Discoveries Archives - Page 91 of 153

Weekend Roundup

The Big Picture has 13 great photos of the declining level of the Dead Sea.

Why visit the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem? Bible History Daily points out 10 great biblical artifacts.

That same museum is hosting a new exhibit “By the Rivers of Babylon” that is profiled in Haaretz.

The Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem is using iPads and phones to improve the visitor’s experience (NYTimes).

The Melbourne Museum has produced a recreation of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii.

Illegal excavations in Alexandria have revealed a Graeco-Roman necropolis.

An update on the Nineveh destruction from Agade: “Reliable reports from the Mosul that for good reason cannot be attributed are that the fortifications of Nineveh have not been damaged in any way.

Unfortunately, Nabi Younis, however, is now completely destroyed.”

HT: Agade

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, Museums, New Exhibits, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

They now think they know who was buried in the Amphipolis tomb. This article has more details and illustrations.

King Tut’s beard was knocked off and then re-attached with epoxy glue. Here’s a close-up of the botched repair.

Leen Ritmeyer suggests a location for the stairs of the Antonia Fortress where Paul went up and down.

Medical imaging technology has been put to use in reading burned papyri from Herculaneum.

Approval has been given to re-open the old Acropolis Museum.

You can subscribe to the weekly podcast of The Book and the Spade at christianaudio.com. This week Clyde Billington gives an update on Temple Mount archaeology. Last week I addressed the problem of sensational stories in biblical archaeology.

The latest issue of Ancient Near East Today is now available.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos of Aphek/Antipatris and the “other Aphek.” I particularly like his aerial photo of the northern site.

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh describes the history of Jezreel and its recent excavations in an illustrated pdf article at The Bible and Interpretation.

Iraq is seeking to have the ruins of Babylon put on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

ICYMI: Accordance photo collections are on sale through Monday.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Mesopotamia, Museums, Photo Resources, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Oldest Gospel Fragment Part of Mummy Mask

In 2012 Daniel Wallace mentioned in a debate the existence of an early fragment of the Gospel of Mark. LiveScience has an update with information from Craig Evans:

A text that may be the oldest copy of a gospel known to exist — a fragment of the Gospel of Mark that was written during the first century, before the year 90 — is set to be published.
[…]
This first-century gospel fragment was written on a sheet of papyrus that was later reused to create a mask that was worn by a mummy.
[…]
Evans says that the text was dated through a combination of carbon-14 dating, studying the handwriting on the fragment and studying the other documents found along with the gospel. These considerations led the researchers to conclude that the fragment was written before the year 90. With the nondisclosure agreement in place, Evans said that he can’t say much more about the text’s date until the papyrus is published.
[…]
Evans said that the research team will publish the first volume of texts obtained through the mummy masks and cartonnage later this year. It will include the gospel fragment that the researchers believe dates back to the first century.

The full story is here.

HT: Craig Dunning

UPDATE: There are some errors in this LiveScience article. See the post by Peter Williams (together with the comments) here. (HT: Ulrich Wendel)

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working at Bethsaida have discovered a possible escape tunnel from the time of the Israelite monarchy.

Leen Ritmeyer explains the recent construction work on the Temple Mount and its potential significance for archaeology.

“The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry recently announced the excavation of a 3,000-year-old fortress at the site of Tell el-Habua (also known as Tel Habuwa and Tell Huba) near the Suez Canal in Egypt.”

Egypt’s Prime Minister recently visited the Grand Egyptian Museum to check on its progress for a slated August 2015 opening.

The works of the famous glass maker Ennion are now on display at the Met.

The Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas is hosting a temporary exhibition of old maps of the Holy Land. Wayne Stiles shows a few photos from his visit and explains the value of using maps in your
Bible study.

Monday lecture at the British Museum: Rupert Chapman, Ahab’s Ivory House: When Was It Destroyed?

Plans are underway to allow visitors inside the Erechtheion of the Acropolis.

The most visited museum in 2014 was the Louvre, with 9.3 million visitors.

HT: Explorator, Agade

Ennion's blue glass jug, 1st c AD, tb031114560

Blue glass jug made by Ennion, first century AD
From the Eretz Israel Museum

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Greece, Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, New Exhibits, Samaria, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The William G. Dever Archaeological Fellowship for Biblical Scholars is a travel-study award for “a qualified American untenured faculty member in the field of biblical studies who wants to acquire elementary, first-hand experience in field archaeology and research in Israel.”

Wayne Stiles explains how Kadesh Barnea helps us to know God’s will.

Jerusalem’s recent snowfall: SourceFlix shares some beautiful aerial footage.

Swedish archaeologists have found near Cairo a 2,500-year-old relief depicting two pharaonic deities.
And Czech archaeologists find tomb of previously unknown pharaonic queen Khentakawess.

The original volumes of the Tell en-Nasbeh (biblical Mizpah) excavation reports are now available online for the first time. The Bade Museum website includes a couple of other downloads that may be of interest.

And now published by Gorgias Press: “As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah …”: The Tell en-Nasbeh Excavations after 85 Years, edited by Jeffrey R. Zorn & Aaron J. Brody.

The Yale Babylonian Collection now has its own website.

The open access, electronic companion to Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 3/2 (Eisenbrauns, 2014) is now online.

The authenticity of two Baruch son of Neriah bullae is rejected in a new article by Yuval Goren and
Eran Arie in BASOR vol. 372 (December 2014), pp. 147-158. (Abstract and article on JStor. And there’s free access to the entire issue via the BASOR website.)

“Patterns of Evidence: Exodus,” claims to solve the problem of lack of evidence, but it appears to do so by a major chronological revision. As far as I’m concerned, a movie showing on only one night (Jan 19, 7pm) in selected theaters doesn’t deserve much attention.

A full-scale sailing replica of the Ma‘agan Michael is now under construction. The original ship wrecked near Dor in 400 BC and was discovered in 1985.

Both portions of P46 have now been digitized and are available online.

Kevin Shillington has begun a series on Charles Warren on the Palestine Exploration Fund Blog.

Coming soon: Discovery House Bible Atlas, by John Beck.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, BibleX

Tell en-Nasbeh, biblical Mizpah, in 1966
Photo by David Bivin

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Forgery, Movies, Resources, Samaria, Tourism, Travels, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists believe that they may have discovered a Roman-period synagogue in the Golan Heights.

A massive underground city from 3000 BC has been discovered in Turkey’s Central Anatolian province of Nevsehir.

More about the Summeily bullae, including a response by Israel Finkelstein, is reported by the AP.

The IAA busted over 100 antiquities thieves in 2014, the latest with a metal detector at Khirbet

Marmita near Beth Shemesh. Before that, two Israelis and two Palestinians were arrested for planning to loot gold from a cave in the West Bank.

Papyrus scrolls are hot items in the online antiquities market.

On Monday, 38 Tyrian shekels from the lifetime of Jesus will be sold by auction. They date consecutively from 5 BC to AD 33. The reserve amount is $125k.

Haaretz reviews the most intriguing archaeological stories of 2014.

Archaeology magazine picks their top 10 discoveries of the year.

Most of the top 10 posts of 2014 by Wayne Stiles are related to Bible geography.

Ferrell Jenkins shares some new NASA photos of Israel and the Middle East.

“Secrets of the Bible: The Fall of Jericho,” featuring Bryant Wood, airs on the American Heroes Channel on Sunday, January 4, at 8:00 and 11:00 pm.

HT: Ted Weis, Explorator, Joseph Lauer

Besichtigung des Ausstellungsstückes im Alten Museum - Jäger und Gejagte, Die exotische Tierwelt des römischen Mosaiks aus Lod (Israel).
© Uwe Steinert, Berlin.
www.uwesteinert.de

Holiday greetings from the Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority; photo by Yuri Molodkovtsu

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Golan, Photo Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup