No title

The BIBLICAL

ARCHAEOLOGI lop Published by%

THE AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH Jerusalem and Bagdad Room 102, 6 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Mass.

VOL.XXIX

February,1966

No. 1

r?0 ~oO o~

Fig. 1. Lamp of first decades of the Early Roman period, from Qumran. Copied by R.H.S. from an original drawing in the files of the Biblique, Jerusalem, Jordan, used by permission of R. de Vaux. .cole

Contents The Household Lamps of Palestine in New Testament Times, by Robert H. Smith .. 2 Wilson's Arch Revisited, by William F. Stinespring ......................

..................27

Concerning an American Schools Publication ....................................................36

2

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

is published quarterly (February, May, September, December) The Biblical Archaeologist by the American Schools of Oriental Research. Its purpose is to meet the need for a readable, reliable account of archaeological discoveries as they relate to the non-technical, yet thoroughly Bible. Editor: Edward F. Campbell, Jr., with the assistance of Floyd V. Filson in New Testament matters. Editorial correspondence should be sent to the editor at 800 WTestBelden Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Editorial Board: 1W. F. Albright, Johns Hopkins University; G. Ernest Wright, Harvard University; Frank M. Cross, Jr., Harvard University. Service Agency, 31 East 10th $2.00 per year, payable to Stechert-Hafner Subscriptions: Street, New York, New York, 10003. Associate members of the American Schools of Oriental Research receive the journal automatically. 'Ien or more subscriptions for group use mailed and billed to the same address, $1.50 per year for each. Subscriptions run for the calendar year. In England: fifteen shillings per year, payable to B. H. Blackwell. Ltd., Broad Street, Oxford. Back Numbers: Available at 60e each, or $2.25 per volume, from the Stechert-Hafner Service Agency. No orders under $1.00 accepted. When ordering one issue only, please remit with order. The journal

is indexed

in Art Index,

Index

to Religious

Periodical

Literature,

and at t1le en:l

of every fifth volume of the journal itself. Second-class postage PAID at Cambridge, Massachusetts and additional offices. Copyright by American Schools of Oriental Research, 1966.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BY TRANSCRIPT PRINTING COMPANY PETERBOnOUGH, N. H.

The Household Lamps of Palestine in New Testament Times (Third in a three-partseries*) ROBERT

HOUSTON

SMITH

The College of Wooster

The era of the New Testament falls within the brief span of the

Early Roman period of Palestinianhistory,which began about the time when Herod the Great took the throne in 37 B.C.1 and ended with the destructionof Jerusalemat the end of the SecondJewish Revolt in A.D. 135. This period, especiallyin its earlierdecades,has often been called "Herodian,"since membersof the dynastyfounded by Herod (who died in 4 B.C.) continued-under Roman supervision-to rule some parts of Palestine down to the end of the first century A.D. It was an era characterized not by a sharp cultural departure from the preceding period but rather by a gradual and somewhat erratic replacement of Hellenistic elements with Roman ones, a process which was not complete by the end

of the period. *The first article, "The Household Lamps of Palestine in Old Testament Times," appeared in the BA, XXVII (1964), pp. 1-31; the second, "The Household Lamps of Palestine in Intertestamental Times," in the BA, XXVII (1964), pp. 101-124. Note two corrections to p. 108 of the latter of these articles: (a) The comma at the end of line 12 should be a semicolon. (b) Footnote 11 attributes to W. F. Albright the view that the Marisa tomb paintings represent incense bowls on stands, whereas Professor Albright actually interprets them as candelabra, i.e., lampstands. The author apologizes to Professor Albright for presenting his position incorrectly. Unless otherwise noted, each illustration in this article has been reduced to one-third of the size of the original object. In a few cases the size has been estimated. For technical reasons line-drawings taken from previous publications have been redrawn; this necessity has been utilized to introduce a moderately unified format for the line-drawings. All Talmudic citations are from the Babylonian Talmnud. 1. Many scholars prefer to date the beginning of the Roman period to 63 or 50 B.C.

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

3

Throughout this time the household lamps of Palestine underwent slow modification, with occasional infusions of fresh elements; because, however, the time-span is relatively short, some of the developments during this century and a half are less striking than those during earlier, longer periods. To the scholar, of course, no change of form, however subtle, is unimportant, since it may lead to a more precise subdivision within the period. Not enough closely-dated specimens have yet been found to enable one to trace the history of Palestinian lamps of this period decade by decade, but with our present knowledge we can recognize three phases of lamp development within this period. Lamps during Herod's Reign and the Lifetime

of Jesus

The history of Palestinian lamps during Herod's reign is still obscure, though excavations at Herod's palace fortresses should eventually yield important evidence. Some lamp forms of the late Hellenistic period carried over into Herod's reign, though interest in them was rapidly waning. Among these carryoverswere apparently wheelmade "cornucopia"and molded "sunburst" lamps. The latter were sometimes smaller and had stubbier nozzles, but otherwise were much like the effete specimens of the preceding period. The Hellenistic lamp tradition was not, however, totally exhausted. Evidence of the beginning of a new departure in this old tradition, which would eventually become a distinct kind of first-centuryA.D. lamp, comes in the form of a unique specimen found in a pre-31 B.C. level at Qumran (Fig. 1). Typologically it could perhaps be dated to the first century A.D., were it not for the broad, flat rim around the filling-hole, which is a late Hellenistic convention. The lamp is molded, as few other lamps at Qumran were, and was probably brought into the community from outside. Of buff ware with a hard gray-pink slip, it is tastefully designed and skillfully executed. The smoothly curved, spatulated nozzle and prominent half-volutes on the sides of the nozzle are basically Hellenistic features. Both the ringhandle, now broken off, and the decoration of laurel leaves and berries echo in particular the "Ephesus" lamps of the second century B.C. The slight similarity which the specimen bears to lamps in the Roman style is due more to a common Hellenistic background of both than to direct Roman influence on this lamp. By far the most important lamp to come to prominence during Herod's reign was a simple wheelmade one of graceful design which has come to be called the "Herodian" lamp.2 The form which, after some experimenta2. On Herodian lamps see P. P. Kahane, 'Atiqot, III (1961), Smith, Berytus, XIV (1961), pp. 53-65.

especially pp. 135-139, and R. H.

4

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

tion, potterssettled upon during the latter part of Herod'sreign or the earlyyearsof the Christianera is that shown in Figure2. The smalllamp on the left representsthe commonestsize; most specimensare so uniform that one would almostsuspectthey were productsof a single potter'sshop. They are usually rathersmall and of thin buff or light brown clay fired This early varietyof Herodianlamp is distinguishablefrom medium-hard. later varietiesparticularlyby its downwardsloping nozzle (when seen in profile), its small wick-holeand its wide flange around the filling-hole. Occasionallyquite largespecimenswere turned,such as that shown on the right in Figure2; intermediatesizes do not seem to have been popular,

'\l

(i~'::

_

Fig. 2. Two early wheelmade "Herodian" lamps of the first few decades of the Christian era. Left: top view and profile of a typical specimen, from Khirbet Kfifin. Photograph by R.H.S. Right: large specimen from a tomb at Talpioth, near Jerusalem. From American Journal of Archaeology, LI (1947), pl. LXXXV.A, used by permission.

In making a lamp of this kind, the potter first turned the oil reservoir on his wheel, then attached to it a nozzle which he had previously shaped with a knife. After punching a tube through the nozzle into the reservoir, he pared the joint of the nozzle and reservoirfurther with his knife; traces of this paring regularly appear on these lamps, for the potter did not bother to smooth out the marks of his work. Before beginning the final processes of drying and firing he usually dipped the lamp in a dilute mixture of the same clay so as to give it a less porousand more finished surface. The origin of the Herodian lamp cannot yet be fully traced. Some early specimens show affinities with the wheelmade lamps of Qumran from the first century B.C. Hellenistic molded lamps of that century seem also to have exerted an influence, chiefly upon the curved end of the nozzle. Lamps of Roman manufacture do not, however, seem to have influenced the form of the lamp appreciably. These Herodian lamps, which are so distinctively Palestinian, quickly achieved popularity in the hill-country from Hebron to Samaria and beyond, but most of all in the vicinity of Jerusalem;indeed, they may have evolved in Jerusalem or nearby. They were often among the objects placed in tombs, and were even used in the palaces of Herod and his sons. Evidently

1966, 1)

5

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

Herodhad no interest-or at least little success-in persuadingPalestinians to adopt the more sophisticatedlamp-formswhich were currentin Rome in his day, nor even in encouragingthe continuationof older Hellenistic designs.The popularityof Herodianlampsmay in partbe the resultof the intensive efforts by Palestinianwheel-usingpotters to produceattractive, inexpensivelamps which could compete successfullywith molded lamps. Becausethis earlyvarietyof Herodianlamp dominateda majorportion of Palestineduringthe first thirdof the first centuryA.D., it was probably the kind of lampmostfamiliarto Jesusas he grewto manhoodand engaged in his public ministry.It is not unlikelythat he had one of these lampsin mind when he told his parableof the womanwho lighteda lamp to search for a coin which she had lost (Luke 15:8), and againwhen he told the story of the maidensat a weddingpartywho took lampswith them to welcome the bridegroom,five maidensprovidentlytakingextraoil and five foolishly takingnone (Matt. 25:1-12). This latter story is especiallyinterestingin that it indicatesseveral things about the use of lamps. Since the maidens'lampswere presumably lighted at dusk and were threateningto go out by midnight,we see that the ordinarylamp held enough oil for at most four or five hours' use. Wicks must have been quite small for the oil to have lasted so long. We also find that after severalhours of burning a lamp'sxwickrequiredadjustment,though we are not told just what the maidensdid when they theirlamps.The wordin the Greektext has the broadermeaning "trimmed" of "set in order"or "madepresentable." We may supposethat they pulled the wicks up a little and flickedoff any carbonizedflax;the "trimming" of the lamp did not, however,involve cutting off the end of the wick in a straightline, as a modernkerosenelanternrequires.Elsewherein the Roman world the wicks of fine bronze lamps were adjustedwith tweezers"or with pins of bronzeor iron,4 but this was not standardequipmentfor clay lamps;probably,as in the Hellenisticperiod,a twig or splinterservedas a wick-adjuster.The Mishnah (Kelim, 13.8) mentions the use of broken teeth of combs (of wood or bone) in the maintenanceof lamps, presumably as wick-adjusters. We learn furtherfrom this parablethat it was commonfor one who took a lamp from home in anticipationof later use to carrythe oil for the lamp in a separatecontainer.WVecannotbe sure exactlywhat kinds of oil flaskswere used;the Greekword in the storyis a generaltermfor "vessel" 3. See, for example, Museum, pp. 220f.

H.

B. WValters, Catalogue

of the

4. Examples can be found in G. Richter, Greek, S. Loeschke, Lampen aus Vindonissa, fig. 38.

Greek

Etruscan

and

and

Roman

Roman

Lamps

Bronzes,

in the British no.

1351,

and

6

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

or "flask."Any of several kinds of bottles xvith narroxvnecks could have served this purpose. Certain small spouted containers of the Hellenistic and Roman periods have sometimes been identified as lamp fillers, but most of the alleged specimens appear to be nursing bottles.5 The word translated "lamp" in this story is not the common term lychnos, which is generally used in the New Testament, but rather lampas, a word which in Hellenistic times had maant "torch."Lampas may appear in this original sense in John 18:3, where xve read that those who came to arrest Jesus carried lampades (plural of lamiipas).Rev. 8: 10 shows similar usage: "A great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch." On the basis, of the details of the story, however, there can be no doubt that it is lamps, not torches, which the ten maidens bring. A shorter version of the same story appears in Luke 12:35, where the familiar term lychlnosis used. has undergone an extension of meaning by this time, Clearly lamip.s to the extent that it is interchangeablewith lychnos. This shift of usage can be found in Greek literature as early as the second century B.C." The new meaning of lanipas appears again in Acts 20:8, where the writer is describing an episode at Troas in Asia Minor, in which Paul raises a boy who had dozed at an upstairs window and fallen to his death: "There were many lamps [1ampades] in the upper chamber where we were gathered." The, writer seems to have mentioned this detail because he wished to indicate that the air in the room was stuffy from the smoke given off by the lamps: this condition, along with the hypnotic effect of the pinpoints of light and the droning of voices, might well cause the youth to fall asleep as he sat on the window sill.7 We may note that the ambiguity of the word lainmpasin Roman times may indicate a double meaning in Revelation 4:5. Describing God's heavenly court, the author says that "from the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven lampades of fire, which are the seven spirits of God." The violence of this weatherimage suggests that the lampades should be visualized as torches, yet a firstcentury reader xwitha Jewish background would immediately have thought of the seven lamps on the lampstandin the temple in Jerusalem. From lampas one is led to a consideration of the term phanos. The Johannine story of Jesus' arrest mentions phanoi (the plural of phanos) along with lampades. In classical Greek phanos, like lampas, had meant "torch,"but in time it came to mean first "lamp"and then, by the first cen5. One such object which is probably a nursing bottle was found at Samaria context (see J. W. Crowfoot, et al., Samaria-Sebaste III, p. 377). 6. See H. G. Liddell and R. Scott, A Greek-English L.exicon, s.v. lampas. 7. Note the discussion in F. J. Foakes Jackson and K. Lake, The Beginnings

IV, p. 256.

in a late Hellenistic

of Christianity,

vol.

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

1966, 1)

7

tury A.D., "lantern."sIt is this last meaning which the word has in this passage. No lanterns seem to have been found in Palestine in contexts securely dated to the Herodian period, but if lanterns were sometimes used--as is likely-they were probably much like the specimens of both earlier and later centuries found from time to time in Palestine and nearby regions. Such lanterns are roughly cylindrical terracotta vessels with an opening on one side large enough for a household lamp to be inserted, its wick facing outward; a ceramic ring- or strap-handle on the top permitted easy carrying.9Occasionally lanterns may have had built-in lamps.10 Much more elaborate lanterns fabricated of bronze were used throughout the Roman world, consisting of a cylindrical oil-reservoir with a central wick and a metal framework into which translucent panels could be inserted so that the lantern could throw out light on all sides while the flame remained protected." Nothing so elaborate has yet been found in Palestine, but such lanterns were probablyknown. Stands for household lamps must have been fairly common in Palestine during Roman times, for one of Jesus' teachings alludes to a lampstand. "No one," says Jesus, "after lighting a lamp covers it wvitha vessel, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand [lychni4], that those who enter may see the light" (Luke 8:16; cf. Matt. 5:15, Mark 4:21 and Luke 11:33). In classical Greek the accepted term for "lampstand"was lychnouchos or lychneion; the word lychnia, although condemned by grammarians,came into widespread use in Hellenistic times. Rabbinic sources also mention lampstands, which they designate by the name (literally, "shaft").12 which could be a as pam.5t Nothing very plausibly lampstand has been regarded found among Palestinian remains of the Herodian period, perhaps because -as probably was the case in the Iron Age-lampstands were usually made of wood and did not survive the ravages of time. Bronze lampstands were familiar household equipment among wealthy Romans, and doubtless some metal stands were used in Palestine in Herodian times. Lamps played a notable part in various religious observancesconnected with the home. By this time many Jews had begun to follow the custom of burning a Sabbath lamp. How old the practice was no one knows, but it probably took its origin in the fact that, since kindling a fire on the Sabbath was forbidden (Exod. 35:3), one who wVishedto have a light on the 8. See W.

F. Arndt

and F. W.

Gingrich,

A Greek-English

Lexicon

of the New

Testament,

s.v.

phanos. Although phanos might seem to be derived from the verb phain6, "shine," the word originally designated a little case, then a torch-holder, then a torch and finally a lamp (see A. Neuburger,

The

Technical

Arts and Sciences

of the Ancients,

p. 235).

9. Note the Byzantine lantern shown in E. Sellin, Jericho, pl. XLIV, no. A19. 10. Note the Cypriote specimen in J. L. Myres, Handbook of the Cesnola Collections, p. 278, and the Egyptian lantern in G. Brunton, Qau and Badari III, pl. L, no. 5. 11. A typical specimen is shown in Neuburger, Technical Arts, p. 244, fig. 323. 12. See Shabbat, 44a and the discussion and references given in M. Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumin,

the

Talmud

Babli

and Yerushalmi,

and

the Midrashic

Literature,

s.v. pamit.

8

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

evening of the Sabbathhad to light the lamp before the Sabbathbegan. The mid-firstcenturyRomanwritersSeneca (Epistles 95:47) and Persius Flaccus (Satires 5.179-184) show familiaritywith the practice,which was well establishedamong the Jews of at least some cities, including Rome. Each week, just beforethe dusk which usheredin the Sabbath,the Jewish housewifelit a special Sabbathlamp, a ner ha-shabbat,which she placed in the window of her house, its nozzle facing the street.Persiusdescribes the riteintriguingly,and all too laconically: But when Herod'sdays [i.e., the Sabbath]have come, and the lamps,bearingviolets and put in the greasywindows,emit their unctiouscloudsof smoke.... The strangeallusionto lamps "carryingviolets"may be based on Persius' observationthat lamps were often decoratedwith floral designs.'"It is impossibleto determineexactlywhich artisticmotif Persiushad in mind; violets as such do not appearon Palestinianlamps of any period,nor on lampsfromelsewherein the Mediterranean region. The Sabbathlamp apparentlydid not have to be of any particular form,thoughespeciallyelegantSabbathlampsmay have been used by some Jews who could affordthem. The lamp did, however,have to be kindled in a decorousmanner.The Talmud gives many detailedregulationsconcerning this lamp (Shabbat,20b-36a), some of which are undoubtedlyas old as the first century. The rabbis recommendedlinen for wicks. Old cloth could be used, providedit was ceremoniallyclean; hence users often twistedold cloth to annul its previouscondition(Shabbat,28b). The substancesprohibitedfor use as wicks were, accordingto the Mishnah, lekesh (ccdar bark), hosen (tow, crude flax?), kallak (a mossy plant), bast, "desertwick" (a kind of woolly weed), seaweed, and 'es (stalks). Most vegetable oils, chiefly olive oil, were allowed as fuel; substances prohibitedwere pitch, wax, qiqay&n(castor oil; cf. Egyptiankiki), sacred oil, tail fat, tallow and balsam.These lists of prohibitionsare important becausethey suggestwhat a wide varietyof substanceswas used for wicks and fuel in householdlamps. Becausethe Sabbathlamp had to burn longerwithoutattention,than did the ordinarylamp, some users devisedclever ways of providingsufficient oil. One practicewas to place beside a lamp a bowl filled with oil, with a wick or cord running from it into the lamp; by capillaryaction the oil from the bowl fed the lamp'swick (Mishnah, Shabbat,29b). The Talmudic rabbisalso know of the practice-unattested,so far, by archaeologicalevidence,and possiblylimitedto MesopotamianJews-by which 13.

