Abrabanel: Musings on the Jewish condition

We’re not saying it justifies the building of the security fence – the near-zero terrorism over the past few years does that – but salvage excavations along the fence north of Jerusalem have revealed a sarcophagus fragment of hard limestone that reads “Ben HaCohen HaGadol,” or “son of the high priest.”

JTA reports:

Though it is impossible to tell which priest’s son the inscription refers to, the sarcophagus should probably be identified with one of the priests that officiated in the Second Temple between the years 30 C.E. and 70 C.E., according to a news release from the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The archaeological site that may be the Jewish Khazar capital Itil. AP offers pictures:

Archaeologists have apparently located the remains of the capital of the Khazar Kingdom, which famously converted to Judaism sometime between 700 and 900 CE. The site is “near the village of Samosdelka, just north of the Caspian Sea,” according to the AFP report.

“We can now shed light on one of the most intriguing mysteries of that period – how the Khazars actually lived. We know very little about the Khazars – about their traditions, their funerary rites, their culture,” he said.

The city was the capital of the Khazars, a semi-nomadic Turkic peoples who adopted Judaism as a state religion, from between the 8th and the 10th centuries, when it was captured and sacked by the rulers of ancient Russia.

At its height, the Khazar state and its tributaries controlled much of what is now southern Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan and large parts of Russia’s North Caucasus region.

The capital is referred to as Itil in Arab chronicles but Mr Vasilyev said the word may actually have been used to refer to the Volga River on which the city was founded or to the surrounding river delta region.

Itil was said to be a multi-ethnic place with houses of worship and judges for Christians, Jews, Muslims and pagans. Its remains have until now never been identified and were said to have been washed away by the Caspian Sea.

National Geographic and Reuters both carried a story in the past couple of weeks about incredible Mayan underground caverns, where concrete roads end in columns alongside underground lakes and statues of priests dot the miles of caverns, some of which were constructed underwater. Researchers needed scuba gear to find eleven complete underground temples. According to an expert quoted in the article, the underground maze was likely built to actualize their myths about the underworld.

The best quote:

“They believed in a reality with many layers,” [Boston University Maya expert William] Saturno said of the Maya. “The portal between life and where the dead go was important to them.”

Hat tip: Digg.