Recent Archaeological Finds

[Shammu]

Archeologists find ancient tunnel used by Jews to escape Roman conquest of Jerusalem
The Associated Press
Published: September 9, 2007

JERUSALEM: Israeli archeologists on Sunday said they've stumbled upon the site of one of the great dramatic scenes of the Roman sacking of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago: the subterranean drainage channel Jews used to escape from the city's Roman conquerors.

The ancient tunnel was dug beneath what would become the main road of Jerusalem in the days of the second biblical Temple, which the Romans destroyed in the year 70, the dig's directors, archaeology Professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority, told a news conference.

The channel was buried beneath the rubble of the sacking, and the parts that have been exposed since it was discovered two weeks ago have been preserved intact.

The walls — ashlar stones one meter (3 feet) deep — reach a height of 3 meters (10 feet) in some places and are covered by heavy stone slabs that were the main road's paving stones, Shukron said. Several manholes are visible, and portions of the original plastering remain, he said.

Pottery sherds, vessel fragments and coins from the end of the Second Temple period were discovered inside the channel, attesting to its age, Reich said.

The discovery of the drainage channel was momentous in itself, a sign of how the city's rulers looked out for the welfare of their citizens by organizing a system that drained the rainfall and prevented flooding, Reich said.

The discovery "shows you planning on a grand scale, unlike other cities in the ancient Near East," said anthropologist Joe Zias, an expert in the Second Temple period who was not involved in the dig.

But what makes the channel doubly significant is its role as an escape hatch for Jews desperate to flee the conquering Romans, the dig's directors said.

Historian Josephus Flavius indicates in "The War of the Jews" that numerous people took shelter in the channel and lived inside until they fled the city through its southern end.

"It was a place where people hid and fled to from burning, destroyed Jerusalem," Shukron said.

Tens of thousands of people lived in Jerusalem at the time, but it is not clear how many used the channel as an escape hatch, he said.

The Second Temple was the center of Jewish worship during the second Jewish Commonwealth, which spanned the six centuries preceding the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. Its expansion was the most famous construction project of Herod, the Jewish proxy ruler of the Holy Land under imperial Roman occupation from 37 B.C.

The discovery of the channel two weeks ago was unintended. Shukron said excavators looking for Jerusalem's main road in the time of the Second Temple happened upon a small drainage channel. That discovery led them to the massive tunnel that archeologists say lies beneath that road.

"We were looking for the road and suddenly we discovered it," Shukron said. "And the first thing we said was, 'Wow.'"

The icing on the cake, he said, is that archeologists now know in what direction the road lies.

About 100 meters (yards) of the canal have been uncovered so far. Reich estimates its total length will approximate one kilometer (.6 mile), stretching north from the Shiloah Pool at Jerusalem's southern end to the disputed holy shrine known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Al Aqsa Mosque compound. The shrine is the site of the two biblical Jewish temples.

Archeologists think the tunnel leads to the Kidron River, which empties into the Dead Sea.

Archeologists find ancient tunnel used by Jews to escape Roman conquest of Jerusalem

[nChrist]

DOUBLE WOW!

The large number and increasing frequency of major discoveries is mind-boggling. They almost need an army of professionals just to document discoveries in and near Jerusalem. Years of work and study will be required for just one site, so I doubt that any of us will live long enough to learn the full significance. In reality, this Age of Grace might end before they even get a good start.

THANKS! for the fascinating material!

[Soldier4Christ]

Petition: Stop Temple Mount destruction 
Israel allows Muslims to pulverize antiquities as media, archeologists barred

Prominent archaeologists, some Jewish leaders and former Israeli politicians are petitioning Israel's supreme court to immediately halt a dig Islamic authorities are conducting on the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – that is said to be destroying antiquities and what archaeologists believe is a wall from the Second Jewish Temple.

Sections of the petition were based on WND's recent coverage of the Temple Mount controversy.

The Israeli government has not stopped Islamic authorities from blasting a massive trench on the Mount and has barred archaeologists from inspecting the Temple-era wall, believed to be from the outer courtyard of the Second Temple.

The wall reportedly has been pulverized by bulldozers operated by the Waqf, the Mount's Muslim custodians. If verified, the wall would be the most significant Jewish Temple find in history.

Yesterday's court petition against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, other cabinet ministers and Israel's Antiquities Authority, explains Second Temple courtyards and artifacts are located within a few feet of ground level. It maintains the Waqf dig – a trench 1,300 feet long and five feet deep – has destroyed or damaged priceless archaeological artifacts from the first and second Temple periods.

States the petition: "The excavations were carried out in an area where the bedrock is sometimes at a depth of only half a meter. Therefore, massive digging to a depth of a meter and a half entails damage to ground layers, some of which may have been in place since the first Temple stood there 3,000 years ago. Excavating with heavy equipment and tractors severely damaged the ground and directly caused the destruction of ancient stones and other artifacts."

The petitioners charged the Israeli government and its agencies, including the Antiquities Authority, are failing to meet their legal obligations to protect the antiquities of the Temple Mount.

The Antiquities Authority has not halted the dig and has not inspected the site. The Waqf has continued using bulldozers to blast away at the trench containing the wall and steadfastly has denied it is destroying any antiquities.

The petition was signed by Members of the Committee to Prevent the Destruction of Temple Mount Antiquities, including prominent archaeologists Eilat Mazar, Ephraim Stern, Amihay Mazar, Ehud Netzer, Israel Finkelstein, Moshe Kochavi, and Gabriel Barkai; Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo Lahat; Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; and retired Israel Defense Forces generals Zvi Zamir, Yitzhak Hofi and Giora Eiland.

Last month, the Waqf was given permission by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to use bulldozers and other heavy equipment to dig a massive trench it claims is necessary to replace electrical cables outside mosques on the site. The dig, which extends to most of the periphery of the Mount, is being protected by the Israeli police and is supposed to be supervised by the Israeli government's Antiquities Authority.

Earlier this month, after bulldozers dug a trench 1,300 feet long and five feet deep, the Muslim diggers came across a wall Israeli archaeologists believe may be remains of an area of the Second Jewish Temple known as the woman's courtyard.

WND last week obtained a photograph of the massive Waqf trench. In view in the picture are concrete slabs broken by Waqf bulldozers and a chopped up carved stone believed to be of Jewish Temple-era antiquity.

Third-generation Temple Mount archaeologist Eilat Mazar analyzed the photo and said the damaged stone displays elements of the second Temple era and might be part of the Jewish Temple wall Israeli archaeologists charge the Waqf has been attempting to destroy. She said in order to certify the stone in the photo, she would need to personally inspect it.

Mazar is also a fellow at Israel's Shalem Center and member of the Public Committee for Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on Temple Mount. Her much-discussed discovery in the City of David, a neighborhood just south of Jerusalem's Old City Walls, is a massive building dating to the 10th century B.C. It is believed to be the remains of the palace of biblical King David, the second leader of a united kingdom of Israel, who ruled from around 1005 to 965 B.C.

Israel, though, is blocking leading archeologists from surveying the massive damage Islamic authorities are accused of causing to what may be the outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple.

"The Antiquities Authority tells us to coordinate with the police. The police send us back to the Antiquities Authority," said Mazar.

The Antiquities Authority did not return repeated requests for comment.

"It's crucial this wall is inspected," the archaeologist said. "The Temple Mount ground level is only slightly above the original Temple Mount platform, meaning anything found is likely from the Temple itself."

Muslims bar WND from Temple dig

Last Thusday, the Muslim Waqf custodians of the Temple Mount barred WND from inspecting and filming their massive trench. (link: http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57507)

The confrontation was captured on video by InfoLive.tv, a new, Internet-based television network broadcasting in four languages. (link: http://www.infolive.tv/en/infolive.tv-12064-israelnews-wakf-bans-reporters-inspecting-temple-mount)

WND and the InfoLive.tv camera crew ascended the Mount to obtain footage of the trench, but Waqf guards backed up by the Israeli police stopped the news agencies from approaching open sections of the trench. The guards told WND only closed areas of the trench could be filmed. Sections of the massive trench were being closed up with dirt today before archeologists were able to inspect the site.

After persisting, one Waqf guard asked WND to shut off the camera and vacate the Temple Mount.

Mazar and other top archaeologists also recently attempted to inspect the Waqf trench. Two weeks ago they ascended the Mount to hold a news conference and inspect the site without government permission, but they were blocked from the trench by the Israeli police.

"It is unconscionable that the Israeli government is permitting the Waqf to use heavy equipment to chop away at the most important archaeological site in the country without supervision," Mazar said.

"The Israeli government is actively blocking us from inspecting the site and what may be a monumental find and is doing nothing while the Waqf destroys artifacts at Judaism's holiest site," she said.

Rabbi Chaim Richman, director of Israel's Temple Institute, was among those on the Mount last month with Mazar. He told WND he attempted to take pictures of the damage the bulldozers are allegedly wrecking on the wall, but his digital camera was confiscated by Israeli police at the direction of Waqf officials.

"If Israel was building a shopping mall and they found what may be an ancient Buddhist structure, the government would stop the construction and have archaeologists go over the area with a fine tooth comb. Here, the holiest site in Judaism is being damaged, a Temple wall was found, and Israel is actively blocking experts from inspecting the site while allowing the destruction to continue," Richman said.

Richman charged the Waqf was "trying to erase Jewish vestiges from the Temple Mount."

Muslim custodians have history of destroying Temple artifacts

cont'd

[Soldier4Christ]

The last time the Waqf conducted a large dig on the Temple Mount – during construction 10 years ago of a massive mosque at an area referred to as Solomon's Stables – the Wafq reportedly disposed truckloads of dirt containing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods.

After media reported the disposals, Israeli authorities froze the construction permit given to the Wafq, and the dirt was transferred to Israeli archaeologists for analysis. The Israeli authorities found scores of Jewish Temple relics in the nearly disposed dirt, including coins with Hebrew writing referencing the Temple, part of a Hasmonean lamp, several other Second Temple lamps, Temple-period pottery with Jewish markings, a marble pillar shaft and other Temple period artifacts. The Waqf was widely accused of attempting to hide evidence of the existence of the Jewish Temples.

Temples 'never existed'

Most Palestinian leaders routinely deny well-documented Jewish ties to the Temple Mount.

Speaking to WND in a recent interview, Waqf official and chief Palestinian Justice Taysir Tamimi claimed the Jewish Temples "never existed."

"About these so-called two Temples, they never existed, certainly not at the Haram Al- Sharif (Temple Mount)," said Tamimi, who is considered the second most important Palestinian cleric after Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.

"Israel started since 1967 making archaeological digs to show Jewish signs to prove the relationship between Judaism and the city, and they found nothing. There is no Jewish connection to Israel before the Jews invaded in the 1880s," said Tamimi.

The Palestinian cleric denied the validity of dozens of digs verified by experts worldwide revealing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temples, tunnels that snake under the Temple Mount and more than 100 ritual immersion pools believed to have been used by Jewish priests to cleanse themselves before services. The cleansing process is detailed in the Torah.

Asked about the Western Wall, Tamimi said the structure was a tying post for Muhammad's horse and that it is part of the Al Aqsa Mosque, even though the wall predates the mosque by more than 1,000 years.

"The Western Wall is the western wall of the Al Aqsa Mosque. It's where Prophet Muhammad tied his animal which took him from Mecca to Jerusalem to receive the revelations of Allah."

The Palestinian media also regularly claim the Jewish Temples never existed.

Judaism's holiest site

While the Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, Muslims say it is their third holiest site.

The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. It was expanded by King Herod in 19 B.C. shortly before the birth of Jesus. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's "presence" dwelt. The Dome of the Rock now sits on the site and the Al Aqsa Mosque is adjacent.

The temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays.

The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark where Muslims came to believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven.

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from "a sacred mosque" – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest mosque" and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque later became associated with Jerusalem.

[Soldier4Christ]

DOUBLE WOW!

The large number and increasing frequency of major discoveries is mind-boggling. They almost need an army of professionals just to document discoveries in and near Jerusalem. Years of work and study will be required for just one site, so I doubt that any of us will live long enough to learn the full significance. In reality, this Age of Grace might end before they even get a good start.

THANKS! for the fascinating material!

There is a whole lot more that is being found that is not being released to the public. The IAA is keeping a lid on many things because of the fear of islamic reprisals. Especially so of any information that is tied to the Temple Mount. Even though they are trying to hide such finds word of them are still leaking out. I am sure that this is because God wants people to have the chance to know the truth.

[Soldier4Christ]

Second Temple Period Drainage Canal Unveiled

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and the City of David Foundation unveiled an important remnant of life in ancient Jerusalem on Sunday. The main drainage canal of the holy city, dated around the first century CE, before the destruction of Second Temple and the City of Jerusalem, was displayed for the first time to journalists near the entrance to the City of David.

The 70-meter long segment is located between the Temple Mount and the Siloam Pool and stretched underneath the main street of the Old City. The drain carried rainwater from the area of the Western Wall now used as the Jewish Quarter, and the western area of the City of David, to the Kidron River near the Dead Sea. Shards and coins were also found at the site. Archaeologsts Roni Reich and Eli Shukrun said they had to dig 10 meters deep in order to reach the main street. They added that Jews hid in the drain on their way to the southern gate of the Old City as they fled the Roman siege, according to the account of the period by the historian Josephus.

The IAA has, however, blocked archaeologists from inspecting a ditch being dug by the Wakf (Arab Religious Authority) with heavy machinery on the Temple Mount that may be of equal importance. Vehement insistence by the archaeologists that precious artifacts from the Second Temple period are being destroyed by the construction have been met with silence. Photos snapped surreptiously, despite police attempts to block entry to the site, show chunks of stone that appear to be part of a wall from the era.

[nChrist]

There is a whole lot more that is being found that is not being released to the public. The IAA is keeping a lid on many things because of the fear of islamic reprisals. Especially so of any information that is tied to the Temple Mount. Even though they are trying to hide such finds word of them are still leaking out. I am sure that this is because God wants people to have the chance to know the truth.

YES - this is political correctness out of control. Facts and evidence that are impossible to dispute would probably cause a BIG problem, but that BIG problem will come anyway. Many already know what lies beneath, but it would be wonderful to see that proof beyond any doubt displayed to the entire world.

[Soldier4Christ]

Dan - A nature reserve and archaeological treasure trove

Dan is one of Israel's great surprises. A medium-sized archaeological site with remains from all the significant periods of the historical past, it is situated on the northern border at the foot of the winding road to the northeast that leads up on to the Gola

As one approaches from the south, the site is hidden by leafy trees and lush vegetation. Indeed, the whole area is one of Israel's most unusual and beguiling national parks. For while the archaeology and history of the place is reason enough to visit, it is the greenery, the high trees, the forestation, the birds, the colours and the refreshing water-filled air that are the visitors' immediate impressions.

Why? Dan is the location of the biggest spring in the Middle East, gushing out of the ground at an enormous rate throughout the year. As one walks across the site, in the park, the whole area gurgles with the sound of water bubbling out of the ground. In some areas, it is almost impossible to find a place to put your feet without them becoming wet. The shade of the trees adds to the surreal sense of being in a different world.

There are three main sources of the River Jordan, and the Dan River is the biggest. The endless flow of water comes from the melting snows and rain of Mt. Hermon, a few miles to the north, which seep into the slopes of the mountain and emerge at the site. As so often happens, nature's beauty has become the subject of dispute. After the founding of the state in 1948, the border between Israel and Syria lay just a few metres north of Dan. The potential loss of the rich history associated with the site to Israel's northern neighbour in a war brought archaeologists to Dan in the 1966. They are still there.

Dan has proved to be an archaeological treat. Occupied from the Neolithic period in the fifth millennium BC down to the Roman period, its remains and the excavation trenches of the last 40 years scatter the site.

Arched mudbrick city gate

Among the most significant of these is an arched mudbrick city gate that was built in the Canaanite period, about 1700 BC. This is the time of the patriarchs of Genesis, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The oldest complete standing arch gate ever found anywhere, it was the entrance to the city to visitors from the north.

The city at the time was surrounded by a large earthen rampart some 50 metres wide that covered and sloped down on both sides of a solid stone core. The mudbrick gate was built into the rampart and consisted of three arches that one passed through on the way into or out of town. Wonderfully preserved almost to its origina it stood about 7 metres high, with a passageway 10.5 metres wide. Flanked by four towers, two inside the town and two outside, the gate was built of sun-baked mudbricks on a stone foundation. The walls were originally covered with a white plaster. It was approached from both sides by several stone steps, precluding the possibility of entering the city by chariot or cart or even on horseback.

The amount of energy expended in creating the gate, of cutting through the rampart and building this massive mudbrick superstructure, was huge. Dan at the time was one of the city states that were scattered around Canaan, and the local king would have had the authority to get the job done. It was a dramatic and impressive statement of his power and ability as a leader. No one visiting the city could fail to have been left unaware of the king's status.

It is remarkable then that the gate went out of use after just a generation or two, and was deliberately buried in the rampart.

What could have caused this?

What could have caused the gate to be decommissioned in this way? The most likely reason is the most obvious. Evidence was found during excavation that it had been repaired and shored up several times in its short lifespan, possibly in efforts to avoid collapse. Were poor building techniques used in its construction? Did it rapidly become a health and safety hazard? It is impossible to say for certain, but the deliberate decommissioning of so substantial a structure could well be explained in this way. What is certain is that its burial explains its remarkable preservation.

The thriving Canaanite city was destroyed violently by fire in the 16th century BC, but was rapidly resettled. What followed was a time of hardship in Canaan after the Egyptian conquest of the region. Dan, however, appears not to have been affected by these developments, surviving the privations of Egyptian colonial excess by looking to the north and west, to the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon, with which it maintained strong ties. Excavations show that this was a prosperous time, and that trade with the coast and even the importation of Mycenaean products from the Aegean was strong.

It is in the biblical books of Joshua and Judges that the town's Canaanite identity as Laish or Leshem is revealed. In Joshua 19:47, we learn of the migration of the tribe of Dan from the coastal plain north to Leshem, which they attacked and conquered, naming it after Dan their forefather. The story is repeated in greater detail in Judges 18, where verse 7 describes the city as lacking nothing and being prosperous. The Israelites conquered Leshem/Laish and settled and renamed it, and soon the name became synonymous with the northern extent of the country, as in the phrase "from Dan to Beersheba". By the time of the divided monarchy, Dan defined the northern border of Israel. Its relations with the rest of the Israelite kingdom, and with its northern neighbours, form another chapter in the city's colourful historical and archaeological past.

[Soldier4Christ]

Powerful x-ray to unravel fragile Dead Sea scrolls

Ancient writings from the Dead Sea scrolls are to be read for the first time by British scientists using powerful x-rays.

The team will examine rare and unread fragments of the scrolls, which are believed to shed light on how the texts came to be written in caves along the north-west coast of the sea nearly 2,000 years ago.

The technique will give scientists from Cardiff University a first opportunity to read ancient texts considered too fragile to open.

They will look at the texts using x-rays produced at the £360m Diamond Light Source in Didcot, Oxfordshire. The machine works by propelling electrons at great speeds around a giant tunnel. As they corner they emit x-rays 100bn times brighter than a medical x-ray.

Researchers led by Tim Wess have developed computer software that can "unravel" x-ray images of rolled up parchment documents to reveal the writing, even if the parchment has text on either side.

The scientists have focused their efforts on reading parchments from the 18th century and found that they are able to read 80% of the words written on documents without unravelling them.

Tests have so far been conducted on legal documents called weedings dating back to 1770 from the National Archives of Scotland. The team is also set to examine a series of unknown fire-damaged texts recovered from the UK's National Archives in Kew.

Many historical documents are recorded in iron gall ink, a mix of oak apple, iron sulphate and copper, on parchment made from the treated skin of cows, goats or sheep. With time the collagen that holds the parchment together degrades and turns into gelatin, damage that is accelerated by the corrosive nature of the ink. Using the x-ray machine scientists can examine sheets of parchment in such detail that they can decide how badly degraded they are over distances of one thousandth of a millimetre. If they are badly degraded the researchers will be able to use the new technique to read them without risk of destroying them.

The team's first goal is to read hidden texts from the scrolls and the Torah which is said to record the word of God as revealed to Moses.

"There are some parts of the Dead Sea scrolls that haven't been unrolled, and there are parts of the Torah that haven't been seen as well," Prof Wess said. "There are discoveries to be made in terms of trying to understand the whole picture of the history of the people who wrote the Dead Sea scrolls and why they moved into that area of the Dead Sea. Sometimes we don't know their value because we can't see inside them, and until we start looking, we don't know what's there."

[Soldier4Christ]

Even though this is mixed with ancient Greek mythology it is like the article on the web site says, that much of ancient Greek mythology is based on real people even though those people may be depicted as gods. Even though these historical figures may be overblown on their abilities it still shows that Noah was a real historical figure and he did in fact go through a world wide flood.

_______________________

Solving Light Books announced today the publication to its Web site of 37 images of Noah from ancient Greek art. These images of the Greek version of Noah reveal his role in Greek art as the known historical figure in contrast to whom the artists depicted, and boasted of, the rapid growth of their man-centered religious outlook. Ancient Greek artists and poets called Noah "Nereus" (meaning the "Wet One"), and also referred to him as the "Salt Sea Old Man."

The Web presentation has six parts:

•Part I consists of 37 images of Noah cropped out of their sculpted and vase-scene contexts so that the viewer can examine the similarity of the images in one place.

•Part II presents a short pictorial review of what Greek religious art chronicles and celebrates—the end of Noah's rule, the resurgence and triumph of the way of Kain (Cain), and the exaltation of man as the measure of all things.

•Part III features vase-scenes wherein the hero-rebel Herakles (the Nimrod of Genesis and Gilgamesh of the Sumerian epic) threatens Noah, brings him and his rule to a halt, and pushes him out of the way.

•Part IV presents an ancient vase-art tradition wherein Herakles is pictured as seizing Noah's authority in the form of a creature known as Triton.

•Part V features vase-scenes in which Noah reacts stoically to the abduction of his daughter, Thetis, by the Zeus-worshipper, Peleus.

•Part VI presents scenes in which the ancient artists depict Noah as an unwilling and disheartened witness to the key events leading to the triumph of Zeus-religion.

The creator of the Web presentation, Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr., is the author of "Athena and Eve," "Athena and Kain," "The Parthenon Code: Mankind's History in Marble," "Noah in Ancient Greek Art," and a 950-slide PowerPoint presentation on the true meaning of ancient Greek art.  "An enormous amount of information about mankind's origins hides in plain sight in the art of ancient Greece. These many images of the Greek version of Noah, now made available to the public, are just a small part of it," Mr. Johnson said.

The art can be viewed at:

http://www.solvinglight.com/features/37NoahsPartI.htm

[ibTina]

Even though this is mixed with ancient Greek mythology it is like the article on the web site says, that much of ancient Greek mythology is based on real people even though those people may be depicted as gods. Even though these historical figures may be overblown on their abilities it still shows that Noah was a real historical figure and he did in fact go through a world wide flood.

_______________________

Solving Light Books announced today the publication to its Web site of 37 images of Noah from ancient Greek art. These images of the Greek version of Noah reveal his role in Greek art as the known historical figure in contrast to whom the artists depicted, and boasted of, the rapid growth of their man-centered religious outlook. Ancient Greek artists and poets called Noah "Nereus" (meaning the "Wet One"), and also referred to him as the "Salt Sea Old Man."

The Web presentation has six parts:

•Part I consists of 37 images of Noah cropped out of their sculpted and vase-scene contexts so that the viewer can examine the similarity of the images in one place.

•Part II presents a short pictorial review of what Greek religious art chronicles and celebrates—the end of Noah's rule, the resurgence and triumph of the way of Kain (Cain), and the exaltation of man as the measure of all things.

•Part III features vase-scenes wherein the hero-rebel Herakles (the Nimrod of Genesis and Gilgamesh of the Sumerian epic) threatens Noah, brings him and his rule to a halt, and pushes him out of the way.

•Part IV presents an ancient vase-art tradition wherein Herakles is pictured as seizing Noah's authority in the form of a creature known as Triton.

•Part V features vase-scenes in which Noah reacts stoically to the abduction of his daughter, Thetis, by the Zeus-worshipper, Peleus.

•Part VI presents scenes in which the ancient artists depict Noah as an unwilling and disheartened witness to the key events leading to the triumph of Zeus-religion.

The creator of the Web presentation, Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr., is the author of "Athena and Eve," "Athena and Kain," "The Parthenon Code: Mankind's History in Marble," "Noah in Ancient Greek Art," and a 950-slide PowerPoint presentation on the true meaning of ancient Greek art.  "An enormous amount of information about mankind's origins hides in plain sight in the art of ancient Greece. These many images of the Greek version of Noah, now made available to the public, are just a small part of it," Mr. Johnson said.

