Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology

Lived Experience in Ancient Judah

(April 8 - August 27, 2010)

The field of Near Eastern Archaeology has undergone several transformations throughout its 150-year history. In that time the process of archaeology has developed from an amateurish hobby for the wealthy Victorian traveler to a scientific endeavor with systematic excavation and recording of ancient sites and their artifacts. This adoption of more methodical means of investigation was especially pioneered by William F. Badè who believed, "the primary purpose [of excavation] should be the application of a technique that will enable us to unriddle, by the aid of all scientific means and at whatever pains, the meaning of the human materials embedded in the strata."

For Badè and several generations of archaeologists after him, the goals of the archaeological enterprise have been to understand the function and meaning of things like ancient ceramic vessels, arrowheads, and buildings. Only a few have dared to image how these objects and places constituted a real lived experience by ancient peoples.

For example, can we hold a small lamp and consider not only its particular form or utility, but also imagine how warm it feels in the palm of your hand? How you must walk slow so as not to spill the olive oil that serves as the fuel? Or how the dim light barely illuminates your footsteps? In other words, can we move beyond a rigid, scientific approach to understand how life was truly experienced in ancient Judah?

This exhibition represents a meditation on this sensory approach to the archaeological record. It is based on artifacts excavated at the ancient town of Mizpah (modern Tell en-Nasbeh), a 2,500-year-old settlement located in the hill country north of Jerusalem. One way to conceptualize personal lived experience is through narrative, in this case through the voice of Hannah, a teenage girl who is a member of a modestly wealthy household at Mizpah.

The encounters Hannah has as she goes about the business of living in this town, though fictitious, are based directly on archaeological, textual, and ethnoarchaeological evidence. Hannah’s story offers us an opportunity to reflect upon the sights, sounds, tastes, smells—the feelings—of living in this ancient town.

William Frederic Badè: Theologian, Naturalist, and Archaeologist

(April 27, 2009 - Spring 2011)

William Frederic Badè was many things: teacher and scholar, naturalist and outdoorsman, companion and biographer of John Muir, and an archaeologist and excavator. In 1902 Badè came to Berkeley to fill the position of professor of Old Testament Literature and Semitic Languages at the Pacific Theological Seminary (later named the Pacific School of Religion). In the course of his career, Badè published a number of innovative, inspirational, and at times controversial works on the Bible, Palestinian archaeology and its methodology. As literary executor, he made available the unpublished works of his close friend and fellow naturalist John Muir. Furthermore, his many interests took him across the globe to the site of Tell en-Nasbeh in Palestine, where he spent a number of years uncovering the Biblical site of Mizpah.

Thanks to his loving and supportive wife, Elizabeth Badè, William F. Badè’s memory and work have lived on for many years atop Holy Hill at the Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology. This exhibit highlights one of PSR’s premier educators and innovative scholars. The collection of material on display was chosen with the hopes of representing the truly dynamic and multifaceted character of William F. Badè. He was a family man, a dedicated teacher, a loving friend, and an innovative and passionate archaeologist.

This exhibit was made possible by the contributions of the Badè family and Kay Schellhase.

He was easily the most versatile man who has ever been attracted to the field of Palestinian archaeology, and all who came in contact with him fell under the spell of his personal charm. His passing is a great loss to each of the many spheres of life in which he was an outstanding figure.

~W.F. Albright, author of The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible, 1932

Tell en-Nasbeh

(Permanent Display)

This exhibit is the "heart and soul" of the Badè Museum. It displays a wealth of finds from the excavations at Tell en-Nasbeh, Palestine whose objects span from the Early Bronze Age (3100–2200 BC) through the Iron Age (1200–586 BC) and into the Roman and Hellenistic periods.

Highlights of the exhibit include "Tools of the Trade" featuring real archaeological tools used by Badè and his team, an oil lamp typology, a Second Temple period (586 BC–70 AD) limestone ossuary, and a selection of painted Greek pottery.