The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide

576 Pages·2008·11.84 MB·English

by  Jerome Murphy-O’Connor

OxfordArchaeologicalGuides
GeneralEditor:BarryCunliffe
The Holy Land
JeromeMurphy-O’ConnorisProfessorofNewTestamentattheÉcole
BibliqueetArchéologiqueFrançaise,Jerusalem,andauthorofPaul:A
CriticalLife(1996)andPaul:HisStory(2004),bothalsopublishedby
OxfordUniversityPress.
BarryCunliffeisProfessorofEuropeanArchaeologyattheUniversity
ofOxford.Theauthorofoverfortybooks,includingTheOxford
IllustratedPrehistoryofEuropeandTheAncientCelts,hehasservedas
PresidentoftheCouncilforBritishArchaeologyandtheSocietyof
Antiquaries,andiscurrentlyamemberoftheAncientMonuments
BoardofEnglishHeritage.
‘abrilliantaccomplishment...theonebookyoumustbringwithyou
whenyouvisitIsrael.’
 
‘Alwaysrespectful,yetnevergullibleorpreachy,FatherMurphy
O’Connor’sTheHolyLandisbyfarthebestpopularguidetoits
subjecteverwritten.Everyentrybearstheindeliblemarkofhaving
beenwrittenbysomeonewhoknowstheplaceitdescribes,andhas
seenitwithanexpertintelligenceandanopenmind.Inshort,it’sthat
rarething,anexcellent,up-to-date,well-writtenguidebook.’
 
Oxford Archaeological Guides
England TimothyDarvill,PaulStamper,andJaneTimby
Rome AmandaClaridge
Scotland AnnaandGrahamRitchie
TheHolyLand JeromeMurphy-O’Connor
Spain RogerCollins
SouthernFrance HenryCleere
Greece AntonySpawforthandChristopherMee
Ireland AndyHalpinandConorNewman
The Holy Land
An Oxford Archaeological Guide
from Earliest Times to 1700
JeromeMurphy-O’Connor,
ÉcoleBibliqueetArchéologiqueFrançaise,Jerusalem

Revisedandexpanded
1
3
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TheHolyLand:anOxfordarchaeologicalguidefromearliesttimesto1700/Jerome
Murphy-O’Connor.—5thed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-19-923666-4
1. Palestine—Antiquities—Guidebooks. 2. Palestine—Guidebooks. 3. Excavations
(Archaeology)—Palestine—Guidebooks. I. Title.
DS111.M82007
956.94—dc22 2007036902
TypesetbySPIPublisherServices,Pondicherry,India
PrintedinGreatBritain
onacid-freepaperby
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ISBN 978–0–19–923666–4
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Series Editor’s Foreword
Travellingforpleasure,whetherforcuriosity,nostalgia,religiousconvic-
tion,orsimplytosatisfyaninherentneedtolearn,hasbeenanessential
part of the human condition for centuries. Chaucer’s ‘Wife of Bath’
rangedwide,visitingJerusalemthreetimesaswellasSantiagodeCom-
postela, Rome, Cologne, and Boulogne. Her motivation, like that of so
manymedievaltravellers,wasprimarilytovisitholyplaces.Later,asthe
GrandTourtookaholdintheeighteenthcentury,pietywasreplacedby
theneedfeltbytheelitetoeducateitsyoung,tocompensateforthedis-
gracefullyinadequatetrainingofferedatthattimebyOxfordandCam-
bridge.ThelevellingeffectoftheNapoleonicWarschangedallthatand
intheageofthesteamshipandtherailwaymasstourismwasbornwhen
MrThomasCookfirstoffered‘AGreatCircularTouroftheContinent’.
There have been guidebooks as long as there have been travellers.
Though not intended as such, the Histories of Herodotus would have
beenanindispensablecompaniontoawanderingGreek.Centurieslater
Pausanias’guidetothemonumentsofGreecewaswidelyusedbytravel-
lingRomansintentondiscoveringtherootsoftheircivilization.Inthe
eighteenthcenturytravelbookstookonamorepracticalformofferinga
torrentofusefuladvice,fromdealingwithrecalcitrantforeigninnkeep-
ers to taking a plentiful supply of oil of lavender to ward off bedbugs.
But it was the incomparable ‘Baedekers’ that gave enlightenment and
reassurancetotheincreasingtideofenquiringtouristswhofloodedthe
Continentinthelatterpartofthenineteenthcentury.Thebatteredbut
much-treasured red volumes may still sometimes be seen in use today,
poredoveronsitesbythosenostalgicforthegentleartoftravel.
Theneedsandexpectationsoftheenquiringtravellerchangerapidly
anditwouldbeimpossibletomeetthemallwithinthecompassofsingle
volumes.Withthisinmind,theOxfordArchaeologicalGuideshavebeen
createdtosatisfyaparticularandgrowinginterest.Eachvolumeprovides
lively and informed descriptions of a wide selection of archaeological
sites chosen to display the cultural heritage of the country in question.
Plans, designed to match the text, make it easy to grasp the full extent
ofthesitewhilefocusingonitsessentialaspects.Theemphasisis,nec-
essarily,onseeing,understanding,andaboveallenjoyingtheparticular
place. But archaeological sites are the creation of history and can only
befullyappreciatedagainstthelongueduréeofhumanachievement.To
providethis,eachbook begins witha wide-ranginghistoricaloverview
introducing the changing cultures of the country and the landscapes
whichformedthem.Thus,whiletheGuidesareprimarilyintendedfor
thetravellertheycanbereadwithequalvalueathome.
BarryCunliffe
Preface to the Fifth Edition
ArchaeologyinIsraelneverstops.Theresultisthatnoguidebookisever
completelyuptodate.Thebestthatonecandoistokeepupgradingcon-
tinuously.Inthepastenoughnewmaterialaccumulatedtonecessitatea
neweditioneveryeverysixorsoyears,andthiseditionisnoexception.
Six new sites have been integrated, ranging from a Middle Bronze
watersysteminJerusalemtoaUmayyadfortbesidethebeachatAshdod,
and perhaps the original Pool of Siloam. Final reports have nuanced
andsometimeschangedthepreliminaryinterpretationsproposedinthe
courseofexcavation.Anoriginalapproachtoasiteasthoroughlystudied
as the Holy Sepulchre has yielded fresh information of crucial impor-
tance.AtHazortwoancientbuildingsweremovedtoanotherpartofthe
moundinordertoexplorewhatlaybeneath,andaCanaanitepalacewas
broughttolight.TherestorationofthecolourfulfrescosatAbuGhosh
andthedisplayofmagnificentmosaicsatSepphorishaveenhancedthe
artisticdimensionofthebook.Evenwhenthereisnonewarchaeological
materialentrieshavehadtoberewrittenbecausetheNatureandParks
Authority haschangedthe accessroute(forexample, En Gedi, andthe
Caesareadam)orthedirectionofpaths(forexample,Banyas).Discover-
iesinmyreadingofancientauthorshaveledtoanumberofnewboxes.
MarcelBeaudry,amajorcontributortopreviousrevisions,diedtrag-
ically in a car accident in June 2000. His participation in this edition
is greatly missed. To some extent his place has been taken by Christian
Eeckhout,OP,towhomIexpressmythanks.Ioweaparticulardebtto
twousersoftheguidebook,TarcisioZanette,OP,andTomPowers,who
tookthetroubletosendmelistsofminor,butnonethelessmostwel-
come,corrections.MygratitudeisalsoduetoHanlieBooysen,Heather
Brophy,SeanandFranMcCann,andFrancescoMancawhobroughtme
to sites that I needed to check, to Jennifer Dillon for ten excellent new
drawings,andagaintoJean-MicheldeTarragon,OP,forthephotographs
fromthecollectionoftheÉcoleBiblique.
JeromeMurphy-O’Connor,
Jerusalem
October2007
Contents
Listof Maps xiv
Introduction xv
ScopeofthisGuide xv
HowtousetheGuide xv
Bibliography xvii
PracticalAdvice xxi
Acknowledgements xxii
A Brief HistoricalOutline 1
Part 1: The City of Jerusalem
Walls and Gates 11
Herod’sGateanditsVicinity 14
DamascusGate 14
NewGateanditsVicinity 16
JaffaGatetotheSouth-WestCorner 17
SionGatetoDungGate 18
StStephen’sGate 21
(cid:1)(cid:1)
The Citadel 23
TheMuseum 24
TheBuildingandtheExcavations 25
The MuslimQuarter 29
StAnne’s 29
MinorMonuments 33
AntoniaFortress 34
MonasteryoftheFlagellation 35
EcceHomo 35
ViaDolorosa 37
(cid:1)
MamlukBuildings 38
Aqabatet-Takiya 40
TariqBaben-Nazir 41
TariqBabel-Hadid 42
Suqel-Qattanin 43
TariqBabes-Silsila 44
The Christian Quarter 49
(cid:1)
TheHolySepulchre 49
HiddenPartsoftheConstantinianHolySepulchre 59
viii Contents
TheRussianMissioninExile 59
EthiopianMonastery 61
TwoMosques 62
TheMauristan 63
ChurchoftheRedeemer 64
ChurchofStJohntheBaptist 65
Hezekiah’sPool 65
RomanColumn 66
The Armenian Quarter 68
(cid:1)
TheCathedralofStJames 68
TheMardigianMuseum 72
TheConventoftheOliveTree 73
MedievalChapels 73
The Jewish Quarter 75
IsraeliteandHasmoneanWalls 76
ModelofIronAgeJerusalem 78
CrusaderMarket 78
(cid:1)
CardoMaximus 79
TheBurntHouse 80
(cid:1)(cid:1)
HerodianHouses 80
StMaryoftheGermans 82
TheColumn 83
ApseoftheNeaChurch 83
TheFourSynagogues 84
HurvaandRambanSynagogues 84
ThePavedStreet 85
TheRoofsoftheMarket 86
Haram esh-Sharif(Temple Mount) 87
AlongtheNorthWall 90
(cid:1)(cid:1)
DomeoftheRock 92
DomeoftheChain 97
ThePlatformoftheDomeoftheRock 98
(cid:1)(cid:1)
FountainofSultanQaytbay 98
MadrasaAshrafiyya 99
Babel-Mathara 100
Babel-Qattanin 100
GoldenGate 100
El-AksaMosque 102
Solomon’sStables 104
IslamicMuseum 105
Excavations at theWesternWall Plaza 106
TheWesternWall 106
(cid:1)(cid:1)
WesternWallTunnel 107
Contents ix
(cid:1)
TheSouth-WestCorner 110
(cid:1)(cid:1)
OutsidetheDoubleandTripleGates 113
MountSion 115
(cid:1)
TheCenacleandtheTombofDavid 115
Hermitage 118
TheEsseneGate 118
SaintPeterinGallicantu 119
The City of Davidand theKidron Valley 120
TheObservationPoint 120
(cid:1)
TheAcropolis 122
TheJebusiteWall 124
AncientJerusalem’sWaterSupply 124
(cid:1)
GihonSpringanditsTunnels 127
IronAgeWalls 128
ARitualBath 129
PoolofSiloam 130
WeillExcavations 131
Tombs in theValleys 133
Absalom’sMonument 133
TombofJames 134
TombsinSilwan 135
Aceldama 136
Hell 137
The Mountof Olives 139
RussianAscensionChurch 141
MosqueoftheAscension 141
ChurchofthePaterNoster 143
TombsoftheProphets 144
DominusFlevit 144
ChurchofStMaryMagdalene 146
(cid:1)(cid:1)
Gethsemane 146
TheChurchofAllNations 147
TheTomboftheVirgin 148
TheCaveofGethsemane 150
Bethphage 150
Bethany 152
New City 155
New City:Northern Section 157
SanhedrinTombs 157
TombofSimontheJust 157
(cid:1)
TombofQueenHelenaofAdiabene 158