Jerusalem: Archaeologists Versus Residents?

Abstract

Very few cities are defined as much by their antiquities as Jerusalem: religiously, culturally, politically, and economically. Erasing the Old City, or at least part of it, as suggested variously by Theodor Herzl and David Ben-Gurion, would have been an act difficult to reverse. The ruins of the past are now recognized and protected as the city's most distinct physical and visual attribute, in which past and present landscapes mingle to project the deceitful image of harmony. That said, this paper is not concerned with the usual questions of how certain monuments or artifacts inform us about past accomplishments or lost cultures. It in fact distances itself from the material and visual dimensions of Jerusalem's antiquities and addresses instead the human aspects exclusively, questioning the interaction between those who explore Jerusalem's antiquities and those who dwell amongst the surviving remnants. This polarized encounter between archaeologists and residents has defined most of Silwan's 150 years of excavation, reaching new heights of tension with the escalating geopolitical conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. As a case study, explorations in the City of David (figure 1), demonstrate how professional interests increasingly compromise and indeed violate the needs and rights of those who are most closely tied to, and indeed dependent on, the locus of exploration (Galor 2017, 126–131). Silwanis, both the small minority of Jewish settlers and the predominantly Palestinian population, have been persuaded and largely misguided as to the area's biblical heritage. In contrast, the 1300-years of nearly continuous Islamic presence, is perceived by neither as a legacy, which can be archaeologically explored and publicly validated.