Galil and Goliath: A Land of Archaeological Sin?

Abstract

The archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler once said that in Palestine/Israel “more sins have probably been committed in the name of archaeology than on any commensurate portion of the earth’s surface” (Wheeler 1954:30). One recalls this sensational saying when reading the “Public Statement” issued by Aren Maeir, concerning popular publications of inscriptions by Gershon Galil. The statement accused Galil of sensationalism and claimed that scholars must not “run to the press” before publishing a full scientific, peer reviewed report.

In this article we suggest that this statement was misguided. Maeir is not fundamentally different than Galil, and one should not argue about personality traits of scholars or types of media, but about contents of publications (methods, theories, underlying assumptions, presentation of facts, and interpretation).

In discussing one relevant item a lead object from Mt. Ebal we conclude that Galil did not decipher an existing, ancient inscription, but created a new, “postmodern” inscription from scratch.

Keywords: Archaology; Biblical Archaeology; Israel; Palestine; Iron Age; Mt. Ebal; Curse Inscriptions.