PALESTINE AND ITS EXPLORATION

The Land: Rainfall. Early Exploration: Place names. Early American Explorations: Robinson and Smith. Lynch. American exploration societies. Palestine Exploration Fund: Warren’s excavations at Jerusalem. The survey of Palestine. Exploration of Lachish. Bliss’s excavation at Jerusalem. Excavation at Azekah. At Tell es-Safi (Gath?). Tell el-Judeideh. At Marash (Moresheth-Gath). Gezer. Beth-shemesh. Exploring the Wilderness of Zin. The German Palestine Society: Guthe’s excavation at Jerusalem. Megiddo. Taanach. Capernaum. Jericho. The American School at Jerusalem. Samaria. Parker’s Excavations at Jerusalem. Latest Excavations.

1. The Land.—Palestine is a very different land from either Egypt or Mesopotamia. They are made by the irrigation of rivers. Palestine is fertilized by rain from heaven. In them the scenery is monotonous; they are river valleys each of which was once in part an arm of the sea, but now filled up by the gradual deposit of mud. Palestine was formed in one of the greatest geological upheavals the earth ever experienced. This was nothing less than a great rift in the earth’s crust extending from the Lebanon mountains to the Indian Ocean. The strata on the west side of this rift slipped downward past those on its east side for a mile or more. Those on the west were bent at different points in this long course in different ways, but the result of the rift itself was to form the Jordan valley and the bed of the Dead Sea, the valley which runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba, and that deep rift between Asia and Africa which forms the Red Sea itself.

In Palestine the strata on the west of this rift bent up into two parallel ridges, to the west of which a narrow plain of varying width, ancient Philistia, rises from the sea. To the east of this rift the land remained at approximately its old level. The various ridges of the country are, on account of the birth-pangs of their origin, intersected with valleys innumerable, so that in no country of the world can such variety of scenery and climate be found within such narrow limits.

Rainfall.—This land, with all its variety of form, is redeemed from the desert by the moisture which the west winds drive in from the Mediterranean Sea. These winds in the winter months bring clouds, which, when they come into contact with the colder air over the elevated hills, deposit their moisture in rain. The Jordan valley is so warm that little rain falls upon it, but it drains the water from the rainfall on both sides of it. Just so far back as the clouds reach before their moisture is exhausted, just so far the fertile land extends; beyond that is the Arabian Desert. When the rainfall during a winter is good, bountiful crops are raised the following season; when it is scant, the harvest fails and famine follows. In Egypt and Babylonia a man could water his garden by kicking a hole in a dyke; they were lands which were watered “with thy foot” (Deut. 11:10); Palestine was dependent on heaven for its life, and we cannot doubt that this fact was one of the instruments for the training of the Israelites for their great religious mission. In a land of such variety—a land in which for nine months in the year snow-capped Hermon may be seen from many an elevated point and from the whole stretch of the tropical Jordan valley, where oleanders are blooming and mustard seeds are growing into trees—it was possible to think of God in a way that was at least more difficult in Egypt or in Mesopotamia.

Here in this marvelous land, which formed a bridge between the two oldest civilizations of the world, the men lived to whom God committed the task of writing most of the Bible. This was the earthly home of the Son of God.

Even before the Hebrews came into it, many had crossed this bridge and some had paused long upon it. Living here they had left the remains of their homes, their cities, and their civilizations. ArchÆology is now recovering these. After the time of Christ various races and civilizations continued to pass over the bridge. Their remains buried those left by earlier men. The story of the recovery of these earlier remains is, accordingly, not only of great interest, but often of great value to the reader of the Bible.

2. Early Exploration.—The misfortunes which overtook JudÆa in the years 70 and 132-135 A. D., in consequence of the Jewish rebellions against Rome, led to the paganizing of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews from JudÆa. At this period Christianity was a struggling and a persecuted religion, too busy working its way to take an active interest in the land of its birth. When Constantine early in the fourth century made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire, all this was changed. Both Constantine and his mother, Helena, took the deepest interest in identifying the holy places in Jerusalem, and a stream of pilgrims began at once to visit the land. The earliest of these to leave us an account of his travels was a pilgrim from Bordeaux who visited Palestine in 333 A. D. As he was anxious to see the principal places hallowed by the bodily presence of Christ and the heroes of Scripture, he visited places in different parts of the country. He was followed by many others. The stream has been almost continuous down to the present time. As the aim of these travelers was devotional and they possessed little scholarly training or critical faculty, their works are of secondary value to the modern student. They did, however, prevent that loss of knowledge of the country to which Babylonia was subjected for so many centuries.

Place Names.—At the very beginning of this period Eusebius of CÆsarea, a contemporary of Constantine, compiled a list of the place names of Palestine which are mentioned in the Bible. The names were arranged in alphabetical order, the events for which the places are celebrated were given, in many instances identifications with places existing in the fourth century were proposed, and the distances from other well-known places mentioned. In the next century this work was translated into Latin by Jerome, who lived many years at Bethlehem and traveled extensively in Palestine, and who died in 420 A. D. It is called the Onomasticon.

3. Early American Explorations.—As the reader approaches modern times he finds the works of some of the pilgrims assuming a more scientific character. To some extent, too, these works were supplemented by those of travelers like ChÂteaubriand,[28] Burckhardt,[29] and Lamartine.[30]

(1) Robinson and Smith.—The scientific study of the localities and antiquities of Palestine was, however, begun by an American, the late Prof. Edward Robinson, of Union Seminary, New York. Robinson was fully equipped with Biblical knowledge, and was thoroughly familiar with Josephus and other works bearing on his subject. He possessed the critical faculty in a high degree, and combined with it a keen constructive faculty. In 1838 and again in 1852 he traveled through Palestine with Eli Smith, a missionary. They were equipped with compass, telescope, thermometer, and measuring tape. His knowledge of history enabled Robinson to look beneath many traditions. With keen penetration he discerned under the guise of many a modern Arabic name the form of a Biblical original, and accomplished more for the scientific study of Biblical Palestine than any of his predecessors. As he traveled he also noted and briefly described such remains of antiquity as could be seen above ground. The results of Robinson’s first journey were embodied in his Biblical Researches, New York, 1841. In the second edition, London, 1856, the results of the second journey were embodied, and the number of volumes increased to three. The impetus given to the exploration of Palestine by the labors of Robinson was continued by Tobler, GuÉrin, Renan, and many others.[31]

(2) Lynch.—Meantime, another American, Lieut. W. F. Lynch, of the United States Navy, rendered an important service by the exploration in 1848 of the Dead Sea. In April and May of that year about three weeks were spent in exploring that body of water. Lieut. Lynch was accompanied by Dr. Anderson, a geologist. The party traversed the sea back and forth in two metal boats that had been launched on the Sea of Galilee and floated down the Jordan. The fact that the Jordan valley is lower than the level of the sea had never been recognized until 1837, and, until the visit of Lynch and Anderson, the depth of the depression was only a matter of conjecture. By this expedition it was scientifically determined that the surface of the Dead Sea is 1,300 feet lower than that of the Mediterranean.[32]

(3) American Exploration Societies.—The work of American exploration was later continued by the American Exploration Society, founded in 1870. Under its auspices, Rev. John A. Paine, of Tarrytown, New York, visited the Holy Land. One of the results of his visit was the identification of Pisgah.[33]

Later an American Palestine Exploration Society was organized. This Society employed Mr. Rudolph Meyer, an engineer, to make a map of Palestine, and from 1875 to 1877 also employed Rev. Selah Merrill, who afterward was for many years the U. S. Consul at Jerusalem, as explorer. Dr. Merrill gathered much archÆological information, especially in the country east of the Jordan.[34]

4. Palestine Exploration Fund.—As a result of the interest engendered by the work of Robinson, Lynch, and others, the Palestine Exploration Fund was organized in London in 1865. By this act a permanent body was created to foster continuously the exploration of the Holy Land, and to rescue the work from the fitful activities of individual enterprise. Such enterprise could supplement the work of the Fund, but could no longer hope to compete with it.

Within six months from the organization of the Palestine Exploration Fund its first expedition was sent out. This was led by Capt., now Gen. Sir Charles Warren, who had just completed a survey of Jerusalem as part of a plan for bringing water into the city. The chief object of this expedition, which was in the field from December, 1865, to May, 1866, was to indicate spots for future excavation. It made a series of sketch maps of the country on the scale of one inch to the mile, studied some synagogues in Galilee noted by Robinson, but not fully described by him, and laid bare on Mount Gerizim the remains of a church built on a rough platform which may once have supported the Samaritan temple.

(1) Warren’s Excavations at Jerusalem.—A second expedition under Lieut.-Col., now Sir Charles Warren, made considerable excavations on the temple-hill at Jerusalem. He sank a remarkable series of shafts to the bottom of the walls enclosing the temple area, and proved that in places these walls rest on foundations from 80 to 125 feet below the present surface. He laid bare solid masonry, which bore what are apparently Phoenician quarry-marks and which he believed to go back to the time of Solomon. On the west side of the temple enclosure he found 80 feet below the present surface the ruins of a bridge, which Robinson had conjectured crossed the Tyropoeon Valley from the temple enclosure at this point from an arch, the base of which is still visible outside of the temple wall.[35] Among many other discoveries made by Warren were a part of the ancient city wall south of the temple area and an underground passage leading up from the ancient spring of Gihon, which was probably the “gutter” (R. V., “watercourse”) of 2 Sam. 5:8.

(2) The Survey of Palestine.—After this the Palestine Exploration Fund undertook a survey of Palestine, the object of which was to make a complete and authoritative map of the country on the scale of one inch to a mile, and also a description of all archÆological remains of antiquity which were above ground. The work was undertaken in 1871 and the survey of western Palestine was completed in 1878. Owing to an outbreak of cholera, the work was interrupted from 1874 to 1877. Among those who took part in it were Capt. C. R. Conder (now Lieut.-Col.), who was in charge of the work from 1872 to 1874, and Capt. Kitchener (now Lord Kitchener). The great map was published in 1880, and covers an area of 6,000 square miles, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan and from the Egyptian desert to a point near Tyre. The completion of this map was a monumental accomplishment, and must form the basis for all similar work. The archÆological remains noted on the map are described in three volumes of Memoirs, also published by the Exploration Fund.

In 1881 Capt. Conder was sent out to make a similar survey of the country east of the Jordan. He endeavored to work under the old permit from the Turkish government, but to this the Turks objected. After working for ten weeks, during which he surveyed about 500 square miles of territory, he was compelled to desist. The results of his work, however, fill a stout volume entitled The Survey of Eastern Palestine, London, 1889. The work undertaken by Conder has since been carried on by other agencies. Dr. Gottlieb Schumacher, an engineer residing at Haifa, who was employed in surveying the railway to Mecca, has published authoritative volumes on the region to the east of the Sea of Galilee.[36] On a larger scale is the work of BrÜnnow and Domaszewsky on the Roman province of Arabia,[37] a work which includes ancient Edom as far as Petra. The last-mentioned remarkable city has been described also in two excellent volumes by Gustaf H. Dalman, Director of the German Evangelical Institute in Jerusalem.[38]

In 1873-1874 the Palestine Exploration Fund entrusted an archÆological mission of a general nature to the French scholar, Clermont-Ganneau, who several years before had been French Consul at Jerusalem. Clermont-Ganneau was embarrassed by the failure of the Turkish government to grant him a firman, but made numerous archÆological discoveries in the country between Jaffa and Jerusalem. These were published by the Fund in two large volumes,[39] although they did not appear until 1896 and 1899, respectively.

In the winter of 1883-1884, a complete geological survey was made of the valley of the Dead Sea and the region to the south (Wady el-Arabah) by Prof. Edward Hull, who afterward published a volume on the subject.[40] Hull was accompanied by Major Kitchener, who made a complete triangulation of the district lying between Mount Sinai and the Wady el-Arabah.

(3) Exploration of Lachish.—In 1890 the Exploration Fund entered upon a new phase of work or, rather, resumed one that had been interrupted for twenty years,—that of excavation. The services of Prof. Petrie, the Egyptian explorer, were secured and the attempt to wrest from the soil of Palestine some of the buried secrets of the past was renewed. The site chosen was Tell el-Hesy, where stood in ancient times the city of Lachish (Josh. 10:3; 2 Kings 14:19; 18:14, etc.). This mound rose about 120 feet above the bed of an intermittent stream. About 60 feet of this height consisted of accumulated dÉbris of the ancient city. The water in the course of centuries had so exposed some of the potsherds that Petrie was confident before he began digging that rich discoveries awaited him. He worked here only about six weeks, running trenches into different parts of the mound, but he found and classified such a variety of pottery that he felt confident that he had unearthed a city which had been occupied from a time anterior to the Hebrew conquest of Canaan down to about 350 B. C.[41]

In 1892 the work was continued under the direction of Dr. Frederick J. Bliss, who cut away a considerable section from the northeast corner of the mound, and found the stratified remains of eight different cities, one above the other.[42] In the third of these cities from the bottom a cuneiform tablet was found, which mentions one of the men who figure in the letters found at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt. This tablet would indicate that this third city was flourishing during the period 1400-1350 B. C. The two cities below this must, accordingly, belong to an earlier period. Bliss supposed that the first city was built about 1700 B. C. Above the remains of the third city was a bed of ashes of some thickness, which shows, in Petrie’s opinion, that after the destruction of this city the mound was used for a period of perhaps fifty years as a place for burning alkali. Near the top of the dÉbris of the fourth city a glazed seal was found similar to those made in Egypt in the time of the twenty-second dynasty (945-745 B. C.). This city, then, belonged to the early part of the kingdom of Judah. In the seventh and eighth cities pottery of polished red and black types was found. This class of pottery is of Greek origin, dating from 550-350 B. C. These occupations of the mound must, then, be of that period. The fifth and sixth cities would, accordingly, fall between 750 and 550 B. C. This excavation thus shows how the stratification of the mounds of Palestine reveals the march of the peoples across the country; (see Fig. 28).

(4) Bliss’s Excavation at Jerusalem.—From 1894 to 1897 Dr. Bliss was engaged in excavations at Jerusalem.[43] Here he devoted his attention to an endeavor to recover the line of the ancient wall on the south side of the city. This he did, following it from “Maudsley’s Scarp”[44] at the northwest corner of the westernmost of the two hills on which Jerusalem is situated across the slope to the eastward and then across the Tyropoeon Valley. This was the wall rebuilt by Nehemiah on lines then already old (Neh. 3-6). It was destroyed by Titus in the year 70 A. D., and afterward rebuilt by the Empress Eudoxia in the fifth century A. D.

