Weekend Roundup

A stone bowl inscribed with the name “Hyrcanus” was discovered in the City of David. Since the name was common in the Hasmonean period, it is not clear if it belonged to one of the two rulers with this name. High-res images are available here.

A bronze coin with the image of Antiochus Epiphanes was discovered during maintenance work in the Citadel of David Museum in Jerusalem.

Mary Shepperson, a free-lance archaeologist working on five projects in Iraq, describes work in the new excavations of Charax Spasinou.

Archaeologists have discovered a large “lost city” about 150 miles north of Athens.

“The Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes (CAMEL Lab) at the Oriental Institute of the
University of Chicago would like to announce that a substantial subset of its digital holdings of maps and geospatial data are now available for online public search and download.”

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is asking readers to Name That Find!

The IAA has completed a detailed survey of the village of Lifta ahead of its planned replacement by a new neighborhood.

Before and after photos reveals the significant war damage in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Ferrell Jenkins recounts his 2002 visit to Aleppo and its museum.

New research suggests some ancient Egyptians believed a deceased woman had to briefly become male in the afterlife in order to be reborn. Reader Ted Weis notes that this theory corresponds with saying #114 in the Gospel of Thomas.

Egypt is trying to stop the auctioning of Egyptian relics around the world.

A stolen relief of Queen Hatshepsut has been restored to Egypt.

Bricks of ancient Babylon have been used in rebuilding houses in the area.

The Tower identifies “seven fascinating discoveries Israeli archaeologists made in 2016.”
Kudos to Dr. Chris McKinny!

Carl Rasmussen describes an “unknown” Christmas site near Bethlehem.

We wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! We’ll be traveling for several weeks and roundups will return when we do.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

British and Egyptian archaeologists working in Aswan have discovered a long causeway leading to the tomb of a Middle Kingdom nomarch.

The Kom Aushim Museum in Egypt’s Fayoum has re-opened after 10 years of renovation.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is celebrating its 114th anniversary by staying open every Thursday and Sunday evening.

Juliette Desplat describes the founding of the Iraq Museum.

Satellite imagery reveals the destruction of the ziggurat of Nimrud and remains at Dur-Sharrukin that is related to ISIS and the ongoing battles near Mosul.

The IBTimes shows what’s left of Nimrud after its destruction by ISIS.

The National Archaeological Museum in Athens is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a special display of 200 artifacts.

The renovation and expansion of Berlin’s Pergamon Museum is $288 million over budget and will be finished four years later than anticipated (in 2023).

Visitors to Rome’s Circus Maximus can now see the ancient latrines and a portion of a triumphal arch of Titus.

A 4th-century AD Samaritan tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments has sold at auction for $850,000.

The PEF has issued a call for papers for next year’s conference in Jerusalem on “The Anglo-German 
Exploration of the Holy Land, 1865-1915.”

Mark Wilson will be leading a tour for BAS next September and October of Malta, Sicily, and Italy.

Eisenbrauns has extended its ASOR/AAR/SBL exhibit sale to a virtual booth where all can benefit.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Agade, Ted Weis

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Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of the Roman breach of Jerusalem’s “Third Wall” in AD 70.
Some high-res images are available here.

Excavations around the “Ramesses Gate” in Jaffa have revealed a massive destruction layer that attests to a battle between Egyptians and Canaanites.

Researchers have discovered two secret chambers in the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project shares some finds related to the feast of Sukkot.

Scientists have recently discovered the two components that gives frankincense its distinctive odor.

An archaeologist has created a 3-D model of the Heraion at ancient Olympia using photogrammetry.

An AP article describes the work and accomplishments of Robert Bewley and David Kennedy in documenting archaeological sites in Jordan from the air.


The New York Times profiles the early farming village of Ain Ghazal in central Jordan.

A new pleasure cruise line is carrying travelers between Haifa and Acco.

The National Museum of Beirut has opened its basement to the public for the first time in 40 years.

Touch Point Israel has compiled a list of 13 “must-see museums” in Israel.

This week in New York City a new photo exhibition opened: “The Day Memory Dissolved: an artistic perspective on endangered archaeological sites in the Middle East.”

Progress is being made on the National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel. The Jewish Press article includes photos and a 2-minute video.

According to UNESCO, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem has nothing to do with Judaism.

Carl Rasmussen shares several photos from one of the least visited places in Jerusalem, the Tomb of the Royal Steward.

Wayne Stiles looks at the ancient and modern significance of Gideon’s battle in the Harod Valley.

The Associates for Biblical Research are having a big sale on the complete archive of Bible and Spade.

