Greece Archives - Page 2 of 29

Weekend Roundup

A new study of trash and bodily wastes reveals what the Crusaders ate while living in the Holy Land.

Archaeologists have discovered Roman-era mosaics in a rescue operation in southeastern Turkey.

The excavation of a bakery in Pompeii reveals the miserable lives of slaves in the 1st century AD.

Archaeologists have published results of their 13-year excavation of the Roman city of Interamna Lirenas located between Rome and Naples. This article includes many graphics.

A scholar used “psychoacoustics” to understand how the ancient sanctuary of Zeus on Mount Lykaion in Greece was used by visitors.

Bryan Windle offers some thoughts on the controversy regarding the Mount Ebal “curse inscription.”

Nathan Steinmeyer writes about the Iron Age moat recently discovered on the north side of the City of David. Haaretz has a longer report here.

Avi Abrams revisits the debate over the location of King David’s tomb.

Steve Ortiz is on the Biblical World podcast discussing Solomonic gates, the historicity of David and Solomon, and issues in the use and dating of archaeological materials.

James Grieg, who gives a tour of “The Bible in the Ashmolean Museum,” is a guest on The Book and the Spade.

New release: Locating the Tomb and Body of Alexander the Great, by Christian de Vartavan (Projectis, £115; use code DR25 for 25% launch discount)

New release: Jewish Studies on Premodern Periods: A Handbook, edited by Carl S. Ehrlich and Sara R. Horowitz (De Gruyter, $197)

“Late Ottoman Turkey in Princeton’s Forgotten Maps, 1883-1923 is a virtual exhibition presented in StoryMaps format by Princeton University Library’s Maps and Geospatial Information Center in partnership with Prof. Richard Talbert at UNC Chapel Hill’s Ancient World Mapping Center.” Part V has now been released.

Accordance is running a 50% off sale on graphic bundles for a few more days. These are very good deals for a load of excellent photo collections and image-rich tools (click through to see all the included modules):

A personal note: If you emailed me on Thursday about preaching through Genesis 1-11, please send me your email again.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

The Broad Wall in Jerusalem, with newly constructed visitor walkways. Photo by Michael Schneider.

Tagged Discoveries, Greece, Jerusalem, Museums, Photo Resources, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Nearly 400 Roman forts across the northern Fertile Crescent have been identified through declassified satellite images.

Greg Beyer has written a short illustrated biography of King Sennacherib.

Nathan Steinmeyer explains what Akkadian is.

Three thousand photographs taken of Palmyra before its destruction by ISIS are being used in a UCSD project to create a digital model of the site.

Wayne Stiles is leading a 13-day tour of biblical Turkey that, unlike most such trips, visits all of the sites Paul traveled to on his first journey.

What route did Paul take when he left Berea in a hurry and went “to the coast” and on to Athens (Acts 17:14)? Mark Hoffman has scouted out the area and provides walking instructions for the possible paths. You can also use his maps to find your way in a car.

Breakthrough has produced a 20-minute documentary on the quest to decipher the scrolls from Herculaneum.

Jonathan Klawans makes a case that a relief of a goddess on display at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East is a forgery.

New release: Weights and Measures as a Window on Ancient Near Eastern Societies, edited by Grégory Chambon and Adelheid Otto (PeWe-Verlag, €65; free pdf).

A YouTube channel is using AI to recreate the sound of ancient languages.

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Greece, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Technology, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A lamassu from the reign of Sargon II was discovered at ancient Dur-Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad).

“Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered an ancient cemetery that has stone sarcophagi, coptic jars and even a ‘Book of the Dead’ scroll.”

Study of an ancient Egyptian papyrus reveals that there were more venomous snakes in ancient Egypt than when Indiana Jones visited.

Michael Denis Higgins gives a history of the Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, from present-day to the 4th century BC.

New release: Animals in Religion, Economy and Daily Life of Ancient Egypt and Beyond, by R. Pirelli, M. D. Pubblico, and S. Ikram (free pdf)

“Rock and soil samples taken from the area where the ruins of ‘Noah’s Ark’ are believed to be located in Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı were examined, and the first results of the research were announced.”

The theater of Larissa, Greece, has been opened to the public for the first time, following two decades of restoration.

Archaeologists working on the island of Salamis discovered a partially submerged stoa along the east coast.

The British Museum will spend $12 million to update its online digital catalog.

ASOR webinar on Nov 2: “Of Statuary and State Formation: The Rise and Fall of Tell Tayinat-Kunulua,” by J. P. Dessel.

New release: Judicial Decisions in the Ancient Near East, edited by Sophie Démare-Lafont and Daniel E. Fleming (SBL Press, $50-$90)

eAkkadian is an online course book designed to help the student read Sennacherib’s prism.

“The Asia Minor Research Center is excited to announce the 2024 Biblical Field Studies in Turkey. This is a funded study trip for Bible scholars and teachers in the Majority World.”

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Part of an ancient gateway believed to have been constructed by Cyrus the Great has been discovered near Persepolis.

A hoard of bronze coins dating to the 1st century BC or 1st century AD has been discovered at Alexandria Troas.

“An iron trident, believed to be used for fishing, dating to the 3rd or 4th century A.D. has been discovered in the ancient Aegean coastal resort town of Assos in northwestern Turkey.”

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient statue of a man and a statue of life-size wild boar at the sites of Gobekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe in Turkey.

A Persian-era storage jar with finds similar to keşkek, the ancient dish of Anatolia, was discovered in northern Turkey.

“Some of the 3,500-year-old hieroglyphs discovered last year in the Yerkapı Tunnel in northern Turkey’s Çorum province have been deciphered.”

An augmented reality app “supported by Greece’s Culture Ministry allows visitors to point their phones at the Parthenon temple, and the sculptures housed in London appear back on the monument as archaeologists believe they looked 2,500 years ago.”

As a follow-up to his piece on walking from Corinth to Cenchreae, Mark Hoffman now provides detailed instructions and photographs for walking the route between Corinth and its western port at the Lechaion harbor. (That’s one more reason to start planning your next trip to Greece!)

Italian authorities plan to reduce congestion at Pompeii by promoting tourism to the nearby sites of Boscoreale, Oplontis, and Stabiae. They will reopen the Antiquarium, add free shuttles between the sites, and sell all-in-one tickets.

“Rome has launched an international design competition to create a New Archaeological Walk, reimagining the public spaces and pedestrian routes linking the city’s ancient Roman sites.”

In conjunction with the “Legion: Life in the Roman Army” exhibit opening in February, the British Museum blog gives an introduction to the subject.

New release: Cyrus the Great: A Biography of Kingship, by Lynette Mitchell (Routledge, $128; $53 Kindle)

The official portal of the Digital Ancient Near Eastern Studies Network, is now online.

“Open Educational Resources for the Ancient Near East” has received a recent translation of the Laws of Hammurabi.

“The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) is proud to announce that the number of external resource links, namely curated hyperlinks from catalogued cuneiform artifacts to their corresponding record in other digital projects and collections, now exceeds 400,000 individual links associated with more than 150 different online resources.”

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Greece, Italy, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The Vesuvius challenge has produced its first result: the reading of a single word from a burnt papyrus using the help of AI.

An untouched chamber tomb with well-preserved frescoes was discovered near Naples.

“Archaeologists have discovered political graffiti among the ancient remains of Pompeii.”

Royalty Now Studios has reimagined the face of Roman emperor Augustus as it might look today.

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the top stories for the month of September.

The British Museum is asking the public for help in getting back artifacts that were sold.

A tourist was arrested for breaking off pieces of marble on the Athens Acropolis.

A new study has determined that the Parthenon sculptures (aka Elgin Marbles) were originally painted with bright colors.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Greece, Italy, Museums, Technology, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh has a large collection of animal horns, but not all qualify to be used for the Feast of Trumpets.

A fire broke out at Tel Gezer yesterday, forcing the evacuation of some hikers.

Archaeologists are making significant discoveries in eastern Turkey underneath the Zerzevan Castle.

Turkish Archaeological News has a roundup of major stories in the month of August.

Archaeologists have uncovered new evidence related to the battle of Salamis.

Some people are not happy with a new wooden ceiling installed at the Karnak Temple.

Mohy-Eldin E. Abo-Eleaz writes about the harsh life of diplomatic messengers in Egypt in the Late Bronze Age.

The US returned to Lebanon a dozen looted artifacts valued at $9 million, including three from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The “Origins of Olive Oil” is the subject of the latest podcast on The Ancients.

The price for the 2023 Friends of ASOR Seminar, with many well-known speakers, has been greatly reduced.

Writing for Bible and Spade, David Spoede reviews the overwhelming archaeological evidence for the domestication of camels in the time of Abraham.

Michael Holmes explains why a newly published Greek fragment related to the Gospels is a big deal.

In the latest episode of Walking The Text, Brad Nelson explains how “understanding how a fig tree produces fruit clarifies exactly what’s happening when Jesus curses the fig tree.” The website includes discussion questions as well as resources for further study.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Gordon Franz

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Lectures, Museums, Turkey, Weekend Roundup