Greece Archives - Page 2 of 34

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The tomb of Amenhotep III has been re-opened after a 20-year restoration.

“A limestone tablet dating back more than 4,000 years has disappeared from Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis.”

“Tutankhamun quiz: How much do you know about the famous boy king from ancient Egypt?”

Zoom lecture on Oct 22: “Mapping the Jews of Ancient Egypt: From the Hellenistic Period to the Arab Conquest,” by Meron M. Piotrkowski

The tomb of “one of the wealthiest and most influential women of the ancient Mediterranean” was discovered in southern Turkey.

Excavations are continuing at the ancient city of Lystra.

“Excavations in the city of Sagalassos in southwestern Turkey have uncovered ancient Egyptian imagery in a Roman-era bathhouse.”

“During recent excavations [in Turkey], archaeologists uncovered five carbonized bread loaves dating back to the 7th–8th centuries CE, including one with a depiction of Christ and a Greek inscription translating to, ‘With our thanks to Blessed Jesus.’”

“The Red Basilica (Kızıl Avlu), a monumental Roman temple in the ancient city of Pergamon, will reopen to visitors following extensive restoration, landscaping and conservation works.”

“Greece’s Museum Council has unanimously approved plans to expand and reimagine the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) in Athens, along with the neighboring Epigraphic Museum.”

James Davila posts photos from his visit to the excavations and museum of the Roman city of Cartagena in Spain. He has also posted some images related to the Phoenician and Punic eras as well as a couple of other posts.

Now open-access: The Royal Inscriptions of Nabopolassar (625-605 BC) and Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC), Kings of Babylon, Part 1, by Jamie Novotny and Frauke Weiershäuser (Eisenbrauns, 2024).

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Explorator, Ted Weis

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Greece, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient Roman stadium in the area of Antalya (biblical Attalia), Turkey.

“The Mycenaean Wall on the eastern plateau of the Acropolis of Athens, near the site of the Old Museum, is undergoing significant restoration.”

Bryan Windle summarizes the top three archaeological news stories for the month of September.

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the highlights for the month of September.

Webinar on Oct 8: “Readers of the Lost Ark: The Ark of the Covenant from Biblical Religion to Contemporary Culture,” presented by Kevin McGeough with panelists Jennie Ebeling and Bill Caraher. McGeough writes about the same subject for The Ancient Near East Today.

Hybrid lecture on Oct 15 at Harvard: “Mavericks: Three Visionary Pharaohs of Egypt,” by Lawrence M. Berman. Advance registration recommended for online and in-person.

“Founded in 2025, AI & Antiquity: Journal of Teaching and Technology in Ancient Studies (ISSN 3081-4553) was established on the conviction that Ancient Studies—encompassing history, archaeology, philology, and art history—urgently require a dedicated forum for critical reflection on pedagogy, teaching practices, and the transformative role of digital technologies in education.” The full issue is available for free download.

James Davila attended the Festival of the Carthaginians and Romans last week, and he has posted some photos and a short note, with more details to come.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Explorator

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

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“A trove of ancient statues, coins, pottery and pieces of a merchant ship has surfaced from the waters off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt.”

“An Italian archaeologist said recently he has found the exact location of Plato’s grave in the Platonic Academy in Athens after deciphering the Herculaneum papyri.”

New remains from the Kingdom of Lydia will soon be open to visitors to Sardis.

“The Minister of Culture and Tourism declared 2025 a ‘Golden Age of Archaeology’ for Türkiye.”

Zoom lecture on Sept 9: “After 1177 BC: The Survival of Civilizations,” by Eric Cline (date corrected)

Owen Jarus explains why identifying the Roman emperor who ruled the longest is complicated.

Philip Chrysopoulos explains why Nabonidus was the world’s first archaeologist.

Bible Mapper Atlas has created an audio-visual reading of Paul’s dramatic voyage to Rome in Acts 27.

in Biblical World’s second episode in its Second Temple series, Mary Buck explains the significance and major events of the Neo-Babylonian period.

I’ve recently been browsing Nancy S. Dawson’s All the Genealogies of the Bible (Zondervan Academic, 2023), and it is an impressive body of research on an important but neglected topic. It’s remarkable how much genealogies permeate Scripture. It’s available in hardcover from Amazon ($31) and digital from Logos ($30).

