Digging up Jerusalem

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Dame Kathleen begins by giving the historical background to the momentous excavations she directed during 1961-1967: the founding of the Palestine Exploration Fund in 1865 and the often horrifying difficulties faced by earlier explorers, notably Charles Warren and F.J. Bliss, amid apathy and obstruction. Their explorations by shafts and tunnels made notable discoveries about the topography of Jerusalem but could not provide dating evidence. Subsequent chapters describe the layout of Biblical Jerusalem and the problems that the excavations attempted to solve: the boundaries of David's City, for instance, and the authenticity of the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Key topics such as the Spring Gihon, the Pool of Siloam, and the rebuilding of the city walls are given special attention. The organization, methods, and personnel of the expedition, which carried out seven seasons, are illuminatingly detailed, and the results of subsequent digs are also included. The main section is devoted to a chronological description of the archaeological results of the expedition. Some light was shed on Jerusalem of the second and third millennia. The main discoveries, however, were made about Jerusalem from the time of David, through Solomonic and Herodian magnificence, down to the New Testament.