Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries Cover © 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society 1 Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries Production and Design Staff: Joey Corbett – Editor Robert Bronder – Designer Susan Laden – Publisher © 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society 4710 41st Street, NW Washington, DC 20016 www.biblicalarchaeology.org © 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society i Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries About the Biblical Archaeology Society The excitement of archaeology and the latest in Bible scholarship since 1974 The Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) was founded in 1974 as a nonprofit, nondenominational, educational organization dedicated to the dissemination of information about archaeology in the Bible lands. BAS educates the public about archaeology and the Bible through its bi-monthly magazine, Biblical Archaeology Review, an award-winning Web site (www.biblicalarchaeology.org), books and multimedia products (DVDs, CD-ROMs and videos), tours and seminars. Our readers rely on us to present the latest that scholarship has to offer in a fair and accessible manner. BAS serves as an important authority and as an invaluable source of reliable information. Publishing Excellence BAS’s flagship publication is Biblical Archaeology Review. BAR is the only magazine that connects the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience eager to understand the world of the Bible. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, BAR presents the latest discoveries and controversies in archaeology with breathtaking photography and informative maps and diagrams. BAR’s writers are the top scholars, the leading researchers, the world- renowned experts. BAR is the only nonsectarian forum for the discussion of Biblical archaeology. BAS produced two other publications, Bible Review from 1985–2005, and Archaeology Odyssey from 1998–2006. The complete editorial contents of all three magazines are available on The BAS Library. The BAS Library also contains the text of five highly-acclaimed books, Ancient Israel, Aspects of Monotheism, Feminist Approaches to the Bible, The Rise of Ancient Israel and The Search for Jesus. Yearly memberships to The BAS Library are available to everyone at www.biblicalarchaeology.org/library. This comprehensive collection of materials is also available to colleges, universities, churches and other institutions at www.basarchive.org. Widespread Acclaim The society, its magazine, and its founder and editor Hershel Shanks have been the subject of widespread acclaim and media attention in publications as diverse as Time, People, Civilization, U.S. News and World Report, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Jerusalem Post. BAS has also been featured on television programs aired by CNN, PBS and the Discovery Channel. To learn more about the Biblical Archaeology Society, go to www.biblicalarchaeology.org. © 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society ii Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries Also from the Biblical Archaeology Society Do you want to learn more about the amazing sites and artifacts featured in Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries? Check out these BAS products to see how these and other discoveries are changing the way archaeologists and scholars view the world of the Bible. How Archaeology Illuminates the Bible: From the Patriarchs to the Babylonian Destruction A Study Course by William G. Dever Did the Israelites escape slavery in a mass exodus from Egypt? Was there a King David who established the United Monarchy in Jerusalem? What was everyday life like in ancient Israel? World- renowned archaeologist William G. Dever examines these important topics and others in How Archaeology Illuminates the Bible, an eight-part series he created exclusively for the Biblical Archaeology Society. Along the way, he discusses the Tel Dan stela, Jerusalem’s Stepped-Stone Structure and the Kuntillet ‘Ajrud inscriptions, discoveries that have radically transformed scholarly understandings of ancient Israelite history and society. If you’re looking for a comprehensive introduction to archaeology and the Hebrew Bible, look no further! More information at: http://store.bib-arch.org/How-Archaeology-Illuminatesbr_-the-Bible/productinfo/9HLD1/ The Lectures - An Orientation to Biblical Archaeology: History, Aims and Methods - Patriarchs and Matriarchs: History or Fiction? - Who Were the Early Israelites, and Where Did They Come From? - The Rise of the Israelite State: the “United Monarchy” - Religion and Cult: One God or Many? - Everyday Life in Biblical Times - Israel’s Neighbors in the Light of Recent Archaeological Research - The Assyrian and Babylonian Destructions: The End or the Beginning? DVD, 3 disks, Total running time: 6 hours, 30 minutes, $99.95 © 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society iii Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries Dirt, Bones, Potsherds and Stones: Archaeologists Probe the Galilee in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods A Study Course by James F. Strange Every occupation of land in any period leaves its human imprint. What looks at first to be a chaotic scatter of bits and pieces within archaeological trenches can resolve itself into settlement patterns, architecture, human movement, dedication of space to special uses, and even the scope and layout of a city. In this series of ten lectures by renowned New Testament archaeologist James F. Strange, you will learn how archaeologists make their inferences and examine key questions related to the world of the Gospels. Was there an early Christian sanctuary at Capernaum, where some believe St. Peter’s house has been found? How central to Galilean life was Sepphoris, where the famed “Mona Lisa of the Galilee” mosaic was discovered? How do we recognize ancient synagogues without inscriptions or Jewish symbols? More information at: http://store.bib-arch.org/Dirt-Bones-Potsherds-and-Stones/productinfo/9HLP4/ The Lectures - The “House of St. Peter” at Capernaum - The Earliest Synagogue Buildings in Israel - What Does this Building Invite Me to Do? - The Case of Nazareth: A Jewish Christian Center? - Settlement of Galilee in the Maccabean to Roman Period - The Recovery of Judaism and the Resettlement of Galilee after 135 C.E. - The Case of Sepphoris: A Major City in Galilee - The Archaeology of “Jewish Christianity” - The Tomb of Jesus in Talpiot - Is an Archaeology of the Pharisees Possible? DVD, 3 disks, Total running time: 7 hours, 57 minutes, $99.95 © 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society iv Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries Table of Contents VI Introduction 1 The Nag Hammadi Library Nag Hammadi Codices Shed New Light on Early Christian History by James Brashler 12 The 'Ain Dara Temple The New 'Ain Dara Temple: Closest Solomonic Parallel by John Monson 31 The Tel Dan ("David") Stela "David" Found at Dan 47 Mona Lisa of the Galilee Mosaic Masterpiece Dazzles Sepphoris Volunteers 52 "Yahweh and His Asherah": The Kuntillet 'Ajrud Ostraca Did Yahweh Have a Consort? by Ze'ev Meshel 68 St. Peter's House Has the House Where Jesus Stayed in Capernaum Been Found? by James F. Strange and Hershel Shanks 86 The Siloam Pool The Siloam Pool: Where Jesus Cured the Blind Man by Hershel Shanks 94 Ashkelon's Arched Gate When Canaanites and Philistines Ruled Ashkelon by Lawrence E. Stager 118 Jerusalem's Stepped-Stone Structure Jerusalem in David and Solomon's Time by Jane Cahill West 137 Jerusalem's Babylonian Siege Tower Found in Jerusalem: Remains of the Babylonian Siege by Suzanne F. Singer 142 The Authors 143 Notes © 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society v Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries Introduction This eBook, developed by the editors at the Biblical Archaeology Society, features ten of the most important and exciting archaeological finds covered in the pages of Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) over the past three and a half decades. It is by no means an exclusive list; others would perhaps make different selections for their top ten. Taken together, these “top discoveries,” from the nearly 4,000-year-old arched gate of Ashkelon to the lost fourth-century C.E. manuscripts of Nag Hammadi, offer a minicourse in Biblical archaeology. This eBook includes the original BAR articles in which the finds were published, many authored by today’s most prominent Biblical archaeologists. Their articles not only highlight the historical and Biblical significance of these dramatic discoveries, but also place them in their appropriate archaeological context. In “When Canaanites and Philistines Ruled Ashkelon,” for example, Lawrence Stager provides a thorough overview of the port city’s extensive Bronze and Iron Age remains, including the massive walls and ramparts through which passed the world’s oldest arched gateway. Similarly in “The Siloam Pool,” BAR editor Hershel Shanks details the recent discovery of a monumental, first-century C.E. Jerusalem pool that functioned as a Jewish ritual bath (miqveh) and may have been the place where Jesus cured the blind man (John 9). In these articles, you will also learn how the most important archaeological discoveries are often made completely by accident. In “‘David’ Found at Dan,” you’ll read how Gila Cook, an archaeological surveyor working at the site of Tel Dan in northern Israel, accidentally stumbled across an inscribed stone containing the first historical reference to King David outside the Bible. Likewise, in James Brashler’s article on the Nag Hammadi codices, you’ll learn how this invaluable collection of fourth-century C.E. Gnostic writings and lost gospels was found not by