Israel's Coast Archives - BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup

A 12th-century BC Canaanite or Egyptian fortress in the Guvrin Forest has been restored and reopened to the public.

Rabbi Daniel Rowe writes about the search for Ai.

Marek Dospěl gives an introduction to Amihai Mazar’s article in Biblical Archaeology Review on “Tell Qasile: Harbor Town from the Days of the Judges.”

“An ancient residence [of Marcus Fabius Rufus] believed to be the grandest in the Pompeii archaeological site is being restored with the entire 1.4 million euros ($1.6 million) cost being covered by a private sponsor.”

Asaf Peled explains why “Rome is one of the best places to understand Jewish history.”

New release: Landscapes of Memory: The Old Testament’s Sensory Engagement with Nature, by Emma M. Austin. The foreword was written by Paul Wright, longtime president of Jerusalem University College (IVP Academic, $29)

New release: Biblical Forgery and Academic Authentication: Persisting Patterns of Guile and Gullibility, by Jonathan Klawans (Oxford University Press, $45; Kindle: $15)

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Nov 11: “Jericho, the Biblical Bias, and Historically Founded Archaeology,” by Lorenzo Nigro

Digging for Truth has a new studio, and the first episode filmed in it looks back with Scott Stripling at the history of excavations conducted by the Associates for Biblical Research.

Chandler Collins has begun a new series reviewing Jerusalem guidebooks, beginning with Jerome Murphy-O’connor’s venerable The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide.

Leen Ritmeyer has written a couple of articles about the ark of the covenant. In the first, he considers the question of where the ark is today. In the second, he discusses the family of Elizaphan, their service in the temple, and where they may have lived.

HT: Agade, Explorator, Alexander Schick

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Israel's Coast, Italy, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Resources, Samaria, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Tel Shiqmona is open to visitors after a two-year, $1 million renovation project.

J. D. Cohen writes about ten important biblical archaeological finds.

Efforts to restore the Birkatain archaeological site near Jerash, including its Roman pools and theater, have so far been unsuccessful.

New article in Currents in Biblical Research: “The Changing Scale of Israelite Religion: Embodiment, Space, and Material Practice,” by Jeremy D. Smoak (open-access)

New release: The Potential of Agriculture in the Phoenician Homeland: Landscape and Land Use in Southern Lebanon during the Late Iron Age and Persian Period, by Julia Rummel (BAR Publishing, 65 €)

Zoom lecture on Nov 4: “The First Oil Age: Olives, Copper & the Edge of Urbanism in the Ancient Levant,” by Jaimie Lovell (A$25; free for students)

Hybrid symposium on Feb 7, 2027: “Jerusalem Archaeology: Between Past and Present,” with Jodi Magness, Shimon Gibson and Andrew Lawler (Biblical Archaeology Society, $69)

Paul Anderson is a guest on The Book and the Spade to talk about the new book he edited on Archaeology, Jesus, and the Gospel of John.

Tagged Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Lectures, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A new study of the industrial compound at Tel Shiqmona reveals that the space was “structured by the seasonal cycle: olive pressing in late autumn, livestock sheltering in winter, and textile production in spring.” A news report may be found here.

“Two rediscovered photographs from a 1930s excavation show where tombs were located inside the North Church baptistery” of Shivta.

The Israeli government has begun renovating “Herod’s Pools,” located near the Petzael Springs in the Jordan Valley. Another project recently begun is the “Joshua Trail” which will include a suspension bridge between Elon Moreh and Mount Kabir.

Chandler Collins has converted his Jerusalem Tracker Part 2 series into “Jerusalem in Brief,” focusing on the most interesting stories and providing further comment and context.

Researchers believe there are additional rooms behind King Tut’s burial chamber based upon “cumulative architectural, decorative, and geophysical indicators.” Kara Cooney gives some fascinating background.

“Forensic reexaminations of 5,000-year-old skulls indicate over a dozen ancient Egyptian royal attendants met gruesome ends to honor their beloved, deceased pharaohs.”

“An ancient Greek funeral elegy stele was found within a pyramid-shaped mud-brick tomb in the Bir al-Shaghala archaeological site in the Dakhla Oasis.”

An AI-generated design depicting Tutankhamun and Nefertiti has been removed after residents of Cairo complained about their skin color.

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

Archaeologists working in southern Turkey may have discovered tombs belonging to Alexander the Great’s soldiers.

The archaeological site of ancient Nicopolis, which Paul planned to visit (Titus 3:12), has reopened after a major restoration project.

“The top three reports in biblical archaeology in September 2026 included discoveries of an ancient treaty, a ritual bath, and a famous school.”

New release: Forgotten Empires – Remembered. Studies on the Ancient Near East in Honour of John E. Curtis, edited by Dirk Wicke, Paul Collins and Nigel Tallis (Zaphon, 125 €)

Ellen Morris reviews Eric H. Cline’s new book, Love, War, and Diplomacy: The Discovery of the Amarna Letters and the Bronze Age World They Revealed.

