July 2010 No 19
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Program for 2010
There are notices with the Newsletter for the Petrie
Oration and Seminar with Dr Thomas Davis and
lectures on Archaeology and the Bible by the director.
Please not that the dates given for Tom Davis in the
last Newsletter have changed.
Archaeology and the Bible Subject
The Archaeology and the Bible Subject prepared by
the Institute is running this semester through Ridley
College’s distance education platform. The subject
covers the development of archaeology and how
this has influenced the study of the Bible. Many
archaeologists sought to illustrate the Bible by means
of archaeological discoveries, but commentators
have often ignored the work of these people because
they were deemed to be trying to ‘prove’ the Bible.
In response to the claims of criti cal biblical scholars
there certainly were some attempts to do this, but
they often failed after a short time.
The subject asks students to assess the work of
those who have applied archaeological findings to
understand the context of the Bible. It is suggested
that some of these archaeologists were applying
methodologies and principles that have only recently
become common with the arrival of post-processual
archaeological.
The Director's visit to England
The visit was made partly to attend the Seventh
International Conference on the Archaeology of the
Ancient Near East (7ICAANE) in London and held
at the British Museum and University College. The
conference had about 450 presentations delivered in
seven parallel streams.
The conference opened with the sad announcement
that many Middle Eastern scholars had been
refused visas to attend the conference by the British
Government. Three Iraqi scholars attended, but they
had to travel to Amman twice to get their visas.
I travelled Etihad and so I saw the shameful way
many Middle Eastern people were being treated at
Heathrow and Melbourne.
After the UK, the country with the largest number
of delegates was Italy. Australia was represented
by people from Sydney and Canberra. The next
conference will be held in two years in Poland.
The overall impression was that there was a huge
amount of archaeological work being done in the
Middle East, from Turkey to Afghanistan. In the past
archaeologists often interpreted their results in terms
of large movements of people and deserted lands,
but this has now given way to a realisation that the
Near East was generally inhabited from the beginning
of the Bronze Age, and while political entities came
and went, populations and their cultures are fairly
continuous.
The focus of scholars on entities such as ancient Israel has led to a distorted historical view that the people
within each nation were culturally distinctive and
somehow came and went with the political entity.
Archaeologically at present this is not the case. In
the sweep of history the nations of ancient Israel and
Judah were short lived political entities that were
materially rather ephemeral. The origin and meaning
of Old Testament literature needs to be considered in
this context.
The technical development of archaeology was
evident in a large number of presentati ons. An entire
stream was devoted to remote sensing. When I went
on the first campaign at Tell Nebi Mend in Syria in
1975, we were only the third team working away
from the Tabqa dam site. Now there are dozens of
teams working. The same applies to Turkey, Jordan
and Iran, but not of course Iraq.
Jim Eisenbraun
The Institute was honoured to be able to sponsor a
lecture on 28 June by Jim Eisenbraun. Jim originally
studied ancient Near Eastern languages and biblical
studies, but rather than pursuing an academic career
he developed a distribution and publishing company
devoted to specialised books on archaeology and
biblical studies.
Professor Francis Andersen (left ) with Jim Eisenbraun
during his visit to Melbourne
Jim provided an over view of the recent history of
publishing in archaeology and commented on future
directi ons. He noted that the sales of archaeological books are now half what they were in the 1980’s.
He believes that this contracti on will conti nue as
many libraries have their funding cut. He noted that Harvard has decided not to make any more book
space available so that for every book they buy, one
has to be discarded. He also noted that at Harvard all
staff have to provide the University with an electronic
copy of any material they publish. Libraries will
become less important as more books are available
on line.
The most recent Eisenbraun archaeological
excavation reports have CD’s included. Earlier books
had microfiche. The future of Microsoft is not certain
and Jim thinks that the internet and computing will
move to open source and standards such as XML.
He argued that archaeologists should set aside funds
for publishing at the beginning of their projects and
that they should expect to pay half the costs of the
first print run.
Professor Francis Andersen
Jim Eisenbraun visited Melbourne especially to see
Frank Andersen, one of the Insti tute’s honorary
fellows. Eisenbrauns is publishing Frank’s recently
completed Hebrew grammar. The visit was sad
because Lois, Frank’s wife, had died the week before
his visit. The director and a number of the Institute’s
Council members att ended Lois’ funeral and
expressed condolences to Frank and her family.
