Commentary: Raiders of the faux ark

From the article:
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Biblical archeology is too important to leave to crackpots and
ideologues. It's time to fight back.

By Eric H. Cline | September 30, 2007

NOAH'S ARK. The Ark of the Covenant. The Garden of Eden. Sodom and
Gomorrah. The Exodus. The Lost Tomb of Jesus. All have been "found" in
the last 10 years, including one within the past six months. The
discoverers: a former SWAT team member; an investigator of ghosts,
telepathy, and parapsychology; a filmmaker who calls himself "The
Naked Archeologist"; and others, none of whom has any professional
training in archeology.

We are living in a time of exciting discoveries in biblical
archeology. We are also living in a time of widespread biblical fraud,
dubious science, and crackpot theorizing. Some of the highest-profile
discoveries of the past several years are shadowed by accusations of
forgery, such as the James Ossuary, which may or may not be the burial
box of Jesus' brother, as well as other supposed Bible-era findings
such as the Jehoash Tablet and a small ivory pomegranate said to be
from the time of Solomon. Every year "scientific" expeditions embark
to look for Noah's Ark, raising untold amounts of money from gullible
believers who eagerly listen to tales spun by sincere amateurs or
rapacious con men; it is not always easy to tell the two apart.

The tools of modern archeology, from magnetometers to precise
excavation methods, offer a growing opportunity to illuminate some of
the intriguing mysteries surrounding the Bible, one of the foundations
of western civilization. Yet the amateurs are taking in the public's
money to support ventures that offer little chance of furthering the
cause of knowledge. With their grand claims, and all the ensuing
attention, they divert the public's attention from the scientific
study of the Holy Land - and bring confusion, and even discredit, to
biblical archeology.

Unfortunately, when fantastic claims are made, they largely go
unchallenged by academics. There have been some obvious exceptions,
such as the recent film "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," which inspired an
outcry from scholars by claiming that archeologists had found, but not
recognized, the tomb of Jesus more than 20 years ago. But much more
common is a vast and echoing silence reminiscent of the early days of
the debate over "intelligent design," when biologists were reluctant
to respond to the neocreationist challenge. Archeologists, too, are
often reluctant to be seen as challenging deeply held religious
beliefs. And so the professionals are allowing a PR disaster to slowly
unfold: yielding a field of tremendous importance to pseudoscientists,
amateur enthusiasts, and irresponsible documentary filmmakers.
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Read it at
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/09/30/raiders_of_the_faux_ark/













J. Spaceman

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