Antiquities Authority Research Articles

Navigating the Wilderness: Early Bronze Age rectangular platforms in the central Negev Highlands

For well over a century, researchers exploring the Negev Highlands have noted the remains of large, impressive rectangular monuments dotting the landscape between the western border of Israel and the central Arava Valley. Archaeological surveys carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority along the western border between 2010 and 2012 revealed a narrow corridor of these platforms, situated on the main road between Quseima (ancient Kadesh Barnea) in northern Sinai and the site of Be'erotayim / Mizpe Ezuz. A number of these were excavated as well as platforms in the site of Rosh Maʽale Zadok (the head of the Zadok Ascent) in Mizpe Ramon in 2007. The results of these excavations point to their construction in the Early Bronze Age, possibly the Early Bronze Age IB or II/III period and we interpret their function as navigation platforms on trails connecting the Nile Delta in Egypt and the copper mines of Faynan in the central Arava as suggested by M. Haiman in 2006.

Change Detection Study Of Al Razaza Lake Region Utilizing RemoteSensing And GIS Technique

Remote sensing techniques are now widely used for environment studies, surveysand monitoring. It became a need to study Razaza lake and the surrounding areasespecially when the Antiquities Authority of the Ministry of Tourism announced,that the discovery of the effects under the waters of Lake Razzaza in Karbalaprovince. The aim procedures carried out in this study, the first classified the studyarea by using unsupervised classification method to produce the land cover and landuse ,deriving the elevations as a vector layer using TIN for the whole surroundingregion of lake, the second part, the output is a continuous surface to be created byapplying Kriging interpolation, the third step, obtaining maps of contour lines alsoused to show lines of constant density or brightness by implementations the contourlines , converting the result of interpolation method to a vector values that can becalculated, then the implementation of the classified process and calculating the areaaround the lake, all these steps are done by using ArcGIS. Finally a classificationprocess for the same scene on a different date is applied and then compare it withthe first scene using ERDAS.

Multi-Sensor Satellite Images for Detecting the Effects of Land-Use Changes on the Archaeological Area of Giza Necropolis, Egypt

The World Heritage Committee has been meeting to discuss the arrangements of existing World Heritage Sites, and, on 22–26 October, the area from Giza to the Dahshur was included in the list of World Heritage Sites. According to the Egyptian Antiquities Authority (EAA), the groundwater levels at the Pyramids Plateau are too shallow, which threatens the ancient Sphinx and Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. In addition, many geophysical studies have been carried out in the archaeological area of Giza, which prove that the area is facing the risk of a high level of groundwater, specifically threatening the Sphinx. Recent developments in Earth observation have helped in the field of land monitoring such as land use changes, risk observation, and the creation of models for protecting cultural heritage sites. This study aimed to examine the impact of land use changes on on the archaeological sites of the Giza Necropolis area by integrating various data sources including optical satellite imagery and SRTM data during the period of 1965–2019. A historical database of Corona 1965 and Landsat 2009 data was investigated along with the new acquisitions of Sentinel-2 2016 and Sentinel-1 2016 and 2019. In addition, the radar Sentinel-1 SLC data were collected and analyzed for calculating the land subsidence value in the area of interest through two periods between 6–30 July 2016 and 30 July–15 December 2016. Various methods were implemented, including cluster outliers, the Moran index, and spatial autocorrelation to examine the changes in urban masses. Additionally, the relationship between groundwater leakage and land subsidence in the region was investigated. The analysis was carried out using Envi5.3, ArcMap10.6.1, and SNAP6.0 software to extract spatial data from the raw data. The results from our investigation highlighted rapid changes in urban areas between 1965 and 2019. The data obtained and analyzed from optical and radar satellite imagery showed that changes in land use can cause changes in the topographic situation by decreasing the level of groundwater, which adversely affects Egyptian monumental pyramids and the Sphinx. Land use analysis showed that the urban area represented 7.63% of the total area of the study area in 1965, however it reached 32.72% in 2009, approximately half of the total area in 2016, and in 2019, the urban mass area increased to nearly two-thirds of the total area. The annual growth rate between 1965 and 2019 was estimated by nearly 0.642 km2/year. These land-use changes possibly affected the land subsidence value (−0.0138 m), causing the rising groundwater level close to the Sphinx. Using the information obtained from our RS- and GIS-based analysis, mitigation strategies have also been identified to support archaeological area preservation.

Newly Identified Fragments of 4Q51 (4QSama)

Abstract The following paper is a preliminary publication of newly identified fragments of the book of Samuel that all belong to manuscript 4Q51. The fragments were discovered during the cataloging effort being carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) as part of the digitization project of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library (www.deadseascrolls.org.il). Some of the fragments that will be presented were published in the past, but with various errors. Other fragments have never been published, although due to the placement of some of them on the museum plates it is clear that someone in the past recognized that they belong to 4Q51.

The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls by Jodi Magness

Reviewed by: The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrollsby Jodi Magness Dennis Mizzi jodi magness, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls( 2nded.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021). Pp. xiii + 326. Paper $29.99. This is a second edition of one of the most influential books in the field of Qumran studies. First published in 2002, Jodi Magness's The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrollsbecame an instant landmark work on the subject (see the review by James R. Davila in CBQ66 [2004] 293–95). It not only made this celebrated, and often controversial(!), [End Page 340]site accessible to a general readership, but also became a must-read for academics seeking an introduction to Qumran. To this day, it remains a standard work and is widely cited by scholars across different fields. Nonetheless, scholarship on Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls has developed tremendously in the past two decades. In the intervening years, many new books and countless articles dealing with the archaeology of Qumran and the Scrolls have been published, and three final reports—one on Roland de Vaux's 1951–1956 excavations at Qumran (Jean-Baptiste Humbert, Alain Chambon, and Jolanta Młynarczyk, Khirbet Qumrân et Aïn Feshkha, Vol. 3a: L'archéologie de Qumrân: Reconsidération de l'interprétation; Les installations périphériques de Khirbet Qumrân; Qumran Terracotta Oil Lamps[NTOA Series archaeologica 5a; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016]), another on Cave 11Q (Jean-Baptiste Humbert and Marcello Fidanzio, eds., Khirbet Qumrân et Aïn Feshkha, Vol. 4a: Qumrân Cave 11Q: Archaeology and New Scroll Fragments[NTOA Series archaeologica 8a; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2019]), and the other on Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg's 1994–2004 investigations of the site (Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg, Back to Qumran: Final Report (1993–2004)[JavaServer Pages 18; Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority; Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria, 2018])—have also appeared in print. M. herself has since updated or revised some of her previous conclusions. A second edition of this most important work, therefore, was not only inevitable but highly anticipated. The book's format and structure follow the template of the original. It has the same number of chapters (ten), all of which retain the same title, and bibliographic notes are appended at the end of each one. This keeps the text clean but requires additional work from readers, who have to hunt down certain bibliographic items. The chapters are organized thematically, starting with an introduction on archaeology as a field of study (chap. 1); a summary of early explorations of Qumran, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the early history of research (chap. 2); and an overview of the Scrolls, the sectarian communities they depict, and their relation to Qumran (chap. 3). These are followed by chapters on the site's building(s) and occupation phases (chap. 4); the pottery and architecture (chap. 5); the remains of communal meals, a toilet, and notions of sacred space at Qumran (chap. 6); miqwāʾôt(Jewish ritual baths) (chap. 7); the cemetery and the question of women at the site (chap. 8); and the inhabitants' clothing, their views on the temple tax, and their anti-Hellenizing attitudes (chap. 9). The final chapter goes beyond the site to explore the nearby settlements of ʿEin Feshkha and ʿEin el-Ghuweir and their possible connection to Qumran (chap. 10). Revisions and updates are scattered throughout the book and integrated into the individual chapters. The basic thesis of the first edition remains unchanged. M. mounts a strong and convincing case in favor of seeing Qumran as a sectarian/Essene settlement related to the large collection of scrolls found in the surrounding caves. The corollary is that Qumran presents us with a unique opportunity to bring texts and archaeology into conversation, allowing us to illumine the daily life of the Qumran sectarians in a holistic manner and gain insights that would not otherwise be possible. This is exactly what M. does, and the result is a vivid account of the site's history and its inhabitants' practices, beliefs, and worldview. Apart from updating the...

Teaching Archaeology in Carmiel with the Israel Antiquities Authority Cultural Heritage Department: A Different Learning Experience?

This article addresses the archaeological park at the Agricultural Farm, a thematic school that serves the children of the city of Carmiel from compulsory kindergarten to high school. The park is the result of a joint effort by the farm manager, the Carmiel municipality, and the staff of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and is an activity cushion for outdoor learning. Educational institutions place great importance on imparting knowledge and values to those who come to their gates; the subject of archaeology in particular is one that encourages different and multidisciplinary learning. The uniqueness of the subject lies in the students' valuable, unmediated encounter with the Land of Israel's landscapes, sites, and rich heritage. This encourages learners to develop a connection and affinity with the country and its history. The establishment of the archaeological park in Carmiel has allowed students to go out into the field for the first time and learn about the Galilee's regional agricultural history firsthand. The activities that take place in the park cultivate the students' natural curiosity and make them equal partners in learning. Students' activity in the park may also enable other forms of learning. The article raises this issue and attempts to examine it in depth: What additional learning may be facilitated by students' activity in the park? Does the archaeological activity performed at the Agricultural Farm in Carmiel, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority's management system, give rise to a unique form of extracurricular learning?

Lod Mozaikleri: Lüks Roma Konağından Kentsel ve Sosyal Değişimin Katalizörüne

In mid-2021, the Museum and Visitor Centre in the city of Lod, Israel, was inaugurated, housing the remains of the magnificent mosaics discovered in the city, to be finally exhibited to the public. This event, almost 25 years after the beginning of the sporadic excavations of the site by the IAA (Israel Antiquities Authority), seems an appropriate moment to briefly recapitulate on the findings, the history of the research and its scientific and, why not, communal significance. This spectacular site consists of a large Roman domus which includes a lavish colorful mosaic paving a large triclinium, that was exposed in the most prestigious museums in the world. Also includes a peristyle courtyard, and various rooms, all paved with luxurious mosaics. The project (excavated in 1996, 2009, 2014 and 2018) attracted the public attention and enjoyed from its beginning incessant media covering. The mosaics, which depict accurately figures from the animal kingdom, were built in the best style of the time, and boast influences from different parts of the empire.The long process has by no means been simple and the difficulties have been numerous, starting with the chronic lack of funds to finance such a project, the initial resistance and distrust of the inhabitants of the neighborhood and the countless logistical, archaeological, and political impediments.The article summarizes the archaeological findings at the mosaic, and also focuses on the process that went through the modest neighborhood that houses it, from the initial opposition and disbelief of the inhabitants towards the authorities to the recognition of the value of the antiquities. The article also reviews the approach to conservation, the philosophy behind the planning of the museum and the hope for integration into the community framework, to create a sense of belonging and local pride. Beyond its outstanding archaeological, artistic, and scientific value, the Lod mosaic, which began its life in the fourth century CE as part of an elitist and wealthy mansion, can today fulfil an important function as a catalyst for social change and improvement.

“They Shall Come into the Hollows of the Earth” (Isa 2:19): Bar Kokhba-Period Hiding Complexes at Biblical Tels—Tel Lavnin as a Case Study

Hiding complexes in Judea have been objects of considerable scholarly interest since the 1970s. By now, we are well acquainted with their main features and spatial distribution. Most hiding complexes in the Judean foothills were cut beneath the houses in Jewish villages. They were entered via shafts carved out of the nari rock, leading to underground passages quarried in the soft chalk beneath. Following recent intensive looting at Tel Lavnin, a site located in ‘Adullam Park, south of the Ela Valley, inspectors of the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority documented three hiding complexes. In this paper, we present these hiding complexes and the objects discovered in them. We discuss these complexes’ special architectural features and ponder why particular architectural methods were chosen. We then compare the complexes of Tel Lavnin to complexes documented elsewhere in Judea. We propose that they constitute an architectural subtype of hiding complexes from the Bar Kokhba Revolt and predict that others like them will be discovered in the future.

