Fox News A carved pillar discovered near Bethlehem may be linked to the
Biblical King of Kings, David himself, or perhaps validate the scope of
wise Solomon's majestic kingdom.
If they ever get around to digging it up, that is.
Israeli tour guide Binyamin Tropper, who thought he was the first to
discover the major historical artifact, was astonished to find out that
authorities had known about the pillar for decades -- and had been
keeping it a secret all that time.
"When I realized the significance of the pillar, I told my boss who
spoke with the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA)," Tropper, who works
at the educational field school at Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, told
FoxNews.com. "The IAA then told him, 'that's great, now shut up.'"
Tropper may have stumbled across further proof of the real-life world
behind the Biblical stories related in the Old Testament. The
2,800-year-old stone pillar could help locate those legends on a map,
archaeologists say, and connect the modern country of Israel with the
historical roots of Judaism.
But due to the complexities of Arab-Israeli relations, the find is
being ignored, experts say, hushed up to avoid a major political battle
over centuries of debate concerning who has the more legitimate claim to
the Holy Land.
"As the site is located in the West Bank, not within the official
borders of Israel, it is more problematic to excavate there than inside
Israel," Yosef Garfinkel, a professor of archeology at Hebrew University
who inspected the site, explained to FoxNews.com.
In a carefully worded statement to FoxNews.com, the IAA acknowledged
the discovery of the pillar but would not discuss the matter further,
expressing concern over the unavoidable relationship between archeology
and the Middle East conflict.
"The complex reality in Israel sometimes brings the scholarly
discipline of archaeology in contact with political issues regarding the
subject of historical roots and rights," the IAA told FoxNews.com in an
email. "When a significant archaeological discovery requires additional
research, the IAA sees that this is carried out. Such is the case in
this issue: the IAA is operating in effort to carry out a full
excavation of the site, which will enable thorough study of the findings
and their disclosure in both popular and scholarly publications."
Tropper defied the IAA's request to stay mum on his discovery,
however; he believes it's worth the political headache a proper
excavation would provoke.
Tropper explained that in the last 20-30 years, an internal debate in
Israel has ensued over the size and importance of King David's kingdom
as described in the Bible. This pillar's design, he says, is consistent
with the time period of the First Temple and would help provide concrete
evidence of the Judean king's existence in Israel. [...]
It's difficult to know whether it has evidence about King David without knowing what exactly it says.
ReplyDeleteThis is an outrage. The Israeli regime's bowing to our enemies is beyond sickening. They are even willing to cover up history and stifle scientific discovery on behalf of their PLO overlords. There is no depth to which these criminals will not stoop when it comes to their decades-long obsession of bolstering our genocidal enemies.
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