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The Hasmoneans Were Here - Maybe
Haaretz ^ | 12-28-2005 | Ran Shapira

Posted on 12/28/2005 7:55:37 AM PST by blam

The ruins of the synagogue at Umm al-Umdan. (Alex Levac)

The Hasmoneans were here - maybe

By Ran Shapira

In late 1995, not far from the city of Modi'in, whose construction had begun a short time earlier, several excavated burial caves were found. The find aroused tremendous excitement initially, mainly because on one of the ossuaries an engraved inscription was interpreted to read "Hasmonean." Had they found a burial plot belonging to the family of the Hasmoneans?

When the discovery was announced, the archaeologist digging there, Shimon Riklin, explained that this was not the grave built by Simon the son of Mattathias the Priest for his father and his brothers, which is described in the Book of Maccabees I. The use of ossuraies - stone containers for secondary burial, in which the bones of the dead who had been removed from their original burial place were placed - began in the second half of the first century BCE, more than a century after the beginning of the Hasmonean Revolt. However, the discovery reinforced the theory that the town of Modi'in, where the revolt broke out in 167 BCE, lay not far from the burial caves, in the area of the present-day Arab village of Midya.

A short time later, the excitement died down. A thorough examination made it clear that the word "Hasmonean" was not engraved on the ossuary. The settlement from which the Hasmoneans embarked on the revolt against the Seleucid ruler Antiochus is still waiting to be discovered, as is the burial plot in which Mattathias and his sons were buried.

(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: archaeology; ccc; godsgravesglyphs; hasmoneans; here; maybe; ossuary; were

1 posted on 12/28/2005 7:55:38 AM PST by blam
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To: SunkenCiv

GGG Ping.


2 posted on 12/28/2005 7:56:03 AM PST by blam
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To: blam; FairOpinion; Ernest_at_the_Beach; StayAt HomeMother; 24Karet; 3AngelaD; asp1; ...
Thanks Blam.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

3 posted on 12/28/2005 8:44:11 AM PST by SunkenCiv ("In silence, and at night, the Conscience feels that life should soar to nobler ends than Power.")
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To: blam

Well, that's interesting. I just noticed that the Hasbeenians were over here. In fact, the longer I live, the more I think I are one. :-(


4 posted on 12/28/2005 9:11:43 AM PST by Hegemony Cricket (Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof - usually by midmorning, or so.)
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To: blam

Did the initial "mistake" in interpreting the inscription gain them extra funding?


5 posted on 12/28/2005 11:37:25 AM PST by Ciexyz (Let us always remember, the Lord is in control.)
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To: SunkenCiv; blam
Sorry for the thread hijack: But I have a ??? and don't know where else to go..

Either of you two know if there's a "fossils" forum?
My bro-in-law has a strange stone, possibly a fossil..
It looks like a large cluster of frog's eggs..

I'd appreciate any input, direction to knowledgable persons, etc..

6 posted on 12/28/2005 1:12:26 PM PST by Drammach (Freedom; not just a job, it's an adventure..)
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To: Drammach

Looks like a Petoskey stone, i.e., fossil coral.

http://www.bernardine.com/gemstones/petoskey.htm

http://www.geo.msu.edu/geo333/petoskystone.html


7 posted on 12/28/2005 1:24:32 PM PST by SunkenCiv ("In silence, and at night, the Conscience feels that life should soar to nobler ends than Power.")
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To: SunkenCiv
Looks like a Petoskey stone, i.e., fossil coral.

Yes, I looked at several examples on Google images of coral..
They all seemed to exhibit a star-like pattern..

But your second link, containing descriptions really seems to nail the appearance..

This was found near Fairbanks Alaska, by the way..

Thanks for the prompt response..

8 posted on 12/28/2005 1:36:26 PM PST by Drammach (Freedom; not just a job, it's an adventure..)
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To: Drammach

:') Glad to help.


9 posted on 12/28/2005 1:56:53 PM PST by SunkenCiv ("In silence, and at night, the Conscience feels that life should soar to nobler ends than Power.")
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To: SunkenCiv
Googling Petoskey stones led me to the Devonian Era, and Hexagonaria, the coral from which the fossils derive...

Now I know about a coral reef that put the Great Barrier Reef to shame.. ( Alaska to Ohio to Arizona and all points in between.. )
And a "jellyfish" like coral..

My sister thought it was a fossilized turtle..

( She's always been strange, since the moose bit her.. )

10 posted on 12/28/2005 2:22:16 PM PST by Drammach (Freedom; not just a job, it's an adventure..)
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To: Drammach

My daughter got a fossil watch as a Christmas present.


11 posted on 12/28/2005 2:25:00 PM PST by Young Werther
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