The first slabs cut from America’s largest Cedar of Lebanon tree.
We received our first report from Monk Creek Wood Works today. That company has been in business for more than 30 years. They have seen a wide variety of trees and logs. Their customers come from all over the country and abroad. Thousands of different purposes have been served by millions of board feet of lumber supplied by them. Yesterday they cut eight 2 1/2″ cedar slabs from one log that had a diameter of 20 inches and a length of 12 1/2 feet.
The sawyers’ experience with the Cedar of Lebanon log from the Tyler Arboretum was very positive. As soon as they saw this tree, they understood how rare it is. They believe that no other log cutting mill in America has made what they made yesterday. The cedar slabs are beautiful and solid. We are confident that Lebanon Cedar logs will supply our needs for decking the upper parts of the Phoenician Ship. The replica of the 2,600-year-old ship will now have a stunning finishing touch. In 600 BC, the Phoenicians ruled the seas. Philip Beale and his international crew demonstrated the strength of the ship’s design by sailing around Africa and across the Atlantic. The artifact rewrites the history of ancient America. Our team is truly excited to be a part of this great endeavor. We invite everyone to come to Iowa to see and feel how the Old World connected to the New World 2,000 years before Columbus.
As an interesting side note, when the owners this morning came into the building where the cut cedar slabs were they thought that they had entered a perfume store.
Lebanon Cedar essential oil is renowned for its purifying properties. The Egyptians used it to preserve the dead, including embalming their pharaohs, and Buddhist ceremonies use it to purify the air. It was used to cast out demons during the Middle Ages. Come and experience this perfume that reaches all the way back to the First Temple of Jerusalem and to the ancient cedar oil factory in Upper Galilee that was close to where Jesus and His family lived. Come to the Phoenician Ship Museum on the west bank of the Upper Mississippi River in Iowa to smell for yourself what the Bible tells.
