European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Is Firgo. A amp a i Ger Yaj a n i p Roma vow amp in a a a a a a Yin a a ,.v i. Vvt1�?Tjpc-vc?4fc Vav s a a Kov it a Friday july 27, 1990 c a the stars and stripes a a Page 9 Harvard archaeologist Laurence Stager shows the 4 Inch High Golden calf figurine and the vase it was in when his team found it in Israel. At left is a closeup of the figurine. A Askelon Israel apr archaeologists excavating an ancient fortress City have discovered a figurine they believe is the precursor to the biblical Golden calf that enraged Moses when he descended from mount Sinai. Quot there have been discoveries of similar figurines but they Date 300 years later and were bulls not calves Quot he said  the Bible specifically Speaks of Bull tradition when they betrayed Moses by worshipping a Pagan deity in his absence. A hebrews came out of the canaanite Milieu a said Urence e. Stager a Harvard University archaeologist. A this figurine shows the calf was a religious object in the area centuries before  Stager who is in charge of the dig where the figure was found said in an interview wednesday that it was discovered june 26. He and his colleagues have been trying to Date the figurine and establish its significance. The team has concluded the Bronze and Silver figurine 4vi inches High and 4l/i inches Long dates from the 16th Century ., Stager said. It was discovered almost entirely intact with a shattered pottery vessel in the remains of a Pagan Temple adjoining the Gate of the ancient canaanite port City of Askelon. The area is about 35 Miles South of Modem Tel Aviv. The calf parts were cast separately and riveted together by Metal pins. Stager said the legs Are made of Silver and the body of Bronze. The statue was most probably burnished to look Golden he said. Stager said the calf was the first of its kind to be discovered. Mihai Mazar a hebrew University archaeologist involved in the earlier discovery of a 12th-Century  Bull in Israel said he also believed stagers discovery was the earliest such figure found in Israel. Mazar said he thought stagers distinction Between calf and Bull was difficult to prove. But he said that the theory of a canaanite cult of calf or Bull worshippers seemed to be  worship of calf figures is bitterly condemned throughout the Bible by the israelite god Yahweh and various hebrew prophets and judges. Stager said this opposition was aimed at differentiating the hebrews from other Peoples in the ancient holy land. A to separate yourself from your cousins you need barriers Quot Stager explained. The Best known reference to the practice of Bull calf worship is related in exodus 32 1-6. After fleeing into the desert from Egypt the people of Israel fashion a Golden calf in despair at the delay in Moses return from receiving the ten commandments from god on mount Sinai. Moses ordered by Yahweh to return and right his Peoples sin descent is from the Mountain a and As soon As he came near the Camp and saw the calf. His anger burned hot and he threw the tablets. And broke them at the foot of the Mountain Quot Stager said it was unclear if the famed Golden calf was actually bigger than the hand size figurine his team found. A we Are not really sure what the calf signified whether this size was usual and How it was actually worshipped Quot he said. The figure of a Bull calf also was used As a Monarchio Symbol by the Northern kingdom of Israel in the 10th Century  Quot one of the greatest criticisms of the Northern kingdom by the Southern kingdom of Judea was this use of the Bull calf Quot Stager said. Quot the southerners resented the northerners adoption of local canaanite  the figurine was discovered accidentally by a 20-year-old Volunteer on the dig a we were digging Down the slope of the City s fortification. We did no to know there was anything of importance there a Stager said. Quot we got quite excited when it was found Quot he said. "1 immediately recognized it for what it was because i grew up on a farm in  it he said the four room Temple where the figurine rested was most probably a shrine for Pagan worshippers making processions to and from Askelon. During the 16th Century ., Stager said Askelon was a regional Power whose influence stretched at one Point As far As Egypt. Askelon was destroyed by an egyptian army soon after the calf was cast and the canaanites were pushed out of the area Over the next 300 years. But the tradition of worshipping calves remained popular in the area and was transmitted to the israelite in the Hills East of  want ., soviets to open records Washington apr the soviet Union and the United states should open their records to historians worldwide said historians who met for five Days to discuss the cold War alien Weinstein head of the  Delegation and a Boston University history professor reported at a press conference wednesday that the supreme soviet is working on a Law resembling the  Freedom of information act. The act requires some government documents to be made Public upon request. The More than a dozen  And soviet historians who met for three Days in Moscow and two Days in Washington also agreed the cold War had Many a negative consequences Quot including the escalation of the arms race and the waste of resources that could have been better utilized. Helmut Sonnenfeldt who used to Deal with East West relations on the National Security Council said he wants More information from soviet archives on soviet leaders perspectives on cold War developments. He noted that some americans thought the United states had not been firm enough after world War ii while some soviets say it tried to impose its will a what did the soviets think in 1945 and 194y?�?� he asked. The historians spent much of the five Days reflecting on the causes and effects of the cold War a it was basically inevitable a argued Vladimir a Shustov who coordinates research at the soviet ministry of foreign affairs. Shustov who said he had been a member of soviet delegations at talks on limiting arms said the cold War might have been Shorter if the United states had accepted some soviet proposals but  Negotiators had not been ready. Another soviet scholar Mikhail n. Narins Kii said it was fortunate the cold War never escalated into real warfare. A history always looks inevitable after it happens a not before a said Walt Rostow a professor at the University of Texas who was in the state department at the Start of world War ii and served As special assistant to president Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War. Rostow saw the Start of the cold War in the refusal of soviet dictator Josef Stalin to accept  Offers after world War it to limit forces in Europe and to help the soviet Economy through the Marshall plan. The United states did not make its proposals strongly enough he said. Quot the United states is insufficiently confrontational until there is a crisis Rostow said. Most of the conference participants appeared at the joint news conference in the National press club