Exacavation Report Tel Dan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exacavation Report Tel Dan - Essay Example The first mention of Dan is in Genesis, 14:14, when Lot was taken captive by armed men, and so Abram chased them up to Dan, a city first called Laish or Leshem. Dan-Laish was founded in the fifth millennium BC. It was a prosperous city, with a sloping earth rampart and mud-brick triple-arched gate as defence, which allowed the inhabitants to feel safe and secure. Biran surmised that the formidable sloping earth rampart with a gate was the one Abraham saw when he reached the city2. So much has been said of the Tel Dan mysteries that in 1966 archaeologist Avraham Biran began digging the site for its secrets. Biran stressed biblical archaeology, with the two important disciplines, archaeological research and biblical studies, as the base for their excavations and efforts. These made a positive effect on their work3. An important discovery is the house of David inscription. This is a ninth century BCE victory statement in Aramaic language and inscribed on a basalt stone. The inscription is attributed to an Aramaic king Hazael of Damascus, who conquered the city of Dan around the 840s, decorated the inscription in a public place to indicate his power and sovereignty over the city. When the Israelites recaptured the city, they torn and broke down the inscription and reused it as construction material. Archaeologists led by Avraham Biran so far discovered three fragments of the inscriptions, which they found within the walls of the outer gate4. The inscription tells us that the Aramaic king killed the kings of Israel (Joram) and Judah (Ahaziah). But this is contrary to the texts in the 2nd Book of Kings, Chapter 9, where Jehu killed Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah. These are two interesting contradictions that need to be clarified, probably with the help of future finds at Tel Dan. The inscriptions were found in three fragments, all found in the same general area of Tel