http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/06/10/archbishopric-of-cyprus-criticizes-the-biblical-archaeology-society-for-arriving-at-the-occupied-area/
My personal comment on the article above
The team of archaeologists mentioned in the article of the link above run an expedition on Biblical Cyprus and chose to visit the Northern area that is currently occupied by the Turks, thus recognizing and approving Turkish occupation and atrocities! Greek-Cypriot reaction followed as natural. However, those semi-literates and pseudo-scholars ignored it as they also ignore the Bible itself since they disregard its historicity but still call themselves biblical archaeologists! By the same token, they ignore Greek history and Greek archaeology, though they selectively study New Testament Greek as the only element of the Greek background of the Biblical world they study. It's not an accident that many mainstream biblical archaeologists, such as the late William Allbright:
1) believe that modern Greeks have nothing to do with ancient Greeks. That's why it is important to understand ethnoarchaeology, ethnography & social/cultural anthropology and speak both ancient and modern languages. One who comes in touch with Greek people and understands their land, their language and their culture, he or she discovers the biological, historical, linguistic, and cultural continuity of these people despite the change in their religion or some changes in the language;
2) the biblical archaeologists mentioned in the article of the above link believe that Cyprus is not Greek, but Turkish. However, the Turks came down from Mongolia and Central Asia to Asia Minor only much later and Cyprus was always and still is Greek since prehistory based on continuous solid archaeological, historical, biological, linguistic and ethnographic evidence);
3) they ignore Greek Orthodox Christianity that comes directly from the ancient church and is linked to the Greek component of biblical studies closer than any other Christian faction or church;
4) they believe that 90% of biblical archaeology should be purely Jewish archaeology. Those who have read the Bible know that it mentions numerous nations, some of them still existing, such as the Greeks and vast lands all over the Mediterranean. The 8 major biblical lands are Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Asia Minor (today's Turkey), Greece, Cyprus, and Italy. It's common sense that when you excavate you never know what you will find and it doesn't necessarily mean that what you find is related to biblical archaeology or any type of archaeology you specialize in. According to the Law of Superposition, the upper layers reveal more recent finds and the lower reveal older finds, unless there is a geological anomaly or irregular formation in the soil. In the biblical lands, you may find Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Persian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, Ottoman, Arabic, Byzantine, medieval, and early modern structures and artifacts of many different nations, some of them deposited by the natives and others may be imported. They overlook the historical fact that the fate of many of the artifacts is profoundly affected by the Knights Templar and other orders, historical figures and events of the Middle Ages and in particular, the Crusades. Some of those artifacts may not be ever unearthed from the holy lands for the simple reason that may have been taken already to various places all of Europe! However, this possibility is always viewed by the academia with skepticism and treated as conspiracy theories, though the numerous historical sources. The vast majority of biblical archaeologists all they know is theology, Jewish archaeology, Near Eastern & Mesopotamian Archaeology and Egyptology. Allbright's Zionist statement that the only biblical and ancient nation that still exist in the modern times is the Jews is a blatant lie that shows how profoundly his mind and academic work were effected by ideology and propaganda.
5) they even believe Allbright's belief that...40% of today's nations are of Jewish descent and other Zionist ideas that have nothing to do with true Christianity. Paul said that in Christianity there is neither Jew nor Greek and that we all are equal in Christ.
Finally, 6) They also agree with Israel Finkelstein's line that the Book of Genesis and all early Old Testament books are not historical, though it is now obviously crystal clear after all these archaeological digs that the historical and geographical information of those books are quite pragmatic, accurate and match the archaeological record. Some of them hold degrees of theology, ministry or biblical studies and some of them are even ministers or pastors! (By the way, it's not an accident that Finkelstein's book "Unearthing the Bible" is used by many fanatic atheists and neopagans who are obsessed with attacking not only Judaism, but especially Christianity. One can be a Zionist and also be an atheist or a neopagan at the same time. Zionism is purely secular, atheistic and political). The irony or the paradox is they call Zionists those who believe in the historicity of the Bible, though the real Zionists and anti-scientific propagandists are actually themselves! Many of these people hold degrees in theology and some of them they are even pastors or ministers! The same "academics" who disrespected the Greek state of Cyprus and recognized Turkish tyranny and illegal occupation of Northern Cyprus are those who never believed that Steven Collins discovered Sodom at Tall el-Hammam and instead, they believe Allbright's claim that the actual site is...underneath the Dead Sea for the simple reason that Allbright, "the father of biblical archaeology" said so, though nothing was ever found there! As Steven Collins has truthfully said, if you go today to Israel and ask for permit from its government to run an excavation project there and you are sincere enough to clearly state in your proposal that the scope of the project is to find a city or an artifact mentioned in any of the early books of the Bible, especially Genesis, your proposal will be rejected immediately no matter what. However, if you just go a miles further and cross the borders of Jordan and ask for a permit to excavation in Jordan, they will grant it to you with no second thought! A Muslim country supports the book of Genesis and the Bible in general and Israel doesn't! That is because, some of the biblical information is also found in Koran and Muslims respect their sacred book, unlike many Jews and Christians who disrespect their own sacred book the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament or "Tanak" in Hebrew)...
Those biblical archaeologists mentioned in the article, may answer "but the only reason we passed from Turkey to Northern Cyprus occupied by the Turks is because it was closer and spared us money and time". However, they should be aware of the politics and respect the natives of the island. They should follow the brilliant example of Dr. Steven Collins who is one of the very few archaeologists who has done post-doctoral fellowships in international law & politics and theology & international law and is sensitive to those issues. The 6 points mentioned above make up the message that these people passed to the world by this action. And those who know these people and are familiar with their work and their lectures know that all 6 points mentioned above apply to most of them and most of the above 6 points apply to all of them. It's time for biblical archaeologists to learn more about the overall history and geography of the lands they explore, not just Palestine, and not just prehistory and the ancient world, and it's time for them to study more classics (including Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies), not just New Greek Testament! That's the only way to avoid future blunders like the one they just committed in the case of Cyprus (read the linked article for more information).
