Discoveries Archives - Page 98 of 154

Weekend Roundup

IAA Press Release: “An Impressive Byzantine Period Monastery with a Spectacular Mosaic Floor was Exposed at the Entrance to Hura in the Northern Negev.” The high-res photos are here.

Exploring Bible Lands draws attention to the unique site known by some as the “Cove of the Sower.”

If you want to read just one review on the Noah movie, I’d recommend this one by Brian Mattson.

Eric Cline is interviewed on The Book and the Spade about his new book 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. (Direct link to mp3 here.)

Logos is offering a 9-volume set on the Archaeology of Rome.

A new translation of the Tempest Stela suggests that the Thera eruption dates to the reign of pharaoh Ahmose.

Daily Mail: Archaeologists race to secure ancient burial site of three Egyptian kings that will make the treasure of Tutankhamun’s tomb look like a ‘display in Woolworths’

Haaretz: Ancient rock art is hidden all over the Negev.

The Associated Press suggests five free things to do in Tel Aviv.

On his recent trip to Israel, Wayne Stiles created 11 360-degree images of biblical sites.

He also has recommendations on great resources to get after your trip to Israel.

HT: Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Byzantine period monastery at Hura.
Photographs by Skyview Company, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Negev, Photo Resources, Resources

Magnificent Burial Cave Looted in Jerusalem

The Israel Antiquities Authority captured a group of thieves attempting to sell eleven ossuaries looted from a tomb in Jerusalem. The IAA issued a press release about the arrest and plunder today.

A number of suspects were apprehended in the early hours of Friday (28.3) in a joint operation by inspectors of the IAA Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery and detectives and patrolmen of the Shefet police station in Jerusalem. They were caught while in possession of eleven decorated stone ossuaries – ancient coffins – that the Jewish population used for burial in the Second Temple period, two thousand years ago. Some of the ossuaries still contained the skeletal remains of the deceased.
[…]
Shallow engravings, etched in the past by means of a sharp stylus, were found on the walls of two of the seized ossuaries. They cite the names of the deceased whose bones were collected in the coffins. One of the engraved ossuaries that were found bore the name “Ralfin”, written in squared Hebrew script characteristic of the Second Temple period. This name is apparently a Hebraized form of an unusual Roman name. According to Dr. Eitan Klein, deputy director of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery, who examined the ossuaries, “this is the first time this name appears on an ossuary from the Land of Israel”. On the other ossuary is a Greek inscription that could not be deciphered, and below it the name “Yo‘azar”, in squared Hebrew script. The name Yo‘azar is a common Jewish name in the Second Temple period, and occurs in contemporary written sources, such as Josephus’ writings. The name appears in this form and a slightly different form – “Yeho‘azar” – on numerous Jewish ossuaries from this period.
Some of the ossuaries were engraved with inscriptions in squared Hebrew script, characteristic of the Second Temple period and some bore Greek inscriptions, including the names of the deceased.
According to Dr. Eitan Klein, “these are singular finds. The inscriptions on the ossuaries provide us with additional characters and names from amongst the Jewish population in the Second Temple period, and the motifs adorning the ossuaries will supplement our knowledge with new information about the world of Jewish art in this period”. Dr. Klein stated, “There is no doubt that the ossuaries were recently looted from a magnificent burial cave in Jerusalem. Remnants of paint remained on top of the ossuaries and the containers themselves belong to the group of “magnificent Jerusalem” ossuaries that were manufactured in the city in antiquity”.

The full press release is here. High-resolution images are available from this link.

Photographs by the IAA Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

Weekend Roundup

Bryant Wood made the case that Khirbet el-Maqatir is biblical Ai in a lecture he gave at the recent symposium held at Houston Baptist University.

Biblical Archaeology Review has posted online the documentation for this month’s cover story,

“Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible.” This is a valuable resource, and more easily accessible than the author’s monograph.

An alabaster statue of a New Kingdom princess has been discovered in excavations near Luxor. The 6-foot statue was once part of a 56-foot-tall statue that guarded the entrance to a temple.

“Iraq’s southern Dhi Qar province is ‘a global museum of antiquities,’ dotted with hundreds of unexcavated ancient cities whose archeological treasures could rival those of the great Sumerian capital of Ur, experts say.”

BibleX points to an article on the time and cost of Paul’s missionary journeys.

Israel experienced a very bad dust storm earlier this week, resulting in the closure of a number of the country’s airports.

Mark Hoffman explains how to make a custom Bible map using Accordance as well as other options.

The ASOR Archaeology Weekly Roundup links to stories about Pompeii, the Apostle Philip, and more.

I’m on this week’s edition of The Book and the Spade with Gordon Govier, discussing the upcoming summer excavations in Israel. (Here’s a direct link.)

Luke Chandler invites you to join him on a tour of Israel. At $3,300, it is one of the most affordable trips I know of.

Wayne Stiles flew out to Israel yesterday and will be blogging about his trip daily. He also will be posting new pictures on his Instagram feed. I’m heading over as well, but I don’t expect to have much time to write on this blog while I am away.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Exodus-Conquest, Mesopotamia, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

The Rogueclassicist finds plenty to be suspicious of in the discovery of the “Apollo of Gaza” – Part I, Ia, and Ib.

Can the Jordan River Be Saved? National Geographic asks the question in light of the increased demands caused by the Syrian civil war.

Oded Golan has another ossuary that André Lemaire considers more significant than the James Ossuary.

Japanese archaeologists have discovered a tomb in Luxor dating to 1200 BC.

The Jerusalem Post runs a travel article on Tiberias and some of the new attractions in the area.

G. M. Grena reports on a recent conference where Gabriel Barkay gave four lectures on the history and archaeology of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem’s geography can relieve your doubts – if you understand it.

Registration is now open for this year’s season at Tel Burna.

The city of Jerusalem plans to make life easier for tourists by giving English lessons to taxi drivers.

I’m on The Book and the Spade this week talking with Gordon Govier about the Iron Age water tunnel discovered near Jerusalem and some wooden temple beams that may go back to Solomon’s temple. (Direct link to mp3 here.)

HT: Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Weekend Roundup

New Scrolls from the Dead Sea Area

In a presentation last week at the conference on “The History of the Caves of Qumran,” Yonatan Adler reported the discovery of a group of phylacteries (tefillin) containing nine small manuscripts.

These were discovered in Caves 4 and 5 in 1952 but only recently did Adler determine that they contained texts.

The discovery was reported in the Italian press (with a photo) and Joseph Lauer has provided a translation of the article:

***

LUGANO – The discovery of new Qumran manuscripts was announced during the International Research Seminar on “The History of the Caves of Qumran,” organized by the Institute of Culture and Archaeology of the Biblical Lands of the Faculty of Theology of Lugano (chaired by prof. Dr. George Paximadi).

Working on materials from the archaeological excavations of the ‘50s, archaeologist Yonatan Adler found some intact phylacteries (the boxes – used by religious Jews – which contain small manuscript rolls with a biblical text).

It was possible to detect the manuscripts in them thanks to special photographs (multispectral imaging) carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The phylacteries are from Qumran caves 4 and 5, excavated in 1952 by the archaeologist Roland de Vaux.

Among the material processed by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s laboratory for the conservation of the scrolls, were three packs containing nine small scrolls manuscripts.

“It does not happen every day to discover new manuscripts. It was really a great feeling,” said Yonatan Adler, Ariel University.

“I am very proud that in our laboratory, using the most advanced technologies, we can reconstruct the history of two thousand years ago,” said Pnina Shor, director of the laboratory for the conservation of the scrolls of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The seminar curated by Prof. Marcello Fidanzio, direttore del settore ambiente biblico dell’ISCAB, Facoltà di Teologia di Lugano, brought together 65 of the most important scholars of Qumran world, including Emanuel Tov (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Jodi Magness (University of North
Carolina), E. Puech (École Biblique et Archéologique Franҫaise, Jerusalem), Sidnie White Crawford (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), J. Taylor (King’s College London), Jurgen Zangenberg (Leiden University).

***

Lauer has located some related resources:
Drew Longacre’s notice of this and another discovery reported at the seminar.

Adler’s previous lecture on “The Tefillin of Qumran–Archaeology and Halacha.”

A photograph of a previously discovered phylactery.

Qumran Caves 4 and 5
Screenshot from Qumran Caves presentation in volume 4 of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries

Weekend Roundup

A jug containing silver earrings and ingots has been unearthed at Abel Beth Maacah. The find dates to about 1200 BC.

Some missing pieces of the Colossi of Memnon have been discovered.

A new discovery in Crete confirms the practice of human sacrifice in the Mycenean culture circa 1300 BC.

Israeli police have arrested two Muslim workers for illegal excavations on the Temple Mount.

The Vatican is allegedly pressuring Jerusalem officials into turning over control of the Mount Zion complex that houses the traditional Upper Room and the tomb of David.

Titus Kennedy discusses the domestication of camels on this week’s interview on The Book and the Spade (direct link here).

Gordon Franz explains how the Via Egnatia was part of the means that God enabled the spread of the gospel “in the fullness of time.”

The site of Beit Guvrin and Maresha is a candidate for the World Heritage List. The impressive bell caves and ruins of a Roman-period city are among the attractions at this site in the southern Shephelah of Judah.

A couple who spent three days hiking near the Dead Sea share their experiences in a Jerusalem Post travel article.

Aren Maeir links to the full-length version of the Orson Welles movie of David and Goliath.

HT: Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson

The bell caves of Beit Guvrin
Photo from Judah and the Dead Sea

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Galilee, Greece, Jerusalem, Mediterranean Islands, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup