NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL FEATURES IN BETHLEHEM (PALESTINE): THE ITALIAN-PALESTINIAN RESCUE SEASON OF NOVEMBER 2016 (figures & Arabic summary at the end) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Vicino Oriente, 2017
and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Palestine carried out further rescue excavations and surveying in the city of Bethlehem and in its surroundings. These activities were conducted in order to protect the archaeological and historical patrimony of this area of Palestine, and to prevent looting, sites destruction, vandalism and illegal trade of archaeological items. A provisional report on finds and activities is offered below.
Vicino Oriente
has been active since 2015 with annual excavation seasons and research study on the necropolis of Khalet al-Jam'a, and with emergency excavations, surveys and documentation campaigns in other threatened sites, in order to protect the archaeological heritage of the district of Bethlehem, subject to increasing building activity. The following is the summary report of the research activities carried out during the 8 th season, in spring 2022.
Protecting and rehabilitating the archaeology of Bethlehem
Antiquity (Project Gallery), 2018
Summary of Sapienza University of Rome and Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities joint rescue works in the town of Bethlehem 2015-2017 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/protecting-and-rehabilitating-the-archaeology-of-bethlehem/DB116A545A915ED48630D9022E2542CF
The discovery of the necropolis of Khalet al-Jam'a, around 2.2 Km southeast of Bethlehem (Nigro et al. in this volume), provides new data on the Bronze and Iron Age town which controlled the main route connecting Jerusalem to Hebron, and the access to the wadiat crossing the southern Judean desert and leading to the coastal plain. Intermediate Bronze Age/Early Bronze IV, Middle Bronze shaft tombs, and at least two major Iron II burial caves (Tomb A7 and the Barmil's Tomb) excavated by the Palestinian MOTA-DACH in an Iron Age cemetery allow to draw up a renewed picture of Bethlehem and its environs and give the opportunity to re-appraise its long history.
Unearthing Jerusalem comprises chapters developed out of a 2006 conference at Brown University, the goal of which was " to provide, insofar as it is possible, a balanced view of the scholarly discussions " of every period from the prehistoric to the Ottoman period. The goal was not to present a homogenous view but " to present various, and sometimes even opposing, views " (xiii). This volume seeks to bring due attention to neglected periods of Jerusalem's history, which have been overlooked because of the " preferential attention among scholars … given to the periods of the biblical kings, the Herodian era as well as the early days of Christianity " (xiii). The exploration and documentation of Jerusalem's history and archaeology " have been highly influenced by this selective interest. " This exclusivity has changed in recent decades, and Unearthing Jerusalem presents the cumulative data of both older and newer researches. The volume contains two introductory chapters. In " Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research, " Gideon Avni and Katharina Galor review the century-and-a-half of continuous excavations in and around Jerusalem, which probably come close to about 1,850 initiatives. Jerusalem is one of the most extensively explored sites in the world, and the excavation and exploratory activities there have " produced thousands of books and scholarly papers, covering almost every aspect of the history and material remains in Jerusalem and reconstructing its long sequence of more than 6,000 years of