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JUC Online Summer Institute

Jerusalem University College has just announced the JUC Online Summer Institute. This six-week study opportunity costs only $159 per (non-credit) course, and all three classes look very interesting:

Reading Psalms Geographically, with Dr. Paul Wright
Paul has lived in Jerusalem for 26 years, 19 of which he has served as president of Jerusalem University College. This is the final course that Dr. Wright will teach as president before he and his wife Diane retire from their roles at JUC.
Jesus the Galilean, with Dr. Wave Nunnally
Dr. Nunnally has led study trips to Israel for more than 25 years. Wave served in the pastorate for four years and has spent the last 29 years teaching Jewish Backgrounds, Hebrew, Geography of Israel, Gospels, and Acts at the undergraduate, graduate, and PhD levels.
What Archaeology Can and Cannot Tell Us About the Bible, with Dr. Chris McKinny
Chris has lived in Israel for years and regularly leads study tours to the lands of the Bible. Dr. McKinny is a Research Fellow with Gesher Media and senior staff member at the Tel Burna Archaeological project who is passionate about biblical archaeology, history, and geography.

The classes are offered at different times of the day, so participants can enroll in all three classes. Registration is open now until May 17.

Tagged Galilee, Lectures

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Egypt reports the uncovering of 110 ancient tombs at the Koum el-Khulgan archeological site in Dakahlia province, northeast of Cairo.

“A team of Polish scientists say they have discovered the only known example of an embalmed pregnant Egyptian mummy.”

A first-century statue of a Roman female deity, which once stood at the entrance of the Roman Forum and has been missing since 1977, has been recovered.

Alex Joffe recounts his meeting with James Mellaart and where that all led.

Robert Cargill explains what the Tel Dan Inscription is and isn’t in a new 30-minute video.

First time available in digital format: ESV Archaeology Study Bible Notes, for Accordance, on sale for $19.90

Pinar Durgun has compiled a list of Ancient Anatolia Digital/Online/Open-Access Resources for Teaching and Research.

Olga Tufnell’s ‘Perfect Journey’ presents the account of an important archaeologist working in southern Palestine during the British Mandate. Published by UCL Press, with a free pdf download of the entire book. $1 on Kindle.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working in Yavne on Israel’s southern coast discovered a colorful mosaic from a Byzantine mansion.

New research suggests that paleographic dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls may less accurate than has been assumed. Some of the videos from the conference are available online.

A marine archaeologist believes he has found archaeological evidence for Solomon and Hiram’s maritime partnership in the western Mediterranean, including the location of Tarshish.

“80% of archaeological sites in the West Bank have been damaged, according to a new, unpublished report by the right-wing archaeological group Israel’s Heritage Preservation Center.”

Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am provide an illustrated look at the historical importance of the Philistine city of Gath.

John DeLancey posts a video taken from the Herodium on a very clear day, when even the Dead Sea was visible.

Bryan Windle surveys the top three reports in biblical archaeology for April.

Two short historic films:

The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition in London in 1965 (2 min)
The Book and the Spade (with James B. Pritchard), by Penn Museum, from 1967 (28 min)

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Israel's Coast, Judah, Philistines, Samaria, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A new project aims to restore five ancient theaters in central Greece, including Nicopolis and Dodona, in order to increase tourism to the sites.

An article in Daily Sabah discusses the contribution of Çatalhöyük, Alacahöyük, and Kültepe to Anatolian and Mesopotamian history.

Live Science has more about the amphitheater recently discovered in western Turkey.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos of the theater at Miletus and its inscription mentioning “the place for the Jews and the God-worshipers.”

Gardens of the Roman Empire “is the first complete and authoritative online scholarly corpus of all the gardens attested in the Roman Empire.”

On the British Museum blog, Francesca Bologna considers what we really know about the life and reign of Nero.

Some Syrian refugees are finding shelter in archaeological ruins.

The961 highlights 21 interesting Phoenician artifacts on display at the British Museum.

Ariane Thomas discusses the life of a curator at the Louvre on the Thin End of the Wed podcast.

Zoom lecture on April 27: “What Makes a Great Invention? The Invention of the Alphabet in the Sinai Desert C. 1840 BCE,” by Orly Goldwasser.

Zoom lectures on April 29: “Food in the Ancient Near East,” with Cynthia Shafer-Elliott and Rosaura Cauchi.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Greece, Lectures, Museums, Syria, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Researchers investigating a perfectly circular structure submerged under the Sea of Galilee are considering a possible connection to the tomb of Aqhat in Ugaritic mythology. The underlying journal article is here.

Mark Hoffman writes about the new “Timelapse in Google Earth,” with a couple of suggested views to check out.

Chris McKinny is on the Out of Zion podcast discussing the biblical and geographical backgrounds related to crossing the Jordan River.

Wendy Slaninka continues the fascinating story of her grandfather, James Leslie Starkey, excavator of Lachish.

Sudarsan Raghavan writes about the latest discoveries at Saqqara for the Washington Post.

“Pharaonic history provides us with well-documented cases of condemnation of the memory of specific individuals – what we today call damnatio memoriae.”

A project using artificial intelligence has determined that the Great Isaiah Scroll was written by two scribes, not one (Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, Haaretz premium, journal article).

New: Babylon: The Great City, by Olof Pedersén (Zaphon, 2021). Available in hardcover (44 €) and pdf (free).

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Ferrell Jenkins, Keith Keyser, Explorator, G. M. Grena

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Jordan Rift, Mesopotamia, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Unique Tours of the Mediterranean World

Tutku Educational Travel has a number of terrific tours planned in the latter half of 2021 and on through 2022. I’ve traveled with Tutku several times in the past, and my university is a regular partner with them for our student tours, and so I like to recommend them to others looking for great tours with the best instructors. You can get the full run-down of upcoming trips on the Tutku website, but I wanted to recommend and highlight six in particular:

Open to all:

Western Turkey, Aegean Cruise, and Athens, with Mark Fairchild (May 2022)
By Sea and Land: Malta, Sicily, Italy, with Glen L. Thompson and Carl Rasmussen
Sailing Acts: The Seaports and Sailing Routes of Paul, with Linford and Janet Stutzman (Sept 2022)
Peter in Asia Minor: Geography and History of His Communities, with Mark Wilson (Sept 2022)

For faculty and pastors (with discount):

Biblical Israel, with Carl Rasmussen (Jan 2022)
Biblical Egypt, with Jim Hoffmeier (Jan 2022)

You can see the full list of biblical tours here.

Tagged Egypt, Greece, Tourism, Turkey