The purpose of the ritual baths in the tombs of the kings : a new proposal

The monumental burial complex known as the “Tombs of the Kings” is regarded by scholars as the burial plot of Queen Helena of Adiabene and her family, who lived in Jerusalem in the firstcentury CE. In this paper we reconsider the original purpose of the two large ritual baths in the burial compound, based on the location of the site relative to its surroundings. The scholarship assumes that ritual baths situated next to tombs were intended for use by participants in funerals or memorial ceremonies. In this paper we suggest that in the case of the Tombs of the Kings, the adjacent baths were meant for purificationof pilgrims en route to Jerusalem, as can be understood from their geographical location

Molecular Exploration of the First-Century Tomb of the Shroud in Akeldama, Jerusalem

The Tomb of the Shroud is a first-century C. E. tomb discovered in Akeldama, Jerusalem, Israel that had been illegally entered and looted. The investigation of this tomb by an interdisciplinary team of researchers began in 2000. More than twenty stone ossuaries for collecting human bones were found, along with textiles from a burial shroud, hair and skeletal remains. The research presented here focuses on genetic analysis of the bioarchaeological remains from the tomb using mitochondrial DNA to examine familial relationships of the individuals within the tomb and molecular screening for the presence of disease. There are three mitochondrial haplotypes shared between a number of the remains analyzed suggesting a possible family tomb. There were two pathogens genetically detected within the collection of osteological samples, these were Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae. The Tomb of the Shroud is one of very few examples of a preserved shrouded human burial and the only example of a plaster sealed loculus with remains genetically confirmed to have belonged to a shrouded male individual that suffered from tuberculosis and leprosy dating to the first-century C.E. This is the earliest case of leprosy with a confirmed date in which M. leprae DNA was detected

PALEO-HEBREW SCRIPT IN JERUSALEM AND JUDEA FROM THE SECOND CENTURY B.C.E. THROUGH THE SECOND CENTURY C.E.: A RECONSIDERATION

The article focuses on the use of the Paleo-Hebrew script versus the square script (known also as “Jewish script†or “Assyrianâ€) by the Jews of Judea during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. From the Persian period until the Bar Kokhba Rebellion, Paleo-Hebrew script was used in various Jewish contexts (official, sacred, funerary) and on a variety of substrates (parchment, stone, coins, and pottery). The most representative artefacts bearing inscriptions in the Paleo-Hebrew script are Jewish coins of that time and the Dead Sea Scrolls. One common view is that because the Hasmoneans and the rebels in both revolts sought to establish their sovereignty, they employed symbols of Jewish significance and the archaic and obsolete – but prestigious – Paleo-Hebrew script, which was a reminder of the glorious past. Studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls commonly premise that greater holiness and value was attached to the Paleo-Hebrew script than to the square script. The article shows that, in the Second Temple period, the square script was considered holy. Consequently, those who were scrupulous about observing the laws of ritual purity refrained from using the square script for mundane purposes and used the Paleo-Hebrew script instead

Old and recent processes in a warm and humid desert hypogene cave: ‘A’rak Na‘asane, Israel

Recent environmental processes are studied in ʻA’rak Naʻasane Cave at the northern Judean Desert, Israel. The outer zone of the cave is heavily influenced by the outside environment through a large entrance, facilitating entry of air flow, fauna and humans, with minor cave-forming modifications. Conversely, the inner cave sustains humid and warm conditions, favoring modifications by condensation corrosion of convective air flow, associated with deposition of popcorn speleothems at the lower parts of dissolution pockets. The warm humid air of the inner cave may be associated with an underlying thermal water table. Active condensation corrosion is decreasing, possibly because of gradual change in the cave microclimate, associated with falling water table and ventilation. Increasing connection with the surface is indicated by high collapse domes, rare flood invasion, and a large Trident Leaf-nosed bat community which spends the winter within the innermost parts of the cave. Bat guano supports bedrock corrosion and a rich invertebrate fauna, but humans preferred the outer parts of the cave, particularly for refuge during the second Jewish revolt against the Romans. Rare occasions of ancient human entry into the inner cave support this scenario by the small number of artifacts compared with the outer cave. Enigmatic small cairns in the largest inner hall were probably erected during the Intermediate Bronze Age

Old and recent processes in a warm and humid desert hypogene cave: ‘A’rak Na‘asane, Israel

Recent environmental processes are studied in ʻA’rak Naʻasane Cave at the northern Judean Desert, Israel. The outer zone of the cave is heavily influenced by the outside environment through a large entrance, facilitating entry of air flow, fauna and humans, with minor cave-forming modifications. Conversely, the inner cave sustains humid and warm conditions, favoring modifications by condensation corrosion of convective air flow, associated with deposition of popcorn speleothems at the lower parts of dissolution pockets. The warm humid air of the inner cave may be associated with an underlying thermal water table. Active condensation corrosion is decreasing, possibly because of gradual change in the cave microclimate, associated with falling water table and ventilation. Increasing connection with the surface is indicated by high collapse domes, rare flood invasion, and a large Trident Leaf-nosed bat community which spends the winter within the innermost parts of the cave. Bat guano supports bedrock corrosion and a rich invertebrate fauna, but humans preferred the outer parts of the cave, particularly for refuge during the second Jewish revolt against the Romans. Rare occasions of ancient human entry into the inner cave support this scenario by the small number of artifacts compared with the outer cave. Enigmatic small cairns in the largest inner hall were probably erected during the Intermediate Bronze Age