A huge complex of 1,500-year-old winepresses capable of producing some two million liters of wine a year has been uncovered by archaeologists in the city of Yavne, south of Tel Aviv.”

Margreet L. Steiner looks at the elusive Persian archaeological evidence in Jerusalem in order to determine what the city was like when the Jews returned from exile.

Meital Sharabi recommends visits to two interesting locations in the Judean hills west of Jerusalem.

Makhtesh Ramon in southern Israel is home to a crew simulating a colony on Mars.

Zoom lecture on October 17: “Family, food and health in the Bronze Age Aegean: Novel bioarchaeological insights into Mycenaean and Minoan societies,” by Philipp W. Stockhammer

Zoom lecture on October 20: “The City of Babylon from c. 2000 BC to AD 116,” by Stephanie Dalley. Her book on this subject was released earlier this year.

Zoom lecture on November 4: “Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City,” by Andrew Lawler, author of a forthcoming book with the same title.

The Florence Scroll, a 14th-century parchment depicting holy sites from Egypt to Lebanon, is now on display in the Israel Museum as part of the “Painting a Pilgrimage” exhibit.

Bible Mapper has created several new maps, available in high-res for free non-commercial use:

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis

Weekend Sale: Cultural Images of the Holy Land – only $20 with coupon HARVEST

17-Cultural-Images

Share:

Archaeologists have discovered a private toilet in Jerusalem that dates approximately to the time of Manasseh or Josiah.

Archaeologists have identified the first-known Crusader army camp in Israel near ancient Sepphoris.

“Jewish heritage sites in Judea and Samaria are being systematically vandalized and destroyed by local Arabs, according to a watchdog group which monitors archeological sites in the area.”

Amihai Mazar has prepared a list of publications by the late Eilat Mazar that are available for order from the publishing house.

Aren Maeir’s MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on Biblical Archaeology will run again beginning on November 1.

In the second episode of the Special Texts of the Ancient Near East series, Mary Buck and Chris McKinny discuss the Mesha Stele.

The latest subject in Bryan Windle’s archaeological biography series is Hoshea, the last king of Israel.

The 24th Annual Bible & Archaeology Fest is only one week away, and the complete list of speakers and topics is online.

“The Institute of Biblical Culture is pleased to announce the David Marcus Giving Library, which will provide more than 2,000 scholarly books to the general public free of charge, aside from shipping. The first of six subject areas is Assyriology. To view the collection and request any of the hundreds of books, visit the Institute of Biblical Culture website.”

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Share:

“Archaeologists discovered private seating areas with names engraved on them during excavation at a 1,800-year-old amphitheater in the ancient city of Pergamon.”

Excavations of the ancient Greek city of Magnesia in western Turkey have revealed the entrance gate to the temple of Zeus.

“The discovery of a 3,500-year-old paving stone, described as the “ancestor” of Mediterranean mosaics, offers illuminating details into the daily lives of the mysterious Bronze Age Hittites.”

“An international research team conducting excavations in the city of Tyre has discovered a large Roman temple complex.”

“Freedivers off the coast of Spain have uncovered a treasure trove of 53 perfectly preserved gold coins from the Roman Empire, one of the largest collections ever found in Europe.”

A forensic artist has used genetic data to create 3D models of the faces of three men who lived in ancient Egypt more than 2,000 years ago.

In light of Hobby Lobby’s lawsuit against Dirk Obbink, The New York Times gives a summary of the story to date.

Now online: An exclusive sneak peek of ‘Times of Fire’ the first feature film in The 7 Churches of Revelation series.

Now on pre-pub for Logos: CSB Holy Land Illustrated Bible Notes ($20)

Accordance has a number of graphics resources on sale.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, A.D. Riddle

Share:

Excavations at Itamar in the West Bank have uncovered a sealed cistern with tools and vessels from the Second Temple period, an olive press, a mikveh, and a coin with the image of Mount Gerizim.

A new study claims that Tall el-Hammam was destroyed by a cosmic airburst circa 1650 BC. Biblical archaeologists are not convinced that this proves the site is Sodom.

Rossella Tercatin interviews Yuval Gadot about recent archaeological discoveries in the Jerusalem area in a 25-minute Zoomcast.

Archaeology sheds light on how Jews celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in the 1st century.

Mark Janzen and Kyle Keimer interview Eric Cline on the Biblical World podcast.

Isabel Cranz surveys royal illness in the Bible and the ancient Near Eastern texts.

ASOR members in the US can purchase several recent archaeological publications for $25 each through the end of the month.

The purpose of HIERAX software is “to enhance the legibility of papyri for text edition and publication. It consists of an image processing tool and an image viewer.”

I predict that Bryan Windle’s “Top Ten Discoveries Related to Moses and the Exodus” will become one of his blog’s most popular posts.

The early bird discount for the Infusion Bible Conference ends on Thursday.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Charles Savelle

Share:

Excavations have resumed at the Tel Motza (Moza) temple on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

“A pool of water near the Dead Sea was recently found to have turned red.”

The Jerusalem Post surveys archaeological work and discoveries made during a year of Covid.

Bryant Wood gives an update on important biblical archaeological discoveries in 2021.

Newsweek’s list of 20 largest museums in the world includes the Israel Museum in spot #17.

Al Qarara Cultural Museum is the first private museum in the Gaza Strip.

Sergio & Rhoda go searching for Micah’s hometown in the Shephelah (30-min video).

On the Rejuvenation podcast, Shay Bar discusses his archaeological studies in tribal territory of Manasseh and the Jordan Valley.

ASOR webinar on October 7: “Digging the Divine?: Judahite Pillar Figurines and the Archaeology of Israelite Religion,” by Erin Denby

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

1Samuel-DVD-3d-800

Weekend Sale: Photo Companion to the Bible: 1 Samuel – only $49 with coupon SAMUEL.

Share:

Archaeologists discovered a Second Temple period quarry in northwest Jerusalem.

Regarding the recent story about the ancient Jerusalem weight which was falsely labeled to facilitate cheating, some scholars have observed that it was actually labeled correctly as an 8-gerah weight.

A secret tunnel under the slope of Mount Zion that was used by Israelis after Jordan captured the Old City in 1948 has now been opened to the public.

Israel has an “ark museum” of sorts, and Israel’s Good Name describes his visit to the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History in Tel Aviv in a well-illustrated blog post.

Dozens of installations used for the large-scale production of salt have been identified along the northern coasts of Israel.

The Ketef Hinnom silver amulets are the subject of an article in the most recent issue of Ink magazine, published by Tyndale House (pages 12-14).

Egypt is preparing to open the world’s largest open-air museum in Luxor.

“Using a leaf uncovered from the archaeological site of an ancient Egyptian temple, researchers . . . have successfully determined the ancient hybrid origin of some date palms.” The underlying journal article is here.

The National Museum of Beirut has reopened after a $175,000 restoration.

Excavations in eastern Turkey have revealed an unusual tomb belonging to an Urartian ruler who was buried with his dog, horses, cattle, and sheep.

“Out of the ashes of Pompeii, archaeologists recently pulled up a time capsule, though only the bronze hinges remained of what is being described as a ‘sorceress’ toolkit.’”

On December 6 and 13, John J. Collins will be giving a virtual lecture on “The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Light They Shed on Judaism and Christianity.” Registration is required and free.

Coming soon: Excavations in the City of David, Jerusalem (1995-2010), by Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron (Penn State University Press, 712 pages, $99.95).

This Week in the Ancient Near East wraps up the summer with a round-up episode.

The indoor model of 1st-century Jerusalem that was located at the Holy Land Experience in Orlando will be part of a new exhibit at the Ark Encounter. There’s a nice photo of the model here. And some others here.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Andy Cook, Charles Savelle, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, G. M. Grena

Share: