Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A fragment of a large stele of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (669-631 BC) was discovered at Nineveh. The front side features a high-relief sculpture of the king, and the back apparently documents the king’s architectural works and achievements.

Analysis of a Byzantine-era shipwreck off the coast of Croatia has been announced, including the largest amount of gold ever found on a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea.

“A 6,000-year-old infant buried in ancient Syria has given researchers what looks like the oldest known case of child abuse in the Middle East.”

A Roman road in southern Turkey has been fully documented and now will be restored to become part of a cultural tourism route.

New release: Ancient Tyre between Myth and History, by Hélène Sader (SBL Press, $50; Amazon)

New release: Music in the Ancient Near East: Archaeological, Historical, and Societal Considerations, edited by Heidi Köpp-Junk and Shane M. Thompson (Archaeopress, £16-35)

Two US tourists were stabbed near the entrance to the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

James Hoffmeier is on the Biblical World podcast to discuss his new book, Israel In and Out of Egypt.

Bryan Windle has written an archaeological biography of Tiberius Caesar.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Burnt sycamore beams from the First Temple period were discovered in the Givati parking lot excavation in the City of David. Researchers believe they belonged to the roof of an inner courtyard that was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

An engraved reed discovered in a cave in Wadi Murabba’at is the only such object from the Middle Bronze ever found in the Levant. The underlying journal article is here.

“The discovery of a controlled cultic deposit in Area D at Shiloh, near the presumed Tabernacle location, provides a rare archaeological window into early Israelite ritual practice.”

Glenn J. Corbett writes about the damage to Gaza’s archaeological heritage caused by the war.

Itzchak Tessler writes about different views for where the ark of the covenant and the lost Temple treasures are today.

Joshua Schwartz surveys Josephus’s writings on the temple.

The 29th Annual Bible & Archaeology Fest will be held on Nov 7 and 8 on Zoom. Speakers include Orly Goldwasser, Chang-ho Ji, Thomas Levi, and Brent Nongbri.

Jerusalem University College has announced ten online courses for the fall, including:

  • Biblical Jerusalem and Its Explorations, by Chandler Collins
  • Ancient Egypt and the Bible, by Oliver Hersey
  • The Life and Times of Paul, by Chris Vlachos
  • Geography of the Gospels, by Steven Notley

Bryan Windle explains the significance of the Lachish Letters on Digging for Truth.

Aren Maeir has submitted for publication an introduction to the archaeology of the land of the Bible.

Abigail Van Huss writes about her participation in an excavation on Mount Bezek.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

[I intended to post this roundup on Saturday. I apologize for the delay.]

Archaeologists working at Shiloh this summer discovered “a lavish ritual bath, a clay cooking pot and a rare purple-dye snail shell.”

Aren Maeir shares that they have been quietly excavating an Iron Age tomb at Gath for the last few years.

In preparation for conservation work, a small excavation was conducted in the Chorazim synagogue.

“The top three reports in biblical archaeology from June 2026 included accounts related to ancient Israel’s history, including potential evidence of Hezekiah‘s reforms, a new dig at Ashdod, and significant discoveries at Shiloh.”

On Digging for Truth, Jordan McClinton discusses his excavation of a favissa in the ongoing Shiloh excavations. He reports that they have found seven pieces of gold so far.

In a newly published study, scholars believe that the 364-day calendar mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls was actually used, but only in the sect’s early years.

Josh Aronson tells the story of some “temple incense” found in a cave at Qumran by Vendyl Jones, nearly all of which has now been lost.

New release: Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part Three, The Iron Age Town (The 1948–1950, 1959, 1982–1992 Seasons), by Amihai Mazar (Qedem 66, 300 NIS)

New release: Khirbet el-‘Aqd: A Hellenistic-Roman Stronghold in Western Judea, by Moshe Fischer and Oren Tal (Tel Aviv University, open-access)

The Jerusalem Post reviews The Names of Jerusalem: Jewish, Christian and Islamic Traditions, by Aaron Demsky, Christophe Rico, and Iraj Sheidaee.

Mordechai Cogan addresses the question of whether the Transjordan was considered part of the Promised Land.

David Bivin died this week. Best known as the founder of Jerusalem Perspective, David’s photographs have made a significant contribution to our work here. He was ever kind, encouraging, and generous. I join the many who will miss him.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Paleojudaica

A young David Bivin with Michael Avi-Yonah at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem, June 1968

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered 18 ancient tombs, a granite sarcophagus and dozens of rare burial objects at Marina El Alamein, offering new insight into the city’s role as a cultural crossroads between ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean world.”

“Egypt has uncovered only about 30% of its archaeological heritage, with vast historic treasures from successive civilizations still buried beneath its soil, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Hisham El-Leithy said.”

Yale News reports on Eckart Frahm’s discovery of three previously unknown Assyrian kings.

“Bronze Age rulers in Greece prized rings made from meteorite iron, wearing them as symbols of power, according to new research.”

The House of Charred Furniture at Herculaneum is open to visitors after thirty years of closure.

Lauren McCormick provides an intro to a new article in BAR that observes that “the homes in which Paul and other early Christians worshiped were already shaped by generations of religious practice.”

New release: Assyria’s Plunder: From Ancient Empire to Modern Loot, by Jessie DeGrado (University Press of Colorado, $105, open-access)

The latest issue of The Journal of the Ancient Near East Society is available online.

The Institute of Biblical Culture has announced the final three of six installments of the Dr. David Marcus Book Giveaway. The books are being given away free of charge, plus shipping and handling.

Leon Maudlin posts a photo of the temple to Emperor Augustus at Ankara (ancient Ancyra).

Aren Maeir gives his quick reaction to the archaeological reliability of the movie “The Odyssey.”

HT: Agade, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists working at a site in the Wadi Tumilat in Egypt have “uncovered a residential complex, storage and production facilities, pottery that contains seal impressions, ten mudbrick graves, and humans buried in unusual squatting positions,” all from the Hyksos period.

Excavations of a temple in the Bahariya Oasis uncovered a number of inscriptions with the name of Psamtik (Psammetichus) I, the first pharaoh of the 26th dynasty.

Archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved 4th-century AD city with a basilica-style church in the Dakhla oasis in Egypt.

“A new exhibit at the Peabody Museum explores Yale Egyptologist Victoria Almansa-Villatoro’s study of thousands of papyri fragments from the Old Kingdom era of Ancient Egypt.”

A 1.5-min BBC video explains a photo showing the first view into King Tut’s tomb.

“Archaeologists working in the ancient city of Smyrna in İzmir, western Türkiye, have fully uncovered a 1,500-year-old mosaic room.”

Bible History Daily has posted an interview with Barış Yener, director of the excavations at Colossae. He discusses his objectives, his early finds, and his intention to excavate six months each year until he retires.

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

The Temple of Apollo in Didyma is open to visitors during the evenings this summer.

On Digging for Truth, Nate Loper shares evidence for locating the landing of Noah’s Ark on Mt. Cudi.

“Scientists have used ancient tree rings to pinpoint when builders raised the Agios Vasileios (Άγιος Βασίλειος) palace, a major Late Bronze Age site in southern Greece.”

“The Archaeological Museum of Argos [in Greece] has reopened after twelve years, unveiling a fully renovated space and a collection of newly repatriated treasures.”

New release: Assur 2025: Further insights into life and death in the New Town. Exploring Assur 3. Edited by Karen Radner, Jana Richter, and Andrea Squitieri (PeWe-Verlag, 2026; open-access).

Anthropeum is an online daily game that quizzes you on the date and geographic origin of various artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Leon Mauldin shares a beautiful photo of the unique landscape of Cappadocia.

HT: Agade, Wayne Stiles, Explorator, Andreas Heimbichner

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The first season of excavations have begun at Ashdod. Aren Maeir visited and notes that the focus is on understanding the gate’s function, dating, and plan. Abigail Van Huss reports on her experiences as a volunteer in week 1 and week 2.

“The ‘Secrets of Huqoq’ exhibition is now featured at the Yigal Allon Center Museum at Kibbutz Ginosar. The Samson mosaic is on display along with photographs of other mosaics.

Aren Maeir gives an update on two controversial matters related to archaeological authority in Israel.

Rafi Glick proposes that two tunnels in the Judean wilderness were designed to manage flash floods and recharge local groundwater reserves.

Jo Elizabeth tells the story of how the Great Isaiah Scroll (and three others) traveled 12,000 miles on its way from a Qumran cave to a Jerusalem museum.

Homeland Security agents in Tampa seized 12,000 ancient artifacts that came from the eastern Mediterranean.

Open-access: Ancient Technologies, Methods of Production and Installations in Israel—Essays in Honor of Rafael Frankel, edited by M. Eisenberg, U. ‘Ad, and E. Ayalon (Zinman Institute of Archaeology, 2025)

New release: Researching a Rigged Game: Digital Approaches to Tracing the Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects, edited by Emiline Smith and Summer Austin (Springer Nature, open-access)

New release: Thinking, Speaking and Representing Animals in Western Asia, edited by Laura Battini (Archaeopress, £16-55)

The latest issue of Tel Aviv includes a few open-access articles.

The schedule is online for this past week’s “Bringing Ancient Greek and Hebrew Literature into Conversation: An International Conference.”

Kiersten Neumann, ISAC Museum Curator, ISAC Research Associate, and Lecturer in Department of Art History, delivered this year’s commencement address for her alma mater, the Department of Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley.

HT: Agade, Wayne Stiles, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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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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