Jewish Yad Avshalom Revealed As A Christian Shrine From Byzantine Era

The historic Yad Avshalom monument in Jerusalem's Kidron Valley, revered for centuries as a Jewish shrine, was also a Christian holy place in the fourth century, new evidence has revealed.

A fourth-century inscription on one of the walls near the monument, recently uncovered by chance, marks the site as the burial place of the Temple priest Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist who baptized Jesus.

was built in the first century, making it possible that figures holy to Christians could be buried there. According to Jewish belief, Yad Avshalom was named for Absalom, the son of King David, since Samuel II relates that Absalom built a memorial in "the valley of the king" which lies below the Temple Mount. Absalom died more than 1,000 years earlier.

Parts of the inscription were discovered two years ago but the deciphering was only recently completed. Results of the research were published in the Revue Biblique in Paris two weeks ago.

A Jerusalem archaeologist, Joe Zias of the Antiquities Authority, uncovered the inscription. He noticed in an ancient picture of the tomb that there was writing on one of the walls surrounding it. The ancient Greek letters had meanwhile been almost completely obliterated and therefore not seen by the dozens of archaeologists and scholars who had studied the monument in more modern times.

Zias visited the site and spoke to the photographer - and only then did he understand the mystery. "The inscription can be seen only when the sun hits it from a certain angle at twilight, and only in summer," Zias said. He tried to create a copy of the inscription but faced difficulties since it is located nine meters above ground.

Zias collected funds to build scaffolding and made a silicon copy. At this point, Zias approached his colleague Father Emile Puech of the East Jerusalem Ecole Biblique, the Dominican order's archaeological and biblical research institute. Puech is a renowned philologist who helped in deciphering the Dead Sea scrolls.

Puech found 47 letters in the inscription, which is 1.2 meters long and 10 cms high. It reads: "This is the tomb of Zachariah, the martyr, the holy priest, the father of John." The Gospel of Luke names Zachariah and Elisabeth as the parents of John the Baptist.

Another mausoleum, known as Kever Zachariah - the tomb of Zachariah the prophet - is situated close to Yad Avshalom, which creates confusion.

According to Puech, the inscription dates from the Byzantine empire of the 4th century, meaning the inscription was written 300 years after the tomb was built. It at least proves the tomb was a Christian holy site then, even if it does not categorically prove for whom it was built.

According to Hebrew University expert Prof. Gideon Foerster, the inscription tallies with a sixth century Christian text that says Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, was buried with Simon the Elder and James, the brother of Jesus. Foerster believes the document and inscription are historically authentic.

Zias and Fuech are deciphering additional inscriptions found on the walls and will publish their findings in November. They say that one of the words in the inscriptions is Simon.

Zias says he has no illusions: "Even if we prove there is no connection between Absalom and Yad Avshalom this will be forgotten in another 50 or 100 years."

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic ·
	Gods Graves Glyphs	Note: this topic is from July 22, 2003. Blast from the Past. Thanks blam for posting it. Since it's probably of interest, and only has one old lonely message in it, there's no risk pinging it. :') To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
·Dogpile · Archaeologica · ArchaeoBlog · Archaeology · Biblical Archaeology Society · · Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google · · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·

Luke
Chapter 1

1

¹ Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us,

2

just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us,

3

I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus,

4

so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.

5

² In the days of Herod, King of Judea, ³ there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6

Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.

7

But they had no child, ⁴ because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.

8

Once when he was serving as priest in his division's turn before God,

9

according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.

10

Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering,

11

the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense.

12

Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

13

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, ⁵ Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.

14

And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,

15

for he will be great in the sight of (the) Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. ⁶ He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother's womb,

16

and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

17

He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah ⁷ to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord."

18

Then Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

19

And the angel said to him in reply, "I am Gabriel, ⁸ who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.

20

But now you will be speechless and unable to talk ⁹ until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time."

21

Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.

22

But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

23

Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.

24

After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,

25

"So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others."

Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.