Current Events Articles: July 2017

Two new investigations have been conducted to investigate the authenticity of the famed Shroud of Turin.

The first was an initiative begun by the Association of Scientists and Scholars International for the Shroud of Turin (ASSIST), which aims to determine if limestone particles found on the Shroud came from a Jerusalem tomb or from another location. Using detailed collection protocols from ASSIST, ABR's Dr. Wood and Dr. Scott Stripling, along with Abigail Leavitt and Kent Wegner, obtained limestone particles using acid-free tape from the walls, benches and floors of the tomb complex beneath École Biblique in east Jerusalem. These tombs are less than one km away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the body of Jesus was likely entombed. The specimens are currently beginning to be tested.

The second investigation was recently reported in the journal PLOS ONE, in which the authors conducted an atomic resolution study on a fiber from the Shroud of Turin using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Wide-Angle X-ray Scanning (WAXS). Their study showed that the fiber is covered by a "blood serum typical of a human organism" and not dye or paint. Moreover, the particles contained a high level of creatinine and ferritin, which is common in patients who have suffered trauma or torture. The researchers concluded, "the presence of these biological nanoparticles found during our TEM experiments point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the Turin shroud."

Limestone Testing Links:
- http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2017/05/30/ABR-Researches-Jerusalem-Tombs-for-the-Shroud-of-Turin-Project.aspx
- http://tbts.info/episodes/1579
 
Blood Testing Links:
- http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0180487
- http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2017/july/new-evidence-blood-of-tortured-man-is-found-on-the-shroud-of-turin

Steve Green, billionaire president of the Hobby Lobby craft store chain, has returned more than 5000 ancient artifacts and paid a $3 million fine after federal investigators determined that the artifacts came from Iraq, and not from Turkey or Israel as declared on the customs forms. In 2010, Hobby Lobby paid $1.6 million for a collection of tablets, bricks, clay bullae and cylinder seals bearing cuneiform inscriptions. They purchased the collection from a dealer in the United Arab Emirates. Laws in both the United States and Iraq prohibit the purchase of ancient artifacts illegally removed from the country of origin. Hobby Lobby released a statement in which they stated, "At no time did Hobby Lobby ever purchase items from dealers in Iraq or from anyone who indicated that they acquired items from that country. Hobby Lobby condemns such conduct and has always acted with the intent to protect ancient items of cultural and historical importance." Many artifacts from the Green Collection have been donated to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, which is scheduled to open in November. None of the artifacts in this settlement were from the Museum of the Bible. Steve Green has said that Hobby Lobby was "new to the world of acquiring items and did not fully appreciate the complexities of the acquisitions process." He admits that they made "regrettable mistakes" and that he should have "exercised more oversight."

Off-site Links:
- http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2017/july/hobby-lobby-steve-green-artifacts-smuggled-from-iraq.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/nyregion/hobby-lobby-artifacts-smuggle-iraq.html?mcubz=0

Excavators at Tel Gezer have unearthed the skeletal remains of an adult and child. Researchers found the bodies inside a massive building (15x20 meters in size) that had been destroyed. The fiery destruction layer covered the bodies in a meter-thick layer of ash and burnt bricks. The human remains were too badly damaged in the fire for archaeologists to identify their nationality. The destruction has been attributed to Pharaoh Merneptah and confirms his claim on the Merneptah Stela (also known as the Israel Stele) that, "Canaan is plundered with every hardship. Ashkelon is taken, Gezer captured, [and] Yano‘am reduced to nothing. Israel is laid waste, his seed is no more." The layer of destruction indicates that Merneptah may have encountered more resistance from the Gezerites than expected.

Off-site Links:
- http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.798934
- http://www.newsweek.com/israel-ancient-human-remains-discovered-royal-biblical-city-3200-years-after-631954

Archaeologists exploring near the ancient Egyptian city of Elkab have discovered a monumental hieroglyphic rock inscription. The previously undocumented inscription depicts the earliest stages of hieroglyphics, and will help scholars better understand how the ancient Egyptians created their writing system. The inscription has been dated to 3250 BC and portrays common hieroglyphs, although at a scale not previously seen before. Each individual sign measures over half a meter in height (compared to previous hieroglyphs which were 2-3 centimeters tall). The researchers from Yale University have used new technology to create 3D images of the inscriptions from photographs taken on site.

Off-site Links:

- http://news.yale.edu/2017/06/20/yale-archaeologists-discover-earliest-monumental-egyptian-hieroglyphs
- http://newatlas.com/egyptian-hieroglyphs-billboard/50139/