Hanging Gardens of Babylon?
Academic unearths new lead to fabled Babylon gardens
Early farming society in Israel domesticated beans
Legumes domesticated
Excavators uncovered large quantities of bean seeds, serving as one of the oldest known examples of legume domestication in the ancient Near East.
Read more...
Archestratus and the Secrets of Ancient Greek Gastronomy
Ancient Greek poet and philosopher of Gela or Syracuse Archestratus, is often referred to as led the Father of Gastronomy. In his humorous didactic poem Hedypatheia (Life of Luxury) written in the 4th century BC, he advises a gastronomic reader on where to find the best food in the Mediterranean world and reveals the secrets of the ancient Greek cuisine.
Archestratus was the first to approach cooking as an art and made extensive references on eating fish and pulses and drinking wine, which were highly appreciated by the ancient Greeks and remain to date among the typical ingredients of a healthy modern Greek diet.
Read more
People Know Where to Go!
Late last month, Cindy, a friend near Chicago wrote Dr. Bez for help finding the bible-garden she fondly recalled in a vague memory from the 1950s. Since it involved a bible Garden and not a BBG, Dr. Bez passed the request on to William Moran our Jack of All Trades (and chief researcher). Cindy's recollection of the place first sent William off in the wrong direction, but her description of the place finally led him to the right place: the Bible Garden in Wisconsin Dells. The place is still there.
The place is not a BBG, but a bible-story garden, and from the little we've seen of the place, heavily New Testament.
Cindy writes:
"Dear Mr. Moran and Dr. Bez,
It WAS the Wisconsin Dells Biblical Garden I remembered! Our family took two trips that year: one to Ohio to visit family and one later on in the summer to Wisconsin Dells.
Funny how the mind works - I recognized the Gardens as soon as I saw the website photo. The railings I remembered are still there! (OK - they've probably been replaced a few times since I was there, but the setup is still the same!)
Thank you so much for your time and for your quick replies.
I hope this brings a smile to you - you made my day!
Kind Regards,
Cindy Stach-Pearman
So people know where to go for information about Bible Story and Biblical Botanical Gardens.
Where to purchase over 100 Biblical plants
A new Webpage with links to sources of plants and seeds for more than 100 Biblical plants from our friend and biblical garden specialist, Marsh Hudson-Knapp.
Watching for more posts coming from Marsh in the coming months. He will be featuring closeups of biblical gardens around the United States and abroad.
http://fairhavenucc.org/Pages/Source-%20Seeds%20Plants.html
The greening of the ancient desert places
In Antiquity, an ingenious system of underground canals, hacked out of the limestone bedrock, in addition to specially built aqueducts and reservoirs with capacities of millions of litres of water, transformed this marginal region into a complex man-made landscape. This is a fantastic example of ancient water-management technology, constructed to irrigate the surrounding terraced field systems.
Read more below
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2012/land-near-petra-was-a-green-oasis-in-the-past
Were Neanderthal people cooks and medics?
Neanderthals were sophisticated enough to cook vegetables and use plants for medicine, say Australian scientists.
I found this article very interesting as it relates to the growth of ancient botanical knowledge.Read more here.
Archaeologists find 3,300-year-old burnt wheat
Archaeologists have discovered large jars filled with 3,300-year-old burnt wheat at the excavation sites of the Tel Hatzor National Park in the Upper Galilee.
Read more.
Medicine in the Ancient World (relied heavily on herbs)
Wild ginger was known to be helpful for nausea.Herbs such as henbane and hemp were known for their anesthetic properties, and physicians stressed the effects of diet and environment on health. Read more...
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/medicine-in-the-ancient-world/?mqsc=E3274929
Flower power restores colour to ancient Rome
Italian archaeologists on Saturday inaugurated new flower gardens in the ruins of ancient Roman palaces on the Palatine Hill in a colourful reconstruction of what the area may have looked like 2,000 years ago.
Purple petunias, white leadworts and medicinal vervain have been planted in the ruins of courtyards and shrines where scribes of the time described luxurious gardens created in imitation of the ancient Greeks.
More
• Tel Rehov
Tel Rehov, where ancient beekeepers made honey and wax
Here in the Beit Shean Valley, Hebrew University excavators found evidence in 2007 of a major Iron Age (biblical era) honey production facility. Maeir calls it “an absolutely unique find, because until now it was assumed that the honey referred to in ‘the land of milk and honey’ was date honey, but here’s clear proof there were bee hives at that time.” Most likely, wax was also produced here commercially.
The 30 intact hives arranged in orderly rows, and remains of up to 200 more, were made of straw and unbaked clay. There were even remains of bees, bee larva and pupae. By studying the DNA from these remains, researchers in 2010 determined that these bees were similar to the Anatolian species in modern Turkey. Indeed, an Assyrian stamp from the eighth century BCE shows that bees had been brought 400 kilometers from southern Turkey.
Tel Rehov, one of the largest Iron Age sites in Israel, has also yielded some of the largest collections of Greek pottery from the 10th to ninth centuries BCE found in Israel, along with clues as to the chronology of events in early Israel’s monarchy.
Propolis as medicinal herb
Propolis is a resin collected from beehives. Bees harvest various resins and volatile oils from nearby plants to create propolis, which is then used in the hive to seal unwanted gaps and prevent pathogenic invasion. Propolis is used worldwide on tooth infections as it is an incredible antimicrobial herb.
Resource:
http://www.learningherbs.com/news_issue_79.html
Archaeology and the Etrog
Citrus medica
Earliest archaeological evidence of Etrog cultivation in Israel. Fascinating article about the citron, the yellow citrus-like fruit used by the Jews in religious ceremonies.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/jerusalem-dig-uncovers-earliest-evidence-of-local-cultivation-of-etrogs-1.410505
Photo below taken by my wife Rachel Leah
Here I am planting a Citrus medica in the biblical gardens at Yad Hashmona, Israel this past Winter, November 2011.
For those of you interested in a short-term archaeological experience I recommend the exciting work being done by Dr. Bryant Wood and others at
Khirbet el-Maqatir, Israel. This site has been proposed to be the ancient site of Ai; the second city of the great Conquest under Joshua's leadership.
Dig for the Biblical Ai with Associates for Biblical Research this summer.
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Dr Ed and Rachel Bez have returned to the USA
After six months working at a biblical garden and archaeological park in Israel, the Executive Director of Biblical Botanical Gardens Society, Dr Ed Bez and his wife, Rachel arrived back in the states on Monday, December 19, 2011.
Watch for updates, pictures and "lessons from the soil" articles to begin appearing soon.
_____________________
Photo: taken at Neot Kedumim in Israel the largest biblical floral reserve in the world. Here Dr. and Mrs. Bez stand among the blooming Sea Squill (Urginea maritima). Sea squill are among a handful of "weather flora"; flowers which bloom to indicate an approaching season. Squill is a harbinger of the rainy season (December-May) in Israel.
Medicinal date palm from oldest known seed planted
Phoenix dactylifera
http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=246956
Growing Trees in the Deserts (Araba) of Israel
http://www.israel21c.org/environment/growing-forests-in-the-desert
Sukkot: The Four Species, myrtle, palm fronds, willow and citron
From Biblicalflora news group comes this outstanding article from Arthur Schaffer
"THE AGRICULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL SYMBOLISM OF THE FOUR SPECIES OF SUKKOT"
is now online:
http://www.agri.gov.il/download/files/my%20four%20species_1.pdf
This is a very insightful article and carefully researched.
Cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani)
Cedar forests lead Lebanon eco-tourism boom
Watch a fascinating video about this majestic Cedar giant.
Nature Museum in Jerusalem Battles for it's Life
Ed Bez
The Nature Museum seems to be in the right place at the wrong time. According to a report in the July 27th edition of the Jerusalem Post, the museum, among many other featured children's activities, also provides a place for religious and secular, and even Arabs and Jewish people to mix.
That place? An organic community garden.
That's right...an organic garden as a place of peace, understanding and cooperation.
The museum records about 12,000 visitor's per month. Nothing to sneeze it by most standards. So what's the problem. The museum, located in the German Colony is slated to become the first (American) liberal arts college in Israel.
Local authorities say, "Don't worry, trust us, we have plans for a bigger, better nature museum just up the street."
So far, the dedicated staff members at the museum are not excited about promises. The differance between rhetoric and reality is well known in this region. So they have begun a series of peaceful protests.
Is there a solution? Certainly. Build the other bigger and better nature museum before dismantling the current one. I'm all for education but, I'm also aware of the need here in the Middle East for programs that bring people together and even better if in involves gardening.
The Biblical Botanical Garden Society advocates not only the planting and care of plants mentioned in the Bible but also gives a "green" thumbs up to the creation of community gardens. We have seen amazing things happen between community members when they get involved with these kind of initiatives.
I hope to visit with the leadership and staff at the Nature Museum here in Jerusalem to learn more about their organic community garden programs. I'll be posting a blog after that meeting.
In the meantime, take a moment to explore the Holy Book and see what surprises happened in or around gardens. You will be glad you did.
More on the Museum
Kiriath jearim and Yad Hashmona, Judea, Israel
The Central ridge in this aerial photo of the Judean Hill Country is the biblical site of Kiriath jearim (I Samuel 7) highlighted here in yellow. The ridge to the right highlighted in red is Yad Hashmona.
Dr Bez and Rachel are working in the biblical gardens at Yad Hashmona. The gardens are over 20 acres and you can just imagine the amount of work it takes to maintain them. We are a staff of four full-timers and one part-timer.
To follow our adventures and challenges over the next six months read here.
Israel hailed as world leader in eco-innovation
World leaders in the field of "green" technology on Tuesday praised Israel as the world's foremost "laboratory" for eco-innovation. Read more? Click below...
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/tabid/178/nid/22866/language/en-US/Default.aspx
Tulip (Tulipa montana or Tulipa scharonensis)
"I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys." Song of Solomon 2:1
Debates have been waged for centuries concerning the true identity of the rose in scripture, that debate continues today. Some experts favor the fall crocus, others the narcissus. Others agree on the tulip.
It is known that tulips are native to the Mediterranean. The name "tulip likely comes from a Persian word meaning "turban."
The tulip is probably one of the Hebrew nitzanim, a group of flowers with handsome red flowers.
Because of their beauty and variety of color, they became garden plants very early in history and the center for their cultivation has for centuries been the Netherlands.
At first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon the landscape. Vivid stripes of purple, yellow, red, pink, orange and green make up a glorious Technicolor patchwork. Yet far from being a child's sketchbook, this is, in fact, the northern Netherlands in the middle of the tulip season. With more than 10,000 hectares devoted to the cultivation of these delicate flowers, the Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope of giddy colors as the tulips burst into life. The bulbs were planted in late October and early November, and these colorful creations are now ready to be picked and sold as bunches of cut flowers in florists and supermarkets. More than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and Germany.
Their dazzling colors are thanks to the years in the 17th century when Tulip mania swept the globe and the most eye-catching specimens changed hands for a small fortune. But like a rainbow, this colorful landscape is a short-lived phenomenon. When the flowers are gone, the land will be cultivated for a rather more mundane crop of vegetables. The Netherlands produce more than nine million bulbs a year.
Enemies and Apples
Even nations at war need to eat. Fascinating article about Israeli grown fruit being delivered to their historical enemy, Syria, via the UN.
Israel and Syria may officially be at war with one another, but that isn’t preventing a bustling apple trade between the two countries.
Starting yesterday, February 15, and lasting three weeks, all apples grown by Israeli farmers on the Golan Heights will be exported to Syria. An estimated 12,000 tons of apples will be exported every day.
This is the sixth consecutive year that Israel has been able to export its apples to its belligerent neighbor.
Of course, the Syrians will not do business directly with the Israelis, so the apples are transfered through third parties, the UN and the International Red Cross. The produce will make its way into Syria via the UN base that sits on the border of the two nations.
Notes:
Biblical botanists have debated the "apple,apples" mentioned in the Bible. Many believe the apple may be the apricot (Armeniaca vulgaris)
The Hebrew word translated "apple" is tappuach.
Apples (Malus sylvestris Mill.) were likely introduced into Israel and Egypt from Iran, Armenia, or Turkey circa 4000 BC
Biblical refs: SOS 2:3 & 5, Joel 1:12, Josh 15:33, I Chron 2:43.
Resources:
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/tabid/178/nid/22658/Default.aspx
Plants of the Bible. Michael Zohary, 1982.
Did you know?
In ancient Greece , tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional
proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.
4,000 year old Egyptian relic found in a backyard garden in England (Dec 2010)
An Egyptian relic dug up in a Derby back garden has been valued at £10,000.
The owner of the item, a stone bust shaped as a pharaoh, appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow where the item was valued by antiques expert Henry Sandon.
Asked how he came across the item, the owner, who did not want to be identified, said: “I was doing some gardening when I hit it with my spade.
Read more...
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Flower power in the ancient world
"Paradise lost and found : Ancient Royal Garden to be excavated"
Ancient gardens are the stuff of legend, from the Garden of Eden to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Heidelberg University in Germany, have uncovered an ancient royal garden at the site of Ramat Rachel near Jerusalem, and are leading the first full-scale excavation of this type of archaeological site anywhere in the pre-Hellenistic Levant.
To read more...
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