The archaeological co-directors provide a summary of this summer’s work at Tel Ein Jezreel.

Archaeologists working at Bethsaida have found some monumental towers guarding the approach ramp to the city gate.

Haaretz (premium) reports on the latest discoveries in the Mount Zion excavation, including a bathtub and a cup with a priestly inscription. Joel Kramer’s drone photo gives a good perspective.

Wayne Stiles reflects this week on lessons to be learned from Jeremiah’s hometown of Anathoth.

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in sequencing the genome of ancient barley grains found in a cave near Masada.

An update on the renovations of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity includes photos of newly restored mosaics.

IAA inspectors raided a shop in the Old City of Jerusalem suspected to be selling antiquities without a license.

Invitations are now open for a 2017 conference entitled “The Anglo-German Exploration of the Holy Land, 1865-1915.”

Eric Mitchell has begun a series on biblical archaeology for the Christian Examiner.

An article in Forbes asks how augmented reality will affect archaeological sites.

With a recent grant, plans are moving forward in the creation of the Digital Library of the Middle East.

Gordon Govier speaks this week with Cynthia Shafer-Elliott about “Daily Life in Ancient Israel” on the Book and the Spade (part 1, part 2).

Some Leon Uris favorites are on sale for Kindle now: Exodus, Mila 18, QB VII, and others.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Explorator, Daniel Wright

A unique and well-preserved mosaic depicting the battle of David and Goliath has been looted in Syria. I was first shown a higher-res version of this image several months ago, but was not allowed to share it. It’s now posted on a French website, and you can read a (poor) Google translation with this link. At this point, there do not appear to be any other stories on the discovery, but perhaps that will change.

David et Goliath
David and Goliath mosaic looted in Syria

An official in the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Syria believes that the mosaic comes from a church in northern Syria and dates to about AD 600. This may be the only known depiction of David and Goliath on a mosaic floor. The image depicts the warrior Goliath standing on the right side with full battle armor. To the left stands David with Goliath’s head on the end of his spear with the headless Goliath now laying at his feet. In the upper right corner, Saul and two others (brothers?) are depicted within the walls of a fortress. In the upper left corner are three women, probably those who rejoiced in David’s victory.

A Google search for this image reveals that it was posted on several Arabic websites on July 21-22, 2014.

The Met has an image of a silver plate depicting the battle, dating to approximately the same time (AD 630).

HT: Agade

The Temple Mount Sifting Project has released a new video showing dozens of their discoveries.

Another video released this month features David Hendin explaining the coins of the Jewish War.

Egyptian officials are re-opening the tombs of Queen Nefertari and King Seti I in Luxor, but the cost for a ticket will be steep (about $113).

Researchers suggest that King Tut’s dagger was made from a meteorite.

The BBC has the latest “the Dead Sea is dying” story, including an impressive photo of Mineral Beach.

The ASOR Archive Photo of the Month shows archaeologists and local workers at Qumran in 1952.

In terms of visitors, the Louvre is the most popular museum in the world. The British Museum is #5 and the Vatican Museums are #7.

The Google Cultural Institute “contains more than six million artworks, photos, videos and documents from 1,000 institutions including the British Museum and MoMA.”

The lavish lifestyle of the Roman Empire elite is on exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City.

The Getty Museum has acquired a valuable Greek funeral vase and a Roman marble head.

“The Penn Museum’s ongoing exhibition, ‘In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies,’ offers visitors an insider’s look at efforts to document, preserve, and restore ancient objects in the
Museum’s extensive collection.”

A new exhibit at the Met in New York City focuses on Jerusalem between the years 1000 and 1400.

Ashkelon: A Retrospective: 30 Years of the Leon Levy Expedition is a new exhibit running at the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem until the end of the year.

Haaretz ran a profile of Geza Vermes on the anniversary of his birthday.

The Israel Antiquities Authority raided a shop in the Mamilla Mall on suspicions of selling looted antiquities.

“For the first time in history the texts and images of all the Dead Sea Scrolls are available in their totality on the Internet.” From Brill for a purchase price of $5,940.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Steven Anderson, Agade, Explorator, Daniel Wright,
G. M. Grena, Rebekah Dutton

Archaeologists working at Jerash (biblical Gerasa) have discovered part of a life-size statue of Aphrodite.

“American and Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a rare structure called a nilometer in the ruins of the ancient city of Thmuis in Egypt’s Delta region.” It was built in the 3rd century BC and used for 1,000 years.

British archaeologists have identified the remains of a 16- to 18-week-old mummified fetus that was found in Giza nearly 100 years ago.

The Antiquities Ministry of Egypt has completed a project to lower the groundwater at the Edfu Temple.

A plan has been approved that will remove all the mines around the traditional area of John’s baptisms on the Jordan River.

Haaretz (premium) visits the site of Tell el-Ajjul, once a prosperous Canaanite city south of Gaza but today at risk of complete destruction.

“Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion which cannot be moved but abides forever” (Psalm 125:1). Wayne Stiles uses photos to explain what this means today.

Two archaeology students have crowdsourced images to create a VR reconstruction of the Mosul museum. The article includes a cool YouTube 360 video.

The Palestinian Museum opened this week in Bir Zeit, but it has no exhibits.

The enforcement of a new antiquities law is making it harder for black market antiquities to be sold in Israel.

Israel will be returning two Bronze Age wooden anthropoid sarcophagus lids found by IAA agents in an Old City dealer’s shop.

Of 28 Egyptian obelisks standing today, only 6 are in Egypt. That’s one of many interesting facts about obelisks in a WSJ article that is based on a book by Bob Brier entitled Cleopatra’s Needles.

Allison Meier reviews the new exhibition in NYC, “Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus.” The article includes many photos.

Charles Jones has recently updated the list of titles in JSTOR which focus on Antiquity. It now includes 243 titles.

Dubgallu is a new forum for scholars of the ancient Near East. Registration is free, and open to anyone who academically studies the ancient Near East.

There’s a sale on for various electronic editions of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Old and New Testaments Logos, Accordance, and Olive Tree.

The Atlas of Palestinian Rural Heritage looks interesting. Some themes covered: Tilling – Harvesting – Moving the Harvest – Threshing – Sifting – Grinding – Making Dough – Baking Bread – Cooking – Making Grape Syrup – Sesame Oil – Olives and Olive Oil – Storage – Bard – Domestic Birds – Honeybee Farming – Milk – Shepherd – Washing – Water – Gathering Rainwater.

If you have a passion for biblical geography, perhaps you would consider supporting Seth Rodriquez to go to Zimbabwe to teach future pastors about the land of Israel. This is a great opportunity to help others learn about what we love.

I’ll be traveling for a few weeks and the regular roundups will resume when I return.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Steven Anderson

Old City from west, db6605212212
On this day 50 years ago, David Bivin took this photo while standing on the edge of no man’s land looking toward the Old City of Jerusalem, then occupied by Jordan. Photo from Views That Have Vanished.

An 8-year-old boy discovered the head of an Iron Age figurine while visiting the site of Beth Shemesh.

A mosaic with an inscription from Isaiah 65 has been discovered near Adana, Turkey.

Archaeologists have found a “giant fence” at Tell ed-Daba that dates to the time of the Hyksos’ invasion.

The Algemeiner: “Hamas forces seized a chest full of Ottoman-era gold coins discovered in Gaza.”

Police arrested an antiquities dealer near Beth Shean with a collection of more than 3,000 illegally obtained coins.

Google is adding Petra to its “Street View.” The queen of Jordan contributed by writing the company’s blog post. I’m impressed.

Fadi Shawkat Haddad has released A Christian Pilgrimage Journey in Jordan. Haddad is a Christian tour guide in Jordan whom I worked with many years ago. The book covers 80 sites and costs $20 plus postage.

The Summer 2015 issue of DigSight is now available in pdf format. This issue includes a report on the season at Lachish, the Ishbaal inscription from Khirbet Qeiyafa, and upcoming events.

Charles E. Jones has expanded his bibliography of autobiographies of archaeologists and given it a new home.

A team of researchers is learning more about how vellum was produced for pocket Bibles in the medieval period.

Premier Exhibitions recently had a media preview of its King Tut exhibition. It features more than
1,000 precisely crafted replicas, arranged in the exact manner found by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.

Qedem Reports is now accessible online through JSTOR. In the future, all Qedem volumes will be available.

The Biblical Archaeology Society is running a Thanksgiving sale with discounts up to 85%.

The future of archaeology is non-invasive and non-destructive technologies.

This week on the Land and the Book: Bible Exploration Tech Tools with Scott Lindsey from Logos Bible Software.

Here’s more on the new papyrus of the Gospel of John.

BibleX has an interesting post on Paul and Bedbugs.

Israeli archaeologist Yoram Tsafrir died on Monday.

HT: Charles Savelle, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Pat McCarthy, Ted Weis

The Islamic State beheaded the retired chief archaeologist of Palmyra. The Oriental Institute condemns this “brutal and senseless act.” Ian Tuttle suggests that he be added to the ranks of martyrs.

Does Syria’s Director-General of Antiquities and Museums have the saddest job in the world?

Recently his job has been to hide antiquities from ISIS.

The forthcoming Museum of the Bible in Washington DC has made a multi-year deal with the Israeli
Antiquities Authorities to display numerous artifacts.

Opening October 12: The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art will have an exhibition entitled,

Ancient Egypt Transformed: The Middle Kingdom,” featuring a range of artifacts from monumental stones to fine jewelry.

Greece’s financial woes have halted work on the great tomb which last year generated huge publicity.

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is hosting an exhibit on bronze sculptures in the Hellenistic era. The link includes some fantastic pictures.

Here’s more on the claim that the tomb of Egyptian queen Nefertiti may have been found. And a 15-minute video that explains the technology behind the claim.

The former director of the Walters Art Museum tries to make the case for buying antiquities in order to save them (WSJ; subscription required).

Ancient inscriptions in the Cave of the Elijah the Prophet are in danger.

The Lost Sheep is a new video short from Source Flix that will serve as a great intro or illustration in teaching.

Can you guess the location of these photos from the ASOR Archives? (We scored a 10.)

Rose Eveleth: Is Archaeology Better Off without Religion?

If you’ve been looking for an original, but affordable, copy of Edward Robinson’s Biblical Researches in Palestine, there’s one available now from a bookseller in California ($69 for three volumes). It looks like the Logos version is quite close to production, needing only a few more bids.

HT: Jared Clark, Charles Savelle, Agade, Joseph Lauer, and especially Ted Weis