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Yesterday I had experienced an opportunity which I am truly grateful for. Viewable by appointment only, I had scheduled to meet with local professor of archaeology (who specializes in Ancient Near Eastern History and Biblical Archaeology), Dr. Adam E Miglio, Ph.D for a tour of the Archaeology Museum located on the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. And while theirs is a modest collection of artifacts excavated from the ancient Near East and dating from as early as the Middle Bronze and through the Iron Age, it was still a beautiful collection with a great history as it was presented within the context of Biblical Studies. I say modest only in comparison to other collections such as the one found at the Oriental Institute of Chicago, etc.
Dr. Miglio was gracious enough to give us (my wife, daughter and myself) a small part of his afternoon yesterday to provide a personal tour through the collection as he narrated almost every artifact. As a lover of ancient Near Eastern history, I enjoyed every bit of it and would highly recommend it to anyone finding themselves in the western suburbs of the Chicago land area. The collection ranges from Joseph P. Free’s work at Tel Dothan, Israel to others from the general Levantine region, Mesopotamia, and even Egypt and consists of pots, Bronze Age weapons, ancient idols, jewelry, ossuaries, inscriptions and more.
Despite enjoying every part of the collection, it was neat to see such displays that showcased the evolution of manufactured goods including pottery to even oil lamps and how the styles and methods evolved over time. Specifically pointing out the oil lamp, it was extremely interesting to see the Hasmonean push to preserve their heritage, culture, and faith and finding their roots away from Seleucid influence. Yes, some of the results in the Maccabean Revolt can be observed in how oil lamps were manufactured!
All,
I hope all is going well. It has been quite some time since my last update. I am posting this message to promote a project that I am currently working on. The project is called From Eden to Yehud (http://www.FromEdenToYehud.com), which is also the name of the publication to result from this research. This will be my third published book in Biblical Studies.
I decided to get a little creative with this project and utilize the crowd funding site Kickstarter to raise some funding for the publication of this book. The web-based portion of the project will highlight materials to be published in the book of the same name while also providing articles, short movie clips (i.e. in documentary form), project updates and more. The project page (http://kck.st/movvIk) lists all of the details about the project (including schedule) and what the funding will cover.
For those not familiar with crowd funding, it is a method by which an individual can raise just enough money to get their project going, and in return, all those who invest into it will be given rewards based on the amount they contribute (i.e. $5, $10, etc.). Note that each project has a limited time in which it needs to raise funds. If the goal is not achieved, the contribution will not be accepted. All contributions will be charged (through Amazon), if full funding is achieved by 29 July, 2011.
If you are interested in the project, and if the rewards seem appealing to you, you know what to do. Otherwise, no worries. Also, if you do decide to contribute and at a later date decide to post a project of your own with Kickstarter, please send me a private message (or e-mail) and I will gladly return the favor, within reason of course.
Even if you are not interested in contributing to the project, please do not hesitate to join the mailing list. This way, you can easily stay updated on all news and announcements related to the From Eden to Yehud research project by signing up for the official mailing list.
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