Comments on: Tel Rehov Reveals the First Beehives in Ancient Near East

By: Alice C. Linsley

Alice C. Linsley — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 11:26:06 +0000

“Cultic objects were also found in the apiary, including a four-horned altar adorned with figures of naked fertility goddesses, as well as an elaborately painted chalice. This could be evidence of deviant cultic practices by the ancient Israelites related to the production of honey and beeswax.”

The four-horned altar is the bull’s horns cradling a negative image of the Sun. This is the old Egyptian/Nubian cosmogony. Why assume that the naked female figures are fertility goddesses? These people used the bee as an image for that. The women represent the feminine principle – that of giving birth.

By: Alice C. Linsley

Alice C. Linsley — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:35:41 +0000

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) were venerated, not worshipped, in ancient Egypt where they were regarded as the tears of the god Ra whose emblem was the Sun.

By: Rupert Chapman

Rupert Chapman — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:32:39 +0000

You do have to be careful when reading articles like this – the excavation is not directed by Amihai Mazar AND Eleazar L. Sukenik, but by Amihai Mazar, who is the Eleazar L. Sukenik Professor of Archaeology in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Professor Sukenik, after whom the Chair currently held by Professor Mazar, died in 1953.

By: Derek Whitman

Derek Whitman — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:52:00 +0000

I was on the 2005 Tel Rehov dig during which the cylinders were uncovered; it’s interesting to find out what they actually were. Some of us on the dig initially thought the cylinders were vessels for water or olive oil, not hives. A specialist had taken samples from inside the cylinders, but the field school was soon over and I left Israel never finding out what they were…until I stumbled upon this article today. It surprises me that it took until September of 07 to get these findings out to the public.

By: Better Photo of the 3,000 year old Israeli Beehives « Anthropology.net

Better Photo of the 3,000 year old Israeli Beehives « Anthropology.net — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:23:33 +0000

[...] way of Neatorama, comes this much better photograph of the 3,000 year old beehives I posted about earlier this week. This photograph appeared in a MSNBC news article on the [...]

By: Ancient Beehive Worshiped? « Mikeyz’s Weblog

Ancient Beehive Worshiped? « Mikeyz’s Weblog — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:43:00 +0000

[...] weblog, there was a 3,000 year old bee hive discovered in a valley Israel. According to Anthropology.net, this bee hive may have been worshiped a long time ago. According to the article there were bits [...]

By: Ancient Honeymen « Dracona’s Weblog

Ancient Honeymen « Dracona’s Weblog — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 07:25:26 +0000

[...] worshiped. Cnn.com casually glimpses over how small religious figures were found near the hives. Anthropology.net does mention the possibility of religion, but abhors even discussing it and giving credence to [...]

By: A New Study of Pig DNA Clarifies Farming Pre-History « Anthropology.net

A New Study of Pig DNA Clarifies Farming Pre-History « Anthropology.net — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 05:41:21 +0000

[...] Links Tel Rehov Reveals the First Beehives in Ancient Near East [...]

By: TerryT

TerryT — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 05:25:54 +0000

I liked the bit,

“This could be evidence of deviant cultic practices by the ancient Israelites.”

How shocking! I thought it was generally accepted that the Godess Asherah was widely worshipped in the region at the time and that the biblical record gives us a revised version of the situation from the period?