“A 5,000-year-old wine press has been unearthed next to the iconic archaeological site of Tel Megiddo, providing the earliest evidence of wine production in the Land of Israel.” There are more photos here.
After years of survey work, a couple of Israeli archaeologists identified the probable location of the ancient synagogue in the Syrian village of Yehudiya in the Golan Heights. Then they confirmed it with excavations.
Archaeologists discovered red fox tracks in the fresh plaster of a Byzantine wall at Bethsaida (el-Araj).
Chandler Collins has written an excellent summary and analysis of the newly discovered “Siloam Dam” in Jerusalem.
Work is underway on a Visitor Education Center on the Mount of Olives. The story includes other details about the area, such as the cost of a burial plot in the cemetery.
The entire Great Isaiah Scroll will be on display at the Israel Museum to mark the museum’s 60th anniversary.
Iran is not happy about the British Museum’s plan to loan the Cyrus Cylinder to the National Library of Israel. [EDIT: This story is from early 2024. The Cyrus Cylinder has not been in Israel since this story was written, as far as I know.]
New from IAA Reports: Khirbat ‘Amra: A Rural Site from the Hellenistic to Early Islamic Periods in the Beʼer Sheva‘ Valley, by Itamar Taxel and Noé D. Michael (open-access).
Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 3: “The Legacy of Hansen House in Jerusalem,” by Susan Kennedy-Arenz. “This talk will describe the living conditions of Jerusalem’s leper community prior to the establishment of the first leper hospice in the mid-19th century.”
Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 10: “The Rise of Christianity in Galilee: A Perspective from the Jewish Cities of Sepphoris and Tiberias,” by Shulamit Miller
Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 17: “Albright 2025: The Year in Review,” by Director James Fraser
Preserving Bible Times is streaming Digging Deeper I (The Great Commission) and Digging Deeper II (The Jewish Mind of Jesus’ Day), free on YouTube.
Leon Mauldin shares several photos of the ancient city of Jokneam.
Logos subscribers can purchase Holman Illustrated Guide to Biblical Geography: Reading the Land, by Paul H. Wright, for about $8.
Alumni of Jerusalem University College are invited to an alumni gathering in Boston during the Annual Meetings.
Wayne Stiles is hosting an advanced tour of Israel next year, with visits to places that most groups never visit (including Dothan, Samaria, Solomon’s Pools, Bethany, Temple Mount, an optional 10-mile hike and river rafting, and more).
The new Job volume in the Photo Companion to the Bible includes 1,600 photos. The introductory sale ends in a few days.
HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Paleojudaica