The Six-Day War in 1967 radically changed the archaeological scene in Jerusalem. Since then, excavations have proceeded as never before. For the first time in over 2, 000 years, Jerusalem is a united city under Israeli control. Archaeologists, both Jewish and Christian, have been able to conduct excavations free of political divisions and military tensions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have learned more about ancient Jerusalem in the past four years than had become known in a century previous,\u201d remarked one American scholar.<\/p>\n
Despite its preoccupation with the remote past, archaeology is directly dependent on the politics and circumstances of the present. In the case of Jerusalem, the problems of digging have been both political and logistical.<\/p>\n
Most of New Testament Jerusalem lies beneath what is now a densely inhabited quarter. It is obviously impossible to dig under homes in which people live, and it has been equally difficult to pursue a continuous project in disputed areas. Most serious digs require years of tedious and painstaking labor in sifting through the debris of centuries.<\/p>\n
Since 1967, in spite of the political controversy, Israeli building projects have served the archaeologists well. Slum dwellings have been cleared out, permitting scientific excavation before new buildings are erected. It was the building plans of the Armenian Patriarchate on the church\u2019s ancient holdings in Old Jerusalem that provided the impetus for explorations on Mount Zion and the nearby site of King Herold\u2019s palace.<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 1:4 (Autumn 1972) p. 114<\/p>\n
Home of the High Priest Caiaphas Sought<\/b><\/p>\n
On the night Jesus was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26), He was taken to the home of the High Priest Caiaphas. There He was tried before the Jewish leaders and kept under guard the last night before the crucifixion. But where was the house of the High Priest?<\/p>\n
Ancient and modern research points to Mount Zion, the quarter of the most notable and wealthy families of the time. Since the fourth century, one tradition has designated a spot just outside what is now Zion Gate as Caiaphas\u2019 residence. In the Middle Ages the Armenian Orthodox Church, probably the oldest of the Christian institutions in modern Jerusalem, built a small chapel there.<\/p>\n
Other Christian orders laid claim to ruins down the slope of Mount Zion toward the Temple and designated that as the site of the High Priest\u2019s home. Now covered by a modern church called St. Peter\u2019s in Gallicanta, it has been shown to tourists and pilgrims for decades as the scene of Jesus\u2019 trial and His denial by Peter.<\/p>\n
The site venerated by the Armenians outside Zion Gate is the courtyard of a medieval Armenian convent. Prior to 1948 there was a religious sensitivity about digging there. Then, from 1948 to 1967, it was one of the narrowest and most sensitive points of the ceasefire line, a veritible no-man\u2019s land that weaved through Jerusalem dividing the Israeli and Jordanian sections. Israeli and Arab soldiers faced each other for 19 tense years across the desolate courtyard. Although the area was rich in Christian associations, it was inaccessible to archaeologists.<\/p>\n
Now, at last, archaeologists are able to explore the site \u2014 the Armenian Church and the Israel Department of Antiquities are cooperating in an excavation. The dig is under the direction of Magen Brochi, curator of the Shrine of the Book of the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed.<\/p>\n
After a season of digging, the archaeologists have unearthed a whole neighborhood of aristocratic and priestly residences dating from the first decades of the Christian era up to the Roman sacking of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Walls were found that were originally covered with rich frescoes. The excavations have uncovered clear evidence of the wealth and dignity of the neighborhood in ancient times. Some of the fresco fragments are being reconstructed and will go on display at the Israel Museum.<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 1:4 (Autumn 1972) p. 115<\/p>\n
Herod\u2019s Palace Excavated<\/b><\/p>\n
After spending the night at Caiaphas\u2019 house, Jesus was taken before Pontius Pilate to stand trial (Matthew 27). Since the Middle Ages, Christian pilgrims have revered a Roman pavement just north of the Temple Mount as the site where Pilate heard the crowd\u2019s demands for crucifixion. The pavement is at the so-called Antonia Fortress, a Roman garrison.<\/p>\n
Other scholars believe that Pilate took up residence in Herod\u2019s old palace \u2014 Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. \u2014 on the opposite side of Jerusalem. They say that this is where the trial was held. The site of Herod\u2019s palace is now covered by a garden belonging to the Armenian Patriarchate.<\/p>\n
Several years ago the Armenian church decided to build a training seminary there. While the foundations for the building were being dug, excavations were carried out starting in the Spring of 1971 under the direction of Magen Broshi.<\/p>\n
Broshi and his team found ample evidence of a structure erected by the Crusaders, but found few remains of the palace. When the Crusader kings built their building they eradicated everything else there. Only the foundation walls of Herod\u2019s palace remained. The walls were very thick and about 400 yards long, showing that the palace had been even larger than originally thought.<\/p>\n
Concerning the site of Jesus\u2019 trial, Mr. Broshi commented \u201cIt seems clear that the square in front of the palace, where Pilate would have faced the crowd if this tradition is accurate, must be under the main buildings of the Armenian Patriarchate \u2014 and these are physically impossible to excavate now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ancient Cemetery Found<\/b><\/p>\n
Hebrew University scholars, led by Professor Benjamin Mazar, have been digging at the southeast corner of the Temple Mount since 1968. (See BIBLE AND SPADE<\/i> Vol. 1, No. 1, page 14 and Vol. 1, No. 3, page 77.) This year the team advanced southward in hopes of finding remains dating to the Jerusalem of David and Solomon, 10th century B.C.<\/p>\n
Professor Mazar reported that in the fourth season of digging around the Temple Mount, concluded in March of this year, the <\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 1:4 (Autumn 1972) p. 116<\/p>\n
work penetrated back to the seventh century before Jesus. Remnants of a Jewish cemetery alluded to in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel were found.<\/p>\n
Searching for City Wall<\/b><\/p>\n
Another dig in Jerusalem is being carried out at one of the busiest intersections of the modern city \u2014 under the windows of the Municipal Building, where Mayor Teddy Kolleck has his office. Archaeologists are hoping to locate the line of the third wall of the Roman city. According to ancient manuscripts, this wall was built in the last decades before the Jewish capital was destroyed in A.D. 70.<\/p>\n
(N. Y. TIMES<\/i> May 6, 1971 and March 31, 1972; JERUSALEM POST<\/i> March 7, 1972)<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 1:4 (Autumn 1972) p. 117<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Six-Day War in 1967 radically changed the archaeological scene in Jerusalem. Since then, excavations have proceeded as never before. For the first time in over 2, 000 years, Jerusalem is a united city under Israeli control. Archaeologists, both Jewish and Christian, have been able to conduct excavations free of political divisions and military tensions. … Continue reading “JERUSALEM
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