Archaeology
According to the Oxford Online Dictionary, Archaeology is “The study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artefacts and other physical remains.” The origin of the word dates to the early 17th Century and derives from the “Latin archaeologia, from Greek arkhaiologia ‘ancient history’, from arkhaios ‘ancient’.”
I suspect that most of us imagine Indiana Jones when we think about Archaeology. We envision swashbuckling adventures to find fabulous treasures. Well, that is sort of what archaeology was like in its early years. Unfortunately, that sort of archaeology did irreparable damage to sites and destroyed many artifacts that were not “interesting.” Fortunately, much has changed since then. Archaeology is much less glamorous now, but it provides us with far more information. Today, archaeology is painstaking – everything is documented, the work is slow and careful, with every bucket full of sand being carefully sifted, and modern archaeologists are not only interested in the treasures of royalty, but in the objects and lives of ordinary people.
Archaeology provides much information about the Biblical world, but it does not answer all of our questions. Why not? Well some sites mentioned in the Bible have not been found, some possible sites have not been excavated, some sites have been built over. Another issue is that most organic material disintegrates over time so many of the objects of daily use from ancient times are simply gone. Sometimes answers are elusive because archaeologists and scholars are unsure as to what material remains were used for or signify. Nonetheless, archaeology is an important piece in helping us understand the context of the Bible, and this section of the website will provide some information about the archaeology in the Land.
Most of the current links are to posts that I wrote when I worked on the excavation at Et Tel (Bethsaida) under the direction of Dr. Rami Arav.
[Links are arranged with most recent posts at the top.]
Bethsaida – Really Old Pottery & Ritual Purity
Hippos – Sussita – City on a Hill
Bethsaida – High Places & Psalm 121
Bethsaida – Definitely NOT Indiana Jones
Bethsaida – Here I go to Israel for the Dig
Bethsaida in the New Testament
Bethsaida – The Ancient Kingdom of Geshur
Bethsaida – I’m going to Israel to work on an Archaeological Dig!
Geography