Di Fitzpatrick
Di Fitzpatrick has worked with the Insti tute for a
number of years and manages the collecti on. She is
completi ng a PhD at University of Melbourne. Since
April she has been in the Middle East undertaking
work for her thesis, excavati on at Jebel Khalid, Tell
Umlaq and Catal Huyuk with Ian Hodder. We look
forward to hearing about her experiences after she
returns later in July.
Synchrotron
Mark Eccleston and Peter Kappen of La Trobe
University have been conducting research on
faience beads belonging to the Insti tute’s collection
at the Australian Synchrotron at Clayton and the
Synchrotron in Hamburg. The paper on their research
will be published in the near future.
Cypriot Pottery and X-Ray Flurescence XRF
Mark is also involved in a project with Jenny Webb and
David Frankel, also of La Trobe University, to analyse
the elemental composition of pottery from the Early
Cypriot period to determine if clay sources can be
identified and trading patterns established. At this
stage they have spent one day using the portable XRF
recently purchased by La Trobe University analysing
pots from Vounous. If ARC funding is forthcoming, this
will become a major project for three years. Analysis
of some stone objects from Khirokiti a, Cyprus, was
also carried out.
Buried History
Buried History Vol 45 2009 has just been distributed.
The issue includes a tribute to Professor Donald
John Wiseman, Terence C Mitchell, Nebo-Sarsekim
(Jeremiah 39:3) mentioned in a recently noticed
Babylonian text, Erica C.D. Hunter, Men Only: Hebrewscript
Inscriptions from Jām, Afghanistan, Pamela J.
Craig and Janet Davey, Mummified Child – A Further
Investigation, and Anne E. Gardner, The Function
of the Middle Building in Late Bronze Age Jericho.
Books reviewed include R. Bauckham, Jesus and the
eyewitnesses: the Gospels as eyewitness testimony,
reviewed by Scott Charlesworth, Don C. Benjamin,
Stones and Stories: An Introduction to Archaeology
and the Bible, and Shlomo Sand, The Invention of the
Jewish People, are reviewed by Christopher Davey.
Preparations for Buried History Vol 46 2011 are well
under way with two papers in hand.
Work at the Institute
A strong team of volunteers has conti nued to sort
out the collecti on. Cataloguing of stone tools has
continued, the scarab collecti on has been organised
and is now being photographed in colour. Metalwork
has been completely catalogued.
The 3D imaging has continued. The arrangement of
green screen photographing has occupied most time.
This has not been straight forward, but once done it
will make image processing far more efficient.
Archaeological Notes
Iraq
A number of recent reports indicate that the situation
in Iraq is deteriorating for antiquities and heritage
sites. Looting is on the increase and the government
response has been to slash funding for the protection
and conservation of sites and museums.
New Tomb at Saqqara
Some readers will have seen a report in The Age, 10
July 2010, of a recent discovery by a team of Egyptian
archaeologists of a 6th Dynasty tomb at Saqqara
belonging to the overseer of the Pharaoh’s scribes,
Shendwa, and his son Khonsu. The colour remaining
on the 4,300 year old false door is spectacular.
A
video of the discovery is at http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6658242n#ixzz0t7NqJ4NS
Synagogue recently found in Galilee
An excavation sponsored by the Universiti es of Bern,
Helsinki, and Leiden is being undertaken from June
21 unti l July 16 at Horvat Kur where the Kinneret
Regional Project discovered an ancient synagogue, in
use at around 400 AD. The village was inhabited from
the Early Roman until the Early Medieval period and
is located on a gentle hill two kilometers west of the
Lake of Galilee.
Further information is at Universitaet Mainz (2010,
July 7). Archeologists explore rural Galilee and find
ancient synagogue.
Science Daily Retrieved July 11, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com:80/releases/2010/07/100707080941.htm
Manuscripts re-dated
Manuscripts of the Gospels from the Abuna Garima
monastery in Ethiopia’s Tigrai Highlands, were
thought to date from the 11th century, but recent
dating using radio-carbon has given dates between
AD330 and 650. The only major collection of scripture
that is known to be older is the Codex Sinaiticus.
