Customer Reviews

Archaeology in the Holy Land

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Miss Kenyon's work is one of the most comprehensive ever developed. She produced much in the way of information about sites in the Holy Land some of which she positively indentified as some of the oldest of historical stories. Her work is used as a basis for much of modern archaeology as she was the first to develop a scientific approach to archaeology. Great pictures and good information. Excellent reference book.

Kathleen Mary Kenyon (1906-1978) was a leading archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent, best known for her excavations in Jericho in 1952-1958. (She was also the eldest daughter of Bible scholar and British Museum director Sir Frederic Kenyon.) This book was first published in 1960, and went through numerous editions (I have the 4th edition from 1979, which was published posthumously).

In the Introduction, she notes, "The study of the background of the Bible was therefore the motive force behind the earliest exploration of Palestine. In the ensuing hundred years, many great discoveries have been made in the course of this exploration, and much patient work has supplemented the more spectacular finds. As a result, a connected history of Palestine can now be written." She also cautions, "Since much of the story to be told in the following chapters is based wholly or in part on archaeology, it is desirable at this stage to consider what archaeology can do, and what are its limitations."

Here are some of her observations:

"The evidence concerning Jerusalem is still very scanty."
"For the chronology of the entry of the Israelites we are entirely dependent on archaeology, for there is no reflection of the events described in the Book of Exodus in Egyptian records. The only help we can get is a suggestion of a suitable historical setting."
"The biblical record, supplemented by our present knowledge of the written history of the Near East, makes it clear that peaceful conditions (for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah) existed only for very short stretches of time throughout the whole period of the dual monarchy."

If you want more information about Dame Kenyon, read Dame Kathleen Kenyon: Digging Up the Holy Land (UNIV COL LONDON INST ARCH PUB).