Dr Leen Ritmeyer er arkeologisk arkitekt med bibelsk arkeologi som spesialitet. The Bible illustration blog har gjort eit interessant intervju med han.
Her er eit utdrag:
Leen, you’re job title is ‘Archaeological Architect specializing in Biblical Archaeology’. In layman’s terms, what exactly does an archaeological architect do?
The work I have done for a long time now, is reconstructing ancient sites. I have done this with pen and ink on paper or as a painting, by designing and building models and also by actually building up ancient sites to show some of their former glory. Before making any reconstruction, one first has to make plans, elevations and sections of the site. One also needs to do a survey of all the fallen or destroyed remains which are no longer ‘in situ’, i.e. in their original location. It is also important to study any available ancient sources and study comparative architectural styles.
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Out of all the archaeological sites that you’ve worked on, which Biblical site has excited you the most?
Undoubtedly the Temple Mount. It was, as it were, love at first sight. I knew the Bible well, since I began reading it carefully in Israel in 1967 and the sacred buildings, such as the Tabernacle and the Temples built by Solomon and Herod, always intrigued me. It was a privilege to have worked there for so many years and to get to know the building details intimately.
(…)
You mentioned to me that part of your work in Israel was to reconstruct actual Biblical buildings. Can you tell us something about the buildings that you’ve worked on?
Yes, I have (partially) reconstructed a Crusader church, a Byzantine colonnaded street, namely the Cardo in Jerusalem, Herodian villas, one of which may have been the palace of Annas the High Priest, who, with his son-in-law Caiphas, condemned Jesus to death, and other buildings, such as monasteries and agricultural installations. The most complete reconstruction was a section of the Cardo, where we assembled complete columns with their capitals and a wooden roof construction on top. Usually, however, the work involved building up walls and doorways a few feet to help visitors with spatial orientation and the repair of floors and approach roads. Special care needs to be taken not to reconstruct anything one is not hundred percent certain of. (…)
Les heile intervjuet her.
Sjå også Dr Leen Ritmeyer’s blog og nettsida Ritmeyer Archaeological Design.
