Dr. Eilat Mazar is at it again– running to the press before properly submitting her finds to serious archaeological scrutiny.
Now it is Solomon’s Wall. Before it was David’s Palace. Also the Tsinnor. Also Nehemiah’s Wall. Also the Seal of Temech. None of them have stood the test of time– except to those who desperately want to believe…
What’s next? Bathsheba’s bathtub? The Queen of Sheba’s guestroom?
This is not careful, systematic archaeology, yielding a more sophisticated understanding of Iron Age Jerusalem. It is secular shrine building and idolatrous historical idol worship– consciously or unwittingly serving contemporary religious and political agendas and helping to sabotage any hope of future compromise in Jerusalem.
Ironic that this news appeared on the same day that the Prime Minister’s new Heritage Plan (see last post) sparked violence.
Stay tuned for more updates…
Update #1: In fact here is one factual clarification– the first of many, I expect– this one from Todd Bolen’s BiblePlaces.com blog.
Update #2: In his hyperbolic blog on this discovery, Commentary editor Jonathan Tobin demonstrates how good he is at summarizing hyperbolic archaeological press releases– and how little he actually knows about archaeology.
Update #3: Leen Ritmeyer, who can hardly be accused of minimalism, shares his thoughts and experience regarding the discovery of the new ”Solomonic” wall. Bottom line: probably late 8th century BCE, a full two centuries after the time of Solomon.
[...] to the State of Israel Three things to do to avoid the political pandering, the pseudo-scientific bloviation, and the predictable violence we have witnessed in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the last couple of [...]
By: Advice to the State of Israel « Searching for Authenticity on March 1, 2010
at 3:22 pm
[...] then we come to the pseudo-science, a disgrace to all Israeli educational and scientific organizations who lend their support to the [...]
By: Playing With Fire in Jerusalem « Searching for Authenticity on March 3, 2010
at 10:12 am
I like Mazar’s phrase: “The city wall that has been uncovered testifies to a ruling presence.” Of course in Jerusalem this `ruling presence’ can only be King Solomon. QED. And the presence of LMLK jars, figurines and bullae – all dating to the late Iron Age – so what?
By: Margreet Steiner on February 11, 2011
at 6:14 pm
[...] A truly pitiful example of the ideologically inspired and financed archaeological work in the “City of David.” Is this a battle for “science” or just envy in not being allowed to claim the credit for another “this land really belongs to us” claim. Jeremiah’s Pit would have been another addition to the bogus Mazar corpus. See, for example, blog report from Feb. 22, 2010. [...]
By: Newsflash from Jerusalem: Pot Calls Kettle Black « Searching for Authenticity on October 11, 2011
at 9:10 am