Exile - A Myth Unearthed (BBC Version)

It has been depicted in artwork and lamented in poetry and prayer for nearly
2,000 years: the exile of the Jewish people from their homeland in the first
century AD, following the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.



But what if the exile never happened?



That is the central, provocative question of Exile: A Myth
Unearthed, a documentary that looks at the exile through the
lenses of archaeology, history, myth and religion, asking what it means for
our understanding of history and the contemporary struggle over land in the
Middle East.



Since 1985, teams of archaeologists have been painstakingly unearthing
artifacts from the ancient town of Sepphoris, in Galilee. Their findings are
revolutionizing our knowledge of Jewish history.



Exile travels from Sepphoris to Masada, from
Jerusalem to the catacombs of Rome, and features interviews with leading
historians and archaeologists. Throughout the film we also follow a group of
tourists visiting sites in the Holy Land and hear the traditional
interpretation of events such as the siege of Masada—an interpretation which
stands in sharp contrast to recent evidence.



The issues raised in Exile are of more than
passing historical interest. The myth of exile is an essential narrative in
Middle Eastern and European history, and of critical importance to both
Christian and Jewish theology. And the possibility that many Jews, such as
those of Sepphoris, simply remained where they lived, raises uncomfortable
questions. Could some Palestinians actually be their descendants?