Archaeology weekend to reveal notorious Herod the Great

But as a result of ongoing excavations and research in the Middle East, the much-maligned ruler has proven to be a far more complex character than is commonly known. This fuller story of his life and its broad impact on his Jewish subjects and the world at large will be discussed by six noted archaeologists and scholars from the United States, Hungary and Israel during La Sierra University’s 9th Annual Archaeology Discovery Weekend. Sponsored by La Sierra’s Center for Near Eastern Archaeology, the two-day event is titled “Herod the Great: Scoundrel, Survivor, Genius” and will be held on La Sierra’s campus Sat., Nov. 11 and Sun., Nov. 12. General admission is free, with admission charged for some events.

In addition to archaeology lectures that begin on Nov. 11, Archaeology Discovery Weekend will offer a simulated kids’ dig for children ages 6 – 12, and hands-on labs offering activities such as pottery dating, x-ray fluorescence and color analysis of artifacts, creation of ancient pots, and a 3D video ‘cave’ that takes viewers inside ancient sites in Jordan and Egypt. A Roman Banquet will also be held on Nov. 11 featuring vegetarian dishes derived from ancient Roman recipes.

The weekend’s archaeologists will include Jodi Magness, president of the Archaeological Institute of America and Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Andrea Berlin, the James R. Wiseman Chair in Classical Archaeology at Boston University; David Mevorah, senior curator of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Archaeology at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem; and Győző Vörös, research director of the Hungarian Academy of the Arts in Budapest and research professor of the Pontifical Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem.

Magness will kick off the weekend on Nov. 11 with a talk titled “Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus: The City of Herod the Great.” She will discuss the major buildings in Jerusalem designed and built by Herod. “I will give, I hope, the audience a good understanding of what the city of Jerusalem looked like in the time of Jesus,” said Magness in a radio interview with 91.9 KVCR, a local NPR affiliate and a media sponsor for Archaeology Discovery Weekend.

Magness leads the ongoing Huqoq dig in Israel, located a couple of miles from the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum, the base for Jesus’ ministry. The excavation is recovering a monumental building with decorated mosaic floors depicting biblical scenes. The major find and its unfolding series of mosaics has been reported by major media, including this summer’s discovery of a mosaic richly detailing the story of Jonah. Throughout her career, Magness has functioned as a media archaeology expert, appearing in interviews with Fox News, NPR, National Geographic, the Washington Post and New York Times.

Mevorah, a 33-year veteran of the Israel Museum, will talk about the five-year excavation and reconstruction process leading to the ground-breaking 2013 exhibit, “Herod the Great: The King’s Final Journey” which he co-curated along with a staff of conservators and restorers. The exhibit was the world’s first to explore the notorious Herod as an imperial ruler, revealing his astounding architectural and cultural achievements through the ruins of his tomb discovered in 2007 in the ancient city of Herodium. The display attracted half a million visitors from around the globe.

Mevorah will describe the exhibit’s artifacts and awe-inspiring discoveries. The massive exhibit reportedly involved 30 tons of material and 250 artifacts. These included full rooms reconstructed from thousands of pieces, Mevorah said. “It was a gigantic project that led us to places we never expected.” During his lecture, he will attempt to impart the sensation of organizing and presenting such finds to the public, “and how we tried to portray this historical figure through stone, marble, fresco, … how we tried to draw his character through these elements,” he said.

Berlin of Boston University has been excavating in the Mediterranean since 1973, and since 1997 has co-directed excavations of an administrative compound at Tel Kedesh in northern Israel. She will give a talk titled “Herod the Great: Connoisseur of Great Taste” detailing the many ways the cultural life of the Jews changed through the influence of their king such as the use of formal dining rooms, mosaic floors and decorated dishes.

Vörös’ varied activities include serving as director of the Hungarian archaeological excavations in the Near East, and as project director of the excavations, surveys and anastyloses in Machaerus in Jordan, the fortified Herodian royal palace and site of the beheading of John the Baptist. He will give a talk on major discoveries at Machaerus including latest results from his work there this fall. In June, media reported the discovery in Machaerus of a mikveh ritual bath and immersion pool believed to have been built for Herod and his family. The excavation team, led by Vörös, also discovered a massive cistern that could hold nearly 30,000 gallons of water.

Corona resident and long-time archaeology volunteer Audrey Shaffer will deliver a presentation written by Kenneth Holum, former professor at the University of Maryland whose extensive career included decades of work at Caesarea Maritima, location of Herod’s artificial harbor along the Israel coast. Holum passed away in September and this year’s Archaeology Discovery Weekend is dedicated in his honor. Also, La Sierra archaeology graduate student Dawn Acevedo will present her thesis research on a special feature of Herod’s architectural genius, the circular tholos.

Archaeology Discovery Weekend and its insights into the ancient past provide attendees the opportunity to bring history to life and connect with the realities of long-ago societies.

“I think that archaeology puts the past directly into our hands, forces us to believe that the past is not an imaginary construct but rather was once somebody else’s present,” said Berlin. “In this way, it is a conduit for a more trustworthy engagement with history, which is really, essentially, a kind of conversation that we have with ourselves about the past.”

Archaeology Discovery Weekend will commence at 3 p.m. on Nov. 11 at the Zapara School of Business Troesh Conference Center. The kids’ dig, to be held Nov. 12 at the Center for Near Eastern Archaeology is $5 admission. The Roman Banquet is $50 per person and will include additional archaeological presentations. For a schedule of events and registration for the kids’ dig and banquet, please visit https://lasierra.edu/cnea/discovery-weekend/. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, Calif., 92505. For further information call 951-785-2632 or email archaeology@lasierra.edu.

The KVCR interview with Magness and Doug Clark, director of the Center for Near Eastern Archaeology at La Sierra University can be accessed at http://kvcrnews.org/post/102517-mario-frangoulis-archeology-discovery-weekend-seasonal-memories.

Archaeology Discovery Weekend co-sponsors are as follows: 91.9 KVCR/NPR; Archaeological Institute of America, Orange County Society; Archaeological Institute of America, Inland Southern California Society; American Schools of Oriental Research; Biblical Archaeology Society, Los Angeles; California Museum of Ancient Art; HMS Richards Divinity School; Western Science Center; World Affairs Council of Inland Southern California; Zapara School of Business.