Archaeology, Politics and Living People in Jerusalem By Yonathan Mizrachi
A recent article by noted archaeologist Israel Finkelstein underscores some of the problems and misconceptions surrounding the “City of David” - archaeological site located in the Palestinian village of Silwan
A large part of the site lies beneath the houses in the village. Professor Finkelstein explains how over the last one hundred years, every government, starting with the British mandate, and continuing with the Jordanian and Israeli governments, failed to separate between archaeological areas and residential areas in the village. It is this intermingling of ancient remains and modern homes that makes archaeology in the City of David/Silwan so sensitive, and it is what allows the right-wing Elad settler group to pursue a two-pronged policy of both settlement on the site and excavation of its remains. Archaeology thus significantly affects the lives of people in the present. To imagine archaeology as being “beyond politics”, in such a case, constitutes mere denial.
Professor Finkelstein rightly opposes the management of a national monument by a private foundation, and argues that the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Israel Antiquities Authority, respectively, should be responsible for managing the site and carrying out the excavations. This is, in itself, a political statement, as Israeli sovereignty in Silwan is in dispute, and with it – the legitimacy of unilateral activity carried out under Israeli law. Moreover, the more the world media identifies places like Silwan and the Old City of Jerusalem with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the harder it is to actually separate archaeological activity from political activity.
As for the site’s more recent history, Finkelstein seems to accept settler propaganda at face value. Silwan has expanded to modern Wadi Hilweh in much the same way as Jerusalem has expanded to Rehavia, and Tel Aviv to Ramat Aviv. To deny this is virtually to deny the presence of some 5000 souls in Wadi Hilweh and the slopes of Mt Zion, and to deny that they have any stake in the future development of the site. From 1927 to 1934, the British Palestine Exploration Fund obtained permission from the Abu Saud family to conduct excavations in Silwan Village/City of David—obvious evidence that the archaeological site lies within the village boundaries.
Archaeological research in Jerusalem’s Historic Basin is carried out exclusively by Israelis, in areas densely populated with Palestinians. It is no wonder that it is viewed by the latter with suspicion. In this situation, it becomes the responsibility of the archaeological community to establish unequivocally that Jerusalem’s archaeology is a part of world heritage, as potentially meaningful to the local inhabitants as it is to Israelis and to the world. The antiquities of ancient Jerusalem teach us much about Jerusalem’s history, but they do not exist in empty, virgin areas that have been uninhabited for three thousand years. Jerusalem has never ceased being inhabited, and every phase in its existence is packed with significance. In the long run, the future of the archaeological remains in the Historic Basin will not be served by exclusive Israeli control, but rather through interaction between archaeologists and local people, professional international cooperation, and a broad view of Jerusalem as a world heritage site significant to many nations and faiths. Just as Jerusalem is a city of extraordinary archaeological significance, so the solutions for handling archaeological research in Jerusalem must be extraordinary.