HT: Agade

Tagged Egypt, Greece, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Nathan Steinmeyer has written an introduction to the Sinai, including its role in biblical history.

“Egypt Eternal: 4,000 Years of Fascination” is a new exhibition opening at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East on September 21.

A Scottish tourist was accused of stealing five stones and a brick fragment from the ancient city of Pompeii.

An ancient footpath network connects 46 villages in northwestern Greece.

New release: Slavery and Honour in the Ancient Greek World, edited by David Lewis, Mirko Canevaro, Douglas Cairns (Edinburgh University Press, 312 pages, $140, open-access)

New release: The Boomer Archaeologist: A Graphic Memoir of Tribes, Identity, and the Holy Land, by Thomas Evan Levy (Equinox, 400 pages, $40). The reviews are quite good. Use code 2893-25 for 25% off. (Publisher’s website is clunky, but the book is not yet available at Amazon.)

Applications are now open for the 2026 Biblical Field Studies tour—a funded study trip in Turkey for Bible teachers and scholars in the Majority World.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Egypt, Greece, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

July Roundup, Part 5 (Greece, Roman Empire, and more)

Archaeologists working at Philippi have uncovered a large public building, workshops, residences, and bathhouses.

An intact Roman-era bridge was discovered at the site of Elefsina (ancient Eleusis) in Greece.

“Twenty-six sites have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, designating their cultural and natural importance,” including the Minoan palatial centers on Crete and Sardis and the Lydian tumuli in Turkey.

“When some residents of Athens, Greece, turn on their sinks, showers and public fountains later this month, water will flow to some taps from an ancient source: a 2,000-year-old underground aqueduct originally built by the Roman Empire.”

“A handful of broken oil lamps could shed light on a small and long-vanished Jewish community that lived in southern Spain in the late Roman era as the old gods were being snuffed out by Christianity.”

Brent Seales has been awarded a $13.5 million grant to support his work in deciphering the carbonized scrolls of Herculaneum.

“A new A.I. tool developed by Google DeepMind helps scholars fill in words missing from ancient inscriptions and estimate historical data about the textual artifacts, making educated guesses based on context and similar inscriptions.”

More than 120 dodecahedrons have been discovered throughout the Roman empire in the last three centuries, but though dozens of theories of their function have been proposed, scholars are still at a loss.

“Caligula, the notoriously erratic Roman emperor known for his bloodthirsty cruelty, probably also possessed a nerd’s knowledge of medicinal plants, according to a new Yale study.”

Thomas J. Derrick explores the smells, both good and bad, of ancient Rome.

The archaeological collection of the late James F. Strange is benefiting students at the University of South Florida.

ReferenceMapper is a new, free tool “that will fetch all related Bible Mapper maps and articles for each Bible reference on your page and link them to a map icon next to the Bible reference.”

Available for pre-order for Logos:

The Archaeology of the Bible, by James K. Hoffmeier ($14)
The Essential Archaeological Guide to Bible Lands, by Titus Kennedy ($18)
Archaeology and the World of Jesus, by David A. deSilva ($25)

Carmen Joy Imes discusses her favorite historical fiction books written by biblical scholars (8 min). I’ve read most of the seven books she mentions, and I agree with her recommendations.

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Greece, Italy, Resources, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“A contractor digging into the earth where the rubble of a destroyed house had been cleared away in northern Syria stumbled across a surprise: the remains of an underground Byzantine tomb complex.”

“A wooden-structured burial chamber believed to belong to the Phrygian royal family has been uncovered in the ancient city of Gordion in Türkiye’s capital, Ankara.” The individual is possibly related to Gordios or Midas.

“A recent study suggests that high-altitude wind patterns played a crucial role in the collapse of the Minoan civilization by spreading volcanic ash and aerosols from the eruption of the Thera volcano.”

“The Greek Culture Ministry has unveiled a series of enhancements to the Acropolis archaeological site, offering visitors access to newly restored areas and improved facilities for the first time in decades.” The Old Acropolis Museum has not yet been reopened.

Athens is working to help tourists deal with the summer heat, including planting thousands of trees, removing concrete, and closing the Acropolis.

Alison Wilkinson writes about women’s rights in marriage in ancient Egypt. The full issue of The Ancient Near East Today is online here.

The Grand Egyptian Museum will hold its official inauguration on July 3, and the museum will be open to the public beginning on July 6.

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Museums, Syria, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup