Wednesday Roundup

Archaeologist Aren Maeir is interviewed on Fox News about the significance of his excavations of Philistine Gath.

Eilat Mazar is interviewed on the Book and the Spade about her discovery of the “walls of Solomon.”

Joe Zias has responded to Simcha Jacobovici’s 46-page defense of his “nails of the cross” “documentary.”

Leen Ritmeyer explains why he finds implausible the recent proposal by Finkelstein, Koch, and Lipschits that ancient Jerusalem was centered on the Temple Mount.

Some people are unhappy over an amendment to the Antiquities Authority Law which will allow the government minister to appoint the board members.

The famous city of Capernaum is explored in the most recent column by Wayne Stiles at the Jerusalem Post.

The excavations of Sidon are profiled in the Daily Star.

According to the New York Times, Egyptian antiquities minister requires $15,000 per speaking engagement and makes up to $200,000 a year as an “explorer-in-residence” for National Geographic.

I don’t know what workers under Hawass earn, but he probably makes more than the collective salaries of hundreds of them.

A Polish visitor to Israel has successfully “walked on water” after four days of practice and fifty failed attempts using a kite and surfboard.

HT: Jack Sasson

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Weekend Roundup #1

Archaeologists are saying that they found the best-preserved Israelite building in excavations at Tel Shikmona near Haifa. In addition to the 9th-8th century BC four-room house, excavators also found a seal with an inscription in Hebrew or Phoenician. The University of Haifa press release has more photos.

That oil spill in Nahal Zin has become Israel’s worst-ever environmental disaster. This week the government ordered the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company to halt clean-up because they were only making the problem worse.

Tel Burna Archaeological Project has some post-season balloon photos of the site and excavations.

Click on the images for high-resolution. It’s amazing what lies just below the surface.

Several significant discoveries were made in Egypt in recent days, including the first Roman basilica in Alexandria, a gate from 700 BC near the Karnak Temple, and a depiction of the king from Dynasty 0.

The PEF has posted several dozen photos of Qumran from the excavations in the 1950s. The collection posted at Flickr combines old views with their modern counterparts. More details about the images are posted at the PEF site.

HT: Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup #2

The outgoing chairman of UNESCO’s Israel World Heritage Committee discusses the value and potential problems of adding historic sites to the World Heritage list. The Jerusalem Post has updated their article on the Miriam-Yeshua-Caiaphas ossuary with a 2.5 minute video, including an interview with the archaeologist. They expect to put the ossuary on display in a museum in the near future. Hundreds of decorated blocks were found recently at Tanis, Egypt, the site where Indiana Jones found the ark of the covenant. After five years of restoration work, the 1.6-mile (2.7-km) long Avenue of the Sphinxes connecting the Luxor Temple with the Karnak Temple will be opened in October. In his May/June edition of the Archaeology in Israel Update, Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg reviews the excavations of 10th century “Bethsaida,” the 70th anniversary of the Hebrew University Museum, the discovery of a Byzantine building in Acco, a salvage excavation at the Austrian Hospice in Jerusalem’s Old City, and the arrest of an American professor for selling antiquities in Israel. Eisenbrauns has posted notice of publication of Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research in the Holy City. Edited by Gideon Avni and Katharina Galor. 520 pages! Due out in November. Also listed but without an expected publication date is a new work by Eilat Mazar, Discovering the Solomonic Wall in Jerusalem. Like most of this archaeologist’s books on Jerusalem, it is self-published. The IAA continues to post back issues of ‘Atiqot online. The winery of Psagot north of Jerusalem stores its barrels in a cave used for wine-making in the first century. Ray Vander Laan has a new website featuring clips from his most recent Faith Lessons videos.

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Graffiti Found Inside Tiny Chamber in Great Pyramid

From Past Horizons:

Researchers on the Djedi robot expedition have now obtained video images from a tiny chamber hidden at the end of one of the shafts leading from the Queen’s chamber. This tunnel is particularly hard to explore because it is extremely narrow (20cm x 20cm), it is built at angle of 40 degrees and has no outside exit.
The team overcame these practical difficulties by using a robot explorer that could climb up inside the walls of the shaft whilst carrying a miniature ‘micro snake’ camera that can see around corners.
The bendy camera (8 mm diameter) was small enough to fit through a small hole in a stone ‘door’ at the end of the shaft, giving researchers a clear view into the chamber beyond.
The ‘micro snake’ camera’ allowed all walls of the camber to be carefully examined, revealing sights not seen by human eyes since the construction of the pyramid
[…]
When pieced together, the images gathered by Djedi revealed hieroglyphs written in red paint that team members suggest were made by workmen. Prior to this, researchers had only found hieroglyphs in the roof of the King’s Chamber, which lies some distance above the Queen’s Chamber.
“We believe that if these hieroglyphs could be deciphered they could help Egyptologists work out why these mysterious shafts were built,” Dr Richardson said.

The full story includes photos.

HT: Jack Sasson

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Seven New Kingdom Tombs Opened in Saqqara

Egypt is looking to bring visitors back with the opening of seven new tombs 20 miles from Cairo. From the Jerusalem Post:

Egypt’s antiquities ministry on Monday opened seven New Kingdom tombs that were previously unavailable to the public. The tombs include the final resting place of King Tutankhamen’s treasurer as well as a general, Horemheb, who would later become king.
Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass announced the opening of the South Saqqara tombs on his website on May 22. The tombs are located about 30 kilometers south of Cairo and near Djoser’s Step Pyramid. The seven tombs are from New Kingdom, a period that lasted from the 16th century to 11th century B.C.
The tomb of King Tut’s treasurer, Maya, while unfinished, features images of Maya and his wife Merit. Maya helped Tutankhamen reopen temples in the then-capital Luxor, further south in Egypt, which had been abndoned during his father Akhenaton’s rule for the site of Amarna. He helped Tutankhamen restore order in a country that had been disrupted by his father’s drastic changes including the move of the capital and abolishing of the priestly order.

The full story is here. The story is also reported by the AP.  NTDTV has a four-minute video.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, told reporters:

We are opening this new cemetery today to tell the whole world that Egypt is safe and come to smell and to see the magic and the mystery of Egypt.

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Weekend Roundup

Well preserved remains of an ancient ship possibly from the first century has been found in the port that served ancient Rome.

Roman and Byzantine buildings have been discovered in Jiftlik, a Palestinian town near Alexandrium-Sartaba in the Jordan Valley.

“Geography and culture are important.”  Jim Elliff explains why in this bulletin insert that you can download and reproduce for your church.

Infanticide was apparently common in the Roman Empire.

The first phase of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation is scheduled to open next month.

The country of Turkey is starting to recognize the value of its Christian sites for bringing in tourists (NY Times).

The Alphabetical list of Open Access Journals in Ancient Studies surpassed 900 titles this week.

Wayne Stiles shares his thoughts (and video) on Mount Arbel and the Sea of Galilee (JPost).

Tour guide Joe Yudin describes his jeep tour of the Judean Desert in a new column at the Jerusalem Post.

As a follow-up to the list of finalists for the 2011 Christian Book Award, it may be noted that the winner in the Bible Reference Category is the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds 
Commentary, edited by John H. Walton.

Accordance is giving away a Bible a day (to one winner) and offering a big discount for all users, through the month of May.

ICEJ News reports on Israel’s plans to invest in Nazareth: On Wednesday, Israeli tourism minister Stas Meseznikov announced that the government is planning to invest more than NIS 12 million over the next four years in Israel’s largest Arab city, Nazareth, which is also a major tourist attraction due to its status as the town where Jesus grew up, being visited by over 40% of the tourists who arrive in Israel every year. One of the strategies used in order to develop the city is to encourage local residents to open their own businesses, and grants of up to 30% of their start up investments are therefore offered.  “The program to boost development of the tourism industry in Nazareth is part of a 2010 government initiative to encourage development in the Arab sector,” Meseznikov said.

HT: Paleojudaica, Jack Sasson

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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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