Annual at the Alamo, Paul J. Ray, Jr.
Zadok Lecture, Matthew Grey
Abila Lecture, Paul J. Ray, Jr.
Al-Maktába: The Bookstore
Random Surveyhttps://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/iaham-news/1021/thumbnail.jp

Grey, Matthew

Ray, Paul J., Jr.

English

Andrews University

Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University The Institute of Archaeology & the Horn Archaeological Museum Newsletter The Institute of Archaeology & the Horn Archaeological Museum Winter 2005 Institute of Archaeology & Horn Archaeological Museum Newsletter Volume 26.1 Paul J. Ray Jr. Matthew Grey Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/iaham-news Table of ContentsPageAnnual MeetingZadok LectureAbila LectureAl-MaktábaRandom SurveyINSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGYHORN ARCHAEOLOGICALMUSEUMNEWSLETTERPaul J. Ray, Jr. EditorDavid Merling Assoc. EditorRandall W. Younker Assoc. EditorRobert D. Bates Asst. EditorThe Newsletter is published four times ayear by the Institute of Archaeology,Andrews University. Annual subscriptionprice is $7.50. Museum membership,subscription, and editorial correspon-dence should be addressed to the HornArchaeological Museum, Institute ofArchaeology, Andrews University,Berrien Springs, MI 49104-0990,Telephone 269-471-3273, Fax 269-471-3619, e-mail hornmusm@andrews.edu.Volume  26.1Winter 2005ISSN 1095-2837ANNUAL AT THE ALAMOThe 2004 annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research was held in SanAntonio, Texas from Nov. 17-20. About 550 people attended the 48 available sessions, where 212different papers were read. The plenary session was given by British archaeologist Ian Hodder onNew Discoveries at Çatal Höyük. As usual, the Near East Archaeological Society annual meetingwas held concurrently (Nov. 16-19) and the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literatureimmediately after (Nov. 20-23).A number of Madaba Plains Project members and affiliates participated in various aspects ofthe meeting venue as in the past. Those who chaired sessions this year included: Constance Gane(Archaeology of Mesopotamia I); Bethany Walker (The Literary and Spiritual Worlds of MedievalPersia: Exploring SAMA’s Islamic Ceramic Collection and Archaeology of Jordan); Douglas Clarkwith James Flanagan (ETANA [Electronic Tools and Ancient Near Eastern Archives] Workshop I:ETANA Digital Library Project); Gloria London (Outreach Education: CommunicatingArchaeology to the Public); Bert de Vries (Material Culture in Ottoman Syro-Palestine); DavidGraf (Arabia I);  Lawrence Geraty (Presidential Forum: Archaeology, History and the Passion ofthe Christ); and Rhonda Root and Gary Christopherson (Poster Session: New Technologies andTheir Uses in Archaeology). Individual submissions were made by Larry Herr with Joe Seger and James Weinstein (TheDevelopment of ASOR’s Publication Policy); Timothy Harrison (New Foundations and the Lawrence Turner, Randall Younker and Arthur Chadwick lecture on Z Maz utilization.12334(cont’d. on p. 2)Newletter 26.1.qxd  2/16/2006  9:43 AM  Page 1Evidence for Urban Expansion at IronAge Ta‘yinat); Mark Ziese (PersistentPotters and the Dynamics of Resistance atEarly Bronze Age Tell Taannek); BethanyWalker and Øystein LaBianca (MPP –Tall Hisban 2004: Preliminary Report);Randall Younker with Arthur Chadwickand Lawrence Turner (Report on theUtilization of the Z Maz GPS SurveySystem at Tall Jalul, 2004: A Quicker andMore Accurate Way for Mapping andDrafting); Moise Isaac (The Politics ofTextal Social Discourse in KaratepePhoenician Inscriptions); ØysteinLaBianca and Adam Fenner (Was Hisbana “Throne Village” During OttomanTimes ?); David Graf (New NabataeanAramaic Inscriptions in the Hijaz);Theodore Burge (The Musical Vision ofthe Chronicler); Douglas Clark and LarryHerr (The 2004 Excavations at Tall al-‘Umayri); Chang-Ho Ju (Cities andTents: A Quantitative Study of the IronAge Settlement and Society in the DhibanPlateau); P. M. Michèle Daviau (Khirbatal-Mudayna: Iron Age Tower); and aposter session by Robert Bates (MakingPottery Drawings with a Computer and aScanner). At the annual meeting of the NearEast Archaeological Society DavidMerling presented a paper on Issues ofApologetics in the Book of Joshua.(Paul J. Ray, Jr.)Zadok LectureEarly in October 2004 Ran Zadok,Professor of Mesopotamian, Iranian andJudaic Studies at Tel Aviv University inIsrael, visited the Horn ArchaeologicalMuseum at Andrews. This visit was histhird trip to Andrews University as part ofan ongoing project of compiling a proso-pography of several Mesopotamian tem-ple cities in ancient  Babylonia. This pro-sopography is based on several thousandpublished and unpublished cuneiformtablets in various museums throughoutthe world. Part of Dr. Zadok’s projectincludes studying 70 of the 200 Neo-Babylonian tablets housed at the museum.Along with his research, Dr. Zadokalso presented a lecture entitled TheEarliest Diaspora: The Judeans inBabylonia and Their Neighbors on Oct.5. He began by reviewing the OTaccounts of the Babylonian deportations:the first in 597 B.C. (including KingJehoiakin and 10,000 trade workers) andthe second in 586 B.C. (when Jerusalemwas destroyed and its urban elite sent intoexile). These deportations resulted in alarge Judean population settling for a timein Babylonia. While this account is drawn primari-ly from biblical records, lesser knownhistorical documents of the period can befound in cuneiform tablets originallyfound in royal and private archives.Unlike the continuous historical narrativeof the OT account, these tablets consist ofeconomic documents which allow us toreconstruct a profile of the activities ofthe Judeans in Babylonia from ca. 620-350 B.C. One important example consistsof lists of food and clothing allowancesissued to foreign rulers and notables, onelist even including the name Jehoiakin,the imprisoned king of Judah.  During the period of the Babyloniandeportations, Judean deportees settled innorthern and central Babylonia. Severalhundred Judean names appear on approx-imately 300 of the 50,000 tablets of theperiod, making this the largest extrabibli-cal pool of Judean names in existence.Even so, these documents are primarilyfrom temple and private archives ofBabylonians who kept records for otherBabylonians. Foreigners, who did notwrite in cuneiform on clay tablets, butrather in Aramaic on perishable materials,are no doubt under-represented.Judean names are identified by theconsistent use of the theophoric elementYHW, in cuneiform expressed asIA-A-HU-U and IA-A-MA. The gentilic“Judean,” however, is found only once asYahu.da.yu in connection with KingJehoiakin. Almost all the recordedJudeans appear to be freemen who weresettled by the authorities and subsequent-ly employed in the temple and privatesector as tenants, shepherds and, and forthe first time, fishermen. Regrettably, extrabiblical informationregarding the religious character of theexiles is rather limited in the economicrecords. Nevertheless, some details offerinsight. None of the documents connectedto Judeans seem to have been issued onthe Sabbath or during other Jewish holydays, none contain oaths by pagan deities,and there is little evidence of Judeansmarrying their daughters to the locals(although they seem to have taken localwives). The dramatic increase inYahwistic names might also suggest areligious revival among the exiledJudeans of the period. In conclusion, these cuneiformsources represent considerable evidencefor the continuous presence of the exilesin Babylonia. The wider implications,according to Dr. Zadok, include a refuta-tion of some of the more nihilistic notions(of Thompson and others) which claimthat there was no Babylonian exile at all.On the contrary, the Babylonian econom-ic tablets are an exceptional source forconfirming the reality of the exile andpresenting some possibilities for betterunderstanding the nature of Judean life inBabylonia. (Mathew Grey)Ran Zadok.Newletter 26.1.qxd  2/16/2006  9:43 AM  Page 2Abila LectureOn Oct. 25, Timothy Snow,Instructor at Mid-South Christian College,in Memphis, TN presented an illustratedpresentation for the Horn Museum lectureseries entitled Abila at the Time of Jesus.Abila is a 25-acre site located about 5 kmsouth of the Yarmuk River. Although thesite is not mentioned in the NT, theDecapolis, or ten cities, is mentionedthree times (Matt 4:25; Mark 5:20, 7:31).In the second century A.D. Abila is men-tioned as one of the Decapolis cities(Ptolemy Geo 5.14). However, the list ofcities varied over time, and since Abila isnot mentioned in the earlier list, it maynot have been one of them at that time. Abila was visited by Seetzen in 1806and by Schumacher in 1888, but it wasnot excavated until 1982, after a surveyby Mare and others in 1980. It has beenworked consistently since that time. Roman period ruins found at Abilainclude two layers (basalt and limestone)of a Roman road that runs through the sitein Area B, a plaza area, and a bath com-plex as well as arcosolia and loculi tombswith frescoed walls, bas reliefs and occas-sionally a sump. A torso and lower leg ofa statue of Artemis with a quiver forarrows on its back illustrate the type ofRoman period artifacts found at the site.At least seven Byzantine churches(or basilicas) have been found attesting tothe impact of Christianity at Abila.(Paul J. Ray, Jr.)AL-MAKTÁBATheBookstoreMUSEUM AND INSTITUTE MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLEat the following levels:Benefactor $1000 Patron $500 Sponsor $100Sustainor $50 Contributor $25 Participator $10Newsletter subscriptions are included in each level of membership, or you may subscribe for just $7.50 per year.Just clip this form and send it to:Horn Archaeological Museum Your Name: Andrews UniversityBerrien Springs, MI 49104-0990 Address:Membership level: Phone: Subscription only ($7.50): E-mail:Donations: Fax:Total Enclosed:Please make checks payable to: Horn ArchaeologicalMuseum. If you are a member, would you like your name men-tioned in the Newsletter?YES NOTimothy Snow.Newletter 26.1.qxd  2/16/2006  9:44 AM  Page 3Egyptian Predynastic TombsFound at HierakonpolisArchaeologists have recently discov-ered a 5,600-year-old funerary complex near ancient Hierakonpolis.The complex, dating to around 3600B.C., is the largest yet found fromthis period and promises to revealmuch about the elusive Predynasticperiod of Egypt, leading up to itsfirst unification. Finds include sevencorpses and burial textiles, fine vessels and an intact figure of acow’s head carved from flint.Elamite Capital ExcavationsExcavations have recently been conducted at ancient Anshan (Tall-i Malyan), one of the twocapitals of the Elamites. Discoveries dating as early as 3000 B.C. include buildings, houses,Elamite inscriptions and a seal. Ziggurat FoundA ziggurat dating to ca. 2300 B.C. has been discov-ered near the Iranian city of Jiroft. This is the firstziggurat that has been found in Iran and demonstratesthe extent to which Mesopotamian civilizationimpacted the region.Edom Redated Excavations at Khirbet en-Nahas suggest a redating ofbiblical Edom, which is cur-rently thought to haveemerged in the 8th centuryB.C. New evidence for mas-sive copper production, for-tifications and buildingcomplexes has been foundat the site which date fromthe 12th to 9th centuriesB.C.  Finds includeEgyptian scarabs from theNew Kingdom and ThirdIntermediate Period. Theseresults indicate a date atleast 300 years earlier thanpreviously thought, makingthe site contemporary withmuch of Israelite history.  To discover more about archaeology, theInstitute, and the Museum, contact us at:VOX: 269-471-3273FAX: 269-471-3619E-mail: hornmusm@andrews.eduor visit our Web site at:www.andrews.edu/archaeologyINSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGYHORN ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUMAndrews University, Berrien Springs, MI 49104-0990Address Service RequestedNon-profit OrganizationU.S. Postage  PAIDPermit No. 5Berrien Springs, MI 49103Egyptian Seagoing Vessel A team from Boston University has recently discovered the earliestremains of a seagoing vessel from ancient Egypt in two caves onthe Red Sea coast. Finds include timber and rigging, as well aspottery which seem to date the artifacts to the 15th century B.C. Ithas been suggested that the discoveries could be linked to theexpedition of Queen Hatshepsut to the land of Punt as depicted onher temple near Luxor.Newletter 26.1.qxd  2/16/2006  9:44 AM  Page 4

Institute of Archaeology & Horn Archaeological Museum Newsletter Volume 26.1

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Institute of Archaeology & Horn Archaeological Museum Newsletter Volume 26.1

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