Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Archaeologist, beware!

.
Now that you are fortified with yesterday's post's pomegranate juice, let us get back to a weightier subject for today's Taphophile Tragics.

"The Kidron Valley is the boundary between the living . . . and the dead . . ."
So begins the City of David's sign perched on the side of the valley.
.
Kindly click on the photo to read about Jerusalem's cemetery from 2,000 years ago.

The photo above can be enlarged too, so you can see the ancient inscription found in the burial cave.
The inscription, discovered in 1874, may relate to the Prophet Isaiah's words (22:16).

It says
This is [the grave of ] [... iahu] who is over the house. There is no silver or gold here, but [his bones (i.e. the deceased's)] and the bones of his maid servant with him.
Cursed be the man who will open this.
The City of David interpretation suggests this may refer to the royal overseer at the court of King Hezekiah, Shebna, whom Isaiah castigated for carving himself an opulent tomb in Jerusalem.

In this zoom shot you can make out at least five of these tomb entrances in between the houses in the Arab village of Silwan.
With a click on the photo and then another click, you should see some kids tending their goats.

Just to the left of Silwan begins the huge Mt. of Olives cemetery.
Jews have been, and continue to be, buried there for thousands of years.
The rows of graves stretch from the Kidron all the way up to the top of the mountain.
.
.
(Isaiah, inscription, interpretation, and interment are all "I" words for today's ABC Wednesday meme.)
.

19 comments:

  1. A very interesting place, a bit dilapidated, but still fascinating...

    ReplyDelete
  2. VP, I was hoping you couldn't spot the garbage around the tombs (and surely inside too).

    ReplyDelete
  3. important to maintain some sense of history
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

    ReplyDelete
  4. Interesting facts, I love your sharing every week.

    Instrument
    Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

    ReplyDelete
  5. What an amazing place. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's really interesting. More please!

    ReplyDelete
  7. 'The entrance ways were carved meticulously ...' - golly that is hard to credit nowadays. What a blasted place that now appears to be. Good that goats can fossick and find a meagre meal amongst the ruins. The cemetery must be absolutely massive, Dina. And crowded ...

    Wonderful stuff. The information signs are easily recognisable and not that different to dozens of signs all around Sydney.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A far more ancient site than any here in Minnesota! Lots of history and I enjoy your educational posts. Kate, ABC Team

    ReplyDelete
  9. thanks ..***
    sometimes I m so lazy .. writing so many comments by so many readers .. pleas apolpgize me .. often I just do ****---will that be ok for you,,..here is autum coming

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very interesting post, Dina. Many thanks for sharing, I see, I have much to learn.

    ReplyDelete
  11. SH-ic, I think your ***** is a 5-star comment, much appreciated.
    If I had to write comments in German it would take me all day.
    Thanks for visiting.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow! Amazing! Talk about Indiana Jones...

    ReplyDelete
  13. interesting photos! The tiny goats :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. So much history in such a small area. You've reminded me that I have a very old shot of the Mount of Olives cemetery in my taphophile archives. Apologies for not visiting lately, combination of difficultly accessing blogger from work and family problems.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Amazing crowding of graves on the Mount of Olives! I am surprised just how close homes are here too! Could this possibly be the oldest, ongoing cemetery in the world?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gemma, that's a good question. Hmm...
    I'd have to do some research.

    ReplyDelete


Thanks for your comment!
Comment moderation is on so I will see any new comments even on older posts!