Tumba de Herodes

Herod’s Grave Uncovered

A Hebrew University professor, fulfilling a career-long quest to solve this national-historic mystery, has found King Herod’s grave at the Herodion

Prof. Ehud Netzer of Hebrew University, fulfilling a career-long goal of solving this national-historic mystery, has uncovered the grave of King Herod – at the Herodium (Herodion), east of Efrat in Gush Etzion.

Prof. Netzer announced his discovery at a Tuesday morning press conference at the Mount Scopus campus of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He explained that a combination of the location, type of work at the tomb, the decorations, and pieces of the coffin led to the definite conclusion that this was Herod the Great’s burial site.

Herod was the Roman-appointed king of Judea from 37 to 4 BCE. He was renowned for his many monumental building projects, including the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the palace at Masada, and the Herodium complex, 15 kilometers south of Jerusalem. The Herodium, Herod’s final resting place, is among the most outstanding of his building projects. Prof. Netzer has led archaeological digs there since 1972, and the “exposure of the king’s tomb here becomes the climax of this site’s research,” Netzer said.

The coffin was found broken into pieces, and Prof. Netzer explained that it was likely broken some 70 years after the unpopular king’s death, during the Jewish rebellion. Herod had also been known for his cruelty, killing his wife and children, among other perceived opponents.

The Herodium is famous for its mountain-top structure comprising a palace, a fortress and a monument. The excavations on the slope of that mountain, where the tomb was found, began in August 2006. The expedition, on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was conducted by Prof. Netzer, together with Yaakov Kalman and Ro’i Porat.

The approach to the burial site was via a monumental flight of stairs 6.5 meters wide, leading to the hillside; the stairs were especially constructed for the funeral procession. Herod died in Jericho, but left instructions to be buried in the area known as the Herodium.

The mausoleum itself was almost totally dismantled in ancient times, but part of its well-built podium remains. Spread among the ruins are pieces of a large, unique coffin, nearly 2.5 meters (over 8 feet) made of a Jerusalemite reddish limestone, decorated by rosettes. The sarcophagus (coffin) had a triangular cover, which was decorated on its sides. Only very few similar sarcophagi are known in the country, and can be found only in elaborate tombs such as the famous one at the King’s Tomb on Salah a-Din Street in eastern Jerusalem. Although no inscriptions have been found yet at Herodium, archaeologists are hopeful that some might yet be found.

Wild Goose Chase
The search for Herod’s tomb, which began actively 30 years ago, focused until last year on Lower Herodium, which includes an area built especially for the king’s funeral and burial. However, atop the Herod-era ruins was a large complex of Byzantine structures that took many years to dig out first.

Finally, Herod’s Tomb Estate was dug. Though two monumental buildings and a large ritual bath (mikveh) were found, as well as a large route (350 meters long and 30 meters wide) that had been prepared for the funeral, no sign of the burial place itself was found.

The expedition then started to search for it on the slope of the hill, where it was finally found. Prof. Netzer emphasizes that there seems to be no doubt that the king’s initial intention was to be buried in the estate. Herod later changed his mind, however, asking to be buried within the artificial cone which gave the hill of Herodium its current volcano-shape.

Josephus Leaves Out Detail
The main historical source of the Second Temple’s days, the historian Josephus Flavius, described the site of Herodium in detail, as well as the funeral – but left out the detail of the burial having taken place on the hillside instead of in the Tomb Estate.

A complex of tunnels from the days of Bar-Kokhba within the Herodium mount was opened to the public in the 1980’s. The archaeological excavations at the site, which stopped in 1987, were renewed 10 years later and continued until 2000, and after a second break, were renewed at the end of 2005.

Modern-Day Implications
Residents of Gush Etzion anticipate that the find will strengthen eastern Gush Etzion. The Herodium is located along the not-yet opened Zaatra bypass road between the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa and the two Gush Etzion communities of Tekoa and Nokdim.

Fonte: Hillel Fendel – Arutz Sheva: 08/05/2007

Prioridade: sobreviver

Nova agenda para Aparecida

A agenda es­ta­be­le­cida pela V Con­fe­rência do CELAM em Apa­re­cida gira ao redor do se­gui­mento de Jesus para que todos te­nham vida. A pre­sença so­lene do Papa veio ava­lizá-la na forma mais alta. En­tre­tanto, nos úl­timos meses, fatos novos ocor­reram, não pre­vistos nos textos pre­pa­ra­tó­rios ao evento, fatos que estão mo­di­fi­cando a cons­ci­ência co­le­tiva da hu­ma­ni­dade. Eles re­pre­sentam um de­safio para toda a hu­ma­ni­dade e não dei­xarão de afetar também a Igreja uni­versal e con­ti­nental. Tais fatos são de tal gra­vi­dade que de­ve­riam mudar a agenda dos bispos em Apa­re­cida.

A partir de fe­ve­reiro, vi­emos saber com 90% de cer­teza que o aque­ci­mento global é consequência do modo de pro­dução e de con­sumo hu­manos e re­pre­senta um dado ir­re­ver­sível. Até esse mo­mento, a es­tra­tégia mun­dial era de pre­servar e cuidar da Terra com com­pre­ensão, com­paixão e amor. E não de­ve­ríamos ul­tra­passar o li­mite in­trans­po­nível que trans­porto mo­di­fi­caria todo o es­tado da Terra.

Esse li­mite foi trans­posto: es­tamos já dentro do aque­ci­mento global, que pode va­riar entre 1,4 até 6 graus Cel­sius, es­ta­bi­li­zando-se pos­si­vel­mente em 3 graus. As consequências desta rup­tura de­verão ser de­sas­trosas: ha­verá grande de­gelo e o mar su­birá sig­ni­fi­ca­ti­va­mente, inun­dando ci­dades ma­rí­timas onde vivem 60% da hu­ma­ni­dade; os climas serão dra­ma­ti­ca­mente afe­tados, ocor­rendo grandes secas em certas re­giões e in­co­men­su­rá­veis inun­da­ções em ou­tras, di­zi­mando em ambos os casos co­lheitas ne­ces­sá­rias para a ali­men­tação hu­mana e animal; a bi­o­di­ver­si­dade será ca­tas­tro­fi­ca­mente atin­gida, oca­si­o­nando o de­sa­pa­re­ci­mento de mi­lhares de es­pé­cies, rom­pendo o sempre frágil equi­lí­brio dos ecos­sis­temas; mi­lhões de pes­soas cor­rerão o risco de de­sa­pa­recer e re­giões in­teiras da face da Terra se tor­narão inós­pitas para a ha­bi­tação hu­mana (grande parte do Brasil).

Estes dados não são fan­ta­si­osos mas em­pí­ricos, re­co­lhidos pelos mi­lhares de ci­en­tistas es­pa­lhados em 130 países que com­põem o or­ga­nismo da ONU cha­mado Painel In­ter­go­ver­na­mental sobre Mu­danças Cli­má­ticas (IPCC em in­glês). Duas es­tra­té­gias são apre­sen­tadas como ur­gentes: adaptar-se à nova si­tu­ação e mi­norar os efeitos ma­lé­ficos.

Este fato muda as pri­o­ri­dades: a questão agora não é tanto o de­sen­vol­vi­mento sus­ten­tável, mas a con­ti­nui­dade da Terra e da Hu­ma­ni­dade. A nova cen­tra­li­dade não po­derá ser mais: como será a evan­ge­li­zação da Igreja na Amé­rica La­tina e como sustar a evasão de ca­tó­licos para ou­tras igrejas de cunho pen­te­costal e po­pular, mas: em que me­dida as igrejas todas, com o ca­pital es­pi­ri­tual que pos­suem, ajudam a Terra a ser be­ne­vo­lente para com toda a vida e em que me­dida ga­rantem um fu­turo comum para toda a Hu­ma­ni­dade.

Os bispos como pas­tores devem se cons­ci­en­tizar desta nova res­pon­sa­bi­li­dade que de­verão as­sumir: de cons­ci­en­tizar os fiéis e re­e­ducá-los para a nova si­tu­ação da hu­ma­ni­dade. Es­tarão pre­sentes bispos de toda a Pan-Amazônia, que re­cobre parte de nove países la­tino-ame­ri­canos. Sa­bemos que estas flo­restas úmidas são o fator prin­cipal de equi­lí­brio de todo o sis­tema cli­má­tico da Terra, do re­gime dos ventos e das chuvas. A Igreja, her­deira da­quele que disse: “vim trazer vida e vida em abun­dância”, de­verá se an­te­cipar em ações res­pon­sá­veis. Ela tem a vo­cação de ser a guardiã da vida e da sal­va­guarda de todo o criado. Apa­re­cida não po­derá ficar aquém deste de­safio, sob pena de não cum­prir sua missão sa­grada. E será co­brada por toda a hu­ma­ni­dade.

Fonte: Leonardo Boff – Adital: 09/05/2007

The SBL Forum: May 2007

Dê uma olhada em algumas coisas interessantes, entre elas, estes dois textos:

Herod’s Tomb Discovered at Herodium

According to Josephus, Herod the Great was buried at Herodium, a massive mound that towers over the Judean desert about eight miles south of Jerusalem. The fact that Herod named the site after himself suggests that he intended that it serve as his final resting place (Magness 2001: 43) and so scholars have accepted Josephus’ testimony despite the fact that 35 years of excavation at the site had failed to locate any trace of a tomb — that is, until now.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday, May 7, that Ehud Netzer of The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his team had discovered the tomb of Herod the Great, the King of the Jews under the Romans (r. 37 B.C.E. – 4 B.C.E.). The excavation team found pieces of a limestone sarcophagus whose location and ornate floral decoration suggest that it belonged to Herod.

The Herodium was the location of a palace and fortress built by Herod to commemorate his victory over the Parthians and Hasmoneans in 40 B.C.E. and was destroyed by Roman forces in 71 C.E. Scholars have debated the location of the tomb, namely, whether it would be found in the Upper Herodium containing the palace rooms at the top of the mountain (Magness 2001) or in the Lower Herodium, on the northern side of the mountain (Netzer 1999: 709-11). The sarcophagus and mausoleum were found more than a month ago on Mount Herodium’s northeastern slope at the end of an ancient staircase leading up to the hilltop, according to Netzer. The sarcophagus had apparently been deliberately broken into hundreds of pieces, probably during the first Jewish revolt against the Romans. The bones too may have been removed at that time. No inscription identifyiing the owner of the sarcophagus has been found.

The SBL Forum will continue to provide updates as the story unfolds.

References
Magness, Jodi, “Where is Herod’s Tomb at Herodium?,” BASOR 322 (2001): 43-46.

Netzer, Ehud, Die Paläste der Hasmonäer und Herodes’ des Grossen (Mainz am Rhein: von Zabern, 1999).

 

The Wired Scholar: Five Free Tools You May Not Know About

The Internet has radically changed how information is stored, researched, and published. Work that was once done in a file catalog and in the midst of towering book shelves can now be done with a few keystrokes on a computer. The ability not only to find information, but to store your own information for the benefit of others makes the Internet an exciting tool for academic research. At the same time, the Internet has also become a resource for free quality resources. The purpose of this article is to introduce Forum readers to five free online tools that can serve to enhance research and productivity.

Google Books
Google Books, which has been discussed previously on The SBL Forum, continues its aggressive effort to digitize books and make them available for public searching. A Google executive has stated that they aim to make every book ever published full-text searchable within ten years. This developing resource has already made itself indispensable, and its value will only increase. In addition to searching inside books, Google Books, along with Archive.org (also mentioned on The SBL Forum), now makes freely available texts that are in the public domain. Most of J. P. Migne’s Patrologia Graeca and Patrologia Latina are now available online for viewing (and downloadable as PDF’s), the first twenty-eight volumes of Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft are available, as well as many other treasures from the likes of Albert Schweitzer, Hermann Gunkel, Julius Wellhausen, and C. H. Dodd, to name but a few.

Mention should also be made of Microsoft’s new Live Book Search . Microsoft’s book search is still very new and does not have near the number of resources as Google Books. Time will tell if Microsoft’s book search can carve out a niche for itself in the market.

I currently know of two “under construction” web pages dedicated to pointing out biblical studies works that are freely available, mostly from Google Books. The first is maintained by Mischa Hooker from the University of Memphis. The links to J. P. Migne’s collection are found on this first list. The second is by Bob Buller, with some collaborative efforts on my part as well. We welcome other collaborators who wish to help us maintain this list. You will find the links to the ZAW collection on this second list. For the sake of thoroughness, the excellent and well-known ETANA and ABZU ought also to be mentioned: ETANA makes available a large number of quality texts related to ancient Near Eastern Studies, and ABZU catalogs over four hundred freely available online books, articles, and websites related to the ancient Near East.

One last item I wish to mention is something for which I have found Google Books particularly useful. Because Google Books is moving backward in time in its aggressive indexing of titles, while at the same time staying current with new titles as they appear, I have found the Google Book search helpful for researching how authors view other written works — i.e., the “reception history” of articles and books. With Google Books, I am able to examine authors’ views on certain articles or books with which I am working. For FORUM readers who have published articles or books, doing a Google Book search for an article title can offer a glimpse of how research has been received.

Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a heavily used search tool that indexes the vast majority of periodicals that are available online. Google Scholar also indexes the articles themselves, if they are available online, although a user needs to have access through a library or personal subscription to read or download them. The obvious advantage of Google Scholar over against something like ATLA is that it is free and takes the user immediately to the access point for the article. The limitation, again comparing it to ATLA, is that there are a number of periodicals that ATLA has indexed but have little or no online presence, so they are absent from Google Scholar.

Google Scholar provides some useful features that make it stand out: (1) It holds a user’s preferences. A user can specify the languages to which the searches can be confined; Google Scholar can also show the user if an article or book is available at a nearby library. (2) A user can set Google Scholar to show a link to export the citation of articles. This is very handy for users who use bibliographic management software. (3) Google Scholar simultaneously searches Google Books. This type of single search for both articles and books is unmatched. (4) Google Scholar has an advanced search, which can help you search more precisely. One can search by multiple criteria (author, date, title) and can also limit which subject areas results return from (i.e., humanities, medicine, or business). (5) Google Scholar can show the user similar articles, which can point out hitherto unknown essays. (6) Finally, Google Scholar tracks citations from within articles and books, which may be one of its strongest features. If Google Scholar is aware of any other books or articles that have cited one of the user’s search results, Google Scholar will indicate it and provide a link that lists the cross references. However, one of the main drawbacks to Google Scholar is also highlighted in this cross-referencing feature: Google Scholar also indexes web content from universities. Sometimes search results and especially citation links are not originating from articles or books. As an example, Google Scholar’s information on Reginald Fuller’s book, The Use of the Bible in Preaching, notes that it is cited by eleven other works. However, when examining these eleven citations, almost all of them are actually course syllabuses listing it as required or recommended reading — and none of the cross-references are from books or refereed journals.

Not to be outdone, Microsoft has recently launched a competitor to Google Scholar, the Academic Live Search . The Academic Live Search is still early in its beta phase, but it is a very fine tool. Academic Live Search’s two-paned interface is better than Google Scholar and also offers more exporting options for the user. Microsoft has created a closer connection with publishers so that publishers get to choose what information is actually shown in the search. The presentation of the search results is also superior to that of Google Scholar. The user can obtain much of the information for an article (abstract if available, publication details, DOI) without leaving the search results page. However, the Academic Live Search does not have a cross-referencing system nor does it index Google Books or even its own Book Search, and attempting an advanced search with multiple criteria is more difficult than with Google Scholar.

Google Docs
Supported Browsers: Firefox and Internet Explorer
Google Docs, which is still in its beta phase, is a fully functional online word processor and spreadsheet program. Google Docs is free. Users have an unlimited amount of space for storing documents, though documents are currently restricted to 500kb in size. Google Docs can import .doc, .rtf, .html, .txt, and .odt (Open Office) documents. Once imported, these documents can be edited online. Files can be exported from Google Docs to the supported import formats, as well as to .pdf. Documents can also be emailed. Every Google Docs account receives a unique email address for easy importing. All the user needs to do is attach a document to an email and send it to the Google Docs email address, and the document will be imported. Google Docs users can also enable right-to-left text in the Google Docs settings to support Hebrew, Aramaic, and other right-to-left unicode scripts. Unicode Hebrew can be imported and inputted within Google Docs. The only limitation is the small number of fonts available in Google Docs, which can sometimes make for imperfect presentation of Hebrew, particularly vowel pointing. But any potential pointing problems are solved when a document is exported and a more suitable unicode font is chosen for the Hebrew characters in a word processor. If a user imports non-unicode Greek or Hebrew into Google Docs, it will not display properly, but will revert to roman.

Google Docs provides users with a good platform for publishing their work online or collaborating with others. Choosing to publish a document assigns the document a unique URL, which the user can then share with others. To provide readers with an example, this article was entirely composed in Google Docs, and the published version can also be viewed here . If a scholar wishes to distribute research online or if a teacher wishes to publish course material that can be accessed online, then Google Docs may be a suitable choice. For collaboration, users can invite others in two ways: (1) as collaborators who can edit the document, or (2) as viewers who can view the document and save a copy, but cannot edit it. The revision history is tracked by Google Docs, so the user can choose to revert back to any previous version if need be. If there are a number of collaborators and the author(s) wishes to monitor changes made to the document closely, Google Docs can also generate an RSS feed, which notes the date, time, and author of the changes, as well as showing a snippet of what has been changed. As an example, one can view the RSS feed of changes made to this article through the past few weeks by viewing this feed in an RSS reader.

Google Docs can be effective for educators as well. As the world becomes increasingly paperless, Google Docs can provide a way for teachers to read, comment on, and correct student papers. Students could email their term papers to their teachers’ unique Google Docs email address, the teacher could then read and comment on the paper, and the result — with inserted comments, highlights, and corrections — could be emailed back to the student. Google Docs may also provide an ideal platform for MA or PhD students who need to have their work regularly read and critiqued by professors or external readers who are geographically distant. Google Docs is a centralized place where reading, comments, and revising can be done, without the mess of emailing documents back and forth between multiple people.

Finally, this brief overview of Google Docs applies also to a number of other online word processors. The main alternatives are Zoho , ThinkFree Office , and Ajax 13 . I urge Forum readers to take the time to see if one may be right for them (see a comparative review here ). These three free alternatives are full online office application suites (e.g., word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software). Google also offers a package suite for small businesses and schools that is comparable to these alternatives, but Google has neither presentation software nor an offline alternative like Zoho or ThinkFree. For students who have consistent and reliable Internet access, these free web applications may be an excellent free alternative to an otherwise costly software purchase.

Google Notebook
Supported Browsers: Firefox and Internet Explorer
Google Notebook is a free application that allows users to collect online content into one easily accessible place. After installing the plugin for Firefox or Internet Explorer, the user will see an access link to Google notebook in the lower left part of the browser. With a single click, users can now store information into their notebook. The collection process is very simple: highlight a portion of text in the web browser, right-click the highlighted portion, and choose the option to “note” the information in Google Notebook. The selection of text, called a clipping, is now in the user’s Google Notebook. Clicking on the link to the Google Notebook in the lower half of one’s browser will open a mini-window and show the item(s) most recently saved. From there, users can make a quick comment about the clipping in the comments section, if they so choose. Google Notebook attaches the reference (the URL) of the clipping, so users are aware of the source of the information. Unfortunately, Google Notebook does not yet put a timestamp on the clipping so a user can know when the information was copied. Users can also type their own notes directly into Google Notebook.

A user’s Google Notebook is organized on its own dedicated web page. In the mini-notebook tool, clicking on the title of the notebook will open the notebook web page. From the dedicated web page, users can create as many user-named notebook folders as they wish. Clippings can easily be moved to different notebook folders by drag-and-drop. In the user’s Google Notebook web page, there are editing features to manipulate the data of notes. These features include changing font color, font type, italics, and bold face, and even adding hyperlinks. A note can be deleted at any time by dragging it to the trash. Clippings in Google Notebook can also be exported to Google Docs for further editing. Unfortunately, there is currently no other way to export information. All notes can be printed from the notebook homepage as well. Google has not indicated that there is any storage size restriction, so users can conceivably have large quantities of information stored in their Google Notebook. As is expected of a Google product, all of the information stored in a users notebook(s) is searchable.

In this Internet age, the usefulness of Google Notebook is obvious. Users never have to leave their web browser to make a copy of information found on the Internet or even to jot down a note or reminder quickly. For projects for which research is done largely online, the ability to store online information quickly for later processing and organization can be of great benefit.

Google Notebook, like Google Docs, can also serve as a convenient collaboration, publishing, and perhaps even teaching tool. Users can invite other people to collaborate, enabling others to add and edit clippings in their notebook folders. For sharing web research with a colleague (perhaps for a joint publishing project) Google Notebook may be just the right tool. Users can also publish individual notebook folders online for anyone to view. To put this into practice, I used Google Notebook for researching the subjects of this article — my notebooks can be viewed here . Although Google Notebook can be used only with Firefox and Internet Explorer, published notebooks are viewable on any web browser. As a teaching tool, Google Notebook may be used to manage an individual course by providing a central place for required readings, course work, class syllabus, class notes, and so on.

Finally, two similar free online applications, Clip Marks and Zoho Planner , should be mentioned, although they lack collaboration ability. For those who prefer a regular software application but like the idea of an organizational database, there are a number of applications for information management with more powerful features than Google Notebook. Ultra Recall , OneNote , and EverNote are available for PC users, while Mac users have DEVONthink , Journler , SOHO Notes , and a large number of others to choose from. These applications are feature-rich tools that can aid greatly in the management and use of large amounts of data — I myself benefit greatly from the use of DEVONthink Pro. However, unlike Google Notebook, none of these is free and none offers the possibility of collaboration.

LibraryThing
LibraryThing has quickly become a popular tool on the Internet for cataloging one’s books. A user can rate his books, write a review of them, and tag them with keywords according to content. It is free with a limit of two hundred books, but users can catalog an unlimited number of books with LibraryThing for a small fee. Importing books is as simple as searching for a title, but users can also import a large list of books by uploading a plain text, Excel, or EndNote file. Aside from the sheer amusement that this tool can bring for bibliophiles, LibraryThing is also described as the social network for the intelligent, for several reasons: (1) LibraryThing lets one know if other users have the same or similar collections; (2) one can join discussions surrounding books; (3) one can get a sense of what others think about certain works; and (4) it can also help users find books that had previously been unknown — both by browsing other users’ collections and via LibraryThing’s recommendations. If a user maintains a website, LibraryThing also comes with a number of tools that can be used to display cataloged books (see an example here ). LibraryThing also connects to a service called Ottobib , which can generate a book’s information in APA, MLA, or Turabian format. A user’s collection can be exported to disk in an excel-supported document.

LibraryThing has begun to integrate with libraries and universities as well. LibraryThing is currently offering a service for library web databases that will show information on similar books, books by the same author, related editions, etc. (see pagedemo ). In addition, LibraryThing now offers bulk membership pricing for libraries or universities. A library can pay five cents per patron, or one dollar per student, and this fee will give the patron or student an unrestricted LibraryThing account.

LibraryThing might also be a useful tool for faculties wishing to share their resources. Especially for those who have limited local resources, LibraryThing can help by providing a place for users to catalog their books so colleagues can view their collection. LibraryThing supports a Groups function, so if, for example, four faculty members with limited library resources cataloged their book collections, they could then form a LibraryThing group. Once this group is created, the users can then search all books cataloged by the group members, thereby helping them find books that colleagues may already have.

Finally, as a word of caution, it needs to be said that LibraryThing is not an online equivalent to bibliographic management software like Endnote or Bookends. LibraryThing does not work with any word processor to format footnotes or bibliography and does not catalog journal articles or book chapters. For Forum readers who are interested in more powerful features, bibliographic management software is a better choice.

Danny Zacharias, Acadia Divinity College

Tumba de Herodes: comunicado da Universidade Hebraica

Tomb of King Herod discovered at Herodium by Hebrew University archaeologist

The long search for Herod the Great’s tomb has ended with the exposure of the remains of his grave, sarcophagus and mausoleum on Mount Herodium’s northeastern slope, Prof. Ehud Netzer of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology announced today.

Herod was the Roman-appointed king of Judea from 37 to 4 BCE, who was renowned for his many monumental building projects, including the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the palace at Masada, as well as the complex at Herodium, 15 kilometers south of Jerusalem. .

Herodium is the most outstanding among King Herod’s building projects. This is the only site that carries his name and the site where he chose to be buried and to memorialize himself — all of this with the integration of a huge, unique palace at the fringe of the desert, said Prof. Netzer. Therefore, he said, the exposure of his tomb becomes the climax of this site’s research.

The approach to the burial site – which has been described by the archaeologists involved as one of the most striking finds in Israel in recent years – was via a monumental flight of stairs (6.5 meters wide) leading to the hillside that were especially constructed for the funeral procession.

The excavations on the slope of the mountain, at whose top is the famed structure comprised of a palace, a fortress and a monument, commenced in August 2006. The expedition, on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was conducted by Prof. Netzer, together with Yaakov Kalman and Roi Porath and with the participation of local Bedouins.

The location and unique nature of the findings, as well as the historical record, leave no doubt that this was Herod’s burial site, said Prof. Netzer.

The mausoleum itself was almost totally dismantled in ancient times. In its place remained only part of its well built podium, or base, built of large white ashlars (dressed stone) in a manner and size not previously revealed at Herodium.

Among the many high quality architectural elements, mostly well decorated, which were spread among the ruins, is a group of decorated urns (made in the form of special jars that were used to store body ashes). Similar ones are to be found on the top of burial monuments in the Nabatean world. The urns had a triangular cover and were decorated on the sides.

Spread among the ruins are pieces of a large, unique sarcophagus (close to 2.5 meters long), made of a Jerusalemite reddish limestone, which was decorated by rosettes. The sarcophagus had a triangular cover, which was decorated on its sides. This is assumed with certainty to be the sarcophagus of Herod. Only very few similar sarcophagi are known in the country and can be found only in elaborate tombs such as the famous one at the King’s Tomb on Selah a-Din Street in East Jerusalem. Although no inscriptions have been found yet at Herodium, neither on the sarcophagus nor in the building remains, these still might be found during the continuation of the dig.

