LF: Hidden secret of Gezer: A pre-Solomonic city beneath the ruins

Title: Hidden secret of Gezer: A pre-Solomonic city beneath the ruins
Source: [None]
URL Source: http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-1.554228
Published: Dec 15, 2013
Author: Ran Shapira
Post Date: 2013-12-15 21:17:09 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 38683
Comments: 66

A summer dig unexpectedly reveals remains of an unknown city beneath the known Canaanite one.

The walls in the ancient city beneath Gezer are as much as a meter thick. Photo by Samuel Wolff

Several pottery vessels, a cache of cylinder seals, and a large scarab with the cartouche of King Amenhotep III attest to the existence of a previously unknown Canaanite city in the land of Israel, archaeologists say. Where was it hiding? Underneath another Canaanite city – the famous ruins of Gezer.

The scarab and other artifacts were found this summer at a level dating from the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE) in ancient Gezer, a major Canaanite city located along the strategic coastal highway between Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The first signs that there was an unknown city lurking there were found by Dr. Steven Ortiz of the Tandy Institute for Archaeology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Dr. Samuel Wolff of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who have directed the excavations at Gezer for six seasons. They believe the hidden city was destroyed during the Egyptian 18th Dynasty's rule over the southern Levant, and the new Gezer was built on top of it.

Amenhotep III, by the way, was the father of the heretic King Akhenaten and also grandfather to Tutankhamun, whose fabulous tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon.

Enter Reshef, the Canaanite war god

In the late Bronze Age, circa 1,400 BCE, Gezer, then the capital city in the region, was burned to the ground. Possibly it was another victim of the incessant internecine warfare between the Canaanite cities at the time, as described so evocatively in the well-known Tell el-Amarna correspondence.

It was while digging into the remains of this known devastation that the momentous discoveries were made.

The inhabitants of the proto-Gezer of 1,400 BCE were clearly Canaanites, said Ortiz. But artifacts found at the site indicate strong ties with Egypt.

For instance, there is the small cylinder seal found at the site, just 2.5cm in height, bearing a rare image of the Canaanite god Reshef subduing his enemies. Identification of the ruins with the biblical city of Gezer rely among other things on inscriptions found there: 'Boundary of Gezer' Identification of the ruins with the biblical city of Gezer rely among other things on inscriptions found there: 'Boundary of Gezer'Wikimedia Commons

Reshef, a central god in the Canaanite pantheon, was – inter alia – in charge of diseases, plagues and conflagrations. In the seal he is portrayed shooting an arrow from a big bow towards about ten rivals depicted in states of submission and fall.

Worship of Reshef was common in the New Kingdom of Egypt period, says Ornan – and the cylinder seal from Gezer shows clear Egyptian influence. The miniature depiction of the god is done in the style of the awe-inspiring Egyptian embossments that show triumphs of the pharaohs.

“The question is whether the Late Bronze Age Gezerites were supporters, or subjects, of the Egyptian 18th Dynasty," says says Prof. Tallay Ornan of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University. "We know that during the 14th century BCE, the king of Gezer was responsible for various conflicts within the region. The Late Bronze Age destruction either represents an Egyptian campaign to subdue Gezer, or local Canaanites attacking an Egyptian stronghold at Gezer."

That's not a support system, that's a city

Gezer lies between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The archaeological team, some 80 staff and students from the U.S., Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, Korea, and Hong Kong were removing a wall dating from later - the 10th century BCE, known as the Iron IIA period – and discerned a yet earlier city wall.

They had vaguely known the wall was there, but had thought it was a subterranean support system for the later Iron Age wall, Ortiz explains. “It became evident that our original interpretation was wrong," he says. The lower wall had been built as much as 200 years earlier; the 10th century CE wall had been built on top of it after the city's destruction by fire.

This earlier wall was one meter thick, and had several rooms attached to it. These rooms were filled with rubble nearly a meter in height, from catastrophic destruction. These earlier remains included shards from Canaanite storage jars, Philistine pottery and other items. A fragment of a Philistine figurine was also found.

Since Gezer was Canaanite, says Ortiz, the Philistine pottery either represents trade relations or a group of Philistines living among the Canaanites.

A city as dowry

As for the Egyptian influence, according to the biblical account, Gezer was conquered by an Egyptian pharaoh and was later given to Solomon as a wedding gift when the Israelite king married the pharaoh’s daughter.

Solomon is also recorded in the biblical account as having built walls around Gezer, as he did at Jerusalem, Hazor, and Megiddo, all sites currently under excavation. Excavations at Gezer have been regarded as a key to understanding and resolving the debate among biblical scholars and archaeologists regarding the appropriate chronology of events and ruling Israelite and Judahite kings.

Gezer is also famous for its massive ancient water-tunnel system, which is also currently under excavation. Last summer Dr. Tsvika Tsuk, chief archaeologist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, said the water system at Gezer was the largest Canaanite water system found in the country. It includes a large entrance carved in bedrock. From there, a 50-meter tunnel runs at a 39-degree slope. The tunnel is 7 meters tall and 4 meters wide.

Tsuk and his colleagues, Jim Parker, Daniel Warner, and Dennis Cole of the Old Testament and Archaeology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, believe the water system was built in the Middle Bronze Age IIB (1750-1550 BCE). But it fell out of use around 1,300 BCE, based on pottery found at the end of last season’s work.

OK, so why not explain the Holy Ghost and talking in tongues, Don. Let us see how daffy you are, pal.

You are acting like a troll. You go find a bunch of articles you think will make me mad. It's ok though. I enjoy your opinions and conversation.

So you are going with the "greatest conspiracy theory known to mankind" approach. Pretty amazing those Jews are still around today.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths.(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Most "Jews" are not religious followers Judaism. They could give a GOD-DAMNED about their ancestral history as "the chosen people" or even mankind as they personally indulge in ways to fool your pal John Hagee into delivering more of your hard earned money robbing Palestinians. All they want is to work for a government or a bank or any large institution and shake a stick at peons like you.

Science is not a "friend" to any religion, pal. Religious doctrines, traditions and practices are not based on factual data but mere myth. What you call, "Christianity" is just 3 mile high conceptual view of about 200 religious creeds that ALL call themselves "christian" which lags any factual capability to support "faith" with actual data.

As always, you lose: you lack objective proof or substantive capability to discuss the issues. To prove my point, go use your faith and click your ruby-red slippers to eliminate the discussion: you shall realize the same nite-mare you have always seen.

Science is the friend of the Bible. It says things reproduce after like kind. That has never been contradicted. Find that contradiction in nature. You don't. Evolution didn't happen. Evolution isn't science. Science contradicts nothingin the Bible. In fact when fools like you thought the world was flat. Columbus was reading the Bible and seeing thast the world wasn't flat but round.

Does your wife have faith in you? If she does what is it based on? Or if she doesn't what is it based on? You can have faith in the Bible and Gods word they same type of way.

Wow now I feel at home for the holidays. Here I thought we buried my crazy uncle but now he appears here on LF. Where ya been uncle Kev?

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths.(Proverbs 3:5-6)

As usual on your chit-chat channel, you are wrong. Science demands critical thinking based on facts. The assurance of facts is based upon measurement and repeatable capability/capacity about ANY phenomena that is of interest. Suggesting that your Sunday school teacher instructed you that your "sins are clean" because you BELIEVE in Jesus is not measurable with the exception of a single point piece of data. It is of little interest to me and most of mankind because the phenomena is not repeatable with the exception of your continuous brain-washing at Sunday school.

BIG DEAL. All that is suggested is ordinary human experience of "likeness" or similarity of events is a common human experience.

Explain how Abraham and Sarah had sex at an elderly age and had a son, Isaac? Oh, a special GOD event? How do you really know the FACTS when all you have is a Bible that told you so and a continuing Sunday school mantra about this bullshit?

Just "hope" when in moments of threatening situations, most people hope for an easy way out of the potential non-survival mode of their existence; people want to survive on a continuous basis. It is akin to BIG GOVERNMENT mentality, which is how YOU have continuously voted for many election opportunities.

Oh, your bubble has bursted again. Nothing more to the devastating humiliation you feel about yourself.

The issues of and about Jesus Christ occurred after his crucifixion not before the often read and popularized Biblical maejiickal event of the birth. You don't read many historical documents, do you?

The Roman Empire was collapsing from political decay. Jesus was one reason that was later used as a message of hope about the new world, eliminating Roman hierarchical political structures in Judah/Israel.

I have a real treat for you today. Do you want to watch/listen, Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott? Be right Bach.

We're watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Let me know when you get this faith business figured out.

You are so fortunate to watch TV. Is TV where you capture your ideas about "faith?"

I haven't watched TV since 1993, the year of destruction by the US government on a little church in Waco, TX. Today, you are still watching TV (hallmark cards) filled with props to make you happy. Your continuous mind-feed is not an obsession by myself.

You stopped watching tv because you don't want to watch bad news. Ostrich with head in sand isn't exactly healthy, pal.

Now, donny, don't create little white lies based on a presumptuous attitude anchored in your precious "faith;" your phantasy creation does not directly lead to fact finding for the HUGE fan club this little out-of-the-way chit-chat channel finds appropriate or reasonable to view on a continuous basis.

So, in the spirit of Christmas, I shall let you in on a little secret ... I stopped watching TV in 1993 based on the lies and total fabrications that both the US government and the mass media perpetrated as FACTS; you can review the "FACTS" about the conflagration of the Branch Davidian Church any time you want. If there was ever a conspiracy, you had it from 20 years ago when I found out that all this government was and ever will be is a pack of lies built on lies designed to chip away the foundation of the republic. Unlike yourself, viewing a shit-pot-load of conspiratorial "news" based on premeditated bullshit painted pretty and covered with perfume to eliminate the stench for your viewing pleasure, I turned the god damned TV OFF as well as eliminated all newspapers and any mass media propaganda.

Merry Christmas, donny boy and what-ever-you-do pal, don't turn off your TV; TV is built into your daily "faith."

Fine .. you don't agree with me is all; and more about your lack to want or have capability to FIGHT and DEMAND changes to all about the human condition is your personal "faith" irrespective to what Jesus performed 2000 years ago. You have acquiesced as all non-performers do as they watch their daily TV show receiving mind fed propagandized mantra which enables only the power hungry war loards that YOU pay for..

Believe in all your god you want; enjoy your "faith" as you see the world based on what you are told by all those around you. It seems that your "faith" has gone nowhere since (at least) 1993.

But you open questions about yourself, since I know your posts on Liberty's Flame and several other chit-chat forums (most are dead); an example is your occasional & limited exuberance on Liberty Post, too. Still, you beg me to ask a curious & serious & simple question about your personal profile: why don't you exhibit critical thinking capability to objectively rationalize a thought that America is no longer salvageable and not just by any god but the people that serve a government? And don't give an answer ~~the~~ that is suggestive of your "faith;" your condition about issues and certainly dialogue is worthy of about 2,000 years ago which is meaningless to mankind.

LOL Buck, then that "plan" really backfired now didn't it? The "contrived plan" led to the fall of the empire. Yes I know about that book by a non-scholar non- theologian.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths.(Proverbs 3:5-6)

No where do I discuss any kind of "plan?" As for any book, I am not referring to any material other than the knowledge that more than two powerful Jewish groups existed in Israel at the time of Jesus' life; feel free to read Josephus any time. For myself or any one with a sense of curiousity, the Bible has a limited perspective on the presentation of and about the Jews (primarily a family anthology contained in the Old Testament) or for that matter, the life and times of Jesus (significant discussions about the Christ contained in the New Testament). Within both literary cases there is enough data to explore other collaborating documentation for supporting or factual data and I am particularly referring to historical works not written within or from any single source.

As I said, the Roman Empire was collapsing from political and moral decay as Rome was still expanding militarily about the time of Jesus. It had grown old and to sustain itself required tremendous material resource intakes; its own Roman people were often in dissent because of the tremendous differences in the status_quo and common citizenry.

Capturing a historical snapshot of the Roman Empire with respect to the Jewish plight at the time of Jesus is significant because the Jews were in dissent among themselves; far more than the limited discussion about the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Bible, there were other Jewish factions as well, and of note: the Essenes and the Zealots. Rome commanded the greatest empire on the planet at the time. The military and cultural thrust upon the Jews created internal political fracturing. Clearly, Jesus was not a Pharisee or a Sadducee so any reader of the Bible should question the other faction(s) of historical Jewish exuberance he may have embodied.

Then Buck found this place. So he doesn't need no TV anymore. He come here to get the truth from people like you an I.

I suppose, you fine folks don't remember "freedomunderground" authored by unamused. Stone, you spammed the HELL out of FU about you new chit-chat channel and eventually I decided to see all the hoopla was about. Your out-of-the-way chit-chat channel has always been a farce from the beginning of time because of your fondness for the likes of TLBSHOW and then your imaginative fascination for a queer like yukon.

I didn't find this place, stone; you begged me time and time and time again to create posts here.

The only begging was the several times I suspended you for being a dumb ass. Then you begged to get back in.

Sure. I just performed a post above your most recent one reminding you of one wee bit of your history. You begged many a poster on freedomundergrond to take a peek on your out-of-the-way chit chat channel; you performed premeditated spamming. Bret canned your ass, too; he canned your ass along with your fucked-upped side-kick, TLBSHOW another fucking liar and thief as you are well known to be.

Expanding militarily during Pax Romana? You may want to check that out. I think you are about 100 years too early maybe 160 years too early.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths.(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Kind of like us when people like Buck encouraged us to purge our nation of all things Christian. But he thinks himself to smart to consider it.

Professing themselves to be wise they became fools. Describes buck perfectly. And a whole lot of other people.

No. I have no assumptions of time about your question. Here is the glimpse (albeit) in more detail, just prior and during and after Jesus' life that I was describing based on historical FACT:

You see, Rome was going through internal strife during Jesus' time and the control of little-out-of-the-way and far-off-places such as Judea (Israel) is an incomplete interpretation described within the Bible. The Bible does not describe the general picture about historical details concerning Rome based on all available data. And that point makes sense as the direct authors of the Bible (actually selected authors based on the books that were agreed to be formalized or included, circa, 325 — Council of Nicea in the Bible) had no idea of other issues or conquests of and about Rome other than their own interpretation of events.

From historical perspective and in effect, the New Testament is an interpretative document that occurred at the time of Jesus but moreso during the collapse of Rome; the significance is startling because of the military power that was wielded by Rome that later fell based on the rapid spread of "Christianity." However, "Christianity" is NOT the word of Jesus; "Christianity" is the word of selected Biblical authors. Proof is the next 1000 years after Jesus' birth concerning the evil Catholic church controlling the doctrines of and about "Christianity."

Consider what? Your pathetic comments that you regurgitate from an inbred Sunday school teacher from O-HI-O that has nothing to do with anything significant on a political chit-chat channel?

Your obvious contempt towards posters is PROOF that your chit-chat channel is dead.

It is not incomplete as far as Gods word is concerned. Everything we need to know is in there. You can't expect the Bible to be the history of the Roman Empire too.

If you want a good history of the Roman Empire read some book by a guy named Gibbons. History of the Roman empire or something like that.

Stone, you set a silly standard for yourself evangelizing as you do by suggesting:

Do you see your own logical errors in this discussion? Here, allow me to help you out: In the beginning ...

So, your perspective is contradictory as ALL things are under God and that means "God's word" is often contradictory since there are contradictions in the Bible based on historical evidence that states otherwise to the data contained in the Bible.

The selected "Books of the Bible" are from one sect of historical Christianity called Cathocism. This sect selected these Books and hid them from the publick for over a thousand years in the form of the Vulgate.

Are you telling the chit-chat channel that the selected Books of the Bible are a result of hidden meanings? If so, where is God's word? In the various protestants that have over 200 factions called "Christianity" since reviewing the books by Jerome; if so, why is there no adoption of new material other than new interpretations?

The D&R terrorists hate us because we're free, to vote Third Party