THE GARDEN OF EDEN The most enduring legend. A story found in one great civilization after another.

er. A story of seduction, the wrath of God, and paradise lost. Was there ever really such a place as Eden? BABYLON

MESOPOTAMIA The return to Eden ; Land between seas Land of the first seeds were human civilization was sowed. Where three of the great Asian civilizations flourished. The great arc of the Fertile Crescent, over the course of 6000 years, this rich land cradles between the Tigris and Euphrades rivers gave birth to the first great civilizations. The present day Iraq.

of a story from the bible: two sources for the same event. For the faithful, it was the proof theyve been looking for: concrete evidence of the bibles historical accuracy. Europeans assumed that anything so highly priced must contain gold. They dumped the stone into a fire and then attempted to break it apart until it exploded.

1947

Two shepherds saw a small cave secured by rocky slopes. Inside the cave, one of the shepherds discovered materials, all untouched since the time of Jesus: ancient pots, leather scroll fragments, and papyrus sheets. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls most famous event in biblical archaeology. Torah first 5 books of the Bible; each is considered holy from the moments it is written. The bible is read from two points of view: sacred and historical. Traditional Torah is always written by hand; the words are read aloud as the scribe writes so they become a living prayer.

19th CENTURY Aims of Biblical Archaeology 1. To locate sites mentioned prominently in the biblical narratives. 2. To see if any illustration of those tales could be found. Discovery of the Moabite Stone One of the most intense, diplomatic and political battles that occurred in the history of biblical archaeology. Discovered in 1868, deep in the land of Moab and buried in the desert. Discovery of the Black Tablet Discovered by Frederick Augustus Klein. The first archaeological confirmation of a bible story ever found in the Holy Land. The writing on the stone proved to be a mold of the kings account of the battle also described in the bible. For the first time ever, there was a written confirmation etched in stone

The last of the lost civilizations. The majestic capital of the ancient world. The bricks of its wall once bore a name: King Nebakenezer. Land of many gods and pagan idols. One of unlikely birthplace of one of the worlds sacred text. Where the Bible was born and became a book. The bible described the Babylonian attack: homes were pillaged and King Solomons temple was set ablaze and destroyed. Thousand Israelite captives were led to Babylon in chains. Tower of Babylon one of the antiquitys most extraordinary monument soared into the sky. Robert Koldewey discovered a rectangular ditch with only a few ancient bricks remaining in the early 1900s. First civilization on Earth to have a written legal code. Hammurabis Code A stone engraved with one of the most important legal document of all time. Hammurabi a Babylonian king, had the stone carved with laws and his name. Precursors to the legal code in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. The Ordeal a ritual described in Hammurabis code painful, even deadly, test of guilt or innocence. Mobashi holy man, will judge the accused by examining their tongue after they licked a read hot iron spoon. Water doesnt ease the pain it meant to cleanse and purify the drinker and to ready him for judgment. Ten Commandments The foundation of Biblical law. Only the beginning of complex set of codes and covenant central to the Old Testament. Where the clear voice of Hammurabi can still be heard.

ASSYRIA

A land bathed in blood. Greatest empire in the world. Assyrians

 Deadliest of all the Mesopotamian

armies of the ancient world. In the bible, ultimate symbol of bloody tyranny and ruthless oppression. Believed in absolute power (control). Master goldsmiths and artisans. King Sennacherib attacked the land of the Israelites before Nebakenezer took the Israelite captives (with a hundred years interval). Niniveh its capital; unknown to the modern world. Austin Henry Layard (1852) Discovered the Royal Palace of Niniveh in Northern Iraq unspoiled treasure of Assyrian civilization. Discovered great winged bulls and spectacular artistry hidden from human view for a millennium. Great Libarary of Niniveh his most momentous discovery extraordinary collection of 22,000 clay tablets inscribed with the cuneiform writing of the Assyrians. Details revealed patriarchal society women had little status. Man dropping a coin in the hem of a womans dress results to marriage. Palace of Nimrub Discovered in 1989. Treasure of Nimrub body of two queens the most significant discovery since kings tomb. The Royal sepulcher still displayed the curse to protect its occupants. >125 lbs of beautifully crafted jewelry, crystal goblets, and exquisite carvings. From the capital city of Jerusalem, King Hezekiah knew an Assyrian attack was inevitable. He raced to fortify the city and ordered an underground aqueduct a desperate effort to protect the citys water supply in the phase of the siege. The plan worked and the bible tells us that the Lord saved Jerusalem and the King of Assyria returned a shamed face to his own land. Sennacheribs version of the conflict was found on a clay prism it matches the bibles story down to its smallest details but its point of view was sharply different.

of the Mythic King Gilgamesh the worlds very first written epic. Ancient cities where the story of the great flood was first told: Uruk, Eridu, and Ur. Invented the wheel, government, gardening, 60-second minute, and troubled teenager. Mud bricks erected the first great monument called the Ziggurat towering temples soaring hundreds of feet into the air. Writing most impressive invention. Lost City of Ur Center of Sumerian civilization. Birthplace of Abraham first of the Bibles patriarchs. Epitome of the biblical city. Leonard Woolley dug an enormous pit and found salt. Royal Tombs of Ur 74 carefully aranged skeletons. Triumph of archaeology. Dilmun in the epic of Gilgamesh, it is paradise.

Story

BAHRAIN

Market place on the trade routes across the Arab deserts and salt seas of Mesopotamia; long ago, it was dilmun.

SUMER The first civilization on Earth. Told the story of the great flood. Saga of Noahs Arc one of the most familiar of all bible stories. (Angry God, wooden boat, deluge) Also found in a text discovered in the Ruins of Sumer. Mesopotamian tablets revealed the earliest known legend of the cataclysmic flood.