End of the Year - Just News

So much of what I read or view or hear in the news I simply ignore. Very little affects me directly, and even when it does, I find I can't do much about it. But then I encounter that which either gladdens or saddens and decide it's worth repeating. What follows are just a couple of news items that struck me in these final days of 2021. 

Richard Marcinko, R.I.P.  A truly remarkable man, Dick Marcinko left this world on Christmas Day at the age of 81. I am certain that a lot of people in present-day America did not like Dick Marcinko. In fact, I suspect he was (and still is) quietly hated by many of our military's senior leadership, much of the media, politicians of both sides, and certainly by the "woke" crowd that hates everything American. Dick, you see, was a full-blown, 100%, all-American, warrior. He despised those who despised America and devoted much of his life to protecting this country from the very worst of these. If he had one major fault, he was perhaps too much of a warrior, the kind of man who tended to ignore politically inspired "rules of engagement" when it came to both training and real warfare.

A Pennsylvania native, Dick enlisted in the Navy at 18 and eventually earned a commission. He held a B.A. in international relations from Auburn and a M.A. in political science from the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. In fact, that's where I met Dick, as I made my own way through the school's postgraduate degree program. As I recall, we first met at the bar in the Officers Club. When he heard I was a helicopter pilot, he spent a half-hour questioning and instructing me on how helicopters could be best used to support special operators. Of course, he was a Navy SEAL and had spent some serious, heroic, almost legendary time in Vietnam. Anyway, that bar-stool meeting was the first of two rather brief encounters with this man. I never ran into him again, although I did exchange a couple of emails with him maybe ten years ago. 

The above photos show Dick as I knew him (center) as rogue warrior (left) and as long retired hero (right).

Perhaps Dick's greatest accomplishment was the establishment of SEAL Team Six. At the time the Navy had only two SEAL teams, but Dick thought it would confuse the Soviets, causing them to invest time and effort looking for non-existent teams three, four, and five. SEAL Team Six was designed to be the Navy's top counterterrorism unit and Dick commanded the unit during its first three years, from 1980 to 1983. 

Later he was given the task of testing the Navy's ability to detect and withstand terrorist infiltration at its most secure bases. His unit, called Red Cell, was composed of a handful of SEALS and a Recon Marine, but they were remarkably successful penetrating target bases and commands. This work and Red Cell's somewhat questionable tactics (not unlike the tactics terrorists would use) identified serious weaknesses in many commands. It also made Dick some powerful enemies within the Department of Defense, among them my first Commanding Officer, by then a Vice Admiral. He has since died, so I won't mention his name, but will say he always seemed to care more about his own career than the welfare of those under his command. After Dick retired as a Commander in 1989, he was charged with defrauding the federal government, eventually convicted, and served 15 months in federal prison. I've always believed Dick was railroaded because he made so many senior officers look absolutely foolish and incompetent. Here's a link to a request for a presidential pardon. It's worth reading: Petition: Presidential Pardon for Commander Richard Marcinko

None of this slowed Dick down, and as a civilian he wrote many best sellers, including his autobiography and several novels. He was also CEO of a private security firm, Red Cell International. In 2011, just a few weeks after Osama bin Laden was killed by SEAL Team Six, Dick was honored at an Alabama Sports Festival in Birmingham and answered a few questions. He gave some interesting responses: Marcinko Answers Questions

Despite Dick's faults, I salute him and thank him for all he did for this country.

The Perils of Nationalized Healthcare. Here's a horrible story that clearly depicts what a nation can expect once it turns its healthcare over to government bureaucrats and fiscal freaks whose primary concern has little to do with actual healthcare. It offers us a clear example of the culture of death in action. 

During the pandemic, the National Health Service (NHS) of the United Kingdom attempted to give special needs children, including those with learning disabilities, do not resuscitate notices (DNRs). Adults with learning disabilities and mental illnesses had also received such notices. DNRs tell healthcare workers to withhold special treatment that would keep an ill patient alive. Most often it's the elderly or those suffering from terminal diseases who will sign a DNR. But in the UK, the NHS policy states: "You must be told that a DNR-CPR form will be/has been completed for you, but a doctor does not need your consent." 

Isn't that wonderfully, bureaucratically deadly. Of course, applying DNRs to children with learning disabilities during a pandemic would make things a lot easier (and less costly) for the NHS. If they get COVID, forget the therapeutics and simply let them die. And as several parents discovered, when their children with learning disabilities were asked if they wanted a DNR, most children had no idea what it meant and accepted it. The lesson for us all: If we ultimately opt for government-run healthcare, this is what we can expect to encounter.

Archaeologists Stunned: Ancients Were Smarter Than They thought. I've always been amazed by archaeologists, historians, theologians, and other certifiably intelligent folks who seem to believe that today's human beings are much more intelligent than those who came before. It's really a form of temporal bias or prejudice resulting, I suppose, from scientific and technological advances that result from the advance of knowledge. They seem to think these advances somehow appeared spontaneously in modern times and did not result from the dedicated efforts of many very bright people of the past who built on the work of their predecessors over the centuries.

Yesterday I read an article describing the surprise of archaeologists who finally realized the meaning of a Babylonian artifact, known as Plimpton 322. First unearthed in 1894, it was sold to a collector, and later (in the 1930s) given to Columbia University. In 1945 researchers realized it contained what are called Pythagorean Triples, but then everyone simply forgot about it. This year, when an Australian scholar, Dr. Daniel Mansfield, was given access he quickly realized the importance of the artifact. In his words it provided "Evidence ancient Babylonians were far more advanced than we thought." He went on to describe it as the "most interesting, most sophisticated mathematical document from the ancient world."

Yes, indeed, those ancients were actually pretty bright, and it seems the Mesopotamians had a surprisingly sophisticated understanding of Pythagorean Triples. The Babylonians, then, understood the geometry of right triangles and rectangles a thousand years before the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras came up with his theorem in the 5th-century B.C. The artifact, probably used as a device to assist in the art of surveying, shows that the ancients were avid appliers of science and mathematics. It makes us wonder how many similar advances were made by the ancients, but will never be known.

I've heard architects denigrate the architectural wonders of the ancient world, calling them primitive constructions. Such comments always lead me to question how many modern buildings, like the pyramids of ancient Egypt, will still be standing after 4,000 years. In the same way I find the plays of Shakespeare, the poetry of the Psalms, or the novels of Jane Austen far better than today's imitators. Too often today so-called educators excise the past from the education of the young, depriving them of the knowledge and wisdom of those who came before us.  As Isaac Newton wisely stated, "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

Happy New Year.

Another Archaeology Update

If you're among the select few who actually read this blog, you'll know I've long had an interest in things archaeological. I'm certainly no expert, not even a knowledgeable amateur, but I do try to stay abreast of what's happening in this fascinating field of study. Science and technology have provided today's archaeologist with tools undreamed of just a few years ago. The result has been a remarkable expansion of our knowledge of ancient civilizations and the societies that formed them.

I'm especially interested in what is often labeled "Biblical Archaeology", that branch of the science that relates to the events described in Sacred Scripture. Of course, any good archaeologist doesn't set out to "prove" the accuracy of Sacred Scripture; rather, he tries to uncover the truth in the form of objective facts, and then based on these hard facts share with us how our ancient ancestors lived, worked, prayed, and died. Interestingly, recent findings uncovered by archaeology, palaeography, and textual philology seem increasingly to support the truth of Sacred Scripture.

I'm also intrigued by those discoveries that bring the ancient world to light and often demonstrate that the ancients were far less primitive than previously thought. I'm always pleased when the temporal bigotry that colors the thinking of today's progressives is exposed for what it is, a blind prejudice that assumes we are smarter and wiser than those who preceded us. Indeed, looking at the chaos, brutality and global destruction that typifies much of our recent history, one can make a pretty good case that we have devolved and are far less wise than many of our ancient ancestors. In itself, this is a good reason to study the ancients, how they lived and what they believed. Maybe we'll actually learn from them.

Although we moderns certainly view the world very differently from the ancients, when it comes to our interpersonal relationships we are remarkably unchanged. As a student of Sacred Scripture I find the manifestations of human nature to be one of the constants that spans the centuries between the ancients and us. One need only read Genesis, Exodus, and the Gospels to realize that Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and the Apostles are very much like us as we struggle to live our faith in a world hostile to God's Word. In the loosely translated words of the French writer, Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

All that being said, what's been happening lately in archaeology?

Sarah Parcak, Space Archaeologist. Dr. Sarah Parcak, a Yale- and Cambridge-educated archaeologist and Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has led what can only be described as a revolution in her field of study. For the past decade or so she has pioneered the use of satellite imagery to identify likely archaeological sites. Her work has led to the identification of hundreds of sites in Egypt, Sinai, Rome and elsewhere throughout the world. Many, perhaps most of these sites would never have been located by means of surface-based techniques. Dr. Parcak's work will keep her and many of her colleagues busy for decades to come.

There are, of course, some archaeologists who dispute her conclusions, but I expect most would resist any new techniques, especially those that might force them to reevaluate their own work.

Here's a brief video of Dr. Parcak discussing her work.

Babylonian Trigonometry? This story really interested me since trigonometry was among my favorite subjects back in high school. Back then (I think it was in my junior year), I'm pretty sure we were told that modern trigonometry and all its sines and cosines and tangents was something developed by the Greeks. The Egyptians might have used a primitive form to help them as they built pyramids and other edifices, but the Greeks were the ones who perfected this branch of mathematics. 

