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Every find on this website can be considered a a piece of evidence in one way or another. Its presence at the find spot proves human activities of the period in question at that place. If the find is linked to a specific event it proved that this event actually took place.
Since the dawn of archaeology 200 years ago people tried to prove that event descriptions known from written sources have at least a true core. In particular, that was applied to religious traditions. To verify the bible became a distinct branch of archaeology.
Biblical archaeology appeals to many people because it attracts those who are interested in the past as well as those who are interested in the bible. Many people not very much interested in any sort of science still would like to know whether the descriptions in the bible can be backed up by hard evidence. This public interest, especially in the U.S., helped to raise the funds for intensive archaeological investigations in modern day Israel. As a consequence, today Israel has seen more excavations per squaremile than most countries in the world.
Knowledge is one aspect of archaeology, finds are the other. When archaeology was still in its infancy it was mainly about finds. The various European countries competed for the most spectacular finds and displayed their trophies proudly in their museums.
Today it is a mixture of finds and knowledge. Finds usually remain in their country of origin. Some archaeologists claim that knowledge is by far more important and dismiss other attitudes as materialistic. I do not agree with that very academic point of view. The ordinary people will always want to see unusual and stunning objects. These people buy books, museum and exhibition tickets and in some way or another they have influence on the funds of even the most academic archaeologist.
The desire to see material evidence is part of human nature. This applies in particular to the religious field if we think of the relics.
Many who believe in religions or myths strive for visible or, even better, tangible objects related to that believe. In Central Europe, when Christian religion reached the climax of importance in the 12.-14. century, people were so fond of relics they were prepared to pay high prices. The crusades intensified this development. Demand created supply so many items were faked in just the same way as Nazi insignia today are faked by an entire industry in Eastern Europe to supply the US collectors market.
Religious places desperately needed relics to attract pilgrims and thus money. Some people and institutions even went as far as faking or stealing such items while most purchased them in good faith from those who had connections to the Near East. Today, by pure logic, we must conclude from the sheer amount of relics in Europe that the majority was not authentic. There were just too many nails, pieces of the holy cross and skulls of John the Baptist. Ground finds, however, are almost never faked.
The bible, the Old Testament in particular, mentions some very special objects and very dramatic events. Some objects descriptions, e.g. of the Ark of the Covenant, are so precise that it was possible to create replicas. To find any of these objects or to find traces of the described events is the dream of many searchers and the content of countless books and TV productions from documentations to “Indiana Jones”. Did the Ark of the Covenant exist? Where Jericho’s walls destroyed by trumpets? Can we hope to find remains of Noah’s ark at the Mt. Ararat? In this chapter I will try to give a quick overview on the current state of knowledge and my opinion on find chances.
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