Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists uncovered a 1,000-foot section of the Lower Aqueduct between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. This aqueduct was in use from 100 BC until about 100 years ago.

A seal impression discovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project and possibly connected to an adviser to King Josiah will be published by the end of the year.

“A bronze signet ring depicting the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, has been discovered beneath the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the Egyptian city.”

A new study of a Byzantine-era church mosaic discovered at Hadrianoupolis suggests that its depiction of the four rivers flowing from the Garden of Eden may have been intended to instruct worshippers in spiritual virtues.

Zev Stub reviews an exhibition at the Israel Museum, “Tiny Footprints: Childhood in the Ancient Land of Israel.”

“Israel on Tuesday returned a collection of 22 artifacts illegally removed from Greece, in the first repatriation of its kind between the two countries.”

Lauren K. McCormick considers what has been learned from the contents of ancient toilets in a preview of an article in Biblical Archaeology Review.

Lauren K. McCormick writes an explainer about the Bar Kokhba Revolt.

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Oct 28: “A Taste of the Holy Land? Exploring Travel & Hospitality in Early 19th-Century Ottoman Palestine,” by Federica A. Broilo

On the Biblical World podcast, Steve Notley joins Chris McKinny in an on-location interview at el-Araj, the New Testament site of Bethsaida.

HT: Agade

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Weekend Roundup

A new study of the industrial compound at Tel Shiqmona reveals that the space was “structured by the seasonal cycle: olive pressing in late autumn, livestock sheltering in winter, and textile production in spring.” A news report may be found here.

“Two rediscovered photographs from a 1930s excavation show where tombs were located inside the North Church baptistery” of Shivta.

The Israeli government has begun renovating “Herod’s Pools,” located near the Petzael Springs in the Jordan Valley. Another project recently begun is the “Joshua Trail” which will include a suspension bridge between Elon Moreh and Mount Kabir.

Chandler Collins has converted his Jerusalem Tracker Part 2 series into “Jerusalem in Brief,” focusing on the most interesting stories and providing further comment and context.

Researchers believe there are additional rooms behind King Tut’s burial chamber based upon “cumulative architectural, decorative, and geophysical indicators.” Kara Cooney gives some fascinating background.

“Forensic reexaminations of 5,000-year-old skulls indicate over a dozen ancient Egyptian royal attendants met gruesome ends to honor their beloved, deceased pharaohs.”

“An ancient Greek funeral elegy stele was found within a pyramid-shaped mud-brick tomb in the Bir al-Shaghala archaeological site in the Dakhla Oasis.”

An AI-generated design depicting Tutankhamun and Nefertiti has been removed after residents of Cairo complained about their skin color.

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the top stories for the month of September.

Archaeologists working in southern Turkey may have discovered tombs belonging to Alexander the Great’s soldiers.

The archaeological site of ancient Nicopolis, which Paul planned to visit (Titus 3:12), has reopened after a major restoration project.

“The top three reports in biblical archaeology in September 2026 included discoveries of an ancient treaty, a ritual bath, and a famous school.”

New release: Forgotten Empires – Remembered. Studies on the Ancient Near East in Honour of John E. Curtis, edited by Dirk Wicke, Paul Collins and Nigel Tallis (Zaphon, 125 €)

Ellen Morris reviews Eric H. Cline’s new book, Love, War, and Diplomacy: The Discovery of the Amarna Letters and the Bronze Age World They Revealed.

For sale on Kindle: Jesus, A Visual History: The Dramatic Story of the Messiah in the Holy Land, by Donald Brake with me ($4.99)

HT: Agade, Explorator, Mark Hoffman, Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup

A new study based on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 will allow scholars to more accurately date other ancient volcanic eruptions.

“The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan (U-M) has opened its first new permanent gallery in nearly two decades:  The Byzantine and Islamic Worlds: 400–1800.”

CBN News has produced a 25-minute special on the first-century street from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount.

CBN News has created a 10-minute video on the special exhibit of the Great Isaiah Scroll at the Israel Museum.

The Colosseum in Rome was closed for two days after a worker fell to his death.

Elon Gilad surveys the major views on the origins of the Samaritans.

Indiana Jones is the best and worst thing to happen to archaeology.

James Hoffmeier talks about the historical and archaeological context of the exodus on The Week in Bible Prophecy.

Steven Notley is on The Book and the Spade to discuss finding Bethsaida.

Free hybrid lecture at Harvard on Oct 21: “The Many Lives of Theban Tomb 16,” by Suzanne Onstine

The program is online for last week’s conference, “The Medes: 25 Years Afterwards.” The recordings are posted on YouTube.

New release: Bible Mapper Atlas, Volume 1 (Old Testament) – includes nearly all the online maps along with 90 photographs and a timeline. A second volume will include all of the New Testament maps.

Jason Borges has posted an updated version of his “Public Inscriptions at the Seven Churches of Revelation: A Historical Introduction for Guides, With Translations and Explanations.”

