Khirbet Nisya 1979-1986: a Report on Six Seasons of Excavation
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Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 1989 Khirbet Nisya 1979-1986: a Report on Six Seasons of Excavation David Palmer Livingston Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, and the Near Eastern Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Livingston, David Palmer, "Khirbet Nisya 1979-1986: a Report on Six Seasons of Excavation" (1989). Dissertations. 85. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/85 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary KHIRBET NISYA 1979-1986 A REPORT ON SIX SEASONS OF EXCAVATION A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by David Palmer Livingston, Jr. August 1989 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. KHIRBET NISYA 1979-1986: A REPORT ON SIX SEASONS OF EXCAVATION A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Phiolosophy by David Palmer Livingston, Jr. APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: Facultycul^^dvis^r^i'. Advisorr J . Bj<Bjornar Storfjell Raoul Dederen, Acting Dean Associate Professor of Archaeology SDA Theological Seminary & History of Antiquity. / / ^ ) • tsf ^ ^ Abraham Tenan, Professor of Date Ap Intertestamental & Early Christian Literature __ William H. Shea, Adjunct Professor Archaeology & History of Antiquity / i 7 ) /! k Leona Running > Professg ri Emeritus of Biblical Languages / .Bruce K. "waltke, Professor of Old Testameht, Westminster Theological Seminary Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © David Palmer Livingston, Jr. 1989 All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT KHIRBET NISYA 1979-1986 A REPORT ON SIX SEASONS OF EXCAVATION by David Palmer Livingston, Jr. Adviser: J. Bjornar Storfjell Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT OP GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: KHIRBET NISYA 1979-1986: A REPORT ON SIX SEASONS OF EXCAVATION Name of researcher: David Palmer Livingston, Jr. Name and degree of faculty adviser: J. Bjornar Storfjell, Ph.D. Date completed: August 1989 Problem This project was an investigation of Khirbet Nisya (near Ramallah/El-Bireh) for six seasons to describe and interpret the excavation evidence. The excavation and analyses of finds were correlated with biblical data to help clarify certain problems relating to the Israelite settlement in the hill country of Palestine. Method Preliminary studies in the literature were made to determine the proper biblical, geographical, and topographical relationships of the traditional sites for both Bethel and Ai at Beitin and Et- 2 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 Tell. The archaeological results from both sites were reviewed as to their fit with the biblical data. Patristic evidence was also considered in determining the location of both biblical Bethel and Ai. When new sites seemed advisable, a site for Bethel was sought in El-Bireh, ten miles north of Jerusalem. Excavation was impossible in this thriving, modern city; thus a site for Ai was sought beyond Et-Tawil, the large mountain east of El-Bireh. After locating an ancient ruins, six seasons of excavations (1979-1986) were conducted at this site, Khirbet Nisya. Results The literature seemed to indicate that both the traditional sites of Bethel and Ai have been wrongly .ocated. Thus, the archaeological results, when applied to the Bible, are misleading. Although the archaeological ~esults fit the biblical data fairly well at Beitin (traditional Bethel), the two are incompatible at Et- Tell (traditional Ai). The intimation is that Bethel and Ai are "twin cities" in the Bible. Thus, if one is wrongly located, the other must be also. New locations for both Bethel and Ai were suggested at El- Bireh for Bethel and Khirbet Nisya for Ai. The topography, geographical relationships, and patristic evidence all fit at the new locations. Six seasons of excavations and surveys show the following periods present at Khirbet Nisya: Early Bronze (?), Middle Bronze I(?) and II, Late Bronze I, Iron Age I and II, Persian, Hellenistic, Early Roman, Early and Late Byzantine, Umayyad, and Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Ayyubid/Mamluk/Qttcman. The archaeological profile of the site seems compatible with the situation for biblical Ai. Conclusion Khirbet Nisya seems to have been an agricultural village or hamlet in most periods. Although, on the basis of the evidence from six seasons of excavation, no claim can be made that it is Ai, it does not seem necessary yet to rule it out, either. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF F I G U R E S ........................................ vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................... vii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ................................... 1 The Research Problem: An Investigation of the Occupational History of Khirbet Nisya ......... 1 A Review of Previous Research .................. 1 XI. LOCATING BETHEL AND A I .............. 11 Patristic Location by Roman Milestones ......... 11 Locating Bethel from Patristic Notations ....... 14 Using Bethlehem to Establish the 0 Milestone in the Center of J e r u s a l e m .............. 15 The Distance of Rama from Jerusalem .... 16 Locating the 10th or 11th Milestone ........... 17 Beeroth Is Not Locate.-.* at El-Bireh as Robinson Thought ........................... 18 Pilgrim Evidence I: Site of La Grande Mahomerie . 19 Pilgrim Evidence II: A Potential Identification for B e i t i n ........................... 20 III. THE EXCAVATIONS ............................... 23 Site Description: Khirbet Nisya ............... 23 History of the Excavation...................... 31 Excavation in 1979 ........................