Archeology Archives | Page 3 of 5

Church of the Annunciation

The Church of the Annunciation, sometimes referred to as the Basilica of the Annunciation, is a Catholic church in Nazareth, in northern Israel. It was established over what Catholic tradition holds to be the site of the house of the Virgin Mary, and where the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, Jesus – an event known as the Annunciation.

Another tradition, based on the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James, holds that this event commenced while Mary was drawing water from a local spring in Nazareth, and the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation was erected at that alternate site.

Under Canon Law, the church enjoys the status of a minor basilica. A historically significant site, considered sacred within some circles of Christianity, particularly Catholicism, the basilica attracts many Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox Christian visitors every year.

Mary’s Well

Mary’s Well is the place where, according to Catholic tradition, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary announcing that she would bear the Son of God. The spring and its water are considered holy by both Muslims and Christians, and earlier generations attributed unusual healing properties to it.

The spring begins in a cave thirty meters north of the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. Originally, the public well was located next to the small pool that is now inside the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. After the church was established, local people were barred from using the well and a replacement was built in the shape of a public water trough, to which the water was channeled from the church. The water was also used by farmers to irrigate their fields.

For many centuries the public water trough was a meeting place for the city’s residents and passers-by. Older residents recall it as being one of the most vibrant places in Nazareth. Mary’s Well is a site of religious, historical and cultural importance; the water trough and the large tree next to it have become the city’s symbol and are used as the City Council’s logo.

Nazareth Village

Set on the outskirts of old Nazareth, the Nazareth Village is built on ancient agricultural land that boasts the area’s last remaining first-century wine press. The original farm has been restored with its ancient wine press, terraces, irrigation system and stone quarry, and exact replicas of first-century houses, a synagogue, a watchtower, mikveh and olive presses have been carefully constructed using the original building methods and materials.

Together, these elements form the Nazareth Village, an authentic first-century farm and archaeologically accurate re-creation of the hometown of Jesus with real ties to the life and time of His friends, family and fellow Nazarenes. Nazareth Village is an open-air museum in Nazareth, Israel, that reconstructs and reenacts village life in the Galilee in the time of Jesus.

The village features houses, terraced fields, wine and olive presses all built to resemble those that would have been in a Galilee village in the 1st century. Muslim and Christian living history enactors dress in period costume and show visitors how farm, domestic, and craft work was performed two thousand years ago.

Pilgrims to the Holy Land typically only see the dead stones of ancient ruins, but the geographical and cultural nuances of Jesus’ teaching are often crucial to understanding their full meaning. At Nazareth Village, bible scenes are brought to life by “villagers” who populate the farm and houses, living and working with the same type of clothing, pottery, tools and methods that Mary and Jesus would have used. Gifted and knowledgeable guides lead visitors through a living representation of the parables of Jesus within their original context before offering the opportunity to seal the experience with an authentic biblical meal.

As part of the Nazareth Trust, which runs the nearby Nazareth Hospital, Nazareth Village is a not-for-profit organisation that covers most operations through entrance fees and gift shop sales. However, it welcomes contributions to cover programmes for children, biblical and archaeology courses, and especially the ongoing preservation and development of the Nazareth Village site.

Caesarea Underwater Archaelological Park

Caesarea Underwater Archaelological Park is the first Underwater Archaeological Park in Israel and around the world! The park was built by researchers from the University of Haifa together with the Caesarea Development Company and was opened the park in 2006. The underwater park reveals to its divers Herod’s ancient building techniques of his renowned port the rehabilitation efforts made after it sunk and the various shipwrecks which are found around this area. This stunning underwater archaeological park teaches both amateurs and professionals alike about the techniques Herod used to construct the ancient ports and about later attempts to restore the port after it began to sink. The park is designed for both snorkelers and more advanced scuba divers so that all can marvel at the ingenuity of the ancient engineers.

The entire area of the the sunken port’s remains is approx. 50 acres (200,000 sq. m), including docks, warehouses, boardwalks, beacons, pools, wave breakers, loading grounds, storage places, the old ports promenade and even its lighthouse. At the bottom of the port all the shipwrecks are found and even one of the “maapilim” shipwrecks is buried at the bottom of the sea here. The dive at the park is conducted by professional instructors who make this a unique and unforgettable diving adventure.

Description by Israel and You

The Chagall Windows

The twelve stained glass windows, which Marc Chagall created for the synagogue and donated to Hadassah in 1962 represent the unique characteristics, attributes, professions and strengths of the twelve sons of the biblical patriarch Jacob. Marc Chagall’s main inspiration is derived from the Bible, particularly Jacob’s blessings to his twelve sons and Moses’ words to the twelve tribes.

The colorful light that emanates from the twelve stained glass windows bathes the Abbell Synagogue at the Hadassah University Medical Center in a special glow. The sun filters through the brilliant hues of the stained glass capturing their radiance. Even in the misty haze of a cloudy day, Chagall’s genius transforms time and space.

The tour of the Hadassah Heritage Center and the Chagall Windows is the best way to discover one of the most famous and splendid works of Marc Chagall and the incredible humane work of the Hadassah organization throughout the past 100 years.

Abraham’s Well

Abraham’s Well is a historical water well in Be’er Sheva, Israel, associated with the biblical narrative of Abraham. Its structure houses the archaeology museum of Be’er Sheva and is located near the Old City of Be’er Sheva. According to the Hebrew Bible, Abraham’s well was seized by Abimelech’s men, and Isaac’s servants also dug a well at Be’er Sheva.

Image attribution:
Abrahams Well, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Ramat HaNadiv

At the southern end of Mount Carmel, between Zikhron Ya’akov and Binyamina, lies Ramat Hanadiv – Gardens and Nature Park – over an area of about 450 hectares, dedicated to the memory of Baron Edmond de Rothschild. At the heart of the Memorial Gardens buried the Baron and his wife. The contrast between the meticulous Gardens and the Mediterranean Nature Park around them, is one of the wonderers of Ramat Handiv.

Far beyond its value as a geographical site, Ramat Hanadiv plays a leading role in the management of natural and cultural resources based on sustainable interactions between man, nature and the environment, and encourages understanding and appreciation of this ideal. To fulfil this mission, we invest great effort in innovative management, scientific research, environmental education, and inherent link between humanity and the environment, particularly as it concerns communities.

The Memorial Gardens invite the guests into a place of rare tranquility. Visitors may stroll the pathways among the exquisitely landscaped gardens and breathe their fragrance throughout the year. A gracious combination of European formality and Mediterranean-style vegetation, the Gardens reflect the Baron de Rothschild’s legacy of dignity and modesty. Along the paths visitors can view the Nature Park and its characteristic Mediterranean scenery.

You are invited to enjoy the rich range of activities that take place in Ramat Hanadiv: to find out the story of “The known Benefactor”‘, to stroll among the flowers in the Memorial Gardens; or to take a walk out to the Nature Park, where the past reflected in the archeological sites, the present shown in the flora and fauna, and the future realize according to the vision of Ramat Hanadiv

Ramat Hanadiv is a living memorial to Baron Edmond de Rothschild, operating for the benefit of the Israeli public as a whole and for generations to come.Ramat Hanadiv plays a leading role in the management of natural and cultural resources based on sustainable interactions between man, nature and the environment, and encourages understanding and appreciation of this ideal.

Yitzar Hirschfeld has carried out archaeological digs in Ramat Hanadiv over a period of 14 years. The excavations at Horvat ‘Aqav and Horvat Eleq, has unearthed remains from three periods: a small Phoenician shrine, a Herodian estate manor and a Byzantine period villa. It has been hypothesized that there was a spread of malarial mosquitoes in Ramat Hanadiv during the late Byzantine period.

Citadel of Acre

The current building which constitutes the citadel of Acre is an Ottoman fortification, built on the foundation of the citadel of the Knights Hospitaller. The citadel was part of the city’s defensive formation, reinforcing the northern wall. During the 20th century the citadel was used mainly as Acre Prison and as the site for a gallows. During the Palestinian mandate period, activists of Arab nationalist and the Jewish Zionist movements were held prisoner there; some were executed there.

Image Attribution:
איציק מוזן, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons;
israeltourism from Israel, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons;
Steve Slep from Nope, The World, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons;
Heritage Conservation Accre and Surrounding Pikiwiki Israel, CC BY 2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons;
Lev.Tsimbler, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Old City of Acre

Acre’s Old City is a historic walled port-city designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It has been a place of continuous settlement from the Phoenician period and today, the city contains characteristics of a fortified town dating from the Ottoman 18th and 19th centuries, with typical urban components such as the citadel, mosques, khans and baths. The remains of when the Crusaders inhabited the region, which was between the years 1104 and 1291, remain intact, both above and below today’s street level.

Since the 1990s, large-scale archaeological excavations have been undertaken and efforts are being made to preserve ancient sites. In 2009, renovations were planned for Khan al-Umdan, the “Inn of the Columns,” the largest of several Ottoman inns still standing in Acre. It was built near the port at the end of the 18th century by Jazzar Pasha. Merchants who arrived at the port would unload their wares on the first floor and sleep in lodgings on the second floor. In 1906, a clock tower was added over the main entrance marking the 25th anniversary of the reign of the Turkish sultan, Abdul Hamid II.

See the highlights of Acre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZXQTRUD29g

Templars Tunnels

The Templars were a military-monastic order who – in the name of the pope – aided pilgrims coming from Europe to visit the holy sites of the Land of Israel.

They first settled in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount, hence their name, “the Templars”, the guardians of the Temple. Following the conquest of Jerusalem by Salah Al-Din in 1187, the Templars made their home in Akko and began to build their quarter in the City’s southwest section.

Here, at the western edge of the tunnel is where the main fortress of the Templar order was built. “The Templar Fortress was the strongest one in the city and, for the most part, it abutted the sea line. As a strong fortress, its entrance was protected by two powerful towers with 28-foot thick walls. Two smaller towers were built on either side of the towers and each tower was topped by a gilded lion” (as described by a Templar who lived in Akko during the siege of 1291).

The tunnel is 150 meters long and it extends from the Templars fortress in the west to the city’s port in the east. It crosses the Pisan quarter and, in the past, served as a strategic underground passageway that connected the palace to the port. The lower part of the tunnel is carved in the natural stone and its upper part is made of hewn stones covered with a semi-barreled dome. The tunnel was discovered in 1994. The Akko Development Company, in collaboration with the Antiquities Authority, cleared away the dirt and made the tunnel available to visitors. The tunnel’s western section was opened to the public at large in August 1999. From 1999 to 2007, the Akko Development Company continued to expose and rehabilitate the eastern section of the tunnel and in 2007, the entire length of the tunnel was made available to the public (the site is accessible).

Photo attribution:
Ricardo Tulio Gandelman from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Site Tag: Archeology