The Jerusalem Post carries a brief notice of the discovery of the Iron Age gate along with two photos.

Archeologists at Bar-Ilan University, headed by Professor Aren Maeir, have discovered the fortifications and entrance gate to the biblical city of Gath in the Philistines, which was once the home of the giant Goliath.
[…]
Professor Maeir said that the gate is among the largest ever found in Israel and provides substantial evidence that Gath was once one of the most influential cities in the region.

I think that everyone already agreed that Gath was one of the most influential cities in the region, but finding a gate doesn’t hurt.

Maeir links to several related stories on his blog.

This season’s excavations at Tel Kabri uncovered 120 huge wine jars.

Three reliefs have been discovered from the Middle Kingdom site of al-Hoody near Aswan.

Leen Ritmeyer explains the significance of a small window on the Temple Mount.

John Bartlett shares his recollections from excavating with Kathleen Kenyon in Jerusalem.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos and information about Maresha of the Shephelah.

SourceFlix has released a video short on the Walls of Jericho.

Available at last: Tell er-Rumeith: The Excavations of Paul W. Lapp, 1962 and 1967, by Tristan J.
Barako and Nancy L. Lapp.

The British Library and the National Library of Israel are partnering to digitize at least 860 Hebrew manuscripts. The British Library’s current collection is here.

HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Agade

Chris McKinny explains the fortifications of Tel Burna that were discovered this season.

The Charlotte Observer reports on Shimon Gibson’s excavations in Jerusalem.

Tracy Hoffman has a wrap-up on the 2015 season at Ashkelon.

James R. Strange is interviewed by the Ancient Jew Review about his excavations of Shikhin.

Excavations of the Red Sea harbor of Berenike have revealed many inscriptions and much more.

A scene discovered at Göbeklitepe in Turkey may be the world’s oldest pictograph.

Philip II of Macedonia may be buried in a different tomb in Vergina than originally thought.

Chickens were first raised for mass consumption at Maresha in the Hellenistic period, a new study claims.

Aleteia tells the story of how new life has come to Magdala.

Hershel Shanks is interviewed by Author Talk on the 40th anniversary of Biblical Archaeology Review.

In light of Tisha B’Av, Wayne Stiles looks to the Burnt House to help us examine our motives.

A copy of Lamentations from the Dead Sea Scrolls was on display for the first time at the Bible
Lands Museum.

HT: Joseph Lauer

If you ever wanted to learn more about the Lands of the Bible but you’re not a traditional student or
you can’t afford to travel to the Middle East, you will want to check out the free online “Survey of the Lands of the Bible” class that Mark Vitalis Hoffman is offering through Gettysburg Seminary.

The course runs from September to December and gives you the opportunity to do as much or as little as your schedule permits. You can watch videos, read the textbook, and join in discussions.

You can learn more here.

This also would be a great opportunity for those who have traveled to the Lands of the Bible but the tour left them longing for more!

A 6th-century AD scroll discovered inside a Torah Ark at En Gedi 45 years ago has recently been deciphered to reveal the first 8 verses of Leviticus, making it the oldest scroll discovered since the Dead Sea Scrolls. From a press release from the Israel Antiquities Authority:

Summary: Modern technologies made it possible for the first time to read the contents of a burnt scroll that was found forty five years ago in archaeological excavations at Ein Gedi, on the western shore of the Dead Sea. Surprisingly the scroll is a 1,500 year old copy of the beginning of the Book of Leviticus….
Details: The parchment scroll was unearthed in 1970 in archaeological excavations in the synagogue at Ein Gedi, headed by the late Dr. Dan Barag and Dr. Sefi Porath. However, due to its charred condition, it was not possible to either preserve or decipher it.
The Lunder Family Dead Sea Scrolls Conservation Center of the Israel Antiquities Authority which uses state of the art and advanced technologies to preserve and document the Dead Sea scrolls enabled the discovery of this important find. It turns out that part of this scroll is from the beginning of the Book of Leviticus, written in Hebrew, and dated by C14 analysis to the late sixth–century CE. To date, this is the most ancient scroll from the five books of the Hebrew Bible to be found since the Dead Sea scrolls, most of which are ascribed to the end of the Second Temple period (first century BCE-first century CE).

There are no English articles yet posted, but you should be able to find them as they appear with this link. Haaretz has the story in its Hebrew edition. High-res images may be downloaded here. Thanks to Joseph Lauer for sending the press release and related links.

Ein Gedi Scroll Fragment-Shai Halevi-IAA
Scroll fragment before study, Shai Halevi, IAA
Suggested Merged Text Layer after Unrolling-Seth Parker-University of Kentucky
Virtual Unrolling and Suggested Merged Text Layer, Seth Parker, University of Kentucky and Ehud Shor, Jerusalem
Ein Gedi Potential Scroll Fragments-Shai Halevi-IAA
Ein Gedi Potential Scroll Fragments for further research, Shai Halevi, IAA

The finds keep coming in the excavations of Gath.

A mosaic with a verse from Isaiah 65 has been discovered in Adana, Turkey.

A thief has returned two ballista balls he took from the excavations of Gamla twenty years ago.

The US has returned more than 400 ancient artifacts to Iraq seized from a leader of the Islamic State.

There are many photos here.

Researchers are working to restore Iraq’s destroyed monuments online.

Police have arrested suspects in the arson case of the Tabgha Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish.

Simon Gathercole: 5 Reasons Why the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife is a Fake

The Temple Institute is raising a red heifer in Israel.

Ayelet Gilboa writes about the significance of Tel Dor in the Jerusalem Post.

Jennie Ebeling talks about the Jezreel excavations on the Book and the Spade.

You can get up to speed on the excavations at Tel ‘Eton (Eglon?) with this article by Avraham Faust and Hayah Katz at the ASOR Blog (registration required).

The Water Gate in Jerusalem gets Wayne Stiles to thinking about its past and present significance.

Are you a Mesopotamian know-it-all? The ASOR Blog has 14 questions to test your knowledge.

The PEF introduces a new series: Interviews from the Jerusalem Chamber.

The dates for the 2016 season at Tel Burna have been announced.

Exploring Jordan: The Other Biblical Land is a free e-book from the Biblical Archaeology Society that includes articles on Bethany, Rabbath of the Ammonites, Philadelphia, Moab, and Petra.

The Illustrated Life of Paul by Charles L. Quarles is $0.99 on Kindle today.

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade, Paleojudaica