A Christian Cross from a Cave in Israel

Photograph: Courtesy University of Haifa




In a recent post, I reported on the largest human-made cave in Israel which was discovered by Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal. According to published reports, the “cave may have served as a monastery and a hideout for persecuted Christians or the Roman army.”

National Geographic has published several photographs of the caves and its content. Among the items found in the cave, archaeologists discovered what could be a Zodiac sign dating to around the first century B.C. or the first century A.D., thirty-one Christian crosses, Roman letters, and what looks to be a Roman army pennant etched into the cave’s columns.

The above photograph shows one of the crosses found in the cave. The crosses may come from a time when Christians used the cave as a hiding place.

To see all the photos of the cave, visit the National Geographic web page.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Adam Zertal, Archaeology, Cross, Zodiac

Has the Site of Galgala Been Discovered?

According to an announcement released by the University of Haifa’s Department of Archaeology, an underground cave dating from the year 1 A.D. discovered in the Jordan Valley may be the site called Galgala, a place mentioned in the Madaba Map. Professor Adam Zertal was the leader of the archaeological team that discovered the cave.

The following is an excerpt of the press information released by the University of Haifa:

The enormous and striking cave covers an area of approximately 1 acre: it is some 100 meters long and about 40 meters wide. The cave is located 4 km north of Jericho. The cave, which is the largest excavated by man to be discovered in Israel, was exposed in the course of an archaeological survey that the University of Haifa has been carrying out since 1978.

As with other discoveries in the past, this exposure is shrouded in mystery. "When we arrived at the opening of the cave, two Bedouins approached and told us not to go in as the cave is bewitched and inhabited by wolves and hyenas," Prof. Zertal relates. Upon entering, accompanied by his colleagues, he was surprised to find an impressive architectonic underground structure supported by 22 giant pillars. They discovered 31 cross markings on the pillars, an engraving resembling the zodiac symbol, Roman letters and an etching that looks like the Roman Legion's pennant. The team also discovered recesses in the pillars, which would have been used for oil lamps, and holes to which animals that were hauling quarried stones out of the cave could have been tied.

The cave's ceiling is some 3 meters high, but was originally probably about 4 meters high. According to Prof. Zertal, ceramics that were found and the engravings on the pillars date the cave to around 1-600 AD. "The cave's primary use had been as a quarry, which functioned for about 400-500 years. But other findings definitely indicate that the place was also used for other purposes, such as a monastery and possibly as a hiding place," Prof. Zertal explains.

The main question that arose upon discovering the cave was why a quarry was dug underground in the first place. "All of the quarries that we know are above ground. Digging down under the surface requires extreme efforts in hauling the heavy rocks up to the surface, and in this case the quarrying was immense. The question is, why?" For a possible answer to this mystery, Prof. Zertal points to the famous Madaba map. This is a Byzantine mosaic map that was found in Jordan and is the most ancient map of the Land of Israel. Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley are depicted with precision on the map, and a site called Galgala is depicted next to a Greek inscription that reads "Dodekaliton", which translates as "Twelve Stones." This place is marked at a distance from Jericho that matches this cave's distance from the city. According to the map, there is a church next to Dodekaliton; there are two ancient churches located nearby the newly discovered cave. According to Prof. Zertal, until now it has been hypothesized that the meaning of "Twelve Stones" related to the biblical verses that describe the twelve stones that the Children of Israel place in Gilgal. However, it could be that the reference is a description of the quarry that was dug where the Byzantines identified the Gilgal. "During the Roman era, it was customary to construct temples of stones that were brought from holy places, and which were therefore also more valuable stones. If our assumption is correct, then the Byzantine identification of the place as the biblical Gilgal afforded the site its necessary reverence and that is also why they would have dug an underground quarry there," Prof. Zertal concludes. "But" he adds, "much more research is needed."

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Adam Zertal, Galgala, Madaba Map

The Discovery of a “Gilgal”

Photo: A foot-shaped structure

Credit: Image courtesy of University of Haifa



The Bible says that after the people of Israel crossed the Jordan, they encamped at Gilgal:

“On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan” (Joshua 4:19-20).

ScienceDaily is reporting that a “Foot-shaped” structures was unearthed in the Jordan valley and it is believed to be one of the earliest sites that was built by the people of Israel after they entered the land of Canaan. According to Adam Zertal, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa, the structure probably reflects the biblical concept of ownership.

According to Zertal, “the finding is believed to represent the first time that enclosed sites identified with the biblical sites termed in Hebrew ‘gilgal’, which were used for assemblies, preparation for battle, and rituals, have been revealed in the Jordan valley. The Hebrew word ‘gilgal’ (a camp or stone-structure), is mentioned thirty-nine times in the Bible. The stone enclosures were located in the Jordan valley and the hill country west of it.”

According to the article published by ScienceDaily, “Prof. Zertal emphasized that the ‘foot’ held much significance as a symbol of ownership of territory, control over an enemy, connection between people and land, and presence of a deity. Some of these concepts are mentioned in ancient Egyptian literature. The Bible also has a wealth of references to the importance of the ‘foot’ as a symbol of ownership, the link between people and their deity, defeating the enemy ‘underfoot’, and the temple imaged as a foot.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Adam Zertal, Archaeology, Gilgal