Voices from Jerusalem: Archeology and National Claims in Jerusalem

By Yonathan Mizrachi

The film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- the fourth in the Indiana Jones series--portrays an archaeologist who seeks to return a crystal skull of great importance to the place where it was found. As an archaeologist, Indiana Jones' role is not just to find artifacts but to rescue them from the hands of the bad guys and return them to their places of origin. Jones puts his resourcefulness, knowledge and strength of conviction to the task, and he succeeds in returning the archaeological find -- in this case the crystal skull -- to its original place. The world is saved.

Indiana Jones movies are full of archaeological finds with supernatural powers -- artifacts that can change both the present and the future. Their fall into the hands of the bad guys will bring tragedy to humanity. Indiana Jones wants to rescue the finds from the bad guys because he believes the archaeological past belongs to the place where it was found and is intended to teach everyone about local cultures of the past and their place in the history of all humanity. Jones believes that the current residents are the ones who should guard the past of their location. Archaeological discovery should not be used by outside groups and individuals to demand control of places and artifacts.

Unfortunately, many in Israel today see archeology as a tool for strengthening the connection between the Jewish people and the ancient past of the land of Israel. Only those remains and testimonies that serve this purpose interest them. This tendency intensifies when it comes to the struggle over the future of Jerusalem. The publicity about recent archaeological finds in East Jerusalem -- specifically in the Old City and the City of David site, located just south of the Temple Mount -- creates a misleading impression that the digs contain only remains related to the history of the Jewish people.

The City of David archeological dig in the Palestinian village of Silwan

Take for example the publicity concerning the discovery of the supposed remains of King David's palace in the City of David site, the supposed remains of the palace of Queen Helene in the Palestinian village of Silwan just south of the Temple Mount, and the Hebrew marital contracts that were found in digs in the Old City, Silwan, and elsewhere. The publicity is filled with assertions about the meaning of the archaeological finds, yet it fails to describe them in the context of the environment where they were found and its assertiveness is misleading. In fact, to this day, no one can say with certainty where King David's and Queen Helene's palaces stood. Moreover, the archaeological digs in all these sites have uncovered numerous fascinating finds from the Canaanite beginnings of Jerusalem through many layers that preceded and followed what is considered "Jewish periods." Finds from the Canaanite period as well as the Roman, Byzantine, and Muslim periods can teach us about the reasons why people chose to establish Jerusalem in this location, and how the city developed and changed through time. Regretfully, these finds and the stories they tell are being secreted away.

The struggle over Silwan is just one manifestation of Israel's growing determination to declare and prove that the Old City and the surrounding villages (the area known as "the holy basin") belong to the Jewish people. In the process, archaeological research has become an intractable part of the political struggle over Jerusalem. Archaeological claims are used to bolster our rights, as Israelis, to administer and control East Jerusalem, which is home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

A view on the village of Silwan

The great archaeological finds which testify to the deep cultural richness and diversity of Jerusalem are rarely emphasized, as all efforts go toward analyzing and describing those finds that are seen to relate to the Jewish people. In this way, a City of David visitor will learn almost exclusively about King David and the history of the Judean Kingdom and will hear little about the site's dozens of layers from periods going back well before the beginnings of Jerusalem and continuing through thousands of subsequent years. The visitor will miss on the site's stature as one of the most culturally rich and important in the region.

The Archaeological Park City of David, located in the heart of Silwan

From this perspective -- wherein archeology in Israel, or at least in certain places, is taken to belong strictly to the Jewish people -- it seems as if we Israelis are acting just like the bad guys from the Indiana Jones films. We are acting like a group that views archeology as a resource for strengthening ourselves and permitting us to control other nations who live on the same slice of land. We are ignoring the truth that archaeological evidence that testifies to a society living in Jerusalem 2000 years ago can't possibly take precedence over all the periods that have since passed, and certainly not over the local culture of East Jerusalem today; a society that includes hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Muslims, some of whom are suffering at the hands of archeological projects like City of David.

We are turning archaeological finds into a political tool; a tool to be used against the other, and not a tool for learning about the culture of the other. As Indiana Jones tells us in the films Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, making exaggerated claims about the remains of the past in order to amass power brings with it calamity, death, and destruction for the bad guys who perpetrate such claims.

At present, when the struggle for Jerusalem is a struggle over symbols and identity, it is incumbent upon us to make a special effort to extract archaeological research from the political conflict, and to leave intact the story of the finds that belong to all the residents of the city and its visitors. In this way, perhaps, archeology can help us advance understanding, tolerance, and peace in the city.

The author is an archaeologist and one of the founders of the organization Emek Shaveh as well as the archeological tour "From Shiloah to Silwan"

Comments

[Fireslayer]

This is a brilliant article. When people in the region grow out of their mythological nationalism and realize everyone is mixed thoroughly and in this together then maybe we can have peace .

The whole world is a Holy Land. Or just a place to hang our hats. In any event, peace now!

[Macready]

Thank you for posting . . .from the little I have read about Israeli archaeology most of it disproves tne Old Testament . .

totally agree with you that archaeology should not be used as a political tool ever .. . it is a valuable source of knowledge about the past

[Garioch]

This is of course nothing new the Babatha letters and the lack of attention given to them compared to other discoveries made at the same time, the failure to catalogue discoveries of the early Arab habitation of the area and the immensely shoddy and distorted histories provided for the history of Palestine by some such as the preposterous From Time Immemorial ensure that the historical record is full of omissions and disinformation.

No doubt were the situations reversed you would have someone from the other side attempting to prove that the Jewish people actually came from Kent but this in no way excuses the distortions of some in the Israeli academic profession and certainly in no way excuses the laziness of independent writers who swallow this propaganda.

[alexa07]

"At present, when the struggle for Jerusalem is a struggle over symbols and identity, it is incumbent upon us to make a special effort to extract archaeological research from the political conflict, and to leave intact the story of the finds that belong to all the residents of the city and its visitors. In this way, perhaps, archeology can help us advance understanding, tolerance, and peace in the city."

I love your state "to all the residents of the city and its visitors." One of the most enlightened statements I have read in a long time.

[lbsaltzman]

Archeology is disproving much of the early Bible. That indirectly undercuts Zionist dogma. Noted Israeli archeologist Israel Finklestein has written two excellent books "The Bible Unearthed" and "David and Solomon". Together the books demolish the historical accuracy of the Bible and are backed up by extensive evidence.

There has been criticism of the controversial digs going on under the possible Judean Temple site . The digs are apparently way to hasty and rather then being dispassionately scientific, they are a frantic hunt for evidence that can be used to support Zionist dogma. Finklestein establishes the case that Jerusalem was never the capital of Israel and that Israel and Judea were never a united kingdom. He also demolishes Exodus. Israel was a bronze age Canaanite city state that predates Judaism by hundreds of years. Judaism was an invention of Iron Age Judea and the early bible was largely fabricated by a Judean King.

[Aziat]

You remind me of Ryan Goslings character in the Believer

[lbsaltzman]

I am not sure what your point is. The Ryan Gosling character was a member of the KKK and anti-semitic even though he was Jewish. I am neither a member of the KKK nor anti-semitic. I am criticizing the politicalization of archeology to support political and nationalistic dogma. I have a degree in anthropology and archeology, and I am very aware that the best scientific evidence from the field tends to strongly disprove the literal accuracy of the Bible.

There is also a vast confusion that only people who are Jewish had ancestors in the Holy Land. Palestinians have the same ancestors as Jews. Their current religion has nothing to do with their ancestry. Proving that there was a Jewish temple in Jerusalem does nothing to take away the rights of Palestinians in their homeland, nor does to give Jews a greater claim to the land.

[Macready]

great blog lb . . as usual

[Rand]

The problem with Finklestein is that he's just as dogmatic as are the biblical literalists

Even when presented with digs which match biblical descriptions, Finklestein insists that they can't be correct simply because they are as described in the Old Testament

[lbsaltzman]

I have read Finklestein's work extensively including his technical articles. he never has said it can't be true if it is the Bible. He simply looks at the archeological record and the evidence to determine if the Bible is accurate or not. He makes the point that too often people fit the evidence to prove the Bible rather than let the evidence speak for itself.

