Uncategorized Archives - Page 176 of 571

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Have archaeologists identified some of the pilgrimage roads that led up to Jerusalem?

The Dead Sea is a fascinating place, as Wayne Stiles shows from his research and with some good visual aids.

@PalExFund shares a great photo from 1903 of the “PEF Observation Rock” along the shore of the Dead Sea.

Though the winter season at Khirbet el-Maqatir was cancelled, Scott Stripling led a small group to Israel and he shares his diary of the places they saw and the friends they met.

You can listen to part 2 of my discussion with Gordon Govier of 2016 excavations as well as other recent programs at The Book and the Spade.

Shmuel Browns shares some beautiful photos from Makhtesh Gadol. And he is co-leading the Great Makhtesh Photograph Adventure next month.

ABR is introducing a new archaeology curriculum for children.

Test your knowledge of Jericho with a new quiz at the ASOR Blog.

Eisenbrauns has a sale on Israel Exploration Society publications for 30 to 50% off.

Ken Dark concludes that satellite imagery is less useful for discovering new features around the Sea of Galilee than fieldwalking and surface surveys.

Leen Ritmeyer notes that Jerusalem the IMAX movie is currently available for free on Youtube.

Threshing floor in Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah, with Ambassador Hotel, mat23102

Threshing floor in Jerusalem near the Ambassador Hotel, 1953
Source: Library of Congress, LC-matpc-23102/www.LifeintheHolyLand.com

Tagged Dead Sea, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Negev

Weekend Roundup

A Japanese team is excavating Tel Rekhesh, a city that may be biblical Anaharath.

Wayne Stiles explains what the apparently contradictory lessons of suffering and glory that Jesus revealed on the slopes of Mount Hermon mean for us today.

Muslims are conducting unauthorized excavations on the Temple Mount, again. The Temple Mount Sifting Project has more links.

Another view on ISIS and antiquities: “Actual examples of ISIS-looted antiquities on the market are slim to none.”

Popular Archaeology has a feature story on the new exhibition on King Midas at the Penn Museum.

The city of Knossos was larger in the early Iron Age than archaeologists previously believed.

Gabriel Barkay and Zachi Dvira post a summary of their efforts to use crowd-funding to support the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

Carl Laney identifies his five favorite Bible atlases.

Bill Schlegel has posted a short flyover video of the Philistine city of Gath.

Who were the idols that the Thessalonian believers used to worship? Ferrell Jenkins shares photos from the museum in Thessaloniki.

HT: Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Agade, BibleX

Our most liked photo this week on Facebook was this image of the Ecce Homo arch, standing in Jerusalem since the year 130.

Tagged Galilee, Greece, Jerusalem, Museums, Philistines, Resources, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient road in Tarsus, not far from the Cleopatra Gate.

A new study suggests that the Romans contributed to an increase in human parasites, despite their advances in sanitation technology.

Wayne Stiles draws spiritual application out of a gate in Jerusalem that is blocked to prevent the Messiah’s arrival.

Washington Post: How 3D printers can help undo the destruction of ISIS

Lawrence H. Schiffman shares insights about Jews and Judaism that he gained from reading the New Testament.

Last week I was on The Book and the Spade with Gordon Govier discussing the top ten stories in biblical archaeology. This week we’re discussing upcoming excavations in Israel in 2016.

Penn Museum explains how to make cuneiform tablet cookies.

Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv has opened a new exhibition on discoveries from Tel Rehov.

Israel’s underwater treasures need protecting, according to a recent post on the ASOR Blog.

Haaretz reports on the significance of the recently discovered seal impression of Hezekiah, son of
Ahaz, king of Judah.

Visits to the Temple Mount by non-Jewish and non-Muslim tourists has been going down every year since 2010.

A new video shows how a small excavation at Ein Lamur/Ein Limon is being used to strengthen the community.

Luke Chandler shares a video on volunteers excavating at Lachish.

The Review of Biblical Literature has been moved behind a paywall.

Helmut Koester died on New Year’s Day at the age of 89.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Museums, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Canaanite Fortress Unearthed in Nahariya

Israeli archaeologists working in the northern coastal city of Nahariya have uncovered a Canaanite citadel dating to 1400 BC. From Haaretz:

The Bronze Age citadel apparently served as an administrative center serving Mediterranean mariners, stated the Israel Antiquities Authority. It had been destroyed at least four times by fire and was rebuilt each time, says the IAA.
Among the artifacts discovered in the ruined citadel’s rooms are ceramic figurines with human and animal forms, bronze weapons, and pottery vessels that hadn’t been made locally – they had been imported. That is further testimony to the extensive trading relations among the peoples around the Mediterranean Sea basin.
Among the burnt layers, the excavators found abundant remains of cereals, legumes and grape seeds, the IAA said. Whether the grape seeds prove that wine had been made in the area remains an open question, though analysis of clay vessels dating to 4,000 years ago, from the cellar of a Canaanite palace nearby, found remains of red wine, and a fine, aromatic vintage fit for a king at that.

The story is reported by Haaretz, the Jerusalem Post, and others. High-res images and video are available here.

The press release and news articles do not make the connection, but the date of this fortress is close to the time of the Israelites’ invasion of Canaan under Joshua. According to the account in Judges, the Israelites were unsuccessful in dislodging the Canaanites who lived on the plains, including the area of what is today Nahariya.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Nahariya on the northern coast of Israel

Tagged Excavations, Israel's Coast

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Greek and Danish archaeologists are excavating Lechaion, the harbor town of ancient Corinth.

An “ancient arch of Palmyra which was destroyed by Isis will be recreated in Trafalgar Square and Times Square using the world’s largest 3D printer.”

Albawaba has a roundup of the nine sites destroyed by ISIS this year.

The Irish Times reports on the work of Syria’s director of antiquities in these difficult days.

New from IES: Debating Khirbet Qeiyafa: A Fortified City in Judah from the Time of King David, by Yosef Garfinkel, Igor Kreimerman and Peter Zilberg.

Shmuel Browns shares some beautiful photographs he took at the Dead Sea.

Owen Jarus looks ahead to what to expect in the archaeological world in 2016.

Luke Chandler notes a new book by Dale Manor, Digging Deeper into the Word: The Relevance of Archaeology to Christian Apologetics.

The three surviving bronze heads of Hadrian are currently on display at the Israel Museum.

Wayne Stiles is offering a discount on autographed copies of his three books.

HT: Explorator, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Steven Anderson, Charles Savelle

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists unearthed a Byzantine-era sculpture of a male lamb in Caesarea. High-res photos are available here.

The Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered a farmhouse from 700 BC and a Byzantine church near biblical Aphek. High-res photos and a video are available for download. The story is reported by The
Times of Israel.

An ancient aqueduct has been discovered at Ein Hatzeva.

Israel’s Supreme Court has issued a ruling which will require antiquities dealers to maintain a detailed online inventory.

Scholars are using laser-scanning to create 3-D records of archaeological sites in Iraq that are vulnerable.

Israel’s National Parks Authority plans to turn Tel Ashdod into a national park.

A $287 million USAID project in Jordan conducted a thorough environmental impact report for the construction of a wind farm and yet failed to identify portions of the Via Nova Trajana that would be destroyed.

Was Herod a hero? Alexander Stewart evaluates some recent biographies that provide a more positive spin while at the same time denying Matthew’s account of the slaughter of the innocents.

Congratulations to Chris McKinny on the publication of My People As Your People: A Textual and
Archaeological Analysis of the Reign of Jehoshaphat, published by Peter Lang.