Mathematician David Mansfield holding ancient tablet

Now, it seems a couple of Australian mathematicians -- David Mansfield and Norman Wildberger -- have concluded that an ancient (3,700 year-old) Babylonian tablet found over 100 years ago contains a trigonometric table with "exact values for the sides of a range right triangles." In other words, instead of using angles, the Babylonians, with their base 60 math, expressed trigonometry in terms of these exact ratios of the sides of triangles. If the Aussies are correct -- and there's no shortage of folks who dispute their claims -- it's an amazing discovery. I expect we'll hear more about this in the future. You can read more about it here.

Destruction of Ancient and Religious Sites by Islamists. This is becoming a standard headline as followers of ISIS, al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Hamas and other Islamist terrorist entities seem determined to destroy anything that doesn't support their warped sense of history and religion.

In the Philippines, particularly in the south, where ISIS influence has increased greatly in recent years, ISIS followers regularly destroy Christian churches. A recent example is destruction of the Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippine city of Marawi by Islamists who made a video of their rampage:

Read the story here.

In Iraq, ISIS, during the two years they controlled the city of Nimrud, carried out a plan of total destruction of this ancient city. When ISIS forces were finally driven out, the Iraqi soldiers found near total devastation. ISIS used bulldozers, explosives, sledgehammers, anything that could destroy, as they went through the ancient city smashing everything in their path.

At one time Nimrud was the capital of the ancient Assyrian Empire. It was an archaeological marvel, the site of temples, ziggurats and other ruins thousands of years old. The Iraqi troops also found mass graves filled with the bodies of the local people murdered by ISIS. Seemingly proud of what they had done, ISIS also made several videos showing how they destroyed much of this ancient city. Here's a video  made after ISIS had been driven from the city, showing the level of destruction:

The Islamists' war of devastation continued in Syria with the destruction of much of the ancient city of Palmyra. They also bulldozed the Christian monastery of Mar Elian. They removed ancient mosaics, presumably to sell on the black market, from the Roman trading city of Apamea. In the city of Dura-Europos, located on the Euphrates and perhaps the easternmost of Roman outposts, they destroyed one of Christianity's oldest churches, a beautiful synagogue, and many Roman temples. And they looted the bronze-age city of Mari. And all of this destruction was just in Syria. The Islamists were guilty of even more looting and damage in the Iraqi cities of Hatra, Nineveh, Mosul, and Khorsabad, to name only a few.

The Sea People. Here's a fascinating story that shows it's important to take notes and keep them.

A few years ago I read a book entitled 1177 B.C., The Year Civilization Collapsed. Written by Eric Cline, an American archaeologist who focused on the causes of the sudden and near simultaneous collapse of many of the societies that ringed the Mediterranean Sea and even beyond. Many historians and archaeologists have placed the blame on the so-called "Sea People" who embarked on a series of invasions and raids that destroyed the key cities of these societies. Even Egypt was attacked, and although the Egyptians repelled the attackers, their society never fully recovered.

Egyptian wall frieze depicting Egypt repelling the Sea People

But Egypt wasn't the only victim. Hittites, Minoans, Trojans, and others all seemed simply to disappear. Cline isn't so sure this was all the result of the Sea People and adds natural calamities and economic factors to the mix of causes. But no one was ever absolutely sure where these Sea People came from. We might now have an answer, and it comes from an unexpected source.

Back in 1878 a French archaeologist, George Perrot, came across a limestone slab in the Turkish village of Beykoy. The slab, about a foot high and almost 100 feet long, was covered with ancient inscriptions. Because the locals intended to use the stone as part of the foundation of their mosque, Perrot decided to make an accurate copy of the inscriptions before the slab was destroyed.

Copy of Luwian Inscriptions

The copy, long forgotten, surfaced in 2012 in the estate of an English historian. Its inscriptions were then identified as Luwian, an ancient language that only a handful of experts can decipher. The translation of the inscriptions describes how kingdoms in Western Asia formed a confederation -- the Sea People -- and with a united fleet conducted raids of the eastern Mediterranean. Here's the story.

That's enough. More archaeology later...

Ancient Smiley Face

While browsing on some of my favorite archaeological websites, I came across an interesting story -- one of those stories that proves the truth of the words from the Book of Ecclesiastes:

"What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun!" [Eccl 1:9]

Back in 1963 Harvey Ross Ball, a graphic artist and advertising man, was asked by the State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts to come up with an image that would lift the morale of the company's employees. Apparently the company had undergone several recent mergers and acquisitions and the results had been somewhat chaotic.

