Antiquities Trade Archives - Page 31 of 33

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists have discovered a Byzantine church near Abu Gosh during construction to widen Highway 1. UPI has five photos of the excavation. High-res photos may be downloaded here.

Haaretz has posted a 1-minute video in Hebrew with English subtitles.

The season at Khirbet el-Maqatir (Ai?) is underway with Bryant Wood giving a report from the first week and Suzanne Lattimer giving a report from the second week.

A summary of the first week of excavations at Tel Burna includes many photos.

If you’re interested in knowing more what’s involved in an archaeological excavation, you can check out this year’s manual for the Tell es-Safi/Gath excavation.

Israel has approved a scaled-down version of a visitor’s center in the City of David. Both sides claimed victory.

An Israeli judge ruled that Joe Zias overstepped the bounds of proper academic criticism and awarded a judgment of $200,000 to Simcha Jacobovici. Jacobovici had been seeking $3 million.

The Herodium and Herod’s palace at Jericho provide some striking geographic ironies of Jesus and Herod the Great.

PEF posts a photo with Starkey, Petrie, and Tufnell.

Ferrell Jenkins reports on recent changes made at the site of Capernaum.

Leon Mauldin explains and illustrates the significance of Nahal Besor.

Carl Rasmussen has long wanted a tour of the excavations under the Kishle and yesterday his wish was fulfilled.

The New York Times reports on how tourism in Jordan is suffering due to the conflict in Syria. That is too bad; Jordan is safe and has many important biblical sites.

Here are five reasons you shouldn’t buy that ancient artifact.

This week on the Book and the Spade Gary Burge discusses his new book, A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Herod's Tomb, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judah, Negev, Samaria, Shephelah, Tomb of Jesus

Weekend Roundup

This summer’s excavation on Mount Zion begins soon. Here’s how you can help even if you can’t be in Jerusalem.

Leen Riitmeyer reports on a second arch of Titus uncovered in Rome. And he describes how his search to find the Dedicatory Inscription in the Colosseum ultimately succeeded.

If you’ve ever wondered how they raised animals from underneath the floor of the Colosseum, the

Telegraph has an illustrated article showing a reconstruction of the elevators. A 2-minute video shows the process. This is part of a government project to restore the floor of the Colosseum.

James H. Charlesworth has written a lengthy and informative review rebutting David Stacey and
Gregory Doudna, Qumran Revisited: A Reassessment of the Archaeology of the Site and its Texts.

Wayne Stiles explains how the four quarters of Jerusalem will be united.

“Wilderness” is the title of a symposium of Biblical scholars from the Universities of Manchester, Sheffield and Lausanne University of Lausanne.

The British Museum is lending 500 artifacts to a new museum in Abu Dhabi for five years. This includes “the world’s finest single Assyrian panel: the Banquet Scene (645-635BC).”

There is fear in Iraq for the safety of the traditional tomb of the prophet Nahum.

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on Solomon’s temple, Akhenaten’s monotheism, the Gospel of Thomas, and the missing pages of the Aleppo Codex.

Congress has passed legislation making it illegal to sell looted artifacts from Syria.

The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. hosted a Tyre Day Symposium to raise awareness about the city’s history.

“Of Kings and Prophets” is a new series beginning this fall on ABC.

A clumsy tourist fell and smashed a 4,000-year-old vase in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum on the island of Crete.

Barry Britnell is sharing photos of last year’s trip as he prepares to lead next year’s trip. Today: Northern Galilee and the Hula Valley.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Dead Sea, Galilee, Italy, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Leen Ritmeyer explains with word and image the Treasury of the Temple in Jerusalem.

The IAA stopped two would-be tomb robbers as they were about to penetrate a Roman period burial chamber.

Fifty years ago this week Yigael Yadin announced the discovery of the Bar Kochba letters. (An aside: if you’re looking for summer reading, I enjoyed this biography on Yadin.)

Covenant Journey is a new Taglit- (Birthright-) type program designed for Christian students to visit Israel for only $500. It is being funded in part by the Museum of the Bible.

The NIV is celebrating its “50th” anniversary with the free NIV 50th Anniversary Bible App, a 365-day reading plan, a video “The NIV: Made to Study.” And I really appreciated the academic-level review of the translation philosophy of the NIV by Doug Moo, available both in video form and free eBook.

The ruins of Palmyra are at risk in fighting between the Islamic State and Syrian forces.

Students at Johns Hopkins are learning how to re-create ancient Greek pottery.

Leon Mauldin shares a group of photos of biblical Troas.

In the category of bad Hebrew tattoos, this one ranks high.

HT: Agade, Steven Anderson, Joseph Lauer

The ruins of Palmyra
from Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Greece, Jerusalem, Syria, Temple Mount, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Emek Shaveh has submitted a petition to Israel’s Supreme Court asking that Elad not be allowed to operate the City of David Archaeological Park.

The Museum of Biblical Art in NYC will permanently close on June 14. The American Bible Society could not find a new location for its rare Bible collection when it sold its building recently.

May 5 in NYC: By the Rivers of Babylon – A Symposium Exploring New Evidence from Ancient Texts about the Jewish Exiles

Here is a silent film segment of the Good Samaritan, re-enacted in Palestine in the 1920s.

The Independent has a lengthy profile of the antiquities trade long going on in Syria.

No one is visiting the pyramids of Sudan at Meroe.

Aren Maeir recommends The Archaeology of Jerusalem: From the Origins to the Ottomans as a worthy introductory textbook to the subject.

If you liked the drone video of Herodium, you can see more from Amir Aloni here.

HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Resources, Syria, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Israeli authorities have arrested 7 Bedouin for illegally excavating at Tel Ma’aravim.

Take a tour of all the discoveries in Ashkelon with Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am’s well-illustrated article in The Times of Israel.

If you haven’t already purchased Wayne Stiles’s Going Places with God, it’s now only $1.99 on Kindle (for a limited time).

The most detailed article on the Dome of the Rock carpet replacement job is at Israel HaYom.

Exploring Bible Lands shares photos with unique perspectives of the basilica in Nazareth and the spring of Harod.

Gary Manning discusses recent claims of the Talpiot Tomb on the Book and the Spade.

Learn why Jeff Blakely carries a roll of brand new US pennies in his dig bag.

I’ve never had a better perspective of Herodium than from this drone video (2.5 min).

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Galilee, Herod's Tomb, Israel's Coast, Jezreel Valley, Judah, Resources, Temple Mount, Tomb of Jesus, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists have uncovered a monumental entrance to the Herodium that was apparently buried by King Herod. The short video is more informative than the article.

Russian archaeologists have discovered portions of the walls of Memphis, capital of ancient Egypt.

The US has returned 123 artifacts smuggled out of Egypt.

Mathematicians at Tel Aviv University are developing algorithms to recognize ancient Hebrew letters inscribed on potsherds (or here).

The Temple Mount Sifting Project has a brief report about and many photos from the carpet job in the Dome of the Rock.

The Shrine of the Book opened 50 years ago this week.

The Plains of Moab remind us to remember what God has done in our lives.

Besides a Beretta, what else is in Aren Maeir’s dig bag?

Menahem Haran died recently at the age of 91.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade

The Plains of Moab from Mount Nebo

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Judah, Museums, Sad News, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup