A massive statue believed to represent Ramses II has been discovered at Tel Faraoun.

An Egyptian stela features a rare depiction of the Roman emperor Tiberius in full Egyptian regalia, standing with two Egyptian gods.

Archaeologists discovered a well-preserved statue of Athena in excavations of Laodicea’s Western Theater.

David Kertai discusses the palaces of Assyria in the latest episode of Thin End of the Wedge.

Ted Wright talks about the Epic of Gilgamesh on the latest episode on Digging for Truth.

New release: The Emperor’s Treasurer Hunters: German Archaeologists and the Plundering the Orient, by Jürgen Gottschlich and Dilek Zaptcioglu-Gottschlich (Lockwood, $20-$25)

New release: A Short History of Assyriology, 1850-1970, by Benjamin R. Foster (Zaphon, 89 €)

New release: The Rise of the Babylonian Empire, by Jinyan Wang (De Gruyter Brill, $116)

New release: Profiling Cleopatra: A Psychosocial History, by Sally-Ann Ashton (Cambridge Elements, $23; open-access until May 8)

New release: Ancient Egypt: New Technology, by Stefania Mainieri (UniorPress, open-access)

“Athens cannot operate as if it were a giant hotel,” said the mayor of the city.

HT: Agade, Andreas Heimbichner, Explorator

Share:

“A collection of painted sarcophagi and papyrus scrolls dating to Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period (c. 1077–664 BCE) was discovered during excavations in Seneb’s tomb in the Kurna area on the west bank of the Nile River near Luxor.”

A temple dedicated to the local god Pelusius has been unearthed after six years of excavations at Tell el-Farma in the city of Pelusium in the northern Sinai.”

“The oldest ruins of the ancient Egyptian city of Buto, dating to approximately 2,600 years ago, have been rediscovered by archaeologists testing new technology meant to aid in locating structures buried deep beneath the surface.”

Hybrid lecture on April 22: “Revisiting the Peoples of the Hills: the Legacy and Afterlife of Charles Burney’s Research in Anatolia and Iran,” by Roger Matthews

New release: Archaeology & Artificial Intelligence, by Lorenzo Nigro (Sapienza Università di Roma; open-access)

New release: A Bestiary of Ancient Nubia, edited by Marc Maillot (Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, $40; free pdf)

The latest issue of Buried History is now available (open-access).

John DeLancey hiked up Mount Olympus and made a video of the experience.

Accordance has a big sale on all of their graphics collections.

The Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages has released a video about the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great (43 min).

National Geographic Travel has released an Easter and Passover special with three episodes from the Lost Treasures of the Bible series about Nineveh, Noah’s flood, and the exodus.

HT: Agade

Share:

Israel aims to become the leader in archaeological knowledge within three years as they develop an open database and transform it into an advanced scientific repository using Google’s artificial intelligence tools.

A volunteer at the Temple Mounting Sifting Project this week discovered a seal impression from the First Temple period with Egyptian symbols.

Joshua Berman wonders if the biblical account of the exodus was “mockingly subverting an earlier Egyptian text.”

Alon Gildoni and Ron Milo created “Haggadah on the Map,” with a printable pdf version and an online interactive version. The Times of Israel interviewed Gildoni.

A newly excavated fortress at Tell el-Kharouba in northern Sinai might be related to the Way of Horus which the Lord led the Israelites away from during the exodus.

Ruth Marks Eglash reports on the excavations in the Kishle, just south of the Tower of David complex in Jerusalem.

Archaeologists discovered a cache of ostrich eggs near the remains of a campfire used by desert nomads in southern Israel.

“Recent excavations in Egypt’s Kalaya region in the Beheira governorate have uncovered a fifth-century CE building that offers a detailed glimpse into early Coptic monastic life.”

A new study has identified a female beast hunter in a now-lost ancient Roman mosaic.

Woo Min Lee argues that Sennacherib’s claim that he “shut [Hezekiah] up like a bird in a cage” was a declaration of victory, not defeat.

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on the Last Supper, sights and smells of synagogues, the “Diaspora Revolt” against Rome, and the Roman siegeworks built around Jerusalem in AD 70.

Greek Reporter has an article about the synagogue at Delos, the oldest one known outside the land of Israel.

Greece will be establishing two new underwater archaeological sites that will be open to divers.

New release: The Untold Story of the Kingdom of Judah, by Oded Lipschits (De Gruyter Brill, $88)

New release: Pencil and Dust. Women Who Shaped Archaeology in Greece and the Greek World, edited by Sylviane Déderix and Maguelone Bastide (École française d’Athènes; $11)

New online course: “The Archaeology of Ancient Israel: A View from Mesopotamia,” by Paul Collins (Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society; £50-£100)

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Share:

“Archaeologists working in Upper Egypt have uncovered around 3,000 ostraca pottery fragments during the current excavation season … [which] raises the total number of ostraca found at the site to approximately 43,000…, making it the largest known collection of inscribed pottery fragments from a single archaeological location in Egypt.”

“Ancient Egyptian craftspeople used a corrective fluid similar to modern-day Wite-Out to fix their mistakes, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum.”

An underground Roman-era vaulted water channel has been discovered in northeastern Turkey.

For the first time in a millennium, water is now flowing below the now-reconstructed monumental arches of the Asopos Bridge at Laodicea.

“A striking, large-scale marble lion, with its detailed mane and head turned in a noble pose, has emerged from the earth at Philippi.”

“Greece’s archaeological sites generated higher revenue in the summer of 2025, even as visitor numbers declined.”

“Archaeologists in Rome have uncovered a well-preserved necropolis decorated with Winged Victory figures.”

A small graffito recently discovered in a theater corridor at Pompeii offers a rare glimpse into how ordinary people experienced the spectacle of the games.”

“The first permanent exhibition of Pompeii’s historic casts is now on display in Italy, paying homage to those who were brutally killed after being engulfed by an inundation of volcanic ash.”

“Here are 10 practical and creative ways to spark a child’s interest in archaeology — including how social media can play a positive role.”

Michael Foust interviews Chris McKinny about the upcoming docudrama Legends of the Lost Ark.

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on March 25: “From Kaiser to AI: Current Projects of the DEI Jerusalem,” by Katja Soennecken

Jack Lundbom, author of the three-volume commentary on Jeremiah in the Anchor Bible series, died last month.

New release: The Jesus Discoveries: 10 Historic Finds That Bring Us Face-to-Face with Jesus, by Jeremiah Johnston (Bethany House, $16). The ten include the Shroud of Turin, the James Ossuary, and the Palatine Graffito.

Carl Rasmussen’s outstanding Zondervan Atlas of the Bible for Kindle is on sale at the moment for $3.99 (reg. $25).

Season 1 of The Sacred Thread will begin releasing on March 24 on Angel Studios. “Seven episodes unpacking each phrase of the prayer Jesus taught — expanding on the feature film with deeper scholarship, new stories, and breathtaking cinematography.”

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Share:

Archaeologists working at Hyrcania discovered tools used to make Holy Land souvenirs in the Byzantine period. They have also found a couple of Greek inscriptions and a Hebrew inscription.

The find of the month for the Temple Mount Sifting Project is an skewed palm-chisel, also known as a scarpel.

Leen Ritmeyer writes about, and illustrates, the origin of Hanukkah.

The Jerusalem Tracker is being split into two editions, with the first focusing on new books and articles related to Jerusalem. The second highlights new pop/social media and blogs, digital resources, developments, and upcoming events about Jerusalem.

I’ve learned that the free “Geography and the Bible” seminar being hosted by Jerusalem University College on January 10 includes a $300 travel course voucher for all registered attendees who join the seminar live online.

“After years of delays and spiraling costs, Rome inaugurated two new metro stations on Tuesday, including one by the Colosseum, showcasing archaeological discoveries that might become tourist attractions in their own right.”

Archaeologists are not agreed over the significance of the victims of Pompeii wearing woolen cloaks in August.

Imagery in an AI-generated video about ancient Rome is filled with errors.

Webinar on Jan 7: “Beyond Edutainment: Reclaiming Archaeology in a Clickbait World,” by Amanda Hope Haley

New release: Stones Still Speak: How Biblical Archaeology Illuminates the Stories You Thought You Knew, by Amanda Hope Haley

“Iraq’s famed Tigris is heavily polluted and at risk of drying up.”

Archaeologists may have discovered the Mycenaean palace in the region of ancient Sparta.

James Davila notes a couple of fascinating comments that Irving Finkel recently made concerning writing at Göbekli Tepe and a supposed Babylonian looting of the Library of Ashurbanipal.

We will post our annual roundup of stories, including the top 10 discoveries of the year, on Monday. There will be no roundup next weekend.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Share:

Archaeologists have discovered a luxurious pleasure barge from the Ptolemaic era in the harbor of Alexandria.

A 20-year renovation project of the Colossi of Memnon has been completed. These two giant alabaster statutes in Luxor depict Amenhotep III.

“Italian authorities said on Friday they had arrested 34 ‘tomb raiders’ suspected of looting treasures from archaeological sites in Sicily and the neighboring region of Calabria.”

The NY Times writes about the contribution of Itiner-e, the new dataset of all roads in the Roman empire (gift link).

A rainstorm turned waters draining into the Persian Gulf blood red.

BAS Dig Scholarship winners share their experiences excavating at el-Araj (Bethsaida), Azekah, Antiochia ad Cragum, Iklaina, Sanisera, and Keros.

A three-month exhibition entitled “Nefertari: Reviving the Beauty of the Most Beautiful: The Tomb and Its Story” is on display at the (old) Egyptian Museum.

New release: Persia’s Greek Campaigns: Kingship, War, and Spectacle on the Achaemenid Frontier, by John O. Hyland (Oxford University Press, $140; Amazon)

All nine volumes of Die Bibel in der Kunst | Bible in the Arts are available online. Some of the articles are in English.

“The Guardian of Amphipolis” is a 15-minute documentary about the kid who discovered the famous tomb of Amphipolis and spent his life protecting archaeological treasures in the area.

On Digging for Truth, Bryan Windle examines the evidence for the claim that the Christmas holiday has pagan roots. If you prefer a text version, you can find that here.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Ted Weis, Explorator

Share: