IN SUCH AN HOUR AS THIS

Ancient Treasures

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Today´s World

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"Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My won peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine." (Exodus: 19:5)

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Syrian City

Early Christian Loaves and Fishes

Ancient Mural

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Biblical Pool of Siloam

Uncovered in Jerusalem

Ancient water system discovered near Jerusalem

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Israeli and American archaeologists have discovered what they term a "monumental rock-hewn water system" near Jerusalem dating back to the eighth century B.C. The discovery, announced Aug. 9, was made during an eight-week dig at a cave close to Jerusalem, in Ein Kerem, which is regarded as the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist. Last summer, Shimon Gibson, the chief archaeologist at the dig, announced that he had found a cave that may have been used by John the Baptist to anoint his followers. The cave was discovered in 1999 and has been under excavation ever since.

A statement by Gibson and archaeologist James Tabor from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte said that the latest excavations have revealed the cave to be part of "a much larger Iron Age water system, rock-cut in places to a depth of 65 feet." The archaeologists said the cave, which dates back to the time of King Hezekiah (according to pottery shards from that period), contains a vertical shaft, an open horizontal corridor, a flight of stone steps above a tunnel and three external plastered pools, all of which was on the slope above an underground reservoir.

Although elaborate water systems "have been found elsewhere," Gibson said, until now they were discovered only within Israelite cities such as Beit Shemesh and Gibeon. "Never before has such a massive water system been found isolated in the countryside without a town or city attached to it," Gibson said, leading the team to believe that the project had been undertaken "by the Kingdom of Judah."

Another ongoing biblical-era excavation -- what is believed to be the Pool of Siloam -- was highlighted in the latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, whose editor reported the find to The Los Angeles Times on (Aug. 8). For more than a year, archaeologists have been excavating the pool outside the walls of what was once the site of the biblical temples. The pool was the main water reservoir for Jerusalem dwellers two millennia ago. It is fed by the nearby Gihon Spring, which has been under excavation for decades. In biblical times it was utilized by Jews making annual pilgrimages to ancient Jerusalem. The Gospel of John (Chapter 9) says that Jesus, one such pilgrim, cured a man of his blindness by the pool.

By Michele Chabin
Religion News Service
Copyright (c) Biblical Recorder Inc.

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"For the Lord has chosen (the descendants of) Jacob for Himself, Israel for His peculiar possession and treasure." (Psalm 135:4)

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JERUSALEM

Ancient wooden anchors preserved by natural salt for more than 2,000 years have been discovered on the receding shores of the Dead Sea Israel TV reported.

Archaeologist David Mevorach told the TV station that one anchor dated back 2,500 years - the oldest ever found. Another anchor was 2,000 years old, he said. They were built from acacia wood for Roman ships, he said.

The Dead Sea, with no outlet, has a high concentration of salt. "The salt and the lack of oxygen in the water preserved them in a special way, including the ropes that were tied to the boat," he said. Also, the small sea has been receding in recent years, as the evaporation rate exceeds the replenishment of water from the Jordan River, diverted for irrigation. Archaeological artifacts have been found along the newly exposed coastline.

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"He considered the contempt and abuse and shame (borne for) the Christ (the Messiah Who was to come) to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt, for he looked forward and away to the reward (recompense)" (Heb: 11:26)

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SAQQARA

A superbly maintained 2,300-year-old mummy bearing a golden mask and covered in brightly colored images of gods and goddesses was unveiled at Egypt's Saqqara Pyramids complex south of Cairo.

The unidentified mummy, from the 30th pharaonic dynasty, had been closed in a wooden sarcophagus and buried in sand at the bottom of a 20-foot shaft before being discovered recently by an Egyptian-led archaeological team. We have revealed what may be the most beautiful mummy ever found in Egypt."

Hawass said experts will use CT scanning technology within the next week to reveal more details about the ancient Egyptian's identity and how he had lived and died. Afterward, the mummy will be displayed at Saqqara's museum of Imhotep, the famed architect who designed the Stepped Pyramid - Egypt's oldest. The mummy, found two months ago, was covered from head to toe in brightly colored cartonage burial material depicting a range of graphic scenes, including the Goddess Maat of balance and truth who was shown with outstretched arms that took the shape of feathered wings.

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MAHABALIPURAM, India

Archaeologists have begun underwater excavations of what is believed to be an ancient city and parts of a temple uncovered by the tsunami off the coast of a centuries-old pilgrimage town.

Three rocky structures with elaborate carvings of animals have emerged near the coastal town of Mahabalipuram, which was battered by the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami. Mahabalipuram is already well known for its ancient, intricately carved shore temples that have been declared a World Heritage site and are visited each year by thousands of Hindu pilgrims and tourists. According to descriptions by early British travel writers, the area was also home to seven pagodas, six of which were submerged by the sea. The six-foot rocky structures that have emerged in Mahabalipuram, 30 miles south of Madras, include an elaborately carved head of an elephant and a horse in flight. Above the elephant's head is a small square-shaped niche with a carved statue of a deity. Another structure uncovered by the tsunami has a reclining lion sculpted on it.

According to archaeologists, lions, elephants and peacocks were commonly used to decorate walls and temples during the Pallava period in the seventh and eighth centuries.

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"In Him all the treasures of (divine) wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and all the riches of spiritual knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden." (Col: 2:3)

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Israeli Archaeologists Discover Ancient Church

"JERUSALEM"

Israeli archaeologists said Saturday they have discovered what may be the oldest Christian church in the Holy Land on the grounds of a prison near the biblical site of Armageddon.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority said the ruins are believed to date back to the third or fourth centuries and include references to Jesus and images of fish, an ancient Christian symbol.

"This is a very ancient structure, maybe the oldest in our area," said Yotam Tepper, the head archaeologist on the dig. The dig took place over the past 18 months at the Megiddo prison in Israel's northern Galilee region, with the most significant discoveries taking place in the past two weeks, Tepper said. Scholars believe Megiddo to be the New Testament's Armageddon, the site of a final war between good and evil. Tepper said the discovery could reveal more about an important period of Christianity, which was banned until the fourth century.

"Normally, we have from this period in our region historical evidence from literature, not archaeological evidence," he said. "There is no structure you can compare it to. It is a very unique find."

Channel Two television, which first reported the story, broadcast pictures of a detailed and well-preserved mosaic bearing the name of Jesus Christ in ancient Greek and images of fish. Pietro Sambi, the Vatican's ambassador to Israel, praised the find as a "great discovery." Of course, all the Christians are convinced of the history of Jesus Christ." But is it extremely important to have archaeological proof of a church dedicated to him? Certainly."

Joe Zias, an anthropologist and a former curator with the Israeli Antiquities Authorities, said the discovery was significant but unlikely to be the world's oldest church. He said Christianity was outlawed until the time of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, and there were no churches before then. "The earliest it could be is fourth century and we have other fourth-century churches. I think what is important here is the size, the inscription and the mosaics," he said. "I think it is an important find ... but I wouldn't say it was the oldest church in the world."

The Antiquities Authority said more than 60 prison inmates participated in the dig in recent months. Channel Two said there is speculation Israel may move the prison and open a tourist attraction in its place. "If it's between a prison and a church, I would like a church," Zias said. "You can put a prison anywhere."

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The Longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls

The longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls is scheduled to go on display in a Cleveland museum this year in its first appearance in the United States.

A traveling exhibition featuring the Temple Scroll, which measures 28 feet, will make its first stop at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in suburban Beachwood, The Plain Dealer newspaper reported Saturday. The ancient manuscript dates back to the time of Christ.

The exhibition, which runs from March through August, also includes other artifacts from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, including the burial box of Caiaphas the High Priest who, according to the New Testament, delivered Christ to the Romans for execution.

Officials at the Maltz Museum said the exhibition would later travel to two other North American museums, which have not been announced.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in a desert cave in 1947. From 1947-56, scrolls were found in 11 caves dotting the hills above the Qumran area of the West Bank - 800 documents in all, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.

The scrolls contain Old Testament texts, psalms, commentaries and other works, some of them written in code. Many scholars believe that the scrolls were written at Qumran by the Essenes, a breakaway Jewish sect.

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"And there shall be stability in your times, an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the reverent fear and worship of the Lord is your treasure and His." (Isaiah 33: 6)

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Greeks Find Two 8,000-Year-Old Settlements

ATHENS, Greece

Archaeologists in northern Greece have uncovered traces of two prehistoric farming settlements dating back as early as 6000 B.C., the Culture Ministry said.

The first site, located on a plot earmarked for coal mining by Greece's Public Power Corporation yielded five human burials, as well as artifacts including clay figurines of humans and animals, seal stones, pottery and stone tools.

The ministry said the one-acre site near Ptolemaida some 330 miles northwest of Athens, had been inhabited for a short period during the early Neolithic era - between 6000 and 5500 B.C. "[The discovery] will help us solve problems regarding prehistoric social structures ... as the area saw a gradual introduction of farming techniques over at least five millennia," the ministry said. Some 25 Neolithic settlements have been discovered in the area.

The ministry said a second, smaller site, also dating between 6000-5500 B.C., was excavated near Grevena, some 260 miles northwest of Athens. Archaeologists found a number of rare figurines in the settlement, which contained a workshop for producing stone tools. The first traces of human settlement in Greece date to at least 40,000 B.C.

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"However, we possess this precious treasure (the divine Light of the Gospel) in frail, human vessels of earth that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves." (2 Corth: 4: 7)

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MEGIDDO PRISON

Israel

Israeli prisoner Ramil Razilo was removing rubble from the planned site of a new prison ward when his shovel uncovered the edge of an elaborate mosaic, unveiling what Israeli archaeologists said Sunday may be the Holy Land's oldest church. The discovery of the church in the northern Israeli town of Megiddo, near the biblical Armageddon, was hailed by experts as an important discovery that could reveal details about the development of the early church in the region.

Archaeologists said the church dated from the third century, decades before Constantine legalized Christianity across the Roman Empire. "What's clear today is that it's the oldest archaeological remains of a church in Israel, maybe even in the entire region. Whether in the entire world, it's still too early to say," said Yotam Tepper, the excavation's head archaeologist.

Israeli officials were giddy about the discovery, with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon calling the church "an amazing story." Vatican officials also hailed the find. "A discovery of this kind will make Israel more interesting to all Christians, for the church all over the world," said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican envoy to Jerusalem. "If it's true that the church and the beautiful mosaics are from the third century, it would be one of the most ancient churches in the Middle East."

Razilo, who is serving a two-year sentence for traffic violations, was one of about 50 prisoners brought into the high-security Megiddo Prison to help excavate the area before the construction of new wards for 1,200 Palestinian prisoners. Razilo was shocked to uncover the edge of the mosaic. The inmates worked for months to uncover all the parts of the mosaic - the floor of the church.

"We continued to look and slowly we found this whole beautiful thing," said Razilo, who used a sponge and a bucket of water to clean dirt off the uncovered mosaics Sunday. Two mosaics inside the church - one covered with fish, an ancient Christian symbol that predates the cross - tell the story of a Roman officer and a woman named Aketous who donated money to build the church in the memory "of the god, Jesus Christ."

Pottery remnants from the third century, the style of Greek writing used in the inscriptions, ancient geometric patterns in the mosaics and the depiction of fish rather than the cross indicate that the church was no longer used by the fourth century.

The church's location, not far from the spot where the New Testament says the final battle between good and evil will take place, also made sense because a bishop was active in the area at the time, which works with the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The inscription, which specifies that Aketous donated a table to the church, indicates the house of worship predated the Byzantine era, when Christians began using altars in place of tables in their rituals. Remnants of a table were uncovered between the two mosaics.

The building - most of which was destroyed - also was not built in the Basilica style that was standard under the Byzantines, he added.

Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar and professor at the Holy Land University, said the second and third centuries were transitional periods where people sought to define their religious beliefs and modes of worship. Iconography and inscriptions found in Nazareth and Caperneum - places where Jesus lived - show that people went there to worship, although most did so secretly.

"This was a time of persecution and in this way it is quite surprising that there would be such a blatant expression of Christ in a mosaic, but it may be the very reason why the church was destroyed," Pfann said. The dig will continue as archaeologists try to uncover the rest of the building and its surroundings, including what they believe could be a baptismal site.

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LUXOR, Egypt

A Johns Hopkins University archaeological team has unearthed a statue of Queen Ti, one of the most important women in ancient Egypt and wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. The statue, mostly intact, was found under a statue of Amenhotep III in the sprawling Karnak Temple in Luxor, which was a royal city in ancient Egypt.

Ti was the first queen of Egypt to have her name appear on official acts alongside that of her husband. She was known for her influence in state affairs in the reigns of both her husband (1417-1379 B.C.) and of her son, Akhenaton, (1379-1362 B.C.) during a time of prosperity and power in the 18th dynasty. Her son is remembered for being the first pharaoh to advocate monotheism.

Ti, of Nubian heritage, is believed to be the grandmother of Tutankhamun ~ perhaps the most famous ruler of ancient Egypt. Amenhotep III, who ruled for 38 years, made a basic change in the history of ancient Egypt when he named his wife, Ti, as queen against the tradition that his sister should be queen.

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"There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident and foolish man swallows it up and wastes it." (Proverbs 21:20)

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ROME

Archaeologists digging beneath the Roman Forum have discovered a 3,000-year-old tomb that pre-dates the birth of ancient Rome by several hundred years.

State TV showed an excavation team removing vases from the tomb, which resembled a deep well. Archaeologists were excavating under the level of the ancient forum, a popular tourist site, when they dug up the tomb, which they suspect is part of an entire necropolis.

"I am convinced that the excavations will bring more tombs to light," ANSA quoted Rome's archaeology commissioner, Eugenio La Rocca. Also found inside the tomb was a funerary urn. State TV quoted experts as saying the tomb appeared to date to about 1000 B.C., meaning the people who constructed the necropolis pre-dated the ancient Romans by hundreds of years.

Last year, archaeologists who had been digging for some two decades in the forum said they believed they found evidence of a royal palace roughly dating to the period of the legendary founding.

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WASHINGTON

Archaeologist William Saturno said he was awe-struck when he uncovered a Maya mural not seen for nearly two millennia. Discovered at the San Bartol site in Guatemala, the mural covers the west wall of a room attached to a pyramid, Saturno said at a briefing.

In brilliant color, the mural tells the Maya story of creation, he said. It was painted about 100 B.C., but later covered when the room was filled in. "It could have been painted yesterday," Saturno said in a briefing.

Saturno, of the University of New Hampshire, first reported discovery of the site in 2002 when he stopped to rest in the jungle, taking shelter in an old trench that turned out to be part of the ancient room. Since then, the west and north walls have been uncovered. The room's other walls had been demolished and used for fill, he said. The west wall was the centerpiece of the room, Saturno said.

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"Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6: 19-21)

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Lost City Uncovered Under Syrian Desert

An excavation project on the Syrian-Iraqi border has uncovered an ancient settlement wiped out by invaders 5,500 years ago. Discovered in northeastern Syria, the ruined city of Hamoukar appears to have been a large city by 4,500 B.C., said archaeologists Clemens Reichel and Salam al-Quntar, who co-directed Syrian-American excavations on the site.

The Syrian Department of Antiquities, jointly announced their discoveries. They said Hamoukar was a flourishing urban center at a time when cities were thought to be relegated hundreds of miles to the south. The site is in the upper edges of the Tigris and Euphrates Valleys, near the Iraq border. Reichel said it might have been settled as long as 8,000 years ago.

Scholars had long believed that urbanized societies started and were isolated in Uruk, in southern Mesopotamia. But excavations that started in 1999 at Hamoukar and at other sites in central Syria led to new ideas about the how urban culture spread in the region. Ancient Mesopotamia was a region that includes parts of Iraq and Syria.

This year, the Syrian-American excavations discovered evidence of the battle that toppled and burned Hamoukar's walls and ended the city's independence. Researchers found that invaders likely hurled more than 1,200 sling-fired bullets at Hamoukar and more than 100 heavy, 4-inch clay balls. "The whole area of our most recent excavation was a war zone," Reichel said.

The ruins have preserved not only local pottery and artifacts, but also vast amounts of Uruk pottery. "The picture is compelling," Reichel said. "If the Uruk people weren't the ones firing the sling bullets, they certainly benefited from it. They took over this place right after its destruction."

Reichel said if Hamoukar's residents were taken by surprise it would give researchers plenty to study because their possessions likely were buried with them under the debris.

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Ancient Israelite Alphabet Found

Two lines of an alphabet have been found inscribed in a stone in Israel, offering what some scholars say is the most solid evidence yet that the ancient Israelites were literate as early as the 10th century B.C.

"This is very rare. This stone will be written about for many years to come," archaeologist Ron E. Tappy, a professor at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary who made the discovery, said. "This makes it very historically probable there were people in the 10th century (B.C.) who could write."

Christopher Rollston, a professor of Semitic studies at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tenn., who was not involved in the find, said the writing is probably Phoenician or a transitional language between Phoenician and Hebrew. "We have little epigraphic material from the 10th century in Israel, and so this substantially augments the material we have," he said. The stone was found in July, on the final day of a five-week dig at Tel Zayit, about 30 miles south of Tel Aviv.

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Lavish Roman-Era Tomb Discovered on Crete

A well-preserved underground tomb belonging to a prominent Roman-era family has been unearthed on the island of Crete archaeologists said. The large first or second century A.D. structure beside one of the main gates to the walled city of Aptera was looted during Christian times, archaeologist Vanna Niniou-Kindeli said. It still yielded a wealth of finds, including 10-inch pottery statuettes of the ancient Greek love deity Eros, glass and pottery vases and lamps.

Built of large stone blocks, the grave is reached by a flight of steps. It has an antechamber and a main room measuring three by two yards that was the site of four burials. "These must have been highly important citizens, probably among the city's wealthiest, who had contributed to the common good of the city," Niniou-Kindeli said. "In return, they were buried in a prominent position so that whoever entered the city saw the grave."

Archaeologists also discovered a small burial ground of newborns dating to the 4th century B.C., just outside the city walls. Seven graves have been found, including a prematurely born infant's. Niniou-Kindeli said traces of ritual offerings were found beside the graves.

"This is an interesting find," she said. "We are not quite sure how to interpret it." Aptera was founded around the seventh century B.C., and was destroyed by an earthquake in the seventh century A.D. It flourished during Hellenistic and Roman times.

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