The Sea of Galilee Boat : An Extraordinary 2000 Year Old Discovery

This book concerns a unique and exciting treasure: the first ancient boat ever found in the Sea of Galilee. It is both an adventure story and a whodunit. It is not a report solely of the facts. Many of the descriptions that follow are also of feelings and impressions. It is a story as seen through my eyes. Others who participated in this undertaking would no doubt describe their experiences differently, for each and every one of us perceives reality in his or her own unique way. No book dealing with the Galilee Boat can begin without first paying tribute to the many men and women, organizations and groups, who gave their time, effort, and money to this venture. This was a team effort, but it was undertaken by individuals, without whose dedication the endeavor never would have succeeded. The rescue excavation of the This remarkable true story recounts one of the great discoveries of the century: finding a 2000-year-old boat from the Sea of Galilee. Shelley Wachsmann, a respected nautical archaeologist, shares the joy and drama he felt in discovering and excavating the first ancient boat from this biblical location. Through his perceptive eyes, we experience the adventure of a lifetime as he offers his personal account of first setting eyes on and then preserving this unique treasure. Wachsmann is a master storyteller, interweaving his own unforgettable story of this challenging excavation with the writings of the past. Jews and Christians alike will be captivated by his search for the boat's identity. Wachsmann - like a detective - hunts down clues that will reveal the boat's actual history. Since the boat turns out to be a 2000 year old craft, he carefully examines the Gospels for passages that will shed light on this wondrous vessel. This ever-curious author also traces Jewish historical texts to discover that the Sea of Galilee, during the boat's vibrant past, was the setting for one of the most tragic massacres of Jews - the Battle of Migdal. During this sea battle, we learn, Roman soldiers mercilessly slaughtered Jews as they attempted to escape in boats like this one, turning the Sea of Galilee into a sea of crimson. The saga of tenderly extracting this extraordinary boat from the earth, protecting its timbers, and restoring it to health is a compelling tale on its own. Wachsmann impresses us with the dedication and creativity of his makeshift team in improvising answers to the seemingly impossible logistic problems that dog them every step of the way. Still, generosity abounds and actual rainbows appear as scores of volunteers pull together to save this singular monument of the past. Wachsmann punctuates the absorbing details of preserving this artifact with the rich history that surrounds the Sea of Galilee, making this a uniquely enduring and personal work. Wachsmann transports us enabling us to savor this voyage with him on one of the greatest archaeological expeditions of the twentieth century. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Prologue....Pages 1-4 The Boat That Made Rainbows....Pages 5-36 A Sea of Legends....Pages 37-57 The Excavation from Hell....Pages 59-107 Galilean Seafaring in the Gospels....Pages 109-121 “Yep, It’s an Old Boat”....Pages 123-167 The First Jewish Naval Battle....Pages 169-194 The Impossible We Do Immediately; Miracles Take a Little Longer....Pages 195-228 A Pride of Scholars....Pages 229-260 Good Night, Sleeping Beauty....Pages 261-298 Putting It All Together....Pages 299-332 Like a Rock....Pages 333-354 Once upon a Boat....Pages 355-369 Epilogue....Pages 371-377 Back Matter....Pages 379-420 Nautical archaeologist Wachsmann describes finding, excavating, and preserving a 2,000-year-old boat in the Sea of Galilee, interspersing historical accounts and details with his personal experiences leading the project The message on my desk was the immediate and direct result of actions taken by two brothers from Kibbutz Ginosar, a communal agricultural settlement located on the northwest banks of the Sea of Galilee.