Monday, March 25, 2013

Shining Light on Obscure Sites

Just wanted to take a moment to emphasize my gratitude to the recently departed (as confirmed on James Tabor's blog yesterday) David Amit of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

As an outsider to the academic community, I have not had a great batting average when attempting to cull LMLK details over the past decade. After the exciting press release concerning the largest cache of northern LMLKs ever found, I wrote to Dr. Amit on July 12, 2005, & received a prompt reply the next day:

"The excavator of the site is Amir Gorzelzani. The site is west of Yoqneam, near Bat-Shelomo, in the territory of Menashe.The LMLK icons were only 2-winged."

Again, near the end of January 2006, I requested more complex information on several sites that had alluded me (Burj, Zawiyeh, Jaresh). And again, about a week later at the beginning of February 2006, he delivered the goods:

"Kh. el-Burj is located in the northen end of Ramot Alon, map ref. 16783\13678. See: A. Kloner, Survey of Jerusalem: The Northwestern Sector Introduction and Indices, Jerusalem 2003, pp. 91*-92* (site no. 3). Kh. Zawiyye - 10 km north to Hebron, map ref. 1651\1121. See: M. Kochavi, The Land of Judah, in idem, Judaea, Samaria and the Golan: Archaeological Survey 1967-1978, Jerusalem 1972, pp. 51-52 (site no. 85). Kh. Jaresh - 7 km west to Bet Lehem, map ref. 1616\1241. See: ibid, p. 38 (site no. 14)."

He's one of the few whose contributions will continue shining down on me each time I see the LMLK map.



G.M. Grena