The Garima Gospels have been in one piece at the
monastery for 1,600 years, guarded by generati ons
of monks from Muslim invaders, colonial conquerors
and a fire in the 1930s which destroyed their church.
From htt p://www.independent.co.uk/artsentertainment/books/features/unearthed-theancient-texts-that-tell-story-of-christi anity-2019188.html
Dead Sea Scroll Analysis
Researchers of the National Laboratories of the
South LANDIS laboratory in Catania, part of the INFN,
Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics, have
shed light on the origin of one of the Dead Sea Scrolls
using a new system of analysis known as “XPIXE”.
The analysis indicates that the scrolls may have been
made near the Dead Sea, in the area of Qumran,
where the scrolls were found.
The analyses were conducted on seven small samples
of the scrolls (average size of one square centi metre),
following a request made by Dr. Ira Rabin of BAM
(Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung) in Berlin.
Non-destructive analyses were performed to obtain
results on the origin of the scrolls.
To produce a scroll, which was the writing material
used at the time, a great quantity of water is needed.
By analysing water samples taken in the area where
the scrolls were found, the presence of certain
chemical elements was established, and the ratio of
their concentrations was determined. The ratio of
chlorine to bromine in the fragments of the Temple
Scroll was then analysed using proton beams of 1.3
MeV, produced by the Tandem particle accelerator.
According to this analysis, the rati o of chlorine to
bromine in the scroll is consistent with the ratio in
local water sources. In other words, this finding
supports the hypothesis that the scroll was created
in the area in which it was found. The next step in the
research will be to analyse the ink used to write the
scrolls.
From INFN Press Release http://www.infn.it/news/newsen.php?id=578
ORACC
No this is not the Blake’s 7 computer of the early
1980’s it is The Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform
Corpus and may be found at http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu Oracc comprises a workspace and
toolkit for the development of a complete corpus of
cuneiform whose rich annotation and open licensing
support the next generati on of scholarly research. It
emerged from the CDLI and from the application of
ePSD technology to a wider range of texts, languages
and current XML standards. Oracc is the creation
of Steve Tinney, and is steered by Eleanor Robson,
Tinney, and Niek Veldhuis.
Cleo’s Demise
After consulting ancient medical texts and Alexandrian
cobra experts German historian, Professor Christoph
Schäfer, University of Trier, has argued that the last
Egyptian pharaoh, Cleopatra VII, did not die from
snake bite. He found it more likely that the queen
committed suicide with a lethal drug cocktail. Death
by a cobra bite, experts argue, could take days and
causes a disfigurement of the body parti cularly
through the appearance of spots. Schäfer finds it
unlikely Cleopatra would choose to suffer such a
long and painful death that would disfigure her and
endanger the eternal myth of her beauty.
Wednesday, 30 June 2010 From http://www.alarabiya.net/arti cles/2010/06/30/112681.html
Images of 1935 Archaeology
Two reels of silent excavation footage filmed by
George Hedley and James Philmore Collins during the
1926 and 1935 seasons at Tell en-Nasbeh in Palestine
can now be viewed at http://vimeo.com/8174994
or http://bade.psr.edu/content/videos. The site
was excavated by Dr. William F. Badè, Professor of
Old Testament literature and Semitic languages at
Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. Images
of excavations at Tell en-Nasbeh commingle with
traditional Palestinian dancing, Bedouin bread
making and Jerusalem street scenes.
Anatolian Bees at Tel Rehov
The 2007 season excavations at Tel Rehov, Israel,
conducted by Hebrew University of Jerusalem and
directed by archaeologist Amihai Mazar found the
remains of bee hives. More than 100 hives were
found believed to be capable of housing 1.5 million
bees. Tel Rehov was occupied in the Bronze and Iron
Age .
In a paper published June 8 in the Proceedings of
the Nati onal Academy of Sciences, the researchers
analyzed bees preserved in honeycomb that was
charred, but not completely burnt by fire that likely
destroyed the rest of the apiary. Unfortunately for
would-be makers of ancient honey, heat damaged the
bees’ DNA, making it impossible to revive their genes
in modern bees. But the researchers were at least
able to identify them as Apis mellifera anatoliaca,
a subspecies found only in what is now Turkey. It is
interesting that the modern apiary industry also uses
the same species.