Investigating and Mapping Abo Al-za’ar Archaeology Hill Using GPR Technique

The Ground Penetrating Radar survey can increase the amount and quality of the information when applied to archaeological prospection. In comparison to other geophysical methods, the Ground Penetrating Radar method's effectiveness rests in its applicability to a wide variety of site variables as well as the complementary nature of the data. One more benefit of the use of Ground Penetrating Radar for this investigation is that an archaeological location is usually ‎shallow, which facilitates the Ground Penetrating Radar with an enhancement in the resolution achieved. An area with dimensions of 31×19 m dimensions was taken in cooperation with the Heritage and Antiquities Authority. This area was regularly divided into a group of lines in North-South and West-East, representing the radar device’s path. The Tall Abo_Al-Za’ar district was surveyed using Seventy-two parallel and two antennas, 450 and 750 MHz, used respectively, for each survey. The results of this research showed the presence of several zones, the first represented by the upper layer, which ranges from 0.5-1 m, which is the burial area, as is evident in the Ground Penetrating Radar Image, interspersed with broken parts of the materials from which the walls of the area made. The second zone is located directly below the burial layer, and it is clear that there are archaeological walls made of clay at different depths. The last zone, located below the depth between 4-5m, represents the water-saturated area, which decreased the specific resistance, which caused loud noises and the inability to know what was in this range. The 2D view of the Tall Abo_Al-Za’ar district shows that the archaeological anomalies are distributed randomly and with different widths, and it was not possible to know the thickness of the walls in the area due to the high humidity

“These Are the Things You Are to Do”

Abstract This paper aims to provide a preliminary edition of a new fragment of the Greek Minor Prophets scroll (8ḤevXIIgr; Rahlfs’ siglum 943) containing Zech 8:16–17. The fragment was discovered in an excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Cave of Horror (Naḥal Ḥever) at the end of 2019. Provided that for certain passages 8ḤevXIIgr is the only textual witness preserved in the Judean Desert and given the fact that it predates the earliest Greek manuscript previously known by at least three centuries, every new fragment can potentially add fresh information, raise new questions, and ultimately join an additional piece to the puzzle of our understanding of the biblical text and its transmission.

Violence in Hasmonean Judea: Skeletal evidence of a massacre from 2nd–1st century BCE Jerusalem

AbstractDuring a salvage excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority, a mass grave containing the skeletal remains from 124 individuals, many with evidence of weapon injuries, was discovered in a water cistern outside the Old City of Jerusalem. Radiocarbon dates derived from human bone and the date of the material finds suggest the skeletal remains date to the end of the 2nd century or the beginning of the 1st century BCE. The aim of this research is to analyze the weapon injuries in order to reconstruct the nature and context of this violence. The human skeletal remains from 23 individuals recovered from the cistern were selectively retained and examined macroscopically in a laboratory setting. Silicone casts of selected weapon injuries (n = 5) were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. Numerous examples of peri‐mortem blunt‐ and sharp‐force trauma were observed including evidence that at least 16 individuals were decapitated. The extent and nature of the observed injuries as well as the evidence of their haphazard deposition into the cistern suggest that these individuals were the victims of a massacre. As a highly visible act of violence, massacres are often used as a mechanism for social control. When contextualized, this skeletal assemblage is most likely evidence of a massacre that occurred during the reign of the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus. This is the first archeological evidence for the use of socially sanctioned violence to legitimize the Hasmonean state and to maintain social control at the end of the 2nd century–early 1st century BCE.

A New Type of Yehud Stamp Impression on a Body Sherd and Two More Yehud Stamped Handles from Mordôt Arnona, Jerusalem

Previous articleNext article No AccessA New Type of Yehud Stamp Impression on a Body Sherd and Two More Yehud Stamped Handles from Mordôt Arnona, JerusalemDavid S. Vanderhooft, Nathan Ben-Ari, Neria Sapir, and Oded LipschitsDavid S. VanderhooftBoston College Search for more articles by this author , Nathan Ben-AriIsrael Antiquities Authority Search for more articles by this author , Neria SapirIsrael Antiquities Authority Search for more articles by this author , and Oded LipschitsTel Aviv University Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 26, Number 1-22022 A journal of ASOR Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/MAR202226108 © 2022 American Society of Overseas Research. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Christian burials in Western Galilee and the emergence of christian local mortuary traditions in Late Antiquity : Preliminary Considerations at the Onset of a Research Project

The goal of the research project described and discussed here is the meticulous assessment of the tombs and cemetery sections investigated in two geographically fairly restricted regions: Western Galilee and the broader area of Caesarea Philippi, both lying in the former Late Roman province of Phoenicia. With the generous support of the Israel Antiquities Authority, we were granted access to several mortuary assemblages that have remained unpublished or were only partially published. The meticulous assessment of these assemblages provides a unique opportunity for studying mortuary practices in the Eastern Mediterranean on a micro-regional level as well as for tracing changes through half a millennium at a finer resolution. We expect to gain a deeper understanding of the region’s mortuary traditions and their change as well as of local attitudes to death among the region’s pagan and pagan-turned-Christian population across half a millennium.

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL TEXT IN THE STRUCTURES OF FOREGROUNDING

The foregrounding of the text goes from a potential, not yet existing text to its relevance. In this march, the philosopher coincides with the philosophical text. This coincidence can be called a fore-text, which allows you to "enter" a philosophical text. The Internet considers hypertext as an informational formless set of texts, which is predetermined for the subject. The posed problem concerns the possibility of the presence of the subject in a digital hypertext. The aim of the study is to set the philosophical text as a concept, showing the subjectivation of the text with the help of the developed concept of a fore-text. To achieve the expected result, it is necessary to consider the history of philosophy as a chronological coherent sequence of texts, which is assumed as a context or common meaning. The problem is complicated by the fact that a single history of philosophy does not exist in digital space. It resides as a plurality of authors' histories of philosophy. The "introduction," "preface," etc. to a philosopher's text then becomes a "substitute" for the lost context. The development of the subjectivity of philosophy shows that the fore-text becomes the text itself. This development corresponds to the conceptualization of philosophy and its liberation from the authority of antiquity as traditionalism. Under the conditions of virtual reality and hypertext information, only conceptualization preserves the human in man - thinking. The author of the article poses the questions: "So what have we lost by asserting the end of the history of philosophy? Isn't the "new" pre-structure of the philosophical text the actualized "hyper-conceptual" space of the Internet?"

An analytical study of the different methods of handling informal areas on state property “Case study of the informal unsafe areas near the railway on Sudan street, Giza”

The problem of informal areas in Egypt, despite the difference in these informal areas in terms of location, area, population and the quality of services, they share their suffering from rising population density, insufficiency of basic facilities and services, the spread of environmental pollution and low standard of living. The importance of this research lies in a new problem that hinders planning and executive authorities in the development of informal areas, which is land ownership. This comes in different entities such as private property whither for residents or companies, and central authorities such as the Ministry of Endowments, Railway Authority, State Property, or the Antiquities Authority. the research exposes all of this to reach results and solutions that help the planning and executive authorities in providing services to these areas, and in the implementation of vital projects and development projects.

Digital Archaeological Archiving in Israel

In this article, the authors present two points of view on the preservation and dissemination of archaeological data in Israel: an official version of the policy makers (the Israel Antiquities Authority, henceforth IAA), and the view from the archaeological, especially academic, community outside the IAA. This includes an assessment of the strategies undertaken (or not) over the last 40+ years resulting in the majority of data being inaccessible, and documenting significant data loss since the 1990s. This is followed by current work to address these issues, including not only efforts to digitise but misconceptions about the problems digitisation both solves and creates, along with recommendations for how to approach the issues going forward.

The Israel Antiquities Authority and Atra Kadisha

ABSTRACT Atra Kadisha is an ultra-Orthodox organisation that is at the forefront of the battle against excavation of ancient graves for fear of desecrating the dignity of the dead. This article examines the interrelationship between the organisation and the relevant state authorities, notably the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), in an attempt to ascertain the extent of bureaucratic rigidity/flexibility in Israel on the issue of excavating ancient graves, and to assess implications of this behaviour for the public space.

A glass workshop in ‘Aqir, Israel and a new type of compositional contamination

Materials associated with a secondary workshop of early Byzantine date (4th-5th centuries) were unearthed in excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority in ‘Aqir, central Israel. Fragments of furnace structure, production debris and glass vessels have been analysed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDS) and thin-section petrography.The results suggest that the workshop melted raw glass chunks of similar composition to the primary glass made at Apollonia, Israel, to produce secondary glass products. Some glass vessels associated with the furnace are of different composition, and some of these may represent material brought in as cullet for recycling. The furnace was built with ceramic bricks comprising alluvial-type clay with inclusions of quartz sand, probably added as temper. It was fired by potash-rich fuel to approximately 1100 °C. Lime mortar was used either to cement the gaps between mudbricks or to line the furnace as a parting layer, and it has introduced a previously unrecognised type of contamination in glass of the period, mainly of Fe2O3 and CaO. The contamination may be identified in glass vessel assemblages elsewhere but is not ubiquitous. As its origin relates to the furnace structure, its occurrence may depend upon chronology or geography and further work is needed to resolve this issue.

Slavery

Slavery Frederick Douglass In view of the recent1 existence of slavery in the United States and its recent voluminous discussion by the ablest scholars and statesmen of our country, it may hardly seem necessary at first sight that much should be said in this volume upon that subject. But this impression will in some measure disappear when the object of this book is considered and when it is remembered that while slavery is a thing of only a few years ago and that even the descendants of those who suffered its evils and now know little or noth-ing about it either in theory or in practice,2 and further, that the American people from their prepossessions are more likely to for-get too soon than to remember either slavery or its discussions too long, no apology will be needed for giving the subject a somewhat thorough discussion here and now. On general principles too, it seems proper to make this subject a permanent (prominent) starting point in this volume. Events crowd upon each other so rapidly and the flight of time wings its way so swiftly, and memory is generally so defective that the deepest impression made upon it by passing events are soon (def)faced and forgotten; besides this book is to illustrate the progress of the negro in the United States, and there can be no proper sense of such progress which does not take into account the nature of the conditions from which the negro started in the race of civilized life. Plainly enough he is not to be measured from the heights attained by others, but from the depths from which he has risen and is still rising. The reader will, therefore, see at a glance, the fitness of the prominence here given of (to) the subject of slavery. They will also see, perhaps, the wisdom of the publishers in committing to my hands this feature of their contemplated volume, I having experienced slavery in my own person. To deal intelligently and philosophically3 with the origin existence and history of slavery, and with its decline and fall in the United States, [End Page 371] it is necessary that a word should be said of its origin and decline in the world generally. For it is important to notice that the enslavement of the negro on this continent and in the adjacent islands is not an isolated fact but one connected with the whole volume of human history. Like other ideas and systems, evil as well as good, (Which have come down to us) slavery was evolved from pre-existing conditions. It is the testimony of scholars and historians that a system of servitude in one form or another, each form involving principles (more or less) analogous to those of American slavery, has existed in the world from the earliest ages of mankind. So that is age, custom and universality of endorsement and (practical) adoption could confer a valid title to respect and veneration, these exalted sentiments might be properly claimed for the institution of slavery not only in the United States, but (for slavery) everywhere else. It has certainly come down to us with all the prestige and authority of antiquity and (of) ancient greatness. It certainly (is known to have) existed and flourished amid the regal and architectural splendors of Egypt; it was a part of Hebrew, Grecian and Roman Civilization, and was recognized as a legitimate institution in all the countries of Western Europe. It could and did exist as safely in a Republic as in a Monarchy. It is older by a thousand years than the Christian Era. We have the authority of the eminent Doctor Paley4 for saying that slavery was a part of the civil constitution of most countries when Christianity appeared.5 The same learned authority informs us that no passage is found in the Christian Scriptures in which slavery is condemned or prohibited. In the argument for slavery the antiquity of the system has often been employed and has played an important part(.) as a means of (It was used to) dulling the (sharp) edge of the reproofs of (a reproving) conscience and (to...

Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Archaeological investigations at multiple tomb sites in Dibba. Season 2019

In cooperation with the Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority, research and rescue activities were continued at two Bronze and Iron Age sites in Dibba. In the area of Dibba Murba there are more than five collective tombs with rich find assemblages. This site, which has heavily been threatened by looting and gravel mining, was further excavated and consolidated in preparation for further measures. In the context of the superordinate question of changes in the lifestyle and nutrition of the population during cultural and climatic upheavals in the 2nd millenium BCE, the archaeo-anthropological excavations of the Iron Age layers at the multiple tomb of Dibba 76 were also continued.