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INTERVIEW WITH SIMCHA JACOBOVICI
The short answer is that like “The Naked Chef” with food, we serve our product free of the bull...that usually accompanies archaeology. The fact is that archaeology is not a science. It’s a body of knowledge that encompasses both facts and speculations. But what has happened is that since its inception some hundred years ago, archaeology has managed to put up a wall of academic jargon between ourselves and some of the founding stories of Western Civilization. “The Naked Archaeologist” is the people’s archaeologist. It’s a forum for series that are credible but not mainstream, and it allows me to play the kid who pointed out to the Emperor that he had no clothes on.
The Torah is the Hebrew name for the first 5 books of the Christian Bible. So basically what I’m focusing on is Biblical archaeology, meaning, what Christians call the “Old Testament” and Jews call the “Torah” or “Tanach” as well as what Christians call the “New Testament”. To the degree that the Old and New Testament form part of the Q’aran, I’m also dealing with that. But Mohammed is 7th century. He’s out of the Biblical period. From an archaeological point of view, this is fairly recent. So, at least in the first two seasons, I’m trying to stick to the first century and earlier. Our format has basically been to look at stories such as Sampson and Delilah or the crucifixion, and examine its archaeological and historical foundations. I think that these are the stories that have been the cornerstone of Western Civilization and there’s a “wow” in people’s minds when they realize that these are not fairytales but actual history.
That’s a matter of debate. The so called Biblical “minimalists” say that. It all comes down to when you date certain monumental structures found in Israel. The argument goes that if David was a big shot, there would be monumental buildings in his time. Whenever they find a monumental building, the “minimalists” favour late dates. The archaeology doesn’t support them. One of the Naked Archaeologist episodes is on this issue. I think King David was a big shot. Otherwise, we wouldn’t still be talking about him.
Archaeology is allowing us to come face to face with our history. At the same time, it affords us the possibility of separating fact from fiction. This can be both an exhilarating and disturbing process. The important thing is to be open and rational as opposed to dogmatic and close minded. Unfortunately, there’s too much of the latter going around. For example, many Biblical scholars see it as their professional duty to debunk Biblical tales, even if the evidence corroborates the Biblical story. If you look at some of the exchanges in, say, a magazine such as Biblical Archaeology Review, what you see is precious little scientific debate and lots of personal attacks. We have to get past this. That’s where The Naked Archaeologist comes in. We have to get past the jargon and to the history. When that happens, we can have physical contact with the past, which in turn can be more exciting than any Da Vinci Code.
Every program does at least three things: first, start with a story everyone knows e.g., the crucifixion. Second, look for the hard archaeology behind the story. Third, have fun along the journey. What else would one want to watch? You get to explore a story that matters to millions of people, you get to see evidence rarely examined and along the way you get to watch me rapping and harassing people on the street. My kids think it’s the best show on television.
Many professors use The Naked Archaeologist as a teaching tool but some get their undies tied in a knot. The fact is that the academic world usually ignores filmmakers, but in my case even my detractors have taken the time to make fun of me. That’s a compliment. After the personal attacks die down, what’s left is a re-examination of the facts. For example, the history of the alphabet fits beautifully with the Biblical Exodus. But, so far, the connection has been largely ignored by the scholars. By putting this issue on the agenda it might lead to a re-think.
How many other hosts find Biblical cows, resurrect a 2,000 year old recipe, and carry a hockey stick to an archaeological site? 8.
How have your past experiences prepared you to tackle the daunting questions you
explore on the show?
The Western world. After all, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hellenism are the cornerstones of Western Civilization and we poke around the archaeology that gave rise to all of them.
I’m a busy guy but I’m very blessed. I get to live the life that Hollywood fantasizes. I poke around tombs, catacombs, castles, and temples. What more can a guy want? I guess I’m on location for about 4 months of the year.
Every day brings the possibility of a new find. Also, there are so many old finds that are hiding in plain sight gathering dust in the corner of some museum. Often, it’s a matter of connecting dots and suddenly what appeared as a piece of ancient gold jewelry turns out to be a gold image of the Lost Ark of the Covenant carved by an eyewitness to the Biblical Exodus.
Last year, we focused on Israel. This year we’ve already gone to Italy and we have even more surprises coming up.
I think we located the lost treasure of the Temple of Jerusalem. OK, maybe we didn’t find it. But we’re getting close. By the way, we just finished shooting at a Middle East Stonehenge on the Golan Heights. Incredible! |
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