Issam Salsaa of Bethlehem has created a number of detailed models of Jerusalem and Bethlehem that are quite impressive. You can check out his YouTube videos to see several of them:
The Citadel of David (and a second)
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher
The Church of the Nativity (and with lights)
Archaeologists working at Kibbutz Magen near the Gaza Strip have discovered a Roman-period marble dolphin statuette.
This week, ISIL is apparently planning to turn the site of Jonah’s tomb into a park. The Iraqi authorities consider that a crime.
Israel is considering the restoration of Khirbet al-Minya, an Umayyad palace near the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Continued research has been approved for the Antikythera shipwreck.
Sites in Izmir are bringing in the tourist bucks.
The latest video from SourceFlix is an explanation of the topography of Jerusalem.
Archaeologists recently discovered a Byzantine-era mosaic floor at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
You can sign up for a chance to win a trip to the Grand Opening of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
Logos users might want to grab the Ancient Context Ancient Faith set while it’s on pre-pub.
Ferrell Jenkins describes his return to the ruins of Samaria.
Luke Chandler offers some “tidbits from the tell” on his first week in digging at Lachish this year.
There will be no roundup next weekend.
HT: Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Agade
Brian Peterson reports on the third and final week of excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir. The discoveries included a third scarab.
Bible History Daily posts a report on current excavations at Ashkelon.
Arsonists destroyed two storerooms filled with antiquities excavated at Tel Kishon in the Jezreel Valley.
Luke Chandler has arrived for excavations at Lachish. Watch his blog for updates.
Archaeologists working at Hippos have discovered the imprint of a Roman soldier’s shoe.
The mummies of 8 million dogs have been found in catacombs in Memphis.
Ferrell Jenkins takes a new look at Magdala.
Norma Franklin does not carry a Marshalltown trowel, a pencil, notebook, or ruler in her dig bag.
CNN has a 3-minute feature on restoration work on Babylon.
The current issue of BASOR is available for free for a limited time.
The first issue of PEQ from 2014 is also available for free.
The Daily Star reports on the long-running excavations of Sidon.
Robert Deutsch posted some photos from a recent investigation of the ivory pomegranate. He
believes the inscription is authentic.
Israel’s Tourism Ministry is beginning to rank hotels according to the five-star system.
We’ll be sending out a BiblePlaces Newsletter in the next few days. You can sign up for a free subscription here.
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer
Arsonists attacked the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish at Tabgha at 3:30 this morning. Graffiti left at the site indicates that the attack was perpetrated by religious Jews. Police have arrested and released 16 suspects, all minors from Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The graffiti reads, “The false gods will be eliminated,” a reference to a Jewish prayer and consistent with similar attacks in the past.
The Times of Israel has the most extensive report. The Jerusalem Post provides a 1-minute video of the destroyed building. Prime Minister Netanyahu has condemned the attack, and a Catholic church adviser indicates that pilgrims groups are considering canceling their trips.
The church is most famous for its ancient mosaic of five loaves and two fish. The earliest known record for this location of the miracle dates back to the time of Lady Egeria (381-384) and the first church was built in 350. A century later another building was erected with a mosaic floor covering about 5,400 square feet (500 sq m), half of which is preserved. The present site was rediscovered in 1932 and the current church completed in 1982. We have more photos and information about the historic site of Tabgha here.
HT: Charles Savelle
Using maps from the Satellite Bible Atlas and new aerial imagery, Bill Schlegel has created a video that takes you from Jericho up to Jerusalem along the ancient route. Jesus traveled this way many times including on his way up to the city to present himself as king. This was also the route of the man whose life was saved by the Good Samaritan.
The 11-minute video includes aerial photos and video taken from a drone, and includes some spectacular imagery of the Judean wilderness in the spring when the hillsides are green. Few people are able to travel this 18-mile route today.
You can see more videos and subscribe to the Satellite Bible Atlas channel here.
To mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Palestine Exploration Fund, the University of Haifa and the Gottlieb Schumacher Institute are inviting papers for a December conference on “PEF and the Early Exploration of the Holy Land.”
Gershon Galil proposes another reading of the Ishbaal inscription from Khirbet Qeiyafa.
Terrorists were killed attempting an attack at the Karnak Temple in Luxor.
Egypt’s new Suez Canal will open in August.
Israeli tour guide Max Blackston points out the irony of ultra-Orthodox rabidly defending a “tomb of David” created by the Crusaders.
Antiquities thieves convicted of pillaging a cave in the Judean wilderness above Nahal Tseelim have been sentenced to prison terms of 18 months.
Islamic State militants are making millions selling antiquities from Iraq and Syria.
The British Museum is guarding an artifact looted from Syria in hopes of returning it when the country is stable.
More than 21,000 artifacts have been transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum, more than half of which have recently been restored. The article does not give the current estimate for the museum’s opening date.
The Greek Museum of Underwater Antiquities is slated to be opened near the ancient harbor of Athens in Piraeus.
io9 suggests seven archaeologists whose lives can be compared to Indiana Jones.
Smithsonian.com provides tours by drone of three ancient sites, including the Colosseum in Rome.
The TV series “Dig” has been cancelled due to poor ratings.
The BAS Blowout Sale has some big markdowns, including the BAR archive now down to $30.
Eisenbrauns is turning 40 next month. You can download their latest catalog here.
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Explorator, Paleojudaica