The Biblical Archaeologist - Vol.46, N.4

68 Pages·1983·20.21 MB·English

by  American Schools of Oriental Research

-
Eisenbrauntos PublishA SORD issertationS eries
TheA mericanS choolso f OrientaRl esearcahn dE isenbraunosf WinonaL alQIen, dianaa,r e
pleasedto announcteh e resumptioonf the ASORD issertatioSne riesT. wov olumesa yearw ill
be publishedw, ithm anuscriptcsh osenp rincipallfyr omt he fieldso f Syria-Palestini?ln,
CyprioteM, esopotamiaEn,g yptianI,r aniana,n dP unica rt,a rchaeologhyi,s toryl,i teraturea,n d
religiona, lthoughw orksi n relatedfi eldsw ill alsob e consideredN. o subventiown ill be
requireodf authorsI.n dividuawls ishingt o submitt heirw orkf orc onsideratiosnh ouldc ontact:
JameWs einstein
EditorA, SORD issenationS eries
o<5 OF oe,
<S0 Departmenotf Classics
t +>
GoldwinS mithHall
i t L
zD
-s*2,+^ ComellU niversity
w
IthacaN, ewY ork1 4853
w f
NEW SLIDE LECTURES BASED ONt ARCHAEOLOGY
SERIES: JUDAISI\f, 2()() B.C. - A.D. 90() SI#;RllLS:H EKO (LUL1'S
PresentFi a comprellen*;ixe ;lrx c^^ of Early Ju(lai;m i This sel ies will elescril)e the l)elief in the allciellt
Palestine. M orld that a htllllan hero coul(l becollle diville as a
re.slllt of renlarkal)le achievelllellts.
J1. rl HE tEWISH ArOR1 D 1N
PALESTINE, 20() B.CC-. A.D. '9()(), H(;9. ASKI,EPIOS, [)y Davi(l E. Aune
bv (arol 1. Nfeyers
Pre;exlt.s the Illv ths alld cults of this Greek god of
^2. LITERATURE IN EAR1Y JUDAISlV[,
healillg.
by yames H. (harleswortll
3. 1-HE MESSIANI(f HOPE, I wo Illore sli(le lecttlres are plalllle(l for this series:
by Walter Harrelson [{(,1 Helo (.lllts: All ()verview
J4. IJIFE, OEATH, AND AFTEiKLIFE, H ('3. Herctl 1eS
by C^eorge\ /V. E. Nickelsburg * * * * *
J5. ASTR()LO(^Y, ASTK()NOI\fY, AN D
111 recellt neals arcllaeological discovel-ies have gleatly
MAGI(3,
illclease(l olll lillowledge of Early Jlltlaislll alld allcient
Iy James H. (;harlesworth
11elo clllts. Illtell.sis-e sttldy of the Psedepigrapha aIld
Jfi. FROINTT EI\XP1JET O SYNA(^()(^UE, l)ead Sea scl-olls has also elllalge(l tIllderstall(lillg of
by Eri( N1. IVfeyers Farly Ill(lai.slll. \,S'rittell })y experts ill theil fiekls.
(hese le( tllle.s illcorpol-ate 1lew discovelies.
I'ro(lilce(t jointiv h the International C.ellter on
CChristiatl( 3rigins an(l the Religion an({ Ethics Insti-
ttite, with the ai(l of a grant frolil the :National En(low- All slide lee t llres collsi.st of 24 ;).)1sllll.s lides (nlost in
ment for the Hunlallitie.S. Editor: laliles H. C;harle.S- color) allel S-page prillted Iectllre. S2.) each; $135 for
worth. Project l)ire(:tor: Howar(l M. Teeple. elltire X sel ies: all postpaicl.
REIJI(sIONA ND E SHICS INSXI TUTE, P.O. Box 664, Evanston,I L 6()2()4
-
Frontc over:S toragreo omi n the cavec omplexa t KhirbeEt iton.
Backc overT: heb asilicaa nda mphitheateart Samariap hotographeidn 1909.
Biblical
50t+t
Archaeologist
December1 983 Volume4 6 Number4
198 NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL 223 THE AMMAN AIRPORT 244 NEAR EASTERN
EVIDENCE ON ANCIENT STRUCTUREA ND THE ARCH&EOIDGYI N
CAPERNAUM GEOPOLITICSO F ANCIENT HISTORICP HaIC)GRAPHS
VasillioslE aferis TRANSJORDAN IngeborgE ndterO 'Reilly
Recente xcavationsp,a rticularliyn the LarryG . Herr During the nineteenth century early
Greeks ection,a rey ieldingn ew Archaeologiceavl idencen ow indicates photographersr ecordeds ites in the
insightsi nto the historyo f this this structurwe asa mortuaryw here Holy Landt hat would soon be changed
importansti te. cremationw asp racticedin the late forever.A t the turn of the century the
thirteenthc entury Does this pioneers of scientific excavationi n the
BC.
207 ENIGMATICB IBLE suggestt he presenceo f Hittitesi n region used photographyt o document
PASSAGES Transjordadnu ringt his period? their work. The photographso f both
groupsa re now recognizeda s
The Plain Meaning
230 BA PORTRAIT importanta rchaeologicalt ools.
of Genesis 1:1-3
EdwardR obinson:B iblical
HarryM . Orlinsky 251 ENIGlVIATICBI BLE
One of the most eminent of the recent Scholar PASSAGES
translatorso f the Bible discusses what PhilipJ . King
is probablyi ts best known passage. In the rediscoveroyf the HolyL and Mark 15:46:T he Shroudo f
duringt he nineteenthc enturyf,e w lbrin as a Problemo f History
210 UNDERGROUNDH IDING scholarsc ontributeads mucha s and Faith
Robinson.
COMPLEXESF ROMT HE BAR D. Moody Smith
KOKHBAW ARI N THE The biblical and archaeological
235 WHY STUDY THE evidence for and against the shroud is
JUDEAN SHEPHELAEI
PSEUDEPIGRAPHA? discussed in connection with its
Amos Kloner MichaelE . Stone meaning.
Since 1978 more than 150 cave com-
Scholarlyin teresti n these writings
plexes at 70 sites have been discovered.
fromt he SecondT emplep eriodi s DEPARTMENTS
The study of these has increasedo ur
againo n the rise.
understandingo f the second Jewish 194 INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS
war against the Romans. 196 FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
255 BOOK REVIEWS
256 BOOKS RECEIVED
BiblicalA rchaeologisits publishedw ith the financiala ssistanceo f
Zion ResearchF oundationa, nonsectarianf oundationf or the study of the Bible
and the historyo f the ChristianC hurch.
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGISTIDECEMBER1 983 193
Introducing the Authors
VasilliosI kaferiso, f the Departmenot f Antiquitiesa nd
Museumsin Israeli, s a specialisti n Byzantinea rchaeology
in the HolyL andH. is most recentm ajore xcavationhs ave
focusedo n earlyC hristianc hurchesi n Magen( southo f
Israel}S, hepherdF'si eld( southeasot f Jerusalema),n da
churcha ndm onasteryin Kursil,o catedo n the eastern
shoreo f the Seao f Galilee.H e has alsoe xcavateda syna-
goguea t Maoz-Haimin the JordanV alleya ndr ecently
completedf ives easonso f excavationa t Capernaum. Vasillios Tzaferis Michael E. Stone
HarryM . Orlinskyis Professoorf Biblea t the Hebrew
UnionC ollege-JewisIhn stituteo f Religionin New YorkH. e
initiatedt he New JewishV ersiono f the Biblei n 1955
(JewishP ublicationS ociety[ JPS]1, 982la ndw ase ditor-in-
chiefo f the Torah( JPS1, 9627H. is valuableN otes on the
New 7Eanslation of the Torah appeareidn 1969l JPS)D. r.
Orlinskyis the onlyJ ewishs cholarin vitedt o takep arti n
an authorizedC hristiantr anslationo f the Bible;h e wasa
membero f the committeeo f twenty-twwo hichp roduced,
in 1952,t he RevisedS tandarVd ersionH. e is currentlyw ork-
ingo n the newe ditiono f this officialP rotestanBt ible.
AmosK loneris DistrictA rchaeologisotf Jerusaleman d
the JudeanS hephelahfo rt he IsraelD epartmenot f
AntiquitiesH. e has taughta rchaeologoyf the Hellenistic,
Romana, ndB yzantinep eriodsa t the universitieso f Haifa
andB arI lani n IsraelH. e recentlys erveda s a fellowa t the
Centref orP ostgraduatHe ebrewS tudiesa t the University
of Oxfordh; is articlef eaturedin this issue wasw ritten
duringh is staya t OxfordA. mongD r.K loner'ps resents ub- HarryM. Orlir2.sky
ects of investigationa ret he necropoliso f Jerusalemin the
SecondT emplep eriode, xcavationos f the ancients yna-
goguea t Rimmoni n the Negev,a nds everasl ites in the the historyo f ASORH. is currentr esearchfo cuseso n
archaeologyc'so ntributionto the studyo f the prophetso f
JudeanS hephelah.
the eighthc enturyB .C.
LarryG . Herri s AssistantP rofessoorf OldT estamenatn d
Archaeologayt the Seventh-daAyd ventisTt heological MichaelE . Stonei s Professoor f ArmenianS tudiesa t the
SeminaryF, arE asti n ManilaP, hilippinesH. e receivedh is HebrewU niversityo f Jerusaleman da lsoT arzianV isiting
Ph.D.i n NearE asternL anguageasn dC ivilizationfsr om Professoor f ArmenianH istorya ndC ulturea t the Uni-
HarvarUd niversityH. is doctoratlh esis,T he Scriptso f versityo f PennsylvaniaH. is researchin terestsh avec on-
Ancient Northwest Semitic Seals, wasp ublishedb y centratedo n Jewishli teraturea ndt houghti n the Second
ScholarPs ressf ort he HarvarSde miticM useumi n 1978.D r. Templep eriodA; rmenianm anuscriptas ndl iterature,
Herrh ase xcavatedat HeshbonC, arthagea,n dt he Amman especiallyt hatd erivingf roma nda ssociatedw ith the
airporat ndi s presentlyth e chiefa rchaeologisatn dc eramic Bible;a ndA rmenianp aleographayn de pigraphyp,a r-
specialisto f the projecteMd adabPa lainsP roject. ticularlyi n the HolyL anda ndt he Sinaip eninsulaA. mong
his manyp rofessionaalc tivitiesh e servesa s editoro f the
PhilipJ .K ingi s Professoor f BiblicalS tudiesa t Boston forthcomingv olume,/ ewish Writingso f the Second
College.P astP residenot f the AmericanS choolso f Orien- TempleP eriod( Compendia Rerum Iudiacarum ad Novum
tal Researcha ndt he CatholicB iblicalA ssociationo f Testamentum 2.2) ande ditoro f the University of Penn-
AmericaD, r.K ingh as beena ctivelye ngagedin field sylvania Armenian Textsa nd Studies. Dr.S toneh as
archaeologuyn derA SORa uspicesf ort wentyy ears.H is publishedw idely,a ndh is worksi ncludeS criptures Sects
recentb ook,A merican Archaeology in the Mideast (The and Visions:A Profile of Tudaismf rom Ezrat o the Tewish
AmericanS choolso f OrientalR esearch1, 983}p, resents Revolts (Fortress1,9 801F, aith and Piety in EarlyT udaism
194 BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/DECEMBER1 983
\. W * s
!,
-
/ / / -; - _ .
- -
;
? i, 1
*\'
* tl s
.\h
* \'t '. -s
-- - Y
' '- ';
Uh
o ^ - - b #
vf w s "n'
tames R. Mueller i- a. * _s C.. k,,{_
Amos Kloner
D. Moody Smith
Philip t. King
a HarvarUd niversityu ndergraduastteu denti n archae-
ology.S hew rites," Duringm y studentd aysI workeda s a
volunteera, ndt hereaftear s a staffm emberg, raduallyp ick-
Larry G. Herr ingu p the trainingI neededi n photographcyo, nservation,
andc ollectionsm anagementA. ndn owh ereI am,t ryingt o
(withG . W.E .N ickelsburgF, ortress1, 9831a, ndt he transla- raiset he consciousnesso f the archaeologicaclo mmunity
tions andn oteso n the Visiono f Ezraa ndQ uestionso f Ezra concerningp hotographidco cumentationM!" s.O BReilly
in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1, has writtens everaal rticleso n the studya ndc areo f
Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments (Doubleday1,9 837. photographicco llectionsa ndh as recentlyc ompileda nd
editedT he Image of the East, Nineteenth-century Near
JamesR . Muelleri s VisitingI nstructoor f Religiona t Eastern Photographsb y Bonhls (text byC ameyG avin;
NorthC arolinaS tateU niversityi n RaleighI. n additiont o The Universityo f ChicagoP ress,1 9827.
contributingtw o translationtso the new editiono f The
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, he has fort he pasts ix D. MoodyS mithi s Professoor f New TestamenItn terpreta-
yearss erveda s the seniore ditoriala ssistantf ort he project. tion at the DivinityS choolo f DukeU niversityi n North
At presenth e is completinga majorb ibliographoyf the CarolinaA. n ordainedm inistero f The UnitedM ethodist
New TestamenAt pocryphaan dP seudepigraph(wa ith ChurchD, r.S mithh as receivedm anya wardas ndh onors
JamesH . Charlesworthaln di s editinga volumeo f texts includingP hiB etaK appaG, uggenheima ndL illyF ellow-
andt ranslationos f documentsi n the Ezrac ycle. ships,a ndR esearchF ellowo f the Associationo f Theologi-
cal Schools.H e is alsot he authoro f sevenb ooksa nd
IngeborgE ndterO 'Reillyis AssistantC uratorfo rA rchives numerousa rticlesa nde ssays.A noteda uthorityo n the
at the HarvardS emiticM useum.H erw orkw ith the FourthG ospel,P rofessoSr mithi s the immediatep ast
museumfps hotographiacr chivesd atesb ackt o hery earsa s Directoro f the GraduatPe rogramin Religiona t Duke.
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/DECEMBER1 983 195
Biblical ga
Fromt he EditorJDs esk
Archaeologlst
Editor
Eric M. Meyers
Associate Editor
lames W. Flanagan
ManagingE ditor
Martin Wilcox
Assistant to the Editor
KarenS . Hoglund
Book Review Editor
Peter B. Machinist
EditorialC ommittee
LloydR . Bailey
Carole Fontaine
VolkmarF ritz
LawrenceT . Geraty
David M. Gunn
A. T. Kraabel
Bamch A. Levine
Carol L. Meyers
JohnW ilkinson
Art Director
Linda Huff
EditorialA ssistant
Melanie Arrowood
SubscriptionsM anager
Harini Kumar
AdvertisinSga les
Allan E. Shubert Company As 1983d rawst o a close we mayr eflecto n
198 Allendale Road
the stateo f the field ando bservew ith a
King of Prussia, PA 19406
215-265-0648 sense of pridet hat ASORi s flourishinga s
neverb efore.W ithf ieldp rojectsa nd
tBlUibalirctaelr lY Ar(cMhaaeroclho,g ist June, (ISSeSpNte mb0e0r0, 6-0895D1e cembiesr }p ublisbhyed the surveysi n a growingn umbero f new countries,w hile
pArmofeirt,i can nonseSctcahroiaonls of edOurciaetniotanla l Resoeragracnhi zatio(nA SOR},w itha non- continuingm anyp rojectsin countrieso f its tradi-
dadelmphiniais,t rativPeA 1910o4f.f icesS ubscarti p4ti2o4n3 Sprourcdee rs Starneedt , all Phbiluas-i ness tional activity( IsraelJ, ordanC, yprus)o, uro r-
cSoerrrveiscpeso,n denc4e2 43 Spsrhuocuel d Stbreee t,s ent Phitloa deAlpShOiaR, SubPscAr ipt1i9o1n0 4. ganizationa t its 1983c onventionm irrorst he
Annual subscription rates: $16 in the U.S., U.S. posses- unprecedentedsu rgeo f creatives piritt hat
sions, and Canada; $18 foreign. Special annual subscrip-
tion rates for students and retired faculty: $10 in the characterizetsh e field of NearE asterna ndb iblical
U.S., U.S. possessions, and Canada; $12 foreign (To
tolfu aali fyd ocumfoern t studentth at ovre rrifeiteisr ed yofuarc ultcyu rrenrta tes, stastuens.dl aC cuorp- y archaeologyT. woc urrentso f influencem ayb e
rent single issues: $5 in the U.S, U S possessions, and discernedin these diverser esearcha ctivities:t he
Canada; $6 foreign. Students and retired faculty: $4 in
the U.S., U.S. possessions, and Canada; $5 foreign. so-calledn ew archaeologyo n the one handa ndt he
Members of ASOR automatically receive Biblical
Archaeologist as one of their annual membership more' thistoricallyo"r ientedf ield of biblical
benefits.
Article proposals, manuscripts, letters to the editor, and archaeologyo n the other.
all other editorial correspondence should be sent to the
Editor, Biblical Archaeologist, ASOR Publications ASOR,a lthoughn eart he onset of its eighty-fifth
Office, Box HM, Duke Station, Durham, NC 27706.
Unsollcited manuscripts must be accompanied by a yearo f worki n the NearE ast,s howsn o signso f
self-addressed, stamped envelope bearing the proper
return postage. Foreign contributors should furnish growingo ld. On the contraryi,t s resilientn aturea nd
international reply coupons
diversec onstituencye nsuret hat its coursea t the
Books for review should be sent to Dr. Peter B.
Machinist, Department of Oriental Studies, The end of the twentiethc enturyr emainsf undamentally
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
in line with that of its foundingf athersA. t the same
Composition by ProType, Inc., Chapel Hill, NC.
Printed by Fisher-Harrison Corporation, Durham, NC. time, howeverr, ecentt rendsi n the fieldh aveo pened
Second-class postage paid at Philadelphia, PA 19104 and
additional offices. new vistaso f investigationth at bringi nto ASOR's
Postmaster: Send address changes to ASOR Subscrip- purviewn ew landsf ore xplorationa ndn ew methods
tion Services, 4243 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA
19104. fore xamininga ndi nterpretingth e resultso f new
Copyright Ig 1983 by the American Schools of Oriental surveysa nde xcavationsC. hangea ndg rowtha ret he
Research.
196 BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGISTIDECEMBER1 983
keyw ordsi n all scientific,e mpiricale ndeavorsa, nd ploringa remotes ectiono f Syria-Palestinoen camel
no one glancinga t the 1983D allasp rogramo r perus- with a Biblei n one handa ndb inocularsin the other,
ing BASORo r BAc oulda voidl Deingim pressedw ith then we must also honestlyr ecognizeb otht he dif-
this fact. ficultiesa ndt he promiseo f the contemporareyx -
This magazinew ill continuet o bringt o our plorero f Biblel andsw ho ridesa Toyotaje epw ith a
readersth e resultso f these lalDoras,n dw e dependo n portablec omputeri n the backc ompartmenat nda
ourr eadersa ndp rofessionaal udiencet o recommend mini-reference-libraorny t he fronts eat. In some
appropriatteo picsa nda uthorst o the editoriall Doard. placest he persono n camelo r in a jeepm ighte venb e
I am delightedt o reportt hat the responset o ourc all followedo r attackedb y a groupo f old-world-types
forp apersh as lDeenm ost positivea ndt hat the cur- sportingf ull beardsa ndw earingb lacko r gray
renti ssue accordinglyr eflectst his. I pledgem yself kaftans.
andt he lDoartdo acknowledgea ll suggestionsa nd Suchi s the lot of today'sa rchaeologistW. em ust
sulDmissionisn a prompta ndp rofessionaml anner. not lose sightt hat howeverd ifficultt hese times
As ASORc oncludesi ts eighty-fourthye ar,t he appearto be, the searchf ort ruthu nites those of us
IsraelE xplorationS ocietyc elelDrateitss seventieth who remaino pena ndc ommittedt o the scientific
lDirthdaiyn Jerusalemth is April- witha festivalo f approacha, n approachw hich allowst he datao f both
lDilDlicaarlc haeologyth at is studdedw ith presenta- literarya nalysisa ndm aterialc ulturet o speakw ith
tions lDyth e luminarieso f the fieldf romI srael, the commandinga uthorityo f evidenceu ncoveredin
Europea, ndt he UnitedS tates.T he readeris invited an objectivew ay.A SORa ndB iblical Archaeologist
to readt he scheduleo f lecturesp ulDlisheidn this remainc ommittedt o this ideala ndl amentt he fact
issue. The Israelis cholarlyc ommunityd emon- that some archaeologistas ren ot freet o pursuet heir
stratesb y virtueo f this programa ndt he commit- workw ithout interference.
ment of its universitiest o archaeologya s an
academicd isciplinet hat bilDlicaalr chaeologyen joys
its highestl evelo f activityi n Israel,a nda ll ASOR
joinsi n wishingt he IESc ontinueds uccesso n this
occasion.I sraelis tandardisn fieldw orka ndi n EricM . Meyers
pulDlicatiown ill providea challengef org enerations Editor
to come.
As of this writing,h oweveri,t is quitep ossible
that the birthdayp artys et to beginA pril1 , 1984,
standsi n jeopardyo f beingr uined.P resentn egotia- IN THE
tions to forma new governmenitf all 1983)a ftert he
resignationo f PrimeM inisterB eginh avei ncluded
NEXT BA
an item regardinrga bbinicaslu pervisiono f digsi n
ordert o determinew hich excavationsa rei n viola-
tion of the Jewishl aw regardinbg urialsT. he Israeli
archaeologicaclo mmunityh as correctlyr eacted Eblae xcavatoPr aoloM atthiaeb rings
with angera ndc hagrina t the proposedin terference BAr eaderus p to datew ith his first
by a religiousa uthorityi nto empiricalr esearchW. e publishedr eporto n the westernp alace
in ASORd eplores uch a regulatorytr endw hetheri t
andt he royaln ecropoliso f the Amorite
be at the handso f politicalo r religiousf iguresI. f
Period.
archaeologyis to flourisht rulyi n anys ettingi t must
As an outcastf romt he courto f Saul,
be unimpededa ndf reet o publisha ndi nterpreta ll
resultso f excavatedr emains. Davidf ledi nto the lando f the Philis-
As a finaln ote, let me sayt his abouta nother tines wheret he kingo f Gathg aveh im
issue facingA SORt oday.I t has been suggestedb y
one of the countryt owns,Z iklag,i n
some that the debateg oingo n amongo urm embers
whicht o live.T he problemo f identify-
in respectt o the naturea nds copeo f the archaeo-
ing the locationo f biblicalZ iklagh as
logicald isciplinei s a problemI. wouldp referi nstead
to see this as a naturalg rowthp rocesso f a dynamic puzzleds cholarsf orn earlya centuryI. n
institution.I f some ASORm embersf eel ill at ease the nextB AJ oeD . Segerr eportso n the
with the memoryo f one of the foundingf atherse x- continuings earchf ort his elusives ite.
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGISTIDECEMBER19 83 197
New Arclpaeological
Ev id e n c e o n A n c ie n t
CAPERUMN A
BY MSILLIOTZS AFERIS
OrthodoxChurchlnl931C opyHghtbyZevRadovan
198 BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGISTIDECEMBER1 983
naumd uringt he Romana nd Early
New archaeological evidence from
Byzantinep eriods( firstt hroughs ixth
centuriesA .Dh.}a s finallyb een docu-
Capernaum requires a revision of the
mentedw ith some certaintyH. ence,
accepted historscal facts. the synagogueh as now been dated
securelyt o the late fourtho r early
fifth centuryo n the basis of new ar-
The ruinso f ancientC aper- Holy Land.T hese excavationas re chaeologicael videnceu ncoveredb y
naum,s ituatedo n the still in progresas ndh avep rovided Franciscanex cavations.
northwestemsh oreo f the considerableev idencef or datingt he In additiont, he octagonaCl hris-
Seao f Galileea, nde spe- establishmenot f the synagoguea nd tian church,p artlys urveyeda nd ex-
ciallyt he remainos f its magnificent the church. cavatedin 1905a nd 1921b y the
Jewisha ndC hristiasna nctuarieasr, e Franciscanfa therD r. Gaudence
fascinatinwgh env iewedw ithint he RecentE xcavations Orfali,h as been shownt o be con-
frameworokf the historicaaln dt heo- in the GreekS ection structedo vert he placet raditionally
logicalc ontroverssuy rroundinthge The previouslya cceptedt heory, regardedas the site of St. Peter's
site.T hec ontroverbsye gans oon basedo n architecturaaln d artistic house.T hereforet,h e archaeological
aftert he Franciscafna therVs irgilio aspects,t hat the synagogueh ad excavationos f the Franciscanhsa ve
Corboa ndS tanislaLo offredian itiat- servedt he communityd uringt he revealedth at the synagoguea nd the
ed archaeologiceaxlc avationins 1969 seconda nd thirdc enturiesA .D., has churchw ereb uilt at approximately
in the sectiono f the siteb elonging been refutedb y new findingsa, nd in- the same time and that they stood
to the FranciscaCnu stodyo f the deed,t he entireh istoryo f Caper- side by side for over2 00 yearsu ntil
Generalp lan of the Greek section of Capernaum.N ote its relation to the Franciscans ection.
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/DECEMBER1 983 199
structedh uts that were probably
once used for seasonalf ishing.T he
first attemptb y the GreekO rtho-
dox Churcht o put the site to some
use was in 1931,w hen the patri-
archD amianusb uilt a small
churcha nd a winter residence,
which still exist at the site. These
buildingsw ereu sed for only a few
yearsa nd were subsequentlya ban-
doned.I n 1975t he site came under
the authorityo f the metropolitan
Germanosw, ho restoredt he
church,r enovatedth e house near it,
and madep lans for trees and gar-
dens to be cultivateda roundt he
buildings.H e consultedt he Israel
Departmento f Antiquities,a nd it
was subsequentlyd ecidedt o con-
duct archaeologicaslo undingsi n
the areab eforea ny workw as
Aerialv iewo f the ruinso f the synagoguer,e sidential ando ctagonacl hurchin the Greek undertaken.
sectiono f CapernaumP. hotograpcho urtesyo f Richaareatr dC leaveN, earE asternP ictoriaAl rchive, Thus in October1 978e xcava-
terusalem. tions wereb eguni n the Greeks ec-
tion of Capernauma, nd they have
theirf inal destructiona nd abandon- can Custodyo f the Holy Landa nd continuedw ithout interruptionfo r
ment in the firsth alf of the seventh the otherb elongingt o the Greek five seasons.T he excavationsh ave
century OrthodoxC hurcho f Jerusalem. been conductedo n behalfo f the
A.D.
Earliera rchaeologicafli ndings New excavationsh ave revealedt hat IsraelD epartmento f Antiquities
presentedb y FatherC orboa lso have the western,F ranciscans ection and Museums,w ith full financial
provedr eliabler egardingth e history compriseso nly the earlyt own of supporto f the GreekO rthodox
of CapernaumT. he first settlement Capernaumj,u st some 30 meters Churcho f JerusalemI.n the third
was establishedi n the EarlyR oman fromt he eastern,G reeks ection, season,N otre Dame Universityo f
period( firstc entury and it re- the historyo f which dates exactly Indianap articipatedin the work,
B.C.),
mainedo ne of the most important fromt he point where the first ends, and in the fourths eason Averett
towns in the regiono f the Sea of therebyc ontinuingt he historyo f Collegeo f Virginiaa ssistedb y send-
Galilee fromt hat periodu ntil early the earliers ite. ing a groupo f studentsa nd pro-
medievalt imes. The resultso b- The two sections are dividedb y viding financialh elp. The final sea-
tainedf romt hese excavationsin - a stone wall, constructedw hen the son in 1982w as carriedo ut with
dicate that the entire settlement land was purchasedb y the Francis- the full participationo f all four in-
came to an abrupte nd in the first can Custodya nd the GreekO rtho- stitutions,a nd a groupo f students
half of the seventhc entury and dox Church.N o one imaginedt hen fromM issouriS tateU niversitya lso
A.D.
was neverr ebuilte xceptf or tem- that the wall representeda mean- took part.
porarys easonalo ccupationsT. his ingful separationb etweent wo his- The first season'se ffortsw ere
would tend to confirmt he doom toricallyc onsecutives ites. concentratedo n a comprehensive
spokenb y Jesus:" Andt hou Caper- The "Greeks ection"o f Caper- surveyo f the areai n ordert o define
naum, which is exaltedu nto naum comprisesa n areao f about the boundarieso f the site and the
Heaven,s hall be broughtd own to 20,000 squarem eters,e xtending natureo f the ruins.T he results
Hell"{ Matthew1 1:23). along the northeasts horeo f the Sea werep romising,a nd it became
New archaeologicael vidence, of Galilee.T he site was totally cleart hat extensivea rchitectural
howeverr, equiresa revisiono f the neglectedu ntil the 1930s,p artly and culturalr emainse xistedu nder
acceptedh istoricalf acts.T he an- becausen one of the magnificent the surface.
cient site of Capernaumis divided ancient structuresw ere apparento n One of the most interesting
into two sections of almost equal the surface;t he only visible re- discoverieso f the season was a two-
size, one belongingt o the Francis- mains were those of poorlyc on- meter-thickw all madeo f basalt
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/DECEMBER1 983
200