On Israeli archaeology in the West Bank

ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS: Israel digs up the West Bank – and reignites a battle over history. As Israel expands excavations in the West Bank, ancient ruins become entangled in a modern political struggle over land, history, and identity (RUTH MARKS EGLASH, The Jerusalem Report).

While such dramatic ancient archaeological sites are located across this region, which Israelis call by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, Alexandrion/Sartaba is now one of a handful of places where active excavations are taking place – for the first time in 40 years.

However, the renewed excavation here is not unfolding in isolation from modern events. It comes amid a sweeping Israeli government initiative to expand archaeological activity across the West Bank – territory Palestinians seek for a future state; territory which much of the international community considers “occupied.”

For more on the political situation with archaeology on the West Bank, and more on the Sartaba-Alexandrium excavation, see here and links. And for a post on the site of Archelais, see here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.