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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

BiblePlaces Blog: Graffiti Found Inside Tiny Chamber in Great Pyramid

BiblePlaces Blog: Graffiti Found Inside Tiny Chamber in Great Pyramid

Arobot explorer designed and built by University of Leeds engineers, in collaboration with Scoutek, UK and Dassault Systèmes, France, has revealed hieroglyphs beyond a narrow tunnel inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. The 4500-year-old markings, seen on video images gathered by the Djedi robot expedition, may give clues to how this part of the pyramid was built.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu is known to contain four narrow tunnels – two leading from the King’s Chamber and two from the Queen’s Chamber

The Great Pyramid of Khufu is known to contain four narrow tunnels – two leading from the King’s Chamber and two from the Queen’s Chamber. However, scholars are unable to agree on what they were used for. This is partly due to problems researchers face getting into these narrow spaces.

Dr Hawass (Minister for Antiquities in the Egyptian government), states, “No one is sure why the builders of the Great Pyramid incorporated the four shafts into the design of Khufu’s monument. Since the shafts in the King’s Chamber open outside of the pyramid, I believe that Khufu’s soul was meant to travel through them. The southern King’s Chamber shaft was intended for Khufu to use as the sun god Ra. It opens exactly between the two boat pits to the south of the Pyramid.

“Khufu would take the two boats and use them as solar boats for his journey as the sun god through the daytime and nighttime skies – one for the day trip, one for the evening trip. The northern shaft was made for the soul of Khufu as Horus to travel to the eternal circumpolar stars.

“As for the Queen’s Chamber shafts, I cannot imagine that they had a religious function, as they do not seem to open to the outside of the pyramid – their outlets, if such exist, have never been found in spite of our careful searching.”

Researchers on the Djedi robot expedition have now obtained video images from a tiny chamber hidden at the end of one of the shafts leading from the Queen’s chamber. This tunnel is particularly hard to explore because it is extremely narrow (20cm x 20cm), it is built at angle of 40 degrees and has no outside exit.

The team overcame these practical difficulties by using a robot explorer that could climb up inside the walls of the shaft whilst carrying a miniature ‘micro snake’ camera that can see around corners. The bendy camera (8 mm diameter) was small enough to fit through a small hole in a stone ‘door’ at the end of the shaft, giving researchers a clear view into the chamber beyond.

The ‘micro snake’ camera’ allowed all walls of the camber to be carefully examined, revealing sights not seen by human eyes since the construction of the pyramid

On previous expeditions, camera images were only taken looking straight ahead. The ‘micro snake’ camera’ allowed all walls of the camber to be carefully examined, revealing sights not seen by human eyes since the construction of the pyramid.

The Djedi team was selected in a competition coordinated by Dr Hawass, to pick the best possible robot to explore the shafts. This process lasted approximated two years and resulted in a head-to-head competition between robots from the University of Leeds and Singapore University. Djedi was named by Dr Hawass after the magician who Khufu consulted when planning the layout of this pyramid.

Chamber floor looking towards second blocking stone - A composite image of the floor behind the first blocking stone showing red figures to the right of a masons line. credit: Djedi Team

Chamber floor looking towards second blocking stone - A composite image of the floor behind the first blocking stone showing red figures to the right of a masons line. credit: Djedi Team

The Djedi robot is completely unique, it is the lightest, gentlest climbing robot that has ever been deployed within the pyramid,” said Dr Rob Richardson of the University of Leeds and academic leader of the team. “Djedi robot climbs the shaft walls using soft pads on its ‘feet’ that grip but leave no trace. This is in complete contrast to other climbing robots that rely on tracks to move upwards on sloping surfaces, leaving scuff marks in their wake.”

A close up view of the red figures/hieroglyphs on the floor behind the first blocking stone. credit: Djedi Team

A close up view of the red figures/hieroglyphs on the floor behind the first blocking stone. credit: Djedi Team

When pieced together, the images gathered by Djedi revealed hieroglyphs written in red paint that team members suggest were made by workmen. Prior to this, researchers had only found hieroglyphs in the roof of the King’s Chamber, which lies some distance above the Queen’s Chamber.

We believe that if these hieroglyphs could be deciphered they could help Egyptologists work out why these mysterious shafts were built,” Dr Richardson said.

As well as the painted symbols, the researchers found lines they believe stonemasons made when the hidden chamber was being carved out. They were also able to scrutinise two copper pins embedded in the ‘door’ to the chamber that had only ever been glimpsed from the front before. The very existence of these pins – the only metal ever discovered in the Great Pyramid – has previously puzzled scholars. The detail revealed in these latest images may help to settle those questions.

A composite image of the rear of the first blocking stone - Shows the back of the metal pins embedded in the first blocking stone. The pins terminate on the rear face of the stone with small loops. credit: Djedi team

A composite image of the rear of the first blocking stone - Shows the back of the metal pins embedded in the first blocking stone. The pins terminate on the rear face of the stone with small loops. credit: Djedi team

Mission manager of the project, Shaun Whitehead, of Scoutek UK, said: “People have been wondering about the purpose of these pins for over 20 years. It had been suggested that they were handles, keys or even parts of an electrical power plant but our new pictures from behind the pins cast doubt on these theories.

We now know that these pins end in small, beautifully made loops, indicating that they were more likely ornamental rather than electrical connections or structural features. Also, the back of the ‘door’ is polished so it must have been important. It doesn’t look like it was a rough piece of stone used to stop debris getting into the shaft.”

The team’s next task is to look at the chamber’s far wall to check whether it is a solid block of stone or another door.

We are keeping an open mind and will carry out whatever investigations are needed to work out what these shafts and ‘doors’ are for. It is like a detective story, we are using the Djedi robot and its tools to piece the evidence together,” Shaun Whitehead said.

The founder of the project, Dr TC Ng from Hong Kong, said: “I am proud that my dream has become a reality. By carrying out a detailed examination of the southern shaft and the space beyond the first door the Djedi team has gone further than anyone has ever been before in this pyramid. Now I suppose that the world is waiting to find out if there is anything beyond the second door.”

Mehdi Tayoubi and Richard Breitner of project partners Dassault Systèmes in France commented: “These results are fascinating. For a long time we have watched the robot being built and tested in virtual reality using our company’s 3D software. Now we see the real robot, working in the pyramid, behaving as predicted and bringing back these amazing images.”

Djedi is a joint international-Egyptian mission being carried out under the supervision of Dr Zahi Hawass, who has recently been reappointed as Minister for Antiquities in the Egyptian government. The team has committed to completing the work by the end of 2011.

The pictures have been published in the Annales du Service Des Antiquities de l’Egypte (ASAE), the official publication of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.



Read more >> http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/05/2011/4500-year-old-graffiti-found-inside-great-pyramid-tunnel#ixzz1NySdpwDP
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201105316674 | Archaeologists Return to King Solomons Mines of Biblical Edom

201105316674 | Archaeologists Return to King Solomons Mines of Biblical Edom via Archaeologist Daily News
Archaeologists Return to King Solomons Mines of Biblical EdomE-mail
May, 31 2011

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Popular Archaeology

Archaeologists return to the ancient site that may hold keys to overturning current popular assumptions about 10th century B.C. Edom and Israel.

Industrial copper slag mound 76 m in depth excavated at KEN.  The building and all layers above it date firmly to the mid-9th century B.C.  The 3 meters of slag deposits below the building date to the 10th century B.C.  There is a built rectangular feature resting on virgin soil at the bottom of the section that may be an altar. Photo credit T.E. Levy.

A team of archaeologists and others will return to a site southeast of the Dead Sea in late September, 2011 to continue investigations of what is now considered to be one of the largest copper mines of the ancient Middle East. Among other things, scientists hope to be able to identify the ethnicity or nationality of the people who actually controlled the mining and smelting operation during the 10th century B.C.E., the time period when, based on the Biblical accounts, scholars have traditionally dated the kingdom of Edom, as well as that of David and Solomon of ancient Israel.

The site is located some 50 km south of the Dead Sea in Jordan's arid Faynan District. Called Khirbat en-Nahas (KEN for short), it has thus far yielded evidence substantiating it as the largest Iron Age (1200 - 500 B.C.E) copper mining and smelting center in the southern Levant. Recent radiocarbon dating has placed its age indisputably two centuries earlier than scholars had previously thought, pushing back the clock from the long-accepted dates assigned by archaeologists for the center and the kingdom of Edom in which it was located. It also places its heyday squarely during the time when ancient Edom and the United Monarchy of Israel under kings David and Solomon, according to traditional interpretations of the Biblical account, dominated the region. Reports Project Director Thomas A. Levy, et. al.* of the University of California in San Diego, "Given the unambiguous C AMS [carbon 14] dating evidence presented here for industrial-scale metal production at KEN during the 10th and 9th c. B.C.E. in ancient Edom, the question of whether King Solomon's copper mines have been discovered in Faynan returns to scholarly discourse."* Translation: Previous doubts about the existence of large-scale copper mines in existence during the time of and possibly under the control of a Solomonic monarchy should be revisited and perhaps overturned.

The Deconstruction of Solomon

The significance of the discoveries at KEN fall within the context of a larger debate about chronology and the credibility of traditional interpretations about the very existence of the kingdoms of David and Solomon as depicted in the Hebrew Bible. During the 1930's, the famous biblical archaeologist Nelson Glueck conducted extensive explorations of the Transjordan area, including the site of KEN in the Faynan district. He asserted that the site should be identified as the remains of King Solomon's mines, the mines from which copper was procured as a key raw material for the construction of the First Temple. He surveyed and excavated at a time when the traditional Biblical narrative was largely regarded as the key historical guide for excavations and research of the Levant.

Flash forward to the 1980's, when the traditional view was challenged by an emerging new paradigm advanced by a group of scholars penned in the popular press and discussion circles as "minimalists". They asserted that the Hebrew Bible as we know it today was the product of writing and editing by a group of elite 6th-5th century B.C. scribes who, in essence, "wrote" the Bible under Babylonian captivity and during post-exilic times in Jerusalem. The minimalists argued that events and personalities documented in the Biblical record that occurred prior to the 5th century were fabrications, or at best highly exaggerated accounts in order to create a more glorified history and heritage. It meant that, among other things, kings David and Solomon and their kingdoms either did not exist at all or that they were not as large on the historical stage as traditionally portrayed. This paradigm, widely accepted by many Levantine or "biblical" archaeologists today, is further supported by the apparent scarcity of material evidence in the archaeological record that could be attributed to David, Solomon and the United Monarchy of ancient Israel. Moreover, British archaeologists who conducted excavations in the 1970s and 1980s using relative ceramic dating in the highlands of then ancient Edom, or southern Jordan, interpreted the Edomite Iron Age (the time period traditionally associated with David and Solomon) as no older than the 7th Century B.C.E., two centuries later than traditional interpretations of the Bible assign to the time of these Israelite kings. By extension, this meant that the copper production facility at KEN was no older than the 7th century, making it too late to be identified as "Solomon's Mines".

New Challenges

Recent excavations and discoveries in Israel have now challenged the minimalist paradigm. Discoveries such as the Tel Dan Stele, an inscribed stone dated to the 9th century B.C. with an aramaic inscription that includes the words "House of David" (in this context or usage referring to a royal dynasty or lineage), uncovered in 1993/94 by archaeologist Avraham Biran, and findings at the more recent excavations of Khirbet Qeiyafa by Yosef Garfinkel, point to a highly organized and resource-rich Israelite kingdom that could be ascribed to the 10th century B.C., just as the Biblical record attests.

