The Bible: An Introduction to Archeology

Forget Indiana Jones. Archeology generally--and biblical archeology in particular--is a tedious, methodical science involving a variety of tests and experiments that yield remarkable results. Ancient civilizations tended to build on top of previous ones, so that mounds called "tells" formed, preserving earlier layers under later construction. The arid desert conditions of the Middle East are frequently hospitable to the preservation of organic remains. Using these data, archeologists develop hypotheses, gather more data, develop theories and publish their findings in order to have their conclusions tested.

Biblical archeology related to the Hebrew scriptures (what Christians call the Old Testament) presents a particular challenge in that it studies the prehistoric period in Palestine (i.e. before the profusion of written records) as well as the historic period, a time span of about two millennia. Although its geographical area is not wide, its chronology is considerable. It is supplemented by archeological studies of the surrounding empires, including Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. Biblical archeology of the Christian scriptures (the New Testament) only focuses on the first and early second centuries CE (of the Common Era), but includes a more expansive territory: Palestine, Asia Minor (what is Turkey today), Greece, Rome, and Egypt. It is also an archeology of an historical period in which there is considerable documentary evidence.

Archeologists employ a variety of specialty professionals, including architects, photographers, surveyors, and pottery or art restorers. In addition, there are sub-specialties of archeology: osteology (the study of bones), paleobotany (the study of plant remains), and paleozoology (the study of animal remains). They also rely on a variety of chemical tests in order to determine the composition of materials (including traces of metals or organic materials in soil), as well as the tools of physics, such as carbon-14 dating of organic material and neutron activation of pottery.

Surface or landscape archeology does not entail digging but relies on documents, instrument surveys, and sightings to do its work. Place names and ancient documents (deeds, land records, maps) suggest likely areas for survey. Satellite and aerial photography reveal remarkable details, for example ancient nomadic track ways in deserts or field systems in ancient farms. Magnetometers (and other surface scanning devices) operated over a smaller area give data about what lies below. In areas where burrowing animals (e.g rabbits or moles) reside, their surface castings can contain informative artifacts. Vegetation often gives an indication of what lies below or of how land had been used in the past. Core samples (driving a tube into the ground in order to bring up cylindrical samples of earth) can indicate the composition of historical strata or levels. All of this occurs without digging up a site.

Structural or architectural archeology can entail surveys of existing surface structures as well as digging to survey buried structures. Architectural archeology attempts to recover the form and uses of buildings based on their remains, to decipher inscriptions, and to estimate the ages of a building based on it architectural styles and on the carbon-14 dating of wood beams. Dendrochronlogy, the science of determining age based on tree rings, is also employed. The archeologists work is complicated by the fact that in the ancient world, stone was repeatedly reused in a variety of later building projects, so that precise dating of a particular existing structure is difficult. Similarly, the ancients frequently reused tombs so that several bodies might be deposited over different historical periods.

Excavations or "digs" are the most expensive and time consuming form of archeological research, requiring large staffs (who have to be fed and housed), weeks or months of work, approval of site owners, equipment, and the resources to return the site to its original condition. A site is surveyed horizontally and vertically, in square grids marked with pegs and in elevations to determine strata. Stratigraphy is the science of determining the age of strata or archeological levels. Archeologists remove dirt and artifacts layer by layer, often sifting discarding dirt to find small artifacts, in order to ensure that nothing valuable is thrown away.

Artifacts or archeological finds typically include a wide range of materials. Pottery is perhaps the most common, serving not only as a storage device, but also as a decorative or ritual device and even as a writing medium for inscriptions (ostraca), such as receipts. In addition, decorative or cultic artifacts, including furniture, provide inscriptions or depictions of daily life. In rare instances, archeologists discover texts and documents, such as the accidental discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran or the Coptic Gospels at Nag Hammadi. Coins give evidence of the dating of layers, though the recirculation of coins prevents this from being too precise a calculation. Perishable organic products, such as wooden boxes, baskets and textiles, are rarely found except in arid locations where the dry climate has preserved them. Figurines and seals reveal something about the cultic and political lives of ancient communities, as well as assisting in the dating of a site.

Rubbish heaps and cesspits provide archeologists with rich (if not romantic) material for exploring everyday life. Humans create trash and excrement, which they tend to collect in sites set aside for that use. Trash remains can give insight into the technologies used daily, the kinds of animals slaughtered and eaten, or the relative affluence of a community. Cesspits can reveal undigested plant remains (e.g. seeds) in coprolites (fossilized excrement) and its chemical composition can tell a great deal about diet.

Human remains from graves and tombs reveal a great deal about a culture's attitudes toward life and death. The manner of burial and artifacts included with the burial (if they have survived plunder) tell archeologists something about the ritual life of a community and its level of affluence. Hastily buried bodies or numerous bodies in mass graves tell a different story from a ceremonial burial. Employing principles of chemistry and physics, tests made on the bones can determine diet and health, as physical inspection of those remains can show disease or injury.

With the development of scuba gear in the 1940s, underwater archeology has emerged as an important field, researching not only wrecked ships but also sites that were formerly on land before global water levels rose or tidal and river patterns changed to flood a site.

Biblical archeology is an exact science, though it is also an art whose conclusions are open for critique. Archeologists frequently rely on educated guesses and tentative hypotheses about the age or use of particular material. Nonetheless, an arid climate and nearly two centuries of excavation have made the Near East one of the most exhaustively surveyed areas in the world.