Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., June 23, 2009 Tamuz 1, 5769 | | Israel Time: 02:27 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Focus U.S.A. Travel Week's End Anglo File
Share |
Discovery of giant underground quarry in Jordan Valley may rock archaeological thinking
By Ran Shapira

A spectacular underground quarry has recently been discovered in the Jordan Valley north of Jericho, which archaeologists believe may have marked a biblical site sacred to ancient Christians.

The large cave was discovered by Prof. Adam Zertal and a team from the University of Haifa which has been conducting a survey of the region since 1978. "When we reached the entrance to the cave, two Bedouin approached us and warned us not to go in, because it was cursed and inhabited by wolves and hyenas," Zertal said yesterday from the site.
Advertisement

They entered anyway, discovering a ceiling supported by 22 gigantic columns on which various symbols were carved, including 31 crosses, a possible wheel of the Zodiac and a Roman legionary symbol. The columns also had niches for the placement of oil lamps and holes that apparently served as hitching posts.

Zertal says their working theory is that the site is Galgala, biblical Gilgal, mentioned on the sixth-century Madaba mosaic map. The cave, buried 10 meters underground, is about 100 meters long, 40 meters wide and 4 meters high, is the largest artificial cave so far discovered in Israel.

Potsherds found in the cave and the carvings on the columns led Zertal to date the first quarrying of the cave to around the beginning of the Common Era. It was used mainly as a quarry for 400 to 500 years," but other finds give the impression it was used for other purposes, perhaps a monastery or even a hiding place," Zertal said.

Zertal said scholars wondered why people would dig a quarry underground considering the effort needed to just to pull the stones out of the ground.

A possible answer may be in the famous Madaba Map of ancient Palestine, found in Jordan. In it, a place named Galgala is marked and an accompanying Greek word meaning "12 stones." The map also depicts a church near the site. Archaeologists say they have found two ancient churches near the cave.

According to Zertal, scholars had always assumed that "12 stones" refered to the biblical story of the 12 stones the Israelites set up at Gilgal after they crossed the Jordan. However, the discovery of the quarried cave may mean the reference was to a quarry established where the Byzantines identified Gilgal. Zertal explains that in antiquity sanctuaries were built out of stones from sacred places.

If the Byzantines identified the site as biblical Gilgal, it would have been considered sacred and quarrying would have remained underground to preserve it.
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Twitter is not a shield
If a real crackdown comes, it will take more than social networking to free Iran.
Why counter-protest?
Gay-lesbian synagogue in New York turns hate rally into fundraising event.
Special Offers
Advertisement
hotel Jerusalem
David Citadel Hotel, come stay at the finest of Jerusalem hotels.
ISRAEL ARMY SURPLUS STORE
IDF insignia,Uniforms, Paladium Boots Watches, Israel Army T-shirts & Collectibles
Dead Sea Skin Care
Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off!
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
23:14 Iran authorities ban mourning for riots victim
21:18 ANALYSIS / Twitter won't make Iran protesters bulletproof
12:09 Netanyahu: Change in Iran could bring peaceful Israel ties
20:48 Outpost Watch: Obama's future minefield - and Netanyahu's
14:17 Iran considers expelling Western diplomats
19:22 Residents of Polish town try to save 'Hitler's tree'
22:56 Updated: Iran interactive - images and Tweets from the streets
20:58 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel
17:59 Palestinian PM sets 2-year target for statehood
23:46 Netanyahu: I will make Gilad Shalit's return a personal responsibility
14:37 ANALYSIS / Even the CIA gets its Iran updates via Twitter
09:26 Israeli woman denied social benefits for visiting Palestinian husband
23:45 Crime boss Abutbul sentenced to 13 years behind bars
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Israel 2009 election results | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved