, I am aware of no rabbinical literature which refers to the vessel which contained the Ashes as the "vessel of Dama." There are other difficulties with Jones's identification of the vessel with the term used in the Copper Scroll. There the term kly dmcappears eleven times, in connection with ten different caches of treasure. All of these references simply cannot refer to the same item. A more fatal difficulty is found in the spelling of the term. The name Dama in the Talmud is spelled dm(04C), with a final aleph (K). In the Copper Scroll, one finds kly dmc (="'I), with a final ayin (D). It might be argued that the scribe who produced 3Q15 simply made a mistake-substituting similar sounding letters. But this is BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
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The Copper Scroll and the Work of Vendyl Jones
Vendyl Jones's search for the Ashes of the Red Heifer is based on his reading and interpretation of the enigmatic Copper Scroll.Thisscroll (officiallydesignated 3Q15) was found in QumranCave 3 in 1952 and is unique among the Dead Sea Scrollsin a number of ways. It is the only one of the scrolls made of metal, the text being hammered onto copper sheets. It is also the only one of its genre. The text purportsto be a list of buried treasure arranged in some sixty four entries. The Copper Scrollwas badly oxidized when discovered and could not be unrolled. The text was recovered by cutting the scroll into strips with a special saw. Several factors continue to make the text difficult to read and reconstruct.The scroll itself is too brittle for handling. The concave shape of the pieces, damage from corrosion and cutting, and the fact that the text is impressed rather than applied with ink make the writing difficult to distinguish and photograph. The unusual writing material and resulting script-somewhat different from the other scrolls-create confusion between certain letters with similarshapes. In addition, the language of the scroll is an unusual form of Hebrew with some Mishnaic characteristics-another uniqueness among the Dead Sea Scrolls.All this has produced a variety of readings and translations. The "official"(and standard) publication of the text by J. T. Milik(1962) was preceded by the "unofficial" work of J. M. Allegro (1960), an eccentric but good scholar,whose efforts nonetheless caused considerable ill will. Additional work by other scholars (e.g., Luria1963) has made important contributions, and now a new edition of the scroll is being prepared by P.K. McCarter,Jr. The unusual nature of the Copper Scrollhas provoked a wide range of reactions and speculations. The greatest spectrum of disagreement is found in the answers to two questions: 1) is the treasure described in the Copper Scrollreal? and 2) what does the treasure represent? The range of answers to the first has resulted in assurancesthat the list of treasure was spurious on the one hand, and at least one expedition designed to find the hidden troves on the other (Allegro 1964a; 1964b). The second question is more complex, and its answer affects issues at the very core of Qumranscholarshiptoday. Forexample, if the treasure is related to the Temple in Jerusalem rather than to Essene(?)occupants of Qumran(and the amounts of precious metals listed are staggering), what does that say about the origin of the rest of the Dead Sea Scrolls?Some (e.g., Golb 1985) have thus used the Copper Scrollto challenge the consensus of Qumranscholarship:that the documents are Essene in origin. Another approach is to separate the Copper Scrollfrom the rest of the Qumran libraryby assuming it was deposited in Cave 3 apart from other documents found there (McCarter1992). Indeed, it was found by itself, but paleographical analysis (Cross1962) dates the scrollto the late Herodian Period (25-75 CE),consistent with other documents at Qumran.These issues cannot be further explored here. A good, popular introduction has been provided by McCarter(1992). Suffice it to say that this fascinating but problematictext promises to keep Qumranscholarshipentertaining for some time to come. The work of Vendyl Jones has provided the most bizarre,yet intriguing, effort related to the Copper Scroll.Hisexcavation efforts are guided by his understanding of certain passages in the scroll. The accompanying article challenges some of his readings. Evaluationof Jones's use of the Copper Scrollis hampered by the fact that he has not provided a complete translation, despite occasional promisesto do so ([Jones] 1988a:7;Banks 1993). Much of Jones'stranslation depends on the work of his onetime Israeliwife, ZahavaCohen, who zealously guards her work, so that Jones himself claims (1992b:5; 1993b; cf. Seal 1992:143) not to have the full translation. The failure of Jones to produce a full translation does not, by itself, negate his interpretations;it just makes them more difficult to evaluate. In order to work around this problem, I have reconstructedJones'stranslation as far as it is possible from published snippets, quotes, and a personal interview. Although Jones typically cites the scroll without reference to columns and lines, most of his quotes can be placed into the accepted framework and thus compared with the work of other scholars.Some selections are offered on the following page to give the flavor the Copper Scroll,and to facilitate a discussionof Jones'swork.
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highly unlikely since dmc, as spelled in the CopperScroll,has a sensiblemeaning of its own. Demacis a word used in rabbinicalliteraturefor certain forms of terurmah Indeed, (Lehmann1964:97-98). jars marked with a d ('; for demac)were ruled to contain terumah(ToseftaMaCas. S. 5.1). We have already seen (Tosefta Para10(9).7)that a qalalof terumahis distinct from one containing the ashes of the sin-offering. It is within all expectation that the concealed treasure of a group with priestly concerns would include either actual tithe contained in vessels or the used vessels themselves, perhapscontainingotheritems.We must conclude that the term kly demacin the Copper Scroll cannot be seen as a reference to the container for the Ashes of the Red Heifer. Contents of the Vessel. Let us return to the word qalalin column 6, line 4, and grant-for the sake of argument-the possibility that it is a reference to a vessel used for the Ashes of the Red Heifer. As the ashes are not mentioned in the scroll, the contents of the vessel in the scroll are of criticalimportance.The section in question is read by Jones (Researcher1992:2,9), "At the entrance on the side by the north with the view toward the east dig three cubits and thereis the kalaland under it one book." Every other published translation,however, has understood that the book or scroll is inside the jar and that underit are forty-two talents (Allegro 1960:43; Milik 1960:140; 1962:291). The critical section (3Q15 vi 4-6) of the text reads, sm qll bw spr Nhdthtw [42 talents]. The words m qll(~~i DM)apparentlymean "there [is a] qalal,"while bw (1n) is "in it." On this everyone agrees. But what is in what? Normal Hebrew construction would indicate that the spr,hd,"one is book," is in the qalal.The word "under it," and apparently refersth.tw to the 42 talents being under the scroll. When asked about this point, Jones's response (1993b) was to relate the words bw and thtw, to say that the scroll is "in, underneath" the qalal.This reading, given that the words "one book" occur between bwand thtw,is hardly possible. The only natural reading is to place the scroll in the qalal.The consequences? If the qalal
Comparative Trans ations of the Copper Scrd Milik COL I (Milik 1960:139; 1962:285)
1 ?1) At Khorebbeh, situated in the Valley of Achor, below 2 the steps leading to the east, (dig) forty 3 cubits: a coffer (full) of money, the sum 4 of which is the weight of seventeen talents. KEN. 5 ?2) Inthe funerary monument of Ben Rabbah, of (Bet) Shalishah:
COL I (IJCR1992b)
1 ITEM1) In the fortess which is in the Valleyof Achor, 2 forty cubits under the steps entering to the east: 3 a money chest and its contents,
4 of a weight of seventeen talents. KEN. 5 ITEM2) Inthe sepulchral monument, in the third course of stones:
6 100 ingots of gold. ?3) In the large cistern, situated in the 7 Court of the small Cloister,which is closed by means of a pierced stone, in a recess of the bottom, 8 facing the upper oppening: nine hundred talents. 9 ?4) On the hill Kochlit:vase(s) of aromatics, sandalwood, and sacred vestments;
6 -light bars of gold. ITEM3) Inthe Great Cistern,which is in the 7 Courtof the Peristyle,in the plaster of its floor, concealed
10 total of the aromatics and of the treasure: seven (talents) and one tenth. 11 Sight from the entrance of the turning door the north side of the outlet of the canal,
10 all of tithe and stored Seventh-Year produce and Second 11 Tithe, from (the) mouths to the opening, and in the bottom of the water conduit,
12 (and count off) six cubits in the direction of the immersioncavern. XAF.
12 six cubits from the north towards the hewn immersion pool. XAF.
COLVI (Milik 1960:140; 1962:291)
COLVI (Allegro 1960:43)
1 ?27) Inthe Cave of the Column,which has two 2 entrances (and) which faces the east, 3 dig three cubits at the north entrance;
Jones
Allegro
COLI (Allegro 1960:33)
8 in a hole in front of the upper oppening: nine hundred talents. 9 ITEM4) Inthe trough (?) of the Place of the Basin(?):tithe vessels, consisting of 16g vessels and amphorae,
COLVI (Researcher 1992; Ellis 1981b; [Jones] 1988a; 1988c; Jones 1993b)
1 ITEM26) [Inthe inner cha]mber of the platform of the Double 2 Gate facing east, 3 [in] the north entrance, buried
3 At the entrance on the side by the north with the view toward the east dig three cubits 4 and there is the kalal and
8 of the Rock,facing 9 the east, dig 10 nine cubits at the entrance: 21 talents. 11 ?29) In the Abode of the Queen, on the western 12 side, dig twelve 13 cubits: 27 talents.
11 ITEM28) Inthe Tomb (?) of the Queen, in the western 12 side, buried at twelve 13 cubits: 9 talents.
COLXII (Milik 1960:142; 1962:298)
COLXII (Allegro 1960:55)
5 inside it a book, (and) beneath it 6 42 talents. 7 ?28) In the Cave of the Base
10 ?64) Inthe tunnel in the Smooth Rock to the north of Kochlit,which opens towards the north 11 and which has tombs at its entrance: a copy of this document, 12 with the explanations, measurements, and a detailed 13 inventory.
like a court yard, before the tomb, very, very deep, close at the blue opening from very high above, 8 [after you have] searched very much, (there) will appear in your eyes 9 in (under) the heap of blue [opening] is the vessel of Dam'a (k'lal or ashes of the Red Heifer)which was hidden away very hurriedlyand in balagan (confusion). The garments of the high priest 10/and everything that belongs to [the return]the vessel of 11 Dam'a. The treasure in ten holes many years since [buried] in silence to the opening [passage] that sends [extends from] the north, 12 six cubits (about 10 feet, or 3.3 meters) inside the face of the cliff is the inventory of all [things for the third Temple].
7
4 at three [cu]bits,(hidden) there is a pitcher; 5 in it, one scroll, under it 6 42 talents. 7 ITEM27) in the inner chamber of the corner 8 of the watchtower that faces 9 east, buried in the 10 entrance at nine cubits: 21 talents.
4 there you will find a jar,
1 Inthe desolations which [are] in the Valley of Achor under 2 the ma'alot (a hill one must climb up) hidden in [under] the east side 3 forty prestilin (40 to 60 feet) tel (heap or pile) forty stones [deep] a silver closet (chest) 4 in a mixed measure like ten kikarin(ten times 79 Ibsor 36 Kg.) 5 Here is the Great Mishkan(Tabernacle) for the Thirdrabod (Commonweath or Temple)to be eternally established. 6 Gold [also] in the very large cavern,
5 under it one book. 6
7 In the joining between the two ... under 8 the large, large 9 stone, dig 10 nine cubits and there is the opening into the column. 11 The complete Tabernacleis on the west 12 side. COLXII (Researcher 1992)
10 ITEM61) Inthe Pit (Shith)adjoining on the north, in a hole opening northwards, 11 and buried at its mouth: a copy of this document, 12 with an explanation and their measurements, and an inventory of each 13 thing, and oth[er things].
10/In the opening on the side by the north hidden behind the burialstone between the joining of the two is 11 another scroll like this one
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in the Copper Scroll contains a book/scroll, then it cannot contain the Ashes of the Red Heifer. If it contained both, the scroll would surely render the Ashes unclean for use (Mishnah Zabim5:12;cf. Para10:3;Yad.4:5). It is interesting to note that Jones, in the published snippets of his translation,does not include line 6, where one finds the letters k k (: f) followed by two inverted-U figures and two verticallines. This is takenby others (Allegro 1960:43, 221;Milik 1962:221,291) as an abbreviationforkikarin(1"Ifl), "talents," and two symbols each for "twenty" and "one;" therefore, "forty two talents" (under the qalal).At one time, Jones interpreted these symbols as a drawing of the Cave of the Column with its twin entrances (Ellis 1981b).This imaginative notion is unlikely, given the fact that throughout the scrollsimilarmarkingsappear,all in places where a weight of precious metals is appropriate. The Cave of the Column. What of the Cave of the Column? The translationof this term at the beginning of column 6 of the scroll is not in doubt. But where is the cave? Jones claims (1993b;Seal 1992:142)to have discovered his Cave of the Column by first locating the "Wadi Kippa" of the previous cache description using Bar-Adon's maps, and then finding the adjacentcave on 18 September 1968.Jones relates (1993b) that when he showed the cave to Israeli archaeologists YohananAharoni and MichaelAvi-Yonah,the latterwas so convinced that he included the Cave of the Column in the MacmillanBibleAtlas (Aharoni and Avi-Yonah1977:map 224; where the Hebrew name Amud Cave is used). Avi-Yonah also included the cave in his Gazetteerof Roman Palestine (1976:79,112)at map reference193128.Although Jones'scave is at map reference 193129, it seems clear that Avi-Yonah is referringto the same cave. Ratherthan Jones, however, AviYonah cites Milik's 1962 publication of the Copper Scroll. There, Milik says with reference to the Cave of the Column, "A large double cave between the W(adi) Gaufat Zabin and manuscript Cave 11 is one of the most striking landmarks of the cliff" (Milik 1962:264).This is most surely the same cave Jones identified as the Cave of the Column, for the Wadi Gaufat Zabin is the one identified by Jones as the "Wadi Kippa" (Survey of Israel 1985), and Cave 11Q is just beyond Jones's cave from the wadi. Milik's identification of the cave was published eight years prior to Jones's alleged discovery. This raises serious doubts about the credibility of Jones's story, but it does lend some credence to his identification. As noted above, Jones relates the Cave of the Column to the Wadi Kippa mentioned in the preceding entry in the Copper Scroll. Other translators do not connect these references, as they belong to differentcaches.Jones'sidentification may be correct, although the evidence does not permit certainty.Thatnotwithstanding,Jonesbegins a continuingpattern of applying various sections of the scroll-without regard to their context-to his search, while ignoring the parts which do not lend themselves to his agenda. Jones does not mention a fact accepted by all other interpreters of the Copper Scroll: that it is a list of some sixty to sixty-four 82
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Excavationof a pit feature just at the mouth of the entrance to the "NorthernEntranceto the Caveof the Column,"April4, 1992. This pit was protected by a buildupof debris,possiblylaid by human activity.Photo by LarryBanks.
different locations. In another example, Jones connects a section of the Copper Scrollwhich refersto the Tombof Zadok the Priest (ii 3) with the Cave of the Column ([Jones] 1983), though the locationof the Tombis almostcertainlyin Jerusalem (Milik 1962:271). Again, the last item listed in the Copper Scroll (xii 10-13) is a duplicate list of the hidden treasure caches with a more detailed inventory. Jones equates this copy of the list with the scroll in the cache containing the qalal (Researcher1992:9). Thus, he uses directions to the hiding place of the last item as details relating to the Cave of the Column. By combining clues from different parts of the scroll, Jones is able to contend that the Copper Scroll describes "a seven-chambered complex," and that he "had successfully found and excavated five of these chambers" (1992c:8). It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Jones's repeated failures to locate the Ashes of the Red Heifer have prompted the incorporation of additional data in order to explain the setbacks and keep hope alive. The treasure of the Cave of the Column, described in simple terms as a vessel, a scroll, and forty-twotalentsburied "threecubitsat the northentrance," has been thus expanded to include numerous items hidden in a many chambered labyrinth! The Tabernacle.Jones's recent efforts have emphasized the Tabernacle, which he asserts is listed twice in the Copper Scroll as a hidden item. The first is found is column 1, line 5, which Jones (1992a; 1993b) reads kn mgknrbhhM1ly, "here is the Great Mishkan (Tabernacle) for the Third (TemplePeriod),"differing radically from the scholarly readings. The Copper Scroll is quite damaged at this point, but Milik (1962:284-85),Allegro (1960:33),and McCarter (1994) agree that the firstword in line 5 is bnp?(IV~J2),"in the funerary monument." The following words are read by Milik "of Ben (1960:139; 1962:284-85) bn rbh h?l9y('trtV7f•M, ), Rabbah, of (Bet Shalishah);" and by Allegro (1960:33), Luria (1963:59), and McCarter (1994) bndbkhMly~y ('t t''
a proper translation of mifkanis many contexts, it does not seem to fit as the "Tabernacleof the Queen." Jones eliminates this problem by translating the following word as "complete"-apparently by reading mlP(Htt) instead of mlk' (t•tD), "Queen."It is difficult to see how Jones justifies this reading. As in the first case, this reference is apparently part of a different location description, separated from the Cave of the Column cache by yet another item. Jones apparently bridges the gap in his translationof the scrollby ignoring the total weights given in talents for each cache. Excavation Methodology An area of greatconcern in evaluating the work of Vendyl Jones is his field methodology. It is very difficult to assess the conduct of the work prior to the 1992 season. While Jones worked under the licenses obtained by Israeliarchaeologists, it appears that they left Jones to work in the Cave of the ColThe author (center)and some of his students stand outside the umn, while they pursued their own interests in the area. This is especially apparent in Jones's relationship with Patrich.5 "NorthernEntranceto the Caveof the Column."The pit containing the "RedStuff"at the entranceof the cave had been re-filledby the Consequently, management of the work in the Cave of the Column suffered. A visit to the twin entrances does not give time of this visit in June 1993. Photo by MaconPhilips. any indication of controlled excavation. There is ample evidence, however, for the large scale removal of stones. Jones "in the third course of stones." Jones divides the 721)3), words differently, reading k (2) for b (2) twice and m (M) has quoted Israeli Antiquities Authority inspectors as sayforp (E) to get kn m~kn 2 1), "here(is the)Mishkan/Taber- ing that his excavation was "twenty years ahead of anyone (LfT nacle." While the forms of the letters kaf(:) and bet (2) are else excavating in Israel" ([Jones] 1992). These comments, often similar in 3Q15 (Cross 1962:219-20),the characters in however, seem to have been made with reference to techquestion are quite consistent with other bet'sin this section niques used in breaking up and moving large stones, ratherthan to Jones's excavation methodology (Jones 1993b). of the scroll. Line 5 also seems to begin a new treasure In fact,Jones'sexcavation methodology is suspect at best. location. The description of the first cache was closed in line 4 in a manner consistent with other entries: by giving the During the 1992 season at the "Northern Entrance," Jones total weight (seventeen talents), followed by the enigmatic was joined by Larry D. Banks, senior archaeologist (since Greek letters KeN. Most location descriptions in the scroll retired) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and president of the Society of Professional Archaeologists. Banks, havbegin with the Hebrew letterbetattachedto a noun, "in the..." Thus, the context also favors reading the first letter of line ing heard encouraging reports about Jones's work in the 5 as bet.Based on letter form, it is much more difficult to take media and from individuals, hoped that he could make a the third letter of the line as m (mem)instead of p (peh).Jones contribution (Banks 1993). Upon his arrival, however, he agrees with Milik for the remaining words, but he translates found "that even the most basic equipment for any type of rbhas "great"rather than a personal name. For rbhto mean excavation was not available," and, "it was not even a sim"great"(a perfectly normal translationwhen standing alone) ple matter to obtain graph paper." Banks (1994) concludes that Jones's "excavation methodology was to strip as as an adjective modifying "Tabernacle,"the word should much rock and 'dirt' out of the caves as rapidly as possihave the preformative article and appear as hrbh.Jones's use of hMly, "third," as a reference to a future third Temple is ble. One of the difficulties in assessing the excavation at the dependent on his theology; specifically,that the Tabernacle's restoration will pave the way for a re-establishment of the Cave of the Column is the lack of reports. Apparently, from the beginning of work in 1977 to 1992, Jones proTemple. All this makes Jones's reading of the line highly duced no reports on the work. While the work was covered improbable. The second supposed mention of the Tabernacleoccurs under the licenses of Bar-Adon and Patrich, Jones worked in column 6, following the Cave of the Column entry. on his own for several years. According to the IJCRoffice Here, the reading of mgkn(jf ) is not in dispute. Accord- (personal communication, 9 June 1994), Jones recently completed a report for the Antiquities Authority. Requests for a ing to scholarly consensus, the line says, "In the mishkanof the Queen, on the west side." Milik (1960:140) translates copy of this report have so far been ignored by IJCR as mi~kanas "abode,"but he sees the term as referringto a tomb well as the Israel Antiquities Authority. The search for the Ashes of the Red Heifer, especially in (1960:148;1962:264),an idea shared by Allegro (1960:43,150). In the Hebrew Bible,the word is used in the sense of dwelling recent years, has been represented as a "high-tech" opera(Num 24:5;Jer 30:18;etc.) and tomb (as in Pss 49:12 and Isa tion, using advanced remote sensing techniques. It has been 22:16), as well as for the Tabernacle.While "Tabernacle"is reported, for example, that a bronze mass has been detected BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
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in the column between the two cave entrances using devices called molecular frequency generators ([Jones]1988:5;Jones 1993b).One such instrument was provided and operated by David Fasold (who also claims to have located the remains of Noah's Ark in Turkey).According to Fasold (personalcommunication, 8 June 1994), the instrument detected bronze of unknown mass which could be anything, even "a shell casing in a crack,"fallen down from above. Jonesis convinced that the readings are evidence for the qalal,hidden in a chamber reachedby some concealedundergroundpassage. Indeed, 1992:5,7) to have confirmed the exisJones claims (Researcher tenceof unexposedchambersusing "anomalyrods,"apparently a technique akin to dowsing!
Finds Significant
A few dramatic finds have provided Jones with ample press coverage and some ammunition to use against his detractors. The discoveries of the juglet of oil and the red material do not validate Jones's search. They do, however, force critics of his search for the ashes to deal with the material. The Juglet of Oil. The legitimacy of the juglet and its contents cannot be doubted. The juglet clearly represents an artifact of the late Second Temple Period and the oil contained within gives every evidence of being balsam oil (Patrich and Arubas 1989). It should be pointed out that the juglet of oil was not discovered in the Cave of the Column or the "North Entrance."It was, rather,discovered in a cave nearby being excavated by Patrich.Nevertheless, Jones refers to the find as the gemenafarsimon,or "anointing oil," and claims (1991)-but only since its discovery and without reference-that it is listed in the Copper Scroll as a hidden item. As for that claim, Milik's translation seven times includes the term "aromatic spices." Ironically, however, it is Milik's translation (1963:250) of kly dmc,a term Jones relates to the qalal, rather than to perfume. The "RedStuff."The situation with the red materialfrom the "Northern Entrance" is more complicated. At the time of its discovery, Banks identified the material as possible organic matter. Initial tests by Antelman consisted of determining bulk density, pH, and ash content, and observation of the material and ash reaction with acid. According to Antelman, results were consistent with the theory that the material is a remnant of Temple incense (Antelman 1992). Further testing would focus on identifying the component substances. But what to look for?The incense, or qetorit, to be burned in the Tabernacle-and later in the Temple-is specified in Exodus 30:34-35 as consisting of equal parts of four ingredients: stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense. A more detailed formula is given in the Talmud (Ker.6a; Jerusalem Talmud Yoma4:5) for "the incense mixEleven main ingredientsarespecified ture,"or pitumha-qetorit. in various amounts, weighed in manehs: 1) stacte, 2) onycha, 3) galbanum, 4) frankincense, 5) myrrh, 6) cassia, 7) spikenard, 8) saffron, 9) costus, 10) aromatic bark, and 11) cinnamon. To these were added various amounts, in volume measure, of Karsina lye, Cyprus wine, Sodom salt, and a 84
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Close up view of dolomite bedrock ledge (white rockto right) at the entrance to the "NorthernEntrance to the Caveof the Column,"as exposed by Jones's excavation,on April
10, 1992.An accumulationof darkred materialis visiblebetween the bedrockfloor and the overlyingdebris along the left side of the rockledge. Photo by Larry Banks.
minute amount of a smoke producing herb. Antelman had samples tested in the mass spectrometry unit of Bar-IlanUniversity. Mass spectrometry produces a table expressing in percentages or parts per million of each element in the sample. These results must be interpreted by matching the spectra obtained with the compositions of suspected materials. Incense presents a complicated case, as it is composed of many parts, each having its own makeup. Based on the results, Antelman announced (IJCR1992e;Griffin 1992b:13)thathe identified eleven of the fifteen ingredients listed by the Talmud. Antelman concludes (IJCR1992e), "it is the first scientific evidence...that the Zadokites who lived in the Kumran area, observed the oral tradition of the Tora." Antelman's conclusion amounts to circularreasoning, as the components listed in the Talmud are used to identify the substance as Temple incense, and then significance is found in the fact that the material is like that described in the Talmud. It is possible that a strong desire to equate the red material with qetorithas led to identifications which are less than absolute. Such a desire is revealed by an IJCRpress release (IJCR1992c) that states, "Modern chemical analysis of a sample of the original incense would permit the reinstitution of pittumha-ketoretand its use in the Third Temple." Indeed, Antelman is a rabbi and the chief justice of a rabbincal court (IJCR1992d). Others have raised doubts about the identification of the red substance, suggesting that the material may be only soil with a naturally occurringred hue (Maltsberger1993:9).Nevertheless, no competing analyses have been published. Upon my request, Antelman provided to me copies of various reports and data (Antelman 1992; Gottlieb 1992; Cojocaru 1992; Luvac 1993; and other data) detailing tests conducted on the red material. In addition, I received three small samples of the red material from Alan Mallenbaum, a media consultant loosely associated with Jones and Antelman. The
Composition of Material Purported to be Temple nrtcense By Kenneth D. McMurtrey A red material found through excavation at the Cave of the Column is claimed to be incense from the Second Temple. News releases by IJCR(1992d; 1992e) state that the substance had been identified through chemical analysis performed at BarIlan University. I have examined documents supplied to Daniel Browning as a result of his request for more information on these analyses and other tests. One set of data included the mass spectrum (Cojocaru1992) and a NMR(nuclear magnetic resonance) spectrum (Gottlieb 1992) of the residue from extraction of the material with organic solvents. The spectra were interpreted to indicate the presence of a polycyclicterpenoid material.Thisassignment appears to be consistent with the data. It should be noted, however, that the solvent extractable portion of the red material is claimed to be only about 0.1% of the total mass (Gottlieb 1992). Bulkdensity of the material was given as 0.960 - 0.982 g/cc (Antelman 1992). Thisvalue (less than 1.00 g/cc, the density of water) was interpreted as indicating that the material was lighter than water, and thus excluded the material as being red soil or a red mineral such as hematite (iron ore). This interpretation confuses bulk density with actual density of the particles making up the substance. Solids with a true particle density less than water would float. I performed a simple experiment consisting of placing about 1/2 teaspoon of the material in a test tube of water. The substance did not float-instead it dropped to the bottom of the tube-indicating a density greater than that of water. Bulkdensity measurements give a combination of the density of the material and the density of air surroundingthe original particles. When treated with acid the red substance "fizzed" giving off a gas claimed to be carbon dioxide (Antelman 1992). I repeated this experiment and made the same observation (although I did not identify the gas). When treated with acid the material reacts to give off quite a bit of gas which I assume is carbon dioxide (there were no data to indicate that Antelman identified the gas either, but carbon dioxide is entirely plausible). If ground limestone or any soil derived from carbonate rock is treated with acid, carbon dioxide is liberated:the material "fizzes." Reaction of calcium carbonate (or other carbonates or bicarbonates)with acids is fairly well known even to laymen. Cleopatra is alleged to have made a tonic by dissolving pearls (calciumcarbonate) in vinegar (acetic acid); erosion of marble statues by acid rain has damaged many historicand artistictreasures in Europeand elsewhere, to cite two examples.
documents have been reviewed by Kenneth D. McMurtrey, who also directed an analysis. McMurtrey's analysis of the samples (see sidebar, "Compostition of MaterialPurported to be Temple Incense") suggests the red material is merely soil of calcite or dolomite
There was also a description of the effect of heating the material to a high temperature to prepare an "ash" sample. When the material was heated to 1000* Cthe residue remaining ("ash")amounted to 52.7% of the substance before heating. When the ash was treated with acid it reacted violently giving off some carbon dioxide but giving off much heat indicative of a strong alkali composition. The HCIsolution was colored a green-yellow typical of the iron chloride complex (Antelman 1992). It is well known that heating calcium carbonate to high temperatures produces calcium oxide, a strong base. To cite one text used in freshman college courses on general chemistry,"Limestoneor seashells, which are both primarily CaCO3,are heated to prepare CaO,which is known as lime or quicklime. Over 1.5 x 1010kg (16 million tons) of CaOare used in the United States each year..." (Brown, LeMay,and Bursten 1994:74). Calciumoxide reacts vigorously with acids, and the reaction is strongly exothermic (heat is produced). Duringthe heating process, the conversion of pure calciumcarbonate to calcium oxide would be attended by a loss in weight to 56% of the weight of the carbonate, while magnesium/calciumcarbonate would decrease in weight to 52% of the weight of the carbonate (author'scalculations). Dolomitic limestone is primarily magnesium/calciumcarbonate. Elemental analysiswas performed on the "ash" (Luvac1993): according to this report the "ash"contained calcium (37%), magnesium (6.8%),silicon (5.6%), nitrogen (5.5%), aluminum (1.2%), phosphorus (0.83%), iron (0.72%) and smaller amounts of several other elements. Carbonand hydrogen analyses of the red material which we obtained indicates %Cof 10.31, 10.50, and 10.69 for the three samples and %Hof 1.62, 1.06, and 1.10, for the same respective samples. Chemicallypure calcium carbonate is 12.00% carbon. Materialsderived primarilyfrom plant sources would contain considerablygreater percentages of hydrogen than the values above. My interpretation of the available data is that the red material is soil of mixed calcite/dolomite limestone origin (primarily calcite) with an admixture of silicates, nitrates, phosphates and sufficient iron salts to provide a red color. There is also a trace of nonpolar organic material which may be of biogenic origin. Ishould expect that analysis of soil samples from many, if not most, areas of the arid and semiarid regions of the near east would yield very similaror identical results.The sample appears to contain little plantbased materials (0.1%). There is certainly no evidence that it may once have been processed by humans, intended for any particularuse by humans, or have ever been contained in or otherwise associated with a particularbuilding.
origin. This conclusion is entirely consistent with the geology of the area. The Cave of the Column and the "northern entrance" are located in an outcrop of Cenomanian or Turonian limestone, which is dolomite. Surrounding it is a Plio-Pleistocene formation of chalk, or calcite. BiblicalArchaeologist59:2 (1996)
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Vendyl Jones and His Organization Vendyl Jones is a fascinating character-personally engaging, extremely glib, colorful, and controversial.He is often heralded in popular media (e.g. Sofer 1994) as the inspirationfor the IndianaJones of the film world-a claim denied by George Lucasand Steven Spielberg (Seal 1992:115-17).Texas-bornand raised, Jones became a Baptist minister,but moved to Israelin the mid-1960sto pursue study of the Torah.Inthe Six Day WarJones became-in his own words-"hero for a day" (Jones 1993b) for using his color-blindnessto spot a camouflaged Jordaniangun emplacement (Time 1967:18).As a result, Jones made some influential friends in the Israelimilitary. Jones's organization is the Arlington, Texasbased Institute of The purpose of IJCR, Judaic-ChristianResearch(IJCR). to a from its office, is "to obtained according flyer what Yeshua determine (Jesus)actually said in the his words literallymeant to he and what spoke language the people who heard him," with the objective of correcting "mis-informationagainst Judaism,the Jewish people and the State of Israel."Byzantine monks and translators, it is asserted, robbed Jesus of his "Judeo mindset" and "abrogated the text from a Rabbinic hermeneutical approach." Jones railsagainst Christian theologies which see Israelas replaced by or joining the Church.Jones became an Israelicitizen in 1983. While not converting to Judaism,he has distanced himself from Christianity.Jones's approach, which he calls "Covenant Plurality,"emphasizes the study of the Torahand Oral Torahfor non-Jews. He has established a school of B'nai No'ach ("sons of Noah") which, simply stated, is Judaism for Gentiles. Jones's interest in showing the supremacyof Judaismis the engine which drives his search for the Ashes of the Red Heifer.In recent years, Jewish associations advocating the re-establishment of the Temple have become vocal in Israel. Forthe sacrificialsystem to be properly reinstated, the water of purification, made from the Ashes of the Red Heifer (Num 19:17-21),would be necessaryfor the cleansing of the priests.Thus, some Jewish groups have involved themselves with searching around the world for red cows or engaging in selective breeding of cattle to produce them (Rodan 1990:12).Jones'squest to recoverthe ancient supply of Ashes would, of course, provide a convenient shortcut.
Finally,Jones claims to have found, in addition to the nine hundred pounds of red material, "a niche containing chunks of Sodom Salt and a deposit of twenty-three cubic meters...of Karsinic lye (ash)" ([Jones] 1992:2).The claim is suspicious, since Sodom Salt and Karsina lye are specified as components of the incense mixture. Neither Banks nor any of the 86
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Jones's support base is a curious amalgam. He claimsthe blessing of various Jewish groups, including the Shephardic Chief Rabbiof Israel(Jones 1993b). Many Christianshave become involved in or supported Jones'swork with an anticipation that it would bring about the return of Christ. The connection is found in Christianeschatologies which see the rebuilding the Jewish Temple as a necessary prelude for the Second Coming. Jones's interests, however, have gradually diverged from those of his Christianpatrons. In a 1988 newsletter, he confronted those who supported his ministrywith different agendas: There are others, I realize, who are very turned on by the search for the Ashes of the Red Heifer....Yet,you don't hear me when I say, that when the ashes are returned, the Sanhedrinand Priesthood will be restored to Israel.The Tabernaclewill also be restored and healed like new (Amos 9:11,12) and Templeworship will be fully restored. Blood sacrificeswill again be offered according to Torah. The first drop of sacrificed blood at the BrazenAltar, even if it is only a dove, will destroy all the replacement and displacement theology preaching for the past 1600 years.... If anyone has supported this excavation because they think it is going to prove their theological sugar-tit -such as the rapture or anything else theological, they have done so over my protest! The hole we have dug to recover the ashes will be the grave of Christian Theology ([Jones] 1988b:3-4)! Jones's motivation in the Searchfor the Ashes of the Red Heifer is perhaps best summarized in his statement, "IfI could find these things, the supremacyof Judaismwould be proven" (Seal 1992:141). Scholars(Jones refers to them as "swivel-chairacademicians;" Seal 1991:117) have been reluctant to deal with Jones and his work in this kind of forum. One problem is the lack of information about Jones's excavation activities. Published accounts of the dig are limited to news articles and IJCR newsletters. Another difficulty is the scope of Jones's efforts, which go far beyond (but are related to and affected by) the search for the Ashes of the Red Heifer. Although Jones has no researchdegrees, one who wishes to respond to the extent of his activities must be conversant in Biblicaland MishnaicHebrew, New Testament Greek,textual criticism,Christiantheology, church history, RabbinicalJudaism,Dead Sea Scrolls,and archaeology.
volunteer workers he knows of actually saw these items. They were not mentioned in the press releases or reports following the press conferenceat the cave on 8 May 1992.If they exist, therefore, they must have been discovered after the Antiquities Authority officially "shut down" the excavation on 10 May.6 Even more dubious is Jones's claim ([Jones]
1992:3) that he found a coin "in the Qetorit near the back of the dome." He describes the coin as a bronze minted in the third year of the revolt (68/69 CE),claiming that the vessel pictured thereon was the amphora used to hold the Incense mixture. Jones uses the coin to suggest ([Jones] 1992:3)that the "Incense was mixed between February and July of the year 68 CE."Again, no one I have spoken to can confirm the existence of the coin.7 Jones's penchant for prevaricationis perhaps best demonstrated by the following claim ([Jones]1992:1):"Now several universities have set up chairs for a re-evaluation of the Copper Scroll as a result of our discoveries."
Conclusions
be a law given by God which must be obeyed and not questioned (Plaut 1943:95). 2
For example, in the Patrich's BiblicalArchaeologyReview article (Patrich 1989), neither Jones nor the IJCRare mentioned. In response to readers' letters pointing out this fact (Shanks 1990), editor Hershel Shanks accepted the blame and quoted a letter from Patrich in which the latter lauds the equipment and enthusiasm of Jones and his volunteers (Shanks 1990:64-65).A footnote in the scientific report on the juglet of oil mentions that Jones and the IJCRvolunteers, "carried out the work" (Patrich and Arubas 1989:43, n. 1). 3 Jones had suggested Dan Bahat as the official Israeli archaeologist but says that Amir Drori, director of the Antiquities Authority, would not approve him because Bahat and Drori were feuding at the time. According to Jones (1993b), he was able to continue with a permit issued from the Antiquities Authority directly to IJCR.
It is clear that Vendyl Jones's treatment of textual material is flawed and that his excavation methodology is sorely lacking. While his project has repeatedly failed to achieve its goals, Jones has pressed on, usually by adding previously unrelated textual data to support a change of direction in the field work. Ever the chameleon, Jones cleverly and selectively combines textual and physical evidence to construct his case. Lay persons are simply not equipped to evaluate his statements. When faced with a figure such as Vendyl Jones, it is common for scholars to conclude that he and his work, "safely can be ignored."While Jones'sconclusions are certainlyincorrect, there is some risk in ignoring his work. Jones's quest and methodology are driven more by his religious presuppositions than by a search for truth. This in itself is nothing new; such efforts have always been with us. The thing that sets Jones's work apart, however, is that his ultimate motivation is to effectuate a particular religious resolution-one with grave political overtones. While it may be harmless for a man to waste his time and others' money looking for non-existent items in the desert, the present case involves something more. Jones has chosen to bind his work with the religio-political situation in the Middle East. To be sure, many will develop their political views from their religious convictions. Whether one agrees with the religious views or the politics involved is not the issue. Scholars have a certain obligation to educate the public. Surely that obligationincludes response to popular notions having political implications that are championed with misleading archaeological data and poor scholarship.
Allegro, J. M. 1960 The Treasureof the CopperScroll. New York: Doubleday. 1964a The Treasureof the CopperScroll. 2nd ed. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. 1964b Searchin the Desert. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Update
Antelman, M. S. 1992 Letter to Vendyl Jones, 28 April 1992.
Since this articlewas completed, Jones has begun to operate under a new institutional name: Vendyl Jones Research Institutes.
Avi-Yonah, M. 1976 Gazetteer of Roman Palestine. Qedem 5. Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Notes
Baker, S. 1983 Real Raider of the Lost Ark. Omni 5 (May 1983): 116.
1 For example, "R. Joshua of Siknin in the name of R. Levi said: There are four laws which the Evil Inclination criticizes [as irrational], and in connection with which Scripture uses the expression 'statue', viz. the law of 1) a brother's wife, 2) mingled kinds, 3) the scapegoat, and 4) the Red Heifer" (Midrash Rabbah, Num. R. 19:5-6). A statue was concluded to
Banks, L. 1992 Archaeological Report on the 1992 IJCRExcavation. Researcher (May 1992):1. 1993 Interview by author. Hurst, TX, 21 December 1993. Videotaped. 1994 Letter to author, 18 July 1994.
4 Another example is Jones's use of a fifteenth-century manuscript of the special Sabbath portion of Parah, featuring a woodcut of a red heifer, shown in a color plate in EncyclopediaJudaica, vol. 14, opposite pp. 11-12. This item comes from the Italian Machzor, a festival prayer book of the Roman Rite, a liturgical arrangement used primarily by Jews of the Italian peninsula. Jones translates from the text to support his work: "The 'oum' [the non-Jewish fearers of G-d's Name] shall purify themselves. They will stand hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, head by head, under much duress and opposition, and they will not stop until they have swept every corner and found her [i.e. (the ashes of) the red heifer]" (Jones 1993a:18).
5Neither Jones'swork nor the Cave of the Column is mentioned in Patrich's publications. Also, Jones mentions ([Jones] 1988a) that the caves being excavated were referred to as the "University Caves" and "Our Cave." Further evidence of the division of work is found in 11Q, where there is a marking placed by the Hebrew University, while no such marking can be found in Jones's cave. 6 While the media reported that the excavation was shut down, Jones claims to have continued digging "to the very end, plus four days!" ([Jones] 1992).
7 Other sources, interviewed in the course of preparing this article, preferred to remain anonymous.
Bibliography Aharoni, Y. and Avi-Yonah, M. 1977 TheMacmillan BibleAtlas. Rev. ed. New York: Macmillan.
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Brand, Y. 1953 Ceramicsin TalmudicLiterature.Jerusalem: Mossad HaRav Kook. (Hebrew). Brown, T. L., LeMay, H. E.,Jr.,and Bursten, B. F. 1994 Chemistry:the CentralScience.6th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Cojocaru, M. 1992 "Mass Spectrometric Analysis of the Red Soil." Unpublished report. Cross, F. M., Jr. 1962 Excursus on the Palaeolographical Dating of the Copper Scroll. Pp. 219-20 in Les 'Petites Grottes'de Qumran,by M. Baillet; J. T. Milik; and R. de Vaux. Discoveries in the Judean Desert of Jordan 3. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
IJCR(Institute for Judaic Christian Research) 1992a Media Briefing:Biographical Sketch: Prof. Vendyl M. Jones. Institute for Judaic Christian Research press release. 1992b Media Briefing: "Copper Scrolls" VadeMecum to Second Temple Objects. Institute for Judaic Christian Research press release. 1992c Media Briefing:Incenses in the Temple. Institute for Judaic Christian Research press release. 1992d Media Briefing: Temple Incense Analysis. Institute for Judaic Christian Research press release. 1992e Media Briefing. Institute for Judaic Christian Research press release. 1994 Update. IJCRNezosletter,5 April 1994. Jastrow, M. 1971 A Dictionaryof the Targumim,the TalmudBabliand Yerushalmi,and the Midrashic Literature.New York:Judaica Press.
JerusalemPost 1992 Texan's'Unprofessional' Dig at Kumran is Closed Down. Jerusalem Ellis, M. Post InternationalEdition, 30 May 1992, 28. 1981a Tylerite Hunts Ark Of Covenant. TylerCourier-Times-Telegraph, 11 October 1981. 1981b Ashes of Red Heifer Site Believed Located. TylerCourier-Times- Jones, V. 1983 Will the Real Jesus Please Stand? Tyler, TX: Priority Publications. Telegraph,12 October 1981. 1991 ExcavationResearchNezvsletter,April 1991. 1981c Ark Of Covenant: 'Mystical' Powers. Tyler Courier-Times-Tele1992a Here is a Portion of the Copper Scroll Translated into English. 14 October 1981. graph, Researcher(February 1992):4. 1982a Jones Expedition in Israel Experiences Early Success. TylerCourier1992b New Discoveries in the Copper Scroll. Researcher (February Times-Telegraph,7 February 1982. 1982b "David, Goliath" Story Emerges In Israeli Dig. Tyler Courier1992):5. 1992c A History of the Excavations. Researcher(February 1992):8-10. Times-Telegraph,14 February 1982. 1992d What Happened to the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant? 1982c Major Find Revealed During Israeli Dig. TylerCourier-Times-TeleResearcher(April 1992):7-12. 21 1982. graph, February 1993a Middle East Peace? "Peace,Peace and there is no Peace."Researcher 1982d Tylerite Continues Israeli Dig. TylerCourier-Times-Telegraph, 28 (December 1993):2-11, 14-18. February 1982. 1993b Interview by author. Arlington, TX, 21 December 1993. Video1982e Israeli "Chain Gang" Dig Includes East Texans Looking For Ashes. TylerCourier-Times-Telegraph, 7 March 1982. taped. 1994 Satellite Remote Sensing Reveals Ancient Camp at Gilgal and 1982f Americans Quicken Pace During Israeli Biblical Dig. TylerCourierPlace of the Tabernacle! Researcher(July 1994):1-3. Times-Telegraph,14 March 1982. 1982g New Motivation Fuels Excavation For Ashes. TylerCourier-Times[Jones, V.] Telegraph,21 March 1982. 1982h Time Runs Out On Americans Working On Archaeological Dig. 1982 IJCRNewsletter, n.d. 28 March 1982. 1983 IJCRNewsletter, May 1983. TylerCcourier-Times-Telegraph, 1988a ResearchLetter,May 1988. 1988b ResearchLetter,September 1988. Geological Survey, Israel 1988c 1989 Excavation At Qumran. ResearchLetter,December 1988. 1970 Wadi el Qilt Geological Map. 1989 ResearchLetter,July 1989. 1992 Questions We Have Received About the 1992 Excavation. Research Ginzberg, L. Letter,September 1992. 1966 Legendsof the Jews. Vol. 7. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Soci1993 Agan-Gilgal & Emeq' Achor Remote Sensing Project. Researcher ety. (May 1993):1-2, 14. Golb, N. 1985 Who Hid the Dead Sea Scrolls? BiblicalArchaeologist48(2):68-82. Gottlieb, H. 1992 Unpublished report. 17 May 1992. Greenhut, Z. 1993 The City of Salt. BiblicalArchaeologyReview 19(4):33-43. Griffin, D. 1992a Christian Group May Have Found Temple Incense. Jerusalem Post InternationalEdition, 9 May 1992, 28. 1992b Real-life 'Indiana' Jones Looking for Ark of Covenant. Jerusalem Post InternationalEdition, 23 May 1992, 13.
88
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Kaufman, A. S. 1983 Where the Ancient Temple of Jerusalem Stood. BiblicalArchaeology Review 9(2):40-59. Lehmann, M. R. 1964 Identification of the Copper Scroll Based on its Technical Terms. Revue de Qumran 5:97-105. 1993 Where the Temple Tax Was Buried. Biblical ArchaeologyReview 19(6):38-43. Lewis, J. B. 1989 Arlington Group's Flask has Oil from Time of Christ. Fort Worth Star-Telegram,16 February 1989, 1, 11.
Luria, 13.Z. 1963 TheCopperScrollfromtheitu'ant Desert. Publications of the Israel Bible Research Society 14. Jerusalem: Kirvat-Sepher. (I lebrew).
Sofer, B. 1994 Portrait:Vendvl Jones, Explorer in the I'romv:-edland. Iladassah Marazine 76 (October 1994):59-61.
Inc. I.uvak, 1993 Analytical Report to Marvin S. Antelman, 29 March 1993.
Strikovskv, A. 1972 S.v. Red I leifer: In thelIamud. Encyclopedia Judaica.
Maltsberger, 1). 1993 Was it Really Incense?
Fi•lh
Notcs 1(7):9.
McCarter, P. K. 1992 The Mystery of the Copper Scroll. Pp. 227-41 in Random Understanding, Secrolls, edited by H. Shanks. New York: the' Dead Sea I louse. 1994 Letter to author, 31 May 1994.
IJudica.Jeru- :e1m: E1ncy.clopedia
Survey of Israel 1985 Israel 1:50,000. Map, sheet 12-I, 11:Qalia. Time 1967 The Nation: The People. 89/24 (16 June 1967):17-18. Williams, R. 1976 ebre' Syntax:An Outline.2nd ed. Toronto:University of Toronto
Milik, J. T. 1960 The Copper l)ocument from Cave III of Qumran: Translation of Antiquities ofjorand Comnmentarv.Annual of ID)epartment lth" dan 4-5:137-55. 1962 I.e rouleau de cuivre provenant do al grotte 3Q (3Q15). Pp. 2()199 in Les 'PetitesGrottes de Qumran,by M. IBaillet;J. T. Milik; and R. de Vaux. Discoveries in the Judean Desert of Jordan 3. Oxford: Clarendon Press. O'Sullivan, A. 1994 American Archaeologist Say'sitle I las Found Ark of the Covenant. 29 July 1994, A-2. I•luntseillh'NM;a's, Patrich, J. 1989 Hideouts in the Judean Wilderness. BiblicalArchaeologyI Reli(,iw', 15(5):32-42. Patrich, J. and Arubas, B. 1989 A Juglet Containing Balsam ()il(?) From a Cave Near Qumran. Israel ExplorationJournal mu 39:43-59.
P'laut,W.G.
edited JewishEncytclopedia, 1943 Red I leifer. Pp. 95-96 in The U.hniersal by Isaac l.andman. New York: Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.
Reifenberg, A. 1940 Ancient Jewish Coins. Jerusalem: Rubin Mass. ResearcLher 1989 The Whole World Will Change When the Ashes Are Recovered. Researclcr (April 1989):30. 1992 Excavation Up Date Reports from Qumran, Israel:April 19, 1992, 3 pm CST. Researcher(May 1992):2-9.
Daniel C. Browning Jr.is currently Associate Professor of Religion at William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He received his Ph.D. in Biblical Backgrounds and Archaeology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Browning served in various staff positions with the Timnah (Tel Batash) Expedition from 1981 to 1987 and presently directs a travelexcavation program, in which he has supervised students in excavations at Tel Qasile and Tel Beth-Shean. He is preparing (with R. Dennis Cole) an introduction to Biblical Archaeology for Broadman and Holman to be entitled ExploringBiblicalArchlwaeology.
Rodan, S. 19)90 In Search of the Red Heifer and Rebuilding of the Jewish Iemple. The Alabama Baptist, 18 January 1990, 12.
Seal, NI. 1992 Masquerader of the l.ost Ark. TexasMonthlly(August 1992):115-
Subscribeto
17, 140-43, 162-63.
Shanks, Hershel 19901 Queries and Comments. Biblical Archaeology RevIiew'16(1):6465.
BiblicalArch To place your subscriptionto BiblicalArchaeologist, simply call Scholars Pressat 404/727.2345.
BiblicalArchae(ologist59:2 (1996)
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By Mark Chavalas ITSFLORUIT INSYRIAHASREACHED RESEARCH ARCHAEOLOGICAL
only in the past generation (Chavalas 1992:1-3). Although the finds from Ugarit, Mari, and Ebla are well known, there are other important sites revealed that have Syria's cultural importance in the third millennia and second BCE.Recent work in Syria east of the our perception of ancient revolutionized EuphratesRiverhas must now be conwhich is an area Southwest Asia. Syria continuum known cultural of half the sidered as the western and as Mesopotamia (Buccellati Kelly-Buccellati 1977:5). One of the most important sites in this region of Syria is Terqa(modem TellAshara) on the EuphratesRiver.Standing at a strategic geographic position halfway between the coastal sites of the Mediterraneanand Mesopotamia proper, Terqaserved as an important bridge between the two. The site featured a massive defensive system at the onset of the third millennium BCE,suggesting its potential prominence in understanding the origins of urbanization. Though Terqa appeared to have a subordinate relationshipwith Mari at the end of the millennium, it was likely the capital of the Khana kingdom, a successor state to Mari after Mari fell to Babylon 90
59:2(1996) BiblicalArchaeologist
(ca. 1760 BCE).The excavations at the site have furnished a great deal of valuable data for a period that was once considereda veritable"darkage,"at leastin termsof our knowledge of Syro-Mesopotamianhistory. Moreover,Terqawas a major Amorite centerin the second millennium BCEand thus affords insight on the cultural milieu of the patriarchs, the putative ancestors of the Israelites.
Background Geographic
When traveling from Der ez-Zor towards the Iraqi border, one could easily overlook the mound of Tell Ashara, which is partially covered by a modern village. In fact, it looks as if the village of Ashara was placed on a gradually sloping hill. But what a dramatic difference emerges when viewing the ancient mound from the village of Darnajacross the Euphrates River.One can readily observe the oval shape of the mound and the sharp cliff where the Euphrates j An aerialview of TellAshara,looking north, shows the extent of the mound occupied by the moderntown as municipalpark (wooded area) as well as the currentcourse of the Euphrates.The erosiveforce of the riverhas surelystolen a fair percentage of the ancient site. Photo from Buccellatiet al. 1979:Pl.1.
River has cut into the site. Tell Ashara is located in the southCarchemish em part of the middle Euphratesregion on the west bank of the EuphratesRiver Lake run . Aleppo, El Assad .. between Abu Kemal and Der ez-Zor in ? ttut...... .. ......-t .- .- . . ... - Alalah.-the Syrian province of Der ez-Zor. Emar Ebla The site sits about 25 km south of the Deirez-Zor arit confluenceof the Euphratesand Khabur N"zi Qraya rivers.The modem town of AsharacovNuzi ?TellDura-Europos Terqa? ers abouttwo-thirdsof the extantmound, Qatna p Syria Mari? although the present community has begun to relocate west of the site. The mound currently encompasses over twenty acres. However, the shifting course of the Euphrates has taken its Babylon' O toll. The sharp cliff found on the eastern part of the mound, the projected perimeter of the city wall extending from remaining sections, and evidence of cultural material in the river itself De d suggest that the river has eroded perSea D ancient of the one-half much as as haps mound (Carterand Qualls 1975:2).The 70k o mound has nineteen meters of cultural mi 0o o material, fifteen of which are above the floodplain.Becauseof numerousmunicj Mapof Syria:Locatedon the west bank of the Euphrates,Tergaoccupiedthe middle ipal projects,including a city park, and the presenceof modem residences,there ground between the coastal site of the Mediterraneanand the heartlandof Mesopotamia. 7 The perimeterof the ancient city wall protrudesinto the present courseof the Euphrates are limitations on areas open to excavation.The moderntown has also located riverin this reconstruction.Itswidth of over twenty meters makesthis wall one of the most a dump in the areanear the river where imposingstructuresof third millenniumSyria.TerqaExpeditionDrawing. much cultural material has been destroyed by bulldozing. Terqais situated on the west bank of the Euphrates River,which has cut a deep but narrow alluvial trough, creating a rift between an agriculturally productive river oasis and a steppe regionsurroundingit (Sanlaville,1985:1526; Buccellati 1990a:158;1990c:91-95.). The narrow alluvial trough does not allow for large-scale irrigation characteristicof southern Mesopotamia,while at the same time, the climate rules out dry-farmingas in the Khaburand Balikh regions (Buccellati 1988:44).
PreviousResearchConcerning Terqaandthe KhanaKingdom Research concerning Terqa and the Khanakingdom proceededat a snaillike pace for nearly a century until the resumption of excavations in 1975. In 1885, T. Pinches discovered the names of two kings, Tukulti-Merand Ilu-Iqisha, of a previously unidentified kingdom called Khana on votive statuary from Sippar (1885:351).The year 1897 witnessed the
first publication of a tablet mentioning the name of Terqaby Thureau-Dangin (1897:69-86).Although found at Tello, the tablet-a contract concerning a land sale of a certain king of Khana, Ishar-Lim in the city of "Tirqa"-was likely the 59:2(1996) BiblicalArchaeologist
91
first tablet found originating from SyrOFTERQA OUTLINE CHRONOLOGICAL ian soil.A decadelater,C. Johnspublished Period Date a text concerning a marriage contract Description Protoliterate 3200-3000 of a certain King Hammurapi which Village life at Qraya Settlement of Terqa,CityWall 3000-2100 mentioned a canal of the Khabur River EarlyDynastic/ built mistakSargonic (1907:177-84).Johns, however, was that the monarch concluded 2100-1760 Sakakkanakkuperiod (2100Ur Ill/Early enly the Babylonian king of the same name. Old Babylonian 2000, Terqaa provinceof Mari, Soon after,A. Ungnad published a field AdministrativeComplex sale of Ammi-Bail (now read AmmiKhanaI 1760-1720 Independent kingdom; House of Puzurum,Templeof Madar) originating from the vicinity of Ninkarrak Terqa,a text which he acquired in Der ez-Zor (1909:26-32).Similarly,A. Con1720-1595 Vassalsof Babylon Late OB damin mentioned a tablet (a dedicatory 1595-1500 KhanaII Independent kingdom inscription by Shamshi-Adad I for a 1500-1200 Dominationby foreign powers, Mitanni/Middle temple of Dagan) reputed to have come abandonment? Assyrian from Tell Ashar (or Ishar), which he 1200-1000? KhanaIII LaterKhanaKingdom(not obtained from a native who left a sketch centered at Terqa?) of the site (1908:247-49).Unfortunately, 1000-700 LateAssyrian Sirquas center of Aramean he misread the geographic name (Tirtribute to the Assyrians; nu [or dun-nu]ki instead of Tir-qa),and Arameanburialsat Tell so no connection was made between Ashara.Statue of TukultiTell Ashara and Terqa. Thureau-DanNinurtaII gin, however, was able to read the 700 BCE/ Abandonment of Terqa? Hellenistic/ text correctly and establish this conSurfacefinds Islamic (1200 CE) nection (1908:193). In the succeeding TellAsharaas a craft center 1200CE Ayyubid year,he published the text of a field sale of Kastiliashufrom Terqa(also see Sayce 1912:52) and was able to surmise that and were successful in reaching third millennium BCEmateall the aforementioned tablets came from the same period. rial remains (Buccellati and Kelly-Buccellati 1977:16-18).But Khana list of a to was also able Moreover,he give preliminary the French team did not continue the operations at Terqa, that was and establish Terqa kings (1908a:93,1909:154-55) and this unfortunately, the commencement of the excavations at kingdom. probably the seat of on Ashara In 1910, E. Herzfeld fortuitously stopped by nearby Mari overshadowed work at Terqa.While more Khana tell as the was able to characterize his way to Baghdad. He period texts were discovered (Bauer 1928/29:1-8; E Stephens on the surface of a number 1937:183-90;Nougayrol 1947:42-46;1960:205-14),data conobjects "Babylonian," finding and a tablet (1914:131-39). cerningMari'srelationshipwith Terqacontinuedto be revealed including figurines, cylinder seals, from numerous texts of the archive of Zimri-Lim of Mari was of the same that this text Thureau-Dangin noticed His from come had (e.g., Thureau-Dangin 1936:169-79; 1936a:49-54). ConcurTerqa. supposedly type as those which and its conof location text also established a general Mari rently, Gelb (1938:83-84)found the as yet earliest mention of the was the that also nection with Terqa.Herzfeld city of Terqa(Tirqa)in an Ur IIItext. Terqa posited World WarII, the Frenchbegan the systematic pubAfter the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II Sirqu of the annals of the Mari texts, many of which were letters issuing of a lication A. made Musil (883-59 BCE;1914:134-39).Two years later, from and the detailed topographic expedition of Terqa.J.-R.Kupper wrote a detailed study of the hisEuphrates region of tory Terqa,mainly under the governorship of Kibri-Dagan briefly described Ashara and its mound, although apparwith the of during the tutelage of Mari (1947:149-83;1950; 1964:105-16). ently unaware of the connection of the city Terqa He also described the cult of Dagan at Terqa (after Dossin site (1927:9). A. to The precedingbits of informationhelped Clay attempt 1948:125-34),the relationship of the nomads and the rulers an analysis of the Khana kings (1919:111-18),while Thureau- at Mari and Terqa(1957:1-81),and the socio-political and reliDangin and P.Dhorme conducted the first excavation (a brief gious roles of Kibri-Dagan in the Mari state. five day mission) at TellAshara in 1923.They published more Apart from the Mari expedition, other scholars also information concerning Terqa.R. Tournay and S. discovered of the site tablets which had come from the vicinity (though Saouaf names of more not excavated that season) giving the published a commemorative inscription of Tukultikings Ninurta and of Khana from contacts and other texts II (890-884 BCE)found in 1948 in the vicinity of Tell providing Ashara rulers more informationconcerningthe successionof (1952:169-90).The translation of the text, however, (1924:278consideredto be problematical(A. Grayson 1976:112). has been a 79). The excavators limited themselves to single sounding 92
BiblicalArchaeologist59:2 (1996)
O
A
/ Manufactureand storage facilities insideof the city wall date to ca. 2500 BCE. A kilnis on the left, while rectangularand semicircular bins are on the right.Photo from Buccellatiand Kellystorage Buccellati1978:PI.11, no. 20.
The plan of Terqashows the principalareasof excavation:B and M where the third millenniumdefensive systemand other finds appeared;Fwhich offered the administrativecomplex of the Old/MiddleBabylonianperiods;and Cwhere excavatorsuncovered the richfinds of the Templeof Ninkarrakand the Houseof Puzurum.
This induced speculationconcerningthe role of Terqa,or Sirqu as it is known in Assyrian, in the first millennium BCE.Soon after,A. Goetzewas ableto makea chronological determinationof the Khanakings, attemptingto come to terms with the problemof middle Euphrateschronology afterthe fall of Mariwhen Terqawas apparentlythe capital of the Khanakingdom(1957:53-73). Nine kingsof Khana werethenknown.Otherswho peripherallydiscussedTerqa were G. Evans (1963:63-78),H. Huffman(1965),J.T.Luke (1965),and Grayson(1972:25). The streamof informationcontainedin the Maritexts concerningTerqainducedT.Carterand C. Qualls to carry out a reconnaissance surveyof thesitein 1975,overfiftyyears afterthe firstexcavations(1975:1-7). D. Hillersand W.Sladek renewedexcavationsfor a week in the sameyear,exposing secondmillenniumBCE material.Since1976,excavationshave continuedunder the leadershipof G. Buccellati,M. KellyBuccellati,and 0. Rouault(since1987).
TellAsharain the ThirdMillenniumBCE TheJointExpeditionto Terqaencountered a strangedevelin had 1978. Ashara opment recentlybegun a municipal of project deep trenching(2x1.5meters)to makea sewersystem for the town. Wewere graciouslyallowedaccessto the trenchesand quicklywent about investigatingthe ready-
madeholesandsections,discoveringto ouramazementthat the brickworkthereinwas identicalto the exposed ancient city wall. We thus spent the betterpartof a season investigating these deep narrowtrenchesand gained a greatdeal of insightinto the thirdmillenniumBCEat Terqa. TellAsharawas a largeurbancenterbuilt at the beginning of the thirdmillenniumBCE, possiblyas a substitutefor thenearbyfourthmillenniumBCE site of TellQraya,situated about6 km northon the west bank of the Euphrates(BucItwas probablybuiltaboutthe same cellatiet al. 1979:42-86). timeas neighboringMari(Margueron1991:91).Theprimary evidenceforthisperiodis the exposedremainsof the ancient city wall. This defensive system consistedof threerings of mudbrickwalls (datedfrom2900-2700BCE) totallingnearly twenty-onemetersin width,largerthanany in Syriaduring the thirdmillenniumBCE. Evidencingthreedifferentbuildthe wall the city for a circumference encircled ing phases, of at least a mile.A varietyof structuralelementsmade up the defensivesystem:masonrywalls,bouldercourses,open spaces,sallyports,and towers.A moatsurroundedthe entire system. Thecity wall had an innerwall 5-6 m wide with a glacis of limestonebouldersand an outerwall 4-6 m wide with an open space of one meter,perhapsa casematesystem.Thefortification systemhasbeenfoundwithsomedegree of regularitythroughout the entire extant portion of the mound, especially in Area B, where much of the wall is still exposed on the surface.There,just inside the city wall, excavatorsexposedshaftburials,as well as storageandman(Buccellati ufacturinginstallationsdatingto about2500BCE and Kelly-Buccellati 1977:33-38).They also uncovered thirdmillenniumBCE material(fragmentsof walls, floors, and the remains of a hearth)in AreaM (Rouault1991: sherds, in the 728).Investigators municipalprojects(MP-the system of deep trenchingcarriedout by the city of Ashara) locatedsectionsof the city wall, towers,stone shoring,and associatedoccupationallevels.Thoughthe excavatorsfound BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
93
no city gate, indications are that it existed at the point of a deep cutting into the mound by civic bulldozers before the resumption of excavations in 1975.The orientationof the city wall indicates that the ancient mound did protrude further east into the present Euphrates basin where a portion of the mound has been eroded away. Such a large defensive system attached a political, socioeconomic, and historical importance for the city of Terqain this period. However, because of the few opportunities to excavate third millennium BCEmaterial, we are presently at a loss to determine trading relationships, ethnic makeup, or the socio-economic and political influence of this large site. Moreover, until we have textual documentation, it is impossibleto know the relationshipbetween Terqaand nearby Mari in this period. One of the most intriguing problems has been to discover the relationship between third and second millennia BCE materialremains.A sounding in Area F produced some tombs and a large structurewith 1.25 m thick walls. The brickswere of a style found from the city wall construction, while the ceramics were metallic ware known from other third milsites. The walls of the structureshowed evidence lennium BCE of natural erosion and compaction, suggesting an abandonment period of uncertain duration. Terqaapparentlyhad relationswith Mariin the Shakkanakku period when Mariwas a province of the Ur M dynasty (21002000 BCE;see J.-M. Durand 1985:147-72).Area F has shown evidence of administrative and scribalactivity in this period, including delivery notes, personnel and agricultural lists, round school tablets, and many clay door sealings (Rouault 1991:728).The oldest documents found to date were in this area in an administrativecomplex, to be described in the next section, and several tablet fragments have been found under wall foundations, as well as one text found on the surface (Buccellati 1977). Many of the texts are lists of persons and contracts (Rouault 1992:248).
A
AdministrativeComplexin Area Fshows four possiblebuildings. The complexwas peppered with some forty tablets (findspots indicated)and includedwhat excavatorssuggest was a scribal installationwith a raisedplatform(located at the center of the complex)next to which diggers uneartheda jar containingsix tablets. TerqaExpeditionDrawing. V Aerialview of the Templeof Ninkarrakwith a street and part of the domestic unitson the left. The worshipof the goddess Ninkarrak, a Mesopotamiangoddess of sicknessand healing, suggests a cultural orientationtoward the south duringthe Old BabylonianPeriod. Photo from Buccellati1988:53,Fig.5.
Terqain the Old/MiddleBabylonianPeriod
In the succeeding Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1595 BCE) Terqaapparently had a subordinate relationship with nearby Mari until the period of Shamshi-Adad I and Zimri-Lim (1815-1760BCE). Terqa'spolitical fate after the fall of Mari is not clear; it was either under the control of Babylon or the capital of the independent Khana state (1760-1595 BCE). During this period a number of important structural remains have been found at the site. The AdministrativeComplex The first major evidence for this period came from Area F, where diggers unearthed a large administrative complex of at least thirty meters in length. Three sides of the outer exterior of the structure have been located thus far, but the stratigraphy has not allowed confirmation as to whether there were one, two, or even four separatebuildings. Archaeologists debate whether the structure(s) was actually administrative or residential in nature, although many large residential units from other sites had attributes of both 94
BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
functions. The various parts of the complex have produced at least forty diverse documents, including one mentioning a certain Kibri-Dagan, probably the same official of the Mari texts. Many of the texts were administrative in nature. There were also some very large storage jars, ovens, and a complex two-channel drainage system, eighty centimeters in depth. The drain probably reached to the water table nearly ten meters below, but it proved dangerous to excavate it in total. The walls of the complex were normally no more than eighty centimeters thick. Excavators discovered a number of private adult burials in various parts of the edifice. Some were located in large storage jars, while others were rich in the objects found. The extant
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A Twoclay bullae rolledwith the same inscribedseal containingthe Thetablet on the left was found on the floor before name Ninkarrak. an archeddoorwayand liststhe goddess Ninkarrakas the first recipientof presumablyan offering. Photo from Liggett 1982:15,PI.8.
7
Reconstructionof the ceremonialrooms of the Templeof Ninkarrak.Note the columnardecor,benches, hearth,archeddoor into the servicerooms,and altarof the goddess. Drawingfrom Liggett 1982:13,Fig.4.
portionof the building may have been part of the service 1983:48). quarters(Buccellatiand Kelly-Buccellati Withinthecomplexwas a featurethatseemstobe a scribal installation-similar to one at Isin-consisting of a platformrestingon a dirtfloor(Hrouda1977:148). Nearbystood a medium sized jarwith fine tabletclay inside,and next to it anotherjarcontainingfive administrativetabletsand one contract.A few othertabletsandcylindersealswerescattered about.Othertabletsrecoveredfromthiscomplexwereunstratified, as they were foundin Islamicfill. Near one wall a bin had been constructed-presumablyfor storage;it, too, containeda tablet.Thediscoveriesof severalroundtablets,blank tablets, and erasures presume a scribal school nearby.
Entirebead cache found in the altar room.They are strung here, but were likelystored in a cloth bag beneath the cella floor. Photo from Liggett 1982:18,PI.10.
textscausesone Moreover,theexistenceof theadministrative to wonderif a librarymay have been in the vicinity. The Templeof Ninkarrak
Becauseof the aforementionedpeculiaritiesof the site, opportunitiesforworkhavebeenlimited.Partsof themound have been excavatedwithout a directability to physically link each areaof work. However,AreaC has affordedthe link. opportunityto providejustthistype of archaeo-historic Thissectorincludeda publicstreetdirectlyconnectedto residential units and a temple complex. The excavations in nearbyAreaJ (directlyconnectedwith AreaC) exposed a large open areanear the city wall. This open areashowed thatthe moundslopeddramatically(asmuchas fivemeters) duringthe Khanaperiod(Chavalas1988:208-10). Thoughit is knownthatTerqawas a majorcenterforthe worship of Dagan (showing culturalconnectionswith the Mediterranean coast),the only certaintempleat the site was the templeof Ninkarrakin AreaC, althoughone text mentioneda templeto Shamashat the site.Ninkarrak(Akkadian: Gula)was the Mesopotamiangoddess of sicknessand healing. Shewas thetutelarydeityof Isin,andthreetempleswere dedicatedto her at Babylon.Thus,this temple expresseda culturalandreligiousorientation to thesouthof Mesopotamia. The identification of the temple is based upon a small tabletlocated on the floor of the courtyard(D2) before an archeddoorway.It containedan offeringlist with the first recipient as the goddess, the title of king, and names of severalindividuals(Liggett1982:14).Furthermore,excavators found a smalldog (emblemof the goddess) next to the altar in the cella (D7). The seated dog wore a collar and was cast on a spike thatcould be insertedonto a base.Area D3 of the ceremonialquarteralsoproducedtwo seal impressionsmadefromthesamecylinderseal(reusedanddecorated with granulatedmaterial).The impressionhad theophoric personal names that included the name of the goddess. The tabletsin the earliestfully attestedphase (III)dated to BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
95
while the time of Kashtiliashu(1700BCE), laterphase (II)texts dated to ShunuhruAmru's era (1650 BE). The latest phase had no epigraphicremainsand was not well preserved (Buccellati and KellyBuccellati 1983:54). The layout of the temple was characteristic of Mesopotamian religious architecturewith rabbeted doorjambs, engaged columns, and a bent-axis approach.The temple consisted of two main architectural sections: the ceremonial rooms and the service quarter. The former possessed an entry room, courtyard, cella, and priestly quarter. The service quarter comprised six to
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eight rooms, which varied in size in different phases. Rooms were set in two rows running parallel to the ceremonial sector. The entire complex took the form of a rectangle. Access from the ceremonial section of the building to the service area was gained through an arched doorway that was later blocked. Archaeologists have thus far uncovered three building phases and also exposed evidence of a fourth.Apparently both the ceremonial and service quarters of the temple were reused and remodeled over successive generations, possibly as ten meters of occupation during the third millennium BCE, 96
BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
are below. The entry room (D1) boasted an outside decoration of round, semi-engaged columns built with mold-made circular bricks. The main entrance to the temple had a baked brick threshold, poorly preserved benches along the north and east walls, and a hearth in the center. The entry room was connected with a large courtyard (D2), which was approachedthrough two large rabbeteddoorways. The courtyard itself was decorated on the exterior by round columnar constructions.To the west stood a large cella (D3), which had
resembledthoseof thekings,as thebest beerandlambwouldbe servedto them. It is not clear what happened to this foodbutlikelyit was consumedby king and templepersonnel. Whowas ableto enterintothe temple? Wearenot sure how accessibleit was to the commonperson.Thegod's house in Mesopotamiawas much like a palace;thegod would grantaudience to lesser deities and dignitaries. The commonpersonmay not have entered the cella and only viewed the statue fromthecourtyard. How didonebehave of in the presence the deity? Typical of Mesopotamian practice, the worshipperswould eithertouchtheirnose themselvesbeforethestatue. orprostrate Sometimesstatuesof the gods lefttheir shrinesto visit deitiesin anothertown. Archiveroom (Al) in the Houseof Puzurum.Completecollapsestratum:the room was likely How muchof thisappliedforTerqaand 1978 P1.XY no.35. used for "dead"storage. Photo from Buccellatiand Kelly-Buccellati Ninkarrak is hard to say, but Mari an altarfor the statue of the goddess. The walls and altar and Terqadid appearto have many similarattributes. Acrossa plaza fromthe Templeof Ninkarraktwo large were plasteredand white washed.A subsidiaryroom (D4) or sacristyadjoinedthe cella. Severaltabletsturnedup in buildingswerepartiallyuncoveredalongthecliffedge(Liggett Findsincludeda ceremonialdoubleaxewith a hanthese two chambers,includingpracticemathematicaltexts 1982:24). andblanktextssuggestingscribalactivity.Diggersunearthed dle and a bronze scimitarwith the image of the goddess, a cacheof 6637beadsnextto the altar,whichappearto have causingspeculationthatthesebuildingsmay also havebeen beenstoredunstrungin a pouch,possiblyto be usedby wor- dedicatedto Ninkarrak. shippers as amulets. Most of the beads were carnelianor The House ofPuzurum Across the street from the Templeof Ninkarrakstood semipreciousstones.Lapis-lazuli,rockcrystal,agate,haemiMosthad domestic units corresponding to the earliest building tite,gypsum,shell,andfritalsomadeappearances. geometricshapes,but twelvezoomorphicshapesin gypsum phaseof the religiousstructure.Theresidentialcomplexcan becauseof contactbetween stood out, along with several scarabs,probablyof Egypt- be specificallydatedto 1721BCE of KhanaandSamsu-Ilunaof Babylon(Ungnad Thefloors Yadikh-Abu andKelly-Buccellati ianorigin(Buccellati 1983:56). who claimedto have defeatedthe Khanakingin of theservicequarteroffereda few culticimplements,includ- 1938:184b), ing a bronzeblade,a knifewith a serratedbladeandan antler year twenty-eightof his reign (Rouault1979:4).The size of the units involved is not large.Withas few as eight rooms handle,and basalttri-footedbowls. TheTerqatabletsdo not containinformationconcerning preserved,only threewere complete. The house units sat cultpracticesat the site.However,a study of culticpractices adjacentto the cliff overlooking the Euphrateswhere the fromnearbyMarican be of some indirecthelp. While the mound has been eroded. At least two separate houses statueof thedeityis seldommentionedin thosetexts(whether have been articulated,labeledA and B (with the possibility it was even life size is not certain),the image was the focal of a third).Becauseof a numberof contractsfoundin House pointforbothsacrificialandceremonialactivities.Figurines A with one Puzurumas buyer,the unit has been given the and seal impressions at Mari depicted deities in both generalnameof the House of Puzurum. Thenatureof the depositsfoundin the roomsofferedan standingandsittingposes.Itis notwhollycertainwhatmaterialswereused to manufacturethe god or goddess(whether excellentopportunityto reconstructtheirstratigraphichisrevealedthata firekeptmostof thearchitectural wooden and/or gold-plated).Thedivinestatueat Marihad tory.Excavation a throne,footstool,anda standardoremblem.Itworea crown materialintactand in good conditionwith no evidence of andprobablyclothes.Greatceremonyaccompaniedtheentry any retrievalin antiquity.Diggers unearthedcharredroof of a new statueinto the temple.The Maritexts mentioned beams and impressionsof mattedreed roofingmaterialin tinyreplicasof animals(notunlikethebeadsfoundatTerqa) a number of the rooms. Whole and fragmentary epithatwere storedin the templetreasuryfor the use by wor- graphicfinds includedtablets,envelopes,tags, bullae,and shippers and dedicated to the deity. The statue normally sealimpressions.Thehouseheld a numberof uniqueobjects owned a goblet and possibly weapons (e.g., a ceremonial as well;a Hittitestampsealanda slivercrescentfromA2 and macehead and bronze weapons). The meals of the gods cloves fromA3. 59:2(1996) BiblicalArchaeologist
97
Hittitestamp seal from room A2 in the Houseof Puzurum.Photo from Buccellatiand KellyBuccellati1977:PI.1.
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Studying the distribution of artifactsprovides some conclusionsaboutthe natureand functionof each of the individual rooms therein (Chavalas 1988:262-78). The layout of Al emerged complete; at least six floors were found. The living floor had great amounts of fallen brick and wood debris that came from both the roof and possibly shelving in the room. A rectangularbin joined the room's two hearths (Buccellatiet al. 1979:111. 43). Remainsof baked bricks,large sherds, two bathtubs, and a door socket lay on the floor where they had probably been stored. Few artifacts,however, were found on the living floor itself (Buccellatiet al. 1979:38).The variety of items, amount of broken and discarded objects, and the random scattering of items confirmed that this room was used for dead storage. A2 had nearly a complete layout, about one square meter largerthan Al. The room contained less fallen brick and roof material than did Al, although it did feature debris resulting from the fire (Buccellati and Kelly-Buccellati 1977:32, Ill. 17). The room contained five burials and a bin, but all were from reoccupation levels. No installations characterized this room before the fire. A number of the goblets and other baked clay items accompaniedthe burials.Since no structures were found with the burials, A2 was probably not a burial complex (Buccellati and Kelly-Buccellati 1977:30). While the function of this room is more difficult to determine, its pre-destruction contents suggest a usable storage area since most of the items were not broken and were stored in an orderly fashion. The layout of room A3 was not complete. Furthermore, its walls did not bond with any of the walls of the otherrooms; therewas thus no directaccess with the other rooms of House A. A3 had a great amount of burnt roofing materialon its living floor. It produced the only burial-a small bowl burialdirectly associated with the occupation of the house before the fire,but no permanent installations. Most items in A3 lay on the living floor of the room or leaned on another objecton the floor.Deposits above the floor offeredonly a small amount of material,except for fallen roof debris that was found interspersed among the objects. The objects were mainly ceramicvessels (forty-nine--the most of any room) and stone tools (twenty-one), many still in place on the floor. The variety of ceramic objects suggests a kitchen or pantry area. Though A4 was not complete in its layout, the length of the walls suggests it to have been the largest room. The walls showed more wear on the inside than those of other 98
BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
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Floorof room A3 of the House of Puzurum.The photo and drawing show the contents of the room--storage vessels, grindingstones, and servingware- all found on the livingsurfacethat was probably the house kitchenor pantry.The most importantitems found are labeled on the drawingdirectlyabove with their field numbers.They were: 1, a large sphericaljar;2-13, 4 smalljars;14, a large goblet; 29, a mediumjar;39, a smalljar;and 41, a vessel stand. Photo from Liggett 1982:10,PI.4; TerqaExpeditionDrawing.
rooms implying that it was an open area. A4 offered relatively little evidence of burnt roofing material and fallen brick except near the doorway area connecting it to Al. Fire
material.Excameterof OldBabylonian binand, semi-circular vatorsfoundone in a comerof theroom,a varietyof utilitarianobjects.The items included a cylindricaljar,a ringstand,a grinding stone,twobronzepoints,anda cuneiform text.B1was thus identifiedas a usable storage compartment(Buccellatiand 6). Kelly-Buccellati 1978:111. Theextant RoomB2was incomplete. and had m2 three floorareawas about and ceramic aboutfortystone objects, but no installationsor traces of roofing material (Buccellati and Kelly-Buccellati1977:32).The layers abovethe floorweremuchharderthan in the roofedrooms;thus it is possible thatthis was an open area.Becauseof the minuteportionof B3thathas been excavated,nothingof substancecanbe saidconcerningthenatureandfunction of the room. The layout of B4 was also incomplete.Forits extantarea(aboutfourm2), it had only seventeenartifacts.Thiscan be explainedby theexistenceof thelarge Islamichollowin theareaof B4nearB1. LikeB2,therewas littleorno fallenroof materialandthelayersabovethe floors were hard.A smallfirepitfound in B4 also suggestsan open area. House A was of particularinterest Contractand its envelope.Left:Contractof Puzurumand Yasmah-Dagan because of its many epigraphic remains,mainly from Al [TFR1 5];top: obverse;bottom:reverse.Right:reverseof two partial (Rouault1984).Tencontractsdominatedthe varietyof documentsfound,whichalsoincludedadministrative documents, envelopesmoldedaroundthe text. PhotofromRouault1984:PI.XI. two namelists,a textpertainingto goodsbeingsentout,and had heavily scorchedthe walls and floors.This room had a letterbetweentwo brothersconcerningbarley. Theprimaryindividualnamedin thecontractswas Puzuthe most floorsor use surfaces;an open arearequiredmore attentionto repair.One floorhad been repairedwith small rum,son of Namashum.Wealso have the names of four of stones,whileone wallhadbeenrepairedwith sherds,padded his brothers,two nephews, a son, and possibly two grandmud plaster,and tablet fragments.A4 posessed the most sons (Kelly-Buccellati1987:141),most of whom are listed installations,includinga rectangularbin, a hearth,a parti- as witnesseson the contracts.Puzurumwas likely an indetion or bench,and an oven;all items thatmight have been pendent propertyowner,owning a household and arable used in an open activityarea.Ithad a smallerpercentageof land outside the city (Chavalasforthcoming).Therewas artifactsin comparisonto the otherroomsin HouseA. Most no evidenceof his havinganypreciseobligationsto thepalace of thesewere eitherepigraphicin natureor ceramicvessels. or temple,althoughone textconcernedPuzurumand a loan All of the precedingsuggest this room to be an open activ- from the temple of Shamash.Many of the transactionsof ity area, the courtyard of House A. We would consider Puzurumseemed to have been with relatives.The modest that there must have been one or two living compart- size of his houseandthe domesticnatureof the extantrooms mentson the otherside of the courtyardsincecirculationin arguethathe did notconductbusinessathis residence.Puzuof realestate(fieldsandpossiblygardens), the threestorageroomswould not allow forthemto alsobe rumwas a purchaser a moneylender,debtor,andpossiblya slaveowner.He probused as living rooms. B1was the onlyroomin HouseB with a completelayout. ablylived in HouseA with his immediatefamily. Somewallswereonlya few courseshighdue to theintrusion of a largeIslamichollow which also displacedmuchof the A ProvisionalHistoryof the KhanaKingdom Until recentlyit was thought that Terqawas occupied materialinside of the rooms,leaving only abouta vertical 59:2(1996) BiblicalArchaeologist
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Becausethere appeared to be no extant only until ca. 1600 BCE. material from afterthis period, it has been stated stratigraphic that there was a period of abandonment and hence a political vacuum in the region (Buccellati 1990a:231;cf. Rouault 1991:729). However, recent published texts and the last few seasons of work have caused a re-evaluation of the history of the Khana kingdom (Rouault 1993/94:285-89). The history of the Khana period between the Babylonian conquest of Mari and the Middle Assyrian empire opens shortly after Hammurapi of Babylon, when a series of minor kings ruled the region with Terqa as the capital (see Podany 1991/93:60-62). Most of the personal names in texts from this period have close parallels with Mari, as Mari administrative terms were preserved. Thus, researchershave postulated that the Mari dynasty may have relocated here after the fall of Mari (Buccellati 1988:45-49). But after the defeat of Yadikh-Abu of Khana by Samsu-iluna of Babylon (1721 BCE),the land was probably dominated by Babylon; the next kings (Kashtiliashu and Shunuhru-ammu) were likely Babylonian vassals. Some of the recently discovered texts at Terqashow Ammisaduqa and Samsuditana of Babylon (ca. 1650-1595 BCE)in control of the Middle Euphrates region (Rouault 1991:729;1992:253).Podany argues that this is why the Khana kingdom was not mentioned in either Hittite or Babylonian records of this period since it was not an independent region (1991/93:60). The Khana kingdom may have reached its zenith after the fall of Babylon (1595 BCE).It apparently ruled much of the middle Euphratesfrom Qattunanto Dura-Europas.However, the center of this kingdom, according to Podany (1991/93:60), may not have been Terqa,but on the Khabur River where there were three cities mentioned in texts, Saggaratum, Iggid-lim, and Qattunan. Also, Ishar-Limbuilt a palace at Bidah (site unknown). We know little of the political activity of the Khana kings as no royal inscriptions have been uncovered (except for what is on the royal seals). Royal authority apparently succeeded from father to son. The Khana state was then conquered by Mitani and later ruled by the Assyrian empire. This is evidenced by a group of thirty texts, found in two jars in Area E of Terqa,that are contemporary with Paratanna and Shaushatar of Mitanni (Rouault 1991:729;1992:253).The tablets are dated to several local kings bearing Hurrian names. Furthermore, a Khana legal text has been found that is contemporary with TukultiNinurta I (Kiimmel 1989:191-200).The collapse of the Hittite and Assyrian powers (ca. 1200 BCE) fostered a possible resurgence of Khana rule (Podany 1991/93:62). Two Khana kings are mentioned from this period, Ilu-Iqisha and Tukulti-Mer, dated to the eleventh century BCE(Pinches 1885:351-53, cf. Weidner 1935:22-24).In sum, the list of Khana kings at present stands at fifteen without mentioning those who were fathers and sons of kings and those subordinate to the external interference of Babylon or Mitanni. The excavations at Terqa continue to provide important material for the Middle and Late Bronze Age periods.
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Terqaand the Amorite Population
Because of the limitations caused by the unique geographicenvironmentin the Middle Euphrates/Lower Khabur region, G. Buccellati (1992:83-103) has suggested that there was a contrast in the socio-political structure between that area and southern Mesopotamia. He believes that urbanites induced the peasants in the region to create a system of wells to draw from the agrarian resources of the rural landscape. This rural class (also known from the Mari texts) slowly became autonomous from local urban political rule, causing a nomadization of these peasants, who became agropastoralists (Buccellati 1990c:98-102). Furthermore, they developed into a political power, resulting eventually in the establishment of the Amorite dynasties (Buccellati 1992:87), with theirnotion of tribalidentity (Charpin,Durand 1986:15774). Buccellati postulates that the term Amorites generally refers to this rural class of peasants who developed a specificethnic/tribalidentificationbecauseof unique circumstances (1992:87-88).This can be demonstrated in part by the large number of Amorite personal names in the Terqa and Mari texts (Podany 1988:103-106,227-38). These agro-pastoralists were able to create a sense of identity since the central state did little to control the steppe. Thus, the Amorites (known as Khaneans and Suteans in the Mari texts) were not outside intruders but an internal development from the Khana rural class. The territoryof the Khanakingdom was physically larger than other sovereign urban polities, although there were few urban centers in this large region (Buccellati 1988:56). The Khana kings appeared to control an area north to the Khabur triangle and no further south than Haradum on the Euphrates, a border outpost of the Old Babylonian kings which may have been a city planned in response to Khana presence in the area (Buccellati 1988:47). The Khana kings also controlled the western trade routes leading to Tadmor in the Syrian steppe.
Sirqu in the First Millennium BCE
Terqa was called Sirqu in the Assyrian annals of the first millennium BCE.There, according to the stela of TukultiNinurta II, the Assyrians apparently collected tribute from the Aramean tribe of Laqe. Excavations have offered only modest results concerning this matter,however. Various sectors of the tell (Areas E,K,F,and MP 19) produced several burials with objectssimilarto other firstmillennium BCE material,including a bronze blade, bracelets, and a gold nose ring. A thick deposit of wind-blown sand in Area E contained minimal amounts of first millennium BCEceramic remains, but no structuralremains.However, the nearbysite of TellMeshteli (on the Euphrates' eastern bank) has material remains of the late second and first millennia BCEthat are exposed on the surface (Buccellati and Kelly-Buccellati 1983:56).
Ashara: Classical and Islamic Periods There are few surface finds (including a female sculpturedhead) on the mound of TellAsharadated to the Hellenistic
RULERS OF KHANA King I. Independent
Khana Kings
Date (BCE)
Synchronism Houseof Puzurum
1.Yapah-Sum[u-?]
ca. 1750
2. Isi-sumu-Abu
ca. 1735
3. Yadikh-Abu
ca. 1725
Samsu-ilunaof Babylon
4. Kashtiliashu 5. Sunuhru-Ammu 6. Ammi-Madar 7. Kuwari,
ca. 1700 ca. 1675 ca. 1650 ca. 1625?
Endof Houseof Puzurum,Templeof Ninkarrak,Phase3 Reoccupationof Houseof Puzurum,Templeof NinkarrakPhase2 Templeof NinkarrakPhase1,seal impressionwith Marduk'sname ThreeKingsof Khanaduringthe last two Old Babylonianmonarchs (nos. 7-9; see Rouault1994:142,for nos. 7-9).
8. Zimri-Lim, 9. Hanaya
ca. 1625? ca. 1625?
II. Vassals of Babylon?
III. Direct control by Babylon
a. Samsuditana
ca. 1625-1595 Hittiteraidon Babylon
Khana Kings
IV.Independent
ca. 1595 Iddin-Kakka 10.Isar-Lim ca. 1585 ca. 1575 11.Iggid-Lim ca. 1560 12.Isih-Dagan of two one or generations gap
Fatherof no. 10
-
Father of no. 13
-
Yassi-
13. Hammurapih V. Control by Mitanni
a. Parattarna b. Sausatar VI. Assyrian Control
a. Tukulti-Ninurtal VII. A New Khana Kingdom?
14.Ilu-lqisha 15.Tukulti-Mer
ca. 1520
ca. 1500 ca. 1500 ca. 1475 ca. 1225 ca. 1100 ca. 1100
This Althoughthereis no extantKhanakinglist,a partialsequenceof fifteen kings(orrulers)can be reconstructed. list, of course,will be subjectto future revision.(Revisedafter Buccellati1988:51,with the addition of Rouault 1992:247-256and Podany 1991/93:60-62).
period. They are not unlike those found at DuraEuropas, where they were likely manufactured. Otherwise, there is no evidence of Classical occupation of the mound, although surveys in and around the area of Ashara have picked up much Roman and Byzantine pottery (K. Simpson 1983). Renewed occupation of Ashara waited until the Muslim Omayyad period, as evidenced by a study of the ceramics in AreasE and F (Rouault1994:142).The Muslim Ayyubid period (ca. 1200 CE)appeared at Terqawith widespread but modest material remains occurring in various parts of the mound (for ceramics, see Mahmud 1978:95-114).There was a great variety of glazed pottery but the architecturewas rathermeager in nature. Only occasional fragments of floors, walls, and numerous storage pits (which are remarkablycircular)turned up. Many fragments of pottery kilns have been discovered, suggesting that the area was occupied as a pottery making complex. A horde of seventy-six silver coins dated to this
period (Buccellatiand Kelly-Buccellati1983:56).The evidence for the name of Ashara goes back only to the sixteenth century CE(Buccellati and Kelly-Buccellati 1977:6). Muslim occupation of Terqacontinued through the Ottoman period, and as stated, continues in a partial modern occupation of the mound.
Prospects for Future Research
Because of the peculiarities of the mound (municipal projects, erosion by the river,and modem occupation), prospects for future work at Terqaare somewhat limited. However, the most recent seasons of excavation have revolutionized our understanding of the Khana period. There are also chances for further vertical exposure into the third millennium BCE. On account of the massive defensive system, the prospects of understanding Terqa'simportance in the early periods of Syro-Mesopotamian urbanism appear to be bright. BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
101
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the directors of the Terqaexpedition (G. Buccellati, M. Kelly-Buccellati, and 0. Rouault) for their generous access to the TellAshara field notes and photographic archives.
Bibliography Bauer, T. 1928/29Neues Material zur "Amoriter"-Frage. Mitteilungen der altorientalischen Gesellschaft4:1-8. Buccellati, G. 1977 Terqa Preliminary Reports 2: A Cuneiform Tablet of the Second Season. Syro-MesopotamianStudies 1/4. 1988 The Kingdom and Period of Khana. Bulletinof theAmericanSchools of Oriental Research270:43-61. 1990a The Rural Landscape of the Ancient Zor: The Terqa Evidence. Pp. 155-69 in Les Techniqueset les practiqueshydroagricolestraditionellesen domainirriqud,edited by B. Geyer. Paris:Paul Geuthner. 1990b From Khana to Laqe: The End of Syro Mesopotamia. Pp. 229-53 in De La Babyloniea' La Syrie en passant par Mari, edited by O. Tunqa (J.-R.Kupper Festschrift). Libge: Universite de Liege. 1990c River Bank, High Country, and Pasture Land: The Growth of Nomadism on the Middle Euphrates and the Khabur. Pp. 87-117 in Tallal-Hamidiya2, edited by S. Eichler et al. Freiberg: Schweiz Universitditsverlag. 1991 A Note on the Muikenum as a "Homesteader." Pp. 91-100 in Let YourColleaguesPraise You:Studies in Memory of Stanley Gevirtz, edited by R. Ratner et al. Maarav 7. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University. 1992 Ebla and the Amorites. Pp. 83-104 in Eblaitica3, edited by C. Gordon and G. Rendsburg. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. Buccellati, G. and Kelly-Buccellati, M. 1977 TerqaPreliminary Reports 1. General Introduction and the Stratigraphic Record of the First Two Seasons. Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 1/3:1-43. 1978 TerqaPreliminary Reports 6. The Third Season: Introduction and the Stratigraphic Record. Syro-MesopotamianStudies 2/6:1-36. ArabesSyri1983 Terqa:The First Eight Seasons. AnnalesArchdologiques ennes 33/2:47-67. Buccellati, G., et al. 1979 Terqa Preliminary Reports 10. The Fourth Season: Introduction and StratigraphicRecord. BibliothecaMesopotamica10. Malibu: Undena. Carter, T. and Qualls, C. 1975 Excavations by the Johns Hopkins University in Syria. American Schools of Oriental ResearchNewsletter 8/9:1-7. Charpin, D. and Durand, J.-M. 1986 Fils de Sim'al:les origines tribales des rois de Mari. Revued'Assyriologie et d'ArchdologieOrientale80:141-83. Chavalas, M. 1988 The House of Puzurum. Ph.D. diss., UCLA. 1992 Ancient Syria: A Historical Sketch. Pp. 1-21 in New Horizons in the Study of Ancient Syria, edited by M. Chavalas and J. Hayes. BibliothecaMesopotamica.Malibu: Undena. n.d. Defining Social Structure from Domestic Architecture: The Case from Khana Period Terqa.In ResidualResidences:Defining Domestic Architecturein an ArchaeologicalContext,edited by S. Steadman and T. Matney. (In prep.) Clay, A. 1919 The Empireof the Amorites. Yale Oriental Series 6. New Haven: Yale University Press.
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Condamin, A. 1908 Une Nouvelle Inscription de Sam'i-Adad. Zeitschriftfiir Assyriologie und vorderasiastischeArchiiologie21:247-49. Dossin, G. ' 1948 Une r6v1lation du dieu Dagan Terqa. Revue d'Assyriologie et d'ArcheologieOrientale42:125-34. Durand, J.-M. 1985 La situation historique des Sakkanakku:nouvelle approche. Mari annales recherchesinterdisiplinaires4:147-72. Evans, G. 1963 The Incidence of Labour-Service at Mari. Revue d'assyriologique et d'archdologieorientale57:65-78. Gelb, I. 1938 Studies in the Topography of Western Asia. AmericanJournalof Semitic Languagesand Literatures55:66-85. Goetze, A. 1957 On the Chronology of the Second Millennium B.C. Journal of CuneiformStudies 11:53-73. Grayson, A. 1972 Assyrian RoyalInscriptions,Vol.1. Weisbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. Herzfeld, E. et d'archdologie orientale11:1311914 Hana et Mari. Revued'assyriologique 39. Hrouda, B. 1977 Bahriyat I: Die Ergebnissedes Ausgrabungen, 1973-74. Munich: Isin-Ish.inVerlag der bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Huffmon, H. 1965 Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts:A Structural and LexiI cal Study. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Kelly-Buccellati, M. 1986 Sealing Practices at Terqa. Pp.133-42 in Insight ThroughImages: Studies in Honor of Edith Porada, edited by M. Kelly-Buccellati. BibliothecaMesopotamica21. Malibu: Undena. Kelly-Buccellati, M. and Mount-Williams, L. 1977 TerqaPreliminary Reports 3. Object Typology of the Second Season: The Third and Second Millennia. Syro-MesopotamianStudies 1/5:143-69. M. and Shelby W. 1977 Terqa Preliminary Reports 4. A Typology of Ceramic Vessels of .Kelly-Buccellati, the Third and Second Millennia from the FirstTwo Seasons. SyroMesopotamianStudies 1/6:171-236. Kilmmel, H. 1989 Ein Kaufvertrag aus Hana mit mittelassyrischer Limu-Datierung. ZeitschriftfiirAssyriologieund vorderasiatischeArchiiologie.79:191200. Kupper, J.-R. 1947 Une gouvernement provincial dans le royaume de Mari. Revue d'assyriologiqueet d'archdotogieorientale41:149-83. 1950 Correspondancede Kibri-Dagan.Archives Royales de Mari III. 1957 Lesnomadesin Misopotamieau tempsdes roisde Mari. Paris: socidt6 d'ddition lesbelles lettres. 1964 Correspondance de Kibri-Dagan. Syria 41:105-16. Liggett, R. 1982 Ancient Terqa and its Temple of Ninkarrak. Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin 19:5-27. Luke, T. 1965 Pastoralism and Politics in the Mari Period: A Re-examination of the Characterand Political Significance of the Major West Semitic
TribalGroupson the MiddleEuphrates,1828-1758B.C. Ph.D. diss., Universityof Michigan. Mahmud,A. 1978 TerqaPreliminaryReports 5. Die Industrie der islamischen Keramikaus der zweiten Saison. Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 2/5:95-114. Margueron,J.-C. 1991 Mari,L'Euphrate et LeKhaburau Milieudu Ille Milldnaire.The CanadianSocietyfor Mesopotamian StudiesBulletin21:79-100.
Thureau-Dangin,F 1897 Tabletteschalde6nesin6dites.Revued'assyriologique et d'archtologie orientale4/3:69-86. 1908 Tirqa.Orientalistiche 11:193-94. Literaturzeitung 1908a Un nouveau roi de Hana.Orientalistische 11:93. Literaturzeitung 1909 Un contratde Hana.Journalasiatique(10thseries) 149-55. 1936 Textesde Mari.Revued'assyriologique et d'archtologie orientale 33:169-79. 1936a Iahdun Lim, roi de Mari.Revued'assyriologique et d'archdologie orientale33:49-54.
Thureau-Dangin,F.and Dhorme,P. Mount-Williams,L. 1924 Cinqjoursde fouilles A'Asharah.Syria5:265-93. 1980 TerqaPreliminary Reports 8. Object Typology of the Third Season:The Second and Third Millennia.Syro-Mesopotamian Tournay,R. and Saouaf,S. Studies3/2:35-97. 1952 Sthlede Tukulti-Ninurta. Lesannalesarchtologiques deSyrie2:16990. Musil,A. A Topographic 1927 TheMiddleEuphrates: Itinerary.New York:Czech Ungnad,A. Academyof Sciencesand Art. 1909 ZurGeschichteder nachbarstaatenBabylonienszur Zeit der 4: Hana.Beitrirge zurAssyriologie 6/5:26Hammurapi-Dynastie Nougayrol,J. 32. 1947 Textes et documents figur6s IV: un nouveau roi de Hana. 1938 Datenlisten.Reallexikon derAssyriologie 2:131-94. Revued'assyriologie et d'archdologie orientale41:42-46. 1960. Documentsdu Habur.Syria37:205-14. Weidner,E. Analectaorientalia12:22-24. 1935 Tukulti-Mer. Pinches,T. 1885 BabylonianArt, Illustratedby Mr.H. Rassam'sLatestDiscov8:347-51. eries. Transactions of theSocietyof BiblicalArchaeology Podany,A. andHistoryoftheHianaPeriod.Ph.D.diss., UCLA. 1988. TheChronology 1991/ A Middle BabylonianDate for the Hana Kingdom.Journalof 93 Cuneiform Studies43-45:53-62. n.d. Kings of Hana:An Analysis of their Time and Place in Syro(Inprep). Mesopotamica. MesopotamianHistoryBibliotheca Podany,A., Beckman,G., and Colbow,G. 1991/ An Adoptionand InheritanceContractfromthe Reignof Iggid93 Limof Hana.Journalof Cuneiform Studies43-45:39-51. Rouault,O. 1979 TerqaPreliminaryReports7. Les documents6pigraphiquesde la troisismesaison.Syro-Mesopotamian Studies2/7:1-12. 1984 TerqaFinalReports1.Uarchivede Puzurum.Bibliotheca Mesopotamica16. Malibu:Undena. 1991 Terqa.American 95:727-29. Journalof Archaeology 1992 CulturesLocaleset InfluencesExt6reures: LaCasde Terqa.Studi 30:247-56. Miceneied Egeo-Anatolici 1993/94TallAlara/Terqa.Archivfir Orientforschungen 40/41:285-89. 1994. Terqa.in H. Weiss,Archaeology in Syria. AmericanJournalof 98:142-43. Archaeology Sanlaville,P inter1985 L'espaceg6ographiquede Mari.Mariannalesrecherches 4:15-26. disciplinaires Sayce,A. 1912 A New Datefromthe Kingdomof Khana.Proceedings of theSoci34:16-52. etyof BiblicalArchaeology Schorr,M. 1910 Ein Kaufkontrakt aus Hana.Babyloniaca 3:266-67. Simpson,K. 1983 SettlementPatternson theMarginsof Mesopotamia: Stabilityand Ph.D.diss., Universityof Arizona. ChangealongtheEuphrates. Stephens,EF 1937 A CuneiformTabletfromDura-Europas.Revued'assyriologique et d'archdologie orientale34:183-90.
Dr.MarkChavalasreceivedhis Ph.D.at UCLAin 1988and currentlyholds the positionof AssistantProfessorof Historyat the Universityof Wisconsin-LaCrosse.He has devoted nine seasons to excavationsin Syria,one at TellQraya,two at TellMozanand six at Terqa,wherehe is picturedstandingin AreaF.Recently,Dr. Chavalasco-editedand wrotethe introductionfor the volume New Horizonsin theStudyofAncientSyria(Undena,1992).
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of Palestineinthe FirstDecadeof the Mandate ShapingAmerican Perceptions By LawrenceDavidson
to conductarchaeologicalresearch"(NewYorkTimes2/5/21:11) The United States, though not a League member, also had N THEFIELD OFARCHAEOLOGY, ASWITHSO MUCHOFLIFE, TRUTH open access in this regard. The biblical archaeologists of is in the eyes of the beholder or, in this case, the eye of the West would respond with an enthusiasm that was laden the culture that bred the archaeologist. Michael Shanks, with "expectation" as well as "pre-understanding." Specifin his book on the "characterof archaeology,"put it this ically this amounted to the "pre-understanding" that the Bible was historicallytrue and the "expectation"that the new way: "We do not get to the past simply by digging deep. ...understanding involves projection.We are expectant. We access to Palestine for archaeologists would demonstrate it to be so.1 always pre-understand what we have found..." (1992:63). The Britishwere perhaps motivated to encourage archaeTheContextualBackground ological activity because the results would popularize the The work of archaeologists in Palestine in the 1920s, biblical associations that tied the area to the West's Judeothe first decade of the British mandate, supports Shanks's Christian heritage. Palestine was perceived as having a proposition. This was a decade of majorarchaeologicalactiv- religio-mystical connection with the West. It was the cradle of Judeo-Christiantradition-the birthplace of Jesus and the ity in Palestine as the British facilitated and systematized access to the country for Western archaeologists far "PromisedLand"of the Jewishpeople. To confirmthis through beyond what was allowed under Ottoman rule. Indeed, arti- biblical archaeology was to assert Westernclaims in the area, cle XXIIof the mandate document for Palestine specifically as Neil Asher Silberman has suggested (1982). The estabstates that "members of the League of Nations will be free lishment of the mandate system which gave the area over to 104
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Jerusalembegins the decade of the 20s. The empty hill north of the old city wall (middleright on photo) would soon boast the RockefellerMuseum.Rockefellermade his milliondollardonation
for constructingthe buildingand a like amount for its endowment in 1929. The edifice opened officiallyin 1938. Photo from the Matson Collection,Libraryof Congress.
British (that is, Christian) rule and also designated it a Jewish National Home, implemented those claims. Biblical archaeology could thus be seen as a vehicle for rationalizing imperial control. For Americans biblical archaeology would reinvigorate an age-old fascination with the Holy Land. As early as the Puritans, Americans made a conceptual link between their "Promised Land" and biblical Palestine. Throughout the nineteenth century, Protestant America sponsored numerous missionary projectsin the Holy Land (Sha'ban1991).The reappropriationof Palestine to Christiancontrol was seen as a step leading to the land's redemption (Silberman 1991). Thus for Americans, as well as Europeans, the imposition of Westerncolonialism in Palestine was perceived in a positive, God-blessed light. Indeed, as will be seen, it affirmed the greatnessof Westernsociety thatwas also seen as God-blessed. In the process of establishing control over the area it was easy to accept that the indigenous Arab people were to be ignored or demeaned. Americans had rationalized such things before (Weinberg 1963). Biblical archaeology would play a role in this process also. The new mandate status of Palestine and the importance given to the biblical link between Palestine (as Holy Land) and the religious heritage of the West combine to make biblicalarchaeologya pursuit whose time had come. As Bruce
Trigger related in his Historyof ArchaeologicalThought,"discoveries...that related to the Bible and appeared to confirm scriptural accounts ensured widespread support for archaeological researchcarriedout in...Palestine" (Trigger1989:103). As the expeditions geared up, so did a multifaceted effort to explain the archaeological happenings to an increasingly interested public. This was an effort that would involve not only the archaeologists but, given the religio-mystical connection, various churchmen and religious organizations as well. And their principal way of communicating with the public was through the newspapers, particularlywell establishedpaperssuch as TheNew YorkTimes(NYT).Thenewspapers in turn, taken with the sensationalist potential of the biblical connection, turned the story into one of dramatic proportions.In a differentcontext,Shankshas referredto "archaeological theatre" where the archaeologists are "actors...producing a performance releasing some meanings of the past for the audience" (Shanks 1992:81). This metaphor of "archaeologicaltheatre,"is a wonderfully useful one to help understand the dynamic that grew up between biblical archaeology, the American public and the press in the 1920s.
Theatre"andthe New YorkTunes "Archaeological
In the decade of the 1920s newspapers were the major sources of information for the American public on BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
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archaeological activity in Palestine. Among the majorAmericanpapers, the NYT treated the topic in the fullest and most consistent fashion. Between 1920 and 1929 the NYT published 119 articleson archaeologyin Palestine.This representedroughly twenty-six percent of the 452 pieces on Palestine that the paper printed in that decade and constituted the most articles on a single subject having to do with that country. The vast majority of these 119 pieces, ninety-three (or seventy-eight percent) portrayedarchaeologicalactivitiesinvolving Old Testamentsites or subjects.Only ten pieces (or eight and one half percent) described activities having to do with New Testament sites or subjects. The remainder involved various miscellaneous activities such as excavations at Crusader (two articles) or prehistoric (two articles)sites and pieces on the man- The mound at Beth-Sheanand the Romanperiodamphitheater.The vividinterpretationsby date government's policies regarding newspaperssuchas the NYTgiven to excavationssuch as those carriedout here helped create archaeological expeditions, recovered the phenomenon of "archaeologicaltheater."Photo courtesyof RichardCleave. artifacts, and the like. No reporting described archaeologicalactivity involving Muslim era sites. readersknew nothing of the Arab Palestinianpresent besides what they had learned from a century's worth of missionary Setting the Stage As with the commentaries of the archaeologists and the and travel reports. These had largely painted an appalling theologians that it represented to the public, the NYT used picture of a land once blessed by the God of Christians and language that flowed from the cultural context (the "pro- Jews but now supposedly turned into a land of desolation jections" and "pre-understandings")of the day. In doing so, by Moslem occupation (Silberman 1991). One corollary of it staged "archaeologicaltheatre"in a manner that reflected this alleged degeneration was, according to John H. Finley the public mind. For example, the NYT's reporting on Pales- writing in the NYT magazine section, the Moslem's "distine consistently used biblical names and referencesto assure torting the familiar and famous names" of the Holy Land (NYT 9/13/25:IV,3). recognition of archaeological sites by the reader. Thus, the Names are of great importance in their power to evoke northernJordanValley site Beisan (Tellel-Husn), under excavation by the University of Pennsylvania, was described as a sense of the familiar. In the newspaper reporting on the "Beth-Shan,"the locale "of the last appearance of King Saul" area in the 1920s, the familiar biblical Palestine was rein(NYT 4/24/21:12). Tell el-FCi,two miles north of Jerusalem, carnated through the incantational use of names sacred to being excavatedby the AmericanSchoolsof OrientalResearch, the Judeo-Christianreligious tradition.In other words, Paleswas described as "the Gibeah of Saul" (NYT 4/25/22:14). tine was undergoing a sort of temporal transposition where, The hill of Megiddo (Tell el-Mutesellim), which was under from the point of view of the American public, the biblical the purview of the University of Chicago, was revealed to past was real and the Arab present was either a scandal or be the famous Armageddon, which "the man who wrote the a void being filled by a process that released the divine, bibBook of Revelation chose...as the setting for the last great licalpast from historicalsuspended animation.2Here scripture battle"(NYT9/13/25:3). Askelon north of Gaza,being uncov- became the dominant referenceguide. Americans could actuered by the British School of Archaeology, was that "buried ally witness this temporal transposition (a majorcomponent biblical city" where was found the "great court of Herod" of "archaeological theatre") simply by reading the NYT's (NYT 8/4/21:15). biblically annotated 119 pieces on archaeology. The followThese characterizations were both naturally and necesing evidence offeredfor this premise, while selective,is typical sarilyused because most Americanswere familiarwith stories of the NYT's coverage of this topic. of the biblical past. Thus the NYT's editors could assume Dramatizing the Script,Part One-Biblical Archaeology as such knowledge even among their secular-minded readers Weltweisheit(WorldWisdom) (who were nonethelessenmeshed in a culturethathad recently Along with the repetitious, incantational evoking of bibproduced William Jennings Bryan's "fundamentalist cru- lical names, there were two principal ways in which this sade" and the Scopes "Monkey Trial").Most of these same temporaltranspositionwas carriedout. The firstwas to affirm, 106
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may hope to see the veil withdrawn from that mysterious past which has ever tantalizedand fascinatedthe world" (8/4/21:15). He was speaking about the prospects for biblical archaeology now that the Britishwere in control of Palestine. British occupation, according to the NYT,had introduced "modem civil government in the Holy Land" (8/30/25:VII,12). By comparison, "the notion that the Arabs of Palestinewould or could form an independent state is fit for Bedlam only" (NYT 4/12/25:2). Modem government allowed "world scholars [access] from every civilized country in the world" (NYT 8/3/25: VIII,12). This had not happened under the previous Ottoman regime, which had "put difficultiesin the way...[by]... sequestering important areas in Palestine as [Muslim] holy land where foreigners might not intrude. This for years prevented exploration" (NYT 1/20/24:11,1).Now, however, "Jerusalem is fast becoming one of the most important educational centers of the world" (NYT 4/24/21:VII,12). To this end John D. Rockefellerdonated two million dollars in 1927 for the construction in Jerusalemof a museum of "Palestinian archaeology." Rockefeller's representative explainedthat "Palestinehad long been in need of a building to house the monuments of a country whose past is perhapsof more importanceto the world than that of any other land" (NYT 11/14/27:3). This would save the "precious relics"fromtheirpresentprecarious state of storage, "piled here and there Western archaeologistsoutside the Beth-Sheanexpedition house, December1926.Alan in differentcomers of an old Arabhouse Rowe stands at the center of the photo (holding hat). P&reVincentstands next to him at left. at present occupied by the local DepartProfessorGarstangis at the extreme left of the photo. Photo courtesyUniversityof ment of Antiquities"(NYT1/15/28:1,6). In accordance with the notion of PennsylvaniaMuseum. Jerusalemserving as an "educationcenthrough the reporting process, the universal significance of ter of the world," Rockefellerhoped the museum would not biblical archaeology and the sites it unearthed. The act of only be a place of archaeological research but also "an excavationbecame the confirmationof the truthof the Bibleinstitution devoted to popular education" (NYT 1/14/27:3). a process that would empower the "world" with a new The term popular was not defined, but the Arabs seem to and vital understanding of its sacred past. The writers saw have been implicitly left out. Earlier the Times had run stothe Arab present as quite purposely holding back this acqui- ries describing the Arabs as having "nothing to give the sition of "world wisdom;" thus it was omitted or described world" (8/11/25:23). And now, a NYT'seditorialon the Rockin negative terms. As the decade progressed, the Arab pre- efellergift focused on its importanceto Westernconstituencies sent literallydisappeared from archaeologicallyrelated news when it observed that Rockefeller "has given every assurance which man can give that the city of which David sang coverage as the ruins of the cities of the Bible materialized. and to which millions of crusaders and pilgrims have jourIn 1921 the NYT quoted the archaeologist and Anglican cleric W. H. Phythian Adams as predicting that soon "we neyed shall not be forgotten."Linking Palestine with ancient BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
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Greece, the Times' editorial concluded that soon "the world will have fresh memorials to the two little lands whose past is more importantto the world than any other like areas" (11/15/27:28). The use of the terms "world"as well as "popular" had at once a global connotation while in practice referring to the Judeo-Christian West. The distinction was overlooked by the writers contributing to the NYT. The NYT's reporting on specific excavation sites used language that appeared to universalize the importance of the origins of the Judeo-Christian biblical tradition while demoting the Muslim present. Thus Beth-Shean, one of the earliest sites to be excavated after the British takeover, was recommended for excavation by "greatBiblicalscholars who have studied Palestine as the key to the whole history of that section of the world" (NYT 4/24/21:VII,12). The writer pictured it as having a twentieth century "city" on the site thatwas now "depopulated.""Whythis city...became depopulated is not known, but probablyit was due to the destructive policies of the Osmanli Turks, who left a blight wherever their feet have trodden" (NYT 4/24/21:VII,12). Beth-Shean, during a decade of reporting by the Times, was variously described as "one of the most important cities of the past, a spot over which no less than nine civilizations have lived" (4/24/21:VII,12); a place whose revelations will "stir the Westernworld...deeply" (10/11/22:18); and as a "repository of the ancient secrets of the Holy Land" (12/16/23:X,3). Another site, the "City of David" excavation at Jerusalem, was "of such importance," because its "memories are consideredsacredto many nations"(NYT1/22/23:7). The famous British archaeologist R. E. Stewart MacAlister was brought to supervise the "Cityof David" work, whereupon the Times lamented that MacAlister had to take extra-ordinary precautions to prevent present day Arabs from tampering with the Judeo-Christianpast. This was "owing to the danger that these historic remains might be broken up and sold by native proprietors for building material-a fate that seems to have alreadybefallen the bulk of the structures"(12/24/23:3). The Megiddo site (Armageddon) was described as "the battlefield of the ages" as well as the field where "Christian civilizationhad its beginning."Here also Allenby had defeated the Turksand removed Muslim control from the Holy Land, described by the Times reporteras a battle "more significant than any fought there in the past" (9/13/25:IV,16). Finally, the theologians of Xenia Theological Seminary teamed up with the archaeologists of the American Schools of Oriental Research to search for Sodom and Gomorrah, the two most infamous examples of what happens to those who defy the Judeo-Christian God, while noting that the excavation had to be "provided with a military escort since the district has a long standing evil reputation" (NYT 5/25/24:II,2). As the decade proceeded the nature of reporting on biblical archaeology took on a mystical turn that lent an aura of sacred revelationto what was, in the end, rathersparse evidence. Nonetheless, the sense that what was going on in Palestinewas of world-wide importancewas stressed.In 1926, for instance, many of the NYT's articles on archaeology in 108
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Arabworkersat the Beth-Sheansite-mid 1920s. Extensive excavationsin the HolyLandat this time would not have been possiblewithout aid of these workerswho provideda cheap source of labor.Photo courtesyUniversityof PennsylvaniaMuseum.
Palestine carriedhead-lines such as "RuinsYield Proof of Biblical Records" (7/19/26:1), "Ruins of Temple Bear Out the Bible" (8/9/26:17), and "The Spade Confirms the Bible" (8/22/26:IV,1). These stories often included commentaries by theologians or archaeologistswho were culturallyand religiously committed to finding proof of biblical historicity. Bishop Horace M. DuBose of the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church,who participatedin the excavation of Shechem (at Nablus, which the Times described as "a derelict city" claimed that on that site "reposes [2/20/27:VII,14]) evidence of the historical authenticity of the patriarchsAbraham and Jacob and conclusive proof of other truths of Old
"thereis not a flaw in the biblical narrative"(NYT 2/7/28:7). In a 1929 article on the work of Professor W. F.Albright, who became one of the most respected of biblical archaeologists, the NYT headlined the identificationof "Jonah'sHome Town" and suggested that Albright's "Finds Support Genesis" (5/5/29:25). Many of these and other claims put forth in the NYT would later be called into question (Pritchard 1970; Miller 1987; Dever 1993). Yet the religio-mystical connection they suggested between Palestine and the West must have been confirmed in the minds of the American readers who followed these stories. This in turn confirmed the reader's membershipin a superiorculturewith evidence that allegedly touched on the divine. No wonder it was easily assumed that Western culture was world culture. As the Times editorialized in 1925, what was going on in Palestine was important because "all humanity has a concern in knowing by what way it has come, for only the lamp of the race's experience can throw light upon the way yet to be traversed" (NYT 7/24/25:12). Clearly a significant part of it had traversed through Palestine. By 1928 the NYT was editorializing that the work of the biblical archaeologists would allow "the human mind to know by what way it has come to its present outlook upon the universe and the life in it" (2/8/28:24). Such conceptualization was part of a process by which the Judeo-Christian past became not only more real than the Arabpresent,but also a tool for legitimizing the reconstruction of that present. Thus the consequences of this temporal transposition were anything but theoretical, for they facilitated popular American acceptance of the actions of both British and Zionists.The Palestineof the Arabpresent,with its indigenous population, culture and history, was being sent into limbo every time the "Spade Confirmed the Bible."
Dramatizingthe Script,Parttvo-BiblicalArchaeologyas Melodrama
Testament history." This would produce hard evidence to combat critics of the Bible's historical truth. DuBose goes on, "the scholastic situation may be described as an attitude of readjustment and waiting; and this adds significance to the plans and hopes of the archaeologists"(NYT4/4/26:VIII,16). The waiting seemed not to be in vain as excavatorssoon found "evidence" suggesting the validity of the theologians' "preunderstandings."In that same year the Timesran threepieces on an excavatedbust describedas "aportraitof Christ"found in Palestine (6/7/26:12; 8/8/26:IV,4; 8/27/26:17). In 1927the paper ran two pieces on a California minister who claimed to have found theArkof the Covenant(5/19/27:30;6/21/27:10). The Times quoted Professor John Garstang in an article entitled "Ruins of Palestine Bear Out the Bible."While on a speaking tour in the United States in 1928, Garstang, former head of the Department of Antiquities of the mandate government in Palestine, said that when it came to the campaigns of Joshuaas described in the Old Testament,
The second way the past became reality while the present was voided was througha style of reportingthatsometimes reached the point of melodrama. No televisions in the 1920s covered the story of biblical archaeologists in Palestine, but the "archaeological theatre" created by newspapers like the NYT produced a show that would certainly have done well by any Nielsen rating. Two examples of the melodramaticquality of the decade's "archaeological theatre" are offered by the reporting on the Beth-Shean excavations undertaken by the University of Pennsylvania and the unearthing of what was interpreted to be Solomon's stable at Megiddo (Armageddon)by the archaeologists of the University of Chicago. With its very first piece, which appeared in April of 1921, the Times set the stage on which the Beth-Shean expedition story was told. This described Beth-Sheanas located "in the Valley of Jezreel, the narrowest point in the great strategical centre between Mesopotamia and Egypt." This meant that "within sight of this city more great battles have been waged than on any otherspot known to the world." The reporter pointed out that it was also "the site of the BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
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last appearance of King Saul" (NYT 4/24/21:12). Having established the importance of Beth-Shean in such theatrical terms, new discoveries, associated with new characters, would be choreographed into the story at a regular pace. Eachwould heighten the drama in a way that would be quite recognizable today-violence and sex playing heavily into the tale. In October of 1922 the archaeologists at Beth-Shean unearthed a tomb. Clarence Fisher, the head of the expedition, sent a letter on the discovery back to Dr. George Byron Gordon, then head of the University of Pennsylvania's museum. Based on a Greek inscription found on a sarcophagus, Gordon announced to the press that the tomb was that of Antiochus, first cousin of Herod the Great. Gordon then commented that Antiochus, in all probability,was one of the men charged by Herod with directing the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem, as narrated by St. Matthew in the vain effort to kill the Christ Child.... No discovery made by archaeologists...has aroused so much interest among followers of Christianity. It is the nearest approach so far made to the finding of contemporary records of Christ and the events leading up to the founding of the Christian religion (NYT 10/9/22:2). Thiswas a largeand dramaticleap from a single Greekinscription, but one in keeping with the "pre-understandings"that the age demanded of biblicalarchaeology.It was also thrilling copy for the reader in a period which was still influenced by a fundamentally religious view of the world. This was not the end of Beth-Shean's potential for such tales. In 1923 Clarence Fisher noted for the Tunes that "there is no other place that I know where so many peoples, so many civilizations, passed at one time or another."This statement was itself a prophetic invitation for yet more dramatic discoveries. And indeed, Fishersoon announced the unearthing of "aneight-footstone"erectedby "Rameses,son of Merenptah" in the days when Beth-Shean was an "Egyptian fortress" in Palestine. On the stone was inscribed, "I used the Asiatics on the building of my city." The temptation to see in this inscriptionelements of the Israeliteenslavement depicted in Exodus was too much to resist given the desire of biblical archaeologists to prove the truth of the Bible. And so Fisher told the press that "these words refer to the city this Pharaoh built in Egypt and are, I believe, the first reference to the Israelites found on any Egyptian document" (NYT 12/16/23:X,3). By 1925 sex would join violence in the NYT's reporting on Beth-Shean.In that year the excavators, now led by Alan Rowe, uncovered what they believed to be "the temple of Ashtareth, renowned in the Old Testament as the sanctuary of the Phillistines(sic) and the edifice in which King Saul's battle armor was hung as a trophy of the Israelites' defeat at the battle of Gilboa" (10/6/25:1). That,however, was not the only thing for which the temple was famous. In a long illus110
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Dr.ClarenceFisherexaminingancient Palestinianpottery.It was to ClarenceFisherthat the Universityof Pennsylvaniaturned to initiate its excavationof Beth-Shean.Photo from the AmericanSchoolsof OrientalResearcharchives.
trated piece, under the by-line of P.W. Wilson, we learn that Ashtareth was the "goddess universal of profane beauty" (NYT 11/29/25:IV,9). According to Wilson's account, the archaeologists of the University of Pennsylvania had "come 5000 miles over land and sea to lay bare the secrets of antiquity"and therebystumbledacross"theshrineof primeval paganism...a temple where, lovely and lascivious, there once reigned Ashtareth...the queen of heaven whose heaven was hell; her very boudoir on earth; a sanctuary of degradation."Of course,the goddess's "priestesseswere prostitutes" (11/29/25:IV,9). Warming to his subject Wilson went on to tell his readers that if Eve tempted Adam, Astaroth was Eve's temptation, elevated to a deity. Here we have the feminine, eternal and universal, but unredeemed....At Beth-Shan, as in a hundred other high places and groves...the pursuit of love had been degraded into an orgy of unbridled lust (11/29/25:IV,9). Wilson then laments that in the era of King Saul, the evil Ashtareth still flaunted her impious and bedizened countenance [and]...indeed, therecame a day when her triumphseemed complete....In the battle in the uplands of Gilboa, King Saul, his mind distraught with the spiritualist seance of the witch of Endor,was slain [by the followers of Ashtareth)....Paganism had turned the tables [on Jehovah]....In savage exultation the Phillistines (sic) stripped Saul and his sons of theirarmorand carriedit to...the templeofAshtreta ...In utter dishonor what remained of the monarch and his princes were nailed to the gateway of Bethshan (11/29/25:IV,9).
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An excavation map of the temple of Ashtarothas uncoveredat BethShean. Note that the map identifiesthe temple as "Referredto in I SamuelXXXI.10." The stele depictsthe goddess Ashtaroth.The NYT describedAshtarothand her temple as "the Queen of Heavenwhose heaven was hell; her very boudoiron earth a sanctuaryof degradation."Photos courtesyUniversityof PennsylvaniaMuseum.
And on Wilson went for another page of "archaeological theatre." This made fascinating reading, even if a modem reader winces at the melodramatic style. It quite fit into the ambience of the time, for as Wilson tells us at the beginning of his tale, Americans "modern and progressive" were yet compelled by a "fascination, unique in literature, that attaches to every slightest incident in the Bible,however barbaricit may seem" (11/29/25:IV,9). The coverage given Megiddo took a similar tact throughout the decade. Here the archaeologists thought they had discovered the remains of Solomon's stable when they came across large stone pillarswith holes.3These were transformed into "massive stone hitching posts" still revealing "the very holes in the stone pillars to which by their halters these royal steeds [of Solomon] were hitched" (NYT8/26/28:IV,11). This speculation encouraged P.W. Wilson, again writing for the Times,to assume that "standing within those stalls which have survived 2500 years...we can recreatethe magnificence
of a monarch whose prestige at any rate in literaturefar transcends the shadowy fame of Haroun-al Rashid in Bagdad (sic) or even of Akbar the Moghul Emperor of India" (8/26/28:IV,11). A cursory biography spread over several articlesrevealed Solomon as "thegreatestof all Easternkings" (NYT 8/26/28:IV,21). Another of the paper's reporters explained that "few people are aware that Solomon, true to the instincts of his race, was not only an Oriental sovereign but likewise a successful merchant....not least of his activitieswas his enterpriseas a horse dealer"(NYF 7/9/28:22). The NYT then editorialized, by drawing an analogy with modem times, that "these now empty stables testify...intimately, though mutely, of him and...his command of horse power in an age when the horse was what the engine and automobile have come to be in our age" (8/11/28:10). All of this took place "in the hills of the land by way of which civilization has come to the West" (8/11/28:10). If one examines the coverage of the searchfor Sodom and Gomorrah (for example see NYT 1/8/24:23; 3/28/24:6; and 7/8/28:111,8), the extensive coverage given to the "City of David" excavations at Jerusalem (for example see NYT 11/14/22:7; 12/2/23:7; 1/17/24:9; and 3/18/28:X,13), or any number of other expeditions carried out in the 1920s, one will find similar dramatizations. In all cases they described the biblical past with sufficient theatrical effect to make it BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
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more meaningful and real than the present Arab reality of Palestine. This helped shape American perceptions of the area in a manner fraught with political implications.
The Political Connotationsof "Archaeological Theatre" In his book Diggingfor Godand Country,Neil Silberman concluded that with the British occupation, archaeology "became a persuasive weapon in the new struggle for possession of the land" (1982:200).Thus, in an age of imperialism the treatment of biblical archaeology as theatre could not remain politically neutral. We noted the assumptions of the culture that staged this event in Palestine and its "preunderstanding" of archaeological finds. We have seen how the NYT's reportinguniversalized the importance of the Holy Land, and thus biblical archaeology, even though the story line that glorified the associated historicalevents was directed specifically to Europeans and Americans. Simultaneously, this coverage disregarded or demeaned the indigenous people and their culture and ignored the millennium-old history of Arab Palestine. The archaeologists literally dug right past it (Silberman 1989:242). The overall effect of this approach was to affirm Palestine's divinely sanctioned place as part of the West'sJudeo-Christianpatrimony.Thus, given the expansion of empire immediately following WorldWarI, it directly supported colonialist claims to the area (Trigger 1984:35570). The Zionist movement, which was at this time a new claimant to Palestine and temporarily allied with the British, also benefitted from this phenomenon of "archaeologicaltheatre." The dramatic nature of the NYT's reporting not only helped maintain the low Westernopinion of the Muslim present and continued a state of ignorance of the Muslim past, but it also concentratedthe reader's attention onto the specifically Old Testament or Israelite portion of that past. The numbers cited at the beginning of this paper show the quantitative side of this picture.Seventy-eight per cent of all stories on archaeology in Palestine involved Old Testament sites. It was principally the Old Testament, and thus ancient Jewish history in Palestine (as portrayed in the Bible), that the theologians sought to establish as true. Even those Christians who thought of the Holy Land as the land of Jesus would, by following the NYT's coverage, find themselves reoriented to the pre-Christian,yet still religiously significant, Palestine of the patriarchs,David, Solomon, and their successors. Thus the temporal transposition that was filling the abrogated Muslim present with the biblical past was quite exact as to what aspects of that past would appear as dominant. It was those aspects that were specifically associated with the Jewish people. While the Zionists physically sought to transform Palestine into a Jewish National Home, the work of the archaeologists, as reported in the NYT, helped to psychologically transform the Holy Land into a Jewish land. For the future of Palestine, this was perhaps the most significant political aspect of the drama that was "archaeological theatre." 112
BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
Finale On February 8, 1928 the NYT printed an editorial that encapsulated the nature and consequences of "archaeological theatre" in Palestine. With its usual dramatic style, it naturally and unself-consciously linked biblical archaeology with imperialism.The title of the editorialwas "Reconquering Canaan," and in it the paper's editors explained that "the archaeologistis repossessing the Promised Land."After itemizing the major excavations covered by the Times through the recital of numerous Old Testament names, places, and events, the editorial continued, Altogether this new scholarly conquest, which has been made possible by Lord Allenby's delivery of the Holy Land from the hand of the Turks and whose trophies are to find proper shelter and care in the Jerusalem Museum for which Mr. Rockefeller has given funds will help refresh the memory of what that little land has given to Western Civilization, and through it to the world (2/8/28:24). What was missing from this celebratory review was the NYT's own role in the "archaeologicalreconquest of Canaan" (2/8/24:24). In telling the story of biblical archaeology, its language created an aura of drama and religious expectation that often blurredthe boundaries of fact and fiction.Its reporting brought the Old Testament alive, albeit in romanticized form, and then linguistically conscripted it into the service of a modern day colonialism. In its fanciful essays the Muslim past was ignored while its present was omitted or maligned. Enmeshed in an age that did not yet perceive the non-Western world as a zone of culture and history with its own inherent integrity, neither reporter nor reader interpreted any of this as biased or Eurocentric.Nor is there any evidence that the other actors involved in this melodrama, the archaeologistsand theologians of that time, found anything amiss with the reporting of their efforts and interpretations.4 This only speaks to the fact that "archaeological theatre" was made possible by, and flowed out of, a Western cultural context from which it was exceedingly difficult to abstract. In general terms this context has been described as a pervasive "Orientalism"that constructedcategoriesof awareness and, in turn, laid a psychological basis for the imperialist behavior of the West (Said 1978). However, "archaeological theatre" was no ordinary expression of "Orientalism." For instance, it romanticized an aspect of Westernreligious belief rather than inferior yet exotic East. "Archaeological theatre" represented the replacement of a part (Palestine) of the East's past with an idealized Judeo-Christian antiquity made to order for Western consumption. In this sense it was a step beyond "Orientalism" as far as the Holy Land went. It altogether removed that land from the category of the oriental "Other."That this going beyond "Orientalism" was focused on Palestine indicates that, unlike British Egypt or French Syria, this area was not viewed in the West as an
A The remainsof the Megiddostables thought to have housed KingSolomon'shorses.Note the "stone pillarsto which,"accordingto the NYT,"bytheir haltersthese royalsteeds were hitched."Photo from R L.O. New Guy, LightfromArmageddon.[Chicago: Universityof ChicagoPress, 1931],pl. 27.
ordinary colony. It was rather a reappropriated part of the West's God-given patrimony. The irony of this perception is that, in the long run, biblical archaeology has not been able to establish the historicity of many aspects of the Bible. Archaeologist and historian Max Miller has written that "much of the biblical archaeology package [forthe historicityof specificbiblicalhappenings and personalities] has collapsed" (1987:58), and Neil Silbermanhas told us that "a century of intensive archaeological researchhas not been able to verify the existence of the main personalities of biblical history" (1990:30).5 In the final analysis then, "archaeological theatre" is an
example of what happens when a culturally important and influential profession is captured by ideology (be it religious or national). In this case the consequences were profound for Palestine. It is to be noted, however, that in recent decades many archaeologists have come to recognize the dangers of tying their endeavors to positions and interests that may distort the interpretationof evidence. This has led to a debate among biblical archaeologists as to whether a more productive approach to field work might be to focus on using archaeological evidence to understand how past cultures used their environments, rather than to seek proof of specific biblical happenings (Shay 1989:768-72).But will biblical BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
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archaeologists have the last word? "Archaeological theatre" was a media event steeped in religio-cultural identification that still persists today (see U.S. News & World Report 12/19/94:62-67). The media, now as in the 1920s, can have distinctly non-empirical criteria for judging a story as newsworthy. Thus, in the United States the curtain may now be down on "archaeological theatre,"but it would be naive to discount the possibility of an eventual revival.
Springs, Michigan: Andrews University Press. Miller, M. 1987 Old Testament History and Archaeology. BiblicalArcllaeologist 50:55-63. Prichard, J. 1970 The Megiddo Stables: A Reassessment. Pp. 268-74 in Near Eastin theTwentieth't Cenltiry,edited by JamesA. Sanders. enl Arc!iacology Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Said, E. 1978 Orienltalisnm. New York: Pantheon.
Notes It was an era when "modernists" were debating "fundamentalists" over the historicity of the Bible. William F.Albright claimed that religious enthusiasm did not interferewith archaeologists' objectivity (1949:219).However, given the overwhelmingly religious sources of motivation that spurred biblical archaeology in the mandate period, this is hard to believe. For instance, Albright describes his own attitude thus, "to one who believes in the historical mission of Palestine, its archaeology possesses a value which raises it far above the level of artifacts...into a region where history and theology share a common faith in the eternal realities of existence" (1949:256).
2Neil
Silberman (1991) has shown that this phenomenon of temporal transposition was operative among westerners throughout the nineteenth century. What was found may very well have been stables, but they were not Solomon's (Holladay 1986). 4As we have seen, Dr. George Gordon, the director of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, gave a thoroughly religious turn to his press conference interpretations of the Beth-Shean findings. The records of this expedition show that both Gordon and his field directors were anxious for press publicity, most likely because it helped with fund raising. Alan Rowe, the university's second director at BethShean, prepared news articles on his findings for the London Times. However, it should be noted that Rowe's pieces, while sometimes referencing the Bible, were not embellished with flights of religious fancy. This was left to the journalists and Gordon. On the other hand, there is nothing in the expedition recordsto indicate that Rowe, or anyone else connected to the Beth-Shean project, took exception to or understood the political implications of interpretations such as Gordon's. (See Expedition Records housed at the archives of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, Box One, General Correspondence).
Sha'ban, F. 1991 Islan and the Arabs in Early Anerican Thought. Durham, North Carolina: Acorn Press. Shanks, M. 1992 Experiencinglthe Past. New York: Routledge Press. Shay, T. 1989 Israeli Archaeology: Ideology and Practice. Antiquity 63:76372. Silberman, N. 1982 God and Coiitry. New York: Knopf. Dig-ing•for 1989 BetweenPast andIPIre'et. New York: Henry Holt. 1990 Lure of the Holy Land. 43:29-34. Archaeology, 1991 Desolation and Restoration: The Impact of the Biblical Concept on Near Eastern Archaeology. BiblicalA rchacologist 54:76-87. Trigger, B. 1984 Alternative Archaeologies: Nationalist, Colonialist, Imperialist. Man 19:355-70. 1989 A History ofArchacologicalThioullht. New York:Cambridge University Press. Weinberg, A. 1963 Manifist Destiny. Chicago: Quadrangle Books.
In some cases correlations between archaeological finds and some general aspects of biblical accounts have been made. For instance, see the description of excavation results at the city of Samariain Avigad (1993:13021303).
Bibliography Avigad, N. 1993 S.v. Samaria (City). New EncyclopcdiaofArcihaologicalExcavatio,s of the Holy Land. New York: Simon and Schuster. Albright, W. F. 1949 TheArcIhaeologyof Palcstinle.Baltimore: Penguin Books. Dever, W. 1993 What Remains of the House Albright Built? BiblicalArclihaologist 56:25-35. Holladay, J. 1986 The Stables of Ancient Israel. Pp. 103-66 in TheArcihacology of jordan and Other Stlidies, edited by L. Geraty and L. Herr. Berrien
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Lawrence Davidson is an Associate Professor of History at Westchester University in Westchester, Pennsylvania. His area of interest is the historical development of U.S.-Middle East relations, particularly the evolution of American perceptions of Palestine between 1917 and 1948.
The The
of the Goddess Anat: Disappearance 1995
West
Semitic
Research
Project
on
Ugaritic
Epigraphy
By TheodoreJ. Lewis
SUCH ASTHE TITLES ONE above ATCHY maybe neededin ourmediahypeddaysto pointouttruly spectacular technological advanceswhich areless likelyto catch the eye of a passing "surfer"whether his or her waves be the net, television, or even journalheadlines.Such is the informationage in which we live. Thetaleof thedisappearingwarrior goddessAnatemergedout of the latest phaseof theWestSemiticResearchProject's (WSRP)Ugariticprojectwhich was carriedoutin March1995by Wayne T.PitardandTheodoreJ.Lewisin Damascus and Aleppo, Syria. The WSRP Ugariticprojecthas as its goal the photographic and digital (electronic) documentationof the entire Ugaritic corpusandthesharingof suchadvancesin epigraphicanalysis withthewiderscholarlycommunityin aneasilyaccessible format.The currentplan under developmentengages the supportof numerousscholarsto developa digitaleditionof the Ugaritictexts on CD-ROMso that scholarsworldwide can accessthis materialvia personalcomputers.'
Wayne T.Pitardphotographing in the Aleppo Museum1995. The rephotographyof the corpusof Ugaritictablets paves the way for the digital documentationand disseminationof the Ugaritictexts, the ultimate goal of the West SemiticResearchProject'swork with the literarylegacy of RasShamra.
significantproblemshavearisenbecauseKTUandCTAoften disagree with each other over the readings of damaged Underthe directionof BruceZuckerman,the raisond'tre andbrokensectionsof the tablets.Neithereditionprovided of the WSRPhas been the applicationof modern techno- usablephotographsthatcould be consultedby scholarsto butnotlimitedto thephotographic maketheirown independentjudgments.Ratherthanadmitlogicaladvances(especially, realm)to the study of WestSemiticepigraphy.Thisproject ting agnosticism,the equivalentof scholarlydefeat,scholars has come to be well-knownprimarilythroughadvancesin have frequentlyused such indecision to their advantage. DeadSeaScrollanalysisincludingrecentadvancesusingthe In W.Pitard'swords, unexploredinfraredspectrumandmultispectralimagingin Since [Scholarshavebeenknown]to choosereadingsbasedon conjunctionwith NASA'sJetPropulsionLaboratory.2 whatfitsindividualstrategy,ratherthanon anyevidence 1985,the WSRPhas alsoprovidedtechnicalassistanceto the preservedon the tablets.While some scholars simply Ugariticprojectmentionedabove,whichis underthe direcchoose one of the collationsand work exclusivelyfrom tion of W.T.Pitardand B. Zuckerman. it,othersmovebackandforthbetweenthem,oftendependTheCurrentStateof UgariticEpigraphicAnalysis of thetext. ing on whichonebetterfitstheirinterpretation The field of Ugariticstudies has been blessed for years Somego a step furtherand suggestreadingsthatno colcollectionsof texts,Corpus destablettes lationhas proposed...in its more extremeapplications withtwo comprehensive en cundiformesalphabtitiques(CTA) by A. Herdner (1963) [the] practice [of appealing to traces on Virolleaud's and Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit (KTU) by M. facsimilesof the tablets]has been used to find virtually Dietrich,O. Loretz,andJ.Sanmartin(1976).Scholarsarevery any letterthe scholarwishedto havein the text.Ithas led muchindebtedto the latterteamof scholarswhichhas just to an extraordinaryamount of speculative freedomin produceda new enlargedsecondedition (1995). Ugariticstudies with useless reconstructions,restorations, and interpretations(Pitard1992:33-34). Notwithstanding the great efforts of these collators,
Background
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As a result,Ugariticstudieshasbuilta reputation of uncertainty.Pitardquotes Healey'sfearthat "Ugariticstudies is in dangerof getting bogged down in alternativereadings and mistakenreadings"(1986:30).3 Of course,the answer to our dilemmais simple:every scholar should travel to Syria and Paris and collate the texts for him- or herself.Assumingthatmost scholarswill not have the rareprivilege to work with the originals in the nationalmuseumsin Damascusand Aleppo,as well as theLouvre,oneis forcedto relyon photographsof thetablets. Sadly,the most definitiveand widely used collectionof the Ugaritictexts (KTU)does not containphotographs.Herdner's earlieredition does containphotographsof the texts known at thattime, but they are quite unsuitablefor close epigraphicanalysis,especiallyfordiscerningdisputedread-
KTU1.96 (upperleft corner)as photographed by W.T.Pitardand T.J. Lewis.Evenwithout any specialdigital enhancement, this close-upof the disputed lettersconfirmsthe reading in which the goddess Anat (cnt)disappearsand an admittedlydifficultword (cnn)appearsin her stead. Photo by W Pitardand T Lewisand 0 WSRR
TheDisappearanceof the GoddessAnatin KTU 1.96:TheDifferencea WedgeMakes
The nature of the warrior deity Anat, without doubt the most vivid of the Ugariticgoddesses, is currentlybeing reevaluatedby scholars,some of whom (Day 1991, 1992; Walls1992)arechallengingwidely held positions,especially with regardto Anat'sfertilityconnections. Thoughsmallandpartiallybroken,KTU1.96,published by Virolleaudin 1960as RS22.225,has been one of the more colorfultexts for articulatingpart of Anat's character.The ings. As one answerto thisdilemma,4the WSRPprojecthopes obscurityof the texthas not stopped scholarsfromusing it to provide epigraphicallyuseful photographsto aid indi- to draw conclusionsaboutboth Anat'snatureand the etyvidualscholarsin makingindependent himselfwas thefirstto suggest judgmentson disputed mologyof hername.Virolleaud readings, a true hallmark of rigorous textual criticism. that this text might give us an insight into the etymology Onlyhigh qualityphotographsaresuitablefor the modem of the goddess'snamebecause, in his opinion,it juxtaposed study of epigraphy,which uses digitizingtechnologyand both the name of the goddess (Cnt)and the word for spring computerenhancement(withprogramssuchas AdobePho- (Cn).Thus it was easy to conclude that Anat was associated Texts" with springwaterwhile Baalwas associatedwith rainwater toshop).A prototypeeditionof theso-called"Rapiuma (KTU1.20-22)hasalreadyappeared(Pitard1992).sAs another (Oldenburg 1969:89-90; Caquot and Sznycer 1980:9; tidbitof the valueof epigraphicallyusablephotographs,we Caquotand de Tarragon1989:41). now turnto KTU1.96and the case of the missinggoddess. Relyingprimarilyon Virolleaud'seditioprinceps,which 116
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attempt to express metaphors of love similar to those in use in most modem languages.Thus J.C. de Moor argues that this text is "not a frenzied Bacchante. She only devours him with her eyes" (1987:109n. 5).8 A new chapter in the interpretation of the text should have been written when KTU published their new collation of the text as Cnn not Cnt! Unfortunately,the die was already cast. So much had alreadybeen written about the goddess's macabrebehavior and/or fertility that there was no turning back. There was no quenching the growing scholarly lore'aboutthe passionate, cannibalistic goddess Anat. As a student years ago, I vividly remember hearing of the gruesome "morbid affection" of the goddess Anat. KTU assisted in A facsimileof the left side portions of first two lines of KTU1.96 showing the correctreading the matterby listing a conjecturalemenof the first word as cnn.Contrastespeciallythe firsttwo n's with the t in the initialposition of which restored dationin parentheses(Cnt) the second line. With Anat out of the KTU1.96 picture,Anat herselfsheds nearlyforty years Anat's presence despite the new colof cannibalisticmake-up.Drawingby T Lewis. lation.9 This was convenient. Scholars need not change their past interpretations. In fact, I know of reads the first word of the text as Cnt,"Anat," with no menno instance where any of these scholars ever acknowledged tion of any textual discrepancy, scholars have historically KTU'scorrectedreading and their decision to retain the readargued for one of two interpretations. The text is seen as ing cntthrough emendation. After so many years of exegesis, describing either 1) a type of cannibalism or 2) the love of Anat for Baal. Of these two views, the former has been the no thought was given to checking the text itself. That the text choice of most scholars. The key phrase for either interpre- describes the exploits of the goddess Anat was (and is) tation has few etymological problems and all translators simply taken for granted in the literature. Recent scholarship has not fared much better. The latrender it alike: est and most comprehensive treatment of the goddess Anat by N. Wallsshould be given credit for checking the origtspi girhIbl hrb She ate his flesh without a knife, inal text rather than relying on Virolleaud's transliteration. tit dmhIbl ks She drank his blood without a cup. Nonetheless, Walls introduces further confusion when he Those favoring a cannibalistic theory take the text liter- writes: "commentators unanimously read the opening word ally and then look to a host of comparativeevidence (Dionysiac of KTU1.96as Cntalthough the text clearlyshows Cnh"(1992:211, rites of sparagmos [the tearing apart of a live victim] and emphasis mine). Cnhis also read by P. Day (1995:65). Walls further notes that "Cnh-is hardly a simple orthographic error homophagy [eating human flesh], Orphic orgies, Egyptian impregnation texts, the Indian goddess Kali devouring Shiva, for Cnt,and one would not expect the scribe to make a mistake in the first word of a composition" (1992:211). incest cannibalism, and warrior cannibals ingesting the Without the luxury of traveling to Damascus (where 1.96 strength of their victims) for support.6 Once canonized, this interpretationbecame the catalyst for searching for puta- is housed) to inspect the original tablet, how are indepentive theophagies [eating divine beings] in other Ugaritictexts.7 dent scholars supposed to evaluate Wall's new assertion? Few if any of these interpreterscomment on the poet's ratio- Scholars need access to epigraphically useful photographs nale for mentioning the absence of knife and cup (bl to make independent judgments. The only two known phohrb...blks).If we are dealing with literal cannibalism, it is cer- tographs10published before now do not provide sufficient clarity to decide between 1) Wall's "clear" Cnh,2) KTU's tainly of a "messy" or "frenzied" sort. To eat flesh without cutting implies the tearing away of meat either by hand or Cnn,and 3) Virolleaud's Cnt. teeth, while drinking without using a vessel implies putting An Epigraphically UsefulPhotograph one's face directly into the carcass (and slurping?). AlterThe accompanying photo, which was taken in Damasnatively, these expressions could be metaphorical,expressing cus during the 1995 phase of the WSRPUgaritic project,was hurried or ravenous consumption. The second theory makes better sense of the phrases "without a knife // without a produced using a large format camera and 4x5 inch negative film. When dealing with three dimensional wedges, cup." This theory holds that these expressions are the poet's
t
p
a
h
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correct alignment employing a "key and fill" side lighting (with the key light on the upper left) is crucialin order to prevent the "wash out" affect typical of traditional cuneiform photography. The result is an image of unusual claritywhich is especially useful should any image manipulationbe desired (conventional enlargement or computer enhancement). The photograph erases all doubt about the disputed reading of the third sign. As shown in the photograph, the KTU reading of Cnnis confirmed over the editio princeps of Virolleaud (Cnt)and the "clear" reading of Walls (Cnh). All three wedges which constitute the letter n (as opposed to a t) are easily seen. For ease of comparison with Wall's incorrect reading, one may contrast the two n's in the first word with the h which follows (the catalyst for Wall's misreading?). As for Virolleaud's suggested t, compare the firstletter of the second line which is a t. (Virolleaudalso misread the second word in line one as tlkt, which in turn lead to Albright (1968:131n.53) suggesting that this is "presumably a scribal error"for hlkt.No such theorizing is necessary. The text clearly reads hlkt.)11 The ramification of this one simple letter being a n and not a t is quite profound. With the corrected reading (Cnn), the goddess Anat disappears from the text (she is nowhere else mentioned in KTU 1.96) as does the certainty of three and a half decades of scholarlyreconstructionsabout the cannibalistic nature of the goddess. KTU 1.96 can no longer be used as definitiveproof that Anat is either a cannibal or a mistress of fertility. Having said this, I would be the first to acknowledge that the text remains difficult to interpret.As a text critic,I would still leave open the possibility that the text could be corrupt. In contrastto Wall'sassertion, scribes do make mistakes, and it wouldn't amaze me to find one at the beginning of a text either. Nonetheless, it would be preferable if an interpretation could be found which does not rely on emendation. Our starting point should be the actual reading of the tablet, not an emended text propped up by some vague notion that we have known for years (via Virolleaud)what the text says. Entertaining the idea that the text is correct as it stands may lead us to investigate new interpretations. Such is the case with an alternative interpretation which has been suggested by G. del Olmo Lete. Due to its rather obscure place of publication, his article on KTU 1.96 has largely escaped scholarly notice.12 Del Olmo Lete suggests that 1.96 is an incantation against the evil eye Cin)with the second n of Cnndenoting some type of determinative similar to the -n affix used in certain magic texts (del Olmo Lete 1992:9). Yet the texts to which del Olmo Lete refers (see Dietrich and Loretz 1990a:104;1990b:106)represent the use of an -n affix for singular nouns in the absolute state at the beginning of an apodosis.13 Such a restricted usage is difficult to apply to Cnnin KTU1.96,which is not in an apodosis. Nonetheless, we shouldn't jettison del Olmo Lete's interpretationtoo hastily. Affixed -n's are common enough (with occurrences ranging from the so-called energic and paragogic nun's on verbal forms to the -ne suffix in Hurrian)14 that we need 118
BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
The entire tablet (KTU1.96;RS22.225) containingthe disputed reading-the firstthree letters in its upper left corner.Inthis WSRP photograph,specialattention has been paid to side lighting which makesthe most of the three-dimensionalcuneiformwedges. Virolleaud'spublishedshot was washed out and epigraphically useless.It permittedno independentjudgment about the reading of the signs. Photo by W Pitardand T Lewisand C WSRR
not rush to read a t here just because we cannot precisely define the syntactic use of our affixed -n.15Searching for a linguistic reason seems preferable to textual emendation in this instance. Rather than describing the use of a -n suffix as a determinative, I would suggest that it may be similar to the Hurrian suffix -ne (attested in the Ugaritic quadrilingual vocabulary) which, according to Bush's study (1978:225), "imparts an 'individualizing' or 'singularizing' force, i.e., 'one in particular.'"Such a usage would fit "theevil eye" (cnn) quite well. Time will tell whether del Olmo Lete's interpretationhas merit sufficient to win the allegiance of Ugaritologists.16The parallel which he suggests between our text's Cnnhlkt and Akkadian inu muttaliktu"the restless (lit. 'roaming') evil eye" is quite appealing. Regardless of whether del Olmo Lete's new interpretation proves to be correct, what is important to note is the possibility of new interpretationsbased on correct readings.
Conclusion The final chapter has yet to be written on the passionate goddess Anat. New assessments of her nature-as lover of Baal, the huntress par excellence, or frenzied warriorneed to be cautious about relying too strongly on 1.96. If
scholars feel that we do in fact have a textual corruptionhere, then conclusions have to be stated accordingly. The bold assertions and conclusions drawn by a previous generation who were relying solely on Virolleaud's word and eye need to be replaced with tempered conclusions which weigh assessments with the textual difficulties. All this due to a single letter seen in better focus!
superb new commentary on the Baal Cycle, which also includes WSRP photographs in plates 1-47 (covering KTU 1.1 and 1.2). WSRPphotographs are also being utilized by the translators of the WAW project mentioned in note 3 above.
Acknowledgments
7 B. Margalit (1989) uses KTU 1.96 to elucidate KTU 1.92 and concludes that the latter is another theophagy "of a more refined and less bloodthirsty type" with the substitution of "the tender Astarte for the sadistic Anat."
The undertakingof such a majorprojectcan only be accomplished with the assistance and support of a great number of people. We are indebted first and foremost to the director of the WSRP, Bruce Zuckerman, as well as Ken Zuckerman, for providingphotographicequipment,film development, and overall wise counsel. We are equally indebted to the many Syrian scholars who made it possible to access the material:Prof. Sultan Mehesin, DirectorGeneralof Antiquitiesfor Syria,Mohammed Kadour, Wahid Khayata,Hamido Hammade, and M. Yabroudi.Additional photographic support came from Andy Vaughan, Anwar Ghafour, and Samer Ghafour. Extensive funding for computer hardware and software, as well as travel support, was provided by the ResearchBoard and the Advanced Information Technologies Laboratory of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaignand the University of Georgia Research Foundation. We gratefully acknowledge their support.
Notes 1N. K. Wyatt and J. B. Lloyd should also be commended for trying to make Ugaritic studies more accessible through the use of the World Wide Web. While still "under construction," to use web-speak, their Ugaritic home page, The Edinburgh Ras Shamra Project, can be reached at The ever increasing amount http:/ /www.ed.ac.uk/-ugarit/home.htm. of electronic resources on the ancient Near East can be found through Charles Smith Jones's ABZU: Guide to Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East available on the Internet, which can be reached at HTML. http:/ /www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/ABZU/ABZU. The scholarly announcement of the joint WSRP/JPL project was first presented in a paper entitled "Multi-Spectral Imaging of Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Documents" at the SBLAnnual Meeting in Washington, D.C., in Nov. 1993. Preliminary photographs may be seen in J. C. VanderKam (1994:83,201). See also G. Bearman and S. Spiro (1996:56-66); B. Zuckerman (n.d.) and B. Zuckerman and K. Zuckerman (n.d.).
6 For a brief
history of scholarship on this interpretation, see the following: Virolleaud (1961),Astour (1963, 1988), Lipinski (1965), Albright (1968), Oldenburg (1969), Pope (1972:179-80; 1977:175), Caquot and Sznycer (1980:40-44), Margalit (1989).
8
The suggestion that we have a reference to fertility in this text is not new with de Moor. In fact, one of the earliest commentators on the text, E. Lipiniski (1965), argued that the text described the impregnation of Anat. Lipiniski's idiosyncratic interpretation (importing sexual connotations to tp and Cnand then having Anat become impregnated through swallowing Baal's penis, based on loose Egyptian "parallels" which are not at all parallel) is filled with such questionable philological arguments that it has won almost no adherents except for Kapelrud (1969:44), who calls it "a coherent and consistent interpretation." For a detailed critique see Astour (1988), who comments that Lipiniskirendered "practically every noun [in the text] by 'penis."' See also the more general critique of Day (1992). 9 Dietrich, Loretz, and Sanmartin (1995) now omit the suggested emendation in their new edition of KTU. 10 In addition to the photograph published in Virolleaud's editio prin-
ceps,there is also a small photograph in P.Bordreuiland D. Pardee (1989:291, fig. 36). 11Virolleaud (1961:182). Elsewhere in his article Virolleaud refers briefly to hlktso I assume that his incorrect reading tlkt,was a typographical error. 12 To my knowledge, the only scholar who refers to del Olmo Lete's proposal is W. G. E. Watson (1994: 64, 199, 237, 321). 13 This feature has already been documented by Hoftijzer (1982:121-23) and Pardee (1986:126-27).
14See K. Aartun (1974:61-65)for the Ugaritic material and Bush (1978) for the Hurrian.
2
S. Parker (1990) has expressed concern that we have equal difficulties with our translation theory. In response, the Society of Biblical Literature aided by an NEH grant is producing a series of literary translations entitled Writings from the Ancient World (WAW). For my attempts at wedding the literary concern of Parker with the epigraphic concerns of Pitard, see Lewis (n.d.). 3
4 The growing body of detailed epigraphic analysis by other scholars, such as P. Bordreuil and D. Pardee, is a most encouraging sign for anchoring Ugaritic studies on a solid textual base as opposed to philological speculation. 5 Past studies using WSRP photographs for Ugaritic epigraphy include Zuckerman and Ratner (1986) and Pitard (1987). See also M. Smith's (1994)
15 An alternative textual solution to those who emend cnn to cnt would be to read simply Cnomitting the second n of Cnnas a dittograph. 16 W. Jobling, prior to his untimely death this past year, had reached a similar conclusion independently of del Olmo Lete (personal communication I received from N. Wyatt) in a paper delivered at the 1994 Edinburgh Ugaritic conference entitled "KTU 1.96: The Evil Eye at Ugarit and in the Later Religious Traditions of the Levant." According to Walls (1992:211 n. 42), P. K. McCarter, Jr. entertained a similar interpretation based on Egyptian parallels. On the other hand, Mark Smith (personal communication) questions the genre of the text, which does not strike one as that of an incantation. Elsewhere (Smith 1990:166-67n. 4) questions those who suggest the genre of love poetry by stating that this text "is unlike any love song known from the ancient Near East."
Bibliography Aartun, K. 1974 Die Partikelndes Ugaritischen. 1 Teil. Neukirchen-Vluyn.
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Kapelrud, A. S.
Albright, W. F. A. 1968 Yahwehand the Gods of Canaan. New York:Doubleday.
1969 TheViolentGoddessAnat in theRasShamraTexts.Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Astour, M. C. 1963 Un texte d'Ugarit r6cemment decouvert et ses rapports avec l'origine des cultes bachiques grec. Revue de l'histoire des religions 164:1-15. 1988 Remarks on KTU 1.96. Studi epigraficie linguistici 5:13-24. Bearman, G. and Spiro, S. 1996 Archaeological Applications of Advanced Imaging Techniques.
BiblicalArchaeologist 59:56-66.
Bordreuil, P. and Pardee, D. de I'ougarit. Paris: tditions Recherche 1989 La trouvaille ,pigraphique sur les Civilizations. Bush, F. M. 1978 The Suffixes -ne and -na in Hurrian. Pp. 220-30 in Biblicaland Near
EasternStudies.Essaysin Honorof WilliamSanfordLaSor,edited by G. A. Tuttle. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Lewis, T. J. n.d. Toward a Literary Translation of the Rapitma Texts." In Ugarit:
InternaReligionandCulture.Proceedingsof the 1994 Edinburgh tional Conference20-23 July 1994. Studies in honourof John
Gibson.Ugaritisch-Biblische Literatur 12. Edited by N. Wyatt, W. G. E. Watson, and J. B. Lloyd. MOnster:Ugarit-Verlag. (In press.) Lipifiski, E. 1965 Les conceptions et couches merveilleuses de 'Anath. Syria42:4573. Margalit, B. 1989 KTU 1.92 (Obv.): A Ugaritic Theophagy. Aula Orientalis 7:6780. de Moor, J. C.
1987 An AnthologyofReligiousTextsfromUgarit.Nisaba16. Leiden:E. J. Brill.
Caquot, A. and Sznycer, M. 1980 Ugaritic Religion. Iconography of Religions 8. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Oldenburg, U.
in Canaanite 1969 TheConflictbetweenElandBanal Religion.Leiden:E.J. Brill.
Caquot, A. and de Tarragon, J. -M. 1989 TextesOugaritiques.Tome II. Paris: Les tditions du Cerf. Day, P. L. 1991 Why is Anat a Warrior and Hunter? Pp. 141-46, 329-32 in The Bible and the Politics of Exegesis, edited by D. Jobling, P. Day, and G. Sheppard. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press. 1992 Anat: Ugarit's "Mistress of Animals." Journalof NearEasternStudies 51:181-90.
del Olmo Lete, G. 1992 Un conjuro ugaritico contra el "mal ojo" (KTU 1.96). Anuari de filologia 15:7-16. Pardee, D. 1986' Ugaritic. The Ugaritic ?ummaizbu Text.Archivfiir Orientforschung 33:117-47.
1995 Anat. Pp. 62-77 in Dictionaryof Deitiesand Demonsin theBible, edited by K. van der Toorn, B. Becking, P. W. van der Horst. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Parker, S. B. 1990 Toward Literary Translations of Ugaritic Poetry. Ugarit-Forschungen 22:257-70.
Dietrich, M. and Loretz, O.
- OmenTextederOpferschau 1990a Mantikin Ugarit.Keilalphabetische zur literatur sammlungen - Nekromantie. Abhandlungen Alt-Syrien-Palastinas und Mesopotamiens 3. Miinster: UgaritVerlag. 1990b The Syntax of Omens in Ugaritic. Maarav 5-6:89-109. Dietrich, M., Loretz, O., and Sanmartin, J. 1976 Die keilalphabetischen Texteaus Ugarit.Neukirchen-Vluyn:Neukirchener Verlag.
TextsfromUgarit,RaslbnHani,andOther 1995 Tle Cuneiform Alphabetic TexteausUgari. Places.2d, enlargededitionof Diekeilalphabetischen zur literatur Alt-Syrien-Palastinas Abhandlungen Mesopotamiens 8. Miinster: Ugarit-Verlag.
und
Healey, J. F. 1986 The Ugaritic Dead: Some Live Issues. Ugarit-Forschungen 18:27-32.
Pitard, W. T. 1987 RS 34.126: Notes on the Text, with epigraphic drawings by B. Zuckerman. Maarav 4:75-86, 111-55. 1992 A New Edition of the "Rapil'ma" Texts: KTU 1.20-22. Bulletinof
theAmericanSchoolsof OrientalResearch 285:33-77. Pope, M. H. 1972 A Divine Banquet at Ugarit. Pp. 170-203 in The Use of the Old Tes-
tamentin theNew and OtherEssays.Studiesin Honorof Wm.F.
Stinespring,edited by J. M. Efird. Durham: Duke University Press. 1977 Notes on the Rephaim Texts from Ugarit. Pp. 163-82 in Essays on
theAncientNearEastin MemoryofJacobJoelFinkelstein, edited by M. Ellis. Hamden, Conn. Smith, M. S.
andtheOtherDeitiesin Ancient 1900 TheEarlyHistoryof God.Yahweh Israel.San Francisco: Harper.
withText,Transla1994 TheUgariticBaalCycle.VolumeI. Introduction tionandCommentary of KTU1.1-1.2.Leiden:E.J. Brill.
Herdner, A.
Paris:Geuthner. 1963 Corpusdestablettesen cuntiformes alphabitiques. Hoftijzer, J. 1982 "Quodlibet Ugariticum," Zikir Lumim. Pp. 121-27 in Assyriolog-
VanderKam, J. C. 1995 The Dead Sea Scrolls Today.Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
toF.R. Krauson theOccasionofhisSeventieth Virolleaud, C. icalStudiesPresented
Birthday,edited by G. V. Driel, et. al. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
1961 Un nouvel 6pisode du mythe ugaritique de Baal. Comptes ren-
1960:180-86. etbelles-lettres. dusdesseances del'acaddmie desinscriptions 120
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Walls, N. H. 1992 The GoddessAnat in Ugaritic Myth. SBL Dissertation Series 135. Atlanta: Scholars Press. Watson, W. G. E. 1994 TraditionalTechniquesin Classical HebrzewVerse.Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 170. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. Zuckerman, B. n.d. Bringing the Dead Sea Scrolls Back to Life: A New Evaluation of Photographic and Electronic Imaging of Dead Sea Scrolls. Dead Sea Scrolls Discovery. In press. Zuckerman, B. and Ratner, R. 1986 "A Kid in Milk"?:New Photographs of KTU 1.23, Line 14. Hebrew LlnionCollegeAnnual 57:15-60. Zuckerman, B. and Zuckerman, K. n.d.s.v. Photographing and Imaging Ancient Documents. Encyclopedia of Near EasternArchaeology,edited by E. Meyers, et. al. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
SCHOLA
RS,
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BiblicalArchaeologist59:2 (1996)
121
The Enigma of the Shekel Weights of the Judean Kingdom By YigalRonen based on the silver shekel. The shekel referred not to a coin, but to a measurement of weight. Coins were not used until sometime after650 BCE. Monetarytransactions were made by weighing pieces of silver using the shekel weights. For lower denomination transactions, the gerahweights were used. Shekel and gerahweights were usually dome-shaped and made of varying shades of local limestone. However, some weights were made of bronze. There were also some rectangular or trapezoidal weights made of bronze. Most were inscribed. All the Judean weights were part of single system based on one standard, with the shekel (the symbol y) as the basic unit. Evaluation of the average weights of the inscribed shekel weights of the Judean Kingdom reveals two problems associated with these weights. First, the weights have a system of 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 40 shekels. Second, the hieratic numerals inscribed on these weight are 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 50. The first problem is related to a system based on units of eight. We know that during the Judean Kingdom two systems of counting were in use. The first one was a decimal system based on units of ten. The second one, in some cases, was based on units of twelve or six. Units of ten and six are the basic units even today (time and degrees are based on 60 and 360). Never in ancient history was base eight used. In modern times, base eight was adopted as an offshoot of the advent of computers, which use a binary system. The second problem is that the shekel weights with the values 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 40 have hieratic numerals indicating5,10,15, 20, 30, and 50. So thereis a ratioof 4/5 between the actual weights and what is inscribed on them. The first problem of using units of eight has never been pointed out or resolved. The second problem, related to the difference between the weights and the inscriptions, has been dealt with by such scholars as Yadin (1961:9), Stern (1962:846),Kisch (1965), Scott (1965), and Aharoni (1966:13). 122
BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
A person holds a set of balances in one hand and perhapsa bag of weights or a folded scale in the other. ThisIronAge limestone low relief shows the pans of the balanceas if viewed from above. Until coins were introduced,standardizedsets of weights enabled merchantsand tax collectorsalike to measurequantitiesof silver,the predominantform of money.Photo courtesyof the Musdede Louvre;artifactprovenance unknown.
TheEnigmaof the ShekelWeightsand Shekel Inscriptions
Two explanations have been offered for the second problem of this enigma. The first explanation is that 4, 8, 12,16, 24, and 40, the hieraticnumerals on the shekel weights, had a "Hebrew" meaning of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 50 (Yadin 1961:9;Stem 1962:846;Kisch 1965). However, this explanation does not make sense for two reasons. It is unlikely that the hieratic numerals used in the entire region had two different meanings and that the meaning in Judea was the aberrantone. Moreover,the hieraticnumerals on the gerah weights used in the Judean Kingdom during the same period possess their original hieratic meaning, as argued by
Standarddome-shaped, limestone shekel weights of four,two, and one shekels,shown slightlylargerthan life. The four shekel weight has a massof 44.18 g, 28 mm height, a diameter of 33 mm, and a base diameter of 22 mm. The two shekel weight has a massof 22.90 g, 21 mm height, a diameter of 26.5 mm, and a base diameter of 16 mm. The one shekel weight has a massof 11.63 g, 19 mm height, a diameter of 20.5 mm, and a base diameter of 19 mm. Archaeologists have also recoveredbronze weights. All photos courtesyof the author unlessotherwise noted.
Kletter. Kletter noted: an almost unbroken series of values from 2 to 10. Therefore the numerals must be understood as having theiroriginalmeaning;if hieraticnumeralof 10 is explained as "8," then what is to be done with the existing hieratic numeral 8 unit? Surely it is not a "6.4 gera"... Or if the hieratic numeral 5 is explained as "4," what is to be done with the hieratic numeral of (4) unit? They cannot be equal, as their weights are different (1991:121). A second explanation, first suggested by Scott (1965) and elaboratedby Aharoni (1966:13),proposed equating the eight shekel weight with one Egyptian deben.Eight shekels was the basic unit selected probably by Josiah: as an exact equivalent to that most common weight in international commerce. One Egyptian debenis divided into 10 qedet.That means that the 4, 8, 16, and 24 shekel weights are equal to 5, 10, 20, and 30 qedets,in complete agreement with the hieratic numerals marked on them. This is hardly accidental, and makes the choice of these symbols more understandable. On the other hand, for the ordinary Judean they remained just the higher units of the shekel standard, each the double of the preceding up to eight, followed by multiples of the basic eight-shekel unit (Aharoni 1966:9). So the meaning of the 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 40 shekel weights is that they are equivalent to 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 50 qedets. The problem with this explanation is highlighted by the question: Why do ly and 2y (one and two shekels) each have a shekel weight consistent with the hieratic numerals inscribed on it, while the other weights of 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 40 shekels do not? Hieraticnumerals with the symbol yoccur on all the weights, but some representqedetsand some shekels. It does not make sense! Furthermore, this explanation does not answer the question why a system based on units of eight shekels was used.
Dome-shapedbronze weights of two (left) and two and one-half shekels (center).At right,the top-view of the larger weight shows the hieraticnumerals"2 1/2."The massof the two shekel weight is 22.18 g, the height 12.3 mm, the diameter 19.4 mm, and the base diameter 18.2 mm. The two and one-half shekel weight possessesa massof 30.0 g, height of 11.8 mm, and a base diameter of 22.1 mm. The hieraticsymbol "1"and the shekel symboly markthis one shekel weight. Likethe two shekel weight, the one shekel weight has a shekel weight consistentwith the hieraticnumeral inscribedon it.Yetthe system'sother weights of 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 40 shekels do not. Thereinlies the enigma of these weights.
The Eight Shekel System and the Hieratic Numerals Here we would like to suggest a solution to the enigma the system of weights in Judea of the weights. Before 700 BCE, was based on the Egyptian system of weights, namely on the deben/qedetsystem. Some time around 700 BCE,the system of weights was changed and the shekel, which had been equal to one qedet(weighing 9.06 g), was increased to a weight of 11.33 g. The ratio between the shekel and the qedetbecame 4/5 (9.06/11.33 = 4/5). In the changed system of weights, all the "old" weights, except the one and two shekel weights, could be incorporated into the revised system. The old five-shekel qedetweighed for example at 5 x 9.06 g = 45.30 g matching the new four shekel weight at 4 x 11.33 g = 45.32 g. Since some effort was required to produce accurate weights, and since the "old" weights fit the revised system, the "old"weights were maintained in the "new" system. Thus, the only weights that had to be replaced were the one and two shekels. Later on, in order not to confuse two different weights with the same numerals, similar heavy weights were produced with similar hieratic numerals. It should be noted that there are other examples in history of currency in which the actual value is different from the inscribed value. The bank notes of Belarus offer a contemporary example; the actual values are ten times more than the inscribed values. It is reasonableto assume that when the system of weights was changed, the old ly and 2y shekel weights were to be destroyed. However, some of them, no doubt, survived. Therefore, the test of our explanation is whether there are weights with the hieratic symbol ly and a mass of 9.06 g and weights with the hieratic numeral 2y and a mass of 18.12 g. 59:2(1996) BiblicalArchaeologist
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Summary of Shekel Weights from the Judean Kingdom (based on Kletter 1991) Hieratic Numberof Average Numeral Weights Mass(g) Considered
50 30 20 15 10 5 2 1
1 2 3 1 34 41 28 30
454.55 274.33 184.769 12945 90.627 45.239 22.617 11.332
y
40 24 16 12 8 4 2 1
% Deviation
+0.28 +0.86 + 1.90 -4.81 -0.04 -0.20 -0.21 0
Basedon Kletter'srecent study of the Judean weight system (1991), the table displaysthe average massesof the corpusof shekel weights.
Indeed, archaeologists have found two such weights in Judea. Currentlyhoused in the Bible museum at TerreSainte in Paris (Lamaire 1976:33), there is no available information about the circumstances in which these weights were found. The first one is a ly shekel weight of 9.113 g. This weight has a height of 14.5 mm, a maximum diameter of 20 mm, a base diameter of 19 mm, and is made from red limestone. The second weight is 2y, weighing 17.363 g. It has a height of 15 mm, a maximum diameter of 27 mm, a base diameter of 25.5 mm, and is made from light brown limestone. It also has an inscription on its base with the letter "shin" and the hieratic numeral 2. This inscription probably means two shekels. A similar inscription was found on an ostracon from Tell Qasile (Maisler 1951:265). It should be noted that these two weights are not themselves proof of our suggestion, since they might be ancient forgeries. However, the fact that these two weights were found with masses very close to the 1 and 2 qedetmasses does support our claim.
GerahWeights
The other weights used during that period were fractions of the shekel. These are the gerahweights and the beqac,pym, and nesefweights. The gerah weights have the values 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10, with the suitable hieratic numerals. Based upon the need for coherence in a weight system, the comparison of the actual masses of these smaller weights as well as some biblical, inscriptional, and comparative data, Kletter suggested that therewere twenty-fourgerahsin one shekel.' The beqacwould weigh 12 gerahs,the pym 16 gerahs,and the nesef20 gerahs.Thus all the weights fit in the same system with the values of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,10, 12, 16, and 20 gerahs. However, according to the Bible (Exodus 30:13), there were only 20 gerahsto 1 shekel. It is tempting to attribute the enigmatic shekel weights discussed above to a change in the weight system from 20 to 24 gerahsper shekel, while maintaining the value of the "old" gerahweights. 124
BiblicalArchaeologist 59:2(1996)
Merchantsemployed the gerah for fractionsof the shekel. Butwhat fractionswere these limestone weights of ten, eight, and sixgerahs? Comparingthe actual massesof these smallerweights and analyzing biblical,inscriptional,and comparativedata lead to the conclusion that there were twenty-fourgerahs in one shekel.Theten gerah weight has a massof 5.13g, 13.5 mm height, a 16.1 mm diameter, and a base diameter of 12.5 mm. The eight gerah weight has a mass of 3.67 g, 10.7 mm height, a 15.3 mm diameter,and a base diameter of 12 mm. The six gerah weight has a massof 3.06 g,
11.4mmheight, a 13.2diameter, anda base diameter of 10 mm. The gerah weights are all markedwith the suitable hieraticnumerals.Thistop view of a ten gerah weight shows the hieraticnumeral"10."
The change from 20 to 24 gerahsincreasesthe shekel weight a by factorof 24/20=1.2. On the other hand, the "old"shekels based on the qedetare lower than the revised shekel by a factor of 4/5=0.8. Both deviations are twenty per cent. However, there is a difference between 4/5 (=.80) and 20/24 (=.83). This difference is about four percent. Although the accuracy of many of the weights is no better than four percent, it is our opinion that the deviation between 24/20 and 5/4 is too large to explain the new shekel weight system on the basis of a change in the weight of the gerah.
Summary
In summary, the system of weights in the Judean Kingdom was based on the shekel and the gerah.The shekel, which has a value of 11.33 g, was divided into 24 gerahs.There are gerah weights of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10. Furthermore, the beqac,pym, and the nesefhave values of 12, 16, and 20 gerahs. The shekel weights are in 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 40 values. Sometime around 700 BCEthe system of weights in the Judean Kingdom was changed from the Egyptian system, in which 1 shekel equaled 1 qedet,to a system in which the shekel was heavier.A change in the standardof weights in the Judean kingdom was a majormonetary change, with importanteconomic impacts. Such economic impacts must be influenced by political considerations and probably related to the rise in the influence of the Assyrian empire and the concomitant decline of the Egyptian empire's influence on Judea. As a result, there was probably a shift in commerce from Egypt to Assyria. Due to the probable decline in commerce with Egypt, a monetary system based on the Egyptian system became less important. On the other hand, the probable increase in commerce with the Assyrian empire required a monetarysystem more suitablefor commercewith this empire.
in ScriptaHierosolymitana,edited by C. Rabin. Studies in the Bible 8. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.
The ratio between the "old"shekel and the revised shekel was 4/5. Because of this ratio,the "old"heavy weights (larger than 1 and 2 shekels) were maintained. This can explain why a strange octal system, based on units of eight, was used. Furthermore, it can explain why there is a 4/5 deviation between the actual weights and their inscribed values.
Notes To support the 24 gerah = y thesis, Kletter argued (1991:121): 1) The deviations in the 24 gerah = y are larger, but they are consistently in the heavier side, growing as the unit is smaller. This regularity in deviation resembles that of the nesef,pym and beqacunits, and whatever its cause, it reinforces the 24 gerah = y thesis. 2) If 20 gerah = y, then 10 gerah = one half y. Most scholars agree that the beqacis a half-y. However, the weight of the beqacis heavier than that of the 10 gerah weight. 3) If the nesef and the pym are 5/6 y and 2/3 y, they fit a system of 24 and not of 20 sub-units. To this should be added the "third of a shekel;" which was perhaps part of the original verse of 1 Sam 13:21. 4) The beqac:14 weight has on its base hieratic numerals which probably read "10 + 5 = 15." In no system does a beqacequal 15 gerah. One should not read this exceptional inscription at facevalue, but rather as denoting the numeral "12" (cf. the 12 yweight). If so, then the beqacequals 12 gerah,and therefore the y equals 24 gerah. 5) Ostracon No. 6 from Kadesh-Barnea furnishes further evidence in favor of 24 gerah in a y. 6) The 24 gerah = y thesis is analogous to the Mesopotamian weight system, whereas I know of no system of 20 sub-units in geographical or chronological proximity. Similarities between the Judean and the Mesopotamian weights can be seen also in the names of the units and their relative positions in the system.
Bibliography
YigalRonenearnedhis Ph.D.in NuclearSciencefromCornell University,Ithaca, NY.Dr.Ronenis the Abrahamand BessieZacks ChairProfessorin Engineeringat Ben-GurionUniversity,BeerSheva,Israel.ProfessorRonenis a Fellowof the AmericanNuclear Society.ProfessorRonen'sresearchinterestsare NuclearModels, ReactorPhysics,UncertaintyAnalysis,and BiblicalArchaeology.He has publishedsix books and some 140paperson these subjects.
Aharoni, Y 1966 The Use of Hieratic Numerals in the Hebrew Ostraca and the Shekel Weights. Bulletinof theAmericanSchoolsof OrientalResearch 184:13-19. Kisch, B. 1965 Scales and Weights:A Historical Outline. New Haven: Yale Press. Kletter, R. 1991 The Inscribed Weights of the Kingdom of Judah. TelAviv 18:12163.
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to
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Lamaire, A. 1976 Poids inscrits inedits Palestine. Semitica26:33-44. Maisler (Mazar), B. 1951 Two Hebrew Ostraca from Tell Qasile. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 10:265-87. Scott, R. B. Y. 1965 The Scale Weights from Ophel 1963-1964. Palestine Exploration Quarterly94:128-39. Stern, E 1962 S.v. Weights and Measures. EntsiqlopediaMiqra0Ft-Encyclopedia Biblica,edited by E. Stern. Jerusalem. (Hebrew.) Yadin, Y. 1961 Ancient Weights and the Date of the Samaria Ostraca. Pp. 9-25
To place your subscription to BiblicalArchaeologist, simply call Scholars Press, at 404/727.2345 with VISAor MasterCard information handy! Or,send check or money order drawn on a U.S. bank to: P.O.Box 15399, Atlanta, GA 303330399. Individual orders must be prepaid. Don't wait! Have BiblicalArchaeologist delivered directly to yourself now! $40 Non-USindividuals $35 USindividuals $50 Non-USinstitutions $45 USinstitutions -n -7 777=7BiblicalArchaeologist59:2 (1996)
125
Arti-Facts Major
Award
for
Egyptian
House(the informal name of the ChIicago Epigraphic Survey of the Oriental Instituteof the Univ'ersityof Chicago)has received a fiv\e-yeargrant for the restorationand docof tie Templeof Amun at Medinet umnentation Habu (west bank of Thebes, Egypt). The $455,000 grant was awarded as part of the Egyptian Antiquities Projectof the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE). The Temple of Amun, as it stands today, was built by the female pharaoh Hatshepand expanded by her shut (ca. 1500 iwi,) successors down into the Roman era. The ChicaNoHouse project consists of conservation,documentation,and restorationacfivities. The grant provides for the partial restoration of the temple, whose conditionhas badly deteriorated over the last century from the As the founsettlingof the stone foundationrs. dation blocks have subsided, the upper courses of the walls have become unstable and some of the decorated sandstone blocks
*126;
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Conservation
Temple
have cracked. The Chicago team, aided by structuralrestorationand conservation consultants, will restore the walls either by jacking up the Ptolemaic-era walls or by completely dismantling them, then reconstructing the walls on modern concrete footings. At this phase of the project, team members will be particularly interested in the recovery of foundation blocks which were reused in antiquity. Many of these stones are covered with scenes of the Kushite kings of Sudan who conquered Egypt in Once recovered, the blocks about 750 BCm:. have the potential to tell much about the period of Kushite domination in Egypt. The work funded by this grant also will allow conservators to clean the temple walls of the dust, soot, grime, and bird droppings that obscure many of the scenes. The Chiicago Houseteam will make facsimilecopies of the decorated surfaces of this part of the temple, employing its hallmark system of team
'
Rearportions of the Templeof Amun at Medinet Habuin Luxor,Egypt,site of conservationefforts by the Epigraphic Surveyof the Universityof Chicago's OrientalInstitute. work between Egyptologists,photographers, and specially trainedartists.Withadditional research, this process will lead to the publication of a series of definitive volumes on the temple's history, architecture, and religious significance. This projecthas been approved for implementation by the Supreme Council of Antiquitiesof Egypt and continues a Chicago House tradition of documentation and conservation in the vicinity of Luxor dating back to 1924.
Chicago House announcement by Peter Dorman (adapted)
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The ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Akhenaten, caused himself to be portrayed in art in an entirely new way: a short torso, long head, neck,arms,hands and feet,pronounced collarbones, pot belly, heavy thighs, and poor muscle tone. This odd representation led researchersto look for an underlying medical condition. In particular, Dr. G. E. Smith attributed these deformities to an endocrine disorder called Froehlich's Syndrome. In males, the resulting hormonal imbalance hinders sexual maturation and leads to obesity and an androgynous form. Thus the perception of a king impaired by seizures, emotional instability, profound mental retardation,and impotency was born. Some facts do not fit the diagnosis, however. Akhenaten does not appear to have been impotent as he claims to have fathered six daughters with his wife Nefertiti. Furthermore,Froelich'sSyndromeis not inherited, being caused by traumaor congenitaldefect. Why then, if Akhenaten were the only one afflicted,was the entireroyal family pictured with the same deformities? Historians have interpreted this mimicry of deformity as homage to the king. However, while the human form seemingly took on surreal proportions in Amarna art, animals and background scenes were portrayed with amazing realism. It is precisely this attention to detail, showing the same deformities in the family,that suggests an inherited disorder. The inherited disorder that best fits the artistic representations is Marfan's Syndrome. Akhenaten exhibits an almost complete expression of this genetic mutation (see chart).Causedby a single autosomal dominant gene, it "overwrites"other genetic factors causing profound changes throughout the body. Marriage between family members increases the transmission of this dominant gene, which might explain the apparent deformities, frailties,and early deaths in the royal house of the late Eighteenth Dynasty (modern life expectancy without medical intervention is thirty-two years). Weak eye sight and sensitivity to cold, common among Marfan's sufferers, might also explain Akhenaten's attraction to the sun as the god Aten. Unlike most genetic anomalies,
Marfan'sSyndrome:Symptomatology (Thirty-fourpercent are spontaneous mutations-no positive family history-incidence 1:2,000) * Long face, elongated skull,jutting chin, eyes slit-like, protruding ears * Tallstature, elongated extremities, spideryfingers and toes, arm span exceeds height * Spinal anomalies: kyphosis(exaggerated angulation of the neck and spine), scoliosis * Shortened rib cage, "FunnelChest":depressed sternum causes an abnormally narrow chest or "Pigeon Chest":breastbone protrudes, prominent shoulder blades and collarbones * Wide pelvic girdle in both sexes * Joint hypermobility:flex beyond normal range, knees, and elbows curve backwards * Hypotonia (poor muscle tone), connective tissues including blood vessel walls are weak and inelastic, increased riskof pneumothorax and collapsed lungs * Cardio-vascularweakness and dissecting aortic aneurysmare the usual cause of death: prolapsed mitralvalve and backwash of blood into the aorta causes stress on the arterialwalls that often leads to rupture * Visualimpairment, degenerating with age, dislocated lens, myopia, and keratoconus (cone-shaped cornea), high incidence of detached retinas. Courtesy of the Canadian Marfan Association, Mississauga, Ontario.
Sketchshowing skeletal abnormalityof the skullcaused by MarfanSyndrome.From P Rubin, Dynamic Classification of Bone Dysplasias. Year Book Medical Publishers Inc., St. Louis, 1964. Courtesy of Mosby-Year Book Inc.
Frescoof two of Akhenaten'sdaughters demonstratingthe extension of Akhenaten's features to depictions of his family.Courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
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Marfan's does not adversely affect intelligence. On the contrary, people with this anomaly are often bright and charismatic. Abraham Lincoln, Rachmaninoff, Niccolo Paganini,and MaryQueen of Scotsareamong those thought to have had Marfan's Syndrome. The possibility of adding Akhenaten to this list enhances both the history of this disorderand the understandingof Egyptian history.
ExplainingAkhenaten's Physique The person of Akhenaten, the "heretic" Pharaoh of Egypt, never ceases to excite interest in a variety of realms of investigation, not least that of his physicalappearance. Attempts to elicit the nature of the maladyfrom which he suffered have ranged all the way from sexual mutilation to Froelich'sSyndrome;but the inabilityof such explanations to convince completely has produced a jaundiced attitude in some scholars.A few would even deny that we are justified in interpreting Akhenaten's peculiarform as indicative of a congenital ailment. The ancient artist may have intentionally distorted certain aspects of the king's figure in order symbolicallyto convey certain aspects of the ideology of kingship. Yet theses royal aspects are elsewhere in Egyptianiconography treated in a markedlydifferent way, and in any case, the texts of the Amarna Period lend no support at all to such ingenious
Alwyn Burridge Brantford,Ontario Abraham Lincoln,who suffered from Marfan's,expressed many of the typical features of Marfan'ssuch as extreme height, elongated skull, and long extremities.
theorizing. At this juncture, when we must admit that all previous avenues of investigation have proven to be dead-ends, there comes a new and startling theory on the problem of Akhenaten's physicalappearance. Born of the chance meeting of science and scholarship,the theory is best outlined by its author, Ms. Alwyn Burridge.I leave it to the reader to assess whether all the demands of the evidence have been met; but Ms. Burridgehas gone far towards convincing the present writer.
Donald B. Redford Universityof Toronto
The Digmaster Database: http://www.cobb.msstate.edu/figurines/ The astronomical growth of the World Wide Web (WWW)-that segment of the Internet that supports the use of hypertext to present text, pictures, motion pictures, and sound to users-is surely well known to readersof this magazine. Clearly the technology of the WWW offers potentially great benefits to those interested in disseminating or obtaining information about archaeology. Graphic material, including such materials as photographs, drawings, and charts, which are expensive to produce in print media, can be easily and economically presented in electronic form. Indeed, I am convinced that hypertext, using CD ROM as well as Internet technology, will become increasingly widespread as the preferred medium for the publication of archaeological data. One of the earliestprojectsto offerextensive archaeological data in this format is the Lahav Project's"Digmaster Database."The Lahav Project is affiliated with the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University. Joe D. Seger and Paul F.
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Jacobs are co-directors of the excavations at Tell Halif in southern Israel. In its present form this database concentrateson images of and informationabout some 546 figurinesfrom the "PersianPeriod" (500-300 BCE)that were discovered in Field IV at the eastern edge of Tell Halif during the excavationsin 1992and 1993.The authors, however, intend to continue expanding this database, providing materials from additional seasons and earlier and later strata. When one makes the connection to the Digmaster Database, one is greeted by a well-designed "home page" with attractive graphics and color combinations. Clear instructions inform the user that the dataand preliminary base "containsrepresentations as well as stratigraphic setdescriptions, at Tell Halif, of excavated tings, figurines Israel." The reader also learns that "most date to the 5th-4th c. BCE;some to the 8th c. BCE."Beneath these introductory paragraphs is a large matrix or table which is called, appropriately enough, the "Thumbnail Gallery." The user is invited to "view
the figurines by selecting a group of artifact numbers" from the table. The table allows one to choose a series of 100 artifact numbers (the list reads 1800, 1900, 2000...2700) or to choose a series of 10 such numbers (1900s, 1910s, 1920s...1990s).Eitherselection takes the user to a new page where either 100 or 10 grayscale "thumbnail" pictures (approximately 1.5 x 2 inches in size) give the readera firstview of the figurines.Choosing one of these pictures brings up a new page containing the complete record for the chosen artifact.At this point, the user may opt to view a larger, full-color photograph of the figurine. In a number of cases pictures of the artifact from different angles or perspectives may also be chosen. Basic information about the artifact (description, condition, technique, dimensions, and ware) is also on this page. The database records are not limited to the black & white and color photographs of the figurines.Linksfromeach page devoted to the record of an individual artifact take the user to detailed information about the
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area and locus in which the artifactwas discovered. These links allow users to view an overall site plan and thus to place the locus and area into the larger context of the excavations at TellHalif. Importantstratigraphic information is also readily available,including informationabout the soils and ceramics, forming the broader context for the artifacts recorded in the database.A good deal of the informationthat professional archaeologists will value is easily accessible. Selecting the World Wide Web link to the DigmasterDatabase'sThumbnailGallery, then, launches the user on a tour of a virtual museum exhibit which displays a rich and varied array of figurines from the Persian period. More information than one would find readily at hand when walking through a conventional museum is quickly and easily available. What is lacking is a guide. The user unfamiliar with the structure of the Lahav databasecan do little more than select numbers at random and view the associated artifacts without reference (at this stage) to any historical of stratigraphic context. Fortunately,the designers of this virtual museum have provided another point of entry. Below the table of numbers (which represent the catalogue numbers of the figurines included in the exhibit) one finds five text links that connect the user to documents that provide convenient and useful information. 1. There is a brief introduction to Tell Halif which informs the user about the loca-
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Arranged stratigraphically (from Stratum I-the Arab period to Stratum VI-the IronIIperiod),this document contains the sort of informationthatone would expect to find in a preliminaryreport, completewith linksthatallow the user to view pictures of the figurines associated with the stratum about which she/he is reading. 3. Thereis a searchengine that enables the user to type in a keyword, a figurine catalogue number, or a locus number. The search engine will sort through the database and return the information described by the entry.A search using the keyword "female"returnedthumbnail images of some 30 figurines, each of which, of course, was linked to full-color photographs and stratigraphicinformation about that artifact.Similarly,a search on the keyword "arm"produced some 49 thumbnail images of figurines where the arm was the surviving or prominent feature of the artifact.Only those familiarwith the site will find searches using locus numbers useful. A search using a locus number, however, returns a clear locus description with valuable stratigraphic information. In the case of those loci where figurineswere found, links to photographs of those figurines are provided. 4. Thereis a document that provides current statistics about the exhibit. Selecting this link, the user learns that (as of February 25,1996)the exhibitincludes546 figurines, 546 thumbnail pictures of these figurines, 1539 full-color photographs of the figurines, 264 drawings, and 58 sections or profile drawings. 5. Finally,thereis a "feedback"link where one learns a little more about Professor Joe Seger and is offered the opportunity to send suggestions or comments by electronic mail to those who have mounted and who maintain the exhibit. Adjacentto these five text links one finds
Ieblicab
a very schematictopographicalmap of Probe C in Field IV of the Lahav excavations (the site where most of the figurineswere found). A grid locating each of the areas is superimposed on the topographicalmap. Selecting any of the areas takes the user to a document which provides a wealth of information about the excavation of that area. Following a summary statement about excavation of the area, including a stratigraphic interpretation of the materials recovered, there are extensive locus lists with specific information about the excavation of each locus, a list of the baskets, information about the artifacts recovered, and detailed information about the date of the ceramics associated with each basket. Here the detail that professional archaeologists will desire is clearly presented. Although the Digmaster Database has its shortcomings (the lack of a guide to the table of registry numbers and the limitation of the database to information about those loci where Persian period figurines were found), it is one of the most sophisticated and useful of the many World Wide Web pages devoted to archaeologythat arerapidly appearing.Providing interestedreaderswith more rapid and detailed information than would be possible in conventional print media, the publishers of the DigmasterDatabase provide us with an excellent example of the way in which the majority of archaeological publications will take place in the very near future (whether documents such as these continue to appear on World Wide Web pages or on compact disks, both of which formats will surely be used extensively). The highly innovative and creativework of Joe D. Seger, Paul F.Jacobs, Christopher Holland, and others makes the Digmaster Database a site worthy of the attention of readers of the BiblicalArchaeologist.Indeed, since the site will surely continue to develop further in the weeks and months ahead, it is worth a "bookmark"so that one can return periodically, anticipating new information on subsequent visits. Indeed, the Digmaster Database is one of those sites that makes me remark, if somewhat hyperbolically, I have seen the future, and the future is here.
Thomas R.
Longstaff
W. ColbyCollege
t5
91f~
JamesC.Moyer:ExemplaryTenureas BookReview EditorCompleted James C. Moyer's name first appeared next to the office of Book Review Editor in the September 1988 issue of BiblicalArchaeologist. For eight years Jim has served reliably and with distinction in this capacity.He has maintained a swift current of book reviews
to the Editor's desk, even if, as he often pointed out, reviews occasionallylanguished there a bit longer than desirable. Jim has brought a broad range of books to the attention of BA's readers and distributed the responsibilities for judicious and helpful reviews widely among ASOR's members. Dr. Moyer, Professor at Southwest Missouri State University, has also contributed an arrayof review articles,chroniclingthe "Use
and Abuse of Archaeology" in a variety of book genres. Though Jim's term expired in December,he has kept aftertardy reviewers and leaves a helpful cache of manuscripts to his successor. ASOR, BA'scurrent and former editorial complement, and its readers owe Jim Moyer a debt of gratitude for his exemplary, selfless service and productive tenure as Book Review Editor.
Urbanism in the Ancient Near East:ConferenceReport TheOriginsandDevelopmentof Urbanism in the Ancient Near East was the topic of a lively conference with seventeen participants from Greece, Israel,the United States, and Canada who braved mid-winter cold to enjoy the warmth of collegial dialogue and debate in Alberta, Canada, on January 26 and 27, 1996. The Department of Geography of the University of Lethbridge hosted the meeting with support from the S. H. and Helen R. Scheuer Family Foundation, the American Schools of Oriental Research in Canada, the Archaeology Society of Alberta, and the Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearchCouncilof Canada. A diverse group of scholars with a wide range of perspectives,methods, and site data explored a wide variety of issues relating to the origins and development of Near Eastern and Mediterranean urbanism. They included Ronald F. G. Sweet, "Writingas a Factor in the Rise of Urbanism";Edward B. Banning, "Spatial and Structural Evidence for Control and Hierarchy,and Early Urban Development"; Michel Fortin,"Agricultural Surpluses, Trade and the Development of Urbanism in Northern Mesopotamia (30002500 BCE)"; Carolyn D. Routledge, "Temple Centre in as Egyptian Urbanism"; Donald B. Redford, "The Ancient Egyptian 'City:' Figment or Reality?";Arlene Rosen, "Agricultural Intensification and the Rise of
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Urbanism"; Steven A. Rosen, "The Rise of SecondaryUrbanism and Craft Specialization";Neil A. Mirau, "The Origins of IronWorking and Its Effect on the of Development Ancient Near Eastern States";D. Bruce MacKay,"Urbanism and Ethnic Differentiation in 7th Century TelMiqne-Ekron";Ehud Ben Zvi, "Urban BCE Society and the Development of Old Testament/Hebrew BiblicalLiterature";Walter E.Aufecht, "TheCity and Northwest Semitic Documents of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages"; P. M. Michele Daviau, "Tell Jawa: A Case Study of Ammonite Urbanism During Iron Age II"; Larry G. Herr, "Late Bronze/Early Iron I Urbanization at Tell elCUmeiri, Jordan"; Bruce E. Routledge, "Learning to Love the King:Urbanism and the State in Iron Age Jordan"; Metaxia Tsipopoulou, "Palace-Centred Politics in Eastern Crete: Neopalatial Petras and its Neighbours"; and David Rupp, "'Metro' Nea Paphos: Suburban Sprawl in Southwestern Cyprus in the LaterHellenistic and Early Roman Periods." William G. Dever delivered the plenary
address at the close of the conference on the topic "Archaeology,Urbanism and the Rise of the Israelite State." In his usual spirited style, Dever argued for the necessity and importance of archaeological research in solving historical problems. The congeniality and community interest generated in Lethbridgeby the gathering created a stimulating and fruitful exchange at many levels. The organizers, supporters, and participants are to be commended for encouragingdiscussion and advancingscholarship on an importantproblem. Publication of the conference proceedings is underway, and we look forward to the volume with anticipation.
D. Bruce MacKay Universityof Lethbridge
International
Symposium
Papers are invited for the 14th annual Valcamonica Symposium on the theme Prehistoric and TribalArt:Images, Symbols and Society. The symposium runs from October 3-8, 1996, at the Centro Camuno Di Studi Preistorici (CCSP), Valcamonica, Italy, and
Historical
Atlas
of
the
By G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville, 144 pp. New Yorkand London: Simon & Schuster, 1993; $65.00. This volume represents one of the latest productions of the Academic Reference Division of Simon & Schuster. It is the creation of G. S. P.Freeman-Grenville,Professor Emeritus of the University of London, a highly respected scholar of African and Islamic history, and the author of TheAtlas ofAfricanHistory(revised in 1991, also publishedby Simon & Schuster)which, in several significant ways, is a sequel to the present work. Both volumes contain the same number and size of pages, with two-color maps draftedby Carta,normallywith a north compass, and a formatin which nearly every map is accompanied by a text that appears on the facing page. Several of the maps in the two atlases are very similar or identical in content, as might be expected, though this will not detractfrom the distinctiveniche each volume is destined to carve out for itself. TheHistoricalAtlas of the Middle East is for the general reader and for general use. Its 113 maps, with commentary, endeavor to tell a story of roughly four millennia,from MB II to the present. It is not possible for the volume to delve into the same detail, therefore, as other atlases of the Middle East (e.g., Moshe Brawer,Atlas of theMiddleEast,1988) or atlases of the Bible (viz. there are only fourteen maps which pertain in any way to the Middle East during the biblical periods [i.e. through the end of the Early Roman Period]). Format likewise dictates that Freeman-Grenville's depictions of later periods (e.g., the Crusades, the several so-called
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is sponsored by CCSP,CAR (International Committee on Rock Art, ICOMOS) and IDAPEE(Institutdes Arts Pr6historiqueset Ethnographiques). Of particular interest to BA readers will be the round table discussion on recent work at Har Karkom in
Middle
East
Islamic eras) are far less detailed than those of, let us say,JonathanRiley-Smith(TheAtlas of theCrusades,1990) or William C. Brice (An HistoricalAtlas of Islam, 1981). The general nature of certain discussions will certainly strike most readers of this journal: his cursory description of the evolution of overseas shipping in the Middle East (p. 9), his somewhat simplistic commentary on the origin of the Habiru and the Hurrians (pp. 1011),or the development of alphabeticwriting (pp. 22-23; Ugarit/Ugaritic, for example, is neither described nor depicted). His discussion of the length of time the Hyksos ruled Egypt (p. 10) is inaccurate. The volume suffers from a number of editorial glitches. The legends on two maps (p. 21, no. 14; p. 41, no. 35) are incomplete and therefore confusing. On pages 50-52, therearetwo separatediscussions numbered 44. Moreover, the commentary on page 52 needs to be inverted in its layout in order to be aligned with the corresponding maps on the facing page. The discussions on this page should also be renumbered so as to be in conformity with the correct enumeration found in the Table of Contents. Not infrequently, a site mentioned significantly in a commentary is not depicted on the corresponding map (e.g.,pp. 24-25,no. 19-Mosul; pp. 34-35, no. 29-Fez, Kairouan and Sijilmasa; pp. 46-47--Clermont) or it is spelled with a differentspelling on the corresponding map (e.g., pp. 34-35, no. 29-Tahert/Tiaret, pp. 40-41, no. 36-Kairouan/Qayrawan). In addition, several typos were found by this reviewer: (1) Tableof Contents (map 41 has been misnumbered), (2) p. 50 (no. 43, left column, line 5), (3) p. 70 (left column, line 30), (4) p. 82 (no. 66, right column, line 1),
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the southern Negev. For more information please contact:Prof.EmmanuelAnati, Director,CCSP,25044Capo di Ponte,Valcamonica, Italia, FAX:0364/42572.
EmmanualAnati CentroCamunoDi Studi Preistorici
(5) p. 128 (no. 106,left column,line 7).Beyond this, I found the page layout of east-oriented maps to be cumbersome and confusing (e.g., nos. 8-9, 53-54,70-71,75-76,81-82,98-99, 102103,104-105). In all of these instances, maps are misaligned with their corresponding commentary on the facing page. It would have been less confusing if the editors had aligned these texts and maps at the same place on the facing page or had arranged a unit of both text and map on a single page. Despite these observations, however, the HistoricalAtlasof theMiddleEastwill beneficially enable ANE and biblical scholars and students to break out of their somewhat parochial purview. One is able to comprehend and visualize certain kinds of events or ideologies in their wider historical context, especially in the post-biblical periods. Thus, for example, Freeman-Grenville discusses and depicts the considerable achievementsof Saladinor Suleimanbeyond what they accomplished in Palestine, or the widespread geographical implications of the history of Islamic sectarianism, or the background and early history of the Mamluks of Egypt and the Ottoman Turks, or even more recent issues, transpiring especially in the 20th century, leading to the decolonization of the Middle East and the creationof Jewish Zionism and Arab Nationalism. The select bibliography at the end of the volume will also helpfully assist biblicalscholarsinto a wider geographichorizon. The commentaryof this volume is dearly written and its maps are easily digestible. Most readers of BA will be amply rewarded by utilizing this reference tool in the ways for which it was designed.
BarryJ.Beitzel TrinityEvangelicalDivinity School
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DistinguishedNew Book Review Editor:ProfessorMichelFortin ProfessorMichel
Muste del'Animiquefrangaise Canadal.), [Que6ec,
at the Department of History, Universit6
FortinhasbegunLaval in Quebec where he has served a three-year termas BABook Review Editor. Dr.Fortinis currently Professor of Archaeology
and he has authorednumerous chaptersand articles on Cypriot and Syrian archaeology. Professor Fortin has excavated throughout the Mediterraneanand Middle East and directs the archaeological projectin Syria at Tell CAtijand Tell Gudeda.
since 1981. He received his Ph.D. in Archaeology from the University of London. His most recentbook appeared last year in Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology (Corpus of CyprioteAntiquities15:Lescollectionsd'antiquitis chypriotesde l'UniversitdLavalet du
since there are articles on Herodotus and Thucydides. The Byzantine Nachlebenof biblical writers is also covered: Isaiah,Paul, and Peter, for example. The ODB is authoritative. The editorial board includes some of the world's leading Byzantinists, while the 127 writers come from seventeen difference countries. Each article includes a selective internationalbibliography.Placenames (toponyms)are given in the form commonly used in the Byzantine world (i.e., not the modem names or spellings). Twenty-two genealogical tables clarify the succession of Byzantine emperors and other family relationships, while twenty-four maps and city plans orient the reader to significant geographic data. There are city plans only of Athens, Constantinople, and Thessalonike. One wishes for plans of Antioch, Ephesus, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Mistra, to name only a few. There are some 125 illustrations, with a list of "PhotoAcknowledgments" on p. xvii. Archaeologists will look in vain for plans of significant sites or structures (monasteries, basilicas, etc.)-and the bibliographies do not give significant references to archaeological publications. For this, one must still go to ThePrincetonEncyclopediaof Classical Sites,ed. RichardStillwell (Princeton:Princeton University Press, 1976), even though its extensive bibliographies are now twenty years old. An atlas of Byzantine culture, including both maps and illustrationswould make a marvelous supplement to this work. There is a long list of bibliographic abbreviations (pp. xxi-xlv in vol. I), but no articles to orient a student to the majorbibliographic resources, journals, or collections useful for Byzantine studies. Users should begin by reading the out-
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium Preparedat DumbartonOaks,Alexander P.Kazhdan,ed. 3 vols.New York,Oxford: OxfordUniversityPress, 1991;$ 295.00. Let me say it at once. The Oxford DictionaryofByzantium(ODB)is an indispensable reference work that belongs on the shelves of anyone interested in the political, social, and economic history, the architecture,art, literature,and philosophy or theology of the Byzantine world. There is simply no other work like it to which one can turn for authoritative information about all aspects of the Byzantine world from the fourth to the fifteenth century.It covers not only-all regions once a part of the Byzantine empire (e.g., North Africa and Arabia)and the chief cities in those regions, but also sites and people outside the empire that had significant contacts with Byzantium and its culture (e.g., articles on papacy, Arab writers, Isidore of Seville). Thus the crusades, aspects of Islam (its influence on Byzantine art) and the Qur'an, and WesternChristianity'srelations to the Byzantine world (Pisa, Venice) all receive discussion. After regularly consulting this dictionary for over three years, I have rarely found it lacking. It is selectively comprehensive, if that oxymoron is allowable. Thereare some 5200 articles, interlocked by extensive cross-references.The OBD has the anticipatedentries on political matters:all Byzantine emperors (Constantine I to Constantine XI Palaiologos), selected administrative and financial details,toponymicdata (citiesand provinces), military matters and generals. Theologians will find the OBD a majorresourcefor infor-
mation about all aspects of the Byzantine church:non-Chalcedonianchurchesand theologians (Philoxenos of Mabbug, Syrian church), theology and theologians, heresies and heresiarchs,dogma and liturgy,synods and councils, hagiography of saints, patriarchs and other significantpersonae, church buildings and monasteries,pilgrimages and pilgrim texts, classical religion and its survivals (Pan, paganism), and even the other religions of the Byzantine world (Judaism, Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, and Islam). Thereare extensive articleson social history: familial customs (marriage, divorce, abortion, illegitimate children), education, entertainment (sports, games, theater, hippodrome), medicine (physician's box), patronage, prostitution, and realia (coins, food and diet, hydrology and baths, papyrology, and pottery types). Archaeologists will use these sections to provide a context for interpreting some of the material remains they discover. But ODB also includes much more, all the area of humanistic interest. Articles on art (iconography, diptychs, mosaics, frescoes, manuscriptillumination,portraits)and architecture (palace, basilica, roof tiles, key structures) abound. There are articles on the classical literature that influenced Byzantine culture: Panegyrici Latini, Pausanias, Periplous (sailing directions), Philo of Alexandria, Philogelos (joke book), Pindar, Plato, Plotinus, Plutarch, Poryphyry, Priscian, Progymnasmata, Ptolemy, and Pyrrhon of Elis, to name only those entered under the letter "P."I could not help but wonder whether Polybius had no influence,
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standing article "Byzantium, History of" (1.345-62), co-authored by six scholars. Let me repeat what I said at the beginning. The ODB is an indispensable tool for all-including archaeologists-working on any aspect of Byzantine thought, life, and culture. It
PronouncingBible Names By W.MurraySeverance,167pp. Nashville:Broadman&Holman,1994; $14.99. This work is an expanded version of a series of earlier works by the same title. The originalwork (1979)was designed to be used with a cassette tape, while later incarnations (1983;1985)were exclusively printed efforts. The present work is expanded in scope from earlier printed editions. Severance does not make exaggerated claims about his product, freely acknowledging that his effort is not infallible, attributableto difficultiesamong Semiticists, modern English dialectical differentiation, and personal or organizational preferences. He wishes to establisha guide which he feels is "the most logical and defensible choices for pronunciation available today."Though this statement is naturally debatable in a number of cases (e.g., Baalathbeer as BAY uh lath-BEE uhr), his effort is consistent, rational, and easy to follow. On the whole, he is successful in his attempt. The written works are a compilation of the spellings of personal, ethnic, and geographicalnames as transliteratedin a number of English Bibles (namely, KJV,NAS, NIV, RSV,and TEV). The present volume is an
Creator Creation
and
By RonaldA. Simkins,xii+306pp. Peabody,MA: HendricksonPublishers, 1994;$14.95(paper). In most lives, thereareexperienceswhich ''~~`-: -'--
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is comprehensive, authoritative,and clearly written. One needs to "live with" a major referencework for some time before one can evaluate it. I have now used the ODB for some years, and rarely have I been disappointed in its coverage. This dictionary does
expansion edition that includes a number of geographicaland personal names (among other nouns) from the ancientNear East and classical sources which the author feels are especially relevant to basic biblical literacy. The geographical names selected are both quite helpful and relatively complete. The authorchose not only well-known population centers,but also included a number of important sites which the layperson would rarely encounter. For example, the enormously significant prehistoric site of Tepe Gawra is listed. Most of the significant sites throughout the Levant are mentioned in Syria-Palestine and (especially the thoroughness of Mesopotamia), though this project wanes in Anatolia and Egypt. The author also includes most sites which contained substantial epigraphic material (e.g., Karatepe). The personal names selected by the author are a bit more eclectic. For example, one assumes the inclusionof Hammurapi in this work is related primarily to the legal code which bears his name. However, LipitIshtar and Ur Nammu, two historical personages and lawgivers, do not rate mention. Inconsistency is also evident in divine names. Among examples, the Canaanite deity Mot is not found; Anu, Ea/Enki, and Shamash/Utu do not appear among the
sensitize the individual ever afterward to a particularidea, issue, or perspective. ReadandCreation ing RonaldSimkins'book Creator will definitely have that effect on one's realization of the amount of material related to the natural world when studying the Hebrew Scriptures. Simkins' stated purpose in writing Creatorand Creationis to examine the role of the -~
-
honor to its editors and is worthy to stand in the long list of basic dictionariespublished by Oxford University Press.
Edgar Krentz TheLutheranSchoolof Theologyat Chicago
Mesopotamian gods; nor do the Egyptian gods Horus, Anubis, Aton, or Ptah. Personal names from literaryworks mirrorthis inconsistency, as Enkidu makes the list, but Ut-Napishtum does not. The overall weakness of Egyptian data is best exemplified by the absence of Wen-Amon. The work includes a widely eclecticselection of technical terms which the layperson might encounter. Terms such as epigraphy, dittography, and hapax appear. This group is the author's least complete undertaking and is fraught with questionable omissions (e.g., haplography, Quelle). This section must be expanded in future editions. In gneral terms, however, the volume work succeeds. It is extremely readable and accessible.The pronunciationscheme is simple. The size of print and the inclusion of pronounciation scheme on each page are prime technical improvements over earlier editions. The inclusion of nouns beyond biblicalappearancegives this work an added dimension compared to self-pronouncing Bibles and most Bible dictionaries. Though it is no more authoritativethan other guides, it is adequate for its task. It is a tool which laypersons can readily use.
Mark Anthony Phelps OzarksTechnical/Community College
natural world in the religion and culture of ancient Israel, particularlyinvestigating the impact of the Israeliteson theirenvironment, the influence of the environment on the development of Israelite culture and religion, and Israeliteattitudes toward what we call Nature (p. 3). Simkins attacksthese goals with vigor, compiling a comprehensive and readable volume. '
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This book contains little (if any) hard archaeological data on Israelites and their natural surroundings. For specifics on that, the readerwould be farbetter served to read David Hopkins' The Highlands of Canaan (Decatur, GA: The Almond Press, 1985), which Simkins cites often in his own work. Rather,Simkinsconstructsa number of models for evaluating any particular culture's interaction with its environment (usually illustratedby helpful diagrams),then applies those measures to ancient Israel. He is very careful to explain what he is doing every step of the way, so that even if the reader disagrees with Simkins' interpretations or methodology, she or he still understands Simkins' conclusions and how he arrived at them. In his early chapters,Simkins establishes that humans can relate to the environment in harmony, mastery, or subjugation contexts-a standard for evaluation which he uses throughout the book. He urges the reader not to projectmodem concepts backwards, but to try to let the texts speak for themselves. He pulls in creation accounts from a variety of other ancient Near Eastern cultures in order to create a broader context within which to examine the Genesis records.Thoughhe has produceda helpful compilation of texts, Simkins' enthusiasm for parallels leads to too many conclusions which only allow for the biblical text to be seen in the mold of other writings. For example, Simkins writes that it is only the process of abstraction which has over the years separated Yahweh's production by divine fiat from the underlying notion that intercourse was involved in the production of the earth and all that is in it (p. 80). Though Simkins warns often against anachronism,ethnocentrism, and any number of other dangers, it seems that he has a modern penchant for denying any
possibility for uniqueness in the biblical text. Indeed, in ChapterThree,Simkins takes to task those who would emphasize the differencesbetween the Hebrew Bibleand other ancient Near Eastern texts. He alleges ulterior motives to those who perceive differences, but sometimes his examples of continuities seem lifted from their contexts in orderto support his presuppositions. Many of his conclusions thus derived provide no room for alternativeinterpretations. In Simkins' depiction of virtually all Yahweh's battles as "cosmogonic struggles," there are no comparison/contrast evaluations in regard to other ancient texts; rather there are absolute statements such as (in reference to the Re(e)d Sea episode of the Exodus), "these battles are modelled after God's victory over chaos in the primordial battle of creation" (p. 112). Period. These critiquesaside, Simkinseffectively establishesa model forunderstandingIsraelite perspectives on the natural world in which humans and the naturalworld areboth seen to be of the same order,though distinct from one another,and certainly,both distinct from Yahweh.At several points, Simkins despairs over those who interpret the background of Israelonly in historicalterms, seeing the natural world merely as a backdrop. He cites theophanies as prime examples of Israel relatingto God within the naturalrealm and creates helpful diagrams indicating ancient Israel's concepts of sacred space. Simkins demonstrates how such concepts as "Zion" and "our land" had actual geographical antecedents in the land of Israel. Threats to Israel's security were often portrayed in environmental terms, Simkins notes in examiningthe words of the prophets, though I do not feel that projecting eschatological content into environmental threats would have been necessary to terrify these frontierspeople who virtually always lived
on the very edge of existence. Simkins does an admirable job of compiling a huge number of texts which demonstrate a variety of perceptions about the environment and its relationship to the Israelites at various points of their history, while emphasizing thoughout the distinctions always maintainedbetween creator and creation. He establishes well that the environment is not just an occasionally changing backdrop to the "real story," but that it is itself a significant presence on the stage. Simkins is accurate in his concluding chapter when he states that, "these models [introduced throughout the book] take seriously the Bible's numerous references to the natural world and enable the interpreter to place these references within a meaningful framework" (p. 255). Both the beginning and the end of the book address the present state of the environment and reflect on various theological perspectives dealing with the earth itself attributed to Scripture. Simkins rebuts the concept that it is Judeo-Christian theology which has createdthe currentcrisisand offers some suggestions for dealing with the earth based on a broader perception of the biblical perspective regarding nature. But this book is much more than a pop volume designed to offer some simple answers for those Jews and Christians who feel a vague sense of guilt aboutthe environment.Simkins has crafted a map and a compass that will enable the reader to navigate more perceptively and accurately what the Bible has to say about the natural world. Those who read Creatorand Creationwill never again read Scripturewith a lack of attention to its relationships to the natural realm.
Corrigendaand Obscurus
inadvertent font loss. With the correct fonts in place, Rendsburg notes Gordon's observationthat in the Eteocretanphrase KA El Y EL, "the word for 'man' is written EE,as opposed to the expected IE (compare IP 'city')." The phrase thus offers a parallel to the Eshbaal-Ishbosheth correspondence. We apologizeto our readersand to author
Professor Tsumurafor the unfortunate way that the background of his article obscured the text of the article itself. Design should enhance the reading experience, not turn it into a optic enduranceexamination.Please also acceptour pledge not to use backgrounds in this fashion again.
BiblicalArchaeologist59:1(1996) In "Someone Will Succeed in Deciphering Minoan"(p. 42, para.5, line 3), Professor's Rendsburg'sthird example of an application of Minoan and Eteocretanto biblical studies was rendered less than comprehensible by *'. *
David Embree SouthwestMissouri State University
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The World Wide Web is truly amazing. Since creating my own home-page and putting some finishing touches on it, I now feel a lot more knowledgeable and confident about looking in new directions. For instance, fonts:downloading them and getting them to run-even on the web! Earlier,I said naively that Virtual Reality was around the corner-wrong! It's here now, and its educational possibilities are enormous. Even more exciting, this new technology is very democratic: it will affect us all.
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CreatingWebpages Last issue I reported on my travails in creating a World Wide Webhome-page; no doubt my self-taught method seemed crude to the more experienced readers. So I hasten to add that I did go out and buy a book (I. S. Graham'sHTMLSourcebook. A CompleteGuide to HTML [John Wiley & Sons; ISBN 0-471-11849-4; under $30). It usefully lays out text on one page and, on the opposite page, the same text with the HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language) commands imbedded-this way it's easy to see which commands do what. Of course, every written language has its "correct"ways of producing sense, as well as ways that are successful but inelegant. I discovered that much of what I had programmed earlierwas definitely inelegant! Over the past couple of weeks, therefore, I've rewrittenseveralof my web pages. The visual resultshaven'tchanged much, but I do feel elegant. As I've been surfing, both over the web and on the e-mail discussion lists, I've begun to notice two types of sites that are drawing some attention: sites that offer non-English fonts and sites for Virtual Reality.
Fonts There has always been some demand for special fonts; any decent word-processing package will include a number, and disks and CDs of them are also commercially available. Archaeologists and ancient philologists, however, need some pretty special fonts: I regularly use Greek fonts (I'm fond of Graeca) and even Aegean fonts (Cretanhieroglyphic, LinearA and B). Some of these special fonts are available over the web (see Box).
Greek on the Web While browsing through Perseus, the Digital Libraryof Ancient I entered its Greek Greece (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/), texts section (there'sa similar projectoffering all Latin literatureonline via Romulus,http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/-romulus/). In Perseus, you can see, for example, some of the writings of a second-century CEtravelerand geographer Pausanias (with the referencein its own special window) in English as well as in Greek if you have the font Attika (which Perseus suggests). Since I don't, I saw the text in transliterated form- comprehensible, but frustrating. So I started to experiment.While still in Netscape, I pulled down Options in the top-bar, and clicked on Preferences; it offers two
Caught in the Net
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Vase painting illustratinga classic-periodMayanball game popped up on the screenat BrianAmpolsk'sWWWMayanResourcepage Ah Dz'ib("the scribe"in YucatecMaya;http://www.netaxs.com/people/ bampolsk/).On the hunt for fonts, we reachedthis page through the web site of the Universityof Virginia'sMayanEpigraphicDatabase Project(http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/med/home.html), selecting "OtherResourcesfor Mayanists"followed by "Brian Ampolk's(sic)Page"which led to Pre-Columbian Archaeology Related Links(http://www.netaxs.com/~bampolsk/mesoarch.html) and Ah Dz'ib.Image by permissionof the DallasMuseumof Art. settings for fonts, a proportional and a fixed font. By changing the proportional font to my "Graeca," I saw the whole screen (English words included) filled with Greek letters. By changing the fixed font also to Graeca, I saw even the reference window in Greek. I was a bit staggered to see Greek on my web-screen, and I decided I needed to walk my dog Max while I contemplated the implications. When we returned, I created a web-file with normal text and text within a window, and there I typed something, using keys that, in Graeca,would produce Greek letters and accents but on the screen looked like gibberish English;when I ran Netscape again, I brought up my Greek file, changed the fixed font to Graeca, and lo! Greek in the window and English elsewhere-on the same screen. Now I have to figure out how to enlarge the window to store more Greek-undoubtedly there'sa way. While I figure it out, Max and I will just have to go for another walk. We'll get back to you.
Mayans on the Web While I was looking to see if more exotic fonts might be avail-
BiblicalArchaeologist59:2 (1996)
135
Educationandthe Web
able, I ran across sites for Mayan hieroglyphs (see Box), one of which allowed me to download a special program that played files and pronounced Mayan consonants and syllables for me-this was fun. I didn't see any file for pronouncing whole phrases, though there should be (my laptop has a program that can pronounce the sentences I type); such a program would be a great tool for teaching spoken Mayan--or any other language-over the web.
VirtualReality
The Mayan sites also advertised a Virtual Reality tour of the "House of the Governor" at Uxmal designed by Nancy McKelly. I had been avoiding VR sites. I don't know why-perhaps a feeling of dread: "when will all this new technology end?" A recent e-mail correspondent, however, had started to shake my reserve. This thirteen-year old. in the wilds of Montana is designing a VR tour of downtown classical Athens for a course being taken at Athena (appropriately enough.)VirtualOnline University.And what's this? VOU (http://www.athena.edu/) advertises K-12 Home Schooling (especially convenient for the wilds of Montana) with Virtual Educational Environment courses in a wide variety of areas. I have not yet explored VOU thoroughly, but the few areas I looked at were interesting. Well, if there's an entire virtual university over the web, there's no use keeping my head in the sand any longer. So back to Uxmal: the Mayan site allowed me first to download a freewareVirtus applications program (about 1 megabyte, beware!) and then to download the Uxmal program-both have to be unstuffed by StuffIt. A plan of the building is also available so you don't get lost during your virtual visit. I downloaded the free Virtus and ran it; its rotating cube hinted at astonishing things to come. I then opened the Uxmal program and found myself standing, as it were, before a simplified, but nonetheless apparently 3-D building. By moving and clicking the mouse, I walked right up to the steps, up to the top terrace, through the doors, into rooms, looked around and up at the ceilings,came back out, raceddown the terrace,climbed onto the roof, lifted myself up into the air and flew over it! I was reminded of the times when I was a kid running through newly constructedhouses. Though this particularsite is at times a bit crude, I nonetheless was dazed and needed another walk with Max to take stock.
inter net sites
for the Classical
It's pretty clear to me that we've only begun to realize the educational potentials of the web. In the way it integrates text and graphics (not to mention video and sound), it is like a book. Yet it certainly can be made more readily available than a book, especially to those located far from libraries.Through links to other files and sites, users can pursue their own interests in an infinite number of ways, areas, and directions. The web is more than a book, it's access to an.entire library. And with the addition of VR, the web will prove especially attractive to students of archaeology who will be able to do more than just imagine the past; we shall be able to journey into it, too. This brings me to my final musing here. Over this past academic year, many of us list-managers have seen a tremendous boom in the number of subscribers who bring to the discussions an enormous range of experience and knowledge, from the rank newcomer to the veteran professional. This has caused some problems; the discussion list Classics has already split into a general and a moderated list, the latter receiving only some of the contributions posted over the general list--and ANE is now contemplating the same split. I'm resisting the inevitable for AegeaNet, but already we have high school and college students using the list to get help for their term papers and adults newly connected to the Internet asking the most basic questions. We have such a diverse group of clients here and an obligation to help them all: we need to provide similarly diverse gateways into the system and many levels of expertise, all linked by wormholes (to borrow a phrase from Star Trek).Athena Virtual Online University, and others like it, points us toward a new era of education. . If you have any comments or. .-. questions, or would like to see a e-mail me: topic discussed, [email protected].
Max(Younger)helps John solve intricaciesof the Internet.Maxcan and can surfthe WWW FTP(fetch the paper),chase down GOPHERs, (woof woof woof). Photo by HollyHyland.
and ancient
Near Eastern
worlds
Fora general list of archaeologicale-mail discussion lists:http://llwww.duke.edulweb/ljyounger/archlist.html for the ancient Forgeneral listsof WWW/FTP/Gopher sites, see ABZU(http:/lwww-oi.uchicago.edulOI/DEPTIRA/ABZU/ABZU_NEW.HTML) Near East,and, for the Greekand Romanworld, Kapatija(http://www.duke.edu/web/jyounger/kapat96.html). or /wind/) or through SilverMountainSoftware (http://ramFonts ThroughScholarsPress(ftp:llscholar.cc.emory.edu/pub/fonts/mad pages.onramp.net/-jbaima/),you can get free fonts (Hebrew,Greek,Syriac,Coptic)for both Macand Windowsthat you download, expand (with StufflIt),and load into your SystemsFolder(don't forget to reboot immediatelyto installthe font). The Universityof Oregon's"babel"site (see below) is another richsource of free fonts. from there you can get to the Mayan Mayans Fora general list of Mesoamericanweb-sites, see http://copan.bioz.unibas.ch/meso.html; the MayanHieroglyphicSyllabary EpigraphicDatabase(http://lljefferson.village.virginia.edu/med/home.html), as well as some images, and even free Mayanfonts: (http://www.he.net/-nmcnelly/syllabary.html), Forthe VRtour of Uxmal,see http://www.he.net/~nmcnelly/uxmal.html. http:llbabel.uoregon.edu/yamadalfonts/mayan.html.
136
BiblicalArchaeologist59:2 (1996)
Caught in the Net
