Part 13
(7) ^ Other allusions in the Synoptic Gospels, referring to natural history and customs, include the notice of domestic fowls (Mt 23 37; 26 34), which are never mentioned in the OT. They came from Persia, and were introduced probably after 400 BC. The use of manure (Lk 13 8) is also unnoticed in the OT, but is mentioned in the Mish {Sh'hi'iOt, ii.2), as is the custom of annually whitening sepulchers (Mt 23 27; Sh'kallm, i.l). The removal of a roof (Mk 2 4; cf Lk 5 19) at Capernaum was not difficult, if it resembled those of modern Galilean mud houses, though the Third Gospel speaks of "tiles" which are not now used. Finally, the presence of shepherds with their flocks
Literature.—Though the lit. connected with Pal is enormous, and constantly increasing, the number of reaUy original and scientihc sources of knowledge is (as in other cascsj not large. Besides the Bible, and Jos, the Mish contains a great deal of valuable information as to the cultivation and civilization of Pal about the 1st and 2d cents. AD. The following 20 works are of primary importance. The Onomasticon of Eusebius and Jerome shows intimate acquaintance with Pal in the 4th cent. AD, though the identification of Bible sites is as often wrong as right. The rabbinical geography is discussed by A. Neubauer {La geographie du Talmud, 1868), and the scattered notices by Gr and Rom writers were coUected by H. Reland {Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illuatrata, 2 vols, 1714). The first really scientific account of the country is that of Dr. E. Robinson
(Lk 2 8) is not an indication of the season of the nativity, since they remain with them "in the field" at all times of the year; and the "manger" (Lk 2 7) may have been (as tradition affirmed even in the 2d cent. AD) in a cave like those which have been found in ruins N. and S. of Hebron {SWP, III, 349, 369) and elsewhere in Pal.
(Bib. Researches, 1838, and Later Bib. Researches, 1852; in 3 vols, 1856). The Survey of Western Pal (7 vols, 1883) includes the present writer's account of the natural features, topography and surface remains of all ages, written while in command (1872-78) of the 1-inch trigonometric survey. The Survey of Eastern Pal (I vol, 1889) gives his account of JNIoab and Southern Ciilcad, as surveyed in 1881-82. The natural history is to be studied in the same series, and in Canon Tristram's Natural History of the Bible, 1868. The geology is best given by L. Lartet {Essai sur la geologie de la Palestine) and in Professor Hull's Memoir on the Geol. and Geog. of Arabia Petraea, etc, 1886. The Archaeological Researches of M. Clermont-Ganneau (2 vols, 1896) include his discoveries of Gezer and Adullam. Much information is scattered through the PEFQ (1864-1910) and in ZDPV. G.S,c\mm.3,c\ier's Across the Jordan, 18S5 Pclla 1888, and Northern ' AjlUn, 1890, give detailed information for Northeast Pal; and Lachish, by Professor Flinders Petrie, is the memoir of the e.xcavations which he began at Tell el-Hesy (identified in 1874 bv the present writer), the full account being in A Mound of Mann Cities by P. J. Bliss, 1894. Other excavations, at Gath etc, are described in Eicavations in Pal (1898-1900) by F. J. Bliss, R. A. S. Macalister, and Professor Wiinschwhile the memoir of his excavations at Gezer (2 vols) has recently been published by Professor Macalister. For those who have not access to these original sources The Historical Geography of the Holy Land by Professor G A. Smith, 1894, and the essay (300 pp.) by Professor D P. Buhl {Geographic des alien Paldstina, 1896) will be found useful. The best guide book to Pal is still that of
(1) The topography of the Fourth Gospel is important as indicating the writer's personal knowl-
edge of Pal; for he mentions several 2. Fourth places not otherwise noticed in the NT. Gospel Beth-abarah (Jn 1 28, RV "Bethany"; 10 40), or "the house of the crossing," was "beyond the Jordan." Origen rejected the reading "Bethania," instead of Beth-abarah, common in his time, and still found in the three oldest uncial MSS in the 4th and 5th cents. AD. The place was a day's journey from Cana (cf Jn 1 29.35.43; 2 1), which may have been at ^Ain Kdnd, a mile N. of Nazareth. It was two or three days' distance from Bethany near Jerus (Jn 10 40; 11 3.6.17), and would thus lie in the upper part of the Jordan valley where, in 1874, the surveyors found a ford well known by the name 'Abdrak, N. of Beisd/i, in the required situation. John, we are told, baptized in "all the region round about the Jordan" (Mt 3 5), including the waters of "Mnon near to Salim" (Jn 3 23). There is only one stream which answers to this description, namely that of Wddy Fdr'ah, N.E. of Shechem, on the boundary of Judaea and Samaria, where there is "much water." ^non would be 'Ainiin, 4 miles N., and Salim is Sdlim, 4 miles S. of this perennial affluent of the Jordan.
?„^,'^.?®'^S?^>^""*,'^ ^^, '^''- ^- ^^ot^'ti iind published in 1876', 1912. -This author had personal acquaintance with the prmcipal routes of the country. Only standard works of reference have been herein mentioned, to which French German American, and British explorers and scholars have alike contributed. See Jerds.\lem. _ C. R. CONDER PALESTINE (RECENT EXPLORATION): Preliminary Consideration
I. Er.a. of Prepar.vtion 1. Outside of Palestine 2. In Palestine (1) Early Christian Period (2) Period of Cursory Observation (3) Beginning of Scientific Observation II. Era of Scientific Exploration 1. Period of Individual Enterprise (1) First Trained Explorers
(2) The site of Sychar (Sam Iskar, Arab. ^Askar) near Jacob's well (Jn 4 5.6) lay W. of Salim, and just within the Sam border. The present village
is only half a mile N. of the well. Like the preceding
sites, it is noticed only in the Fourth Gospel, as is Bethesda, while this Gospel also gives additional indications as to the position of Calvary. The town of Ephraim, "near to the wilderness" (11 54), is noticed earlier (2 S 13 23; cf Ephraim, 2 Ch 13 19 m), and appears to be the same as Aphcrema
o i,^^ '^.'?l Climax of Individual Exploration 2. Scientific Cooperative Surface Exploration ,^. 5,' ^^o'** Recent Results in Surface Exploration III. Era of Scientific Excavation
1. Southern Palestine (1) Tell el-Hesy (2) Excavations in Jerusalem (3) Excavations in the Shophelah (4) Painted "Tombs of Marissa"
(I Mace 11 34), and as Ophrah of Benjamin (Josh 18 23; 1 S 13 17). Eusebius (Onom s.v.) places
2223 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Palestine Pal (Exploration)
2. Northern Palestine (1) Tell Ta'anntk (2) Tell el-Mutesellim (3) Tell HUm 3. Eastern Palestine Jericho 4. Central Palestine (1) Jerusalem (2) Samaria (3)
some of which are addressed to the "sons of Sanballat" and describe a temple in Egypt erected to Yahu (Jehovah) in the 5th cent. BC, may not give direct information concerning Pal, but are important to present explorers because of the light thrown upon the laws of Pal in patriarchal times; upon the thought and language of a neighboring Sem community at the time of the Monarchy; upon the religious ritual and festivals of Nchcmiah's day, and upon the general wealth and culture of the Jews of the 5th cent.; opening up al.so for the first time the intimate relations which existed between Jerus and Samaria and the Jews of the Dispersion. So the vast amounts of Gr papyri found recently in the Fayydm. not only have preserved the "Logia" and "Lost Gospels" and fragments of Scripture texts, early Christian Egyp ritual, etc, but have given to scholars for the first time contemporaneous examples of the colloquial language which the Jews of Pal were using in the 1st cent. AD, and in which they wrote the "memoirs" of the apostles and the Gospels of Jesus.
^ Ain Shems (4) Gezer Literature
Previous to the last century, almost the entire stock of knowledge concerning ancient Pal, including its races, laws, languages. Preliminary history and manners, was obtained Considerafrom Jos and the Bible, with a few tion brief additional references given by Gr and Rom authors; knowledge concerning modern Pal was limited to the reports of chance travelers. The change has been due largely to the compelling interest taken in sacred history and the "Holy Oracles." This smallest country in the world has aroused the spirit of exploration as no other country has or could. It has largely stimulated many of the investigations carried on in other lands.
(1) Early Christian period.—At this time, during the first three or four centuries the ancient sites and holy places were identified, giving 2. In some valuable information as to the Palestine topographical memories of the earlier church. By far the most valuable of these carefully prepared summaries of ancient Bible places, with their modern sites, and the distances between them, was the Onomaslicon of Eusebius, as it was enlarged by Jerome, which attempted seriously the identification of some 300 holy places, most of these being vitally important for the modern student of the Bible. While some of these identifications were "curiously incorrect" (Bliss) and the distances even at the best only approximate, yet few satisfactory additions were made to the list for 1,500 years; and it was certainly a splendid contribution to Palestinian topography, for the list as a whole has been confirmed by the scientific conclusions of recent investigators.
/. Era of Preparation.—Much direct information concerning ancient Pal, absolutely essential to the
success of modern exploration in that 1. Outside land, has come through discoveries of Palestine in other countries; but due in many cases to Bib. influence. All the most important Heb and Gr MSS and VSS of the Bible and most of the Jewish Talm and apocryphal and Wisdom books were found outside of Pal. The pictures of its population, cities, fortresses and armies give a color and perspective to its ancient history far more vivid than can be found on any of
its own contemporary monuments. The records of Thothmes III (15th cent. BC) describing the capture of Megiddo in the plain of Esdraelon with its vast stores of "chariots wrought with gold," bronze armor, silver and ebony statues, ivory and ebony furniture, etc, and of his further capture of 1 18 other Can. towns, many of which are well known from the Bible, and from which he takes an enormous tribute of war materials, golden ornaments and golden dishes, "too many to be weighed," find no parallel in any indigenous record—such records even if written having been doomed to perish because of the soil, climate and character of the rocks W. of the Jordan. So c 1400 BC, the Am Tab (discovered in 1887) mention by name many Bib. cities, and give much direct information concerning the political and social conditions at that period, with at least 6 letters from the governor of Jerus, who writes to the Pharaoh news that the Egyp fleet has left the
(2) Period of cursory observation.—The earhest traveler who has left a record of his journey into Pal was Sinuhit, who, perhaps a century after Abraham, mentions a number of places known to us from the Bible and describes Canaan as a "land of figs and vines where wine was more plentiful than water honey and oil In abundance .... all kinds of fruit upon its trees, barley and spelt in the fields, and cattle beyond number"; each day his table is laden with "bread, wine, cooked flesh and roasted fowl .... wild game from the hills and milk in every sort of cooked dish" (Breasted, Ancient Record.'!. I, 496). A few other Egyp visitors (1300-1000 BC) add little to our knowledge. The report of the Heb spies (Nu 13) records important observations, although they can only humorously be called " genuine explorers " (Bliss), and Joshua's list of cities and tribes, although their t)Oundaries are carefully described (chs 13-21), are natvu-ally excluded from this review.
coast, that all the neighboring cities have been lost
to Egypt, and that Jerus will be lost unless help can be had quickly against the invasion of the Khabiri. The literature of the XlXth Dynasty contains many Heb names with much information concerning Goshen, Pithom, Canaan, etc, while in one huge stele of Menephtah the Israelites are mentioned by name. Later Egyp Pharaohs give almost equally important knowledge concerning
The record of early Christian travel begins with the Bordeaux Pilgrim (332 AD), and during the next ti.o centuries scores of others write out their observations in the Holy Land, but for 1.000 years there Is scarcely a single visitor who looks at the country except through the eyes of the monks. A woman traveler of the 4lh cent, reports some interesting facts about the early ritual of the Jerus church and the catechumen teaching, and surprises us by locating Pithom correctly (although the site was totally forgotten and only recovered in 1883), and the Epitome of Eucherius (,5th cent.) gives a clear description of the holy places in Jerus ; but almost the only other significant sign that anyone at this era ever made serious observations of value comes from the very large, fine mosaic of the 5th ctnt. recently discovered at Madeba, which gives a good impression of ancient Jerus with its buildings, and a careful bird'seye view of the surrounding country (see below 11,3). By the middle of the 6th cent, the old "Holy Places" were covered by ciiurches, while new ones were manufactured or discovered in dreams, and relics of martyrs' bones began to engross so much attention that no time was left in which to make any ordinary geographical or natural-liistory observations. A little local color and a few facts in regard to the plan of early churches and the persecution of Christians by Moslems constitute almost the sum total of value to be
Pal, while the Assyr texts are even more direct. The black obehsk of Shalmaneser II (9th cent.) catalogues and pictures the tribute received from Jehu; almost every king of the 8th cent, tells something of his relations with the rulers of Jerus or Damascus, throwing immense light on local
pohtics, and the later Bab records give vividly the
conditions previous to and during the exile, while
the edict of Cyrus gives the very decree by virtue
of which the Jews could return to their native land. Later discoveries, like the CH at Susa (1901), the
SendjirH and other Aram, texts from Northern
Syria (1890, 1908), and the Elephantine papyri.
Pal (Exploration) THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2224
the latter, having become an Arab in looks and language, was able to go into many places where no European had ventured, one of his chief triumphs being the discovery of Petra and the scientific location of Mt. Sinai.
gathered from the multitude of pilgrims between the 6th and 12th cents. In the 12th cent. John of Wiirzburg gives a few geographical notes of value; Theoderich notices certain inscriptions and tombs, describes accurately the churches and hospitals he visits, with their pictures and decorations, and outhnes intelligently the boundaries of Judaea and the sahent features of the mountains encompassing Jerus; the Abbot Daniel notices the wild beasts in the Jordan forests and the customs at church feasts, and his account is important because of the hght it throws on conditions in Pal just after its conquest by the Crusaders, while in the 13th cent. Burchard of Rlt. Zion makes the earUest known mediaeval map of Pal, mentions over 100 Scripture sites, and shows unexpected interest in the plant and animal life of the country—but this practically exhausts the valuable information from Christian sources in these centuries. The Moslem pilgrims and writers from the 9th to the 15th cents, show far more regard to geographical realities than the Christians. It is a Moslem, Istakhri, who in the 10th cent, makes the first effort at a systematic geography of Pal, and in the 10th and 13th cents., respectively, Mukaddasi, after 20 years of preparation, and Yaliut, in 'a "vast work," publish observations concerning climate, native customs, geographical divisions, etc, which are yet valuable, while Nasir-iKhusran, in the 11th cent., also gave important information concerning Palestinian botany, gave dimensions of buildings and gates, and even noticed to some extent the ancient arches and ruins—though in all these there are pitiful inaccuracies of observation and induction. One of the best Moslem writers thinks the water of Lake Tiberias is not fit to drink because the city sewerage has ceased to flow into it, and Christian writers from the 7th cent, down to modern times continually mention the Jor and Dan as two fountains from which the Jordan rises, and continually report the most absurd stories about the Dead Sea and about its supernatural saltness, never noticing the salt mountain near by and the other simple causes explaining this phenomenon. See Dead Sea.
(2) The climax of individual exploration.—The climax of the era of scientific observation, unassisted by learned societies, was reached by the American clergyman and teacher, Edward Robinson. He spent parts of two years in Pal (1838 and 1852) and in 1856 published 3 vols of Biblical Researches. He strictly employed the scientific method, and showed such rare insight that scarcely one of his conclusions has been found incorrect. His knowledge was as extensive as minute, and although he gave, in all. only five months of steady labor to the specific task of exploration, yet in that time he "reconstructed the map of Pal" (Bliss), and his conclusions henceforth "formed the ground work of modern research" (Conder). He studied Jerus, being the first to show that the ancient fragment of an arch (now " Robinson's
' } had been part of the bridge connecting the temple with Mt. Zion, and was the first to trace with accuracy the windings of the tunnel leading from the Virgin's Fount to the Pool of Siloam. All Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were very well covered by him. He was the first to notice that the ruined building at Tell Hum was a synagogue; from the top of one hill he recognized seven Bib. sites which had been lost for at least 1,600 years; he identified correctly at least 160 new sites, almost all being Bib. places. Robinson's results were phenomenal in number and variety, yet necessarily these have been constantly improved upon or added to in each generation since, for no man can cover the entire field or be a specialist in every department. W. M. Thomson in his LB (new cd. 1910) and G. E. Post, Flora of Syria, Pal, and Sinai (1896), gave a needed popular resume of the manners, customs and folklore of the people, as these illustrated the Bible, and many books and articles since have added to this material.
In 1848 the United States sent an expedition under Lieutenant Lynch to the Dead Sea, which ascertained the exact width, depth, currents, temperature, etc, and many parties since have added to this knowledge (see e.g. Dead Sea; and also PEFS, 1911, XII, 7). From 1854 to 1862 De Vogfie thoroughly examined the monuments of Central Syria and remained the sole authority on this section down to the American Archaeological Expedition of 1899. Tabler (184.5-63) scientifically described Jerus and its environs, and the districts lying between Jaffa and the Jordan, and between Jerus and Bethel. Guerin who studied Pal during periods covering 23 years (1852-75), though limited by lack of funds, covered topographically, with a minuteness never before attempted, almost the whole of Judaea, Samaria and Galilee, gathering also many new records of monuments and inscriptions, the record of which was invaluable because many of these had been completely destroyed before the arrival of the next scientific party. A most sensational discovery was that of Rev. P. Klein in 1868, when he found at Dibon the huge basalt tablet set up by Mesha, king of Moab (9th cent. BC), on which in a language closely resembling the Heb, he gave honor to his god Chemosh by describing his successful revolt against a successor of Omri, the latter being mentioned by name with many well-known Bib. places. In style, thought and language this inscription greatly resembles the early OT records.
In the 14th cent. Marino Sanuto gave a "most complete monograph" (Ritter) of Palestinian geography, his maps being really valuable, though, according to modern standards, quite inaccurate. The Jew, Estoai ben Moses ha-Phorhi, in this same century advanced beyond all Christian writers in a work of "real scientific knowledge" (Bliss), in which he correctly identified Megiddo and other ancient sites, though the value of his work was not recognized for 400 years. The groat name of the 15th cent, is that of the Dominican, Father Felix Fabri, who in his large book, Wanderijigs in the Holy Land, was the first to notice monuments and ruins to which no Bib. traditions were attached (Bhss), and who, within a decade of the discovery of America, described most vividly the dangers and nuseries of the sea voyages of that era, and in most modern fashion narrated his adventures among the Saracens; yet notwithstanding the literary value of the book and his better method of arranging his materials, Fabri actually explained the saltness of the Dead Sea as due to the sweat which flowed from the skin of the earth! In the 16th cent, travelers showed more interest in native customs, but the false traditional identification of sites was scarcely questioned; the route of travel was always the same, as it was absolutely impossible to get E. of the Jordan, and even a short trip away from the caravan was dangerous.
(3) Beginning of scientific observation.—In the 17th cent. Mlchal Nau, for 30 years a missionary in Pal, De la Roque and Halliflx showed a truly scientific veracity of observation and an increasing accuracy in the recording and verification of their notes, and Maundrell advanced beyond all his predecessors in noticing the antiquities on the seacoast, N. of Beirut; but all of these, though possessing fine qualities as explorers, were forced to travel hastily and limit their study to a very narrow field.
With the foundation of the Palestine Exploration Fund (1865) the work of exploration took on an
entirely new phase, since in this case, 2. Scientific not a single individual, but a large Cooperative company of speciahsts entered the Surface Exwork, having behind them sufficient ploration funds for adequate investigation in each necessary line of research, and with the British War Office furnishing its expert Royal Engineers to assist the enterprise. Under the auspices of this society during the next 15 years Jerus was explored as never before, and all Western Pal was topographically surveyed (see below); a geological survey (1883-84) of Sinai, Wdrhj'Arahah and the Dead Sea, and later of Mt. Seir (1885) was accomplished under Professor Edward Hull; the natural history of the country was treated with great thoroughness by several specialists; Palmer and Drake in the dress of Syrian natives, without servants, risked the dangerous journey through the Desert of the Tih in order to locate so far as possible the route of the Exodus; Clermont-Ganneau, who had i)revious]y made the discovery of the Jewish placard from the Temple, forbidding strangers to enter the sacred enclosure, added greatly to archaeological knowledge by gathering and deciphering many ancient inscriptions, uncovering buried
//. Era of Scientific Exploration.— (1) First trained explorers.—True scientific exploration opened with the 18th cent., as men began to think of this
1. Period of ^^ itself an important life-work and not TnHiviHiial merely as a short episode in a life devoted inuiviuudi (^Q niore serious pursuits. Enterprise Th. Shaw (1722) carefully fitted himself as a specialist in natural history and physical geography, and scientifically reported a number of new facts, e.g. conditions and results of evaporation, etc, in the Dead Sea. - Bisliop Pococke (1738) had been well trained, was free from the bondage of tradition, and did for the antiquities of Pal what Maundrell had done for those of Syria, making a large number of successful identifications of sites and contributing much to the general knowledge of Pal. Volney (1783) was a brihiant literary man, in full sympathy with the scientific spirit, who popularized results and made a considerable number of original researches, esp. in the Lebanon. Seetzcn (lSOO-7) and Burckhardt (1810-12) are called by Bliss "veritable pioneers in tlic exploration of the ruins of Eastern and Southern Pal." The former opened Caesarea Philippi to light, visited a large unexplored district and made important observations in almost every field of knowledge, zoology, meteorology, archaeology;
2225 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Pal (Exploration)
scientific topographical map of Eastern Pal. In 1881 H. Clay Trumbull rediscovered and properly described Kadesh-barnea, settling authoritatively
cemeteries, rock-cut tombs and other monuments. He also laid down important criteria for the age of stone masonry (yet see PEFS, 1897, LXI); identified various sites including AduUam, found the "stone of Bethphage," "Zoheleth," etc, and made innumerable plans of churches, mosques, tombs, etc, and did an incredible amount of other important work. Capt., afterward Col., C. R. Conder did an equally important work, and as the head of the archaeological party could finally report 10,000 place-names as having been gathered, and 172 new Bible sites successfully identified, while the boundaries of the tribes had been practically settled and many vitally important Bible locations for the first timefixed. The excavations in Jerus under the same auspices had meanwhile been carried out as planned. After an introductory examination by Sir Charles Wilson, including some little excavating. Sir Charles Warren (1867-70) and, later, Col. Conder (1872-75) made thorough excavations over a large area, sinking shafts and following ancient walls to a depth of 80-150 ft. They uncovered the Temple-area from its countless tons of debris and traced its approximate outUne; examined underground rock chambers; opened ancient streets; discovered many thousand specimens of pottery, glass, tools, etc, from Jewish to Byzantine periods; found the pier in the Tyropoeon Valley, where Robinson's arch had rested, and also parts of the ancient bridge; traced the line of several important ancient walls, locating gates and towers, and fixed the date of one wall certainly as of the 8th cent. BC, and probably of the age of Solomon (G. A. Smith), thus accomplishing an epoch-making work upon which
its location and thus making it possible to fix previously obscure places mentioned in the account of the Exodus wanderings. Since 1890 continued investigations in small districts not adequately described previously have taken place, new additions to the zoological, botanical, geological and meteorological knowledge of Pal have been frequent; studies of irrigation and the water-supply have been made, as well as investigations into the customs, proverbs, folklore, etc, of the Arabs; many districts E. of the Jordan and through Petra down into Sinai have yielded important results, and many discoveries of surface tombs, ossuaries, mosaics, seals and manuscripts have been made in many parts of Pal. This has been done perhaps chiefly by the Palestine Exploration Fund, but much by individuals and some by the newly organized excavation societies (see below). The most surprising discoveries made by this method of surface exploration (a method which can never become completely obsolete) have been the finding at different times of the four Boundary Stones of Gezer (1874, 1881, 1889) by Clermont-Ganneau, and, in 1896, of the very large mosaic at Madeba by Father Cleopas, librarian of the Greek Patriarch.
The latter proved to be part of the pavement of a 6th-cent. basilica and is a "veritable map of Pal," showing its chief cities, the boundaries of the tribes, and esp. the city of Jerus with its walls, gates, chief buildings, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and chief streets, notably one long straight street intersecting the city and lined with colonnades. As Madeba lies near the foot of Mt. Nebo, it is thought the artist may have intended to represent ideally a modern (6th-cent.) vision of Moses. George Adam Smith (HGHL, 7th ed, 1901); Jerusalem (2 vols, 1910), and E. Huntington, Pal and Its Transformation (1911), have given fine studies illustrating the supreme importance of accurate topographical knowledge in order to understand correctly the Bible narratives and the social life and politics of the Hebrews.
all more recent explorers have safely rested—as Maudslay (1875), in his masterly discovery and examination of the Great Scarp, and Guthe (1881), who made fine additional discoveries at Ophel, as well as Warren and Conder in their work afterward
(1884), when they published plans of the whole city with its streets, churches, mosques, etc, 25
in. to the mile, which in that direction remains a basis for all later work. See Jerusalem. Perhaps, however, the greatest work of all done by this society was the Topographical Survey (1881-
///. Era of Scientific Excavation.— (1) Tell elHesy (Palestine Exploration Fund).—Exploration must always continue, but excavation
86), accomplished for Judaea and Samaria by Col. Conder, and for Galilee by Lord Kitchener, resulting in a great map of Western Pal in 26 sheets, on a scale of an inch to the mile (with several abridged additions), showing all previous identifications of ancient places. These maps, with the seven mag-
1. Southern is a vast advance. The modern era Palestine in Palestinian study begins with Petrie at Lachish (q.v.) in 1890. Though Renan was actually the first man to put a spade into the soil (1860), yet his results were practically confined to Phoenicia. From Renan's time to 1890 there had been no digging whatever, excepting some narrow but thorough work in Jerus, and a slight tickhng of the ground at Jericho and at the so-called Tombs of the Kings. Nothing was more providential than this delay in beginning extensive excavations in Pal, such as had been previously so profitably conducted in Egypt and elsewhere. The results could not have been interpreted even two years earlier, and even when these excavations were commenced, the only man living who could have understood what he found was the man who had been selected to do the work. Nearly two centuries before, a traveler in Pal (Th. Shaw) had suggested the possibility of certain mounds ("tells") being artificial (cf Josh 8 28; Jer 30 18); but not even Robinson or Gu6rin had suspected that these were the cenotaphs of buried cities, but had believed them to be mere natural hills. The greatest hour in the history of exploration in Pal, and perhaps in any land, was that in which on a day in
nificent vols of memoirs, etc, giving the other
scientific work done by the various parties, marked such an epoch-making advance in knowledge that
it has been called "the most important contribution to illustrate the Bible since its translation into the vulgar tongue."
In addition to the above the Palestine Exploration Fund established a Quarterly Statement and
Society of Biblical Archaeology from which sub-
scribers could keep in touch with the latest Bib.
results, and published large quantities of tr= of ancient texts and travels and of books reporting
discoveries as these were made. Altogether more advance was made during these 15 years from 186580 than in the 15 centuries before. The next ten years (1880-90) did not furnish as much new material from Pal exploration, but in 1880 the Siloam Inscription (cf 2 K
3. Most 20 20; 2 Ch 32 30) was accidentally Recent found in Jerus, showing the accuracy Results in with which the engineers of Hezekiah's Surface Exday could, at least occasionally, cut
ploration long tunnels through the rock (see
April, 1890, W. M. Fhnders Petrie climbed up the
also Clermont-Ganneau, Archaeological
side of Tell el-Hesy, situated on the edge of the
Researches, 313); and in 1881-85 Conder and Schumacher attempted their difficult task of making a
Phili plain, c 30 miles S.W. of Jerus, and 17 miles
Pal (Exploration) THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2226
N.E. from Gaza, and by examining its strata, which had been exposed by the stream cutting down its side, determined before sunset the fact, from pieces of pottery he had seen, that the site rnarked a city covering 1,000 years of history, the limits of occupation being probably 1500 BC to 500 BC. This ability to date the several occupations of a site without any inscription to assist him was due to the chronological scale of styles of pottery which he had originated earlier and worked out positively for the Gr epochs at Naukratis a year or two before, and for the epochs preceding 1100 BC at Illahun in the Fayyum only a month or two before. The potsherds were fortunately very numerous at Tell el-Hesy, and by the end of his six weeks' work he could date approximately some eight successive occupations of the city, each of these being mutually exclusive in certain important forms of pottery in common use. Given the surface date, depth of accumulation and rate of deposit as shown at Lachish, and a pretty sure estimate of the history of other sites was available. Not only was this pottery scale so brilliantly confirmed and elaborated at Tell el-Hesy that all excavators since have been able accurately to date the last settlement on a mound almost by walking over it; but by observations of the methods of stone dressing he was able to rectify many former guesses as to the age of buildings and to establish some valuable architectural signs of age. He proved that some of the walls at this site were built by "the same school of masons which built the Temple of Solomon," and also that the Ionic volute, which the Greeks borrowed from the Asiatics, went back in Pal at least to the 10th cent. BC, while on one pilaster he found the architectural motif of the
city was nearly 30 ft. thick, that of the next city 17 ft. thick, while the latest wall was thin and weak. The oldest city covered a space 1,300 ft. sq., the latest one only about 200 ft. sq. The oldest pottery had a richer color and higher polish than the
later, and this art was indigenous, for at this level no Phoen or Mycenaean styles were found. The late pre-Israelitish period (1550-800 BC) shows such importations and also local Cypriote imitations. In the "Jewish" period (800-300 BC) this influence
is lost and the new styles are coarse and ungraceful, such degeneration not being connected with the entrance of Israel into Canaan, as many have supposed, but with a later period, most probably with the desolation which followed the exile of the ten tribes (Bliss and Petrie). In the pre-Israelite
cities were found mighty towers, fine bronze implements, such as battle-axes, spearheads, brace-
lets, pins, needles, etc, a wine and treacle press, one very large building "beautifully symmetrical," a smelting furnace, and finally an inscribed tablet from Zimrida, known previously from the Am Tab to have been governor of Lachish, c 1400 BC. Many Jewish pit ovens were found in the later ruins and large quantities of pottery, some containing potters' marks and others with inscriptions. Clay figures of Astarte, the goddess of fertility, were found in the various layers, one of these being of the unique Cypriote type, with large earrings, and many Egyp figures, symbols and animal forms. See also Lachish.
