Comparative Dating Methods: Botanical Identification and 14C. Dating of Carved Panels and Beams from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Nili Liphschitz and ...
Journal of Archaeological Science (1997) 24, 1045–1050
Comparative Dating Methods: Botanical Identification and 14C Dating of Carved Panels and Beams from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem Nili Liphschitz and Gideon Biger Institute of Archaeology and The Botanical Laboratories, Department of Geography, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel
Georges Bonani and W. Wolfli Institute of Particle Physics, ETH, Honggerberg, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland (Received 5 June 1996, revised manuscript accepted 18 February 1997) Carved wooden panels and beams from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, built in Jerusalem in the 8th century , were identified botanically and dated by 14C AMS technique. The results were examined against historical, ornamental and epigraphical evidence. It was found these timbers had been repeatedly used in various buildings in and around Jerusalem over many years. ? 1997 Academic Press Limited Keywords: ROCKEFELLER MUSEUM, CARVED PANELS AND BEAMS, AL-AQSA MOSQUE, AMS DATING, SECONDARY USE, BOTANICAL IDENTIFICATION.
Introduction
A
n impressive collection of carved wooden beams and panels, panelled wooden structures and carved boards, removed from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during restorations in the 1930s, are present in the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem and in the Islamic Museum on the Temple Mount. These have been examined in the past by archaeologists, historians and art experts. The present investigation deals with the botanical identification and 14C AMS dating of the wooden beams and panels in the Rockefeller Museum. The results are compared with results from different research methods which examined the origin and date of the construction timbers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was originally built in Jerusalem during the period 705–715.
The Study Material A detailed study of the wooden panels and beams located in the Rockefeller Museum was conducted previously in 1940. It was then determined that the panels, which are of similar length, were applied under the beams which supported the roof covering the central nave of the Mosque. They differ in their decorative elements. Many of them exhibit a very visible crevice throughout their length, either because the wood has split during drying, or because the width of
14
C
the composition necessitated the use of two planks jointed together (Marcais, 1940). A comprehensive study by Hamilton (1949) described not only the carved panels and beams but also the panelled wooden structures and carved fragments, paying special attention to their carved art motifs and their detailed dimensions. Two of the beams have graffiti. One of the inscriptions (Avi Yonah, 1942) includes two lines: ‘‘In the time of the most holy archbishop and patriarch Peter and the most God-beloved this whole house of Saint Thomas was erected’’. The name mentioned in this inscription enabled it to be dated. According to Avi Yonah (1942), Peter the Patriarch of Jerusalem occupied the patriarchal throne from 524–552, and the erection or repair of the Church of St Thomas in Jerusalem could be connected with the widespread activity of repair and reconstruction of churches which took place from 531 onwards. The second graffiti (Schwabe, 1949), appears on a wooden fragment which seemed to form part of a re-used beam. On epigraphical grounds, it was attributed to the 7th century , or perhaps even to the end of the 6th century. These Greek inscriptions written on two beams prior to the construction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (during 705–715) suggest that the beams were taken from Christian churches and re-used, probably as joints between the roof and the ceiling of the mosque.
1045 0305–4403/97/111045+06 $25.00/0/as970183
? 1997 Academic Press Limited
1046 N. Liphschitz et al. Table 1. Wood identification of the panels and beams Description Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved Carved
panel panel panel panel panel beam beam beam beam beam beam beam beam beam beam beam panel panel panel panel panel beam
Botanical identification no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no.
53.1 53.15 53.11 53.13 53.9 53.18 53.20 53.21 53.22 53.5 53.27 53.25 53.24 53.23 53.12 Arabic inscription 53.26 Greek inscription (Avi Yonah) 53.2 53.4 53.6 53.14 53.10 53.19 Greek inscription (Schwabe)
Close examination of the beams revealed to Hamilton (1949: 86–87) that the construction of each tie-beam differed from every other. In some cases, two trunks of roughly equal size were laid thin-end to thick, and so bound and nailed together. One of the beams was composed of five separate timbers, scarfed and dovetailed together. In other cases, opposite beams were merely nailed and bound with iron. The resulting irregularities were made good by odd pieces of smaller timber. Many of these fragments had been taken from earlier wooden structures, because they display old beadings, mortises, mouldings or even strips of carved and painted ornaments. It is therefore obvious that ancient timber was re-used extensively in the construction of the El-Aqsa Mosque. Twenty great tie-beams were identified in the 1930s as cypress by the Conservator of Forests— Government of Palestine (Hamilton, 1949: 83). Some of these panels were identified during the 1940s as cedar, probably Cedar of Lebanon (correspondence between The Department of Antiquity and the Forest Department of the Palestine Government between November 1943 and February 1944; The Israel State Archive, Section 7, File no. F/14/P2/1).
Botanical Analysis and Results The following botanical analysis is based on the anatomical three-dimensional structure of the wood. Pieces 0·5 cm3 in size were sampled from each of the panels and beams. Cross- and longitudinal-, tangential-, as well as radial-thin sections were prepared from each sample. Sections were stained with safranine and mounted in glycerine. The identification of the wood species was made microscopically from these sections. Comparison was made with reference
Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton,
P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1.
L LXV, 19W LXII, 15E LXIV, 17E LIX, 11W LXXIII LXXII, 18 LXXII, 20 LXXIII, 28 XLVIII, 3 LXXIII, 27 LXXIV, 32 LXXIV, 34 LXXIII, 29 XLIX, 4 & LXXI, 15
Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton,
P1. P1. P1. P1. P1. P1.
2E LIII, 5E LVIII, 9E LXIV (14E) LXI (14E) XLVII, 1
Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cedrus libani Cupressus sempervirens Cupressus sempervirens Cupressus sempervirens Cupressus sempervirens Cupressus sempervirens Cupressus sempervirens
sections prepared from systematically identified living species and with anatomical atlases available for different geographical regions of the world (Fahn, Werker & Baas, 1986; Schweingruber, 1990). The present research found that the carved panels and beams are made of two wood species: five panels and 11 beams were made of Cedrus libani (Cedar of Lebanon), while five panels and one beam were made of Cupressus sempervirens (cypress) (Table 1). These woods are characterized by high quality, high resistance against decay, and a special odour which is preserved in cedar for thousands of years. Close examination of the panels shows they are made of two, or more, longitudinal parts, and the timber is characterized by numerous ‘‘eyes’’ (knots), indicating a low wood quality and most probably a small diameter of the trunk. This observation was also made by Marcais (1940) and Hamilton (1949). 14
C Dating by AMS Technique and Results
In order to establish the age of the panels and beams by 14C dating, minute samples were used for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating (Bonani et al., 1987). Analysis was undertaken for two panels and four beams as follows: (1) Carved panel No. 53.10 of Cupressus sempervirens. The panel is made of two longitudinal parts, originating from the inner part of a trunk or from a small diameter trunk (Figure 1); (2) Carved panel No. 53.2 of Cupressus sempervirens. The panel is made of two longitudinal parts, obtained either from the inner part of a trunk or from a small-diameter trunk. It contains 54 growth rings (Figure 2).
Identification and Dating of Timbers from the Al-Aqsa Mosque 1047 Table 2. Results of the
14
C dating of the panels and beams Sample No.
Age ()
ä13C (‰)
ETH-8252
53.10
2110&35
"23·9&0·8
351–312 (5·7%) 209–37 (94·3%)
ETH-8253
53.12
1670&35
"22·2&0·7
255–302 (16·5%) 316–435 (83·5%)
ETH-8254
53.19
2190&35
"22·0&0·7
377–168 (100%)
ETH-8255
53.26
1565&40
"23·4&1·2
411–567 (98·6%) 582–591 (1·4%)
ETH-9477
53.2
1505&50
"29·7&0·8
437–635 (100%)
ETH-9478
53.5
1915&50
"19·7&1·9
32 –219 (100%)
Lab No.
(3) Carved beam No. 53.5 of Cedrus libani. This is made of three longitudinal parts. The two outer ones originated from the inner part of a trunk, while the intermediate longitudinal timber originated from a peripheral part of a trunk. The sample was taken from the intermediate timber (Figure 3). (4) Beam with an Arabic inscription, No. 53.12, of Cedrus libani. It consists of either an inner part of a trunk or a small-diameter trunk. It contains 70 growth rings (Figure 4). (5) Beam with a Greek inscription, No. 53.19, of Cupressus sempervirens; (investigated by Schwabe, 1949). It is made of a small trunk, containing 40 growth rings (Figure 5). (6) Beam with a Greek inscription, No. 53.26, of Cedrus libani; (investigated by Avi Yonah, 1942). It contains 25 growth rings, and was made either of an inner part of a trunk or from a small-diameter trunk (Figure 6). The chemical pretreatment of the samples consisted of the regular ‘‘strong’’ acid–base–acid treatment. The 14 C:12C and 13C:12C ratios were determined quasisimultaneously and relative to the respective NBS oxalic acid I and PDB standard values (Bonani et al., 1987). The conventional radiocarbon ages were calculated following Stuiver & Polach (1977). They were corrected for natural fractionation of ä13C= "25‰ and reported in years (before 1950). The results are listed in Table 2. The errors quoted are at the onesigma level (on ..). The calibration (dendrocorrected) ages are the two-sigma ranges (95% confidence limit) and were calculated using the program CalibETH (Niklaus et al., 1992). Due to the shape of the calibration curve in the region of interest, in some cases more than one true age range is possible. The figures in brackets are the probabilities (in percentages) of the different true age ranges. Only in cases where bark is not removed during the carpentry work do the datings of the outermost exist-
Calib. age (/)
ing rings represent the dates of felling. Unfortunately, in none of the panels and beams were any signs of bark left. Age determination by 14C for the beams made of Cedrus libani shows that one of them dates to the Roman period (1st century to 3rd century ) and two to the Byzantine period (4th–7th century ). Dating of the panels and the beam made of Cupressus sempervirens shows that one panel and one beam date to the Hellenistic period (4th–2nd century ) and one panel to the Byzantine period. The 14C age of the beam with the Greek inscription (Avi Yonah, 1942) coincides with the date determined by the epigraphical method, i.e. 6th century . Radiocarbon dating performed in 1976 (by conventional counting technique) at the Weizman Institute for some other roof-timbers removed from the AlAqsa Mosque during the 1960s restorations proved that some of the timbers were also of secondary or a tertiary use (Lev-Yadun, Liphschitz & Waisel, 1984). The age obtained for the inner rings of one cedar log, with 202 growth rings, was 1670&50 years, i.e. an age of 1470&50 years for the outermost existing rings ( 506&50). The age obtained for the outer rings of another cedar log was 1340&250 years ( 636&250), and the age obtained for the inner rings of one cypress log with 50 rings was 1460&250 ( 516&250). One cypress log, examined recently by the 14C AMS technique, was found to date in its outermost ring to 531–651. Thus, these logs were used previously during the Byzantine period. The age obtained for two other logs (LevYadun, Liphschitz & Waisel, 1984) was most striking: the age of the outer rings of one cypress log was 2610&170 years (634&170 ), and the age of the outer rings of one log of Turkey oak (Quercus cerries) was 2860&180 years (884&180 ). Both logs are therefore dated to the Iron Age, i.e. the time of the First Temple (Lev-Yadun, Liphschitz & Waisel, 1984). The construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque itself took place in 705–715, obviously using
1048 N. Liphschitz et al.
Figure 4. Beam No. 53.12, with an Arabic inscription, made of Cedrus libani. Figure 1. Carved panel No. 53.10, made of Cupressus sempervirens.
Figure 2. Carved panel No. 53.2, made of Cupressus sempervirens.
Figure 3. Carved panel No. 53.5, made of Cedrus libani.
Figure 5. Beam No. 53.19, with a Greek inscription, made of Cupressus sempervirens.
Figure 6. Beam No. 53.26, with a Greek inscription, made of Cedrus libani.
Identification and Dating of Timbers from the Al-Aqsa Mosque 1049
re-used timber that was already over 1000 years old.
Possible Origins of the Timbers There are several possible sources for the timber used for the panels and beams of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. According to Rosen-Ayalon (1989) the carved wooden beams from the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Hamilton, 1949; plate XLVII) are similar in decoration to the carved wooden beams from the Church of Nativity in Bethelehem (Rosen-Ayalon, 1989: 41–42). The very regular rosette which appears on the carved tie-beam from the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem points to the height of the period of Justinian ( 527–565). The same rosette appears on the carved beam from the Al-Aqsa Mosque (beam 53.5), and therefore may be dated to the same period. The bottom surface of the beams at St Catherine Monastery in South Sinai are also carved with floral ornaments, and the great door to the nave is richly decorated. Two inscriptions on the carved beam over the nave of St Catherine enable exact dating of the Monastery: ‘‘To the salvation of our pious emperor, Justinian’’ and ‘‘To the memory and the rest of the soul of our Empress’’. Theodora, the wife of Justinian, died in 548 and Justinian in 565. The church must therefore have been built sometime between these dates (Galey, 1979: 50–51, plate 34). Paleographical and stylistic comparison suggests that the door is of the same period as the beams. The building of the church is mentioned by Procopius in ‘‘On the Buildings’’, written at about the same time. Evidence including 14C tests proves that the structure has stood since the time of Justinian (Galey, 1979: 57). Wood identification of the door and some of the beams show they are made (Liphschitz & Waisel, 1976) of Cupressus sempervirens as are several of the carved beams and panels of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. During his 1940 research on the carved panels, Marcais concluded that ‘‘the whole series of carved beams was once arranged in corresponding pairs, only later dissociated by re-use’’. He also added that ‘‘the panels no longer occupy their original position’’. Research by Cresswell (1958) led him to conclude that the roof of the nave of the Al-Aqsa Mosque consisted of carved beams ‘‘that can scarcely be later than the eighth century. They presumably have been taken from al-Mahdis Mosque and re-employed’’. The radiocarbon dating presented here shows that some of the cedar and cypress beams date to the Byzantine period. The origin of the beams should therefore be sought in monumental constructions built at that period. The huge church of the Nea Maria in Jerusalem was built by the Emperor Justinian in 543. The dimensions of the church were 115#57 m (Avigad, 1980) and demanded long and straight timber for roofing.
Procopius’ account of Justinian’s work describes the search for timber:
when they made the width in due proportion they found themselves quite unable to set a roof upon the building. So they searched through all the woods and forests and every place where they had heard that every tall tree grew and found a certain dense forest which produced cedars of extraordinary height and by means of these they put the roof upon the church, making its height in due proportion to the width and length of the building (Procopius, Buildings V, cited by Mikesell, 1969: 20).
The forests which are mentioned in this description are probably Lebanese forests, which were famous during ancient times for their cedars and also included other high-quality timber trees. Inscriptions left from 138, from the 20th year of Hadrian Augustus the Emperor, following his visit to Phoenician cities, says that a rule was commemorated as follows: ‘‘the demarcation of the forest of the emperor Hadrian Augustus; four species of trees; the rest are private’’ (i.e. not claimed by the emperor) (Meiggs, 1982: 86). These forests consisted, therefore, of four species and we can assume that, apart from cedars, these forests also consisted of cypress and of other highly esteemed conifers which supplied timber for special building activity. The Nea Maria church was destroyed either by an earthquake or by the Persians during the early years of the 7th century and was never rebuilt. Two other monumental churches, the Holy Sepulchre and the Zion Church, were also destroyed during that period. The remains of the monumental constructions with the huge roof logs could therefore be the sources of the timber for the beams of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. A description left from the visit of Arculf, the bishop of Gaul, towards 700 at Jerusalem, tells that on the spot where the Temple once stood, near the eastern wall, the Saracens have now erected a square house of prayer in a rough manner, by raising beams and planks upon some remains of old ruins; this is their place of worship and it is said that it will hold about three thousand men (Wright, 1968).
Therefore, earlier than the construction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a huge wooden building stood on the same place, which may have supplied some of the timber used in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Thus, the Byzantine cedar and cypress timbers were probably taken from the Byzantine construction of the Nea, or another monumental construction of that period, used in the earlier wooden mosque which stood on the Temple Mount, and finally re-used in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The cypress timber, dated to the 1st century , was probably taken from a more ancient monumental construction, built in or around Jerusalem in that era. Long logs of cypress and cedar were found in the fortresses of Herodion and Kipros, located south and east of Jerusalem, built by Herod the Great at that period, and destroyed in 68 (Liphschitz & Biger, 1989, 1991). Jerusalem was destroyed and burned in
1050 N. Liphschitz et al.
70, but was rebuilt as a Roman city by the emperor Hadrian from 138 onwards. One of the main buildings of Roman Jerusalem—the Temple of Aphrodite (2nd century )—was built at the place where the Holy Sepulchre stands today. Another huge building—the Temple of Jupiter—was built on the Temple Mount. Both temples, as well as other monumental constructions of Roman Jerusalem, were presumably built with timbers taken from Herodion or Kipros. After the destruction of those pagan temples by the Christians, the timber was probably removed and re-used in some of the Byzantine churches in Jerusalem. After their destruction the wood was repeatedly used in the Al-Aqsa Mosque built during the 8th century. This can also explain the origin of the cedar roof-logs which were removed from the Al-Aqsa Mosque during restorations of the 1960s. However, the existence of the cypress logs dated to the 9th–2nd centuries in the Al-Aqsa Mosque raises many questions concerning their origin in constructions built more than 1500 years earlier.
Conclusions Research on the carved wooden panels and beams from the Al-Aqsa Mosque shows that the construction timber of the Al-Aqsa Mosque was in secondary or even tertiary use. This is evident from epigraphical examination (Schwabe, 1949; Avi-Yonah, 1980), constructional examination (Marcais, 1940; Hamilton, 1949; Creswell, 1958), and from the ornamental research (Rosen-Ayalon, 1989). The botanical research, combined with 14C dating, supports the previous conclusions, and contributes accurate data on the type of the timbers and their exact age. Most of the timbers examined date to the Byzantine period, whereas two cypress beams and one log date to earlier periods (9th–2nd centuries ). It is therefore evident that not only stones, but also timbers, are resistant for a long period of time, and have been repeatedly used in various monumental constructions through the history of Jerusalem.
Acknowledgement The authors thank the Israel Antiquity Authorities for enabling the examination of the panels and beams preserved at the Rockefeller Museum.
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