F. Landsberger

XXVII (1956),

suggests

pp. 387-415.

essentially

this

explanation

in Hebrew

Llnion

College

Annual,

vol.

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

9

a potter attached a supplementary oil-container shaped somewhat like an eggshell, on the top of a lamp (Shabbat, 29b).14 Lamps were also used in household rites connected with annual festivals. The Mishnah mentions that lamps were lit in the home on the eve of the Day of Atonement (Pesahim, 53b). It was also customary to light a lamp during the Hannukah festival and place it outside one's door or window (Shabbat, 21b). Before the beginning of the Passover, the householder sometimes took a lamp and conducted a ceremonial search through the house seeking to find and destroy any leaven which might be in it (Pesahim 2a, 7b ff.). The dates at which these practices were begun, and the extent to which they may have been followed in Palestine, must remain uncertain, but it is likely that Palestinian Jews in Roman times practiced at least some of them. Palestinians, continued, of course, to use lamps in festivities, where they were evidences of conviviality and security. Jesus' story of the ten maidens has already given us an example of the use of lamps in weddings. The writer of Revelation paraphraseswith approval a passage in Jeremiah which associates lamplight with gladness, marriage and household activities (Rev. 18:22-23; cf. Jer. 25:10). The prominent use which ceremonial lights played in the Jewish religion indicates that the users, like their ancestors, saw in lamps something more than a practical means of illumination. The lamp was symbolical of the sun and life. In this sentiment pagans and Jews shared certain presuppositions, though the specific expressions which they gave to their ideas differed. At one point in his MetamorphosesApuleius has his hero Lucius declare that "this [house-hold] lamp . . . is but a small light, and made by the hands of men, yet it has a remembrance of that great and heavenly Light as of its Parent" (2.12) He goes on to refer to the widespread belief that lamps, being sparks of the Divine Light (the Deity) could be used for prophecy. "By its divine spirit of prophecy," he says, the lamp "both knows and shows what He will do in the skies above." Pagan soothsayers often practiced lychnomanteia, divination by means of observing the way a lamp's flame burned (cf. Metamorphoses2.11).15 Out of respect for the lamp as a sign of greater things, some pagans avoided extinguishing a lamp, preferring rather to let it go out of its own accord (see Plutarch, Qu, est. Rom., 281F, Quwest. Conviv. 702D). Since this practice was wasteful, some householders may have compromised by placing a bowl upside down over the lamp to extinguish it through deprivation of oxygen. This practice may have been followed in Palestineperhaps, as some have suggested, not out of superstition but out of a desire 14. See further

in S. Kraus,

Talmudische

Archaeologie,

vol. I, p. 69.

15. Walters discusses this practice in Ancient Pottery, vol. II, p. 398.

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

10

(Vol. XXIX,

to avoid the unpleasant smoke and splattering caused by blowing out the lamp. One thinks of Jesus' statement that one does not light a lamp and then place it under a bushel measure (Matt. 5:15, Luke 11.33), a passage which some interpretershave taken to be an allusion to this method of extinguishing a lamp;"1 this explanation does not, however, clarify all of the details of this saying. The extent to which the ordinary Palestinian Jews of Roman times accepted lychnomianteiaand similar practices cannot well be determined, since the crasser beliefs about lamps seldom crop out in the surviving Jewish texts; but when one encounters in the Mishnah a reference to the extinguishing of a lamp out of fear of an evil spirit (Shabbat, 29b), or to the notion that marital relations carried out by lamplight produced epileptic children (Gemara, Pesalimn, 112b), one is obliged to admit that there must have been a good deal of popular superstitionabout lamps among the Jews.'7 Jesus indicates knowledge of at least some of the popular ideas about the symbolical importance of lamps. Accept the old belief (cf. Prov. 21:4) that the human eve radiates a brightness from within, he teaches. "The eve is the lamp of your body. When your eye is sound, also your whole body is full of light. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no dark part, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light" (Luke 11:34-36, parallel Matt. 6:22-23). This teaching indicates the ease with which one could move from the notion of the eve as a lamp to the idea of the whole person as a lamp. One of a group of short sayings of Jesus indicates this broaderuse of the imagery of the lamp: "Youare the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel-measure,but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:14-16; parallel Luke 11:33). This teaching is similar to a passage in the Talmud which enjoins, "Let your light shine forth like a lamp" (Shabbat, 116b). The Fourth Evangelist describes the prophet John the Baptist as "a burning and shining lamp" (John 5:35). In like manner one of the authors of the apocryphalII Esdras, writing around the end of the first century A.D., describes the prophet Ezra as "alamp in a dark place" (II Esdras 12:42). Although these sayings are clearly based upon the familiar household 16.

See especially

17. This lamplight

J. Jeremias,

latter superstition as out of excessive

The

probably prudery.

Parables arose

of Jesus, not

pp. 96f.

so much

out

of belief

in

the

magical

power

of

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

11

lamp, the imagery of the temple lamp, the men6rah, which symbolically sheds light upon Jerusalem,and ultimately upon all Jews and even the whole world, is never far away. The idea of the individual person as a lamp was easily extended to the gospel which the Christians proclaimed. In II Peter, sound teaching is thought of as a burning lamp; falling back upon earlier imagery, the author says, You will do well to pay attention to this [teaching] as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts (II Peter 1:19; cf. Prov. 6:23, etc.). The writer moves easily here from the lesser light of the household lamp to the greater light of the celestial realms. He does not equate wisdom with divine light, but regards sound teaching as a pedagogue in the mystical ascent which culminates in the apprehension of the true light which is Christ (cf. Rev. 21:23). Finally we may note the funeral practices of this period, where the customs of pagans, Jews and Christians seem to have been remarkablyalike so far as lamps were concerned. When a person died, the lamps in the house were extinguished as a sign that joy had gone out of the home.'8 Among pagans, at least, there was a popular idea that the dead needed a lamp to light his way as he went down to the underworld.'9 Mourners brought lamps to the tomb at the time of interment and left them, just as people had done for centuries. Apparently no special kind of lamps were used,20 but new lamps were sometimes preferred. Lamps were frequently of different styles and designs, a fact which suggests that they were not brought in perfunctorily as a group but individually by the mourners. The proportion of lamps to other grave objects had increased by Roman times, so that lamps not infrequently constituted an important portion of a tomb's ceramic contents. Lamps also played a role in the acts of remembranceperformed for the dead long after burial. Tombs of distinctly Hellenistic and Roman types, such as the two Marisa tombs which we discussed in connection with Hellenistic times, were often intended to be visited on anniversaries and sacred days.2' They have ample head-room in the main chambers and with death are used 18. Note II Esdras (IV Ezra) 10:2, where ordinary practices connected of the extinguishing of the temple lamp in 587 B.C., cf. 10:22, 49. symbolically 19. Pagan literature contains a number of references to this practice. Especially interesting is the delivers his name to the nether world; Ee on a Roman lamp which reads, "Helenus inscription carries down with him coins, a New Year's gift, and his lamp" (cited by Walters, Ancient Pottery, vol. II, p. 423). such as that of the "New Year's lamps" 20. Some exceptions must be made to this generalization, of the Romans (for specimens, see Walters, Catalogue of Lamps, p. 118 and nos. 780 and 1062). Such lamps have been found at Petra, where Roman influence was strong. from outside 21. Walters, Ancient vol. II, p. 397, cites several Roman inscriptions Pottery, Palestine which allude to such practices.

12

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

sometimes provide triclinia-low benches carved from bedrock on three sides of the chamber-to enable the living to recline and share a sacred meal with the spirits of their dead. More typically Jewish tombs lack space for such rites, so a Jew who wished to bring a lamp to honor a deceased person sometimes left the lamp burning outside the door, where archaeologists occasionallyfind them amid the debris. Lamps at Mid-century

The middle decades of the first century A.D. in Palestine, between the death of Jesus and the beginning of the First Jewish Revolt in A.D. 66, were accompanied by an expanded population, heightened economic stability and increased Roman influence on the forms of household objects. All of these developments are reflected in the lamps of the time, which are somewhat more numerous and often more sophisticated than lamps of preceding decades. Specimens from the middle decades generally fall into three groups: molded lamps of a distinct Palestinian variety, wheelmade lamps of the Herodian kind, and lamps influenced by Roman forms. We shall consider each in turn.

0

Fig. 3. Lamp of the 1st century A.D., exact Palestinian provenance unknown. Photographs courtesy of the Palestine Archaeological Museum, Jerusalem, Jordan. Drawings by R.H.S.

By the second third of the first century the development in molded lamps which the unique specimen from Qumran (Fig. 1) had signalled had evolved into a distinctive type which was notable for its graceful lines, skillfully executed decoration and prominent, well-integratedhandle.22What appears to be a relatively early form of this lamp is shown in Figure 3. Its context is unknown; perhaps it should be dated to as early as the first third of the first century A.D., though not enough specimens of this sort have yet been found to enable a comparative-much less an absolute--chronology to be established. The clay is orange-buff and was originally covered with 22. Recently some scholars have begun to refer to these molded lamps as "Herodian" or "late Herodian," but those terms are most useful if reserved for the wheelmade lamps of this period.

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

13

a slip which subsequently flaked away. The affinity of this lamp with the Qumran specimen is unmistakable, but change is also evident. The thick, raised rim around the filling-hole which characterizedlate Hellenistic lamps has given way to a wide flange formed by an encircling ridge some distance from the filling-hole. (It is instructive to compare the flange on the early Herodian lamps shown in Figure 2.) The half-volutes are much less pronounced and are more closely integrated with the body of the lamp. On the tips of the nozzle are little incised, outward-twisting spirals which resemble concentric circles; as other specimens suggest, these may be stylized representationsof the lower ends of the volutes, though they also echo little simulated studs which appearon some Hellenistic bronze lamps. The design is similar to that of the Qumran lamp, and is executed with great precision; the delicacy of the detail must have been more apparent when the lamp was new, although the design was marred in manufacture by the workman'sfailure to press the clay firmly into the mold and further by accidental smearing of some of the decoration while the clay was wet. The motif of laurel leaves and berries is one of the commonest on molded lamps of this kind. It is probably safe to say that the fabricatorhad in mind the olive, which closely resembles the laurel. The popularity of both the laurel and the olive in Levantine designs may be due in part to the association which these plants had with the sun. Philo of Alexandria, writing in the early first century, speaks of "the laurel of the sun" and later equates the laurel and the olive (Questions on Genesis 4.1). The laurel and olive thus seem to have had much the same symbolical value as the old Hellenistic sunburst design; the lamp is a little sun. Among the relatively few early lamps of this kind several motifs appear frequently. Pomegranates occur on several specimens, usually in connection with various leaf patterns. Even more prominent are grapevines with clusters of grapes. Both of these motifs appear prominently on Palestinian coins of the first century prior to A.D. 70, where they are frequently executed in a style similar to that of designs on the lamps. Puzzling designs occasionally appear on these lamps, such as that of a globular cult vessel on at least two specimens. Inevitably the question arises as to who made and used these lamps. The majority of symbols can be traced to Hellenistic motifs, but their presence on Palestinian coins shows that they were acceptable to Jews as well as to pagans. The major motifs would have had strong religious implications for many pagans and Jews-though it should not be forgotten that the olive, pomegranate and grape were among the staples of ancient Palestinian diet and therefore could be taken, if an ancient user so wished, as nothing more than vegetable motifs. The manufacturers probably used

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

14

(Vol. XXIX,

these designs of ambiguous meaning deliberately, so that their lamps could. be sold to Jews and pagans of all varieties of religious persuasion. The manufacture of these lamps should probably, however, be attributed to pagans, since the finest specimens come-so far as their provenance is known-from the heavily Hellenized cities of Palestine; indeed, the handsomest of all lamps in this style come from the Decapolis cities, most of which lay in Transjordanand fall outside the scope of this study. During the decades when these distinctive molded lamps were being manufactured,wheelmade Herodian lamps continued to be the most popular lamps. The third and fourth decades of the first century seem to have been ones of considerable experimentation by potters who made these Herodian lamps. In part, perhaps, under the influence of the molded lamps, a few Herodian lamps were given handles in the old Hellenistic style, and particularlythat of the Ephesus lamp.

?'A L .; ?.*:

.

"'q• ,

.D

~

,

Fig. 4. Wheelmade "Herodian" lamps with handles, ca. the middle of the 1st century A.D. Left: two-spouted specimen with extravagant incised decoration, from Beth Shan. Photograph courtesy The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania. Middle: specimen of gray ware with black slip, exact Palestinian provenance unknown. Photograph by R.H.S., used courtesy of the White Fathers, St. Anne's Church, Jerusalem, Jordan. Right: fourspout specimen of gray ware with black slip, of unknown Palestinian provenance. Photograph courtesy of the Yale Art Gallery.

The lamps shown in Figure 4 indicate some of the experimentation which was taking place in Herodian lamps around this time, though they cannot be dated precisely. The specimen in the center resembles the earlier form of Herodian lamp most closely, but is of gray clay which was covered with a black slip. Lamps of this design, which are not numerous, are always black; it is possible that they were productsof a single potter'sshop. The urge toward elegance which the handles reflect manifested itself in other ways, some more successful than others. The uncommon specimen from Beth Shan shown on the left in Figure 4 is notable for its large size and its two nozzles; some other wheelmade two-wick lamps consist of a single broad nozzle which has been pierced for two wickholes. The bizarre decoration, incised by hand, is typical of these oversize specimens with

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

15

handles. The concentric circles and rows of incised dots imitate similar decorative elements on many of the molded lamps which we have been discussing. The rare four-spouted Herodian lamp shown on the right in Figure 4 is even more complex, yet manages to convey a pleasing appearance. It is well made of gray ware with a gray-blackslip. It was clearly meant to be placed in the center of a room. In designing this lamp the potter surmounted several technical difficulties competently. Since the presence of wicks on all sides of the bowl made carrying difficult, the potter added a tall ring-handle in the center which he joined to the body by a discus. Closing the oil reservoirin this way meant, however, that some means of filling the lamp had to be found, so the potter punched two small filling-holes on opposite sides of the bowl. In order that the oil would run into the holes properly,he depressedthe discus sufficiently to form a catch-basin. ~,*

S, ?-3, -i i)

P ?i- :?

Fig. 5. Wheelmade "Herodian" lamps of mid- to late-ist century A. D. Left: specimen in a private collection, exact Palestinian provenance unknown. Photographs by R.H.S. Middle and right: specimen from Beth Shan. Photographs courtesy The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania.

By the middle of the century a new variety of Herodian lamp had emerged which was to remain in use for many decades (Fig. 5). It differs only slightly, though distinctly, from the earlier one (Fig. 2). It is characterized by a humped nozzle (when seen in profile), a wide and often carelessly-formedwick-hole, and a small ridge around the filling-hole but little or no flange. Specimens of this variety generally convey the impression of less skill and precision on the part of the potters who made them. Specimens show considerably more freedom of design and size than did the earlier Herodian lamp. The color also has a wide range which includes red-brown, light brown, gray and red-orange.Many specimens, such as that shown on the right in Figure 5, have on the nozzle an incised horizontal bar or two and a pair of circles with dots at their centers, the latter being placed either on the bridge of the nozzle or on the projecting tips. The oil reservoir is never decorated. The origin of these designs as imitations of the decorative elements on contemporary molded lamps is apparent from their positions on the nozzle; if they had symbolic significance, as has oc-

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

16

(Vol. XXIX,

casionallybeen suspected,the designswould surelyhave gravitatedto the bodyof the lamp. The third majorgroup of lamps of these middle decadesof the first centuryhas yet to be discussed.Becauseof the slownesswith which Palestine adoptedRomaninfluences,lamps of Romandesign had not appeared during the first decadesof the EarlyRomanperiod.23The dominantlamp in Rome during the reign of the first emperor,Augustus(25 B.C.-A.D. nozzle. This 14) was a handsomekind with a broad,angularly-spatulated fine it is often was molded of as called, lamp, clay which was "Augustan" coveredwith a hard red slip or occasionallyby a green lead glaze. It was regularlymadewithouta handle.Unlike mostHellenisticlamps,this Roman type had a narrowshoulderand a small filling-hole.The remainingspace on the top was occupiedby a concavediscuswhich offeredan invitingfield for decoration.WhereasHellenisticlampshad generallybeen limitedto the narrowlinear space of the shoulder,Roman discus lamps could be embellishedwith an endless varietyof elaboratedesigns,among which were of sacrifice,cult symbols,deities,scenes mythologicalscenes,representations animals.24 and from daily life, ;f( .

.*

Fig. 6. "Augustan" lamps of ca. the middle third of the 1st century A.D. Left: profile of a typical specimen. In a private collection, exact Palestinian provenance unknown. Photograph by R.H.S. Right: specimen from Beth Shan. Photograph courtesy The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania.

No Augustanlampsof Romanmanufacturehave been found in Palestine, but local copies occasionallyappear,such as the buff-warelamp with brown slip from Beth Shan shown on the right in Figure 6. Such lamps follow Roman styles closely, though they are generallyof poorerquality. This specimen,with its faint design,is a variationof a popularpaganmotif of the first century,that of a youthful bacchantin the pose of a satyr.25 23. Grace Crowfoot, in her study of the lamps at Samaria, notes that in spite of the muchbruited romanization which Herod undertook at Samaria, one finds "only one example, an imported lamp . . . of the early Roman type with figured disc which is so well represented at Petra and Tarsus" (J. W. Crowfoot, et al., Samaria-Sebaste III, p. 365). 24. Walters discusses these designs in Ancient Pottery, vol. II, pp. 406ff.; see also D. iM. Bailey, Greek

and Roman

Pottery

Lamps,

especially

pp. 21-23.

25. The design of this lamp has been variously interpreted. G. M. Fitzgerald describes it as that of "a seated figure" (Beth-Shan Excavations, vol. III, p. 40); the catalogue of the Beth Shan objects in University Museum in Philadelphia sees "a man holding his garment in his right hand and leaning on a staff which he holds in his left hand; coiled around the bottom of the staff is a snake."

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

17

Wearing only a short cloth about his shoulders-properly speaking, it should be a lion's skin--he walks along with his head and back sensuously bent, playing a double flute, the two pipes of which he holds separately in his hands. It is possible that the relief intends to show a lion walking at the youth's side. The faintness of the design indicates that the mold for this lamp was made from an existing lamp rather than directly from an artist's patrix (model).26 The design may, in fact, be several times removed from the original, having become each time a little less distinct. In specimens of later date designs sometimes become totally unintelligible. Because of this tendency of lamp-makersto copy copies, lamps in the Augustan style found in Palestine may be several decades later than the original Roman specimens from which they were derived. The relatively few lamps in Augustan style which have been found in Palestine, such as this and the following specimen, probably date from the middle of the first century or a little earlier.

,,

"YP

r

( ~s/?

Fig. 7. Lamp in the form of a seated man reading, Ist century A.D., fronm Amka. Photograph courtesy the Palestine Archaeological Museum, Jerusalem, Jordan.

As in the Hellenistic period, molded lamps were chiefly produced not in the traditionalpotter'sshop but in special establishmentswhich specialized in the manufacture of molded objects. The proprietorof such a shop was called, in Greek, a koroplastis, a maker of "fine lamps and statuettes" as one ancient North African coroplast proudly advertised.27The coroplast usually undertook the retailing of his products as well as their manufacture. On rare occasions an enterprising coroplast would incorporate advertisements into the designs of his lamps, as did the manufacturer of Carthage who inscribed some specimens with the plea, "Please buy our lamps, only one cent; they are the best."28Such commercial ingenuity has not yet been discovered in Palestine, but several remains of coroplasts'shops have been found. The most Hellenized cities undoubtedly had the largest share oF 26. See C. Grandjouan's comments on patrixes in The Athenian Agora: Terracottas and Plastic Lamps of the Roman Period, p. 3. 27. T. Frank (ed.), An Economic Survey of Ancient Rome, vol. IV, p. 57. 28. B. K. de Prorok, Digging for Lost African Gods, pp. 15f. Walters cites other advertisements on lamps in Ancient Pottery, vol. II, p. 422.

18

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

these shops; indeed, some coroplastscatered exclusively to pagan clientele.29' Sometimes a coroplast combined a lamp and *astatuette to produce a lamp of plastic form. Such lamps were a continuation of the Hellenistic tradition of plastic lamps, but were not widely used in Palestine. One known specimen is said to come from Amka, near the coast of northern Palestine (Fig. 7). Like other molded objects, this lamp has a hollow interior. Its filling-hole, not visible in the photograph, is at the back, above the broken ring-handle. Since the wick-hole lies near the bottom of the lamp, the oil capacity was no greater than that of an ordinary lamp. The representation is that of a toothless old man with a hooked nose and a wrinkled brow reading from a partly-unrolled scroll which he holds in front of him. He is dressed in Graeco-Roman fashion with a loose outer garment (the Greek himation) draped from his left shoulder; covering his right shoulder is his undergarment, a close-fitting shirt with a short sleeve. The old man is bald and wears a pointed beard, and his mouth is open as he reads. Since it was ancient custom to read aloud even when reading to oneself, an audience is not necessarily presupposed;yet it is probably safe to assume that the figure represents a teacher. It is not impossible that the coroplast had in mind a Jewish rabbi, but the design of the lamp is known elsewhere in the Roman world in the first century; at least one specimen has been found at Pompeii, which was buried by volcanic ash in the year 79. Lamps with this design may have been given as prizes to schoolboys for academic achievement. The coroplast's shop was ordinarily oriented to the needs of the city which it served; but already by the first century some coroplasts in the Mediterraneanregion had found a wider market for their wares and begun to export lamps in large quantities, eventually founding large factories for the production of lamps."• There were no large factories in ancient Palestine, and for that matter, relatively few specimens imported from the great lamp-factoriesin the west. Those lamps in the Roman style which do appear in Palestine often seem to have been manufactured at some east-Mediterranean city such as Alexandria in Egypt or Antioch in Syria. Frequently the designs are ones which had wide currency in the whole Mediterranean area. Roman factory-lampsoften had the name of the factory incised on the base, but the eastern factories did not have much concern with the identification of their products by name until later in the first century."A partly 29. Note the contents of a coroplast's shop at Gerasa of the first and second centuries, of Palestine, vol. XI (1944), of Antiquities published by J. H. Iliffe, Quarterly of the Department pp. 1-26. Cf. the remains from a third century shop found in two cisterns at Beit Nattif, south vol. V (1935), pp. 3-10; this shop proof Jerusalem, by D. C. Baramki, Quarterly, published duced some lamps decorated with a Jewish men5rah. A Social and Economic History 30. On lamp factories in the Roman world, see M. Rostovtzeff, of the Roman Empire, pp. 69, 163 and 539; Frank, Economic Survey, vol. IV, pp. 55-64. The Athenian Agora: lamps of the Ronman Period, pp. 59ff. 31. See J. Perlzweig,

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

19

One interestingexampleof these factory-lamps is shown in Figure 8. The lamp is of buff clay covered with a warm red-orangeslip which showsbrownin spotswhereit was appliedthickly.On its discusis a stylized thunderbolt,the symbolof Zeus. It is almostidentical,even to its smallsize, with specimens known from parts of the Roman empire far removed from Palestine. The lamp does not seem to be of Roman manufacture, yet its slip

does not look Palestinianeither;it may have been producedin a factoryin one of the great Graeco-Romancities of the Near East.

'p

qp

qkica

Fig. 8. "Augustan" lamp of ca. the middle third of the Ist century A.D., exact Palestinian provenance unknown. The specimen is in a private collection. Photograph by R.H.S.

To be mentioned along with Augustan lamps is the uncommon specimen of yellow ware with a worn red slip shown in Figure 9. Its almost rectangular nozzle harks back to a late first century B.C. design of Roman A.

;

7777777.

Fig. 9. Lamp related to the "Augustan" type, ca. the middle third of the 1st century A.D., from Samaria. From G. A. Reisner, Samaria, pl. 81w and Fig. 196, no. DIa.

lamps. The knobs on either side, shaped like little bow ties, are related to the voluted lug-handles which appear on many Hellenistic lamps. There is a tiny overflow hole at the edge of the discus between the filling-hole and the wick-hole, but it has no functional value. The lamp is crudely executed and in poor condition. The design on the discus is barely visible, but can be seen to consist of broad leaves and possibly some ribbands, all of which radiate from the filling-hole; it is probably a conventionalized representation of the winged thunderbolt. Both the central design and the lugs on either side are reminiscent of the winged sun-disk which was widely used in the ancient Near East. Lamps of a similar type, though more specifically Hellenistic in form and several decades earlier, have been found in coastal

20

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

Syria.32This specimencan hardlybe earlierthan the middle of the first

century. The northernpart of Palestinecontinuedto have the close ties with Lebanonand Syriawhich had existedfor centuries.These northernconnecOf tions can be seen in the lamp shown in Figure 10, found at Samaria.3" a with was covered which heavy originally well-levigatedgreenish-buffclay black slip, this lamp seemsto show the influenceof Augustanlampsin its nozzle. It also shows older Hellenistic influbroad, angularly-spatulated ences, such as the stylized volutes, the stiff little three-leafeddesignson either side, the rosetteat the back (barely visible in the photograph)and the lack of a decorateddiscus.This kind of lamp is unknownas a distinctive Palestiniantype, but has exact parallelsfrom some Hellenized cities in Syriaand Lebanon.It is almostsurelyan importfromthe north.

Fig. 10. Molded lamp of ca. the middle third of the 1st century A.D., from Samaria. Photograph courtesy of the Palestine Archaeological Museum, Jerusalem, Jordan.

By the time that lampsin the Augustanstyle were appearingin Palestine, Romanlamps had alreadyundergonemodification,largelyunder the influence of old Hellenisticelementsof lamp design. The broad,angular Augustannozzlehad largelybeen replacedby a curvednozzle, and handles had begun to be addedto some specimens.Decorativeelementshad begun to appearon the shouldersof some specimens.Lampsof this kind probably began to find their way into Palestinesoon after the first Augustanlamps appeared.They were used in greaterquantitiesthan Augustanlamps had been, but were neverextremelypopular.Ordinarilythey were madeof buff ware and were coatedwith a rich red to brownslip. Typical specimensare shown in Figure 11. The lamp on the left has a simplepetal designon the discus, a motif which is a variantof the old Hellenisticsunburstmotif. On the right is a typicalprofileof lampsof this kind. Like Augustanlamps found in Palestine,these specimenswere not importedfromRomebut were manufactured locallyor in Levantinecities. 32. For earlier and less debased examples of such lamps, see R. Stillwell, (ed.), Antioch 1I, fig. 77, Nos. 86-88. 33. This lamp was found in 1932 excavations, and bears an excavation number similar to others of that season's work, but was not published by Crowfoot in Samaria III; another lamp of the same type, of orange-buff ware with a red-orange slip, likewise does not appear in Crowfoot's publication. Both specimens are now in the Palestine Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem, Jordan.

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

21

~c~?I *

Fig. 11. Curved-nozzle lamps in Roman style, ca. the middle third of the 1st century A.D. Left: top view of a typical specimen, exact Palestinian provenance unknown. Photograph by R.H.S., used by permission of the White Fathers, St. Anne's Church, Jerusalem, Jordan. Right: profile of a typical specimen, exact Palestinian provenance unknown. The lamp is in a private collection. Photograph by R.H.S.

The lamp-mold of plaster from Beth Shan34 shown in Figure 12 is of the same type, but has provision for a handle in the sunken area at the top of the mold. The shoulder is decorated with a stylized egg-and-dartdesign (akin to the sunburst motif) as were many Roman lamps in the third quarter of the first century. The nozzle has two concentric circles, a feature

do.t~

WIP

Fig. 12. Lamp mold of plaster, ca. the middle third of the 1st century A.D., from Beth Shan. Photograph courtesy of The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania.

which is specifically Palestinian and contemporary with the similar rings on Herodian and fine molded lamps which we have discussed. The discus depicts a seated woman opening a wicker basket which is either a toilet box or cult object. The mystery cults sometimes used cistae as containers for the most sacred objects of the cult; it is possible, therefore, that the scene shows a priestess or initiate at the crucial moment of taking sacred objects from their receptacle. The mold shows neither the filling-hole nor the wick-hole; these were punched after the lamp was formed. One notes 34. In coastal Syria clay seems to have been standard material for lamp-molds; in Egypt, plaster was favored (see H. Goldman, ed., Tarsus I, p. 299). Palestinian preference was presumably for plaster.

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

22

(Vol. XXIX,

at the four corners of the mold indentations which held the corresponding bottom half of the lamp.35 Multiple-spout lamps in Roman or modified Roman style were undoubtedly well-known during this time. Usually much larger than ordinary specimens, they must have been relatively expensive. Rabbinic tradition mentions such lamps (Shabbat, 23b), which most often had two nozzles. The large two-spout specimen from Beth Shan shown in Figure 13 has a typically long nozzle which shows Hellenistic influence. On its discus is a bull, the symbol of Zeus and a chief sacrificial animal. Beth Shan, one of the great commercial and cosmopolitan Decapolis cities of Palestine in Roman times, was less under the influence of Judaism than were the towns

.r

It ..*. r ?? -r c~r ?- s

Fig.

13. Two-spout lamp in Roman style, ca. tle middle Beth Shan. Photograph courtesy of The University

third of the Ist century A.D., from of Pennsylvania. Museum, University

and villages of the central hill-country. It is possible, of course, that the user of this lamp was a Jew, since much of Hellenistic culture had long since been accepted by many upper-class Jews in Palestine; if he was, he either did not trouble himself about the design on the lamp or perhaps explained it as a representation of a sacrificial bull at the temple in Jerusalem. Elaborate lamps of this kind, capable of taking large wicks and throwing out considerableillumination, were probablyused in various pagan shrines; in Egypt, huge multiple-spout lamps of bronze were designed specifically for this purpose. There is usually a similarity of design between large, handsome terracottalamps and bronze lamps; indeed, the finer a clay 35. The most detailed that of F. Fremersdorf

of the process by which Roman lamps were manufactured is description in R6mnische Bildlampen. Many of these techniques were probably used by the distinctive Palestinian molded lamps which we earlier discussed.

the potters who manufactured

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

23

lamp is the more likely it is to be conservative in design and imitative of metal lamps. As for metal lamps themselves, evidence is almost completely lacking for the Herodian period. We must suppose that at least some people owned and used metal lamps, but Palestine probably had little that was comparable to the elegant bronze lamps which wealthy people of this time were using in, say, Alexandria or Rome. Throughout the Early Roman period various atypical lamps can be found, as is the case in every century. Householders sometimes fabricated crude lamps of their own; the Mishnah mentions the home-crafting of lamps (Beesh, 32a), but the practice was never widespread. Sometimes, too, householders would improvise a two-spout lamp by adding a wick to the filling-hole of a single-spout lamp, or even by filling a dish with oil and placing wicks around its rim (Shabbat, 23b). Archaeological evidence for such practices is scanty, however, and shows that most persons relied upon commercially made lamps. Lamps Between

the Two Jewish

Revolts

The history of Palestinian lamps during the sixty years between the two Jewish revolts can only be sketched, for closely-dated materials are not abundant. This lacuna is undoubtedly due in part to the fact that the victory of the Romans at the end of the First Revolt disrupted Palestinian life. For a time, fewer lamps were made and quality degenerated. With the passing years the quantity gradually increased, but only in lamps in the Roman style was there any fresh life. The Decapolitan and Nabataean cities of Transjordan, already considerably romanized and having largely escaped the disruption of the First Revolt, maintained a more lively tradition, but the history of the lamps of eastern Palestine must be reserved for some future study. Wheelmade Herodian lamps continued to be made throughout the decades between the two revolts. The design remained much the same as that which had evolved by the mid-first century, although considerable variation often crept into individual specimens. The handsome molded lamps of Palestinian design also continued to be manufactured throughout these years. Some specimens were fairly well made, but in general this tradition shows gradual degeneration. Decoration becomes more geometrical; the earlier floral motifs either disappear or become increasingly crude and stylized. These tendencies are illustrated in the two lamps from tombs at Marisa shown in Figure 14. The specimen on the left utilizes a modified Hellenistic sunburst or petal motif while the nozzle is left plain. The specimen on the right preserves the palm tree motif used in earlier decades

24

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

but has large spaces on the shoulder which lack any decoration at all. It is difficult to date these specimens precisely; their excavator suggests a midsecond century date,3"but on typological grounds a date before A.D. 135 seems likely.

;. ~:?? i; SLt;i'' I

Fig. 14. Lamps of ca. late 1st or early 2nd century A.D., from vicinity of Tell Sandahannah. From Archaeology, XVIII (1965), p. 220, used by permission.

A further deteriorationof this once-elegant kind of lamp can be seen in a broken specimen from the time of the Second Jewish Revolt, found in a cave in southern Palestine (Fig. 15). The lamp is poorly made and decorated in an unattractive manner. Old elements are present in the form of concentric circles, dots and a wreath, but they have been jumbled together awkwardly. The lamp originally had a handle which has broken away, taking with it a part of the shoulder.

Fig. 15. Lamp of ca. A.D. 130-135, from a cave in the Judaean hills. From Israel Exploration Journal, XI/1 (1961), pl. 8.E, used by permission.

Lamps in Roman style show an interesting modification during these decades. In Italy itself new designs had already begun to appear by A.D. 70. Influences of these developments found their way to Palestine, though not without an admixture of local elements. Figure 16 shows two typical specimens of this new kind of lamp. Most specimens are similar to that shown in the left, in which the design is simple and boldly executed. The long nozzle and the handle of earlier decades have disappeared. The Roman discus remains but, as here, it is frequently decorated with a simple petal design which is more Hellenistic than Roman. The specimen on the right 36. Letter from E. Oren, Nov. 5, 1965; cf. Archaeology, vol, XVIII (1965),

p. 220.

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

25

is of unusually high quality, though it does not compare favorably with the finest Roman discus lamps. The figure, that of the pagan sun-god Helios, attests the continuing associationof lamps with the sun; the radiating beams of light which crown the god's head are especially noteworthy. Both of these specimens have a red slip; the clay of such lamps is usually buff or reddish. Also to be noted are the stylized bowtie designs on the shoulders of both lamps, of the sort which we first encountered around the middle of the

,4d

Fig. 16. Lamps in Roman style, ca. late 1st and early 2nd centuries A.D. Left: specimen from Samaria. From Samaria-Sebaste III, fig. 88, no. 8, used by permission of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Right: specimen from the vicinity of Tell Sandahannah. From Archaeology, XVIII (1965), p. 220, used by permission.

first century. The old Hellenistic volutes have moved high up on the shoulder,flanking the nozzle; they no longer are an integralpart of the shape of the lamp but only a decorativeelement. Lampsof this kind are difficultto date;they seem to have appearedin the last decadesof the first centuryand continuedinto the second.By the turn of the secondcentury such lampsmay have becomemorenumerousthan any otherkind; for the first time in Palestine lamps of predominantlyRoman form became the dominanttype. In spite of the increasedromanizationof Palestine,no changeof lamp terminologyis likely to have occurred.Greek remainedthe chief internationallanguagein Palestinenot only during these decadesbut throughout Late Romantimesas well. Even in Romeitself the Greekwordlychnos -latinized as lychnus-remained the standardterm for "lamp"until imperial times,when the Latin word lucerna(from the root lzc-, akin to the Greek root lych-) began to come into popularuse.37The continueduse of Greekin connectionwith lampscan be seen on a numberof Palestinian lampsof this periodwhich bearGreeklettersor wordson theirbases.These as markingswere cut into the molds of lamp-basesby their manufacturers thus of and reveal that this kind were the trademarks, lamps frequently The letter A is the commonesttrademarkon productof lamp factories.38 these Palestinianlamps;obscureand even crypticsymbolsalso appear. 37. For a further discussion of terminology, see Walters, Ancient Pottery, vol. II, pp. 393-395. 38. See Walters' comments in Ancient Pottery, vol. II, pp. 423-429.

26

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

One of the more interesting lamps bearing an incised base is that from Beth Shan shown in Figure 17 which probably dates from the late first or early second century. On the center of the base appears a symbol which is found on other lamps at Beth Shan and on some specimens from regions to the north of Palestine. On either side of the hallmark is written the name ZENON in Greek.39 The name is unusually interesting because it was common in Lebanon and in regions of the Mediterranean where the Phoenician culture had been felt (Cyprus, Rhodes, Syria and elsewhere).40 The lamp manufacturer quite possibly was a Lebanese who sold his lamps to cities like Beth Shan in the surrounding regions.41 t~

~ra~,?j~ Fig. 17. Lamp with inscribed base, ca. first third of 2nd century A.D., from Beth Shan. Photographs courtesy of The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania.

Not all of these short-nozzle lamps were without handles; Figure 18 shows a specimen from about the first third of the second century in which the handle is a prominent element. Typically, however, it is no longer pierced. The discus, though broken, can be seen to have been undecorated, and probably had a relatively large filling-hole. Like most other shortnozzle lamps, this specimen has a red slip.

~

Fig. 18. Lamp of ca. first third of 2nd century A.D., from Beth Shan. Photograph courtesy of The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania. 39. In publishing this lamp, G. Fitzgerald, Beth-Shan Excavations, vol. III, pp. 7, 40, erroneously read the inscription as ZECHON. 40. Renan, Mission de Phinicie, (see index, s.v. Z6n6n), discusses the occurrences of this name known in his day and concludes that Z6non is a particularly Phoenician name. Modern evidence has not greatly altered the situation. 41. Interpretation of this name is complicated by the fact that a similar lamp at Beth Shan is inscribed ZOE, "life." One might suspect that the wish for "life" pertained to the funerary use of lamps, but it may be that the word is intended as a proper name.

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

1966, 1)

27

The growing popular acceptance of these Roman discus lamps probably presented a problem for more conservative Jews who remained suspicious of things Roman. While many rabbis went to considerable lengths in accepting romanization, others remained hostile. It may be this hostility which accounts for the statement in the Mishnah that the Palestinian rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus (active around A.D. 80-120) held that a lamp's fillinghole should be large enough for a small coin to drop through it (Kelim, 3.2). Since no coin was small enough to fall through the filling-hole of an ordinary Roman discus lamp, rabbi Eliezer seems to be opposed to all discus lamps. One is tempted to see in the lamp just discussed an attempt by the manufacturer to avoid offending conservative Jewish clients, but the simplicity of the design should probably be attributed primarily to the broader changes of style which lamps were undergoing during this period. With the Second Revolt and its disastrous outcome for the Jews of Palestine, lamp traditions of the Early Roman period almost ground to a halt. In the years after A.D. 135, the Herodian lamp would rarely appear again. The molded lamps of local design would continue, but in decreased quantity and quality. Lamps in the Roman style would survive, and indeed be widely used, but in increasingly degenerate forms. Not until the third century would lamp designs begin to take on new vigor which would ultimately lead to distinctive Byzantine forms. But that development lay in the future; now Palestinian lamps had come to the end of an era.

Wilson's WILLIAM

Arch F.

Duke University

Revisited

STINESPRING Divinity

School

In 1838, Edward Robinson, the famous American founder of biblical archaeology, observed in Jerusalem the fragment of an arch that has ever since borne his name. This fragment, jutting from the western wall of the temple area near the southwest corner, was immediately identified by Robinson as the beginning or springer of the first arch of several supporting the bridge built by Herod the Great to connect the temple area with the western part of the city across the then deep Tyropoeon Valley; Josephus records the existence of such a bridge.' Many books and maps still support this identification. 1. E. Robinson,

Biblical

War 2.16.3; 6.6.2.

Researches

in Palestine,

I, 287-8;

Josephus,

Antiquities

15.11.5;

Jewish

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

28

(Vol. XXIX,

In 1864, however, Charles Wilson, the British army engineer who was surveying Jerusalemwith a view to improving its water supply, brought to public notice another similar arch farther north, under the main west

10jr~

rA

i: 0'r vw '/•

lr

I

i~~~

r IWS

? f'

,•

?

Ob -vim..

"

j

ii.

,r

r

Fig. 19. Robinson's Arch as it appears today.

entrance to the temple area, now called the Gate of the Chain. The arch found by Wilson, since called Wilson's Arch, is now underground and difficult of access, whereas Robinson's Arch, once hidden by a few weeds

and briars, has long since been accessible to view. While Robinson's Arch is only a wretched fragment which merely hints of what it might have

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

29

been, Wilson'sArch is well preserved;in Wilson'sown words,"oneof the most perfectand magnificentremainsin Jerusalem."2 Soon after his discoveryof the arch, Wilson was hired by the newly organizedPalestineExplorationFund;but he was sent to surveyPalestine in generaland did little more work in Jerusalem.InsteadanotherBritish armyengineer,CharlesWarren,was engagedin November1866 to examine "the ruins and debrisof Jerus2lem." CaptainWarrenworkedthere almost continuouslyfrom near the beginningof 1867 to the springof 1870. His achievementswere notableand Warrenis probablystill the greatestname in Jerusalemresearch.His workat Wilson'sArch and nearbyis basic to a study of the topographyof ancientJerusalem.3 The top of Wilson'sArch lies aboutten feet below the streetin front of the Gate of the Chain. At this point the main east-weststreetof today is eighty feet above bedrock,as determinedby Warren.Underneaththe arch he found a thick concretefloor which had formeda part of a small water reservoirof early modern times; much plaster from this reservoir adheresto the sides of the arch. Warrenbrokethroughthe concretefloor and sank a shaft underthe east end of the arch.At a depth of twenty-four feet he came upon a mass of brokenmasonry,apparentlythe stones and voussoirs of an earlierarchat the sameplace.With greatdifficultyhe drove throughthis mass of stones and finally reachedbedrock.He also sank a shaft under the west end of the arch and dug aroundthe westernpier. Warrenalso discoveredthe CausewayVaults, the Secret Passage,and the MasonicHall, to use his own names.On January18, 1868,the explorer accidentallybrokeinto a vaultedrooma little west of Wilson'sArch.This provedto be the first of a seriesof vaultsextendingwestward,each with a low exit leading into the next room.There are two rows of roomsleading westwardside by side. Togetherthey are forty-fourand on2-halfor a foot and one-halffeet wider than Wilson'sArch, which is forty-threefeet wide and has a span of forty-twofeet. Warrentracedthe northernrow of roomsfor about 200 feet. When he startedto explorethe southernrow, he found it interruptedby a much largerchamberconstructedof finer masonry.This chamberlies at a lower level, giving evidence of a structureof earlierdate. Warren was an enthusiastic Mason and was receiving financial support from members of that

order, so he called his impressivenew find the Masonic Hall. He also found a long, vaultedcorridorrunningparallelto the two rows of underground rooms. This corridor, lying directly under the present-day cast2. C. Wilson and C. Warren, The Recovery of Jerusalem (1871),

p. 13.

3. See his final report in Warren and Conder, Survey of Western Palestine, Jerusalem (1884), pp. 118-216.

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

30

(Vol. XXIX,

west Street of the Chain, was dubbed the Secret Passage, because of the tradition related by a medieval Arab author that David had built such a passage all the way from the temple area to the Citadel on the western edge of the city. (David could not have done such a thing, but Herod might have.)

r"

•.'

Fig. 20. Probably the first and only picture of Wilson's Arch to appear in a book. The arch itself is in the upper foreground; the vaults behind are much later. From an engraving by a Mr. Simpson, appearing in the Illustrated London News, it was altered slightand reproduced ly by Warren himself and Survey ground Jerusalem (1876),

view looks southward.

Underin The Recovery of Jerusalem (1871), The Palestine: Jerusalem (1884). of Western

As already stated, Robinson had hastily identified the fragment of the arch that bears his name with the bridge over the Tyropoeon Valley. Having seen Wilson's Arch, Warren doubted this identification and decided on excavation near Robinson's Arch. He sank vertical shafts and ran horizontal galleries, but found no real evidence of an earlier arch below, as he had below Wilson's Arch; nor did he find evidence of other arches that might have formed a series that would support a bridge. Warren concluded that Robinson's Arch in its time supported some unrecorded structure projecting a short distance westward from the temple area, near the southern end. To quote his own words: " ... if this was not the bridge stretching across the valley, and it is not, where was that bridge? It could be no other than that at Wilson's Arch."' 4. Underground Jerusalem (1876), ambiguous,

but his conclusion

p. 316. Warren's presentation of the evidence is sometimes

in this case is clear.

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

1966, 1)

31

This would seem a simple solution of the matter for Warren, but such was not the case. Though Warren believed that the bridge mentioned by Josephus was located at the site of Wilson's Arch, he seemingly could not believe that the arch as it now stands could have been a part of that bridge. Perhaps he felt that it was just too well preserved to be of such an early date, especially in consideration of the ruined state of Robinson's Arch. At any rate, he assumed reconstructionto account for its present state, and said (1871) that the date was "not earlier than the fifth or sixth century." Later (1876) he reduced this to "probably of the fourth or fifth century."5 Wilson, the discoverer, had first said that his arch was of the same date as the Wailing Wall, that is, probably Herodian.6 Later, he published a commentaryon Warren's work, interpreting Warren's opinion as referring to a rebuilding by Constantine (reigned 324-337) or Justinian (reigned 527-565). He expressed doubt about the dating of Warren without offering a clear opinion of his own.7 Simons, in his book on Jerus2lem, merely says vaguely that the present Wilson's Arch is "of Roman or Byzantine date.'"8 Vincent, however, dares to be a little more specific and suggests that Wilson's Arch as it now stands may belong to the reconstruction of the city by Hadrian in the 2nd century.9 This opinion makes more sense, for the Christian emperors were not much concerned with the temple area; they were interested in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It must be remembered, however, that no writers since Wilson and Warren, up to now, have seen Wilson's Arch, and their conclusions are based only on what they can learn from the writings of Wilson and Warren and on a growing knowledge of external historical events. What about the date of the Causeway Vaults? Here the problem is more complicated. The vaults proper, that is, the roofs of the rooms, are more or less on a level with the vault of Wilson's Arch, though they show signs of rebuilding. Warren thought he detected evidences of four different periods and he was frankly puzzled. He planned to investigate further, but was prevented, as we shall see. The same might be said of the Secret Passage, except that there is no evidence of so many periods here. As to the Masonic Hall, Warren noted that it lies at a lower level than any other of the rooms. He was greatly impressed by the quality of 5. Recovery of Jerusalem, p. 64; Underground the shape of the voussoirs," but does not really 6. Ordnance

Survey

7. Palestine

Exploration

8. J. Simons, 9. H.

Vincent,

of Jerusalem

Jerusalem Jirusalem

Fund,

(1865), Quarterly

p. 28; Recovery Statement,

in the Old Testament de l'Ancien

Jerusalem, p. 369. Warren argues explain what he means by this.

