Free Republic

Trude Dothan, the doyenne of Philistine archaeology, passed away recently at the age of 93. A pioneer in Israeli archaeology, Dothan was a world-renowned expert on the Philistines. She excavated at Athienou (Cyprus), Hazor, Ein Gedi, Tel Qasile, Tell ‘Aitun, Deir el-Balah and Tel Miqne (Biblical Ekron). The excavations at Tel Miqne, which she codirected with Seymour Gitin between 1981 and 1996, unearthed evidence that proved to be dramatically significant to our understanding of Philistine history and culture. Dothan, who had been a Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, published many studies on the Philistines, on the...

For those who have never been to Mitzpe Ramon, you’re missing out. It’s on the edge of the Ramon makhtesh -- Israel’s Grand Canyon. In fact, although it is called a “crater” in English, it is actually a “makhtesh” i.e., a “box canyon”, formed not by a meteor or a river, but by geological processes of a receding ocean. It is the world’s largest “makhtesh”! ... In any event, no one listened, but everyone had a lot of fun. My friend Hershel Shanks who moderated my session chided me for being too confident. He wanted me to have an appropriate...