A Hebrew inscription from the 5th century AD attests to a Jewish community at Kursi on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Despite what the archaeologist says, it tells us nothing about the swine miracle, as Richard Bauckham observes.

Plans are underway to restore the treasures of Cnidus (Knidos) to their original location.

One year after it was damaged, the mask of King Tut has been repaired. DW has much more background on the restoration process.

Haaretz: “The National Library of Israel and Wikimedia have posted 200 historical maps of Jerusalem, some of them rare, on the Internet. The maps are high resolution and free for use.” You can access the images directly here.

Aren Maeir has written a brief piece on “The Philistines and Their Cities” for the Bible Odyssey website.

How much gold covered Herod’s temple in Jerusalem? Leen Ritmeyer thinks there was a lot.

The Deal of the Weekend at Eisenbrauns is Kirk Grayson’s Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles
($90, reduced to $36).

Now online through The Bible and Interpretation, Yigal Levin’s article, “How Did Rabshakeh Know the Language of Judah?”

Father Juan Solana just wanted the archaeologists to leave. Then they discovered remains of Magdala at his proposed Christian retreat center. Smithsonian Magazine runs a feature story on the discovery of Magdala.

In a story published in The Atlantic, Joel Baden and Candida Moss recount how in six years the Green family has amassed one of the world’s largest collection of Bible-related artifacts.

Avinoam Danin died this week. He was best known for his popular Flora of Israel Online.

HT: Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Tim Graham