Holy Land Archaeology at Duke

“Shabbat shalom” from the Galilee, day two! We began the day with another delicious breakfast in the kibbutz dining hall, surrounded by countless other pilgrims, tourists, and birthright travelers. Yet while we sat warm and cozy inside, outside a chilly rain was falling just heavy enough to postpone our Tel Dan hiking plans. In a last minute effort to salvage the day, we changed today’s itinerary and headed instead to the kibbutz museum.

The museum houses what some call the “Jesus Boat,” a fishing vessel dated to the 1^st century CE, found here at Ginosar in 1986. Inside we watched a film documenting its remarkable journey from discovery to presentation: After only eleven days for excavation (because the lake level was rising), archeologists encased the boat in a yellow fiberglass material and floated it on the Sea of Galilee so it could be properly removed from the lake and prepared for restoration. It soaked for a couple years in a chemical solution that gradually replaced the water molecules, trapped within the wood, with a waxen preservative.

The Galilean fishing boat from the time of Jesus, on display at the Ginosar museum. Photo by Hillary Martinez.

Today the boat rests comfortably in its very modern display room, complete with sea foam colored glass, darkly stained wood, and lots of stainless steel. Additionally, signs posted throughout the room quote New Testament accounts of Jesus interacting with nature, particularly his fishing adventures with the disciples. Apropos our discussion yesterday at Gamla, we concluded that the exhibit clearly caters to Christian pilgrims seeking a more soothing Holy Land experience. Despite how this observation butted up against our budding academic desires for objectivity, we acknowledged that, if put in a similar position, we too might wind up emphasizing the potential Jesus connection.

From there we headed to the highly anticipated excavation site at Sepphoris! This massive endeavor involved archeologists from around the globe—including our own professors! Almost immediately, we passed the street that our trusty TA and friend, Ben Gordon, found when working here as a supervisor. And as for the Meyers…well, I’ll just let the fact that they are featured on the brochure, website, and history wall of the park speak for itself.

As we walked around the site, it became increasingly clear why mosaics have come to define this ancient city—they are everywhere! In a civic building, we saw the Nile-themed mosaic floor depicting real and mythological creatures, including centaurs and, my favorite, the Amazon women. At the Dionysus House atop the hill (excavated by the Meyers), the “Mona Lisa of the Galilee,” captivated us from the triclinium floor. And in the rare one-sided Jewish synagogue, which notably faces 35 degrees off the traditional Jerusalem orientation, Zodiac signs encircled not an anthropomorphic divine figure, but the sun.

The group meets by the Sepphoris synagogue mosaic; the zodiac panel is to the left and the table of showbread and basket of first fruits is to the right. Photo by Ben Gordon.

Indeed, the mosaics at Sepphoris are truly astonishing in craftsmanship, aesthetic, and content. I certainly wouldn’t mind having something like them in my house! But as we might expect, they have also been the source of interpretational controversy. The multitude of cultural themes suggests this city was home to a diverse demographic, including Roman pagans, Christians, Jews, and Arabs, but at which times and to what extent remains open for debate. And as young students of archeology: debate, we shall!

Eric Meyers and students atop the Crusader citadel at Sepphoris. Photo by Ben Gordon.

The Crusader church of St. Anne at Sepphoris. Photo by Ben Gordon.

Speaking of diversity, I will now take some liberties that (I hope!) arise with my blogging near trip’s end. Thinking back, I fondly recall how our class, comprised of a quite dissimilar group of people, has come to care deeply for one another. While I could sentimentally blabber on about this, I suspect an anecdote might support this claim a bit better: Today, when our beloved Kayla dropped her camera into a crevice at the Sepphoris synagogue, the group pulled out every makeshift tool (key chains, paper clips, pocket knives, skinny hands, etc) we might use to retrieve it. After a couple humorous attempts, Ben, John and Salil successfully pulled up the device full of captured memories using a makeshift fishing-pole-like contraption made of a hook, string, and twig. Breathing a sigh of relief and laughing over the absurdity of it all, we headed off to our next destination…lunch!

Jayne Ratliff and a performer at the Nazareth Village, which attempts to recreate Galilean life in the 1st century CE. Photo by Ben Gordon.

Today was our first full day exploring the region of Galilee. Departing the kibbutz, we ascended the Golan Heights. Formerly a part of Syria, Golan was annexed by Israel following the Six Day War; it was also home of the Geshur peoples from which King David took a wife. A rugged high plateau, Golan offers sweeping views of the Jordan river valley.

Our first stop this morning was the Gamla nature preserve, where we took a short hike to the Gamla waterfall–the tallest falls in Israel. Along the way, we passed several dolmen (dol = stone; men = table) which served as simple burial markers for the nomadic, Bronze-age peoples of the plateau. We also visited a small Byzantine settlement and an lookout for the vulture preserve. Gamla park serves as sanctuary for the Griffon vulture whose habitat has been threatened by the increased urbanization in the region. Continuing our hike, we reached the archaological site of Khirbet-es-Salam, from which the Gamla park takes its name. Khirbet sits atop a narrow ridge between two wadis. This strip of land curves sharply up from the valley floor, followng the contours of a camel’s back (gamla = camel in Aramaic).

Gamla shares in the mythologized history of Israel. The site was a stronghold for Jewish rebels during the First Revolt (CE 66-70). After a prolonged seige, the Roman legion broke through the city walls on October 12, 67. Josephus recounts the story in his text War: “In a moment, news of the Roman entry reached the center of the town. Many were prevented from running up to the heights, and in their helplessness fell into the hands of the Romans. There were heart-rending cries as men were slaughtered on every side, and the whole town was deluged with blood that poured down the slopes…” According to Josephus, 4000 inhabitants succombed to the Romans and 5000 chose suicide over slavery, plunging to their death down the steep slopes of the hill. While there are some idiosyncracies in Josephus’ account and questions as to whether the site is the location of this revolt, both the story and the site were re-appropriated by the Zionist movement. Like Masada, the story of Gamla embodies the heroic potential of the Jewish people in the face of adversity. The introductory movie played at the site’s museum underscores this point. After a dramatic presentation of Gamla’s last days, the movie ends with the following words: “Gamla will not fall again.” The city was not re-settled in modern times. For the proto-nationalists, Gamla stands in for Israel. In other words, Israel will not fall again.

Erica Sherman and Kathleen Perry lead a discussion in the Gamla synagogue, dated to the 1st century BCE. Photo by Ben Gordon.

Erica Sherman and Kathleen Perry. The discussion was on Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Photo by Ben Gordon.

In the afternoon, we visited Capernaum (a center for Christ’s Galilean ministry) and the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fish. Located on the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum contains a Byzantine-era synagogue and church constructed in close proximity. If the two structures housed contemporaneous communities, two active religious groups occupied the same social space. The Byzantine church reputedly stands over the house of the apostle Peter, indicating an earlier religious community at the site. Archaeological excavations provide evidence for this earlier structure. Textual accounts, however, suggest a more complex story. The Gospel of Mark cites an early domus ecclesia in verse 1:23, likely the house of Peter. In 570, the Piacenza pilgrim records the presence of an early Christian basilica at the site. The current remains are those of an octagonal church (not a basilica).

Eric Meyers and the group in the Capernaum synagogue, dated to the Byzantine period. Photo by Ben Gordon.

The shift from a domus to a basilica to an octagonal church is indicative of the region’s development into a pilgrimage destination. Until the late fourth century, Galilee was not cited as a pilgrimage destination. By the 380s, however, several sites in the region had entered the repertoire of holy places. For example, the Spanish pilgrim Egeria records her visit to the house of Simon-Peter, Matthew’s tollbooth, and the “rock on which Jesus rested his arm,” all in Capernaum.

Students gather on the shore of the Sea of Galilee at Capernaum. Photo by Ben Gordon.

Erica Sherman, John McLean, and Harrison Hines at Capernaum. Photo by Ben Gordon.

The reciprocal development of religious tourism and the holy sites served as the topic of our afternoon discussion. If the sites of the Holy Land inspire devotion, devotion inspires the identification of additional sites. This raises the question of authenticity in the Holy Land experience. Much scholarly work has been devoted to locating the sites of the Bible archaeologically and authenticating remains. But is this always the best appoach to archaeology? What other values to pilgrims and tourists attribute to the holy sites? How do we as academic tourists experience the Holy Land?

On this beautiful, breezy, and busy day we spent much of our time exploring the north shore of the Sea of Galilee and the Lower Golan Heights.  It was a long hike up the Golan, but certainly rewarding.  Once reaching the top, we stood across from a deep gorge with a waterfall at the end.  We were standing at the highest waterfall in Israel, which of course meant dozens of “ahh’s” from the students as well as more than a few photos.

Jayne Ratliff, Winston Liu, Michael Hammett, and Salil Saxena on a windy morning hike in Gamla National Park. Photo by Ben Gordon.

A dolmen from circa 2000 BCE in Gamla National Park. Photo by Ben Gordon.

We continued on our hike, passing through an ancient Christian village named Deir Qeruh. We had been told by our professors that Gamla National Park was now a sanctuary for vultures. While the students were a bit anxious as to the underlying meaning of this, nevertheless the Meyers’ and Ben continued to lead us onwards, reaching the majestic site of Gamla.

The ruins of a 6th-century monastic church at Deir Qeruh. Photo by Ben Gordon.

Many called Gamla “the Masada of the North,” which was understandable once our professors expounded on its “history.”  Josephus had once more written about the Roman siege on this Jewish settlement.  The story goes that Vespasian began the siege on Gamla in 67 CE.  The Romans broke through the surrounding walls without much trouble, but were held off by the Jewish defenders.  After the Romans regrouped, they sent three soldiers into the settlement by night and toppled a tower, causing much panic among the Jewish residents of Gamla.  The next day 4,000 are said by Josephus to have fallen to the Roman soldiers, while another 5,000 committed suicide by jumping off the cliffs.

As we had seen from our visit to Masada, Josephus was notorious for exaggeration.  While there is clear evidence that a Roman siege did take place, it is highly unlikely that anywhere near 5,000 Jews committed suicide by flinging themselves off the cliffs.  First of all, the angle of decline off Gamla is about 30 degrees, which is not steep enough to throw yourself off.  Secondly, not a single skeleton was found on the ground below.  And suspiciously like the account in Masada, two women escape to tell the story of Gamla.

Atop the Gamla hill, from left to right: Hannah Peckham, Hillary Martinez, Carol Meyers, Salil Saxena, Rebecca Kuzemchak, Michael Hammett, and Winston Liu. Photo by Ben Gordon.

Afterwards, we hiked down and visited the Golan Archaeological Museum at Qasrin.  We watched a short film there telling the story of Gamla, which also bore similarities to the one in Masada.  While this one seemed less ideologically motivated than the one at Masada, it nevertheless still seemed to portray Josephus’ account as historical.

At our last site, we visited the Church of Multiplication, which is commemorated as the site where Jesus performed the miracle of multiplying the few loaves of bread and fish he received in order to feed thousands of people.  The church was beautiful, and inside was a famous floor mosaic of bread and fish.

After dinner, we listened to an interesting talk given by Dr. Oded Lipschits, who is the Director of the Nadler Institute of Archaeology in Tel Aviv University.  He told us some fascinating information about what goes on inside the Archaeology Department in Tel Aviv University, as well as some new findings of his, which won’t be revealed on this blog.  Nevertheless, it was a highly engaging talk, and an exciting and enriching day.

At eight o’clock this morning, we bid farewell to the Rosary Sisters Convent and the city of Jerusalem, our home for the past week. It was a bittersweet departure. Sadness at having to leave the beautiful Holy City mixed with the excitement of exploring a different corner of the terra sancta. Jerusalem will certainly be missed, but I believe all of us look forward to these next few days in Galilee as well.

After leaving Jerusalem, we traveled back into the West Bank and visited the ancient fortified city of Jericho. Many of us, myself included, were familiar with the city from the book of Joshua, which tells of the Israelite conquest of the city. Joshua and his followers, the story goes, walked around the city walls for seven days. On the seventh day, they walked around seven times, sounded their horns, and the walls fell. As it turns out, the walls that fell in the story enclosed a space not much larger than the main academic quad on Duke’s campus, and seven laps around the city would probably make for a nice morning jog. Many of the places we have been on this trip have been breathtaking; in this case, the site had no hope of living up to the grandiosity of the Biblical narrative. As budding archeologists, however, we were not disappointed: the city contained the remains of a conical tower from the late Neolithic period, close to 10,000 years old. These remains represented the oldest such structure still in existence.

Carol Meyers and students at Jericho (Tell es-Sultan). Photo by Ben Gordon.

Will Parham at a fruit stand in Jericho. Photo by Eric Meyers.

Today’s itinerary featured a veritable laundry list of Biblical locations: Jericho, the river Jordan, the Sea of Galilee. Yet by far the most enthralling place we saw was the ancient town center of the city Bet She’an. After riding a tractor-drawn vehicle into the site, we turned the corner and were met with a spectacular view of the ruins. This massive and impressive group of remains made up what was once the center of public life in the city of Bet She’an. A long colonnaded street would have served as an outdoor marketplace, and intersected with a major road that pointed to Damascus and Caesarea in one direction and Petra, Jordan in the other. Many of the city’s features were typical of Roman urban development: a theater for stage performances, multiple temples in honor of their gods, an expansive bathhouse (a social and recreational favorite for Romans), and a central forum in the style of the famous Forum Romanum.

However, while the most dramatic remains in Bet She’an were Roman, the city featured elements of several other historical periods, providing a cross-section of ancient history. The hill on the western side was artificially built up over many years of human settlement, and has ancient Egyptian remnants at the top. Later, the location was settled by the Israelites, and the site is traditionally held to be near the place where King Saul – this first of Israel’s kings – died. After the Israelites, Greeks, and Romans made use of the location, the Byzantine Empire made it the capital city of the Palestina Secunda province, and destroyed the Roman temples in a process of Christianization. Further evidence of occupation during the Islamic period and Ottoman Empire make this site a sort of archaeological record of imperial influence – a life-size history book chronicling the rise and fall of great empires.

Students gather in the Egyptian governor's mansion of the 12th century BCE on Tel Bet-Shean. Photo by Ben Gordon.

Carol Meyers on Tel Bet She'an. Photo by Ben Gordon.

After lunch and a time for class discussion (set in the picturesque Roman theater), we left Bet She’an and stopped at Bet Alfa to see a large mosaic that was once the floor of a synagogue. We then made our way across the Jordan River and along the Sea (i.e. lake) of Galilee to our new home at Ginosar Kibbutz. The kibbutz is a marked contrast to our previous living arrangement in Jerusalem. Spacious and quiet, the complex features a hotel with a buffet-style dining room. After a dinner of soup, salmon, rice, vegetables, fresh bread, dessert and coffee, I am confident that life will be both comfortable and exciting for the remainder of our journey in the Holy Land.

Today sadly marked the end of our time in Jerusalem.  After saying goodbye to the sisters at the convent and crossing into the West Bank, we arrived at Jericho, or Tell es-Sultan (the Tell of the Sultan). While the city of Jericho is best known for the story of Joshua and when “the walls came a tumblin’ down,” its history goes far beyond the symbolic biblical narrative. Sitting at a strategic high point above the rift of the Jordan Valley, the monumental architecture of the walled city was built in the Neolithic period, around 8500 BCE, making it the oldest walled settlement in the entire world.  What’s even more impressive is that the settlement was completely built without the use of bronze tools. When considering that fact, the perhaps otherwise unimpressive walls and monuments inspire a greater sense of awe than I ever thought a stone tower could.

Leaving the West Bank for the last time, we headed onto Bet She’an. The ruins are an overwhelming sight even without a detailed knowledge of the history and archeology of the site.  The city is at the crossroads of the Jezreel Valley (running east-west) and the Jordan Valley (running north-south), partially explaining why it has been continuously occupied for over 6,000 years.  All of the major empires at one point or another have occupied this valley, spanning from the Bronze Age to the early Islamic period, when an earthquake relegated the majestic city to the earth for another 1300 years.  I continue to be impressed by the intricacies of the architecture that we’ve seen in many of the ruins. One of the most striking features of this city is darker stones that color the premises, as opposed to the all-white structures that are more common to Roman cities.  The darker stone had come from the basaltic flow of nearby Golan Heights and was intermixed with the traditional lighter limestone to create a pleasing aesthetic. Bet She’an also boasts the most remarkable bathhouses we’ve seen thus far, with two competing bathhouses at the height of the city. This is not to mention the looming traditional Roman columns that dominate the entire site while harking to a forgotten past.

Kathleen Perry atop Tel Bet She'an, with the remains of the classical city Skythopolis on the plain below. Photo by Eric Meyers.

The group gathers on the top of Tel Bet She'an with the Jordan River valley in the background. Photo by Ben Gordon.

The colonnade of Sylvanus Street and Tel Bet She'an provide the background for this group photo and could be familiar to regular readers of this blog. Photo by Ben Gordon.

After lunch, we walked over to the Roman theater to have our discussion for the day on Biblical Minimalists.  The article we read for the day argues that the centering of archeology in Israel on the biblical has effectively erased Palestinian history, or when that history is present, it only serves as the context to further understand Israelite history.  While the discussion served to bring up many important points, such as possible reasons for lack of interest in archaeology in the PA and critique of the article’s perhaps over-reactionary views, the issue is complex, and is only complicated by the intense political situation that pervades the region.

Winston Liu and Salil Saxena lead a discussion on Biblical "minimalists" in the theater at Bet She'an (Skythopolis). Photo by Carol Meyers.

Salil Saxena and Winston Liu. Photo by Eric Meyers.

Afterwards, driving through the lush fields of the Jordan Valley, it was easy to appreciate the natural beauty of the land. The many kibbutzim have traditionally taken advantage of the agricultural fertility present in the region.  Founders of one kibbutz were digging up their fields when they accidently discovered a 6^th century CE synagogue floor mosaic, which we were lucky enough to visit today.  The mosaic at Bet Alpha is a colorful conglomeration of Jewish and Greco-Roman symbols.  A large circular zodiac is sandwiched between a scene from Genesis depicting the near sacrifice of Isaac and a representation of the Holy Ark. While the artistic quality of the mosaic might be considered sub-standard compared to other mosaics in the same period, it still presents an extraordinary picture of the role that Jewish life played in the Byzantine-controlled land.

We finally rolled into our lodgings at Kibbutz Ginosar for the last five days in Israel later that afternoon.  We are looking forward to exploring the Galilee region tomorrow (I’ve even heard rumors of hike!). Till tomorrow!