Ramat Rachel

Infobox_Kibbutz
kibbutz_name = Ramat Rachel
foundation = 1926
founded_by = Jerusalem Brigade of Gdud HaAvoda
region = Jerusalem corridor
council = Mateh Yehuda
industry = Agriculture, tourism
affiliation = Kibbutz Movement
website = [http://www.ramatrachel.co.il/ www.ramatrachel.co.il]

Ramat Rachel ( _he. רמת רחל, "lit." Rachel's Heights) is a kibbutz located south of Jerusalem in Israel. Overlooking Bethlehem and Rachel's Tomb and situtated adjacent to the Green Line, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 335.

History

The kibbutz was established in 1926 by members of the "Gdud HaAvoda" labor brigade. Their goal was to settle in Jerusalem and earn their livelihood from manual labor, working in such trades as stonecutting, housing construction and haulage. [ [http://www.ramatrachel.co.il/about_us.htm About Us] Ramat Rachel] After living in a temporary camp in Jerusalem, a group of ten pioneers settled on a stony plot of land on a 803-metre high hill south of the city. The kibbutz was destroyed by the Arabs in the riots of 1929. Hundreds of Arabs incited by the Mufti attacked the training farm and burned it to the ground. [http://www.ramatrachel.co.il/ Kibbutz website] The settlers returned to the site a year later. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War it was cut off from the city. [ [http://www.daat.co.il/daat/english/history/lapidot/31.htm The battle for Ramat Rachel: Southern gateway to Jerusalem] Da'at] In 1967 it was the target of intensive artillery shelling from Jordanian positions. As the borders of Jerusalem were expanded southward, the kibbutz was included within the city's municipal borders.

Today, the kibbutz economy revolves main around its hotel and banquet hall. Archeological excavations on the hilltop have unearthed major finds. The remains of a massive palace and waterworks have been discovered at the site, perhaps dating back to the early Israelite kingdom and showing occupation by the Babylonians, Persians, Romans and Hasmoneans. An archeology park is now under development.

Archaeological findings

The first scientific exploration of the site, known in Arabic as "Khirbet es-Sallah", was conducted by Benjamin Mazar and Moshe Stekelis in 1930-1931. In a series of digs in 1959-1962, Yohanan Aharoni tentatively identified it as the biblical Beit Hakerem (Jeremiah 6:1), one of the places from which flaming warning signals were sent to Jerusalem at the end of the First Temple period. [http://www.tau.ac.il/~rmtrachl/archaeology%20of%20site.htm] Yigael Yadin dated the palace excavated by Aharoni to the reign of Athaliah and identified it as the "House of Baal" recorded in 2 Kings 11:18.

One of many important artifacts discovered at Ramat Rachel are LMLK seal impressions found on broken jar handles. [ [http://www.lmlk.com/research/lmlk_ramat.htm LMLK Seals from Ramat Rahel] LMLK Research] Archaeologist Gabriel Barkay, who excavated the site in 1984, says the ancient name of the site may have been MMST, one of four enigmatic words that appear on the handles. [cite journal | author=Barkay, Gabriel | year=2006 | title=Royal Palace, Royal Portrait? | journal=Biblical Archaeology Review | volume=32:5 | issue=September/October | pages=34–44] Supporting Barkay is a potsherd unearthed by Aharoni which may be decorated with an image of King Hezekiah, who reigned at the time. However, more handles with HBRN (Hebron) and ZYF (Ziph) inscriptions have been found at Ramat Rahel than MMST. [cite book | author=Grena, G.M. | year=2004 | title=LMLK--A Mystery Belonging to the King vol. 1 | location=Redondo Beach, California | publisher=4000 Years of Writing History | id=ISBN 0-9748786-0-X]

Excavations resumed in 2004 under the direction of Tel Aviv University archeologists Oded Lipschits and Manfred Oeming. According to Lipschits, the site was a palace or administrative center with a water works system "unparalleled in Eretz Israel." [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1157913679297&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Fit for a king] Jerusalem Post, 21 September 2006] [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525918256&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Dig shows Ramat Rahel was royal Judean site] Jerusalem Post, 21 August 2006]

In July 2008, archeologists discovered a cooking pot from the 1st century CE containing 15 large gold coins. The pot was found under the floor of a columbarium. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1008504.html]

References

External links

* [http://www2.uca.edu.ar/esp/sec-ffilosofia/esp/docs-institutos/s-cehao/boletin/damqatum1spring2006.pdf Ramat Rachel Revisited: An Interview with Oded Lipschits] Damqatum 1 (2006): 1-4.