Jerusalem's Ancient Landfill. Archaeologists have uncovered a landfill from the Early Roman period (first century B.C.E.-first century C.E.) on the eastern slopes of Jerusalem's Southeastern Hill (the "City of David") -- outside the walls of ancient Jerusalem. Photo: Courtesy Yuval Gadot/Photo by Assaf Peretz.
‘Biblical’ Archeological Review: B.C.E., C.E. ?
Did they mean B.C. or A.D. ?
Hardly ‘Biblical’.
Here I thought we were talking about taking out the bad guys. 8>)
The archaeology is fascinating, but I was taught since childhood in church about “Gehenna,” the trash disposal into the valley of Hinnom, which Jesus used as a visual aid to describe hell.
At least they didn’t have to deal with Waste Management back then.
Well, with the periodic dirt fill being laid down, and the regular dumping of trash, it would “seem” to be archeologists dream find!
But, they’re dumping the junk down a cliff into a ravine, so the trash at the bottom get mixed up with other months, years, decades and other centuries.
Jerusalem's system of dumping, burning and over-covering left distinct, temporal layers -- "like pages in a book". Look at the overview photo: you can see the distinct layers, angling down and replicating the ancient valley slope.
Of course, Jerusalem's low rainfall makes such precise and lengthy excavations practical. Here in Texas, such an excavation would have a short lifetime (collapse due to rain/runoff) -- except in the far west...
Of course, we do have the advantage that early Texans seldom burned their trash-- so, more fragile stuff usually survived better.
No doubt about it: trash dump excavation can be fun -- you're always finding something! That's why, at our annual TAS Field Schools, our youth crews are usually assigned to the trash dump or kitchen midden on prehistoric sites. The density of "finds" excites their interest -- and keeps it high! (And envious adults assigned to excavate in sparse parts of the site often drop by to check out -- and envy -- the finds the kids are making...)
Some of the best archaeologists in Texas got their start in a trash dump! '-)