Bible Odyssey has published some new short articles:

If you are planning to be at the Annual Meetings in Denver, I’ll be giving a couple of papers and would be happy to see you:

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists in Turkey have identified another fragment of the treaty between pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittite king Hattusili III. A larger photo is here.

“An ancient fortress that guarded Egypt’s western frontier more than 3,000 years ago has yielded a rare horse burial, inscriptions linked to Ramesses II and evidence of military and daily life.”

Underwater explorers are returning to the submerged Phoenician and Roman remains off the coast of Tyre.

Laser scans of ancient temple walls at Kition Kathari revealed 23 previously unrecognized ship carvings that are nearly invisible to the human eye.

On the Biblical World podcast, Jason Borges interviews Turkish archaeologist Prof. Ilker Mimiroglu about the excavations at Lystra.

Restoration of Istanbul’s Museum of the Ancient Orient has been completed after three years.

“Excavating Antioch: The Archaeology of an Ancient City” is a new exhibition at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College.

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is offering three excavation and conservation opportunities for students next year: (1) Agora excavation; (2) archaeological conservation; (3) Corinth excavation.

Greece’s Ministry of Culture is beginning three projects to protect and display archaeological remains at Olympia.

An upcoming exhibition, “Athena, the Stage is Yours: The Parthenon Puzzle,” will attempt “to document a new, archaeologically sound proposal for the complete reconstruction of the sculptures on the east pediment of the Parthenon.”

A four-year project to improve the visitor experience at Athens’s Kerameikos archaeological site has been completed.

“Charles K. Williams II, the renowned American archaeologist who devoted more than three decades to excavations at Ancient Corinth, died on September 16, 2026, at the age of 96.”

“A new study of nearly 300,000 kilometers of Roman roads shows how geography and major cities shaped movement across the empire. The findings challenge the old idea that Roman roads formed a simple system leading toward Rome.”

Recent release: Ancient Persian: A Linguistic History, by Kevin T. van Bladel (Cambridge University Press; open access)

A new project has been announced for the digital encoding of the Leningrad Codex.

Scientists working to decipher the Herculaneum papyri are burning modern papyrus scrolls to test methods for reading the ancient carbonized texts.

A mathematician is challenging the idea that the Parthenon’s subtly curved stylobate was designed to make the building appear straighter to the human eye.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

South of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, archaeologists have uncovered a monumental complex with three ritual baths, a rectangular pool, and an elaborate drainage system, along with two nearby plastered vats.

The seven-day festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) began last night. Hag sameah! Rabbi Steven Bob explains the history of when building a sukkah became a requirement for this feast. Rabbi David Z. Moster gives five other interpretations of the verse that is traditionally understood as referring to an etrog.

Lauren K. McCormick writes about four gold ornaments and three bronze earrings recovered from the Givati Parking Lot excavations in Jerusalem.

Multispectral imaging of Dead Sea Scroll fragments in the Martin Schøyen collection is being used to answer questions of authenticity.

“The Golan Antiquities Museum is moving to the Ancient Katzrin Park, where a new complex combining archaeology, technology, artificial intelligence, and a planetarium will be established.”

Shmuel Browns writes about hiking at En Prat as an alternative while most of the En Gedi Reserve is closed.

“Jerusalem’s wealthiest families in the early Roman period built monumental tombs along the roads approaching the city, placing their wealth and status on display. Yet pilgrims heading to the Temple had to avoid entering or coming into contact with these tombs, lest they become impure and be barred from the very Temple they came to visit.”

Ute Wagner-Lux, former director of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in the Holy Land, died last week.

Carl Rasmussen shares some of David Padfield’s AI-generated Bible scenes for the book of Acts, all available for free. I will underscore what Carl says: the research behind each image is exceptionally strong, making these images as historically realistic as any I know.

I am very grateful for the kind words about the new Minor Prophets volumes in the Photo Companion to the Bible by Luke Chandler, Mark V. Hoffman, and Charles Savelle.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“The tomb of an ancient Egyptian royal chamberlain was discovered in Sector A of the Bubasteum necropolis in Saqqara during its first excavation season.”

The Pyramid of Menkaure is now closed to visitors following the reopening of the Pyramid of Khafre. The closure allows for the maintenance and preservation work.

BBC Science Focus discusses the latest theories for how the Giza pyramids were constructed.

Jerusalem University College is opening their graduate field studies to Egypt and Greece to individuals who are not enrolled in the accompanying semester courses.

“More than 3,000 people gathered at the historic site of Mukawir (Machaerus) on 12 September for a sunset performance of Handel’s Messiah.”

The largest Roman wall mosaic ever found, together with a colorful fresco, was opened in Rome to the public for the first time, thirty years after its discovery.

A multiyear underwater archaeology project studying ancient harbors in the Mediterranean determined that ports were larger than usually assumed because of anchoring areas beyond the built walls of the harbor.

Konstantinos Politis, excavator of the “Sanctuary of Lot” on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, died last month.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Explorator, Alexander Schick

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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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