Egypt Archives - Page 73 of 96

Saqqara Step Pyramid Restoration Controversy

From the International Business Times:

Activists are angry with Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities, Mamdouh Eldamaty, for choosing to re-hire a company to restore one of Egypt’s oldest pyramids after the firm caused damage and major deterioration to the structure while trying to repair it.
According to the Non-Stop Robberies movement, the famous Step Pyramid of Djoser, located in the Saqqara necropolis, sustained serious damage while being restored by a company called Shurbagy. This led to major deterioration and the collapse of a section of the pyramid.
“Technically, the company and officials of the Supreme Council of Antiquities committed a full-fledged crime,” Amir Gamal, a representative of Non-Stop Robberies, told the Egypt Independent.
“New walls were built outside the pyramid as if the pyramid were a modern construction, which is opposite to international standards of restoration, which prevents adding more than 5% of construction to antiquities if necessary.

The story continues here.

HT: Agade

Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara
Photo from Egypt

Tagged Egypt

Weekend Roundup

Here’s a photo of the Temple Mount ramp that is being dismantled.

Mike Rogoff’s article in Haaretz describes the various baptismal sites on the Jordan River and gives guidance on which one is best.

Matt Glassman writes about his time excavating this summer at Khirbet el-Maqatir.

This article on “gender studies” at Tel Abel Beth Maacah is really just a piece about someone’s experience on the dig.

A conference this week in the City of David focused on gold treasures discovered in Jerusalem. The article ends with an insightful comment by Gabriel Barkay.

The re-discovery of a fragment of a lead coffin from Tyre prompted a lengthy article about the subject in Haaretz. Paleojudaica suggests its relevance for the forged lead codices.

The land of 10,000 caves is profiled in this piece on Beit Guvrin’s bell-shaped quarry caves.

Ferrell Jenkins has collected his articles related to the route of the Exodus and the location of Mount
Sinai.

Aviva Bar-Am details the history and significance of Ashkelon, the first national park in Israel.

Wayne Stiles has all the visual aids you need for thinking about Jericho: photos, videos, and a map.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer

Tell Ashkelon from the northwest
Photo from Judah and the Dead Sea

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Lebanon, Philistines, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Anna Moseley Gissing writes about three lessons she learned from archaeology about the spiritual life.

Haaretz reports that the appointment of Israel’s new antiquities chief is embroiled in politics.

Should the Vatican return the menorah from the Jerusalem Temple? Steven Fine assigned his class the task of refuting the notion that the Vatican has it.

Greek archaeologists excavating a fourth-century BC tomb at Amphipolis have made an “extremely important find.”

~~Camels~~ Mummification existed in Egypt 1,500 years earlier than scientists have long believed.

The Egyptian government has asked the Ashmolean museum to lend it the personal collection of Howard Carter.

Brian Daniels discusses Preserving Culture in War on this week’s broadcast of The Book and the Spade.

What is the relationship between the archaeology of Jerusalem and the Book of Mormon? SourceFlix has produced a new video that answers this question.

Wayne Stiles describes two oases along the shore of the Dead Sea. (Can you guess which ones they are? Neither one ends with “Gedi.”) He includes photos, a video, and a map.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Triumphal procession depicted on the Arch of Titus in Rome
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, volume 15

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Jerusalem, Museums, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A new museum has opened at Hisham’s palace (Khirbet al-Mafjar) in Jericho.

A temple to the Urartian god Haldi has been discovered in northern Iraq.

A painting from the tomb of a priest in the Old Kingdom was discovered near the Giza pyramids.

You can read an update on the recent developments at the Temple Mount Sifting Project. The summary includes a series of photos of various sets of objects found.

The Tel Burna team ended their season by taking photos from a helicopter drone. The post shows the whole process.

Roman roads and milestones in Judaea and Palaestina are the focus of a new website produced by the Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee and the Israeli Milestone Committee.

Raphael Golb will spend two months in the slammer for his crimes of criminal impersonation and forgery.

“The Archaeology of Music” is the subject on this week’s episode of The Book and the Spade.

Biblical Archaeology Society has a summer sale, including the entire BAR Archive on DVD for $99.95.

HT: Jack Sasson, Ted Weis

Hisham’s palace gate
Photo from Samaria and the Center

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Forgery, Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, Museums, Shephelah, Technology, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

Yad HaShmonah and its Biblical Village are profiled in The Times of Israel. Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am treat their subject honorably.

Wayne Stiles explains the connection between Horeshat Tal National Park and the Bible.

The video of the “Roast and Toast” for retiring Albright director Sy Gitin is now online with handy links to each segment.

Popular Archaeology looks forward to the coming season of excavations in Jaffa, including new work in the harbor looking for ancient shipwrecks.

Progress in the Ashkelon excavations is being reported on the Dig Ashkelon blog.

A summary for week 2 is posted at the Tel Burna excavation blog. Two more weeks remain this season.

Luke Chandler has arrived in Israel to join the new excavations at Lachish. Watch his blog for updates. There’s more information about the Fourth Expedition to Lachish at the website of Southern
Adventist University.

Bible History Daily has published the first of several studio-quality videos about excavations of Tell Timai in the Nile Delta.

The Sacred Bridge is out in a second “emended and enhanced” edition. Eisenbrauns and Carta list it for sale but do not provide details for what has changed. (Anson Rainey died in 2011.)

Suzanne Marchand provides some interesting background on German-Turkish relations in archaeological work and how that was affected by World War I.

A number of scholarly teams are working on archaeology survey maps of northern Iraq.

“Authorities now know that ISIS is partially funded by pillaging ancient artifacts from Iraq and Syria to sell on the black market.” (International Business Times)

Mick Jagger was spotted at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The-Samaritans.com website is back online after a lengthy absence.

Amazon is now listing a book I contributed to: Jesus, A Visual History. It is due to be released in November.

HT: Jack Sasson, Craig Dunning, A.D. Riddle

Tabor oak at Horeshat Tal
Photo from Trees, Plants, and Flowers of the Holy Land

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 3

Wayne Stiles recommends 3 Sites To See Along the Mediterranean and 3 High Points to Visit in the Golan. As always, he has lots of photos.

Lois Tverberg has a new e-book out: 5 Hebrew Words That Every Christian Should Know. Only $3.99 and a free sample is available.

After Israel, the next country Bible students should visit is Turkey. Why? Ferrell Jenkins explains.

Tom Powers provides the history of “the bridge that never was.” His post includes illustrations of Robinson’s arch and inaccurate reconstructions.

The Bible and Interpretation features a well-illustrated summary of crucifixion in the ancient Mediterranean world based on a recent monograph by John Granger Cook.

This article explains why museums hate ancient coins.

The “endless archaeological park” also known as Greece is now on Google Street View after overcoming five years of government resistance.

Bible History Daily has a new post on Map Quests: Geography, Digital Humanities and the Ancient World.

Satellite imagery is helping officials monitor looting of sites in Egypt. The New York Times reports on other actions the Egyptian government is taking against antiquities theft.

Work continues in the effort to establish an archaeology park at Carchemish.

For more, see the ASOR Archaeology Weekly Roundup.

HT: Explorator, Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Temple of Artemis in Termessos, Turkey
Photo from Western Turkey

Tagged Egypt, Golan, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Museums, Technology, Tourism, Turkey