Testament

(1952),

1880,

of Jerusalem, pp.

22,

p. 13.

28.

p. 427.

(1954-56),

pp. 61,

552.

mainly

"from

32

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

its construction and he considered it the oldest piece of masonry in Jerusalem, with the exception of certain parts of the wall around the temple area, which he wrongly thought to be Solomonic. As a matter of fact, because of its depth, the Masonic Hall may be the earliest structure in the vicinity. Wilson saw this in his commentary of 1880 and suggested a Maccabean date; and there the matter rests at the present time, except for the additional opinion of Vincent (1954) that the Masonic Hall is the most remarkableedifice in all this complex.'0

Ci --?m c, ?~

P

~??

~i? ~, ??1, C 01~9SEt~,. * ~c~l............................:~.. ,. ha ~t~-~d~~llL It; -% t- `

Y

(~

11 ~ ET

3;

`f; ?; ~?(rtl 'I.1C ;:E-tT~I 3~';t:'"7? ?".. I ~4~ ~h~CI7~C~

4

\\

1)

i

Y? ?."

1

~i ~

?

i;

C

"

~~kr? sl

3

:i.::

4, c -C

,?

~ ?k~i

Y ..?

r

iC1

,i: *j;p~

~f~? 6~r

,iY

~~114~ -~t;r~ ?z

.I ?,:?

* . 2.:

ar; ~'-t~ * ~Z"+'~"~

~ " IPf~d~

Fig. 21. The the that east

'OI*-,

i?

r re

,

t-

under side of Wilson's Arch, looking north. Note the eastern shaft of Warren on right and the wall of a cistern which blocks the north portion of the arch, so only 27 feet of the total width of 43 feet can be seen. The span of the arch from to west is 42 feet.

Warren knew that more excavation and more study were needed; but he had been having trouble with the Pasha, or district governor, of Jerusalem, the official representative of the Turkish government in the area. Though Warren had a vizierial letter from the Turkish government, the Pasha was afraid that the archaeologist would excavate under the temple area itself and thus stir up Muslim religious sensitivities so as to unleash a bloody riot or other trouble that would endanger his hold on a lucrative political position. So, in the summer of 1868, while Warren was 10. Ibid., p. 59.

1966, 1)

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

33

temporarilyaway, the Pasha had the easy entrance, which the archaeologist had opened, blocked up with solid masonry; and he issued an order forbidding further work in the area. Warren commented that they "were thus stopped in the midst of the solution of a most intricate problem.1"Wilson commented in 1880: "The shafts within the vaults have never been closed, but it may be many years before any one is able to resume the excavations.12 M1\any years indeed, for in 1952 Simons complained: "Presumably the Pasha's wall is still there, waiting to be removed by a yet greater diplomat than Charles Warren."13 I spent my sabbatical leave of 1963 at the American School in Jerusalem, being in residence from about the first of March to the middle of July. My special project was a study of the temple area, following up previous studies made in the preparation of the article, "Temple, Jerusalem," published in the fourth volume of the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (1962). At that time, I came to have the opportunity to lead a party consisting of members of the Jordan Department of Antiquities and of the American School of Oriental Research to a rediscoveryof Wilson's Arch, but it xwasnot possible to follow up this stroke of good fortune before having to return to the United States. As the result of a public lecture at Duke University, subsequently published in The Duke Divinity School Review, of Spring 1%64,under the title "Temple Research in Jerusalem," I was able to obtain a small grant from the Research Council of Duke University to return to Jerusalem in the summer of 1965 to investigate the possibility of further study of Wilson's Arch. Since I had worked with the Department of Antiquities previously, this agency was the first to b2 approached,after arrival late in June. It appeared that the Department had wished to continue work in the vicinity of the arch, with a view to excavation and the creation of a tourist attraction. They had attempted further exploration after my departure, but had been asked to discontinue by the Awqaf, the Muslim religious foundation that controls the temple area and its environs. The Department had no desire to oppose the wishes of the religious authorities, and I was advised to go in person to the Awqaf. This was done. In view of the Department's experience, I stressed that I did not wish to excavate nor to open anything to the public; I wished 11. Underground Jerusalem, p. 395. 12. Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1880, p. 27. 13. Jerusalem in the Old Testament, p. 365.

34

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

only to explore and to photograph. I also tried to make clear my respect for the Muslim religion and my regard for the sanctity of the temple area as it is today. For these or other reasons, after more than a month of negotiation, the coveted permission and promise of co-operationwere received, and the first observation was made on the 28th of July. Two days later I came down with a high fever, a headache in the frontal sinuses, a copiously running nose, and a sore throat. In my excitement and joy at gaining the coveted entrance, I had forgotten health precautions, especially with regard 7

I

i

'!, ,.

r

;

, .\

.....?:??.i

Fig. 22. Close-up view of the east side. Note that it is difficult to see any break in the style or smootaness of masonry that would give evidence of reconstruction. The change from drafted (bordered) to undrafted blocks would seem to indicate only that the arch becomes independent of the wall. The fourth course has a series of rectangular indentations, probably to receive timbers for supporting the arch during the process of construction.

to the fine, old dust found in the subterraneanchambers west of the arch. I should have known better, for Wilson and Warren nearly a century ago had said enough about dust and sewage to serve as a warning. An observer of those days wrote: "In the city itself the soil is so saturated with the impurities of past generations that any disturbance of the ground . . . invariably engenders malignant fevers. Captain WVarren. . suffered terribly from this cause."'4 After this first trip I was also covered with 14. Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1880, p. 111.

35

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

1966, 1)

flea bites. Nevertheless, following the treatment and advice of Dr. Kalbian, an excellent physician and worthy successor to Dr. Canaan, I was soon fit again and I covered myself with flea powder and wore a mask for protectionagainst the dust when continuing the investigations.

1,,0 If110O ANTONIA

......

10, 110MfTft

0

O

,oo

10

o

•o

Birket Isrl'l

........

.... No?th

West

.......

!. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . . .. . .

.. . . .. . .

Gat

3 " o: 0mferi

z

Call

S 1-

Mont o

To

i

7

0 (

;

b-

:'

O a.

R•,•

C.

....n~. :~? .i?

....

C-:

..

fte

tle

G;:n "'9

Lt/

_o

v

,o Co.,,, C G !Court of tih e

I

. .. ntl t.ur !. . Ces

L:~l

r

toCourt Pasuges .......... .........J?????? ??? 11 I H.1dah Gate Hukiih G1te

A,,',

Fig. 23. Plan of Herod's temple, showing relative positions of Robinson's Arch, Wilson's Arch, and

other

structures.

From

Interpreter's

Dictionary

of Abingdon Press and J. Gabalda et Cie.

of the Bible,

R-Z, p. 556,

courtesy

Considering the limited time still at my disposal, it seemed best to concentrate on observing and photographing Wilson's Arch itself, leaving the so-called Masonic Hall and other rooms, vaults, and structures to the west for future study. Thus have been acquired the first photographs of Wilson's Arch ever taken, so far as I am aware.'5 As a result of the observations, I am also tentatively challenging the current view that the al15. The engraving of Simpson and Warren was of course not from a photograph, but from observation and memory. Photography in totally dark places was probably not possible at that time. The caption "Wilson's Arch" beside a photograph in a recent book seems to be in error, for the details of this picture bear no resemblance to these of the arch in question.

36

THE BIBLICALARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. XXIX,

most perfect condition of Wilson's Arch, in contrast to that of Robinson, is due to reconstructionin the 6th, or the 5th, or the 4th, or the 2nd century; and I am daring to support Wilson's first timid opinion by proposing that we have here one span of the bridge as originally built by Herod beginning about 20 B.C. to connect the temple area with the western part of Jerusalem, replacing a smaller Maccabean bridge at the same location,16 To be sure, a more careful study of the masonry must be made before firm conclusions can be reached. It is hoped that further investigation can be made during the coming summer. A new series of excavations would be most helpful, though such a possibility seems remote at the present time.17 16. Josephus, Antiquities 14.4.2; Jewish War 1.7.2. 17. The photographs of the arch were taken by Mr. Najeeb Albina, official photographer of the Palestine Archaeological Museum, whose services on this project were graciously authorized by Mr. Yusuf Saad, Curator of the Museum. A deep debt of gratitude is owed to the Honorable Aref el-Aref, former mayor of Jerusalem, for introducing the writer to leading members of the Awqaf, and to Sheikh Jameel el-Khateeb, Chairman of the Commission on Islamic Learning in Jerusalem, for his generous permission for the investigation to be made, and his constant interest in it.

Concerning an American Schools Publication When the exhibit of Dead Sea Scrolls from Jordan was in the United States in 1964-65, a first-ratecatalogue of the exhibition was drawn together by G. W. Van Beek and Frank M. Cross, Jr., and published for the American Schools by the University of California. It is a 32-page booklet in squarish format, entitled Scrolls from the Wilderness of the Dead Sea, Cross has written the lead article, in which he describes the Qumran scrolls and other less publicized manuscript discoveries made in the past two decades, all of which have been reported in the BA. Plates showing manuscriptsand implements included in the exhibition follow, and then translations of the texts preparedby men on the team which is preparingthe publications. This is more than a museum catalogue; it is a spiffy little introduction to the whole exciting story. At a cost of $1.00, it is available from the McCormick Cooperative Book Store, 800 W. Belden Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60614, or from the Book Store, San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, California 94960. --EFC