Public tours at an exhibition portraying the events of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel—as seen through the eyes of archaeologists—will open in Jerusalem next week.
This is the first time that the involvement of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the Swords of Iron war will be presented to the public, starting on Aug. 6.
In the wake of the war, the official body found itself operating in the scene of modern destruction, using its arsenal of archaeological tools and experts to decipher the ravaged scenes in the western Negev.
“Professionals who developed their skills and tools to engage in interpreting ancient archaeology found themselves digging amongst the rubble of just-destroyed houses, and through their unique expertise were able to see and identify the scant human remains, and thus restored their faces, names and memory,” said project director Leora Berry.
Researchers operated in ravaged kibbutzim, burned houses, charred roads and cars, and the open-air Supernova music festival site, the IAA noted.
Bereaved families were afforded closure thanks to the work of the archaeologists, who, in cooperation with the army, managed to identify the remains of 16 missing persons.
Cherished personal objects were found that helped to reveal the fate of the victims. For example, Stav Miles has regained jewelry that her late mother, Yona Fricker, had made—and which Miles will wear on her wedding day, according to the IAA.
The family of Shani Gabay also received definitive evidence about her fate, after her necklace with a pendant was discovered, at the spot where she was now understood to have been murdered.
IAA Director Eli Escusido said, “We deliberately chose to open the ‘Rising from the Ashes’ exhibition precisely around this period when the nation of Israel marks the fast of Tisha B’Av—the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, the day of the destruction of both the First and Second Temples—which corresponds to and reflects the savage destruction suffered by the ‘Gaza Envelope’ communities in our own time.”
He went on to remark, “It is our duty as the Israel Antiquities Authority to preserve, document, and ensure the survival of the memory of the most difficult episodes in our history, from which we must grow and learn. The Jewish people have always known how to rise from pain, even after the most severe destruction.”
The IAA, in cooperation with the Ministry of Heritage and the Tekuma Directorate, has also established a national documentation project that reproduces the “Gaza Envelope” destruction sites.
For this purpose, the project created 3D models, or “digital twins,” using modern and extensive technologies originally developed to document and present major ancient archaeological sites.
“The ‘Gaza Envelope’ documentation project ensures that the horrors of Oct. 7 will remain engraved in our collective memory, and that the evidence will never be lost,” even as the region recovers and revives, the IAA announced.
The multi-layered use of audio-visual media, narration and live visual presentation enables visitors to experience the story not only as a testimony, but as a personal and collective journey of documentation and memory, according to the IAA.
The Alejandro Weinstein Crenovich Exhibition, “Rising from the Ashes: Archaeology in a National Crisis,” will be on display at the IAA’s Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, located between the Israel Museum and the Bible Lands Museum in the country’s capital.
The exhibition is not intended for children and is open only to groups of adults. Each tour is accompanied by professional, sensitive guidance.
