Antiquities Trade Archives - Page 5 of 29

Weekend Roundup, Part 3

Christy Chapman and Brent Seales describe the technology that allows Dead Sea Scrolls to be read without even unwrapping them.

NY Times: “Prodded by law enforcement, and pushed by foreign governments, American museums are increasingly returning artifacts to countries of origin, but critics wonder at what cost.”

The inscribed ivory lice comb is the subject on the latest episode of This Week in the Ancient Near East.

Author Rod Dreher reflects on his visit to Turkey and the seven churches of Revelation.

Andrew Lawler will be speaking in the BAS Scholars Series on March 5 on “Holy City Hotspot: Exploring Jerusalem’s Acropolis” ($10).

Brad Nelson looks at the “Magi from the East” in the latest episode from Walking The Text’s Teaching Series.

BAS has posted its list of dig opportunities for 2023 in Israel, Jordan, and Turkey. They are also accepting applications for $2,000 dig scholarships.

Douglas Clark, Larry Herr, and Larry Geraty reflect on Burton MacDonald’s legacy.

Robert Mullins reflects on the life of Father Bill Broughton.

The Institute of Biblical Culture is giving away hundreds of books related to the Semitic languages.

Carl Rasmussen will be leading a 33-day Bible Study Tour to Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and Greece in April and May.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Wayne Stiles, Charles Savelle, Keith Keyser, Gordon Dickson, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Excavations, Jerusalem, Lectures, Technology, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists working in southeastern Turkey believe they have discovered the “oldest narrative depiction in history.”

The recent discovery of several dozen bronze statues in Italy may affect how historians understand the relationship between the Etruscans and the Romans.

ScienceDaily: “Using advanced geochemical analyses, a team of scientists has uncovered new answers to decades-old questions about trade of tin throughout Eurasia during the Late Bronze Age.”

Ruth Schuster has written a well-illustrated article about how the “desert kites” mystery was solved.

Archaeologists used LIDAR to discover a Roman temple underneath a church in Croatia.

A 17-minute video produced by the British Museum explains what the Rosetta Stone actually says.

Tim Johnson writes about his visit to Syracuse, the “greatest Greek city,” and one that Paul briefly visited on his way to Rome.

“A number of looted artefacts returned to Turkey and Italy in the past three months have been revealed to be from the private collection of prominent American philanthropist Shelby White.”

George Smith, best known for his work on the Epic of Gilgamesh, is the subject of the latest episode on the Thin End of the Wedge.

Some Roman centurions and gladiators have been arrested after they threatened to beat up tourists at the Colosseum.

Discussion on a agreement between the British Museum and Greece to send the Elgin Marbles to Athens is “at an advanced stage.”

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Gordon Dickson, Keith Keyser, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Museums, Technology, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Newly discovered Byzantine-era mosaics with four inscriptions have been discovered at Hippos. This Haaretz article by Ruth Schuster has many beautiful photos.

“A new museum at the Armenian Monastery [in the Old City in Jerusalem] offers displays of stunning mosaics and artworks, artifacts and architecture, going back to Armenia’s 4th-century roots in the Holy Land.”

A Qumran cave will be opened to the public for the first time, with a path being created to lead from the site to Cave 61. (I do not have a link at this time.)

The search of a home of a man using a metal detector at an archaeological site revealed a trove of ancient coins including a rare coin of Antiochus Epiphanes.

Yonathan Adler suggests that “Judaism as we know it became a mass religion relatively late, possibly only when Judea was ruled by the Hasmonean dynasty” (subscription).

Michael Hasel is on The Book and the Spade discussing the ivory comb alphabetic inscription.

The program and abstracts for the 2022 ASOR meetings in Boston are online.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Museums, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Scientists say that fish teeth discovered near the Jordan River provide the oldest evidence of fire-cooked food.

“The Theft Prevention Unit of the Israeli Antiquities Authority caught three Bedouins red-handed destroying historical items at an archaeological site near Negev town of Rahat.”

A study of crosses carved on pillars in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has determined that they were made by Armenian priests in the 16th century.

Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am take readers on a tour of the ruins of Gezer.

Israel21c provides a list of 10 important sites in Jerusalem’s ancient history.

Shmuel Browns shares photos from his visit to the Dagon fortress and monastery at Qarantal.

The winter issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes stories on the Mesha Stele and David’s kingdom, Judah’s stamped jar handles, and the calculation of the date of Christmas.

The BAS Winter Symposium will be held on Sat., Feb 11, with the topic of “Gods, Religion, and Cult in Ancient Israel.” Speakers include Theodore J. Lewis, Erin Darby, Mary Joan Leith and Christopher Rollston.

Aren Maeir’s course on Biblical Archaeology is a finalist for the 2022 edX Prize.

The 2023 JUC Online Seminar’s theme is “Explore the Gap: Stories in Context.” The free event will be held on February 3 and 4.

New release: The Holy Land Devotional: Inspirational Reflections from the Land Where Jesus Walked, by John A. Beck (Baker; $20). This looks like a great Christmas gift idea.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Negev, Resources, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Archeologists in Egypt have uncovered a vast underground tunnel near the city of Alexandria, and hope it may lead them to the long-lost tomb of Egypt’s last pharaoh and possibly its most famous ruler, Queen Cleopatra VII.”

Archaeologists discovered “an extremely rare and incalculably valuable Roman glass vessel” in a “remarkable state of preservation” in the ancient Roman city of Augustodunum (modern Autun, France).

“Archaeologists in Italy have uncovered more than two dozen beautifully preserved bronze statues dating back to ancient Roman times in thermal baths in Tuscany.”

The Temple of Apollo in Side, Turkey, will be restored as an archaeological museum.

Turkish Archaeological News has a roundup of stories from the month of October, including a report of a well-preserved Byzantine shops and dining area in Ephesus.

The International Herodotus Workshop was held recently in the city of Bodrum, ancient Halicarnassus, the historian’s hometown.

Ádám Németh’s Virtual Reconstructions includes 3D artwork of ancient buildings in Ephesus, including the Celsus Library, Terrace Houses, Trajan’s nymphaeum, theater, agora, and Temple of Artemis.

Digital Maps of the Ancient World: “The aim is to map out all the different aspects of Roman cities so that it can be used as a teaching aid or a guide for those interested in the site.”

“A giant cardboard imitation of the Trojan Horse, which won Greeks the war of Troy in antiquity, broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest cardboard sculpture in U.K.”

“An American man has returned 19 antiquities to the four countries they came from after reading reports in the Guardian about the repatriation of looted antiquities.”

The Immersive King Tut exhibit is at, or coming to, a dozen US cities.

“Tutankhamun: His Tomb and his Treasures” will open at the Columbus Science Museum on March 18.

On The Book and the Spade, Charles Aling and Gordon Govier discuss King Tut’s Tomb on the 100th anniversary of its discovery.

Leon Mauldin shares a recent photo he took of the Merneptah Stele in the Egyptian Museum.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Jared Clark, Wayne Stiles, A.D. Riddle, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Lectures, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Geomagnetic surface surveys at Khirbet al-Minya on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee have revealed an earlier Jewish or Christian settlement.

A new study of the Solomonic-era copper mines at Timna reveals that the enterprise came to a sudden halt around 850 BC because the miners overexploited the sparse desert acacia and white broom trees used to fuel their furnaces (Haaretz subscription).

Carl Rasmussen links to a video that shows evidence for a first-century synagogue at Chorazin. He also shares a photo of the synagogue in 1967 before reconstruction began.

Here is a video of the 7th-8th century AD shipwreck recently discovered off the coast of Israel.

“Hundreds of ancient decorated toga pins, earrings, rings and figurines of animals and idols were found in the home of a man who used to be an antiquities dealer in northern Israel.”

Albright Institute lecture on Oct 27: “The Austrian Expedition to Tel Lachish (2017-2022),” by Katharina Streit & Felix Höflmayer. Register to join by Zoom here.

Marc Zvi Brettler explains the Hakhel Ceremony, in which the assembly gathers together every seven years to read the Torah. This event will be celebrated at the Western Wall on October 11.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of sheep grazing near Tirzah, the second capital of the northern kingdom.

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Holidays, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Negev, Samaria, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup