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Israel Nature and Parks Authority has created an educational farm in the Hinnom Valley, and some people aren’t happy about it.

Antiquities robbers have removed some steps and seating in the Roman amphitheater of Sebastia (ancient Samaria).

Jerusalem police arrested a man after a search of his home turned up a Hasmonean coin, a Hasmonean oil lamp, and a seal ring with Hebrew inscriptions.

Israel has returned to Egypt 95 artifacts illegally smuggled into Israel.

The Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem has ordered that there be no singing of Christmas carols in church on December 25.

Bryan Windle has written a well-researched, well-illustrated article on Bethlehem.

Jordan Ryan is the guest on The Book and the Spade, discussing architectural features of churches in the Holy Land.

“The Wisdom of Peers: The Madaba Plains Project After Fifty Years” tells the story of the longest-running archaeological project in Jordan (15 min).

New release: The Prophets of Israel: Walking in the Ancient Paths, by James K. Hoffmeier

Steve Mason: “If we leave biblical and New Testament authors out of the frame, Flavius Josephus (37–100+ CE) was the most consequential ancient writer in the West.”

Zoom lecture on Dec 15: “The Political Expansion of the United Monarchy,” by Steven Ortiz.

The free Jerusalem University College global online seminar, Transitions in the Land, will be held on January 8-9. A full schedule is coming, but registration is now open. Speakers include Gabriel Barkay, Lynn Cohick, Richard Hess, Steven Ortiz, Sandra Richter, William Schiedewind, and your roundup writer.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Paleojudaica, Explorator

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“A rare 2,000-year-old silver shekel coin, thought to have been minted on the Temple Mount plaza from the plentiful silver reserves held there at the time, has been uncovered in Jerusalem” by an 11-year-old girl participating in a sifting operation.

A Roman game carved into the city square near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate is known as Alquerque, a kind of proto-checkers (Haaretz premium).

Archaeologists have identified six prominent characteristics of royal architecture in the Levant during the time of Israel’s kings. The underlying journal article is here.

Andrew Lawler tells the story of when rabbis entered an area under the Temple Mount through Warren’s Gate with hopes of finding the Ark of the Covenant.

Archaeologist Barak Monnickendam-Givon is interviewed on The Jerusalem Post’s Zoomcast series about archaeological evidence related to Hanukkah and the Maccabees.

Israel21c has an article on 6 archaeological discoveries related to the Maccabees.

Bryan Windle’s top three reports in biblical archaeology is out for the month of November.

For the Thanksgiving episode of The Book and the Spade, Gordon Govier shares the story of his own “life in ruins” (direct link).

Zoom lecture on Nov 30: “The Mysteries of the Ark of the Covenant,” by Thomas Christian Römer

Zoom lecture on Dec 16: “Agrippa II: – The Last of the Herods,” by David Jacobson

It looks like another Christmas in Bethlehem without tourists.

Amazon has a buy-2-get-1-free special on the ESV Archaeology Study Bible and other books.

Preserving Bible Times is shifting their resources over to a digital-only format, and now until the end of the year, they are offering their print books and CDs and DVDs at reduced prices.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Explorator

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Excavations at Itamar in the West Bank have uncovered a sealed cistern with tools and vessels from the Second Temple period, an olive press, a mikveh, and a coin with the image of Mount Gerizim.

A new study claims that Tall el-Hammam was destroyed by a cosmic airburst circa 1650 BC. Biblical archaeologists are not convinced that this proves the site is Sodom.

Rossella Tercatin interviews Yuval Gadot about recent archaeological discoveries in the Jerusalem area in a 25-minute Zoomcast.

Archaeology sheds light on how Jews celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in the 1st century.

Mark Janzen and Kyle Keimer interview Eric Cline on the Biblical World podcast.

Isabel Cranz surveys royal illness in the Bible and the ancient Near Eastern texts.

ASOR members in the US can purchase several recent archaeological publications for $25 each through the end of the month.

The purpose of HIERAX software is “to enhance the legibility of papyri for text edition and publication. It consists of an image processing tool and an image viewer.”

I predict that Bryan Windle’s “Top Ten Discoveries Related to Moses and the Exodus” will become one of his blog’s most popular posts.

The early bird discount for the Infusion Bible Conference ends on Thursday.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Charles Savelle

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An ancient stone weight dug up in Jerusalem has been found to be far heavier than the amount written on its surface, leading archaeologists to assume it was used to cheat in trading.” The discovery was presented at a conference in Jerusalem on Thursday (video in Hebrew here).

A report has recently been published on the overt and covert involvement of Israelis in archaeological research in the West Bank between 1948 and 1967.

Work has begun to renovate the bridge leading from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount.

A new app allows visitors to explore the archaeological remains of the Church of the Glorious Martyr recently excavated near Beth Shemesh. The latest issue of BAR has more information about the church, and Owen Jarus provides a summary.

Archaeologists working in Saqqara used ancient Egyptian technology to raise a sarcophagus to the surface (3-min video).

Archaeologists announced the discovery of a settlement in Alexandria dating back to the 2nd century BC, including a sculpture of Alexander the Great.

“One of the most important religious centers of the ancient world, the city of Akhmim in southern Egypt is presented in the exhibit Akhmim: Egypt’s Forgotten City, currently on display in the James Simon Gallery of the Berlin State Museums.”

The “wine of Lebanon” mentioned by the prophet Hosea was famous in antiquity. An article in The Ancient Near East Today describes some new archaeological evidence for the production of Phoenician wine.

The skull of a woman who underwent the world’s first brain surgery will be reconstructed using a beeswax technique.

Norwegian authorities “confiscated approximately 100 antiquities from the extensive collection of Martin Schøyen which Iraqi authorities believe were illicitly removed from their country.”

On Sept. 19, Yosef Garfinkel will be speaking in the next Friends of ASOR webinar on the topic of “David, Solomon, and Rehoboam’s Kingdom—The Archaeological Evidence.”

On Dec 1, Andrea Berlin will be speaking in the BAS Scholars Series on “The Rise of the Maccabees:What Archaeology Reveals About Antiquity’s Last Independent Jewish Kingdom.”

This week’s program on The Book and the Spade: Ashkelon basilica, Sussita theater, missing walls, with Clyde Billington.

Lois Tverberg takes a Hebraic look at the gospel and its surprising bearers.

“For the Jewish New Year, Joan Nathan composes a dish that pays tribute to foods that the biblical Canaanites might have eaten.”

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick

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Bryan Windle reviews the top three reports in biblical archaeology in the month of March.

In a seven-minute video, Aren Maeir gives a quick overview of the archaeological process from start to finish.

Hannah Brown explains why spending a day or more at Timna Park in southern Israel is worthwhile.

Wayne Stiles is hosting a free webinar for the Passion Week, with an engaging look at Jesus’s final week, day by day.

An extract from the new CSB Holy Land Illustrated Bible identifies five incidents and three patterns in Pilate’s life that set the context for the trial of Jesus.

BibleTimeLines.com has an extensive collection of timelines, graphics, and videos, including a timeline for the Passion Week.

Jordan J. Ryan considers how Constantine’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher celebrated more than Jesus’s resurrection.

The Infusion Bible Conference is a 3-day event focusing on the context of the biblical world. I’ll be back again this year. Early registration ends soon. Church leaders can take advantage of the IBC Press Kit to share with their congregations. (The conference has a virtual option this year.)

Not the millennium: “Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo is attempting damage control after kids saw a lion eat a bunny.”

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

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The cemetery at Qumran has recently been “reconstructed.” Photo courtesy of Michael Schneider in Jerusalem.

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A seal impression of an official of King Jeroboam II has been discovered. It is a smaller version of the famous seal found at Megiddo in 1904 (and later lost). UPDATE (Aug 2021): This item is actually a common tourist replica.

An archaeologist has brought to light a menorah engraved in a Second Temple period tomb on the outskirts of Mukhmas (biblical Michmash), home of Jonathan the Hasmonean. The press release is here, and a journal article is available here.

Authorities are opening several new areas to visitors to Herodium, including the arched stairway, foyer, and private theater.

The underground excavations in Jerusalem took top prize for “Oddities of the Underground” at the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association Awards.

Israel21c photographs 10 eye-catching sculptures around Tel Aviv.

Wayne Stiles looks at traditional sites associated with Jesus’s flight to Egypt.

Bridges to the Bible has created their first series of videos, focusing on the communal culture of the biblical world.

Jerusalem University College will be hosting its first-ever online seminar on January 10 and 11. The event is free and open to the public.

Now available from ACOR (free pdfs): Archaeology in Jordan 2: 2018 and 2019 Seasons, edited by Pearce Paul Creasman, John D.M. Green, and China P. Shelton. This publication features over 50 reports on archaeological fieldwork, conservation initiatives, and publication projects in Jordan.

New: My Nine Lives: Sixty Years in Israeli and Biblical Archaeology, by William G. Dever

Favorably reviewed in the NY Times: A World Beneath the Sands: The Golden Age of Egyptology, by Toby Wilkinson.

Ferrell Jenkins has a lengthy, informative post about the problem of emperor worship faced by the seven churches in Revelation.

Leen Ritmeyer’s post on the synagogue of Capernaum includes a number of beautiful reconstruction drawings.

Wrapping up her long-distance internship with the PEF, Jade Dang explains how the maps of the Survey of Western Palestine provide a fascinating snapshot of history.

December is the perfect month for an archaeological biography on Herod the Great.

“Who Were the Maccabees, Really? Hannukah, the Hasmoneans and Jewish Memory,” A Conversation with Prof. Joseph Angel and Prof. Steven Fine, Dec 15, 11 am EST.

In asking why Jews today do not read a scroll for Hanukkah, David Golinkin recalls that historically the Scroll of Antiochus was read, but he proposes beginning a new custom by reading 1 Maccabees 1-4.

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

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