Some scholars have weighed in on the seal of the woman discovered in Jerusalem. Christopher Rollston has a lengthy analysis, concluding in part that the seal dates to approximately 700 BC.

Robert Deutsch writes that the archaeologists made several mistakes, including misreading the name on one of the seals. The Daily Mail has a number of photographs. For some political irony, see The Blaze.

The first phase of the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem (at the Monastery of the Flagellation) opens on March 17.

The latest issue of Near Eastern Archaeology features articles on Jericho, Adam (Tell Damiyah), Gustaf Dalman, and more.

A schedule of forthcoming lectures for the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society are online here.

New Excavation Report: Beer-Sheba III: The Early Iron IIA Enclosed Settlement and the Late Iron IIA-Iron IIB Cities, by Ze’ev Herzog and Lily Singer-Avitz. Sold as a 3-volume set by Eisenbrauns.

The latest exhibit at the Israel Museum, “Pharaoh in Canaan: The Untold Story,” looks at Egyptian presence in Israel during the Middle and Late Bronze periods. A one-minute video provides a preview.

“Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt” opens at the Cleveland Museum of Art on March 13, featuring many pieces from the British Museum.

Many documents from the 18th and 19th centuries have been discovered in a storeroom in Egypt, including letters from Flinders Petrie and Howard Carter.

Luxor is sending 778 artifacts to be displayed in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

National Geographic runs a well-illustrated story on King Tut’s grandparents, Yuya and Tuyu.

The Karnak Temple did not catch on fire.

A New York Times reporter describes some of the challenges of being a tourist in Saudi Arabia.

The BBC reports on the impact of the Syrian civil war on the archaeology of Tell Qarqur (Qarqar).

Clyde Billington is on The Book and the Spade this week discussing the harbor of Corinth and the fortress of Macherus.

Now on pre-pub pricing for Logos: Archaeology in Action: Biblical Archaeology in the Field ($50).

Many of the early volumes of the Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement are now online.

Recommended book, on sale for Kindle: Israel: Ancient Kingdom or Late Invention?, edited by Daniel I. Block ($2.99)

Zecharia Kallai, professor emeritus of Historical Geography of Palestine at Hebrew University, died last month.

HT: Charles Savelle, Agade, Pat McCarthy, Joseph Lauer

Jaffa, rough sea, mat00699
Our most liked photo this week on Facebook was this one of the harbor at Jaffa (biblical Joppa), from the American Colony and Eric Matson Collection.

IAA excavations in the Schneller Compound in Jerusalem have revealed a Roman bathhouse and a Roman- or Byzantine-era winerpress. High-res photos and a video may be downloaded here.

Archaeologists have unearthed a cemetery in use from the Middle Bronze to the Iron Ages south of Bethlehem. Two journal articles on which the report was based can be read here and here.

A hidden camera reveals for the first time the condition of Palmyra after ISIS terrorists destroyed temples, arches, and tower tombs.

A missing letter in an inscription brings into question whether the Amphipolis tomb really belonged to Hephaestion, Alexander the Great’s beloved friend and general, and may instead belong to Alexander’s mother, Olympias.

The Bethsaida Excavation Project has posted their 2015 season report (73 pages with lots of photos).

Three looted Mesopotamian sculptures were found in a Slovenian refugee camp.

Haaretz runs a story on the mysterious 90-mile long wall in Jordan.

Two UCSD professors are working with the Israel Antiquities Authority to update the Digital Archaeological Atlas of the Holy Land.

An online Neo-Assyrian Bibliography compiled by Heather D. Baker and Melanie Groß is available.

Egypt is seeking to add four archaeological sites in Alexandria and Sinai to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Jacob sheep being raised in Canada will be brought back to Israel.

The death of the Dead Sea has probably never been better illustrated than in this multi-media rich “article” at Haaretz. It includes the prediction that within 20 years there may be no access to the shoreline of the Dead Sea.

Clyde Billington and Gordon Govier discuss the latest discoveries on this week’s edition of The Book and the Spade.

Shmuel Browns visits the site of Lifta (biblical Nephtoah) on the edge of Jerusalem.

Minna Silver takes readers on a visit to biblical Haran, once home to the patriarch Abraham.

Eisenbrauns’s Deal of the Weekend: The Horsemen of Israel
Horses and Chariotry in Monarchic Israel, by Deborah Cantrell ($20).

Barry Britnell introduces a new video project entitled “Following the Messiah” and encourages everyone to support the project through their Kickstarter Campaign.

HT: Ted Weis, Gale, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ferrell Jenkins

A seven-year-old boy found a 3,400-year-old figurine at Tel Rehov.

Archaeologists working at Timna in southern Israel found some remarkably well-preserved fabrics from the time of David. You may recall that for a long time scholars denied there was any activity at the site during the time of the United Monarchy.

A €1.6 million Israeli-German project will use digital tools to put the fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls back together again.

A major renovation of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is underway.

Two artists covertly scanned the bust of Nefertiti and have now released a 3-D dataset.

Two guards at Dayr al-Barsha in Middle Egypt were killed by looters.

Adam Prins recently presented a seminar at the Albright Institute on “3D Models in Archaeological Excavation Recording: The JVRP Method.”

An exhibition of two recent treasure hoard discoveries provides insight into Roman life in England.

A series of lectures will be given at Tel Aviv University for the annual celebration of “Aharoni Day” this coming Thursday.

Project Mosul is a new website that “solicits photographs of antiquities and uses 3-D modeling software to create a virtual record of what was lost in the attack.”

Now online: Bryant Wood’s critique of Steven Collins’ northern location of Sodom.

Wayne Stiles explains five ways the Lord taught his people to walk by faith in the land of Israel.

The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Old Testament e-book volumes are on sale for $4.99, ending today.

HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Agade

Archaeologists do not know the date or purpose of a wall in southern Jordan than is nearly 100 miles long. There are more photos here.

Archaeologists have discovered a large underground silver mine in Greece.

A Chalcolithic site was found in Shuafat north of ancient Jerusalem.

The world’s oldest dress is from Egypt and dates to 3000 BC.

On Monday Egypt will celebrate the golden jubilee of the Abu Simbel temple salvage operation.

Egypt’s minister of antiquities and the director of Saqqara’s archaeological galleries are accused of
replacing 157 artifacts with replicas.

Plans are afoot to build a “Welcome Center” in Hebron.

Space archaeologist Sarah Parcak won a $1-million TED Prize which she plans to use in part “to develop an online game-based application that will teach and reward viewers for identifying objects in satellite imagery that may point to archaeological sites.”

“Italy has teamed up with the United Nations to create a task force whose goal is to protect ancient artworks, artifacts, and archaeological sites in conflict zones from extremists.”


The Smithsonian Magazine reports on how the tomb of Cyrus was discovered in 1928 by Ernst Herzfeld.

Four recent lectures on King David by Professor Yair Zakkovitch are now available online.


The New York Times doesn’t like “Risen.” Another review is more positive. And here’s another.

The March/April issue of Biblical Archaeology Review features articles on the Hittites, Mount Ebal, the ivory pomegranate, Yoram Tsafrir, and Adam Zertal.

The Biblical Archaeology Society is offering big discounts on books, DVDs, and CDs.

The Petoskey News-Review profiles Owen Chesnut, the head archaeologist of excavations of Ashdod-Yam.

“Beersheba epitomizes the faith God required to live in the Holy Land.” Wayne Stiles explains why.

A 5-minute video shows the temple of Solomon from a model created using SketchUp 2016.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos of the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia and notes the two occurrences of the region in the New Testament.

Luke Chandler explains the importance of the Merneptah Inscription.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle, Mark Hoffman, ANE-2, Urban von Wahlde

The Bornblum Eretz Israel Synagogues Website is a new work that presents “bibliographical references, geographical location, photos, plans and brief descriptions of excavated ancient synagogues from the Roman and Byzantine periods in the Land of Israel.”

A four-minute newscast reports on new excavations in the Timna Valley and its copper mines.

Four individuals are in trouble after a video of them breaking off pieces of the Giza pyramids went viral.

“The Aleppo Codex, on permanent display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, has been declared a world treasure by UNESCO.”

A group of artifacts from the Museum of the Bible Collection is now on display in Cuba.

“The Extraordinary Gertrude Bell exhibition will be at the Great North Museum in Newcastle until May 3.”

Jodi Magness will be lecturing on “Samson in Stone: New Discoveries in the Ancient Synagogue at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee” on February 15 at UNC. She will be giving the same lecture at the Getty Villa on April 3.

Birger Ekornåsvåg Helgestad and Jonathan Taylor will be lecturing in London on February 24 on

“Walking in Woolley’s Footsteps: Ur Brought to Life for the Digital Age.” Registration is required.

“In the Valley of David and Goliath: Digging Up Evidence on the United Monarchy” symposium will be held in New York City on March 30.

Applications are now being accepted for the Cyprus Underwater Archaeology Field School 2016.

A one-week Field School on Archaeological Science in Ancient Corinth will be held June 6 to 11.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle

A farmer on a hike with his family near the Horns of Hattin discovered a scarab depicting Thutmose III.

An ancient canal system used 2,000 years ago to irrigate terraced agricultural plots has been unearthed at an excavation near the Roman-era fortress Metzad Bokek in southern Israel.”

A boat from the Third Dynasty has been discovered at Abusir in Egypt.

A recently uncovered first century AD fresco found in London is described as the earliest one of the earliest surviving frescos from Roman Britain.

A shipwreck from 2000 BC has been discovered by Turkish researchers in Marmaris Hisarönü Gulf in the Mediterranean.

Accuweather has identified five archaeological discoveries preserved by nature, including the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Eilat Mazar says that plans to expand the prayer area near Robinson’s Gate will “absolutely ruin the site.” The Grand Mufti is also opposed. An artist’s rendering is here.

David Ilan will be lecturing on “How Ancient Israel Began: A New Archaeological Perspective” at
Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, on February 9, 6:00 pm.

Aren Maeir has been appointed to the board of the Israel Parks and Nature Authority. (Now we know who to blame if the parks aren’t perfect!)

Sy Gitin’s eulogy for Trude Dothan is now posted at the Albright Institute’s website. The Biblical
Archaeology Society honors her memory by making 8 articles by and about her free to the public.
Wayne Stiles explains Amos’s sarcastic wordplay on the place name “Lo Debar.”

ASOR has posted a “post-mortem” on the Jehoash Inscription, but I doubt it will convince anyone not already convinced.

Nimrud Rising is a new project that uses “innovative digital technology solutions to create an immersive virtual reality recreation of Nimrud.”

On the anniversary of James Michener’s birthday, Benjamin Glatt explores the origins of The Source.

The Palestine Exploration Fund reveals the identity of the “mystery objects.”

The Associates for Biblical Research has received a $10,000 matching gift pledge towards its excavations of Khirbet el-Maqatir.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Pat McCarthy, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer