Ritual Purity Seal Discovered Near Temple Mount
Mysterious Jerusalem Carvings Found
City of David Ruins
Archaeologists have uncovered three carvings in the stone floor of a room in the oldest part of Jerusalem, and they have no idea what they are.
The “V” shapes, discovered in a dig in the City of David, are like nothing else ever found in an Israeli excavation.
Based on the rubble found over them, archaeologists know they are at least as old as 800 B.C., but it’s possible they could date back as far as 3,000 B.C., which is the traditional period of David’s rule. It’s even possible they were there before David, and were carved by the original Canaanite residents of the hilltop village which later became Jerusalem.
The archaeologists in charge of the dig have posted photos of the mysterious shapes in hopes someone will offer a useful suggestion of their purpose. You can see them at the Yahoo! link above.
Any ideas?
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Comment on "Mysterious Jerusalem Carvings Found"
Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin and the lot should be fgeoivrn for bad phrasing , not Elie Wiesel.Besides the last time I checked saying things that were absolutely untrue was not called bad phrasing . Shouldn’t we expect more from man like Mr. Wiesel? Isn’t he the kind of person that we expect to stand against injustice rather than be an apologist for land theft? Or maybe hanging out with his dear friend, Pastor Hitler-was-sent-by-God Hagee finally took its toll.
Leen,I am suggesting a poslibse ritualistic and/or celestial observatory purpose preceding the building of Jebus [long before 8th century BCE]. Clearly the mountain spring [Gihon] was a daily destination from extreme antiquity, since it was the principal water source for travelers along the high ridges of this north/south mountain range … for both animals and people long BEFORE the first building of any kind was erected by Canaanites at Jebus. All the ideas and photos are interesting, but I am requesting more precise information and some context … such as: [1] What is the mark’s orientation relative to the cardinal directions?[2] What is their orientation relative to the solstices and equinoxes?[3] How accessible is the eastern and western horizons from this site in antiquity, before walls might have been constructed?[4] Does the Mount of Olives southern ridge completely obscure the eastern horizon?[5] Is this site DOWN so low that celestial/solar observation would be imposlibse?[6] Exactly how far away were/is the spring’s opening or nearest pools [in antiquity]?[7] What specific direction is accessible water from the marks themselves?[8] Shards and walls can be dated, but, could the marks pre-date the walls presumably erected circa 8th century BCE?[9] Assuming the V s existence before any buildings were erected at Jebus, is it not poslibse they were originally cut for use out in the open air?Surely the marks in the bedrock could be older than the dated 8th century BCE shards and walls surrounding them. The Vs original purpose could easily pre-date the earliest buildings of Canaanite Jebus. If they had an early pagan ritual purpose, perhaps they fell into disuse by the 8th century BCE and the building they were discovered in may simply have been erected around them for unrelated purposes … then, later filled in with debris for assembling defense walls above … and because the old marks are carved deep in the bedrock, they were simply ignored and included. If however their purpose was ongoing, then perhaps they were intentionally protected within this building. Surrounding them with walls and presumably a roof would [of course] rule out any practical use as a celestial observatory. If they were part of a water’ related ritual site, then a protected building is not a problem. I simply need to know more! Can someone supply this data?
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