BiblePlaces Blog - Page 207 of 571

Trashing the Emmaus Road

The scandal of the Roman road to Emmaus is detailed by Nir Hasson in Haaretz. This historic treasure on the outskirts of Jerusalem is not only ignored by the authorities, but they permit cemetery dumps and sewage deposits to foul it. Wherever you locate the Emmaus of Luke 24, whether at Moza or Latrun, this was the ancient route that Jesus and the two disciples traveled.

In honor of Sukkot, we took a walk along the ancient pilgrims’ route to Jerusalem, known as the Roman Ascent.

The road, about two kilometers long, begins at the complex known as the Red House at the bottom and ends outside the Givat Shaul industrial zone. It once led from Emmaus (in the Latrun area) via Abu Ghosh to the Old City. Until a few decades ago it could still be seen and was a popular hiking trail.

Today, it’s not so easy to follow. The trail begins at an ancient pool apparently used until Ottoman times. Accompanied by Israel Antiquities Authority architect Shahar Puni, we started out along the unpaved road, and after a few dozen meters found our way blocked by weeds and trees that had fallen during last winter’s snowstorm. To continue, we had to climb over the wide sewage pipe laid along the way, sometimes right over the ancient road. Twenty years ago the pipe burst higher up the ascent, washing away the soil and a good many of the paving stones. Some 700 meters higher up, we spot curbstones for the first time, and perhaps some paving stones under the dirt.

The rest of the article is worth reading.

Roman road to Moza, possible Emmaus, tb030803361

Roman road to Emmaus
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Judah, Tourism

3D Scan Made of Chariots Engraving at Timna Valley

From the Jerusalem Post:

Using an innovative three dimensional technology, researchers have now made the Timna Valley Park the first setting in Israel where a large-scale rock engraving was scanned.
The project was headed by a team from the Computerized Archaeology Laboratory in the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The laboratory combines advanced mathematics and computing methods with modern, high-precision scanners to provide digital three dimensional models of archaeological finds. Dr. Leore Grosman directed the project by in collaboration with Assaf Holzer and the Timna Valley Park team, who provided important help and support.
The researchers’ first goal in scanning the engraving was to create a durable, long-lasting and accurate 3D model in case of future damage to the original. Their other goal was to create a precise model that will allow an objective study of the engraving, in order to gain a better understanding of the people who made it.

The full article includes an image of the 3-D model.

Chariots engraving at Timna Valley
Photo by A.D. Riddle

Tagged Negev, Technology

Ancient Mikveh Discovered in Elah Valley

From The Times of Israel:

Archaeologists working in the hills outside of Jerusalem uncovered an ancient ritual bath that offers not only remnants of Second Temple-era life in the area, but also those of Australian soldiers who visited the site while passing through during World War II.

“The finds from this excavation allow us to reconstruct a double story: about the Jewish settlement in the second century CE, probably against the backdrop of the events of the Bar Kochba revolt [132-135 CE], and another story, no less fascinating, about a group of Australian soldiers who visited the site” many centuries later “and left their mark there,” excavation director Yoav Tsur said.

During a dig at the Elah junction south of Beit Shemesh, archaeologists found “fragments of magnificent pottery vessels,” such as lamps, a jug and cooking pots, that helped them date the use of mikveh, or ritual bath, back to the time of the Second Temple, but the evidence indicates that residents stopped using it as a ritual bath during the second century CE, “perhaps in light of the Bar Kokhba revolt,” according to Tsur.

After the site ceased to be used as a mikveh, residents of the area enlarged the otzar — or water collecting vat for the mikveh — and continued to use it as a cistern for collecting drinking water.

Nearly 2,000 years later, as fighting again raged in the region, two Australian soldiers left their names, ranks and identification numbers carved into the rock at the site during World War II.

The full story is here.

HT: Charles Savelle

Tagged Discoveries, Shephelah

Great Opportunity for a Summer Excavation Experience!

by Chris McKinny

Aren Maeir has just released an announcement that the Ackerman family of South Africa will now be funding 20 fellowships for this upcoming summer season at Tell es-Safi/Gath. This is great news for anyone interested in participating in an archaeological investigation!

