Palestine Exploration Research Articles

The Palestine Exploration Fund: The Collections of an Historic Learned Society in London

The Palestine Exploration Fund: The Collections of an Historic Learned Society in London

A survey of the Nabataean/Roman Site, Umm at-Tawabin, Ghor as-Safi, Jordan

Umm at-Tawabin is an extensive Nabataean/Roman site overlooking Wadi al-‘Arabah in southern Jordan. The site, as a whole, consists of a number of buildings, circular stone structures, a roadway and other features that are fortified, for the most part, by a lengthy wall and with a predominance of Nabataean and Roman surface pottery on the ground. Up until now, the site has only been documented in brief in a handful of survey reports since its discovery in the late nineteenth century and its chronology has since been the subject of some conjecture among scholars. With a grant from the Palestine Exploration Fund, the author has sought to better understand the occupational history of this undoubted historically important site through survey and by extension, a study of its surface pottery and architectural remains.

Understanding the Land of the Bible: Gustaf Dalman and the Emergence of the German Exploration of Palestine

Gustaf Dalman (1855–1941) was the first director of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in Jerusalem (GPIA), Germany's equivalent to the French Ecole Biblique et Archeologique Francaise ...

Reconstructing nineteenth century landscapes from historical maps—the Survey of Western Palestine as a case study

Geographic information systems allow the extraction and quantitative analysis of information from historical maps. The aims of this research were to examine the completeness of information represented on the 1881 Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) map, to quantitatively reconstruct the landscape of nineteenth century Palestine and to explore whether spatial patterns in land cover/land use can be partially explained statistically by physical and human factors. Using historical aerial photos, we concluded that most of the major past landscape features were indeed shown on the PEF map, with an average overall correspondence of 53%. Forests and Mediterranean maquis were more abundant at distances greater than 2 km from towns and villages. Specific land cover/land-use types were associated with certain soil types, topographic regions and rainfall thresholds. In conclusion, the 1881 PEF map can serve as a reliable reference for understanding the land cover/land-use patterns of nineteenth century Palestine.

R. A. S. MACALISTER: A Retrospective after 100 Years

R. A. S. Macalister, a pioneer archaeologist who excavated in Palestine in the early part of the twentieth century on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund, is a controversial figure in the annals of the historiography of the period. A workshop was held in Jerusalem in December 2012 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the appearance of his magnum opus, The Excavations at Gezer I–III. Should Macalister's work in Palestine be viewed as a success or a failure? The various opinions expressed by several experts in the workshop on this subject are presented in this article.

Quantifying the completeness of and correspondence between two historical maps: a case study from nineteenth-century Palestine

ABSTRACTReconstructing past landscapes from historical maps requires quantifying the accuracy and completeness of these sources. The accuracy and completeness of two historical maps of the same period covering the same area in Israel were examined: the 1:63,360 British Palestine Exploration Fund map (1871–1877) and the 1:100,000 French Levés en Galilée (LG) map (1870). These maps cover the mountainous area of the Galilee (northern Israel), a region with significant natural and topographical diversity, and a long history of human presence. Land-cover features from both maps, as well as the contours drawn on the LG map, were digitized. The overall correspondence between land-cover features shown on both maps was 59% and we found that the geo-referencing method employed (transformation type and source of control points) did not significantly affect these correspondence measures. Both maps show that in the 1870s, 35% of the Galilee was covered by Mediterranean maquis, with less than 8% of the area used for permanent agricultural cropland (e.g., plantations). This article presents how the reliability of the maps was assessed by using two spatial historical sources, and how land-cover classes that were mapped with lower certainty and completeness are identified. Some of the causes that led to observed differences between the maps, including mapping scale, time of year, and the interests of the surveyors, are also identified.

INTRODUCTION TO AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGY WORKSHOP

The workshop was made possible by a grant from the Palestine Exploration Fund and took place at the Nabataean Centre for Archaeological Studies, Petra, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Jordan betwe...

Photographs of the American Palestine Exploration Society. By Rachel Hallote, Felicity Cobbing, and Jeffrey B. Spurr


 
 
 The Photographs of the American Palestine Exploration Society. By Rachel Hallote, Felicity Cobbing, and Jeffrey B. Spurr. The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 66. Boston: American Schools of Oriental Research, 2012. Pp. xix + 352, illus. $89.95. [Distributed by ISD, Bristol, Conn.]
 
 

A ‘SMALL TOWN’ DISCOVERED TWICE: A FORGOTTEN REPORT OF MAJOR H. H. KITCHENER

This paper revisits the contribution of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) to the study of the ancient copper mines of Faynan, Jordan. It reveals that it was a PEF expedition that first reported smelting remains in the northern part of the Faynan region, and demonstrates that the reported remains are the Iron Age site of Khirbat al-Jariya.

Mapping Human Induced Landscape Changes in Israel Between the end of the 19Th Century and the Beginning of the 21Th Century

Abstract This paper examines changes in Israel's landscape by comparing two time periods, 1881 and 2011. For this purpose we compared land cover derived from the Palestine Exploration Fund historical map to a present land cover map that was compiled from 38 different present-day GIS layers. The research aims were (1) to quantitatively examine what were the changes in Israel's landscape between 1881 and 2011; (2) to identify and explain spatial patterns in these landscape changes. Landscape transformation was categorized into five classes: 'residual bare' (no change in natural vegetation, mostly in desert areas); 'residual' (i.e. remnant; no change in natural vegetation class); 'transformed' (changes between different natural vegetation areas); 'replaced' (area which became managed); 'removed' (no or minimal natural vegetation). We found that only 21% of the area retained similar landscape classes as in the past, with the largest changes taking place in ecoregions that were favorable for developing agriculture - Jezreel Valley and the Sharon Plain. Two physical factors had a strong effect on the type of change in the landscape: (1) most of the agricultural areas and human settlements were found in areas ranging between 400-600 mm/year (2) natural land cover features were more common in areas with steeper slopes. We found that the majority of protected areas, 54.6%, are comprised of remnant vegetation classes (i.e. residual transformation class) however more than half of protected areas are located in desert areas and are thus biased in their representation of land cover classes.

On the Orientation of Megalithic Monuments of the Transjordan Plateau: New Clues for an Astronomical Interpretation

Orientation studies have recently received considerable attention in the archaeological domain as a source of information that may shed light on a number of anthropological issues, such as belief systems or landscape and territory understanding by past cultures. This is especially important in those cultural contexts, such as the megalithic phenomena, where there are no written sources. Megalithic monument orientations can in many instances be explained only within an astronomical context, as has been shown by extensive archaeoastronomical fieldwork surveys and by statistical approaches to the problem.'Most of the surveys so far have been concentrated on the western Mediterranean and the European Atlantic facade. However, in present day Jordan, on the plateau to the east of the Jordan River valley are some of the largest and most attractive groups of dolmens in the Levant.2 These stand comparison with the best exemplars of the West (see Figure 1). There have been a couple of preliminary attempts to analyse the orientation of these groups, but nothing systematic or conclusive has been produced so far.3This is especially troubling because specialists are now faced with the rapid destruction of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's megalithic heritage, due to the building expansion which has converted several of the zones where the necropolises are located - and even the themselves - into gigantic quarries, so as to obtain stone for construction and urban development. Figure 2 illustrates the situation. Being partially aware of this,4 the authors planned a rescue campaign in the field in December 2011 to document the precise orientation of as many dolmens as the circumstances would permit, in a number of conspicuous and well documented necropolises.Since the nineteenth century, the British Palestine Exploration Fund has carried out archaeological surveys and expeditions on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, around the main ruins of Rabbat Ammon, the modern Amman, and in the area situated just south of Hauran, along the present Syrian border. The expeditions led by C. Irby and J. Mangles along the Jordan River,5 by C. R. Conder near Amman and in the Madaba areas,6 and by G. Schumacher in the north,7 along the Wadi Yarmuk down to Ajlun, recognized and depicted hundreds of archaeological sites with many dolmen fields between them. These monuments, called by the first English surveyors rude-stones monuments were immediately associated with the western European dolmens and inserted in a general prehistoric period. Irby and Mangles, for example, compare the Dahmiyeh dolmens with those seen in Kent, calling the megalithic structures Kitt's Cotty House.8 Conder, when he described the dolmen fields of Amman, Wadi Hesban, Al Mureighat, Mount Nebo, Wadi Jedid and other megalithic necropolises now vanished along the Dead Sea, sketched all the structures and took precise measurements of the stone slabs. Schumacher, during his travels in the Hauran and Golan regions, to the east of the Galilee Sea and along the Yarmuk river, described hundreds of dolmens in the sites of Ain Dakkar and Tsil, collecting data on the dimensions of the stone slabs and speaking with the Bedouins about the megalithic structures, called by them kubur beni IsraiV? the tombs of the Israeli children. Schumacher mentioned a lot of small fragmentary bones inside the dolmens of the Hauran region, interpreted by the Bedouins as the bones of these people, but he believed they were animal rather than human remains.In none of these early expeditions was pottery collected or attempts made to excavate the monuments, so the question of their dating remained unresolved for many years. The first systematic excavations of a dolmen field were made in the twentieth century. Because of the expansion of the modern city of Amman, the dolmen field in this area was rapidly excavated.10 The second dolmen field excavated was the necropolis of Adamiyeh, to the northwest of Madaba, located close to the important Late Chalcolithic site of Tuleilat al Ghassul. …

A PORTRAIT OF WALTER MORRISON (1836–1921) TREASURER OF THE PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND FOR 54 YEARS, RADICAL REFORMER AND SECRET PHILANTHROPIST

Walter Morrison (1836–1921) was the treasurer of the Palestine Exploration Fund for 54 years. He was also a major benefactor, funding expeditions, purchasing drawings for the collection, and giving the PEF their house in Hinde Street, Marylebone. This article draws on material from the Morrison archive to provide a fuller picture of Walter, millionaire, radical politician, generous philanthropist, scholar and landowner. His interest in the Bible Lands, Byzantine and the Near East was formed at Balliol where he was taught by the charismatic Benjamin Jowett; his passion for Yorkshire was formed after he inherited the estate of Malham in Yorkshire; his belief in co-operation, parliamentary reform, and religious toleration informed his contribution to the House of Commons and his choice of friends. His obituary in The Times summed him up perfectly, a “man of simple personal tastes [with] an acute sense of the responsibilities of wealth”.

Mapping Muslim Sacred Tombs in Palestine During the Mandate Period

The Muslim tombs of local saints and prophets were an integral part of the landscape of British Mandate Palestine. They were ubiquitous and significant; located in almost all parts of the region, from the slopes of the Hermon Mountain in the north, to the Negev Desert in the south. These shrines were found in cities, towns and countryside, extending from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Great Rift Valley. However, no systematic study of their extent or significant analysis of the monuments has been undertaken. Using British period maps and additional sources from the 1930–40s, this study analyses almost 800 Muslim tombs and sanctuaries. Through comparison with the Palestine Exploration Fund survey of the 1870s and other sources from the Late Ottoman Period, the article identifies patterns associated with these tombs, including their history and, in some cases, their origins and the changes that they underwent during this period. Case studies of different regions and analysis of the physical and geographical location of the monuments also sheds light on their significance in various regions of Palestine and to different population groups.

A REDISCOVERED LOST SEAL FROM GEZER

A carnelian pebble stamp seal excavated by Macalister at Gezer and believed lost, and a seal kept today in the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem, are one and the same. A cast of the original kept by the Palestine Exploration Fund in London proves to be identical to the seal in Jerusalem. The unique iconography of the seal showing a man in a cultic gesture in front of a griffin, as well as its stylistic details, show it to be an Assyrianized product of the late eighth or seventh century bc, possibly of local production.

Thomas Cook and the Palestine Exploration Fund

This paper will explore the relationship between the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) and Thomas Cook in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, specifically looking at the region of Transjordan, the land east of the River Jordan which was at the time a part of the Ottoman Empire. In the late nineteenth century, the relationship between the two organizations was strong. The early development of tourism in Jordan is closely linked to the work of the PEF, who took up the banner of exploration from earlier pioneers, and to Thomas Cook, who saw there the potential for a new industry to take hold.

Middle East Chronic Water Problems: Solution Prospects

Water shortages have been for a long time a serious problem in the Middle East as well as other parts of the world. The large and arid land of the Middle East has also been dependant on water which is provided by few rivers. This issue has been tackled by researchers, orientalists and exploration associations (Palestine Exploration Fund 1882, and Oliphant, 1880). The aim of this paper is to tackle ways of managing and solving chromic water shortages and hydropolitical tensions in the Middle East. None of the Middle Eastern Countries enjoys water surplus with exception of Turkey. Fortunately, some Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman which suffers from water shortages enjoys fuel surplus. These countries are trying to solve their water shortages by using underground water and heavily investing in water desalination. Other countries like Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq are losing their grip on their national water as a result of sever and perpetuated conflicts which have never ended since the First World War. In terms of technological progress Middle Eastern countries are also differentiated. In this respect, Turkey managed to develop itself and upgrade its social and economic conditions, but most of Arab countries are lacking behind. All of Middle Eastern countries enjoy and share rich cultural heritages related to water management and consumption. Such a richness will help to upgrade peoples’ awareness regarding water consumptions and uses in different economic sectors. Middle Eastern countries suffer from physical water scarcity and the neighboring regions in Africa, Europe and Latin America suffers from economic water scarcity. In addition the regions are of little or no water scarcity lie in Northern Eurasia and Antarctica. As a result of these differences, this paper will suggest ways in which concerned countries and professional organizations may take part in bridging the gap between such physical and economic water scarcities. A projected model of cooperation between Middle Eastern countries in terms of natural resources, cultural, economic, and social enterprises needs to be developed. In addition, International community has to take part in introducing solutions to conflicts of Arabs and Israel, Iraq, Iran, Cyprus, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

Archaeologists-in-Training: Students of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, 1920-1936

Compiled in the process of doctoral research, this list of students at the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem covers the terms of the School’s first two directors, John Garstang and John Crowfoot. It has been gathered from the School’s Minute Books, now in the archive of the Palestine Exploration Fund, and from contemporary published reports in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly. By naming and enumerating the students at this institution, still in existence today, the diaspora of and networks inherent in archaeological training during the early years of professionalization become clear. The data also includes the background and education (where known) of these prospective archaeologists, an important factor in evaluating issues of gender, class and education in the history of the discipline.

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting for the Palestine Exploration Fund, 16 June 2011

(2011). Minutes of the Annual General Meeting for the Palestine Exploration Fund, 16 June 2011. Palestine Exploration Quarterly: Vol. 143, No. 3, pp. 225-230.

New Photographs of the Qumran Excavations from 1954 and Interpretations of L.77 and L.86

Newly discovered photographs taken during the Qumran excavations in 1954, now available on the Palestine Exploration Fund website, can illuminate various problematic issues of the site's history. In this article aspects of Qumran are examined afresh with the aid of the data these photographs provide. The mud-brick, plastered 'blocks' of L.77 and L.86-L.87/L.89 have been interpreted in diverse ways by different Qumran researchers, but it is most likely that these features had different functions within each separate spatial context, since those of L.77 are much lower than those of L.86 and L.89. In a new photograph, the top of the central block in L.86 appears to have had a slight hollow. The blocks are not the bases for palm-log roof supports, since the fall of the burnt wood on the Period Ib floor in L.86 — now evidenced in a new photograph — indicates that the flat roofs at Qumran were constructed with beams running across the widths of rooms, with palm logs laid on top.

Pioneering British exploration and scriptural geography: The Syrian Society/The Palestine Association

This paper relates to a unique pioneering British association established in London in 1805, for the ‘philosophical, physical and biblical’ study of Palestine/the Holy Land. The short-lived Syrian Society/Palestine Association (PA) adopted the model of the African Association, founded by Sir Joseph Banks in 1788 for the promotion of travel and discovery in Africa. The PA was a predecessor of two important British scholarly societies: the Royal Geographical Society (RGS, founded 1830) and the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF, founded 1865). We first consider the historical, religious and scientific contextual background to the period, following the Napoleonic Wars in the Ottoman Empire and the revival of Christian religious beliefs and biblical criticism in Britain and Europe. Based on primary archival sources not previously studied, we then analyse the declared objectives of the Association, its founders, membership, structure, mode of operation, interrelations with consuls, traders, bankers and organisations (such as the Levant Company, the East India Company and contemporary missionary societies), accomplishments, and possible reasons for its failure. We discuss its closure in 1834, the transfer of its funds to the newly founded RGS, and the later establishment of its ‘daughter in spirit’, the PEF in 1865.