“One Place, Many Stories: Madaba” combines 3D models of the archaeological parks, audio and video tours, along with storytelling from local community members.

Győző Vörös has received an award from the Vatican for his archaeological work at Machaerus.

Cyprus is planning to build a marine archaeological park at the ancient port of Amathus.

Jiří Janák provides “new insight into Akhenaten’s motivations by analysing theological, cultic and iconographic changes within his religious-political reform.

Archaeologists at Northern Arizona University are using computers to quickly sort pottery sherds by type.

The British Epigraphic Society is hosting a series of digital “Epigraphic Conversations.” Next up: “Why were inscriptions reused or inscribed,” on May 28, with hosts Muriel Moser-Gerber and Aaron Schmitt.

Zoom lecture on May 28: The Sixteenth Annual Roger Moorey Lecture at the Ashmolean: “Round objects at Persepolis: Common and Uncommon Threads,” by Michael Roaf.

Zoom lecture on June 8: “Pasargadae and Persepolis Revisited: The Extended Achaemenid Cities beyond the Royal Palaces,” by Rémy Boucharlat.

This September Wayne Stiles is leading a tour of Greece, Patmos, Ephesus, and Crete with a post-tour visit to Rome and Pompeii.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle

Egypt announced the discovery of 250 ancient tombs in the southern province of Sohag.

Most ancient Mesopotamian statues were covered with colors, and recent research increases our knowledge of the artistic practices.

Sara E. Cole looks that all that a king in ancient Mesopotamia needed to be and do.

Iraq’s ancient heritage is deteriorating in the absence of government funding and conservation efforts.

A rare and striking 2nd century BC funerary statue from Cyrene has been returned to Libya.

“The images of al-Hajar al-Aswad, or the Black Stone [of Mecca], are up to 49,000 megapixels in size and took more than 50 hours to photograph and develop.”

A new study of the longest Roman aqueduct provides insights into water management in the time of Constantine the Great.

Anzu.digital is a community calendar of upcoming online talks, workshops or conferences of Near Eastern / West Asian Archaeology.

A handwritten letter from 1834 describes an American’s stop at the port of Jaffa but the impossibility of traveling up to Jerusalem.

Bryan Windle has a top ten list for discoveries related to Paul. Before you read his take, you might think of what you would put at the top. (You could turn a list like this into a couple of lessons…)

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

Egypt reports the uncovering of 110 ancient tombs at the Koum el-Khulgan archeological site in Dakahlia province, northeast of Cairo.

“A team of Polish scientists say they have discovered the only known example of an embalmed pregnant Egyptian mummy.”

A first-century statue of a Roman female deity, which once stood at the entrance of the Roman Forum and has been missing since 1977, has been recovered.

Alex Joffe recounts his meeting with James Mellaart and where that all led.

Robert Cargill explains what the Tel Dan Inscription is and isn’t in a new 30-minute video.

First time available in digital format: ESV Archaeology Study Bible Notes, for Accordance, on sale for $19.90

Pinar Durgun has compiled a list of Ancient Anatolia Digital/Online/Open-Access Resources for Teaching and Research.

Olga Tufnell’s ‘Perfect Journey’ presents the account of an important archaeologist working in southern Palestine during the British Mandate. Published by UCL Press, with a free pdf download of the entire book. $1 on Kindle.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser

Researchers investigating a perfectly circular structure submerged under the Sea of Galilee are considering a possible connection to the tomb of Aqhat in Ugaritic mythology. The underlying journal article is here.

Mark Hoffman writes about the new “Timelapse in Google Earth,” with a couple of suggested views to check out.

Chris McKinny is on the Out of Zion podcast discussing the biblical and geographical backgrounds related to crossing the Jordan River.

Wendy Slaninka continues the fascinating story of her grandfather, James Leslie Starkey, excavator of Lachish.

Sudarsan Raghavan writes about the latest discoveries at Saqqara for the Washington Post.

“Pharaonic history provides us with well-documented cases of condemnation of the memory of specific individuals – what we today call damnatio memoriae.”

A project using artificial intelligence has determined that the Great Isaiah Scroll was written by two scribes, not one (Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, Haaretz premium, journal article).

New: Babylon: The Great City, by Olof Pedersén (Zaphon, 2021). Available in hardcover (44 €) and pdf (free).

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Ferrell Jenkins, Keith Keyser, Explorator, G. M. Grena

Tutku Educational Travel has a number of terrific tours planned in the latter half of 2021 and on through 2022. I’ve traveled with Tutku several times in the past, and my university is a regular partner with them for our student tours, and so I like to recommend them to others looking for great tours with the best instructors. You can get the full run-down of upcoming trips on the Tutku website, but I wanted to recommend and highlight six in particular:

Open to all:

For faculty and pastors (with discount):

You can see the full list of biblical tours here.

A “lost city” from the time of Amenhotep III has been discovered near Luxor. “After seven months of excavations, several neighborhoods have been uncovered, including a bakery complete with ovens and storage pottery, as well as administrative and residential districts.” The excavating team is hailing it as the “second most important archeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun.”

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo opened on April 3, and Luxor Times has posted a 30-minute walking tour.

NPR has posted a number of photos of the spectacle dubbed “The Pharaohs’ Golden Parade.”

Hikers in the northwestern Negev discovered a rare Egyptian scarab amulet dating to the 9th–8th centuries BC.

500 caves have been excavated in the Judean wilderness in recent years, and it is estimated that it will take 2-3 years to finish what remains.

William A. Ross looks at what the recent Dead Sea Scrolls discovery means for Septuagint studies.

A bronze tablet from Yemen dating to the 1st century BC mentions a temple dedicated to a previously unknown god.

Visitors can now take a virtual tour of Baalbek that shows the site as it looks today as well as at its height in the Roman period.

Carl Rasmussen shares several photos of a well-preserved but seldom-visited portion of the Diolkos near Corinth.

April 13, 8:30 pm (Eastern): Steve Austin will be giving a special session on “Climate Change, Dead Sea Mud & Bible Chronology.” Registration is required, and the session will not be recorded.

April 14, 8:00 pm (Eastern): Lawrence Schiffman will be speaking about the newly discovered Dead Sea Scrolls.

April 14, 8:00 pm (Eastern): Beth Alpert Nakhai will be speaking on “The Real Lives of Women in Biblical Times.” Registration costs $7.

Thomas E. Levy provides a summary of William G. Dever’s life as recounted in his recently published autobiography.

Brunilde Ridgway’s review of John Boardman’s A Classical Archaeologist’s Life: The Story So Far: An Autobiography provides a good summary of an extraordinarily productive life.

“During the next three years, RINBE will create a complete and authoritative modern presentation of the entire corpus of the royal inscriptions of the six kings of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in print and in a fully annotated (linguistically tagged), open-access digital format.” Some is already available, including a pdf of The Royal Inscriptions of Amēl-Marduk (561–560 BC), Neriglissar (559–556 BC), and Nabonidus (555–539 BC), Kings of Babylon (Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian Empire 2), by Frauke Weiershäuser and Jamie Novotny (and for sale here).

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis