Galilee Archives - Page 66 of 84

Weekend Roundup

The Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth is scheduled to open in April. Displays will share the history of the area, including artifacts from Bab edh-Dhra, Numeira, and the Monastery of Saint Lot.

The museum is located at Deir Ain Abata on the southeastern side of the Dead Sea.

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review has been published. The cover story, not online, will be of interest to many readers here. Amihai Mazar asks “Was King Saul Impaled on the Wall of Beth Shean?” Hershel Shanks writes an editorial on ancient toilet practices.

Amazon is selling the brand-new Rose Guide to the Temple (previously recommended here) for only $20. I’m not sure how long that deal will last.

The life and work of British archaeologist John Garstang is now being celebrated in an exhibition at the Blackburn Museum.

Haaretz reports on some of the history and controversy of the early 20th century photographs of Elia Kahvedjian.

A visit to the synagogue of Baram provides a window to Jewish life in the land of Israel for the last 2,000 years.

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Synagogue of Baram

Tagged Dead Sea, Galilee, Museums

Weekend Roundup

Aren Maeir provides links to grants for volunteer excavators.

Maeir also lists nine sites in the Shephelah that will be under excavation as of this summer: Azekah,
Beth Shemesh, Burna, Eton, Gath, Gezer, Qeiyafa, Socoh, and Zayit. That bodes well for the future of this blog.

Robert Mullins will begin a new excavation this summer for Azusa Pacific University at Abel Beth
Maacah. Mullins will also be lecturing on March 19 in Beverly Hills on “The Many Temples of Beth Shean.”

If you’ve ever wondered what that palatial structure atop Mount Gerizim is, Tom Powers has found the answer.

Daniel Wallace says that the first New Testament manuscript from the first century has been discovered.

Wayne Stiles: “Like so many great cities of yesteryear, Tel Samaria remains a testimony of all earthly glory. The only beauty that remains is what God put there to begin with.”

Leen Ritmeyer recalls the discovery of the Burnt House in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem.

Jodi Magness is interviewed on the Book and the Spade radio program (mp3 links: part 1, part 2).

LA Times: “The Israeli government is gradually releasing its National Photo Collection from copyright restrictions.”

The Jerusalem Post recommends the top 5 nature spots in the city.

The ASOR Blog surveys the latest in archaeology from around the world.

HT: G. M. Grena, Daniel Frese, Joseph Lauer

Abel Beth Maacah from the southwest

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Samaria, Shephelah

Update: Restoring Israel’s Historic Sites

In February 2010, Israel’s prime minister announced a $135 million plan to restore 150 historic sites throughout Israel. Now, two years later, Haaretz reports on the progress (or lack thereof) in implementing the measure.

The article is largely the result of an interview with the head of the national heritage department in the Prime Minister’s office. Reuven Pinsky says that much planning has been done and by the end of the six-year timetable, two-thirds of the projects will be completed, including 70 large or medium-sized sites and 100 small ones. A full list of sites is not given, but some projects are mentioned.

Other sites included on the list include the Tel Lachish archaeology site in the Negev (where a visitors’ center is to be built); Metzudat Koah (a fortress, also known as the Nebi Yusha police station); Herodion near Gush Etzion, where King Herod’s tomb is located; Gamla and the ancient synagogue in Umm el-Kanatir in the Golan Heights; Tel Arad; the old train station at Tzemah; Hatzer Kinneret and so on.

Lachish, a site not in the Negev but in the Shephelah of Judah, could certainly benefit from a visitor’s center as well as some restoration work on the ruins. When encountering a group of tour guides in training at the tell last month, I mused that this would probably be the last time they ever visited the
site.

The article discusses some political angles and notes that many of the sites proposed for renovation have not yet been approved.

As to which sites are closest to his heart, he refuses at first to say, but later mentions three: Tel Aviv’s Independence Hall, the Umm al Kanatir Synagogue in the Golan, and the archaeological project underway in the heart of Modi’in Ilit. He says dealing with the latter site is like “reinventing the wheel,” because it involves a combination of archaeological excavations and dealing with a Haredi population.

The full article is here.

Lachish from northwest

Tagged Galilee, Golan, Shephelah, Tourism

Record Rainfall in Galilee in January

Traveling around Galilee last month, it felt like there was just no dodging the rain. It turns out that that was more than a feeling, for the Israel Meteorological Service is reporting that rain fell on 29 out of 31 days in January. From Haaretz:

Measuring stations in Nahariyya and the Galilee registered a new record in the number of rainy days in a row, with rain falling for 27 days in a row, from January 5 to 31. The former record was held by the Druze village of Yarka, where rain fell for 23 days in a row in February and March 1987. According to Dr Amos Porat of the Meteorological Service, there was 250-250 milimeters of rainfall in the north of Israel, 1.5 to 2 times greater than the multi-year average for rainfall in January.

The Jerusalem Post reports that the Sea of Galilee rose 1.5 feet (50 cm) but is still more than 4 inches (11 cm) below the red line. February, however, is a critical month if the seven-year drought is to be ended.

“After the seven drought years we’ve had, the lack of water is so huge that we need much, much, much more to cover even part of that,” Schor said. “We are happy with January, but we can’t be satisfied from it.” It is not possible to determine whether this will also be considered a drought year until the end of the rainy season. However, two-thirds of winter has already elapsed, and 4.31 meters is still missing from the Kinneret’s basin, according to Schor. The average winter Kinneret rise is about 1.6 meters, and thus far, the 2011-2012 winter season has seen only a rise of centimeters. “It’s not a good situation,” Schor said.

The Post also provides rainfall statistics for various sites in the north.

Among areas monitored by the IMS, the highest level of January rain in Israel fell in Rosh Hanikra (316 millimeters, 218% of the area’s average), Eilon (389 millimeters, 194% of average), Mitzpe Harashim (406 millimeters [16 inches], 171% of average), Merom Golan (321 millimeters, 160% of average) and Kfar Giladi (320 millimeters, 156% of average). Jerusalem received 100% of its typical rain, at 124 millimeters, according to the IMS.

Neither of the articles mentions the source of the rain.

Jeremiah 14:22 (NIV) “Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.”

Storm clouds over the Sea of Galilee in January

Tagged Galilee, Weather

Weekend Roundup

The “Roads of Arabia Exhibition,” mentioned here in February, opened this week in Berlin. The transfer of the collection from St. Petersburg was quite a challenge. In the fall the exhibition is
scheduled to move to Washington, DC.

Luke Chandler explains exactly where the Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon was discovered.

The process of wine-making in ancient times is described in the Jerusalem Post (but the editor chose to illustrate it with a photo of an olive press).

Aren Maeir is always ahead of the curve, but now he outdoes himself by restoring pottery from the 2012 season. The photos show that they’re digging up some great artifacts.

Students of Ephesus may be interested in a new historical work by Hans Willer Laale. Ephesus (Ephesos): An Abbreviated History From Androclus to Constantine XI is now available from Amazon ($26-34 for paperback or hardcover; $4 for Kindle).

The Biblical Archaeology Society has produced a 9-minute video on the excavations at Bethsaida.
Zahi Hawass is writing a book.

The ASOR Blog has a round-up of news from the world of archaeology.

The Jerusalem Post has a story on the top 5 bookstores in the city.

Iron Age gate at Bethsaida

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Museums, Philistines, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

If you are looking for unique Christmas images, the Accordance Blog tells you where to find them.

A scroll containing the Ten Commandments from Deuteronomy has just been put on display at Discovery Times Square in New York City.

Iraq’s second largest museum is paying smugglers to return the artifacts.

If you’ve been intrigued by the title of Jodi Magness’ latest work, BAR has posted a review by Shaye J. D. Cohen of Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus. The book is available for $16 at Amazon or $20 at Eisenbrauns.

A bulla with the name of a biblical town has been discovered in the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

According to ANE-2, Gabriel Barkay will present it at a conference at Bar Ilan University at the end of the month.

The new Egyptian Minister of Antiquities has announced new policies for his department.

Ferrell Jenkins has written an illustrated series appropriate for the season:

Fishermen using illegal nets in the Sea of Galilee have been caught and detained.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has released a new edition of its free eBook, The Dead Sea Scrolls: Discovery and Meaning. The new material looks at the War Scroll, the Temple Scroll, and the Book of Enoch. If you have not already, you must register to receive the eBook.

Olive Tree Bible Software now has the ESV Bible Atlas for sale for $22, the Zondervan Atlas of the Bible for $26, and the Holman Bible Atlas for $20. These atlases are supported on the Android, iPad, iPhone, Mac, and soon the PC.

If you ever hear the name Ron Wyatt in connection with some amazing archaeological discovery, run the other way. His death in 1999 did not prevent his frauds from being perpetuated in email forwards and on various websites. His alleged discovery of chariot wheels in the Red Sea and research claimed to date the objects based on the number of spokes is worthy of being featured as the latest post at PaleoBabble.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged American Colony Photos, Egypt, Galilee, New Exhibits, Pseudo-Archaeology, Resources, Weekend Roundup