Smooth Stone’s blog said it best: “Archaeological Truth is the Palestiniast’s Worst Nightmare“. 

1.  This week brings news about a National Geographic special Herod’s Lost Tomb Documentary to Air on Sunday, Nov. 23.  Here’s a listing of some of the many articles about Herod’s tomb:  

2.  Also, a PBS-NOVA 2007 program, The Palace of David, included an interview with archaeologist Eilat Mazar, describing some of the remarkable ruins her team has uncovered in the City of David in Jerusalem. A short video features Mazar talking about this work

“Signs of royalty
Q: Does the pottery you found that you are dating to the 10th century look like the pottery of a palace?

Mazar: It’s beautiful, elegant pottery, certainly a prestigious collection. We also found ivory, including the handle of a knife probably, and most people didn’t have ivory at that time. This was not a regular house.

Q: Do you now see the Stepped Stone Structure as part of this massive structure you are dating to the 10th century B.C., around the time of David?

Mazar: Yes. We now see it as part of a huge structure. We are talking about a very complicated and highly skilled plan of construction. There are massive walls on the top, and because the bedrock here is very steep and cracked, these walls needed massive support, and the Stepped Stone Structure offered that support. So the Stepped Stone Structure was not built for a Canaanite fortress; it was built as one unit with the structure that we believe is the palace.

“The question is, how much of the reality that the Bible describes can we archeologists reveal?”

The NOVA article also has 3-D animation of that the palace may have looked like. Since that time other finds have been revealed:  An ancient escape tunnel, a second royal seal, and possibly the Prophet Nehemiah’s Wall.  Read the whole article

3.  A Jerusalem Post article asked “Was the Aksa Mosque built over the remains of a Byzantine church?”

Nachum Segal and Malcolm Hoenlein talked about these exciting finds in Friday’s Jewish Moment in the Morning weekly update and discussed an amazing five week old archaeological dig at a location where King David ruled.  They both agreed that people should bring their Tanach (Bible) as they view these historic sites!  Listen to the interview Real or MP3.

4.  The San Francisco Chronicle reported ”New evidence surfaces of David’s kingdom” on November 21st, saying

…”But no one has ever linked the ruins to the city mentioned in the First Book of Samuel’s famous account of the legendary duel and the victory of the Israelites – until now. On Tuesday, Hebrew University archaeology Professor Yosef Garfinkel will present compelling evidence to scholars at Harvard University that he has found the 10th century biblical city of Sha’arayim, Hebrew for “Two Gates.” Garfinkel, who made his startling discovery at the beginning of this month, will also discuss his findings at the American Schools of Oriental Research conference hosted by Boston University on Thursday” Read the whole article

Recalling Segal and Hoenlein’s comment that people should be sure to bring their Tanach (Bible) to the various historical/archaeological sites they visit is an organization called “Foundation Stone Redrawing the Map in Jewish Education”, a group that is actually doing this. Foundation Stone tells about their vision, saying their vision’s plan is ”anchoring traditional texts to the artifacts, maps, and locations that form the context for Jewish identity.” The website has photos of activities at archaeological and historical sites. Eve Harow of Israel National Radio interviewed Rabbi Barnea Levi Selavan and David Wilner in February (2007) about Foundation Stone.  Click here to listen to the podcast AUDIO. eve07-02-08. 

Foundation Stone has also been involved with the dig at Elah Valley with Professor Yosef Garfinkel. A promotional video can be viewed through the Foundation Stone’s website “The Elah Fortress“.

5.  Finally, Ritmeyer Archaeological Design wrote about a “Third Jewish Mikveh and a Byzantine Mosaic floor discovered on the Temple Mount” with a diagram, referring to findings from an archaeological dig on the Temple Mount in the 1930’s.

…”This is an important discovery and will change our views on the history of the Temple Mount. The mosaic floor may or may not have belonged to a church. More information is necessary before deductions can be made about the nature of the building, but the mosaic pattern possibly indicates a public building.

The mikveh would be the third we know of on the Temple Mount, as two other ones have been identified previously by Ronnie Reich. He based his proposal on the shape of the shape of Cisterns 6 and 36 (1 and 2 on Warren’s map of the Temple Mount below). The exact location of the newly published mikveh (3) inside the El-Aqsa mosque is not yet known. However, this nevertheless proves the Jewish origin of the Temple Mount….” Read the whole thing

The Jerusalem Post article that Ritmeyer referred to:  Was the Aksa Mosque built over the remains of a Byzantine church?

Also of interest from the Jerusalem Post:  Wakf allows journalists to enter al-Aksa“  

…”Before ascending the mount, Cheshin [Amir Cheshin, late Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek's longtime adviser on Arab affairs] briefed the group from a vantage point above Robinson’s Arch, near the junction of the Western and Southern Walls. He described the archeological history of the site, highlighted discoveries relating to the era of the Jewish temples and pointed out the cleared Herodian pavement at the corner of the walls below. He said the best archeological evidence of the Herodian temple was an eight-ton stone, now housed at the Israel Museum, which was unearthed by archeologists at that corner and bore the inscription: “Belonging to the place of the trumpet blowing” – which accords with accounts of priests sounding trumpets from the Temple at the beginning and end of Shabbat.

Abu Aktesh, however, adamantly maintained that “the Jews had nothing here.”…

See our previous post “Claim – Jewish Temple Never Existed? The Bible and evidence says differently!”

With thanks to Smooth Stone Blog, Jewish Moments in the Morning, The Foundation Stone, and Ritmeyer Archaeological Design

Ezekiel 11:16-20 “…therefore say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Although I have removed them far off among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet have I been to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they are come; therefore say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will even gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; that they may walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances, and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God…..”