Archaeology in the land of "tells and ruins" : a history of excavations in the Holy Land inspired by the photographs and accounts of Leo Boer

Recently, a travel account and 700 photographs came to light by the hand of Leo Boer, a former student of the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem who, at the age of 26 in 1953–4 visited many archaeological sites in the area of present-day Israel and the Palestinian Territories. These documents inspired 20 internationally-renowned scholars – many of whom excavated at the sites they describe – to report on what we know today of nine particular sites chosen from the many that Leo Boer visited 60 years ago: Jerusalem, Khirbet et-Tell (Άi?), Samaria & Sebaste, Tell Balata (Shechem), Tell es-Sultan (Jericho), Khirbet Qumran, Caesarea, Megiddo, and Bet She’an. Rather than focusing on the history of these sites, the contributors describe the history of the archaeological expeditions. Who excavated these sites over the years? What were the specific aims of their campaigns? What techniques and methods did they use? How did they interpret these excavations? What finds were most noteworthy? And finally, what are the major misconceptions held by the former excavators? Several themes are interwoven amongst the contributions and variously discussed, such as‘identification of biblical sites’, ‘regional surveys’, ‘underwater archaeology’, ‘archaeothanatology’, ‘archaeology and politics’, ‘archaeology and science’, and ‘heritage management’. This unique collection of images and essays offers to scholars working in the region previously unpublished materials and interpretations as well as new photographs. For students of archaeology, ancient or Biblical history and theology it contains both a detailed archaeological historiography and explores some highly relevant, specific themes. Finally, the superb quality of Boer’s photography provides an unprecedented insight into the archaeological landscape of post-war Palestine for anyone interested in Biblical history and archaeology. Recently, a travel account and 700 photographs came to light by the hand of Leo Boer, a former student of the cole Biblique et Archologique Franaise in Jerusalem who, at the age of 26 in 19534 visited many archaeological sites in the area of present-day Israel and the Palestinian Territories. These documents inspired 20 internationally-renowned scholars many of whom excavated at the sites they describe to report on what we know today of nine particular sites chosen from the many that Leo Boer visited 60 years ago: Jerusalem, Khirbet et-Tell (i?), Samaria & Sebaste, Tell Balata (Shechem), Tell es-Sultan (Jericho), Khirbet Qumran, Caesarea, Megiddo, and Bet Shean. Rather than focusing on the history of these sites, the contributors describe the history of the archaeological expeditions. Who excavated these sites over the years? What were the specific aims of their campaigns? What techniques and methods did they use? How did they interpret these excavations? What finds were most noteworthy? And finally, what are the major misconceptions held by the former excavators? Several themes are interwoven amongst the contributions and variously discussed, such as identification of biblical sites, regional surveys, underwater archaeology, archaeothanatology, archaeology and politics, archaeology and science, and heritage management. This unique collection of images and essays offers to scholars working in the region previously unpublished materials and interpretations as well as new photographs. For students of archaeology, ancient or Biblical history and theology it contains both a detailed archaeological historiography and explores some highly relevant, specific themes. Finally, the superb quality of Boers photography provides an unprecedented insight into the archaeological landscape of post-war Palestine for anyone interested in Biblical history and archaeology. Table of Contents Preface (Jrgen Zangenberg) A Chance Meeting in a Museum (Bart Wagemakers) Chapter 1 Leo Boer (Bart Wagemakers) Chapter 2 Jerusalem (Margreet L. Steiner) Chapter 3 Khirbet et-Tell (i?) (Lucas P. Petit) Chapter 4 Samaria & Sebaste (Shimon Gibson, Ron E. Tappy) Chapter 5 Tell Balata (Shechem) (Edward F. Campbell, Jr., Gerrit van der Kooij, Hamdan Taha and Monique H. van den Dries) Chapter 6 Tell es-Sultan (Jericho) (Maura Sala, Fanny Bocquentin and Bart Wagemakers) Chapter 7 Khirbet Qumran (Joan E. Taylor, Jan Gunneweg) Chapter 8 Caesarea Maritima (Kenneth G. Holum) Chapter 9 Megiddo (Norma Franklin) Chapter 10 Bet Shean (Yoram Tsafrir and Benjmain Arubas, Gabriel Mazor and Walid Atrash, Nava Panitz-Cohen) Chronological Table List of Contributors Index Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 List of Contributors 8 Preface 10 A Chance Meeting in a Museum 12 Chronological Table 16 Chapter 1: Leo Boer, a Dutch Student in the Near East (1953–1954) 18 Bibliography 38 Chapter 2: Jerusalem 41 One Hundred and Fifty Years of Excavating Jerusalem 42 Bibliography of Jerusalem 53 Chapter 3: Khirbet et-Tell (Άi?) 57 An Archaeological Historiography of Khirbet et-Tell and the Ongoing Search for the Biblical City of Άi 58 Bibliography of Khirbet et-Tell 73 Chapter 4: Samaria and Sebaste 77 A Visitor at Samaria and Sebaste 78 Israelite Samaria: Head of Ephraim and Jerusalem’s Elder Sister 90 Bibliography of Samaria and Sebaste 103 Chapter 5: Tell Balata (SHECHEM) 107 Archaeological Campaigns at Shechem (1913–1973) 108 Tell Balata Archaeological Park Project: Fieldwork in 2010 and 2011 118 Heritage Management at Tell Balata 122 Bibliography of Tell Balata (Shechem) 130 Chapter 6: Tell es-Sultan (JERICHO) 133 The Archaeological Expeditions to Tell es-Sultan (1868–2012) 134 I. W. Cornwall at Tell es-Sultan: Pioneer in Archaeothanatology 148 Bibliography of Tell es-Sultan (Jericho) 160 Chapter 7: Khirbet Qumran 165 The Archaeology of Khirbet Qumran 166 Qumran Archaeology and Science: a Trans-Disciplinary Combination that Bore Fruit 183 Bibliography of Khirbet Qumran 193 Chapter 8: Caesarea Maritima 199 The Archaeology of Caesarea Maritima 200 Bibliography of Caesarea Maritima 215 Chapter 9: Megiddo 219 A Visit to Tel Megiddo in the Spring of 1954 220 Bibliography of Megiddo 231 Chapter 10: Bet She'an 235 A Note on Boer’s Visit to the Roman City of Bet She’an 237 The Roman Theatre at Nysa-Scythopolis (Bet She’an) 243 The History of the Excavations at Tel Bet She’an and the Regional Surveys of the Bet She’an Valley 251 Bibliography of Bet She’an 259 Appendix: List of Photographs from the Leo Boer Archive 262 Indexes 274 Index of ancient sources 274 General Index 275 Index of Modern Authors 279 Recently, a travel account and 700 photographs came to light by the hand of Leo Boer, a former student of the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem who, at the age of 26 in 1953-4 visited many archaeological sites in the area of present-day Israel and the Palestinian Territories. These documents inspired 20 internationally-renowned scholars - many of whom excavated at the sites they describe - to report on what we know today of nine particular sites chosen from the many that Leo Boer visited 60 years ago: Jerusalem, Khirbet et-Tell (Άi?), Samaria & Sebaste, Tell Balata (Shechem), Tell es-Sultan (Jericho), Khirbet Qumran, Caesarea, Megiddo, and Bet She’an. Rather than focusing on the history of these sites, the contributors describe the history of the archaeological expeditions. Who excavated these sites over the years? What were the specific aims of their campaigns? What techniques and methods did they use? How did they interpret these excavations? What finds were most noteworthy? And finally, what are the major misconceptions held by the former excavators? Several themes are interwoven amongst the contributions and variously discussed, such as ‘identification of biblical sites’, ‘regional surveys’, ‘underwater archaeology’, ‘archaeothanatology’, ‘archaeology and politics’, ‘archaeology and science’, and ‘heritage management’. This unique collection of images and essays offers to scholars working in the region previously unpublished materials and interpretations as well as new photographs. For students of archaeology, ancient or Biblical history and theology it contains both a detailed archaeological historiography and explores some highly relevant, specific themes. Finally, the superb quality of Boer’s photography provides an unprecedented insight into the archaeological landscape of post-war Palestine for anyone interested in Biblical history and archaeology Scope and content: "Recently, a travel account and 700 photographs came to light by the hand of Leo Boer, a former student of the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem who, at the age of 26 in 1953-4 visited many archaeological sites in the area of present-day Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This unique collection of images and essays offers to scholars working in the region previously unpublished materials and interpretations as well as new photographs. For students of archaeology, ancient or Biblical history and theology it contains both a detailed archaeological historiography and explores some highly relevant, specific themes. Finally, the superb quality of Boer's photography provides an unprecedented insight into the archaeological landscape of post-war Palestine for anyone interested in Biblical history and archaeology"--Provided by publisher