(5) Excavation at Azekah.—From 1898 to 1900 Dr. Bliss excavated for the Fund at several sites in the Biblical Shephelah,[45] the low hills which formed the border-land between ancient JudÆa and Philistia. The work began at Tell Zakariya, the Biblical Azekah, situated above the lower part of the Vale of Elah. Azekah was fortified by King Rehoboam (2 Chron. 11:5-10). Here an important citadel or fortress was uncovered. While the masonry of the top part was similar to that of Herodian buildings at Jerusalem, the pottery found about the foundations indicated that the beginnings of the structure go back to early Israelitish times. It may well be one of Jeroboam’s fortresses. Underneath it were remains from late pre-Israelitish times. It appears that the hill was occupied as the site of a city only shortly before the Hebrew conquest. The fortress was not, however, built at the time of this earliest occupation.

(6) At Tell es-Safi (Gath?).—Next the excavation was transferred to Tell es-Safi, which was situated on the south side of the ancient Vale of Elah at the point where it sweeps into the Philistine plain, and which was thought to be the site of the Biblical Gath (Josh. 11:22; 1 Sam. 5:8; 17:4; 2 Kings 12:17). Here in 1144 A. D. the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem established by the Crusaders built a fortress, which they called Blanche-Garde, as an outpost against Ashkelon. It was hoped that the excavation of Dr. Bliss would determine whether or not this was really the site of Gath, but owing to the occupation of the tell by a Mohammedan cemetery and a wely, or sacred building, this was not possible. The outline of the city walls was, however, traced, the foundations of Blanche-Garde examined, and here and there trenches were sunk to the rock. These trenches revealed in the various strata pottery and objects, first, of the period of the Crusaders; secondly, of the Seleucid period (312-65 B. C.); thirdly, of the Jewish period, 700-350 B. C., and two pre-Israelite strata. The mound had, then, been occupied from about 1700 B. C. to the Seleucid times, and again in the period of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The most interesting discovery at Tell es-Safi was that of an old pre-Israelitish high place, which contained three pillars such as are denounced in Deuteronomy. (See Deut. 7:5; 12:3, etc.) At the time of this discovery no similar discovery had been made. The foundations of this high place were near the bottom of the last pre-Israelite stratum, so that it was clearly constructed by the Amorites, or Canaanites, or whoever occupied this city before the Hebrews arrived.

(7) Tell el-Judeideh.—The excavations next moved to Tell el-Judeideh, a mound some distance to the south of Tell Zakariya. Here they traced the outlines of the city wall, found the remains of a Roman villa, and sunk a number of shafts to the rock. From the pottery found in these shafts they inferred that the mound had been occupied in the earliest period, but deserted for a considerable time before the Hebrew conquest. It was then reoccupied in the latter part of the JudÆan monarchy, and was finally fortified in the Seleucid or Roman period. It seems to have been deserted soon after the Roman period. It is not known what was the ancient name of the city that stood there.

(8) At Marash (Moresheth-Gath).—The last mound excavated in this region was Tell Sandahanna, situated a mile to the south of Beit Jibrin. The mound takes its name from a church of St. Anne, the ruins of which may still be seen near by. It occupies the site of the city of Marissa of the Seleucid period, and of the older Jewish Marash. It is probably the site of Moresheth-Gath, the home of the prophet Micah. (See Micah 1:14.) Here considerable portions of the Seleucid stratum of the mound were excavated, and a smaller portion of the Jewish stratum. The Jewish stratum rested directly on the rock; the site seems, therefore, not to have been inhabited in pre-Israelite times.

(9) Gezer.—The next undertaking of the Palestine Exploration Fund was the excavation of Gezer. This work was entrusted to the direction of R. A. Stewart Macalister, who had been Dr. Bliss’s assistant from 1898 to 1900 and who is now Professor of Celtic in the University of Dublin. Work was begun on Tell el-Jazar, about six miles southeast of the town of Ramleh, which Clermont Ganneau[46] had, in June, 1902, identified as the site of Gezer. (Josh. 10:33; Judges 1:27; 2 Sam. 5:25.) It continued, with such interruptions as winter weather and an outbreak of cholera made necessary, until August, 1905. It was renewed in the spring of 1907 and carried on until early in 1909. During this time more than half of the mound was excavated. No other mound in Palestine has been so fully explored. Naturally, therefore, Gezer has furnished us with more archÆological information than any other excavation; (see Fig. 30).

The results of this excavation convinced Mr. Macalister that the classification of the strata adopted by the excavators of Lachish and the mounds of the Shephelah was capable of improvement. He found that Gezer had been occupied at first by a non-Semitic people, remains of whose bones indicate that they were about 5 feet 6 inches high, who lived in caves, and whose implements were wholly of stone. He estimated that these people probably occupied the site from about 3000 to 2500 B. C. About 2500 B. C. a Semitic race, probably Amorite, took possession of the city and occupied it to the end of the Hebrew monarchy.

Four periods could be traced in the Semitic occupation, each represented by differences in walls, implements, and objects used. The first Semitic period ended with the fall of the twelfth Egyptian dynasty, about 1800 B. C. In this stratum scarabs of the period of the Egyptian “middle kingdom” were found. The second Semitic stratum continued until about the end of the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty, about 1350 B. C. The third Semitic stratum lasted till the establishment of the Hebrew monarchy, about 1000 B. C.; the fourth was contemporaneous with the Hebrew kingdoms, 1000-586 B. C. The mound was again occupied in the Hellenistic or MaccabÆan period.[47] After the MaccabÆan turmoils the inhabitants seem to have deserted the tell. Under the modern village of Abu Shusheh, on the southwest slope of the mound, a Roman mosaic has been found, but nothing from Roman times was discovered on the mound itself. There were likewise no remains from the period of the Crusaders.

In the course of this excavation many important discoveries were made. Many of these will be mentioned in subsequent chapters. We need only mention here an old Semitic high place, which had its beginnings in the first Semitic stratum before 1800 B. C., and was used down to the end of the fourth Semitic or Hebrew stratum, about 600 B. C. It began with two “pillars,” but others were added as time passed until there were ten in all.[48] In the third Semitic stratum (i. e., the one preceding the Hebrew occupation) a building was found which Mr. Macalister thought might have been a temple. In the middle of its largest hall were some stones which looked as though they might have supported wooden pillars, which, in turn, probably supported the roof. Mr. Macalister thought this was a structure similar to that which Samson pulled down at Gaza[49] (Judges 16:23-30).

One of the most important discoveries was a rock-cut tunnel leading down through the heart of the rock to a spring in a cave 94 feet below the surface of the rock and 120 feet below the level of the present surface of the ground.[50] This was to enable the people of the city to obtain water in time of siege. It was used for some 500 years and was apparently closed up about 1300-1200 B. C. Its beginnings go back accordingly to the first Semitic period. A palace of the MaccabÆan time, apparently built by Simon the Maccabee, 143-135 B. C., was also discovered.[51] (Cf. 1 Macc. 14:34.)

Various walls were discovered, which at different times encircled the city. The most massive of these was apparently constructed during the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty, and continued to be the city wall down to the Babylonian Exile. At some time after its construction towers had been inserted in the wall. These towers were shown to be a later insertion by the fact that their stones touched the stones of the wall on each side, but were not interlocked with them. Mr. Macalister thinks that these towers may have been inserted by Solomon when he fortified the city (1 Kings 9:15-19). At some later time the weakness of such a tower had become apparent, and a bastion had been built around it.[52] The excavation at Gezer was fruitful in many directions. Other aspects of it will be taken up in future chapters in connection with other topics.

(10) Beth-shemesh.—The next task undertaken by the Palestine Exploration Fund was the exploration of Ain Shems, the Biblical Beth-shemesh. (See Josh. 15:10; 2 Kings 14:8-14, etc.) Ain Shems, like Gezer, is situated in what was in Biblical times the Shephelah. It is near the station of Der Aban on the railway from Jaffa to Jerusalem. Excavations were carried on at this point in 1911 and 1912 under the direction of Dr. Duncan Mackenzie, who had had ten years’ experience on the staff of Sir Arthur Evans, the explorer of Crete. At the bottom of the mound the remains of a very early settlement were discovered.[53] Above this the ruins of a once prosperous city, which was for that time large, were found. It was surrounded by strong walls and one of its rugged gates was discovered on the south. In the upper strata of this city imitations of Cretan pottery were found. As it is probable that the Philistines came from Crete, or were intimately associated with people who were under Cretan influence, this pottery is doubtless Philistine. The city which was encircled by this wall had passed through two periods of history. The original wall was built before the domination of Palestine by Egypt. As this domination began about 1500 B. C., the earlier fortress of Beth-shemesh belongs to that period. The second period belongs in its earlier strata to the age of the El-Amarna letters, in which the city is called Beth-Ninib. The upper period of it belongs, as has been noted, to the Philistine period.

This city was destroyed by a siege which resulted in the burning of the city—a burning which left quite a bed of ashes. Dr. Mackenzie thought that this was the siege by which the Israelites gained possession of Beth-shemesh. The city was occupied by the Hebrews apparently until the invasion of Palestine by Sennacherib, King of Assyria, in 701 B. C. At all events, it was in the possession of Judah in the days of King Amaziah (2 Kings 14:8-14). Corresponding to this, Israelitish pottery was found in the stratum above the ashes. Dr. Mackenzie is of the opinion that during this Hebrew period the city was without a wall. Apparently after the time of Sennacherib the site was abandoned for several centuries, for next above the Israelitish stratum the remains of a monastery of the Byzantine period (325-636 A. D.) were found. This monastery apparently was not begun until just at the close of the Byzantine period, for it appears that it was not finished at the time of the Mohammedan conquest.

