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Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Massive Biblical battle unearthed as previously unexplored 'Area X' begins to give up its secrets
Previously unexplored 'Area X' unearths new evidence that Josiah, the last great king of Judah, fell at the hands of the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II thousands of years ago Archaeologists have unearthed "incredible" artefacts that suggest a Biblical king was vanquished by a formidable Egyptian army millennia ago. The team of researchers has found remarkable evidence pointing to the defeat of a renowned Biblical monarch by an extensive Egyptian force, as indicated by remnants of Egyptian pottery in the Levant region. Recent findings support the theory that Josiah, Judah's last significant king, met his demise at the hands of Pharaoh Necho II. The fateful battle took place in Megiddo in 609 BCE, casting a shadow over the future of the kingdom of Judah and setting the stage for Armageddon – the prophesied location of the apocalypse in Christian belief. It wasn't until March this year that tangible archaeological proof came to light, with the discovery of a unique collection of ceramics in present-day Israel. Excavations in the ancient city of Megiddo revealed pottery associated with Necho's forces. Among the finds were substantial quantities of Egyptian and Greek pottery, as detailed by Professor Israel Finkelstein from Haifa University, who has led the Megiddo excavations for years, alongside Dr Assaf Kleiman from Ben-Gurion University, reports the Mirror US. In two papers published in January and February in the Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament, Kleiman, Finkelstein, and their colleagues discuss their discoveries. They propose that the debris is indicative of Necho's Egyptian troops' presence, potentially including Greek mercenaries as part of the contingent. Around the 10th-9th century BCE, Megiddo was part of the Kingdom of Israel, though there's ongoing debate about whether Megiddo and other territories were earlier part of the so-called David and Solomon and whether the united Israelite monarchy described by the Bible ever truly existed. What we do know is that for at least two centuries, Megiddo was a significant hub. Around 732 BCE, Megiddo was captured and the Israelite capital of Samaria fell shortly after. Renamed Magiddu, it became the capital of a new Assyrian province in the Levant. Years after the fall of the northern kingdom, Assyria faced pressure from emerging powers in Mesopotamia and Iran, namely the Babylonians and the Medes. Around 630 BCE, the Assyrians abandoned Megiddo. In 609 BCE, under Necho's leadership, Egypt marched into the Levant to aid the failing city. In Jerusalem, Josiah had been on the throne for 31 years before he was defeated by Necho at Megiddo. The Book of Kings leaves it unclear why Necho killed Josiah. The Book of Chronicles suggests that Josiah had tried to block Necho's advance and that the ensuing battle was a disastrous affair during which the Judahite king was killed. The bulk of ancient Megiddo was excavated during the 1920s by a University of Chicago expedition, which dug up and carted away most of the upper strata to reach the earlier versions of the settlement beneath. However, one section in the northwest corner of the site, dubbed 'Area X', remained largely undisturbed. It was in this spot that Finklestein's team discovered a stone-paved courtyard area. According to the ceramic evidence, the structure dates back to the mid-seventh century BCE. The discoveries included fragments from local pottery vessels, including traditional cooking pots, alongside serving dishes showing Mesopotamian influence. "Scholars believed Megiddo completely changed socially, that the ratio of the local population was very low or non-existent, but we show it must have been higher than what was previously believed," Kleiman says. "There must have been a significant component of Levantine population in Megiddo at the time, and we see this, for example, in the cooking pots, which are very important cultural and social indicators. The pots we found tell us the population at the site cooked like their parents and grandparents, in the same local traditions." The most significant discovery was the abundance of Egyptian pottery in Area X. "When we opened the boxes of finds from the dig at my lab in Ben-Gurion University, I told my students to put the Egyptian pottery on the tables, and table after table got filled," Kleiman revealed. "The number of Egyptian vessels is double or even triple the amount found in the entire Levant for that period. This is not decorated fine tableware, so it's very hard to argue that someone at Megiddo, a deportee or a surviving Israelite, all of a sudden acquired a taste for sub-par Egyptian pottery and decided to import it into his house."
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bible bombshell as previously unexplored area unearths evidence of huge battle
Archaeologists have unearthed "incredible" evidence suggesting a Biblical king was toppled by a vast Egyptian army millennia ago. The team of researchers has stumbled upon remarkable evidence that a massive Egyptian force overcame one of the legendary Biblical kings, with the discovery of Egyptian pottery remnants confirming the presence of Egyptians in the Levant. Recent findings point to Josiah, the last significant monarch of Judah, being vanquished by the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II. The demise of Josiah at Megiddo in 609 BCE posed a dire threat to the broader realm of Judah. These events unfolded at the site of Megiddo – also known as Armageddon, which is synonymous with apocalyptic prophecies in Christianity. No archaeological proof had been found until March this year when a peculiar assortment of ceramic pieces was found in present-day Israel. At the historic site of Megiddo, artefacts were discovered that are associated with Necho's forces, reports the Mirror US. This haul included an unexpected quantity of Egyptian and Greek pottery, as noted by Professor Israel Finkelstein from Haifa University – who has long led the Megiddo excavations – and Dr Assaf Kleiman from Ben-Gurion University. Kleiman and Finkelstein, along with their colleagues, delve into their discoveries in two articles released in January and February in the Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament. They argue that the refuse left behind serves as proof of Necho's Egyptian troops being there, potentially alongside Greek mercenaries. Around the 10th-9th century BCE, Megiddo was part of the Kingdom of Israel - however, there is debate over whether Megiddo and other territories were earlier part of the so-called David and Solomon and whether the united Israelite monarchy described by the Bible ever actually existed. A mosaic was found on the floor of what is thought to be an old Christian church is Megiddo (Image: Getty Images) What we do know is that Megiddo was a significant hub for at least two centuries. Around 732 BCE, Megiddo was captured and the Israelite capital of Samaria fell a few years later. Megiddo, now known as Magiddu, became the capital of a new Assyrian province in the Levant. Years after the fall of the northern kingdom, Assyria was under pressure from rising powers in Mesopotamia and Iran, namely the Babylonians and the Medes. Around 630 BCE, the Assyrians abandoned Megiddo. In 609 BCE, Egypt, under Necho's leadership, marched into the Levant to aid the failing city. In Jerusalem, Josiah had been on the throne for 31 years before he was defeated by Necho at Megiddo. It remains unclear why Necho killed Josiah according to the Book of Kings. The Book of Chronicles suggests that Josiah had attempted to block Necho's advance and that the ensuing battle was a disastrous affair during which the Judahite king was killed. The bulk of ancient Megiddo was dug up during the 1920s by a University of Chicago expedition, which stripped away and carted off most of the upper strata to reach the earlier versions of the settlement beneath. However, a largely undisturbed section in the northwest corner of the site, dubbed 'Area X', remained intact. It was in this spot that Finklestein's team discovered a stone-paved courtyard area. Judging by the pottery discoveries, the structure was built in the mid-seventh century BCE. The discoveries included fragments from local ceramic vessels, including traditional cooking pots, alongside serving dishes showing Mesopotamian influences. "Scholars believed Megiddo completely changed socially, that the ratio of the local population was very low or non-existent, but we show it must have been higher than what was previously believed," Kleiman says. "There must have been a significant component of Levantine population in Megiddo at the time, and we see this, for example, in the cooking pots, which are very important cultural and social indicators. The pots we found tell us the population at the site cooked like their parents and grandparents, in the same local traditions." The most significant discovery was a collection of pottery in Area X, predominantly of Egyptian origin. "When we opened the boxes of finds from the dig at my lab in Ben-Gurion University, I told my students to put the Egyptian pottery on the tables, and table after table got filled," recounted Kleiman. "The number of Egyptian vessels is double or even triple the amount found in the entire Levant for that period. This is not decorated fine tableware, so it's very hard to argue that someone at Megiddo, a deportee or a surviving Israelite, all of a sudden acquired a taste for sub-par Egyptian pottery and decided to import it into his house." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
From deadly rave to recovery: Israeli study examines MDMA's effect on trauma
Artillery fire echoed from nearby Gaza as Shye Klein-Weinstein slowly walked around a memorial honouring the nearly 400 people killed at the Nova music festival in Reim, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. The 28-year-old photographer and survivor of Hamas's attack recalled names and events from that fateful day -- some of which he captured on film, documenting the final moments of his fellow revellers. Klein-Weinstein, an immigrant from Canada who had arrived in Israel just four months prior to the attack, also recalled another detail from the festival: taking ecstasy. While still visibly shaken by the horrific experience, early findings from a study by researchers at Israel's Haifa University suggest that the MDMA Klein-Weinstein and others at the festival took that night may have been helpful in cushioning the impact of the trauma they endured. "I came to the Nova with my cousin and several friends... It was my first music festival ever," Klein-Weinstein told AFP. They "each took a half or a quarter pill of ecstasy", he said, going on to describe the unfolding chaos and his frantic escape. - New findings - The Haifa University study, which monitored 657 Nova survivors -- both those who took drugs and those who did not -- found in initial results that individuals under the influence of MDMA exhibited "significantly improved intermediate outcomes compared to those who were under the influence of other substances or no substances at all". The study, which was recently accepted for publication in the World Psychiatry journal, noted that "the MDMA group reported increased feelings of social support, more social interactions and enhanced quality of sleep" after the event, "yielding reduced levels of mental distress and reduced PTSD symptom severity". "That is a very unique finding -- it was never reported before, because it was never studied before, because it never happened before," said Roee Admon, one of the study's lead researchers. Admon explained that while trauma research is well established, the attack on a gathering like the Nova festival has opened a new window into the effects of trauma under the influence of mind-altering substances. "We don't know anything about the response to trauma when people, during the attack or traumatic event, are under the influence of specific substances like cannabis, alcohol, and psychedelics like LSD and MDMA," he said, adding that such a mass trauma event, where around 4,000 people were exposed to the same elements at the same time, is rare. "I would feel like if something like that happened to me, I would want to be as much in control as possible, clean from any foreign influences or substances," said Admon. "But that's not what we found, and that's why it was very surprising." Still, Admon was quick to caution that while MDMA may have offered a psychological buffer, the overall levels of PTSD among Nova survivors remained extremely high. He also noted that the study was limited by "survivor bias", as researchers cannot learn from those killed in the attack. - 'Love drug' - At the Nova memorial, Klein-Weinstein said he is still struggling with trauma and has been undergoing therapy. Still, he believes the MDMA he took that night may have eased his symptoms somewhat. But, he added, he did not want people to think MDMA "saved us or protected us... I don't know anybody who didn't die because they were on MDMA. They were just as vulnerable as anyone else, and we were all in the same situation." Still, he continued, ecstasy is "known as the love drug. It makes you just want to hug your friends and dance and laugh and smile." "When everything was happening, I noticed that I wasn't really afraid for myself," he recalled. "The only concern I had was that I wouldn't be able to help my friends or that something would happen to them, and I would be totally useless, unable to do anything -- that was a terrible feeling, not being in control." Vered Atzmon-Meshulam, a psychologist specialising in trauma and head of the Resilience Division at the rescue and recovery organisation ZAKA, told AFP she was not surprised by the study because previous research has suggested MDMA could help treat post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2023, Australia became the first country to legalise the use of MDMA to treat PTSD. "This research is very important for continuing to develop tailored responses for extreme trauma," Atzmon-Meshulam said. "We must move forward to the next phase, which includes treatments that use psychedelics for healing in a true and widespread manner, not just for the people who were at Nova, but many others who suffer from post-trauma." reg/jd/smw/sco
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Party drug MDMA may have protected survivors of Nova attack from trauma, study suggests
As dawn approached on the morning of 7 October 2023, many of the partygoers at the Nova music festival near Gaza's border took illegal recreational drugs like MDMA or LSD. Hundreds of them were high when, shortly after sunrise, Hamas gunmen attacked the site. Now neuroscientists working with survivors from the festival say there are early signs that MDMA - also known as ecstasy or molly - may have provided some psychological protection against trauma. The preliminary results, currently being peer-reviewed with a view to publication in the coming months, suggest that the drug is associated with more positive mental states - both during the event and in the months afterwards. The study, carried out by scientists at Israel's Haifa University, could contribute to a growing scientific interest in how MDMA might be used to treat psychological trauma. It is thought to be the first time scientists have been able to study a mass trauma event where large numbers of people were under the influence of mind-altering drugs. Hamas gunmen killed 360 people and kidnapped dozens more at the festival site where 3,500 people had been partying. "We had people hiding under the bodies of their friends for hours while on LSD or MDMA," said Prof Roy Salomon, one of those leading the research. "There's talk that a lot of these substances create plasticity in the brain, so the brain is more open to change. But what happens if you endure this plasticity in such a terrible situation - is it going to be worse, or better?" The research tracked the psychological responses of more than 650 survivors from the festival. Two-thirds of these were under the influence of recreational drugs including MDMA, LSD, marijuana or psilocybin - the compound found in hallucinogenic mushrooms - before the attacks took place. "MDMA, and especially MDMA that was not mixed with anything else, was the most protective," the study has found, according to Prof Salomon. He said those on MDMA during the attack appeared to cope much better mentally in the first five months afterwards, when a lot of processing takes place. "They were sleeping better, had less mental distress - they were doing better than people who didn't take any substance," he said. The team believes pro-social hormones triggered by the drug - such as oxytocin, which helps promote bonding - helped reduce fear and boost feelings of camaraderie between those fleeing the attack. And even more importantly, they say, it appears to have left survivors more open to receiving love and support from their families and friends once they were home. Clearly, the research is limited only to those who survived the attacks, making it hard to determine with any certainty whether specific drugs helped or hindered victims' chances of escape. But researchers found that many survivors, like Michal Ohana, firmly believe it did play a role - and say that belief, in itself, may help them to recover from the event. "I feel like it saved my life, because I was so high, like I'm not in the real world," she told me. "Because regular humans can't see all these things - it's not normal." Without the drug, she believes she would have just frozen or collapsed to the floor, and been killed or captured by the gunmen. Clinicians in various countries have already experimented with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a trial setting - though only Australia has approved it as a treatment. Countries that have rejected it include the US, where the Food and Drug Administration cited concerns about the design of the studies, that the treatment may not offer long-lasting benefits, and about the potential risk for heart problems, injury and abuse. MDMA is classified as a Class A drug in the UK, and has been linked to liver, kidney and heart problems. In Israel, where MDMA is also illegal, psychologists can only use it to treat clients on an experimental research basis. The preliminary findings from the Nova study are being closely followed by some of those Israeli clinicians experimenting with MDMA as treatment for PTSD after 7 October. Dr Anna Harwood-Gross, a clinical psychologist and director of research at Israel's Metiv Psychotrauma Centre, described the initial findings as "really important" for therapists like her. She is currently experimenting with using MDMA to treat PTSD within the Israeli military, and had worried about the ethics of inducing a vulnerable psychological state in clients when there is a war going on. "At the beginning of the war, we questioned whether we were able to do this," she said. "Can we give people MDMA when there's a risk of an air raid siren? That's going to re-traumatise them potentially. This study has shown us that even if there's a traumatic event during therapy, the MDMA might also help process that trauma." Dr Harwood-Gross says early indications of therapeutic MDMA use are encouraging, even among military veterans with chronic PTSD. It has also upended old assumptions about the "rules" of therapy - especially the length of sessions, which have to be adjusted when working with clients under the influence of MDMA, she says. "For example, it's changed our thoughts about 50-minute therapy sessions, with one patient and one therapist," Dr Harwood-Gross told me. "Having two therapists, and long sessions - up to eight hours long - is a new way of doing therapy. They're looking at people very holistically and giving them time." She says this new longer format is showing promising results, even without patients taking MDMA, with a success rate of 40% in the placebo group. Israeli society itself has also changed its approach to trauma and therapy following the 7 October attacks, according to Danny Brom, a founding director of the METIV Psychotrauma Centre at Herzog Hospital in Jerusalem, and a senior figure in the industry. "It's as if this is the first trauma we're going through," he said. "I've seen wars here, I've seen lots of terrorist attacks and people said, 'We don't see trauma here'. "Suddenly, there seems to be a general opinion that now everyone is traumatised, and everyone needs treatment. It's a wrong approach." What broke, he said, is the sense of security many Jews believed Israel would provide them. These attacks uncovered a collective trauma, he says, linked to the Holocaust and generations of persecution. "Our history is full of massacres," psychologist Vered Atzmon Meshulam told me. "As a psychologist now in Israel, we are faced with an opportunity to work with lots of traumas that weren't previously being treated, like all our narratives for 2,000 years." Collective trauma, combat trauma, mind-altering drugs, sexual assault, hostages, survivors, body-collectors, the injured and the bereaved - Israel's trauma specialists are facing a complex cocktail of issues from the clients now flooding into therapy. The scale of that mental health challenge is mirrored in Gaza, where vast numbers of people have been killed, injured or left homeless after a devastating 15-month war - and where there are scant resources to help a deeply traumatised population. The war in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas attacks on Israeli communities in October 2023, was suspended in January in a six-week truce, during which Israeli hostages held by Hamas were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. But there is little sense on either side that the peace and security needed to begin healing has arrived. The truce expired last weekend, with 59 Israeli hostages still in Hamas captivity. Many Gazans are waiting, with their bags packed, for war to resume. Meanwhile Nova survivor Michal Ohana says she feels that with the passage of time, some are expecting her to have moved on from the attacks, but she is still affected. "I wake up with this, and I go to sleep with this, and people don't understand," she told me. "We live this every day. I feel the country supported us in the first months, but now after one year, they feel: 'OK, you need to go back to work, back to life.' But we can't." Additional reporting by Oren Rosenfeld and Naomi Scherbel-Ball
BBC News
07-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
MDMA may have protected Nova attack survivors from trauma, study suggests
As dawn approached on the morning of 7 October 2023, many of the partygoers at the Nova music festival near Gaza's border took illegal recreational drugs like MDMA or of them were high when, shortly after sunrise, Hamas gunmen attacked the neuroscientists working with survivors from the festival say there are early signs that MDMA - also known as ecstasy or molly - may have provided some psychological protection against preliminary results, currently being peer-reviewed with a view to publication in the coming months, suggest that the drug is associated with more positive mental states - both during the event and in the months study, carried out by scientists at Israel's Haifa University, could contribute to a growing scientific interest in how MDMA might be used to treat psychological is thought to be the first time scientists have been able to study a mass trauma event where large numbers of people were under the influence of mind-altering gunmen killed 360 people and kidnapped dozens more at the festival site where 3,500 people had been partying."We had people hiding under the bodies of their friends for hours while on LSD or MDMA," said Prof Roy Salomon, one of those leading the research."There's talk that a lot of these substances create plasticity in the brain, so the brain is more open to change. But what happens if you endure this plasticity in such a terrible situation - is it going to be worse, or better?" The research tracked the psychological responses of more than 650 survivors from the festival. Two-thirds of these were under the influence of recreational drugs including MDMA, LSD, marijuana or psilocybin - the compound found in hallucinogenic mushrooms - before the attacks took place."MDMA, and especially MDMA that was not mixed with anything else, was the most protective," the study has found, according to Prof said those on MDMA during the attack appeared to cope much better mentally in the first five months afterwards, when a lot of processing takes place."They were sleeping better, had less mental distress - they were doing better than people who didn't take any substance," he team believes pro-social hormones triggered by the drug - such as oxytocin, which helps promote bonding - helped reduce fear and boost feelings of camaraderie between those fleeing the even more importantly, they say, it appears to have left survivors more open to receiving love and support from their families and friends once they were the research is limited only to those who survived the attacks, making it hard to determine with any certainty whether specific drugs helped or hindered victims' chances of researchers found that many survivors, like Michal Ohana, firmly believe it did play a role - and say that belief, in itself, may help them to recover from the event."I feel like it saved my life, because I was so high, like I'm not in the real world," she told me. "Because regular humans can't see all these things - it's not normal."Without the drug, she believes she would have just frozen or collapsed to the floor, and been killed or captured by the gunmen. Clinicians in various countries have already experimented with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a trial setting - though only Australia has approved it as a that have rejected it include the US, where the Food and Drug Administration cited concerns about the design of the studies, that the treatment may not offer long-lasting benefits, and about the potential risk for heart problems, injury and is classified as a Class A drug in the UK, and has been linked to liver, kidney and heart Israel, where MDMA is also illegal, psychologists can only use it to treat clients on an experimental research preliminary findings from the Nova study are being closely followed by some of those Israeli clinicians experimenting with MDMA as treatment for PTSD after 7 Anna Harwood-Gross, a clinical psychologist and director of research at Israel's Metiv Psychotrauma Centre, described the initial findings as "really important" for therapists like is currently experimenting with using MDMA to treat PTSD within the Israeli military, and had worried about the ethics of inducing a vulnerable psychological state in clients when there is a war going on."At the beginning of the war, we questioned whether we were able to do this," she said. "Can we give people MDMA when there's a risk of an air raid siren? That's going to re-traumatise them potentially. This study has shown us that even if there's a traumatic event during therapy, the MDMA might also help process that trauma." Dr Harwood-Gross says early indications of therapeutic MDMA use are encouraging, even among military veterans with chronic has also upended old assumptions about the "rules" of therapy - especially the length of sessions, which have to be adjusted when working with clients under the influence of MDMA, she says."For example, it's changed our thoughts about 50-minute therapy sessions, with one patient and one therapist," Dr Harwood-Gross told me. "Having two therapists, and long sessions - up to eight hours long - is a new way of doing therapy. They're looking at people very holistically and giving them time."She says this new longer format is showing promising results, even without patients taking MDMA, with a success rate of 40% in the placebo society itself has also changed its approach to trauma and therapy following the 7 October attacks, according to Danny Brom, a founding director of the METIV Psychotrauma Centre at Herzog Hospital in Jerusalem, and a senior figure in the industry."It's as if this is the first trauma we're going through," he said. "I've seen wars here, I've seen lots of terrorist attacks and people said, 'We don't see trauma here'. "Suddenly, there seems to be a general opinion that now everyone is traumatised, and everyone needs treatment. It's a wrong approach."What broke, he said, is the sense of security many Jews believed Israel would provide them. These attacks uncovered a collective trauma, he says, linked to the Holocaust and generations of persecution. "Our history is full of massacres," psychologist Vered Atzmon Meshulam told me. "As a psychologist now in Israel, we are faced with an opportunity to work with lots of traumas that weren't previously being treated, like all our narratives for 2,000 years."Collective trauma, combat trauma, mind-altering drugs, sexual assault, hostages, survivors, body-collectors, the injured and the bereaved - Israel's trauma specialists are facing a complex cocktail of issues from the clients now flooding into scale of that mental health challenge is mirrored in Gaza, where vast numbers of people have been killed, injured or left homeless after a devastating 15-month war - and where there are scant resources to help a deeply traumatised war in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas attacks on Israeli communities in October 2023, was suspended in January in a six-week truce, during which Israeli hostages held by Hamas were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli there is little sense on either side that the peace and security needed to begin healing has truce expired last weekend, with 59 Israeli hostages still in Hamas captivity. Many Gazans are waiting, with their bags packed, for war to Nova survivor Michal Ohana says she feels that with the passage of time, some are expecting her to have moved on from the attacks, but she is still affected."I wake up with this, and I go to sleep with this, and people don't understand," she told me. "We live this every day. I feel the country supported us in the first months, but now after one year, they feel: 'OK, you need to go back to work, back to life.' But we can't." Additional reporting by Oren Rosenfeld and Naomi Scherbel-Ball