From Brandon Keim June 7, 2010 http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/ancient-bees/
Abraham at Oxford
It is interesting that now biblical scholars have
convinced themselves that Abraham did not exist,
Oxford has established a Chair of Abrahamic Studies.
Cambridge is said to follow. The post is actually
focussed on the study of the Abrahamic religions,
Judaism, Christi anity and Islam.
The first Professor of Abrahamic Studies is a Parisianborn
Jewish Israeli with a special interest in early
Christi an mysticism. Guy Stroumsa had been Martin
Buber Professor of Comparative Religion at the
Jerusalem’s Hebrew University until last autumn.
Exploring relations between the three Middle Eastern
monotheisms “might strike you as something very
obvious to do,” he said, “but actually it is surprising
how difficult it is in practice to implement. Part of the
reason is technical. It involves knowledge of diffi cult
languages. You cannot study Islam without Arabic
and maybe either Turkish or Persian or both. And that
takes ti me. You cannot study Judaism without at least
Hebrew, and Aramaic, Greek, German, whatever. You
can’t study Christianity without Greek and Latin.”
But he draws a distinction between disinterested
academic inquiry and interfaith dialogue as such. “Usually interfaith is done by men of faith,” he said. “You have a qadi [an Islamic judge], a rabbi and priest
who want us not to murder one another, but to
tolerate and respect one another and they establish
a kind of dialogue. Interfaith organisations try to say
what is similar in Judaism, Christianity and Islam -
we share the same God, pray in same ways and so
on. This is the unitarian way of comparative study.
I am more of a trinitarian – I am interested in the
differences.”
Professor Stroumsa’s wife Sarah is rector of the
Hebrew University and an expert on Islamic and
Jewish philosophy, and has just published a book on
Maimonides, a Mediterranean thinker who was born
Jewish and became Muslim. Professor Stroumsa still
spends every other weekend during term time in
Jerusalem.
From Simon Rocker, May 27, 2010 http://www.thejc.com/judaism/judaism-features/32172/the-israeliwhos-taken-abraham-oxford
Novels about Hatshepsut
The new book “Her Majesty the King” by Australian
author Patricia L. O’Neill, the first of a projected
triology about Hatshepsut, has been scrupulously
researched. For more information see http://www.hermajestytheking.com/
Novels are becoming increasingly fashionable.
For those who read German, there is Qatna.
Historischer Roman aus der Zeit Echnatons by
Maria Courant. The author’s name is a non de plum
for an archaeologist who has a good knowledge of
the textual and archaeological sources from the
late Bronze Age Near East. Central figure is Akhenaton’s
secondary wife Kiya who is imagined to be a princess
from the Syrian city state of Qatna.
Parthenon scaffold-free
Visitors to Athens have a rare window of
opportunity to see the showpiece Parthenon
temple on the ancient Acropolis without
scaffolding for the first time in nearly 30 years as
a major restoration work nears completion.
Restoration began in 1983. Building the Parthenon
took nine years from 447 BC and the sculptural
decorations took another 10 years to complete.
Restoration has already taken longer than it took
to build. The team of archaeologists, marble
cutters, architects, and civil and chemical engineers,
dismantled 1,852 metric tons of marble and began
the painstaking task of attempting to put it back again
in the right place, adding other fragments they found
and removing the concrete of earlier restoration
attempts. The original quarry for the marble on Mount
Penteli is now itself a protected historical site, but
marble has been cut from the other side of the same
mountain where the marble colour is not as dark.
In September though, the scaffolding will be up
again on the western facade and that project will last
at least another three years. The Parthenon is one
of very few buildings that we can look at knowing
Classical Greeks and early Christians such as Paul also
looked at.
From Jon Hemming ATHENS (Reuters Life!)
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Arti cle.aspx?id=176844 [Go there for pics]
Contacts
Newsletter prepared by:-
Christopher Davey, Director, The Australian Institute of Archaeology,
La Trobe University, Victoria 3086
E-mail: director@aiarch.org.au
Website: www.aiarch.org.au
Telephone: 9455 2882
Mobile: 0421 595 966
Looking for a previous edition of our newsletter? Please contact us at director@aiarch.org.au