Beginning in 2002, large-scale surveys and excavations were conducted at KEN under the direction of Levy, resulting in radiocarbon-dated finds that supported an early Iron Age occupation of the site from the end of the 12th century B.C. to the end of the 9th century B.C. The site contained over 100 buildings already visible from the surface, a large desert fortress, and large, extensive mounds of slag, waste products of copper smelting. In 2006, deeply stratified excavations at the site using high-precision radiocarbon dating, Bayesian analysis and advanced digital recording and mapping technologies turned up results that further supported the initial interpretations from 2002. The recovery of predominantly Edomite local ceramic ware dated to the time period evidenced a substantial or predominant Edomite presence, and the discovery there of Egyptian artifacts known to have been produced during the time of Pharaohs Siamun and Shishak suggested some connection or interaction with ancient Egypt of the 10th and 9th centuries. In short, convincing evidence now supported the suggestion that a massive copper production facility had been operating at KEN during the 10th and 9th centuries B.C., a time period that up until now had been assumed by many scholars, in particular the minimalists, to predate by at least two centuries the emergence of the fully-developed kingdoms of ancient Edom and Israel. It was time to return to a serious reconsideration of the traditionalist view of large, powerful polities in Israel and Edom during these earlier dates, as originally suggested by scholars like Nelson Glueck.

Returning to a Newly Dated Edom

Now, the team of archaeologists, other scientists, and students will return to the site to recover data using state-of-the-art digital techniques and systems and geographic information systems to find answers to questions related to the copper production facility within the context of an earlier state or kingdom of Edom, and by extension possibly the surrounding kingdoms or polities with whom Edom related, including ancient Israel. In addition to acquiring a better understanding of the ancient facility and how it fit into the world of the Levant at that time, Levy hopes to find clues that will shed light on the existence and extent of the neighboring Israelite kingdom of the 10th and 9th centuries. Was there a great Israelite United Monarchy and did it control the copper industry at KEN?

A number of scholars today think so. During the 12th century the power and political order of the old Bronze Age kingdoms, such as Egypt, that ruled the eastern Mediterranean region mysteriously waned. The powers that could have controlled large scale industry and trade in copper had left center stage. But given the size and complexity of the KEN operation, according to Levy, "it had to have been controlled by something as complex as an ancient kingdom. The question arises -- what kingdom?" Levy believes that there were only two candidates after the 12th century and during the 10th century that could have controlled the copper production facility: ancient Edom and ancient Israel.

"The Bible tells us that the temple would require precious metals, including tons of copper, and the closest source of copper for Jerusalem (about a 3-day journey) is from this area of Faynan," says Levy. What is more, he states that "the fortress that we found at Khirbet en-Nahas is similar to other fortresses that we have found in ancient Israel........I hope that in our excavations at Khirbet en-Nahas we will ultimately find inscriptions that will tell us about biblical characters, whether they were Edomites or early Israelite kings like David or Solomon. But that is [only] a hope."

David and Solomon aside, the most important revelation that has emerged from the excavations and research thus far revolves around the presumed time period when the KEN site operated as a major industrial center. Earlier research in the highland area of the ancient Edomite landscape horizon favored the 7th to 6th century.

"Those assumptions ignored the important copper ore district of Faynan," Levy maintains. "Now, thanks to a mix of traditional and digital archaeology methods and high-precision radiocarbon dating, we can refute the earlier assumptions."


God's Call

"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." 
Joel 2:32


Salvation - plainly put, is of God. It is not man, nor by the will of men! It is by the sheer will and grace of God (Eph.2:8). Personally, I am glad. No one can dictate my salvation except myself and God. No one except God's Son (Heb.9:15; 12:24) can stand between me and God at anytime for any reason.

It’s very important to understand though, that in any rescue operation, the rescuer gets to determine means and method of the rescue. You and I do not get to determine how we are saved. God has placed this authority in His Son only.  "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Col.1:18-20)."  Jesus said, "I am the way…. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  Jesus doesn’t say he’s a good way, or a nice way, or even the best way because there are many ways. He says, “I am THE way..."  If there was an alternate way, another way, another savior besides Jesus, then God wouldn’t have sent Him to die for you. How cruel would it have been to have Jesus go through all the suffering and pain of the cross, only to have God say - "Sorry...there's also this way and this way, and this prophet and that guru that can get you here too!"  We know that this is NOT what the scriptures teach! If you’re going to be saved and have all your sins forgiven, there’s only one way it will happen, and there’s only one person you can call on … Jesus.

Many will fuss at this, many like those who have gone before will downright refuse it. Yet, this does not negate what God has said.  "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Heb.1:1,2)" You have the right and the freedom to choose another way, another shepherd, another Savior. Yet again, hear what God says,   "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.(Jn.10:1-3)." 

So, maybe its time to ask yourself - Are you following the right Shepherd? If you feel that you are not, can I introduce you to Jesus?

Jim

Thursday, May 26, 2011

A Quote about Blogs from a child

Breakfast discussion with my daughter about blogs. Her conclusion? "Blog" is an extremely funny word that should be used to cheer up sad classmates.
                                                                                                                          - Kinsey Goodman

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

BiblePlaces Blog: Seven New Kingdom Tombs Opened in Saqqara

BiblePlaces Blog: Seven New Kingdom Tombs Opened in Saqqara

Seven New Kingdom Tombs Opened in Saqqara

Egypt is looking to bring visitors back with the opening of seven new tombs 20 miles from Cairo. From the Jerusalem Post:

Egypt's antiquities ministry on Monday opened seven New Kingdom tombs that were previously unavailable to the public. The tombs include the final resting place of King Tutankhamen's treasurer as well as a general, Horemheb, who would later become king.

Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass announced the opening of the South Saqqara tombs on his website on May 22. The tombs are located about 30 kilometers south of Cairo and near Djoser's Step Pyramid. The seven tombs are from New Kingdom, a period that lasted from the 16th century to 11th century B.C.

The tomb of King Tut's treasurer, Maya, while unfinished, features images of Maya and his wife Merit. Maya helped Tutankhamen reopen temples in the then-capital Luxor, further south in Egypt, which had been abndoned during his father Akhenaton's rule for the site of Amarna. He helped Tutankhamen restore order in a country that had been disrupted by his father's drastic changes including the move of the capital and abolishing of the priestly order.

The full story is here. The story is also reported by the AP. NTDTV has a four-minute video.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, told reporters:

We are opening this new cemetery today to tell the whole world that Egypt is safe and come to smell and to see the magic and the mystery of Egypt.


Ebla and the Ebla Tablets | Ferrell's Travel Blog

Ebla and the Ebla Tablets | Ferrell's Travel Blog

Ebla and the Ebla Tablets

The Ebla tablets were discovered by an Italian team of excavators at Tell Mardikh in Syria (about 30 miles S of Aleppo) in 1975. More than 17,000 cuneiform tablets were discovered. They date to the mid-third millennium B.C. when Ebla was the capital of a great Canaanite empire. Scholars state that there are important affinities between the Eblaite language and biblical Hebrew, both being members of the Northwest Semitic family.

Ebla - Tell Mardikh - Syria. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins. May, 2002.

Tell Mardikh (Ebla) in Syria. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins, May 2002.

Numerous articles have appeared in the popular press and in scholarly journals stating that the names of Sodom and Gomorrah appear in the Ebla tablets. At one point it was even being said that all five cities of the plain (Gen. 14), and perhaps the name of one of the kings, were mentioned in the tablets. Much controversy has surrounded this discussion. Infighting between the excavator (Paolo Matthiae), the epigrapher (Giovanni Pettinato), and other scholars, along with some political implications, clouded the whole issue.

