| OCR Text |
Show Uncover Site of Ancient City of Biblical Interest may have trod its streets. Phishnk of Egypt is believed to have been one of the destroyers of the city. The principal temple of Beth Shem-esh Shem-esh perhaps was laid In ruins at the time of the exile. The tangible result of these expeditions expe-ditions has been the formation of a Palestine museum at Ilaverford college col-lege containing an abundance of valuable val-uable material. Several reports elaborating elab-orating in detail on the field discoveries discov-eries have been published by Doctor Grant, Important additions to present-day knowledge of early Palestine and its inhabitants have been made by the Haverford college nrcheological expeditions. ex-peditions. During five of the last six years extensive field work has produced pro-duced brilliant results under the direction di-rection of Prof. Elihu Grant, who heads the department of Biblical literature lit-erature at Haverford. The findings of the fifth expedition, expedi-tion, which went into the field last spring, are now being classified. Plans are being made for a sixth expedition in 1934. The Haverford excavations are located lo-cated at Ain Shems, which is in the lower hill country about twenty miles west of Jerusalem, overlooking the Mediterranean. This mound-ruin is the site of ancient Beth Shemesh, a city which flourished between 1S00 and 600 B. C. The city lay on important impor-tant trade routes between Egypt, Palestine and Syria. Professor Grant's first expedition discovered three Bronze age cemeteries, which yielded one of the largest known treasures of Canaanite burial deposits. depos-its. Digging to depths of 20 feet below be-low the surmounting wheat fields, Doctor Grant's parties have unearthed un-earthed four successive levels representing repre-senting distinct epochs in the city's history. Conquest by invaders, pillaging and destruction by fire are written in the arcbeologic record. After the ruin of the first city at Ain Shems, walls and roof beams of buildings were pushed in on the lower floors. The demolished structures were leveled off by the new builders, and another city was erected on the ruins of the old. This process occurred over again, and again, until four, or perhaps five, successive cities had been built, destroyed de-stroyed and rebuilt. Remains of temples, tem-ples, palaces, dwellings, shops and industrial properties all testify to the existence of Beth Shemesh as a prosperous city of early Palestine. The wealth of personal belongings found, including vases, flasks, bowls, tools, weapons and jewelry, revealed an Industrious population which thrived some 3,000 years ago. The relation of Beth Shemesh to the Biblical record of ancient Palestine Pales-tine is a fascinating study. Nearby was. the birthplace of Samson, who |
