FIRST PERSON
6 January/February 2018A New Chapter
Hello, I’m Bob Cargill, the new Editor
of BAR. I am honored to be taking the reins from
Hershel Shanks, the man who founded BAR and
who devoted his career to exploring and promoting
issues pertaining to archaeology and the Bible.
Through BAR, Hershel has brought the latest
archaeological discoveries from the Holy Land to
you, our loyal readers, since 1975. I’ll say more
about Hershel—and trust me, there is plenty more
to say and many stories to tell—in our next issue.*
Hershel has been promoted to Editor Emeritus and
will continue to write periodically for BAR. It has
been a privilege apprenticing under Hershel over
the past year, and I look forward to working with
him for many years to come—as the BAR editorial
staff works to bring you timely, responsible, credi-
ble, and entertaining information about archaeology
and its relation to the Bible.
For now, I’m excited to introduce this year’s
Dig Issue, which highlights the active excavations
throughout the Biblical world, including Israel,
the West Bank, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, Turkey,
Lebanon, and Iraq. BAR provides this resource
in the hope that you might find an archaeological
dig and sign up to participate as a volunteer. As a
university student, I always valued this resource
because it gave me the essential contact and cost
information I needed to begin my search for the
dig that was right for me in terms of location, time
period being examined, and types of objects I just
might uncover. We also provide some scholarships
for those who might require financial assistance in
order to participate in a dig.
And remember, you don’t have to be a student
to go on a dig. Some of my best memories from
digs are of seasoned carpenters, lawyers, forensic
anthropologists, dentists, businesspeople, elemen-
tary school teachers, pest control owners, pastors,
and retired armed services members who decided
they wanted to do something different for their
summers—something romantic, adventurous,
exotic, and a little dirty that fed their passion forthe Bible, its origins, its context, and the lands in
which fate itself conspired with the people to pro-
duce the history of events that brought us the book
so many of us have given our lives to studying. So
if you’re recently retired or suffering from “empty
nest” syndrome, there is no better way to travel
the Holy Land than to work your way through it
(literally!) on an archaeological excavation. It’s the
most effective way to lose weight, get a great tan,
exercise, and learn about what you love while trav-
eling to exotic places you’ve only ever read about.
And, oh, what great stories you will tell when you
get home!
In this issue, we feature four articles that, in vari-
ous ways, demonstrate the broad spectrum that the
world of Biblical archaeology entails. My article,
“Migration and Immigration in Ancient Israel,”
focuses on the many peoples who have called the
eastern Mediterranean home throughout history
and spotlights some of the archaeological excava-
tions taking place this coming year. Next, Tel Aviv
University’s Yuval Gadot offers us a first look at his
excavation in ancient Jerusalem. He argues that a
portion of the southern Kidron Valley east of Jeru-
salem’s Old City was not merely a dump, but one of
the earliest engineered landfills in antiquity. Danny
Rosenberg of the University of Haifa and Jennie
Ebeling of the University of Evansville in Indiana
discuss the basalt vessel production industry at
Hazor and the later Israelite admiration of this ven-
erable Canaanite tradition. Finally, Jeremy Smoak
of UCLA gives us another look at the Ketef Hinnom
inscriptions and explains how “invisible writing”
(written in such a way that no one could read it)
functioned in ancient Israel.
I hope you will enjoy this first issue of 2018. You
may begin to notice a few subtle changes in BAR,
both in print and online (like the adoption of the
Oxford comma), but I hope that you will take com-
fort in the fact that the entire staff and I are com-
mitted to preserving Hershel’s legacy here at BAR
and building upon his lifetime of tireless work. For,
as a wise man once said, a good editor is one “who
brings out of his treasure what is new and what is
old” (Matthew 13:52).—B.C.*The next issue of bar will be a special double issue, refl ecting on
Hershel the man, his career, and what bar has meant to the archaeo-
logical world.This issue marks
a new chapter inBAR’s history. We
are committed
to preserving
Hershel’s legacy
while tackling
the next frontier
in Biblical
archaeology.