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Weekend Roundup

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Exodus-Conquest, Greece, Holidays, Jerusalem, Judah, Mesopotamia, Negev, Resources, Technology, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Rossella Tercatin writes about the exhibition, “The Girl Who Wrote,” that will open at the Israel Museum when the war restrictions are lifted.

With the museums in Israel currently closed, visitors can take advantage of online offerings, including activities for children.

The Times of Israel writes about the Purim holiday in light of current events.

Bryan Windle concludes his series on Jericho, arguing that it was City V, not City IV, that Joshua conquered.

Katharina Schmidt gives an update on the archaeological excavations at the Amman Citadel in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Archaeologists working in Luxor’s West Bank have found a cache of painted coffins with a collection of rare papyri that dates to Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period.

A tour guide in Egypt was arrested for drawing a stick figure into the wall of an ancient pyramid.

A 14-minute video shows how Pompeii looked before its destruction.

Bryan Windle discusses the top ten archaeological discoveries related to Esther on Digging for Truth.

“This past month, the most significant news stories from the world of biblical archaeology all involved stones: a stone seal, a stone vessel workshop, and limestone blocks related to a biblical Pharaoh.”

Zoom lecture on March 9: “Sensing the Synagogue,” by Karen B. Stern ($10). You can get a preview in this BAS article.

New release: Mummy Portraits of Roman Egypt, Volume 2, edited by Marie Svoboda and Caroline R. Cartwright (Getty Museum; open-access, including pdf)

The eBook of Bringing Heaven Here is on sale through Sunday for $3.99 (Kindle, B&N, Apple, Google, Kobo).

Jodi Magness has written a retrospective piece about her career as an archaeologist.

HT: Agade, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Holidays, Italy, Jordan Rift, Museums, New Exhibits, Persia, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

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

Tagged Greece, Holidays, Italy, Jerusalem, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Resources, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Greece, Holidays, Italy, Museums, New Exhibits, Persia, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working in the City of David have found a necklace pendant depicting the menorah that dates to the Late Byzantine period when Jews were not allowed to enter Jerusalem.

“A rare clay oil lamp from the Hasmonean era was uncovered at the Nebi Samwil archaeological site northwest of Jerusalem on Sunday evening, the first night of Hanukkah.”

The Times of Israel runs a story about the previously reported Assyrian-era tombs in the Jezreel Valley.

David Ramati writes about some of the more recent studies related to Masada.

The Times of Israel explains the importance of the Mount of Olives, including important people buried there and controversy over the building of a visitor center.

“A new computational tool developed at the University of Haifa is changing how archaeologists document and analyze ancient ruins, using drone imagery and machine learning to reveal architectural patterns that cannot be identified from ground level.”

“In an apostolic letter dated December 11, 2025, Pope Leo XIV has placed Christian archaeology at the core of the Church’s intellectual and pastoral mission.”

On The Book and the Spade, Joan Taylor makes a case against Bethlehem being a little town when Jesus was born.

Leon Mauldin shares a panoramic photo of the Sorek Valley and Zorah, taken from Beth Shemesh.

New release: Tel Miqne-Ekron 14/1: Objects and Material Culture Studies: Middle Bronze Age II Through Iron Age II, edited by Seymour (Sy) Gitin (Eisenbrauns, $98 with code NR26)

New release: Tel Nagila: The Amiran/Eitan Excavations, edited by Joe Uziel, David Ilan, Matthew Susnow, and Aren M. Maeir (De Gruyter, $220)

The Hasmonean palaces at Jericho (Tulul Abu el-Alayiq) will be open to visitors tomorrow and Monday, and funds have been allocated to develop the site as a heritage destination in the coming year.

After the IAA moved its headquarters to the new Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, discussions about the future of the Rockefeller Museum are taking place, including the possibility of turning it into a hotel.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Andy Cook, Ted Weis, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Holidays, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Jordan Rift, Museums, Philistines, Resources, Samaria, Shephelah, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“An impressive section of Jerusalem’s fortification wall from the second century BCE has been uncovered on the grounds of the Tower of David complex in the Old City.” About 130 feet of the “First Wall” has been uncovered in the Kishle.

Archaeologists have found evidence for the famous battle at Bet Zecharia described in 1 Maccabees. “It is the first time we have possible archaeological evidence from one of Judah Maccabee’s battlefields.”

A scholar believes that he has cracked Cryptic B, a rare alphabet known only from two uses in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Coins previously believed to sloppy versions of coins minted by Alexander Jannaeus should instead be understood as coming from the economically weak era of the Hasmonean civil war between 60 and 40 BC.

Hartebeests went extinct in Israel not in the Iron Age but in the Byzantine period.

Doron Spielman spoke about some of his experiences in the City of David at a recent event in Jerusalem.

On Digging for Truth, Scott Stripling explains the archaeology that is related to Hanukkah.

On the Biblical World podcast, Kyle Keimer talks with David deSilva about his two new archaeology books.

Dig has released a 27-minute video about Labayu of Shechem.

The foundation stone of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem was laid 100 years ago.

A powerful winter storm caused death and destruction all over Israel this week.

New release: The Archaeology of the Kingdom of Judah, by Yosef Garfinkel (SBL Press, $75)

You can now purchase soil from the Temple Mount.

Jerusalem University College will be presenting its 6th annual online seminar on January 10. The “Geography and the Bible” seminar is free and will include four sessions:

“Road Systems from Egypt through Sinai,” by James Hoffmeier
“Trekking from the Desert to the Land of Milk and Honey,” by Hélène Dallaire
“What Does it Mean that Jerusalem was ‘Built as a City which is Compact Together?’ A Geographical and Archaeological Reading of Psalm 122:3,” by Chandler Collins
“The Early Church’s Encounter with the Roman Imperial Cult,” by Carl Rasmussen

There is no hat tip (HT) below to Gordon Franz, because Gordon died on November 22. I met Gordon when studying at IHLS in the early 90s, and we stayed in touch over the years, including a tour he gave my family of NYC. Gordon taught for various schools over the years, including the Israel and Turkey/Greece/Rome programs for the Talbot School of Theology. Most recently Gordon sent me stories for these roundups, and in the last email he wrote me, he said he was on his way to buy Rabbi Landy’s latest book. He was quite the book connoisseur. And he had much yet he planned to accomplish. Some of Gordon’s writings are still available on his website. A recording of his celebration of life service is online. He will be missed.

Gordon Franz taking photos from the rooftop of the Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem, 1993

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

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Holidays, Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Sad News, Samaria, Temple Mount, Weather, Weekend Roundup