Worthy of note is the fact that the sarcophagus was broken into hundreds of pieces, no doubt deliberately. This activity, including the destruction of the monument, apparently took place in the years 66-72 C.E. during the first Jewish revolt against the Romans, while Jewish rebels took hold of the site, according to Josephus and the archaeological evidence. The rebels were known for their hatred of Herod and all that he stood for, as a “puppet ruler” for the Romans.

The search for Herod’s tomb, which actively began 30 years ago, focused until the middle of 2006 at Lower Herodium, in an area which was, no doubt, especially built for the funeral and burial of the king – the “Tomb Estate.” In order to reveal there the remains from Herod’s days, the expedition was “forced” to first expose a large complex of Byzantine structures (including a church), an effort that demanded many years of digging.

The Tomb Estate included two monumental buildings and a large ritual bath (mikveh) as well as the large route (350 meters long and 30 meters wide) which was prepared for the funeral. When no sign of the burial place itself was found within the Tomb Estate, the expedition started to search for it on the slope of the hill, although there seems to be no doubt that the initial intention of the king was to be buried in the estate and that only in a later stage of his life – apparently when he grew old – did he change his mind and asked to be buried within the artificial cone which gave the hill of Herodium its current volcano-shape.

The main historical source of the Second Temple’s days, the historian Josephus Flavius, has described the site of Herodium in detail, as well as the funeral in the year 4 BCE, but not the tomb proper. He wrote as follows:

“The king’s funeral next occupied his attention. Archelaus, omitting nothing that could contribute to its magnificence, brought forth all the royal ornaments to accompany the procession in honor of the deceased. The bier was of solid gold, studded with precious stones, and had a covering of purple, embroidered with various colors; on this lay the body enveloped in purple robe, a diadem encircling the head and surmounted by a crown of gold, the scepter beside his right hand.

Around the bier were Herod’s sons and a large group of his relations; these were followed by the guards, the Thracian contingent, Germans and Gauls, all equipped as for war. The reminder of the troops marched in front, armed and in orderly array, led by their commanders and subordinate officers; behind these came five hundred of Herod’s servants and freedmen, carrying spices. The body was thus conveyed for a distance of two hundred furlongs to Herodium, where, in accordance with the directions of the deceased, it was interred. So ended Herod’s reign.”
Jewish Wars, 1,23,9

Prof. Netzer started his archaeological activity at Herodium in 1972, at first on a small scale. The scope of his work widened with the decision to turn Herodium (the mount together with Lower Herodium) into a national park, which was due to occupy 125 acres. (Until that stage only the mount was proclaimed as a national park and was operated by the Nature and Parks Authority.)

The enlargement of the park started in 1980; unfortunately the activity at the site stopped as a result of the first Intifada, but not before the complex of tunnels from the days of Bar-Kokhba, within the mount, were opened to the public. The archaeological excavations at the site, which also stopped in 1987, were renewed 10 years later and continued until 2000, and after a second break, were renewed at the end of 2005.

Prof. Netzer gained his first “intimate” acknowledgement of Herodian architecture while joining Prof. Yigael Yadin (in 1963-66), in his expedition at Masada. Netzer’s Ph.D. dissertation in archaeology, guided by Prof. Yadin, brought him to initiate excavations both at Lower Herodium and at Jericho – at the complex of Hasmonean and Herodian Winter Palaces. (The site at Jericho, following Netzer’s excavations, includes three palaces of Herod and a hitherto unknown large complex of Hasmonean winter palaces). Additional Herodian structures in other parts of the country were also uncovered by him. He has written various books and articles on the topic of Herodian architecture.

Yaakov Kalman, archaeologist and farmer, participated in many excavations throughout the country and took an active part in Netzer’s excavations at Masada, Jericho and Herodium. Roi Porath took an active part in the survey of the Judean Desert caves and has many significant finds in his record.

The current excavations benefited from donations of private individuals, and the assistance of the Israel Exploration Society and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Fonte: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Media Relations: 08 May, 2007

 

Todd Bolen, do blog BiblePlaces, escreveu sobre dez coisas que “você” não sabia sobre o rei Herodes: King Herod: Ten Things You Didn’t Know.

Em minha História de Israel falo um pouco de Herodes.

Fotos de Greensburg devastada pelo tornado

Aerials of Greensburg Tornado Damage

This aerial photograph and the ones that follow show the devastation that occurred when a large tornado struck Greensburg Friday [May 4, 2007] night.

Aerial video shows the destruction in Greensburg, Kansas after an EF-5 tornado ripped through the town on the night of May 4, 2007.

Simplesmente assustador!

Tornado devastou Greensburg, Kansas, em 4 de maio de 2007

Tumba de Herodes: notícia se espalha rapidamente

A descoberta da tumba de Herodes, divulgada hoje, é, do ponto de vista arqueológico e histórico, da maior importância. E a notícia vai se espalhando rapidamente. Embora os detalhes só venham amanhã.

E nem falo dos jornais… mas fiz uma busca pela palavra Herod no Google News, em inglês, e cheguei agora, 21h50, horário de Brasília, a uma centena de resultados!

Veja, porém, os biblioblogs. Aqui os títulos estão em ordem alfabética, mas a dica foi dada por Aren Maeir e espalhada por Jim West.

Mais:

Descoberto o sepulcro de Herodes Magno

Researcher: We Have Found Herod’s Tomb

Herod’s tomb has been discovered near Jerusalem, Hebrew University’s Ehud Netzer will announce today. The discovery of the grave at Herodium solves one of the great mysteries of archaeology in the Land of Israel. Professor Netzer, considered one of the most senior researchers on Herod, has been excavating at the site south of Jerusalem since 1972 in efforts to identify the burial site of the King of the Jews. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem will release the details regarding the grave and its exact location at a press conference this morning.

Herod, also known as Herod the Great, expanded the Second Temple and built Caesaria, Masada and other monumental works. Born in 74 B.C.E., he died in 4 B.C.E. in Jericho after a long illness. Most researchers believed Herod was buried at Herodium based on the writings of historian Josephus Flavius, however the grave had not been found in the excavations. Netzer’s current dig focused on a different area that had not been excavated: halfway between the upper and lower palaces. Until now, the search had focused on the lower palace.

Herod chose to build his tomb at Herodium because of the two dramatic events that took place there during his lifetime. In 43 B.C.E., while Herod was still governor of Galilee, he was forced to flee Jerusalem with his family after his enemies, the Parthians, besieged the city. Near the site of Herodium, his mother’s carriage overturned and Herod panicked, until her realized she was only slightly injured. Shortly thereafter, the Partheans caught up with Herod an his entourage, but Herod turned the battle around and emerged victorious.

At Herodium, Herod built one of the largest royal sites in the Roman-Hellenist world which served as a residential palace, shelter and administrative center, as well as mausoleum. Herod first raised the level of the hill artificially, making it visible from Jerusalem and then built the fortified palace on top, surrounded by guard towers for use in times of war. At the foot of the hill, he built a second palace, the size of a small town, known as the “Lower Herodium,” which included many buildings, luxurious gardens, pools, stables and warehouses.

Herod spared no resources in efforts to make Herodium ostentatious. He built aqueducts from Solomon’s Pools and imported soil for the gardens to the heart of the desert. After Herod’s death, his son and heir Archelaus continued to reside at Herodium. After Judea became a Roman republic, Herodium served as the seat of the Roman governors. With the outbreak of the great revolt against the Romans, Herodium fell to the rebels, but they returned it without a fight after Jerusalem fell in 70 C.E.

Fifty years later, the Herodium served the Bar Kochba uprising but was later abandoned. At about 150 C.E., Byzantine monks settled the place which later served as a leper colony until its abandonment in the 7th century.

The first excavations of the site were conducted in 1956-1962 by a Franciscan monk, who uncovered most of the remains known today. After the 1967 Six-Day War, the area was conquered by the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli excavations at the site began in 1972.

Fonte: Amiram Barkat – Haaretz: 08.05.2007

 

Sobre Herodes Magno, que governou a Palestina de 37 a 4 a.C., leia algumas informações, em português, aqui.

Lost Kings of the Bible: resenha de Jim West

The Lost Kings of the Bible: Live Blogcast and Review [Obs.: blog apagado, link perdido – 22.03.2008]

Jim gostou do programa:
All in all I found the program very good, very fair, very balanced, and very nicely done… Will it change any minds? I doubt it…

Leia o texto completo. E: se não viu ainda do que se trata, consulte aqui.

Parece-me que o National Geographic reapresentará o programa no dia 13 de maio, domingo próximo. Nos Estados Unidos. Por aqui, não vi sinal…