Archaeologists find possible site of Jesus’s trial in Jerusalem

[hrmjustin]

Ruth Eglash

JERUSALEM — It started 15 years ago with plans to expand the Tower of David Museum. But the story took a strange turn when archaeologists started peeling away layers under the floor in an old abandoned building adjacent to the museum in Jerusalem’s Old City.

They knew it had been used as a prison when the Ottoman Turks and then the British ruled these parts. But, as they carefully dug down, they eventually uncovered something extraordinary: the suspected remains of the palace where one of the more famous scenes of the New Testament may have taken place — the trial of Jesus.

Now, after years of excavation and a further delay caused by wars and a lack of funds, the archaeologists’ precious find is being shown to the public through tours organized by the museum.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/archaeologists-find-possible-site-of-jesuss-trial-in-jerusalem/2015/01/04/6d0ce098-7f9a-45de-9639-b7922855bfdb_story.html

[rug]

1. Intriguing stuff.

[TexasProgresive]

2. “It’s like a cake,” she said. “Showing all the layers of Jerusalem.”

These places that have been occupied from prehistoric times to the present tend to be like that. I remember reading about the finding of Troy or at least what is assumed to be Troy. 9 Cities were built one on top of the other. It is thought that Troy VII is the famous Troy.

I have a certain skepticism about archeological conclusions because it tends to be guess work but I like that we keep looking at the past sites of human habitation and think about it. Robert Nathan wrote a humorous short story called, "Digging the Weans" about a far in the future archeological dig of the US. Since us is the objective of we they called us the Weans. The story is copyright protected and Harpers has it if you pay but the link below is to a reading by Theodore Bikel doing an abridged version. The first is a direct link to the audio file, if it doesn't work try the second.

http://alexrandall5.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/theo-bikel-reads-digging-the-weans-by-robert-nathan.mp3
http://alexrandall5.com/2013/09/28/theodore-bikel-reading-digging-the-weans-by-robert-nathan/