Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the top stories for the month of March.

Owen Jarus asks what happened to the Minoan civilization.

Bryan Windle reviews the top three reports in biblical archaeology in the month of March.

Why did the Israelites make a golden calf? John Drummond gives a good answer.

New release: Phoenician Inscriptions, by Robert D. Holmstedt, Aaron Schade, Philip C. Schmitz (SBL Press, 396 pages, $70; Amazon)

Baker Academic is offering 40% off new books with code BARSPRING26, including:

Gordon Govier writes about the Dead Sea Scrolls now on display at the Museum of the Bible. The museum also extended its exhibition of the Megiddo Mosaic through December.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The Israel Museum will open to visitors on Monday, but the Great Isaiah Scroll exhibition is temporarily closed. Holy sites in Jerusalem re-opened this week.

Haaretz reports on the Great Isaiah Scroll exhibit that lasted not four months but four days. The article gives the history of the scroll since its discovery in 1947.

Legends of the Lost Ark, a docudrama with Chris McKinny, is in theaters for only three days: April 12, 14, and 15. Click here for showtimes in your area, tickets, and a link to the trailer.

Ran Silberman writes about the search for the ark of the covenant, and he asks if new technology might help to locate it underneath the Temple Mount.

Jerusalem Tracker 14.2 identifies the latest resources about Jerusalem in blogs, audio, video, and more.

New release: Jacob: The Story of a Family, by Jonathan Grossman (Koren, 769 pages, $35; Amazon)

Online lecture on April 23: “Hidden Treasures: Cryptic Cherubim in the New Testament,” by Chris McKinny. Chris will also be teaching a summer online course entitled “The Ark of the Covenant: A Biography.”

Zoom lecture on April 29: “New Excavations at Nessana, Negev: Late Antique Pilgrimage Hub on the Desert Fringe,” by Yana Tchekhanovets

Sy Gitin’s The Road Taken: An Archaeologist’s Journey to the Land of the Bible has dropped in price from $30 to $11.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A rare half-shekel coin from the First Jewish Revolt was discovered during the IAA’s Judean Desert Caves survey.

Five years after discovering a Crusader sword off the coast of Dor, a diver discovered a second one.

The Times of Israel reports on the new exhibit of the entirety of the Great Isaiah Scroll.

“The Rockefeller Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem is a singular historic gem that more people are getting the opportunity to visit thanks to the guided tours, which began this year.”

Nathan Steinmeyer looks at several examples of “mundane” archaeological discoveries that revealed dramatic insights when studied with the latest scientific methods.

Aren Maeir notes the publication of an article in which he argues that the Middle Bronze cultic structure in the City of David (as proposed by Shukron) is an Iron Age production site.

New release: A Historical Archaeology of Jerusalem: Bronze and Iron Ages, by Yuval Gadot (SBL Press, $62)

Kindle sale: Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible ($3.99, an all-time low; reg; $25; Logos $38)

On Digging for Truth, Seth Rodriquez highlights great discoveries that affirm the Old Testament.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A stone tool workshop from the Second Temple period was discovered on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem during an investigation by the Israel Antiquities Authority into a gang of antiquities thieves.”

“A rare bronze scale pan was discovered during excavations in the ancient Jewish town of Sussiya by a father and daughter participating in an educational dig.”

A seal discovered in the Temple Mount Sifting Project is a rare find “from Jerusalem’s ‘Second Persian Period,’ the brief 14-year window of Sassanid rule between 614 and 628 CE.”

A Roman cemetery was discovered in the village of Jifna, north of Ramallah.

“The elderly patriarch and matriarch of a prominent Israelite family living in an imposing building in the Judean lowlands nearly 3,000 years ago appear to have enjoyed their own spacious room in a strategic part of the large home, suggesting they continued to play a prominent role within the multi-generation household into their golden years.”

The latest Jerusalem in Brief looks at the history of Absalom’s Pillar through a 19th-century photo, and more.

Hybrid lecture on Feb 26: “A Book in Two Scrolls: On the Bisection of Isaiah,” by Marcello Fidanzio (registration required). This lecture is in conjunction with the Great Isaiah Scroll exhibit which opens to the public on Tuesday (through June 6). The exhibition book is now available for sale in e-book (pdf) format.

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on March 4: “Current Research on the Holy Sepulchre and Faunal Remains,” by Luca Brancazi (Zoom link)

New release: Ashkelon 10: The Philistine Cemetery, by Daniel M. Master, Adam J. Aja, and Rachel Kalisher (Eisenbrauns, $91 with code NR26).

New release: Lahav VIII: The EB III and LB II to Iron II Strata in the Western City at Tell Halif: Excavations in Field III, 1977–1987, by Oded Borowski and Joe D. Seger (Eisenbrauns, $91 with code NR26).

Following the British Museum’s review of the anachronistic use of the term “Palestine,” PaleoJudaica explored what language Second Temple-era Jews used for the land.

Israel’s Good Name describes his visit to the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem.

Bible Mapper Atlas has created a free poster map of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Explorator, Alexander Schick

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup

A new study reveals that the earliest bathhouses in Pompeii were not very hygienic.

“A gang of four antiquities robbers was caught red-handed on Sunday afternoon while digging inside an ancient Roman-period burial cave near Hittin, on the edge of the Arbel Valley.”

The latest video from Expedition Bible traces the route of Abraham from Iraq through Syria, Turkey, Jordan, and Israel.

Elizabeth Shenk reports on the use of AI in dating the Dead Sea Scrolls, and she includes a number of quotations from scholars about the dating of Daniel.

Marek Dospěl provides an introduction to the Nimrud Letters.

Marta Lorenzon writes about the social meaning and functionality of mudbrick architecture. “By tracing the full chaîne opératoire — from soil selection to mixing, molding, drying, and construction — we can approach mudbrick not only as a building technology but also as a reflection of cultural practice, community identity, and human engagement with the environment.”

The NY Times posted an obituary for Gabriel Barkay (gift link).

The first guest on The Book and the Spade radio program was Gabriel Barkay, and that recording from 1984 is now online.

Israel’s Good Name writes about his travels on the outskirts of Elkana.

Chris McKinny and Amy Balogh discuss the Flood Tablet from the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Feb 4: “Unearthing an Imperially Glorious Byzantine Church near Bet Shemesh: From Fieldwork to Virtual Reality,” by Benyamin Storchan

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Feb 25: “Willibald Goes to Jerusalem: A Trip Through the City Then and Now,” by Christie Pavey

Releasing soon: Archaeology and the People of the Bible: Exploring the Evidence for the Historical Existence of Bible Characters, by Titus Kennedy

The Sacred Thread and the BibleProject have released the 8-day Lord’s Prayer Reading Plan on YouVersion.

Friends of ASOR Tours are giving two days of insider tours in Philadelphia in April.

“Bible Mapper is pleased to announce the launch of Bible Mapper, Jr.! The new site hosts a growing collection of resources specifically designed to help kids understand where the stories of the Bible happened and why it matters. Each map lesson includes a kid-friendly map, a Bible reading, a Life Lesson, and an article that unpacks what happened in the story and how it can help us follow God more closely.”

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Explorator

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A ritual bath was discovered in excavations beneath the Western Wall Plaza. A sealed layer of ash indicates that the mikveh was in use until the Roman destruction in AD 70. The 2-minute video shows imagery of the large space being excavated underneath the prayer plaza.

An extraordinary stalactite cave has been discovered near Ofra in Samaria.

The Great Isaiah Scroll was originally two scrolls, written separately and then joined together. The break is between (what was later marked as) chapters 33 and 34.

“A new version of a bill whose purpose is to extend Israeli authority over antiquities and heritage sites in the West Bank, aims to include Areas A and B — where the Palestinian Authority has civilian control — under the scope of its applicability.”

Some very old cedar beams on the Temple Mount were left uncovered, provoking a protest.

The Times of Israel interviews Avraham Faust and Zev Farber about their new book, The Bible’s First Kings – Uncovering the Story of Saul, David, and Solomon. “The book brings together archaeology, anthropology, and biblical scholarship to support the thesis that the kingdom did exist and that findings from the ground offer evidence for it.”

The Biblical Archaeology Society has posted a list of excavation opportunities for 2026, including Azekah, Dan, el-Araj, En-Gedi, Hazor, Jerusalem, and Tel Shimron. They also are offering Dig Scholarships of $2,000 to qualified individuals. They are also accepting donations for scholarships.

The theme of the latest volume of ‘Atiqot is “Archaeological Perspectives on Water Use and Management.” All articles are available for download.

Zoom lecture on Jan 13: “Herod’s Many Faces as Reflected in His Art and Architecture,” by Orit Peleg-Barkat

Religion in Ancient Israel: Essays in Honour of John Day, edited by Katherine E. Southwood, Stuart Weeks, and H.G.M. Williamson (Bloomsbury, $87-106)

Accordance is selling many photo collections at 40-67% off, through Monday.

Israel’s Good Name reports on his visit to the Israel Aquarium in Jerusalem.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Share:
Leave a comment
About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

Links
Notice

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. In any case, we will provide honest advice.