Sean Kingsley is a London-based archaeologist with fifteen years' experience running excavations and surveys, from Montenegro to Israel. He is the author of six books, the managing editor of Minerva: The International Review of Ancient Art and Archaeology, and a visiting fellow at the Research Center for Late Antique and Byzantine Studies at Reading University.
In 70 C.E., a Roman army under the command of Titus captured Jerusalem after an extended series of assaults. Archaeologist Kingsley (Shipwreck Archaeology of the Holy Land) examines the history and possible current whereabouts of artifacts looted from the Jerusalem Temple by the Romans. Kingsley focuses on three items in particular: the Menorah, the Divine Table, and two silver trumpets. These objects are depicted on the Arch of Titus as having been paraded through Rome in the general's triumphal procession, and written sources indicate that for centuries they were exhibited in Rome's Temple of Peace along with booty from other wars. From this starting point, Kingsley traces historical and folkloric references to the items in an attempt to determine whether and where they may still exist. The result is part history, part travelog, and not entirely satisfying. The author raises expectations early on regarding what he might reveal and in the end comes up short. Kingsley is able to muster respectable sources indicating that the objects may have survived until the sixth century, but here the trail vanishes, and his book ends with some unconvincing speculation about what happened to them. Nevertheless, this is an informative and entertaining book, and if the reader can forgive being led on, it makes for interesting and rewarding popular history. Suitable for public libraries.-Richard Fraser, M.L.I.S., Philadelphia Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
In this fast-paced tale that is part detective story, part travelogue and adventure story, historian Kingsley, editor of the archeology journal Minerva, hunts for one of the most sought after ancient treasures: a golden candelabrum, a pair of silver trumpets and the jewel-covered Table of Divine Presence carried away from the Temple in Jerusalem by Vespasian in A.D. 70. Many believe that these pieces, long since disappeared, lie buried beneath the Temple Mount, while others are convinced that they are buried under the Vatican. Relying on the ancient historians Josephus and Procopius, Kingsley traces the trail of the treasure as best he can. Many in modern times have tried and failed to find the treasure, including John Allegro, the Dead Sea Scrolls expert, who used the now-famous Copper Scroll as his guide in the caves at Qumran. At the end of his travels, Kingsley visits the monastery of Saint Theodosius in the Judean wilderness, where he believes Byzantine patriarch Modestus may have hidden the treasures in the seventh century after carrying them away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to protect them from Muslim invaders. Although we will likely never find the Temple treasure, Kingsley's bracing tale of religious intrigue grips the imagination. 16 pages of b&w photos. (June 12) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