The art can be viewed at:

http://www.solvinglight.com/features/37NoahsPartI.htm

  ummm all I can say is....

[nChrist]

THANKS BROTHER!

These are beautiful and timely things. I pray that the lost will see them and reconsider JESUS CHRIST. I pray that the Saved will see them and be strengthened and encouraged. NOW, more than ever, Christians need to be Strong in CHRIST!

Love In Christ,
Tom

KEEP LOOKING UP!!

[Shammu]

Israeli archeologists ordered out of court hearing
Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST    Sep. 21, 2007

A group of Israeli archeologists and public officials who petitioned the High Court of Justice against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Antiquities Authority over ongoing Wakf infrastructure work on the Temple Mount were ordered out of the courtroom during a hearing Thursday, an archeologist said.

The members of the nonpartisan Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount had to leave the courtroom while the state-run archeological body presented "secret" evidence to the court.

"It is more than clear that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has instructed the Antiquities Authority to cooperate with the Wakf and conceal the damage to antiquities being done during the infrastructure work at the site," said Hebrew University archeologist and leading Temple Mount expert Dr. Eilat Mazar.

The two-month old dig on the Temple Mount is being carried out by Islamic officials with Israeli approval as part of infrastructure work to repair faulty electrical lines on the ancient compound.

The independent Israeli archeologists say that the dig, which is being carried out with tractors and other heavy construction machinery, has created a 400-meter long and 1.5 meter deep trench, destroying several layers of ancient remains on the Temple Mount

Israeli archeologists ordered out of court hearing

[Soldier4Christ]

Quarry used for Jewish temple unearthed in Israel

Archaeologists have found an ancient quarry where King Herod's workers may have chiselled the giant stones used to rebuild the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said on Sunday experts believe stones as long as 8 meters (24 feet) were extracted from the quarry and then dragged by oxen to building sites in Jerusalem for major projects such as the temple.

"This construction most likely included the walls of the Temple Mount and other monumental buildings," the authority said in a statement.

Some of the blocks discovered at the site resemble stones used in the lower parts of the Temple Mount compound, the site of two biblical Jewish temples, the statement said.

Jews believe King Solomon built the first Jerusalem temple 3,000 years ago. In 1 BC, King Herod rebuilt and expanded a second temple on the same site, which was razed by the Romans during the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

The complex known as Temple Mount by Jews is also revered by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary). It houses Islam's third-holiest mosque, making it Jerusalem's most contested site and giving it a pivotal role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said workers stumbled upon the quarry during excavations as part of a plan to build a new school in an outlying Jerusalem neighborhood known as Ramat Shlomo.

Archaeologists also discovered coins and shards of pottery which confirm the quarry was operating during the Second Temple period, when rulers of the city under King Herod embarked on major construction projects.

King Herod looms large in biblical history. Appointed "king of the Jews" by the Roman Senate in about 40 BC, Herod rebuilt and expanded the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

The Gospel of Matthew says Herod ordered the killing of young male children in Jesus's birthplace of Bethlehem -- known as the "Massacre of the Innocents" -- for fear he would lose his throne to a new "king of the Jews" whose birth had been related to him by the Magi.

Archaeologists also found a complete iron tool at the site which they believe was used to chisel out the blocks from the quarry.

[Soldier4Christ]

Digging through the Bible

The third season of renewed excavations at Ramat Rahel in Jerusalem has come to a close, with several exceptional finds that have increased archeologists' understanding of the site.

The excavations are the result of a joint project between Tel Aviv University and the University of Heidelberg in Germany, and are scheduled for another three seasons, with the next to begin in the summer of 2009.

Dig director Dr. Oded Lipschits of Tel Aviv University said that the goals of this year's dig were to expand the area around a Byzantine (fourth-seventh centuries CE) church previously excavated by Yohanan Aharoni of the Hebrew University in the 1950s, and to further expose a garden and a profound water system from a palace or administrative building that was in use from the late Iron Age (seventh-sixth centuries BCE) until the beginning of the Hasmonean period in the 2nd century BCE.

These goals were met, he said. "We understand much better the time and the extent of the garden."

According to Lipschits, Ramat Rahel was used as an administrative center for various foreign powers ruling over Judea beginning with the Assyrians after Sennacherib's conquest of Judea in 701 BCE.

Ramat Rahel was also used as a large administrative center during the Persian period (538-333 BCE) and into the early Hellenistic period (333-165 BCE), but was destroyed by the Maccabees in the second century BCE.

Later the Romans had a military camp there, including a bathhouse and villa, followed by the Byzantines who built a church and several support buildings. Ramat Rahel was continuously occupied until the Abbasid period in the 10th century CE.

Veteran Jerusalem archeologist Dr. Gabi Barkay, who currently heads the Temple Mount sifting project, disagrees with Lipschits's findings. Barkay led a small expedition to Ramat Rahel in 1984 and although nothing official has been published, some of his conclusions have been presented in the Biblical Archaeology Review magazine.

In his articles Barkay points to several "LMLK" (in Hebrew, "for the king") stamps and a small painted potsherd of what appears to be a king on a throne as evidence that the site was built by King Hezekiah, who ruled from around 715-687 BC. According to Barkay, Jerusalem had become too overcrowded and Hezekiah wanted to build a large royal palace at Ramat Rahel that would better reflect his grandeur.

Lipschits says that these "LMLK"-stamped jars were taxes collected by the king and then sent to the Assyrian governor at Ramat Rahel.

There is still much to learn about the early phases of Ramat Rahel, said Lipschits, adding that future excavations would focus on "the relationship between the eighth and seventh centuries BC and between the Persian and Hellenistic periods."

Future digs will also focus on learning more about the area immediately surrounding Ramat Rahel and the relationship between those various sites.

This year's excavations yielded several extraordinary finds, including a piece of a proto-Ionic (also known as a proto-Aeolic) capital from the Iron Age. To date only 13 such capitals have been found in Judea, with one from the City of David in Jerusalem and now 12 from Ramat Rahel.

The proto-Ionic capital was also used on seals in the Early Iron Age before writing in the Israelite kingdom, and can be seen today on the back of the five shekel coin. Also found this year were some 30 stamped jar handles with variations on the "Yehud" stamp from the Persian period, adding to the more than 320 such stamps previously found at the site.

A potsherd bearing the letters "mem," "nun," "lamed" in ancient Hebrew was also discovered, believed to possibly be from a water libation jar. Also found was a mikve with an impressive carving of a tree on one of the plastered walls.

Groups of archeologists, students and volunteers worked in different areas of the excavation site, arranged by period. One group excavated a building from the Muslim Ayyubid period, another group a Byzantine church, another a Persian period wall and an additional two groups worked on the Iron Age administrative building and garden.

Together these groups uncovered structures that spanned the eighth century BCE to the 11th century CE, an incredible 1,700-plus years of human occupation at Ramat Rahel.

In the final week-and-a-half of the dig, a bulldozer dug in an area previously unexcavated, in search of bedrock for the archeologists to better understand the shape and behavior of the hill at Ramat Rahel. However, the bulldozer was halted after uncovering an area of what turned out to be bedrock carved into a large platform.

The area was then further excavated by archeologists and several volunteers, who later discovered plastered floors and several channels presumably used for directing water. According to Lipschits, this new area will also be the focus of future seasons.

When asked how it was to work with a German university, Lipschits said: "It's the third time we are putting together different Christian and Jewish groups, and for me this is an important part of the project."

He emphasized that at Ramat Rahel the two groups were together excavating the structures from both the Old and New Testament periods, and even into the Muslim periods. This year's excavation drew volunteers and students from several countries, including Israel, Germany, the United States, The Netherlands, Canada, Finland, Norway and Australia.

"I wanted to go to Israel and I thought this would be a nice opportunity to go with people I knew," said Magdalena Gebessler, a University of Heidelberg student.

During her four weeks of excavation work at the site, Gebessler said she found "tons of pottery, and the floor of the mikve."

She was joined by more than 20 other German participants, many of them students of theology or Jewish studies at the University of Heidelberg who were in classes instructed by Dr. Manfred Oeming, co-director of the dig.

The results of the various seal impressions found at the site, Lipschits promised, would be published within one week of the conclusion of this year's dig.