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Today, the new Biblical Archaeology Review appeared online, and in it, there is an article on which I am signed (more or less, written by others though …), which is a quite humorous, popular recounting of the article that I published not too long ago in JSOT on the “Ophalim” in the book of Samuel.
Today, we had one of the lab talks at Safi lab at Bar-Ilan University, and as always, we learnt some very intersting things.
Our speaker today was Prof. Haskel Greenfield, from University of Manitoba (and an Annual Professor at the Albright Institute) who gave a talk on “The secondary products revolution in the old world: A zoarchaeological perspective from the Balkans”.
One of the most useful tools for the analysis of complicated archaeological stratigraphy is the well-known “Harris Matrix,” developed by Edward Harris, and well-known through his important book:
Harris, E. C. 1989. Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy. 2nd ed. London: Academic.
This Saturday night, Jews throughout the world start celebrating the festival of Passover (Pessach), which traditionally commemorates the exodus of the People of Israel from the slavery in Egypt. On Saturday evening, the traditional Seder is conducted, in which Jews have a festive (and long …) meal at which the “Hagadah” (the “telling”) is recited.
This Monday and Tuesday, I went backpacking with two of my sons and some friends along a section of the Israel National Trail, in the Shephelah region. We started at Khirbet Hanot, which is a very nice Byzantine period site, which includes a nicely recreated winepress, and church with an inscription (see here video of the site and the inscription that appears on the web; the inscription was published in: L. De Segni. 2003. A Greek Inscription in the Church at Horvat Hanot, in G.C. Bottini, L. Di Segni and D. Chrupcala, One Land—Many Cultures. Archaeological studies in honour of Fr S. Loffreda, Collectio Maior 42. Jerusalem: Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, pp. 273-276.) and a very large pile of stones.
Goliath’s tomb?
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Yesterday, Elah, Itzik Shai’s wife, gave birth to a baby boy, their third child!
See here for a view of the Shai family (with Elah’s father and grandfather) at the dig during the 2006 season, before the “new addition” arrived.
Mazal tov!
Aren
Today, I had the opportunity to visit (with Alex and Itzik from the Safi staff) a recently discovered Philistine temple which is being excavated by Pirhiya Nahshoni of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The site, which located in the NW Negev on Nahal Patish, not far from Moshav Gilat (where the famous Chalcolithic period temple is located) is being excavated as part of salvage operations for a planned railway (and in fact, in a few days will be covered over and eventually destroyed …).
Itzik, Alex, Pirhiya and Svetlana looking at the finds at the site
This last monday, Amit Dagan, one of the regular Safi staff, and graduate student at Bar-Ilan University, gave a talk about his MA thesis research, one of the regular bi-weekly talks at the lab.
Amit is researching and will publish the finds from a small site that is located about 1.6 km to the east of Tell es-Safi/Gath, which was excavated about 5 years ago by Yigal Yisraeli of the Israel Antiquities Authority. This site is apparently a small rural site dating to the Iron IIB (ca. 8th cent. BCE).
Today, I recieved my copy of the new, 5th, supplementary volume of the New Encylclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, which is chock full of many interesting articles on all kinds of sites in Israel, Palestine and Jordan which have been excavated since the original 4 volume encyclopedia was put out in the early 90’s. Much thanks and congrads to Prof. Ephraim Stern and the editorial staff of the IES for putting out this important volume!
At long last, as mentioned before, the article by David Ben-Shlomo, Itzhaq Shai, Alex Zukerman and yours truly on Philistine cooking pots has appeared in the newest issue of the American Journal of Archaeology (aka AJA).
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