The late Mitchell Dahood (died 1982), an expert in Ugaritic literature, claimed that the cities of Sodom and Zeboim “may have counterparts” in the Ebla tablets (Giovanni Pettinato, The Archives of Ebla, 287). Pettinato was the first to read and interpret tablets from the Ebla archives and the first to identify the Northwest Semitic language in which they are written. Paolo Matthiae, the archaeologist, says the rumors that there is proof of the historical accuracy of the Bible patriarchs, references to Sodom and Gomorrah, etc. “are tales without foundation” (Ebla: An Empire Rediscovered, 11). One scholar states, “the initial enthusiasm about the light the tablets would shed on the early stages of biblical culture is now mostly seen as exaggerated. Clearly, no biblical personages can be identified in the tablets … ” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, [1985] 235). Dahood, in the Afterword of Pettinato’s book, commented on the pessimism of one university professor with this classic put down:

How a savant can determine how relevant to the Bible a new discovery may be before the tablets have been published must remain a mystery. (Pettinato, The Archives of Ebla, 273).

Dahood says that the people of Ebla spoke a dialect of Canaanite and that their principal god was Dagan the Canaanite or the Lord of Canaan. This indicates that Canaan extended much further north than previously thought (Pettinato, 272). Dahood cites several biblical passages in which he believes a parallel exists between the Hebrew and Eblaite words (271-321). Numerous names in Genesis find parallel in the Ebla tablets. I had the opportunity to hear Dahood speak on this subject at a professional meeting in Dallas years ago.

Ebla Tablet at Bible Land Museum Jerusalem. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins shortly after the BLMJ opened and photos were permitted.

An Ebla Tablet. BLMJ. Originally the museum allowed photos. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

At this point scholars are not agreed on the proper reading of some of the Eblaite words. Perhaps in time we will know more about this. For the present we must wait patiently. Numerous articles about Ebla have appeared in Biblical Archaeologist and Biblical Archaeology Review, as well as other journals.

Word comes regarding the death of Professor Giovanni Pettinato at the age of 77. Details here. HT: Bible Places Blog.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Saul visited a medium at En-Dor (Endor) | Ferrell's Travel Blog

Saul visited a medium at En-Dor (Endor) | Ferrell's Travel Blog

Saul visited a medium at En-Dor (Endor)

En-Dor (or Endor) is a fairly insignificant site. It is now located in the middle of wheat fields and groves. I had seen it from the road, but this time I was able in a car to drive to it and get some better photos. This one shows the low tel, and a wheat field ready for harvest. The view is to the north. Mount Tabor dominates the scene to the right, but it is not visible in this photo. One has to go with the light in making photos.

En-Dor on the shoulder of the Hill of Moreh. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

En-Dor on the shoulder of the Hill of Moreh. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Shards of pottery are visible all around, especially in the low areas of the farm road as well as in the plowed field. This is a certain indication of an ancient inhabited site.

Pottery shards at En-Dor. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Pottery shards at En-Dor. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

En-Dor was located in the territory of Issachar, but was allotted to the half tribe of Manasseh that settled on the west bank of the Jordan (Joshua 17:11).

The most significant biblical event recorded in connection with En-Dor is the visit of King Saul to the medium of En-Dor.

The Israelites were gathered with Saul on Mount Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistines gathered against him in the valley below he was afraid and sought out a medium or necromancer, even though earlier he had them removed from the land. This medium lived over the Hill of Moreh on the northern slopes at En-Dor. This tel is located about 2½ miles south of Mount Tabor on the south and east side of Highway 65. It is easily discernible by the palm trees growing there.

Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.” (1 Samuel 28:7 ESV)

Map showing location of En-Dor. Courtesy of BibleAtlas.org.

Map showing location of En-Dor. Courtesy of BibleAtlas.org.