(2) Excavations in Jerus.—During 1894-97, notwithstanding the previously good work done in Jerus (see above) and the peculiar embarrassments connected with the attempt to dig in a richly populated town. Dr. Bliss, assisted by an expert architect, succeeded in adding considerably to the sum of knowledge. He excavated over a large area, not only positively confirming former inductions, but discovering the remains of the wall of the empress Eudocia (450 AD), and under this the line of wall which Titus had destroyed, and at a deeper level the wall which surrounded the city in the Herodian age, and deeper yet that which must probably be dated to Hezekiah, and below this a construction "exquisitely dressed, with pointed masonry," which must be either the remains of a wall of Solomon or some other preexilic fortification not later than the 8th cent. He found gates and anciently paved streets and manholes leading to ancient sewer systems, and many articles of interest, but esp. settled disputed questions concerning important walls and the levels of the ancient hills, thus fixing the exact topography of the ancient city. H. G. Mitchell and others have also carefully examined certain lines of wall, identifying Nehemiah's Dung Gate, etc, and making a new survey of certain parts of underground Jerus, the results of the entire work being a modification of tradition in a few particulars, but confirmatory in most. The important springs and reservoirs, valleys and hills of the ancient Jerus have been certainly identified.^ It is now settled that modern Jerus "still sits virtually upon her ancient seat and at much the same slope," though not so large as the Jerus of the kings of Judah which certainly extended over the Southwestern Hill. Mt. Zion, contrary to tradition which located it on the Southwestern Hill where the citadel stands, probably lay on the Eastern Hill above the Virgin's Spring (Gihon). On this Eastern Hill at Ophel lay the Temple, and S. of the Temple on the same hill "above Gihon" lay the old Jebusite stronghold (David's City). The ancient altar of burnt offering was almost surely at es-Sakhra. The evidence has not been conclusive as to the line of the second wall, so that the site of Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre cannot certainlv
"ram's horn" (cf Ps 118 27). He also concluded, contrary to former belief, that this mound marked the site of Lachish (,Josh 10 31; 2 K 18 14), as by a careful examination he found that no other ruins near could fill the known historic conditions of that city, and the inscription found by the next excavator and all more recent research make this conclusion practically sure. Lachish was a great fortress of the ancient world. The Egyp Pharaohs often mention it, and it is represented in a picture on an Assyr monument under which is written, "Sennacherib .... receives the spoil of Lachish" (see 2 K 18 14). It was strategically a strong position, the natural hill rising some 60 ft. above the valley and the fortification which Sennacherib probably attacked being over 10 ft. thick. The debris lay from 50-70 ft. deep on top of the hill. Petrie fixed the directions of the various walls, and settled the approximate dates of each city and of the imported pottery found in several of these. One of the most unexpected things was an iron knife dug up from a stratum indicating a period not far from the time when Israel must have entered Canaan, this being the earliest remnant of iron weapons ever found up to this date (cf Josh 17 16). The next two years of scientific digging (1891-
92), admirably conducted by Dr. F. G. JBliss on this
site, wholly confirmed Petrie's general inductions, though the limits of each occupation were more exactly fixed and the beginning of the oldest city was pushed back to 1700 BC. The work was conducted under the usual dangers, not only from the Bedawtn, but from excessive heat (1()4° in the shade), from malaria which at one time prostrated 8 of the 9 members of the staff, scarcity of water, which had to be carried 6 miles, and from the sirocco (see my report, PEFS, XXI, 160-70 and Petrie's and Bliss's journal, XXI, 219-46; XXIII, 192, etc). He excavated thoroughly one-third of the entire hill, moving nearly a million cubic feet of debris. He found that the wall of the oldest
2227 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Pal (Exploration)
be determined (see George Adam Smith's exhaustive work, Jerus, 2 vols, 1907; Sir Charles Wilson, Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre, 1906; and ct Selah Merrill, Ancient Jerus, 1908; C. R. Conder, City of Jerus, 1909; P. H. Vincent, Underground Jerus, 1911).
and sometimes two heavy coats of plaster on the walls; the houses occasionally had vaulted roofs but usually the ordinary roof of today, made of boards and rushes covered with clay. No religious building was found and no trace of a colonnade, except perhaps a few fragments of ornament. An
(3) Excavations in the Shephelah (Palestine Exploration Fund) .—During 1898-1900 important work was done by Bliss and Macalister at 4 sites on the border land between Philistia and Judaea, while five other small mounds were tunneled, but without important results. The four chief sites were Tell Zakariya, lying about midway between Jerus and Tell el-Hesy; Tell e.j Safi, 5 miles W. of Tell Zakariya, and Tell Sandahannah, about 10 miles S.; while Tell ej-Judeideh \ay between Tell Zakariya and Tell Sandahannah. As Tell ejJudeideh was only half-excavated and merely confirmed other results, not being remarkable except for the large quantity of jar inscriptions found (37), we omit further mention of it. (a) Tell Zakariya: From this height, 1,214 ft. above the sea, almost all Philistia could be seen. A pre-Israelitish town was found under some 20 ft. of debris, containing pre-Israelitish, Jewish and Seleueidan pottery. Many vaulted cisterns, partly hewn from the rock, were found in the lowest level. In later levels Jewish pit ovens were found and inscribed jarhandles with winged Egyp symbols, implements of bronze, iron, bone and stone, and Egyp images of Bes and the Horus eye, etc, besides a strange bronze figure of a woman with a fish's tail which seems to represent Atargatis of Ashkelon. The ancient rampart was strengthened, perhaps in Rehoboam's time, and towers were added in the Seleueidan era. Only half of this site was excavated. (6) Tell esSafi: The camp was pitched near here in the Vale of Elah. From a depth of 21 ft. to the rock, was found the characteristic pre-Israelitish pottery and much imported pottery of the Mycenaean type. A high place was also found here, containing bones of camels, sheep, cows, etc, and several monoliths of soft limestone in situ, and near by a jar-burial. In an ancient rubbish heap many fragments of the goddess of fertility were found. Many old Egyp and later Or relics were also found, and four Bab seals and the usual pottery from Jewish and later periods. With strong probability this site was identified as Gath. (c) Tell Sandahannah: This was situated c 1,100 ft. above sea-level. The town covered about 6 acres and was protected by an inner and outer wall and occasional towers. The strongest wall averaged 30 ft. thick. The work done here "was unique in the history of Palestinian excavation" (Bhss). At Tell el-Hesy only onethird of each stratum was excavated; at Tell Zakariya only one-half; at Jerus the work was confined to the enclosures of the temple, a few city walls and a few churches, pools, streets, etc, but at
Stamped Jar-Handles, Lamp and Iron Implements from
Tombs at Beit JibHn.
enormous columbarium was uncovered (1906 niches)
No less than 328 Gr inscriptions were found on the handles of imported wine jars. Under the Seleueidan town was a Jewish town built of rubble, the pottery of the usual kind including stamped jarhandles. An Astarte was found in the Jewish or Gr stratum, as also various animal forms. The Astarte was very curious, about 11 in. high, hollow, wearing a long cloak, but with breasts, body and part of right leg bare, having for headdress a closely fitting sunbonnet with a circular serrated top ornament in front and with seven stars in relief. A most striking find dating from about the 2d cent. AD was that of 16 little human figures bound in fetters of lead, iron, etc, undoubtedly representing "revenge dolls" through which the owners hoped to work magic on enemies, and 49 fragments of magical tablets inscribed in Gr on white limestone, with exorcisms, incantations and imprecations. It ought to be added that the four towns as a whole supplement each other, and positively confirm former results. No royal stamps were found at Tell el-Hesy, but 77 were found in these 4 sites, in connection with 2or 4-winged symbols (Egyp scarabaeus or winged sundisk). Writing-materials (styli) were found in all strata, their use being "continuous from the earliest times into the Seleueidan period" (BUss). From the four towns the evolution of the lamp could be traced from the pre-Israelite, through the Jewish to the Gr period. Some 150 of the labyrinthine rockcut caves of the district were also examined, some of which must be pre-Christian, as in one of these a million cubic feet of material had been excavated, yet so long ago that all signs of the rubbish had been washed away.
Tell Sandahannah "we recovered almost an entire town, probably the ancient Mareshah [Josh 15
(4) Painted "Tombs of Marissa."—ln 1902 John P. Peters and Hermann Thiersc^h discovered at Beit Jibrin (adjoining Tell Sandahannah) an example of sepulchral art totally different from any other ever found in Pal. It was a tomb containing several chambers built by a Sidonian, the walls being brilliantly painted, showing a bull, panther, serpent, ibex, crocodile with ibis (?) on its back, hunter on horseback, etc, with dated inscriptions, the earliest being 196 BC (see John P. Peters, Painted
44], with its inner and outer walls, its gateSj streets,
lanes, open places, houses, reservoirs, etc' (Bliss). Nearly 400 vessels absolutely intact and unbroken were found. It was a Seleueidan town of the 3d and 2rl cent. BC, with no pre-Israelitish remains. The town was built with thin brick, like blocks of
soft limestone, set with wide joints and laid in mud with occasionally larger, harder stones chisel-
picked. The town was roughly divided into blocks
of streets, some of the streets being paved. The houses were lighted from the street and an open
Tombs in Necropolis of Marissa, 1905). The writer (April 18, 1913) found another tomb here of similar character, decorated with grapes, birds, two cocks
court. Very few rooms were perfectly rectangular, while many were of awkward shape. Many closets were found and pit ovens and vaulted cisterns, reached by staircases, as also portions of the old drainage system. The cisterns had plastered floors,
(life size), etc. Perhaps most conspicuous was a wreath of beautiful flowers with a cross ® in its
center. Nothing shows the interrelations of that
Pal(Exploration) THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2228
peculiarly foreign type, wearing excessively large
age more tlmii this Phoon rolony, living in Pal, using the Gr language but employing Egyp and Libyan charaeteristics freely in their funeral art.
earrings, and this is in close connection with one
of the most unique discoveries ever made in Pal —a hollow terra cotta Can. or Israehte (2 K 16 10)
(1) Tell Ta^aniu'k (Austrian government and Vienna Academy).—During short seasons of three
altar (800-600 BC), having no bottom but with
holes in its walls which admitted air and insured
years (1902-4) Professor Ernst SelUn
draft when fire was kindled below; in its ornamen-
2. Northern of Vienna made a rapid examination Palestine of this tovn\ (Bib. Taanach), situated in the plain of Esdraelon in Northern Pal, on the ancient road between Egypt and
tation showdng a mixture of Bab and Egyp motives, having on its right side winged animals with human heads by the side of which is a man (or boy)
struggling with a serpent the jaws of which are widely distended in anger; at its top two ram's (?) horns, and between them a sacrificial bowd in which
to receive the "drink offering"; on its front a tree
(of hfe), and on each side of it a rampant ibex. A bronze serpent was found near this altar, as also near the high place at Gezer. Continuous evidence
of the gruesome practice of foundation sacrifices, mostly of little children, but in one case of an adult, was found between the 13th and 9th cents. BC, after which they seem to cease. In one house the skeletons
of a lady and five children w-ere found, the former with her rings and necklace of gold, five pearls, two
scaral^s, etc. Many jar-burials of new-born infants, 16 in one place, were found, and, close to this deposit, a rock-hewn altar with a jar of yellow incense (?). Egyp and Bab images were found of different eras and curious little human-looking amulets (as were
also found at Lachish) in which the parental parts
are prominent, which Sellin and Bliss believe to be "teraphim" (Gen 31 19.34; but see Driver, Modern Research, 57, etc), such as Rachel, being pregnant, took with her to protect her on the hard journey from Haran to Pal (Macalister).
Interior of Tomb at Marissa.
Babylon. Over 100 laborers were employed and digging was carried on simultaneously at several different points on the mound, the record being kept in an unusually systematic way and the
The high place, with one or more steps leading up to it, suggesting "elevation, isolation and mystery" (Vincent), is represented here as in so many other Palestinian ruins, and the evidence shows that it continued long after the entrance of
official reports being minute and exhaustive. Only a general statement of results can be given, with an indication of the directions in which the "findings" were peculiar. The absence of Phoen and Mycenaean influence upon the pottery in the earliest levels
Israel into Canaan. When Israel entered Pal, no break occurred in the civilization, the art development continuing at about the same level; so probably the two races were at about the same culture-
(1000-1600 BC) is just as marked as at other sites, the kind of pottery and the presence of Sem magi;ebholh (see Images) in the Jewdsh periods are just as in previous sites, and the development in mason w-ork and in pottery is identically the same in this
level, or else the Hebrew occupation of the land was very gradual. In the 8th cent, there seems to be an indication of the entrance of a different race, which doubtless is due to the Assyr exile. A most interesting discovery was that of the dozen cuneiform tablets found in a terra cotta chest or jar (cf Jer 32 14) from the pre-Israelite city.
first city to be excavated in Northern Pal as in Southern Pal. "The buildings and antiques might be interchanged bodily without any serious confusion of the archaeological history of Pal. .... Civilization over all Western Pal is thus shown to have had the same course of development, whether we study it N. or S." (Macalister). This
These few letters cannot accurately be called
' the first library found in Pal"; but they do prove that libraries were there, since the personal and comparatively unimportant character of some of these notes and their easy and flowing style prove that legal, business and literary documents must have existed. These show that letterwriting was used not only in great questions of state between foreign countries, but in local matters between little contiguous towns, and that while Pal at this period
is by far the most important result of this excavation, showing that, notwithstanding divergences in many directions, an equivalent civilization, proving a unity in the douiinating race, can be seen over all parts of Pal so far examined. Iron
is introduced at the same time (c 1000 BC), and even the toys and pottery decorations are similar, and this continues through all the periods, including the Jewish. Yet foreign intercourse is common, and the idols, even from the earliest period, "show religious syncretism" (Sellin). From almost the oldest layer comes a curious seal cylinder containing both Egyp and Bab features. On one pre-Israelite tablet are pictures of Hadad and Baal. The Astarte cult is not quite as prominent here as in Southern Pal. No figures of the goddess come from the earliest strata, but from 1600 BC to c 900-800 BC they are common; after this they cease. The ordinary type of Astarte found in Babylonia and Cyprus as well as in Pal—with crown, neck-
(c 1400 BC) was politically dependent on Egypt, yet Babylonia had maintained its old literary supremacy. One of these letters mentions "the finger of Ashirat," this deity recalling the 'dsherdh or sacred post of the OT (see Images); another note is written by Ahi-Yawi, a name which corresponds to Heb Ahijah ("Jeh is Brother"), thus indicating that the form of the Divine name was then known in Canaan, though its meaning (i.e. the essential name; cf Ex 6 3; 34 0; Neh 1 9; Jer 44 20), may not have been known. Ahi-Yawi invokes upon Ishtar-washur the blessing of the " Lord of the Gods."
On the same level with these letters were found two subterranean cells with a rock-hewn chamber
in front and a rock-hewn altar above, and even the ancient drain which is supjiosed to have conveyed the blood from the altar into tlie "chamber of the dead" below. It may be added that Dr.
lace, girdle, anklets, and hands clasped on breasts
Sellin thinks the condition of the various walls of the city is entirely harmonious with the Bible accounts of its history (Josh 12 21; 17 11; Jgs
is found most frequently; but from the 12th to the 9th cent, other forms appear representing her as naked, with hips abnormally enlarged, to show her power of fecundity. One figure is of a
1 27; 5 19-21; 1 K 4 12; 9 1.5; 1 Ch 7 29). So
far as the ruins testify, there was no settled city life
2229 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Pal (Exploration)
between c 600 BC and 900 AD, i.e. it became a desolation about the time of the Bab captivity. An Arab castle dates from about the 10th cent. AD.
lection. A second seal of lapis lazuli, which Schumacher and Kautzsch date from about the 7th cent. BC, also contains in Old Heb the name "Asaph" (dMu. N, 1906, 334; MNDPV, 1904, 147). There are several other remarkable works of art, as e.g. a woman playing the tambourine, wearing an Egyp headdress; several other figures of women besides several Astartes, and esp. a series of six terra cotta heads, one with a prominent Sem nose, another with Egyp characteristics, another quite un-Egyp, with regular features, vivacious eyes, curls falling to her shoulders and garlanded with flowers.
(2) Tell el-Mutesellim (Megiddo, Josh 12 21; Jgs 5 19; 2 K 9 27).—This great commercial and military center of Northern Pal was opened to the world in 1903-5 by Dr. Schumacher and his efficient staff, the diggings being conducted under the auspices of His Majesty the Kaiser and the Ger. Pal Society. The mound, about 5 miles N.W. from Ta'anach, stood prominently 120 ft. above the plain, the ruins being on a plateau 1,020X750 ft. in area. An average of 70 diggers were employed for the entire time. The dcSbris was over 33 ft. deep, covering some eight tnutually excluding populations. The surrounding wall, 30X35 ft. thick, conformed itself to the contour of the town . The excavations reached the virgin rock only at one point; but the oldest stratum uncovered showed a people living in houses, having fire, cooking food and making sacrifices; the next city marked an advance, but the third city, proved by its Egyp remains to go back as far as the 20th cent. BC, showed a splendid and in some directions a surprising civilization, building magnificent city gates (57X36 ft.), large houses and tombs with vaulted roofs, and adorning their persons with fine scarabs of white and green steatite and other
The sixth stratum might well be called the templecity, for here were found the ruins of a sanctuary built of massive blocks in which remained much of the ceremonial furniture—sacrificial dishes, a beautiful basalt pot with three feet, a plate having a handle in the form of a flower, etc. Seemingly connected with the former town, three religious stones were found covered by a fourth, and one with a pyramidal top; so here several monoliths were found which would naturally be thought of as religious monuments—though, since they have been touched witii tools, this is perhaps doubtful (Ex 20 25). One incense altar, carved out of gray stone, is so beautiful as to be worthy of a modern Gr cathedral. The upper dish rests on a support of carved ornamental leaves painted red, yellow and cobalt blue, in exquisite taste, the colors still as fresh as when first applied. A blacksmith's shop was found in this stratum, containing many tools, including iron plowshares, larger than the bronze ones in the 3d and 4th layers. Allegorical figures were found, which may possibly belong to the former town, representing a man before an altar with liis hands raised in adoration, seemingly to a scorpion, above which are a 6-pointed star, crescent moon, etc. Another most wonderful seal of white hard stone is engraved with three lines of symbols, in the first a vulture chasing a rabbit; in the second a conventional palm tree, with winged creatures on each side; in the third a lion springing on an ibex ( ? ) under the crescent moon. Near by was found a cylinder of black jasper, containing hieroglyphs, and much crushed pottery. The 7th city, which was previous to the Gr or Rom eras, shows only a complex of destroyed buildings. After this the place remains unoccupied till the 11th cent. AD, when a poor Arab tower was erected, evidently to protect the passing caravans.
jewelry of stone and bronze. It was very rich in colored pottery and little objects such as tools,
seals, terra cotta figures and animals, including a bridled horse, and some worked iron is also said to have been found. In one pile of bodies were two children wearing beautiful bronze anklets. The city lying above this begins as early as the 15th cent. BC, as is proved by a scarab of Thothmes III and by other signs, although the scarabs, while Egyp in form, are often foreign in design and execution. Anubis, Bes, Horus and other Egyp figures appear, also 32 scarabs in one pot, much jewelry, including gold ornaments, and some very long, sharp bronze knives. One tomb contained 42 vessels, and one skeleton held 4 gold-mounted scarabs in its hand. One remarkable fragment of pottery contained a colored picture of pre-Israelite warriors with great black beards, carrying shields ( ?) . A most interest-
These excavations were specially important in proving the archaeological richness of Pal and the elegance of the native works of art. They were reported with an unexampled minuteness—various drawings of an original design showing the exact place and altitude where every little fragment was found.
(3) Tell HUm (Capernaum), etc.—In April and May, 1905, the German Oriental Society excavated a Heb synagogue of the Rom era at Tell H-dm. It was 78 ft. long by 59 ft. wide, was built of beautiful white limestone, almost equal to marble, and was
ing discovery was that of the little copper (bronze ?) tripods supporting lamps, on one of which is the
figure of a flute-player, being strikingly similar to
pictures of Delphic oracles and to representations
lately found in Crete (MNDPV, 1906, 46). This
city was destroyed by a fearful conflagration, and
in every way more magnificent than any other yet found in Pal, that in Chorazin being the next finest.
is separated from the next by a heavy stratum of
cinders and ashes. The fifth'city is remarkable for
Its roof was gable-shaped and it was surprisingly ornamented with fine carvings representing animals, birds, fruits, flowers, etc, though in some cases these ornamentations had been intentionally mu-
a splenclid palace with walls of stone from 3-5 ft.
thick. This city, which probably begins as early as Solomon's time, shows the best masonry. An oval,
highly polished seal of jasper on which is engraved a Heb name in script closely resembling the M S, sug-
tilated. In January, 1907, Macalister and Masterman proved that Khan Minyeh was not the ancient Capernaum, as it contained no pottery older than Arab time, thus showing Tell HiXm to be the ancient
gests a date for the city, and casts an unexpected
light upon the Heb culture of Pal in the days of the monarchy. The seal is equal to the best Egyp or
site, so that the synagogue just excavated may be the one referred to in Lk 7 5. At Samieh, 6 hours N. of Jerus, two important Can. cemeteries were discovered by the fellahin in 1906, consisting of
Assyr work, clearly and beautifully engraved, a,nd
showing a climax of art. In the center is the Lion
(of Judah), mouth wide open, tail erect, body tense. Upon the seal is carved: "To Shema, servant of
circular or oval tomb chambers, with roofs roughly dome-shaped, as at Gezer (see below). A large quantity of pottery and bronze objects, much of
Jeroboam." This name may possibly not refer to
either of the Bib. kings (10th or 8th cent. BC), but
the stratum favors this dating. The seal was evi-
excellent quality, was found ( Harvard Theol. Rev.,
dently owned by some Hebrew noble at a prosperous
I, 70-96; Masterman, Studies in Galilee; Henson, Researches in Palestine).
period when some Jeroboam was in power, and so
Jericho (German Oriental Soci,ety).—During 1908-9, Dr. E. Sellin, assisted by a specialist
everything is in favor of this being a relic from the
court of one of these kings, probably the latter
(Kautzsch, Mu. N, 1904, 81). We have here, in
in pottery, (Watzinger) and a professional archi-
any case, one of the oldest Heb inscriptions known,
tect (Langenegger), with the help of over 200 workmen, opened to view this famous Bib. city (.Josh 6 1-24). Jericho was most strategicaUy situated
and one of the most elegant ever engraved (see MNDPV, 1906, 33). After seeing it the Sultan
took it from the museum into his own private col-
Pal (Exploration) THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2230
at the eastern gateway of Palj with an unhmited water-supply in the 'Ain es-Sultan, having complete
also good; esp. notable are the 22 writing-tablets,
all ready to be used but not inscribed. Somewhere near the 15th cent, the old fortifications were seriously damaged, but equally powerful ones replaced them. The German experts all believed that a break in the city's history was clearly shown about the time when, according to the pottery, Israel ought to have captured the city, and it was confidently said that the distinctively Can. pottery ceased completely and permanently at this point ; but further research has shown that at least a portion of the old town had a practically continuous existence (so Josh 16 7; Jgs 1 16; 3 13; 2 S 10 5). No complete Israelitish house was preserved, but the Israelitish quarter was located close to the spring and no little furniture of the usual kind was found, including dishes, pots, corn-
control of the great commercial high-
3. Eastern way across the Jordan and possessing Palestine natural provisions in its palm forest (Smith, HGHL). It was also set prominently on a hill rising some 40 ft. above
mills, lamps, etc, many iron instruments and terra cotta heads of men and animals. The pottery is quite unlike the old Canaanite, being closely allied to the Gr-Phoen ware of Cyprus. It is noticeable that, as in other Palestinian towns, in the Jewish era, little Bab influence is discernible; the Aegean and Egyp influence is not as marked as in the cities dug up near the Mediterranean coast. One large
edifice (60 by 80 ft.) is so like the dwellings of the 7th cent. BC at Sendjirli that "they seem to have been copied from Syrian plans" (Vincent). Absolutely unique was the series of 12 Rhodian jarhandles stamped in Aram., "To Jehovah" [Yah, Yahu). Vincent has suggested that as during the monarchy (7th to 6th cent.) "To the King" meant probably "For His Majesty's Service," so in postexilio time the Divine name meant "For the Temple" {Rev.hMique) . After the exile the city had about 3 centuries of prosperity; but disappears permanently in the Maccabean era {MNDPV, 1907; MDOG, 1908-9; PEFS, 1910; Rev. biblique, 1907-9).
