* *

B bi cal reacologa
A Publicationof the American Schools of Oriental Research Volume 49 Number 1 March 1986

New Excavations
at Sepphoris
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 iblical Arc aeo ogis t
A Publication of the American Schools of Oriental Research Volume 49 Number 1 March 1986

4 Sepphoris -"Ornament of All Galilee"

Eric M. Meyers, Ehud Netzer, and Carol L. Meyers
20 The Beehive Buildings of Ancient Palestine
John D. Currid
26 Jews,Christians, and the Gallus Revolt in Fourth-Century
Palestine
BarbaraGeller Nathanson
37 Is Cyprus Ancient Alashiya? New Evidence from an Egyptian
Page 4 Tablet
Shelley Wachsmann
42 Political Conditions in the EasternMediterraneanDuring the
Late Bronze Age
Robert S. Merrillees
51 Three Ancient Seals
Nahman Avigad
54 A Note on the Seal of Peqah the Armor-Bearer,Future King of
Israel
PierreBordreuil
56 On the Archaeological Evidence for a Coin-on-EyeJewish
Burial Custom in the First Century A.D.
William Meacham
59 The Coin-in-Skull Affair: A Rejoinder
Rachel Hachlili and Ann Killebrew
60 "Whose Likeness and Inscription is This?"(Mark12:16)
L. Y Rahmani
Page 42

2 Introducing the Authors

61 Book Reviews

Biblical Archaeologist is published with the financial assistance of

the Endowment for Biblical Research, a nonsectarian foundation for
Page 51 the study of the Bible and the history of the Christian Church.

BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986 1

 Introducing the Authors

John D. Currid
Eric M. Meyers Carol L. Meyers

Eric M. Meyers, Editor of Biblical Archaeologist, is Professor of

Religion at Duke University. Holding the M.A. from Brandeis
University and the Ph.D. from Harvard University, he has been
excavating in Israel for more than twenty years. He has also
worked in Italy in the catacombs at Venosa. Eric Meyers is
married to Carol Meyers, with whom he has collaborated and
coauthored many articles and books, including their forthcom-
ing Doubleday Anchor Bible volume on Haggai and Zechariah
1-8.

Ehud Netzer is a graduate in architecture at Technion Univer-

sity in Haifa and holds a Ph.D. in archaeology from Hebrew
University, where he studied with the late Yigael Yadin. A
member of the faculty of the Institute of Archaeology at
Hebrew University, his areas of special teaching expertise
include field methodology and surveying. He has served as an
archaeologist and architect at many digs in Israel and is a
renowned expert on Herodian architecture and remains. His
digs at Herodium and Jericho have attracted worldwide atten-
tion, and he is presently one of the executive editors of the final
Masada publication.

Carol L. Meyers, Associate Professor of Religion at Duke Uni-

versity, is currently on leave, holding a prestigious Howard
Foundation Fellowship. During this time she is completing a Ehud Netzer
manuscript on women in ancient Israel. She holds the M.A. and
Ph.D. from Brandeis University and has excavated for over
twenty years at sites in Israel and in North America. She has
taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a
frequent contributor to learned journals, and is a member of the
BA editorial board.

John D. Currid, an Instructor of Religion at Grove City College

in Pennsylvania, is currently completing his Ph.D. at the Uni-

2 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
 Barbara Geller Nathanson
Shelley Wachsmann
versityof Chicagoin Syro-Palestinianarchaeology.His disserta-
tion is a study of IsraeliteIronAge storagepractices.He has been
a staffmember on excavationsat Carthageand Tell el-Hesi and
he is presently the Director of the LahavGrain StorageProject.
BarbaraGeller Nathanson is presently a Mellon FacultyFellow
in the Committee on the Study of Religion at HarvardUniver-
sity, where she is pursuingresearchon the impact of the Chris-
tianization of the Roman Empire on the Jewish and pagan
communities of the fourth and fifth centuries A.D.in Syro-
Palestine.She receivedher B.A.from Princeton University and
the Ph.D.in Religionfrom Duke University,writing her disser-
tation on the fourth-centuryJewish revolt during the reign of
Gallus Caesar.Shehas taught courses on Palestine in late antiq-
uity at Wellesley College and at Clark University, from which
she is currently on leave.
ShelleyWachsmannhas served as the Inspectorof Underwater
Antiquities in the IsraelDepartment of Antiquities since 1976.
As the department'smarine archaeologist, he is responsible,
togetherwith his colleague KurtRaveh,for discovering,record-
ing, and protecting Israel'snautical heritage. He received his
B.A.and M.A. in Near Easternarchaeologyat Hebrew Univer-
sity's Institute of Archaeology,where he is currently working
on his Ph.D., writing a dissertation on seagoing ships and
seamanshipin the BronzeAge Levant.He has divedextensively
in the MediterraneanSea, the Sea of Galilee, and the Red Sea,
and is the author of numerous articles dealing with ancient
watercraftand the results of underwaterwork.
RobertS. Merrillees is a specialist in the Bronze Age archae-
ology of Cyprus and has long been interested in the ancient
eastern Mediterranean. A graduate of Sydney and London
universities, he has published numerous works on Levantine
antiquity,especially concerning pottery productionand trade.
Pierre Bordreuil
Robert S. Merrillees
In between times he is a diplomat and currently serves-as
AustralianAmbassadorto Israel.
Nahman Avigad studied architecture in Czechoslovakia and
archaeologyand Bible in Jerusalem.During the past fifty years,
he has won numerous covetedprizes in the field of archaeology,
but he is best known for his recoveryof Jerusalem'sUpperCity.
He is currently preparinga book on West Semitic seals.
PierreBordreuilis Chargede Rechercheof the Centre National
de la Recherche Scientifique. A resident of Lebanon, he is a
memberof the FrenchArchaeologicalExpeditionto RasShamra
and of the Franco-SyrianExpeditionto RasIbnHani. He is also
preparingthe volume of West Semitic seals for the Corpus
Inscriptionum Semiticarum.
William Meacham is with the Centre of Asian Studies at the
University of Hong Kong. Educatedat Tulane, the Sorbonne,
andthe Gregorian,he has lived in Hong Kongsince 1970,where
he has conducted a number of excavations for the Hong Kong
ArchaeologicalSociety at Neolithic andhistorical sites. In 1980
he beganresearchingthe Shroudof Turinand issues that relate
to it.
Rachel Hachlili and Ann Killebrewhave jointly published sev-
eralarticles on the Jewishcemeteryof the SecondTempleperiod
at Jericho. Hachlili received her Ph.D. in archaeology from
HebrewUniversity.Killebrewis currentlyworkingon a graduate
degreein archaeologyat HebrewUniversity and is the Editorial
Coordinatorof a new series on historical geographyfor BA.
L. Y.Rahmanirecently retiredas Chief Curatorof State Antiq-
uities with the IsraelDepartmentof Antiquities and Museums.
He has done extensive research on many topics, including
tombs and funerarycustoms in ancient Israel.
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 3
SEPPHORIS
by
Eric M. Meyers,
of Ehud Netzer,
"Ornament
and CarolL. Meyers
All Galilee" del looming above the
tree line of the mod-
ern forest.
The location of the

The modern visitor to an-

Sepphoris hill has at least
some of the necessary
.

cient Sepphoris sees a large characteristics that

irregular hill rising from
the lowlands of Galilee. On
its southern and eastern sides a forest
of spindly pine trees stretches along
the slopes. On the northwestern edge
a cluster of buildings, including an
orphanage run by Italian nuns and
the towering unroofed walls of a
never-completed Crusader church,
huddles against the scarp. The steep
northern slope has discouraged both
natural and man-made cover, but the
massive remains of an ancient build-
ing can be seen where the embank-
ment has eroded away. Only the top
would make it a likely
place for human habita-
tion-arable lands stretch
around it and its height allows for
security and self-defense. Only a
good source of water on the hill's
summit is lacking, but the ancient
inhabitants worked to overcome
that liability and made Sep-
phoris - or Sippori as it is known
today in Hebrew-a city of consid-
erable importance in late antiquity.
Sepphoris in History
The ruins visible on the northern N

of the hill remains barren, with the scarp are not the only indications N

exception of the ever-present ground of the site's long history. Sep-

cover of thorns and thistles and a
towering square citadel.
The citadel, which dates in its
present form to the end of the nine-
teenth century, rests on foundations
laid during the Byzantine period and
possibly renovated in the Crusader
period around 1200 C.E.(Strange and
Longstaff 1984: 51). It incorporates
large ashlar blocks, including several
sarcophagi from the Roman period,
in its lower courses. The fortress is
both a landmark and a lookout point.
The roof of this three-story building
(10.50 meters high, or more than 30
feet above ground level) offers a com-
manding view of the great Sepphoris
plain known as Sahl el-Battuaf. From
nearby Nazareth (four miles to the
east) the Sepphoris hill, which rises
115 meters from the surrounding
plain, is unmistakable with its cita-
phoris has a literary pedigree that
is both substantial and broad. The
Jewish historian Josephus provides
the earliest literary attestation of
Sepphoris (Jewish Antiquities
13.2.5-see Marcus 1961: 397). He
first mentions the site in reference
to Ptolemy Lathyrus' unsuccessful
attempt to capture the city during
the reign of Alexander Jannaeus
(circa 100 B.C.E.);somewhat later,
Gabinius (57-55 B.C.E.)divided Pal-
estine into five councils (synedria -
Greek for Sanhedrin) and chose Sep-
phoris as the administrative center
of the Galilean one (Jewish Antiq-
uities 14.5.4-see Marcus 1961: 495;
The Jewish War 1.8.5 - see Thackeray
1956: 79). Thus, by the time of Herod
the Great, Sepphoris was the fore-
most city in Galilee.
Josephus calls the site "orna-
Twosmall bronzefigurines,depicting charac-
tersfromclassical mythology,were discovered
in a cistern in area 84.1. The identity of the
statuette above is uncertain but it may be a
young satyr with donkey'sor goat's ears. The
figureis seated on an object that may be a
water skin. He holds a musical instrument in
his right hand and in his left is a stylized
cluster of grapes.The figurine'sanimal ears
and musical instrument remind one of the
young shepherd-godPan.Theson of Hermesin
some traditions, Pan was regularlydepicted
partially human but with the horns, ears,
and legs of a goat and his characterwas also
"goatish"-full of lust, energy,and fertility.
Like shepherds,he was a musician and a
wandereron hillsides. The figurine is 6 centi-
meters high. The other bronzefigurineprob-
ably representsPrometheus.He is depicted in
a position that reflects the myth where he
has been chained to a rock or pillar by Zeus
to undergocontinual tortureby an eagle that
daily tearsat his liver, which is regenerated
everynight. The stance of the figurinerepre-

4 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
 ment of all Galilee" (Jewish Antiquities
18.2.1-see Feldman 1965: 25) in reference
to the building program carried out there
by Herod Antipas early in the first cen-
tury C.E.Antipas himself called the city
"Autokratis,"which possibly indicates
its role as a capital city with self-
autonomy. Although it lost some
prestige when Antipas shifted
his northern base to
Tiberias, it again became
capital of Galilee under
the procurator Felix
'b:f~Pp (52-60 C.E.).
Another
ancient desig-
nation of
Sepphoris pro-
vides insight into
its political role in Roman Palestine.
The city is said to have taken a paci-
fistic stand in the First Jewish Revolt
(66-70 c.E.), with its citizens unwill-
ing to oppose Rome. Josephus con-
tends that he himself led two sepa-
rate attacks against the recalcitrant
Sepphoreans (Thackeray 1961: 33 and
137-39). The city coins of Sepphoris
verify its reluctance to engage in
sents Prometheus bound to a pillar with his
hands free and spread. The left hand points
downward Landthe right one is rLaisedand
turn ed toward his chest. PrometheuZs' right leg
is raised and supports theieagle. The figurine
is finely modeled in ai style
and is 7.5 Greco-Roma•n
high.
centimzeters
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
warfare. Coins minted for the year
67/68 bear the legend Eirenopolis,
"City of Peace." Note also the report
in Josephus' The Jewish War (3.30-
32), which reads:
FromAntioch Vespasianpushed on
to Ptolemais [Akko,which is on the
coast]. At this city he was met by
the inhabitantsof Sepphorisin Gal-
ilee, the only people of that prov-
ince who displayed pacific senti-
ments. For,with an eye to their own
security and a sense of the powerof
Rome, they had already,before the
coming of Vespasian,given pledges
to Caesennius Gallus, received his
assuranceof protection, and admit-
ted a Roman garrison; now they
offered a cordial welcome to the
commander-in-chief,and promised
Below: View of the citadel. Also called a fort
or fortress, this square building (14.95 meters
square) is the most prominent structure at
Sepphoris and can be seen from as far away as
Nazareth, several miles to the east. According
to the finds made by the team from the Uni-
versity of South Florida in 1983, the citadel's
foundations date to the Byzantine period but
it has been rebuilt many times. Most of the
present cornerstones are rubble-filled Roman
sarcophagi that were probably incorporated
into the building during Byzantine or Cru-
sader times. Most of the upper courses of
stones were also taken from other buildings
or cemeteries and reused for the citadel. The
most recent rebuilding took place in the late
nineteenth century during the reign of Abdul
Hlamid (1846-1909). An inscription dating to
that period states that the building was to be
used for educational purposes, and in 1931
the University of Michigan expedition found
it still in use as a schoolhouse by the local
villagers.
5
 their active support against their
countrymen. (Thackeray1956:585)
The fact that the name of Vespasian
appears on the Sepphoris coins just
one year before he became emperor
tends to corroborate Josephus' claims
about the pro-Roman stance of the
local population. The inhabitants of
Sepphoris apparently added the
future emperor's name to the coin
legend on their own initiative and
not on the orders of a high official.
A similar action was undertaken by
the officials of Caesarea Maritima
who also put Vespasian's name on
their coin mints in anticipation of
Vespasian's ascent to the throne.
If Sepphoris was pacifistic during
the first revolt, it may have changed
its course of action by the time of
the second revolt (132-135 C.E.).
Perhaps its population was enlarged
after the first war by refugees from
more nationalistic Jewish centers.
r receives permission to build a church in Sepphoris.
c
U
6 351-352 c.E. A revolt,which beganin Sepphoris,is crushedby Gallus.
crJ
rS
u 374 c.E. Emperor Valens exiles some Nicean Christians to the
a
:-?
Aerial view of the twelfth-century Crusader
church of Saint Anna. The church was left
unfinished for unknown reasons. In Crusader
times Sepphoris, known as Le Sephorie, was a
fortress and city in the principality of Galilee.
6 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
At any event, some of the fomenters at Sepphoris for most of the period
of the second war against Rome in between the two wars. Although
the time of Bar Kokhba were citizens there is a fifteen-year cessation of
of Sepphoris. The notion that the coinage right before the second re-
citizens of Sepphoris constituted a volt, attributing such a gap to the
major cause of the second war, how- existence of rebellious factions in
ever, is to be questioned. Judeo- Sepphoris must also be questioned.
Roman coins continued to be minted One of the factors that cast
Important Dates
in the History of Sepphoris
Date Event
circa 100 B.C.E. Ptolemy Lathyrusunsuccessfully attacks Sepphoris on a
Sabbathduringthe reignof the Hasmonean rulerAlexan-
der Jannaeus.
57-55 B.C.E. Gabinius, the proconsul of Syria,makes Sepphoristhe seat
of one of the five synedria (orhigh courts).
39-38 B.C.E. Herodthe Greatattacks Sepphorisin a snowstormandtakes
it from Antigonus.
4 B.C.E. Judas,son of Ezekias, leads a revolt and invades the royal
arsenal at Sepphoris.Varus,the Roman legate of Syria,
retaliatesby destroyingthe city and selling its inhabitants
into slavery.
3 B.C.E. Herod Antipas rebuilds the city into "the ornament of all
Galilee"and calls it Autokratis. Sepphorisbecomes the
capital of Galilee and Perea.
19 C.E. HerodAntipas moves his capitalto Tiberias.
circa 54 c.E. Under the procuratorFelix, Sepphorisonce again becomes
the capital of Galilee.
66 c.E. During the first Romanrevoltthe residents of Sepphorisare
reluctantto fight andeventuallytake a pro-Romanstance.
67-68 c.E. Sepphorisissues Eirenopolis ("Cityof Peace")coins.
117-139 C.E. During Hadrian'sreign the city is apparently known as
Diocaesarea. A Capitoline temple is functioning at the
site.
circa 200 C.E. RabbiJudahHaNasi moves to Sepphoriswhere he lives for
seventeen years and completes the codification of the
Mishnah.
308 c.E. A martyrdom of Christians may have taken place in
Sepphoris.(A Syriac text of Eusebius is not clear on the
location.)
306-337 c.E. During Constantine the Great'sreign, Josephusof Tiberias
363 c.E. A majorearthquakeoccurs in the area.
Sepphorisarea.
451 c.E. A bishop of Sepphorisattends the council of Chalcedon.
518 c.E. Bishop Marcellinusattends a Jerusalemsynod and rebuilds
a Sepphorischurch.
570 c.E. Antony of Piacenza, a pilgrim, visits a Sepphoris church
associated with Mary.
doubt upon the rebellious nature of
Sepphorisis the extremely positive
way in which Jewish-Romanrelations
in Sepphorisappearfor the genera-
tions following the revolt of 132 to
135 C.E. The best example of this is
found in the coinage of the emperor
Caracalla(also known as Antoninus,
who reignedfrom 198 to 217 C.E.)
minted at Sepphoris.By this time
Sepphoriswas known as Diocaesarea,
and the inscription on the coins pro-
vides astonishing testimony to a
treaty of friendship between the
Roman Senate and the Sepphoris
Council-the official establishments
representingthe two peoples. The
coins' legends are a variation of the
following: "Diocaesareathe Holy
City, City of Shelter,Autonomous,
Loyal(a treaty of) friendship and alli-
ance between the Holy Council and
the Senate of the Roman people."
This numismatic testimony of
the early third century to a treaty be-
tween two peoples named in formal
and official language is unique in the
annals of ancient coins. It demon-
strates the important political and
also economic role of Sepphoris.
Furthermore,it indicates that the
municipal council of this Roman
provincialcity was made up of Jewish
members. This may be the only in-
stance in the country in which the
members of the council (boule in
Greek)were local Jewish residents.
The Roman policy of investing
the local citizenry with control of
this particulartown ultimately may
have brought about the downfall of
Sepphoris. In 351 C.E.the Jews of
Palestine once more rose up against
the Romans.During the reign of
Constantius II (337-361 C.E.), oppo-
sition to the local sovereignty of
Gallus Caesar began at Sepphoris.
The Jews of the city overcame the
Roman soldiers garrisoned there, and
their leader - a man named Patricius
-took charge. The Romans, under
Ursicinus, marched on Sepphoris and
ended the brief uprising but did not
end the Jewish presence at the site.
(Formore on the Gallus revolt, see
BarbaraGeller Nathanson'sarticle
in this issue of BA.)
Sepphoriswas once The importance of Sepphorisin
the history of Palestine is matched
calledDiocaesarea. by its centrality in religious tradition.
Indeed,the role Sepphorisplayedin
the religious and spiritual develop-
ment of ancient Judaismis undoubt-
edly part of the dynamics of its in-
volvement in political and economic
affairs.And Sepphoriswas not only a
pivotal site for Jewishlife in the first
centuries of the Common Era- early
Christianity found a congenial home
in Sepphoris,and Roman paganism
SSepphos ' was also representedby the imperial
Haii Tiberat S
officers and bureaucratsstationed in
the Galilean capital.
Nazareth
The Peoples of Sepphoris
Literaryreferencesto Sepphoris
abound in both ancient rabbiniclit-
eratureand in the writings of the
church fathers.It is clear that in ad-
dition to the paganRoman influence
found in many easternMediterranean
Constans (AE4, 17 mm)
centers, the burgeoningJewish life
in Galilee after the wars with Rome
was well representedat Sepphoris,
as was the spreadingChristian pop-
ulation of Galilee in the periods
both before and afterthe legalization
of Christianity by Constantine and
its adoption as the state religion by
Theodosius the Great in the fourth
obverse
bust to left century.
reverse Jewishlife. Next to Jerusalem,no city
two soldiers flank standard;inscription: of the ancient world is mentioned as
GLORIAEXERCITVS (gloryof the army)
frequently in the rabbinicliterature
as Sepphoris.At the beginning of the
third century aroundthe time, or
LateRoman rulerof Constantinian perhapsa little later than, the Judeo-
family (AE4, 15 mm) Roman coins under Caracallaap-
pear,the city was the seat of Rabbi
Judah HaNasi (also known as Judah
the Prince or Patriarch). Rabbi Judah
is famous in Jewish religion and lit-
erary history as the codifier or
redactor of the Mishnah-the core of
the Talmud (that is, the commentary
on the Mishnah that was edited in
obverse
bust to right
Palestine around 400 C.E.and in
reverse Babylon around 500 C.E.).His presence
wreath;inscription within: at Sepphoris for seventeen years
VOTXX MVLTXXX
coincided in part with the location
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 7
 Constantius II(AEcentenionalis, 23 mm) HerodI (AEhadris [8 prutot],25 mm)
__- Preliminary

uring the first season of excavationa

total of 134 coins, which have now
been preliminarilycleanedand inspected,
was unearthedby the JointSepphorisProj-
ect. Twenty-six are so broken, worn, or
corroded that they are beyond recogni-
tion. A large number of the coins (forty-
SS six) are Romanbronzes dating to the first
AiilvP half of the fourth century C.E.,but more
precise identification is difficult because
of their poor state of preservation.
Two coins are silver and at least two
? . --
&
-
.
more are made of a very debased silver
called billon. Unfortunately the prove-
nance of one of the silvercoins, which was
the earliest coin from the season (dating
to the reignof PtolemyII),is questionable.
The rest of the coins aremade of bronzeor
brass.
Five of the coins were struck under
obverse obverse
bust to right tripodwith crown;inscription:BACIAEQC the Jewish kings of the Second Temple
reverse HPQAOY(KingHerod) period. A large bronze coin of AgrippaII
soldier spearsfallen horseman;inscription: reverse carries the portrait of Vespasian, under
FELTEMPREPARATIO (the happinessof the incense burnerwith two palm branches whom Agripparuled.
time is restored) and starabove
Coins minted duringthe reignsof the
emperorsCaracalla,Elagabalus,and Tre-
TreboniusGallus (ARantoninianus, 22, AgrippaII (AElarge,27 mm) bonius Gallus represent talmudic Sep-
mm)
phoris.Interestingly,the coin of Caracalla
was the only coin discovered that came
from Sepphoris,which had its own mint
beginning in 68 C.E.It depicts a tetrastyle
P
temple on its reverse. The coin, which
_.I '?~ 'u was identifiedby YacakovMeshorerof the
c IsraelMuseum, is in extremely poor con-
-I
dition. The Elagabaluscoin was also a Pal-
. estine issue and may have been struck at
Akko, located on the nearby Mediterra-
nean coast.

IL • AlexanderJannaeus(AEprutah, 16 mm)
.4;?•J
?` ~~,
c

AU
E
c
.. ??~
C ~rV ~c
. . ,
c

obverse
radiatebust to right
reverse
Junoseated;inscription:
IVNONIMARTIALIS(Junothe Warlike)
obverse
bust (ofVespasian)to right
reverse
Tyche(goddess)with cornucopiaand barley
ears;inscription:ETOYKSBAA1PIHlA
(year26 of King Agrippa)
obverse
upside down anchor;inscription:
BACIAEQC AAEEANDPOY(KingAlexander)
reverse
star in wreath;Hebrewinscription:"Yonatan
ha melech"(Jonathanthe King)

8 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGISTMARCH 1986
Coins Found at Sepphoris Report
The largest number of coins were
Late Roman bronzes dating to the period
Date Ruler/Period Number of Coins of Constantine I (the Great), his family,
284-247 B.C.E. Ptolemy II 1* and his contemporaries. Many of these
222-187 B.C.E. Antiochus III 1 coins were found on the floor, and in a
103- 76 B.C.E. Alexander Jannaeus 3 cistern beneath it, of a house in area 84.1
37-4 B.C.E. Herod I (the Great) 1 that was apparentlydestroyedduringthe
50- 96 c.E. AgrippaII 1 revolt of Gallus in 351 C.E.
98-117 C.E. Trajan 2 With the exception of a single Arab-
198-217 C.E. Caracalla 1 Byzantinecoin, there is a distinct absence
218-222 C.E. Elagabalus 1 of Byzantine coins. One must not, how-
251-253 C.E. Trebonius Gallus 1 ever, misconstrue this information.
253-268 C.E. Gallienus 1 Numismatists generally begin chronol-
Salonina (wife of Gallienus) 1 ogies of Byzantine coinage with Anasta-
284-305 C.E. Diocletian 1 sius I (491-518 C.E.).In ceramic typology,
305-306 C.E. Constantius I 3 however,archaeologistsreferto the Early
308-324 C.E. Licinius 1 Byzantine period as beginning in the last
307-337 C.E. Constantine I (the Great) 14 half of the fourthcentury C.E.Thus, while
330-346 C.E. Constantine I (commemorative) 11 no Byzantine coins were found, many
317-326 C.E. Crispus 1 coins were discoveredthat indicate occu-
335-337 C.E. Delmatius 1 pation at the site during the late fourth
317-337 c.E. Constantine II (Caesar) 3 century.
337-340 C.E. Constantine II 2 In sum, the coins unearthed in the
337-350 C.E. Constans 4 first excavation season indicate occupa-
337-361 C.E. Constantius II 5 tion at the site from at least the Seleucid
375-392 C.E. Valentinian II 1 period through the nineteenth century.
4th century C.E. Late Roman,mainly period around Note that in the legends to the photo-
Constantine I 46 graphsof coins in this article, the follow-
7th century C.E. Arab Byzantine 1 ing designations have been used: AE de-
661-750 C.E. Umayyad 1 notes a bronze coin and AR stands for
1250-1517 C.E. Mameluke 1 silver; the number or word coming after
Arabic,unidentified 1 this indicates the denomination (little is
1517-1918 C.E. Turkish-OttomanEmpire 4 known about the denominations of Late
? Cannot be identified 19 Roman coins, so this is indicated by a
number,"4"beingthe smallest);the figure
*Theprovenanceof this coin is questionable. in millimeters gives the averagediameter
of the coin.
David Hendin

Gallienus (billon antoninianus, 22 mm) Constantine II (AE3, 20 mm) Constantius II (AE4, 17 mm)

-gr~
~ .
C-w9v>\n
U. S?;r
7-. T?44-
,r f ?'
cst'?in a*;a s,
L.. KL
~~\Sc; -C;

obverse
EJ?:
4 I
~5~---
--
Y ~sCP

obverse
t~-?~fl

obverse
radiatebustto right bust to left bust to right
reverse reverse reverse
Venusstands left; inscription: camp gate;inscription:PROVIDENTIAE twosoldiersflankingtwostandards;
inscrip-
VENVSVICTRIX(Venusthe Conqueror) CAES(foresightof the emperor) (gloryof the army)
tion: GLORIAEXERCITVS

1986
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGISTIMARCH 9
 LegendsaboutRabbiJudahdepicthimsofull of wisdomandpolitical
acumenthateventhemightyemperorhumbledhimselfbeforehim.
there of the Galilean Sanhedrin-the
central body of Jewishlegal and spir-
itual life during the Roman period
(Tanhuma2, 2:5-see Buber 1885).
Even after RabbiJudahdied and the
Sanhedrinmoved to Tiberias, Sep-
phoris remained the home of an
important rabbinicalacademy for a
century or more.
RabbiJudahis important in
Jewishhistory not only for his asso-
ciation with the SepphorisSanhedrin
and the codification of the Mishnah
but also for his close relations with
the Roman emperor.Indeed, the
special place that Sepphorisheld in
the political structure of Rome'seast-
ern province may be partly attributed
to Judah'sreputation and diplomacy.
The rabbiniclegends that describe
the sage'srelations with the emperor
are unclear as to which emperoris
involved. The stories call the emper-
or Antoninus - a popular name that
could have referredto any number of
emperors.Recently, however,numis-
matic evidence along with talmudic
lore has been interpretedas indicat-
ing that Caracallawas the emperor
in question. RabbiJudahapparently
lived until 222 C.E.,several years
after Caracalla'sdeath.
The rabbinic scholars who cited
the legends about RabbiJudahwere
interested in aggrandizinghis school
of thought. Hence the stories must
be seen as exaggeratedor idealized
statements about both Judahand
Caracalla.They depict RabbiJudah
as an ideal figure - almost in the
mode of Solomon-so full of wisdom
and political acumen that even the
mighty emperorhumbled himself
beforehim. One tale has the emper-
or crowdingbefore RabbiJudahand
exclaiming, "Wouldthat I served as a
mattress unto thee in the world to
come" (BT,cAbodah Zarah 10b - see
Epstein 1935: 53). Such legends have
10 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
no factual basis, yet they do attest to
RabbiJudah'sskill and perhaps
obliquely suggest why Sepphorisfor
a time was well regardedby Rome.
Christian Representation.Because
of its proximity to Nazareth, it was
only natural that Christians should
also have made their mark on Sep-
phoris. Traditionhas it that Joachim
and Anna (the parents of Mary,
mother of Jesus) were residents of
Sepphoris.This tradition is still up-
held in the Italian orphanageon the
site where in July of 1985 the sisters
organizeda celebration to commem-
orate the two-thousandth-yearanni-
versaryof the birth of Mary.
The ancient Christian com-
munity also participatedin local
politics. Earlyin the fourth century
a man named Justus-perhaps a con-
vert who had earlier gone by the
name of Josephus-was appointed
governorof the city. He seems to
have markedhis accession to that
office by building a Christian church.
The revolt against Gallus may be re-
lated to this shift in governance.
Although the ensuing destruction of
the city brought about a decrease in
its importance, the Christian com-
munity, like the Jewishone, con-
tinued at Sepphorisfor some time.
In the fifth and sixth centuries the
city was the seat of a bishopric,
whose bishops participatedin at
least two ecumenical councils dur-
ing that period.
Presence of Judeo-Christians.One
other groupdeserves mention along
with the Christian and Jewishgroups
at Sepphoris.The early Christian
presence there may have included a
group of minim or Judeo-Christians,
who by the fourth century had
mergedwith the flourishing Chris-
tian community (Btichler1956).
A second-centuryMishnaic
source mentions a certain Sepphor-
ean named Jacob,who is unknown
in Christian sources. Jacobis said to
have discussed Jesuswith Jewsand
to have healed the sick in Jesus'
name. Another Jewishsource, the
MidrashRabbah,reports a conversa-
tion between this min, Jacob,and
RabbiEliezar (anotable sage of the
second century). Jacoband Eliezar
discussed the issue of the expendi-
ture of monies collected through the
hire of a harlot or the price of a dog
(compareDeuteronomy 23:18),and
Jacobrespondedwith a veiled allu-
sion to Jesus.
By the third century, the church
father Eusebius mentions "Chris-
tians"of Sepphoriswhile references
to minim at Sepphorisin the Jewish
sources fade. As elsewhere in Chris-
tendom, the fourth century at Sep-
phoris probablysaw the ascendancy
of Gentile Christianity.
Pagansat the site. Underlying and
overseeingthe Christian and Jewish
communities at Sepphoris,at least
until the fourth century,was a pagan
Romanpresence. The very shift in
Sepphoris'name to Diocaesarea on
the city coins of the late second cen-
tury is a reflection of paganinfluence
because Diocaesarea means "dedi-
cated to Zeus."The designs on the
Diocaesarea coins from the period
are also notably pagan.This is in
bold contrast to the Sepphoriscoins
producedin Trajan'stime, all of
which bear the name "Sepphoris"
and symbols congenial to Judaism.
It is difficult to know whether
the paganname for Sepphorisrepre-
sents an attempt to control the local
Jewishor Christian community or
constitutes a response to a Roman
segment of the population. One
would suspect the former.None-
theless, the existence of paganinflu-
ence at Sepphoriswas sustained for
as long as the empire remained
pagan. The talmudic stories about
Rabbi Judah and the emperor reflect
the interchange between pagans and
Jews as well as the stature of Judah
the Prince. They inform us oblique-
ly about the pagan presence at
Sepphoris.
In sum, the literary sources
richly document the existence of a
mixed population at ancient Sep-
phoris. Jews and Christians lived
together with Romans at this urban
center during a period of critical
importance to the development in
Galilee of all these groups. Further-
more, the written records reveal the
leading political, economic, and re-
ligious position that Sepphoris held
in antiquity. The issue that the The Roman theater shown afterits excavation and clearance by the Jewish National Fund.
archaeologist faces, in light of this
abundance of literary testimony
concerning the peoples and the his- In 1931 an expedition from the basilica. Waterman believed it was
torical role of this Galilean site, is University of Michigan, led by Leroy dug into the rock for fear of persecu-
what an investigation of the material Waterman, excavated for three months tion from the Romans. Other schol-
culture can provide for the task of at Sepphoris. Waterman and his as- ars, however, have since repudiated
reconstructing the past. Does one sociates laid out two large trenches the Michigan interpretation because
look for corroboration of the written on the summit of the site, one on the architectural remains are more
accounts? Does one hope to discover the northeast and the other on the likely that of a villa. The absence of
aspects of ancient life that the
sources do not reveal? These ques-
tions and others like them hover in
the background of any archaeological TheMichiganteamdiscovereda
investigation of Sepphoris.
Romantheaterdug into the
Archaeological Evidence
from Earlier Excavations slope.
northeastern
Archaeological work at Sepphoris
began at the beginning of the twen-
tieth century with the most visible northwest. Their most notable con- any Christian sign or symbol makes
remains of ancient settlement-the tribution was the discovery and ex- it doubtful that the building was
unfinished Crusader church of Saint cavation of a Roman theater dug into used for religious purposes.
Anna. The French scholar Prosper the sharp northeastern slope. Al- Other archaeological discoveries
Viaud excavated part of the church in though badly disturbed, the theater's at Sepphoris have been accidental. In
1908 and in the process discovered proportions and character were es- the late 1950s an inscription describ-
remnants of a mosaic floor that tablished by the Michigan team. It is ing the renovation of a church by the
probably belonged to a Byzantine- a semicircular building with a di- bishop Marcellinus (518 C.E.)was
period synagogue. An Aramaic in- ameter of 74 meters and a seating found by chance, and in 1979 road-
scription from that floor was re- capacity of 4000 to 5000 people. work near the orphanage uncovered
moved from its original context and Less convincing is the Michigan a magnificent animal rhyton of the
is now displayed in a small restored interpretation of a large building ex- Persian period. The latter discovery,
chapel of the Crusader building. It cavated in the northwestern trench. along with the frequent appearance
reads as follows: Cut into bedrock in its earlier phase of Iron II and Persian sherds in the
Remembered be for good Rabbi and later adorned with columns and trenches of the excavations carried
Yudan,the son of Tanhum the son a mosaic floor, this building was out in the summer of 1985, attests
of... who gave .... identified as an early Christian to occupation at Sepphoris before

BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986 11

 -7
14
Artist'srenderingof the animal rhyton that
was accidentally discoverednear the Italian
orphanageat Sepphorisin 1979. The rhyton
dates to the Persianperiod (around400 :c.E.)
and the drawingis usedcourtesyof Qadmoniot.
the Hellenistic period. Although sig-
nificant structural remains of the
late biblical period have not yet been
discovered, the ceramic evidence
tends to confirm traditional sources,
which recall a preexilic settlement at
Sepphoris (Mishnah cArakhin
9.6 - see Danby 1933: 553; Megillah
6a-see Epstein 1935: 27-28).
Archaeologists have also investi-
gated some of the burial caves cut
into the rocky area surrounding the
hill. In 1930/1931 a tomb with a plas-
ter inscription identifying it with
Rabbi Judah was excavated by Eliezer
Sukenik. Nahman Avigad also inves-
tigated a second- or third-century
mausoleum known as the Tomb of
Jacob'sDaughters.
Despite the importance of the
site and the sporadic, and often ac-
cidental, recovery of elements of its
archaeological past, no sustained and
systematic investigation of Sepphoris
was undertaken until recently. In the
1980s two related excavation teams,
both spin-offs of the Meiron Excava-
tion Project (which had worked at
four sites in Upper Galilee since
1970), turned their attention to this
12 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
-a
ail
r
rM
_excavations
-_
site. A University of South Florida
team headed by JamesE Strange
conducted surveys and soundings in
1982 and 1983. Full-scale excava-
tions were carried out by the Strange
expedition and also by a combined
Duke University-Hebrew University
group directed by the authors in 1985.
The 1985 Joint Sepphoris Project
Most of the work carried out by the
latter expedition (known as the Joint
Sepphoris Project or JSP)was con-
centrated on the summit of the hill,
although a series of soundings along
the southern slopes helped to clarify
the extent of the ancient settlement.
1931
WI.
II- RemainsexcavatedbyJSP
in 1985
GridsforJSP
L271/
W Undergroundcavities North
E . WatermanandStrange
]
Occupational Periods. The strati-
graphic picture that emerged reflects
rather closely the information that
has been gleaned from the literary
sources. The earliest structural re-
mains uncovered so far date from
the late Hellenistic period. Roman-
period remains appear extensive,
particularly in the third and fourth
centuries C.E.A disruption of city life
in the mid-fourth century probably
can be related to the suppression of
the rebellious Sepphoreans at the
time of Gallus Caesar.
It came as no surprise to find a
resumption of town life well into the
Byzantine period (fourth to sixth
 centuries), for the inscriptional
materials had clearly indicated such
would be the case. The written
sources, however, fail to provide
much detailed information beyond
the sixth century. Archaeological

- r --_I_ ---4 material now has established that

the vigorous Byzantine settlement
was followed by occupation in the
Arabic period (seventh century and
JFS 1983 following). Occupation was contin-
uous into the seventh century and,
JFS while the upper levels are badly dis-
1983 turbed, ceramic evidence indicates
that the site may not have been
JFS 1983 LW abandoned until late Crusader
times. The nineteenth- to twentieth-
century Arab village of Saffiriya -
one of the largest in modern Pales-
7W V tine-was built over the ancient
ruins, leveling them in many cases
JFS I and robbing out all visible masonry
1985 for structural reuse or as material for
the lime kiln established in the
vicinity of the Roman theater.
10 20 meters The building activities of both
0 the modern and ancient inhabitants
of Sepphoris, who tended to level
LWV
1931 4 4, down to bedrock and reuse existing
materials, have left us with only
fragmentary architectural remains
despite the long occupational history
t1 f PineForest of the site.
v-kt77 •% • Public and Private Buildings. The
theater is still the most notable of
Grove 45 4i
. •'•q:\•"?"
,Cactus
Grove the large public buildings that must
have crowned the hill during the era
......J
when it served as capital of Galilee.
A tentative first-century date,
achieved by the JSPprobes into its
foundations, probably means that the

Above: Plan of the excavatedremains at Sepphoris.The

Roman theater,at the upperright, was investigated by the
Universityof Michiganexpeditionin 1931(markedLWfor the
directorLeroyWaterman),the University of South Florida
excavationsin 1983(markedJFSfor directorJamesE Strange),
and the 1985 Joint SepphorisProject(JSP)in areas 85.2 and
86.2. The other major areas excavatedby the JSPin 1985 are
84.1, 84.2, 84.4, 85.1, 86.1, and 95.1.Left:Stairsand passage
formingone of the vomitoria(exits)of the theater The
vomitoriawere over2 meters wide and wereprobablycovered
d with cylindrical vaults.

N
eel
E:
m

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 13
 We areall familiarwith the use of radarin aviation andmeteorology,not
to mention its role in detecting speeding motorists on our highways,
but its usefulness is not limited to these areas.For instance, geologists have
employedit for yearsto probesoils down to bedrock.And recently an attempt
has been made to apply it to archaeologicalproblems.
In 1980 Peter Fischer used what is called subsurface-interfaceradar(in
which the transmitted electromagnetic signal is reflected back from the
interface between two substances of different densities) at the site of Hala
Sultan Tekke in Cyprus. He published the tracings of his graphics recorder
beside photographsof the actual excavations (see pages 48-52, 63, and 64 in
volume 63 of the Swedish Annual Studies in MediterraneanArchaeology-
G6teborg:Paul Astrdms Firlag, 1980). In Israel, LambertDolphin used it to
discover a chamber beneath the western tower of the Herodium that would
likely have escaped detection for some time with ordinary archaeological
methods ("GeophysicalMethods for Archaeological Surveys in Israel,"SRI
International, December 1981,page 3).
During the summer of 1985, in the dig that I direct at Sepphoris,we also
used subsurface-interfaceradar.The equipment relies on a boxedantennathat
is draggedor towedhorizontally overthe surfaceof the ground.A cone-shaped
signal is broadcaststraightdown into the soil, and the signal is reflectedback
from a buried feature-for instance the interface between soil and stone or
between a void and soil-and is picked up by a receiving unit. A graphics Above: View taken from inside the citadel
recorder produces a tracing of the echo. No special computers or other looking east towardarea86.1Below: Overview
of the excavation areas (84.1, 84.4, and 85.1)
analysis equipment is needed for interpretation. near the west side of the Sepphorishill. The
With this equipment it is possible to detect dense featuresas small as one view is towards the northwest, and the pine
centimeter in diameter,if they are not buried too deeply. (At greaterdepths, trees behind the excavation trenches arepart
features this small cannot be distinguished.) At Sepphoriswe were able to of the reforestationcarriedout by the Jewish
National Fund.
penetrate as deeply as 16 to 17 meters to detect voids, though we generally
probedfor architectureat about 8 meters or less.
During the 1985 season, my assistant director,RichardBatey of Rhodes
College in Tennessee,was in chargeof the radar.He used it to determinemajor
features in the groundbeforea squarewas opened at a particularspot. In this
way the radar detected Early Roman cisterns, a large Byzantine wall, the
exterior wall of the Roman theater, openings to underground chambers
alreadydiscoveredby the Excavationsat Sepphoris(asour dig is designated)in
1983, and unidentified cavities in the vicinity of the citadel. It also showed
that there was no detectable architecture in one area that had already
undergonea week's digging.It was thus judgedprudent to abandonthat area.
The applicationof subsurface-interfaceradarin archaeologypromises to
open up new avenues of survey and prospecting before excavation. For
example, it is possible to accomplish a carefulradaranalysis of a given partof
a tell or ruin and detect major foundations, walls, and other architectural
remains-even to map them-without excavation. In addition, one may
detect and map voids such as cisterns, storagerooms and pits, tunnels, and
other features,even if they contain filtered-in soil.
It should be noted, however, that at present the equipment for this is
rathercostly and expensive to transport.In addition, waterin the soil greatly
interfereswith the penetrationof the signal (clayhas a similar effect),andthis
kind of radarhas poor angularresolution. Despite these problems,the future
use of radarby American archaeological teams in the Levant is especially
promising. It is hoped that miniaturization in the next few years will help
diminish the problems of cost and transport. And since American teams
generallywork in the summer when soils aredry,waterinterferenceshouldn't
be a problem.Wealreadyhavenews that soil-interfaceradarwill be used at Tel
Halif in Israel, and my team at Sepphoriswill certainly returnwith radarfor
the 1986 season.
JamesF.Strange

14 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
 (C-125) in the center of the public
building excavated in area 86.1 may
provide the answer. It has been
cleared to a depth of nine meters but
the bottom has not been reached.
The difficult operation of pulling
boulders and fill from its depths will
continue in the 1986 season. The
role of this large water installation
in Sepphoris' overall water system
has yet to be determined.
Many other underground cavi-
ties discovered at the site were clearly
cut as cisterns. In nearly every area
in which the teams dug - in both
courtyards and basements of
domestic structures - cisterns were
discovered. The cry "cistern"rang
In the center of this photo is a deep stone-lined water installation (C-125) that was discovered out again and again as the student
in area 86.1.A silo, lined with stones, is visible in the foreground.At the left is a large stone
diggers came upon one after another
platform,part of the fragmentaryremains from Byzantine or later times that lie over the large of these installations that allowed
fourth-centurystructureuncoveredin this area. The water installation was cleared to a depth
of about 9 meters in the 1985 season but excavation was temporarilyhalted because of the for the storage of water, somehow
difficulty and dangerof lifting largestones from the bottom of the installation. Workon it will brought from afar or channelled into
resumein the 1986season-it is possible that the key to understandinghow water was brought
into the city from the aqueducts to the east may lie at the bottom of C-125. them during the rainy season. The
Waterman and Strange expeditions
also recorded the discovery of many
theater was one of Herod Antipas' hand, many underground cavities cisterns. The several that have been
building projects. beneath the city, discovered quite fully excavated indicate that they
Just to the south of the theater unexpectedly, are well preserved and were probably dug in the Early to
other remains of public structures provide information about ancient Middle Roman period (first to third
from the Roman-period city (first to life at Sepphoris that was not re- centuries C.E.)and continued in
fourth centuries c.E.) came to light. corded in the literary sources. usage probably for several centuries
A large building (in area 86.1), with Underground Sepphoris. It will prob- thereafter.
an associated street paved with lime- ably be years before the underground Many questions have arisen con-
stone plaster, may have been a for- installations are fully mapped and cerning the cisterns. For instance,
tress. It was bounded on the north by their typology established. Yet even does the vast number of cisterns re-
a two-meter-wide wall. after only one season of exploration, flect the subsistence needs of a large
On the western edge of the sum- it is clear that countless cavities in population or were they involved in
mit the expedition laid out a series the rocky hillside were hollowed out using water for other purposes such
of trenches that exposed part of the of the bedrock and used for different as industrial processes? One reason
city's domestic quarter. These areas purposes, many- it seems- having why these questions are difficult to
(84.1, 84.2, 84.4, 85.1, and 95.1) in- to do with the use and storage of answer is that the cisterns appear to
cluded several mikvaot (or ritual that precious commodity, water. have a complex architectural and
baths - one of which was eventually Sepphoris, as we mentioned functional history. While some are
used as a pottery dump in which earlier, has no spring or permanent simple, single, bell-shaped or cylin-
hundreds of restorable vessels were source of water within its bounds. drical cavities, many others utilize
recovered), a large building whose Remains of at least two aqueducts, natural declivities. More confusing
full extent is still unknown, and coming from springs several kilo- is the existence of multichambered
fragmentary remains of earlier struc- meters east of the site, have been dis- cisterns. In some cases the under-
tures from the late Iron Age or early covered. At present it is not known ground spaces have a common entry.
Persian period. whether one or both of these aque- Other times the cavities are oriented
The poorly preserved public and ducts reached Sepphoris. It is also more linearly and have connecting
private buildings of Sepphoris pro- unclear how the water actually channels or tunnels leading from one
vide scant reflection of the once- came into the city and how it was cavity to another; and at times they
thriving urban center. On the other stored. A large water installation have multiple entryways. The struc-

BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986 15

 Above left: 7Tvostudents emergingfrom a cistern in area 84.1. This cistern, also shown in the
drawing on the left, was fully excavated and appearsoriginally to have been dug into the
bedrockas a silo. It was subsequently used as a cistern, and ultimately its opening was
concealed. Threeadjacent undergroundcavities connect with this cistern. Many vessels and
other objects, including the two bronzemythological figurines, were found in the cistern. The
student on the right holds one of the statuettes, and the student on the left points to two
third-centurylamps. Above right: Resting on the edge of a cistern in area 85.1 are the two
bronzefigurines found in a nearby area. Among the ceramic remains discoveredin this cistern
are the three jars shown resting on the flagstone pavement. These jars, which date to the
Middle Romanperiod (third century),are broken,in nearly identical fashion, on the edge of
the lip opposite the handle. The damage does not appearto have renderedthem nonfunctional
and may be the result of an ancient Jewish tradition of dealing with potterypurchasedfrom
non-Jews.The Jewishowner may have intentionally altered such a pot, by chippingit slightly,
so as to "finish"its manufacture,therebymaking it a "Jewish"vessel.

tural variety of these underground

chambers may indicate different pei
iods of construction or different
functions.
Water storage apparently was
not the only purpose underlying the
ancient excavation of underground
chambers. Some cavities may have
been cut originally as silos while
others, intended as water cisterns,
were later used for storage. The dis-
covery of storage vessels in some of
them rather than the expected wate:
jars or jugs indicates that the in-
habitants kept supplies as well as
water in subterranean cavities.
Some of the underground cavi-
ties had doorways and may have
been intended for more than oc-
casional human presence. There is
no solid evidence to support it, but
the analogy of the so-called Bar
Kokhba hiding places discovered in
the environs of Jerusalem and the
Judean Shephelah has raised the
possibility of a similar function for
the vast network of chambers and
passages beneath the surface of an-
- Preliminary
Report-
The Lead Weight
She lead weight that was discoveredby the Joint SepphorisProjectin the
1985season is inscribedon both sides in Greek. Side one consists of three
lines or registers with the top and bottom registers apparentlydepicting a
colonnade (perhapsrepresenting the marketplace or agora of ancient Sep-
phoris). The colonnade is similar to the representationof the cardo on the
famous mosaic map from Madaba.The central line specifies the amount of
the weight.
The reverseside (side two) has five lines of inscription that identify the
official in chargeof the market. Unfortunately,the inscription is not in good
condition-some of the letters are either damagedor missing.
The artifact weighs 1018 grams (36 ounces). Since the common unit of
weight in the Roman world, the libra (Greeklitra), equalled approximately
340 grams (12 ounces), the Sepphorisweight is the equivalent of three such
libras. In the Greco-Romanworld the libra was often used in multiples to
weigh heavier items (forexample, 2 libras, 6 libras, and 12 libras), and the
inscribedexpression"halflitra"foundon the weight refersto half of a six-libra
unit.
Weknow of manyagoranomoior marketinspectorsbut this inscription is
the first to name Simon (Shimon)-certainly a Jew- from a city with a Jewish
population.
YacakovMeshorer

16 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986

 cient Sepphoris. The historical in-
formation about the political orien-
tation of Sepphoris' inhabitants,
alternately supporting or opposing
Rome, makes the existence of cham-
bers for the security of persons or
goods a possibility.
On the last day of the 1985 sea-
son a complex of underground cavi-
ties, estimated to be the size of a
football field, was discovered almost
casually. Inured by the repeated
uncovering of openings leading to
cisterns or chambers, some of which
were narrow and very difficult to
enter, the excavators hardly noticed
one last tiny entrance to an under-
ground space in area 85.1. No one
small enough to fit through the one
opening was available at first. But
tvo of the plastered water installations discoveredin area 84.2 on the western edge of the site. finally, hours before the expedition
On the right is a steppedpool (2.53 by 1.53 meters)that is 1.33 meters deep at the bottom of packed away its tools, a brave, slender
the stairs. On the left is a square,plasteredpool (1.40 by 1.40 meters),measuring 0.94 meters volunteer was lowered into the dark
deep. Between them, and under the half-meterstick, is a shaft leading down into an under-
groundchamber that may have originally been a basement storageroom that was later sealed space below and spent those final
and used for water storage.These adjoining pools areperhaps bathinginstallations that can hours discovering a labyrinth of sub-
be identified as mikvaot or ritual baths. terranean spaces. The returning 1986
team will have to deal with a sys-
tematic exploration of these and
other cisterns and chambers.
Abovegroundwater installations.
Another special group of water in-
stallations was found in startling
abundance at Sepphoris and must be
related, in part, to the many cisterns.
Again, in nearly every area the exca-
vators came across small, plastered,
stepped pools. A typical one is ap-
proximately 2 meters long, 1 meter
c wide, and 11/2to 2 meters deep. Some
of these pools appeared in pairs and
3Y some were isolated examples. Others
N
y,
were found adjacent to or on top of
earlier pools cut into the bedrock.
All seem to be related to nearby
cisterns.
Side One Side Two What was the intended purpose
hMIAITPIN of all of these plastered pools? The
APOPANOMO
discovery of so many of them marks
TTWNCIMWNO
AIANOT the beginning of extensive research
IOTCTOC that must be carried out on the use
[TIIOT of such pools in antiquity. At present,
half litra [libra] under the market inspection of Simon through comparison with similar
son of Aianos son of Justus features at sites like Jericho and Jeru-
salem, it seems reasonable to sug-
gest that they were bathing pools.

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 17
Their dimensions and stairs further that dramatically supplement and
indicate that they were intended for expand our knowledge of ancient
ritual bathing. Sepphoris.Preliminary interpre-
The abundanceof these installa- tation of the finds has allowed the
tions is peculiar. Most Galilean excavatorsto relate the site's chro-
examples of ritual baths, or mikvaot, nology and population to what the
are single structures meant to serve written sources contain. Further
a whole community (as in medieval seasons of excavationwill add to
to modern times where one or two this body of artifactualand textual
bathing complexes served the entire information, and future years of
Jewishpopulation of a town). But in study of the more subtle aspects of
the daysbefore the destruction of the material remains will allow the
the Temple,at least in Jerusalem, reconstruction of the economic and
everyoneentering the temple pre- social aspects of ancient life that
cincts was requiredto be ritually constitute the real core of daily exis-
pure. This mandated a multiplicity Fragmentof terrasigillata pottery dating to tence at this Galilean center.
of baths. Perhapsthe existence of so the LateRoman/Byzantineperiod (mid-fourth
century c.E.).The sherdhas a stamped Byzan- Acknowledgment
many baths at Sepphoris,in a com- tine crossmonogram with circles in each The excavatorswould like to thank
munity with the soundest rabbinic quadrant.Similar monogramshave been
credentials, represents a transitional found in Galilean sites such as Gush Halav the JewishNational Fund for their
and Nabratein as well as in other countries generous support and assistance in
phase between the many bathing of the east Mediterranean.
installations in privatehouses that the preparationand clearing of the
existed in late-SecondTemple times site, and for the excavation and
to the community or public baths of clearance of the theater.
the Roman and later periods. fact- a unique lead weight uncovered
Although the identity of these in fill materials in an area (84.4)on Bibliography
pools as ritual baths seems likely, the western side of the summit (see Avigad,N.
1974 The "Tombof Jacob'sDaughter"at
the identity of their users is far more sidebar).This weight bears an in- Sepphoris.EretzIsrael 11:41-44
speculative. There is no doubt that scription that providesthe archae- (Hebrew).
the Jewishinhabitants would have ologists' dream of harddata:a man's Avi-Yonah,M.
used the baths, but what about the name, his title, and the amount of 1961 A Sixth Century Inscriptionfrom
local Christiansor Jewish-Christians? the weight. The fact that the official Sepphoris.IsraelExplorationJournal
11:184-87.
Werethey also concernedwith purity mentioned in the inscription appar- 1978 Sepphoris.Pp. 1051-55 inEncyclo-
and hence eager to cleanse them- ently bore a Jewishname attests to pedia of ArchaeologicalExcavations
selves as a sign of their readiness to the local autonomy of the Jewish in the Holy Land4. Editedby M.
enter the kingdom? community in economic matters. Avi-Yonahand E. Stern.Jerusalem:
The numismatic and rabbinicevi- MassadaPress.
Special Artifacts. In addition to the
dence that this was so thus receives Boelter,E
of
discovery bathing pools Sep- at 1977 Sepphoris-Seat of the Galilean
phoris, the artifacts that were dis- dramatic support from one small Sanhedrin.Explor3: 36-43.
coveredin the 1985 season provided but significant artifact. Buber,S., editor
firm evidence for the religious com- Finally,evidence of the pagan 1885 MidraschTanchuma.Ein agadischer
munities that coexisted there. A Commentarzum Pentateuchvon
presence at Sepphoriswas provided Rabbi Tanchumaben Rabbi Abba
fragmentof terra sigillata ware from by another striking discovery-two I-III. Vilna, Poland:no publisher.
an early fourth-centurycontext (in tiny but elegant bronze statuettes of Biuchler,A.
area 84.1)was stamped with a cross. figures from classical mythology. 1956 The Minim of SepphorisandTiberias
Although only a small portion of the Foundin a cistern in the basement in the SecondandThird Centuries.
of a house in area 84.1, having fallen Pp. 245-74 in Studies in Jewish
original ceramic plate survives, the History,edited by I. Brodieand
in
cross itself is preserved its entirety. there when the house was destroyed
J.Rabbinowitz.New York:Oxford
With small circles in each quadrant, by fire, these figures- like the lead University Press.
a
the cross is of type known from weight - are apparently unique to Conder,C. R., and Kitchener,H. H.
other Galilean sites (such as Caper- Roman Palestine. 1881 Surveyof WesternPalestine, Volume
1: Galilee. London:Palestine Explo-
naum) and is a convincing piece of ration Society.
Christian symbolism. Conclusion
Danby,H., translator
at
Jewishpresence Sepphoris is The recent excavations have thus 1933 The Mishnah. London:OxfordUni-
markedby another astonishing arti- revealedarchitectureand artifacts versity Press.

18 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
Epstein, I., editor
1935 The Babylonian Talmud.Seder
Nezikin 4. London: The Soncino
BackIssues of
Press.
Feldman, L. H., translator
1965 JosephusIX:JewishAntiquities,
Books XVIII-XX.Series:The Loeb
Classical Library. Cambridge, MA,
and London: Harvard University
BiblicalArchaeolo
gist
Press and Heinemann. Biblical
Freyne, S. Archaeol6gist Eminent SumerologistSamuelNoah Krameroffersa
-.• remarkablereviewof laments in the earliest culture of
1980 Galilee from Alexander the Great to
the ancient Near East.Other articlesdiscuss the Scy-
Hadrian, 323 B.C.E.to 135 C.E.

Klein, S.
Notre Dame, IN: University Press. 1 thian threatto ancient Israelandthe originsof counting
in the Near East.(Spring83, SumerianLamentations)
kLT~I--;
1939 Sepher Ha-Yishub. Jerusalem: Pales-
tine Historical and Ethnographical I~i ~~..iBa
Society (Hebrew). LI~:il 5BIBLICAL
ARCHEOLOGIST
Marcus, R., translator f?
1961 JosephusVII:JewishAntiquities,
Books XII-XIV Series: The Loeb \.iii,~ir?l
~II.I)1
~rJll(~r1111
4(11111.ri.(l)l
?Il)ll.lll.)(i()ll\
Classical Library. Cambridge, MA,
and London: Harvard University
Press and Heinemann.
Meshorer, Y.
In a significantarticle,BezalelPortenoffersa sweeping 'K!
overviewof the Aramaicpapyrifound at Elephantine.
1979 Sepphoris and Rome. Pp. 139-71 in Otherarticlesprovidea glimpse into village life in
Greek Numismatics and Archae- ancient Israelunderthe monarchyandAvigad'sfinds
ology. Essays in Honor of Margaret relatedto Baruch,secretaryto the prophetJeremiah.
Thompson, edited by O. Morkholm (Spring79, ElephantinePapyri)
and N. M. Waggoner. Belgium:
Cultura Press. Please send check or money order,payableto the AmericanSchools of OrientalResearch,for $3.25
Miller, S. postpaid(U.S.)for each issue ordered.Be certainto specifywhich issues you want. Please allow 4-6
1984 Studies in the History and Tradition weeks for delivery.
of Sepphoris. Series: Studies in ASORPublications
Judaism in Late Antiquity 37. Leiden: P.O. BoxH.M., Duke Station
E. J.Brill. Durham,NC 27706
Rose, H. J.
1959 A Handbook of GreekMythology.
New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc.
Strange, J. E, and Longstaff, T. R. W
1984a Sepphoris (Sippori), 1983. Notes and If you are interestedin the ancientNear East
News. Israel ExplorationJournal34:
51-52.
and want to know thejest currentscholarshipon it,
1984b Sepphoris (Sippori) - Survey 1984. subscribe to l Ajchaeologist, '>1';K.
Notes and News. Israel Exploration Bibl'j
Journal 34: 269-70. for 49 yearsthe leadingnmagaziflei the field.
.
Sukenik, E. L.
1932 Some Remains of Sepphoris. Tarbiz And if ~t have b fore
your four
heve,;ubscribed for $14.
3:107-09 (Hebrew). you can reteive first ispues just
Thackeray, H. St. J., translator
1956 JosephusII: The Jewish War,Books Please'entermy criptionto BiblicalAndhaeologist, .
I-III. Series: The Loeb Classical
sul
S? I am a ne(.:.subscriber and eligible for the low ir oductory rat
(fou'i:
Library. Cambridge, MA, and Lon- Sissuesfor $14).
don: Harvard University Press and D I want to my subscription at the low regular rate ($16 for four
Heinemann.
issues). res.upe
; ..
1961 JosephusI: The Life.Against Apion. C Please bill me.
Series: The Loeb Classical Library.
Cambridge, MA, and London: Harvard
[•d.enclose
S
Name
University Press and Heinemann. Address '- ?
Tsuk, T
1983 The Water-Supply System at Sep- City State Zip
-, .
phoris. Unpublished interim report. .
Country. "
Viaud, P.
$2 per yearif orderingfromoutsidethe U.S. or Canada.Send check money
1910 Nazareth et ses deux de :• to: ASOR.
Eglises order
AC.d in U.S. dollars,payableto the AmericanSchoolsof OrientalResearch;
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d'apresles fouilles ricentes. Paris:A. 2BA3
Picard et Fils.

BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986 19

 ne of the rarest building types of ancient
Palestine is the beehive building, so called
The because of its characteristic conical dome.
The standard plan of the beehive structure is
an aboveground, circular-designed, conical dome set
upon a large foundational platform. Buildings of this type
Beehive have been found and excavated at Arad (Early Bronze II),
Beth Yerah (Early Bronze III), Bir el-cAbd (Late Bronze),
and Tell Jemmeh (Hellenistic). All were erected as inde-
pendent structures that dominated their surroundings.
Their dimensions and plans attest to their public nature.

Buildings In the following pages, I will present a survey of bee-

hive buildings in Palestine and then attempt to interpret
the buildings' original function.

of Ancient Material Remains of Beehive Buildings

Arad. At the site of Arad, located in the Negeb approxi-
mately 30 kilometers east-northeast of Beersheba, a
series of stone-built platforms was discovered. These

Palestine platform structures appear in strata 2 and 3 of the site,

coinciding with the Early Bronze II period (3000-2800
B.C.).
The plan of the structures is mostly elliptical (aver-
aging 4 meters in diameter), although a few squared
versions with similar dimensions were uncovered. All of
byJohnD. Currid the platforms reach a height of 20 to 50 centimeters and
have a leveled top surface. The construction technique of
the platforms is identical - the sides are built in orderly
courses of large stones, there is a well-made bin, and the
fill is composed of different-sized stones. It is likely that

20 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
 NORTH
0 5
l
N
the top surfaces of the platforms were plastered, like
platform 1230 in area K where the remains of hard,
burned-clay plaster were found on the leveled surface.
This surface probablyserved as the floor for the conical
dome that stood on top of the stone platform.
Beth Yerah.At the site of BethYerah,on the southwestern
shore of the Sea of Galilee, a building of largeproportions
(approximately1,200 square meters) was found. It dates
to the EarlyBronzeIIIperiod (approximately2800-2400
B.c.). This building occupies the northern part of the tell
and is borderedon the west and south by various walls of
rooms that parallel those of the building. It is clearly
separatedon all sides from these complexes, however,by
pavedstreets (about2.5 meters in width) that run north,
west, and south of the building. In short, the complex is
isolated from other areasof occupation at Beth Yerahand
its size indicates that it maintained a position of special
prominence.
The plan of the complex is roughly rectangular
(anglesat 880), measuring 40 meters fromeast to west and
30 meters from north to south. It consists of a small
central hall that is reached from the outside by a long
corridor,surroundedby a massive, so-calledfoundational
wall. On top of the wall at least nine large, stone circles
were sunk 10 centimeters below the surface of the foun-
dational wall or pavement. The averagediameter of the
circles is 8 meters, varying anywhere from 7 to 9 meters.
These nine circles are the remnants of the bases of the
circular-designedconical domes.
Birel-cAbd.In 1973 Eliezer D. Oren directeda significant
The of the
size
10 meters BethYerah
structure
indicates
itsimportance.
Farleft: The Beth Yerah
structure.Photographis
used courtesy of the Israel
Departmentof Antiquities
and Museums. Left:Plan
of the Beth Yerahstruc-
ture.Drawing is courtesy
ofIstanbulerMitteilungen.
salvage project at the site of Bir el-cAbd in the northern
Sinai, some 20 kilometers from Nahal Yam.Apartfrom a
majorpublic building in the northern part of the mound
(areaA), Oren'smost important discoverywas a series of
four cylindrical chambers, located in area B, which date
to the fourteenth century B.C.
The complex consists of four attached chambers,
each in an elliptical shape averaging3.8 meters in di-
ameter.The walls aremade of brick, in a header-stretcher
fashion, and are preservedto a height of 1.8 meters. The
floors of the chambers are also constructed of brick that
is laid in alternatinggroupsof header-stretcher.(Aheader
is a brick laid so that only the end appearson the face of
the wall, while a stretcher is a brick laid so that only the
side appears.)Its bricks are joined together with a bond-
ing of darkgraycement, andthe interior of each chamber
was originally completely plastered with a combination
of mud and gypsum, although only remnants of the
materials now remain.
A section of the superstructure,or dome, of one of
the chambers (IV)was preserved.It was constructed by
alternatingthree rowsof brick-buildingtechnique: a row
of headers,a row of stretchers,and finally a row of upright
or standing bricks. With every successive row, fewer
bricks were used and the spaces between them widened.
The bricks inclined more inward as each row took the
wall higher. Dark gray cement filled the spaces between
the bricks and a layerof cement coveredthe dome'sentire
outer wall (Oren 1973).
Severalbeehive structureshave been recov-
'ell Jemmeh.
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 21

Above:TheMelos vase. This steatite vessel, dating to the EarlyBronze
Age, is in the shape of a building complex. Sevencylindricalcontainers
are arrangedaround a central space and stand on a projectingledge-
like base. The plan of this Greek vase has been variouslyinterpreted;
it is usually considered to representa granary Photographis from
JihrgenThimme'sArt and Culture of the Cyclades (Chicago:The
Universityof ChicagoPress, 1977),used courtesyof C. F Mueller
Verlag.Below: Drawing of a tomb painting at Thebes. This shows an
Egyptiangranarywith five silos surroundedby an enclosure wall.
Grainis being put in from the top- the doors at the bottom of the
silos were intended for the extractionof the grain.
ered at the site of Tell Jemmeh in the northwestern
Negeb. In the 1920s Sir Flinders Petrie found eleven such
facilities; seven were grouped together stratigraphically
succeeding the major AB building of the Iron Age (1200-
539 B.c.).Three additional beehives, found by Petrie, were
located on the southern edge of the tell, and another was
discovered on the plain west of the site. More recent
excavations at Tell Jemmeh, under the direction of Gus W.
Van Beek of the Smithsonian Institution, have revealed
two more such structures dating to the Hellenistic period
(late fourth to third centuries B.c.). They are both situated
to the north of the Petrie soundings.
The primary beehive structure uncovered by Van
Beek was constructed inside a large circular pit that had
been cut into the earlier strata of the mound. There were
probably two building phases of the complex. In the first
phase a circular mudbrick wall was created inside a pit
with an interior diameter measuring 6.33 meters. Ap-
proximately 1.5 meters above the base of the circular wall
is a ledge that probably served as the base of the conical
dome. Six courses of the dome are preserved, all consist-
ing of slightly sloping mudbricks. Two doorways, located
on opposite sides of the building (northwest and south-
east), open into the structure. Steps lead down from the
entrance to a high platform that projects out from each
doorway. Later, the original conical dome collapsed and
was rebuilt in a smaller fashion.
Presumably the other beehives at Tell Jemmeh close-
ly resemble the one just described. Therefore, Petrie had
found a circular wall with a cone-based ledge projecting
from the wall much like the complex of Van Beek's dis-
covery. Petrie also uncovered stairways leading into the
buildings located on the western ridge area of the site.

Interpreting a Building's Function

rc~ r,
?'L~
~11;3
t'd
r., II?
ifJt~C'*v
ci;?~
One of the most vexing problems that faces the archae-
i
3rCI~I4ti3z
17U
L-
onoc'ois?? ? 33rc.? ~? \~ ologist is the interpretation of a building's function. This
.lC Y~tC~S~~C'.: 'C "C3~:~OI~:~OCI~
nnr n ~-~LY3CCIC:(~

J*
rir\
''??nCCO.SUUn20' .DO.L,?~')~:CAi~ i i)OriP ;C~~iiV
'~
^^~~ct.CI~C
difficulty stems primarily from the fact that after an
Col.uo
!i~nCi11\1!00 L'VlhU
~rL7CoUU
C:L)C; ~( 70
O~i:D~i'07L'rnc?r 1~
.JIC~V,~n-l)ll!nP
ancient structure has been excavated, the investigator is
!oc~?l!,Y"oo V,,yL':'`~cil ?O ~~i?'~I ";?"~
J
i C ch~jI!ILj
Z~tlC;:1i nY
i P 1\'I~Cn,,L .CL(
1~0~ I?/
i ... /II/ left with a very incomplete record of the original design of
Y~.LX CVCJ~UCV?I] L:a ..,~rc~:?:l?3 ~.??
~?;/~
the building. Usually what is uncovered through exca-
vation are the remains of destruction, including only
~~~a partial remains of the superstructure, some floors and
/ , ~~?:?:
r:~:??i' ;?: ~ foundations, and various shattered contents inside the
/ r t
???:I structure (especially pottery fragments). On the basis of
i?/::? such physical evidence archaeologists attempt to deter-
c? I:~
mine what purpose a building might have served.
I: Building contents. In seeking to define an ancient build-
ing's function, archaeologists seem most often to base
their conclusions on the interpretation of a building's
contents. One example of this line of reasoning is found
in the excavations of stratum 9 at Tell Mor, where Moshe
Dothan discovered a structure belonging to the Late
Bronze Age (1550-1200 B.c.). Dothan determined the
building's function as follows: "The main find here were

22 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
[sic] store jars, indicating that the building undoubtedly
served as the central storehouse of the port" (Dothan
1977: 889). Another example appears in the field reports
of the excavations at Tell Michal. Here archaeologists
unearthed a room (locus 92) from the Persian period,
determining that it served as a storage area because
"storage jars were uncovered in the debris of Locus 92"
(Herzog and others 1978: 109). Numerous other instances
may be cited for this type of deduction.
A major drawback to this deductive process, as John
S. Holladay and others have pointed out, is that the
contents of a building may not be an accurate indication
of a building's designed function. Small-find evidence
may merely represent final-use function or the building's
purpose just prior to its destruction or abandonment. So,
for example, a barn that has been restored as a restaurant
has a final-use function as an eatery and a designed func-
tion as a farm building. For the investigator who is
attempting to deduce designed function, small-find
evidence may be misleading.
Architectural principles. A second important way that
archaeologists attempt to determine an ancient build-
ing's function is on the basis of architectural principles. It
is a basic principle that building design is the conse-
quence of sociocultural factors (for example, family, clan
structure, and social organization), modified by climate,
technology, and available building materials, and that form
succeeds function. It is, therefore, correct to conclude
that the original design of a building accurately reflects
its intended function. In other words, building design is
dictated by functional demands. (So, for instance, one
would not expect to find a horse stable built with small
proportions, with one room, and located in the middle of
a built-up area in town. Functional demands of horse care
obviously required a large building with numerous stalls,
located in an accessible open area.) An investigator may,
therefore, accurately interpret the designed function of a
building based upon its original concrete expression.
The comparative method. A third approach taken by
archaeologists to determine the function of an ancient
building may be described as the comparative method.
According to this procedure, the investigator defines the
purpose of a building by comparing it with other build-
ings of similar plan and design (whose function is known)
from different cultures or geographical regions. For
example, when G. R. H. Wright interpreted the function
of the major Iron Age building at Shechem (known as the
granary), he concluded that it was a temple because its
design and plan closely resembled the Etruscan temple-
type (Wright 1968: 31-32).
Of the three stated procedures used to interpret a
building's function, the comparative method will be
stressed in this article. The purpose here is to illustrate
the use of this particular archaeological methodology
with a study of Palestinian beehive buildings.
The Function of Beehive Structures
Originally, many of the excavators of beehive buildings
were perplexed concerning the function and purpose of
these structures. For example, the excavators of Beth
Yerah noted in their primary report that "asfar as we have
been able to determine, no similar construction has come
to light in the excavations in Palestine, in the Near East,
or even in other parts of the Ancient World" (Maisler,
Stekelis, and Avi-Yonah 1952: 227). The archaeologists of
Arad also indicated their bewilderment, emphasizing
that this architectural phenomenon is unknown at any
other site in Israel (Amiran and others 1978: 17).
The proposed functions for the beehive structures
have been many and varied. Although some have sug-
gested these structures served as fortresses, palaces, sanc-
tuaries, threshing areas, and even (when considering only
the circular foundation) as platforms for huts and tents, it
is doubtful whether any of these suggestions can be
supported. For instance, the only artifactual evidence
Thebeehivebuildingshavebeen
asfortresses,
interpreted palaces,
andthreshing
sanctuaries, areas.
found that suggests a ritual purpose for the buildings was
a pottery stand that was contained in a courtyard oven at
Beth Yerah. (But, as has been shown, this type of small-
find evidence is not very convincing.)
In reality, the comparative method of archaeological
research provides enough evidence to conclude that the
beehive buildings served as granaries. Furthermore, the
beehive building plan and arrangement was a normal
scheme for ancient granary complexes. In ancient Greece,
for example, this is the style and plan of the Melos vase
(which is an Early Bronze Age vessel in the shape of an
ancient Helladic granary consisting of seven circular bins
or aboveground cones surrounding an open court, and a
gateway and entrance in the same position as the Beth
Yerah structure in Palestine). The Melos model bears a
striking resemblance to the building at Beth Yerah. Simi-
lar Greek granaries have been found in Arcadia, Thessaly,
at the site of Orchomenos in central Greece, and Mallia
on the island of Crete.
It is likely that the beehive style of granary con-
struction was imported from Egypt, where it probably
originated. Considerable evidence exists concerning the
granaries of ancient Egypt. Their form, structure, and
design were essentially the same throughout antiquity.
In general there were two types - one with a rectangular
and the other with a circular or elliptical ground plan.
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986 23

Above:A beehivegranarymodel fromthe Egyptiantomb of Kamenaat
El Kab.The complex includes twelve silos surroundinga rectangular
courtyardwith an entrance at one side. Drawing is used courtesyof
IstanbulerMitteilungen.Below: Drawing of a house, two beehive
granaries,and a building of unknown function, based on a tomb
painting at Tellel-Amarna.
Circular buildings were usually constructed of clay with
a corbeled roof (much like a beehive), and measured
approximately 5 meters high and 2 to 3 meters in
diameter. They were often built in one or two close rows
(in groups of five or six) in a courtyard surrounded by a
rectangular enclosure with a single entryway. Character-
istically, these granaries were uniform in their design and
construction. They were filled by men on ladders who
poured grain through a door at the top of the granary. The
grain was eventually removed through a trapdoor at the
bottom of the structure.
These beehive storehouses first appeared in Egypt
during the Early Bronze Age at El Kab, where a beehive
granary model was found in the tomb of Kamena (which
dates to the Fourth Dynasty, 2650 to 2500 B.c.-roughly
the same time as the Beth Yerah structure). The model
shows a granary complex consisting of twelve conical
silos surrounding a rectangular courtyard with its en-
trance in the width of one of its sides. All of the silos are
connected, each has an aperture in the top (presumably
for depositing grain), and some are closed by a lid. This
design is strikingly similar to the Beth Yerah structure.
24 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
Beehive granaries continued in Egypt throughout
the pharaonic (2705-332 B.c.), Ptolemaic (332-30 B.c.),
and Roman periods (30 B.C.-A.D.395). Many were found in
the ruins of Tell el-Amarna and Kahun, where they were
constructed in either clay or brick and measured 2 to 3
meters in diameter. They were built in groups of three to
five.
Modern examples of beehive granary buildings are
abundant. In Hungary, for example, numerous village
communities-like Nagivan and Kiskunfelegy-store
cereals in round granaries supported by foundational
platforms of a size and shape comparable to those of
ancient Palestine.
Conclusion
On the basis of comparative evidence from other parts of
the ancient worldandfrom modern times, it is likely that
the Palestinian beehive buildings served as granaries or
storehouses. The beehives contain circular-planned, above-
ground conical "silos" of a unique type and dimension
(except at Arad). They are set on a foundational platform,
with only one entryway to the complex. This ground plan
seems to fit best the pattern of grain storehouses both in
ancient Egypt and Greece, and it does not closely resemble
any patterns of other known architecture.
Bibliography
Amiran,R., and others
1978 EarlyArad: The Chalcolithic Settlement and EarlyBronzeI
City.First-fifthSeasons of Excavations,1962-1966.Jerusalem:
IsraelExplorationSociety.
Borowski,O.
1979 Agriculture in Iron Age Israel. Unpublished Ph.D. disserta-
tion, The University of Michigan.
Dothan, M.
1977 Tel Mor.Pp. 889-90 in Encyclopediaof ArchaeologicalExca-
vations in the Holy Land 3. Edited by M. Avi-Yonahand E.
Stern. EnglewoodCliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall,Inc.
Herzog,Z., and others
1978 Excavations at Tel Michal 1977. Tel Aviv, Israel: Tel Aviv
University.
Maisler,B., Stekelis,M., Avi-Yonah,M.
1952 Excavationsat BethYerah(Khirbetel-Kerak)1944-1946.Israel
ExplorationJournal2: 218-29.
Oren,E. D.
1973 Bir el-cAbd (Northern Sinai). Israel ExplorationJournal23:
112-13.
Petrie,W.E
1928 Gerar.Series:Publications of the EgyptianResearchAccount
43. London:British School of Archaeologyin Egypt.
Rickman,G.
1971 RomanGranariesand StoreBuildings.Cambridge:Cambridge
University Press.
VanBeek, G. W
1972 Notes and News: Tel Gamma. Israel ExplorationJournal22:
245-46.
1983 Digging Up Tell Jemmeh.Archaeology36/1: 12-19.
Wright,G. R. H.
1968 Temples at Shechem. Zeitschrift fiir die Alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft80: 1-34.
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 BY BARBARA NATHANSON
GELLER

he last half of the fourth

century A.D. is frequently
described as an era of ser-
ious political, economic,
and cultural persecution and impov-
erishment for the Jews of Palestine
(Graetz 1908: 311). But was this
really the case? In order to evaluate
the impact of the first generation of
Christian rule on the Jewish com-
munities in Palestine, this paper
will present information on the legal
and economic status of Palestinian
Jewry; its settlement patterns; the
attitudes of the rabbis toward Chris-
tian rule; and a possible Jewish revolt
against Christian rule in the mid-
fourth century.

Legal Status of the Jews

The traditional understanding that
the fourth century was a disastrous
period for the Jews of the Roman
Empire is largely based on interpre-
tations of three groups of material:
texts from the Palestinian Talmud
(abbreviated PT) and rabbinic mid-
rashim; laws from the Theodosian
Code (abbreviated CTh- a compila-
tion of imperial edicts from the reign
of Constantine in 313, until 438
when it was published under The-
odosius II); and the church canons of
the fourth century.
Rabbinical references. The rabbinic
texts are ambiguous in their wording
and are difficult to date with any
precision. Saul Lieberman convinc-
ingly argued that many, if not most,
of the texts cited by the supporters
of the view that Jews underwent per-
secution during the fourth century

and the Gallus Revolt

Jews, Christians,
Palestine
in Fourth-Century
26 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986
 Marbleportraitof Constantine the Great
from the Basilica of Maxentius. This fourth-
centurysculpture was originallypart of a co-
lossal seated statue of the emperorthat was
probablymore than thirty feet high. The head
is 2.6 meters (8 feet, 6 inches) tall. Photograph
is used courtesy of Hirmer VerlagMiinchen.

do not date to the fourth century but

ratherto the second and third cen-
turies - and even if this dating is dis-
puted, they do not describe or allude
to Roman persecution of the Jews in
the third or fourth centuries (Lieber-
man 1946). Rabbinic references to
Roman abuses, like overtaxation,are
characteristicof the complaints of
inhabitants of the provinces through-
out the Roman empire and should
not be interpretedas evidence of
Roman anti-Jewish activity.
The Theodosian Code. Evidence
from the Theodosian Code is also
ambiguous regardingthe treatment
Synagogueat KhirbetShemac in the UpperGalilee, dating to the fourth century of Jews. The laws of Constantine
A.D.This site, along with others like Gush Halav, continued to thriveat a time
when some cities in the Galilee werepartially destroyed because they revolted (A.D.307-337), Constantius (A.D.
against the Roman troopsunder Gallus. Photographis from Meyers,Kraabel,and 337-361), and the later emperors of
Strange1976 and is used courtesy of the American Schools of Oriental Research the fourth century certainly reflect
and Duke University Press. the church's desire to separate Jews
from Christians and to limit the
spread of Judaism. Thus, Constan-
tine issued legislation forbidding

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 27
 Jews to disturb anyone who had been
converted from Judaism to Chris-
tianity (CTh 16.8.1 and
16.8.5-Pharr 1952: 467). These
edicts did not infringe on the
traditional rights and privileges of
Jews in the empire, but served to
protect the recent convert, and were
consistent with Constantine's policy
of religious toleration promulgated
in the Edict of Milan (A.D.313).
Constantinian legislation also
called for the punishment of con-
Coin depictingConstantinethe Greatwearing
a diadem, the emblem of royalpower. The verts to Judaism (CTh 16.8.1-Pharr
diadem stopped being worn by Romanem- 1952: 467) and demanded that a Jew
perorsduringJulius Caesar'sreign but Con- forfeit any slave that he purchased
stantine adopted it as a regularpart of the and circumcised. Under such con-
royalregalia. The coin weighs 6.81 grams and
has a diameter of 24 millimeters (.96 inches). ditions the slave would be set free
The coin was minted at Siscia (in Yugoslavia) (CTh 16.9.1-Pharr 1952: 471). These
aroundA.D.326 to 327. Photographis from
Sutherland1974, used courtesy of Office Du laws reiterated similar legislation
Livre,Switzerland. that was passed in earlier centuries
by Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138-171) and
Septimius Severus (A.D.193-211).1'
z Finally, during the reign of Constan-
J tine, laws were passed that partially
-?~" eliminated an earlier exemption that
~c?
C'
,i?i
~r~Li~
had freed all Jews from compulsory
.. J?_?
*r?:
service in the decurionate (the local
V~-C:r
1 municipal council), a service that
?i ''
j was regarded as burdensome and
?,
financially oppressive. Thus, in an
edict of A.D. 321, which was addressed
to the decurions of Cologne, Con-
stantine permitted the nomination
of Jews to the city council but also
allowed two or three people from
each group of Jews to be excused
Gold medallion showing Constantine the
Great with the sun-godSol. Thepagan god from this service in view of the
Sol, who frequently appearedon Constantin- former exemption (CTh
ian coinage,probably became identified with 16.8.3-Pharr 1952:
Christ.Themedallion was struck at Ticinium 467).
in A.D.313 in celebration of the conference Although these laws marked a
between Constantine and Licinius at Milan, change in the status of the Jews, they
from which the famous edict emergedthat should not be interpreted as evidence
made Christianity a toleratedreligion. It
weighs 39.78 grams and has a diameter of of anti-Jewish sentiment or persecu-
42.7 millimeters (1.7inches). Photographis tion. They served to bring the Jews
used courtesy of Hirmer VerlagMiinchen.
in line with the other people of the
Theselaws shouldnot be interpreted
as evidenceof anti-Jewishsentiment
or persecution.
28 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
empire. Indeed, Jewish "clerics,"like
their Christian counterparts, were
exempted from compulsory service
in the decurionate. The pre-Christian
Romans had exempted Jews as part
of their recognition of Judaism as a
"legitimate religion," which allowed
all Jews to be excluded from posi-
tions and activities (for instance,
pagan sacrifice) that would have in-
fringed on the practice of Judaism
(Digest 27.1.15-Mommsen and
Krueger 1973: 395-96;
50.2.3-Mommsen and Krueger
1973: 896). With the union of Rome
and Christendom, however, service
in the decurionate was no longer
accompanied by pagan ritual.
Although the content of Con-
stantine's legislation on Jews and
Judaism did not exceed those of his
predecessors, the tone of Roman law
during his reign began to reflect the
vocabulary and sentiments of eccles-
iastical canons and pronouncements.
Thus an edict issued early in Con-
stantine's reign reveals a harsh and
negative attitude toward Judaism in
its wording:
It is our will that Jews and their
elders and patriarchs shall be in-
formedthat if, after the issuance of
this law, any of them should dareto
attempt to assail with stones or
with any other kind of madness-a
thing which we have learnedis now
being done-any person who has
fled their feralsect and has resorted
to the worship of God, such assail-
ant shall be immediately delivered
to the flames and burned with all
his accomplices.
I. Moreover,if any person from
the people should betakehimself to
their nefarious sect and should join
their assemblies, he shall sustain
with them the deserved punish-
ments. (CTh 16.8.1-Pharr 1952:
467)
While it is not clear that this law
was of significant practical use, it
may have contributed to the Jewish
communities' feelings of unease,
because it suggested that the old
entente between Rome and Judaism,
which had functioned effectively
since the end of the Bar Kokhba War
in A.D. 135, was beginning to change.
Constantius issued a decree
commanding women converts to
Judaism (who had formerly been
bound to the imperial weaving fac-
tory) be returned to the factory
(Bachrach 1985: 408-09)? Jews who
converted Christian women to Juda-
ism were subject to punishment.
Again, the language of the decree is
harsh:
Insofar as pertains to the women
who were formerly employed in
Our imperial weaving establish-
ment and who have been led by the
Jews into the association of their
turpitude, it is our pleasure that
they shall be restoredto the weaving
establishment. It shall be observed
that Jews shall not hereafter unite
Christian women to their villainy;
if they should do so, however,they
shall be subjectto the peril of capital
punishment. (CTh 16.8.6-Pharr
1952:467)
In evaluating the significance of
Constantius' legislation, one must
note that he issued much harsher
decrees to close pagan temples and
to eliminate pagan sacrifice by mak-
ing it a capital offense (CTh 16.10.4-
6 and 16.10.2-Pharr 1952: 472-73).
Provincial governors who failed to
carry out these laws were subject to
punishment (CTh 16.10.4-Pharr
1952: 472).
From the end of Constantius'
reign until the reign of Theodosius
(A.D.379-395) there are no extant
laws in the eastern empire affecting
Jews and Judaism. Julian (A.D.361-
363), however, expressed a favorable
and supportive attitude toward the
Jewish community in his writings
and in his unsuccessful attempt to
rebuild the Jerusalem Temple- an
endeavor intertwined with his effort
to discredit Christianity and restore
pagan practice?
Protective laws were also issued.
There is some evidence of isolated
incidents during the fourth century
in Rome and Dertona in Italy, in
Tipasia in North Africa, and in Cal-
linicium in
Asia,4 where synagogues
were destroyed or appropriated and
changed into churches by Christians
(Parkes 1969: 187; Simon 1948: 265;
Seaver 1952: 45-46). By A.D.386 the
Christians of Antioch had taken pos-
session of the synagogue associated
with the tomb of the Maccabean
martyrs and transformed it into a
Christian martyry. Neither the date
during the fourth century nor the
way this occurred is certain (Wilken
1983: 88; Simon 1936: 413-20).
There are no records of such epi-
sodes in Palestine during the fourth
century. The situation of the Jewish
communities outside of Palestine
probably differed from that of their
Palestinian counterparts, where the
Jews constituted a significant portion
This fourth-centurybronzehead of Constan-
of the country's population. tius II was originallypart of a monumental
Although there is no evidence standing figureof the emperor.Constantius
that the Roman government insti- was the third son of Constantine the Great
and was deeply interested in theology. The
gated activities such as synagogue head is 1.77meters (5 feet, 9V2 inches) tall.
burnings, these events indicated an Thephotographis used courtesy of Hirmer
increasingly unrestrained, anti- VerlagMiinchen.
Jewish populace that may have been
encouraged by the government's neg-
ative sentiments towards the Jews.
The government did issue laws dur-
ing the fourth century to protect
Jews and Jewish property from
Christian mobs.
It is sufficiently established that
the sect of the Jewsis forbiddenby
no law. Hence We are gravely dis-
turbed that their assemblies have
been forbidden in certain places.
Your Sublime Magnitude will,
therefore,after receiving this order,
restrainwith properseveritythe ex-
cesses of those persons who in the
name of the Christian religion, pre-
sume to commit certain unlawful
acts and attempt to destroy and
despoil the synagogues.(CTh16.8.9
-Pharr 1952:468)
Protective legislation like the
above undoubtedly reflected the gov- This marble statue'sidentity is not entirely
ernment's desire to maintain law certain but is thought to be Julian the
and order in the face of anti-Jewish Apostate. Julianopenly professedhis pagan-
ism and proclaimed general toleration of all
incidents and to assert its own power religions when he became Augustus. Of par-
over the church. The laws may have ticular note was his unsuccessful attempt to
reflected, albeit in weakened form, rebuild the JerusalemTemple.In this statue
from Italy, Julianis portrayedin the guise of
the Roman tradition of recognizing a Greekphilosopher.It measures 1.75meters
Judaism as a legitimate religion. (5 feet, 8? inches) tall. Photographis used
Finally, they may have reflected courtesy ofHirmer VerlagMunchen.
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 29
Rome's perception of the wealth and
power of some Jewish communities
in the empire (Bachrach 1985).
When studied in its entirety, the
evidence from the Theodosian Code
reveals a desire to limit the spread of
Judaism;it also suggests a change in
the attitude of Rome towards its
Jewish population, and, in its pro-
tective legislation, bears witness to
anti-Jewish activities and sentiments
in the populace. There is no evidence,
however, that during the first genera-
tion of Christian rule the Jewish
communities (inside or outside of
Palestine) were persecuted by the
Roman government or experienced a
marked change in their traditional
modes of self-government and in the
privileges that they had enjoyed
since the inception of the empire.
Church canons and writings of
church fathers. The laws of Con-
stantius and his father reflected the
sentiments and concerns expressed
at the church councils of Elvira
(early fourth century A.D.),Nicea
(325), Antioch (341), and Laodicea
(360). The canons from these coun-
cils prohibited marriage with Jews,
adultery with Jewesses, the blessing
of fields by Jews, the participation in
feasts with Jews, and the observance
of the Jewish Sabbath and Passover.?
A fourth-century compilation of
Syrian church canons prohibited
both the Christian laity and clergy
from entering synagogues and cele-
brating Jewish festivals (Apostolic
Constitutions 8.47.65, 70-Funk
1905: 584; see also 8.47.62-Funk
1905: 582). Both the church canons
and the laws of the Roman govern-
ment assumed that Jews and Chris-
tians were interacting and that
Judaism remained a powerful attrac-
ChurchcanonsandRomanlaws
assumedthatJudaismremaineda
powerfulattractionto Christians.
30 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
tion to Christians and to potential
pagan converts to Christianity.
Although anti-Jewish sentiments
in the writings of the church fathers
antedate Constantine, they assume
greater significance in the fourth
century because the authors ad-
dressed a larger audience and now
possessed political power and a close
relationship with the local and im-
perial governments (Krauss 1893,
1894a, and 1894b; Parkes 1969;
Seaver 1952; Simon 1948). Much of
the patristic anti-Jewish material,
however, was a response to the threat
Judaism posed as an attractive alter-
native to Christianity. Thus, John
Chrysostom's anti-Jewish sentiments
were expressed with greatest viru-
lence in sermons that he delivered
in A.D. 386 to 387 in Antioch-the
home of a large, vibrant, and thriv-
ing Jewish community at this time
(Wilken 1983; Harkins 1979). Ser-
mons that Chrysostom delivered in
Constantinople, which did not have
a large Jewish community, were less
virulent in tone (Grissom 1978: 217).
Economic Status
of Palestinian Jewry
In general, the Christianization of the
empire brought a massive influx of
capital to Palestine and, as Michael
Avi-Yonahnoted, this was a major
factor in bringing increased material
prosperity and cosmopolitanism to
fourth- and fifth-century Palestine
for all of its inhabitants, including
Jews, Christians, and pagans:
The adoptionof Christianity as the
official religion of the Roman Em-
pirenaturallyrevolutionizedits [Pal-
estine's]position completely; from
an obscure province it became the
Holy Land,pamperedby emperors
Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great,
is featured on this coin that was struck in
Ticinium around A.D. 325. She was the first of
several Roman noblewomen who, according
to ancient texts, made pilgrimages to Palestine
during the fourth century Helena began her
journey in 326, when she was in her late sev-
enties. The fourth-century church historian
Eusebius claimed that Helena instigated the
building of two churches in Palestine - one onl
the Mount of Olives and another in Bethlehem.
These churches formed part of the massive
building projects undertaken by Constantine
in Jerusalem and its environs. Photograph is
used courtesy of Hirmer Verlag Miinchen.
whatevertheir treasurersmight say.
The streamof prosperitywhich then
began to flow explains better than
any other factor the astonishing
prosperity of Palestine in the
Byzantine period. (Avi-Yonah1958:
41)
From the time of Constantine,
massive church-building projects
were undertaken to create a visible
manifestation of the legitimacy and
permanence of Christian rule,
which, in turn, was understood to be
an outward sign of the truth of
Christianity. Money poured in from
both the government and from pri-
vate individuals. The influx of pil-
grims, beginning in the fourth cen-
tury, also created service industries
(such as innkeeping) to cater to their
needs.
The fourth-century Christian
pilgrim, as part of his quest for per-
fection, undertook the dangers of
travel to Palestine in order to visit
the holy places - reputed sites of the
events of the Old Testament and New
Testament - and therein confirmed
the validity of his faith (Wilkinson
 1977: 42-43). Many of these pilgrim-
age sites were also revered by the
Jews as holy places. The appropria-
tion of sites by the Palestinian
church was another means of illus-
trating the victory of Christianity, as
well as the power of the Christian
church, in Palestine. The writings of
Eusebius in the early fourth century
reveal that by this time the Palestin-
ian church had begun to develop its
identity as guardian of a Christian
Terra Sancta (Groh 1977 and 1979).
Constantine's conversion had allowed
the church to concretize this percep-
tion of itself. This partially entailed
the supplanting of Jewish holy places
and, in general, the appropriation of
the Jewish notions of the Holy Land
and the inextricable relationship
between land and people (Wilken
1985: 462-66). It is reasonable to
suspect that this phenomenon
would have engendered feelings of
unease, anxiety, insecurity, and loss
of cultural equilibrium among the
Jewish communities of fourth-
century Palestine.
As noted earlier, all of the com-
munities of Palestine experienced a
period of revitalization and material
prosperity in the fourth and fifth
centuries. Although the situation in
fourth-century Palestine was some-
what atypical, insofar as some of its
material growth was linked to its
status as the Christian Holy Land,
the fourth century was generally a
time of economic recovery, increased
prosperity, and social stability through-
out the eastern empire. The radical
monetary, administrative, and eco-
nomic reforms, which were intro-
duced by Diocletian (A.D.284-305)
to combat the social, political, and
fiscal anarchy of the third century,
were continued and developed by
Constantine and Constantius. By the
mid-fourth century these reforms
had created a vastly improved situa-
tion throughout the East. Whereas
the third century was a period of
"social disintegration and economic
decline [for the Jewish communities
of Palestine], it would appear that
during the course of the fourth cen- at this time some Jews moved from
tury, there was some kind of general Lower Galilee to the less Roman-
improvement, and Palestinian agri- ized, less Christianized, and more
culture took a turn for the better" rural regions of Upper Galilee and
(Sperber 1978: 64). The evidence Gaulanitis. They seem to have set-
from the rabbinic corpus suggests tled in clusters of villages in close
that not only did agriculture improve proximity to one another - as if to
but prices in Palestine (as in the rest create a Jewish Holy Land within,
of the empire) were stabilized in the but removed from, the heartland of
first half of the fourth century. By the Christian Terra Sancta (Groh 1977:
time of Constantius, prices were not 92-93; Meyers 1976; Meyers and
radically higher than they had been Strange 1977; Meyers, Strange, and
in the second century, especially if Groh 1979).
calculated in gold. There appears to During the fourth and fifth cen-
have been a resurgence of confidence turies the majority of Palestinian
in coinage and a return to a money churches were located outside of
economy by all social classes follow- Galilee-the heartland of the Jewish
ing the chaos of the third century population in Palestine (Ovadiah
(Sperber 1974: 149-53; 178-81). 1970). This pattern did not begin to
This is not to say that fourth- change until the sixth century when
century Palestine was free of infla- one finds major churches at Yarum,
tion, overtaxation, poverty, and occa- Suhmata, Hamita, Shavei Zion, Arav,
sional famine and drought. Indeed, et-Tabgha, and Capernaum "effective-
overtaxation continued to result in ly encircling the Jewish areas of
the abandonment of land, the flight Upper Galilee" (Meyers, Kraabel, and
of peasants and small landowners, Strange 1976: 18). Field examina-
and the concentration of land hold- tions of sites in the Golan indicate
ings in the hands of a few families - "that in the rural zone which lies
most of whom, even in the predom- north-east of the sea of Galilee the
inantly Jewish regions of Palestine, population in Byzantine times was
were non-Jewish (Sperber 1978: 102- exclusively Jewish [and that] this
18).6 Nonetheless, although the eco- limited area was surrounded on three
nomic situation in fourth-century sides (to north, south and east) by
Palestine was not optimal, it was regions inhabited almost entirely by
better than it had been in the pre- Christians" (Maoz 1985: 65).
vious century.
Attitude of the Rabbis
Jewish Settlement Patterns Tbward Christian Rule
in the FourthCentury Although there are a number of texts
The Christian appropriationof Pal- in which Palestinian rabbis of the
estine as its Holy Landmay explain mid- to late-fourth century antici-
the gradualshift in the distribution pate the fall of Rome, the rebuilding
of the Jewishcommunities in Byzan- of the Jerusalem Temple, the advent
tine Palestine, which began in the of the messiah, and the salvation of
mid-fourth century. Surveys of the Israel, it is impossible to determine
Galilee and the Golan suggest that with certainty whether these texts
Jewssettledin clustersof villagesas
if to createaJewishHolyLandwithin
ChristianTerraSancta.
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986 31

were related to contemporary events
or were "academic" exegeses of bib-
lical or mishnaic passages, embody-
ing generic observations about Rome
and Israel. It seems likely, however,
that at least some of the fourth-
century texts were a response to the
anticipation of, and disappointment
following, Julian's attempt to rebuild
the Temple. The rabbinic corpus of
the fourth and fifth centuries is
strikingly silent concerning the
union of Rome and Christendom, as
if to suggest that in the context of
the rabbinic conception of the roles
that God had assigned the nations as
part of his plan for Israel, there was
no reason to differentiate between
pagan and Christian Rome (Neusner
1985). Jacob Neusner noted the fol-
lowing, however, concerning the rab-
bis who composed the Palestinian
Talmud:
Yetsilence is also a response .... By
harpingon how they decidedthings
and inserting into the processes of
legal theory precedents established
in their courts, and by representing
the life of Israel in such a way that
the government of the nation was
shown to be entirely in the hands of
the nation'slearned, legitimate au-
thorities, the Talmud'ssages stated
quite clearlywhat they thought was
going on. Israel remained Israel,
wholly subject to its own law, en-
tirely in control of its own destiny,
fully possessed of its own land. Tes-
timony to and vindication of the
eternity of Israellay in the continu-
ing authority of Israel'ssages, fully
in control of God'sLightand law for
Israel. (Neusner 1983: 196-97)
The reasons for the completion
of the Palestinian Talmud at the
close of the fourth century are un-
clear (Cohen 1976: 28-29; Neusner
1983: 23-24). Perhaps this reflected
the desire of the rabbinic leadership
to insure stability and continuity of
Jewish practice in the face of grow-
ing anti-Jewish sentiment in the
empire. Or possibly it can be under-
stood as a response to the new eco-
nomic prosperity of the region, as
the Jews attempted to accommodate
32 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH
s,
t
~I~~C~
''
'i
'i
?i
?L~-~m
' Qr
dr?
r
I
u
r ?~ ~L?lr.l ?r
?rrrc 4%~r`C? ?
?? -~?~~ ;?\ n~ ?.~Lh~~
ii `~?~S~=t *(. Yi '? ?\
I
"r~~ :?r?\
;~ Iri
~?~?~ .i '4. :1
I'cif~r
~~
~mr~ac~
r
i 'f
~fSr-~
Above left: Coin of Julianminted at Thessalonica aroundA.D.361 to 363. It exemplifies the
beardedstyle of portraiturethat characterizedJulian'sindependent coinage. Above right:
Numismatists and historians have long puzzled overthe meaning of the bull depicted on
some of Julian'scoinage. It has been interpretedas signifying Julian as the leader or guardian
of the populace, as Julian'sbirth sign, as an Apis bull used in the worshipof a mystery cult, or
as a sacrificial animal. The coin weighs 8.71 grams and has a diameter of 28 millimeters (1.12
inches). It was minted in ConstantinoplearoundA.D.361 to 363. Photographsare used courtesy
of Office Du Livre,Switzerland.
themselves to a pluralistic society breviary in A.D.360) sandwiched his
without sacrificing their identity. description of the revolt between
reports of the usurpation of Magnen-
The Gallus Revolt tius- Constantius' rival in the West
Literary and archaeological data sug- -and the execution in A.D.354 of
gest that in A.D.351 or 352, during Gallus, yielding a date for the revolt
the reign of Gallus (351-354) - Con- of A.D.352 or 353. Victor wrote, "and
stantius' Caesar in the East - a seg- meanwhile an insurrection of the
ment of Palestinian Jewry engaged in Jews who had raised up Patricius im-
armed struggle against the armies of piously in some sort of kingdom was
Rome (Nathanson 1981). The revolt suppressed" (Liber de Caesaribus
was seemingly short-lived and was 42.9-12-Pichlmayer and Greundel
suppressed by Gallus' troops. The 1970: 128). This is the only mention
rabbinic leadership apparently was of Patricius, about whom nothing
not involved. else is known.
In A.D.380, commenting on
Literary references. The revolt is de-
scribed in the breviary of the fourth- events that took place in the year
century pagan historian Aurelius 352, Jerome noted the following:
Victor, in Jerome's Chronicon, and in Gallus crushed the Jewswho mur-
the mid-fifth century continuation dered the soldiers in the night, seiz-
of Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History ing arms for the purpose of rebel-
by the church historian Socrates, as
lion. Even murderingthousands of
well as in the works of several later men, even innocent children. And
their cities of Diocaesarea,Tiberias
Christian chronographers (Nathan- and Diosopolis and many villages
son 1981: 40-90). The revolt is men- he consigned to flames. (Chronicon
tioned in Christian chronographies for 352-Helm 1956:238)
that, although they sought to demon- Jerome is unique in his mention of
strate the truth and permanence of the destruction of Tiberias and Lod
the New Israel, were generally less
(Diosopolis), for which there is no
prejudiced in their treatment of Jews corroborating evidence from the rab-
and Judaism than were other genres binic corpus or from archaeological
of patristic literature. data. Some of Jerome's details, how-
Aurelius Victor (who wrote his ever, may be accurate. Both classical
1986
 occurred in Sepphoris and its envi-
Gallus Revolt rons, and perhaps also in the region of
,vi,9 ?; ,.-: :.The
?
Tiberias. A text from the Palestinian
. . .. . :.i
?
I I Talmud describes the activities of
the people of Sepphoris during the
-. Nal'ratein ! ..• . ,"."
...M eirone :,.* • I.!.•.:"
Chot': days of Ursicinus:
.,'ni .i
,:.!z.i5•.
. Telelluhadar (It came to pass) in the days of
.. Ursicinus the king that the people
of Sepphoriswere sought. And they
'? !

had placed plasters on their noses

Beth Shearim
.; i.)
. ~::,•-~ ,,, ,, ~
. . . ..:-.17.
.
(_ . .., t5.•
.... :
...:. 7..
: ., :.
:!ii "a:•";;'literary
. portion
? ,
and rabbinic sources indicate that
the Romans maintained a garrison
in Diocaesarea (Sepphoris), although
the size of the force that was sta-
tioned there is unclear (Notitia Dig-
nitatum, 34, 28-Seeck 1876: 73;
Miller 1984: 14-59).
Finally, Socrates, writing ap-
proximately ninety years later, about caesarea)in LowerGalilee and its
the year 352, commented:
While at the same time there came
to pass with respect to the East
anotherinternalwar.Forthe Jewsin
Diocaesarea of Palestine raised up
arms against the Romans and laid
waste near those places. But then
Gallus who was also called Constan-
tius, whom the Emperorappointed
Caesarandsentto the East,dispatched
a forcewhich prevailedagainstthem.
"GalluscrushedtheJewswho mur-
deredthe soldiersin the night, seizing
armsfor the purposeof rebellion."
and no one recognizedthem. But in
rtes fete
Si~i?Na corigt the end an evil tongue informedon
. " :•: / . them and all of them were captured
',..:,S,,xaabtiS. ., ..•,,,:, because of the information against
:
them. (PTSota 9.3, 23c)
Although it is unlikely that the in-
" "•
: % ' ..- habitants of Sepphoris wore masks
.: :
... . . . • . to elude the Romans, it is reasonable
, '"archaeological data to interpret this passage to mean
S"..". 0 that in the days of Ursicinus-per-
•i Sitesaffectedaccordingto
data haps in the days of Gallus - some
of the population of Sep-
iw . .
phoris hid from the authorities,
most likely the Romans.
Two additional talmudic texts-
that refer to Ursicinus describe the
rabbinic abrogation of some Jewish
laws that prohibit working on the
And their city, Diocaesarea,he or- Sabbath. In them the rabbinic leader-
deredto be broughtdownto level
ship is depicted in its role as media-
ground. (Ecclesiastical History II.
33-Migne 1864:297) tors between the Roman government
Although the three seemingly and the populace. The rabbis voice a
independentliterarytraditions differ, conciliatory attitude towards Ursici-
nus and the laws of the Sab-
they minimally suggest that the re- permit
volt encompassed Sepphoris(Dio- bath to be broken, perhaps to avoid
further conflict between the Roman
environs. army and the Jewish population (PT
Sheviith 4.1, 35a; PT Bezah 1.6, 60c).
Severaltexts from the rabbinic
These and several other texts are
corpus (most of which are found in
the PalestinianTalmud)referto difficult to interpret (PT Berachoth
Ursicinus, the commanderof the 5.1, 9a; Neusner 1983: 228-29; PT
Roman army in the East duringthe Megillah 3.1, 74a). To be sure, they
reign of Gallus. They may allude to may not allude to the events or after-
conditions createdby an occupation math of a revolt, but may instead
army in the aftermathof a revolt. describe the routine conditions of
life in mid-fourth-century Palestine.
These texts suggest that the revolt
A consideration of the Ursicinus
texts in their entirety, however, and
in conjunction with the pagan and
Christian notices of the Gallus
Revolt, suggests that the texts are
probably linked to the revolt.
Archaeological data. The archaeolog-
ical evidence for the Jewish revolt is
largely indirect or circumstantial, yet
seems to indicate that a significant

BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986 33

upheaval did take place in Galilee response to the revolt or more likely claim that Palestine was their Terra
during the mid-fourth century. The was the result of the combined Sancta-a claim that was now sup-
evidence is primarily from recent ex- impact of the Gallus Revolt, severe ported by the Roman government.
cavations and surveys in Upper and taxation, disturbances following The Gallus Revolt, like the shift in
Lower Galilee and the Golan, and Julian's death in 363, and the great the pattern of Jewish settlement in
suggests that at least several cities earthquake of 363. These sites were the latter half of the fourth century,
and villages were abandoned or de- Jewish centers of population in pre- may have been an attempt to estab-
stroyed (completely or in part) during dominantly Jewish regions of Pales- lish a physical Jewish land of Israel
the mid-fourth century. The reasons tine during the fourth century.8 in the face of Christian Terra Sancta
for the abandonment or destruction The archaeological and literary -a harsh way by which the Jewish
-the Gallus Revolt, pressure from data suggest that the revolt was lim- people in Palestine became accul-
taxation, disturbances following the ited and selective in character. A turated to Christian rule?
close of the reign of the emperor town might be involved, whereas a To return to the original ques-
Julian in 363, or the great earthquake neighboring community was seem- tion, the data do not support the
of 363 (Russell 1980; Amiran 1951: ingly unaffected. The reasons why contention of Graetz and others that
225; Brock 1977)-are unclear. some communities became involved the latter half of the fourth century
Because the archaeological evi- while others remained outside of the was a period of unmitigated disaster
dence for the fourth century includes conflict are unknown. For example, for Palestinian Jewry. The data do,
so much numismatic data, it is pos- Nabratein and Meiron were aban- however, suggest that the first genera-
sible to be quite precise about some doned in the mid-fourth century, tion of Christian rule was a period of
of the events that took place during whereas the neighboring sites of strong, popular and ecclesiastical,
mid-century. It would appear that Khirbet Shemac (Meyers, Kraabel, anti-Jewish sentiment and an era of
the partial destruction of Sepphoris and Strange 1976) and Gush Halav increasing insecurity and disloca-
(Yeivin 1937; Bunnell 1937) and the (Meyers, Strange, Meyers, and Han- tion for the Jewish communities of
greater destruction at Beth Shearim son 1979) continued to thrive for Palestine.
(Mazar 1973: 18-19, 35; Avigad and some time. Notes
Mazar 1978) may be connected to the 1Digest 48.8.3-Mommsen and
revolt. Both sites preserved evidence Conclusion Krueger 1973: 853; Paulus, Sententiae
of physical destruction in the mid- It seems clear that the revolt was not a 5.22.3-Riccobono 1941: 407; The Scrip-
fourth century, together with breaks true war. Perhaps it should be thought tores Historiae Augustae, Severus 17.1
in the pottery and coinage. Current of as a series of severe and destructive, -Magie 1921: 409.
excavations at Sepphoris provide interconnected, local disturbances. 2Themeaning of this text is uncer-
additional evidence of destruction in In view of the objective political and tain. Most scholarsunderstandit to mean
the mid-fourth century (see article economic conditions in fourth- that Jewishmissionaries marriedthe
women of the imperial weaving factory.
by Meyers, Netzer, and Meyers, this century Palestine, it would appear
Bernard Bachrach, however, presents a
issue of BA). The destruction of the that the revolt was caused not by
strong argument that the women were
synagogue, and at least part of the actual economic or political hard- united with the missionaries in Judaism
village of Chorazin, together with a ship, but perhaps by feelings of cul- and not in marriage.
break in its coins from 340 to 390, is tural and political deprivation on the 3Levenson 1979; Bowersock 1978;
probably connected with the revolt part of the rebels, relative to what they Wilken 1983: 138-45; Julian, Epistle 51
(Yeivin and Avigad 1978; Meshorer had enjoyed under pagan Rome and, -Wright 1923: 176-81; Against the Gali-
1973)7 The abandonment of Meiron possibly, relative to the enhanced leans -Wright 1923: 318-427.
(Meyers, Meyers, and Strange 1974 status of the growing Christian pop- 4ForRome see Ambrose, Epistle 40
and 1978) and Nabratein (Meyers, ulation and church in Palestine. -Migne 1880: 1148-60 and Beyenka
The revolt may, therefore, have 1954: 6-19; for Dertona see Acta Sanc-
Strange, and Meyers 1981 and 1982)
in Upper Galilee may have been a been a response to the Christian torum, De Sancto Innocentio, April,
tome 2-Bollandus 1675: 483. For Tipasa
see Passio Sanctae Salsae - Monceaux
1902:8. ForCallinicium see Ambrose,
Epistles 40, 41-Migne 1880: 1148-69;
The archaeologicalandliterarydata Beyenka 1954: 6-19, 385-97.
s5Canonsof Elvira, numbers 16, 49,
suggestthatthe GallusRevoltwas 50, 78-Hefele 1907: 231, 249-50, 260-
limitedand selectivein character. 62; Laeuchli 1972: 128, 132, 135. Council
of Nicea, Life of Constantine 3.18-
Heikel 1902: 85-87; Richardson 1952:
524. Canons of Antioch, number 1-

34 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
Percival 1956: 108; Hefele 1907: 714-15.
Canons of Laodicea, numbers 16, 29, 37,
38-Hefele 1907: 1008, 1015, 1019;
Percival 1956: 133, 148, 151.
6A.H. M. Jones noted that many farm-
ers in the empire left the land because
farming was no longer profitable. The
economy of the empire was primarily
agricultural. The main tax of the govern-
ment, which accounted for more than
ninety percent of its revenue, was a tax
on agriculture - a combined tax on the
cultivated land (iugatio) and on the
people (capitatio) (Jones 1974: 82-83).
7Coins from the reign of Constantius
were discovered at nearby Capernaum
below the synagogue in an area that,
according to the excavators, was leveled
in preparation for the building of the
synagogue. This raises the possibility
that an earlier structure was destroyed
during the reign of Constantius, perhaps
during the Gallus Revolt.
8Dan Urman believed that a signifi-
cant number of sites in the Golan (in-
cluding the large site of Tel el Juhadar)
were abandoned or destroyed in the mid-
fourth century, perhaps in connection
with the Gallus Revolt (Urman 1979: 65,
84, 160, 196, and 258).
9It is possible that the Gallus Revolt
was another example of militant Jewish
messianism and, as such, was typolog-
ically similar to the Jewish revolts of the
first and second centuries. The data for
the revolt, however, only raise this as a
possibility.
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Sutherland,C. H. V.
1974 Roman Coins. New York:G. P
Putnam'sSons.
Urman, D.
1979 The Golan duringthe Romanand
Byzantine Periods:Topography,
Settlements and Economy.Unpub-
lished Ph.D. dissertation,New York
University.
Volbach,E W
1962 Early ChristianArt. Photographyby
Max Hirmer.New York:HarryN.
Abrams.
Wilken, R. W
1983 John Chrysostomand the Jews:
Rhetoricand Reality in the Late
FourthCentury.Berkeley,CA:Uni-
versity of CaliforniaPress.
1985 The Restorationof Israelin Biblical
Prophecy:Christianand Jewish
Responsesin the EarlyByzantine
Period.Pp. 443-71 in ToSee Our-
selves As Others See Us: Christians,
Jews, "Others"inLateAntiquity.
Editedby JacobNeusner and Ernest
S. Frerichs.Chico, CA: Scholars
Press.
Wilkinson, J.
1977 JerusalemPilgrimsBeforethe Cru-
sades. Warminster:Aris and Phillips.
Wright,W C., translator
1923 The Worksof the EmperorJulian3.
Series:LoebClassical Library.New
York:G. P.Putnam'sSons.
Yeivin,S.
1937 Historical and ArchaeologicalNotes.
Pp. 30-31 in PreliminaryReportof
the University of Michigan Excava-
tions at Sepphorisin Palestinein
1931by L. Waterman,S. Yeivin,and
C. Bunnell. Ann Arbor,MI:Univer-
sity of MichiganPress.
Yeivin,S., and Avigad,N.
1978 Chorazin.Pp. 299-301 in Encyclo-
pedia of ArchaeologicalExcavations
of the Holy Land 1. Editedby M.
Avi-Yonahand E. Stern.Englewood
Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall.
Zenos, A. C., translator
1952 Socrates:ChurchHistory.Pp. 1-178
in Socrates,Sozomenus:Church
Histories. Series:A Select Libraryof
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathersof
the ChristianChurch,Second Series
2. Editedby Philip Schaffand Henry
Wace.GrandRapids,MI:William B.
Eerdmans.
 I/

ALMKWA(5

p.bbt
~ crr~rr

(k

~??Doe %A`I~YUI~

i/
Many ancient stone anchors
are under the water along
Israel'sMediterraneancoast.
It has been said that "lost
Map showing Amanmasha's stone anchors, like clues in a
projectedroute from Byblos paper-chase,both mark the
to el-Amarnavia Alashiya
sea-lanes of antiquity and
(probablyancient Cyprus). hint at the navigational
Amanmashais the messenger habits of ancient seafarers"
described in the el-Amarna
tablet 114. (Frost1973:399). One such
anchoris shown here in situ
on the seabed at Dor.

ne of the most absorbing,and often perplex- tury B.C.,complains to the Egyptianpharaoh of his pre-
ing, areas in the study of the ancient Near carious situation. According to Rib Addi, the sea route
East is that of historical geography.'Ancient along the coast is held by his mortal enemy, Aziru. Rib
texts mention numerous lands, cities, and Addi'sships are in dangerof being captured:
other geographicentities. It has been possible to identify Maythe King,my Lord,be apprised
and locate many of these (with varying degrees of cer- thatAziruis hostileto me
tainty), yet others remain elusive. We know that they andhas seizedtwelveof mypeople,andhasplaced
existed but their locations remain problematic. a ransombetweenus of fifty (shekels)of silver.And
Few place-names have been the cause of so much the peoplewhomI hadsent to
Sumura,he seizedin
scholarly study and argument as that of Alashiya. This Yaclia.The ships of the people
site is mentioned in a number of second-millennium
of TY[re],Beruta(and)Sidon
texts from Egypt,Ugarit, Mari, Alalakh, and Boghazkoy. areall in Amurru.
The scholarly debate over the location of Alashiya began (lines 6-14)
in 1895when Max M~illerfirst identified the ancient site Following this Rib Addi writes:
with And,behold,now
ItCyprus.2
is generallyagreedthat Alashiya was located some- Iapac-Addihas becomehostile to me, in leaguewith
where in the northeastern region of the Mediterranean Aziru.
Seabasin but its precise identification variesfrom Cilicia And he has actually seized one of my ships
in southern Turkeyto north Syria and back to Cyprus. and,behold,thushe is sailingforth
The literature dealing with this problem is volumi- uponthe sea in orderto capture
nous. The purpose of this paperis to discuss one specific my (other)ships.
text whose significance for the location of Alashiya (lines15-20)
The land routes are also closed to Rib Addi:
appearsto have been overlookedin the past.
Now,
[erasedpersonalname]m[y]messenger
el-AmarnaTablet 114 I have sent again and again.
In el-Amarnatext number 114 Rib Addi, the much em- Howmanydays(times)haveI senthim
battled king of Byblos who lived in the fourteenth cen- withouthis beingable

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 37
 to enter into Sumura?All roads
are cut off to him.
(lines 32-38)
Near the end of the letter Rib Addi emphasizes his isola-
tion by reminding the pharaoh that he had to send the
messenger, Amanmasha, to Egypt by way of Alashiya:
Under the circumstances
it goes very badly with me.
Here is, the other,Amanmasha.
Ask him if I did not send him
(via)Alashiya to thee.
(lines 49-53)
Another el-Amarna text (number 113, lines 35-44)
mentions that a person named Amanmasha had been
stationed in Byblos. The last lines in text 114 raise the
question of why Rib Addi considered this information
supportive of his claim of distress and request for assis-
tance from the pharaoh. Rarescenes showing the way stone anchors were raised are depicted
Holmes (1969: 159) has correctly noted that in this on two Cypriotejugs from the seventh century B.c.The anchor'srope
was passed througha ring at the top of the mast or apparentlyalong
text Rib Addi implies that things are going so badly for the yard. This primitive device for raising the anchormay have been
him that in order to send Amanmasha home to Egypt, he the reason some anchors were left on the seabed: If the seas were high
had to dispatch him by a route different from the normal and, for whateverreason, the ship had to leave its place of mooring,a
coastal route between Byblos and Egypt. It is possible, captain would probablycut the ropeand leave the anchorratherthan
raise it and have a stone weighing severalhundredkilograms sway-
however, to take this reasoning one step further: If Alashiya ing precariouslyoverhis fragilehull. Drawings are after Karageorghis
was located north of Byblos (either in the Syrian littoral and des Gagniers 1974.
or in Cilicia), then Rib Addi's strategy would be totally
incomprehensible. Not only would Amanmasha be sail-
ing in a direction exactly opposite to his destination, but
this would also require him to sail along the Syrian coast
-precisely the area that Rib Addi wanted the ship to
avoid. If Alashiya, however, is to be identified as Cyprus
or part of Cyprus, then Rib Addi's actions make perfect
sense.
To avoid enemy ships lurking along the coast, Aman-
masha's vessel sailed west-northwest, striking out across
the open sea from Byblos to Cyprus and from there, with
the aid of the predominantly northwestern winds, to
Egypt (Casson 1971: 272).
Thus, on the basis of this admittedly circumstantial
evidence, it seems necessary to locate Alashiya in Cyprus.
The question as to whether the toponym defined all or
only part of the island, however, remains.
Wenamon's escape from the Sekels
Robert R. Stieglitz has suggested to me that a parallel to
Rib Addi's action may be found in the Egyptian tale of
Wenamon (Goedicke 1975: 115-29).
Wenamon, a priest of the Egyptian god Amon, was
sent to Byblos around 1100 B.c. with the mission of bring-
ing back timber for the holy barque of Amon at Karnak.
While his ship was anchored at the city of Dor on the first
part of the journey to Byblos from Egypt, the gold and
silver that he had brought to pay for the timber was
stolen. Subsequently, Wenamon stole back part of his Thesmall fisherman'sportof Gebail (theancient site of Byblos).Photo-
losses from a ship belonging to the Sekels (a group of the graphby David Frank,? Department of Antiquities and Museums,
Sea Peoples) of Dor. Ministry of Education and Culture,State of Israel.

38 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
 ~~fis

r
,~ `s:
.?,\ r Y/ i
i/u~ IC A
.?
: !~7
--J \;;;.
/AI r.
Y E? rt~LiaL
\~F~4
7 , Ct
tL

I
;
I
V I j r ri
"
I;1~42/:P ]C~ 3 j :r 1I
)/ h
Irt~~~' \?

L~a\
~ ;J~~7~ +rr
\r s i,
I
,,is~ I 2r; r,
rt \\ ~\
,,
i+
J: ?r'Q d? r *\
a
er 3, ?r\ +?

?,
r?

/Z;,iI, rttrrr
r

-c, i drr ,j
1111~
/e
liniBr Iri
IIIIC) //

I r \

t
Syrianmerchant ships arrivingat an Egyptianport are depicted in this drawing of a painting from the tomb of Kenamunat Thebes (dating to
the reign of Amenhotep III, 1405-1367 B.c.). This is the most detailed representationof Syrianseagoing vessels from the Late BronzeAge.

Later,aftermany trials andtribulations, when Wena- Acknowledgments

mon was finally preparedto sail from Byblos with his I have had the good fortune of being able to discuss the
timber, eleven Sekel ships arrivedto captureWenamon's Alashiya problem with two of its leading protagonists-
ships. SakarBaal,the king of Byblos, showed Wenamona Dr. Robert S. Merrillees and ProfessorJamesD. Muhly. I
peculiar, yet well-known, type of Middle Eastern hos- also want to thank ProfessorTrudeDothan for her valu-
pitality-he refusedto let the Sekels molest Wenamonas able comments; ProfessorAnson Rainey for very kindly
long as he was anchored in the king's harbor-but sug- retranslating the lines of el-Amarna text 114, which is
gested to the Sekels that they pursue Wenamon once he quoted in this paper;and Dr. RobertStieglitz for bringing
left it. to my attention the relevanceof Wenamon'sescape from
When Wenamon left Byblos, he mentions that the the Sekels.
winds drovehim to Alashiya. Apparently,in this manner, Notes
he managed to avoid the lurking Sekel ships that had 'Fora generalintroductionto the studyof toponomysee
expectedhim to take the normal coastal route to Egypt.In Aharoni 1967:94-117.
doing this, whether intentionally or due to a storm that 2Literature
on the subjectis extensive.Forbasicsummaries
drove him off course to Alashiya, Wenamon avoided a for and againstthe Alashiya/Cyprus equationsee Merrillees
hostile coastal course in the same manner that Aman- 1972andMuhly1972andmorerecentlyHellbing1979.
masha had done some two and a half centuries earlier.He
was eventually able to return safely to Egypt. Bibliography
Aharoni,Y
1967 The Landof the Bible:A Historical Geography.Translatedby
Anson E Rainey.Philadelphia:WestminsterPress.
Conclusion Casson, L.
Although information given in el-Amarnatablet 114and 1971 Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Princeton:
the tale of Wenamonsupportthe identification of Cyprus PrincetonUniversity Press.
with ancient Alashiya, there are admittedly several re- Catling, H. W, and Nikolaou, K.
1967 Composite anchorsin LateBronzeAge Cyprus.Antiquity 42:
maining problems, not the least of which is that no 225-29.
epigraphic evidence connecting Alashiya with Cyprus Davies, N. de Garis,and Faulkner,R. O.
has yet been discoveredon the island.Until more evidence 1947 A Syrian TradingVentureto Egypt. Journalof EgyptianAr-
is developed,the identification cannot be conclusive. chaeology 33: 40-46.

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 39
Frost,H.
1963a FromRopeto Chain:on the developmentof the anchor in the
Mediterranean.The Mariner'sMirror49: 1-20.
1963b Under the Mediterranean.Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice
Hall.
1969a The stone anchorsof Ugarit. Ugaritica 6: 235-45.
1969b The stone anchorsof Byblos.Milanges de l'Universit8Saint-
Joseph,Beyrouth45: 425-42.
1970 Bronze-Agestone-anchorsfrom the EasternMediterranean:
dating and identification. The Mariner'sMirror56: 377-94.
1973 Anchors,the potsherdsof marine archaeology:on the record-
ing of piercedstones from the Mediterranean.Pp. 397-406 in
MarineArchaeology:Proceedingsof the XXIIISymposiumof
the Colston ResearchSocietyheld in the Universityof Bristol
April 4th to 8th, 1971. Edited by D. J. Blackman. London:
Butterworths.
1979 Egypt and stone anchors: some recent discoveries. The
Mariner'sMirror65: 137-61.
1982a On a sacred Cypriot anchor. Pp. 161-66 in Archdologie au
Levant,Recueil RogerSaidah. Series:Collection de la maison
de l'orient Mediterranden12, Serie Archdologique9. Lyon:
Maison de l'Orient.
1982b The birth of the stocked anchor and the maximum size of
early ships: thoughts prompted by discoveries at Kition
Bamboula,Cyprus.The Mariner'sMirror68: 263-73.
Goedicke,H.
1975 The Reportof Wenamun.Baltimore:JohnsHopkins Univer-
sity Press.
Green,J.N.
1971 An underwater archaeological survey of Cape Andreas,
Cyprus, 1969- 70: a preliminaryreport.Pp. 141-78 in Marine
Archaeology: Proceedings of the XXIII Symposium of the
Colston Research Society held in the University of Bristol,
April 4th to 8th, 1971. Edited by D. J. Blackman. London:
Butterworths.
Hellbing, L.
1979 Alasia Problems. Series: Studies in MediterraneanArchae-
July 15-25, 1986
As a part of the celebration dedicating the new building for
ACOR,the center's director, David McCreery,will lead a unique
tour of Jordan. In addition to Jerash, Petra, Ain Ghazal, and
other well-known locations, the tour will visit current excava-
tions in the field and newly discovered sites. Participants will
also join H.R.H.CrownPrince Hassan, H.R.H.Prince Raad, and
other dignitaries at the gala opening of the new building on
July 17.
The tour will cost $1,990, double occupancy, which in-
cludes round-trip airfare between New York and Amman,
deluxe hotel, most meals, behind-the-scenes activities, and
expert guidance throughout. To qualify for this special rate,
participants are asked to make a $500 tax-deductible con-
tribution to ACOR.
A limited number of spaces are available, so act now.
Sponsored by the AmericanCenterfor OrientalResearch(ACOR),
one of the AmericanSchools of OrientalResearch(ASOR)
40 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
ology 57. G6teborg,Sweden:Paul Astrims Fdrlag.
Holmes, Y.L.
1969 The ForeignRelations of Cyprusduring the Late BronzeAge.
Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Brandeis University. Ann
Arbor,Michigan:University Microfilms.
1971 The location of Alashiya. Journalof the American Oriental
Society 91:426-29.
Hult, G.
1977 Stone anchors in Area 8. Pp. 147-49 in Hala Sultan Tekke3,
Excavations 1972 by P Astrom, G. Hult, and M. S. Olofsson.
Series:Studiesin MediterraneanArchaeology45/3. G6teborg,
Sweden:PaulAstrims Firlag.
Kapitan,G.
1984 Ancient anchors-technology and classification.International
Journalof Nautical Archaeology 13:33-44.
Karageorghis,V., and des Gagniers,J.
1974 Le ciramique chypriotede style figurd.Age du Fer(1050-500
av. J.-C.).Rome:Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche,Instituto
per gli studi micenei ed egeo-anatolicidistribuzione.
Merrillees,R. S.
1972 Alasia. Pp. 111-19 in The Proceedings of the First Interna-
tional Congressof CyprioteStudies, 1969,volume 1.Nicosia:
The Departmentof Antiquities, Cyprus.
Muhly,J.D.
1972 The Landof Alashiya:Referencesto Alashiya in the Texts of
the SecondMillennium B.C.andthe History of Cyprusin the
Late Bronze Age. The Proceedingsof the First International
Congressof CyprioteStudies, 1969, volume 1. Nicosia: The
Departmentof Antiquities, Cyprus.
Sayed,A. M. A. H.
1978 The recently discoveredport on the RedSea shore. Journalof
EgyptianArchaeology64: 69-71 and plate 11.
Shaw,J.W, and Blitzer,H.
1983 Stone weight anchors from Kommos, Crete. International
Journalof Nautical Archaeology 12:91-100.
Wachsmann,S., and Raveh,K.
1983 Stone Anchors.El haYam17:33-34; 18:28-29 (Hebrew).
Formore information,send the coupon below to:
KarenSwehla,
InternationalStudy Tours,
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 I p~

aI
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42 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
 * Hattusas
/
""t I TULJGOL
L\
--
only Egypt came close to possessing
the attributes of modern statehood.
From the time of the unification of
Upper and Lower Egypt around 3100
B.c., the Nile Valley had for all prac-
Farleft: A Hittite warrioris carvedin high
relief on a section of the King'sGate at
Hattusas, the capital of the Hittite empire.
This guardianof the gate is shown wearinga
belted kilt and a helmet and he carriesa
battle-ax and short sword. The relief is 2.25
meters tall and dates to the fourteenthcen-
tury B.c. Left:Colossal sandstone statue of
Akhenaten from Karnak,measuring more
than 4 meters tall. Originallyknown as
Amenhotep IV this unorthodoxking of the
EighteenthDynasty instituted a number of
radical changes duringhis reign (1367-1350
B.C.). He is principally remembered for his
adoption of the worshipof the sun-diskAten
and his abandonment of the numerous gods
of the Egyptianpantheon. Some scholars,
therefore,view Akhenaten as the first
monotheist. The art of the period, which is
characterizedby distortion of the human
body and an emphasis on naturalism, has
been called revolutionaryand is certainly
uncanonical. Drawings are by LindaHuff.
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
0 Tell Brak
* Alalakh
* Ugarit
Qadesh
•, ,
tical purposes become a nation with
a fixed population and definable bor-
ders within which the authority of
the central administration, headed
by the pharaoh,ruled supreme.
Though at certain times in its his-
tory during the second and third
millennia B.C., when the power of the
Egyptiangovernment was weakened
by internal dissent or external inter-
vention and regional rulers emerged
who fragmentedthe political struc-
ture of the country, the underlying
unity of the Egyptianpeople always
reasserteditself, and by the period of
which we are talking the position
and prerogativesof the pharaohwere
unchallenged. Not even during the
heresy of Akhenaten (Amenhotep
IV),who promoted a monotheistic
religion and who departed,albeit in
an idiosyncratically Egyptianway,
from traditional political and reli-
gious orthodoxy in the first half of
the fourteenth century B.c., was
43
there any move to upset the consti- subsequently fortified early in the north Syria, Armenia, and the upper
tution or unity of the country. fourteenth century B.c. The "land" reaches of the Tigris, but its limits,
itself comprised the great loop of the being political rather than geograph-
The Hittites Halys River (now Kizil Irmak) in the ical, were not fixed and tended to
The Hittite kingdom of this time middle of its course, together with shift as the allegiances of its consti-
was of a different order from Egypt. the plain to the south of the salt tuent client-states changed. "Khurri
The Hittites were Indo-Europeans lake, Tuz Gal, and was bounded on land,"though used as if it were synon-
who invaded Asia Minor and im- all sides by mountainous formations. ymous with Mitanni, evidently sig-
posed themselves on an indigenous Beyond these highlands the Hittite nified a territorial unit in its own
population that had a different lan- rulers faced potentially hostile tribes, right, that lay to the north of the
guage and different ethnic origins. especially to the north and the east, confederacy and corresponded to the
And whereas the geographical con- rival principalities or kingdoms like original homeland of the Hurrians.
fines of the Nile Valley undoubtedly Arzawa in the southwest and Kizzu- It has been suggested that Khurri
contributed to the consolidation of watna in Cilicia, and opposing em- land preceded Mitanni as a center of
an Egyptian nationality and provided pires such as Mitanni and Egypt. power and influence but was over-
throughout the pharaonic period taken, though not entirely supplanted
well-defined, if indefensible, fron- The Mitannians by, the ascendancy of the Hurrian
tiers, the home base of the rulers of The Mitannians were also migrants princes, who joined together in a new
Anatolia afforded no such intrinsic who had infiltrated north Mesopo- and more militant union. Outside
these two "lands"were other princi-
palities governed by Hurrians, which,
though not part of Mitanni, probably
The Hittites sympathized with its rulers and made
common cause when confronting its
The rescue of the Hittites from historical obscurity is one of the great
achievements of nineteenth- and
enemies.
twentieth-century scholarship. Long
known from the Bible as one of the tribes that was found occupying the Holy
Landwhen the Israelitesarrived,it was only through explorationand archae- Syria and Palestine
ological discovery that their homeland, history, language,and religion were At the opposite end of the political
identified and reconstructed,andtheir contribution to events in the Near East spectrum from Egypt were the city-
in the second millennium B.C.determined. To the surprise of the academic states in Syria and Palestine. Each of
community the Hittites turned out to be Indo-Europeanmigrants, who these city-states had as its nucleus a
originally came from southeast Europevia northwest Anatolia around3000 large urban settlement that was
B.C. and settled in the central highlandareaof Asia Minor,where they became protected by stout fortifications and
politically dominant towardsthe middle of the second millennium B.c.The located in a commanding position
historical "landof Hatti,"as it is known from texts of this time, was a state astride major land and sea routes.
createdby kings ruling from Boghazkey,which later became the capital of an
Surrounding these cities, which were
empire extending into south Syria. Though assigned a warlike reputation, centers of administration, industry,
doubtless because of their well-recordeduse of the light horse-drawnchariot,
the Hittites developed a distinctive civilization whose closest parallel is and commerce, were hinterlands
probablyto be found in the Crusaders'Levant.It was marked by massively bounded by sea, mountains, or desert;
fortified settlements and exceptional minor arts. Just who the Hittites in these contained the human and
ancient Palestine were remains a tantalizing mystery. natural resources required for sus-
RobertS. Merrillees taining daily existence, and included
villages, pastures, and grazing lands
that supplied manpower and com-
advantages. The hub of the empire tamia and north Syria and came to modities to the cities. The city-states,
was a city located in a region that political power over the native Semit- which prospered from trading with
lacked the topographical features, ic inhabitants. They ruled a loosely and plundering each other, were in
resources, and population necessary knit confederacy of Hurrian princes turn subjected to the strategic and
to give it a territorial cohesion com- (see the Mitanni sidebar for a descrip- economic designs of the larger poli-
parable to that enjoyed by Egypt. tion of the Hurrians) from their capi- tical powers, like the Hittite, Mitan-
The capital of the "land of Hatti," tal Washshukanni, which has not yet nian, and Egyptian empires. As a re-
Hattusas, modern Boghazkoy, lay on been located but is believed by many sult they were caught in a tide of
the northern slope of the central to lay in the vicinity of the head- shifting alliances and allegiances as
Anatolian plateau, on a spur that waters of the Khabur River. From the military and diplomatic might
was a natural stronghold but was this city their power extended into of the main protagonists ebbed and

44 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986

 Reconstructionof the southern
??? ~? fortification walls (dating to the
?--
i. ~?l?c...r' .~365??. fourteenthcentury B.c.)around
/P/r?1
?\ \???. ..
the Hittite city of Hattusas
"" ..., ?,? ?Y,.
.. ;iLLY.
;rrr I?,i (modernBoghazk6y).In front of
?'-
?c? I. ~~??~\~~~~\~\?~C
I,~o~ 1 c' L~
, r
,?

the main casemate wall with its

ii ?,
(.'4 ??
?r large towersis an outer,lower
`'\??~' Si~-?,.r.
?~?rrrr 'zi~ ~~?~?~?~sc?? rr
i. ~1??'
???? ?\\~~ b wall. In the center foregroundis
?? ~1~5 fir' ~ the entrance to an impressive
rye ..
"
??
:" '',

r
??
Ji?kPi~
..,. II 1!4:
r:i
..
i
CII?rJ??
~..~
jt~?;S postern gate.
??. -- V -tplklr. '' ,~ D*?
''rjl ~ ~Sf~
~c?;
y. ?-~~
?i SE ?-?-':~'ff ''li Ir rY
?9~1 ?-?'
j~r;r"~x
;ru/
c ?? ~?~a~ \\ \\ -u\~
??i:''
~ ~j'tl ~7i~??LCI) _r
C??;\j;i;'; ..
??`
-~SiE~s~T~ ?-

flowed through the region. Jealous of

their autonomy, the city-states never
lost an opportunity-such as the
death of a metropolitan king, the
Seafaring
defeat in battle of the dominant in the Late Bronze Age
imperial power, or the relaxation of
external authority-to rise in revolt Much of the commercial intercourse between the communities around
and assert their independence. Their the eastern Mediterraneanbasin, even those within reach of each other
rulers never stopped scheming, en- by land, was carriedout by ship, and seafaring,which had been practicedas
early as the fourth millennium B.C.in the region, reachedits apogee in skill,
treating, and fighting.
regularity,and activity duringthe fourteenthandthirteenth centuries B.c.It is
evident from textual, pictorial, and archaeologicalevidence that Egypt,and
every principality or city-state with access to the sea from the Aegean to the
Cyprus Levant,had ships flying, as it were, under their own home flags. Who built,
The history of Cyprus at this time owned, and manned these vessels is still the subject of scholarly debate,and
cannot be easily reconstructed be- whether one "nation"or another ruled the waves at any stage in this period is
cause the Cypro-Minoan texts from an issue of undiminished controversy.It cannot, however,be doubted that
the island and Ras Shamra (Ugarit) ships were constructed at many places around the east Mediterranean-
cannot be read yet and there is dis- including Cyprus- and belongedto the rul of these states, or to merchants
agreement on the identification of ,rs
acting on behalf of the government or independently. There is no reason to
the ancient place-name of Alashiya, believe that any one political entity- Mycenaean/Minoan,Hittite, Cypriote,
which many writers take to indicate Syro-Palestinian,or Egyptian-monopoli2 ed the sea lanes in the LateBronze
part or the whole of Cyprus. Archae- Age or was in a position to regulatethe m of another'sships, except,
of course, where entry to territorial waters"vement
was concerned. Navies and sea
ological data, however, suggest that battles are not attested until the late thirteenth century B.c.,but the use of
internal conditions were peaceful, ships for maraudingand piracy can be shown to have been a not uncommon
that trade inside and outside the occurrence.The raidsof the aptly named SeaPeopleswere the culmination of
island was flourishing, and that the a process of increasingly hostile use of the maritime environment.
pattern of settlement was dominated RobertS. Merrillees
by large towns around the east, south,
and west coasts that served primarily
as centers for industrial and commer- threat they faced came from abroad multiple autonomous urban entities.
cial activity. None of these cities, rather than inside the island, and Moreover, the fact that no Hittite or
whose foundations mostly go back there can be no doubt that the dis- Egyptian objects inscribed with royal
to the mid-seventeenth century B.C., ruptions to human habitation and names from royal sources have thus
appears to have been protected with culture at the end of the thirteenth far turned up in scientific excava-
fortified walls until the thirteenth century B.C.were the result of foreign tions of fourteenth- and thirteenth-
century B.C. at the earliest - and invasion. At the same time evidence century sites makes it highly unlike-
even then they were not all fortified, is lacking to support any contention ly that Cyprus, or any part of it, was
and the fortifications do not all date that Cyprus was ruled as a single, cen- ever subjected to imperial domina-
to exactly the same period. It is diffi- tralized, constitutional or political tion or even influence from the
cult to avoid the conclusion that the unit; it is more likely that there were mainland.

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 45
Around 1285 B.c., near the Syriancity of Qadesh on the
RiverOrontes, two powerful empires-the Egyptians
??~?-?t
u
,7.. ,,-::??
.tiC1 tl k
C;I
"' L-
'C/ ~~53=
ci~C~~.'14
and the Hittites-vied for control of Syria. The battle, L-
,,
which was repeatedlyrecordedon carved walls of -

Egyptiantemples, has been the subject of many discus- ??j fi C L

z 'h
~--Y_
O
) CCr-
L~'~
111
ru
rt~`c~\-?~
sions. A portion of the Egyptianarmy,led by Ramesses '' .~
II, was approachingthe city, in anticipation of a con-
frontation with the Hittites, when they were joined
by several tribesmen who turned out to be Hittite k~ --f tj-?Cr ~tr r r
?,i~~i? ,r! ,i?t~; ~----, /1

decoys. Thenew travelersmisled the Egyptiansin to I I r. r I-jr1'

C /rfy ~!
I?i ?1
3 rii
Y~L1
i 1LLi' t
??
thinking that the Hittites were still in Aleppo.
Ramesses, feeling confident afterlearning this
-
,IIL-i.Is?,l P? --I?- rW c=~~
?cr
t.-o4-??i! ;li a
i/Z' !i d

-;j
L~? \

news, continued on to Qadesh instead of waiting i (r= I'

'
i:-Si' I
I(
t

n It~ ;riBI ??i,

I-
to be joined by the other divisions of the Egyptian ~C (L,,L
:? IIt. IC~
b-i: s C/ ?C~?
army.Luckily,Egyptianscouts capturedtwo C1i! -I
r Ih I
c,
Hittite spies and forced them into revealingthat ?,lcr?)~T
' '
z ?, \"'
I "
the Hittite forces were waiting in ambush a F;,

short distance away. The Egyptians,having little ul ~ 1

\c,.i; --?I.,---
.J ?~ ..
~"`~~C \v'`??-

cr i_?'1II:

,
?CI~
time to preparefor battle, were attacked, and a
total victory by the Hittites was only prevented
.? i%;I' .v '-e ~ ir r-v \
r1~ .-I --~?~ ~trT~~--
c?~
/ jc~ i't/I:''
,1
,,:1.1- I-i
?? \---.
by the late arrivalof an Egyptiansupport-force.
S~L;I?: \t-7?1
t~
i.~- ~ "' I Ir- ?.
This extra help enabled the Egyptiansto drive rlr"
r--
rr
?C II;
the Hittite chariot forces into the river,where r/
,ZJ I,
,, 1--
they sought safety on the other side. The next ,L I r, rI

morning Ramesses took the initiative against ~cl C,, -v

the much largerHittite army,which was led by -- '1

.3.
j
~~--U1~L~~
:~iw` -------- ???
I~
:? r~l`
??~;211~

?r
~ ??
?~`rt~~~Y
~
Is? /`
c
~C ..?t. .I?

m
king Muwatallish. The battle probably ended in : '~ ;117 i;I' ..,.
i~T~r: ~-?~-LC-_" I ~-r??'?
rr"` 121 ?') .~...~ r.e?r J. ~ 1
a stalemate, although both sides eventually I, .. ?? ~~ ~C~r~:; ~?;7......
,~?: rl.l......_.l:~.~~?~~.~~-.-,.,..,--..... ---~:;.~:~
....~.. C:
claimed victory.This drawing is of one part I: r'
.:.:....;i......~..l-....;..-.--.I----?
i,, c?'~
r, s.cr----~
~ ~~a~, ?i~ c'~;;Z!
r.i-
Lr;?C'i?
;` r cf~~ 4 ?r C?~;

of the battle depicted at the Ramesseum in i 7 '?~I

r ~sr~ J J
i -?.
c
Thebes. c~ .?, -I j~ ?Gh
.r.
~T~___Ka ~~.z
-----?C---?CT?----?l--~?
?)\'?~?
ii ''II
--??-?~-??~-C?.---m-????rr-r?---
????~?
?????-???? ???-?-?\.
..., --?- .,I )').".,,Y-.--..,,Y.i-~I--~~I-LI---Y;YIY?-Y-YII
1. ??~.
?~. .?
.~~-,~YY~,~,~
1-~-~---I-1
---_--? ?-??Y-?--l------?

Conflict
Syria's strategic location - at the
crossroads between Anatolia and
Palestine, and between Mesopotamia
and the east Mediterranean-gave it
a political and commercial impor-
tance out of all proportion to its own
territorial integrity and natural re-
sources. In the first half of the four-
teenth century B.C. Egypt's control of
Syria, which had been established by
Thutmosis III in the fifteenth cen-
tury B.C.,began to slacken as a result
of the military inactivity of the later
Eighteenth Dynasty pharaohs Amen-
hotep III and Akhenaten, whose pre-
occupation with internal matters
created a power vacuum in the area.
That Egyptian rule was not directly
challenged until the second quarter
of the fourteenth century B.c. may
be attributed to several factors. In
the first place the only regime in a
position to assert its claim to Syria,
the Hittites, had itself been under
attack from within Anatolia and did
not succeed in overcoming internal
opposition until a strong ruler as-
cended the throne about 1380 B.C. in states in the north that secured the
the person of Shuppiluliumash I. Hittites' southern flank. There en-
In the second place the Mitan- sued a struggle for power among the
nian kingdom held sway over upper various principalities located between
Mesopotamia and the adjacent parts the Hittite and Egyptian dominions;
of eastern Syria and enjoyed good this came to an end when Shuppilu-
diplomatic relations with Egypt. liumash I destroyed the Mitannian
There may even have been some kingdom and subjugated the city-
understanding between the Mitan- states of Syria.
nian and Egyptian rulers concerning Hittite hegemony over Syria re-
their respective spheres of influence mained unchallenged by Egypt until
in Syria. This alliance, which enabled the Nineteenth Dynasty, when Seti I
both sides to maintain the status sought at the end of the fourteenth
quo and deter any potential Hittite century B.C.to reassert Egypt's pre-
threat, was nevertheless put under eminence in Asia. Having consoli-
serious strain when Shuppiluliu- dated his hold on Palestine, he then
mash I concluded a treaty with the engaged the Hittites in battle, regain-
king of the Khurri land, who was the ing control of southern Syria before
adversary of the Mitannian king concluding a peace treaty with the
Tushratta. Tushratta's expectations Hittite ruler Muwatallish, who had
of Egyptian intervention to help not long before ascended the throne.
redress the balance were not fulfilled Seti I's successor, Ramesses II, whose
by Akhenaten. When in 1365 B.c. the reign spanned much of the thirteenth
Hittite emperor moved against Tush- century B.C.,returned to the attack
ratta, Mitannian authority over Syria shortly after his accession and fought
collapsed and was replaced not by a the Hittite army outside Qadesh, but
unified administration but by a ser- neither side was able to claim com-
ies of treaties with important city- plete victory. The Egyptian forces

46 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
 I L j
least contributing to the collapse of,
the Hittite empire, and devastating
'';- Syria and Palestine beforebeing
halted at the EgyptianDelta.

? \ i Accommodations
I. \~- Ji ' W I Securingtheir territorialconquests
/ / r
in Syriaand Palestine and extending
\i their areas of influence as a bufferto
c - \Ii their opponents'ambitions became
the principal concerns of the Hittite
___ ''1)~HI
and Egyptiankings. Apart from the
practice of regular,normally annual,
military campaigns into the van-
quished territories (bothto crush any
hint of insurrection and replenish
supplies of foodstuffs, livestock, raw
materials, and manufacturedgoods),
the rulers of both empires brought
CaptiveSea Peoplesareportrayedin this drawingof a scene fromMedinetHabu whereRamesses the full paraphernaliaof diplomatic
IIIis shown presentingthem beforetwo Egyptiangods. Drawingis fromNelson and others(1930). coercion and persuasion to bear on
the city-states. In addition to the in-
stallation of a member of the royal
did, however,stage a tactical retreat new Hittite king Khattushilish III family or household as governorin:
that enabled Muwatallish to advance concluded a peace treaty in about the subjugatedcity or province, a
as far as Damascus. In any event, 1270 B.c.; this initiated a period of member of the local ruling dynasty
following this major clash, both relative security and friendly rela- could be chosen as district adminis-
sides found themselves-no doubt tions between the two kingdoms. trator,assisted by a metropolitan "ad-
partly because of their concentration This tranquil era came to a rude end visor,"and made to swear an oath of
on the Syrian front - faced with when invadersof still-uncertain ori-
fealty, which, if broken, would incur
troubles in other parts of their own gin (calledthe Sea Peoples)began the wrath of the gods or, failing that,
empires and unable or unwilling to their depredationsin the east Medi- of man. These vassals, who had to go
do more than skirmish with each terraneanabout the end of the thir-
through all the motions of obeisance,
other. Finally Ramesses II and the teenth century B.C.,destroying,or at from doing regularpersonal homage
to their overlords,submitting to every
demand made of them, to humbling
themselves in public address,were
W
d~~le responsible for raising and sending
~r ~iJw wPt the annual tribute. If not requiredto
e~s ~rt ~*~4~
supply troops for the metropolitan
?4~bret 4~ ~k~ 4* army when fighting in their own re-
~ir
~ffck~~~?:t~~~geOl ~~~~~I gions or even further afield, they had
~~~~~
ptc~~$ 1tP tc~-a.i F3- P~ at least to provision the campaigning
'j ~ <~t C'FP~t~ forces. They were not allowed any
~\eQ
?cwa~a-t~~QiK Ft~fT- PfP~p ESW4~*!
direct contact with foreign powers
but they enjoyed,at least in theory,
security of tenure and an assurance
of protection from external aggres-
sion. Diplomatic marriagesand the
taking of hostages were other means
employed to enforce vassals'loyalty.
The history of the north Syrian
Thepeace treaty between Ramesses II and the new Hittite king Khattushilish III has been coastal emporium of Ras Shamra,
discoveredboth in Egyptand Anatolia. The Hittite versionis shown in this drawing of one of ancient Ugarit, is instructive in this
the clay tablets that was found in the Hattusas archive.
regard,for not only does it epitomize

