{"id":4335,"date":"2012-10-31T14:18:45","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T19:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=4335"},"modified":"2024-07-02T13:35:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T13:35:16","slug":"magnessfilm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=4335","title":{"rendered":"UNC archaeologist featured in IMAX film on Jerusalem"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
UNC archaeologist Jodi Magness will be featured in the new IMAX film, \u201cJerusalem.\u201d (photo by George Duffield \u00a9 J3D US LP.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Archaeologist Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will be featured on the big screen \u2014 literally \u2014 in the new IMAX 3-D movie, \u201cJerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in the department of religious studies in UNC\u2019s College of Arts and Sciences. She specializes in early Judaism and the archaeology of Palestine and is an expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow should we approach Jerusalem,\u201d the narrator says as the film trailer<\/a> opens, \u201ca city that for thousands of years has been regarded as the center of the world?\u201d<\/p>\n

The film seeks to highlight the city from different points of view \u2014 Jewish, Christian, Muslim and secular \u2014 said Daniel Ferguson, a producer, writer and the film\u2019s director, who is based in Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIMAX is so experiential and visceral,\u201d said Ferguson, who has visited Jerusalem about 14 times. \u201cPeople will see a side of Jerusalem they could never have seen as tourists or even living in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to explore, \u2018Why is there such global interest in Jerusalem?\u2019 \u2018Why is it key to peace in the region?\u2019 \u2018Why is there so much media attention still devoted to it?\u2019 We wanted to unpack those questions that make it enigmatic to so many different cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film is tentatively scheduled to debut in Boston in summer 2013, a number of museums and science centers throughout North America in fall 2013, and Charlotte in January 2014.<\/p>\n

A passionate expert<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the film Web site<\/a>, Jerusalem has more than 2,000 archaeological sites. Since filming began in 2010, the production team has followed several of the most impressive excavations in and around Jerusalem, documenting the work there as well as the tools used to uncover history.<\/p>\n

Producers first contacted Magness about three years ago. She will be featured in the film and serves as a historical consultant on the script. She has appeared in numerous documentaries on the National Geographic Channel, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, PBS and the BBC.<\/p>\n

Ferguson called Magness \u201ca natural\u201d when it comes to being on camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted someone who could appeal to young people, who was enthusiastic and a good communicator and educator,\u201d he said. \u201cHer passion is infectious; she was perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

A stunning discovery<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Professor Jodi Magness (center) with UNC students (left to right): Brian Coussens, Caroline Carter, Jocelyn Burney, Jonathan Branch, and Kelly Gagnon, with Huqoq mosaic. Photo by Jim Haberman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In summer 2012, Magness was continuing archaeological excavations at Huqoq in Israel\u2019s Galilee. There UNC students and students from partner universities uncovered a beautiful mosaic<\/a> floor decorating a monumental, late Roman-Byzantine synagogue building (ca. 4th<\/sup> to 6th centuries C.E). The mosaic contains a Hebrew or Aramaic inscription flanked by female faces, and a scene depicting Samson and the foxes (an episode described in Judges 15:4).<\/p>\n

Jocelyn Burney, a UNC junior archaeology and religious studies major, had a chance to participate in the Huqoq dig. She was there when the discovery<\/a>, which was covered by international media, was made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t expect to find such big mosaic pieces of such high quality,\u201d said Burney, who was digging at the village site, about 100 feet away from the synagogue site. \u201cThis is very extraordinary. I remember the moment and thinking it was absolutely incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lights, camera, action<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because of timing issues, producers were not able to film at the Huqoq dig. But they did film a lot of amazing material, Magness said, including shots of her and students touring Hezekiah\u2019s Tunnel<\/a>, an ancient Biblical water system that still has water flowing through it.<\/p>\n

At 1,750 feet long, Hezekiah\u2019s Tunnel carried water from the Gihon Spring outside the city walls to the residents of the city in the event of a siege by an invading army.<\/p>\n

James Heilpern, one of Magness\u2019 students who graduated in May 2012 and is now a law student at Brigham Young University, participated in the filming at Hezekiah\u2019s Tunnel, along with his wife, Kindra.<\/p>\n

When you visit any historical landmark, you get that feeling that something important happened there, Heilpern said, but Jerusalem is particularly special.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnywhere you stand, anywhere in that city, you know that not just one important thing has happened, but dozens of things. You are standing on a piece of land that may be the most valuable piece of real estate in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cOver the last two years, I\u2019ve developed fabulous relationships with both Israelis and Palestinians. \u2026 It has been a significant experience in my life to not only experience those sites as a Christian, but to experience the religious sites of other faiths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jerusalem is considered a \u201cno-fly zone,\u201d so producers had to work for many months to negotiate with various Israeli ministries, military, police and counter-terrorism officials to shoot aerial shots of the city. Ferguson said it\u2019s the first time in about 20 years that an aerial camera has been allowed so close to the city\u2019s holy sites.<\/p>\n

Love of archaeology<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the questions Magness was asked during the filming was how she got interested in archaeology. She\u2019s been a budding archaeologist since age 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in seventh grade, I was finding fossils of shells at Girl Scout camp, and I had a good world history teacher,\u201d she said. \u201cI fell in love with ancient Greece. Ever since then, (the discovery of) that ancient classical world, I have wanted to be an archaeologist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents kept hoping it was another phase I was going through,\u201d she added, laughing. \u201cNow they\u2019re OK with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonathan Hess, professor and director of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, said Magness is one of the most popular teachers in the College of Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnown as an extraordinary teacher and mentor, Jodi is one of those Carolina faculty members who truly touches students \u2014 from students in her large lecture courses to graduate students whose Ph.D. work she supervises,\u201d Hess said.<\/p>\n

Magness will discuss the Huqoq mosaic discovery at a Carolina Center for Jewish Studies free public talk Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m.at UNC\u2019s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education.<\/p>\n

Magness said it\u2019s easy to share her passion for archaeology with her students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love what I do, and I\u2019m lucky to be able to do that for my job,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really interesting time and place in the world to study. … \u00a0It\u2019s at the heart of a liberal arts education \u2014 when you expose students to all kinds of different things they might not have known about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up for updates on the film Web site<\/a> or Facebook<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

Jerusalem By The Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n