Body: | Beidha, Jordan (Biblical Kadesh Barnea, Sela, Joktheel, En-mishpat)
Location: 30.370780°N 35.447756°E
Click to View
Click to View
Modern replicas of buildings at Beidha
Preamble:
We know from scripture and ancient literary sources that Kadesh Barnea was
located in the Petra area. While Late bronze pottery has been found at
Petra, other sites like Beidha and Basta have attracted the attention of
Steven Rudd. The Hebrew Exodus population of 3.5 million would clearly take
up a space up to 15 km long. Beidha is 5 km north of Petra and Basta is 12
km SE of Petrra. The problem of course, is that both Beidha and Basta are
both PPN (pre-pottery Neolithic) sites, meaning there is no pottery found
at either site. PPN sites sites are dated to 6500 BC strictly because of
the lack of pottery, yet this is clearly mistaken because PPN is
contemporaneous all the way down to the Iron age. There have always been
isolated sites that never used pottery and it is a mistake to automatically
date them thousands of years before the Early Bronze Age for that reason
alone. While it is clear that evolutionary dating of the PPN sites of
Beidha and Basta at 6500 BC is absurd given the creation of the world was
at 5554 BC, the lack of Late Bronze Age pottery at Beidha and Basta poses a
problem because it was during the Late Bronze Age that the Hebrews spent 38
years in the Petra area. Solutions to this problem might be found in the
fact that Israel drank miraculously supplied water and manna all the time
they were at Kadesh and God miraculously kept their clothing and shoes from
wearing out. Could this miracle have extended to their pottery as well.
Perhaps God miraculously preserved their pottery from breaking while at
Kadesh, or perhaps, maybe they did use ceramic pottery to cook/boil the
manna. A problem is that if the early round-roomed city from the time of
Abraham predated the Hebrews rectangular-roomed city, we would expect to
find pottery in the round-roomed city, but do not. Both round and
rectangular cities had no pottery. In other words, all the miraculous
reasons why we might not find pottery at the site during the time of Moses
would not be expected to exist in the earlier round-roomed city that dates
back to the time of Abraham in the Early Bronze Age.
1. "The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came
to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of
the land of Canaan." (Exodus 16:35)
2. "Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance
like that of bdellium. The people would go about and gather it and grind it
between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and
make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with
oil." (Numbers 11:7-8)
3. "Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot
swell these forty years. " Deuteronomy 8:4
4. "I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes
have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. "
Deuteronomy 29:5
5. "Indeed, forty years You provided for them in the wilderness
and they were not in want; Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their
feet swell. " Nehemiah 9:21
Introduction:
See also Kadesh Barnea.
See also Petra.
See also Basta: Massive dump of 100,000 bones, possibly from the 38 years
at Kadesh Barnea.
1. Beidha, Jordan is the location of Biblical Kadesh Barnea,
Sela, Joktheel, En-mishpat, which is 5 km north of Petra.
2. The Exodus took place in 1446 BC but since they arrived in
Kadesh Barnea in 1444 BC exactly two years after leaving Egypt. "Then the
sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in
the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh." Numbers 20:1
3. After a careful research of the Bible and history, it became
evident that Kadesh was either at or just 5 km north of Petra is Beidha
which has traces of human occupation going back as far as the flood in 3298
BC.
4. Both Diana Kirkbridge (the director of excavations) and
Brian Byrd (volunteer the last season) suggest that Beidha has a Natufian
period of occupation around 9000 BC, followed by a period of abandonment.
Then between 7000 - 5000 BC a Neolithic period of occupation [round and
rectangular cities] occurred with three phases followed by abandonment
until the site was developed by the Nabataeans about the time of Christ
(300 BC - 100 AD) We have accepted the facts of what Byrd had presented,
however we have our own interpretation of the archeology at Beidha. Since
Byrd rejects the Noahic flood story of the Bible, he sees no problem with
these dates. As Bible believing Christians, we are forced to either reject
the Bible as God's word or reject Byrd's interpretation of dates.
a. "The Natufian [9000 BC] at Beidha is best characterized
as a short-term or seasonal camp site that was occupied repeatedly over a
considerable period of time. The limited evidence of spatial variability
between provenience units in the chipped stone artifact samples, the range
of activities implied by the chipped stone assemblage (primarily hunting
related activities), the presence of small hearths and large roasting
areas, and the absence of elements typically associated with more permanent
occupations - large ground stone implements, and features such as houses,
storage facilities and burials - support this interpretation." (The
Natufian Encampment at Beidha, Late Pleistocene Adaptation in the Southern
Levant, Brian F. Byrd, 1989 AD, p85)
5. Our interpretation has two clear departures from Byrd's
view: First: We take Byrd's time scale for all three phases and squeeze
them into a period between about 3298 BC - 1406 BC. Second: Whereas Byrd
sees three phases (A, B, C), we only see two phases (1, 2). Please take
note that in this document, when you see "Phase 1" or Phase 2", that this
is our interpretation. We understand ahead of time, that our interpretation
is different from Byrd's, but as you will soon see, there are some very
good reasons for our interpretation. Our interpretation must at least be
considered as plausible, even if rejected by mainstream archeologists. It
is important to note, that we do not question what Diana Kirbridge and Byrd
dug up and found, we question their interpretation of the findings.
6. Byrd describes two features were used in all three
occupation levels: The village wall and the stone lined pit in Phase C
building 81: "The latest phase B structure documented in the north-central
area was large building 81. Only the base of the walls along the eastern
edge of the building and an associated stone-lined pit directly to the
northeast were exposed. The building lay directly under the floor and walls
of phase C large building 9 (Figs 26-27), and the stone-lined pit continued
to be used in phase C. This patterning is evidence of continuity in
occupation from phase B to phase C." (Early Village Life At Beidha:
Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
7. Beidha is unique for a hundreds of mile radius (the Levant)
in that is actually documents a long continuous history of use. This was an
important site: "This overview of the phasing history affirms the presence
of a continuous architectural sequence ranging from clusters of round post
houses, both semisubterranean and semidetached, through individual
subrectangular examples, and then ultimately true rectangular buildings
(primarily corridor buildings). The Beidha architectural sequence is, at
present, unique in the Levant, but shares much in common with slightly
earlier developments in other portions of Southwest Asia" (Early Village
Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
8. Carbon dating is notoriously inaccurate:
a. One of the best kept secrets in the science world, is
that dating labs will not accept samples unless you tell them in advance
when you think the sample is dated, where it came from and the implications
of that date in relation to Evolution theory. If you submit a dinosaur bone
for radiometric dating that generates a hard, uncalibrated date of under
25,000 years, they will adjust the date to say millions. There are also a
long list of variables that determine the uncalibrated date.
b. The author has first hand experience where a lab generated
a date of about 2000 years old of a dinosaur figurine from Acámbaro Mexico
until they learned what the sample was and the significance of the date, so
they redated it to 75 years old, therefore making the dinosaur figurines
modern frauds as opposed to ancient ceramic art.
c. "Carbon dating samples taken mainly from phase A
because very few of the other phase buildings burned: "The prevalence of
samples from phase A was not surprising, since very few buildings from the
other phases burned." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd,
2005 AD)
d. In those rare instances were double-blind, carbon dating
tests are conducted, the dates vary greatly with testing done in labs who
ask in advance the date you expect to generate for the samples submitted.
A. Connecting Beidha with Kadesh Barnea:
1. TWO "NEOLITHIC" PHASES NOT THREE: The earlier
round-roomed city buildings existed at the time of Abraham, and were houses
that were burned, possible by Moses or by someone else before the Hebrews
arrived.
2. MASTER BLUEPRINT: The rectangular workshop city appears to
be designed in advance and built at the same time as a calculated
architectural plan. This is what you would expect from a large population
arriving as opposed to a small settlement that grows over time. The only
renovation was the original large central room was enlarged over top of a
row of previously built smaller rooms to the east.
a. "A new style of architecture began in phase C and was used
throughout the settlement. This novel corridor building architecture
appeared fully developed without antecedents at the start of phase C. It
was a distinctive technological and organizational development comprised of
two internally subdivided stories - one as a basement and the other set
slightly above ground level. Each story had a separate entrance. The upper
stories were open in plan and had plastered floors. In contrast, the
basements were comprised of multiple small rooms, with a variety of
features (except hearths) within them, and had earthen floors. Several
single-story quadrilateral buildings (both large and small), coexisted with
these corridor buildings and provide evidence of continuity with earlier
architectural traditions." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic,
Brian Byrd, 2005 AD, Conclusion)
3. WORKSHOPS NOT HOUSES: The latter rectangular-roomed city
buildings were workshops, not houses that were abandoned in ancient times
until the time of the Nabateans (100 BC). Many tools and jewelry were
excavated in the small rooms in every stage of production. These rooms were
tool factories not residential dwellings to sleep in.
4. MASS PREPLANNED ABANDONMENT: Most peculiar was the
excavations discovered the entrance doors of the smaller work rooms were
purposely sealed up with stone, perhaps indicating a calculated and planned
mass-exodus from the cite at one time, with the expectation of a possible
later return. While the lower/older round-roomed city was entirely burnt,
nothing was burned in the upper/newer rectangular-roomed city at the time
of the final abandonment.
5. LARGE CENTRAL ROOM: In the centre of the
rectangular-roomed city was a large building that Byrd named Building 8 and
9. Building/Room 8 was built over building/Room 9. Room 9 was renovated and
enlarged into room 8. Booth Rooms 8 and 9 were plastered multiple times and
both had the same red perimeter strip (~30 cm) on the plastered floor. Room
9 had a red 30 cm wide red band painted on the floor that outline several
installations in the floor. Building 9 was the only one room burnt in the
entire rectangular city. This was likely part of the demolition and
renovation process to make way for the larger room 8 built directly on top
of it. The burning may have been a way of disposing of the roof to make way
and prepare for the new structure. This larger room had a raised elevation
of 50 cm and the eastern wall was triple thick stone build directly over
top of rectangular buildings 6 and 7 which were not burnt. The floor of
room 8 was plastered 5 times and the top layer of floor plaster featured a
double red stripe around the perimeter walls that wrapped around the
working stations. There was no oven, hearth or fire pit in the large room
8.
6. NO FIRES FOR FOOD PREPARATION: Workshops contained no
tabuns, ovens or fire pits meaning that no cooking was done in the entire
work-city with the rectangular rooms. This may explain why no pottery was
found in the upper city. The city changed from round domestic houses with
tabuns, fire pits and ovens for food preparation, to rectangular workshops
with no tabuns, firepits or ovens.
7. HUNDREDS OF GRINDERS (for Manna?): Large numbers of
grinders were excavated at Beidha by Diana Kirkbride in the first three
seasons 1960,1963-4. Below is a photo of grinders excavated from a single
season the total was much more from all 7 seasons. While it was a factory
for tool manufacturing, it was also a mass food preparation city. Remember,
there were no fires of any kind excavated in the rectangular city. This
proves that grains that were ground in the limestone querns etc, were not
for consumption on site. It is clear, that these hundreds of grinders were
used for mass food production for consumption outside the city by a large
nearby population. This is a perfect fit for the Hebrews at Kadesh Barnea
who had to grind their Manna daily! This all indicates the
rectangular-roomed city was massive industrial food manufacturing center
for a large population. While nothing was cooked in the city, hundreds of
grinders for grains and possible manna were found in the rectangular-roomed
city indicating a large population was being fed.
a. GROUND STONE IMPLEMENTS: Grinders (Pl. XIX A; Fig. g, Nos.
1-3). These implements are the most numerous class. Plate XIXA gives a
general view of a single season's collection [see photo below]. Not all of
them were used for cereals, a minority bear traces of ochre grinding. In
shape, although the majority are elongated ovals, there are
sub-rectangular, bun-shaped and oval examples. The tops are either flat,
sometimes re-used, rounded or keeled, the latter chiefly in granite
specimens, and one prototype of a flat iron with a solid handle. They are
made from limestone, sandstone, granite and a coarse-grained basalt."
(Five Seasons at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Village of Beidha in Jordan,
Diana Kirkbride, Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol 98, p35, 1966 AD)
b. Pestles (Fig. 7, Nos. i-6, i o) are made chiefly of a
fine-grained basalt though there is a minority of granite, which because of
their weight might be classed as pounders, and sandstone and limestone
examples. They vary in height from elegant specimens of c. 19 cm. to small,
squat ones of 6 cm. One class of Mesolithic aspect has the top brought to a
rounded knob; this slight `waisting' near the top is also present in most
of the small, squat pestles (Fig. 7, Nos. 1-3). (Five Seasons at the
Pre-Pottery Neolithic Village of Beidha in Jordan, Diana Kirkbride,
Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol 98, p35, 1966 AD)
c. "Querns. A great number of querns, both open-ended and
closed and the fragments of such are scattered throughout the site, in
situ, built into walls, made into steps, or occurring in the fill and in
the rubbish dumps. They are chiefly limestone boulders and give evidence of
hard and prolonged use. Sometimes if the boulder was thick enough and the
original depression too deep it was turned over and re-used on the other
side; frequently if thin the bottom was ground out or almost so before it
was abandoned. Stone Bowls and Mortars. Whole specimens of bowls, usually
made of limestone, are rare; only three are recorded at present although
some fragments of rims and sections have been found. In spite of stone
being abundant, the inhabitants of Beidha probably preferred wooden bowls.
Two small, deep sandstone bowls or mortars with their own little pestles
were found, but here again the rarity of such objects or fragments points
to the general use of wood rather than stone for these vessels." (Five
Seasons at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Village of Beidha in Jordan, Diana
Kirkbride, Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol 98, p32, 1966 AD)
B. About the excavations:
1. Excavations and publications:
a. Diana Kirkbride was director of the Beidha excavations
for 7 seasons between 1958-1967. Brian Byrd joined her in the final season
in 1983.
b. Diana Kirkbride's 5-year report (1966) and Brian
Byrd's 2005 book on the excavations at Beidha both lack object lists and
object levels.
c. In his 1989 book on the "Natufian Encampment" Byrd
has a lot of nice drawings of flint and debitage that are disconnected from
the excavation because of a lack of 3-dimensional recording. Individual
objects are lumped into three general categories of high, medium and low
elevations within broad archeological vertical columns. Although a Nabatean
platform was noted on the surface, no record of any pottery of any kind was
found on the surface. Byrd can hardly be faulted for this, given Kirkbride
was the director and she excavated at the dawn of modern 3-dimensional
archeology pioneered by Kathleen Kenyon. In 2005 Byrd published the final
excavation report and invented the occupation phasing concept. Byrd does an
excellent job of documenting, drawing and labelling individual rooms, some
of which record wall and floor levels.
d. As you can see from the analysis of Steven Rudd (2006-2019
AD), Byrd's three phases of round rooms all fit together like a puzzle
and Byrd's three phases of rectangular rooms also create a single floor
plan when superimposed one upon the other. Many of the plastered floors of
the round rooms were dug into basements from surface level, therefore,
these varied plaster floor levels were all dug to different depths from the
same occupational surface level and do not indicate occupation at two
different times. All Round rooms are a single occupational date, not three
dates as Byrd suggests. All rectangular rooms are a second single
occupational date, not three dates as Byrd suggests in his phasing model.
2. Elevations are relative, not in sea levels:
a. Instead elevations are relative to an arbitrary
benchmark deep inside the tell. Surface elevations are either unknown or
impossible to calculate with accuracy. Diana Kirkbride doesn't identify
the benchmark and took few if any, surface elevations before excavations in
each square. This makes it almost impossible to know how far the floor
levels were below the original unexcavated surface level.
b. None of the balks have top elevations indicating original
surface level before excavation. Only on page 299 of Byrd's excavation
report are two balk top levels given of 7.25m and 7.30m.
c. While the horizonal scales are excellent on the numerous
square top plans, vertical scales are not indicated. To further confuse the
matter, several of the drawings use different vertical and horizontal
scales, without formally indicating the distortion.
3. Diana Kirkbride and Brian Byrd comment on the older
curvilinear city:
a. "Some time about 7000 BC the newcomers, using a
Neolithic flint assemblage, and already thoroughly conversant with domestic
architec-ture to an extent that might even be termed town-planning, came
to the site and apparently found the environment satisfactory for their
main need, namely, to practise agriculture: the fundamental discovery that
had freed man from his everlasting peregrinations in search of food during
the hunting and gathering stage and enabled him to stay in one place."
(Beidha, Early Neolithic Village Life South of the Dead Sea, Diana
Kirkbride, Antiquity, XLII, p265, 1968 AD)
b. "Phase A outdoor occupation levels then accumulated in
this area, and individual deposits included clay floors, thin, possibly
plastered floors, and associated features and facilities such as clay wall
remnants, postholes, and hearths with fire-cracked rocks" (Early Village
Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, p17, 2005 AD)
c. "The majority of the Level VI post-houses were
destroyed by fire which, in view of all the wood they contained, is hardly
surprising. Even though hearths were confined to the courtyards the
precaution did not prevent severe conflagrations. Owing to this circum-
stance we have a much fuller knowledge of this, the earliest period, than
of all the subsequent ones, by reason of the preservation in their
carbonized form of materials that would otherwise have perished; thus our
evaluation is not confined entirely to flint and other stone implements,
bone and shell. A brief description of the contexts of three adjacent burnt
houses within a cluster will best illustrate the economy of the village and
its vanished inhabitants." (Beidha, Early Neolithic Village Life South of
the Dead Sea, Diana Kirkbride, Antiquity, XLII, p267, 1968 AD)
d. "The earlier levels [curvilinear/round buildings] have
not, as yet, shown any evidence for specialization. One small house in
Level IV was obviously set aside for the preparation of cereals (Plate IX
B). It contained three querns, two of them open-ended, several grinders and
a small heap of hammer-stones; but apart from that the floors of the
earlier levels have been disappointingly clean." (Five Seasons at the
Pre-Pottery Neolithic Village of Beidha in Jordan, Diana Kirkbride,
Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol 98, p25, 1966 AD)
e. "Level IV. Apart from the large burnt house which we
have ascribed to this level, most of our evidence comes from buildings
located on the eastern perimeter of the tell. These are unfailingly of
different plan from the corridor complexes. of Levels II and III, although
the large house of those levels can be described as enlarged and more
angular versions of a typical Level IV house. These early houses are
subrectangular in shape with gently curving walls; they are single-roomed
and semi-subterranean each entered by three descending stone steps. In the
majority of cases floors and walls were plastered, and two houses contain
small versions of the hearths of the large houses with raised sills and the
whole plastered (Pl. VII B). These buildings are separated from each other
by open spaces or yards. Not only does the plan of the houses differ from
those of Levels II and III but a different method of construction was
favored. Instead of using roughly square boulders with, small stones racked
m the interstices, they preferred straight, flat slabs of mud-stone which
can be found in certain layers of the local, Cambrian sandstone. These
slabs, carefully laid with a sandy mortar in between, make some of these
walls objects of real beauty (Plate VIII A)." (Five Seasons at the
Pre-Pottery Neolithic Village of Beidha in Jordan, Diana Kirkbride,
Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol 98, p18, 1966 AD)
4. Diana Kirkbride and Brian Byrd comment on the younger
rectangular city:
a. "The large house contained several fittings within its
single 9 x 7-m. room. Walls and floor were covered with highly burnished
whitish plaster like that introduced in Level IV, with an area painted red
and about a metre wide running parallel to the base of the walls and
continuing up them. A similar red band out-lined the hearth with its
raised and plastered sill situated towards one side facing the stepped
entrance. Other important features were also outlined in red; a large
roughly square and highly polished stone seat or table situated against the
wall just inside the door, and a circular stone-lined pit at the base of
which was a large stone. The presence of similar large stones in the same
relative position in the earlier editions of this house show the pit and
stone had some important function, religious or not, which cannot be
determined. To this house were attached courtyards and beyond lay the
rectangular houses, all of identical size and construction, laid out in
rows. These secondary houses were long rectangles with entrances in the
centre of one short side from where three stone steps led down to the
semi-basement floors. No trace of curving walls or rounded comers is seen
in these strictly angular buildings each of which comprised a central
corridor and six small cubicles (1 x 1.50 m.) arranged three on each side.
Strongly built stone baulks, some wider than the rooms, separated the
cubicles. From the objects found in these buildings it seems they were
workshops rather than dwell-ings and so it is probable that the heavy
baulks were interior buttresses upholding some lightly built upper storey.
In this case the cubicles would have been semi-basement stores and working
areas. Additional evidence for this may be deduced from the lack of
wall-plaster in these buildings; only the floors were plastered and this
not in every case. Arranged in straightish rows, these buildings shared
party walls with their neighbours. Perhaps the big house was the communal
meeting place for the adjacent workers for it contained the only interior
hearth found in the level. The corridor buildings naturally provided the
bulk of the finds and these amply bear out their workshop character. Here
again is strong evidence for specialization of the crafts as within the
separate buildings. Among these we can distinguish workers in horn, others
concentrated on bone tools and beads; in many cases there was a mixture,
while a single specialist seems to have been a butcher. From an untidy
clutter of the raw material for the former, animal long bones and ribs,
lying in depth in the corridor and in his workroom. The tables on which he
worked were flat sandstone slabs lying on the floor, together with his
tools and with beads of stone, bone and shell in every stage of the making.
Some stone beads were found with the grinding process unfinished, others
with the perforation just begun, while most were finished, ground, polished
and pierced. Bone beads also occurred in plenty." (Beidha, Early
Neolithic Village Life South of the Dead Sea, Diana Kirkbride, Antiquity,
XLII, p270, 1968 AD)
a. "The corridor buildings of Levels II and III naturally
provide the major part of the finds and with each season further evidence
for their workshop character is revealed. Besides the inevitable flints
these buildings yield objects in varying proportions which suggest a
certain degree of specialization m the crafts, if one can assume that the
buildings belonged to certain families. One unit may show evidence for the
practice of a specific craft or crafts while the contents of others are
more general. For instance, Complex X contained a preponderance of ground
stone tools, principally grinders, though with some pestles, axes and
fragments of querns or mortars in addition to a small selection of bone
tools and a few beads. On the other hand Complex XIII not only contained a
great many grinders, pestles and both ground and chipped stone axes, but to
a certain extent it was a bone-tool maker's and to a lesser degree, a
bead-maker's factory. The floor was thickly covered with bones and one
horned skull lay on a work table (PL XIV B), while by the door there was a
spectacular series of shoulder blade shovels and some fine horned heads.
Scattered around in the occupation debris were a number of beads, both
finished and unfinished; for example cowries with slits across the dome
in preparation for its removal and there were several carved stones. The
building seems to have been a general emporium with the accent on bone
working. Nearby, and probably contemporary, Complex XIV was obviously the
workshop of a specialist m bone tools and beads only. In it we found bone
stone and shell beads in every stage of preparation. Among others there
were small discs of (?) agate and one large one, the latter abandoned with
the process of grinding unfinished; green stone (? apatite) barrel and flat
discs or bean-shaped beads, some with perforations just begun and others
finished, ground and polished. There were mother-of-pearl, cowries, mollusk
and bivalve shells, some pierced and one with the boring incomplete. Bone
beads were also present in every stage of the making. One long slender
tibia, minus the joints, lay beside a slab table, the shaft divided by
carved grooves into fairly even slices. Near by were separated slices or
discs, rough and unworked and also the finished products, shaped, smoothed
and polished. We found one complete bracelet of similar bone beads in
another house. The bone tools also provided a fine cross-section of the
maker's art; beautiful polished spatulae, slender points and long (?)
weaving tools made on worked ribs probably of an aurochs. Raw material,
mostly of large (?) aurochs' ribs, tibiae and shoulder-blades lay on tables
or in the corridor with a shoulder blade shovel by the door and a trowel or
scoop fashioned from an auroch's tibia by one of the many tables. In
addition we found the tools used in the manufacture of these articles and
blocks of haematite and pumice which must have been used to shape them.
Level III examples of this specialization of crafts in certain workshops
have already been described; we found a bone-tool maker's workshop, as yet
only half excavated; and a 'butcher's shop,'. where there was a whole room
full of animal bones, Joints and heads and m the room opposite a mass of
heavy tools." (Five Seasons at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Village of
Beidha in Jordan, Diana Kirkbride, Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol 98,
p24, 1966 AD)
b. "The corridor buildings have been described many times. They
consist essentially of a narrow, 1 metre, central corridor about 6 metres
long from which open six rooms arranged m three opposing pairs. The rooms,
only c. 1.5 x 1 metres, are d1v1ded from each other by wide baulks which in
some cases are wider than the rooms themselves (Pl. II B). All the
buildings are semi-subterranean and are entered by three descending stone
steps. In some cases the floors were plastered but never is there a trace
of a high-silled hearth. The finds made in the corridor buildings have
consistently given the impression, to which weighty evidence is added with
each season, that they were workshops rather than dwellings. The fill in
these buildings contains implements and waste, lumps of clay, sometimes
heavy objects such as querns or grinders, and in nearly every case
fragments of plaster, usually painted red. These give every appearance of
having fallen from above and we have already conjectured that grinding may
have taken place on flat roofs and that the ceilings of the corridor rooms
were sometimes covered with red painted plaster." (Five Seasons at the
Pre-Pottery Neolithic Village of Beidha in Jordan, Diana Kirkbride,
Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol 98, p14, 1966 AD)
C. OUR REINTERPRETATION OF THE ARCHEOLOGY: Two occupational phases and
down-dating:
1. Byrd's 3 Neolithic occupational phases of Beidha: A, B, C
a. Byrd makes this important disclaimer about his theory of
occupation: "The history of the village presented in this volume, however,
is simply a model. It should not be considered a precise representation of
how the village changed over time." (Early Village Life At Beidha:
Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
Brian Byrd has theorized that Beidha had a Natufian occupation
around 11,000 BP and three Neolithic occupational phases around 7000 BC.
The problem is that, like most archeologists, he forgot to read his Bible
and realize that there is no archeology on earth today that is older than
3298 BC when the flood occurred. Therefore the facts of archeology from the
Natufian and Neolithic occupations must need to squeezed into a period of
about 3298 BC down to about 1400 BC.
c. Byrd suggests that Beidha has a Natufian period of
occupation around 9000 BC, followed by a period of abandonment. Then
between 7000 - 5000 BC a Neolithic period of occupation occurred with three
phases followed by abandonment until the site was developed by the
Nabataeans about the time of Christ (300 BC - 100 AD)
"Occupation History: The fieldwork revealed that Beidha is a
multicomponent site with three discrete periods of habitation: an early
Natufian encampment (primarily during the 11th millennium BC); a PPNB
village (primarily during the 7th millennium BC); and, ultimately, terraced
Nabatean agricultural fields (during the 1st millennium AD). (All dates in
this report are in uncalibrated radiocarbon years before 1950.) A
considerable hiatus separates each of these occupations (Fig. 34)." (Early
Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
Top plans: The three periods or "Phases" of occupation according to
Byrd:
Click to View
Stratigraphic view of Horizontal plans: The three periods or
"Phases" of occupation according to Byrd:
Click to View
2. Summary of our interpretation in contrast to Byrd's:
It is important to understand that we do not question the facts of
what archeology has uncovered. Byrd's top plans and aerial stratigraphic
maps which he generated from the notes of Diana Kirkbride below are the
facts of science.
Christians don't question dinosaur bones excavated by
Evolutionists; they simply reject the interpretation that the bones are 40
million years old. Likewise, it is the interpretation, timing and
sequencing of the facts of archeology that we question, not the tangible
results of excavation.
Item
Byrd's interpretation
Our interpretation
Earliest possible occupation
Natufian: 9000 BC
3298 BC: The flood (Gen 6)
Natufian occupation:
9000 BC
Possible: During the Ubaid 3 expansion in 3000 BC
Likely: During the Uruk 3 expansion, immediately after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.
Neolithic Dates
7000-5000 BC
Possible: 3298-1406 BC
Likely: Round city: 2400 BC. Rectangular city: 1446 BC.
Neolithic Phases
Three: A, B, C
Two phases: A+B, C
Phase 1 = A+B = round city
Phase 2 = C = rectangular city
Round buildings
Neolithic village (Phase A, B)
Time of Abraham: Phase 1
Squarish buildings
Neolithic village (Phase C)
Time of Moses: Phase 2
Destruction of round buildings
Unknown
Israelites may have burned and destroyed when they arrived at Kadesh or it may have been burned hundreds of years earlier.
Construction of square buildings`
Unknown
Moses in 1444 BC
Square buildings use
single family dwellings
Tool factory and grain/manna grinding facility for a larger tented population of 3.5 million Hebrews in the surrounding Petra area.
3. Our interpretation of two Neolithic PPN occupation phases:
a. Our PPN phase 1 dates to the time of Abraham and our phase
two dates to the time of Moses. Byrd sees three Neolithic PPN occupational
phases (A, B, C) that date to ~6500 BC, but we see only two.
A is oldest, C is youngest: "The Phasing Model: The resulting model
of the Beidha Neolithic occupation history consisted of three phases,
labeled from earliest to latest (A through C). The model was based
primarily on the relative stratigraphic relationships between buildings,
particularly with respect to construction events " (Early Village Life At
Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
"Summary: The site of Beidha is situated on and within a remnant
terrace formed by alluviation that began during the Late Pleistocene and
ceased prior to the ninth millennium BP. Three periods of human occupation
are present - Natufian, Neolithic, and Nabatean - with lengthy time periods
devoid of occupation separating them. This resulted in a thick sequence of
cultural and noncultural deposits up to 6 m in depth." (Early Village Life
At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
However, we feel that in spite of Byrd's good work, that there is
good reason to argue for two occupational phases: First: A + B and Second:
C. The reason is because if you add A to B the buildings create a perfect
and complete village. A and B are like to sections of a puzzle that fit
perfectly together with little overlap of buildings. A + B are also round
buildings whereas C are square. C is also built above and on top of A + B.
Byrd documents how the buildings of A+B did not overlie or overlap
each other. This is evidence that A + B were the same occupation level. He
of course would reject our theory of two occupation levels: "Buildings from
each of the three phases do not stratigraphically overlie one another
across the entire site (Fig. 40). There are a number of reasons for this
situation: the site was never entirely covered with inhabited buildings and
other portions of the site consisted of courtyards and no doubt abandoned,
decaying structures; new construction often totally destroyed evidence of
earlier buildings; and the location of courtyards varied some-what over
time. It is more plausible that the tell built up slowly and unevenly."
(Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
Byrd openly considers the idea that the phases A and B are
contemporaneous or that B and C are contemporaneous: "Could the subphase A2
buildings at the southern end of the site, where no phase B buildings
occur, actually be contemporaneous with phase B? And what about the
northeast cluster of five phase B buildings that are not clearly overlain
stratigraphically by phase C buildings: could they be coeval with phase C?
Although these alternative reconstructions are plausible, they are
considered less likely. Many more questions could be posed with respect to
the phasing, some of which cannot be answered with the available evidence.
... The phasing model represents what I consider to be the best, idealized
representation of how the Neolithic village of Beidha changed over time.
The model is viable, however, even if there are only a few concrete
examples where buildings from each phase directly overlie each other. Three
locales furnish such evidence (Fig. 39). Two examples were located in the
south half of the tell: the well-documented sequence of buildings
41-56-43-12/19 in the center of the southern area (Fig. 454, later Fig.
74); and the superposition of building remnants 17-33-15-11 along the
eastern edge of the site. Both of these examples of superpositioning
include buildings from the upper two phases (B and C) and subphases Al and
A2. The only instance in the northern portion of the site where all three
phases are stratigraphically sequential occurred in the central area with
the building sequence 30-29-82-8 (Fig. 454). These examples, although
limited in areal scope, provide vivid testimony of the phasing model
validity. A detailed presentation of the stratigraphy and phasing of the
tell is contained in the following chapter." (Early Village Life At Beidha:
Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
4. CRITCAL OBSERVATION: Never are two plastered floors found in
situ one above the other.
a. Byrd interprets that Phase B Buildings were built
directly upon phase A, but this is wrong for several reasons.
b. This is strong evidence that Byrd's phasing occupation
model is wrong. There are only three examples of round rooms supposedly
built over previous round rooms: Note: Elevations are measured from a low
benchmark upwards, not sea levels, so the stratigraphy appears confusing
unless you understand their excavation methods.
1) Round Room 41 (Plastered floor with elevation 5.67m) under
Round Room 56 (Earth floor with elevation 6.41m). Under the plastered floor
of Room 41 were multiple human burials and likely burned along with all the
adjacent burnt rooms. Byrd proposed a second room (56) based upon a dirt
floor above the plastered floor of Room 41, but no objects were found in
the Room 56 at his theoretical second dirt floor level and most important
room 56 was not burned. The burials, therefore were a sealed locus under
the plaster floor of Room 41 and the room was burned. The second dirt floor
of Room 56 was not a floor at all, but fill from the time when the
rectangular rooms were built over top it, either by man-made means or a few
good dust storms over 5-20 years.
2) Round Room 49 (Plastered floor with elevation 4.8m) under
Round Room 38 (Earth floor with elevation 6.46m).
3) Round Room 18 (Earth floor with elevation 5.8m) under Round
Room 74 (Plastered floor with elevation 6.62m).
4) Rectangular Large Room 9 (Plastered floor 7.98m) under
Rectangular Large Room 8 (Plastered floor 7.4m). Room 8 is an enlarged
renovation of Room 9, built over top of several previously constructed
rectangular buildings on the east wall. In order to minimize construction,
the floor level of the new Room 8 was raised 58 cm. The expanded eastern
section of the renovated floor was built directly over top of the old walls
of Rectangular Room 7. Wall stone removed from the walls of Room 7 was then
used to construct a double width wall for the new Room 8.
c. Never are two in situ plastered floors found one above
the other in the round rooms. There are two plastered floors, one on top of
the other, in the rectangular city, but this was the large central room
that was simply enlarged shortly after the original rectangular city was
constructed from a master blueprint.
d. When all round rooms are overlaid on top of each other, it
creates one complete city.
5. We have taken the six occupation maps from Byrd and combined
them into two overlays to create a virtual representation of our two
phases. Notice all the round rooms fit together like a jigsaw puzzle when
they are overlaid one atop of the other. The same is true with the
rectangular roomed city. As we have already seen, only three round rooms
were interpreted to be built directly upon older round rooms but there is
only one plaster floor excavated. If two in situ plastered floors, were
found in the round city, this would provide evidence of two different
rooms. But remember, the walls of the round rooms in all of Byrd's phases
almost never encroach on another room.
b. "Many buildings in phase C (and probably in phase A) were no
doubt contemporaneous." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian
Byrd, 2005 AD, Conclusion)
Phase 1: 2800-1444 BC
Our "Phase 1" is equal to Byrd's Phase A1 + A2 + B. You will notice that
all the buildings are round, are built basically on the same continuous
ground level and fit together like puzzle pieces. Basement elevations
varied from room to room but this simply shows that some basements were dug
deeper than others from the same ground level. Buildings may have had new
walls built, but these were always directly on top of old foundations. We
suggest that these round Phase 1 buildings existed at the time of Abraham
and continued to be occupied until Moses arrived and destroyed them by
burning in 1444 BC at the exodus. If Moses did not destroy the city, it
could have happened earlier before arrival.
Click to View
Phase 2: 1444-1440 BC
Our "Phase 2"is equal to Byrd's Phase C1 + C2 + 2nd floor. You will notice
that these buildings are square, are built basically on the same ground
level fit together like puzzle pieces. There is evidence of renovations of
these square buildings primarily in Rooms 7 and 8. These buildings were
built less than 50 cm directly on top of Phase 1 round buildings. It is as
if Moses buried the round buildings of Phase 1 and built directly on top of
a new grade level that was 50 cm above the old round city. These
rectangular buildings did not experience burning. A pre-planned mass
abandonment is indicated because many of the doors of the rooms were
bricked up. The Nabataeans came along between 300 BC and 100 AD and built
terraces on the surface and carved all the tombs in the rock cliffs we see
today.
Click to View
D. The Village Retaining Wall that saw it all!
Abraham, Moses and Jesus may have climbed these stairs!
1. When you do a detailed study of the archeology at Beidha, you
are struck with the fact that only one feature remained the same throughout
all three "Neolithic" occupational phases: The wall and stairs! The wall is
in fact, what preserved the entire archeological tel from water erosion
from the wadi that passes directly by the city. In ancient times, this
would have been their water supply. This wall would have been visible in
the first century. The entire Petra area was later developed by the
Nabataeans. If the wall and stairs were retained or used by the Nabataeans,
then Jesus may have also walked these stairs, for he would have most
certainly visited Nabataean Petra in his lifetime.
Click to View
2. "The original western edge of the tell, of course, is unknown,
since erosion by the Seyl Aqlat has destroyed it." (Early Village Life At
Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
3. "Neolithic Village: An impressive Neolithic retaining wall,
with steps leading into the village, lies along this edge of the site (Figs
31-32). Its function was, no doubt, primarily to retard continued erosion,
and it appears to have been constructed during the initial phase of
occupation." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
4. "Despite the extensive distribution of phase C buildings,
building superpositioning was rare and subphases were not distinguished.
Two highlights from these excavations included the exposure of a village
wall and associated steps leading up into the settlement from the south,
and the best preserved example of an upper story from a phase C corridor
building (14)." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005
AD)
5. "The southern enclosing wall of the village was probably built
during this initial occupation (Figs 39, 42, 69). Although this assertion
cannot be demonstrated conclusively, due to post-Neolithic disturbance, the
similarity in absolute elevation of the top step of the village wall and
the exterior base of buildings 18, 41, and 48 supports this assertion (Fig.
32). The village wall may have remained in existence throughout the history
of the village. Moreover, the height of the village wall was raised at
least once, as deposits built up within the village itself." (Early Village
Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
6. "Village Wall Excavations: The preserved height of the main
village wall ranged from 1.0 m to 2.2 m west of the steps, and only a few
courses remained east of the steps. Directly west and east of the steps,
footing stones and a probable path were preserved along the base of the
wall. The village wall was constructed during phase A, remodeled several
times, and probably remained in use throughout the occupation span of the
village." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
7. "The village terrace wall and associated entrance stairs were
probably constructed along the south edge of the site during phase A."
(Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
E. Plastered floors, Red perimeter painted floor, Four courses of mud
bricks found:
1. "Plaster. Two kinds of plaster for floors and walls were
used at Beidha. Their content has not yet been analysed so only visual
descriptions can be given here. As far as the evidence for the earlier
periods goes at present, Levels VI to IV contain plaster of a predominantly
sandy clay mixture in which there is a strong trough not very visible
element of lime. The individual layers are paper thin but because the wall
plaster is very fragmentary the largest area examined was under 50 x 30
cm., found in a burnt polygonal house. Here it seemed that colour was
applied to some of the plaster layers near the wall surface and
subsequently covered by many layers of plain plaster. Traces of the
following colours were found: a purple-red, ochre red and brown; another
layer had two smeared black lines and yet another two red traces on a
greyish slightly green surface. These pieces are very small but the sum of
the evidence on the plaster so far indicates that most of the painting was
a simple outlining of features in broad bands and dados." (Five Seasons
at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Village of Beidha in Jordan, Diana Kirkbride,
Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol 98, p22, 1966 AD)
2. "On excavation we found that the plaster floor of the former
had been relaid five times and not four as previously reported. Each floor
was composed of many thin layers of plaster and ran to an interior wall
face that was founded slightly in front of, or behind its predecessor but
despite this shifting of position the dimensions of the room (9 x 7 metres)
remained the same. The band of red painted plaster was another constant
feature although not on every layer of plaster. In the second main floor
from the top the western third of the room was taken up by an irregular
series of roughly circular holes of varying sizes (Pl. V B) and two short,
straight, parallel ones (Pl. VI A). These were cut down through the
underlying plaster floors although with a single exception there were no
similar installations in the topmost floor. These holes must have been
related to some kind of fittings, probably of wood or stone and were packed
with broken angular stones probably to prevent the upper floor from
collapsing at these places. Their use defies interpretation at present. All
five floor levels were very clean and scarcely a waste flake was found."
(Five Seasons at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Village of Beidha in Jordan,
Diana Kirkbride, Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol 98, p17, 1966 AD)
3. Building 9: "The building floor consisted of a gravel base
with a plastered surface that was refloored several times. Red bands were
apparently painted around the edge of the floor, the stone basin, and the
hearth. Several features were associated with the floor including a hearth
and two postholes." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd,
p56, 2005 AD)
4. "The next to last of these thin resurfacings (and several
others prior to it) contained painted decoration on the floor and wall of
the northern room. A 30-cm-wide band of red paint ran along the edge of the
floor and up onto the walls (Fig. 412). The decoration was best preserved
on the south wall and on the floor (except in a portion of the badly
disturbed eastern section). A red band of paint also outlined the hearth,
the stone-lined pit, and the stone basin location. This pattern of painting
was similar to that of earlier large building 9." (Early Village Life At
Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, p69, 2005 AD)
"Excavations in a sounding below the floor of subphase Al, building
18, identified an architectural feature con-structed of mudbrick with a
thin plaster facing (Fig. 61). It should be noted that the exact
constituents of all the plaster used at Beidha and variation in its
manufacture are currently unknown. At least four courses of a mudbrick wall
were preserved, and the wall appeared to exceed a meter in thickness (see
also Kirkbride 1967: fig. 2). The occupational debris associated with this
facility, labeled deposit L4:91, was originally classified as Natufian
(Kirkbride 1967: 10). That assessment is no longer tenable after
reexamination of the small sample of lithics that were recovered (Byrd
1989b: 21). The lithics appear to be Neolithic in age and may well predate
the middle PPNB, but precise determination must await further field
investigations and a larger sample size." (Early Village Life At Beidha:
Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
"Remnants of mudbrick were also reported by Kirkbride-Helbxk
(Kirkbride 1967: 10-11) outside of building 48 and building 37. The latter
was reported as containing "a mud-brick wall nearly a meter high, on a
curving stone foundation." (Kirkbride 1967: 10). Unfortunately, these two
discoveries lack adequate archival documentation and nothing further can be
presented regarding their stratigraphic relationship and character." (Early
Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
"Exterior courtyard deposits represent the earliest occupation
deposits documented for phase A. These include plastered surfaces,
ramadas/verandas, and possible mudbrick construction. The initial stone
buildings of subphase Al were semisubterranean, with their floors up to 50
cm below the outside ground level. They were circular to oval in plan, and
erected around an inner skeleton of posts and beams. To this inner skeleton
was added a wide stone wall with short, straight segments of its inner face
built against the posts. This created a thick curving wall with its inner
face broken at regular intervals by the vertical slits that held the posts.
The wall and slits were then plastered over to provide a smooth interior
face, and based on evidence from burned buildings, the ceilings were also
plastered. Individual structures often shared walls where their curvilinear
plans converged." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd,
2005 AD)
F. "H" shaped rooms for a Tool factory and communal crop storage not
residential dwellings:
1. It is clear from the finds in the work rooms that this was a
commercial manufacturing and mass grain grinding city:
a. Bone, stone and seashell tools and jewelry were found in the
workshops in every stage of production.
b. A large number of grinders were found in the city indicating
commercial levels of mass food production like grains and possibly Manna.
c. The "H" shaped rooms were small and odd shaped. The
branches were often about 1 meter wide. These smaller "H" shaped rooms
were not suitable for homes and were clearly used for storage and
production.
2. After the round roomed Phase A + B was destroyed by the
Hebrews when they arrived at Kadesh (or before they arrived), a new and
unique type of large public storage buildings and tool manufacturing
factory were built:
a. "A new style of architecture began in phase C and was used
throughout the settlement. This novel corridor building architecture
appeared fully developed without antecedents at the start of phase C. It
was a distinctive technological and organizational development comprised of
two internally subdivided stories - one as a basement and the other set
slightly above ground level. Each story had a separate entrance. The upper
stories were open in plan and had plastered floors. In contrast, the
basements were comprised of multiple small rooms, with a variety of
features (except hearths) within them, and had earthen floors. Several
single-story quadrilateral buildings (both large and small), coexisted with
these corridor buildings and provide evidence of continuity with earlier
architectural traditions." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic,
Brian Byrd, 2005 AD, Conclusion)
3. Byrd, of course, sees all the Phase C buildings as single
family dwellings (residences). We feel that these buildings are in fact
public storage and work buildings for the larger 3.5 million Hebrews that
are living in tents in the area.
a. "The establishment of two-story corridor buildings in phase
C entailed virtually a three-fold increase in the interior area of domestic
units. This size increase accompanied an expansion in the structural
organization of individual dwellings and related household activities. This
does not indicate an intrinsic change in the size of these households:
nuclear families probably still constituted the fundamental domestic unit.
The addition of basements to domestic dwellings allowed for storage and
many household production activities to take place within spatially
segregated small rooms within the dwelling. The upper stories of these
dwellings were more open spatially and structurally and were no doubt the
venue for eating, sleeping, and entertaining. The range and emphasis of
activities varied little between households. The main exception to this
pattern involved specialized production of personal adornment items in one
dwelling (notably marine shell jewelry). This may indicate some
preferential access to luxury items existed between households." (Early
Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD, Conclusion)
4. Byrd notes that the "houses" became more adapted for
storage. He theorizes that this is because each family started becoming
independent of the community they lived in. In other words, private
ownership and individuals storing their own crops for themselves in their
own houses for their own private use to the exclusion of the community.
However out theory is equally valid: These were not houses, but public
storage buildings for a larger Jewish community living in tents in the
general area of Kadesh Barnea.
5. Byrd himself has determined that the "Eastern Sector" was
comprised of public buildings that served a larger population, not houses
for a family to live in:
a. "Although there is no evidence to demonstrate that more than
one was ever occupied at once (except possibly during phase B), additional
corporate units could have existed in the western, now eroded portion of
the site. Other nondomestic buildings were situated to the east of the
tell. They shared little in common with the domestic dwellings within the
community, except their size; instead they had many unique structural
elements and had more in common with the corporate structures within the
village." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD,
Conclusion)
6. The rectangular phase C buildings not only had separate
basements only accessible from the outside, not inside, but the second
floors between two different buildings, were connected with doorways! The
second floors of different buildings were built beside each other, shared
outside walls and were like large office areas all connected from the
inside:
a. "Major changes in the organizational character of the
corporate building occurred during the final subphase of the occupation.
This nondomestic building was significantly larger than previous ones and
structurally more elaborate, consisting of two large rooms with a number of
associated features (including a stone monolith). Unlike earlier corporate
buildings, this one was refurbished at least four times, and each
remodeling entailed a substantial investment in labor and supplies. Its
interrelationship with adjacent buildings and open space also differed
considerably from previous corporate buildings. This included an entrance
into the corporate building from the upper story of an adjacent domestic
building. In addition, the building overlooked the main central courtyard
and during its use life this courtyard became an enclosed space with small
storage units." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005
AD, Conclusion)
b. "These developments were matched by elaboration in the spatial
organization of production activities and storage within domestic
dwellings, suggesting household autonomy increased over time. Interior
features became more frequent, interior space more compartmentalized, and
activities and storage were thus focused in discrete localities.
Ultimately, the introduction of more structurally complex two-story
dwellings with subdivided basements and separate entrances facilitated the
spatial discreteness of production and storage activities within the
context of individual buildings. The second organizational trend, more
formal and institutionalized mechanisms for integrating the community, was
confirmed by the introduction and persistence of distinct, large
nondomestic buildings. They were interpreted as the location for
suprahousehold decision making and ceremonial activities, and the role and
importance of such corporate activities increased during the occupation
span of the community based on their increased size and structural
elaboration." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005
AD, Conclusion)
7. The basements of the Phase C buildings could not be accessed
from the main floor. Instead the basements were accessed from the outside.
This is clear evidence, in our view that the Phase C buildings were not
residences but storage buildings for a larger population of Hebrews at
Kadesh Barnea: "Over time, the distinction between private and public space
increased, and production activities and storage were increasingly carried
out within individual dwellings. In phase C, production and storage were
concentrated in household basements that had restricted access and were not
directly connected to the upper-story living areas." (Early Village Life At
Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD, Conclusion)
G. Jericho and Beidha:
The sequence of continuous occupation at Beidha is unique in the
Levant. Similarities exist between the round buildings at Beidha and
Jericho because at both sites, round buildings were replaced by square
ones.
At Jericho, it is not clear if the round or later square buildings
were destroyed by the Hebrews during the conquest in 1406 BC.
But Joshua placed a curse upon the city and it appears to have not
been rebuilt until the time of Hiel in 860 BC: Jericho continued to be
occupied down to the time of Jesus: "Then Joshua made them take an oath at
that time, saying, "Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and
builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its
foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its
gates."" Joshua 6:26 "In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid
its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates
with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord,
which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun." 1 Kings 16:34. "He entered
Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of
Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich." Luke 19:1-2.
"PPNB: Beidha is currently the only southern Levantine site that
documents this transition in residential architecture. Elsewhere in the
southern Levant, the transition is either completely abrupt without
transitional steps (such as at Jericho) or else PPNB sites have either
curvilinear or rectangular architecture (Byrd 2000). At Jericho, largely
undifferentiated PPNA curvilinear buildings were abruptly replaced by PPNB
rectangular pier houses considerably earlier than rectangular buildings
were first constructed at Beidha (Kenyon 1981). The pier-house style of
architecture was then used over a wide area of the southern Levant during
the PPNB and was well suited to be internally subdivided (Byrd and Banning
1988)." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD,
Conclusion)
The transition from round buildings to rectangular at Jericho is
important. If the rectangular buildings were destroyed at the time of
Joshua, this shows that such architectural designs were in current use
while Joshua was at Kadesh Barnea.
H. Phase A was burned, Phase C abandoned after doors were bricked up:
1. "The problem of how the semi-basement workshops were lighted
has not yet been solved. If there was an upper storey then the only light
seem; to have come from doorways; this was occasionally augmented by lamps
in the form of rough stone bowls bearing traces of carbon, but these lamps
are rare. There is no evidence for proper doors, no stone with swivel-holes
apart from a single re-used quern, so in all probability the inhabitants
used skins as a temporary measure when necessary. In many cases buildings
were found with their doors closed by rough stone walls built inside the
apertures but whether this was because the occupants left meaning to
return, or whether this door-closing was part of a ritual performed when a
house was to be rebuilt cannot be ascertained. In view of the close levels
of occupation and no apparent break in their continuity the latter
explanation is the more probable. One other peculiarity at Beidha is the
lack of parching ovens. Not a single oven has been found in any level in
the whole excavated area." (Five Seasons at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
Village of Beidha in Jordan, Diana Kirkbride, Palestine Exploration
Quarterly, Vol 98, p16, 1966 AD)
2. "It cannot be conclusively demonstrated whether the
abandonment of the village was sudden or slow, but patterning in trash
dumping within buildings suggests that it was a gradual process [guess by
Byrd]." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
3. "Phase A included the initial, founding occupation of the PPNB
village through the burning and abandonment of a series of round buildings
in the southern sector. Subphase Al buildings were semisubterranean and
erected around an inner skeleton of posts and beams. In contrast, some
subsequent subphase A2 buildings appear to have been built above ground and
no longer utilized the post-socket construction. Phase B was poorly
preserved in many areas of the tell due to later phase C construction.
Phase B architecture included subrectangular buildings with straighter
walls and rounded corners that were typically single-roomed, freestanding,
and semisubterranean. The final period of occupation, phase C, was
dominated by two-story, rectangular corridor buildings. The upper stories
were poorly preserved, while lower stories were semisubterranean and
included a central corridor and a series of small basement rooms. The
construction of a very large building on top of a series of phase C
corridor buildings enabled two subphases to be distinguished in a portion
of the tell. ... Large-scale abandonment of buildings may have occurred at
the end of phase A based on the burning of a considerable number of
structures. In contrast, the upper deposits of phase B were largely
destroyed by subsequent phase C construction." (Early Village Life At
Beidha: Neolithic, Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
4. "The Wadi el Ghurab has both deposited fill during large
floods and eroded away materials over time: "Natufian Encampment: The
Natufian occupation at Beidha took place during an aggradation period of
the Wadi el Ghurab (Field 1989: 86-90). The sediment that comprises the
Natufian occupation was largely deposited by streams with limited cultural
input. Throughout the wadi, the level of the valley floor was considerably
higher during the Natufian occupation than today. ... The Natufian may well
have extended a considerable distance both to the south and west, but
erosion has destroyed any such evidence. ... The site appears to have been
abandoned for approximately 3,500 years, during which time more than 1.5 m
of noncultural sediment was deposited, separating the Natufian from the
subsequent PPNB village." (Early Village Life At Beidha: Neolithic,
Brian Byrd, 2005 AD)
Conclusion:
From scripture and ancient literary sources, we know that Kadesh
Beidha was located at or near Petra, Jordan.
Biblical Kadesh Barnea, Sela, Joktheel, En-mishpat, was visited by
Abraham in Gen 14 and Moses in 1444 BC
We would expect a large population of 3.5 million Hebrews to easily
occupy land that is 20 km long.
El Beidha is located 5 km north of Petra where commercial levels of
grinding wheat, rye and possibly Manna took place. It is important to note
that no fires were excavated in the rectangular buildings proving these
were workshops for tool production and food storage not houses for domestic
dwelling.
Basta is located 12 km SE of Petra which functioned as a mass crop
storage and drying area. Additionally, Basta was a commercial level meat
packing plant where the three large rooms featured subterranean channels to
keep the floors dry and cool. Additionally, fire places were located in
each of the three large rooms where the meat was hanging to control damage
by flies and maggots. A large assemble of 100,000 Kosher bones was
excavated on the floors of the rooms.
We theorize that there are two phases of occupation at Beidha, not
three as Byrd suggests.
The first phase of occupation is represented in combining
Byrd's phase A + B. The buildings of this period were round. This
first period of occupation would date back to the time of Abraham.
The second phase of occupation is represented Byrd's phase C.
Perhaps the phase C square buildings are where Moses lived while at Kadesh
for 38 years as a central hub of organization for Israel in the wilderness.
A theory yes, but not unreasonable.
Beidha and Basta share many similarities:
a. First, both Basta and Beidha share a close geographic
proximity. Basta is a short distance from Petra as you follow a large
natural valley between the two cities. Topographically the two cities are
connected by the natural terrain.
b. Second, It is clear that a large, well organized population
arrived and founded both Beidha and Basta from a master blueprint plan.
Both cities appear to be industrial, work centres that were not intended
for residential dwelling. Based upon simple population dynamics in this
part of the world, the earliest possible occupation date for both cities is
after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC in spite of the sites designation as
PPN at 6500 BC. Basta and Beidha were both large industrial cities that
served a large, well organized population and not used for residential
dwellings.
c. Third, both Basta and Beidha feature rectangular-shaped
buildings with red painted plaster floors
d. Fourth, both Beidha and Basta feature a large central room
surrounded by smaller rectangular rooms.
e. Fifth, both Basta and Beidha were large scale commercial
operations without residential domestic dwellings. They were work centers
not living quarters. Basta was a dry food-storage as evidenced by the small
1x1 meter rooms with access windows, a slaughterhouse as evidenced by the
massive assemblage of 100,000 kosher bones found in each of the large
rooms, subterranean channels under plastered floors which featured fire
places for smoke generation in each of the large rooms and a flint
production city as evidenced by the massive dump of flint debitage
(man-made chips of flint). Beidha was a manufacturing town for tools and
jewelry made of bone, flint and seashells as evidenced by the small object
finds through excavations on the floors of the various rooms.
f. Sixth, no cult center was identified in the excavations at
Basta and Beidha.
g. Seventh, both Basta and Beidha experienced an abrupt, mass
abandonment. The doorways of many of the rooms at Beidha were bricked up,
sealing the only entrance into the rooms until the time of modern
excavation. At Basta, the impressive height of the walls and the sand fill
inside the rooms indicates the city was buried after abandoned by the sands
soon after abandonment. If the city continued to be occupied, this sand
could have easily been dug out and the city re-occupied.
h. Eighth, excavators found no kiln fired ceramics (pottery) at
Basta and Beidha. This is why both sites are designated "pre-pottery
Neolithic (PPN). However, there are a number of explanations why no pottery
was found. Perhaps this was an extension of the miracle of the Hebrew's
clothing and shoes not wearing out for 40 years in the wilderness. Perhaps
their pottery was miraculously prevented from breaking as were their shoes
from wearing out. Since both cities were specialized industrial work
centers wherein little or no food preparation was evidenced, maybe pottery
was not in the city because it was not needed. At Beidha, the excavators
noted that no firepits, tabuns or hearths were excavated in the entire
city. Where there is no fire, there is no food preparation and no need for
pottery. At Basta, a few tabun fragments were excavated along with numerous
firepits in the large central rooms, but these may have been used to
generate smoke to keep flies away from hanging meat and were therefore not
used for food preparation.
5. Basta and Beidha are different in several ways:
a. First, while Beidha has one large central room, Basta has
three!
b. Second, the surrounding rooms at Basta are much smaller than
those at Beidha which were large enough for workshops. Basta had a network
of very small cubicles that are 1 x 1 meter with windows at chest height
for ventilation and access. These access windows face out into a large
common area, but there are also windows between 1x1 meter cubical rooms.
c. Third, Basta was designed with an intricate pre-planned
subterranean channel system dug into the floors of many of the rooms and
then covered with large cap stones. While the design of covering cap stones
resembles ancient drainage channels under the two city gates recently
excavated at the 10th century city of Khirbet Qeiyafa, their function is
puzzling because the channels "dead end" preventing the free flow of
air through the channels or access to the outside. One articulated burial
was were made in a channel, likely at the time of original construction.
Three more jumbles of human bones were found in another channel with the
heads arranged in a triangle pattern, likely put there after construction.
Four buried bodies is a tiny number considering the large surrounding
population and this indicates that these burials were exceptional. The
Excavators concluded these channels were used as insulating air chambers to
control moisture on the floor above and/or for burials, but their purpose
to them remained a mystery. We propose that these channels were built under
slaughter room floors of hanging meat in order to not only control moisture
but to also function a fluid drain for liquids. Only the larger rooms had
fires AND these subterranean channel networks under the floors. We agree
with the excavators that the smaller 1x1 meter cubical rooms with the
windows were likely used for mass food storage.
d. Fourth, while no fires, tabuns or hearths of any kind were
excavated at Beidha, three large fireplaces was found at Basta, once in
each of the three large central rooms. A large ash layer was found in one
of the large rooms [number 1] on the surface of the floor in Area B of
Basta. These fires were probably used to generate smoke to keep flies away
from the hanging, processed meat. These fireplaces showed little evidence
of food preparation. Again, only the large rooms at Basta had fires and
only the large rooms had the channel network under the floor. It was a
slaughterhouse.
e. Fifth, while a large assemblage of 100,000 kosher bones were
found inside the large slaughterhouse rooms at Basta, very few bones were
found at the tool factory at Beidha.
6. This evidence supports the author's proposal that both
Beidha and Basta might be the actual cities occupied by Moses during the
conquest in 1444-1406 BC. This is highly speculative yes, but we are
certain that the dating of these two cities by the excavators (6500 BC) is
off by at least 3200 years because it cannot predate the flood in 3298 BC.
This known error in dating represents up to a 100% deviation from the
actual date. More research needs to be done in reexamining the dating of
Basta and Beidha and pre-pottery Neolithic sites in general. PPN sites are
dated with naturalistic evolutionary thinking and timescales solely on the
basis of the lack of pottery. Carbon dating is notoriously inaccurate and
must be "adjusted" to fit the presupposed times supplied by the
excavators to the labs. Carbon dating labs refuse to do blind testing
without verbal input of the final expected date. The author has first-hand
evidence of labs requiring in advance of testing, where the sample came
from and what is the expected date of the sample. Notice the
"uncalibrated date" at Basta was ~6000 Before present which produced a
date of about 4000 BC. While this is still impossible, being 700 years
before the Noahic flood, it illustrates the nature of Carbon dating since
this is still 2500 years too YOUNG to match the presupposed PPN date of
6500 BC and therefore needs to be "calibrated". "A charcoal date
yielded an age of 6055 +/- 255 bp (HV 17192, uncalibrated)." (Basta I The
Human Ecology, Gebel, Nissen, p65, 2004 AD)
7. Yes, I am the first person in history to specifically suggest
that Beidha is where Kadesh Barnea was located. However, everyone from the
time of Josephus, Eusebius down to 100 AD places Kadesh Barnea at Petra or
near Petra.
While it may be considered absurd to suggest that a PPN site was
actually occupied during the Early and Late Bronze Ages, we know that the
assigned dates of 9000 BC for Natufian and 6500 for PPN is absurd because
it predates the creation of earth by 4000 years (5554 BC).
At least it can be clearly and successfully argued that the
archeology of Beidha predates 1000 BC. This is in contrast to the fact that
nothing earlier than 1000 BC has been found at Qudeirat, where all Bible
maps have unfortunately placed Kadesh Barnea since 1916 AD.
Based upon Bible study and combining the witness of history, we
concluded that Kadesh must be either at Petra or in the general area of
Petra. Beidha (and Basta, 12 km SE of Petra), therefore, is the perfect
choice, since it is indeed just north of Petra, and it is the only place in
the Levant that has a long term, continuous occupation period that predates
1000 BC to the earliest times of Abraham in 2100 BC.
Further Research:
a. See also Kadesh Barnea.
b. See also Petra.
c. See also Basta: Massive dump of 100,000 bones, possibly from
the 38 years at Kadesh Barnea.
Steven Rudd, 2006, October 2019
By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.
Click to View
Go To Start: WWW.BIBLE.CA
|