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 47
 B.C. Egyptians Hittites Mitannians Assyrians Syrians
1500
Thutmosis III
(1490-1436)
Egyptianconquest
1450 Mitannian
domination Mitannian influence
in north Syria

1400 '"Amarna period"

Amenhotep III Tushratta (c.1400-1350)
(1405-1367) Shuppiluliumash I
Akhenaten (1375-1335) Ashshur-uballitI Hittite conquest
1350 (1367-1350) Mitanni overthrown (1365-1330)
Tutankhamen
(1347-1339) Murshilish II
(1334-1306)
Horemheb Muwatallish
1300 (1335-1308?) (1306-1282)
Seti I (1308-1291) Battle of Qadesh
Ramesses II Khattushilish III (1285)
(1290-1224) (1275-1250)
1250

1200 Invasionof the

Sea Peoples

Note:Theinformation
givenaboveis basedontable5 of thechronological
tablesinAncientIraq(NewYork:TheWorldPublishing
Company,
1964)
byGeorgesRoux.

the fluctuating fortunes of the city-
states in this pivotal region but it
also appears to have had a direct and
decisive effect on the pattern of trade
in the east Mediterranean basin.
In the early fourteenth century
B.C., at the time of Ammishtamru I,
Ugarit was within the Egyptian
sphere of influence. Evidence for an
exchange of gifts and correspondence
between the ruling families of Ras
Shamra and the Eighteenth Dynasty
pharaohs Amenhotep III and Akhe-
naten, marked especially by a royal
marriage in the mid-fourteenth cen-
tury B.C.,confirms the diplomatic
link and friendly relations between
Ugarit and Egypt. Faced, however,
with a double threat from the Hittite
king Shuppiluliumash I in the north
and Aziru of Amurru to the south,
Niqmaddu of Ugarit made a treaty
with Aziru, who subsequently en-
tered into an agreement with Shup-
piluliumash. As a result Niqmaddu
had to accept the sovereignty of the
Hittite emperor and pay a large an-
nual tribute. Though evidently not
occupied by the Hittites and loyal to
its overlord for the rest of Niqmaddu's
reign, Ugarit under his successors
may have joined a general uprising
in Syria against the Hittite king
Murshilish II, encouraged by the
Egyptian pharaoh Horemheb. In any
event the attempted secession was
unsuccessful, and this time the Hit-
tite king placed Niqmepa, his own
choice, on the throne of Ugarit about
1325 B.c. For the rest of the four-
teenth and all of the thirteenth cen-
tury B.C.Ras Shamra seems not to
have strayed from the Hittite fold,
though the peace treaty between
Khattushilish III and Ramesses II
probably allowed a resumption of
diplomatic contacts with Egypt in
the second half of the thirteenth
century B.C.Even then the Hittites
appear to have refrained from direct-
ly intervening in the city's internal
affairs.
Commercial Contacts
The dynamics of the interconnec-
tions between the kingdoms, princi-
palities, and city-states around the
east Mediterranean in the fourteenth
and thirteenth centuries B.c. were
unquestionably economic, as resource-

