Congratulations to Coleman B. and Jimmy R., winners of The Holy Land Revealed, produced by The Great Courses.
We plan to have giveaways of other resources in the weeks to come and you’re invited to enter those drawings. Thanks to all who entered.
I see that The Holy Land Revealed is still available for 70% off at www.thegreatcourses.com, in both DVD and video download formats.
The Daily Star (Lebanon) reports on the continued excavations in the port city of Sidon.
Excavations led by a delegation from the British Museum at the Frères’ archaeological site in the old city of Sidon unearthed more important antiquities during their 14th year, it was revealed Tuesday.
Preparations also got under way for the construction of a museum to display the findings at the site. The construction is due to begin in September.
Discoveries at the site since excavations began in 1998 have revealed artifacts from the Early Bronze Age, which began around 3,000 B.C., through to the Iron Age, which covered around 1,200-539 B.C.
Among the latest discoveries was a particular type of Phoenician architecture, which the archaeologists said was not commonly found in Lebanon, consisting of stones cut for the construction of walls or floors.
Over 50 amphorae were also found, as well as a stunning Attic vase, depicting two riders going to war wearing white tunics and holding spears.
More details of the discoveries are given in the full story.
Sidon is mentioned many times in the Old and New Testaments. Some passages indicate that Sidon was intended to be the northern border of Israel (Gen 10:19; 49:13; Judg 1:31; 2 Sam 24:6), and in the days of Zerubbabel cedars were imported for the Second Temple (Ezra 3:7). Both Jesus and Paul visited the city or area of Sidon (Matt 15:21; Acts 27:3). Though prophets condemned the city (Isa 23:2-12; Jer 47:4; Ezek 28:21-22; Joel 3:4), Jesus declared that Sidon would fare better on the day of judgment than Chorazin and Bethsaida (Matt 11:21-22).
HT: Jack Sasson
Leen Ritmeyer posts photos and discusses recent damage to the walls of the Temple Mount. “It is clear that the time bomb is ticking louder. It is only a matter of time when large sections of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount will collapse.”
Wayne Stiles reflects on the relevance of archaeology to faith in the reign of Hezekiah. “I have a faith rooted in history—not mystery. The words on the pages of Scripture are supporting by simple elements we can dig out of the ground. They prove nothing, but they support it all.”
The Tall el-Hammam Season Six (2011) Report is available online.
Matthew Kalman’s article on Oded Golan after his acquittal is now available (and no longer behind the paywall).
The Star-Telegram features a gallery of photos of the new Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit in Fort Worth.
This looks like a nice tour of Turkey to sites that most first-time visitors don’t see, but you won’t believe the price.
One man has made a model of the Roman Colosseum using 200,000 Legos.
HT: Craig Dunning, Tim Graham, Explorator
The timing of this giveaway is ideal for two reasons: (1) Yesterday Jodi Magness announced the discovery of a mosaic depicting Samson in a synagogue she is excavating in Galilee; (2) the DVD course we are giving away is now on sale. (Last week when a friend wrote and asked about the course, we checked and it was available for $375. Today it is $99.95.)
We gave The Holy Land Revealed away when it first was created more than a year ago and we would just echo some of our comments there.
The instructor of The Holy Land Revealed is Jodi Magness, professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This video DVD course includes 36 half-hour lectures on 6 DVDs. You can see a complete list of the lectures in the right sidebar on this page, but I’ll just note a few of particular interest here:
A quibble: the course is entitled “The Holy Land Revealed.” This is a potentially ambiguous title. I was expecting more of a geography-type course. But this is clearly focused on archaeological discoveries that illuminate the land’s history. Not only that, you should know that it is not evenly balanced across the periods. This is not surprising if you know Magness’ expertise. Naturally she is going to teach at greater length what she knows best.
The Holy Land Revealed is not something produced or sold by BiblePlaces.com, but we believe that it is a useful resource that our readers would enjoy. The course does include dozens of photos licensed from our collection, but we receive no royalties from sales.
We have two copies to give away. One will be given away to entrants who use the email form. The other will go to those who enter with PunchTab. You can enter either or both. If you cannot see the forms below, click here. The giveaway ends this Friday at noon Eastern Time. We have no idea how long the sale will last.
(We need your email address to notify you if you win. We will not use it for anything else.)
A colorful mosaic depicting Samson and a pair of ignited fox tails has been discovered in the excavation of a Byzantine-era synagogue in Galilee. The depiction of Samson is accompanied by two female faces and a Hebrew inscription that speaks of rewards for those who do good.
The Israel Antiquities Authority has issued a press release:
Huqoq is an ancient Jewish village located approximately two to three miles west of Capernaum and Migdal (Magdala). This second season of excavations has revealed portions of a stunning mosaic floor decorating the interior of the synagogue building. The mosaic, which is made of tiny colored stone cubes of the highest quality, includes a scene depicting Samson placing torches between the tails of foxes (as related in the book of Judges 15). In another part of the mosaic, two human (apparently female) faces flank a circular medallion with a Hebrew inscription that refers to rewards for those who perform good deeds.
“This discovery is significant because only a small number of ancient (Late Roman) synagogue buildings are decorated with mosaics showing biblical scenes, and only two others have scenes with Samson (one is at another site just a couple of miles from Huqoq),” said Magness, the Kenan Distinguished Professor in the department of religious studies in [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill] College of Arts and Sciences. “Our mosaics are also important because of their high artistic quality and the tiny size of the mosaic cubes. This, together with the monumental size of the stones used to construct the synagogue’s walls, suggest a high level of prosperity in this village, as the building clearly was very costly.”
The site is being excavated by Magness along with David Amit and Shua Kisilevitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The IAA has released three photos (direct link) of the mosaic floor, but none of them show Samson or the fox tails. Amit describes the scene: the “mosaic contains a description of the biblical Samson and two pairs of foxes with a flaming torch connecting their tails.” The story is recorded in Judges 15:3-5.
In the 1920s, archaeologists had the chance to study remains underneath Al Aqsa Mosque. The findings of a Jewish mikveh, Byzantine mosaic, and other pre-Islamic items were not made public until recently. Nadav Shragai describes their importance and connects them with the discoveries made in the Temple Mount Sifting Project.
Shragai mentions in that same article that rebar and other construction material is now laying on the Foundation Stone, the holy rock inside the Dome of the Rock. Leen Ritmeyer has photos.
“The Palestine Archaeological Databank and Information System is now accessible openly without registration.”
The Tel Burna team has aerial photos showing the great progress they have made.
“The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Friday became the first World Heritage Site to be listed under the name of Palestine.” (JPost)
Four caves in Mount Carmel with early evidence of human occupation were also designated as a World Heritage site.
The ESV Concise Bible Atlas is now available. The 64-page paperback sells for $10, and both size and price may be attractive to the weak and the poor. (See here for my comments on its big brother.)
John Monson is interviewed this week on the Book and the Spade, with attention given to his upcoming participation in the Khirbet Qeiyafa excavation and the shrines discovered there.
The widening of Highway 1 will slow down traffic from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for many years.
Matti Friedman retells the story of the discovery of the Cave of the Treasure, a cache of more than 400 copper objects more than 5,000 years old.
“An ancient Phoenician port in Beirut dating back to at least
500 B.C. was destroyed Tuesday,” said archaeologists. There’s no port there, according to the
Archaeological Assessment Report.
The Day of Archaeology 2012 was yesterday, but posts will continue to be added for another week.
HT: Charles E. Jones, Jack Sasson
