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A
stylized palm tree motif is carved onto this proto-aeolic discovery associated
with a remarkable Iron Age spring tunnel system near Jerusalem. Photo courtesy
of Binyamin Tropper.
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Proto-Aeolic Capital Associated with Judah’s Longest Spring Tunnel. By Noah Wiener. Bible History Daily, January 15, 2014.
Investigating
royal iconography and large-scale construction in Iron Age Judah.
The Origin and Date of the Volute Capitals from the Levant. By Oded Lipshits. The
Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in
the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin. Edited by Israel Finkelstein and Nadav Na’aman. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2011.
From Megiddo to Tamassos and Back: Putting the “Proto-Ionic Capital” in Its Place. By Norma Franklin. The Fire Signals of Lachish.
Wiener:
There
has been a lot of talk recently about a “covered up” proto-aeolic capital. I’ll
admit: I indulged in a bit of this myself last April. Last week, the
conversation was reopened when Arutz-7 reported
that the location of the site—sensationally (and without any substantiation)
labeled “King David’s Castle”—would be announced Friday, January 17.
The
capital is part of an undoubtedly important archaeological site just over five
miles from Jerusalem’s City of David and four miles from Bethlehem. The find
itself—a one-of-a-kind proto-aeolic capital still attached to its base—is a
rare-yet-iconic First Temple period type. The iconography is familiar in
Israel; proto-aeolic designs are etched on modern Israeli five-shekel coins.
The
capital is associated with a 525-foot-long tunnel system, the largest and most
impressively hewn spring tunnel in the region of Jerusalem. This labor required
to carve such a system opens new questions regarding the Judahite
administration and agriculture around Jerusalem. Unfortunately, most of last
year’s discussion hinged on media reports of the Israel Antiquities Authority
(IAA) response to the Kfar Etzion Field School’s attempts to publicize the
find. The archaeological significance was all but ignored.
Last
summer I had the chance to meet with Binyamin Tropper, the Kfar Etzion training
coordinator who recognized the capital in February 2013, and Daniel Ein-Mor,
the IAA archaeologist who previously surveyed the area, identified the capital,
explored the water system and recently published the site (see notes below).
Media articles last spring portrayed the Kfar Etzion and IAA camps in a pitched
battle over the discovery’s public presentation. I saw no indication of hostile
contention—both Ein-Mor and Tropper were cordial and enthusiastic in sharing
information about the site.
Before
discussing the ancient evidence, we need to address the elephant in the room:
the articles last year suggesting that the IAA “covered up” the discovery.
While there are modern political sensitivities surrounding the location of the
site, Bible History Daily is not the
place for such discussion. It is a place for the presentation of archaeological
data, so first and foremost, it is important to rectify the notion that this
site remains quietly unpublished. Last year, Daniel Ein-Mor and geologist Zvi Ron
published the article “An Iron Age Royal Tunnel Spring in the region of Nahal
Rephaim” in Guy Stiebel et. al (eds.), New
Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region. Ein-Mor also
published a shorter free online report “Walajeh (‘Ain Joweizeh)” on the IAA
Hadashot Arkheologiyot website
last summer.
The Proto-Aeolic Typology
In his
article “The Origin and Date of the Volute Capitals from the Levant,” Tel Aviv
University Professor Oded Lipschits introduces the type:
The
Iron Age volute capitals (the so-called “Proto-Aeolic” or “Proto-Ionian”
capitals) are among the most impressive and special finds discovered in
archaeological excavations in Israel and Jordan. The size of the capitals,
their weight, the quality of their carving, and their impressive design provide
an indication of their function in the gates and palaces of the ancient
kingdoms of Israel, Judah, Moab, and Ammon.
The
capitals—an architectural term usually referring to decorative supports on top
of columns—are widely associated with monumental sites but are poorly
understood, in large part because they have rarely been found in situ. Proto-aeolic capitals are
decorated with curving date palm tree motifs, associated with the Near Eastern
“Tree of Life,” and the architectural style was influential in shaping later
architecture from classical Greece to Mesopotamia.
Where
have these capitals been found? In the Hadashot Arkheologiyot article “Walajeh (‘Ain Joweizeh),” Daniel Ein-Mor succinctly
lists the existing evidence of proto-aeolic capitals, citing a Hebrew article
published by Oded Lipschits in 2009:
Twenty-four
stone capitals decorated with a Proto-Aeolic design from the First Temple
period are known from the main cities of the Kingdom of Israel: Samaria,
Megiddo, Hazor and Dan. Eleven others are known from the Kingdom of Judea
[Judah]; ten capitals were found at Ramat Rahel where remains of a palace from
the late eighth–early seventh centuries BCE were excavated, and one capital
comes from the City of David excavations in Jerusalem (Lipschits 2009). Five
capitals are known from the site of el-Mudeibi’ – Mudaybi in Moab, and a
capital was found in secondary use in the village of ‘Ain-Sara, west of Kerak,
next to a spring of the same name. Two fragments of capitals are also known
from the citadel in Amman (Lipschits 2009). The capitals from the Kingdom of
Israel mainly date to the ninth century BCE and those from Judea and Jordan to
the late eighth or early seventh centuries BCE. Although the central motif is
identical, the capitals from the various sites differ in some features.
In “The Origin and Date of the Volute Capitals from the Levant,” Lipschits suggests
that capitals were first made during Israel’s Omride dynasty in the 9th century
B.C.E. He proposes that after the Assyrians invaded Israel, the capitals’
“size, esthetics and quality, attracted the attention of the Assyrian rulers
who were known for their adoption of artistic and architectural elements, and
for incorporating them in the local Assyrian tradition.” We have artistic
depictions of these capitals at numerous palatial Assyrian sites. Lipschits
goes on to suggest that the proto-aeolic capitals found in Judah, Moab and
Ammon, which were built later than the examples found in Israel, reflect
“Assyrian encouragement, approval or sponsorship.”
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Proto-aeolic
capitals have been uncovered at dozens
of Israelite and Judahite sites. The
proto-aeolic palmetto iconography
is often associated with Israelite kingship,
and the motif is minted on the modern Israeli five-shekel coin.
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However,
to understand the type, we also need to look west. Haifa University scholar
Norma Franklin draws parallels between the capitals and Cypriote architecture,
focusing on the similarity between the proto-aeolic motifs and those found in
tombs at Tamassos in Cyprus. In her article “From Megiddo to Tamassos and Back: Putting the ‘Proto-Ionic Capital’ in Its Place,” Franklin suggests that these
“capitals” were never, in fact, used structurally as capitals. Instead she
notes a variety of functions from site to site: they served as column bases,
support for wooden objects or other non-structural roles within monumental
architecture. There is little evidence that proto-aeolic capitals were ever
used as structural column capitals, and the phrase persists more due to common
usage than accuracy. The proto-aeolic “capital” associated with the Judahite
water system is actually a design carved into a monolithic rock.
A New Proto-Aeolic Capital
The
recently announced proto-aeolic capital, associated with the ‘Ain Joweizeh
water system, is the first ever found still attached to its base. Originally
identified as a lintel in a 1982 survey of the water tunnel, the hewn
proto-aeolic decoration is part of a massive, partially buried rock that likely
weighs several tons, suggesting that it hasn’t moved far from its original
location. The decorations—which are undoubtedly carved in the proto-aeolic
style—are actually part of a monolithic rock that may have been part of a
monumental entranceway.
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Proto-aeolic
capitals have rarely been discovered in
situ,
and despite the name, there is little evidence
that the capitals sat
atop columns as architectural elements.
This new find is carved from a
monolithic rock—while
still attached to its base, it is not part of a traditional
column.
Photo courtesy Binyamin Tropper.
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In
terms of style, the proto-aeolic decoration is most similar to examples from
nearby Ramat Rahel and the City of David, but parallels can also be drawn
between the capital and examples from Moabite el-Mudeibi‘ and Cypriote
Tamassos.
The
capital sits in a “seam” (to borrow a phrase from Daniel Ein-Mor’s Hadashot Arkheologiyot report) between
an earlier and later phase of the water tunnel’s construction. It sits across
from another unexcavated massive stone monolith. One likely possibility is that
the capital marked an entrance to the water system after the first phase of
construction. If this marks an entrance, there is good reason to believe that
the nearby-but-unexcavated stone across from the proto-aeolic capital may be
another capital, and the two together framed a monumental entrance to the
tunnel or the system’s reservoir.
The Walajeh or ‘Ain Joweizeh Water System
Daniel
Ein-Mor was quick to caution me: “We don’t want to overlook the importance of a
site because one aspect is attractive—the capital is attracting attention, but
the water system itself is at least as interesting.” I have to agree.
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The ‘Ain
Joweizeh tunnels are the largest and most elegantly carved
karstic water system
in the region. Despite the massive effort
required to carve such a tunnel, it
did not draw a great deal of water.
Photo courtesy Binyamin Tropper.
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We know
of over 100 spring tunnels in the area, and none is even half as long as the
‘Ain Joweizeh system. It is a massive effort to cut through hard dolomite rock.
The even and measured chisel marks in the Iron Age tunnel reveal that it is a
masterpiece of construction, one that would have required a great deal of
funding. Unlike Hezekiah’s tunnel, which carries water drawn from Jerusalem’s
Gihon Spring, the Joweizeh tunnel drew its water from springs en route. The
Joweizeh tunnel is the longest tunnel of its type in the region. Because of the
similarity in workmanship, it is worth comparing this tunnel with Hezekiah’s,
as Todd Bolen notes on the Bibleplaces blog.
Despite
the extensive labor required to carve the tunnel (which includes a side channel
used to regulate uneven water flow), the spring itself is relatively low flow,
raising questions about its purpose. Who would have cut the hard dolomite rock
and haul it hundreds of feet out of the tunnel? The tunnel does not reach
Jerusalem. Where was this water going? Why was this elaborate tunnel marked by
a proto-aeolic capital, a type often associated with royal construction?
Interpreting the Finds
This
site has not escaped the attention of the Israeli archaeological community.
Binyamin Tropper mentioned the site’s visitors, and his list included some of
the most esteemed names in the field: Nadav Na’aman, Israel Finkelstein, Yuval
Gadot, Amihai Mazar, Yosef Garfinkel, Norma Franklin and several others.
Such a
water system suggests the presence of a nearby settlement or wealthy estate
(Daniel Ein-Mor specifically mentions the possibility of a royal palace or
estate similar to Ramat Rahel), but so far there is no archaeological evidence
of such a place. A proto-aeolic capital at ‘Ain-Sara in Jordan may be
associated with a spring. Assyrian reliefs from Khorsabad and Nineveh show
proto-aeolic capitals associated with gardens and springs. Following Oded
Lipschits’s proposal that the capitals originated in Israel and were
subsequently adopted by Assyrians before being introduced into Judah and other
nearby territories, perhaps the usage shown in Assyrian reliefs would have been
familiar to anyone considering constructing proto-aeolic capitals in Judah.
Of
course, archaeologists have not yet uncovered anything resembling a Judahite or
Assyrian-style garden estate in the area, and we can’t base assumptions about
the nature of the region from a few foreign artworks. What we know now is that
the construction of this water system required a great deal of labor, and
someone—perhaps the Judahite government—was willing to invest a great deal in
an as-yet archaeologically inconspicuous part of the hinterlands of Jerusalem.
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This
Assyrian relief from the palace of Assurbanipal at Nineveh (now housed at the
British Museum)
shows a structure with proto-aeolic capitals atop a garden and
a stream.
Some believe this artistic comparison could help archaeologists
understand
the relationship between the water tunnel and capital.
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