international - Bergische Universität Wuppertal

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Digging the anCient orient
UW’s Institute of Bibli-
cal Archaeology has its
headquarters on Wuppertal’s
hilltop Freudenberg Campus,
but its research takes place
in the Middle East, above all
in Israel, Jordan and Palestine.
Institute director Professor
Dieter Vieweger is at the
same time head of the German
Protestant Institute of
Archaeology. Founded in
1898 by Kaiser Wilhelm II,
this latter institute is managed
by the German Protestant
churches and is a recognized
research unit of the German
Archaeological Institute.
Vieweger is passionately de-
voted to research in the Holy
Land, above all at the archaeological
site of Tall Zira’a in
northern Jordan, one of the
most important settlements
on the ancient trade route
from Egypt through Palestine
to Syria and on into Mesopotamia.
There he and his colleagues
are investigating the
topographical and geopolitical
structures of a key area of
ancient Palestine. “Scarcely
anywhere can the history of
this region be so thoroughly
discovered as at Tall Zira’a”,
Vieweger observes. “Here,
at the meeting point of the
Palestinian and Syrian worlds,
the cultural developments
and political changes so often
set in motion from the north
can be particularly well documented.”
Excavations at Tall Zira’a be-
gan in 2001, and they are set
to continue until 2028. To
date only some 5% of the hill
has been uncovered. At the
center of the ancient settlement
is an artesian well, a
unique natural feature in the
ancient orient and one that
made Tall Zira’a a coveted location,
with its promise of abundant
fresh water. From the
mid fourth century BCE (Early
Bronze Age) until 1880 CE the
hill was almost continuously
inhabited, and the towns and
villages left behind can be excavated
– an unbroken chain
of cultural history unique in
northern Palestine.
To the west of the River Jor-
dan the Wuppertal archaeolo-
gists are digging into ancient
oriental history at the heart
of Jerusalem’s old City, a
stone’s throw from the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher. “Beneath
the floor of the German
Protestant Church of the Redeemer”,
Vieweger states,
“there are some old archaeological
excavations which are
of considerable importance
for history, as well as for an
understanding of the New
Testament.” He restarted excavations
there in 2009, laying
out an archaeological park
some 14 meters beneath the
church.
Vieweger continues:
“Visitors to Jerusalem
should be able to see the
historical development of the
city through the different excavated
levels and their outlying
extensions, and to understand
the implications of the
project.” The work is supported
and funded by the German
Foreign Ministry. When
it is complete, visitors will be
able to walk along the moat
below the city walls, which
date from the time of Herod
the Great and Jesus of Nazareth.
They will see that the
nearby Rock of Golgotha was
part of a Roman quarry. Here
there is clear evidence not
only of the massive ruins left
after the destruction of Jerusalem
by the Roman army in
70 CE, but also of the walls of
the reconstructed city from
the time of the Emperor Hadrian
(117-138), and of the buil-
dings constructed around the
Church of the Sepulcher under
Constantine (306-337). At
the end of their tour, visitors
will cross the mosaic floor of
Santa Maria Latina, a church
from the time of the Crusades,
to reach the wonderful
inner courtyard of the present
day Provost’s House of the
Church of the Redeemer at
the center of the old City of
Jerusalem.
institute of biblical
Archaeology
University of Wuppertal
Rainer-Gruenter-Straße 21
42097 Wuppertal
T: +49(0)202-439-1004
k www.bai-wuppertal.de
k www.tallziraa.de
Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter
Vieweger took his doctorate
in old Testament theology
and archaeology and went
on to teach at various universities.
In 2009 he was awarded
an honorary doctorate by
UW’s Faculty of Humanities.
Every year Vieweger accompanies
students and young
academics on teaching courses
– first offered by the
German Protestant Institute
of Archaeology in 1903 – in
Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel,
Egypt and Cyprus. Students
of theology, archaeology,
ancient history and allied
disciplines are introduced to
the methods and results of
archae-ological and cultural
scholarship related to the Hoy
Land and the entire Levant.
As well as his specialist
books and research reports,
Prof. Vieweger has written
children’s books (‘The Mystery
of Tell’, ‘Jerusalem Adventure’),
as well as a politico-historical
study of the Near East
conflict (‘Disputed Holy Land
– What Everyone Should
Know about the Israeli-
Palestinian Conflict’).
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