Ball spent all of ten minutes on the project and came up with what we now call the "Smiley Face." Here's what Harvey Ball's original looked like:

Smiley Face (1963)

Yes, I know. It's hard not to smile when you see this simple depiction of a happy person.

It is reported that Mr. Ball, who died in 2001 at the age of 80, was paid all of $45 for his ten minutes of design work. Of course, the little image he created continued to pay him rewards in the form of notoriety and the half-century of smiles it has generated.

But Harvey Ball was far more than a doodler. He served in Asia and the Pacific during World War Two and earned a Bronze Star at the Battle of Okinawa. He went on the serve 27 years in the National Guard and retired as a Brigadier General.

I assume his wartime experience in Asia was limited to East Asia, but wouldn't it be interesting if we were to discover that he spent some time in West Asia, specifically in Asia Minor? I say this because of a recent archaeological discovery at the site of the ancient Hittite city of Karkemish, located near the Syrian-Turkish border.

Apparently, archaeologists working the site discovered the fragments of a large, off-white jug. After putting it all back together they noticed a distinct image of a smiley face. The archaeologists claim the jug was used to hold an ancient form of sherbet. Perhaps the smile was to indicate the sweetness of the jug's contents.

I've included another photo (below) that shows the size of this remarkable, happy jug.

Hittite Smiley Face (c. 1700 B.C.)

As you can see the jug displays no other ornamentation and it seems obvious to me that the image is intended to depict a smile, along with the two dots for eyes. In fact, it's really remarkably similar to Harvey Ball's version, drawn about 3,700 years after the Hittite version. Neither includes any other facial features: no eyebrows, no nose, no ears, no chin... Hmmm... Do you think Harvey might have done a little digging in West Asia before returning home to Worcester? Probably not. I guess we can just assume that, as the Bible reminds us, "Nothing is new under the sun."

Over the years I've also seen a few "face jugs," especially here in the South where potters seem to enjoy adding rather grotesque facial features to their work. Rarely, however, are these faces smiling. Here's an example of a face jug from Georgia, perhaps designed to keep the kids from sippin' Papa's moonshine. Can you imagine having one of these in your house when you were a kid? You'd probably need lifelong therapy.

Southern Face Jug

Even in medieval times, the expressions depicted on most of these jugs were anything but happy, at least not the ones I've encountered.

A couple of years ago, on a visit to the UK, Diane and I stopped by a small museum in Winchester, Hampshire where I spotted the jug pictured below. While the expression is certainly not a smile, neither is it particularly hostile. In fact the face looks more surprised than anything else.

If I remember correctly (and I might be wrong here) the jug is dated to sometime around the 10th century. But whatever its age, it's certainly not nearly so ancient as the newly discovered Hittite smiley face.

That this oldest of smiley faces is of Hittite origin also surprised me. I guess I've never thought of the Hittites as a smiley sort of people. They pop up quite frequently in the Bible with perhaps the most famous being Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, the woman with whom King David was so smitten. To cover up his adultery, David arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle. And that was certainly nothing to smile about.

While we know very little about the Hittite jug, at least we know that the ancients did enjoy some of life's simple pleasures. Dear Diane also enjoys an occasional taste of sherbet and always offers me some. And I must admit, it does make me smile.

News from Israel: Old and New

I thought it might be interesting to share a few recent news items out of Israel -- some relate to current events while others touch on the nation's ancient roots. The first item says much about the attitude of the United Nations with regard to the state of Israel.

UNRWA School in Gaza

UN Schools Teach Palestinian Children to Hate Israel and Jews. In the West Bank and Gaza the United Nations operates a number of schools attended mainly by Palestinian children. These schools, which receive funding from the United Nations' Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), use textbooks provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Education. As you might imagine, these textbooks are strongly anti-Israel. They purposely do not recognize the existence of Israel, even excluding the country from maps of the region. Equally disturbing, the books claim that the holy sites in Israel are exclusively Muslim sites, fail to mention their Jewish origins, and even accuse the Jews of trying to control them illegally. The books also contain no historical reference to the Jews or the Hebrew language. In effect these UN schools simply continue the racism and antisemitism that typify the official Palestinian position. Is it any wonder that peace between Israel and the Palestinians is so illusive since one side refuses to accept the existence of the other? It also explains the recent anti-Israel resolution passed by the UN, a resolution which the Obama administration supported by its refusal to exercise its veto.

Gaza-based Jihadist: Ban Christmas. If you're a Jihadist (aka, a terrorist) a good place to hang out is in Gaza where you will be well protected by the Palestinian authorities. You'll also have access to some cool textbooks. Anyway, one of these jokers, who's been given the label of "Senior Islamic State Jihadist," goes by the name of Abu Omar Almaqdesi. (Let's just call him Abe.) It seems Abe has been very vocal of late. Discussing recent terrorism in Turkey, Germany, and Jordan, he announced that such attacks are "the price these states must pay for positioning themselves as part of the Crusader Coalition of infidel countries fighting against Islam." Just a thought, but I suspect the German. Turkish, and Jordanian governments (or, for that matter, the US government) do not consider themselves as part of a Crusader Coalition. Too bad. If they did we might actually get somewhere in our misnamed war on terror. 

Abe also added a few seasonal comments relating to Christmas: "If somewhere there are Christians who insist on celebrating Christmas with the support of the heretic authorities, one must unleash upon them all one's might and deploy all the available means." He went on to explain that "all methods are admissible when it comes to preventing blasphemy against Allah and his commandments. Yes, including killing and blowing up." Then, apparently getting into the Christmas spirit, Abe added, "But...we believe that first you should act politely and explain that living in Islamic countries is conditioned on accepting Sharia and refrain from openly practicing rituals other than Islam." I guess after you've been polite, you can go ahead and blow them up. Don't you just love these guys? Abe sounds like a prime candidate for an extended vacation at Gitmo.

Having been promised by God to Abraham about 4,000 years ago, the Holy Land is a remarkable treasure trove for archaeologists. Like much of the Middle East, modern day Israel has lots of interesting stuff beneath its surface just waiting to be uncovered. Here are a couple of cool stories I found particularly interesting.

Egyptian Slab -- Ancient Hebrew? Inscriptions

Hebrew is #1. A Canadian archaeologist, Douglas Petrovich, has generated a whole lot of controversy among his colleagues by claiming that the Hebrew alphabet might just be the world's oldest. One can only assume his claims will not be well-received in Gaza. Petrovich believes that the Hebrews, when they were in Egypt, converted the local hieroglyphics into their own alphabet so they could express their Hebrew language in written form. He dates this alphabet to almost 4,000 years ago. He also claims to have found specific Biblical references from Genesis and Exodus -- to Moses, Ahisamach and Asenath -- as he translated various inscriptions. He's taking a lot of heat from the skeptics, but who knows? He might be right. After all, we know God was partial to Hebrew.

One of the many Temple Floor Tiles recovered

Second Temple Floor Tiles Discovered. Jerusalem's
second Temple, the one started by Herod and destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., is now covered by a Muslim shrine. This makes excavations a bit tense since the Muslims do not want Jewish access to this holy site. The second Temple is also the Temple of the Gospels at which Jesus and his disciples worshiped. As a result of excavations that began in 2005, over 600 of the Temple's floor tiles have been found and many have been restored. These are the only known physical elements of the Temple so they are considered extremely important. They are also of interest to Christians since Jesus quite possibly walked on many of these floor tiles.

I find it amazing that today, thousands of years after these events, we continue to discover such wondrous things. And so often these finds support the Biblical narrative that so many have considered unreliable at best. It would seem that God delights in leading us to that which magnifies His Word.

Archaeology Update

If you're a long-time reader of this blog -- a member of a very select group -- you'll know that I have an interest in things archaeological. 

My interest in archaeology first arose from a book I read in 1962 while I was enjoying myself as a freshman at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. I was in the office of a Jesuit, my New Testament professor, and spotted the book on his desk. In an effort to kiss up a bit and show that I was really interested in theology, I asked if it were an interesting book. He handed it to me and said, "Here, you can borrow it. Come back next week and let me know what you think." An oral book report wasn't the outcome I had planned, and I suspect the good Jesuit knew this. 

Anyway, he and the book he lent me had an impact. The Archaeology of Palestine: From the Stone Age to Christianity was written by William F. Albright in 1940 and then revised in 1960 to reflect the impact of later archaeological discoveries. It was this later edition that was forced on me that day. 

William Albright, an American evangelical and the son of Methodist missionaries, probably did more to advance the science of biblical archaeology than any other 20th-century archaeologist. During the latter part of his life (he died in 1971) and since his death, Albright has been strongly criticized by historical-critical scholars and others who believe his methods and conclusions were overly influenced by his Christian faith. Can you imagine? Actually approaching Sacred Scripture with faith...

For example, Albright believed that the Book of Genesis, in its depiction of such figures as Abraham, was "as a whole...historical, and there is no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the biographical details." As you might imagine, many modern scholars disagree. Indeed, too many even doubt the actual existence of a historical Abraham. But one does not have to be a literalist or a fundamentalist to agree with Albright. 

I think it's important for Catholics to realize that the teachings of the Catholic Church do not encourage scholars to doubt the historical accuracy of Sacred Scripture. Dei Verbum, the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on Divine Revelation, offers us a clear reflection of the Church's teaching on Sacred Scripture:

"Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation" [Dei Verbum, 11].

