NEWS AND EVENTS WHICH MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU
Posted 22/4/2014
Posted 11/04/14:
Papyrus Referring to Jesus’ Wife Is More Likely Ancient Than Fake, Scientists Say
A faded fragment of papyrus known as the “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife,” which caused an uproar when unveiled by a Harvard Divinity School historian in 2012, has been tested by scientists who conclude in a journal published on Thursday that the ink and papyrus are very likely ancient, and not a modern forgery.
Skepticism about the tiny scrap of papyrus has been fierce because it contained a phrase never before seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife...’ ” Too convenient for some, it also contained the words “she will be able to be my disciple,” a clause that inflamed the debate in some churches over whether women should be allowed to be priests.
The papyrus fragment has now been analyzed by professors of electrical engineering, chemistry and biology at Columbia University, Harvard University and theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, who reported that it resembles other ancient papyri from the fourth to the eighth centuries. (Scientists at the University of Arizona, who dated the fragment to centuries before the birth of Jesus, concluded that their results were unreliable.)
The test results do not prove that Jesus had a wife or disciples who were women, only that the fragment is more likely a snippet from an ancient manuscript than a fake, the scholars agree. Karen L. King, the historian at Harvard Divinity School who gave the papyrus its name and fame, has said all along that it should not be regarded as evidence that Jesus married, only that early Christians were actively discussing celibacy, sex, marriage and discipleship.
“I took very seriously the comments of such a wide range of people that it might be a forgery,” Dr. King said in an interview this week. She said she is now very confident it is genuine.
“When you have all the evidence pointing in one direction, it doesn’t make it 100 percent, but history is not a place where 100 percent is a common thing,” Dr. King said.
The new information may not convince those scholars and bloggers who say the text is the work of a rather sloppy forger keen to influence contemporary debates. The Harvard Theological Review, which is publishing Dr. King’s long-delayed, peer-reviewed paper online on Thursday, is also publishing a rebuttal by Leo Depuydt, a professor of Egyptology at Brown University, who declares the fragment so patently fake that it “seems ripe for a Monty Python sketch.”
Dr. King presented the fragment with fanfare at a conference in Rome in September 2012, but was besieged by criticism because the content was controversial, the lettering was suspiciously splotchy, the grammar was poor, its provenance was uncertain, its owner insisted on anonymity and its ink had not been tested.
An editorial in the Vatican’s newspaper also declared it a fake. New Testament scholars claimed the text referred to the “bride of Christ,” which is the church — an interpretation Dr. King said was entirely possible.
It is very unusual to test the ink and papyrus of a fragment so small — this one is 4 by 8 centimeters — because it can damage the item, papyrologists say. The authenticity and dates of other famous fragments were determined by paleographers examining the handwriting.
The “Jesus’s Wife” papyrus was analyzed at Columbia University using micro-Raman spectroscopy to determine the chemical composition of the ink. James T. Yardley, a professor of electrical engineering, said in an interview that the carbon black ink on this fragment was “perfectly consistent with another 35 or 40 manuscripts that we’ve looked at,” that date from 400 B.C. to A.D. 700 or 800.
At M.I.T.’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Timothy M. Swager, a chemistry professor, and two students used infrared spectroscopy to determine whether the ink showed any variations or inconsistencies.
“The main thing was to see, did somebody doctor this up?” Dr. Swager said in an interview. “And there is absolutely no evidence for that. It would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible.”
However, Dr. Depuydt, the Egyptologist at Brown University, said that testing the fragment was irrelevant and that he saw “no need to inspect it.” He said he decided based on the first newspaper photograph that the fragment was forged because it contained “gross grammatical errors,” and each word in it matched writing in the Gospel of Thomas, an early Christian text discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945. “It couldn’t possibly be coincidence,” he said.
A forger could easily create carbon black ink by mixing candle soot and oil, he said: “An undergraduate student with one semester of Coptic can make a reed pen and start drawing lines.”
But the scientists say that modern carbon black ink looks very different under their instruments. And Dr. King said that her “big disappointment” is that so far, the story of the fragment has focused on forgery, not on history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/science/scrap-of-papyrus-referring-to-jesus-wife-is-likely-to-be-ancient-scientists-say.html?_r=1
Papyrus Referring to Jesus’ Wife Is More Likely Ancient Than Fake, Scientists Say
A faded fragment of papyrus known as the “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife,” which caused an uproar when unveiled by a Harvard Divinity School historian in 2012, has been tested by scientists who conclude in a journal published on Thursday that the ink and papyrus are very likely ancient, and not a modern forgery.
Skepticism about the tiny scrap of papyrus has been fierce because it contained a phrase never before seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife...’ ” Too convenient for some, it also contained the words “she will be able to be my disciple,” a clause that inflamed the debate in some churches over whether women should be allowed to be priests.
The papyrus fragment has now been analyzed by professors of electrical engineering, chemistry and biology at Columbia University, Harvard University and theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, who reported that it resembles other ancient papyri from the fourth to the eighth centuries. (Scientists at the University of Arizona, who dated the fragment to centuries before the birth of Jesus, concluded that their results were unreliable.)
The test results do not prove that Jesus had a wife or disciples who were women, only that the fragment is more likely a snippet from an ancient manuscript than a fake, the scholars agree. Karen L. King, the historian at Harvard Divinity School who gave the papyrus its name and fame, has said all along that it should not be regarded as evidence that Jesus married, only that early Christians were actively discussing celibacy, sex, marriage and discipleship.
“I took very seriously the comments of such a wide range of people that it might be a forgery,” Dr. King said in an interview this week. She said she is now very confident it is genuine.
“When you have all the evidence pointing in one direction, it doesn’t make it 100 percent, but history is not a place where 100 percent is a common thing,” Dr. King said.
The new information may not convince those scholars and bloggers who say the text is the work of a rather sloppy forger keen to influence contemporary debates. The Harvard Theological Review, which is publishing Dr. King’s long-delayed, peer-reviewed paper online on Thursday, is also publishing a rebuttal by Leo Depuydt, a professor of Egyptology at Brown University, who declares the fragment so patently fake that it “seems ripe for a Monty Python sketch.”
Dr. King presented the fragment with fanfare at a conference in Rome in September 2012, but was besieged by criticism because the content was controversial, the lettering was suspiciously splotchy, the grammar was poor, its provenance was uncertain, its owner insisted on anonymity and its ink had not been tested.
An editorial in the Vatican’s newspaper also declared it a fake. New Testament scholars claimed the text referred to the “bride of Christ,” which is the church — an interpretation Dr. King said was entirely possible.
It is very unusual to test the ink and papyrus of a fragment so small — this one is 4 by 8 centimeters — because it can damage the item, papyrologists say. The authenticity and dates of other famous fragments were determined by paleographers examining the handwriting.
The “Jesus’s Wife” papyrus was analyzed at Columbia University using micro-Raman spectroscopy to determine the chemical composition of the ink. James T. Yardley, a professor of electrical engineering, said in an interview that the carbon black ink on this fragment was “perfectly consistent with another 35 or 40 manuscripts that we’ve looked at,” that date from 400 B.C. to A.D. 700 or 800.
At M.I.T.’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Timothy M. Swager, a chemistry professor, and two students used infrared spectroscopy to determine whether the ink showed any variations or inconsistencies.
“The main thing was to see, did somebody doctor this up?” Dr. Swager said in an interview. “And there is absolutely no evidence for that. It would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible.”
However, Dr. Depuydt, the Egyptologist at Brown University, said that testing the fragment was irrelevant and that he saw “no need to inspect it.” He said he decided based on the first newspaper photograph that the fragment was forged because it contained “gross grammatical errors,” and each word in it matched writing in the Gospel of Thomas, an early Christian text discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945. “It couldn’t possibly be coincidence,” he said.
A forger could easily create carbon black ink by mixing candle soot and oil, he said: “An undergraduate student with one semester of Coptic can make a reed pen and start drawing lines.”
But the scientists say that modern carbon black ink looks very different under their instruments. And Dr. King said that her “big disappointment” is that so far, the story of the fragment has focused on forgery, not on history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/science/scrap-of-papyrus-referring-to-jesus-wife-is-likely-to-be-ancient-scientists-say.html?_r=1
Vatican Unveils Frescoes In Catacombs of Priscilla With Images Some Say Show Early Women Priests
ROME (AP) — The Vatican on Tuesday unveiled newly restored frescoes in the Catacombs of Priscilla, known for housing the earliest known image of the Madonna with Child — and frescoes said by some to show women priests in the early Christian church.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican's culture minister, presided over the opening of the "Cubicle of Lazzaro," a tiny burial chamber featuring 4th century images of biblical scenes, the Apostles Peter and Paul, and one of the early Romans buried there in bunk-bed-like stacks as was common in antiquity.
The labyrinthine cemetery complex stretching for kilometers (miles) underneath northern Rome is known as the "Queen of the catacombs" because it features burial chambers of popes and a tiny, delicate fresco of the Madonna nursing Jesus dating from around 230-240 A.D., the earliest known image of the Madonna and Child.
More controversially, the catacomb tour features two scenes said by proponents of the women's ordination movement to show women priests: One in the ochre-hued Greek Chapel features a group of women celebrating a banquet, said to be the banquet of the Eucharist. Another fresco in a richly decorated burial chamber features a woman, dressed in a dalmatic — a cassock-like robe — with her hands up in the position used by priests for public worship.
The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, which includes women who have been excommunicated by the Vatican for participating in purported ordination ceremonies, holds the images up as evidence that there were women priests in the early Christian church — and that therefore there should be women priests today.
But Fabrizio Bisconti, the superintendent of the Vatican's sacred archaeology commission, said such a reading of the frescoes was pure "fable, a legend." Even though the catacombs' official guide says there is "a clear reference to the banquet of the Holy Eucharist" in the fresco, Bisconti said the scene of the banquet wasn't a Eucharistic banquet but a funeral banquet. He said that even though women were present they weren't celebrating Mass.
Bisconti said the other fresco of the woman with her hands up in prayer was just that — a woman praying.
"These are readings of the past that are a bit sensationalistic but aren't trustworthy," he said.
Asked about the scenes, Ravasi professed ignorance and referred comment to Bisconti.
The Vatican has restricted the priesthood for men, arguing that Jesus chose only men as his apostles.
The Priscilla catacombs are being featured in a novel blending of antiquity and modern-technology: For the first time, Google Maps has gone into the Roman catacombs, providing a virtual tour of the Priscilla complex available to anyone who can't visit the real thing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/vatican--frescoes_n_4305560.html#slide=3132680
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican's culture minister, presided over the opening of the "Cubicle of Lazzaro," a tiny burial chamber featuring 4th century images of biblical scenes, the Apostles Peter and Paul, and one of the early Romans buried there in bunk-bed-like stacks as was common in antiquity.
The labyrinthine cemetery complex stretching for kilometers (miles) underneath northern Rome is known as the "Queen of the catacombs" because it features burial chambers of popes and a tiny, delicate fresco of the Madonna nursing Jesus dating from around 230-240 A.D., the earliest known image of the Madonna and Child.
More controversially, the catacomb tour features two scenes said by proponents of the women's ordination movement to show women priests: One in the ochre-hued Greek Chapel features a group of women celebrating a banquet, said to be the banquet of the Eucharist. Another fresco in a richly decorated burial chamber features a woman, dressed in a dalmatic — a cassock-like robe — with her hands up in the position used by priests for public worship.
The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, which includes women who have been excommunicated by the Vatican for participating in purported ordination ceremonies, holds the images up as evidence that there were women priests in the early Christian church — and that therefore there should be women priests today.
But Fabrizio Bisconti, the superintendent of the Vatican's sacred archaeology commission, said such a reading of the frescoes was pure "fable, a legend." Even though the catacombs' official guide says there is "a clear reference to the banquet of the Holy Eucharist" in the fresco, Bisconti said the scene of the banquet wasn't a Eucharistic banquet but a funeral banquet. He said that even though women were present they weren't celebrating Mass.
Bisconti said the other fresco of the woman with her hands up in prayer was just that — a woman praying.
"These are readings of the past that are a bit sensationalistic but aren't trustworthy," he said.
Asked about the scenes, Ravasi professed ignorance and referred comment to Bisconti.
The Vatican has restricted the priesthood for men, arguing that Jesus chose only men as his apostles.
The Priscilla catacombs are being featured in a novel blending of antiquity and modern-technology: For the first time, Google Maps has gone into the Roman catacombs, providing a virtual tour of the Priscilla complex available to anyone who can't visit the real thing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/vatican--frescoes_n_4305560.html#slide=3132680
Has Dalmanutha from the Bible Been Found?
Archaeologists discover ancient town by the Sea of Galilee
Robin Ngo • 09/20/2013
An ancient town dated to the first century C.E. has been discovered during archaeological work conducted on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, according to a report by LiveScience. The University of Reading’s Ken Dark, who led the field survey, believes the town might be identified as Dalmanutha, which is known only from the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Mark, after Jesus miraculously multiplied seven loaves of bread and a few fish to feed a crowd of 4,000, “immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha” (Mark 8.10, NRSV).
Evidence indicates that this newly discovered coastal site was a thriving fishing town in the first century. Writing in the most recent issue of the journal Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Dark reports that the archaeological team found weights and stone anchors, while the presence of vessel glass and amphorae suggest some residents were prosperous. The researchers additionally determined that the so-called Galilee Boat, the famous 2,000 year-old boat discovered in a drought-stricken Sea of Galilee in 1986, was found on the shoreline of this fishing town. The southern side of the town lies only 500 feet away from the ancient town of Magdala, which may have been Mary Magdalene’s hometown.
While the identification of Dalmanutha remains tentative, the name has yet to be associated with any known archaeological site around the Sea of Galilee.
Read the report by LiveScience.
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/has-dalmanutha-from-the-bible-been-found/
Archaeologists discover ancient town by the Sea of Galilee
Robin Ngo • 09/20/2013
An ancient town dated to the first century C.E. has been discovered during archaeological work conducted on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, according to a report by LiveScience. The University of Reading’s Ken Dark, who led the field survey, believes the town might be identified as Dalmanutha, which is known only from the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Mark, after Jesus miraculously multiplied seven loaves of bread and a few fish to feed a crowd of 4,000, “immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha” (Mark 8.10, NRSV).
Evidence indicates that this newly discovered coastal site was a thriving fishing town in the first century. Writing in the most recent issue of the journal Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Dark reports that the archaeological team found weights and stone anchors, while the presence of vessel glass and amphorae suggest some residents were prosperous. The researchers additionally determined that the so-called Galilee Boat, the famous 2,000 year-old boat discovered in a drought-stricken Sea of Galilee in 1986, was found on the shoreline of this fishing town. The southern side of the town lies only 500 feet away from the ancient town of Magdala, which may have been Mary Magdalene’s hometown.
While the identification of Dalmanutha remains tentative, the name has yet to be associated with any known archaeological site around the Sea of Galilee.
Read the report by LiveScience.
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/has-dalmanutha-from-the-bible-been-found/
Rennes-le-Chateau conferences 2013 ... posted 21/05/2013
Posted 30th April 2013.
11 ème COLLOQUE d'ETUDES ET DE RECHERCHES SUR RENNES-LE-CHÂTEAU
The day is as follows and reported on the blog of www.oeildusphinx.com:
"Notre programme se finalise ; ce sera le Samedi 1er Juin à la salle municipale "La Capitelle" à Rennes-le-Château
L'AUDE AU TEMPS DE SAUNIERE
10h15 - 10h30, ouverture du colloque par Yves Lignon, Président de l’ARTBS et Philippe
Marlin, Président de l’ODS
10h30 - 11h15, La Géographie économique et sociale de l'Aude au temps de Saunière par Yves Lignon
11h15 - 12 h, Mais qui était Dujardin-Baumetz ? par Laurent Octonovo, auteur.
12h -14h, Déjeuner.
14h30 - 15h15, L’Eglise au temps de Saunière par l’abbé Sémenou du Diocèse de Carcassonne.
15h15 - 16h15, La collection de monnaies de Rennes, sur la piste du trésor ? Edwige Praca, Conseil en histoire & Sabine Got, responsable du Musée de Monnaies et Médailles de
Perpignan.
16h15 - 16h45, Pause
16h45 - 17h15, Dix ans de Colloques sur Rennes -le-Château par Philippe Marlin, éditeur.
`
17h15 - 17h45, Débat et conclusion par Yves Lignon.
18h - 18h30, Remise du Prix Bérenger Saunière 2013.
19h30, Dîner au «Dragon de Rhedae»..
Frais d'inscription, 20 €
Déjeuner libre
Dîner
(facultatif), 25 € tout compris
Pour ceux qui le souhaitent, la manifestation se poursuivra le Dimanche 2 Juin par un pique-nique conférence à Alet-les-Bains.
Renseignements à [email protected]
06 11 72 38 06
Publié par Le Bibliothécaireà 19:13"
The day looks very interesting but unfortunatly i wont be able to attend. Anyone that does and wants to write up a transcript of the event, please do. I would be most grateful.
11 ème COLLOQUE d'ETUDES ET DE RECHERCHES SUR RENNES-LE-CHÂTEAU
The day is as follows and reported on the blog of www.oeildusphinx.com:
"Notre programme se finalise ; ce sera le Samedi 1er Juin à la salle municipale "La Capitelle" à Rennes-le-Château
L'AUDE AU TEMPS DE SAUNIERE
10h15 - 10h30, ouverture du colloque par Yves Lignon, Président de l’ARTBS et Philippe
Marlin, Président de l’ODS
10h30 - 11h15, La Géographie économique et sociale de l'Aude au temps de Saunière par Yves Lignon
11h15 - 12 h, Mais qui était Dujardin-Baumetz ? par Laurent Octonovo, auteur.
12h -14h, Déjeuner.
14h30 - 15h15, L’Eglise au temps de Saunière par l’abbé Sémenou du Diocèse de Carcassonne.
15h15 - 16h15, La collection de monnaies de Rennes, sur la piste du trésor ? Edwige Praca, Conseil en histoire & Sabine Got, responsable du Musée de Monnaies et Médailles de
Perpignan.
16h15 - 16h45, Pause
16h45 - 17h15, Dix ans de Colloques sur Rennes -le-Château par Philippe Marlin, éditeur.
`
17h15 - 17h45, Débat et conclusion par Yves Lignon.
18h - 18h30, Remise du Prix Bérenger Saunière 2013.
19h30, Dîner au «Dragon de Rhedae»..
Frais d'inscription, 20 €
Déjeuner libre
Dîner
(facultatif), 25 € tout compris
Pour ceux qui le souhaitent, la manifestation se poursuivra le Dimanche 2 Juin par un pique-nique conférence à Alet-les-Bains.
Renseignements à [email protected]
06 11 72 38 06
Publié par Le Bibliothécaireà 19:13"
The day looks very interesting but unfortunatly i wont be able to attend. Anyone that does and wants to write up a transcript of the event, please do. I would be most grateful.
Posted 18th/4/2013
The Municipal Council of Rennes-le-Château and its application for archaeological investigation's
Today Paul Saussez kindly updated me with the proposals for his attempts to undertake an archaeological excavation at Rennes-le-Chateau. This has been translated using Google translate and a French dictionary! I would like to thank Paul very much for keeping me updated on the projects' important proposals and in the lengthy negotiations which are required in this endeavour.
See the latest on possible excvations at Rennes-le-Chateau HERE
The Municipal Council of Rennes-le-Château and its application for archaeological investigation's
Today Paul Saussez kindly updated me with the proposals for his attempts to undertake an archaeological excavation at Rennes-le-Chateau. This has been translated using Google translate and a French dictionary! I would like to thank Paul very much for keeping me updated on the projects' important proposals and in the lengthy negotiations which are required in this endeavour.
See the latest on possible excvations at Rennes-le-Chateau HERE
Posted 12th April 2013
If you fancy attending a dig this year, try:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/digmountzion/
If you fancy attending a dig this year, try:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/digmountzion/
Posted 17th February 2013
From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/12/israel-archaeological-exhibition-herod-the-great
Israel unveils Herod's archaeological treasures Herod's mausoleum headlines Israel's most ambitious archaeological show but Palestinians say treasures should stay where they were found
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 February 2013 17.24 GMT
A magnificent mausoleum in which King Herod the Great, the biblical-era ruler of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, was laid to rest at the end of his 37-year reign of terror is the centrepiece of the most ambitious archeological exhibition ever mounted in Israel.
Herod's burial chamber, discovered less than six years ago after a 40-year search, has been reconstructed within the Israel Museum in Jerusalem for the first ever exhibition to focus on the murderous king. Thirty tonnes of artefacts were excavated from the site of the tomb, the desert palace of Herodium, situated near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, for the eight-month show, Herod the Great: The King's Final Journey.
During his bloodthirsty tyranny, he executed at least one of his wives and three of his sons as well as countless rabbis, opponents and people who simply got in his way. According to Matthew's gospel, he ordered the killing of all newborn babies following the birth of Jesus, although some scholars say his son, also called Herod, was responsible for the butchery (and others dispute it happened at all).
An ornate red flower-carved sarcophagus, believed to be Herod's, which was discovered smashed into rubble, has been painstakingly pieced together for the exhibition. In total, around 250 archaeological finds are on display, alongside models and graphic displays of his palaces.
Herod's death at the age of 70 followed an excruciating illness. According to Simon Sebag Montefiore, "Herod collapsed, suffering an agonising and gruesome putrefaction: it started as an itching all over with a glowing sensation within his intestines, then developed into a swelling of his feet and belly, complicated by an ulceration of the colon.
"His body started to ooze clear fluid, he could scarcely breathe, a vile stench emanated from him, and his genitals swelled grotesquely until his penis and scrotum burst out in suppurating gangrene that then gave birth to a seething mass of worms."
His body was taken from Jericho to Herodium to be entombed on his man-made mountain. The mausoleum was discovered in May 2007 by Ehud Netzer, an Israeli archaeologist who had devoted his career to searching for it.
Three years later, during the first visit to the site by the Israel Museum's curators and restorers, Netzer fell to his death after leaning on a barrier. The exhibition is dedicated to his memory.
The show has met with opposition from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which says Israel is in breach of international law by exhibiting artefacts excavated and removed from the West Bank.
Hamdan Taha, a PA official responsible for antiquities, said the Israel Museum had not consulted it on the excavation and exhibition. Herodium is located in Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control, and the site is administered by the Israeli Parks Authority.
The exhibition was an attempt to use "archaeology to justify Israel's political claims on the land", Taha said. The site, along with Jericho, was "an integral part of Palestinian cultural heritage", he added. The Israel Museum said that Israel was given temporary control over
archaeological sites in the West Bank under the 1993 Oslo accords, and that the museum had co-ordinated with the Israeli Civil Administration, which governs Area C.
"We have this material on loan, and it will be returned to the site after the exhibition," said James Snyder, director of the Israel Museum. "Everything is here on an authorised basis. If we had left [the artefacts] as they were, there was no way of understanding or interpreting them. We are not about politics or geopolitics; we are trying to do the best and the right thing for the long-term preservation of material cultural heritage."
Yonathan Mizrachi, of Emek Shaveh, an Israeli organisation that focuses on the role of archaeology in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said international law did not permit the removal of artefacts from occupied territory. Excavated material "should be kept in the West Bank and [Palestinian] residents must have access". The exhibition, he added, would have "a major political effect on Israeli public opinion about Jewish heritage and will strengthen claims to the
land".
From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/12/israel-archaeological-exhibition-herod-the-great
Israel unveils Herod's archaeological treasures Herod's mausoleum headlines Israel's most ambitious archaeological show but Palestinians say treasures should stay where they were found
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 February 2013 17.24 GMT
A magnificent mausoleum in which King Herod the Great, the biblical-era ruler of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, was laid to rest at the end of his 37-year reign of terror is the centrepiece of the most ambitious archeological exhibition ever mounted in Israel.
Herod's burial chamber, discovered less than six years ago after a 40-year search, has been reconstructed within the Israel Museum in Jerusalem for the first ever exhibition to focus on the murderous king. Thirty tonnes of artefacts were excavated from the site of the tomb, the desert palace of Herodium, situated near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, for the eight-month show, Herod the Great: The King's Final Journey.
During his bloodthirsty tyranny, he executed at least one of his wives and three of his sons as well as countless rabbis, opponents and people who simply got in his way. According to Matthew's gospel, he ordered the killing of all newborn babies following the birth of Jesus, although some scholars say his son, also called Herod, was responsible for the butchery (and others dispute it happened at all).
An ornate red flower-carved sarcophagus, believed to be Herod's, which was discovered smashed into rubble, has been painstakingly pieced together for the exhibition. In total, around 250 archaeological finds are on display, alongside models and graphic displays of his palaces.
Herod's death at the age of 70 followed an excruciating illness. According to Simon Sebag Montefiore, "Herod collapsed, suffering an agonising and gruesome putrefaction: it started as an itching all over with a glowing sensation within his intestines, then developed into a swelling of his feet and belly, complicated by an ulceration of the colon.
"His body started to ooze clear fluid, he could scarcely breathe, a vile stench emanated from him, and his genitals swelled grotesquely until his penis and scrotum burst out in suppurating gangrene that then gave birth to a seething mass of worms."
His body was taken from Jericho to Herodium to be entombed on his man-made mountain. The mausoleum was discovered in May 2007 by Ehud Netzer, an Israeli archaeologist who had devoted his career to searching for it.
Three years later, during the first visit to the site by the Israel Museum's curators and restorers, Netzer fell to his death after leaning on a barrier. The exhibition is dedicated to his memory.
The show has met with opposition from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which says Israel is in breach of international law by exhibiting artefacts excavated and removed from the West Bank.
Hamdan Taha, a PA official responsible for antiquities, said the Israel Museum had not consulted it on the excavation and exhibition. Herodium is located in Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control, and the site is administered by the Israeli Parks Authority.
The exhibition was an attempt to use "archaeology to justify Israel's political claims on the land", Taha said. The site, along with Jericho, was "an integral part of Palestinian cultural heritage", he added. The Israel Museum said that Israel was given temporary control over
archaeological sites in the West Bank under the 1993 Oslo accords, and that the museum had co-ordinated with the Israeli Civil Administration, which governs Area C.
"We have this material on loan, and it will be returned to the site after the exhibition," said James Snyder, director of the Israel Museum. "Everything is here on an authorised basis. If we had left [the artefacts] as they were, there was no way of understanding or interpreting them. We are not about politics or geopolitics; we are trying to do the best and the right thing for the long-term preservation of material cultural heritage."
Yonathan Mizrachi, of Emek Shaveh, an Israeli organisation that focuses on the role of archaeology in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said international law did not permit the removal of artefacts from occupied territory. Excavated material "should be kept in the West Bank and [Palestinian] residents must have access". The exhibition, he added, would have "a major political effect on Israeli public opinion about Jewish heritage and will strengthen claims to the
land".
Posted 20/1/2013
'Jesus Wife' fragment gets more testing, delays article By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog
Editor
(CNN) - One of the most anticipated articles in religion circles will be absent from the pages of the January edition of the Harvard Theological Review. Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King's final article on the "Jesus wife" fragment did not make the scholarly journal because further testing on the Coptic papyrus fragment has not been finished.
King announced the findings of the 1.5-by-3 inch, honey-colored fragment in September at the International Association for Coptic Studies conference in Rome. In a draft version of the article submitted for publication in the January edition, King and her co-author said the scrap had written in Coptic, a language used by Egyptian Christians, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife," but was then cut off.
King said the fragment dates to the 4th century but could be a copy of an early gospel from the 2nd century. King and her research partners dubbed the hypothetical text "the Gospel of Jesus' Wife."
Despite King's insistence, the discovery did not prove anything definitive on the marital status of Jesus.
The announcement of the papyrus scrap exploded in the media.
"The earliest reliable historical tradition is completely silent on that. So we're in the same position we were before it was found. We don't know if [Jesus] was married or not," King told reporters in a conference call from Rome in September.
5 questions and answers about Jesus' 'wife'
A dealer took the fragment to King for analysis and translation in 2011. The dealer wishes to remain anonymous, she said.
"We're moving ahead with the testing, but it is not yet complete, and so the article will await until we have the results," King said in an email to CNN.
"The owner of the fragment has been making arrangements for further testing and analysis of the fragment, including testing by independent laboratories with the resources and specific expertise necessary to produce and interpret reliable results. This testing is still underway," Kathyrn Dodgson, director of communications for the Harvard Divinity School, said in a email to CNN.
"Harvard Theological Review is planning to publish Professor King’s paper after conclusion of all the testing so that the results may be incorporated," Dodgson said. "Until testing is complete, there is nothing more to say at this point."
In her original article King explained how a papyrus expert had dated the fragment to the right time frame and how an expert on Coptic linguistics said the grammar seemed to fit the time period, as well. But what was untested in the early goings was the ink used on the papyrus.
Elaine Pagels, a professor from Princeton University who is an expert on gnostic writings such as this one, noted to CNN in September "You can find boxes filled with Coptic fragments," but what makes this one significant is for the first time it explicitly has Jesus referring to "my wife."
Faking antiquities is not uncommon, which is part of the reason so many critics questioned the authenticity of a text that potentially went against nearly every other ancient text concerning Jesus. Other scholars refused to comment on the find until the full battery of testing could be completed.
“The academic community has been badly burned,” Douglas A. Campbell, an associate professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School said in September, noting how similar discoveries have turned out to be fakes. The provenance of the document, "the history of where it came from and how they got it,” was a great concern to Campbell and other academics.
The Vatican newspaper weighed in on the matter in late September mincing no words and calling the fragment “a fake.”
On the day King announced the fragment, the Smithsonian channel announced it had been working with King for months on a documentary about the find and the authentication process. It had been slated to air in early October but was pulled back.
Tom Hayden, general manager of the Smithsonian channel, said in a statement in October the delay "will enable us to present a richer and more complete story. We will be announcing a new premiere date in the coming weeks."
No announcement has been made as to when the premier will happen.
From: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/03/jesus-wife-fragment-gets-more-testing-delays-article/
'Jesus Wife' fragment gets more testing, delays article By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog
Editor
(CNN) - One of the most anticipated articles in religion circles will be absent from the pages of the January edition of the Harvard Theological Review. Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King's final article on the "Jesus wife" fragment did not make the scholarly journal because further testing on the Coptic papyrus fragment has not been finished.
King announced the findings of the 1.5-by-3 inch, honey-colored fragment in September at the International Association for Coptic Studies conference in Rome. In a draft version of the article submitted for publication in the January edition, King and her co-author said the scrap had written in Coptic, a language used by Egyptian Christians, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife," but was then cut off.
King said the fragment dates to the 4th century but could be a copy of an early gospel from the 2nd century. King and her research partners dubbed the hypothetical text "the Gospel of Jesus' Wife."
Despite King's insistence, the discovery did not prove anything definitive on the marital status of Jesus.
The announcement of the papyrus scrap exploded in the media.
"The earliest reliable historical tradition is completely silent on that. So we're in the same position we were before it was found. We don't know if [Jesus] was married or not," King told reporters in a conference call from Rome in September.
5 questions and answers about Jesus' 'wife'
A dealer took the fragment to King for analysis and translation in 2011. The dealer wishes to remain anonymous, she said.
"We're moving ahead with the testing, but it is not yet complete, and so the article will await until we have the results," King said in an email to CNN.
"The owner of the fragment has been making arrangements for further testing and analysis of the fragment, including testing by independent laboratories with the resources and specific expertise necessary to produce and interpret reliable results. This testing is still underway," Kathyrn Dodgson, director of communications for the Harvard Divinity School, said in a email to CNN.
"Harvard Theological Review is planning to publish Professor King’s paper after conclusion of all the testing so that the results may be incorporated," Dodgson said. "Until testing is complete, there is nothing more to say at this point."
In her original article King explained how a papyrus expert had dated the fragment to the right time frame and how an expert on Coptic linguistics said the grammar seemed to fit the time period, as well. But what was untested in the early goings was the ink used on the papyrus.
Elaine Pagels, a professor from Princeton University who is an expert on gnostic writings such as this one, noted to CNN in September "You can find boxes filled with Coptic fragments," but what makes this one significant is for the first time it explicitly has Jesus referring to "my wife."
Faking antiquities is not uncommon, which is part of the reason so many critics questioned the authenticity of a text that potentially went against nearly every other ancient text concerning Jesus. Other scholars refused to comment on the find until the full battery of testing could be completed.
“The academic community has been badly burned,” Douglas A. Campbell, an associate professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School said in September, noting how similar discoveries have turned out to be fakes. The provenance of the document, "the history of where it came from and how they got it,” was a great concern to Campbell and other academics.
The Vatican newspaper weighed in on the matter in late September mincing no words and calling the fragment “a fake.”
On the day King announced the fragment, the Smithsonian channel announced it had been working with King for months on a documentary about the find and the authentication process. It had been slated to air in early October but was pulled back.
Tom Hayden, general manager of the Smithsonian channel, said in a statement in October the delay "will enable us to present a richer and more complete story. We will be announcing a new premiere date in the coming weeks."
No announcement has been made as to when the premier will happen.
From: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/03/jesus-wife-fragment-gets-more-testing-delays-article/
Posted 30th/12/12
Is Israel hiding the secret source of Christianity?
The Times of Israel, DECEMBER 28, 2012
Were the final resting-places of the family and disciples of Jesus discovered 30 years ago and then hidden as part of a religious-political conspiracy? The archaeological controversy swirling around two Roma-era burial tombs in Jerusalem refuses to die. Indeed, it has become something of an ugly academic slugfest. In one corner stands the Israeli archaeological establishment represented by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Professor Amos Kloner of Bar-Ilan University, backed by various respected archaeologists and scholars. In the other stands Simcha Jacobovici, the filmmaker and self-styled “Naked Archaeologist,” backed by another group of respected archaeologists and scholars. In 1981, Prof Kloner led an archaeological survey of a 1st-century burial tomb in East Talpiot, Jerusalem, that was exposed during construction works in the area. Prof Kloner was able to spend only a few minutes inside the tomb before he was chased away by a group of ultra-orthodox Jews who objected to the disturbance of what they suspected were Jewish graves. A number of stone burial boxes or ossuaries were left inside the tomb and it was resealed, eventually hidden under the patio of a newly-built apartment.
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/89182/
Is Israel hiding the secret source of Christianity?
The Times of Israel, DECEMBER 28, 2012
Were the final resting-places of the family and disciples of Jesus discovered 30 years ago and then hidden as part of a religious-political conspiracy? The archaeological controversy swirling around two Roma-era burial tombs in Jerusalem refuses to die. Indeed, it has become something of an ugly academic slugfest. In one corner stands the Israeli archaeological establishment represented by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Professor Amos Kloner of Bar-Ilan University, backed by various respected archaeologists and scholars. In the other stands Simcha Jacobovici, the filmmaker and self-styled “Naked Archaeologist,” backed by another group of respected archaeologists and scholars. In 1981, Prof Kloner led an archaeological survey of a 1st-century burial tomb in East Talpiot, Jerusalem, that was exposed during construction works in the area. Prof Kloner was able to spend only a few minutes inside the tomb before he was chased away by a group of ultra-orthodox Jews who objected to the disturbance of what they suspected were Jewish graves. A number of stone burial boxes or ossuaries were left inside the tomb and it was resealed, eventually hidden under the patio of a newly-built apartment.
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/89182/
Posted 29th/12/12
In his Prophecies, Nostradamus said that when it comes Grand Monarque at the time of the Parousia, the divinely Chosen one will be found in an ancient tomb, and discovered with vast treasures. He will be called the Grand (or Great) Roman. His mausoleum will be found after an earthquake.
The possibility has been suggested that this tomb could be in the vicinity of Coustaussa. We are told, that in 350, the Emperor Constant, youngest son of Constantine the Great, seeking to escape Magnentius who wanted him dead, was killed by solidiers when he chose to take refuge in Elne (Pyrénées-Orientales), before moving to Spain.
The location of Coustaussa held in the etymology of the name of this small town and locality. In fact, the oldest known form of the name is none other than Villa que vocatur Constantianum *. Literally: "Villa that is called Constant."
Magnentius did not take advantage of his crime. Three years later, defeated by Constantius, another son of Constantine the Great, the usurper general was forced to commit suicide. This is probably in 355, under Julian, who was in charge of the administration of Gaul, and who built the tomb of the unfortunate Constant.
We can not say, however why this burial was so richly endowed.
* Abbé Antoine Sabarthès, Dictionnaire topographique du département de l'Aude (1912).
http://radiomagdala.blogs.midilibre.com/archive/2012/12/23/coustaussa-le-tombeau-de-constant.html
For more on Constant and his link in the Rennes Affair see here: http://www.rhedesium.com/paul-sennier-and-the-treasure-of-the-aniorts.html
In his Prophecies, Nostradamus said that when it comes Grand Monarque at the time of the Parousia, the divinely Chosen one will be found in an ancient tomb, and discovered with vast treasures. He will be called the Grand (or Great) Roman. His mausoleum will be found after an earthquake.
The possibility has been suggested that this tomb could be in the vicinity of Coustaussa. We are told, that in 350, the Emperor Constant, youngest son of Constantine the Great, seeking to escape Magnentius who wanted him dead, was killed by solidiers when he chose to take refuge in Elne (Pyrénées-Orientales), before moving to Spain.
The location of Coustaussa held in the etymology of the name of this small town and locality. In fact, the oldest known form of the name is none other than Villa que vocatur Constantianum *. Literally: "Villa that is called Constant."
Magnentius did not take advantage of his crime. Three years later, defeated by Constantius, another son of Constantine the Great, the usurper general was forced to commit suicide. This is probably in 355, under Julian, who was in charge of the administration of Gaul, and who built the tomb of the unfortunate Constant.
We can not say, however why this burial was so richly endowed.
* Abbé Antoine Sabarthès, Dictionnaire topographique du département de l'Aude (1912).
http://radiomagdala.blogs.midilibre.com/archive/2012/12/23/coustaussa-le-tombeau-de-constant.html
For more on Constant and his link in the Rennes Affair see here: http://www.rhedesium.com/paul-sennier-and-the-treasure-of-the-aniorts.html
Posted 1/12/12
THE FOUNTAINS OF LE CERCLE & THE CROSS OF LE CERCLE
The area around the hamlet "Le Cercle" - Rennes-les-bains
Two new observations to remember: Although there is a cross on the cadastral parcel "la croix du cercle" it is simply the plight of Rennes-les-Bains! (See below). The structure of the fountain circle suggests "a point within a circle" - a beautiful symbolic achievement.
See here: http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://rennes-chateau.onlc.fr/75-Les-alentours-du-hameau-Le-Cercle---Rennes-les-bains.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://rennes-chateau.onlc.fr/75-Les-alentours-du-hameau-Le-Cercle---Rennes-les-bains.html%26hl%3Den%26tbo%3Dd%26biw%3D1904%26bih%3D892&sa=X&ei=Ige6ULuPMKS-0QWk2YDwCA&ved=0CDAQ7gEwAA
THE FOUNTAINS OF LE CERCLE & THE CROSS OF LE CERCLE
The area around the hamlet "Le Cercle" - Rennes-les-bains
Two new observations to remember: Although there is a cross on the cadastral parcel "la croix du cercle" it is simply the plight of Rennes-les-Bains! (See below). The structure of the fountain circle suggests "a point within a circle" - a beautiful symbolic achievement.
See here: http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://rennes-chateau.onlc.fr/75-Les-alentours-du-hameau-Le-Cercle---Rennes-les-bains.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://rennes-chateau.onlc.fr/75-Les-alentours-du-hameau-Le-Cercle---Rennes-les-bains.html%26hl%3Den%26tbo%3Dd%26biw%3D1904%26bih%3D892&sa=X&ei=Ige6ULuPMKS-0QWk2YDwCA&ved=0CDAQ7gEwAA
Posted 1/12/12
The absence of archaeological remains at Rennes-le-Chateau assume's that the present village of Rennes-le-Château was perhaps not the ancient Rhedae cited in ancient texts. Former capital of the Razès its population, if consistent, must have been numerous. Baron Trouvé, who was prefect of the Aude, already reflected on this in his book General description and statistical department of Aude (1818). For him, Limoux already existed at the time of Julius Caesar, but under another name: Rhedae or Redda. It was then a large agglomeration huddled around a fort perched on a hill overlooking the Aude (then called the Atax). It is now a place designated on the maps under the name of ... Pontils ! In turn, the lawyer Fonds-Lamothe, in his Notes on the historic town of Limoux (1838), takes up the idea. Certainly, it is surprising that analogies of toponymic names are in use in Rennes and Limoux. Thus, a Castle Redda is still cited in 1258. However, the small town of Limoux was sacked by the crusaders of Simon de Montfort in 1209. How can we still speak of a castle after that?
A few years ago, an archaeologist from Limoux, Dominique Baudreu became interested in this Pontils site. Bounded by the Cougain river and the River Aude, the location, comprising a generally oval hill, lies over a range of about ten hectares (550 m long and 300 m wide). By comparison, this is roughly the same area occupied by the city of Carcassonne! At the time of Fonds-Lamothe, this land of Pontils had already been found to have produced carved stones, broken tiles and remnants of substructures of perhaps houses. Four silos were also located. Will we see a new Trojan War? ... Will a new Schliemann save us?
Meanwhile, the journey will not be without noticing the name of Pontils, found in the vicinity of Rennes-le-Château. And whose standing stone of the same name is a milestone in our business.
This News is taken from the very good site: http://radiomagdala.blogs.midilibre.com/
This site is definitely worth a look.
The absence of archaeological remains at Rennes-le-Chateau assume's that the present village of Rennes-le-Château was perhaps not the ancient Rhedae cited in ancient texts. Former capital of the Razès its population, if consistent, must have been numerous. Baron Trouvé, who was prefect of the Aude, already reflected on this in his book General description and statistical department of Aude (1818). For him, Limoux already existed at the time of Julius Caesar, but under another name: Rhedae or Redda. It was then a large agglomeration huddled around a fort perched on a hill overlooking the Aude (then called the Atax). It is now a place designated on the maps under the name of ... Pontils ! In turn, the lawyer Fonds-Lamothe, in his Notes on the historic town of Limoux (1838), takes up the idea. Certainly, it is surprising that analogies of toponymic names are in use in Rennes and Limoux. Thus, a Castle Redda is still cited in 1258. However, the small town of Limoux was sacked by the crusaders of Simon de Montfort in 1209. How can we still speak of a castle after that?
A few years ago, an archaeologist from Limoux, Dominique Baudreu became interested in this Pontils site. Bounded by the Cougain river and the River Aude, the location, comprising a generally oval hill, lies over a range of about ten hectares (550 m long and 300 m wide). By comparison, this is roughly the same area occupied by the city of Carcassonne! At the time of Fonds-Lamothe, this land of Pontils had already been found to have produced carved stones, broken tiles and remnants of substructures of perhaps houses. Four silos were also located. Will we see a new Trojan War? ... Will a new Schliemann save us?
Meanwhile, the journey will not be without noticing the name of Pontils, found in the vicinity of Rennes-le-Château. And whose standing stone of the same name is a milestone in our business.
This News is taken from the very good site: http://radiomagdala.blogs.midilibre.com/
This site is definitely worth a look.
Mercure de Gaillon announcement of 13th/10/2012
21/10/2012
On 21st June i published on this blog details regarding what i call the Tobit affair. This stemmed from assertions made here at this website http://www.lemercuredegaillon.net/gaillon27/dossier_blancassalz.htm about an ‘exclusive announcement’ to listeners of Jean-Claude Carton on the radio station IDFM98 (Radio Enghien) June 3rd. During the announcement it was said that '" ... a ‘secret site’ has been found
directly linked to Saunière through the recent papers that have come to light including the Book of Tobit auction material. No place name has been announced on the radio and it has not been announced on the website. This is to protect the site from pillaging or destruction'. This report was 'prepared to announce,
prior to the discovery of the site. The following documents (listed on the site) are authentic keys having been used to locate this place and proving the existence of a secret cache or secret ".
On the 13th October Mercure de Gaillon gave further information about the other documents
(presumably) used by Saunière to find this 'hidden cache'.
They said:
'Hi everyone, regular readers of Mercure de Gaillon will remember this auction at Drouot in 2009 which
somewhat changed the face of the history of Rennes-le-Château. Sale of archives belonging to the Hautpoul family smashed preconceptions about this conundrum ... We post some of these documents starting with:
- The transaction Camps sur l'Agly (Liber Tobiae affair) - Fanum II
To follow will be some archives on Hieron du Val d'Or
- The Paraudienne Union - Fanum II
- Novissimum Organon, table of 1899 - Fanum II.
Read also:
- Notice of Etretat (1867) - Fanum II.
- J. Bois, M. Maeterlinck and the esoteric currents - Fanum II
- Document of the Boudet-Rivail affair (A. Kardec in Gisors) - Fanum I
- Legends of the trembling Stones - Fanum I "(Le Mercure de Gaillon)
Originally reported here: http://www.portail-rennes-le-chateau.com/gazette/
With thanks to Johan Netchacovitch.
21/10/2012
On 21st June i published on this blog details regarding what i call the Tobit affair. This stemmed from assertions made here at this website http://www.lemercuredegaillon.net/gaillon27/dossier_blancassalz.htm about an ‘exclusive announcement’ to listeners of Jean-Claude Carton on the radio station IDFM98 (Radio Enghien) June 3rd. During the announcement it was said that '" ... a ‘secret site’ has been found
directly linked to Saunière through the recent papers that have come to light including the Book of Tobit auction material. No place name has been announced on the radio and it has not been announced on the website. This is to protect the site from pillaging or destruction'. This report was 'prepared to announce,
prior to the discovery of the site. The following documents (listed on the site) are authentic keys having been used to locate this place and proving the existence of a secret cache or secret ".
On the 13th October Mercure de Gaillon gave further information about the other documents
(presumably) used by Saunière to find this 'hidden cache'.
They said:
'Hi everyone, regular readers of Mercure de Gaillon will remember this auction at Drouot in 2009 which
somewhat changed the face of the history of Rennes-le-Château. Sale of archives belonging to the Hautpoul family smashed preconceptions about this conundrum ... We post some of these documents starting with:
- The transaction Camps sur l'Agly (Liber Tobiae affair) - Fanum II
To follow will be some archives on Hieron du Val d'Or
- The Paraudienne Union - Fanum II
- Novissimum Organon, table of 1899 - Fanum II.
Read also:
- Notice of Etretat (1867) - Fanum II.
- J. Bois, M. Maeterlinck and the esoteric currents - Fanum II
- Document of the Boudet-Rivail affair (A. Kardec in Gisors) - Fanum I
- Legends of the trembling Stones - Fanum I "(Le Mercure de Gaillon)
Originally reported here: http://www.portail-rennes-le-chateau.com/gazette/
With thanks to Johan Netchacovitch.
Is the Harvard Theological Review a Coward or Did Dr. Karen King Do Something Wrong?
Publication of scholar’s article on “gospel of Jesus’ wife” postponed
Hershel Shanks• 10/16/2012
Poor Karen King. The prestigious Harvard Theological Review (HTR) has withdrawn her article from its publication schedule—at least temporarily. It was supposed to go into the January 2013 issue. Not anymore! What did she do so wrong?
Professor King is not some young scholar with a fresh Ph.D. At the Harvard Divinity School, she is the Hollis Professor of Divinity, the oldest endowed academic chair in the United States.
And of course everyone is talking about it. Google her name and (supposedly) more than 34 million entries are listed in less than a third of a second.
The article, as almost all of you know, is about an ancient Coptic papyrus text the size of a business card in which Jesus refers to “my wife.” (See “A ‘Gospel of Jesus’ Wife’ on a Coptic Papyrus.”)
King is an old hand at this kind of scholarly article. She has published lots of books and articles with this same scholarly heft. Her HTR article is long and heavily footnoted. It is cautious and restrained. And she has consulted a number of equally prestigious scholars to make sure her scholarship is sound. One, AnneMarie Luijendijk, a leading papyrologist from Princeton University, is listed as a contributor right under King’s name, almost as a co-author. Numerous other scholars are referred to in the article, including Roger Bagnell, director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, to whom King refers as a “renowned papyrologist” and expresses her “sincere gratitude.”
So what did King do so wrong to deserve this?
Of course, the first thought is that she dared to suggest that Jesus was married—shades of Dan Bown’s fictitious novel The Da Vinci Code. But this is not true. King is explicit that this papyrus text has nothing to do with whether Jesus actually had a wife. This text, she says, “provides no reliable historical information” about “whether the historical Jesus had a wife.” And again: “[This text] does not, however, provide evidence that the historical Jesus was married” [emphasis in original]. King suggests the text dates from the fourth century and is a copy of a second-century document. “The importance of [this document] lies in supplying a new voice within the diverse chorus of early Christian traditions about Jesus that documents that some Christians depicted Jesus as married.” In other words, in the centuries after Jesus death, did some Christians think that Jesus had been married? That’s the thesis of King’s article.
There is no doubt that in the centuries after Jesus lived, Christians talked and wrote about the possibility that Jesus was married. This was part of Christian explorations of the meaning of sex and marriage. This discussion has been going on for a long time and numerous modern scholars have written about it. It includes the possibility, based on some apocryphal gospels, that some Christians in the centuries after Jesus lived thought that he was married to Mary Magdalene. In short, discussions like that in King’s HTR article are part of a vast scholarly literature.
Moreover, King is cautious even in her conclusion that some later Christians believed that Jesus was married. She finds the suggestion “plausible,” but this papyrus, she tells us, is “much too fragmentary to sustain these readings with certainty.” Elsewhere she repeats this hesitant conclusion: It is only “probably” the case that in the centuries after Jesus’ death, some Christians believed that he was married. In conclusion, King assesses this papyrus within the “rich literature that illustrates the enormous diversity of early Christian perspectives regarding matters of sex, gender, reproduction, and marriage … Already in the oldest extant literature, the letters of Paul, we hear of questions about whether to marry or engage even in marital relations (1 Corinthians 6–7).”
So why shouldn’t this scholarly discussion be printed in the Harvard Theological Review? Well, because the papyrus text might be a fake. Some clever forger may have been at work.
King thoroughly discusses this issue in her article. This is nothing she has tried to brush under the rug. Two anonymous reviewers raised questions about the authenticity of the text and suggested it be reviewed by experienced Coptic papyrologists. They had seen only low resolution photographs, but more importantly they were unaware that two leading Coptic papyrologists, Luijendijk and Bagnell, had already judged the text to be authentic.
It is no surprise that some scholars will view the papyrus and its contents differently. And this is the case here, particularly with regard to the authenticity of the text. This is certainly a legitimate question that should be discussed, along with all the other questions surrounding the text’s date and interpretation.
A number of scholars have discussed whether the text might be a forgery, but the only authority I know to declare it unqualifiedly “a fake” is Gian Maria Vian, the editor-in-chief of L’Observatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper. His unqualified conclusion is stated in an editorial in the newspaper; the Vatican is clearly concerned about King’s analysis of the text. With due respect for Mr. Vian’s scholarship, however, he is not well known for his competence in Coptic.
The chief academic to question the authenticity of the text is Francis Watson of Durham University in England. He is certainly skeptical, but that’s as far as he goes. He argues that the text “may be a modern fake.” His reason is that much of the text resembles the text of an apocryphal Coptic gospel, the Gospel of Thomas. Watson emphasizes that nothing in his analysis “make[s] it in any way certain that [this text] is a modern fake” [emphasis in original]. Other scholars, moreover, point out that such amalgams from contemporaneous texts are often found in authentic ancient compositions.
The bottom line is that there are a number of uncertainties about this text—its date, the text itself, its relationship to other texts of the period, and of course its authenticity. All these issues are—and should be—a matter of debate. At least two great Coptic scholars, Luijendijk of Princeton and Bagnell of NYU, regard the text as authentic, dating to the fourth century. So there are two sides (at least) to the authenticity debate.
What is wrong, however, is for the Harvard Theological Review to suspend publication because of the dispute about authenticity. Dispute is the life of scholarship. It is to be welcomed, not fled from. When a professor at the Harvard Divinity School, backed up by two experts from Princeton and NYU who declare the text to be authentic, presents the case—and tentatively at that—that should be enough for HTR to publish King’s article, not to cowardly suspend its decision to publish. Instead, HTR has cringed because there will now be a dispute as to authenticity. This is shameful.
From: http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/is-the-harvard-theological-review-a-coward-or-did-dr-karen-king-do-something-wrong/
Publication of scholar’s article on “gospel of Jesus’ wife” postponed
Hershel Shanks• 10/16/2012
Poor Karen King. The prestigious Harvard Theological Review (HTR) has withdrawn her article from its publication schedule—at least temporarily. It was supposed to go into the January 2013 issue. Not anymore! What did she do so wrong?
Professor King is not some young scholar with a fresh Ph.D. At the Harvard Divinity School, she is the Hollis Professor of Divinity, the oldest endowed academic chair in the United States.
And of course everyone is talking about it. Google her name and (supposedly) more than 34 million entries are listed in less than a third of a second.
The article, as almost all of you know, is about an ancient Coptic papyrus text the size of a business card in which Jesus refers to “my wife.” (See “A ‘Gospel of Jesus’ Wife’ on a Coptic Papyrus.”)
King is an old hand at this kind of scholarly article. She has published lots of books and articles with this same scholarly heft. Her HTR article is long and heavily footnoted. It is cautious and restrained. And she has consulted a number of equally prestigious scholars to make sure her scholarship is sound. One, AnneMarie Luijendijk, a leading papyrologist from Princeton University, is listed as a contributor right under King’s name, almost as a co-author. Numerous other scholars are referred to in the article, including Roger Bagnell, director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, to whom King refers as a “renowned papyrologist” and expresses her “sincere gratitude.”
So what did King do so wrong to deserve this?
Of course, the first thought is that she dared to suggest that Jesus was married—shades of Dan Bown’s fictitious novel The Da Vinci Code. But this is not true. King is explicit that this papyrus text has nothing to do with whether Jesus actually had a wife. This text, she says, “provides no reliable historical information” about “whether the historical Jesus had a wife.” And again: “[This text] does not, however, provide evidence that the historical Jesus was married” [emphasis in original]. King suggests the text dates from the fourth century and is a copy of a second-century document. “The importance of [this document] lies in supplying a new voice within the diverse chorus of early Christian traditions about Jesus that documents that some Christians depicted Jesus as married.” In other words, in the centuries after Jesus death, did some Christians think that Jesus had been married? That’s the thesis of King’s article.
There is no doubt that in the centuries after Jesus lived, Christians talked and wrote about the possibility that Jesus was married. This was part of Christian explorations of the meaning of sex and marriage. This discussion has been going on for a long time and numerous modern scholars have written about it. It includes the possibility, based on some apocryphal gospels, that some Christians in the centuries after Jesus lived thought that he was married to Mary Magdalene. In short, discussions like that in King’s HTR article are part of a vast scholarly literature.
Moreover, King is cautious even in her conclusion that some later Christians believed that Jesus was married. She finds the suggestion “plausible,” but this papyrus, she tells us, is “much too fragmentary to sustain these readings with certainty.” Elsewhere she repeats this hesitant conclusion: It is only “probably” the case that in the centuries after Jesus’ death, some Christians believed that he was married. In conclusion, King assesses this papyrus within the “rich literature that illustrates the enormous diversity of early Christian perspectives regarding matters of sex, gender, reproduction, and marriage … Already in the oldest extant literature, the letters of Paul, we hear of questions about whether to marry or engage even in marital relations (1 Corinthians 6–7).”
So why shouldn’t this scholarly discussion be printed in the Harvard Theological Review? Well, because the papyrus text might be a fake. Some clever forger may have been at work.
King thoroughly discusses this issue in her article. This is nothing she has tried to brush under the rug. Two anonymous reviewers raised questions about the authenticity of the text and suggested it be reviewed by experienced Coptic papyrologists. They had seen only low resolution photographs, but more importantly they were unaware that two leading Coptic papyrologists, Luijendijk and Bagnell, had already judged the text to be authentic.
It is no surprise that some scholars will view the papyrus and its contents differently. And this is the case here, particularly with regard to the authenticity of the text. This is certainly a legitimate question that should be discussed, along with all the other questions surrounding the text’s date and interpretation.
A number of scholars have discussed whether the text might be a forgery, but the only authority I know to declare it unqualifiedly “a fake” is Gian Maria Vian, the editor-in-chief of L’Observatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper. His unqualified conclusion is stated in an editorial in the newspaper; the Vatican is clearly concerned about King’s analysis of the text. With due respect for Mr. Vian’s scholarship, however, he is not well known for his competence in Coptic.
The chief academic to question the authenticity of the text is Francis Watson of Durham University in England. He is certainly skeptical, but that’s as far as he goes. He argues that the text “may be a modern fake.” His reason is that much of the text resembles the text of an apocryphal Coptic gospel, the Gospel of Thomas. Watson emphasizes that nothing in his analysis “make[s] it in any way certain that [this text] is a modern fake” [emphasis in original]. Other scholars, moreover, point out that such amalgams from contemporaneous texts are often found in authentic ancient compositions.
The bottom line is that there are a number of uncertainties about this text—its date, the text itself, its relationship to other texts of the period, and of course its authenticity. All these issues are—and should be—a matter of debate. At least two great Coptic scholars, Luijendijk of Princeton and Bagnell of NYU, regard the text as authentic, dating to the fourth century. So there are two sides (at least) to the authenticity debate.
What is wrong, however, is for the Harvard Theological Review to suspend publication because of the dispute about authenticity. Dispute is the life of scholarship. It is to be welcomed, not fled from. When a professor at the Harvard Divinity School, backed up by two experts from Princeton and NYU who declare the text to be authentic, presents the case—and tentatively at that—that should be enough for HTR to publish King’s article, not to cowardly suspend its decision to publish. Instead, HTR has cringed because there will now be a dispute as to authenticity. This is shameful.
From: http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/is-the-harvard-theological-review-a-coward-or-did-dr-karen-king-do-something-wrong/
A “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” on a Coptic Papyrus
A refutation: The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife: How a fake Gospel-Fragment was composed
By Francis Watson
Published Online (2012)
Introduction: A gospel or gospel-fragment might be regarded as “fake” whether its author belongs to the ancient or the modern world. In both cases, the aim would be to persuade as many readers as possible to take the new text seriously – as a window onto unknown aspects of Jesus’ life, or how it was perceived by his later followers. In her thorough and helpful analysis of the text that is coming to be known as the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife (GJW), Karen King rightly points out that new items of information about the historical Jesus are not to be expected from it. It can though provide valuable insights into early Christian debates about sexuality and gender. At least, it can do so if it is “genuine”, genuinely old. King admits to initial scepticism, but is now convinced that this papyrus fragment derives from a fourth century copy of a second century text.
I shall argue here that scepticism is exactly the right attitude. The text has been constructed out of small pieces – words or phrases – culled mostly from the Coptic Gospel of Thomas (GTh), Sayings 101 and 114, and set in new contexts. This is most probably the compositional procedure of a modern author who is not a native speaker of Coptic.
My line-by-line comparisons of GJW with GTh (and in one case with Matthew) will focus only on the recto side of the fragment that King has transcribed, translated and edited. Underlinings in Coptic texts and English translations highlight identical wording in Thomas (or Matthew) and GJW. An asterisk (*) indicates a departure from King’s translation. Readers without Coptic will I hope find the argument easy enough to follow.
See article here: http://historyoftheancientworld.com/2012/09/the-gospel-of-jesus-wife-how-a-fake-gospel-fragment-was-composed/
A refutation: The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife: How a fake Gospel-Fragment was composed
By Francis Watson
Published Online (2012)
Introduction: A gospel or gospel-fragment might be regarded as “fake” whether its author belongs to the ancient or the modern world. In both cases, the aim would be to persuade as many readers as possible to take the new text seriously – as a window onto unknown aspects of Jesus’ life, or how it was perceived by his later followers. In her thorough and helpful analysis of the text that is coming to be known as the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife (GJW), Karen King rightly points out that new items of information about the historical Jesus are not to be expected from it. It can though provide valuable insights into early Christian debates about sexuality and gender. At least, it can do so if it is “genuine”, genuinely old. King admits to initial scepticism, but is now convinced that this papyrus fragment derives from a fourth century copy of a second century text.
I shall argue here that scepticism is exactly the right attitude. The text has been constructed out of small pieces – words or phrases – culled mostly from the Coptic Gospel of Thomas (GTh), Sayings 101 and 114, and set in new contexts. This is most probably the compositional procedure of a modern author who is not a native speaker of Coptic.
My line-by-line comparisons of GJW with GTh (and in one case with Matthew) will focus only on the recto side of the fragment that King has transcribed, translated and edited. Underlinings in Coptic texts and English translations highlight identical wording in Thomas (or Matthew) and GJW. An asterisk (*) indicates a departure from King’s translation. Readers without Coptic will I hope find the argument easy enough to follow.
See article here: http://historyoftheancientworld.com/2012/09/the-gospel-of-jesus-wife-how-a-fake-gospel-fragment-was-composed/
A “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” on a Coptic Papyrus
Bible and archaeology news - Noah Wiener• 19/9/2012
An Early Reference to Jesus’ Wife
Christian tradition holds that Jesus was not married. While the New Testament never mentions Jesus’ wife, it never explicitly states that he is not married. On Tuesday, September 18th, 2012, early Christianity scholar Karen L. King of the Harvard Divinity School announced the discovery of a Coptic papyrus fragment that includes the text “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …’”
This early Christian Coptic papyrus includes an early reference to Jesus' wife, whose existence is never explicitly stated or denied in the New Testament. Photograph by Karen L. King
King has made it clear that this fourth-century “previously unknown gospel” does not imply that Jesus had a wife; instead, if authentic, the text reveals that an early Christian population believed that Jesus was married. King posits that the Coptic fragment is a translation of a late second-century Greek gospel. Interestingly, the earliest extant claim that Jesus was not married was recorded by Clement of Alexandra around 200 C.E.. These nearly contemporaneous yet
divergent early Christian texts reveal that the extended debate on Jesus’ wife, his celibacy and Christian behavior dates back to an earlier period than previously believed.
Understanding the Coptic Papyrus
The 1.5 x 3in Coptic papyrus fragment contains 8 lines on the front and six on the back. While the newly announced text is shrouded by a sea of unanswered questions—the original provenience is unknown and the owner of the collection has asked to remain anonymous—King consulted scholars from esteemed institutions including the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, Princeton University, the Harvard Theological Review and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who verify the text’s authenticity.
King unveiled the discovery at Tuesday’s 10th International Congress of Coptic Studies in Rome and the announcement immediately attracted the media’s attention, which will undoubtedly lead to further testing. While the faded ink, the grammar and handwriting appear authentic, King plans to conduct spectrometry and further analysis on the papyrus’ date and authenticity.
Mary Magdalene as a Disciple
The passage “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …’” is not the only revealing text in this Coptic papyrus fragment. Another clause says “she will be able to be my disciple.” Other phrases include “My mother gave to me life” and “Mary is worthy of it.”
Karen King of the Harvard Divinity School examines what she describes as "a new gospel." The text does not prove the existence of Jesus’ wife; instead, it shows that an early Christian population believed that he was married.
Dan Brown caught the public’s attention with sensational stories of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’ wife. What was her role in the New Testament? Three of the four canonical gospels only mention her in connection with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Only Luke mentions Mary Magdalene in connection with Jesus’ life, where she follows Jesus, spreading word of his deeds from town to town.
King dated the original composition of this “new gospel” by a comparison with similarly phrased Gnostic gospels including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Philip. The Gospel of Philip provides some insightful clues into the relationship of Mary and Jesus. In the article “Did Jesus Marry?” Birger A. Pearson analyzes Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Philip. While Dan Brown used the restored text, “And the companion of the Savior was Mary Magdalene. The Savior loved her more than all the
disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth” to suggest that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, Pearson points out that:
More importantly, immediately following the first passage quoted above, Jesus goes on to explain Mary’s special role in terms of her capacity to receive his instruction—and not her sex appeal. When, in the Gospel of Philip, the disciples ask Jesus why he loves Mary more than them, Jesus responds, “Why do I not love you like her?” He then answers his own question: “When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will
remain in darkness.”1 Jesus is suggesting that he favors Mary because she is like a sighted person compared with the dullard male disciples, who are like blind men. Thus, Mary’s “companionship” is spiritual rather than physical.
King’s “new gospel” may provide a more explicit indication that some early Christian communities believed that Jesus was married, and moreover, that Mary Magdalene was his wife. While the fragment’s date several centuries after the life of Jesus precludes contemporaneous evidence of the historical Jesus, the discovery may greatly further our understanding of early Christian perception of marriage and the New Testament.
See article here:
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/a-gospel-of-jesus-wife-on-a-coptic-papyrus/
Bible and archaeology news - Noah Wiener• 19/9/2012
An Early Reference to Jesus’ Wife
Christian tradition holds that Jesus was not married. While the New Testament never mentions Jesus’ wife, it never explicitly states that he is not married. On Tuesday, September 18th, 2012, early Christianity scholar Karen L. King of the Harvard Divinity School announced the discovery of a Coptic papyrus fragment that includes the text “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …’”
This early Christian Coptic papyrus includes an early reference to Jesus' wife, whose existence is never explicitly stated or denied in the New Testament. Photograph by Karen L. King
King has made it clear that this fourth-century “previously unknown gospel” does not imply that Jesus had a wife; instead, if authentic, the text reveals that an early Christian population believed that Jesus was married. King posits that the Coptic fragment is a translation of a late second-century Greek gospel. Interestingly, the earliest extant claim that Jesus was not married was recorded by Clement of Alexandra around 200 C.E.. These nearly contemporaneous yet
divergent early Christian texts reveal that the extended debate on Jesus’ wife, his celibacy and Christian behavior dates back to an earlier period than previously believed.
Understanding the Coptic Papyrus
The 1.5 x 3in Coptic papyrus fragment contains 8 lines on the front and six on the back. While the newly announced text is shrouded by a sea of unanswered questions—the original provenience is unknown and the owner of the collection has asked to remain anonymous—King consulted scholars from esteemed institutions including the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, Princeton University, the Harvard Theological Review and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who verify the text’s authenticity.
King unveiled the discovery at Tuesday’s 10th International Congress of Coptic Studies in Rome and the announcement immediately attracted the media’s attention, which will undoubtedly lead to further testing. While the faded ink, the grammar and handwriting appear authentic, King plans to conduct spectrometry and further analysis on the papyrus’ date and authenticity.
Mary Magdalene as a Disciple
The passage “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …’” is not the only revealing text in this Coptic papyrus fragment. Another clause says “she will be able to be my disciple.” Other phrases include “My mother gave to me life” and “Mary is worthy of it.”
Karen King of the Harvard Divinity School examines what she describes as "a new gospel." The text does not prove the existence of Jesus’ wife; instead, it shows that an early Christian population believed that he was married.
Dan Brown caught the public’s attention with sensational stories of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’ wife. What was her role in the New Testament? Three of the four canonical gospels only mention her in connection with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Only Luke mentions Mary Magdalene in connection with Jesus’ life, where she follows Jesus, spreading word of his deeds from town to town.
King dated the original composition of this “new gospel” by a comparison with similarly phrased Gnostic gospels including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Philip. The Gospel of Philip provides some insightful clues into the relationship of Mary and Jesus. In the article “Did Jesus Marry?” Birger A. Pearson analyzes Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Philip. While Dan Brown used the restored text, “And the companion of the Savior was Mary Magdalene. The Savior loved her more than all the
disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth” to suggest that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, Pearson points out that:
More importantly, immediately following the first passage quoted above, Jesus goes on to explain Mary’s special role in terms of her capacity to receive his instruction—and not her sex appeal. When, in the Gospel of Philip, the disciples ask Jesus why he loves Mary more than them, Jesus responds, “Why do I not love you like her?” He then answers his own question: “When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will
remain in darkness.”1 Jesus is suggesting that he favors Mary because she is like a sighted person compared with the dullard male disciples, who are like blind men. Thus, Mary’s “companionship” is spiritual rather than physical.
King’s “new gospel” may provide a more explicit indication that some early Christian communities believed that Jesus was married, and moreover, that Mary Magdalene was his wife. While the fragment’s date several centuries after the life of Jesus precludes contemporaneous evidence of the historical Jesus, the discovery may greatly further our understanding of early Christian perception of marriage and the New Testament.
See article here:
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/a-gospel-of-jesus-wife-on-a-coptic-papyrus/
Posted 26th August 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012 -
Last conference in the 2012 season organized by the Friends of the Salz: "The secret and sacred aspect of the Knights Templar" - The Arcane Guardians of the Temple" by Patrick Rivière, author of numerous books on alchemy, the Grail, the Templars and Rennes-le-Château.
In the fifth edition of his book "The Templars and their mysteries," Patrick Rivière unveils the enigmatic "Baphomet". He says "Of all the orders of knighthood, none had an extraordinary and tragic fate as that of the Templars. The Order of the Temple distinguished itself during the
Crusades in the Holy Land by their feats of arms and the protection of pilgrims.
In two centuries of existence, they established many commanderies in Europe, to become a true "state within a state", which earned them the envy and even hatred of King Philippe le
Bel, by an unfair trial that brings the condemnation and suppression of the Order. What was the origin of the Templar treasure? What would they have discovered in Jerusalem? Was there a
parallel hierarchy or "inner circle" in the order of Temple? Was there a secret teaching based on esoteric doctrines whose symbolism echoed was echoed by the Templar's? Where are the successors? In this new edition the author attempts to answer these fundamental questions. He lifts the veil and the enigmatic "Baphomet", in the heart of the charges by the Inquisition against the Templars during their trial [which] was ignominiously brought."
From: http://portail-rennes-le-chateau.com/riviere.html
Posted 20th/8/2012
QUEENS OF THE MEROVINGIANS
http://www.archaeologisches-museum.frankfurt.de/english/temporary/preview.html
Graves of the nobility from churches in Cologne, Saint-Denis, Chelles and Frankfurt •
10th November 2012 to 24th February 2013.
In co-operation with the Musée d’Archéologie nationale of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the
Domschatzkammer Cologne.
On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, the Archäologische Museum, Frankfurt will hold an exhibition in the winter 2012/2013 on the exceptional burial furnishings of three queens, whose names are known, from the mythical race of the Merovingians:
Wisigarde from Cologne Cathedral († ca. 540),
Arnegunde from the Cathedral of Saint-Denis († ca. 575) and
Balthilde from the church in Chelles († ca. 680).
The queens’ graves will be supplemented by the rich child’s grave under Frankfurt Cathedral (early 8th century). Here, we are looking at the bi-ritual double burial of a 4 to 5-year old Christian girl from the upper Frankish nobility, and a further child of the same age, which however in accordance with old-Germanic tradition had been wrapped in a bear skin and burned. The latest research results will be presented here for the first time to a wider public.
Lectures
The lectures take place in German, Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in the Archäologische Museum. Free entry.
BETWEEN THRONE AND CLOISTER CELL - Queens in Merovingian France
Series of lectures of the Archaeologische Museum Frankfurt and the Musée d’Archéologie nationale de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in co-operation with and supported by the
EUROPA-KULTURTAGE der EZB – Frankreich 2012
The mysterious ‘princess’ beneath Frankfurt’s Cathedral of St Bartholemew
Prof. Dr. Egon Wamers, Archäologisches Museum Frankfurt
• 31.10.2012
Church Grave and Grave Church
Elite burials in Merovingian churches of France and Germany
PD Dr. Sebastian Ristow, University of Cologne
• 14.11.2012
Powerful and powerless women – the Merovingian queens in the 6th and 7th centuries
Prof. Dr. Martina Hartmann, University of Munich
• 28.11.2012
Pious and powerful Women in the Church of the Early Middle Ages
Dr. Antje Kluge-Pinsker, Römisch-Germanisches
Zentralmuseum Mainz
• 5.12.2012
Women in the Merovingian Empire – Queens – Ladies – Maids. Archaeological studies into the social status of female members of the elite
Dr. Ursula Koch, Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Mannheim
• 12.12.2012
QUEENS OF THE MEROVINGIANS
http://www.archaeologisches-museum.frankfurt.de/english/temporary/preview.html
Graves of the nobility from churches in Cologne, Saint-Denis, Chelles and Frankfurt •
10th November 2012 to 24th February 2013.
In co-operation with the Musée d’Archéologie nationale of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the
Domschatzkammer Cologne.
On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, the Archäologische Museum, Frankfurt will hold an exhibition in the winter 2012/2013 on the exceptional burial furnishings of three queens, whose names are known, from the mythical race of the Merovingians:
Wisigarde from Cologne Cathedral († ca. 540),
Arnegunde from the Cathedral of Saint-Denis († ca. 575) and
Balthilde from the church in Chelles († ca. 680).
The queens’ graves will be supplemented by the rich child’s grave under Frankfurt Cathedral (early 8th century). Here, we are looking at the bi-ritual double burial of a 4 to 5-year old Christian girl from the upper Frankish nobility, and a further child of the same age, which however in accordance with old-Germanic tradition had been wrapped in a bear skin and burned. The latest research results will be presented here for the first time to a wider public.
Lectures
The lectures take place in German, Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in the Archäologische Museum. Free entry.
BETWEEN THRONE AND CLOISTER CELL - Queens in Merovingian France
Series of lectures of the Archaeologische Museum Frankfurt and the Musée d’Archéologie nationale de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in co-operation with and supported by the
EUROPA-KULTURTAGE der EZB – Frankreich 2012
The mysterious ‘princess’ beneath Frankfurt’s Cathedral of St Bartholemew
Prof. Dr. Egon Wamers, Archäologisches Museum Frankfurt
• 31.10.2012
Church Grave and Grave Church
Elite burials in Merovingian churches of France and Germany
PD Dr. Sebastian Ristow, University of Cologne
• 14.11.2012
Powerful and powerless women – the Merovingian queens in the 6th and 7th centuries
Prof. Dr. Martina Hartmann, University of Munich
• 28.11.2012
Pious and powerful Women in the Church of the Early Middle Ages
Dr. Antje Kluge-Pinsker, Römisch-Germanisches
Zentralmuseum Mainz
• 5.12.2012
Women in the Merovingian Empire – Queens – Ladies – Maids. Archaeological studies into the social status of female members of the elite
Dr. Ursula Koch, Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Mannheim
• 12.12.2012
Posted 23/7/2012
Rome, Saint Eustachius church - a stained glass window from the end of the 19th century:
Found by Simone Leoni (https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/54350675140/)
Created by the Jazz King at the same facebook page
There is more here about this Church - http://roma.andreapollett.com/S5/rione08.htm
Interestingly - in 1878 a confraternity in honour of St. Michael the Archangel was founded in the Church of St. Eustachius at Rome, and in the following year in in the Church of Sant' Angelo in Pescheria (Sancti Angeli in foro Piscium). In 1880 Leo XIII raised it to the rank of an archconfraternity, which was expressly called the Archconfraternity of the Scapular of St. Michael. At first (1878) the confraternity received indulgences from Leo XIII for seven years; the summary of indulgences of the Pious Association of St. Michael was last approved for ever by a Decree of the Congregation of Indulgences, 28 March, 1903. The scapular is so associated with the confraternity that each member is invested with it. The formula for blessing and investing with the scapular, given in the Rituale Romanum was first approved by the Congregation of Rites on 23 August, 1883. In outward form this scapular is different from the others, inasmuch as the two segments of cloth have the form of a small shield; of these one is made of blue and the other of black cloth, and of the bands likewise one is blue and the other black. Both portions of the scapular bear the well-known representation of the Archangel St. Michael slaying the dragon and the inscription "Quis ut Deus".... meaning Who is like God?, a translation of the Hebrew name of Michael (Mi — "who", cha — "like", el — "god"). Pious tradition attributes these words to St. Michael and in art it is often used as the Archangel is portrayed slays Satan, asking this question scornfully
Interestingly - in 1878 a confraternity in honour of St. Michael the Archangel was founded in the Church of St. Eustachius at Rome, and in the following year in in the Church of Sant' Angelo in Pescheria (Sancti Angeli in foro Piscium). In 1880 Leo XIII raised it to the rank of an archconfraternity, which was expressly called the Archconfraternity of the Scapular of St. Michael. At first (1878) the confraternity received indulgences from Leo XIII for seven years; the summary of indulgences of the Pious Association of St. Michael was last approved for ever by a Decree of the Congregation of Indulgences, 28 March, 1903. The scapular is so associated with the confraternity that each member is invested with it. The formula for blessing and investing with the scapular, given in the Rituale Romanum was first approved by the Congregation of Rites on 23 August, 1883. In outward form this scapular is different from the others, inasmuch as the two segments of cloth have the form of a small shield; of these one is made of blue and the other of black cloth, and of the bands likewise one is blue and the other black. Both portions of the scapular bear the well-known representation of the Archangel St. Michael slaying the dragon and the inscription "Quis ut Deus".... meaning Who is like God?, a translation of the Hebrew name of Michael (Mi — "who", cha — "like", el — "god"). Pious tradition attributes these words to St. Michael and in art it is often used as the Archangel is portrayed slays Satan, asking this question scornfully
Posted 8/7/2012
Crusader gold cache found near Israeli coastal city
A gold cache, one of the largest ever found in Israel, was discovered last week in a dig in the Apollonia National Park, near Herzliya, heads of the archaeological project said. The 400-gram gold stash, unearthed by a joint Tel Aviv University and Nature and Parks Authority team, is currently valued at over
$100,000. The excavation began three years ago as part of work to prevent the collapse of the cliff on which the Crusader fortress in the Apollonia park stands. Since then the diggers have discovered numerous findings shedding light on the Crusaders in general and on the last days of the 13th century fortress in
particular. Findings include hundreds of arrow heads and catapult stones from the battle in which the Mamluks conquered the castle from the Crusaders. In a landfill dug at the site diggers found shards imported from Italy and rare glass utensils.
Crusader gold cache found near Israeli coastal city
A gold cache, one of the largest ever found in Israel, was discovered last week in a dig in the Apollonia National Park, near Herzliya, heads of the archaeological project said. The 400-gram gold stash, unearthed by a joint Tel Aviv University and Nature and Parks Authority team, is currently valued at over
$100,000. The excavation began three years ago as part of work to prevent the collapse of the cliff on which the Crusader fortress in the Apollonia park stands. Since then the diggers have discovered numerous findings shedding light on the Crusaders in general and on the last days of the 13th century fortress in
particular. Findings include hundreds of arrow heads and catapult stones from the battle in which the Mamluks conquered the castle from the Crusaders. In a landfill dug at the site diggers found shards imported from Italy and rare glass utensils.
The treasure, more than 100 gold pieces and weighing approximately 400 grams (nearly one pound), is estimated at a worth of more than $100,000. The coins were found hidden in a partly broken pottery vessel at the Appollonia National Park, where archaeologists say the former Crusader town of Apollonia-Arsuf once thrived. The dig is being carried out under the joint auspices of Tel Aviv University and the Nature and Parks Authority.
Included among the items found were 108 gold coins, including 93 that weighed four grams each, and 15 that weighed 1 gram each. The gold was not new and clearly was part of someone's family treasure or business investment. The coins were minted in Egypt approximately 250 years prior to their burial under the floor tiles of the 13th century CE fortress that has been under excavation for more than 30 years.
A large cache of arrowheads – hundreds, in fact – and other weaponry, including stones used in catapults, also was found. Archaeologists said the find indicated a fierce battle had taken place at the time the Mameluks seized the area from the Crusaders.
TAU Professor Oren Tal pointed out that the manner in which the treasure was hidden indicated its owner's intention of returning to reclaim it. "I think the stash was deliberately buried in a partly broken vessel, which was filled with sand and buried under the floor tiles so if anyone were to discover it, he would simply believe it to be a broken pot, and ignore it.”
Appollonia National Park director Haggai Yoynana added that if one were to add the treasure to the findings of the weaponry, “it tells the story of a prolonged siege and a harsh battle.”
According to the website of the Biblical Archaeological Society, the clash has been identified as the Battle of Arsuf, between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart.
The Crusader fortress had been uncovered at the site some time ago, along with remains of a port city dating back to the time of the Phoenicians. Archaeologists have also found the remains of a Roman villa, a well-preserved market street from the Early Islamic period and a massive gate complex.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157609#.T_mBGHCA3dU
Included among the items found were 108 gold coins, including 93 that weighed four grams each, and 15 that weighed 1 gram each. The gold was not new and clearly was part of someone's family treasure or business investment. The coins were minted in Egypt approximately 250 years prior to their burial under the floor tiles of the 13th century CE fortress that has been under excavation for more than 30 years.
A large cache of arrowheads – hundreds, in fact – and other weaponry, including stones used in catapults, also was found. Archaeologists said the find indicated a fierce battle had taken place at the time the Mameluks seized the area from the Crusaders.
TAU Professor Oren Tal pointed out that the manner in which the treasure was hidden indicated its owner's intention of returning to reclaim it. "I think the stash was deliberately buried in a partly broken vessel, which was filled with sand and buried under the floor tiles so if anyone were to discover it, he would simply believe it to be a broken pot, and ignore it.”
Appollonia National Park director Haggai Yoynana added that if one were to add the treasure to the findings of the weaponry, “it tells the story of a prolonged siege and a harsh battle.”
According to the website of the Biblical Archaeological Society, the clash has been identified as the Battle of Arsuf, between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart.
The Crusader fortress had been uncovered at the site some time ago, along with remains of a port city dating back to the time of the Phoenicians. Archaeologists have also found the remains of a Roman villa, a well-preserved market street from the Early Islamic period and a massive gate complex.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157609#.T_mBGHCA3dU
A new documentary about Rennes-le-Chateau (posted 12th June 2012)
Reposted June 2012
Ancient Greek Cemetery Found in Marseille
By Marianna Tsatsou on June 11, 2012 in France, news
It is already known that the first residents of Marseille in Southern France were Greeks, specifically from the ancient tribe of Phocaea. But now, archaeologists discovered an ancient Greek cemetery in the region that would shed light on the habits and customs of the ancient inhabitants of the area. The ancient graveyard, dating back to the 4th or 5th century B.C.E,
was brought to light by archaeologists who have established ongoing excavations
in the ancient port of Marseille. At present, they have already located six sarcophagi and urns.
“These findings in this specific area are totally unexpected,” said Lionel Guévalet, director of the Provence de la société Bouygues Immobilier and added that this was a very important discovery because “it could dispute everything we know about the Marseille habitants of Greek origin.”
According to the French archaeologists, this excavation will provide us with new information about the life of Greeks of Marseille, as well as about the exact position of the cemeteries, which were traditionally located outside the city.
Marseille was a Greek colony founded by the residents of Phocaea in 600 B.C.E.
By Marianna Tsatsou on June 11, 2012 in France, news
It is already known that the first residents of Marseille in Southern France were Greeks, specifically from the ancient tribe of Phocaea. But now, archaeologists discovered an ancient Greek cemetery in the region that would shed light on the habits and customs of the ancient inhabitants of the area. The ancient graveyard, dating back to the 4th or 5th century B.C.E,
was brought to light by archaeologists who have established ongoing excavations
in the ancient port of Marseille. At present, they have already located six sarcophagi and urns.
“These findings in this specific area are totally unexpected,” said Lionel Guévalet, director of the Provence de la société Bouygues Immobilier and added that this was a very important discovery because “it could dispute everything we know about the Marseille habitants of Greek origin.”
According to the French archaeologists, this excavation will provide us with new information about the life of Greeks of Marseille, as well as about the exact position of the cemeteries, which were traditionally located outside the city.
Marseille was a Greek colony founded by the residents of Phocaea in 600 B.C.E.
Posted 21st April 2012
Paul SAUSSEZ
"Au Tombeau des Seigneurs"
Prochaine conférence le 2 juin 2012 à Rennes-le-Château (Aude, France) avec l'archéologue Marie-Elise Gardel.
Paul SAUSSEZ
"Au Tombeau des Seigneurs"
Prochaine conférence le 2 juin 2012 à Rennes-le-Château (Aude, France) avec l'archéologue Marie-Elise Gardel.
Posted 16th April 2012
Institute of Field Archaeologists
The IfA Annual Conference has become established as the premier archaeological conference in the UK, attracting over 400 participants. With its combination of keynote addresses, wide-ranging sessions, workshops, displays, poster sessions and other events, it is a vital forum for discussing topical professional issues, as well as providing updates on current research.
Our 2012 conference will be held in Oxford from 18 - 20 April.
Click on logo for more information
Institute of Field Archaeologists
The IfA Annual Conference has become established as the premier archaeological conference in the UK, attracting over 400 participants. With its combination of keynote addresses, wide-ranging sessions, workshops, displays, poster sessions and other events, it is a vital forum for discussing topical professional issues, as well as providing updates on current research.
Our 2012 conference will be held in Oxford from 18 - 20 April.
Click on logo for more information
Posted 16th April 2012
Calendrier des animations 2012 de l'APARC
A 20h30 à l’Hostellerie de l’Evêché à Alet-les-Bains
Jeudi 26 juillet, Mon ami Philippe de Cherisey par Paul Rouelle (en français)
Jeudi 2 août, Rennes-le-Château, une histoire simple par Henry Lincoln (en anglais)
Jeudi 9 août, Rennes-le-Château, une histoire simple par Henry Lincoln (en français)
Jeudi 16 août, Henri Boudet et la Mataline par André Galaup (en français)
Jeudi 23 août, Découvrir l’affaire de Rennes-le-Château par Yves Echaroux (en français)
Jeudi 30 août, En relisant « Le Trésor Maudit » de Gérard de Sède par Henry Lincoln (en anglais)
Samedi 1er septembre, Troisième Journée du Livre et de l’Etrange à Rennes-le-Château (place de la Capitelle)
Jeudi 6 septembre, En relisant « Le Trésor Maudit » de Gérard de Sède par Henry Lincoln (en français)