Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Archaeologists have discovered ancient mosaics and detailed floor decorations during ongoing excavations in the ancient Greek city of Olympos (Greek: Ὄλυμπος) in modern-day Antalya, Turkey.”

“Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a rare Greco-Roman library in the ancient Greek city of Stratonikeia (Greek: Στρατoνικεια) in southwest Turkey, revealing new insights into the architectural and cultural legacy of one of antiquity’s largest marble cities.” By library, they mean the building, not the books/scrolls.

Jason Borges “describes the Roman road section from Antioch to Lystra, for people seeking to travel the route and explore extant remains along the Via Sebaste extension.” The article gives 11 features on the route and notes that excavations began at Lystra this year and the tell is fenced off.

Owen Jarus asks how Rameses II died and what happened when he did.

New release: The House of the Satrap: The Making of the Ancient Persian Empire, by Rhyne King (University of California Press, 334 pages, $95; Amazon)

To be released on July 8: Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations, by Sam Kean (Little, Brown and Company, 464 pages, $33)

Historie & Civilisations has produced a 50-minute documentary about “Gerasa: Rome’s Forgotten City in the Jordanian Hills.”

Bryan Windle has written and illustrated an archaeological biography for Darius the Persian (the one mentioned in Nehemiah 12:22).

There will be no roundups in the month of July.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“Four rare bronze discs shaped like lion heads have been uncovered in a 1,900-year-old grave in central Israel.” The underlying journal article is here.

A nearly two-mile-long tunnel in the aqueduct system feeding Solomon’s Pools is longer than any other known in the Roman empire. The underlying journal article by David Deming provides much more information about the aqueducts and water supply of ancient Jerusalem.

Archaeologists working at Tel Dan have discovered evidence for ritual bathing in a temple reconstructed after the Seleucid conquest.

The Jerusalem Post has a story about Shiloh’s excavation team being evacuated when the war began. The Appalachian News-Express has a similar story about one of the participants.

Gordon Govier interviews Scott Stripling about the Shiloh excavations and the beginning of the war.

“Iranian cyber activists hacked the X/Twitter account of the Israel Antiquities Authority early on Sunday morning.”

Writing for The Times of Israel, archaeologist Aren Maeir considers the history of military confrontations between Persia and the West and suggests that “history has always been and will always be deceptive and fickle, and it is wise to exercise extreme caution before pretending to explain to the public what was and what will be.”

The Jerusalem Post runs a piece on the Cyrus Cylinder and its significance for Persian-Jewish relations.

Online lecture on July 17: “Reminiscences of the Masada Dig, 1963-5: Yigael Yadin and the British Connection,” by Tessa Rajak

New release: Bring Them into the Land: Studies in Honor of R. Steven Notley, edited by Jeffrey P. Arroyo Garcia, Daniel Machiela, Chad Pierce and Benjamin Wold (Wipf & Stock, 550 pages, $68; Kindle: $10)

One of the most potentially valuable tools I’ve used in AI recently is NotebookLM, and the NY Times explores how it can be used by historians.

There will be no roundups in the month of July.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup

The Israel Antiquities Authority: “To the best of our knowledge, no damage has been caused thus far to archaeological artifacts under the responsibility of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and no reports have been received regarding damage to exhibits in museums.” Some precautions have been taken.

The opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum will be delayed until later in the year due to the Israel-Iran war.

The Garden of Hercules in Pompeii has been restored and reopened to the public following “the planting of 800 ancient roses, 1,200 violets, 1,000 ruscus plants, cherry trees, vines, and quince trees.”

A team of researchers is working to recreate Egyptian blue, and they created 12 different recipes for the endeavor.

Officials in Rome have unveiled a new piazza around the Mausoleum of Augustus.

Looting and trafficking of ancient artifacts has increased in Syria since the fall of the government.

Bible History Daily asked a few scholars for their perspective on a new study dating the Dead Sea Scrolls earlier than previously believed. Rollston, for example, knows that the calibrated dates are in error since we know that Daniel 8-11 cannot be dated to earlier than the events occurred in 167 BC.

New website: Iron Age Hebrew Ostraca in the Silicon Age – Computerized Paleography – “our research in the last few years has focused on solving some problems, avoiding others and shedding new light on literacy in biblical Israel and Judah through statistical analysis.”

Conference on June 25-27: “Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective,” at UC San Diego, with a YouTube livestream.

New from Preserving Bible Times: Encounters with Jesus, by Doug Greenwold, in audiobook format

Preston Sprinkle invited me on to his Theology in the Raw podcast to talk about archaeology and the Bible, including Jericho, David, and Hezekiah’s Tunnel (YouTube, Apple, Spotify). He kicked it off by recalling comments I wrote on his archaeology paper 25 years ago.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“A contractor digging into the earth where the rubble of a destroyed house had been cleared away in northern Syria stumbled across a surprise: the remains of an underground Byzantine tomb complex.”

“A wooden-structured burial chamber believed to belong to the Phrygian royal family has been uncovered in the ancient city of Gordion in Türkiye’s capital, Ankara.” The individual is possibly related to Gordios or Midas.

“A recent study suggests that high-altitude wind patterns played a crucial role in the collapse of the Minoan civilization by spreading volcanic ash and aerosols from the eruption of the Thera volcano.”

“The Greek Culture Ministry has unveiled a series of enhancements to the Acropolis archaeological site, offering visitors access to newly restored areas and improved facilities for the first time in decades.” The Old Acropolis Museum has not yet been reopened.

Athens is working to help tourists deal with the summer heat, including planting thousands of trees, removing concrete, and closing the Acropolis.

Alison Wilkinson writes about women’s rights in marriage in ancient Egypt. The full issue of The Ancient Near East Today is online here.

The Grand Egyptian Museum will hold its official inauguration on July 3, and the museum will be open to the public beginning on July 6.

HT: Agade, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A stunning marble sarcophagus carved with a raucous drinking contest between Dionysus and Heracles has been unearthed in Caesarea.”

In his latest video for Expedition Bible, Joel Kramer claims to have solved the problem of Ai with the discovery of Late Bronze pottery at et-Tell in a 2019 excavation. I’ll be interested to see the published report.

Susan Schmidt filmed pieces for several years to create a beautiful 11-minute video on the complete Nabatean Incense Route, from Petra to Gaza.

Nathan Steinmeyer explains a new theory about the location of the Valley of Rephaim.

Joe Zias: “Archaeological and epigraphic evidence indicates that the ‘Tomb of Absalom’ constitutes the earliest Judeo-Christian pilgrimage site in the Holy Land.”

The latest issue of Near Eastern Archaeology is focused on Megiddo in the Bronze Age. Access requires a subscription. The next issue is dedicated to Megiddo in the Iron Age.

In the latest Jerusalem in Brief, Chandler Collins reports on a lecture on Macalister and Duncan’s excavations and wonders why popular media is not reporting on the new interpretation of the Pool of Siloam/Birket al-Hamra.

Several long-time readers have written to say that they are really enjoying Doron Spielman’s new book, When the Stones Speak: The Remarkable Discovery of the City of David and What Israel’s Enemies Don’t Want You To Know.

Jerusalem University College has announced its lineup of fall online courses, including (not yet online):

  • Biblical Archaeology I, taught by Kyle Keimer
  • Biblical Jerusalem and Its Explorations, taught by Chandler Collins
  • The Life and Times of Paul, taught by Chris Vlachos
  • Ancient Egypt and the Bible, taught by Paul Wright
  • Palestinian Society and Politics, taught by Bernard Sabella

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Luke Chandler

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists believe that they have discovered the lost city of Tharais, depicted on the Madaba Mosaic Map, in southern Jordan.

“Two seal impressions found on a large storage vessel, dated to the Early Bronze Age (2700–2300 BC), raise compelling questions about the role of Greece’s Cyclades islands in the emergence of script—potentially rewriting the more commonly accepted narrative that places the birth of writing on Minoan Crete at around 2000 BC.”

St. Catherine’s Monastery has been closed to all visitors in protest of an Egyptian court ruling that challenges its ownership status. An agreement may have been reached on Wednesday.

“The Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires has published an annotated text corpus of some 6,000 Babylonian texts from the sixth and fifth centuries BCE.”

Leonard J. Greenspoon, best known for his work in Septuagint and Jewish Bible translations, died recently.

Walter Brueggemann, a widely published OT scholar, died on Thursday. Brent A. Strawn has written a tribute.

Turkish Archaeological News surveys the main stories of the month of May.

Bible Archaeology Report’s top three reports for May “include shipwrecks, gold, and a stone capital with an intriguing image.”

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Gordon Franz, Mark V. Hoffman, Ted Weis

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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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