48 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986

 The Mitanni

A dynasty of kings known as the Effortsto isolate the Mitanni in the dated to the mid-second millennium,
Mitanni controlled one of the three archaeological record have met with and this has been associated with
dominantpolitical centers in the eastern little success. The location of their capi- Mitanni seals and pottery.
Mediterraneanduringa 150-yearperiod tal city Washshukanniin the northern Outside this diffuse archaeological
beginning in the fifteenth century B.C. Khabur can only be conjectured. The framework, certain categories of arti-
Their kingdom extended from northern likeliest site has generallybeen thought facts, iconographicmotifs, and techno-
Iraqto the Mediterraneancoast in a belt to be Tell Fekheriyah on the Thrkish- logical developmentshavebeen ascribed
the width of modem Syria, a zone that Syrian border. Several expeditions, the to a Mitanni culture. A luxury ware
broughtthem into contact with the per- most recent in the mid-1950s by a Ger- decorated with white paint on a dark
iod's other great powers:the Hittites of man team, have failed to produce im- groundandshapedprincipallyinto thin-
Anatolia and the Eighteenth Dynasty pressive second-millennium remains walledchalices orgobletshas been found
pharaohsin Egypt.Indeed, it is through however. Recent analyses of the trace from Assyria to the Levantinecoast in
their diplomatic correspondence with elements and thermoluminescence of levels dated from the fifteenth to thir-
the Hittite and Egyptianrulers that the clay used for tablets written by Mitanni teenth centuries B.C.It has consequently
Mitanni kings come into sharpestfocus, kings, presumably at Washshukanni, been associated with a Hurrian/Mitan-
for they have otherwise left little recog- and discovered in archives elsewhere nian aristocracy, although the ware
nizable mark on the second-millennium have cast further doubt on Fekheriyah's seems an indigenous developmentfrom
Syrianlandscape. suitability: The clay bears no relation- earlier pottery types. More specifically
The most surprisingfeature of the ship to wares from that site, nor indeed Indo-Aryan,perhaps,are certain motifs
Mitanni is their ethnic identity. Their fromany in the Jezirah,the areawatered on Mitanni royalseals; an uprightpillar
names are Indo-Aryan,as are their gods by the KhaburRiver and its tributaries below a winged disk is related by H.
Indra, Mitra, and Varuna, who are in- to the east. Moreover, the number of Frankfort(CylinderSeals: A Documen-
voked on a treaty between the Hittite settlements in this region seems to de- tary Essay on the Ancient Near East,
king ShuppiluliumashI (1375-1335B.C.) cline sharplyin the mid-second millen- London:Macmillan, 1939)and others to
and the Mitannian Mattiwaza. Textual nium, and candidates for the Mitanni the Indo-Aryanconcept of a "pillarof
referencesfromfifteenth-and fourteenth- capital are consequently few (A. Dobel, heaven"supporting the sky. King Tish-
century archivesindicate, however,that W. J.van Liere, and A. Mahmud, "The ratta'sgift of an iron object to the Egyp-
the Indo-AryanMitanniconstitutedonly WaSukanni Projectof the University of tian Amenhotep III,and presumed Mi-
a small aristocraticminority within the California-Berkeley,"Archivfiir Orient- tanni hegemony over the iron mines of
territory they administered. The area forschung, volume 25, pages 259-64, Armenia, could suggest that the Mitan-
was essentially populated by Hurrians 1974-1977). It is instead two sites from ni rulerswereintimately connectedwith
(anautochthonous,or indigenous,group the fringesof the Mitanni kingdom that known technological advances in iron-
alreadyestablished in north Syriaby, at have until recently provided the only workingduringthe latter half of the sec-
the latest, the end of the third millen- well-defined occupation levels for the ond millennium. Finally,a Hittite trea-
nium, and whose languagewas neither period. In the east, excavationsat Nuzi, tise on horse-training, the author of
Indo-Aryan,Indo-European,or Semitic near Kirkuk in northern Iraq, revealed which bears a Mitanni name, implies a
but perhaps ancestral to the Urartian the palace of a governorto the Mitanni reputationin equestrianmatters,although
spoken in the Caucasian highlands by king Shaushshatar (mid-fifteenth cen- the Mitannirole in introducingthe horse
the first millennium). Although the tury) enclosed by an extended residen- into Mesopotamiaremains ambiguous.
Mitanni intruders appearto have ruled tial district and temples.The second site The Mitanni, then, representone of
in close association with a Hurrian with Mitanni connections sits at the severalsecond-millenniumethnic groups
landed bureaucracy in the fifteenth other end of the kingdom. Alalakh (Tell in the ancient Near East whose histor-
century, control gradually passed into Atchana),in the modern TurkishHatay, ical presence is documented but whose
Hurrianhands. After around 1350 B.c.a was a small vassal-principality with archaeological presence still eludes us.
divided Mitannian Syria was assimi- again a palace, temple, and houses, but Their case should caution us against
lated into the political spheresof the As- of coastal Syriantype. Ourpictureof the oversimplification in interpreting an-
syriansin the east andthe Hittites in the Mitanni world may soon be much en- epigraphic ancient societies where the
west. Mitanni palace intrigues, abetted riched, however, thanks to renewed subtleties of social and ethnic relation-
by the machinations of the Assyrian excavations in the upper Khabur, the ships may well remain concealed in a
king Ashshur-uballitI (1365-1330 B.C.), kingdom's capital district. Current ex- mute archaeologicalcontext.
and the Hittite ShuppiluliumashI put a cavations at Tell Brak are beginning to Marie-HenrietteGates
close to the Mitanni kingdom. uncovera monumental secular building

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 49
deficient places like Egypt or Ugarit
sought to obtain the commodities
necessary for maintaining the living
standards (and supremacy) of their
ruling elites. Apart from securing the
spoils of war and the extraction of
tribute, the latter even engaged in
some peaceful trade,which it is gen-
erally thought they monopolized.
Since the Old Kingdom, Asia had
supplied Egypt with wood, including
resins; oils, particularly olive oil;
semiprecious stones like lapis lazuli;
and tin or bronze, none of which was
locally available in the quantity or
quality desired. From about the
middle of the fifteenth century B.C.
Egypt began adding to its imports
copper and iron and diversifying its
sources of supply to include Myce-
naean Greece, Anatolia, and Cyprus.
The Hittite empire's main require-
ments appear to have been metals
such as tin, foodstuffs, and man-
power in the form of slaves. A city-
state like Ugarit, which was rich in
primary produce, had also to import
its metals, particularly copper and
tin, but acted as an entrep6t (an inter-
mediate trade center) with its own
industrial base. It therefore provided
other city-states in Syria and Palestine,
as well as the Hittites and Egyptians,
with raw, processed, and manufac-
tured goods such as cereals; oils and
wine; and articles in metal, ivory,
glass or faience, and stone. Cyprus,
Crete, and Greece had to obtain their
tin either in metallic form or in
bronze from abroad, and in turn ex-
ported large quantities of pottery,
much of it serving as containers for
oils, unguents, or drugs. During this
period there was a significant change
in the pattern of trade, for which
Ugarit's submission to the Hittites
seems to have been responsible.
Whereas until the mid-fourteenth
century B.C., Cypriote and Mycenae-
an vases had been conveyed in con-
siderable numbers, evidently via Ras
Shamra, to Egypt, their importation
all but ceased after the death of Ak-
henaten. Trade with Palestine, how-
ever, continued unabated. All this
50 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
came to an end with the upheavals
caused by the Sea Peoples about the
end of the thirteenth century B.C.
Conclusion
The fourteenth and thirteenth cen-
turies B.C.witnessed an exchange of
people, goods, and ideas between the
countries bordering the east Medi-
terranean basin on a scale unprece-
dented in Levantine prehistory. This
efflorescence of diplomatic, com-
mercial, and social contacts was no
revolution, as the foundations had
been well laid in the sixteenth and
fifteenth centuries B.c., but the inten-
sification of relations was a phenom-
enon of the age and led to the high-
est degree of material affluence and
cultural cross-fertilization achieved
during the Bronze Age. Nor did these
interactions betoken a lessening of
belligerency or warfare, for hostili-
ties between the pharaohs of Egypt,
the Hittite emperors, and the Mitan-
nian kings provided the backdrop
against which all the developments
and events in the region took place.
This constant state of armed confron-
tation, which did not interfere with
trade, culminated in the mass move-
ment of peoples at the end of the
thirteenth century B.c. This put an
end to the coastal towns of Cyprus,
the Hittite empire, and some of the
city-states along the Syrian/Palestin-
ian littoral and altered the whole
pattern of settlement and civilization
throughout the east Mediterranean
basin. Only Egypt emerged from this
catastrophe unscathed.
Suggested Reading
1973 Acts of the InternationalArchaeolog-
ical Symposium, "TheMycenaeans
in the EasternMediterranean," Nico-
sia, 27th March-2nd April 1972.
Nicosia: Republicof Cyprus.Minis-
try of Communications and Works.
Departmentof Antiquities.
G.
Bass, E
1967 Cape Gelidonya:A BronzeAge Ship-
wreck. Series:Transactionsof the
American Philosophical Society
New Series 57, Part8. Philadelphia:
American Philosophical Society.
Baurain,C.
1984 Chypreet la Mediterrandeorientale
au Bronzerecent.Synthesehistorique.
Series:AtudesChypriotes6. Athens:
Acolefrangaised'Athenes.
Buccellati, G.
1967 Cities and Nations of Ancient Syria.
An Essay on Political Institutions
with Special Referenceto the Israel-
ite Kingdoms.Series:Studi Semitici
26. Rome:Istituto di studi del Vin-
cino Oriente,Universitadi Roma.
Drioton, E., and Vandier,J.
1975 L'Egypte.Des origines la conquBte
t
dAlexandre.Fifth edition. Paris:
Presses universitairesde France.
Edwards,I. E. S., and others
1973 The CambridgeAncient History.
ThirdEdition. Volume2, part 1. His-
tory of the Middle East and the
Aegean Regionc. 1800-1380 B.C.
Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
Press.
1975 The CambridgeAncient History
ThirdEdition. Volume2, part 2. His-
tory of the Middle East and the
Aegean Regionc. 1380-1000 B.C.
Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
Press.
Gurney,O. R.
1969 TheHittites. Secondedition. London:
PenguinBooks,Ltd.
Lucas,A.
1962 Ancient EgyptianMaterials and
Industries. Fourthedition, revised
and enlargedby J.R. Harris.London:
E. Arnold & Co.
Merrillees,R. S.
1968 The CyprioteBronzeAge Pottery
Foundin Egypt.Series:Studies in
MediterraneanArchaeology18. Lund,
Sweden:PaulAstroms F6rlag.
Muhly, J. D.
1973 Copper and Tin. The Distribution of
MineralResourcesand the Nature of
the Metals Tradein the BronzeAge.
Series:Transactionsof the Connecti-
cut Academyof Arts and Sciences
43. Pp. 155-535. Hamden:Connecti-
cut Academyof Arts and Sciences.
Nelson, H. H. and others
1930 Medinet Habu-Volume I. Earlier
Historical Recordsof Ramses III.
Series:The University of Chicago,
OrientalInstitute Publications 8.
Editedby JamesH. Breasted.Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press.
Sanders,N. K.
1978 The Sea Peoples. Warriorsof the An-
cient Mediterranean1250-1150B.C.
Series:Ancient PeoplesandPlaces 89.
London:Thames and Hudson.
Strange,J.
1980 Caphtor/Keftiu. A New Investigation.
Series:ActaTheologica Danica 14.
Leiden:Brill.
 n this note I shall describe three West Semitic seals
that have not been previously published. The seals
are of unknown provenance and were acquiredby
various collectors from antiquities dealers in
Jerusalem.

The Seal of Neriyahu the King'sSon

This is a scaraboidseal of darkbrownish to grayishstone.
It is perforatedlengthwise and is 17 millimeters long, 14
millimeters wide, and 10 millimeters thick. The flat face
of the seal, surroundedby a single borderline,is engraved
with a two-line inscription in ancient Hebrewcharacters.
The inscription, divided by two horizontal lines, readsas
follows:
Inryhw (Belonging)to Neriyahu
bn hmlk son of the king
In the second line the first and fourth letters are partly
blurred.The bet misses the lower stroke of the triangle
head, and the mem has lost two of its downstrokes at its wiramiraiw~riej~riii
top.
The seal belonged to a person who bore the title "son
of the king."No prince by the name of Neriyahu is known
from the Bible, and the four persons who are designated
in the Bible as "sonof the king"and who performofficial
duties are not known to have been princes.
So far thirteen seals and seal impressions have been
found to bear this designation. The meaning of it has
been the subject of a lengthy dispute among scholars (for ,?
~
a summary, see Lemaire 1979). Some scholars have .r I5L

denied any connection between these title-bearers and I *

the king's family. They believe the title-bearers were

ordinarycivil officers who bore such a pretentious title
for historical reasons. ;r

At present, however,the prevailingview is that the ?? ?- 1

owners of these seals were not necessarily sons of the ??

rr?
r /
~1 ? ~I
king properbut members of the royalfamily at largewho .r?r ?/
were entrusted by the king with various functions in his ?(r i' t
?C ?(
administration. Several such functionaries are men- i
?\
?

tioned in the Bible. One of them, Yerahmeel,the king's -- ?? ?

son (Jeremiah36:26)who servedunder king Jehoiakimof

Judah,has been identified with the owner of a Hebrew
seal (Avigad1979).
The name Neriyahu (Neriah), meaning "Yahwehis
my lamp (light),"occurs in the Bible as that of the fatherof
Baruch the scribe and Seriah the chief chamberlain
(Jeremiah36:4 and 51:59). On seals this name appears
very frequently.Our Neriyahu, who should be, according
to the prevailing view, of royal descent, was apparently
very active in performinghis office. Twoother seals that
bear the name Neriyahu will appear in a forthcoming
publication.
The script of the seal is of the formal cursive hand
that prevailed on the Judean seals of the seventh cen-
tury B.C. Impressionand drawing of the Neriyahu seal.

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 51
 The Seal of Tan'el
This is also a scaraboid seal; it is of reddish limestone,
perforated lengthwise, and is 24 millimeters long, 18
millimeters wide, and 12 millimeters thick.
An interesting feature of this seal is its iconography.
It is engravedwith various motifs to full capacity. The
dominant representation is the figure of a roaring lion,
facing left (on the impression of the seal). The lion is
modeled in a realistic style that expresses the violent
force of the beast. The so-called king of animals was
always a favoritemotif in decorativeand symbolic art in
the ancient Near East. In glyptic art, too, the lion was
favored, and there exists a considerable group of such
seals. The best known of them is the famous Shemac seal Impressionof the Tan'elseal.
from Megiddo, which is a masterpiece of glyptic art
(Reifenberg1950:figure 1).The representationof lions is
generallyrelatedto a North Syrianschool of artbut in the
main it unmistakably reflects the forcible naturalism of
lions renderedin contemporaryAssyrian art. The lion of
this seal is not of the same artistic caliberas the Megiddo
seal, but it does not lag farbehind in its generalpowerful
expression.
One would think the lion alone would suffice to
providethe seal with an attractive appearance.The seal-
cutter,however,seems to havebeen of a differentopinion.
He must have considered his work unfinished as long as
there were vacant spaces aroundthe lion. Impressionof the Shamashcazarseal.
These spaces were filled in various ways. To the left
(onthe impression)is the head of a horned animal;below
there is a complete horned animal; to the right is an
Egyptian ankh, above which is a long-tailed creature,
perhapsa scorpion or a lizard.
The custom of filling in decoratedareasto capacityis
a well-known trait in ancient Near Eastern art and is
called the horror vacui ("fearof vacancy").We find it
practiced on other seals as well (Rahmani 1964; Avigad
1964).
As if even this decoration were not enough, appar-
ently the purchaser of the seal in antiquity had it in-
scribed with his name. The seal-makerhad not left any
specific space forthis, and in fact most ancient seals were
not inscribed in this way.The letters of his name arethus
distributedin the lacunae that were left aroundthe figure
of the lion. There are five discernible letters,
Itn'i,
which can be read:(Belonging)to Tan'el,or Ten'el.Neither
of these readings is satisfactory.It seems likely that the
engraverof the inscription, irritatedby the need to scatter
letters around the seal, skipped the second letter of the
inscription, or the first letter of the name, which should Profileand bottom of the duck-shapedseal.
read:(n)tn'l-that is, (Na)tan'el.
It should be noted that misspelled names are not
uncommon in West Semitic epigraphy. Natan'el is a
known Hebrew name and occurs on seals. The forms of
the letters aleph and taw attest also to the Hebrew
characterof the inscription.

52 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
 The Seal of Shamashcazar
This attractive Aramaic seal is made of grayish chal-
cedony and is shaped in the form of a stylized Mesopo-
tamian duck-weight (it is reminiscent of an Ammonite
seal-Avigad 1970: plate 30.1). The duck has its head
turned to the rear, with its beak resting on its back; part of
its head has been broken off. The seal, which is 15 milli-
meters high, also has a hole that could be used to suspend
it on a string.
The seal makes an egg-shaped impression, 19 milli-
meters long and 14 millimeters wide. The two lines of
inscription are separated by three symbols: an ankh (the
Egyptian symbol of life), a star (the symbol of the goddess
Ishtar), and a crescent (the symbol of the moon-god).
The inscription reads:
lTmiczr (Belonging)to Shamashcazar
cbdshr (son of) cAbdgahr
The theophorous name Shamashcazar-meaning "(The
god) Shamash is of help"-is the equivalent of the later
Aramaic form Shamashcadri. It is comparable to other
theophorous names like Eshmuncazar or Hadadcazar.
The meaning of the second line is ambiguous. It
probably represents another theophorous name, the
patronymic cAbd~ahr. It is the Aramaic equivalent to the
Phoenician cAbdyerah and comparable to theophorous
names like cAbdishamshi or The word bar
cAbdihadad.
("son")has been omitted, as it frequently is on seals.
Another interpretation of the inscription, put for-
ward by Frank Moore Cross (1983: 61), is to separate the
two elements of the name - cAbd and Sahr - and to re-
gard the owner of the seal as the servant (that is, priest) of
the god Sahr. Accordingly the legend would read "(Belong-
ing) to Shamashcazar, the servant of Sahr."
Sahr is the Aramaic equivalent of the Babylonian
moon-god Sin (compare Saharonim -"moon-shaped or-
naments"-in Judges 8:21 and Isaiah 3:18; see also the
tomb inscription from N~rab in Syria that commemo-
rates 4nzrb kmr Shr bnrb - "Sin-zera-ibni, priest of Sahr in
Narab"-Cooke 1903: number 64.1; Donner and Rollig
1964: number 225.1).
The script of the seal inscription shows surprisingly
great similarity to the formal cursive hand of the Hebrew
seals. Only the zayin and the slightly open heads of bet
and resh reflect the Aramaic trend. The seal may origi-
nate in Syria, but its engraver must have been familiar
with the Hebrew script. A date of the eighth to seventh
century B.C.seems right for this seal.
Bibliography
Avigad,N.
1964 The Seal of Jezebel.Israel ExplorationJournal 14: 276, plate
56.C.
1970 Ammonite and Moabite Seals. Pp. 284-95 in Near Eastern
Archaeology in the ?tWentiethCentury:Essays in Honor of
Nelson Glueck, edited by J. A. Sanders. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday.
1979 JerahmeelandBaruch,King'sSonand Scribe.BiblicalArchae-
ologist 42: 114-18.
Cooke, C. A.
1903 A Text-Bookof North-SemiticInscriptions.Oxford:Clarendon.
Cross, E M.
1983 The Seal of Miqneyaw.InAncient Seals and the Bible, edited
by L. Gorelick and E. Williams-Forte.Malibu,CA: Undena.
Donner,H., and Rollig,W
1964 Kanaanaische und Aramaische Inschriften. Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz.
Lemaire,A.
1979 Note sur le titre bn hmlk dans l'ancien Israel. Semitica 29:
59-65.
Rahmani,L. Y
1964 TwoSyrianSeals. IsraelExplorationJournal14: 180-84, plate
41.E
Reifenberg,A.
1950 Ancient Hebrew Seals. London:The Eastand WestLibrary.

The American Schools of Oriental Research & St. Mary's University present a
Biblical and Archaeological Graduate Study Tour of

Jordan, Israel, Sinai & Greece

June 24- July 29, 1986
Cost: $3,900 per person
Major Faculty: Charles H. Miller & Mary K. Milne, Dept. of GraduateTheology,St. Mary'sUniversity
Guest Lecturers: ASOR Directors and active field archaeologists
Graduatestudentsof ASOR institutionsare eligiblefor six graduatecredithours
fromtheiroun institutions,if approvedby theiradvisors.
For more information, contact the ASOR corporate representativeon your own campus or
Professor Charles H. Miller, St. Mary's University,
One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, TX 78284-0400, (512) 436-3201

BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 53

A Note on the Seal of
Peqah the
Armor-Bearer,
Future King of Israel
by PierreBordreuil
e know of more than twenty West Semitic
inscribed seals that represent a striding
man-facing left or right, bearing a staff
or a scepter in one hand, and usually
raising the other hand with palm forward. About ten of
these bear the Egyptian crown. Three others may be
identified with kings known from Assyrian historical
sources: 'BYBcL (probably Abibaal of Samsimuruna-
Galling 1941: number 135; Vattioni 1981: number 27 - on
a seal that belongs to the Florence Museum); HNN
(probably Hanun of Gaza-Hestrin and Dayagi-Mendels
1979: number 123-on a seal that belongs to the Israel
54 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
Museum); and MSRY (probably Musuri of Moab, on a seal
that belongs to the Cabinet des M6dailles de la Biblio-
thbque Nationale de Paris).'
Some individuals without a crown have been iden-
tified; they are dignitaries: SBNYW (Shubnayau, servant
[=minister] of Uzzyau2 - Galling 1941: number 125;
Vattioni 1969: number 67-on a seal that belongs to the
Mus6e de Louvre); and L'SN' and L'SN' cBD 'HZ. These
latter two are seals of Ushna, servant (=minister) of
Ahaz; the first belongs to the Israel Museum (Hestrin and
Dayagi-Mendels 1979: number 40), and the second be-
longs to the Yale University Museum (Galling 1941:
number la; Vattioni 1969: number 67; see Bordreuil, in
press).
The seal of Peqah (Galling 1941: number 137; Vat-
tioni 1969: number 4), which belongs to the Vorderasia-
tische Museum of Berlin, raises an interesting question.
It cannot be classified easily among any of these three
groups. It represents a human being striding left and
wearing an Egyptian wig, a short tunic, and a long mantle.
He holds a javelin in his upraised right hand, while his
left arm has disappeared in a break. In front of the man
stands a two-pronged object of uncertain identification.
The three letters PQH are engraved behind the figure
along the right edge; these are vocalized Peqah (Jakob-
Rost 1975: number 177).
The owner of this seal bears the name of an Israelite
king who reigned between 740 and 730 B.c. It may thus be
possible to add this seal to the group above identified as
kings; on the other hand, since the figure is not shown
wearing a crown,3 perhaps it should be put among the
seals of dignitaries. Let us examine these two options in
more detail.
This seal appeared at the end of the nineteenth
century and was purchased in Palestine by Charles
Clermont-Ganneau from an antiquities dealer in Nablus.
Thus, the character of the purchaser is reliable, and we
should note the proximity of the modern town of Nablus
to the ancient city of Samaria, which was the capital of
the Israelite kingdom (Clermont-Ganneau 1896: 320 and
following). One suspects that the identification of the
seal-bearer with the Israelite king Peqah (see 2 Kings
15:25) had not escaped the attention of Clermont-
Ganneau, who wrote: "If the son of Remalyah [that is,
Peqah] ever had a seal, it must have been remarkably like
this."Todayit is possible to follow this line of researcha
bit further.I propose two reasons for such an identifica-
tion, the first of which has just been mentioned: (1)the
geographicalproximity of Peqah'scapital to the place of
purchase;and (2)the fact that the script is appropriatefor
an eighth-century date, particularly the archaic qoph
with round head known from Byblos around 900 B.c.
(Donner and Rollig 1965-1968: number 7), from an
eighth-century statue with a Phoenician inscription in
Seville (Gibson 1982: number 16), and from an inscrip-
tion discovered at Hazor (LPQH-"belonging to Peqah"-
Yadin 1960: 73 and following, plate 171).4
An objection to this identification could be raised on
the basis of the paraphernalia of the figure on the seal. If
this figure is Peqah, he is represented without a crown,
which argues for placing him among the court dignitaries
whose authority was granted - such as Shubnayau, a
minister of Uzzyau. This is in contrast to figures on other
seals shown wearing a crown who are clearly kings and
whose authority was inherent in their office, such as
Musuri, king of Moab. However, the portrayal of Peqah
without a crown is not inconsistent with what is known
of Peqah from the Old Testament.
This point can be seen in reexamining the imagery of
the seal. The characteristic element that allows us to
identify the man on the seal, who wears no crown but
who bears a king's name, is the javelin that he is brandish-
ing; remember that on seals of this type the right hand is
usually empty, with raised palm forward.
Although the Bible gives us few details about Peqah,
it does give us an account of his accession to the throne:
He assassinated Peqahyah, the former king, whom he had
served as a1iT, probably during the two years of Peqahyah's
reign between 742 and 740 B.C.
The meaning usually given to the word 3ali5 in the
Old Testament-that is, "third man (on a war chariot)"-
has recently been called into question. Some now believe
that ali9 is a title of the qatil type, analogous to such
titles as nagid and paqid, which are used to designate an
office in the king's service. This rank, being below that of
the king and of his principal officers, would thus be "ofthe
third rank" (Mastin 1979: 154). The title ili• could there-
fore include the office of aide-de-camp and armor bearer
-that is, someone "on whose hand the king leaned" (2
Kings 7:2, 17-haBai• '2ier-lammelek niacan cal-yad6).
It may be objected that though the use of the three-
man chariot was not constant in Syria-Palestine at the
beginning of the first millenium B.C., it is known in the
middle of the ninth century from the palace reliefs of
Assurnasirpal II at Kalak and in the time of Sargon II-
that is, only about ten years after Peqah's reign (Mastin
1979: 131). We can suppose that the ali3 acted during
battles in the royal chariot as bodyguard and armor-bearer.
This function of protecting the king is represented on the
seal of Peqah by the upraised javelin, a function that was,
ironically, to be reversed some time later when Peqah
assassinated the king he was empowered to protect.
It is evident that the accession of Peqah to the throne
meant that this seal would fall out of use and be aban-
doned. But we can hope that some day a second seal of
Peqah will be unearthed describing his function at Peqah-
yah's court in the terms quoted above from the two seals
of Ushna, servant of Ahaz. One may even hope for the
discovery of the seal of Peqah as king, like the known
seals of Abibaal, Hanun, and Musuri. For the time being,
I believe that we have here the first representation ever
known of a future king of Israel, brandishing the javelin of
his office: Peqah, son of Remalyah(u), armor-bearer of
Peqahyah, king of Israel.
Notes
My thanks to ProfessorDennis Pardeeforhelping me to express
my thoughts in English.
'These three kings are mentioned in the Annals of Esar-
haddon (Abibaaland Musuri: Oppenheim 1969: 291 and 294)
Tiglath-PileserIIIand SargonII (Hanun:Oppenheim 1969:282
and 285).
2The iconographic style of the Abyau seal (Galling 1941:
number 85; Vattioni 1969: number 65) belongs to another
group.
3One may be certain that Peqah does not wear a crown.
There is a chip just above the figure'shead and the resulting
lacuna does bear a superficialresemblanceto a crown, but it is
indeed a chip and not a crown.
4Itmust be admittedthat this document mentioning Peqah
is of particularimportanceforthe identification of the ownerof
the PQH-seal.
Bibliography
Bordreuil,P.
in press Inscriptions sigillaires ouest s~mitiques III:sceaux de digni-
taireset de rois syro-palestiniensdu 8e et du 7e sidcle avantJ.C.
Syria61.
Clermont-Ganneau,C.
1896 Archaeological Researches in Palestine, volume 2. London:
Committee of the Palestine ExplorationFund.
Donner,H., and R611ig,W
1965-68 Kanaanidischeund Aramiische Inschriften, volumes 1-3,
second edition. Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz.
Galling, K.
1941 Beschriftete Bildsiegel des ersten Jahrtausendsv. Chr. vor-
nehmlich aus Syrienund Palistina. Zeitschriftdes Deutschen
Palistina-Vereins64: 121-202.
Gibson, J.C. L.
1982 Textbookof SyrianSemitic Inscriptions,volume 3 of Phoeni-
cian Inscriptions.Oxford:ClarendonPress.
Hestrin, R., and Dayagi-Mendels,M.
1979 Inscribed Seals: First Temple Period-Hebrew, Ammonite,
Moabite,Phoenician,and Aramaic.Jerusalem:IsraelMuseum.
Jakob-Rost,L.
1975 Die Stempelsiegel der VorderasiatischenMuseums. Berlin:
Akademie-Verlag.
Mastin, B.A.
1979 Wasthe the Third Man in the Chariot?Supplements to
Sali•
VetusTestamentum 30: 124-54.
Oppenheim,A. L.
1969 Babylonian and Assyrian Historical Texts. Pp. 265-317 in
Ancient Near Eastern TextsRelating to the Old Testament,
third edition, edited by J. B. Pritchard.Princeton:Princeton
University Press.
Vattioni,F
1969 I sigilli ebraici.Biblica 50: 357-88.
1981 I sigilli fenici. Annali dell'Istituto UniversitarioOrientale di
Napoli 41: 177-93.
Yadin,Y
1960 HazorII. Jerusalem:The MagnesPress of the HebrewUniver-
sity.
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 55
 On the ArchaeologicalEvidence for a Coin-on-Eye
Jewish Burial Custom in the First Century A.D.
Writing in Biblical Archaeologist
recently, Rachel Hachlili and Ann
Killebrew(1983)pose the question: Was
the coin-on-eyecustom a Jewishburial
practicein the SecondTempleperiod?
They avoidgiving a direct answer,con-
cluding that the custom was "notusually
part of the burial ritual"and affirming
that there is no archaeologicalor literary
evidence for the custom everbeing prac-
ticed by Jewsof anyperiod.In my opinion,
however,there is good reason to believe
that the custom was on occasion prac-
ticed by Jewsof the first and second cen-
turies A.D.in Judea.The question takes
on special importancewhen relatedto
the evidence that coins were placed over
the eyes of the body whose imprint ap-
pearson the Shroudof Turin.I have ar-
gued elsewhere (Meacham1983)that the
shroud should now be consideredas
authenticated-that is, that it bears the
imprint of Christ'sbody.Includedin this
attempted authentication was a refer-
ence to the Jerichoburials,first reported
by Hachlili (1979),as verification of a
hypothesisgeneratedfrom shroudstudies
that coin-on-eyeburial was practicedby
first-centuryJews.I am now dismayedto
find that the Jerichofield datahas been
poorly reportedand improperlyhandled.
Becauseof its considerablesignificance
vis-a-visthe shroud,the data deserve a
rigorousscrutiny.
Much effort is expendedby Hachlili
and Killebrewon interpretinga text
from Bender(1894, 1895)and clearingthe
confusion surroundingit. They condemn
in ratherstrong and unwarrantedterms
the "unfoundedbelief"of certain shroud
researchersregardingthe custom, their
"misuseof the [archaeological]data,"and
"misleadingand false statements."
Jumper,Jackson,and Stevenson (1978)
are admonished for their conclusion that
the coin-on-eyepracticewas "customary"
among Jewsat the time of Jesus,when
the correctchoice of words should have
been "ararecustom."The confusion in
the shroudliteraturedoes not, however,
56 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
by WilliamMeacham
?
Holy Shroud Guild, Esopus, New York 12429
arise mainly from a misinterpretationof
the Bendertext but from Hachlili's own
first reporton the Jerichoexcavation,
published in 1979 in Biblical Archae-
ology Review. When the statements and
omissions made in this reportare com-
paredwith those of the recent BA article,
Hachlili and Killebrewmay be seen to
have committed a number of archae-
ological mistakes, misinterpretations,
unjustified conclusions, reversals,and
omissions of a quite serious nature.They
are certainly in no position to criticize
in such harsh terms the researchof
others, especially when their own mis-
takes have been glossed over and left
unexplained. A mea culpa would have
been more in orderthan a pedantic tone.
In their article (1983:147),it is stated
that: "TheJerichocoins have been cited
as evidence that the placement of coins
over the deceased'seyes was a prevalent
Jewishburial custom of the first century
A.D..... This unfounded belief. .. ."It is
Hachlili, however,who first put forward
this belief when she wrote (1979:34) of
the Jerichocoins: "Twoadditional coins
of Herod Agrippa I (41-44 A.D.)were
found in a skull. The coins originally
must have been placed on the eyes of the
deceased (probablyas payment to
Charon... .)"[emphasisadded].
This statement is moderatedin its
1983 recapitulation:"Inthis article [the
1979 report]it was stated that [the coins]
had apparentlybeen placed on the de-
ceased as payment to Charon,"leavingout
the certainty and specific location on
the eyes mentioned previously.Surely
shroud researchersshould not be so
heavily faulted for misinterpretingor
misusing an 1894-1895 source (Bender)
quoting an earlier source (Frazer1886)
quoting even earlier sources (Boden-
schatz, Gubernatis),when such distor-
tion of a Hachlili statement is made by
Hachlili just four years later. Why did
she not simply admit her own part in
generatingthe belief in a coin-on-eye
burial custom and explain her reasons
for so interpretingthe evidence at the
time?
The JerichoCemetery Data
Much more serious are the archaeologi-
cal mistakes apparentin the handling,
interpreting,and reportingof the field
data. Hachlili and Killebrewstate that "a
reexaminationof the evidence"leads
them to believe that the coins were
placed in the mouth, because the two
coins were found stuck together (afact
taken to indicate they were originally
placed in contact with each other.)This
condition of the coins was of course
immediately apparenton their discovery
but it was not reportedin the 1979 ar-
ticle. Indeed,to do so would have greatly
weakenedthe confident conclusion
offeredby Hachlili that the coins were
originally placed overthe eyes. Nowhere instance only a single coin was present.
in the 1983 article is an explanation There are groundsto believe, however,
given of this omission or of how two that this coin too was placed overthe
coins stuck together were first inter- eye. Indeed,this second occurrence of a
pretedas being on the eyes. Worsestill, coin inside a skull rendersthe coin-in-
no mention was made in the earlier re- mouth hypothesis virtually impossible
port that the skull in question was part to sustain.
of the many secondaryburials in tomb Another coin was also found in
D/3. This circumstance, if correct,raises tomb D/18, but its location has changed
suspiciously since 1979. Then it was
reportedas "foundwith coffin burials,"
whereas in 1983 it was "foundin the
debris,at the entrance to the tomb"and
Therearefive possible "seemsto have fallen into the entrance
debris."Its date (63-40 B.c.)howeverfalls
explanationsforthe within the rangeof coffin-burialtradi-
tion in the first century B.c.;it is thus
coinsin theskull. ratherearly to be taken as an intrusion
after the tomb'sclosure. (Do the remains
in the central chamberof D/18 really
represent5 to 7 primaryburials in a
space of 1.5 x 0.9 m? Or could this
the possibility of direct placement of the chamberhave been used for secondary
coins in the skull, but Hachlili and burials in the first century A.D.?)It would
Killebrewdo not discuss it. Rather,they appearto be possible, at least, that this
make the confused statement that the coin was originally placed over the other
coins were "intentionallyplaced inside eye of the skull with coin inside. Instead
the tombs at the time of burial,"which of falling into or remainingon the skull,
would not be true if primaryburial took it could have been dislodgedfrom this
place outside the tomb. "damaged" skull and found its way to the
There are in fact five possible ex- entrance in the course of subsequent
planations for the coins in the skull- movement in the tomb. This interpreta-
namely, they were originally placed on tion is supportedby the absence of coins
the eyes, in the nose, in the mouth, from the other 120 (1979report)or 50
directly in the skull during secondary (1983report)Jerichotombs, with the
burial, or they are intrusive. The fact sole exception of the pair of coins found
that the coins were stuck togetherdoes inside the tomb D/3 skull. That is, the
not rule out an original placement on coins occur in pairs,and find their way
the eyes or in the nose (anotherpossibil- into the skull.
ity not discussed by the authors).A final Unfortunately,there is scant data
possibility to be mentioned is excavator's availablefrom the two reportson the
erroror a fraud;Hachlili should declare Jerichoburialsto make even rudimentary
in what circumstances the coins in the assessments of the various alternatives.
skull were found, by whom, and what The authors intended in 1983 "topresent
verification exists. Could for example for the first time a detailed description of
the two coins have been introduced,or the coins found in the Jerichocemetery,"
their location mistaken, by a laboratory but neither the coins nor the skulls are
workercleaning the skull? located on the tomb plans. The attitude
Fromthe 1983 article comes the of the skulls (especially importantfor
new information not mentioned in 1979 the coffin burial)is not indicated, nor is
that a single coin (4 B.C.-A.D. 6) was the location of the coins within the
found inside another skull, in a coffin skulls. (Normal care in the removalof
burial in tomb D/18. Again, the omission the deposit from inside the skull should
of this fact from the earlier reportis not have allowed for the first discoveryto be
explained;it was referredto in 1979 located approximately;thereafterall
simply as one of two coins "foundwith skulls should have been x-rayed.)My
coffin burials."And again, the new infor- guess is that the coin in the entrance of
mation conveniently indicates to Hach- tomb D/18 was some 150 to 200 centi-
lili and Killebrewthat the Jewishprac- meters awayfrom the skull containing
tice was to place a coin or coins in the the single coin, which was on a bench
mouth, not on the eyes, since in this beside the entrance. But why should one
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
be guessing?Finally,no illustration or
information is given on the overlapof
the two stuck-togethercoins, nor is there
any description of the condition of the
eye sockets and nasal areasof the skulls
in question.
Assuming an ordinarysupine posi-
tion of burial, the possibility of a coin
droppingfrom the mouth through the
foramenmagnum and into the skull is
virtually nil, accordingto an anatomist
(N. Jablonski,University of Hong Kong)
and a physical anthropologist(M.Pie-
trusewski, University of Hawaii)and
judgingfrom my own inspection of buri-
als with coins in the mouth. An ulti-
mate position for the coin in the throat,
near the cervical vertebrae,or even in
the upperthorax(!)would be likely to
result from an originalplacement in the
mouth. Evenwith the most favorablein-
clination of the head by 15 to 20 degrees,
the possibility of a passagefrom the
mouth is only slight. Among dozens of
exhumations of 5-yearburials conducted
by the Anatomy Department of the
University of Hong Kong,loose teeth
were often found near the cervical ver-
tebrae,the shoulders,even among the
ribs, but not one had found its way into a
skull. Furthermore,the coins in tomb
D/3 were in a secondaryburial. Passage
from the mouth into the skull would
have had to take place duringthe brief
time of primaryburial, when the fora-
men magnum would almost certainly
have been blocked by intact cervical
vertebrae.
Passagevia the eye sockets is also
less likely in a brief period of primary
burial, but two instances of coin-in-
mouth burial leaving coins only in the
two skulls can safely be regardedas im-
possible. Further,it is doubtful that the
corrosion/adhesionprocess of the two
coins would have precededtheir move-
ment because of decomposition; that is,
they would very likely have separated,
especially if their plane of contact was
parallel to, or even at 45 degrees to,
gravity.To my mind, there are fewerdif-
ficulties and improbabilities in conclud-
ing that the two coins came into contact
once inside the skull. Direct placement
of the coins in the skulls is a distinct
possibility, especially in the case of the
secondaryburial. The two coins were
most probablyplaced at first on the eyes,
and then intentionally deposited in the
skull when the bones were transferredto
the cave tomb. In the coffin burial of
57
tomb D/18, the coins were probably The evidence from the shroudfor early second centuries in Judea:around
placed on the eyes and remainedthere coins placed on the eyes also must be 4 B.C.-A.D.6, 41-44, 117,and 133. One
until the skull was disturbed.Consider- considered.Leavingaside the question of would certainly be justified in arguing
ation of other archaeologicalevidence identifyingthe shroudfigurewith Christ, that the evidence of coins on the eyes of
and the probableJewishreligious signifi- other data such as the Dead Sea pollen the shroudfigure indicates a date within
cance (discussedbelow) of a coin-on-eye types, Semitic physiognomy,beardand this period.
ritual strongly supportthe conclusion pigtail, and crucifixion wounds combine It should be pointed out that a facile
that the Jerichocoins "mustoriginally to indicate an origin in RomanPalestine. link should not be made between the
havebeen placed on the eyes"ratherthan The evidence for coins being placed on coin-on-eyeor coin-in-mouth custom
in the mouth. They were not simply a the eyes of this crucifixion victim rests and the pagannotion of payment to
secondary-burialofferingplaced inside primarilyon computerprojectionsfrom Charon.While the use of coins in burial
the skull. Hachlili was probablycorrect body-contourinformation in the image. may well be the result of Greekinfluence,
in 1979, without realizingthe complex- A realistic three-dimensionalbody figure the custom may havebeen absorbedquite
ity of the issue. can be generated,but with a flattened readily into existing Jewishtraditions
To summarize the evidence for a areaovereach eye. There is a consensus and religious notions, without necessar-
coin-on-eyepractice at Jericho:(1)the amongvariousanalysts (Jackson,Jumper, ily bringinga paganaccretion. The ritual
passagefrom eye to skull is likely, and Stevenson 1978;Tamburelli1983; significance of closing the eyes of the
whereas from mouth to skull is highly Haralick 1983)on the interpretationof deceased is noted in the Bible (Genesis
unlikely; (2)passageinto or placement these flat areasas solid round objects- 46:4)and in the first/second-century
in the skull occurredtwice; (3)coins coins, potsherds,or disks. The "Filas Mishna (cited in Rahmani 1980).The
occur in a pair in two tombs but are not markings"are of secondaryimportance, use of coins for this purposemay have
found in the many other tombs excavated; in that the size and shape of the Pilate had a special significance, for instance in
(4)there is archaeologicalevidence of coin published by Filas (1982)does match raretypes of death, or may have occurred
coin-on-eyeburial in second-century the projectedobject. The letterlike more randomly,but there is no reason to
Judea;(5)there is an ancient Jewishreli- shapes that Filas and Haralickreadas posit automatically a belief in Charon.
gious tradition that would supportcover- "UCAI"are anomalous in the general Coins placed in the mouth, hand, or
ing the eyes with objects. image-on-weavepatternand occur in the pocket of early Christian burials were in-
correctposition on the projectionobject. tended as a tribute to St. Peter (Gennaro
The Coin-on-eyeBurialCustom The archaeologicalevidence from 1980:40);the Gates of Heavenhad re-
Informationgiven by Hachlili and Kille- Jericho,cEnBoqeq,and the shroudthus placed the River Styx!
brew of a burial at the fortress site of cEn presents a very strong case for the Another example of coin-in-mouth
Boqeqwith a coin (aroundA.D.133)on proposition that coin-on-eyeburial was burial in Asia serves to illustrate the per-
each eye socket is extremely important occasionally practicedby Jewsin the sistence of this custom with changing
and runs contraryto their argument.It first and second centuries A.D.in Judea. religious comnnotations. The Chinese
is a second-century-A.D. Judeanburial, This is a reasonablededuction but it is, have an ancient tradition of placing jade,
with a BarKokhbacoin (A.D.132-135) of course, not yet proven;however,un- precious metals or coins in the mouth
quite close by,and was possibly of a Jew. founded statements that "thiscustom and other orifices to preservethe body.
After noting that the excavatormain- existed only duringfairly recent times When southern Chinese began to prac-
tains it is impossible to determine the [amongJews]"(Hachlili and Killebrew tice secondaryburial (aroundA.D.500-
nationality or place of permanent resi- 1983: 151)and "nordoes such a custom 1000),the jade or coin-in-mouth custom
dence of the interred,why do the authors exist at the time [firstcentury A.D.]at all" was retained(andis still widely practiced)
then conclude that it is "highlydoubtful" (Rahmani1980: 197)do not contribute but with a new meaning-prosperity in
that the burial was Jewish?Surelythe to an understandingof the question. the afterlife.The coin-on-eyecustom is
presence of a coin from the BarKokhba Moody Smith'snotion that "onecould not reportedarchaeologicallyor histor-
revolt counts for something, as does the arguethat the coins [on the eyes] prove ically, but recent exhumations in a Hong
fact that rebels were active in the Judean the shroudto be a later fabrication" Kongcemetery revealedcoins of the
wilderness. The letters and documents (Smith 1983:254) is an example of con- 1950s on the eye sockets of two individ-
of BarKokhbawere found cached near voluted deduction from such statements. uals. Apparently,as in ancient Judea,the
En-gedi,just 30 kilometers north of cEn Hachlili and Killebrewassert that coin-on-eyecustom evolved as a minor
Boqeq. This region is also a traditional the practiceof coin-in-mouthburial did offshoot from the principaltradition.
place of refuge (Davidfrom Saul)and last rarelyappearamong Jewsbut cite no In sum, we may conclude that the
stand (Masada).cEnBoqeqalso lies south direct evidence for this apartfrom the evidence for coin-on-eyeburial among
of the zone aroundJerusalemexcluded Jerichocoins. The discoverythat they first-century-A.D. JudeanJewsis strong.
to Jewsfrom A.D.135-220; apparently mention of two coin-in-mouthburials The absence of final archaeologicalproof
there were second-centuryJewishsettle- (aroundA.D.117)at the NabateanArab may be partly accounted for by the rarity
ments in southern Judea.But, most im- site of Mampsis does, however,indicate of the practice and by the prevalenceof
portantly,the cEnBoqeqburial estab- that this custom was also practicedin secondaryburial duringwhich the coins
lishes that the coin-on-eyeritual was southern Judea,perhapsrarelyamong were removed.It seems likely to me that
found in second-centuryJudeaand could Jewsas well. The dating of archaeologi- such proofwill be forthcoming with the
thus have been practicedby Jewor Gen- cally identified burial rituals involving excavationof furtherprimaryinterments
tile, Christian or pagan. coins is tightly defined to the first and in Judea.But the precise significance of

58 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
this minor custom, and why it may have
been practicedin the burial of Christ,
will probablyremain unknown.
Bibliography
Bender,A. P
1894 Beliefs, Rites, and Customs of the
Jews,Connectedwith Death, Burial,
and Mourning.IV.Jewish Quarterly
Review 7: 101-18.
1895 Beliefs, Rites, and Customs of the
Jews,Connected with Death, Burial,
and Mourning.V.Jewish Quarterly
Review 7: 259-69.
Filas, F
1982 The Dating of the Shroudof Thrin
from Coins of Pontius Pilate, second
edition. Youngtown,AZ: Cogan.
Frazer,J.G.
1886 On Certain BurialCustoms as Illus-
trative of the Primitive Theory of
the Soul. The Journalof the Anthro-
pological Institute of Great Britain
and Ireland 15:64-104.
Gennaro,G.
1980 Lamoneta sull'occhioe la lettura
dell'iscrizione.Sindon 29: 38-43.
Hachlili, R.
1979 Ancient BurialCustoms Preservedin
JerichoHills. Biblical Archaeology
Review 5(4):28-35.
Hachlili, R., and Killebrew,A.
1983 Wasthe Coin-on-EyeCustom a
JewishBurialPracticein the Second
Temple Period?Biblical Archae-
ologist 46: 147-53.
Haralick,R. M.
1983 Analysis of Digital Images on the
Shroudof VA:
Turin.Blacksburg,
SpatialData Analysis Laboratory,
VirginiaPolytechnic Institute.
Jackson,J.,Jumper,E., Mottern,B., and
Stevenson,K., Jr.
1977 The Three-dimensionalImageon
Jesus'BurialCloth. Proceedingsof
the US Conferenceof Researchon
the Shroudof NY:
Turin.Bronx,
Holy ShroudGuild.
Jumper,E., Jackson,J.,and Stevenson,K., Jr.
1978 Imagesof a Coin on a BurialCloth?
The Numismatist 91: 1350-57.
Meacham,W
1983 The Authentication of the Turin
Shroud:An Issue in Archaeological
Epistemology.CurrentAnthropology
24: 283-295 and 305-311.
Rahmani,L. Y.
1980 The Shroudof Turin.Biblical
Archaeologist 43: 197.
Smith, D. M.
1983 Mark 15:46.The Shroudof Turinas
a Problemof History and Faith.
Biblical Archaeologist 46: 251-54.
Tamburelli,G.
1983 Comment. CurrentAnthropology
24: 302-04.
The Coin-in-Skull
Affazir:
A Rejoinder
by RachelHachliliand Ann Killebrew
n reply to William Meacham's nature of a preliminaryreport- and par-
comment on our article in number 3, ticularly of a popularaccount- is very
volume 46 of BA, we wish to make the generaland nontechnical, mentioning
following observations: only the highlights of the excavation.
Wewere quite surprisedby the mis- Thereforeit is usually written beforethe
understandingof the archaeologicaldata excavatorhas had sufficient time to re-
and the resulting misquotations appear- search every aspect of the results fully.
ing throughout Meacham'sarticle. In the Subsequentor final excavationreports
opening paragraphhe misquotes us by often correct and elaborateon points
saying that the custom was not usually first mentioned in the preliminaryre-
Cautionmustbe takenin drawingconclusions
frompreliminary reports.
part of the burial ritual. We would like to ports. The final reportof the Jericho
repeatthe concluding paragraphfromour Jewishcemetery,with detailed plans of
article in orderto clarify our position: each tomb and a full discussion of the
Wemay safelyconcludefromour dis-
finds accordingto tombs, togetherwith
cussionthatthe placementof coinsin- an anthropologicalreportof the human
side tombswas not usuallypartof the remains, has been completed and is lack-
burialritual,particularlyamongJews.... ing only the funds to publish the volume.
Thoughthe practiceof placingcoinsin The two coins found in a skull in
the mouth does sporadicallyappear,
more rarely among Jews,the placing of
tomb D/3 were discoveredduringthe
coins over the eyes is reportedin only processing and cleaning of the skull in
at the the Anatomical and Anthropological
one case, cEn Boqeq. Therefore,
claim that placing coins over the eyes Laboratoryof the TelAviv University.
was a common Jewish burial practice Regardingthe coins in tomb D/18, a
duringthe SecondTempleperiodcannot tomb of the coffin-burialtype, one of the
be substantiated either by the archae- coins was found in the debris of the
ological or literary evidence. (Hachlili entrance and one in a damagedskull (as
and Killebrew 1983b:152) originally reportedboth in Hachlili 1979
We agreethat Hachlili's first pre- and Hachlili and Killebrew 1983b).In all
liminary reportregardingthe interpreta- a total of 120 tombs were surveyed,and
tion of the two coins found in a skull of these 50 were excavated.A more care-
from tomb D/3 was unfortunatelymis-
ful readingand understandingof the
taken (Hachlili 1979:34). It must be 1979 and 1983 articles is suggestedto
pointed out, however,that this was a Mr. Meacham.
preliminaryreportwritten very shortly It is impossible for a coin to enter an
after the completion of the excavations intact skull, either through the orbit or
at the Jerichocemetery.In orderto make palate. As with the case of most ex-
the most recent archaeologicaldiscov- cavatedskulls, the skulls from Jericho
eries availableto the generalpublic, the were alwayspartly damaged,which could
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 59
this minor custom, and why it may have
been practicedin the burial of Christ,
will probablyremain unknown.
Bibliography
Bender,A. P
1894 Beliefs, Rites, and Customs of the
Jews,Connectedwith Death, Burial,
and Mourning.IV.Jewish Quarterly
Review 7: 101-18.
1895 Beliefs, Rites, and Customs of the
Jews,Connected with Death, Burial,
and Mourning.V.Jewish Quarterly
Review 7: 259-69.
Filas, F
1982 The Dating of the Shroudof Thrin
from Coins of Pontius Pilate, second
edition. Youngtown,AZ: Cogan.
Frazer,J.G.
1886 On Certain BurialCustoms as Illus-
trative of the Primitive Theory of
the Soul. The Journalof the Anthro-
pological Institute of Great Britain
and Ireland 15:64-104.
Gennaro,G.
1980 Lamoneta sull'occhioe la lettura
dell'iscrizione.Sindon 29: 38-43.
Hachlili, R.
1979 Ancient BurialCustoms Preservedin
JerichoHills. Biblical Archaeology
Review 5(4):28-35.
Hachlili, R., and Killebrew,A.
1983 Wasthe Coin-on-EyeCustom a
JewishBurialPracticein the Second
Temple Period?Biblical Archae-
ologist 46: 147-53.
Haralick,R. M.
1983 Analysis of Digital Images on the
Shroudof VA:
Turin.Blacksburg,
SpatialData Analysis Laboratory,
VirginiaPolytechnic Institute.
Jackson,J.,Jumper,E., Mottern,B., and
Stevenson,K., Jr.
1977 The Three-dimensionalImageon
Jesus'BurialCloth. Proceedingsof
the US Conferenceof Researchon
the Shroudof NY:
Turin.Bronx,
Holy ShroudGuild.
Jumper,E., Jackson,J.,and Stevenson,K., Jr.
1978 Imagesof a Coin on a BurialCloth?
The Numismatist 91: 1350-57.
Meacham,W
1983 The Authentication of the Turin
Shroud:An Issue in Archaeological
Epistemology.CurrentAnthropology
24: 283-295 and 305-311.
Rahmani,L. Y.
1980 The Shroudof Turin.Biblical
Archaeologist 43: 197.
Smith, D. M.
1983 Mark 15:46.The Shroudof Turinas
a Problemof History and Faith.
Biblical Archaeologist 46: 251-54.
Tamburelli,G.
1983 Comment. CurrentAnthropology
24: 302-04.
The Coin-in-Skull
Affazir:
A Rejoinder
by RachelHachliliand Ann Killebrew
n reply to William Meacham's nature of a preliminaryreport- and par-
comment on our article in number 3, ticularly of a popularaccount- is very
volume 46 of BA, we wish to make the generaland nontechnical, mentioning
following observations: only the highlights of the excavation.
Wewere quite surprisedby the mis- Thereforeit is usually written beforethe
understandingof the archaeologicaldata excavatorhas had sufficient time to re-
and the resulting misquotations appear- search every aspect of the results fully.
ing throughout Meacham'sarticle. In the Subsequentor final excavationreports
opening paragraphhe misquotes us by often correct and elaborateon points
saying that the custom was not usually first mentioned in the preliminaryre-
Cautionmustbe takenin drawingconclusions
frompreliminary reports.
part of the burial ritual. We would like to ports. The final reportof the Jericho
repeatthe concluding paragraphfromour Jewishcemetery,with detailed plans of
article in orderto clarify our position: each tomb and a full discussion of the
Wemay safelyconcludefromour dis-
finds accordingto tombs, togetherwith
cussionthatthe placementof coinsin- an anthropologicalreportof the human
side tombswas not usuallypartof the remains, has been completed and is lack-
burialritual,particularlyamongJews.... ing only the funds to publish the volume.
Thoughthe practiceof placingcoinsin The two coins found in a skull in
the mouth does sporadicallyappear,
more rarely among Jews,the placing of
tomb D/3 were discoveredduringthe
coins over the eyes is reportedin only processing and cleaning of the skull in
at the the Anatomical and Anthropological
one case, cEn Boqeq. Therefore,
claim that placing coins over the eyes Laboratoryof the TelAviv University.
was a common Jewish burial practice Regardingthe coins in tomb D/18, a
duringthe SecondTempleperiodcannot tomb of the coffin-burialtype, one of the
be substantiated either by the archae- coins was found in the debris of the
ological or literary evidence. (Hachlili entrance and one in a damagedskull (as
and Killebrew 1983b:152) originally reportedboth in Hachlili 1979
We agreethat Hachlili's first pre- and Hachlili and Killebrew 1983b).In all
liminary reportregardingthe interpreta- a total of 120 tombs were surveyed,and
tion of the two coins found in a skull of these 50 were excavated.A more care-
from tomb D/3 was unfortunatelymis-
ful readingand understandingof the
taken (Hachlili 1979:34). It must be 1979 and 1983 articles is suggestedto
pointed out, however,that this was a Mr. Meacham.
preliminaryreportwritten very shortly It is impossible for a coin to enter an
after the completion of the excavations intact skull, either through the orbit or
at the Jerichocemetery.In orderto make palate. As with the case of most ex-
the most recent archaeologicaldiscov- cavatedskulls, the skulls from Jericho
eries availableto the generalpublic, the were alwayspartly damaged,which could
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 59
allow coins to enter from any part of the
skull (fora preliminaryreporton the "Whose Likeness and
anthropologicaldatafrom the Jericho
Jewishcemetery, see Arensburgand
Smith 1983: 135-139, figures 1-9). The Inscription Is This?" (Mark 12:16)
main reason why the appearanceof the
two cases of coins in skulls was ex- by L. Y Rahmani
plained as coins placed in the mouth is
because this custom is well known in the I n respect to William Meacham's Leavingaside for the moment all
Hellenistic world (Kurtzand Boardman comment on the article by Hachlili questions pertainingto the antiquity of
1971:211;Toynbee1971:49, 119, 124, and Killebrew,some short remarksare this shroud (perhapseventually to be
291, and note 16).During this period, called for. provedby C-14tests), the identification
many Jewswere influenced by the Hel- One notes with satisfaction the (I of the said spots as coins, and in par-
lenistic culture surroundingthem and hope final) abandonmentof the belief in ticular as those of Pilate (forthe doubt-
they on occasion adoptedHellenistic an ancient Jewishburial custom of cov- fulness of such an identification see
practices and customs (Hachlili and ering the eyes of the deceased with any Wild 1984:44-45), and accepting, for
Killebrew 1983a: 127 and 128).Needless objects at all and specifically with coins. argument'ssake, such identification as
to say,Jewswho adoptedsuch customs Concerning the still-maintained suggestedby Filas and Meacham,one
did not necessarily accept the pagan belief that coveringthe eyes of the de- finds oneself confrontedby the following
significance of such practices. ceased with coins might have been a question: Is it plausible that two strictly
As the religious beliefs of the propo- minor custom or rare custom practiced observantand pious Jews,both members
nents of the coin-on-eyecustom play a on occasion by Jewsof the first or second of the Sanhedrin- Josephof Arimathea
strongpart in their insistence for the centuries A.D.in Judea,Meachampro- and the Pharisee Nicodemus (Luke
existence of this custom among Jews duces now three discoveries.These are, 23:50;Mark 15:43;John3:1 and 7:50)-
duringthe Second Templeperiod, it is in chronologicalorder,as follows: together with Christ'sown relatives and
doubtfulwhether anyargumentor further The Jerichotombs (Hachlili and Kille- disciples, would include in a pious
evidence will convince them otherwise. brew 1983: 148).Concerningthese, I find burial, undertaken"inthe manner of the
Basedon our thoroughexamination of myself in agreementwith Meachamon Jews"(John19:40),an obscure foreign
the published archaeologicalevidence one point only-namely that the publi- practice?Moreover,in orderto do so,
from Jewishburials in Israel (Hachlili cation of a detailed andfully documented would these good Jewscover the eyes of a
and Killebrew 1983b),the only two in- reportshould have precededany discus- Jewwho had just been put to death by
tances of coins in the skull were found sion and drawingof conclusions about the Romans in a most cruel manner
in the JerichoJewishcemetery.Wewish the significance of certain details of with coins minted by the Romanpro-
to restate clearly that there is no archae- these discoveries.Answers to this ques- curatorwho had orderedthis execution,
ological or literary evidence for the prac- tion and all other matters concerned coins carryingthe name of the emperor
tice of placing coins overthe eyes among with these tombs are thus left to the Tiberius, in whose name such a death
Jewsduringthe Second Templeperiod. excavators. sentence had been pronouncedand
Preliminaryto this, however,I would whose name appearsoverthe emblem of
Bibliography like to point to the well-known intrusive the lituus, the Roman auguralstaff-a
Arensburg,B., and Smith, P. nature of small objects into ancient paganemblem which surely was irritat-
1983 Appendix:The JewishPopulationof tombs or caves of any characterand the ing and offensive to Jerusalem'sJewsof
Jericho100 B.C.-70A.D. Palestine furthermoving of such objects inside the day (Meshorer1982: 180)?
ExplorationQuarterly115:133-139. such spaces, all through the action of I suggest that using such coins in
Hachlili, R. small rodents or flooding by rainwater. daily business and using them to pay
1979 Ancient BurialCustoms Preservedin This is especially true when one is deal- "Caesar'stribute"(Mark12:17)was an
JerichoHills. Biblical Archaeology ing with a large amount of collected inevitable necessity of life; howeverto
Review 5(4):28-35. as is the case in the communal use them in the manner suggestedby
bones,
Hachlili, R., and Killebrew,A.
1983a JewishFuneraryCustoms duringthe charnel of tomb D/3 at Jericho,where Filas and Meacham is neither necessary
SecondTemplein Light of the Ex- the foramenmagnum of each skull was nor, indeed, likely.
cavationsat the JerichoNecropolis. open to such intrusive objects.It is even The cEnBoqeq interment (Gichon
Palestine ExplorationQuarterly115: more true when such an object is found 1970:139).This interment had indeed a
109-132. in the debrisof a tomb'sentrance- for BarKokhbacoin in the soil of its vicinity,
1983b Wasthe Coin-on-EyeCustom a instance tomb D/18. though not actually found in context of
JewishBurialPracticein the Second The shroudfigure.Meacham and others the burial itself. It can thus not serve in
TemplePeriod?Biblical Archae- wish to identify this figure as that of any way to determine the identity of the
ologist 46: 147-153. Christ, and some (forinstance Filas deceased or his nationality or religion.
Kurtz,D. C., and Boardman,J. Two silver denarii, which were found
1971 GreekBurial Customs. London: 1982)see it as having its eyes coveredby
Thames and Hudson. images, identified as unique specimens near the skull and at the height of its eye
Toynbee,J.M. C. of coins minted by Pontius Pilate in the sockets, carryingthe portraitand name
1971 Death and Burialin the Roman name of the EmperorTiberius in the of the RomanemperorHadrianand
World.London:Thames andHudson. year A.D. 29. dated to around A.D. 133, may hint at one

60 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986

allow coins to enter from any part of the
skull (fora preliminaryreporton the "Whose Likeness and
anthropologicaldatafrom the Jericho
Jewishcemetery, see Arensburgand
Smith 1983: 135-139, figures 1-9). The Inscription Is This?" (Mark 12:16)
main reason why the appearanceof the
two cases of coins in skulls was ex- by L. Y Rahmani
plained as coins placed in the mouth is
because this custom is well known in the I n respect to William Meacham's Leavingaside for the moment all
Hellenistic world (Kurtzand Boardman comment on the article by Hachlili questions pertainingto the antiquity of
1971:211;Toynbee1971:49, 119, 124, and Killebrew,some short remarksare this shroud (perhapseventually to be
291, and note 16).During this period, called for. provedby C-14tests), the identification
many Jewswere influenced by the Hel- One notes with satisfaction the (I of the said spots as coins, and in par-
lenistic culture surroundingthem and hope final) abandonmentof the belief in ticular as those of Pilate (forthe doubt-
they on occasion adoptedHellenistic an ancient Jewishburial custom of cov- fulness of such an identification see
practices and customs (Hachlili and ering the eyes of the deceased with any Wild 1984:44-45), and accepting, for
Killebrew 1983a: 127 and 128).Needless objects at all and specifically with coins. argument'ssake, such identification as
to say,Jewswho adoptedsuch customs Concerning the still-maintained suggestedby Filas and Meacham,one
did not necessarily accept the pagan belief that coveringthe eyes of the de- finds oneself confrontedby the following
significance of such practices. ceased with coins might have been a question: Is it plausible that two strictly
As the religious beliefs of the propo- minor custom or rare custom practiced observantand pious Jews,both members
nents of the coin-on-eyecustom play a on occasion by Jewsof the first or second of the Sanhedrin- Josephof Arimathea
strongpart in their insistence for the centuries A.D.in Judea,Meachampro- and the Pharisee Nicodemus (Luke
existence of this custom among Jews duces now three discoveries.These are, 23:50;Mark 15:43;John3:1 and 7:50)-
duringthe Second Templeperiod, it is in chronologicalorder,as follows: together with Christ'sown relatives and
doubtfulwhether anyargumentor further The Jerichotombs (Hachlili and Kille- disciples, would include in a pious
evidence will convince them otherwise. brew 1983: 148).Concerningthese, I find burial, undertaken"inthe manner of the
Basedon our thoroughexamination of myself in agreementwith Meachamon Jews"(John19:40),an obscure foreign
the published archaeologicalevidence one point only-namely that the publi- practice?Moreover,in orderto do so,
from Jewishburials in Israel (Hachlili cation of a detailed andfully documented would these good Jewscover the eyes of a
and Killebrew 1983b),the only two in- reportshould have precededany discus- Jewwho had just been put to death by
tances of coins in the skull were found sion and drawingof conclusions about the Romans in a most cruel manner
in the JerichoJewishcemetery.Wewish the significance of certain details of with coins minted by the Romanpro-
to restate clearly that there is no archae- these discoveries.Answers to this ques- curatorwho had orderedthis execution,
ological or literary evidence for the prac- tion and all other matters concerned coins carryingthe name of the emperor
tice of placing coins overthe eyes among with these tombs are thus left to the Tiberius, in whose name such a death
Jewsduringthe Second Templeperiod. excavators. sentence had been pronouncedand
Preliminaryto this, however,I would whose name appearsoverthe emblem of
Bibliography like to point to the well-known intrusive the lituus, the Roman auguralstaff-a
Arensburg,B., and Smith, P. nature of small objects into ancient paganemblem which surely was irritat-
1983 Appendix:The JewishPopulationof tombs or caves of any characterand the ing and offensive to Jerusalem'sJewsof
Jericho100 B.C.-70A.D. Palestine furthermoving of such objects inside the day (Meshorer1982: 180)?
ExplorationQuarterly115:133-139. such spaces, all through the action of I suggest that using such coins in
Hachlili, R. small rodents or flooding by rainwater. daily business and using them to pay
1979 Ancient BurialCustoms Preservedin This is especially true when one is deal- "Caesar'stribute"(Mark12:17)was an
JerichoHills. Biblical Archaeology ing with a large amount of collected inevitable necessity of life; howeverto
Review 5(4):28-35. as is the case in the communal use them in the manner suggestedby
bones,
Hachlili, R., and Killebrew,A.
1983a JewishFuneraryCustoms duringthe charnel of tomb D/3 at Jericho,where Filas and Meacham is neither necessary
SecondTemplein Light of the Ex- the foramenmagnum of each skull was nor, indeed, likely.
cavationsat the JerichoNecropolis. open to such intrusive objects.It is even The cEnBoqeq interment (Gichon
Palestine ExplorationQuarterly115: more true when such an object is found 1970:139).This interment had indeed a
109-132. in the debrisof a tomb'sentrance- for BarKokhbacoin in the soil of its vicinity,
1983b Wasthe Coin-on-EyeCustom a instance tomb D/18. though not actually found in context of
JewishBurialPracticein the Second The shroudfigure.Meacham and others the burial itself. It can thus not serve in
TemplePeriod?Biblical Archae- wish to identify this figure as that of any way to determine the identity of the
ologist 46: 147-153. Christ, and some (forinstance Filas deceased or his nationality or religion.
Kurtz,D. C., and Boardman,J. Two silver denarii, which were found
1971 GreekBurial Customs. London: 1982)see it as having its eyes coveredby
Thames and Hudson. images, identified as unique specimens near the skull and at the height of its eye
Toynbee,J.M. C. of coins minted by Pontius Pilate in the sockets, carryingthe portraitand name
1971 Death and Burialin the Roman name of the EmperorTiberius in the of the RomanemperorHadrianand
World.London:Thames andHudson. year A.D. 29. dated to around A.D. 133, may hint at one

60 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH 1986

fact only: that this is not the burial of a
Jew.Here again I consider it practically
impossible that duringor afterthe Bar
Kokhbawar any Jews,even those who
wished to include in their burial rites
this obscure foreignpractice of covering
the eyes of the deceased with coins,
would have used coins carryingthe face
of Hadrianand his name-which became
in Jewishlore from that time on a byword
for cruelty,eventually to be accompanied
by epithets like "mayhis bones rot"or
simply "wicked."
Conclusion
In the political, religious, and psycholog-
ical situation in which the Jewishpopu-
lation of Judeafound itself both under
the Romanprocuratorsand duringand
immediately after the BarKokhbawar,
the Jewsdid have to use coins minted by
the hated Roman enemy in tradeand to
"renderto Caesarthe things that are
Caesar's"(Mark12:17).Use of such coins
in Jewishburial (evenif one accepts that
such an un-Jewishpractice might have
been used in some isolated cases in
Jewishburial)must howeverbe ruled
out: In no human society will people use
an enemy's"likeness and inscription"in
rites intended to serve, honor, or protect
their beloved dead.
Thus, in the above-mentionedthird
case we are not concerned with a Jewish
burial. Nor, for all that, are we in the
second case, even if it is assumed that
the shroud'santiquity is definite and
that the spots in question are images of
coins minted by Pontius Pilate.
Bibliography
Filas, F.L.
1982 The Dating of the Shroudof Tlrin
from Coins of Pontius Pilate, second
edition. Youngtown,AZ: Cogan
ProductionsDivision.
Gichon, M.
1970 Excavationsat cEnBoqeq.
Qadmoniot 12: 138-41 (Hebrew).
Hachlili, R., and Killebrew,A.
1983 Wasthe Coin-on-EyeCustom a
JewishBurialPracticein the Second
TemplePeriod?Biblical Archae-
ologist 46: 147-53.
Meshorer,Y.
1982 Ancient Jewish Coinage:VolumeII:
Herodthe GreatthroughBar
Cochba. New York:AmphoraBooks.
Wild, R. A.
1984 The Shroudof Turin,Probablythe
Workof a 14th Century Artist or
Forger.Biblical ArchaeologyReview
10(2):30-46.
Ancient Myths and Biblical Faith:Scrip-
tural by FosterR.
Transformations,
McCurley, xiii + 192 pp. Philadelphia:
Fortress Press, 1983; $11.95 (Paper).
In early as well as in late antiquity,the
majorityof people in the western Medi-
terraneanand Syria-Palestineassumed
that both a heavenly and earthly reality
existed and that these realities were
interdependent.Eventsin the earthly
reality correspondedto events in the
heavenly one, or could be an effect of
heavenly causes; through magic, human
inhabitants of the earthly reality could
affect inhabitants of the heavenly one.
Man'sexplanations of the existence of
these heavenly and earthly realities and
the way they appearedin natural or
historical events were myth. Within the
ancient Near East, three distinctive
bodies of myth developedthat, as direct
and indirect evidence suggests, were
known in some form by the Yahwistic
theologians of the IronAge and by the
early Christians of late antiquity: Egyp-
tian, Mesopotamian,and Canaanite.
It is thereforeneither surprisingnor
unexpectedto discovermany direct
referencesand allusions to these myths
within the variegatedcollection of
writings from early and late antiquity
identified as Scripture.In the Hebrew
and Greek scriptures,the myths no
longer explicate or clarify the universe
presupposedby the mythmakers.The
biblical writers- I use this term for the
sake of convenience, fully awareof the
complexities that it intimates-did not
assume a necessary and automatic nexus
between the two realities. Thus, the god
was not bound by or to naturalphe-
nomena; quite the contrary,not only did
he control them but he also determined
their nature.Man could not manipulate
the god through magic.
The question that McCurley sets out
to study in this interesting volume is
how first Israelites and then Christians
were able to express their perceptionof
reality when the conventional language
and metaphorsof god-talkwere drawn
from the mythmakers.The answerthat
he suggests is that they transformedthe
old by filling it with new meaning, either
subtly by controlling the context of the
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
referenceor obviously by ascribingto
either YHWHor Jesusthat which the
mythmakersin their god-talkascribedto
other named forces.
After a brief introduction setting forth
his thesis, McCurley studies three con-
ceptions in their ancient Near Eastern
mythical expressions,and then in their
Old Testamentand New Testamenttrans-
formations:orderversus chaos (chapters
1-3), divine and human sexuality (chap-
ters 4-6), and the quality of the sacred
mountain (chapters7-9). A brief unit
entitled "Summaryand Some Implica-
tions forthe Church"concludes the book.
The richest concept discussed by
McCurley,and the paradeexample for
the thesis that he presents, is that of
orderversus chaos. After showing the
variousways in which this abstract
notion was expressedin the myths of
Marduk-Tiamat,Re-Apophis,and Baal-
Yamm,Lotan,Shalyat,he discusses their
transformations.In the HebrewBible,
Leviathan,Lotan,Rahab,and Yammare
chaotic forces that YHWHdefeats, sub-
dues, or rebukes.These are never serious
forces that could actually cause chaos,
because by and largethe world was con-
ceived by Israelites as an orderlyplace.
The referencesto these transformed
chaos figuresdo, however,help to develop
the notion of YHWHthe champion,
YHWHthe warrior.These figures also
are importantin Israelite conceptions of
historical experiences and eschatological
expressions. Similarly,in the New Testa-
ment, Jesusrebukesthe sea and walks
on its waves;he rebukesunclean spirits.
Among the enemies in the final battle of
the book of Revelation,a seven-headed
creatureis found (12:3);and as part of
the dawn of the new age, the sea is no
more (12:1).
Throughouthis analyses, the author is
meticulous in his attention to the con-
texts in which the transformedallusions
occur. Thus, his work presents some
new exegetical insights that augment the
kerygmaticcontent of stories such as
those of Jesusand the Sea of Galilee in
Mark4:35-41 and 6:19 mentioned above.
McCurley'sdiscussions of the second
concept are much less conclusive. Since
YHWHis never describedin terms of
sex, as distinct from grammaticalgender,
and Jesus,although a male, is never
describedas being sexually active, the
author is forcedinto somewhat trendy
exegesis in orderto graspthe significance
of the transformationsfrom sexually
61
active gods. Thus, he interpretsmarriage critical scholarship,the second section much earlierin 1895when Zionist ac-
metaphorsand referencesto YHWHas exploresthe Holy Landthroughthe guise tivists beganpressing British politicians
father and husband as being sexual of five suggesteditineraries:the King's towardthe recognition of a Jewishstate
(pages91-98), even though within the Highwayto Petra;Gilead, Bashan,and in a British-heldNear Easternterritory.
Israelitemilieu and within their con- the Decapolis; Jerusalemand vicinity, Finally,the twenty-fiveblack-and-white
texts they are essentially legal. He inter- whose discussion continues in the third photographsthat are dispersedthrough-
prets Genesis 1:27to mean that Elohim section; the southern hill country,Negev, out the volume could be of better quality
is describedas "bisexual"(page99). (Did and Dead Sea Valley;and the northern and scope.
he perhapsintend "hermaphrodite"?) By hill country,Mediterraneancoast, and In conclusion, Miller'sguide to the
restrictinghis basic myths to those of Galilee. The third section is intended for geographyand history of the Holy Land
the ancient Near East, McCurleyis able supplemental readingand on-the-spot has succeeded, though less than ad-
to conclude that the use of the Holy reference;it includes a history of the mirably.A non-evangelicalChristian
Spiritremovesthe accounts of the birth Holy Landin outline, glossary of terms, audience would benefit more from Zev
of Jesusin Matthew and Lukefrom charts, suggestions for furtherreading, Vilnay'sThe Guide to Israel (Jerusalem,
mythological tendencies (page106).Had and so on. There is a three-pageindex 1983),which, however,does not treat the
McCurleyconsideredcontemporary listing the places mentioned in the itin- Holy Land"beyondthe Jordan." Guide-
myths from the Hellenistic milieu, I am eraries.Writingin a lucid style, the books, like the discipline of Palestinian
not sure that he would have reachedthis author handles his subject matter with archaeologyitself, reflect the pre-
conclusion. precision, and demonstratesgood knowl- suppositions of their authors and the
Ancient Myths and Biblical Faith is edge of the sources involved.Thirty-one restrictions of contemporarypolitics.
clearly intended for a popularaudience. maps, substantial chronologicalcharts
It breakslittle new ground,contains but of people, places, and events, and illus- Zev Garber
twenty-sevennotes, and refersto only a trations contribute to the usefulness of Los Angeles ValleyCollege
few secondarysources from which its the text for the first-timevisitor to the
conceptual frameworkand much of the Holy Land. American Archaeologyin the Mideast:
datawere derived.It is also clearly and The strength of this book undoubtedly A History of the American Schools of
well written, containing much interest- lies in the same areawhere its weak- Oriental Research,by Philip J.King,xv
ing and stimulating material within its nesses become apparent:It does not aim + 292 pp. Philadelphia: The American
pages. to coverall aspects and expressions of Schools of Oriental Research, 1983;
life in the Holy Land.The text is mainly $15.00 (Hardcover).
Ziony Zevit expository and positive, yet more often
The University of Judaism than not its citations from the Bible and In 1975 The American Schools of Ori-
extrabiblicalmaterial need additional ental Research(ASOR)celebratedits
commentary to explain and supplement. seventy-fifthanniversary.The need for a
Introducingthe Holy Land,by Max Forexample, YigaelYadin'sacquisition modern surveyof American archaeology
Miller, x + 189 pp. Macon, Georgia: of the Temple Scroll was in 1967 shortly in the Middle East was recognized,and
MercerUniversity Press, 1982; $13.95 afterthe Six-DayWar,but his knowledge the anniversarywas deemed a suitable
(Cloth). of the scroll'sexistence goes back to the occasion for such a study.In consequence,
early 1960s (see Yadin'sprefaceto his a history of ASORwas commissioned.
Most guidebooksto the Holy Landfall The TempleScroll [Hebrewedition; This book is the result.
into one of three categories:those that Jerusalem,1977]andASOR Newsletter, The author,a pastpresidentof ASOR,
are history-orientedand scholarly;those number 7, November 13, 1967).Again, has written an interesting and anecdotal
that are semipopularand journalistic,in quoting uncritically Eusebius'Ecclesi- account of American archaeologyin the
the best sense of the term; and those astical History,book 3, chapter5, leaves Mideast. King focuses on ASOR,describ-
that are concernedwith stretchingyour the targetedaudience with the impres- ing the birth, growth, and change of the
dollar and day to the fullest return, sion that the wickedness of the Jews organizationin its 80-yearhistory,and
which areunclassifiable. The guide caused crimes againstChrist and his ending his account, for all practicalpur-
under review,initially a series of type- apostles, which led to the divine justice poses, in 1980. The book correctlybegins
script printouts for the use of Christian of the total destruction of the Jerusalem with EdwardRobinson, showing the
tour groups (seminaryand lay) to Israel Templeand the removalof the "whole stronginfluence of biblical studies on the
and Jordan,is definitely not of the third generationof evildoers from the earth" early explorersof nineteenth-century
variety;it is, however,a mergerof the in 70 C.E.And Eleazar'sspeech to the Palestine. King points out the strong
first two categories. zealots at Masadais viewed by many as linkage of the Bible and archaeologyin
The book is divided into three sections. historiosophyvia Josephusand not fac- the societies that sprangup duringthe
The first providesbackgroundinforma- tual historicity as Miller suggests. later part of the century to explore the
tion on the Holy Landin the context of Furthermore,Miller occasionally "landof the Bible."This influence is clear
history,from its earliest referencesdown treats disputed issues gingerly,even in ASOR'soriginal agendawith its strong
to present-dayboundariesand disputes superficially.Thus, the British-Jewish biblical orientation. Biblical scholars
between Israelis and Arabs.After a understandingthat led to the birth of the formeda majority of ASOR'sfirst leaders,
number of general discussions about the State of Israeldid not begin in 1917with and this close connection has continued.
need for a balance between tradition and the BalfourDeclaration, as he avers,but Having detailed the ancestry of

62 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
ASOR, Kingthen turns to the vast num-
ber of projectsit has sponsoredover its
history. Among the people connected
with these are archaeologists,biblical
scholars,and folklorists. King is well
awareof the impact of political turmoil
upon the work of ASOR. Despite its
international nature, ASOR has often
been constrainedin researchby the
shifting political arrangementsof the
various Middle Easternstates. ASOR's
currenthands-offpolicy regardingthe
WestBank is a prime example. In the
course of the survey,nearly all of ASOR's
majorarchaeologicalprojects are men-
tioned, and much non-ASOR,even non-
American, work is touched on. King
stresses that ASORhas not functioned
in a vacuum. He devotes space to Kath-
leen Kenyonof England,Rolandde Vaux
of France,and particularlythe Israelis.
King surveysthe Baghdadschool, a well-
needed reminder to Syria/Palestinespe-
cialists that ASOR'sinterests are not
always coterminous with theirs. Joining
the first center in Jerusalem,now called
the W.F.Albright Institute of Archae-
ological Research(AIAR),new centers in
Amman, the American Center of Orien-
tal Research(ACOR),and Nicosia, the
CyprusAmerican ArchaeologicalRe-
search Institute (CAARI),point to the
continued vitality of ASOR.A good case
is made for long-termdirectorshipsat the
various schools, in light of the success of
William E Albright, Nelson Glueck,
Paul Lapp,William Dever, and James
Sauer.In concluding his study,the author
touches on the current"biblicalarchae-
ology"debate. Lists of the presidents of
ASOR, school directors,and institution-
al members are found in the appendices.
Also included are sample exam ques-
tions for the Thayerfellowship from
1906. They are an interesting comment
on the breadthof knowledge expected at
that time of an ASOR Fellow.
This is not a critical history of Amer-
ican archaeologyin the Mideast. Impor-
tant aspects of that history are glossed
overby the concentration on ASOR.
Changes in other fields, such as anthro-
pology and theology, which affectedar-
chaeology in the Mideast, are ignored.A
majorweakness is the lack of a serious
examination of problems of theory and
method. Thus, the techniques practiced
by the various excavatorsare too often
treatedonly superficially.The appraisal
of Clarence Fisher'swork, for example,
is misleading. Kingpresents Fisheras
carryingon the work of G. A. Reisner. prise a largepart of the New Testament,
Although Fisherworkedwith Reisner, but Paul is also the leading characterin
Reisner'srevolutionaryfocus on debris the book of Acts, the first attempt to re-
formation was not an essential element count the early growth of the church.
of Fisher'swork at Beth Shan or else- Paul also appearsas the theologian par
where. Reisner considereda tell to be excellence, the one man who gave defini-
the productof human activity, which tive shape to the developingChristian
could best be understoodby analyzing tradition in the years after Jesus'death. It
the nature of the various deposits mak- is difficult to tell the story of early
ing it up- fills, erosional deposition, Christian history without making Paul
dumps, and so on. In contrast, Fishersaw the hero. The present work challenges
a tell as a series of architecturalphases, the view that Paul was the paramount
and focused on the recoveryof complete force shapingthe mainstream of early
plans of separatephases. This approach Christian life.
kept debris studies in an infancy.Fisher's Few scholars would dispute Paul's
dominance of American archaeologyin importancein the first century or his
Palestine resulted in Reisner'swork be- influence in later centuries, but it is
ing ignoreduntil the 1970s. As for King's only as New Testamentscholarshiphas
short discussion of the current debateon matured and developedthe techniques
biblical archaeologyit misses the water- to readthe other documents of the New
shed nature of the changes in archae- Testament (particularlythe gospels) as
ological theory and method. Questions reflections of the life and thinking of the
of chronologyand history,the focus of communities in which they were written
biblical archaeology,areperipheralto that it has become possible to describe
the anthropologicalorientation of Syro- the early history of the Christian move-
Palestinianarchaeology.Unless both ar- ment with greaterconcreteness,particu-
chaeologists and biblical scholars are larly in terms of cities and locales.
tolerant of the legitimate interests of The work under review is just such
each other, the new nonbiblical orienta- an attempt, and it succeeds ratherwell
tion of archaeologycould split ASOR.If under the severe limitations that sources
schism is not to occur, archaeologists impose on any effort at reconstruction.
must make the new results understand- What the two authors have done-the
able to the biblically oriented scholars inone (Brown)a professorat Union Theo-
ASOR. logical Seminaryin New YorkCity and
Despite these weaknesses, King's the other (Meier)a professorand chair-
study fills a majorgap in the field. This man of The ScriptureDepartment of St.
is a worthypaean to a vital and changing Joseph'sSeminary (Dunwoodie)in
organization.If ASORis to continue to Yonkers,New York-is to narratethe
grow,the strengths of its past, particular- developmentof the Christian tradition
ly its internationalism and its commit- from its beginning in two majorcities of
ment to a broadrangeof interests, must the RomanEmpire-Antioch in Syria
be retained.This study should help. and the imperial capital, Rome. Manyof
their conclusions are necessarily tenta-
Thomas W.Davis tive, yet their overallpoint is suggestive:
University of Arizona that in these two cities it was not Paul's
views that carriedthe day but a less radi-
Antioch and Rome. New cal outlook that showedgreaterappre-
Testament
Cradlesof Christianity,by Raymond E. ciation for the Jewishroots of Christian-
Brown and JohnP Meier, 242 pp. New ity and might best be associated with
York:Paulist Press, 1983; $4.95 (Paper). the name of Peter.
In the earliest stages Christians in
The figure of Paul of Tarsuslooms so the two communities requiredgentile
largein the New Testamentthat the convertsto keep some of the Jewishob-
earliest history of Christianity appearsto servances,though they did not insist on
conform to the contours of his biography. circumcision. This contrasts with the
ManyBibles conveniently display three stricterJewishChristians on the one
or four pages of maps at the end of the hand, who insisted on full observanceof
text chartingPaul'smissionary journeys, the Jewishlaw and those Christians,on
suggesting that the spreadof the early the other,who saw no value in Jewish
Christian movement followed his itiner- customs and practices.ForAntioch,
ary.Not only do the letters of Paul com- Meier drawson the Gospel accordingto
BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986 63
Matthew,which he, like many other
scholars,thinks was written in Antioch.
ForRome, Brownbuilds his case on the
close ties he sees between the Jewsof
Rome and Jerusalempriorto the emer-
gence of Christianity;on the way Paul
presents his case to the Jewsthere in the
book of Romans (forexample, he recog-
nizes that the RomanChristians, in con-
trast to the Galatians,had receivedfrom
others a valid form of the gospel);on the
book of Hebrews,which he believes de-
rives from Rome;and on evidence in
other writings associated with Rome, for
example 1 Peter.Browneven finds con-
firmation in the fourth-centuryChris-
tian authorAmbrosiaster,who reports
that the Romans"receivedthe faith al-
though with a Jewishbent."
The obvious difficulty with these
views, a difficulty that attends any effort
to reconstructearly Christian history,
not just that of Brownand Meier, is that
they requireassent to so many details of
interpretation,each building on the
other and many open to dispute, that the
presumedcumulative effect of the evi-
dence is not as persuasiveas it appears.
Much of the argumentrests on supposed
ideological differencesamong different
groups,a fragilebase on which to con-
struct the history of communities. There
is little external evidence to supportthe
proposals,though the authors do try to
exploit what is available.In places, terms
are used anachronistically,for example,
"orthodoxy" for Paul,"anti-Semitism"for
Cicero, and "liberal"for a groupof elite
leadersin Jerusalem.
YetI came awayfrom the book with
a renewedawarenessof the significance
of the non-Paulinetraditions in early
Christianity and the sense that Meier
and Brownhad made some very reason-
able suggestions. Their overallargument
merits consideration and is worth pur-
suing further.This is a serious and
thoughtful book, and the authors know
full well the difficulties of their under-
taking. They are awareof their presup-
positions and are self-critical.Yetthey
are willing to offer an interpretationof
the whole, to synthesize the work of dif-
ferent scholars, and to offer a fresh way
of looking at the emergence of the early
Christian movement. The book will be
of value to scholars but it is written with
a generalreaderin mind.
RobertL. Wilken
The University of Notre Dame
64 BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST/MARCH1986
BOOK PUBLISHERS
Please send all review copies to:
Dr. Peter B. Machinist
Department of Oriental Studies
The University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona 85721
In the Next BA
The
Chalcolithic Period
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First in a new series
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 Let Pictorial Archive Bring You the Bible Lands
Pictorial Archive materials are designed to complement individual or group (classroom) Bible study. The following
lists only a few of the more than forty items that are available. For more information, see future issues of BA or write
to us at the ASOR Publications Office, P.O. Box H.M., Duke Station, Durham, NC 27706.

Student Map Manual: Historical Geography of the Bible Lands

This unique Bible atlas contains 111maps of the Levant done in contour-based relief-shading. It features extensive
cross-referencing (to the Bible; to historical sources; to the Encyclopediaof Excavation in the Holy Land; to the
MacmillanBibleAtlas, recently republished by George Allen and Unwin as the Modemrn BibleAtlas; to Israel/Palestine
grid references; and to the extensive visual material of Pictorial Archive), many helpful indexes, including one that
summarizesthe occupational history of each site, and indications of communication and road systems. Contents: 1.
Regional maps (17 maps), 2. Archaeology (10 maps covering Chalcolithic through Late Roman and Byzantine
periods), 3. Canaanite period (1 map covering Early Bronze), 4. Canaanite period (9 maps covering Middle/Late
Bronze), 5. Israelite Conquest (6 maps), 6. Settlement and Judges (7 maps), 7. Samuel and the United Monarchy (7
maps), 8. Divided Kingdom "A"'(8 maps), 9. Divided Kingdom "B"(7 maps), 10. Persian period (2 maps), 11.
HellenisticlHasmonean period (13 maps), 12. Herodian period (13 maps), 13. Late Roman and Byzantine periods (5
maps), 14. Archaeology of Jerusalem (4 maps), 15. Indexes. Plus map presenting Israel/Palestine grid references and
map of Sinai.
In order to present as many maps as possible in this atlas, there are no photographs and text has been held to a
minimum. However, the atlas can be supplemented by what is undoubtedly the most extensive and highest quality
collection of visual materials on the Bible lands generally available, including the following:

Bible Lands Exhibit: Introductory Unit

These 8 posters compose a visual introduction to the Levant. The set surveys the area systematically, region by
region, and features photographs chosen for their quality and informativeness. Each poster is approximately 25" x
38" and is printed in 5 colors with a protective plastic-laminated finish.

Bible Lands Exhibit Color-Slide Set

The 160 photographs contained on the posters of the Introductory Unit are also available as a set of 35-millimeter
slides, mounted in a spring-clip plastic file, with printed captions.

Bible Lands Exhibit: Satellite Maps of the Levant

The satellite map sets will be offered again in a future issue of Biblical Archaeologist. Orders already received will
be processed when the maps have been received in our office.

Order Form for Pictorial Archive Material 49/1

I would like the following: Name

StudentMapManual(BA001) $24
BibleLandsExhibitIntroductory
Unit (BA002)* $80 Address
BibleLandsExhibitColorSlideSet (BA003) $160
City

State ZIP

*comesunfoldedin a tube Country

Send ordersto: ASOR PublicationsOffice, Box H.M., Duke Station, Durham,NC 27706. Send no
P.O.
money; you will be invoiced for the properamount, plus shipping and handling. Subscribersto Biblical
will be given a 10%discount. Items will be shipped upon receipt of payment. Telephone
Archaeologist
numberfor questions:(919) 684-3075. Because we are a nonprofitorganization,we operateon a limited
budget. We must thereforeinsist upon prepaymentof ordersforPictorialArchive materials.We appreciate
the understandingand cooperationof our customersin this matter.
 ::::I:: ::: ::::;-
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he modern visitor to an-

Scient Sepphoris sees a large
irregularhill risingfrom the
lowlands of Galilee. On its
southern and eastern sides a
forest of spindly pine trees
stretchesalong the slopes. On
the northwesternedge a cluster
of buildings, including an or-
phanage run by Italian nuns
~d~
:'
and the towering unroofed
walls of a never-completed
Crusaderchurch, huddles 4,
ff t:_~i
against the scarp. The steep
northernslope has discouraged ,~~~*~C-~a~i~B~~Bta~~g~s~:~aAa'lP~; ~rs~i~r
'.8
i

both natural and man-made

cover, but the massive remains
of an ancient building can be C_~ ~~i7L-~

seen where the embankment

has eroded away. Only the top
of the hill remains barren, with
the exception of the ever-present
ground cover of thorns and
thistles and a towering square
citadel ...