Prelude

On January 24, as a birthday present to myself, and accompanied by Adele, I went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit for the second time. The exhibit is at the Discovery Center, a converted theater in Times Square.
The artifacts on exhibit have been provided by the Israel Antiquities Authority and comprise First Temple items as well as the more common Second Temple period pieces. The earliest items are from about 1,000 BCE, the time of the establishment of David's Kingship. There is a monumental lintel from a gateway and some altars from the North as well as small statuettes. The items on view are of great interest but I could not help mentally comparing the intrinsic "art" of the objects to artifacts from Egypt. In the year 1000 BC, the pyramids were already 1,500 years old. The year 1000 BCE was towards the end of the New Kingdom . Hundreds of years earlier truly sophisticated sculptures were created in the Amarna period and in and by  the tombs near Luxor.

First hand reports will follow in the coming days. I am all packed and ready to go on Saturday night.