Weekend Roundup, Part 1

An inscription in the synagogue of Susya in the Judean hills may suggest that a messianic community worshipped here.

“The arched stone-built hall in Jerusalem venerated by Christians as the site of Jesus’ Last Supper has been digitally recreated by archaeologists using laser scanners and advanced photography.”

Scott Stripling discusses archaeology related to the Judges on the latest episodes of Digging for Truth (Part 1, Part 2).

Ken Dark: “How Much Did They Really Know? Long-Term Memory, Archaeology and The Topography Of Nazareth”

A new ERETZ issue on Caesarea: Queen of the Sea provides an 184-page guide with detailed maps of Herod’s port city.

New release: Ancient Synagogues in Palestine: A Re-evaluation Nearly a Century After Sukenik’s Schweich Lectures, by Jodi Magness (Oxford University Press; £76; allegedly open access, but it doesn’t appear to be available as such yet)

The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library allows you to view high-resolution photos of the scrolls, organized by site, language, and content.

Abigail Leavitt describes what it’s like in Jerusalem these days. She also has traveled recently to Migdal Tzedek, Caesarea, and Tel Dor. Both posts have lots of photos.

Israel’s Good Name recounts his visit to the Te’omim Cave in the Shephelah.

I am grateful for the kind words about the new Genesis photo collection from Luke Chandler, Leon Mauldin, and Charles Savelle.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Gordon Franz, Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup, Part 3

A new study confirms that the name of David is indeed written on the Mesha Stele.

Smithsonian Magazine profiles Michael Langlois, an unusual scholar who identified many “Dead Sea Scroll” forgeries in various private collections around the world. More recently he has confirmed the reading of “David” on the Mesha Stele.

A BAS Dig Scholarship recipient describes his experience excavating at Khirbat al-Balu’a, a Moabite site in Jordan.

Flashfloods in Petra caused the evacuation of 1,700 tourists and locals.

Egyptian archaeologists believe they have uncovered the tomb of a queen from the 18th dynasty in Luxor.

Ten mummified crocodiles were found in an Egyptian tomb.

Three men were arrested in Aswan for trying to steal a 10-ton statue of Ramses II.

“An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt.”

“There’s a good chance you were told ancient Egyptians pulled chunks of brains out through the nose. Experiments suggest there was a much easier way to do this: scrambling the brains.”

Middle East Eye posts several dozen interesting and annotated satellite images of Egypt.

In recent episodes on the GTI Tours Podcast, Jerrell Jobe discusses Egypt’s significance in Scripture, and Matt Bach identifies some “hidden gems” in Israel.

“As of March 2023, ‘Atiqot will become a thematic journal, publishing volumes dedicated to specific topics related to the archaeology of Israel from the protohistoric to Ottoman periods. The journal will be published in English only, both online (Open Access) and in print.” Themes of future issues include:

  • `Atiqot 112: Ancient Hoards, Caches, and Deposits
  • `Atiqot 113: The Archaeology of Purity and Impurity
  • `Atiqot 114 (March 2024): Wine and Drinking Habits in Antiquity
  • `Atiqot 115 (June 2024): Rural Life in the Southern Levant
  • `Atiqot 116 (September 2024): Cult and Religion
  • `Atiqot 117 (December 2024): Burials and Burial Practices

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Gordon Dickson, Ted Weis, Wayne Stiles, Mondo Gonzales, Alexander Schick, Charles Savelle, Keith Keyser, Explorator

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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

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists discovered an intact burial cave from the 13th century BC on the Palmachim Beach south of Tel Aviv. Unfortunately the cave was plundered while it was being excavated.

Scientists have identified the earliest use of opium in a 14th century BC burial pit at Tel Yehud.

Here are many more photos of the beautiful Byzantine mosaic floor discovered in the Gaza Strip.

“An ancient shipwreck found off the shore of Israel and loaded with cargo from all over the Mediterranean shows that traders from the West still came to port even after the Islamic conquest of the Holy Land.”

Drew Longacre answers nine common questions about the Dead Sea Scrolls.

John DeLancey and Kyle Keimer discuss the excavations at Tel Dan (40 min).

Rocco Buttliere built a model of Jerusalem in the 1st century using 114,000 Legos.

“Five perfectly red heifers, required for the ritual purification of those who have touched a dead body, arrived in Israel from a ranch in Texas on Thursday, as the Temple Institute continues preparations to lay the ground for the construction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.” There is hope that they will produce a herd that will be a tourist attraction for Christians.

New release: The Social Archaeology of Late Second Temple Judaea From Purity, Burial, and Art, to Qumran, Herod, and Masada, by Eyal Regev (Routledge, 2022; $128; eBook $39)

Bryan Windle has written an archaeological biography for King Pekah, one of the last kings of Israel.

I had what may be a unique experience in my life this week – three articles I wrote were published within a few days of each other. Rather than pass over them briefly here, I’ll plan to say more in separate posts in the next few weeks.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Wayne Stiles, Charles Savelle, Keith Keyser

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Hebrew Letter from the Time of Josiah Recovered

A very rare papyrus fragment with paleo-Hebrew writing from the time of King Josiah and his sons was recovered by Israeli authorities recently. The fragment is part of a hastily written letter dating to circa 600 BC and including the name Ishmael. It was discovered near the Dead Sea and sold by an antiquities dealer to an American tourist in 1965. The purchaser’s son was persuaded to return the letter to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The Times of Israel gives the fullest account, and The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz also have the story, with others sure to follow. There is also a two-minute video about the document.

Some might classify this as a Dead Sea Scroll, but the important difference is the dating—this fragment was already a 400-year-old antiquity when the earliest Dead Sea Scrolls were being written. Only two other scroll fragments have been found from the time of the First Temple.

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Bible Land Passages has just released “The City of David Underground: What’s inside Hezekiah’s Ancient Tunnel?” (8 min).

The Times of Israel has a nicely illustrated story by Aviva and Shmuel and Bar-Am on the excavations of Usha in western Galilee. The site is one of many along the Sanhedrin Trail that has been excavated by volunteers, mostly pre-army teens.

The southern wall of the Temple Mount is being illuminated in the evening as part of a new initiative to attract tourists for evening visits to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has released a new ebook entitled The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future. The book celebrates the 75th anniversary of the discovery with a number of articles by and interviews with leading scholars. (Requires email address)

Leen Ritmeyer shares photos and reconstruction drawings of the Arbel synagogue in Galilee.

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott gives an introduction to the geographical context of ancient Israel.

Experience Israel Now is celebrating their seventh anniversary.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos that illustrate the beauty of the Bible Land.

“Unearth the Land of the Bible” is a 10-day tour sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism to give American Christians exposure to archaeological sites and an opportunity to excavate.

The Caesarea Maritima International Conference 2022 will be held on October 22-26 at NYU’s Washington Square campus. (I don’t have a link at this time.)

New release: Ashkelon 9: The Hellenistic Period, by Kathleen J. Birney (Eisenbrauns; $140; save 30% with code NR22).

The Minerva Center for the Relations between Israel and Aram in Biblical Times has launched a Mini-MOOC, featuring shorter video clips (10-15 min) to introduce major topics of the Center’s research:

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Paul Mitchell

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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.

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