The fall of Zion and the revelation of the law

Abstract

Did the Egyptians Die in a Storm? F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman have argued that Exodus 15,1–19 presents a version of the crossing of the Reed Sea in which the Israelites are pursued by the Egyptians across a storm‐tossed sea in boats, instead of across the dry seabed with the waters in walls on either side. The central argument hinges on the meaning of qp’ and nd (v 8) in the light of comparative philology; however, careful application of comparative philology does not support their thesis.     

Brachiopods of the Yarralumla Formation (Ludlovian), Canberra,Australia

The Yarralumla Formation of Canberra has been considered the stratigraphic equivalent of the earliest Ludlovian Yass Formation of the Yass Syncline north of Canberra. The previously unpublished brachiopod fauna of the Yarralumla Formation is fully described; comparison with that of the Yass Formation confirms approximate age equivalence. Of the eleven species, none of which is new, eight also occur in or a little above the Yass Formation.     

Eoshumardia (Trilobita,Cambrian), a junior synonym of Koldinioidia

Well-preserved internal and external moulds of a shumardiid species are described from the late Furongian (Late Cambrian) “Fengshan Formation” at Poben, Napo, southwestern Guangxi, which is close to the type locality of Shumardia orientalis, the type species of Eoshumardia. All features observed on the internal moulds indicate that the new material is definitely S. orientalis, whereas the morphology of the external moulds indicates that S. orientalis should be referred to Koldinioidia. The change of generic assignment of the type species means that Eoshumardia is a junior synonym of Koldinioidia.     

Potassium-argon ages of schist honestones from the viking age sites at Kaupang (Norway), Aggersborg (Denmark), Hedeby (West Germany) and Wolin (Poland), and their archaeological implications

Viking age honestones from four large sites in northern Europe have been made from two different types of quartz-muscovite schist: one dark grey, very fine-grained schist, and a light grey, fine-grained schist. In order to determine the provenance of these schist hones, KAr ages have been determined on 16 selected representative hones. The dark grey schist hones yield Caledonian ages of 403–446 Ma. and consideration of petrographic evidence leads to the conclusion that the hones were quarried in the Caledonian area (presumably) of Western Norway. The light grey schist hones are Precambrian, with KAr ages of 931–946 Ma, and are presumed to originate from Telemark, South Norway. The amount and homogeneity of these honestone groups from different parts of the Viking world indicates the existence of large quarries, and demonstrates that production and trade were more wide-ranging than had hitherto been assumed.