fbpx

Coins from the Jewish Revolt (AD 66-70) were found on March 26 by Dr. Eilat Mazar during renewed excavations at the Ophel.

“Elaborate decorations including stucco from the time of Nero have been found in the remains of a villa and bath complex in the outskirts of Rome.”

The February 2018 edition of the Newsletter of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities reports the latest archaeological discoveries, meetings, projects, and more.

A new study suggests that King Tut was not a sickly boy but a warrior king.

The Getty Conservation Institute announced that its restoration of the tomb of King Tut in Egypt is near completion.

The Nicholson Museum in Australia was surprised to discover an Egyptian coffin in their possession for more than a 150 years actually contains a mummy.


The Times of Israel profiles a tattoo parlor in Jerusalem that has been inking Easter pilgrims for centuries.

A schedule for the Haifa Phoenician Series 2018 is now online.

David Laskin attempts to look at ancient Rome through the eyes of Josephus.

The Albright Institute has posted its program for April and May.

Joan Taylor asks what Jesus looked like.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of an unusual sunrise on the Sea of Galilee. Leon Mauldin provides a wrap-up of their trip in Israel and Jordan.

Israel’s Good Name visited Ein Bokek and Ami’az Plateau.

HT: Mike Harney, Ted Weis, Agade, Jared Clark, Joseph Lauer

Share:

Appian Media is preparing to film their second Bible-based video series focusing on Israel’s United Monarchy. Searching for a King will focus on the lives of Saul, David, and Solomon, and like their previous Following the Messiah series it will be available for free online.

But to make that happen, they need our support. They are nearing their goal of $120,000, but they need the last $10,000 now to close the gap. If you think that high-quality, accurate videos filmed on-site in Israel are a valuable resource for people all over the world, I encourage you to consider chipping in. Every little bit helps, and everyone benefits.
searchingforakingpromo1
Share:

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest port in Iraq, a large harbor built by the Sumerians circa 2000 BC.

A US organization has kept the traditional tomb of Nahum in Iraq from collapsing.

Scholars have identified an ancient Greek medical text by Galen that was later covered by a 10th-century copy of the Psalms.

Fifteen years after 15,000 antiquities were looted from the Baghdad Museum, half of them have still not been located. Many have likely been sold on the antiquities market.

Mapping Mesopotamian Monuments is a topographical survey of rock reliefs, historical monuments and architecture that covers all historical periods from ancient to modern.”

Touring Jordan: Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of the Jabbok River and Leon Mauldin posts shots of Tell es-Saidiyeh (Zarethan?) and a sunset over the Dead Sea.  

Apollo Magazine reports on the famous mosaics of Medeba.

In celebration of the acquisition of CDL Press, Eisenbrauns is offering a 30% discount on all volumes in the Cornell University Studies in Assyriology and Sumerology series. Use discount code CUSAS.

Clyde Billington is on The Book and the Spade this week discussing the Roman camp at Megiddo.

Aren Maeir was honored on his 60th birthday with a festschrift prepared for him by more than 100 contributors!

Professor Ephraim Stern, director of the Dor Project from 1980 to 2000, passed away Friday evening in Jerusalem.

James F. Strange has died.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, PaleoJudaica

Share:

An 86-year-old guide hiked the Nabatean Spice Route from Petra to Avdat over five days. On the last day they discovered a lost portion of the route.

The process of clearing mines from the area around the baptismal site on the Jordan River has begun.

A new study reveals that “pigeons played a central role some 1,500 years ago in transforming the Byzantine Negev into a flourishing garden.”

Philippe Bohstrom provides a good summary of where things stand with the seal impression of Isaiah.

Itzhaq Shai and Chris McKinny explain Canaanite religion at Tel Burna in the 13th century BC.

Israel’s Good Name recently spent the day at En Gedi, taking photos around the area and visiting the ancient synagogue.

An Israeli shepherdess is raising sheep so she can sell pricey shofars.

Passion Week begins tomorrow and Wayne Stiles is making available a free video series tracing

Jesus’s final days from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

50% off retail price on the entire inventory of Wipf & Stock! They have some great books! Use code INV50 through April 3. Here are three of their books I love:

Or search their 300-page catalog here. (Sale includes books not listed in that catalog.) Or find Biblical Studies here.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, PaleoJudaica

Share:

For photographs, sometimes timing is everything. A recent example of this comes from Alexander Schick’s visit to Macherus after the discovery of a large mikveh (ritual bath). He took this photo in November 2016.

Macherus mikveh Alexander Schick P 4971

But he returned to the site a few weeks ago, and this is how it looks now.
Macherus mikveh filled in, Alexander Schick, P1030239
For reasons we can only speculate about (safety?, preservation?, anti-Jewish sentiment?), the mikveh has been filled in. Macherus is still a fantastic site to visit, but you won’t be able to see the ritual bath that its Jewish inhabitants used in the 1st century.
Share:

The Column of King Merneptah has been transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Popular Archaeology investigates the discovery of three skeletons at Gezer last summer.

Researchers at Bowdoin College Museum of Art are working to reconstruct the color on ancient Assyrian reliefs.

The luxurious Roman silver Berthouville Treasure collection is now on display in Denmark.

James Mellaart, former excavator of Catalhoyuk, is accused of having forged murals and inscriptions that he claimed to have discovered.

Was the synagogue of Capernaum in Jesus’s day white or black? Leen Ritmeyer explains why it was black.

As Easter approaches, Carl Rasmussen shares related photos, including one of a “crown of thorns.”

Gary Rendsburg gives a tour of the world’s oldest Torah scrolls.

Wayne Stiles looks at Abraham’s visit with Melchizedek in Salem.

The latest from Walking the Text is “Returning to the Path.”

This week’s program on The Book and the Spade addresses the tomb of Jonah and archaeological destruction.

For years I’ve used a helpful OT chronological chart with my students. Now Kris Udd is making it
available to the public (via Academia).

HT: Ted Weis, Agade

Share: