Historically Speaking

Ekklesia
A memorial to Quaker service opened at the National Arboretum at Alrewas near Lichfield on 20th April. It commemorates the work of the Friends Ambulance Unit and Friends Relief Service during World War II.

The Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) was an independent body led by Quakers but open to all. During the Second World War over 1,300 men and women served in 25 countries, building a record of goodwill and positive service.

The FAU enabled conscientious objectors to serve in theatres of war through the provision of first aid and medical relief to civilian and military casualties, refugees and displaced persons of any nationality. Many FAU members served in military mobile units with the British and French armies. They followed the Free French Army as it advanced from the Middle East into Italy and across into France. Seventeen members of the FAU lost their lives during the Second World War.

The Friends Relief Service was an official arm of the Religious Society of Friends and was set up during the Second World War to relieve the civilian distress which initially resulted from bombing and evacuation in Britain.

Later, in the wake of military action, its 1200 volunteers, men and women in equal numbers, travelled across Europe and beyond. They were not all conscientious objectors, and the majority were not Quakers, but they were highly principled people who accepted that their positions would be unwaged and that they must be prepared to “Go anywhere, do anything”.

The monument consists of four simple curves of Rutland limestone with benches resembling a Quaker meeting place. It stands in a quiet grove of trees on the fringe of the National Memorial Arboretum.

“This has led to a lot of discernment,” said Anthony Wilson, clerk to the Quaker Service Memorial Trust. He uses the distinctive term for the way that Friends reach agreement, sifting pros, cons and reasons behind attitudes, always without voting. Some of the UK’s 70 Quaker area meetings were initially doubtful when the idea was first proposed, asking “Wouldn’t a bench or a tree do?” says Wilson.

“Then they saw just how many trees and benches the arboretum already has,” he said. “There are thousands, and almost all are in memory of armed service. The trust wanted something distinctive but not showy and was encouraged in this by the arboretum, which is conscious that too many ’samey’ memorials risk dulling both the landscape and visitors’ feelings.”

DAVID ADAMS

Missionary, explorer and hero of Victorian age Britain, Dr David Livingstone - subject of the famous quote, “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” - was remembered at a ceremony in Westminster Abbey this week, marking the 200th anniversary of his death.

Born in the small town of Blantyre, Scotland, on 19th March, 1813, Dr Livingstone went to Africa as a medical missionary, subsequently combining his activities as a missionary with those of exploration in the country’s south. Among his ‘discoveries’ were Victoria Falls (which he named in honour of Queen Victoria) and Lake Malawi.

A mysterious ‘disappearance’ in Africa toward the end of his life - during which he made no contact with the wider world - led the New York Herald newspaper to send Henry Morton Stanley in search of him. He found Livingstone living in a town on the shores of Lake Tanganyika on 10th November, 1871, and it was there that he uttered the famous words, “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” (although there is some debate over whether the words were actually uttered).

Dr Livingstone died in Africa on 1st May, 1873, and his body was brought back to England to be buried in Westminster Abbey.

On Tuesday, the President of Malawi, Joyce Banda, laid a wreath at the grave site. Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster, said in a tribute that Livingstone was “a Scot of humble origins, but clear determination and courage”.

“One-hundred-and-forty years after his death, he remains respected throughout these islands, and especially in Africa, where, for 30 years, he laboured to spread the Gospel, to explore the land’s secrets, and to map what he discovered,” he said. “Treating all people as his equals, he worked to abolish the slave trade in Africa.”

Other events marking the bicentenary of Livingstone’s birth have included a conference hosted by the University of Edinburgh’s School of Divinity earlier this month. Speaking at conference, James Tengatenga, the Bishop of Southern Malawi, reportedly said there was still a sense of awe around Livingstone in Malawi and described him as an “itinerant trailblazer”.

For other events, see www.davidlivingstone200.org and www.livingstone2013.com.

GORDON GOVIER
ASSIST News Service

Some unique features of a first century synagogue found along the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee have sparked speculation that it may have belonged to a congregation of followers of Jesus of Nazareth, and not an ordinary Jewish community. However, the evidence is circumstantial so the story is pure speculation at this point.

The excavation took place in 2009 in Migdal, just north of Tiberias. In the first century it was a fishing village known as Magdala. Jesus lived nearby, in Capernaum, and one of his most well-known followers came from this village: Mary Magdalene.

The most exciting find of the 2009 excavation was a stone altar table with decorative carvings, including a menorah. Due to the well-preserved mosaic floor and the frescoes on the wall, the building was identified as a synagogue. But Dina Gorni, the archaeologist who excavated the site for the Israel Antiquities Authority, pointed out some additional unique features.

She told the Global Mail that the synagogue was on the edge of Magdala, not at its center. And it was smaller than typical synagogues. This might indicate it was used by a group out of the mainstream of Judaism.

But was it a Messianic congregation of first century Christ followers? No evidence to indicate as much. The Gospels say that Jesus traveled throughout the Galilee, teaching in the synagogues. So a stronger case could be made that Jesus probably taught at this location.

The synagogue ruins are found on property owned by the Roman Catholic church, where a hotel for pilgrims is being bui lt. The project is under the direction of Father Juan Mar ia Solana, the director of the Pontifical Institute in Jerusalem. The ruins will eventually be open to visitors.

GORDON GOVIER
ASSIST News Service

Each year several dozen institutional archaeological excavations and multiple more salvage excavations take place in the lands of the Bible. Some excavations draw attention because of the exciting dimensions of their discoveries. Many more compile important information from less dynamic discoveries that help us better understand the Biblical world in its social context.

Following are some of the most exciting discoveries announced in the past year, taken from the news digests of ARTIFAX magazine, and reported on The Book & The Spade radio program.

1. Huqoq Synagogue Mosaic . The ancient village of Huqoq is located three miles west of the Sea of Galilee shore near the sites of Magdala and Capernaum. Excavated by archaeologist Jodi Magness, a distinguished professor of early Judaism at North Carolina University at Chapel Hill, the mosaic floor of this synagoue is of the highest quality. The mosaic depicts Samson tying the tails of foxes together and also shows two faces around an inscription. This synagogue dates several centuries after the time of Christ and is expected to provide new information about the development of synagogues in the Galilee.

2. Cult shrines from Khirbet Qeiyafa. These shrines were actually discovered in 2011 excavations but announced in the late spring of 2012 by archaeologist Yosel Garfinkel of Hebrew University. The shrines are evidence of worship that predates Solomon’s Temple by 30-40 years; shrines without cultic images that are different from Canaanite shrines and conform to the anaconic traditions of Judaism. Khirbet Qeiyafa overlooks the Elah Valley, about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem.

3. First Temple Period Reservoir. This cistern is located near the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount, under Robinson’s Arch. With its 66,000 gallon capacity, this discovery provides new information about water consumption in the First Temple era of Jerusalem.

4. Bethlehem Bullah. A seal impression with three lines of script, this is the earliest mention of Bethlehem outside of the Bible. It was found during the sifting of material from City of David excavations. It is a fiscal bulla, related to taxing of shipments during the reign of a king around the time of Hezekiah, Manasseh, or Josiah.

5. Jerusalem Seal. An actual seal which says “Belonging to Matanyahu Ben Ho,” this seal was found near Robinson’s arch in the ruins of a building from the First Temple Period.

6. An Egyptian scarab. This scarab was found in Jerusalem just before the 2012 Passover. It depicts the image of a duck, which is the name of the sun god Amon-Ra. It is dated to the 13th century BC, just after the Amarna period.

7. The Kiryat Gat Hoard. This hoard was found near Ashkelon and contains 140 gold and silver Roman coins dating to the late first and early 2nd century AD. The hoard included a gold earring and a ring with a seal depicting a winged goddess.

8. The neo-Hittite sculpture at Tel Tayinat. The sculpture inscription records events of the reign of Suppiluliuma, who probably faced Shalmaneser III in 858 BC. This is an important excavation in Turkey, 22 miles east of Antakya (ancient Antioch) on the road to Aleppo. University of Toronto archaeologist Tim Harrison believes this is the neo-Hittite kingdom of Patina, which may also be the Calno referred to in Isaiah 10:9-10.

9. 3400-year old wheat from Hazor. The wheat was discovered in 14 clay jugs, burned but not destroyed 3,400 years ago. This is one of the most important ongoing excavations in Israel, at the site of one of most important ancient cities in Israel.

10. Akko’s Hellenistic Harbour. Archaeologists are exposing the remains of the harbor, from the third and second centuries BC. This was the most important port in Israel in the centuries just before the birth of Christ.

Plans are being made for another busy season of excavations in 2013. To keep up with news of Biblical archaeology, check out websites for ARTIFAX magazine and The Book & The Spade, and further archaeological resources at www.radioscribe.com.

Gordon Govier reports on Biblical Archaeology for Christianity Today magazine, is the editor of ARTIFAX magazine, and produces a weekly radio program and podcast called The Book & The Spade.

GIL KEZWER
Travelujah

Visitors to Israel are sometimes disappointed to discover that many souvenirs sold in the souq here are in fact made in China, India, Turkey or Egypt. But not all. If you’re in the market for jewelry fit for royalty, drop by the City of David gift store where painstakingly exact replicas of a pair of earrings worn by Queen Helena of Adiabene 2,000 years ago - and discovered recently at the archaeological site - are now for sale.

The original earring - only one has been found to date - was made of gold and set with pearls and emeralds. The replicas are available in a variety of materials including 14 karat gold set with pearls and green agate. The latter costs NIS2,449 ($US625) - for both earrings. The exquisite piece of jewelry was discovered in nearly pristine condition in 2007 in an area at the northwest corner of the City of David national park known as the Givati Parking Lot Excavation. The original is now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, along with the queen’s elaborate royal sarcophagus.

So who was Queen Helena, and where was Adiabene? Adiabene (from the Greek Ἀδιαβηνή), was an ancient kingdom in Assyria with its capital at Arbela. Today the city, called Erbil or Arbil, is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, a quasi-independent part of Iraq. The area became Hellenised following the Battle of Gaugamela, sometimes known as the Battle of Arbela, in 331 BC in which Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia.

But Zeus and Aphrodite ultimately didn’t prevail there, just as the pagan gods were no longer believed in across the Roman Empire by the time of Jesus. Judaism was one of the many Eastern religions that drew converts across the theologically bankrupt empire. The rulers of Adiabene, including Queen Helena (known in Jewish sources as Heleni ha-Malka) together with her husband Monobaz I, converted to Judaism from Ashurism around 30 AD.

The royal family including sons Izates II and Monobaz II then moved to Jerusalem where they lived in a lavish palace immediately to the south of King Herod the Great’s renovated Temple Mount.

Helena died in Jerusalem about 56 AD and is buried in the pyramidal tomb which she had constructed during her lifetime, three stadia north of Jerusalem. The catacombs, known as the Tombs of the Kings, are located on Nablus Road and belong to France. A sarcophagus with the inscription tzara malchata, in Hebrew and Syriac, was found in 1863 by Louis Felicien de Saulcy. The French explorer mistakenly identified the grave complex as the Tombs of the House of David. De Saulcy believed the bones inside the royal sarcophagus, wrapped in shrouds with golden embroidery, were the remains of a wife of a king of Judea from the First Temple period, possibly Zedekiah or Jehoash. He sent the sarcophagus and other findings to Paris where they were displayed at the Louvre Museum.

According to the Talmud, both Helena and Monobaz donated large funds for Herod’s Temple and to the Jewish community in Jerusalem. During a famine there she sent to Alexandria for corn and to Cyprus for dried figs to feed the destitute.

The Talmud also speaks also of valuable presents which the queen presented to the Temple: “Helena had a golden candlestick made over the door of the Temple,” to which statement is added that when the sun rose its rays were reflected from the candlestick and everybody knew that it was the time for reading the Shema morning prayer. She also made a golden plate on which was written the passage of the Pentateuch which the high priest read when a wife suspected of infidelity was brought before him.

The royal palace of Queen Helena is believed to have been discovered by archaeologist Doron Ben-Ami during his excavations in the City of David in 2007. The monumental building located was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The ruins contained datable coins, stone vessels and pottery as well as remnants of ancient frescoes. The basement level contained a mikveh ritual bath. Today the site is partially open to the public. Future plans include building a new visitors center and a 500-space parking lot atop the preserved ruins.

Gil Kezwer is a tour guide and writes regularly for Travelujah, the leading Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land.

This season’s excavations at Tel Hazor National Park in the Upper Galilee conducted by Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) uncovered 14 large pithoi-style storage jugs filled with 3,300-year-old burnt wheat.

The jugs were located inside a storage room in a monumental, palace-like building from the Canaanite period (2,000-3,000 BCE), INPA said on Monday.

“Hatzor flourished during the Middle Canaanite period (1,750 BCE) and during the Israelite period, and generated the biggest fortified complex in Israel during this period,” said Dr Zvika Tsuk, chief archeologist of the INPA.

Professor Amnon Ben-Tor of Hebrew University said the jugs were destroyed around the 13th century BCE, a period which coincided with the Biblical account of Joshua’s capture of Hazor. According to Joshua chapter 11, Hazor was the only city in the Land of Israel destroyed by fire during the conquest.

- ELISA MOED, Travelujah

Elisa L. Moed is the Founder and CEO of Travelujah Holy Land Tours. People can learn, plan and share their Holy Land tour and travel experience on Travelujah.

A monumental synagogue building dating to the Late Roman period (4th to 5th centuries AD) has been discovered in archaeological excavations at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee.

The excavations are being conducted by Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and David Amit and Shua Kisilevitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority, under the sponsorship of UNC, Brigham Young University in Utah, Trinity University in Texas, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Toronto in Canada.

Students and staff from UNC and the consortium schools are participating in the dig.

Huqoq is an ancient Jewish village located approximately two to three miles west of Capernaum and Migdal (Magdala). This second season of excavations has revealed portions of a stunning mosaic floor decorating the interior of the synagogue building. The mosaic, which is made of tiny colored stone cubes of the highest quality, includes a scene depicting Samson placing torches between the tails of foxes (as related in the book of Judges, chapter 15).

In another part of the mosaic, two human (apparently female) faces flank a circular medallion with a Hebrew inscription that refers to rewards for those who perform good deeds.

“This discovery is significant because only a small number of ancient (Late Roman) synagogue buildings are decorated with mosaics showing Biblical scenes, and only two others have scenes with Samson (one is at another site just a couple of miles from Huqoq),” said Magness, the Kenan Distinguished Professor in the department of religious studies at UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“Our mosaics are also important because of their high artistic quality and the tiny size of the mosaic cubes. This, together with the monumental size of the stones used to construct the synagogue’s walls, suggest a high level of prosperity in this village, as the building clearly was very costly.”

Excavations are scheduled to continue in the summer 2013.

- ELISA MOED, Travelujah

Elisa L. Moed is the Founder and CEO of Travelujah Holy Land Tours. People can learn, plan and share their Holy Land tour and travel experience on Travelujah.

The dream of every young boy, and not a few young girls, is to hunt down and discover a buried treasure. Archaeologists in Israel had the opportunity to realize that dream recently during a dig near the central town of Kiryat Gat.

During a routine dig at the Kiryat Gat industrial park (all major construction in Israel must be preceded by a full archaeological survey), archaeologists found the remains of several large dwellings and courtyards, not an uncommon occurrence. But before refilling the survey pit, the researchers did find something very unique - a hoard of hidden treasure.

Specifically, archeologists uncovered 140 gold and silver coins and a considerable amount of gold jewelry. Researchers believe the treasure was hidden by a wealthy Jewish woman during the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt against Roman rule. The revolt ended in the destruction and exile of the Jewish community in Holy Land.

“This is probably an emergency cache that was concealed at the time of impending danger by a wealthy woman who wrapped her jewelry and money in a cloth and hid them deep in the ground prior to or during the Bar Kokhba Revolt. It is now clear that the owner of the hoard never returned to claim it,” said Sa’ar Ganor, chief archeologist for the Ashkelon and Western Negev region.

The treasure has been transferred to a treatment facility in Jerusalem and is expected to go on display at one of Israel’s historical museums in the future.

- RYAN JONES, Travelujah

Ryan Jones writes regularly for Travelujah, the leading Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. People can learn, plan and share their Holy Land tour and travel experience on Travelujah.

Archaeologists say that artifacts found on a dig taking place at the site of what was a fortified city is Israel give strength to Biblical accounts of King David.

Recent excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, what was a fortified city located in Judah - about 30 kilometres south-west of Jerusalem, have unearthed pottery, stone and metal tools, art and objects used in worship as well as three large rooms which served as “cultic shrines”.

Professor Yosef Garfinkel, of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, says that the architecture of the rooms used for worship corresponds to descriptions of worship practices at the time of King David. In a statement, the university said the discovery “is extraordinary as it is the first time that shrines from the time of early biblical kings were uncovered”.

“Because these shrines pre-date the construction of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem by 30 to 40 years, they provide the first physical evidence of a cult in the time of King David, with significant implications for the fields of archaeology, history, Biblical and religion studies.”

Located in the Valley of Elah, Khirbet Qeiyafa was a border city of the Kingdom of Judah opposite the Philistine city of Gath and existed for a short period of time between 1020 and 980 BC before being violently destroyed.

Professor Garfinkel says the city - where excavations have gone on every summer since 2007 - is the first fortified city uncovered in Judah which dates from the time of King David.

“Thus, various suggestions that completely deny the Biblical tradition regarding King David and argue that he was a mythological figure, or just a leader of a small tribe, are now shown to be wrong,” he said

Professor Garfinkel says the lack of human or animal images in the rooms used for worship and the lack of bones from pigs found on the site despite the thousands of bones from other animals suggest the population observed Biblical bans on pork and graven images.

One portable clay shrine found at the site is decorated with an elaborate facade which features two guardian lions, two pillars, a main door, beams of the roof, folded textile and three birds standing on the roof. Two of these elements are described in Solomon’s Temple: the two pillars (Yachin and Boaz) and the textile (Parochet).

~ www.huji.ac.il

- DAVID ADAMS

Conrad Schick, a 19th century German missionary, scholar and architect, was described by Dr Shimon Gibson as a kind of “oracle” in Jerusalem during his time. Anyone desiring to truly understand the city’s history, and possibly its future, simply had to visit and learn from Schick. With the return of some of Schick’s most prominent work to the Christ Church compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, pilgrims once again have the opportunity to do so.

Having attended the unveiling of Schick’s famous multi-layered model of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount at Christ Church’s Heritage Center, it seems hard to understate the man’s importance to and impact on the city, even if one has never before heard his name.

“Still today, we are finding that supposedly new archeological discoveries in Jerusalem had already been discovered and written about by Schick,” Dr Gibson, told Travelujah. Dr Gibson, a British-born archaeologist is a senior associate fellow at the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and adjunct Professor of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

But, perhaps it would be instructive to go back to the beginning.

Schick was sent to the Holy Land in 1846 as a missionary with the Reformed St Chrischona Pilgrim Mission as part of a kind of “quiet mission,” where he and another German missionary would settle and become living examples of Jesus’ love and message. While he remained dedicated to that mission until his death in 1901, Schick found that he had something else to offer both Jerusalem and its visitors.

Despite lacking any formal education in architecture, archeology, history or geology, Schick nevertheless became recognized as “the foremost authority on everything about Jerusalem,” said Professor Haim Goren, an expert on 19th century German Christianity in the Holy Land, adding that ‘Schick’s house’ (Tabor House on Jerusalem’s Prophets Street) was a regular pilgrimage tour stop during his day.”

After he started making models in the 1850s, Schick used his architectural and artistic abilities to help solve disputes concerning the historical terrain. For instance, Goren recounted that Schick’s detailed model of the Holy Sepulchre (which is also on display at the Heritage Center) was built to bring a conclusion to arguments between the various Christian sects inhabiting the ancient church. In addition to his creative talents, that incident likewise demonstrates Schick’s considerable status among all Christians in the Holy Land at the time.

And his influence is still fully felt today. “We are still using Schick’s sketches to make new discoveries in Jerusalem,” said Professor Goren. “His genius permeates everything concerning Jerusalem. He was one of the most important people in one of the most important periods of this city’s development.”

Dr Gibson also stressed the enormous impact of Schick’s work on modern archeology, noting that Schick had access to areas that today’s researchers could only dream of entering, such as the multitude of passages, cisterns and ancient halls under Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. And his privileged knowledge is now on display for all to see in Schick’s stunning recreation of the Temple Mount, a model that spent the last 150 years traveling the world, first on display at prestigious events like the World Fair and then gathering dust in Swiss attics.

Slowly lifting the different layered pieces, Dr Gibson revealed the intricate craftsmanship that is perhaps the only detailed documentation of what today lies beneath the Temple Mount.

Christ Church went to considerable effort to raise funds to purchase the Temple Mount and others of Schick’s models when St Chrischona decided in 2010 to auction them. The transition is a homecoming for Schick’s work, literally. The building that is today the Christ Church Heritage Center was in Schick’s day known as the House of Industry, a portion of Christ Church where local carpenters produced goods made of olive wood, and the very place where Schick constructed his models.

Dr Don Stanley, head of CMJ Israel (Christ Church’s parent ministry), said he hopes the model will become the centerpiece of the new Heritage Center and a strong reminder of the historical and biblical importance of Jerusalem. That sentiment was echoed by St Chrischona Spokesman Claudius Buser, who stated, “The long round trip is finally over, and Schick’s work is back home in Jerusalem. We know that in Jerusalem, the models will serve so many more pilgrims.”

• The entire Christ Church Heritage Campus is open to the public every day of the week and includes a small guest house, the Christ Church, recognized as the first Protestant Church in the Middle East, as well as a lovely restaurant servicing breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Outside groups and individuals are welcome. The new Heritage museum at Christ Church will be open shortly to the public, (by March 2012 at the latest). We recommend that you contact the guesthouse at christch@netvision.net.il to check on opening hours of the museum. The new Heritage Center is situated in the Alexander Wing of the complex which is accessed off the guesthouse courtyard. Private group visits should be pre-arranged by contacting Christ Church at christch@netvision.net.il. If you wish to arrange a Holy Land tour and to include this museum on your itinerary, please contact Travelujah.

- RYAN JONES

Ryan Jones writes for www.travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land.