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Conference taveng::bagels

Title:BAGELS and other things of Jewish interest
Notice:1.0 policy, 280.0 directory, 32.0 registration
Moderator:SMURF::FENSTER
Created:Mon Feb 03 1986
Last Modified:Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1524
Total number of notes:18709

1430.0. "Oldest Jewish cemetery in U.S.A." by TAV02::CHAIM (Semper ubi Sub ubi .....) Thu Sep 29 1994 09:14

During Succoth I got into a discussion with a person who was in Israel
visisting for the Chagim. 

He mentioned to me that the oldes known Jewish cemetery in the U.S.A. was
discoverd somewhere in the mid West. Evidently during excavations in supposedly
rockless ground, the tractors hit some stone. They discovered some 40-50
rectangular stones which had "strange" writing and were obviously grave stones.
At first the assumption was that this was an Indian burial ground, but the
writing was later identified to be "old Hebrew". Further excavations uncovered
skeletons and coins dating as far back as Bar Kochva.

To me this was a revelation. Has anyone ever seen this documented etc.

Thanks,

Cb.
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
1430.1InterestingMSBCS::MSD623::GlicklerSheldon (Shelly) 293-5026Thu Sep 29 1994 16:052
Very interesting (and news to me).  As far as I knew the one at Newport, 
RI (along with the still active synagogue) were the oldest in the USA.
1430.2VERY interesting ...TAV02::CHAIMSemper ubi Sub ubi .....Thu Sep 29 1994 16:1912
>                                -< Interesting >-
>
>Very interesting (and news to me).  As far as I knew the one at Newport, 
>RI (along with the still active synagogue) were the oldest in the USA.
> 

It was news to me as well. That's why I would like to know if this guy was for
real or was just feeding me a lot of *********.

Thanks,

Cb.
1430.3Could this be it?MROA::SNIDERMANThu Sep 29 1994 19:0242
              <<< CALDEC::USER2:[NOTES$LIBRARY]ANTIQUITY.NOTE;4 >>>
                                 -< ANTIQUITY >-
================================================================================
Note 165.51                Judaism and Biblical Israel                  51 of 82
VERGA::KLAES "Slaves to the Metal Hordes"            35 lines   8-JUL-1992 10:08
                     -< Pre-Columbian Jews in Tennessee? >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article: 2857
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish,sci.archaeology
From: [email protected] (seth.r.rosenthal)
Subject: Pre-Columbian Jews?
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1992 13:48:13 GMT
 
I found this in Tuesday's New York Times.
 
Extracted, from the middle of an article called "Case for Other Pre-
Columbian Voyagers" by John Noble Wilford. 
 
"If the Japaneses found their way to the Zuni, could Jewish refugees
from the Roman Empire have made it to the eastern mountains of
Tennessee in the second century?  At least that is the meaning a few
researchers  read in an inscribed stone found a century ago with nine
skeletons in a burial mound at Bat Creek in Tennessee. 
 
For years the inscription was interpreted as a message in Cherokee.
When Dr. Cyrus Gordon, retired professor of Mediterranean studies at
Brandeis University had a look, he decided the engraving was actually
in Hebrew and similar to writings found on Hebrew coins of the first
and second centuries.  Carbon dating shows the burial took place
between the years 32 and 769. 
 
At the conference, Dr. J. Huston McCulloch and economist at Ohio State
University who has beome a leading exponent of the Jewish connection
to Bat Creek, defended the stone's antiquity and the Jewish
interpretation against recent attacks by professional anthropologists.
He discounted the possibility of a hoax." 
 
Kind of makes you want to say Hmmmm....
 
	Seth Rosenthal

1430.4Very lost tribeMCCOVY::RABBI::LIFLANDThu Sep 29 1994 22:3417
>>> At first the assumption was that this was an Indian burial ground, 
>>> but the writing was later identified to be "old Hebrew". 

	Could the Cherokee be one of the lost tribes. If so then we should
	claim ourselves a miniority (in the US) and open up a Casino in 
	Sharon Ma (where we make up the majority of the Town).

	--- Just kidding --- %<)


	On a Serious note, could those stones (tablets) have brought over
	and buried by a jewish group (read sect) many years ago. If it is
	old Hebrew writing the key may be in what they say.



				morDECai
1430.5REGENT::BROOMHEADDon&#039;t panic -- yet.Fri Sep 30 1994 18:519
    The Bat Creek stone was the subject of a set of articles in
    "Archaeology" magazine within the past year or so.  (Since it made
    the cover, it will be easy to figure out which issue is the right
    one.)
    
    My opinion is that it is a fake -- and not just because the discoverer
    had previously produced fake artifacts.
    
    							Ann B.