Posted on 08/23/2006 2:29:21 AM PDT by Marius3188
RAMAT RACHEL, Israel (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Israel have unearthed an ancient water system which was modified by the conquering Persians to turn the desert into a paradise.
The network of reservoirs, drain pipes and underground tunnels served one of the grandest palaces in the biblical kingdom of Judea.
Archaeologists first discovered the palace in 1954, a structure built on a six-acre (2.4 hectare) site where the communal Ramat Rachel farm now stands.
Recent excavations unearthed nearly 70 square metres (750 square feet) of a unique water system.
"They had found a huge palace ... even nicer than the palaces in Jerusalem, (dating) from the late Iron Age to the end of the biblical period in the 7th century," Oded Lipschits, a Tel Aviv University archaeologist, said.
The infrastructure of the palace was remodelled throughout the centuries to fit the needs of the Babylonians, Persians, Romans and Hasmoneans who ruled the Holy Land, said Lipschits, who heads the dig with an academic from Germany's University of Heidelberg.
But it was the Persians, who took control of the region around 539 BC from the Babylonians, who renovated the water system and turned it into a thing of beauty.
Lipschits said they added small waterfalls to try to turn a desert into a paradise.
"Imagine on this land plants and water rushing and streaming here," Lipschits said. "This was important to someone who finds aesthetics important, for someone who wanted to feel as though they are not just in some remote corner in the desert."
Yuval Gadot, a biblical archaeology expert from Tel Aviv University who is taking part in the excavation, said it was unclear exactly how the water system worked.
"Probably rainwater came down on the roof of the houses (in the palace complex)," he said. "From there, it was collected by drains into pools or to the underground reservoir and taken to nearby fields for crops or nice gardens."
For centuries water supplies have been one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East, where most of the region is desert.
Nonsense...
They are called Jews in the Bible beginning with the return from exile.
I don't know if/when it will replay, but History Channel had an episode of
their "Lost Worlds" series on Monday titled "Jesus' Jerusalem".
It has nifty computer reimaging of the Temple as built by Herod.
An incredible work, plus the computer graphics showed the incredible
four stories "basements" of the Temple Mount that hold up the complex.
Just incredible building. Would be awesome today, but even more amazing given
the tools available for the job back then.
"Persians used to be builders and now they are destroyers."
They are trying to redeem their former reputation...by building nuclear bombs.
(/sarcasm)
Ain't going to debate either premise though since my experience has been that there are several varieties of anti-semites around, but they share one thing in common, they hate Jews no matter what they are called.
Amazing!
Try the Book of Esther. It's one of the last parts of the Old Testament to be written, but it mentions Jews often enough. Older scriptures don't use the term because most Israelites came from other tribes besides Judah, until Sargon II destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.
True, I met a Jew in another forum recently who was aggressively trying to hide his heritage, by claiming that the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta was the only legitimate Jewish sect.
On the other hand, I've been calling myself Berosus, a Babylonian name, since I first went online in 1997, but nobody thinks I'm an Iraqi because of it.
Well, in the days before Islam, the Persians really had a thing for gardens. I even heard once that our word "Paradise" comes from "pairidaeza," the Farsi word for garden.
What is your real meaning here. Don't be coy..
B-b-b-b-b-bingo.
:')
Quite a few intelligent "Persians" say the same thing. But not in Iran.
Mmmmm...chocolate in the hot tub.
No, they aren't two different groups, they are one people...Hebrews.
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