Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Archaeology and the 1948 War
- 2 Abandoned places, new places
- 3 Foreign aid
- 4 Frozen funds
- 5 A battalion of guards
- 6 Relief work
- 7 Man robs his land: “agreement” with General Dayan
- 8 “Gold of Ophir for Beth-Horon”: 3,000 shekels
- 9 The building beyond the border: the PAM, 1948–67
- 10 A building of dreams: a home for the IDAM and the origins of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- 11 A dead man on the council: the story of the supreme archaeological body in Israel
- 12 “But trust comes from the heart”: travels with the Government Tourist Corporation
- 13 “Whether in a courtyard of a synagogue, in a courtyard adjacent to a synagogue, or under a synagogue”: the Safad affair
- 14 The policy of salvage and early Israeli excavations
- 15 Myths and conclusions
- Appendix: other documents from the IDAM files
- Bibliography
- Author index
- Index
5 - A battalion of guards
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Archaeology and the 1948 War
- 2 Abandoned places, new places
- 3 Foreign aid
- 4 Frozen funds
- 5 A battalion of guards
- 6 Relief work
- 7 Man robs his land: “agreement” with General Dayan
- 8 “Gold of Ophir for Beth-Horon”: 3,000 shekels
- 9 The building beyond the border: the PAM, 1948–67
- 10 A building of dreams: a home for the IDAM and the origins of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- 11 A dead man on the council: the story of the supreme archaeological body in Israel
- 12 “But trust comes from the heart”: travels with the Government Tourist Corporation
- 13 “Whether in a courtyard of a synagogue, in a courtyard adjacent to a synagogue, or under a synagogue”: the Safad affair
- 14 The policy of salvage and early Israeli excavations
- 15 Myths and conclusions
- Appendix: other documents from the IDAM files
- Bibliography
- Author index
- Index
Summary
When will the stern fine “who goes there”
Meet me again in midnight air?
And the gruff sentry's kindness, when
Will kindness have such power again?
Edmund Blunden (“The Watchers”, 1930)On 27 December 1948 Yeivin wrote to the head of the Public Works Administration. The bitter experience of the previous months, and especially the case of Megiddo, had shown him that without taking action it would be impossible to prevent sites and monuments being damaged and collections being robbed by soldiers. He and Pat, the army officer responsible for liaison with the public, devised a plan:
The IDAM will prepare a detailed list of 40–50 places that need guarding against damage and destruction, and special armed guards will be nominated, a kind of Notrim (Geffirs) battalion, as existed formerly in Mandatory times. They will be placed under the local army or police commander, according to need, and will act under the order of the IDAM. These Notrim will be responsible for guarding the monuments or collections, or any other property under their supervision.
(GL1342/22 no. 1)Yeivin suggested a budget of 3,000 Lira per month for 50 guards, shared by four ministries: Public Works, Defence, Religious Affairs and Foreign Affairs. A meeting was arranged with Kahana (the Ministry of Religious Affairs); Dr Mordechai Ettinger (later Etter) (General Secretary for Interior Affairs at the Ministry of Transport), Yeivin and Ben-Dor (GL1342/22, 17.1.49).
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- Information
- Just Past?The Making of Israeli Archaeology, pp. 117 - 132Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2006