Excavations at Jericho.
the plain. The excavations proved that from the earliest historic time these natural advantages had been increased by every possible artifice known to ancient engineers, until it had become a veritable Gibraltar. The oldest city, w'hich was in the form of an irregular ellipse, somewhat egg-shaped, with the point at the S.W., was first surrounded with a rampart following the contour of the hill, a rampart so powerful that it commands the admiration of
all military experts who have examined it.
The walls even in their ruins are some 28 ft. high. They were built in three sections: (a) a substratum of clay, gravel and small stones, making a deposit upon the rock about 3 or 4 ft. deep, somewhat analogous to modern concrete; (6) a rubble wall, 6 to 8 ft. thick, of large stones laid up to a height of 16 ft. upon this conglomerate, the lowest layers of the stone being enormously large ; (c) upon
(1) Jerusalem.—See above. III, 1, (2).
(2) Samaria (Harvard Expedition).—Although the ancient capital of the Northern Kingdom, yet
Samaria was centrally located, being 4. Central 20 miles from the Mediterranean Palestine coast and only about 30 miles N. of Jerus. Ancient Samaria was very famous in Israel for its frivolity and wealth, special mention being made of its ointments, instruments of music, luxurious couches, and its "ivory palace"
all this a brick wall over 6 ft. thick, still remaining, in places, 8 ft. high. Not even Megiddo, famous as a military center throughout all the ancient world, shows such workmanship (cf Josh 2 1; Nu 13 28). "These were masters in stonework and masonry" (The Builder): "Taken as a whole it may justly be regarded as a triumph of engineering skill which a modern builder, under the same conditions, could scarcely excel" (Langenegger) ; "It is as well done as a brilliant mihtary engineer with the same materials and tools could do today" (Vincent). All the centuries were not able to produce a natural crevice in this fortification. At the N., which was the chief point of danger, and perhaps along other sections also, a second wall was built about 100 ft. inside the first, and almost as strong, while still another defence ("the citadel"), with 265 ft. of frontage, w-as protected not only by another mighty wall but by a well-constructed glacis. The old pre-Israelite culture in Jericho was exactly similar to that seen in the southern and northern cities, and the idolatry also. In its natural elements Can. civilization was probably superior to that of the Hebrews, but the repugnant and ever-present polytheism and fear of magic led naturally to brutal and impure manifestations. It cannot be doubted that, at least in some cases, the infants buried in jars under the floors represent foundation sacrifices. Some of the pottery is of great excellence, comparing favorably with almost the best examples from Egypt; a number of decorative figures of animals
(Am 6 4-6; 1 K 16 24). Its history is known so fully that the chronological sequences of the ruins can be determined easily. The citadel and town originated with Omri, c 900 BC (1 K 16 24)
the Temple of Baal and palace were constructions of Ahab (1 K 16 32; 22 39); it continued prosperous down to the Assyr exile, 722 BC (1 K 22 to 2 K 17); Sargon and Esarhaddon established a Bab colony and presumably fortified the town (720-670 BC) ; Alexander the Great captured it in 331 BC, and established there a Syrio-Maccabean colony; it was destroyed by John Hyrcanus in 109 BC, but rebuilt by Pompey in 60 BC, and again by Herod (30-1 BC). All of these periods are identified in the excavations, Herod's work being easily recognized, and Josephus' description of the town being found correct; the Gr work is equally well defined, so that the lower layers of masom-y which contained the characteristic Jewish pottery, and which in every part of the ruin lay immediately under the Bab and Gr buildings, must necessarily be Heb, the relative order of underlying structures thus being "beyond dispute" (Reisner). During 1908-9 George A. Reisner with a staff of specialists, including David G. Lyon of the Harvard Semitic Museum, G. Schumacher, and an expert architect, undertook systematically and thoroughly to excavate this large detached "teU" lying 350 ft. above
in relief are specially fine; the bronze utensils are
2231 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Pal (Exploration)
the valley and 1,450 ft. aljove sea-level, its location as the only possible strategic stronghold proving
alabaster vase inscribed with the cartouche of Osorkon II of Egypt (874-853 BC), Ahab's contemporary; and at the same level, about 75 fragments of pottery, not jar-handles but oslraca, inscribed with records or memorials in ancient Plebrcw. The script is Phoen, and according to such experts as Lyon and Driver, practically identical with that of the Siloam Inscription (c 700 BC) and M S (c 850 BC). "The inscriptions are written in ink with a reed pen in an easy flowing hand and show a pleasing contrast to the stiff forms of Phoen inscriptions cut in stone. The graceful curves give evidence of a skill which comes only with long practice" (Lyon). The ink is well preserved, the writing is distinct, the words are divided by dots or strokes, and with two exceptions aU the ostraca are dated, the reigning king probably being Ahab. The following samples represent the ordinary memoranda: "In the 11th year. From 'Abi'ezer. For 'Asa, 'Akhemelek (and) Ba'ali. From 'Elnathan
it to be the ancient Samaria. This was a "gigantic enterprise" because of the large village of 800 population (Sebastii/eh) , and the valuable crops which covered the hill. Some $65,000 were spent during the two seasons, and the work finally ceased before the site was fully excavated. The following statement is an abridgment, in so far as possible in their words, of the official reports of Drs. Reisner and Lyon to the Harvard Theol. Review: An average of 285 diggers were employed the first season and from 230-60 the second. Hundreds of Arabian lamps, etc, were found close to the surface, and then nothing more until the Rom ruins. Many fine Rom columns still remained upright, upon the surface of the hill. The road of columns leading to the Forum and ornamental gate (oriented unlike the older gates), the great outer wall "20 stadii in circuit" (Jos), the hippodrome, etc, were all found with inscriptions or coins and pottery of the early Roman Empire. Even the old Rom chariot road leading into the Forum was identified. Adjoining the Forum and connected with it by a wide doorway was a basilica, consisting of a large open stone-paved court surrounded by a colonnade with mosaic floor. An inscription in Greek on an architrave in the courtyard dates this to 12-15 AD. The plan of the Herodian temple consisted of a stairway, a portico, a vestibule and a cella with a corridor on each side. The staircase was about SO ft. wide, composed of 17 steps beautifully constructed, the steps being quite modern in style, each tread overlapping the next lower by several inches. The roof was arched and the walls very massive and covered with a heavy coat of plaster
(?) InOthyr. FromYasat. For 'Abino'am. A jar of old wine In 11th yr. For Badyo. The vineyard of the Tell." Baal and El form a part of several of the proper names, as also the Heb Divine name, the latter occurring naturally not in its full form, YHWH, but as ordinarily in compounds YW (Lyon, Harvard Theol. Rev., 1911, 136-43; cf Driver, PEFS, 1911, 79-83). In a