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Koningin van Sheba in Yemen, opgravingen

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Berichtdoor admin » di 30 jul , 2002 9:45

18/9 2000
Een Engelstalig persbericht over opgravingen aan een tempel voor Bilqis ( 'De koningin van Sjeba' ) in Yemen.

Yemen Temple May Have Honored Queen of Sheba

By Canadian Press
September 13, 2000

An ancient temple uncovered in the Middle East could answer questions about one of history's most mysterious and legendary figures - the Queen of Sheba. The Mahram Bilqis, or Temple of the Moon God, lies buried under the sands of the southern Arabian Desert in northern Yemen.

The 3,000-year-old temple is being excavated by an international team of scientists organized by the American Foundation for the Study of Man. They say the discovery could prove as significant as the ruins of Pompeii or the pyramids of Giza.

"The excitement of discovery, to see something that no one has seen for a thousand years or perhaps longer, is something quite unbelievable," said Dr. Bill Glanzman, a University of Calgary archeology professor and the project's field director.

The sanctuary was a sacred site for pilgrims throughout Arabia from 1200 BC to 550 AD, and the time fits with history's record of the Queen of Sheba and her visit to King Solomon of Israel.

"We have evidence from the site which takes it back to half a millennium before her reign," Glanzman told a Tuesday news conference.

"It is Arabic folklore that preserves that connection with the Queen of Sheba to the site itself. That's why the sanctuary is called in Arabic, Mahram Bilqis. It means the sanctuary of Bilqis, Arab folklore for the Queen of Sheba."

The Queen of Sheba is most known from the biblical record of her meeting with King Solomon, believed to have occurred in the period 950 BC to 930 BC.

The Bible says that on hearing of Solomon's great wisdom, she made the journey north to his court to test him with hard questions.

The meeting was a success and the monarchs bestowed wealth and good favour on each other before she returned home six months later.

She also gave birth to Solomon's son, Menelik, who succeeded his mother and established the great Ethiopian Dynasty.

The international team is working with Yemeni archeologists and local Bedouin to excavate, document and restore sections of the temple.

The work is only about one per cent complete, but Glanzman said the quality of the artifacts is incredible.

"Rarely do we get such fine architecture preserved and discoveries in such good condition," he said.

"We have ancient frankincense. It's over 2,000 years old, preserved on the site, so you can recognize it, pick it up, and it still smells like the frankincense you encounter in the market today."

The Temple of the Moon fell into disuse after the sixth century. Glanzman said the Marib dam collapsed for the last time, making the area useless for agriculture.

"The capital city could not sustain itself and the sanctuary fell into disuse and the desert sands came in."

The site was originally found in 1951 by the late American archeologist Wendell Phillips. But his work was abruptly halted the next year when his team was forced to abandon the dig due to political unrest in the area.

Archeologists are getting some high-tech assistance in finding out what lies within the temple and its surrounding grounds.

Geophysical surveying methods, including the use of ground-penetrating radar, are being used to map the location of buried structures.

"We're able to see about six to eight metres below the surface," said Brian Moorman, co-ordinator of the University of Calgary's earth science program.

"We can see things as small as 20 centimetres in diameter, so we can detect walls very nicely and larger structures."

©The Canadian Press, 2000
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