Weekend Roundup, Part 1

[I intended to post this roundup on Saturday. I apologize for the delay.]

Archaeologists working at Shiloh this summer discovered “a lavish ritual bath, a clay cooking pot and a rare purple-dye snail shell.”

Aren Maeir shares that they have been quietly excavating an Iron Age tomb at Gath for the last few years.

In preparation for conservation work, a small excavation was conducted in the Chorazim synagogue.

“The top three reports in biblical archaeology from June 2026 included accounts related to ancient Israel’s history, including potential evidence of Hezekiah‘s reforms, a new dig at Ashdod, and significant discoveries at Shiloh.”

On Digging for Truth, Jordan McClinton discusses his excavation of a favissa in the ongoing Shiloh excavations. He reports that they have found seven pieces of gold so far.

In a newly published study, scholars believe that the 364-day calendar mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls was actually used, but only in the sect’s early years.

Josh Aronson tells the story of some “temple incense” found in a cave at Qumran by Vendyl Jones, nearly all of which has now been lost.

New release: Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part Three, The Iron Age Town (The 1948–1950, 1959, 1982–1992 Seasons), by Amihai Mazar (Qedem 66, 300 NIS)

New release: Khirbet el-‘Aqd: A Hellenistic-Roman Stronghold in Western Judea, by Moshe Fischer and Oren Tal (Tel Aviv University, open-access)

The Jerusalem Post reviews The Names of Jerusalem: Jewish, Christian and Islamic Traditions, by Aaron Demsky, Christophe Rico, and Iraj Sheidaee.

Mordechai Cogan addresses the question of whether the Transjordan was considered part of the Promised Land.

David Bivin died this week. Best known as the founder of Jerusalem Perspective, David’s photographs have made a significant contribution to our work here. He was ever kind, encouraging, and generous. I join the many who will miss him.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Paleojudaica

A young David Bivin with Michael Avi-Yonah at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem, June 1968

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered 18 ancient tombs, a granite sarcophagus and dozens of rare burial objects at Marina El Alamein, offering new insight into the city’s role as a cultural crossroads between ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean world.”

“Egypt has uncovered only about 30% of its archaeological heritage, with vast historic treasures from successive civilizations still buried beneath its soil, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Hisham El-Leithy said.”

Yale News reports on Eckart Frahm’s discovery of three previously unknown Assyrian kings.

“Bronze Age rulers in Greece prized rings made from meteorite iron, wearing them as symbols of power, according to new research.”

The House of Charred Furniture at Herculaneum is open to visitors after thirty years of closure.

Lauren McCormick provides an intro to a new article in BAR that observes that “the homes in which Paul and other early Christians worshiped were already shaped by generations of religious practice.”

New release: Assyria’s Plunder: From Ancient Empire to Modern Loot, by Jessie DeGrado (University Press of Colorado, $105, open-access)

The latest issue of The Journal of the Ancient Near East Society is available online.

The Institute of Biblical Culture has announced the final three of six installments of the Dr. David Marcus Book Giveaway. The books are being given away free of charge, plus shipping and handling.

Leon Maudlin posts a photo of the temple to Emperor Augustus at Ankara (ancient Ancyra).

Aren Maeir gives his quick reaction to the archaeological reliability of the movie “The Odyssey.”

HT: Agade, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists working at a site in the Wadi Tumilat in Egypt have “uncovered a residential complex, storage and production facilities, pottery that contains seal impressions, ten mudbrick graves, and humans buried in unusual squatting positions,” all from the Hyksos period.

Excavations of a temple in the Bahariya Oasis uncovered a number of inscriptions with the name of Psamtik (Psammetichus) I, the first pharaoh of the 26th dynasty.

Archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved 4th-century AD city with a basilica-style church in the Dakhla oasis in Egypt.

“A new exhibit at the Peabody Museum explores Yale Egyptologist Victoria Almansa-Villatoro’s study of thousands of papyri fragments from the Old Kingdom era of Ancient Egypt.”

A 1.5-min BBC video explains a photo showing the first view into King Tut’s tomb.

“Archaeologists working in the ancient city of Smyrna in İzmir, western Türkiye, have fully uncovered a 1,500-year-old mosaic room.”

Bible History Daily has posted an interview with Barış Yener, director of the excavations at Colossae. He discusses his objectives, his early finds, and his intention to excavate six months each year until he retires.

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

The Temple of Apollo in Didyma is open to visitors during the evenings this summer.

On Digging for Truth, Nate Loper shares evidence for locating the landing of Noah’s Ark on Mt. Cudi.

“Scientists have used ancient tree rings to pinpoint when builders raised the Agios Vasileios (Άγιος Βασίλειος) palace, a major Late Bronze Age site in southern Greece.”

“The Archaeological Museum of Argos [in Greece] has reopened after twelve years, unveiling a fully renovated space and a collection of newly repatriated treasures.”

New release: Assur 2025: Further insights into life and death in the New Town. Exploring Assur 3. Edited by Karen Radner, Jana Richter, and Andrea Squitieri (PeWe-Verlag, 2026; open-access).

Anthropeum is an online daily game that quizzes you on the date and geographic origin of various artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Leon Mauldin shares a beautiful photo of the unique landscape of Cappadocia.

HT: Agade, Wayne Stiles, Explorator, Andreas Heimbichner

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Researchers have recovered 20 columns of previously hidden text on one of the oldest Herculaneum scrolls.

“A report of illegal digging on the rural edge of Rome has led archaeologists to one of the most striking recent discoveries in the city’s western countryside: a Roman imperial-period villa with mosaic floors, painted walls and a white marble statue that may represent Silvanus, the rustic god of fields, woods and agricultural life.”

After restorers added two marble blocks into empty gaps, the Parthenon’s western side looks whole for the first time in more than 200 years.

An Ugaritic treatment for a hangover involved the application of dog hair.

Writing for the BAR Test Kitchen, Jennifer Drummond provides a recipe for Roman dill sauce that comes from Apicius, a first-century Roman gourmand.

“A team of historians, scientists and engineers has developed a portable X-ray scanner to study 4,000-year-old [cuneiform] letters encased in clay envelopes.”

A European project has used AI and robotics to reconstruct and restore damaged frescoes at Pompeii.

The Archive of Mesopotamian Archaeological Reports “aims to digitize 500 archaeological site reports describing archaeological excavations in Iraq and the immediately surrounding areas (Turkey, Syria, Iran, and the Gulf). This will include both out-of-copyright as well as in-copyright and in-print materials.”

Henry Colburn explores the meaning of Achaemenid silver. “Achaemenid silver was fungible in meaning as well as substance. Gifts of silver from the king, such coins and drinking vessels, were simultaneously monetary objects and tokens of prestige, and their precise meaning could shift according to their context.”

A local newspaper runs a story about the Biblical History Center in LaGrange, Georgia.

Lisa Lock and Andrew Zinin write about the history of glassblowing and its effect on the Roman world.

A team has used 3D printing to revive an ancient Roman board game.

There will be no roundup next weekend.

HT: Agade, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists found two well-preserved marble busts from the Roman era in a Byzantine winepress near the coastal town of Binyamina.

Ariel David writes about the recently published mother-of-pearl seal found at Tel Hadid. Zev Stub reports on the artifact for The Times of Israel.

Avraham Faust has proposed that a massive cultic stone (massebah) at Tel ‘Eton was toppled as part of Hezekiah’s reforms.

Abigail Van Huss reports on the final week of excavations this year at Shiloh.

Lauren K. McCormick writes about the 1st-century synagogue at Tel Rekhesh in Galilee.

This week’s Jerusalem Tracker identifies the latest blog posts, digital resources, developments, and upcoming events.

David Begoun describes his first visit to see the Madaba Map.

Clinton Moyer gives an overview of Lawrence H. Schiffman’s BAR article on the temple in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The second international “Archaeology and Site Conservation in Judea and Samaria” conference was more controversial than the first one.

Conference at the Albright on July 7-9: “The Eleventh Century CE: Archaeology and History: An International Conference.” Register here.

On the Biblical World podcast, Jason Borges talks with Chris McKinny about his book, Christian Life in the Greco-Roman City.

On Digging for Truth, Ted Wright discusses ancient creation myths.

Following the death of a US citizen, his family returned to Egypt “a granite sphinx head, a bronze hippopotamus figurine, a double bronze statue of a king, and a bronze statue of the Egyptian deity Sobek.”

“The Israeli government on Tuesday approved designating Route 60 — the highway stretching from Nazareth in the north to Beersheba in the south and passing through some of the most significant sites in history—as the ‘Biblical Highway.’” This includes the ridge route known to students as the “Road of the Patriarchs.” When looking for more information, I found a 2023 movie entitled “Route 60: The Biblical Highway.” It’s curious to me that the trailer never once shows any part of the ancient route.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

An almost-complete ancient Egyptian funerary set was discovered during excavations of Heliopolis.

The exhibition “Lives and Literacy in Ancient Egypt” is on display at the University of Texas at Austin until August 3. “A highlight of the exhibition is one of the world’s earliest New Testament fragments—the St. John’s Fragment (P52)—on view in the United States for the first time. Additionally, visitors can see early adaptations of The Odyssey by Homer, as well as early writing palettes, and panel paintings.”

“Excavations at the ancient city of Olympos on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast have uncovered a monumental tomb containing a richly decorated sarcophagus believed to belong to an aristocratic woman from the Roman period.”

Turkish Archaeological News lists the top stories in the month of May, including:

Terry Madenholm has written a lengthy and interesting article in Haaretz about taxes and tax evasion in the Roman empire.

New article by Mark Wilson, “The Archaeology of Biblical Sites in Asia Minor: Its Symbiosis with Archaeobiblical Tourism.” Religions 17, no. 3 (2026). Open-access.

HT: Agade, Explorator

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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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