Location: Ramat Rachel - Jerusalem On a hill overlooking the cities of Jerusalem & Bethlehem
Elements: Creative Preservation elements : Spiral Viewpoint, Hypothetical Ruins, Conservation : Israelite Iron age courtyard & casemate wall, Byzantine monastery, Roman Villa & columbarium cave, second temple period Mikveh, Zionist water tower, path system, safety installations, signs
Project History:
1996-8 - preliminary research & planning, Jerusalem , Rome
1998-9 - construction of the Spiral Viewpoint
2000 -1 - final approval, archaeological excavations, paths, safety installations, conservation works
2001- 2 - 'Hypothetical Ruins', courtyard of the citade explanatory signs, western slope walkway, opening
Key Meanings: Creative Preservation, integration of archaeological excavations, conservation & creative elements, immaterial values of places, Hypothetical Ruins, irretrievable cycles of being.
Artist Statement: In a constantly transforming society in which consciousness is assailed by media created information, ideas and images, one may sense the crucial role of historical places in the attempt to maintain a sense of rootedness and of collective memory.creative Preservation' , seemingly a self contradictory term, is proposed as an artistic approach to contemporary questions of conservation. Dedicated to immaterial values of places such as their complex history, symbolic significance and ambiance, creative preservation attempts to communicate with hidden layers in the realities of ancient places, while maintaining a vibrant quality that will make them directly accessible to people today .
“Hypothetical Façade” – at the supposed location of the central building in the royal palace. Replicas of a Protoaeolic capital found in situ (on exhibition at the Israel Museum) and Ashlar stones collected around the site.
Yigal Shiloh suggests that most of the capitals uncovered at Ramat Rachel (10 in number) were placed as indicated in the graphic reconstruction of the palace in Samaria.
The Iron Age Israelite Palace Above : replica of a protoaeolic capital. Righ : ‘Woman in the window' ivory tablet from Nimrud and the window balustrade found at Ramat Rachel
Royal “LMLK” Hebrew seal impressions from the Israelite period (Stratum Vb, 8-7 cent. BCE)
“Woman at the Window”. Ivory tablet from Nimrud, Mesopotamia. The window balustrade depicted on the tablet resembles the one found at Ramat Rachel (below)
Decorated sherd from the Israelite period. Paolo Matthiae suggests that the painted figure may portray a seated king, possibly the king of Judea.
