17 December 2012, 2:00 a.m.
"A major section of our decade long Yavne excavations was concluded Dec 12, 13, and 14. ... The project has involved using the latest technologies: (1) a mapping of this ancient city by Professor Phil Reeder of the University of South Florida, (2) ground penetrating radar of over 20 acres by Professor Harry Jol of the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire [Wisconsin], and (3)the geophysics team from Canada."Our work has unearthed thousands of shards, glass and metal finds as well as coins and a medieval mosque and minaret area, Crusader walls, Byzantine pottery and for the first time a Roman layer with a beautiful plaster floor.
The Yavne story is unfolding with the artfacts, but it is a tale associated one of the most compelling parts of Jewish and biblical history: the origin of the "new" Sanhedrin in Yavne and the study house of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, established when the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in the year 70 CE, forever changing biblical Judaism's sacrifices and priesthood into one of prayers and rabbis.
There are scholars who think that the Yavne "experiment" helped launch all of the subsequent religious reforms from rabbinic Judaism, Christianity and later Islam.
For a fun YouTube photo gallery of the Yavne site (to the tune of "Back in the Saddle Again"), click here.
Editor's Note: Dr. Freund, internationally recognized archeologist, sent updates of his winter excavations in Israel. This installment quotes Dr. Freund's notes verbatim. Please note that this post is not a duplicate of our December 20 post, but contains additional notes from Dr. Freund's December excavations in Israel.
