Logos Bible Software is offering a set of 8 volumes entitled “Classic Studies and Atlases on Biblical Geography.” What you need to know is that it includes the three volumes of Edward Robinson’s Biblical Researches in Palestine. The collection is now listed on the Community Pricing, which is always the most affordable way to purchase books from Logos. Once they receive enough orders, the price will jump up $100 or so. Now you can bid what you feel the set is worth.

For those who don’t know, Edward Robinson’s set is the seminal work on historical geography of the land of Israel. Robinson and his student Eli Smith traveled throughout Palestine in 1838 with a goal of locating ancient sites, primarily on the basis of name preservation. I have a couple of sets of this work, including one original edition from 1841. I once began creating an electronic edition, but other matters came in the way and it was set aside. Now you can purchase this at an attractive price. (And, yes, Google Books has long had this for free, but what you save in money you’ll pay for in the headache of trying to sort out the volumes from various editions that do not go together.)

I do wish that Logos would add to this collection the fourth volume, Later Biblical Researches in Palestine (1856). This was based on a later trip that Robinson and Smith made to answer some outstanding questions.

The other titles included:

Once upon a time, I created a list of the best resources by 19th-century explorers of Palestine.

You can put in your bid here. And here is another collection of similar works, but no longer at the attractive Community Pricing.

HT: Charles Savelle

Robinson's Arch with new excavations, db6806245201
Robinson’s Arch in Jerusalem, named for Edward Robinson
Photo by David Bivin

Noah Wiener has a follow-up article on the spring tunnel discovered in the Rephaim Valley. He includes a great photo of the tunnel.

Zachi Zweig disagrees with Leen Ritmeyer’s dating of the newly revealed course of ashlar stones on the Temple Mount. He dates it to the Early Islamic period.

A woman has turned over to the IAA a large collection of pottery discovered by a relative in the Mediterranean Sea.

The winter dig at Khirbet el-Maqatir began in the snow. They spent several weeks excavating three caves.

The ancient Myceneans once used portable grills at their picnics.

Archaeologists have discovered grain from the Neolithic period at Çatalhöyük.

The report for the 2013 excavation season at Tall el-Hammam is now online.

The first two volumes of NGSBA Archaeology are available for download. (NGSBA = Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology.)

Just published: The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000-332 BCE, edited by
Margreet L. Steiner and Ann E. Killebrew. Oxford University Press. 912 pages. $165.

Wayne Stiles explains how to make the maps in your Bible atlas fully searchable.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Tim Graham, Jack Sasson

If you’re in the Dallas area this Friday, you might want to stop in for a free lecture on Tel Burna (possibly biblical Libnah) at Dallas Theological Seminary. The announcement gives location details but is not clear who is giving the lecture. I think it is Chris McKinny, one-time writer of our popular “Secret Places” series. (We’re hoping we see Chris back around these parts before too long!)

Ceramic mask fragment discovered at Tel Burna

There is a great opportunity for older archaeology enthusiasts to have their photographs preserved in the Non-Professional Archaeological Photographs-project. The team is particularly interested in photographs taken by students and volunteers in excavations prior to 1980. If you have some of these photos, or if you know someone who does, please get in touch with NPAPH Project as soon as you can.

The official website has lots of details. You can also check out their Facebook page. The trailer below describes their vision.

Some archives are already online for viewing:

Dan P. Cole Photo Collection – Shechem and Gezer

Gordion Expedition Collection – the ancient Phrygian capital

Leo Boer Photograph Collection, 1953-1954 – travels of a student

Others cover Italy, The Netherlands, and Guatemala.

Leen Ritmeyer has photos and interpretation of the latest illegal excavations on the Temple Mount.

Ritmeyer suspects the revealed wall line may be the northern boundary of the 500-meter square pre-Herodian Temple Mount.

New excavations began at Tel Hebron this week.

Gershon Galil has translated the earliest Jerusalem alphabetic inscription be a reference to “wine part.”

Some rare fabrics dyed with extract from the murex shell have been discovered. The three colors found “represent the most prestigious colors in antiquity: indigo, purple and crimson.”

A couple of Top Discoveries of 2013 have been posted: Gordon Govier (Christianity Today) and
Noah Wiener (Biblical Archaeology Society).

In 2012, from time to time I surveyed excavation reports published by the Israel Antiquities Authority. I did not have time for that in 2013, but you can peruse the list here.

Scholars are using Google Earth to trace ancient trade routes around Antioch of Syria.

Currently on exhibition at the Israel Museum: Mapping the Holy Land II: Cartographic Treasures from the Trevor and Susan Chinn Collection.

Logos Bible Software has a pre-publication sale on Biblical Archaeologist/Near Eastern Archaeology 1992–2011 ($140).

Timothy Valentino has written an outstanding eulogy for Professor David A. Dorsey.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson, Charles Savelle

Some intrigue surrounded the recent discovery of a well-preserved Israelite proto-Aeolic capital when the tour guide who stumbled across it reported that the authorities told him to keep silent about it, ostensibly for political reasons. For the background and photos, see this report from last April.

This week a story in Arutz-7 claims that the secret location will be revealed next Friday. The article begins:

The location of a major archaeological find that was kept secret until now will be revealed to the public on Friday, next week. The find is being touted as a royal castle that could have belonged to Israel’s most celebrated king – the Bible’s King David.

There are several problems with this sensational report: (1) this type of architecture in Judah dates to several centuries after the time of David; (2) the impressive proto-Aeolic capital is in a water system and evidence of a palace is so far lacking; (3) the location has already been published in D. Ein-Mor and Z. Ron, “An Iron Age Royal Tunnel Spring in the Region of Nahal Rephaim,” in G. Stiebel et al., eds., New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region, 2013. An abbreviated version is available online in Hadashot Arkheologiyot. (This reference comes from Zachi Dvira, via Joseph Lauer.)

It is possible that by overreaching in claims, the media may obscure the true significance of this discovery. Rather than speak of palaces and David, the comparison should rather be made with Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

(1) Both of these tunnels are water systems that bring water from a spring to a storage pool. (2) These are two of the longest underground water channels in the Judean hills, with Hezekiah’s Tunnel running 1,750 feet and the new one at ‘Ain Joweizeh running about 700 feet. (3) Both date to about the 8th century BC, with the date of the ‘Ain Joweizeh tunnel coming from a comparative analysis of other proto-Aeolic capitals found in Judah and Jordan. (4) Both seem to have royal connections, with the Siloam Inscription in Jerusalem and the royal architecture at ‘Ain Joweizeh.

What was the purpose of the ‘Ain Joweizeh tunnel? The excavators suggest that it may have been connected to “an estate or royal palace similar to Ramat Rahel here during the eighth–seventh centuries BCE; another possibility is a settlement from this period that is mostly buried beneath the farming terraces covering the ravine.” Presumably significant features are not visible on the surface and the excavators did not have the time to begin a large-scale excavation of the area. The proximity of the site to the security wall may complicate present or future attempts at excavation.

The site is located 5.5 miles (9 km) southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem, 3.5 miles (5.5 km) northwest of Bethlehem, and just down the slope to the west of Har Gilo. The map below shows the site circled in red.

Sheet_17-joweizeh
Western environs of Jerusalem
Map from the Survey of Western Palestine (1881)
google-earth-ain-joweizeh
Western environs of Jerusalem
Screenshot from Google Earth
http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/Images//6087-1.jpg
Location map and plan of the spring based on Marcus and Ben-Yosef and Ron. Image from Hadashot Arkheologiyot
http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/Images//6087-4.jpg
Proto-Aeolic capital in location
Image from Hadashot Arkheologiyot
http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/Images//6087-3.jpg
Reconstruction of proto-Aeolic capital
Image from Hadashot Arkheologiyot

Another image showing the inside of the tunnel itself is posted at Maariv. (HT: Joseph Lauer)