The sword with remains of the scabbard on it (Photo: Clara Amit, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)
The stone engraved with the image of the menorah (Photo: Vladimir Naykhin)
Posted on 08/12/2011 9:20:36 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
On the eve of Tisha B'Av, commemorating the anniversary of the destruction of the First and Second Temples, artifacts were exposed that breathe new life into the story of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem...
During the course of work the Israel Antiquities Authority carried out in Jerusalem's ancient drainage channel, which begins in the Siloam Pool and runs from the City of David to the archaeological garden (near the Western Wall), impressive finds were recently discovered that breathe new life into the story of the destruction of the Second Temple...
A 2,000 year old iron sword, still in its leather scabbard, was discovered in work the Israel Antiquities Authority is doing in the channel, which served as a hiding refuge for the residents of Jerusalem from the Romans at the time of the Second Temple's destruction. In addition, parts of the belt that carried the sword were found...
A stone object adorned with a rare engraving of a menorah was found in the soil beneath the street, on the side of the drainage channel. According to Shukron and Professor Reich, "Interestingly, even though we are dealing with a depiction of the seven-branched candelabrum, only five branches appear here. The portrayal of the menorah's base is extremely important because it clarifies what the base of the original menorah looked like, which was apparently tripod shaped".
The fact that the stone object was found at the closest proximity to the Temple Mount to date is also important. The researchers suppose a passerby who saw the menorah with his own eyes and was amazed by its beauty incised his impressions on a stone and afterwards tossed his scrawling to the side of the road, without imagining that his creation would be found 2,000 years later.
(Excerpt) Read more at mfa.gov.il ...
The sword with remains of the scabbard on it (Photo: Clara Amit, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)
The stone engraved with the image of the menorah (Photo: Vladimir Naykhin)
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They sure do have an imagination.
The image is right side up, and is of an upside down chalice, indicating the patron didn’t want a refill, that was part of a larger tablaeu depicting am ale house. /s
OTOH, it is what they say it is, because that is based upon similar menorah images that do have the proper context to identify what it is with certainty.
The researchers suppose a passerby who saw the menorah with his own eyes and was amazed by its beauty incised his impressions on a stone and afterwards tossed his scrawling to the side of the road, without imagining that his creation would be found 2,000 years later.
This makes me think that we're not dealing with the brightest bulbs in the archeological field. Passerby, "Wow that's amazing and inspiring and I want to carve it into a rock so I can memorialize it." Moments later, after carving it, he discards it?
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