Egypt Archives - Page 28 of 92

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The latest skeleton discovered at Pompeii sheds remarkable light on an individual named Marcus Venerius Secundio.

“A team of Polish researchers has discovered evidence of a well-planned Christian settlement dating to the sixth century in the ancient Egyptian port city of Marea.”

“Archeologists in northwestern Turkey discovered a relief on Monday depicting a war between the Greeks and Persians from the fifth century B.C.” (No photo)

A gouge in the eyes of a coin of Julian the Apostate may have been an intentional “act of erasure.”

Here are much better photos to go with the previously mentioned story abut Egyptians struggling to keep alive their craft of making papyrus.

The theater at Ephesus is reopening to visitors after being closed for the last three years.

Malta is planning to bury ancient cart ruts in order to build a new roundabout.

Jesse Millek asks, “Why did scholars choose 1200 BCE . . . as the year when civilization collapsed in the Eastern Mediterranean?”

The Getty Research Institute interviews Waleed Khaled al-As’ad, director emeritus of antiquities and museums at Palmyra and son of the site’s longtime director, Khaled al-As’ad. They also have a story about the history of Palmyra.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Andy Cook, Ted Weis, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Mediterranean Islands, Syria, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A 7th-century BC temple facade with Phrygian writing was discovered in western Turkey.

Restoration work is underway in the Hypostyle Hall of the Karnak Temple.

Betina Faist provides an introduction to legal practices in the Neo-Assyrian empire.

Farmers and artisans in Egypt are struggling to keep alive the ancient tradition of making papyrus.

ArtDaily has a photo essay of how the ancient technique of making papyrus paper continues today in Egypt (temporary link; see under “The Best Photos of the Day.”)

“From ancient Egypt to the Persian Empire, an ingenious method of catching the breeze kept people cool for millennia.”

The Jerusalem Post article about the discovery of the actual Trojan Horse is a hoax based on a satirical report in 2014.

Alexandra Ariotti reviews the history of Jews on the island of Crete, from before Paul’s travels there to the present day.

Free download: Guide to Ancient Near Eastern Art, by Ruth Ezra, Beth Harris, and Steven Zucker (Smarthistory, 2019).

Daily Sabah gives a short profile of Timothy Harrison, an archaeologist who has been excavating Tell Tayinat for nearly 20 years.

After 20 years of red ink, the Holy Land Experience in Orlando has permanently closed. (See our list of Bible-Related Attractions in the US.)

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Mediterranean Islands, Mesopotamia, Resources, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Archeologists in Saudi Arabia have discovered the largest inscriptions in the Kingdom depicting the Babylonian King Nabonidus in the north-western city of Hail.”

Egypt has found remains of a military vessel from the Ptolemaic era at the ancient submerged port city of Thonis-Heracleio.

Treasures similar to those from King Tut’s tomb were allegedly found at a site recently discovered in southern Iraq.

“Turkey’s Izmir Archaeology Museum recently launched a new, unique exhibition centered around the historical artifact known as a ‘strigil,’ which 2,300 years ago was a tool used for cleansing the body by scraping off dirt, perspiration and oil.”

Lee Lawrence provides a well-illustrated introduction to the “meticulous, miniature world of Mesopotamian cylinder seals.”

Robert Deutsch is the guest this week on The Book and the Spade, discussing seals, seal impressions, and wet sifting.

Stephanie Lynn Budin takes issue with recent studies that assume that nude terracotta figurines are all related to fertility and childbirth.

New release: Egg Whites or Turnips? Archaeology and Bible Translation, by Paul J. N. Lawrence. The book has endorsements from Alan Millard and James Hoffmeier.

The Bible Mapper Blog has posted some new maps, with downloadable high-res versions:

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A new study indicates that Egypt was using copper mined at Timna during the reigns of David and Solomon, suggesting an important trade route was in use at the time.

A journalist proposed that Sennacherib’s failure to capture Jerusalem was owing to Tirhakah’s intervention on behalf of Judah. The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures commissioned eight scholars to evaluate it, with six scholars affirming the theory. Alice Ogden Bellis summarizes the discussion.

The City of David YouTube channel has released a Tisha B’Av special in which they look at newly discovered evidence of the destructions of Jerusalem in 586 BC and AD 70 (25 min).

Zachi Dvira is the guest on the “Times Will Tell” podcast, talking about the history of the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

Nadav Shragai discusses some of the stories and controversies of the 49 cisterns under the Temple Mount.

“Was a well-preserved set of game pieces and other childhood items buried [at Tel Kedesh] by a young woman before she got married?”

The team excavating Tell es-Safi/Gath has concluded their third week.

In a new episode on the Biblical World podcast, Mary Buck and Chris McKinny discuss the topography of ancient Jerusalem and the possible identification of the Millo with the Spring Tower.

From the maker of “Ushpizin,” and now playing in theaters in Israel, “Legend of Destruction” is a 90-minute film that “tells the story of the Jewish revolt against Rome in 70 CE, from the perspective of Ben Batiach, a good-hearted scholar who turns zealot, leading to the Roman siege on the city and the destruction of the Second Temple.”

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

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Negev, Philistines, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

Two discoveries were announced this week that will both likely make the “top 10” list for 2021: a Jerubbaal inscription and a city wall of Jerusalem. Those will summarized at greater length here tomorrow and Monday.

Archaeologists have discovered remains of an uneaten pig in a house in the City of David dating to about 700 BC. The underlying journal article is here.

Two coins from the First and Second Jewish Revolts were discovered in an archaeological survey in eastern Benjamin. The survey report was published in the Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin.

Week 2 has concluded at the Tell es-Safi/Gath excavations, and Aren Maeir is faithful as always to post updates and photos. The most recent is here.

Eve Harow interviewed Aren Maeir on the Rejuvenation podcast.

Gordon Govier reviews the discoveries and developments in biblical archaeology this summer on The Book and the Spade podcast.

Once again, Bryan Windle has a post that you could adapt for a lecture or lesson, with his Top 10 Discoveries Related to Abraham.

“In ‘Legend of Destruction,’ Gidi Dar’s new film about the destruction of the Second Temple, artists David Polonsky and Michael Faust faced a serious challenge: make an animation movie composed entirely of still paintings. It took them eight years to complete” (Haaretz premium).

Glenn Schwartz believes that “the world’s first fully developed alphabetic writing arrived on the scene some 500 years earlier than what archaeologists have long believed.” Christopher Rollston offers his reflections.

New release: Ramat Raḥel VI: The Renewed Excavations by the Tel Aviv–Heidelberg Expedition (2005–2010). The Babylonian-Persian Pit, by Oded Lipschits, Liora Freud, Manfred Oeming, and Yuval Gadot. Save 30% with code NR21.

Excavation of the second Khufu Boat has concluded, and final restoration work is now being done at the Grand Egyptian Museum.

David Ian Lightbody writes about the origin of the cartouche in Old Kingdom Egypt.

Italian authorities have recovered 782 ancient artifacts stolen by a Belgian art collector.

“The Colosseum Archaeological Park reopens the House of the Vestal Virgins to the public fully on 6 July following an extensive restoration that began in 2013.”

The Museum with No Frontiers has launched a new website.

Here are some recent episodes on Digging for Truth:

Temple Mount Revisionism: A Response (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)
Pharaoh Shishak, with Bryan Windle
King David’s Fortified City of Khirbet Qeiyafa, with Michael Hasel

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Steven Anderson, Charles Savelle, Roger Schmidgall, Explorator

Tagged 10th Century, Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Judah, Museums, Philistines, Samaria, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Several dozen fossilized shark teeth were discovered in the City of David.

The first week of excavations has ended at Tell es-Safi. Here’s the most recent update.

The IAA announced the discovery of a “city council building” near the Western Wall. But this same building has been open to tourists for several decades, so I think the story is more properly that additional facts have been learned about this building, such as that it was used as a triclinium, featured a fountain, and was built in AD 20 (and not in the Hasmonean era). Or maybe the story is that a new tourist route is opening.

A new study has found that Egypt’s primary source of copper during the Third Intermediate Period was the Arabah, in turn suggesting that this was a significant motivation for Shishak’s campaign (underlying journal article here).

Bible History Daily introduces a recent BAR article by Jeffrey P. Garcia by describing the three pilgrimage paths from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Brian Blum describes his hike on the new Emmaus Trail which runs from Abu Ghosh to Canada Park. The trail begins near a new visitor center that includes a museum dedicated to the life of Jesus.

The Bethsaida (et-Tell) Excavations Project website has been updated with the latest publications, including field reports.

New release: The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel – Samuel, edited by David Arnovitz. Contributors include Aren Maier, Yosef Garfinkel, Erez Ben-Yosef, and Chris McKinny (publisher’s website; Amazon). An early enthusiastic review is here; the previously released Exodus volume is available here.

Free download: Beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem: The Archaeology and Early History of Traditional Golgotha, by Shimon Gibson & Joan E. Taylor (Palestine Exploration Fund, 1994)

Ram Gophna, Professor Emeritus at Tel Aviv University, died on Monday.

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Negev, Resources, Sad News