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The title of the volume may be a little perplexing: Archaeology on Either Side. But on either side of what? The picture we chose for the front cover might give an indication of the answer. This image shows two sides of the River Jordan – the Israeli side and the Jordanian side – both part of the Holy Land! Or we might understand the “either side” of our topic in another way, that is, archaeology both as the study of artifacts and archaeology as the study of literary sources. In the contributions the reader will find all these topics and much more: essays on excavations or archaeological findings in the Holy Land as defined above, and essays on literary sources linked to the history of the ancient Near East, especially in the time of the Christian/Common Era (CE). The book is made up of three main sections: “Excavations and Topographical Surveys”; “Architecture, Decorations, and Art”; “Epigraphy and Sigillography”. Some articles touch on more than one specific section, so they may be found between sections.
The emphasis in this book is on the first word in its title, archaeology. It does not claim to be a complete history, for in the historical period literary evidence can give a much more detailed political, religious and economic picture than has here been attempted. But nevertheless, a story of Palestine is the framework of the book, with the emphasis upon the contribution that archaeology can make. Down to c. 3000 B.C., archaeology alone can write the story. As the story is gradually merged into history, archaeology still plays a very large part. Only in the first millennium B.C. can history provide a reasonably consecutive story, and even then it would remain a one-sided, unbalanced story without the help of archaeology. This book therefore aims at showing the evidence that writes the story for the prehistoric period and in the historic periods concentrates on the evidence which supplements the written record, using this only as a background for the archaeological material. An excellent book has already been written by Professor Albright on the archaeology of Palestine. But this appeared in 1949, and gave the picture provided by pre-war archaeology, for active field archaeology was virtually at a standstill between 1936 and 1952. Since then much has happened, for Palestinian archaeology in both Jordan and Israel is an extremely live affair, as all branches of archaeology should be. The great modifications and amplifications for which fresh discoveries have provided the evidence is the justification for a new book.
This comprehensive and highly illustrated study explores the human history in the Holy Land, from the earliest prehistoric hominids, through the biblical and historical periods, up to the twentieth century. Chronologically organized, each chapter outlines the major cultural transitions which occurred in a given archaeological period and provides a review of the most recent research concerning settlement patterns, innovations and technology, religion and ideology, and social organization.
An introduction to the archaeology and history of ancient Palestine, from the destruction of Solomon's temple to the Muslim conquest.
The ethnic pluralism of the Holy Land is unparalleled elsewhere. Whatever period of history, or even of prehistory, one chooses to consider, the land, due to its geographical position, was always home to diverse ethne and cultures and a capturer of influences from nearby and faraway countries. The same pluralism accounts for an unparalleled coexistence of languages and scripts. Greek and Latin, Hebrew, Jewish, Christian and Samaritan Aramaic, each with its own script, pre-Islamic Arabic in Nabataean and Old Arabic scripts, the occasional Syriac, Palmyrene, Armenian and Georgian inscriptions, Safaitic and Thamudic graffiti in the eastern and southern fringes: all are attested in late antique Holy Land, sometimes influencing one another in vocabulary and formulas. Still, Greek is the prevailing vehicle of written communication from its first appearance in the region in the fourth century BCE to the end of Late Antiquity in the late eighth or early ninth century, and it will draw most of the attention in these pages.
The history of the Holy Land is as ancient as the history of man, so that it is not surprising that such a relatively small region should contain such a wealth of archaeological ruins and monuments. A useful tool for exploring and becoming acquainted with the fascinating sites and attractions of the Holy Land, this guide is organized by chapters, each of which features a particular geographic area: Jerusalem, North Israel, South Israel, Mount Sinai and Jordan.