Support Graduate Students at the Huqoq Excavation Project in 2015

If you're looking for an opportunity to support archaeology and directly impact students, here is a chance.  The Huqoq Excavation Project is seeking donations with the target goal of $5,000 to support the travel of three graduate students (object specialists and assistant square supervisors) via experiment.com.  To be successful, the target goal of $5,000 must be met in 35 days.

The excavations are exploring the remains of a Late Roman/Byzantine-era synagogue and an associated village.  In the past several years, Huqoq has received wide coverage in the media for the discovery fine, colored mosaics in the synagogue, including the unprecedented appearance of a Greek king, perhaps Alexander the Great.  For some discussion of the recent discoveries, see coverage in the Times of Israel.

Please consider donating today and directly affect students and archaeological study in a positive way. Click here to donate.

(Photo Credit: (c) Jim Haberman).

Open-Access Publications (Numismatic, etc.) from the American School of Classical Studies at Athens

I have just heard from a colleague at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens that the publications committee recently voted to place ASCSA's out-of-print monographs on the Athenian Agora, Corinth, and the Hesperia supplements on its website.  The publications have been made freely available in consultation with JSTOR, which provided the scans.

Some important references on coin finds in Greece are included and have been placed online.

• Thompson, M. 1954. The Athenian Agora II: Coins from the Roman through the Venetian Period. (Princeton: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens).
• Miles, G.C. 1962. The Athenian Agora IX: The Islamic Coins. (Princeton: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens).
•  Kroll, J. 1993. The Athenian Agora XXVI: The Greek Coins. (Princeton: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens).
• Edwards, K.M. 1933. Corinth VI: Coins, 1826-1929. (Princeton: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens).

In addition to the monographs on the coin finds, there are of course several other important reports on various objects and monuments (ceramics, architecture, sculpture, etc.).  A complete list of the ASCSA's open-access monographs can be found here.

Synagogue Mosaic Revealed at Huqoq, Israel

This summer I was in Huqoq, Israel where I am a staff member at the excavation of the ancient synagogue and village (I identify, record, and study the coin finds).  This season I could only stay a week because of other obligations.  While on site, I spent some time supervising the sifting operation and instructing field school students how distinguish various sorts of artifacts such as pot sherds, cut stone, glass, etc. from simple rocks.  It was during this time that tiny tesserae (cube-shaped colored stones - the building blocks for mosaics) began to appear in great numbers in the sifter.  This was an exciting indication that we would soon reveal a high-quality mosaic floor as the smaller the tesserae are, the finer the mosaic is.  However, there were so many tesserae in the fill we also feared the mosaic floor may no longer be intact.

The mosaic floor discovered this summer relates to the Biblical story of Samson and a Hebrew inscription encourages readers to do good deeds.  There have been several news articles online and an official press release from the Israel Antiquities Authority.  Recently, CNN and MSNBC have also carried the news.

Here is an excerpt from the CNN article:

(CNN) -- Archaeologists are reveling in the discovery of an ancient synagogue in northern Israel, a "monumental" structure with a mosaic floor depicting the biblical figure of Samson and a Hebrew inscription.

The synagogue -- dating to the fourth and fifth centuries in both the Talmudic and late Roman periods -- is in Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village in the country's Galilee region, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said.

Jodi Magness, a professor of early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the building was found in a recent excavation.

She called the find "exciting" and described the "very high quality of the artwork" in the mosaic, crafted with "tiny colored stone cubes." Only a few late Roman period synagogues contained mosaics with biblical scenes, said Magness, one of the leaders of a U.S., Israeli and Canadian team engaged in the digs.

"This discovery is significant," she said, calling the site "extraordinary" and "stunning."

Samson was known for enormous physical strength and his fighting prowess against the Philistines, the enemy of the Israelites.

His story, recounted in the Bible's Book of Judges, mentions Delilah, a Philistine woman who worked to undermine Samson. She cut his hair after she persuaded Samson to reveal that his long hair was the secret to this strength.

Magness said the mosaic scene shows Samson putting torches between the tails of foxes. That image, from a vignette in the Book of Judges, is a reference to Samson exacting revenge on the Philistines by sending out flame-laden foxes to burn their lands.

She said the only other images of Samson in synagogues are at one nearby place in the Galilee known as Wadi Hamam, where Samson is seen "smiting" the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. Another is in what is now modern Turkey, depicting scenes from Samson's life.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Numismatics and Archaeology in Rome

Sapienza University of Rome is advertising a call for a research poster session for its First International Workshop on Numismatics. The workshop will explore the relationship between coin finds and stratigraphy and other types of context, including the relationship between coin finds and other excavated objects. The call for posters (in Italian) can be found here.

Readers might be interested in reading about some previous conferences and symposia on "contextual numismatics" that were discussed here.

"Contexts and the Contextualization of Coin Finds - An International Colloquium"

"Contextual Numismatics: New Perspectives and Interdisciplinary Methodologies"

And the Coins in Context Colloquium in Frankfurt am Main in October 2007 that published the proceedings in a monograph: Coins in Context I: New Perspectives for the Interpretation of Coin Finds (Mainz, 2009), edited by H.-M. von Kaenel and F. Kemmers.

Major Discovery in Peril

The discovery of the source of the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct built by Trajan for the city of Rome, was announced earlier this year. The physical remains of the aqueduct's source had been unknown until recently, but what is believed to be abbreviated representations of its castellum survives on bronze coins of Trajan with the legend AQVA TRAIANA.

Unfortunately, efforts at preserving and studying this important site further are now being jeopardized.

The Telegraph reports:

In January father and son team Edward and Michael O'Neill discovered the headwaters of the aqueduct, which was built by the Emperor Trajan, hidden beneath a crumbling 13th century church north of Rome.

A sophisticated example of Roman hydraulic engineering, the aqueduct, known as the Aqua Traiana, was inaugurated in 109AD and carried fresh water 35 miles to the imperial capital.

But since the discovery was publicised, the archeologists claim that the farmer on whose land it stands has begun a crude excavation of the site in the hope of finding valuable Roman treasure.

They claim to have photographic evidence that the owner has burned vegetation around the entrance to the underground grotto, cut down mature fig trees which are holding the fragile structure together with their thick roots and started to dismantle sections of masonry.

"It's a complete tragedy," Edward O'Neill told the Daily Telegraph. "He's doing some kind of treasure hunt.

"What is needed is an expert process by archeologists to preserve the site." Repeated telephone calls to the landowner, Davide Piccioni, went unanswered yesterday.

In an attempt to stop the alleged damage to the site, the O'Neills and two American archeologists – Prof Katherine Rinne of Virginia University and Prof Rabun Taylor of the University of Texas at Austin – have sent a letter to Italian heritage authorities.

They have called for urgent intervention in order to prevent the landowner from further damaging the site, which they say has been "completely transformed" in the last six months.

They have also complained that the farmer has closed off access to the site since the grotto and spring were discovered five months ago.

The mayor of the local town, Lucia Dutto, said she too was concerned. "We have asked the superintendent of archaeology to carry out an immediate inspection of the site, so that further interference can be prevented. But until that happens, we can do nothing because it is private property."

Lost Army of Cambyses Described by Herodotus Found?

An interesting story about the lost army of Cambyses that I picked up from my friend "Mithradates" on facebook:

Vanished Persian Army Said Found in Egyptian Desert

The remains of a mighty Persian army said to have drowned in the sands of the western Egyptian desert 2,500 years ago might have been finally located, solving one of archaeology's biggest outstanding mysteries, according to Italian researchers.

Read the rest of the story at Discovery News.

The Amphitheater at Portus

CNN is publicizing the recent discovery of the amphitheater at Portus by the University of South Hampton. In addition to an online article, there is also a video (below). I was surprised to see a colleague of mine, Christina Triantafillou, interviewed while excavating at the site. Hello Christina!

I met Christina at an AIA meeting several years ago via other University of Missouri graduate students who knew her from Tufts. In our conversation it soon became apparent we had much in common. I discovered she went through the ANS seminar the year after I did and was working on some excavation or hoard finds from Carthage. Also my M.A. advisor at Reading, who afterwards received a post at Oxford, is her Ph.D. advisor there.

I look forward to the reports and publications on the amphitheater. Check out the CNN article and video.

Large Byzantine Gold Coin Hoard Found in Jerusalem

It has just been announced that a large hoard of almost 300 gold coins from the reign of Heraclius have been unearthed during an excavation just outside the walls of Jerusalem. This is apparently one of the largest and best recorded finds of gold coins in Jerusalem.

The person who discovered the coins at the excavations was a British volunteer who normally works as an engineer. Archaeological excavations typically allow anyone - regardless of qualifications or academic standing - to volunteer. I have worked alongside many non-academic/non-student volunteers before.

Since the context has been preserved and the hoard was discovered within the framework of an excavation, the find will be inventoried, studied, and published. According to online discussion lists, the hoard's analysis and publication has already been assigned to a numismatist at the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) and their study is presently underway.

The date of the coins and their location just outside of Jerusalem are leading the chief excavators of the site to think that the hoard is associated with the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in AD 614.

The chief excavators also stated:

"Since no pottery vessel was discovered adjacent to the hoard, we can assume that it was concealed inside a hidden niche in one of the walls of the building. It seems that with its collapse, the coins piled up there among the building debris."

This is certainly a strong possibility. Hoards concealed in walls have been well-recorded in Egypt, for example (either in situ or found as scatter on floors after they fell out). In general, see discussion in Hans-Christoph Noeske, Münzfunde aus Ägypten I. Die Münzfunde des ägyptischen Pilgerzentrums Abu Mina und die Vergleichsfunde aus den Diocesen Aegyptus und Oriens vom 4.-8. Jh. n.Chr. Studien zu Fundmünzen der Antike 12 (Berlin, 2000).

Personally, I wonder if they may have been contained in a cloth or leather bag that did not survive or of which no traces were recorded. I ask because a photograph of the coins in situ as they are being carefully excavated seems to show the coins stacked or rolled; if they fell from a niche in a wall, I think there would certainly be more scatter and they would not have remained rolled or stacked together in such a manner. It is, of course, also possible that the coins were tightly placed in a bag in a wall niche from which the container and its contents later fell and so their tight relationship would have been preserved.

In any case, the news of this discovery is very interesting and I look forward to the detailed analysis and publication of the hoard. Perhaps we will see the publication in the Israel Numismatic Research journal, but it is too early to speculate as to where the report and analysis will appear. Congratulations also to the excavation volunteer who discovered the coins and who no doubt was very excited to uncover such a spectacular find.

Two press stories covering the find can be found at CNN and the BBC. A video showing the volunteer with some of the coins can be viewed by going to the BBC article.

______________________________

I am grateful to two of my blog readers who sent me links to some relevant news articles - I have been in transit over the past few days and so I haven't been reading the headlines.

Happy Holidays!

(Photo of the coins in situ from the CNN article. Notice how some of the coins seem to be together in stacks or rolls as I noted above.)

Context Matters: AIA Classroom Excavations Video and Resources for Primary and Secondary Educators

One of the great things about being an archaeologist is sharing your passion with others. There are a multitude of ethical and creative ways to expose primary and secondary education students to archaeology. Archaeological professional organizations have made educational resource available to school teachers and had various cooperative partnerships with them for a very long time.

For some educational resources, see:

AIA Education and Outreach

ASOR Outreach Education

SAA's Education Page

SAA's Archaeology for the Public

The AIA has just released a video on its website detailing an exciting and creative excavation simulation for students. The video is shown below. Visit the pertinent page on the AIA website for more educational videos, links, and discussion.