Hoards and Genizot as Chapters in History

Exhibition Curator: Ofra Rimon
Exhibition opening: May 2013

A view of the exhibitionA view of the exhibitionArchaeology is among the fields of research that tend to interest many, in part due to our natural curiosity about human history. Consequently, the idea of ruins of ancient cultures buried underground and the possibility of discovering ancient treasures has created an aura of romance and adventure around archaeology.

This has inspired authors and filmmakers, and has seeped into popular culture today. The antiquities laws are intended to restrain treasure seekers, whose rummaging in ancient sites causes irreversible damage to archaeological research. Looted hoards of artifacts—even if they are eventually confiscated by the authorities—lose their archaeological context and cannot contribute to our understanding of archaeological or historical issues.

An archaeologist who discovers a hoard has to consider several issues: To whom did the hoard belong? Was it privately or publicly owned? Why was it hidden? Was it valuable property whose owners chose to hide it from others’ eyes in the same way as we would use a safe today, or was it hidden in a time of insecurity and uncertainty about the future, when individuals and communities increasingly felt the need to hide their valuable possessions? What information does the hoard provide on the economy, commercial ties, and cultural influences of the period?

This exhibition includes hoards belonging to individuals and hoards belonging to the community, such as community savings deposits discovered in ancient synagogues. The rather large number of public hoards indicates that both kinds were abandoned due to war and unforeseen disasters. 

 

Archaeological excavations bring to light both the hoards placed in “safes” as an act of preservation and concealment, but also of hoards found in the favissae (the cellars and resiviors of temples). Objects found in the favissae served a cultic context and, due to their sanctity, were not disposed of when they were damaged or no longer needed. Instead, they were set aside in a designated place. These archaeological finds teach us that the practice of burying objects with religious significance, which survives to this day, began very early in the history of human societies. Evidence indicates that this process was being used as early as the Neolithic period, some ten thousand years ago.

The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue are intended to represent the rich variety of hoards and favissae collections uncovered in archaeological excavations in Israel. It focuses on understanding the motives for hiding the artifacts, cultic traditions, and the historical flucuations of the time.

 

To Exhibition Catalogue

 

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