>Erika Solomon, writing for Reuters News Service, discusses the many controversies that have come out of recent archaeological excavations in Jerusalem. The Palestinians and many Jews oppose excavating Jerusalem in order to preserve or restore ancient Jewish heritage.

The following is an excerpt from the article:

Critics like Hani Nur al-Din from the Palestinian Al Quds University in Jersualem accuses some Holy Land archaeologists of caring more about publicity than scholarly peer review.

He names Eilat Mazar, of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who drew attention last month after excavating a wall she says was built by the biblical King Solomon in the 10th century BC.

“She doesn’t give any archaeological context to her findings other than dating pottery shards,” Nur al-Din charged. “The Bible should be put aside. It’s not a history book.”

But Mazar, scion of an illustrious Israeli archaeology dynasty, disputes that: “Excavating Jerusalem without knowing the Bible is impossible,” she says. She said she would write a scientific report of her find following laboratory study.

Pointing out the freshly excavated wall, Mazar says the Bible offers a “core of reality”: “We’ve got a fantastic 10th century fortification line that indicates a central, powerful regime,” she said. “The Bible tells us there was such a king at this time, and his name was Solomon. Why ignore it?

“The question is if we can trace that core and prove it existed. Well, here it is.”

Read the article in its entirety here.

The controversy over the issue of excavating in Jerusalem will not be resolved soon. As long as Jews and Palestinians continue to argue over the future of the city, the debate will not only continue, but it will intensify.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Jerusalem, Eilat Mazar