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Archaeological Interpretation and Ideology of Historical Spaces in Israel and the West Bank

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Archaeological Interpretation and Ideology of Historical Spaces in Israel and the West Bank ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION AND IDEOLOGY OF HISTORICAL SPACES IN ISRAEL AND THE WEST BANK BY DIRK PHILIPPUS CONRADIE Student no: 4934-316-5 Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES (90044 – BAR) in the subject of BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY (TFBAR02) at the DEPARTMENT OF BIBLICAL AND ANCIENT STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: PROFESSOR WILLEM S. BOSHOFF DATE SUBMITTED: 4 JANUARY 2021 DECLARATION Name: Dirk Philippus Conradie Student number: 4934-316-5 Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Religious Studies (90044-BAR) in the subject of Biblical Archaeology (TFBAR02) Exact wording of the title of the thesis as appearing on the electronic copy submitted for examination: Archaeological interpretation and ideology of historical spaces in Israel and the West Bank I declare that the above thesis is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. I further declare that I submitted the thesis to originality checking software and that it falls within the accepted requirements for originality. I further declare that I have not previously submitted this work, or part of it, for examination at Unisa for another qualification or at any other higher education institution. SIGNATURE: DATE: 10 November 2020 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank the following persons for their respective contributions to this doctoral thesis: Careen Conradie for her unwavering moral support in the research and writing of this thesis, as well as my family who have shown and shared in my passion for the history and archaeology of the Near East and particularly Israel. Professor Willem Boshoff, my promoter, for his readiness to assist whenever needed during the many years of studying under him and for the supervision suggestions and guidance during the research and writing of this thesis. Chrisna Nel, for proofreading of the thesis. Karin Heyns, for transcribing the research interviews. Susan Swanepoel for further language editing and final proofreading. The archaeologists and scholars in Israel and the West Bank who were willing to share their time and views with me and for making my research trip to Israel and the West Bank a most memorable experience. Also, to those scholars who have responded to my questions by mail and for their valuable comments and recommendations. I am forever grateful for this. 10 November 2020 ii ABSTRACT The relationship between political, religious ideology and the interpretation of archaeological excavation in the Holy Land has faced criticism and has been debated by scholars since the beginning of biblical archaeology in the 19th century and up to the present day. These debates are not just academic but have manifested itself in the public narrative and are alleged to have consequences regarding the history of Israel and the physical space inhabited by both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Some of the current excavations in Jerusalem are viewed with suspicion. Archaeology is singled out to be biased in its interpretation and that it is being used for political ends. An investigation of the point of intersection between archaeology, politics and religion is important for the discourse and question whether archaeology in Israel has become complicit in the establishment and continued maintenance of nationhood and the Zionist project, as alleged by the minimalist scholars and opponents of Israel. Biblical archaeology has been drawn into this debate and its interpretation. The negative externalities of this discipline are the perceived use of the biblical text as a reference document and the subsequent findings of Late Bronze and Iron Age archaeology, which raise questions about the veracity of the biblical text and its impact on biblical scholarship and religion. Archaeologists and their interpretation of these spaces find themselves amid this paradigmatic revolution. The integrity of these scholars, their methodologies and their motivations are interrogated to the point of an ideological debate. The position of Palestinian archaeology hangs in the balance and there is no clear indication as to its future or whether any collaboration with Israeli archaeology is possible due to the politicisation in the region and the distrust that exists between Israel and the West Bank in general. This research reveals the extent in which these externalities of biblical archaeology and its interpretation have had an effect on ideology and its prevalence, and whether the questions and criticisms raised are justified. The views of archaeologists who have been actively involved in the excavation of the region provide these answers. iii KEYWORDS Archaeology, Biblical archaeology, Interpretation, Ideology, Nationalism, Near East, Theory, Israel, West Bank, Minimalists, Religion, Palestine iv DEFINITIONS AND TERMS Anti-Semitism: noun hostility to or prejudice against Jews Empirical: adjective based on observation or experience rather than theory or logic. Nationalism: noun 1. Very strong feelings of support for and pride in your own country. 2. Belief in independence for a particular country. Rationalism: noun the belief that opinions and actions should be based on reason rather than religious belief or emotions. Zionism: noun a movement for the development of a Jewish nation in Israel. Source: Oxford paperback dictionary & thesaurus, third edition 2009. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cognitive and post-processual archaeology: interprets the evidence on an anthropological and a multidimensional cultural view. Processual archaeology: interprets the evidence based upon scientific empiricism and behaviourism. Source: Whitley, D (ed) 1998. Reader in archaeological theory, post-processual and cognitive approaches. London: Routledge. Abbreviations BCE – Before the current era CE – Current era IAA – Israel Antiquities Authority PEF – Palestine Exploration Fund v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ............................................................................................................. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. iii KEYWORDS ................................................................................................................ iv DEFINITIONS AND TERMS ....................................................................................... v CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Problem statement ................................................................................................. 16 1.3 Aims and objectives .............................................................................................. 21 1.4 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 22 1.5 Hypothesis ............................................................................................................. 29 1.6 Motivation for the significance of the study ......................................................... 30 1.7 Literature review ................................................................................................... 31 1.8 Limitations ............................................................................................................ 35 1.9 Outline of chapters ................................................................................................ 35 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................. 37 2.1 Archaeology in Israel: External and internal influences ....................................... 37 2.1.1 History .......................................................................................................... 38 2.1.2 Colonialism .................................................................................................. 45 2.1.3 Zionism, post-Zionism and archaeology in Israel ........................................ 47 2.1.4 State of Israel ................................................................................................ 63 2.1.5 International foreign policy .......................................................................... 64 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................. 67 3.1 Archaeology, religion and politics in the ‘Holy Land’ ......................................... 67 3.1.1 Origin ........................................................................................................... 67 3.1.2 Religion ........................................................................................................ 76 vi 3.1.3 Politics, ideology and nationalism ............................................................... 91 3.1.4 Excavation and theory .................................................................................. 97 CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................... 136 4.1 A view from the West Bank: What happened and why? .................................... 136 4.2 Popular archaeology
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