Jeff Chadwick (AKA AMK) has passed on a very nice short popular article in the BYU Religious Education Review that he wrote on the results of our excavations in Area F (where he serves as Field Director of Area F).
Here is the article – check it out – very nice! Chadwick_-_Gath_of_the_Philistines-A_Decade_of_Digging_-_BYU_Rel_Ed_Review2013-1
Aren
As mentioned previously, last night I gave a lecture at William Jessup University which is in Rocklin, CA. This is where Cynthia Shafer-Elliott teaches – who is a long time team member of the Safi excavations and leads the Jessup team. It was great to Cynthia and other members of last year’s team! I think the lecture went very well – and hopefully, next year, when Cynthia brings a group from Jessup – we will have a large amount of very excited people joining our work!
BTW – this is a beautiful part of CA – quite different from the well-known parts – and the campus is VERY nice.
Aren
Let me join in with prayers for all those effected by the horrible events in Boston – including several past and present Safiites. Since the media is now reporting that this still may be an ongoing event – keep safe!
Crazy and dangerous world out there!
Aren
After years of working in a lab which gave those inside the lab the feeling that they were working in a cave (and a stuffy one at that), and after several years of pushing for this to be improved, finally, finally, finally, the situation has vastly improved!!!
Amit has sent me pictures of how the lab now looks after the renovation of the ceiling (white panels instead of black ones), the lights (sufficient amount of bright lighting in the entire lab) and new electrical connections (up until now, the lab basically was one big fire hazard…).
Wowsa! Very nice!
And that’s Merav Edrei posing…
This may be an indication that the Messiah is about to appear!
:-)
Aren
See here a report on a new TV show in which forensic recreations of biblical persons are suggested. Notice, among others, the suggested recreation of a Philistine woman, and the suggestion that this is what Delilah would have looked like!
I think she looks like a retired Hedy Lamarr – as one would expect of Delilah…
BTW – we have found the comb with which Delilah combed Samson’s hair! As you can see, his hair was so rough and hard – that the teeth of the comb broke… :-)
Aren
On Thursday evening, April 18th, I’ll be giving a lecture about the excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath at Williams Jessup University. If you happen to be around that “neck of the woods” – it would be great to see you there!
Thanks for Cynthia for the invitation – and I hope to see some of the past, and future, Safi team at the lecture!
Aren
After many delays, it looks like the edited book on the Sea Peoples, edited by A. Killebrew and G. Lehmann, is finally out! Although, as noted previously, this book has been in the making for quite awhile, and much of the material is probably a bit dated by now, nevertheless, it contains a lot of interesting data and many discussions by the leading people in Sea Peoples’ study, so it should be a good read!
Kudos to Ann and Gunnar for their hard work!!
Aren
Chris has uploaded a very nice staff page on the blog, which can be accessed from a tab on the main page of the blog.
Check out the bios and pictures of some of the staff – and hopefully the lazy ones will soon submit their materials as well and it can be expanded…
Happy Passover/Easter!
Aren
Tonight, Monday night, Jews the world over begin the celebration of Passover (Pessach), the festival in which the exodus from Egypt is remembered.
May all of us find ways to our personal and public freedom – and lose our modes of slavery!
Aren
A new article in which Louise Hitchcock and yours truly discuss our recent, somewhat revolutionary perspectives on the development of the Philistine culture (“Beyond Creolization and Hybridity: Entangled and Transcultural Identities in Philistia”) is about to appear in the Archaeological Review from Cambridge (ARC). The article will be published in a special issue that will deal with the fascinating topic of cultural mixing, and there are several very interesting studies, including by two people connected to the Safi project, Philipp Stockhammer (Heidelberg) and Yigal Levin (BIU).
See below the cover of the soon-to-appear issue (courtesy of Louise):
Aren
P.S. The full citation of the article is: Hitchcock, L. A., and Maeir, A. M. 2013. Beyond Creolization and Hybridity: Entangled and Transcultural Identities in Philistia. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 28.1 : 51-72.
