The Boudicca Parchments

Chapter 69

“The scan is actually clearer than the original manuscript, because we can bring out the contrast more sharply.”

The woman who was addressing Daniel and Ted was Irene Peres. Initially, Daniel had used Leah Yakarin’s name as a contact to try and obtain a viewing of the undeciphered manuscript. But neither that nor the combined reputations of Daniel and Ted had been enough to persuade the man in charge of the antiquities to let them take a look at the manuscript.

“It’s just too delicate,” the professor had explained.

So Daniel had drawn on his network of support. His step-mother’s sister, Irene Peres, was a physical chemist who had worked for the Antiquities Authority until she fell out with them over their handling of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the ensuing discussions, it emerged that Irene was now advising his team. As soon as that became apparent, Daniel put in a call to her and asked if she could use her good offices to smooth the way.

It turned out that Daniel had been right about the latest scientific methods. They could use X-rays generated by a synchrotron both to bring out layers of a palimpsest and to sharpen the top layer, making it fluoresce so that it could be scanned more clearly.

Irene had been first amazed, then sceptical and finally open-minded to Daniel’s thesis about the parchment containing proto-Brythonic text transcribed in the Hebrew alphabet. But none of the more conventional theories fit. So she had taken it upon herself personally to have the scan created and now Daniel and Ted were working from it, Daniel transliterating and Ted translating the fragments of manuscript that they had found

“I told them of my mother’s… victories or triumphs… against the Romans and they were… it could be encouraged or inspired or emboldened… anyway, it’s something positive.”

Nili, a young assistant, was writing it down as Ted spoke. Daniel transliterated the next sentence — or at least the next one that he could read clearly. Even with the enhanced scan, not every word or sentence was visible. Again Ted translated.

“So the people rebelled against the taxes and the false Gods and the… I suppose it could translated as oppression or persecution… and they killed the Romans and the traitors. And the Romans sent an army to weigh down upon them.”

Alex transliterated another few lines and Ted attacked them with gusto.

“Then Simon did wage battle with them. I advised him of things… or matters… I learned from my mother’s fight with the Romans… and… others… or perhaps that should be other men… told him not to… heed or obey… a woman. But he… received — or it could be translated as he accepted — my advice or counsel… and attacked them from behind… and killed many of them. But he did not stay to fight until they were all defeated… he killed the ones who were behind… and then retreated when the others turned on him.”

Ted and Daniel looked at each other.

“Guerrilla warfare,” said Daniel. Ted nodded.

“One of the golden rules in fighting against the well-disciplined army of Rome was never to engage them in a pitched battle. That’s where Caractacus came unstuck. That’s where Boudicca failed. And that seems to be the lesson that her daughter had finally learned.”

“Her daughter?” said Irene, in total surprise.

“If that ketuba I told you about is to be believed.”

“I’ll believe it when I see the original and can test it myself,” said Irene sceptically.

“Well whoever she is,” said Daniel, “she’s a feisty woman who thinks she’s competent to give military advice to a man. And that wasn’t exactly what you’d expect from a Judean woman in those days.”

“How does it go on?” asked Irene, her interest now piqued.

Daniel transliterated the next block of text — recognizing at least one of the names, or at least thinking he did — and then looked at Ted to give him his cue.

“The Romans sent… it could be read literally as ‘greater armies’ but I think the best word is reinforcements. And although Simon inflicted great losses upon them he and his… fellow commander Yochanan of Gush Halav came to Jerusalem.”

“That’s John of Giscala,” said Daniel.

“Oh is it?” asked Ted, surprised.

“Yes. Giscala was the Roman name for Gush Halav, a town in the Galilee.”

“Interesting,” said Ted. Okay, the next bit. But the most powerful of those who were against Rome did not want Simon for a leader, because he was the son of strangers and because he was married to me, also a stranger and because he… received or accepted… my advice on matters of war and they said he was a fool to… receive the counsel of a woman.”

Daniel looked at Irene smugly.

“What?” asked Irene.”

“A stranger… she says so herself.”

“Well given that it’s apparently in proto-Brythonic, I think we could have guessed that much already.”

“Okay but you’re not doubting the authenticity of this document are you?”

“Well obviously not! We’ve carbon dated it and run thermoluminescence on the urn it was found in. The urn dates to 74, plus or minus 25 and the parchment dates to 63, plus or minus fifteen.”

“Well in that case, it would be absurd to accept this parchment and then reject the ketuba from Arbury Banks.”

Irene thought for a moment.

“Maybe some one knew about this one and forged the Arbury Banks ketuba to skew the interpretation of this one.”

“Then they’d’ve had to know exactly what this one said. Do you know anyone who might have been able to do that? They would have had to see the content, read the Hebrew alphabet and be able to translate it from proto-Brythonic. Do you know anyone outside of us as a team who can cover all those bases?”

“No,” said Irene, shaking her head slowly.

“Then I think we should accept that this is the written word of Boudicca’s daughter after she married Simon Bar Giora.”

“Let’s see what other pearls of wisdom we can glean from her,” said Irene. Even when forced to admit that she was in the wrong, she could be sarcastic.

“You’re mixing your metaphors,” said Daniel, before turning back to the manuscript and Ted, to transliterate another block of text, which included the word Masada as well as some other names that he recognized. Ted scribbled enthusiastically while Daniel spoke and then looked down at his notes.

“So he robbed the rich and corrupt. But the priests in Yeru…”

“Yerushalayim, You can translate that as Jerusalem. Yerushalayim is what it’s called in Hebrew.”

“Okay let’s go on… the priests in Jerusalem who were friendly with the Romans sent out men to kill my husband and he knew that he was not safe… because even John of Giscala had… set his face against him for they were rivals for… leadership. So he fled to Masada and took refuge there. But when Hanan the son of Hanan was killed by the men of Yoch — John of Giscala… he came down from Masada and returned to fight against the Romans.”

Daniel was nodding approvingly. All of this was known history to him, albeit from Josephus, whom he regarded as self-serving and not altogether reliable. He scrolled up the image and transliterated another block of text for Ted to transcribe. Ted took a sip of water before proceeding.

“But in the eyes of John, my husband was not an ally but a bitter rival and so he would not let him into the city. So Simon attacked Idum who were the allies of John.”

Ted looked at Daniel, puzzled.

“The Edomites. They were a non-Jewish people, indigenous to a nearby region that straddled what is today the Israel-Jordan border. They were supporters of John of Giscala.”

Ted continued translating.

“Now John was afraid of my husband for he had a great army and with my counsel his wisdom in warfare was… immense. So John learned from the ways that Simon had used against the Romans and he attacked… by… I suppose the best way to translate it would be by speed and trickery.”

“An ambush?” asked Daniel.

“Or guerrilla warfare,” Ted replied. “Anyway, the next bit is quite interesting… at least if I understood it correctly. They captured me and my… now this is an interesting word. It could mean my friends, my extended family, my servants or my household.”

“Entourage?” suggested Daniel.

“Yes that’s a good one word translation. They captured me and my entourage. It doesn’t say anything about Simon himself.”

“They didn’t take him prisoner,” Daniel said.

“Oh. This is known history?”

“By and large yes — the battles and fighting I mean. But not the involvement of Boudicca’s daughter and her marriage to Simon Bar Giora.”

“Let’s do the next bit.”

It followed the familiar pattern of transliteration followed by translation.

“But the Judeans they spared and set free.”

Ted looked at Daniel.

“Is that meant to imply that she and her entourage were targeted because she and her people weren’t Jewish?”

Daniel thought about this.

“I suppose that inference could be drawn. Although the Idumeans — or Edomites — were also not Jewish. Go on. You haven’t translated all of it.”

Ted looked down to read the rest of what Daniel had rendered phonetically.

“But Simon became greatly angered and he unleashed great vengeance upon all that were guilty in his eyes and they set me free and my entourage free.”

The next few lines described the civil war between Bar Giora and the other factions and how — when the Romans were closing in — they tried to escape through the tunnels under the Temple Mount taking a supply of food and using stone cutters and how they ran out of food. But then they came to the interesting part.

“So Simon made me swear that I would stay hidden with the others and flee with my mother’s gold and silver jewels to Masada with Eleazer ben Yair, while he alone, dressed in the robes of a king appeared before the Romans.”

This time it was not Ted that Daniel looked at, but Irene. For they both knew the familiar story of Masada all too well. Eleazer ben Yair led the Judeans in their last stand at Masada when they allegedly committed suicide. But according to this manuscript, however, he had been right there in the tunnels with Bar Giora and Boudicca’s daughter, before escaping to the fortress by the Dead Sea.

But Ted had picked up on something else.

“What’s this about gold and silver jewels?”

Irene shook her head.

“As far as I know, nothing like that was ever found. I mean they found coins proclaiming the Redemption of Zion, which are believed to have been minted on the authority of Bar Giora. And they found costume jewellery made with beads and they found mother-of-pearl and ivory. But no precious stones. And apart from the coins, no precious metals.”

“The reason I ask is because we know Boudicca, and the Iceni in general, did have gold and silver jewellery,” said Ted.

To Daniel, this was no mystery.

“Well presumably if she did take it with her to Masada, that would explain why it hasn’t been found in the Temple Mount salvage project. And presumably if the Romans found it at Masada, they would have looted it.”

“Unless they hid it. But that leads me right back to the same question I asked regarding the Domus Aurea Parchment. Why was this left behind at the scene? Why not take the manuscript with her?”

“Presumably because they were so desperate to get out and they couldn’t take anything that wasn’t necessary. They probably had to lie in wait after Bar Giora made his appearance through the opening the stone masons had cut and play possum until the Roman’s left. Remember, even according to Josephus, Bar Giora hid in the tunnels with others. Yet it only records Bar Giora himself being captured. They presumably had find a way of sneaking out undetected. The manuscript would have been a useless liability.”

Irene remained sceptical.

“And yet they took the jewels! And if the events were so important as to transcribe, you’d think the manuscript would be as valuable to her as the jewels — if not more valuable.”

“Maybe her husband made her swear to leave it behind,” Daniel speculated. “Also, if they were captured by Romans, the jewels could be used to bribe their way out of it. A Roman who captured them with the jewels would have received a reward. But why settle for ten or twenty percent when you can have the whole thing?”

“There is another explanation.”

This was Ted.

“Just because Josephus doesn’t record the others being captured doesn’t mean they survived. Maybe they stayed and waited till it was safe but gave out to hunger. Or possibly the stronger fitter ones escaped and the others died there. I’m not saying that happened, but you can’t assume that because they intended to get out of there, that they succeeded. The manuscript doesn’t record the outcome.”

Daniel had a thought.

“Were any bones found amidst the rubble?”

He was looking at Irene.

“Interestingly, no. But that’s a good question. But one can’t even read too much into that because although the Muslims dug twelve metres down into the southeastern corner of the Temple Mount, it’s quite likely that the subterranean tunnels extended throughout the whole site. We know that there are hidden chambers there, but it’s doubtful that the Waqf will grant you or any other Jew access.”

But Daniel was remembering something he had been told during a recent encounter in Egypt… and he realized that once again he might be able to draw on his extensive network.