become a friend of Emek Shaveh »
join our mailing list »
News [Articles Archive]
“Beit Haliba” and the Givati Parking Lot Archeological Excavations and their Effect on the Status Quo in the Old City of Jerusalem and in Silwan
Emek Shaveh, Emek ShavehMay 11, 2012 The Palestinian taxi driver crucial to Jewish settlement in E. Jlem
Nir Hasson, HaaretzApril 20, 2012 Ecology-minded Palestinian village fights plans for separation fence
Nir Hasson, HaaretzMarch 13, 2012 Palestinians Claim Ancient Judean Shekel Auctioned for $1.1 Million Is…Palestinian
Sharona Schwartz, The BlazeMarch 9, 2012 The writing on the wall, tablet and floor
Ofer Aderet, HaaretzMarch 4, 2012 Yet Another Collapse in the “City of David” in Silwan
Hagit Ofran, Peace Now - Settlement WatchFebruary 26, 2012 Netanyahu: Abbas speech on Jerusalem was 'incitement'
Barak Ravid, HaaretzFebruary 21, 2012 Archeologists are bringing Jerusalem's ancient Roman city back to life
Nir Hasson, Haaretz
Friday, May 18th at 14.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem began as a small village in a place known as the City of David where the Palestinian village of Silwan sits today. Buried under the village lands, 5000 years of history bind the stories of ancient nations and rulers with the present life of the local residents. Dozens of excavated archaeological strata tell the complex multi-cultural saga of Jerusalem.
Frequent Q&A about Jerusalem's Old City
Q: Why not have each religion – Jewish, Christian, and Muslim – care for its own heritage?A: As in every historical city, periods and cultures in the Old City of Jerusalem are intertwined, above the surface as well as below. There are those who would wish to promote the existence of an authentic Jewish Jerusalem hidden beneath the Muslim city; one that can be accessed in the tunnels of the ‘City of David’ and the Western Wall. But that is an illusion: the vaults and tunnels are not all of the same time, and most are modern creations, made up of Ottoman period cisterns, Mamluk vaults, and rock-cut installations of Roman date or earlier.
A denominational division might work for religious buildings (and even those are often shared). But archaeology needs, on the one hand, the protection of ‘color-blind’ legislation (which doesn’t value one culture over another), and on the other – the protection afforded by a mutual respect for heritage based on the understanding that buildings and ancient remains might have different significance for different people, and that their mere age does not determine their value.
"Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past." (George Orwell, 1984)
A denominational division might work for religious buildings (and even those are often shared). But archaeology needs, on the one hand, the protection of ‘color-blind’ legislation (which doesn’t value one culture over another), and on the other – the protection afforded by a mutual respect for heritage based on the understanding that buildings and ancient remains might have different significance for different people, and that their mere age does not determine their value.
| more Q&A » |
"Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past." (George Orwell, 1984)
|
Clay icon from the Execration Texts in Egypt, 20th-19th Century BCE. The city of Rosh-ramen or Roshlamem associated with the earliest mention of Jerusalem appears on the icon’s torso © Royal Museums of Art and History – Brussels |