Announcement:

Thanks to the generous funding of the Ackerman family of South Africa, we hereby are happy to announce an exciting new fellowship for students from all over the world, to assist in participation in the 2015 season of excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel.The fellowship (approximately 20 will be awarded), will cover the R&B costs for the entire 2015 season at the excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath. Fellows will have to cover their travel expenses to and from Israel, and all expenses in Israel incurred not during the excavation itself (including costs of weekends during the dig).

You can read about the rest of the details here. This is a rare opportunity to spend a summer at one of the most important Bronze and Iron Age sites in Israel!

Weekend Roundup

A Digital Reconstruction of the Northwest Palace at Nimrud, Assyria is a 3-minute video posted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s very good.

Steve Green’s museum in Washington, DC now has a name: museum of the Bible.

Some of Josephus’s works are available in audio format for free.

Shimon Gibson and James D. Tabor summarize their 2014 excavations on Mount Zion.

The Times of Israel: “Beneath the houses of Old Jerusalem’s Cotton Market neighborhood, a massive series of ancient buildings excavated by Israeli archaeologists is set to open to the public.”

ArtDaily: “The huge flat-topped rock on which the ancient Parthenon sits in the centre of Athens is starting to give way.”

Haaretz reports on large-scale animal sacrifice related to the Early Bronze temples at Megiddo.

Science 2.0: The enemy of archaeology is not people, it’s salt.

A Polish team has begun a new archaeological project near Tafilah in southern Jordan.

Filming has begun for a movie about four women whose lives intersect in the siege of Masada. “The Dovekeepers” is being produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett and is based on a historical novel by Alice Hoffman.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer

The area of Tafileh, Jordan
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Excavations, Greece, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Jordan Rift, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Modern Place Names and the Bible

A family member asked me for a brief list of major regions in the biblical world that are mentioned in the news today by other names. Since most Bible dictionaries do not have entries for the modern names, this list is intended to bridge that gap. With the ancient names in hand, you can consult a Bible dictionary for more details.

Iraq – ancient Assyria (northern Iraq) and Babylon (southern Iraq). Assyria conquered the ten tribes of the north, and Babylon conquered Judah and Jerusalem.

Iran – ancient Persia. Setting of familiar stories of Daniel in the lions’ den and Esther.

Syria – ancient Aram. Rarely united in ancient times, leading to multiple Aramean countries. The prominent one in the Bible was centered in Damascus.

Lebanon – home of the biblical cities of Tyre and Sidon and the ancient Phoenicians.

Jordan – settled in biblical times, from north to south, by Israel (tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad), Ammon, Moab, and Edom.

West Bank – the modern name for the biblical lands of Judah (Judea), Ephraim, and Manasseh (Samaria). Strangely enough, the Israelis today do not live in most of the land that was the heartland of ancient Israel.

Gaza Strip – once was part of the land of the Philistines (no relation to the Palestinians of today except in name). Most of the Philistine territory is inhabited by Jewish Israelis today, including the coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon.

Golan Heights – biblical Bashan. Known for its cattle and oaks, but sparsely settled in the biblical period.

Turkey – in the Old Testament period this was home to a variety of people that are less directly related to the Bible (including the Hittites). In the New Testament times, Paul founded and worked with many churches, including those in Galatia, Ephesus, and Colossae.

Greece – Paul’s second missionary journey focused on Macedonia (northern Greece) and Achaia (southern Greece). Macedonia includes the cities of Philippi and Thessalonica, whereas Achaia includes Athens and Corinth.

Russia – this region is never named in the Bible. Some believe that references to the enemy in “the north” pertain to Russia, but I think this is unlikely. Because Israel was sandwiched between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Arabian desert to the east, invaders came from the south (Egypt) or the north (Assyria and Babylon).

Tagged Travels