Pithom

Light iron-age reading
The Bible

Gabbin' with God

* Old / New Testament
* Apocrypha
* Annotated Bible

Analysis

* Biblical literalism
* Firmament
* The Brick Testament

Woo

* Stigmata
* Acharya S
* Ezekiel's wheel

Figures

* Noah
* Mary Magdalene
* Asherah

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Pithom is a city mentioned in Exodus 1:11.

Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

Since the birth of professional archaeology, several attempts have been made to locate the city, none of which have stood up to scrutiny. A site favoured by some of the more extreme Biblical literalists today is Tell Maskhuta.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Location and recent history
* 2 Ramesside statues
* 3 Bricks without straw
* 4 A young ancient city
* 5 References

## Location and recent history[edit]

The site is located in the eastern delta, circa 15km WSW of Ismailia, Egypt, immediately adjacent to the Benha-Zagazig-Ismailia mainline, north of the Nile valley-Suez motorway. An airbase sits opposite the site. Charming little place.[2]

Tell Maskhuta was first studied in detail from 1882 by Henri Édouard Naville on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Society of London, and it was he who first identified the city with Pithom.[3] Flinders Petrie, also working for the EES, investigated the site just over 20 years later and reached the same conclusion.[4] Both men were regarded as some of the most competent archaeologists of their time, but were operating under severe restrictions. At this time the EES received a considerable amount of its funding from religiously-motivated sponsors who were interested in Biblical archaeology, and the resulting publications reflected this backing.[5]

## Ramesside statues[edit]

At the time of the EES work, Ramesses II was believed by Christians to be the "Pharaoh of the Exodus", and Ramesside statue elements were recovered from the site, inscribed with the city name pr-itm, which was quickly etymologically liked with the Biblical Pithom. Alas, from Pharaonic times right through to the 19th century CE, the sheer quantity of Ramesseside statuary made it prudent for cost-conscious megalomaniacs to ship old Ramesside monuments from abandoned cities to their own for instant, low cost glamour, and these were no exception. The statues were indeed Ramesside, but the context they were found in wasn't. After all, if we go by monumental remains, Alexandria was adorned with obelisks by Thutmose III. They were simply recarved statues.

## Bricks without straw[edit]

Literalist Christians get very excited when discussing the mud-bricks made without straw found at Tell Maskhuta. However, firstly the structure in question undoubtedly dates to the Roman period.[4] Secondly, mud-brick without straw, while not common, was by no means unknown in Egypt. The ingredients used in Egyptian brick manufacture varied greatly according to local conditions.[6]

## A young ancient city[edit]

Tell Maskhuta is a young site by Egyptological standards. The earliest layer of urban development at the city dates from the Saite Period (26th Dynasty) of the 7-6th centuries BCE.[4] Recent excavations suggest the site was developed by Necho II as a harbour and administrative centre for the Nile-Red Sea canal he was constructing, and served in broadly this role through to the Coptic/Roman period.[4]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Sarna, Nahum M. (1996) Exploring Exodus: The Origins of Biblical Israel, Knopf Doubleday Publishing. ISBN 0805210636.
2. ↑ At least it's easy to get to, if 3rd class stopping trains are your thing
3. ↑ Naville, E (1887), The Store City of Pithom and the Route of the Exodus, Egypt Exploration Fund, London
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 MacDonald, B (1980), Excavations at Tell el-Maskhuta, The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 43 No. 1, p49-58 (on JSTOR)
5. ↑ Spencer, P (2009), The Egypt Exploration Society, Ancient Egypt, Vol. 9 No. 4
6. ↑ Nims, C (1950), Bricks Without Straw?, The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 13 No. 2, p.22-28 (on JSTOR)

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Articles about the Bible

Old Testament: |  Goliath • Tamar • Tower of Babel • Abel • Joseph (Old Testament) • Firmament • Baal • Noah • Isaac • Ishmael • Amalekites • Curse of Ham • Jacob • Sodom and Gomorrah • Ezekiel's wheel • Lot • Nephilim • G'Tach • Joseph was Imhotep • Moses • Global flood • Cain • Gibeah • Abraham • Old Testament • Incubus and succubus myths • King David • Serpent seed doctrine • Leviathan • Messiah • Mark of Cain • Asherah • Nimrod • Sirach • Jezebel • Adam and Eve • Moloch • Book of Joel • Garden of Eden • Satan • List of actions prohibited by the Bible •
| Torah: |  Torah • Book of Exodus • Book of Genesis • Book of Leviticus • Book of Numbers • Book of Zechariah • Book of Deuteronomy •
| Old Testament History: |  Book of Esther • Book of Ezra • Book of Judges • Book of Ruth • Books of Chronicles • Books of Kings • Books of Samuel • Book of Joshua •
| Old Testament Wisdom: |  Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon • Book of Job • Book of Proverbs • Book of Psalms •
| Major and Minor Prophets: |  Book of Daniel • Book of Ezekiel • Book of Isaiah • Book of Lamentations • Book of Jeremiah •
New Testament: |  Mary Magdalene • New Testament • Mary (mother of Jesus) • Joseph of Arimathea • Paul of Tarsus • Good Samaritan • Authorship of the New Testament • Magi • John the Baptist • Principalities and powers • Joseph (husband of Mary) • Nag Hammadi library • Messiah • Jesus • Gospel of Barnabas • Peter the Apostle • Pontius Pilate • Judas Iscariot • Book of Revelation •
| Gospels and Acts: |  Acts of the Apostles • Gospels • Q gospel • Gospel of John • Gospel of Mark • Gospel of Luke • Gospel of Matthew •
| Pauline Epistles: |  Corinthians • Galatians • Ephesians • Colossians • Epistle to the Philippians • Epistle to Philemon • Epistle to the Romans • Epistle to Titus • First Epistle to the Thessalonians • Second Epistle to the Thessalonians • Second Epistle to Timothy • First Epistle to Timothy •
| General Epistles: |  Epistle of Jude • Epistle of James • Epistle to the Hebrews • First Epistle of John • First Epistle of Peter • Second Epistle of John • Second Epistle of Peter • Third Epistle of John •
Bible analysis: |  Apocalyptic literature • Authorship of the New Testament • Bible interpolation • Biblical sexism • Bibliolatry • Documentary hypothesis • Evidence for the Exodus • Gospels • Horizontal reading • King James Only • Pesher • Q gospel • Septuagint • Skeptic's Annotated Bible • Ten Commandments • Torah • Bible translation • Word of God • Biblical literalism • Biblical contradictions • List of mistakes made by God • Abomination • Firmament • G'Tach • Arsenokoites • Genealogy of Jesus • Nag Hammadi library • Noah's Ark • Annotated Bible • Slavery in the Bible • Examples of God personally killing people • Herod • The Brick Testament • Evidence against a recent creation • EvilBible.com • List of actions prohibited by the Bible • Biblical scientific errors •
| Bible translations: |  Cockney Bible • Douay-Rheims • Jefferson Bible • King James Only • Septuagint • Vetus Latina • Bible translation • Annotated Bible •
| Apocrypha: |  Didache • Apocrypha • Nag Hammadi library • Book of Judith • 2 Maccabees • 3 Maccabees • 4 Maccabees • Books of Enoch • Books of the Maccabees • Gospel of Judas • Gospel of Mary • Gospel of Philip • Gospel of Thomas • Infancy Gospel of James • Infancy Gospel of Thomas • 1 Maccabees •
Biblical figures: |  Abel • Cain • Ishmael • Jacob • Joseph of Arimathea • Joseph (Old Testament) • Mary (mother of Jesus) • Noah • Paul of Tarsus • Mary Magdalene • Lot • Goliath • Nephilim • Moses • YHWH • Amalekites • Baal • King David • Joseph (husband of Mary) • God • Jesus • Asherah • Nimrod • Habakkuk • Adam and Eve • Herod • Pontius Pilate • Jezebel • Tamar • Judas Iscariot • Satan •
Bible woo: |  Jesus diet • Name it and claim it • Snake handling • Speaking in tongues • Spiritual warfare • The Bible Code • Gematria • Stigmata • Biblical longevity • Hanzi of Genesis • Dr. Bronner's Soap • Presidential Prayer Team • Trinity Broadcasting Network • Zecharia Sitchin • James Ussher • Creation Week • Zion Oil and Gas • The Drama of the Lost Disciples • Roman Piso • Jose Luis de Jesús • Prayer • Black Hebrew Israelites • Jonathan Otto • Benny Hinn • Presents Of God Ministry • Solfeggio frequencies • Ken Ham • Harold Camping • Institute for Creation Research • Steve Quayle • Kabbalah Center • Acharya S • Christian Identity • Peter J. Peters • Ezekiel's wheel • Creation Research • Biblical scientific foreknowledge • British Israelism •
| Scientific foreknowledge: |  Gaps between Science and the Bible • Scientific Facts in the Bible: 100 Reasons to Believe the Bible is Supernatural in Origin • Science Confirms the Bible • Eternal Productions: 101 Scientific Facts and Foreknowledge • Modern Science in the Bible • Biblical scientific foreknowledge •