New book: The Five-Minute Archaeologist in the Southern Levant. (Out of stock at Amazon)

The schedule for next month’s Bible and Archaeology Fest XVIII is now online.

HT: Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Steven Anderson

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Weekend Roundup

An ancient Christian “crossword puzzle” has been discovered in the agora of Smyrna.

A sewage system in the Urartian city of Van that dates to 800 BC has been fully excavated.

You missed the first-ever “Swim the Corinth Canal” event, but perhaps you can join next year.

Greece’s National Archaeological Museum is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

At the ASOR Blog, the executive producer of a new documentary about Gertrude Bell provides some background. You can also watch the trailer.

New paper at Academia: “Computer Experiments on the Khirbet Qeiyafa Ostracon,” by Eythan Levy and Frédéric Pluquet.

Nigel Fletcher-Jones considers the ethical problem of the public display of mummies and alternative approaches.

A French-Egyptian citizen turned over a golden mummy mask to the Egyptian government.

The November/December issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is now online.

If you’re a subscriber to the Wall Street Journal, you can read Roger Toll’s “The Real Adventurer’s Guide to the Ancient City of Petra.”

I made it into Wayne Stiles’s post this week about the Dead Sea Scrolls. Check out the great quote by Frederic G. Kenyon.

Shmuel Browns shares a couple of photos he took at Machtesh Qatan.

The extraordinary Bible collection of the late Charles Ryrie is being auctioned off by Sotheby’s.

HT: Charles Savelle, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Paleojudaica

UPDATE: Next weekend’s roundup will be delayed by several days.

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Weekend Roundup

Digital imaging technology has virtually opened an ancient scroll from En Gedi to reveal the first two chapters of Leviticus. The publication in Science Advances includes a number of photos. Another article published in Textus is also online. The portions deciphered so far exactly match the Masoretic Text, but the radiocarbon date of 3rd-4th centuries AD differs from the paleographer’s date to the 1st or 2nd centuries.

The discovery of a menorah at Abila provides the first evidence of Jewish presence at this city of the Decapolis.

2,000-year-old human skeleton remains have been found buried at sea near a shipwreck at Antikythera, Greece.

A fisherman’s house from the Ottoman period was discovered along the beach in Ashkelon.

Bedouin youths have helped to excavate Byzantine-era farm buildings in the Negev.

A new virtual reality tour in Jerusalem takes “visitors” inside the Temple. There’s a short video clip here.

Archaeologists plan to finish reconstruction work on Laodicea’s Hellenistic theater within three years.

The Malawi Archaeological Museum in Minya was reopened this week after three years of renovation.

Omar Ghul, an epigrapher at Yarmouk University, discusses important inscriptions discovered in Jordan.

Laïla Nehmé is interviewed by Ancient History Etc. about the history of the Nabateans.

Ferrell Jenkins concludes his series on Iznik (Nicea) with a post on the modern city and its vicinity.

Wayne Stiles considers the history and the lessons from Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

Chris McKinny will be lecturing at Texas A&M Corpus Christi on October 3 on the Late Bronze finds from Tel Burna.

On sale for Kindle for $2.99: Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?, edited by James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary. I require several of the chapters for at least one course I teach.

Mordechai Gichon died this week.

Ferrell Jenkins remembers Erle Verdun Leichty on the announcement of his passing.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A stunning (!) 36-foot mosaic floor depicting scenes of ancient chariot races in the hippodrome has been revealed outside Nicosia in Cyprus.

Human skeleton remains of a teenage boy dating back to 11 BC have been found on Mt. Lykaion, a site honored as the birthplace of the Greek god Zeus.

The discovery of some rare artifacts in Perge has led to the creation of a special room in the Antalya Museum in Turkey.

After two years of occupation by ISIS, previously unknown Assyrian artifacts in the Syrian city Tal
Ajaja, or ancient Shadikanni have been found looted or destroyed.

A report by Live Science documents the death of children killed as a result of looting in Egypt.

A statue of Zeus lost in the 5th century has been re-created using a 3D printer.

Cal Thomas recommends the new “Ben Hur” movie, opening on Friday.

Ben-Hur the video game is available for free download for Xbox One.

Todd Hanneken has received a $325,000 grant to fund his use of Spectral RTI for the Jubilees Palimpsest Project.

“The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) is proud to announce the completion of our digitization project at the National Library of Greece (NLG).”

Wayne Stiles considers the value of biblical geography for apologetics.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Agade, Charles Savelle

Cyprus Chariot Mosaic
Mosaic depicting chariot races excavated in Cyprus
Photo by the Associated Press
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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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