This gets technical fast, but when you accurately date the strata at archelogical digs correctly, Jerusalem just was a 150 acre town when Israel existed. It just wasn't the capital of Israel. The datings of Bronze Age and Iron Age cities is very solid now and it doesn't support the Bible.

[myopinion2]

whether or not Judea and Israel was ever a united kingdom, and whether David established a regional power, remains unproven. But the existence of Israel and Judea, the assyrian conquest of the former, Hezekiah's tunnel which allowed Judea to hold out against the assyrians, the Babylonian conquest of Judea, it's razing of the Temple and the exile of the nobility, the priesthood and much of the people, and the return of the exiles and the re-establishment of the Temple, are documented not just by archeology but also by assyrian, Babylonian and Persian sources. so what is the issue, other than anti-israel propoganda.

Israel has preserved and publicizes the Roman and Byzantine ruins in Jerusalem. The fact of Canaanite predecessors in Jerusalem is stated in the Bible. The Moslem conquest and rule is not denied. So what is the issue -- other than that Israel apparently is always wrong, whatever.

[Garioch]

The issue is what the article dealt with which is both the politicization of the subject and the lack of study in areas which do not bolster the particular case that some sides want. Either fitting the evidence to a particular case or theory or as has been far more common just ignoring specific finds and evidence while giving massive publicity to others.
In for instance the example I gave in another answer on here the fact that some finds have shown that the Jewish and Arab people coexisted peacefully from the earliest times have received next to no publicity because it doesn't fit in with the current Israeli orthodoxy.
On the other hand if you want to take that attitude then enjoy your victimhood and sack cloth.

[misaacm]

It is impossible to make peace with people who deny history and, by extension your existence. It doesn't matter whether the Israelis freeze settlements (an idea I favor), or open a tastee freeze, the Palestinians have rewritten history to try and deny any Jewish connection with the land. This precludes any compromise at all and shows that the Pals want land not for peace but for war.

Denying what is written in the history books, and the old testament, the new testament and the Koran (!) shows how delusional the Pals are. This is why Israel's demand that Palestinians re-educate their people, as the promised at Oslo, is so important to the Israelis. Until they join the real world, Obama is wasting his time (and our money) trying to force a peace treaty.

[Garioch]

And that makes ignoring the history of the region which does not fit in with your political objectives and hiding away such information acceptable?
In other words you fight the denial of history and evidence by denying history and evidence? Magnificent! Another piece of logical gymnastics accomplished.

[alysheba 3]

But the Israelis denying archeologically proven history to strengthen a claim to land they left centuries ago is okay?

[misaacm]

Your post doesn't make sense. It is not the Israelis who are denying history, it is the Pals. That is what this article is talking about. At some point the Pals are going to have to face that fact that Jerusalem has Jewish roots. It is mentioned over 600 times in the old testament and almost never in the Koran. They are also going to have to accept that fact that Jerusalem will always be ruled by Jews. However, unlike Mecca (which also have religious significance to Jews), Jerusalem will be open to all faiths. Under Muslim rule, Jewish temples were destroyed from 1948-67, Since the liberation of Jerusalem, its Arab population has increased by 245%.

You aren't doing your Palestinian friends any good by enabling their delusions.

[messy - Huffpost Blogger]

IN other words, looking for the past is WRONG when you are a rightfully extinct aggressor. The main objection is NOT that the Jews are looking for their history, is that they're not SUPPOSED to look for their history and have no right to a history at all.

There is plenty of archeology dealing with the others living in the area and that's all to the good. But looking for one's past is always a good thing. The antizionists hate archeology because it validates the permanent Jewish presence in the area going back thousands of years, and proves that the Palestinian claim to being indiginous false.

[Thabit]

did you read the above article at all or did you just skim it . Please go back and really read it if your eyes can recognize anything but praise for what ever israel is currently doing

[GrahamInCanada]

There actually seems to be an organized attempt to deny the history of Jerusalem as part of a wider propaganda effort, for example, take a look at the wiki entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Jerusalem

The history of Jerusalem, one of the oldest cities in the world, is being obscured from general view on purpose by partisans in a war.

[Garioch]

You really didn't bother to read that at all did you? There is no other possible explanation for that comment as the disconnect is just too vast.