An undisturbed 3,500-year-old soldier’s tomb with enormous treasures has been found in southwest Greece.

A secret tunnel built by the Hittites has been discovered in central Turkey.

Twenty two ancient shipwrecks have been discovered off the coast of Turkey.

A fine first-century marble head of the mythical greek hero Hercules has been acquired by the Dallas Museum of Art.

Charles Jones has posted a preliminary bibliography of autobiographies of scholars of the greater Ancient Near East.

Haaretz: “How Did a Judean Seal End Up in a 2,000-year-old Russian Warrior Woman’s Grave?”

The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative has added to its library works from the Detroit Institutes of Arts.

“Scan Pyramids” is a new study by Egyptian and foreign experts that will use modern infra-red technology to map four pyramids and search for hidden secrets.

David Moster identifies 10 great biblical artifacts in the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem.

Lenny Ben-David shares a photo essay entitled “Secrets under the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The Jordan Times reports on restoration efforts at Macherus. The Hungarian team plans to excavate
until 2029 and to create a visitor’s center in a Herodian cistern.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Wayne Stiles, Agade

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has posted an initial list of excavations in 2016. There are a couple of options if you’d prefer to avoid the hot temperatures and high airfares of the summer.


WSJ: A Boy’s Discovery Rebuts Temple Mount Revisionism

The Temple Mount Sifting Project provides an update on their crowd funding campaign. Even a small contribution would be appreciated.

Omer Eshel takes a look at “The Hidden Gems of Israel” on The Land and the Book radio program with Charlie Dyer.

If you’re an American non-tenured faculty member, you may qualify to apply for a $7,000 travel award to experience archaeology in Israel.

The Book and the Spade remembers Adam Zertal with the re-broadcast of a 1993 interview (mp3).

Available now via Luke Chandler: “King David’s City at Khirbet Qeiyafa: Results of the Second
Radiocarbon Dating Project,” by Yosef Garfinkel, Katharina Streit, Saar Ganor, and Paula J. Reimer.

The samples date to ~1000 BC.

A Byzantine winepress was discovered on the Sharon Plain following a severe rainstorm.

“You tithe mint, dill and cumin…but neglect…justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” Ferrell Jenkins explains and illustrates.

Alexander Schick will be lecturing on November 4, 6:30 pm for the University of the Holy Land in

Room 211 of the Rothberg Institute. The title: “Genius or Thief? Constantine Tischendorf turns two hundred – the life of the famous Bible hunter and the case of the Codex Sinaiticus in the light of newly discovered documents from his personal archives.” For more on this subject, see here.

A new study claims that an Egyptian text is the oldest known abecedary.

Haaretz‘s report on Gabriel Barkay’s Temple Mount sifting project include several pictures of findings.

A UNESCO resolution that claimed the Western Wall prayer plaza as an Islamic shrine has made some people unhappy.

German experts are restoring the golden mask of King Tut after its beard was broken off and clumsily repaired.

The Journal of Near Eastern Archaeology reports that there are groups other than the Islamic State who are destroying and plundering antiquities in Syria.

The Getty Villa in Los Angeles is exhibiting 1800’s era watercolor paintings of Greece, many offering insight into how ancient sites looked in the early 19th century.

Emily Corrigan shares her experience of a summer on the Jezreel Expedition.

Egyptian authorities are investigating the embezzlement of $20 million from construction funds for the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Zahi Hawass throws cold water on the proposal that Nefertiti’s tomb has finally been located.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo he took of a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee as the sun was rising.

The newly renovated Waldorf-Astoria in Jerusalem has been ranked the top hotel in the Middle East in a survey by Condé Nast Traveler.

Test your knowledge about Petra with 10 questions at the ASOR Blog.

The newly released NIV Zondervan Study Bible, edited by D. A. Carson, is on sale now for Kindle for $7.99. (I wrote the notes for 2 Kings.)

Chris McKinny has made available on Academia his presentation on “Kiriath-Jearim (Deir el-‘Azhar): Archaeological Investigations of a Biblical Town in the Judean Hill Country.”

Conference at Hebrew U on Oct 29: “I Know What You Did Last Summer: A Glimpse at the Excavations and Surveys of the Institute of Archaeology, 2015 Season.”

Adam Zertal died on Sunday at the age of 79. He was best known for his survey of the hill country of Samaria and his identification of a structure on Mount Ebal as the altar of Joshua.

Thomas Schaub died on Monday at the age of 82. Schaub excavated Bab edh-Dhra.

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Paleojudaica

Archaeologists working on the Gezer water system have new evidence supporting its dating to the Middle Bronze period. Volunteers are invited for next season’s dig.

A court has ruled that Elad can continue to run the Jerusalem Archaeological Park in the City of David.

The Museum of the Bible has announced plans to excavate Tel Shimron in Galilee.

Palestinians have set fire to the traditional tomb of Joseph in Shechem.

Nearly 1,000 riders completed a three-day bike race in northern Israel. Dates have been announced for Epic Israel 2016.

Nehemia Gordon shares his experience in working on the Temple Mount Sifting Project. You can donate to the effort here.


The New York Times has issued a correction for their article on the Temple Mount. Jodi Magness’s letter to the editor is here.

ISIS’s destruction of the Roman Arch of Triumph in Palymra made some Russians unhappy.

Egypt is opening a small museum at the Cairo airport later this month.

Volume 3 of NGSBA (Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology) Archaeology has been released. The articles are primarily about the excavations at Yehud and Maresha. The entire issue can be downloaded for free. Previous volumes are available here.

The Oriental Institute has begun posting their photo archives online. Images are now available from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. As far as I can tell, the images are all low-res.

Jodi Magness reviews The Tomb of Jesus and His Family?, edited by James H. Charlesworth. She provides a summary of the articles, including the one by A. Kloner and S. Gibson, excavators of the Talpiot tomb. Ben Witherington provides an abbreviated version of her review.

Brent Seales is on the Book and the Spade to talk about the technology that enabled reading the oldest biblical text outside the Dead Sea Scrolls. Listen here.

Here’s a unique tour of Israel: the Life and Land of Jesus, with Wayne Stiles. This should be particularly attractive for those who want to return but don’t want to visit the same places as every time before.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Paleojudaica

Our most popular Facebook post and tweet of the week:

Mount of Beatitudes aerial from northeast, ws011415241
The Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Gennesaret, Arbel – so much of Jesus’s ministry right here!

In Pompeii, a pre-Roman tomb dating to 4 B.C. has been found in perfect condition by French archaeologists.

A newly discovered tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh preserves nearly twenty lines previously unknown.

The UNC Charlotte magazine features a story on the Mount Zion excavation.

Eldad Keynan examines a unique mikveh in Upper Galilee—one with a cross inscribed on the wall.

Dr. Ben Witherington paid a visit to the Greco-Roman Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and demonstrates how artifacts illuminate our understanding of the New Testament.

Why study biblical geography? Barry Britnell suggests one, two, and three reasons.

Bryant Wood reexamines the blockage of the Jordan River.

Ferrell Jenkins explains the significance of Adullam and shares several photos of the cave.

The Virtual World Project presents interactive virtual tours of archaeological sites in Israel and Jordan. The project is designed to aid in the teaching and study of antiquity.” There’s some background here.

“Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (RCAC) in Istanbul has begun an exhibition celebrating the immense contribution of John Garstang, a British scholar, on archaeology in Turkey.”

With only 2,000 gazelle remaining in Israel, the species will probably be classified as endangered.

Logos has pre-publication pricing on a new video course, AR101 Archaeology in Action: Biblical Archaeology in the Field ($50).

The early bird discount for Wayne Stiles’s Holy Land Tour ends on Monday.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Chris McKinny, David Bivin

Where is the famous tomb of the Maccabees? Archaeologists working in the vicinity of Modiin in recent weeks found something, but not enough to positively identify the long-lost mausoleum. From the Times of Israel:

Israeli archaeologists had hoped to finally uncover the mystery of the ancient tomb of the Maccabees — but they have been thwarted once again.
Archaeological authorities said Monday they had carried out another excavation at a site near Modiin northwest of Jerusalem to determine “once and for all” whether the tomb was indeed there.
The tomb of the family that led the Jewish revolt against the Greek dynasty of the Seleucids in the 2nd century BCE is believed to have been among ancient Judea’s most impressive structures.
“We exposed again the base of what survived from this magnificent building — this is a rare and unique building — but yet we didn’t find the smoking gun, the hard evidence which would enable us to tell you that this is for sure the tomb of the Maccabees,” said Amit Reem, an official with the project.

So how do you spin this one? Some headlines are more optimistic, and others more pessimistic:

CBS News: Fabled Maccabees tomb may have been unearthed

Arutz-7: Is This the Real Tomb of the Maccabees?

Portland Press Herald: Archaeologists say site holds promise as long-sought tomb of biblical Maccabees

i24News: Tomb of the Maccabees keeps its secrets despite new dig

Times of Israel: New dig fails to shed light on ancient Maccabee tombs

To volunteer or donate to the excavation, see the IAA press release.