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May 30, 2007
Walter Reich on Recent Finds In Palestine
Walter Reich, professor of international affairs, ethics and human behavior at George Washington University and a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, has an interesting piece in the Los Angeles Times how archaeology gets used politically in the Near East. In one sense, there is nothing startling in his observations.
He begins with a short discussion of the recent report of the discovery of Herod's tomb.
For Israelis, such finds are seen as an emblem of the Jews' ancient and unbroken connection with the land, going back 3,500 years, that justifies the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. For Palestinians, they're seen as a way of legitimizing Israel — the creation of which turned many of them or their forebears into refugees — and are therefore often dismissed as myth or fantasy.
I would say that the discovery of Herod's tomb, if it is Herod's tomb, is a detail. There is little doubt that Herod was the builder of Herodium. Based on Josephus, there is documentary evidence that he was buried there. If the discover is indeed Herod's tomb the most that can be said about it is that it confirms what was already expected. No one doubts that Herod was at Herodium when he was alive; the only question is, "Was he there when he was dead?"
Posted by Duane Smith at May 30, 2007 10:50 AM | Read more on Archaeology |
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