For sale on Kindle: Jesus, A Visual History: The Dramatic Story of the Messiah in the Holy Land, by Donald Brake with me ($4.99)

HT: Agade, Explorator, Mark Hoffman, Paleojudaica

Tagged Egypt, Greece, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Negev, Resources, Samaria, Technology, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A 1,300-year-old industrial and commercial complex was uncovered during excavations over the past few months in the Winter Stadium parking lot in Ramat Gan.”

Moshe Gilad writes about the new exhibit about Huqoq and the excavations that led to it. There is more about the site and exhibit at the KKL-JNF website, including photos and information about the mosaics.

“Israel experienced a rare midsummer storm on Saturday that brought heavy rain to Jerusalem and the surrounding area, as well as to the Golan Heights, breaking all-time August rainfall records and causing flooding in parts of the Judean Desert.”

In a lecture given in Tel Aviv earlier this week, Anselm C. Hagedorn argued that Kiriath-Jearim should be located not at Deir el-ʿAzar near Abu Ghosh, but at Tel Moẓa.

Chandler Collins writes about two new interpretations of the inscription in Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

New release: Plants and Humans in the Ancient Near East: Roots of Multispecies Connections, edited by Silvana Di Paolo and Gioele Zisa (Zaphon 98 EUR)

Bryan Windle has written an archaeological biography for Ben-Hadad III.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Explorator

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Syria, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

One thousand female figurines have been found in Jerusalem, but until now no such mold has been discovered in the city. Archaeologists found one when sifting soil from the Kishle excavation south of the Tower of David Museum. Lauren K. McCormick gives more background on Judean Pillar Figurines, including some explanations for why so few molds have been found in Israel.

“A municipal employee searching for lost jewelry on the beach in Ashdod instead uncovered a rare 2,500-year-old coin from ancient Cyprus, which archaeologists say is the first of its kind ever found in Israel.”

A raid of a home of an antiquities thief in the Jordan Valley recovered “approximately 400 ancient coins, pottery fragments, several arrowheads, an antique dagger, and multiple seals and rings, all dating to the Persian, Hellenistic, Hasmonean, and Byzantine eras.”

Aren Maeir visited the excavations at Tel Shadud and Hazor.

“The top three reports in biblical archaeology in July 2026 featured evidence of Judahite idolatry, remains from the Babylonian destruction in Jerusalem, and the discovery of three, previously unknown Assyrian kings.”

Online lecture on Oct 6: “When Worlds Collide: Mediterranean Mercenaries and Israel’s Genesis,” by Aaron Burke (BAS Scholars Series, $10)

New release: Jewish Quarter Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem Conducted by Nahman Avigad, 1969-1982, Volume X: Area M (The Peristyle House), by Ronny Reich (Israel Exploration Society, $111)

First time for sale on Kindle: Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age, by Tom Holland (Basic Books, 2023; $1.99)

SBL Press is running a $5 flash sale through August 2 on three ebooks related to Phoenicia when you use code PHOENICIA:

The History and Archaeology of Phoenicia, by Hélène Sader (2019, $50)
Phoenician Aniconism in Its Mediterranean and Ancient Near Eastern Contexts, by Brian R. Doak (2015, $30)
Phoenician Inscriptions, by Robert D. Holmstedt, Aaron Schade, Philip C. Schmitz (2026; $70)

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Jordan Rift, Lebanon, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Burnt sycamore beams from the First Temple period were discovered in the Givati parking lot excavation in the City of David. Researchers believe they belonged to the roof of an inner courtyard that was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

An engraved reed discovered in a cave in Wadi Murabba’at is the only such object from the Middle Bronze ever found in the Levant. The underlying journal article is here.

“The discovery of a controlled cultic deposit in Area D at Shiloh, near the presumed Tabernacle location, provides a rare archaeological window into early Israelite ritual practice.”

Glenn J. Corbett writes about the damage to Gaza’s archaeological heritage caused by the war.

Itzchak Tessler writes about different views for where the ark of the covenant and the lost Temple treasures are today.

Joshua Schwartz surveys Josephus’s writings on the temple.

The 29th Annual Bible & Archaeology Fest will be held on Nov 7 and 8 on Zoom. Speakers include Orly Goldwasser, Chang-ho Ji, Thomas Levi, and Brent Nongbri.

Jerusalem University College has announced ten online courses for the fall, including:

Biblical Jerusalem and Its Explorations, by Chandler Collins
Ancient Egypt and the Bible, by Oliver Hersey
The Life and Times of Paul, by Chris Vlachos
Geography of the Gospels, by Steven Notley

Bryan Windle explains the significance of the Lachish Letters on Digging for Truth.

Aren Maeir has submitted for publication an introduction to the archaeology of the land of the Bible.

Abigail Van Huss writes about her participation in an excavation on Mount Bezek.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Lectures, Resources, Samaria, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup