The once mighty tree, that was diseased and rotted through the trunk, snapped about 3 feet (1 metre) above ground and crashed across several gardens. It damaged a brick wall and several sheds, but nearby buildings including the Anne Frank House museum escaped unscathed. No one was injured. A global campaign to save the chestnut, widely known as The Anne Frank Tree, was launched in 2007 after city officials deemed it a safety hazard and ordered it felled. The tree was granted a last-minute reprieve after a battle in court.

The 150-year-old tree suffered from fungus and moths that had caused more than half its trunk to rot. Two years ago city workmen encased the trunk in a steel support system to prevent it from falling, but that failed under windy weather Monday. The Netherlands’ Trees Institute, one of the most prominent supporters of the preservation project, stated it was “unpleasantly surprised” by the news of the tree’s fall early Monday afternoon. On the advice of experts in tree care, it had been calculated that the tree could live several more decades” with the support structure.

Many clones of the tree have been taken, including 11 planted at sites around the United States and 150 at a park in Amsterdam. It is not clear whether a new tree will replace the original one on the same spot, since it rests on property belonging to a neighbour.

The Jewish teenager made several references to the tree in the diary that she kept during the 25 months she remained indoors until her family was arrested in August 1944. “Nearly every morning I go to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs,” she wrote on Feb. 23, 1944. “From my favourite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind.”

She also wrote: “As long as this exists, … and I may live to see it, this sunshine, the cloudless skies — while this lasts I cannot be unhappy.” Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945. Her diary was recovered and published after her death. It has become the most widely read document to emerge from the Holocaust.

The head of the Coin Department of the Israel Antiquities Association, long-time American immigrant Dr. Donald T. Ariel, stated, “This is the heaviest and most valuable ancient gold coin ever found in an excavation in Israel.”

The coin depicts a queen, believed to be Arsinoe II Philadelphus, who was married to her half-brother Ptolemy II. It is possible, however, that it may actually be Ptolemy V’s wife Cleopatra I, daughter of Antiochus III.” “This is an amazing numismatic find,” The excavations at Tel Kedesh, near Israel’s border with Lebanon, are being carried out by the University of Michigan and University of Minnesota.

The coin is beautiful and in excellent preservation. It is the heaviest gold coin with the highest contemporary value of any coin ever found in an excavation in Israel, weighing almost an ounce,” or 27.7 grams, compared with 4.5 grams for most ancient gold coins.

In Ariel’s words, “This extraordinary coin was apparently not in popular or commercial use, but had a symbolic function, possibly related to a festival in honor of Queen Arsinoe, who was deified in her lifetime.” The coin’s denomination is called a mnaieion, meaning a one-mina coin, and is equivalent to 100 silver drachms, or a mina of silver.

The reverse side of the coin depicts two overlapping cornucopias (horns-of-plenty) decorated with fillets. “It is rare to find Ptolemaic coins in Israel dating after the country came under Seleucid rule in 200 BCE,” Ariel explained. “The only other gold Ptolemaic coin from an excavation in Israel (from Akko) dates from the period of Ptolemaic hegemony, in the third century BCE, and weighs less than two grams.”

The coin was minted in Alexandria by King Talmai V in 191 BCE. The coin bears the name of the wife of King Talmai II, and features the face of the queen. The average gold coin, archaeologists stated, includes 4.5 grams of gold – hence this coin was probably used for ceremonies and not for business.
The excavations at Tel Kedesh, conducted since 1997, have uncovered a large Persian/Hellenistic administrative building, complete with reception halls, dining facilities, store rooms and an archive. While the documents in the archive were not preserved, the excavations yielded 2043 seal impressions, from which the flourishing of the Hellenistic phase of the building can be dated to the first half of the second century BCE.

About three years ago, an Alexandrine hoard of Ptolemaic gold coins appeared on the world antiquities market. No coins of Ptolemy V were included in that hoard, however, so the extreme rarity of the mnaieion from Tel Kedesh remains unimpaired.

The trade is fueling terrorism and insurgencies: The Taliban raised between $450 million and $600 million in the past four years by “taxing” opium farmers and traffickers, he says in a new report. Not all the money is going into the pockets of rebels or full-time drug dealers but some Afghan officials are making money off the trade as well.

Costa stated,”The Afghan drug economy generates several hundred million dollars per year into evil hands, some with black turbans, some with white collars,” And the problem is spreading. Drug money is now funding insurgencies in Central Asia, which has huge energy reserves. “The Silk Route, turned into a heroin route, is carving out a path of death and violence through one of the world’s most strategic, yet volatile regions.”

Route of heroin movement, from source to Europe.

Authorities are seizing too little heroin by intercepting only about 20 percent of opiate traffic around the world, according to the U.N. report, titled “Addiction, Crime and Insurgency.” It follows a U.N. warning that two years’ worth of opium is effectively “missing,” probably stockpiled by the Taliban and criminal gangs.

More than 12,000 tons of opium, which can be consumed as a narcotic itself or turned into heroin is unaccounted for, the United Nations estimated in September 2009. It is not clear who has it or why, but the United Nations speculates criminals could be holding it as a hedge against falling prices, or that insurgents or terrorists could be stockpiling it to fund future attacks.

The latest report claims to be the first systematic attempt to track where Afghan opium ends up. Europe and Russia together consume just under half of the heroin coming out of Afghanistan, the United Nations concludes, while Iran is by far the single largest consumer of Afghan opium.

Afghanistan is probably supplying an increasing share of the heroin in China that is perhaps as much as a quarter, the report says.

Afghanistan is by far the world’s largest producer of opium, although Laos, Myanmar (also known as Burma) and Latin America produce small quantities of the narcotic, according ot the report. The United Nations found that Afghanistan may be supplying more heroin to the United States and Canada than had previously been suspected.

The two North American countries consume more than twice as much heroin as Latin America produces. That means either that more Afghan heroin is making its way to North America than had been known, or that Mexico and Colombia are producing more than was realized, the United Nations says.

3,500 Year Old Bracelet

Karen Covello-Paran, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority stated, “We discovered a rare, wide bracelet made of bronze,” said “The ancient bracelet, which is extraordinarily well-preserved, is decorated with engravings, and the top of it is adorned with a horned structure,” representing power, fertility and law. One who could afford such a bracelet was apparently very well-off financially, “and it probably belonged to the wife or daughter of the village ruler. In the artwork of neighboring lands, gods and rulers were depicted wearing horned crowns; however, such a bracelet, and from an archaeological excavation at that, has never been found here.”

Covello-Paran further stated,“This is the first time that a 3,500-year-old village has been excavated and exposed in the north of Israel.” “To date, only the large cities have been excavated in the region, such as Tel Megiddo or Tel Hazor. Here we have gained a first glimpse of life in the ancient rural hinterland in the north, and it turns out that it was more complex than we thought. It seems that the small village at Ramat Razim constituted part of the periphery of Tel Hazor, the largest and most significant city in the Canaanite region at the time, which is located about 10 kilometers north of the settlement at Ramat Razim.”

The ancient inhabitants of Ramat Razim raised sheep and goats, and farmed. Numerous basalt querns that were used for grinding wheat into flour were found in the building. In addition, we also found large storage vessels that were used to store grain and liquids, which stood on the floor to a height of more than a meter. An ancient oven for cooking was found in one of the residential rooms alongside ceramic cookware and tools, including flint blades, and intact bronze implements such as a long needle (15 centimeters, or 6 inches) for sewing sacks or treating skins, and a long decorated pin that was used to fasten a dress or gown.”

The Israel Antiquities Authority is working to integrate the site in the extensive development plans for Ramat Razim, alongside the research institute and medical school, as an open place for visitors, together with the other nature assets in the region.

Shiloh is believed by researchers to have fallen into ruin after the Israelites’ unsuccessful war with the Philistines, in which the enemy took the Holy Ark captive. The Ark was soon returned to Israel, but was never brought back to Shiloh. Instead, it was taken to Kiryat Yearim until King David had it delivered to Jerusalem.

Archaeological findings indicate that a Jewish presence continued at Shiloh until the year 722 BCE, when the Kingdom of Israel was defeated by Assyria. According to the Book of Judges and the Mishna, unwed Jewish women traditionally went to the vineyards of Shiloh to dance on Tu B’Av.

Shiloh is north of Beit El, Israel, where the excavations are currently being carried out under the auspices of the Archaeological Staff Officer for Judea and Samaria in the IDF Civilian Administration Antiquities Unit and the Binyamin local authority.

The following photos reveal the artefacts discovered and the archaelogists at work in Shiloh.

The temple and a number of ritual items dating back to the 10th century BCE were discovered at Tel Tsafit (Tell es-Safit/Gath) by Professor Aren Maeir of BIU’s Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology and his international team. The tel is located about halfway between Ashkelon and Jerusalem, near Kiryat Gat along the southern coastal plain.

Maeir stated, “Interestingly, the architectural design of this temple, with its two central pillars, is reminiscent of the architectural image that is described in the well-known Biblical story of Samson and the Philistines.” He added that the discovery could indicate that the story of Samson reflects a type of temple that was in use in Philistia at the time. He also said that his team had found impressive evidence of an earthquake in the 8th century BCE, reminiscent of the earthquake mentioned in the Book of Amos 1:1. The team uncovered walls that were moved from their place and collapsed like a deck of cards as a result of the powerful earthquake – assessed at a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale.

In addition, Maeir stated, the summer’s excavations have uncovered further evidence of the destruction of the city by Hazael, King of Aram Damascus, around 830 BCE, as mentioned in Kings II 12:18, as well as evidence of the first Philistine settlement in Canaan (around 1200 BCE).

The Hazor excavations, known as the Selz Foundation Hazor Excavations in Memory of Yigael Yadin, are under the direction of Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman of the Hebrew University Institute of Archaeology. Previous excavations were directed at the site by the late Prof. Yigael Yadin in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Hazor excavations, sponsored by the Hebrew University and the Israel Exploration Society

For the first time in Israel, the fragments that have now been discovered, written in Akkadian cuneiform script, refer to issues of personal injury law relating to slaves and masters, bring to mind similar laws in the famous Babylonian Hammurabi Code of the 18th century B.C.E. that were found in what is now Iran over 100 years ago. The laws also reflect, to a certain extent, Biblical laws of the type of “a tooth for tooth.”

The Hazor law code fragments are being prepared for publication by a team headed by Prof. Wayne Horowitz of the Hebrew University Institute of Archaeology. Prof. Horowitz stated, “Thus far, words that have been deciphered include “master,” “slave,” and a word referring to bodily parts, apparently the word for “tooth.” The style of the text is similar to that of the Hammurabi Code.

Hammurabi Code Fragment, held by Prof. Horowitz.

Prof. Horowitz stated that this latest discovery opens an interesting avenue for possible further investigation of a connection between Biblical law and the Code of Hammurabi. “At this stage, it is difficult to determine whether this document was actually written at Hazor, where a school for scribes was located, or brought from somewhere else.”

These two fragments are the 18th and 19th cuneiform finds from the Hazor excavations, which now form the largest corpus of documents of cuneiform texts found in Israel. Previous documents dealt with such subjects as the dispatch of people or goods, a legal dispute involving a local woman, and a text of multiplication tables. Prof. Ben-Tor stated, “These tablets point to Hazor’s importance as a major center for administration and scholarship in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages.”

The Hazor excavations, sponsored by the Hebrew University and the Israel Exploration Society, take place within the Hazor National Park. The archaeological team is presently about to begin uncovering a monumental building dating to the Bronze Age, where they expect to recover additional tablets.

A 2,000-year-old gold coin discovered is the first Antonius Pius coin ever found in Israel

Arav, a professor at the University of Nebraska, stated the coin was issued to celebrate Pius’ designation of consul for a second time, which according to historical records took place in the summer of 138 CE.

He noted that Pius’ ascension to consul should have been indicated with an announcement on the flip side of the coin – but instead, the coin shows a portrait of the goddess Pietas – which the chief archaeologist said may have been a rare and valuable misprint. “Somebody in the Roman Imperial mint goofed. It is like having a rare and mistaken silver dollar,” Arav explained.

The coin also supports the theory that Pius embraced the Jewish population in Rome, unlike his father, who brutally oppressed the Jewish revolts. Pius is considered to have been a personal friend of Rabbi Yehudah (Judah) the Prince, creator of the Mishnah.

Bethsaida was founded as a capital of the ancient kingdom of Geshur and was the birthplace of at least three Christian apostles – Peter, Andrew and Philip. The ancient town is located at Park HaYarden, north of Lake Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee. The site, discovered by Arav in 1987, has seen 24 seasons of excavations thus far.

He added that the coin, as well as all the other finds at the Bethsaida dig, remain the property of the State of Israel. “It is part of the heritage of this country,” he said. “Soon after the professional publication of the coin it will go to the Israel Antiquities Authority and I believe that it will be on display in a museum.”

The golden earring was made of two pieces comprised of the head of an unidentified animal, decorated with small gold balls, with gold and silver twisted filigreed strings, soldered together with a gold strap.

Alexis Whitley and her friend, on were clearing away dirt and rocks at the Bethsaida archaeological site in the upper Galilee. Alex spotted the sparkle of a coin as it slipped down. Unaware of its significance, it took a while for Whitley to understand why excavation director Dr. Rami Arav immediately had her pose with the coin as photographers raced to the site.“Not every job that is boring has boring results.”

The tetradrachm, a find which relates to the Persian period (450-330 BCE), dates back to approximately 450 BCE, according to a post on the Bethsaida excavation web site. The small figurine depicting the Egyptian god Pataekos was unearthed from beneath a 10-cm level of sediment of red burnt soil at the dig in 1994. Although most of the blue glazing was faded or peeled away, at the time, “a few deposits under the right arm and under the neck indicate its original turquoise color.”

The Bethsaida Excavation is being carried out by a consortium of 20 universities and colleges worldwide, Arav explained. Among the institutions involved are American, European, Australian and Israeli universities, headed by the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

The next season for the dig is planned for May 22 – June 25, 2011, and is open to volunteers who would like to participate, even for only part of the time. Volunteers and staff are hosted by Kibbutz Ginosar, and food is reportedly kosher, though the specific level of supervision was not discussed. No excavation work is performed on the Sabbath or on Sunday.

A globular cooking pot was also found at the site, one of the most common that exists in the excavation of the Hellenistic-Roman periods in the Land of Israel. The globular pot, equipped with two handles that emerge from the rim and were attached to the shoulders, was a common find at the site.

Professor Richard Freund of the University of Hartford, who Arav described as an ordained rabbi, also oversees the project. The Beit Yigal Allon Museum is located on the kibbutz and is the home of the Bethsaida Excavation Project laboratory and office in Israel.

Other finds over the past years have included a golden earring, an Athenian tetradrachm, a small Egyptian figurine (Pataekos) and common cooking pots.