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Excavations and Museum at Sidon

The Daily Star (Lebanon) reports on the continued excavations in the port city of Sidon.

Excavations led by a delegation from the British Museum at the Frères’ archaeological site in the old city of Sidon unearthed more important antiquities during their 14th year, it was revealed Tuesday.
Preparations also got under way for the construction of a museum to display the findings at the site. The construction is due to begin in September.
Discoveries at the site since excavations began in 1998 have revealed artifacts from the Early Bronze Age, which began around 3,000 B.C., through to the Iron Age, which covered around 1,200-539 B.C.
Among the latest discoveries was a particular type of Phoenician architecture, which the archaeologists said was not commonly found in Lebanon, consisting of stones cut for the construction of walls or floors.
Over 50 amphorae were also found, as well as a stunning Attic vase, depicting two riders going to war wearing white tunics and holding spears.

More details of the discoveries are given in the full story.

Sidon, Sea Castle and causeway (photo source)

Sidon is mentioned many times in the Old and New Testaments. Some passages indicate that Sidon was intended to be the northern border of Israel (Gen 10:19; 49:13; Judg 1:31; 2 Sam 24:6), and in the days of Zerubbabel cedars were imported for the Second Temple (Ezra 3:7). Both Jesus and Paul visited the city or area of Sidon (Matt 15:21; Acts 27:3). Though prophets condemned the city (Isa 23:2-12; Jer 47:4; Ezek 28:21-22; Joel 3:4), Jesus declared that Sidon would fare better on the day of judgment than Chorazin and Bethsaida (Matt 11:21-22).

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Lebanon, Museums

Wednesday Roundup

Leen Ritmeyer posts photos and discusses recent damage to the walls of the Temple Mount. “It is clear that the time bomb is ticking louder. It is only a matter of time when large sections of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount will collapse.”

Wayne Stiles reflects on the relevance of archaeology to faith in the reign of Hezekiah. “I have a faith rooted in history—not mystery. The words on the pages of Scripture are supporting by simple elements we can dig out of the ground. They prove nothing, but they support it all.”

The Tall el-Hammam Season Six (2011) Report is available online.

Matthew Kalman’s article on Oded Golan after his acquittal is now available (and no longer behind the paywall).

The Star-Telegram features a gallery of photos of the new Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit in Fort Worth.

This looks like a nice tour of Turkey to sites that most first-time visitors don’t see, but you won’t believe the price.

One man has made a model of the Roman Colosseum using 200,000 Legos.

HT: Craig Dunning, Tim Graham, Explorator

Tagged Dead Sea, Excavations, Forgery, Italy, Jerusalem, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

We begin with reports from the field. Tel Burna has posted photos of their finds from Week 2. The Jezreel Expedition has completed its first season. Omrit wrapped up its season with the possible discovery of a bath complex. Work and discoveries continue at Ashkelon. Reports and photos from the first couple weeks at Bethsaida are posted. The team at Bethsaida is hoping to reveal a 10th-century gate this season and they have posted reports from Week 1 and Week 2. Excavations are scheduled to begin tomorrow at Tiberias, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tel Hazor, Kfar HaHoresh, Tel ‘Eton, and Tel Bet Yerah.

The New York Times has a travel piece on the four-day hike through Galilee on the Jesus Trail.

The pilot study for the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project has concluded and results have been announced.

Aren Maeir has posted three short videos on: (1) food in Philistine and Israelite society; (2) Philistine religion; (3) work in the archaeological lab.

National Geographic has photos of gold treasures recently found in Israel.

Claude Mariottini notes the publication of The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal, by Ralph K.
Hawkins. Had another publisher released this work, it would have been certainly included “Joshua’s altar” in the title.

A study by Norwegian archaeologists has revealed how the great city of Palmyra could exist in the middle of the Syrian desert.

Wayne Stiles describes each of the 8 gates of the Old City of Jerusalem, providing a photo with each one as well as video footage of General Allenby entering Jaffa Gate.

Google is sponsoring a project to read some unrollable Dead Sea Scrolls. A video shows how the technology works.

The Times of Israel has more information on the tomb robbers caught in the act of plundering an antiquities site near Modiin.

HT: David Coppedge, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan, Philistines, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Thirty Years at Gerasa

From The Jordan Times:

Regional politics, Jordanian hospitality and a stroke of luck kindled a three-decade-old love affair between a team of French archaeologists and one of the Kingdom’s most important archaeological sites.
Last week marked the 30th anniversary of an excavation by the team that led to the reconstruction of the ancient city of Jerash and the shattering of many assumptions about daily life 2,000 years ago.
According to the archaeologists, their lifelong bond with the Greco-Roman city sprouted from a chance encounter.

Besides the temple of Zeus and the ancient oracles, the article notes the discovery of a “seating chart” for the northern theater.

Perhaps one of the team’s more groundbreaking discoveries was a seating chart of the city’s northern theatre.
The inscription demarcating various tribes’ seats on the tribal council — a local democratic assembly found throughout the empire — leaves approximately one-fourth of the seats empty.
The team believes that the unmarked seats were reserved for a second chamber, making Jerash one of the first and perhaps only cities in antiquity with bicameral legislatures.

The article concludes with the team’s plans for the future.

HT: Joseph Lauer

North theater of Gerasa

Tagged Excavations, Jordan

Excavations at Shiloh

A news report in February stated that Tel Shiloh was to receive $4 million in government and private funding for developing the antiquities site. Recent visits to the site reveal that the money is being spent on several excavation areas, the improvement of paths, and the construction of a new observation platform.

I am especially interested in excavations on the northern side of the site, in the relatively flat area where scholars have speculated that the tabernacle may have once rested.

Shiloh excavations in potential tabernacle area, tb042612724

View from summit of potential area of tabernacle

Excavations on northern side of Shiloh

Excavation square on northern side of Shiloh

Cuttings in bedrock on northern side of Shiloh

Excavations continue on the western side of the tell where they have discovered a Byzantine olive press.

Excavations on western side

Olive press from Byzantine period

On top of the summit, work has proceeded since last year on a new viewing deck.

Viewing platform under construction, April 2012

Tagged Excavations, Samaria

Excavation Roundup

According to the schedule here, excavations this summer have already concluded at Qumran, Tel Achziv, Tell Jalul, Abel Beth Maacah, Tel Megiddo East, Khirbet el-Maqatir (Ai?), and Gezer. We noted the Gezer water system discovery yesterday and you can view other videos at their Youtube channel. Excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir revealed the third arch in the Byzantine church, dozens of coins from the first-century house, and houses from the time of the Judges.

Excavations are currently underway at Hurvat Eres, Omrit, Shikhin/Asochis, Ashkelon, Tel Burna, and Abila. The crew at Tel Burna has posted about Day 1, Day 2, and the first week, having already found a collection of flint tools, an amulet of Bes, and a scarab of Thutmose III. The Ashkelon blog is alive as well, describing workshops, walking tours, discoveries, photos, and more. Omrit has an Official Student Blog, and you also might want to take a look at the beautiful 18-page park brochure for the site.

Excavations begin next week at Megiddo, Bethsaida, and Tel Dan, with half a dozen others beginning on June 24. If you know of any online reports of these or other excavations, please let us know.

We’ll try to have a roundup of the week’s other stories here tomorrow.

Tagged Excavations, Weekend Roundup