(11) Exploring the Wilderness of Zin.—The most recent service of the Palestine Exploration Fund was the sending of two explorers, C. Leonard Woolley and T. E. Lawrence, in the winter of 1913-14, to explore the wilderness to the south of Palestine. The results of their work have been published in the Fund’s Annual, Vol. III, under the title The Wilderness of Zin. The explorers identified a considerable part of the “Darb es-Shur,” or the “way of Shur” (Gen. 16:7, etc.). It was the caravan road from Palestine to Egypt. They also adduce strong evidence against the identification of Ain Kades with Kadesh-Barnea (Num. 32:8, etc.), and think that Kossima, which lies nearer to the Egyptian road and is surrounded by much more verdure, may have been Kadesh-Barnea. The identification of Ain Kades with Kadesh-Barnea was made by the late Dr. Henry Clay Trumbull, after a very brief visit to the spot, and it has been accepted by many others.

Between 325 and 636 A. D. extensive settlements and cities of considerable size existed in this wilderness. This was one of the facts that led Ellsworth Huntington to believe that the rainfall in Palestine was much greater at that time. With this view Woolley and Lawrence take issue. They say that where the old wells have been kept open, the water still rises as high as ever it did. They hold that the cities mentioned were possible because of the great energy and skill of the people of that time in sinking wells.

5. The German Palestine Society.—While the work of the Palestine Exploration Fund, which has been outlined in detail, was going on, other countries were aroused to similar activities. In 1877 a similar Society, the Deutscher PalÄstina-Verein, was organized to foster the collection of information about the land of the Bible. Accurate scientific research in all branches of knowledge relating to Palestine was contemplated, and the co-operation of travelers and of the German colonies in Palestine was invited. In 1878 this Society began the publication of a journal[54] which has become a repository of information about the Holy Land.

(1) Guthe’s Excavation at Jerusalem.—In 1880 Prof. Guthe excavated at various points on Ophel at Jerusalem, and followed the line of the ancient wall along the east side of the city of David.[55]

(2) Megiddo.—In 1903 this German Society undertook the excavation of Tell el-Mutesellim, the site of the Biblical Megiddo[56] (Josh. 12:21; 2 Kings 23:29, etc.). This work was entrusted to the direction of Dr. Gottlieb Schumacher, of Haifa. Work was begun on the 7th of February, 1903, and continued at intervals until the 30th of November, 1905. In the lowest stratum of the mound Dr. Schumacher found traces of a settlement the houses of which were constructed of mud-bricks. Over the ruins of these a second series of houses had been built of stone. In the same stratum some tombs were found containing skeletons, some pottery of early forms, a bronze knife, and some scarabs set in gold. The walls of the city were in part built of brick. The settlements represented by this stratum antedated 2000 B. C.

In the next stratum a large structure, probably a palace, was found, which had been occupied through the periods represented by the stratum in which its foundations were laid and the stratum next above it. The building was of stone and was large. In one part of it was a “pillar” apparently used for worship. Various types of pottery, knives of flint and bronze, many stone household utensils, an Astarte figure, and some scarabs of the period of the twelfth Egyptian dynasty were found. This stratum, then, belonged to the period 2000-1800 B. C.Next above this stratum was one in which types of painted pottery similar to that of the Philistines came to light. In the fifth stratum from the bottom a palace of the Hebrew period was discovered. In this palace a seal was found bearing a lion and the inscription “belonging to Shema, the servant of Jeroboam.” It is impossible to tell whether the Jeroboam who was Shema’s master was Jeroboam I or Jeroboam II. In this same stratum a temple was found containing three “pillars”; (see Fig. 27).

In another part of the mound in a sixth stratum, which seemed to be late Hebrew, three “pillars” were found in an open space near the south gate, a stone religious emblem, and a decorated incense-burner. Elsewhere this sixth stratum yielded a blacksmith’s shop. In a seventh stratum, just under the soil, remains of the Greek period were found, among which was an Athenian coin. This was the last occupation of the tell, and was pre-Christian. At the beginning of the Roman period the town was moved from the high land of the mound down nearer the water supply. On the slope of the hill a native-rock altar was found which had been used in prehistoric times.

(3) Taanach.—In 1899 Prof. Ernst Sellin, of Vienna, visited Palestine and became so deeply interested in its exploration that he induced several Austrian scientific bodies and individuals to contribute a fund for the purpose. The result was an excavation of Tell Taanek, the Biblical Taanach (Josh. 12:21; Judges 5:19), conducted by Sellin in 1902 and 1903. Sellin did not excavate the mound in a systematic way and his results are not very clearly presented in his book.[57] He traced in several places four strata in the tell. An early stratum had its beginnings, he thought, as early as 2500 B. C. This stratum represented probably an occupation of more than a thousand years. In its later parts the remains of a large palace were found, and in a cave underneath it four cuneiform tablets, written in the script of the El-Amarna period. Originally there were more tablets in the archive, but it had been rifled in ancient times. Above this was a stratum in which pottery of the Cypriote and Philistine type was found. Next above this was a Hebrew stratum, which seems to have lasted, judging by objects found in it, down to the time of Psammetik I of Egypt, 663-609 B. C. In this stratum the remains of a high place with its “pillars” were found, as well as a terra-cotta incense-altar of wonderful construction. Above this there were in places a few remains from the Seleucid period, including some pottery, and at the top of the mound some remains of an Arabic settlement. This last seems to have been established here about the time of the Crusaders. Sellin thinks Taanach was destroyed by the Scythian invasion, about 625 B. C., that in the Seleucid period the main settlement here was not on the mound, and that it was then unoccupied until the time of the Crusaders.

(4) Capernaum.—The Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft, which was carrying on excavations in Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria, undertook the investigation of the remains of ancient synagogues in Galilee and the Jaulan. Among these they excavated the ruins of the synagogue at Tell Hum on the Sea of Galilee,[58] the probable site of Capernaum. Here they found the remains of a once beautiful synagogue which was probably built in the fourth century A. D. Beneath it is the floor of a still older building. This last is probably the synagogue in which so many of the incidents of the ministry of Christ in Capernaum took place, the one built by a Roman centurion. (See Luke 7:5 and Fig. 32.)

(5) Jericho.—This same Society undertook, in the years 1907-1909, the excavation of Jericho; (see Fig. 29). The work was entrusted to the direction of Prof. Sellin, of Vienna. The digging occupied about three weeks in the spring of 1907, and about three months of the early part of each of the years 1908 and 1909.[59] At the bottom of the mound traces of a prehistoric occupation of the site were uncovered, but as these were under the foundations of a Canaanitish fortress, which were not demolished, nothing further was ascertained about them. Above this prehistoric city were the remains of an Amorite or Canaanite city. A jar handle found in the lower half of this Canaanite stratum was stamped with a scarab of the time of the twelfth Egyptian dynasty, which indicates that this occupation goes back to about 2000 B. C. The walls of this early city were traced on all sides of the tell except the east. On this side, where the Ain es-Sultan is (otherwise called Elisha’s Fountain, from the incident of 2 Kings 2:19-22), the wall had entirely disappeared. This early city was small. The whole of it could have been put into the Colosseum at Rome. All early Palestinian cities were, however, small. In the city was a citadel with a double wall. Each wall represented a different period of history. Both were built of brick, as were the houses of the time. The outer wall was between four and five feet thick and appeared to be the older; the inner one was about ten feet thick. They were joined here and there by transverse walls; (see Fig. 37). The city had been burned apparently about 1300-1200 B. C., perhaps at the time of the Hebrew conquest.

Above the ruins of this pre-Israelitish city were the remains of the Hebrew town. The earliest of these remains seems to date from the ninth century B. C.; (see 1 Kings 16:34), as it was rebuilt in the days of Ahab; (see Fig. 34). The Israelites, in Sellin’s judgment, made the city considerably larger than it had been in the earlier time. A wall, which he believed to be the wall of the Hebrew period, was found on all sides except the east, considerably outside the older wall. PÈre Vincent, of the French École Biblique at Jerusalem, believes this wall to have been built in the Canaanite period also, but his reasons do not seem convincing. On the eastern edge of the Israelitish stratum the remains of a large stone building were found. Sellin thinks this may be the palace and fortress built by Hiel in the time of Ahab (1 Kings 16:34). This Israelitish city seems to have flourished only about two hundred years. It was probably destroyed in the time of Sennacherib, about 700 B. C. Sellin thought he found traces of another rebuilding which must soon have followed the destruction, but this Jericho was also destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar in 586 B. C. At some time after the Babylonian Exile the city was rebuilt and flourished until destroyed by Vespasian in 70 A. D. It was rebuilt after 325 A. D. and continued until destroyed by the invasion of the Persian King Chosroes II, in 614 A. D. Some slight settlements have existed on the mound in Moslem times, but the Jericho of today is more than a mile distant.

6. The American School at Jerusalem.—In the year 1900 the American School of Oriental Research in Palestine was opened at Jerusalem under the Ægis of the ArchÆological Institute of America. It is one of the purposes of this school, when its funds will permit, to carry on excavations as well as explorations. Hitherto it has not had money sufficient to enable it to undertake extensive excavations. In addition to the investigation of many matters not strictly archÆological, the School has conducted a number of minor explorations. When the present writer was Director, 1902-1903, he cleared the so-called Tomb of the Judges and found the ruins of a caravansary of the Crusading period near the Damascus Gate. Under L. B. Paton, 1903-1904, an excavation was made on the supposed line of the “Third Wall” of Jerusalem. Under Nathaniel Schmidt, 1904-1905, the Dead Sea was explored and some discoveries made in the Valley of the Arnon and the Wady Suweil.[60] Under D. G. Lyon, 1906-1907, some pre-Israelitish pottery was recovered from tombs of Samieh east of Et-Taiyibeh.[61] Under W. J. Moulton, 1912-1913, some painted tombs of the Seleucid time were explored at Beit Jibrin.

7. Samaria.—Although the American School at Jerusalem has not yet been able to undertake extensive excavations, through the generosity of Mr. Jacob Schiff, of New York, Harvard University was able to excavate at Sebastiyeh, the site of ancient Samaria, during parts of three seasons—1908, 1909, and 1910. During the first season the work was under the direction of Prof. D. G. Lyon; during 1909 and 1910, under the direction of Prof. G. A. Reisner, who has had large experience in such work in Egypt, and who, in addition to many archÆological triumphs there, has solved the riddle of the Sphinx. At Samaria[62] a large palace was found built upon the native rock. This is believed to be the remains of the palace of Omri (1 Kings 16:24). Above this were the ruins of a larger palace, the wall of which was faced with white marble. This is believed to have been the palace of Ahab, who is said to have built an “ivory house” (1 Kings 22:39). In a building on a level with this palace a considerable number of inscribed potsherds were found. They were receipts for wine and oil stored there. At the western edge of the hill the old city gate was uncovered. It had been rebuilt at different times. The foundations were clearly laid in the Israelitish period. On these now rests a superstructure of Herodian workmanship. Above the ruins of the Hebrew city were the remains of a city built by the Assyrians. (See 2 Kings 17:24-34.) This was inferred by the character of the building materials employed, and by the fragment of a clay tablet found there. Still above this were remains of a city of the Seleucid time—the city destroyed by John Hyrcanus[63] in 109 B. C. Still above this were remains of the temple built by Herod the Great, when he rebuilt Samaria and named it Sebaste, the Greek for Augusta, in honor of the Emperor Augustus. This temple had been repaired in the third century A. D.

8. Parker’s Excavations at Jerusalem.—In the years 1909, 1910, and 1911 an English expedition under Capt., the Hon. Montague Parker, a retired officer of the British army, made extensive explorations upon Ophel, the slope of the eastern hill south of the present city walls at Jerusalem. Parker was not an archÆologist and the motive for the exploration is not yet disclosed. The party is said to have been abundantly supplied with money, and to have come to Palestine in a private yacht, which was anchored off Jaffa while they were at work. In 1911 the hostility of the Moslems became so excited by the rumor that they had attempted to excavate under the Mosque of Omar that the expedition came to an abrupt close, and the explorers escaped on their yacht. Through the descriptions of two residents of Jerusalem, Prof. Hughes Vincent[64] and Dr. E. W. G. Masterman,[65] we have some knowledge of the value of Parker’s work. He cleared the silt out of the Siloam tunnel so as to reveal its real depth, which seems to have been between five and six feet. It had been so silted up that it appeared to be only about half that depth. He also explored more fully the caves about Ain Sitti Miriam (the Biblical Gihon, 1 Kings 1:33), which had been partially explored by Sir Charles Warren, so that the nature and probable use of these are now known much better. More will be said of this in a future chapter.

9. Latest Excavations.—Within the last few years the Assumptionist Fathers have been excavating on a tract of land purchased by them on the eastern slope of the western hill to the south of the present city wall. They believe that they have discovered the house of Caiaphas, to which Christ was led in the course of his trial (Matt. 26:57; John 18:24). Possibly they have found the house which, after the time of Constantine, was pointed out to Christian pilgrims as that of Caiaphas. However this may be, they have unearthed several streets of Roman and Jewish Jerusalem, and are keeping them uncovered. These streets, like the ruins of Pompeii, disclose pavements and house-foundations that may go back to the time of Christ. Here, possibly, one may look upon pavements which his feet actually trod.[66]

In 1914 some excavations were made on Ophel at Jerusalem under the direction of Capt. Weil for a Jewish organization, and at the mound Balata, near Nablous, the Biblical Shechem, by the Germans. The work at Balata was under the direction of Prof. Sellin. Both are said to have made discoveries. At Balata it is said that the city gate of ancient Shechem was uncovered. Nothing has, however, been published concerning these, and the great war of 1914 brought all such work to a stop. The preparation of foundations of a new Jewish hospital near the Dung Gate has laid bare the aqueducts which conveyed the water from “Solomon’s Pools” into the city.[67]

In this account only the principal explorations have been mentioned. In all parts of Palestine, and especially at Jerusalem, important archÆological discoveries are frequently made when people are digging to lay the foundations of buildings, to construct a cistern, or for other purposes. Other important discoveries, as, for instance, the rock-cut high place at Petra,[68] and the painted tombs at Beit Jibrin,[69] have been made by people traveling through the land. Many discoveries made in this way are recorded in the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund, the Zeitschrift des deutschen PalÄstina-Vereins, and the Revue biblique. Lack of space forbids the attempt to chronicle these.[70]