In Israel, District Court Judge Aharon Farkash has advised the public prosecutor to consider dropping the case against two men accused of faking the so-called James ossuary and Joash Tablet. “Have you really proved beyond a reasonable doubt that these artifacts are fakes as charged in the indictment?” he asked. 

In Israel, archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel of Hebrew University says that he has found a fortified settlement that protected the road to Jerusalem during the rule of biblical King David. Dates for the site were obtained from two burned olive pits. “The question is who fortified it, who lived in it, why it was abandoned, and how it all relates to the reign of David and Solomon,” asked Amihai Mazar, also of Hebrew University.   This article offers a few more details about the text found on a shard of pottery from the fortified site of Khirbet Qeiyafa. The 3,000-year-old text includes the words “judge,” “slave,” and “king.”  

A 3,000-year-old temple featuring an image of a spider god has been uncovered in Peru. The temple was built by the little-known Cupisnique culture. The spider-god image appears often in sites dating between 1200 and 400 B.C., and was associated with rainfall, textiles, hunting, war, and power.  

A salmon petroglyph was returned to the Snuneymuxw First Nation people in Canada. The petroglyph had been carved into a boulder that sat near the mouth of the Nanaimo River, until it was removed and put in a museum 30 years ago.  

Archaeologists have found evidence of an early European campsite on the island of Aguas Buenas, a.k.a. Robinson Crusoe Island. Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned on the island in 1704 for five years, and his tales are thought to have inspired novelist Daniel Defoe.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Thursday, October 30, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

Comments posted here do not represent the views or policies of the Archaeological Institute of America.