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Posted on 03/26/2008 4:52:07 PM PDT by NYer
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Ancient kings, armies, prophets and pilgrims have made their mark on the ancient hills of Jerusalem and have left behind some of the world's most important archaeological finds. But with every stone overturned, puzzling questions about the history of modern Western civilization come to light.
This is especially true at the Tel Aviv University-owned site of Ramat Rachel, an archaeological site from biblical times. For that reason, Jewish and Christian archaeologists, theologians and volunteers come to dig there year after year.
Clues revealed by last year's dig, such as elaborate underground water tunnels, pools, pipes and gutters, suggest that this year's dig, July 20-Aug. 15, could give answers about the rulers who once lived there, said the site director and Tel Aviv University archaeologist Oded Lipschits.
The site, Lipschits said, is the location of an ancient palace replete with an impressive garden, which was built during the end of the First Temple period in the seventh century B.C.
"This is the only palace from the time period of the kingdom of Judah, and today it is a venerated site for all world religions," he said.
For Jews, this palace is believed to have been standing during the time of the Judean kings Hezekiah, Manasseh and Josiah. Christians believe it to be the site where Mary came to rest on her way to Bethlehem. An ancient octagonal church, "Katisma," built around the holy rock down on the slope of the hill commemorated her resting place and is also known as the seat of Mary.
Some scholars believe this church inspired the construction of the golden Dome of the Rock, also an octagonal structure built around a holy rock on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, one of Islam's most sacred spiritual centers.
Ramat Rachel is a modern name for the kibbutz on the high hill on the outskirts of Jerusalem, from which one can see Rachel's Tomb nearby in Bethlehem, West Bank, as well as modern and ancient Jerusalem and mountains surrounding the city.
The excavations at Ramat Rachel first began in the 1950s. Today Lipschits directs the site in conjunction with Manfred Oeming, a professor at Germany's University of Heidelberg. Every year, the dig attracts more than 100 volunteers and scholars from Israel and throughout the world.
A majority of the volunteers are Christians and include priests, theology students, nuns and archaeology students. Daily Scripture readings are made available to volunteers at the site.
All areas of the site are open to the public, and visitors to the archaeological park get a sense of the site's 3,000-year-old history. They can touch the original walls and fortress of a Judean king and find traces of later inhabitants of Persian, Hellenistic and Jewish descent.
Also on the site are the remains of a Jewish village from the Second Temple period, with numerous Jewish ritual baths, and the remains of the 10th Roman Legion, which built an elaborate villa there and a large Roman bath. During the Byzantine period, the site was home to monks and pilgrims who grew olives and grapes. During the Early Muslim period, there was a large farm on the site, and its remains are being excavated.
One of the most impressive elements of the site, said Lipschits, is an ancient royal garden. It is one of a few palatial gardens of its kind in the world.
Lipschits explained the significance: "The Assyrians and Babylonians believed that gardens represented spirituality. The name for garden in Hebrew represents a protected place, surrounded by a wall or a fence. This is exactly the meaning of the old Persian word 'pardes,' and this is why the Greeks, when translating the Bible, choose this word to describe the Garden of Eden story.
"From here, it was a short jump to the use of 'pardes' to describe paradise," said Lipschits.
"In a way, we are excavating paradise at Ramat Rachel," he said. "This is the only known garden in Judah from the biblical world, and excavating it is fascinating. We explore its plan and think about the connection between the garden and the attached palace."
In his ongoing research, Lipschits draws parallels between the ancient palatial garden at Ramat Rachel and the Western interpretation of heaven. At the site, he also is researching exotic trees, bushes and flowers imported from across the ancient Near East.
A team is analyzing seeds, pollen and soil. Lipschits said team members hope the garden may give a deeper understanding to imagery and symbolism found in the Bible.
Lipschits also is completing a book of stamp impressions bearing the name of the province "Yehud" from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, when the Jews left Babylon to go back to their homeland. He wrote "The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem," and continues to author publications in partnership with Boston College and David S. Vanderhooft, a theology professor there.
Ping!
Or at the very list that hand device like a push lawnmower that’s run over the ground and sends back images from under the ground.
Unfortunate last name...can you imagine the time he would have had in an American school with that?
Interesting article nonetheless....
Bump - interestink.
Heads up!
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
ggg ping
I've got to warn SunkenCiv to be careful with Oded's last name.
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Thanks NYer, Alouette, and Blam. Y'know, what Blam said reminds me of a topic I never got around to using... |
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“Unfortunate last name...can you imagine the time he would have had in an American school with that?”
Before I retired I worked with a guy in our Dept. (a Professor) whose last name was Lifshitz. He was from Russia originally. He changed his last name because he didn’t want his kids to be teased unmercifully in school. Wise that he made the change.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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Wonder who planted them, Mohammed's horse, ox and cow flying in or Rev Wright's forebearers.
Very interesting, must look for images...btw, I knew a fellow named Harry Lipschitz many years ago. He changed his name eventually. To George.
George Lipschitz.
Muhammad’s hijacking of a Messiah from Jews and Christians seems not the only item hijacked by Islam.
Three years ago, I wrote the book, The Mahdi – Hijacked Messiah, to document Islam’s stealing of a Messiah concept by Muhammad.
Now, my participation on one of Israel’s most interesting archaeological excavations has revealed another major hostage taking by Islam.
Ramat Rachael’s archaeological area, where I’m working this August, takes in the ruins of an interesting church that sits right on the Road of the Patriarchs (now known as Hebron Road). The Kathisma Church is an octagonal structure, built in 456 A.D., which shape is unusual for a church as most are built in the shape of a cross. Sitting square in the center of the church’s octagonal perimeter is an outcropping of solid bedrock some 20 ft. square and several feet high.
The Kathisma Church is where tradition has it that on route to Bethlehem, Mary’s labor pains caused the couple to rest under the shade of a date palm. Joseph is unable to reach the ripe fruit so attractive to Mary, so the tree lowers its fruit to nourish the mother-to-be, and a spring issues forth from under the tree to save their lives in the desert.
Whether one believes the tradition about the church is immaterial. The fact that the tradition predates the Islamic conquest of Jerusalem is the point. The church has a mosaic floor commemorating the story with a date palm flanked by two smaller palms (either symbolizing Joseph and Mary, or the other two crosses on Calvary).
The hijacking of this church’s structure and symbolism is eye-opening. The Dome of the Rock which sits on the Temple Mount is built in the same architectural design, including the bedrock outcropping in the center and an identical date palm mosaic adorns the inside of the dome. As in the church, the date palm is flanked by two other palms. The date of the dome’s construction is 691 A.D., over 200 years later.
The early date of the church and the mosaic are confirmed by Israel’s Antiquities Authority after excavation in 1992. The widening of Hebron Road revealed the church and the dating of the structure brought new and puzzling comparisons to the Islamic structure on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
[Santa, just before the accident] “No, Rudolph, the Schmidt house!”
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