Archaeology lecture series to feature Azusa Pacific’s Mullins on ancient Israel

  Archaeology+Religion   School of Business  

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Tel Abel Beth Maacah, the site of an ancient city in northern Israel is mentioned three times in the Bible, and excavations over recent years have yielded many insights into the region and its peoples.

<p> Archaeolgist, Robert Mullins, Ph.D., Chair and Professor, Department of Biblical and Religious Studies at Azusa Pacific University, co-director of the joint expedition at Tel Abel Beth Maacah. </p>

Archaeolgist, Robert Mullins, Ph.D., Chair and Professor, Department of Biblical and Religious Studies at Azusa Pacific University, co-director of the joint expedition at Tel Abel Beth Maacah.

<p> A screen grab from a drone video taken over Tel Abel Beth Maacah in northern Israel. (Images courtesy of Abel Beth Maacah joint expedition.) </p>

A screen grab from a drone video taken over Tel Abel Beth Maacah in northern Israel. (Images courtesy of Abel Beth Maacah joint expedition.)

<p> A photo of a portion of an excavated area of Abel Beth Maacah. </p>

A photo of a portion of an excavated area of Abel Beth Maacah.

<p> Ornate artificats excavated from Tel Abel Beth Maacah. </p>

Ornate artificats excavated from Tel Abel Beth Maacah.

On Feb. 15, archaeologist Robert Mullins, Abel Beth Maacah joint expedition co-director and chair of the Department of Biblical and Religious Studies at Azusa Pacific University will give a presentation for La Sierra University’s Center for Near Eastern Archaeology (CNEA). He will discuss major finds at the tel and the intriguing stories revealed of past societies in a talk titled "Uncovering the Secrets of a Biblical City: Abel Beth Maacah on Ancient Israel’s Northern Frontier."

Mullins will deliver CNEA’s 2nd Annual Winter Archaeology Lecture at 7 p.m. in Room 201 of the Zapara School of Business. The lecture will also be livestreamed and accessible at https://lasierra.edu/cnea/winter-lecture/

As noted in the archaeology center’s newsletter, “Tel Abel Beth Maacah is a large multi-layered site in the Upper Galilee of Israel, strategically located at the intersection of ancient routes connecting Israel, Lebanon (Phoenicia) and Syria (Aram). The site appears in second millennium BCE Egyptian sources, in the Bible as loyal to David in the 10th century BCE, and conquered by the Arameans and Neo-Assyrians in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Excavations have revealed rich remains from the Middle Bronze, Late Bronze and Iron Ages.”

Artifacts extracted from the site include fortifications, dwellings and jar and pit burials, an industrial-administrative-cultic complex, a citadel complex containing an elaborate imported Phoenician Bichrome jar and other items, and a storehouse with over 35 jars, including one containing a cache of 406 astragali bones meant for divination.

Mullins has taught at Azusa Pacific University for the past 16 years. He earned a Ph.D. in archaeology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he also served as a research assistant to Professor Amihai Mazar and the Beth-Shean Valley Archaeological Project. His interests encompass the fields of archaeology, history, geography, and biblical studies.

In addition to Beth-Shean, Rehov, Dor, and Gezer expeditions, Mullins has also excavated at Tell Atchana (Alalakh) and Zincirli (Sam’al) in southeastern Turkey. He currently co-directs the Joint Expedition to Abel Beth Maacah with Dr. Naama Yahalom-Mack and Dr. Nava Panitz-Cohen of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 

La Sierra University and the Zapara School of Business are located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. For further information call 951-785-2632 or email archaeology@lasierra.edu.

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