I've always thought that those who believe that the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, is littered with fictional characters must not think very highly of the Holy Spirit. After all, in effect they're saying that the Holy Spirit, unable to raise up faithful servants from among His People, instead invented fanciful heroes to carry out God's will in the world.This, of course, assumes that they accept the Holy Spirit's role as the Divine Author of Sacred Scripture. 

K. A. Kitchen

Although my interest in biblical archaeology began with William Albright's book, it was further influenced by the work of K. A. Kitchen. A Professor Emeritus in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, and also an evangelical Christian, Dr. Kitchen wrote two books that I found truly fascinating. In the first, published in 1966 and entitled, Ancient Orient and the Old Testament, Kitchen attempted to synthesize the work of two very different and too often independent areas of study: Ancient Near Eastern studies and Old Testament studies. But then in 2003 Kitchen published a comprehensive work, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, in which he argues (I believe, successfully) that the archaeological and textual evidence confirms the historical accuracy of the Old Testament. 

Interestingly, what we're finding as a result of recent archaeological discoveries is that the Bible is a remarkably accurate historical document. I've included stories relating to a few of these discoveries that confirm what the Bible tells us. The links will take you to the online articles.

Shiloh's Destruction. Shiloh is the city in Samaria where the ark of the covenant was kept after Joshua and the Israelites conquered Canaan. Shiloh was later destroyed by the Philistines not long after their victory at Aphek, a battle in which the two sons of Eli, the priest, lost their lives. Although many scholars assumed these event were apocryphal, recent archaeological findings confirm the destruction of the shrine at Shiloh c. 1050 B.C., a date that corresponds closely to what the we find in 1 Samuel. The remains of Shiloh may be found is the exact location described in the Book of Judges (Jgs 21:19).

Shiloh today -- Photo by Abraham Sobkowski OFM 

Siloam Tunnel. This remarkable tunnel zig-zags for over 500 yards beneath the ancient city of Jerusalem. The construction of the tunnel, an underground waterway, is described in both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Built during the reign of King Hezekiah (727 - 698 B.C.) to protect the city's water supply in anticipation of an Assyrian siege, the tunnel was recently carbon dated to 700 B.C. confirming the Biblical description of its construction at that time. Once again, the Bible displays its historical accuracy. 

Siloam Tunnel beneath Jerusalem

Pharaoh Shoshenq and Kingdom of Israel. Many scholars have long thought that the Biblical descriptions of the early Jewish kingdoms are complete fiction, and that if David and Solomon actually existed, they were no more than petty chieftains. Increasingly, though, archaeological evidence supports what the Bible tells us. Among many recent discoveries is evidence that the army of an Egyptian pharaoh by the name of Shoshenq I (Shishak in the Bible) raided and sacked the town of Rehov in Israel 3,000 years ago. The event has been dated archaeologically to 925 B.C., just five years after Solomon's death. The Bible describes this military expedition by the Egyptians in 2 Chronicles 12. Here's a part of the narrative:

"Once Rehoboam had established himself as king and was firmly in charge, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and so did all Israel with him. So in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem, for they had acted treacherously toward the LORD. He had twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen, and there was no counting the army that came with him from Egypt — Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians. They captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem" [2 Chr 12:1-4].

Addressing this discovery at Rahov, Professor Lawrence Stager, director of Harvard University's Semitic Museum stated, "There's no question that Rehov and the other cities that Shoshenq conquered were indeed there at the time of Solomon."

Captives with hands raised submitting to Pharaoh Shishak

David, King of Israel. Another related discovery, made in 1993, uncovered a chunk of basalt, dating to the 9th-century B.C., inscribed with words referring to the "House of David" and "King of Israel." To those of us familiar with the Old Testament, this is no great revelation, but archaeologically it represents the first time David's name had been found outside the Bible. The discovery was made at Tel Dan, located in the north of Israel.

The Tel Dan Basalt Stele

Aristotle's Grave. One last item has little to do with Sacred Scripture, but because it was announced only recently and should be of interest to anyone with a classical education, I thought I'd include it. Konstantinos Sismanidis, a Greek archaeologist, is convinced that he has located the tomb of the Greek philosopher, Aristotle. For 20 years Sismanidis has been working a site near the village of Stagira, Aristotle's birthplace. The archaeological team have uncovered the tomb and an altar both dating to the time of Aristotle. Other evidence also support Sismanidis' conclusion. The drawing below shows what the tomb would have looked like when it was built. Note the altar and the raised walkway leading to the door.

Artist's conception: Aristotle's Tomb

Today the excavated tomb is not as pristine, but check out the view:

The tomb today -- a room with a view.

And so, for those of you who struggled through the study of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, you can now make a pilgrimage to the philosopher's tomb and perhaps leave a small token of your esteem. 

Until next time...

Noah and His Ark

Not long ago, in our parish's Wednesday Bible Study, we spent a few sessions reading and discussing the story of Noah, his family, and the flood found in Genesis 6-10. Predictably and understandably, whenever the subject of Noah comes up, someone asks, "Did the flood really happen? Was Noah a real person, or is story of the flood just a story?"

These are good questions and deserve thoughtful answers. I usually respond by referring first to what Pope Benedict XVI has said about our approach to Sacred Scripture. Benedict encourages us to read Sacred Scripture in light of the faith and the Church’s living tradition, to read the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, as a unified whole. The Bible, then, is a single book about Christ. If we read it from this perspective, it tells one unified story, a history of salvation that unfolds as a series of covenants: with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and, finally, the New Covenant proclaimed by Jesus at the last supper. This history has been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, who inspired all those who wrote the books of the Bible.

With this in mind, then, I respond by saying, "Yes, Noah was a real person." God doesn't make covenants with fictional characters. Was there really a flood? Yes, I believe there was, although it might not have covered the entire earth. It would be enough if it covered the world as Noah envisioned it. 

But the important part of the story of Noah and the flood is not its simple historical fact. Indeed, as St. Augustine wrote, 

"No one ought to imagine that this account was written for no purpose, or that we are to look here solely for a reliable historical record without any allegorical meaning." 

The questions we should be asking, then, relate not to the historical facts of the story, but to God's purpose. Why did He include the story in Sacred Scripture?

From the beginning the Church has understood Noah to be a type of Jesus Christ who brings salvation to a sinful world. In the same way the ark foreshadows the Church, the vehicle of salvation. Scripture and the whole of Sacred Tradition give life to and support the mission of the Church, the ark, the refuge of salvation. These and many other spiritual interpretations of the story of Noah and the flood are far more helpful to us on our earthly pilgrimage than are the bare historical facts. But I am drifting away from my original purpose today, which is to address some recent discoveries that relate to those historical facts.

A replica of Noah's Ark, based on the Biblical description (Gn 6:14-16)

I came across a 2012 ABC News story in which Christiane Amanpour interviewed Dr. Robert Ballard, the renowned oceanographer and marine archaeologist. Ballard is perhaps most famous for his discoveries of RMS Titanic and the German Battleship Bismarck. I had the pleasure of meeting him once, years ago, when I gave a talk at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod. It was one of those very brief, nice-to-meet-ya meetings.

US Government (NOAA) Depiction

Anyway, it seems Ballard has been seriously studying the idea that there may have been a major, catastrophic flood -- the "mother of all floods" he suggested -- in the area of the Black Sea about 5,000 B.C. This theory had been advanced by two scientists at Columbia University who theorized that the melting of Ice Age glaciers caused the waters of the Mediterranean Sea to rise. This in turn generated a huge wall of water, estimated at 200 times the size of  Niagara Falls, that might well have inundated everything in its path as it roared into the Black Sea. At that time the Black Sea was a large fresh water lake, cut off from the Mediterranean.

Intrigued by this theory, Ballard and his team of underwater archaeologists went to the Black Sea and under its surface -- 400 feet under its surface! -- they discovered an ancient shoreline. Carbon dating of samples led to an estimate of 5,000 B.C. According to Ballard, "At some magic moment, it broke through and flooded this place violently, and a lot of real estate, 150,000 square kilometers of land, went under." 

Interesting stuff. You can read more at the National Geographic and ABC News websites:

National Geographic: Ballard, Noah and the Black Sea

ABC News: Interview with Robert Ballard

Christian Tattoo: Age 1,300 Years

If you're among the select few who follow this ill-organized blog, you'll know that I am intrigued by things archaeological. I haven't touched on the subject recently, but today I came across a story that certainly caught my attention. 

In 2005 archaeologists involved in a dig in Sudan unearthed the extraordinarily well-preserved mummified remains of a young woman, aged 20 to 35. The body (pictured above) had been wrapped in linen and wool and was mummified by the hot, dry environment in which it had been buried. The remains have subsequently been dated to approximately 700 A.D. 

Interestingly the scientists found a tattoo on the inside of the woman's right thigh. This tattoo (see photo below) is a monogram that includes Greek letters spelling out the name of the Archangel Michael. A Fordham University theologian, Maureen Tilley, has suggested that the tattoo is religiously significant and relates to childbearing. According to Dr. Tilley:

“Christian women who were pregnant often placed amulets with divine or angelic names on bands on their abdomens to insure a safe delivery of their child. Placing the name on the inner thigh, as with this mummy, may have had some meaning for the hopes of childbirth or protection against sexual violation, as in, ‘This body is claimed and protected.’”

The mummy, along with a number of others unearthed in the same dig, will be on display at the British Museum in London. If you want to read more about the mummy, see the article on The Telegraph website, and be sure to watch the brief video. It's all very interesting, and makes one wonder what future archaeologists will make of all the tattoos they will surely find on any mummified remains of today's population. 

Ancient Underground Rome

Over the years the city of Rome has been making an increasing number of its unique archaeological sites accessible to visitors. The latest site to be opened includes the underground tunnels beneath the ruins of the Caracalla baths. These tunnels, built in the third century A.D., are remarkably large, about 20 feet high, and extend for well over a mile under the city. (See the photo below.) They were used largely by slaves who moved about beneath the baths maintaining the ovens that heated the water for the baths. You can read more here.

Rome is a city with an almost inexhaustible number of fascinating places to visit. We've made four visits during the past decade and have barely scratched the surface. Now we have another interesting site to take in under the surface. Below is a brief video describing the tunnels...

Caesar's Fatal Steps

One of the more interesting, if not particularly important, Roman archaeological mysteries has been the identification of the exact spot where Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 B.C. Anyone who's been to Rome and taken in some of the ancient archaeological sites has likely stood on Via Arenula and looked across Torre Argentina and seen the remains of several temples. Behind them is the Theater of Pompey and its famous curia, used for political meetings. It was also chosen as the site of one particularly fatal political meeting that resulted in Caesar's murder by his rival senators. Today the area is perhaps equally famous for its many cats who inhabit the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary where they are protected from felinophobics who might want to do to them what Brutus did to Caesar.

My photo of Torre Argentina (2005) Click and look for cats.

Like many ancient Roman sites, over the centuries Torre Argentina with it temples and theater have been plundered of most of their stones and columns, so for archaeologists there hasn't been very much to work with. As a result, there has never been any solid archaeological evidence pointing to the exact spot where the assassination took place...at least, until now.

Because they're always digging in Rome these busy archaeologists keep uncovering interesting stuff. It seems a team recently unearthed what they believe to be a memorial structure at the base of the curia. This structure -- ten feet wide and over six feet tall -- was apparently built by Augustus to mark the site of Caesar's death. Many ancient texts point to this location and several mention that after the assassination a chapel was built there as a memorial.

Recent photo of the location of Caesar's Assassination

So now, when you visit Rome, you can satisfy your curiosity, along with any morbid inclinations you might have, and gaze on the actual spot where Julius Caesar was stabbed by Brutus and his pals.

If you want to read more, click here.

The David Myth

I find it both interesting and disturbing that so many biblical scholars disbelieve most of what's in the Bible. The so-called "David Myth" is a good example of what I mean. According to many scholars, King David, who, along with Abraham and Moses (two other mythical figures), can only be described as a central figure in the Old Testament, simply did not exist. He was instead the fictional creation of priests and political leaders who needed to provide the people with a heroic figure who epitomized the mythological former glory of this primitive tribal people. David, the youthful shepherd who became a giant killer, a great strategist and general, and a king respected by all the nations, is simply too good to be true. Too great to have been created by God, he must have been created by man. As I said, this really disturbs me.

The documentary evidence for David's existence is, of course, substantial. It's called the Bible. If we substituted David's name with the name of some obscure ancient Middle Eastern king, and then discovered these writings in a desert cave, there would be rejoicing among the archaeologists and textual scholars that we now knew so much about this previously little known potentate. But for some reason, the Bible is generally discounted as an historical document. After all, it's filled with all those odd theophanies, all those concocted and impossible manifestations of this minor tribal god. How can anyone believe anything in documents littered with such obviously tall tales? And what really bothers these scholars is that, even in these enlightened times, so many people -- believing Jews and Christians -- still accept all of it.

Aerial view of excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa

In recent years, however, there's been a constant stream of archaeological evidence pouring out of the Holy Land in support of the Bible as real history, and this includes the story of David and his kingdom. The latest evidence comes from the excavation of a fortified Iron Age city at Khirbet Qeiyafa that dates from the time of David. The archaeological evidence points to its being a Jewish city in the Kingdom of Judah. All of this evidence argues that the Jews of the 11th century B.C. lived in urban settings, something that supporters of the "David Myth" have disputed, believing instead that urbanization didn't occur until centuries later. And so it appears that this primitive tribe of nomadic shepherds might actually have been more sophisticated and advanced than previously thought. In other words, they were pretty much just as they are described in the Bible.

To read a brief overview of the report of this excavation, click here: The Sacred Page.

To read a more detailed report, click here: Israel Antiquities Authority.

And if you're really interested in this general subject of the historical accuracy of Scared Scripture, let me suggest reading K. A. Kitchen's fascinating book, On the Reliability of the Old Testament.

In the meantime, read your Bible every day, and believe what you read.

Blessings...