Since Kathleen Kenyons excavations at Jericho (1952-8) it has been widely accepted that no traces of the city attacked by Joshua are to be found. Kenyons own view was that, following the destruction of MBA (Middle Bronze Age) Jericho, around 1560 BC, the mound was deserted until a LBA town began to grow up around 1400 BC. This occupation lasted only about a century, and was followed by another long period of abandonment.[14] No evidence was found which could support the existence of a town in the second half of the 13th century BC. The site of Ai (Khirbet et-Tell, or simply Et-Tell) is another parade example of the failure of excavations to support the biblical tradition. Here the gap in occupation lasts at least a thousand years, c. 2200-1200 BC. Once again there is no city for Joshuas forces to attack in the late 13th century. This problem was already known after the excavations by Mme. J. Marquet-Krause in 1933-5,[15] and it was hoped that the renewed excavations of 1964-72, led by J. A. Callaway, would produce some kind of solution, either by uncovering hitherto neglected evidence from the tell itself, or by finding an alternative site for the biblical city nearby. These hopes came to nothing; the gap at Et-Tell was confirmed and the search for an alternative site proved fruitless.[16] J. biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_canaan_bimson.html
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 01:02:16 +0000