RE: The Tel Dan Inscription
January 21, 2012 at 1:17 am
(This post was last modified: January 21, 2012 at 1:22 am by Minimalist.)
Actually Just, as I recall, Bibracte is an active archaeological site and some evidence of a fight has been found. Of course, Caesar was perfectly willing to lie to inflate the numbers of enemies he destroyed - he was a politician after all - and archaeology cannot be expected to support exaggerations.
But, then again, there is no sign on the siege ramp at Masada which says "Built by Legio X under T. Flavius Silva" either....but the remains of the ramp are still there. Somebody built it.
Archaeology can give us a big picture only. Was there a city? Was it destroyed? Is there evidence of fighting or might it have been an earthquake? Texts can give us human motives but, as you noted, people lie too.
But, then again, there is no sign on the siege ramp at Masada which says "Built by Legio X under T. Flavius Silva" either....but the remains of the ramp are still there. Somebody built it.
Archaeology can give us a big picture only. Was there a city? Was it destroyed? Is there evidence of fighting or might it have been an earthquake? Texts can give us human motives but, as you noted, people lie too.
