17/12/2019
There are so many “Points to Ponder” these days that I can’t choose between them.
Should I write about the Palestinian claim that there never was a Jewish presence in the Holy Land or a Temple in Jerusalem and all archaeological and historical evidence to the contrary are forgeries by the Israelis/Zionists/Jews?
Or about the rising antisemitism around the world? No. Too boring. How about something new and exciting? Or rather, old and exciting.
“A 5,000 year old metropolis uncovered in the north” reads the Jerusalem Post headline. Actually not in the north but, for those of you familiar with the map of Israel, on the modern road between Hadera and Afula, following the ancient road which connected the Mediterranean coast with Megiddo and the Jezre’el valley, known by some as Armageddon. The very road used by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III who took Megiddo in 1457 BCE from the local Canaanite king thereby opening his way for further conquests on his way northwards to Mesopotamia and Asia Minor.
The site was known but, as happens so often in Israel, only when work began on a planned junction interchange was the extent of the archaeological remains realised.
In 2017 the Israel Antiquities Authority began what they thought would be a minor excavation but soon understood that this was to be a major find, both in terms of size and historical importance.
Over the next two years more than 5,000 teenagers and volunteers took part in the excavations. Netivei Israel, responsible for the construction of the interchange, has made alterations to the original plans so that the site can be preserved.
Initially it will all be covered thereby allowing the interchange to be built above the site. When the interchange is completed the site will become an archaeological park open to the public, as is nearby Megiddo.
Millions of artifacts, including potsherds, flint tools, and basalt stone vessels have been found including articles which were brought from Egypt and other surrounding kingdoms.
A selection of the items discovered can be seen on Getty images: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/en-esur?sort=best&mediatype=photography&phrase=en%20esur
The site is at least 160 acres and was probably home to about five thousand people, larger than any in the land of Canaan at that time – the Bronze Age, about 5,000 years ago.
Surrounded by walls, which in some places were preserved to a height of two metres, the city was laid out with streets and squares, storage areas and drainage. A cemetery was also discovered.
Digging deeper, the remains of a temple which the archaeologists believe is from the Chalcolithic period, two thousand years earlier were uncovered. Burned animal bones, a stone basin and figurines give credence to this theory.
For historical perspective, the rule of King David was about three thousand years ago, the conquest of the Land of Canaan by the Israelites was about two hundred years earlier and Abraham was a bit more than 3,500 years ago.
