Digging Up Armageddon : The Search for the Lost City of Solomon

Eric H. Cline

ISBN 10: 0691233934 / ISBN 13: 9780691233932

Editore: Princeton University Press Mai 2022, 2022

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Neuware - 'In 1925 a team of archaeologists was sent by famed archaeologist James Henry Breasted, the Director of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, to search for the city that King Solomon built in the tenth century BCE. These excavations are rightfully famous for the light they shed on one of the most important cities in biblical times: the ancient city of Megiddo, in Israel, the site of Armageddon. The books and articles that the original participants published are still used, and debated, by archaeologists working in the region today. However, these scholarly publications provide only a small window into the daily activities of the team members and the stories behind their amazing discoveries. Using a treasure trove of other writing - including more than three decades' worth of letters, cablegrams, cards, and diaries, archaeologist and historian Eric Cline, who spent twenty years digging at Megiddo himself, brings the Chicago excavators and their discoveries to life situating them against the backdrop of the Great Depression in the United States as well as the growing troubles and tensions in British Mandate Palestine. Their story, as recounted by Cline, often reads more like melodrama than dry archaeological report and provides a unique a glimpse of the internal workings of a dig in the early years of biblical archaeology. In the course of telling their story, Cline gives readers the full picture of an archaeological site from its first discoveries to its most recent excavations placing it all in the larger scheme of the rise and fall of civilizations, from the Neolithic Revolution through the Romans'. Codice articolo 9780691233932

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Titolo: Digging Up Armageddon : The Search for the ...

Casa editrice: Princeton University Press Mai 2022

Data di pubblicazione: 2022

Legatura: Taschenbuch

Condizione: Neu

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Riassunto:

A vivid portrait of the early years of biblical archaeology from the acclaimed author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed

In 1925, James Henry Breasted, famed Egyptologist and director of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, sent a team of archaeologists to the Holy Land to excavate the ancient site of Megiddo—Armageddon in the New Testament—which the Bible says was fortified by King Solomon. Their excavations made headlines around the world and shed light on one of the most legendary cities of biblical times, yet little has been written about what happened behind the scenes. Digging Up Armageddon brings to life one of the most important archaeological expeditions ever undertaken, describing the site and what was found there, including discoveries of gold and ivory, and providing an up-close look at the internal workings of a dig in the early years of biblical archaeology.

The Chicago team left behind a trove of writings and correspondence spanning more than three decades, from letters and cablegrams to cards, notes, and diaries. Eric Cline draws on these materials to paint a compelling portrait of a bygone age of archaeology. He masterfully sets the expedition against the backdrop of the Great Depression in America and the growing troubles and tensions in British Mandate Palestine. He gives readers an insider's perspective on the debates over what was uncovered at Megiddo, the infighting that roiled the expedition, and the stunning discoveries that transformed our understanding of the ancient world.

Digging Up Armageddon is the enthralling story of an archaeological site in the interwar years and its remarkable place at the crossroads of history.

Informazioni sull?autore:

Eric H. Cline is professor of classics and anthropology and director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at George Washington University. His many books include Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology and 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (both Princeton). He lives in Rockville, Maryland. Twitter @digkabri