Israel's Coast Archives - Page 16 of 36

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Holidays, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judea, Lectures, Resources, Samaria

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The Tel Burna team has begun a survey of Khirbet ʿAter, a likely candidate for biblical Ether.

Bruno Soltic created a video on “Tel Burna – Week on a Dig,” featuring interviews with Itzick Shai, Steven Ortiz, Chris McKinny, and others.

Registration has now opened for next summer’s excavations at Tel Burna and Gath.

Sepphoris was an important city near Nazareth, and Wayne Stiles looks at its possible place in Jesus’s youth.

Bill Barrick posts about his visit to Sepphoris on a recent research trip, and he includes many photos.

Archaeology magazine has a feature on the dye industry at Tel Shikmona near Haifa.

Israel21c has identified “Israel’s best ancient toilets.”

Three individuals were arrested on suspicion of stealing antiquities from ancient Megiddo.

“In the hills of Timna in the Arava Desert, just north of Eilat, lies a secret lake that has become a magnet for some adventurous Israelis unable to travel abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

Hebrew University has just released the first three volumes in the Tel Rehov final report series (scroll to the bottom).

Shalom Paul died earlier this week.

Israel’s Good Name made a number of outings this year to the Yavne dunes, finding it an ideal place for spotting birds, snakes, and other wildlife.

I am excited about this book forthcoming from Barry Beitzel: Where Was the Biblical Red Sea? Examining the Ancient Evidence. Beitzel defends the traditional location and shows why the Gulf of Aqaba hypothesis is impossible.

The Infusion Bible Conference (formerly the Institute of Biblical Context Conference) has just announced that the 2021 conference will be held in Franklin, Tennessee. This year’s topic is “Paul and His Roman World.”

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, G. M. Grena, Charles Savelle, Explorator

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Negev, Philistines, Resources, Sad News, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“Excavation works will start within two weeks to prepare for construction of the controversial cable car planned to connect West Jerusalem with the Old City.”

Daily Life in an Ancient Judean Town is now online, being adapted from the Badè Museum’s long-running traveling exhibit of the same name. The exhibit was designed as a remote-teaching resource, and a teaching kit is available.

An Israeli team is using artificial intelligence to fill in the gaps in fragmentary cuneiform tablets.

‘Atiqot 100 is now online. It includes dozens of articles related to excavations in Jaffa.

Members of The Times of Israel Community will be treated to a peek into Israel’s vault of ancient coins on a tour with Donald T. Ariel.

CoinWeek has a post about the rare coin that features Aristobulus IV on one side and the infamous Salome on the reverse.

Alex Wosford discusses the use of landscapes and people in the photo collection of James Graham, taken in Palestine and Syria between 1853 and 1860.

The latest in the Discussions with the Diggers series features Dale W. Manor, the Field Director of the excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh.

The Jerusalem University College is offering online classes for the 2021 semester to anyone who wants to apply.

New book: Where God Came Down: The Archaeological Evidence, by Joel P. Kramer. “Using Scripture as his primary ancient text and interpretive tool, author Joel Kramer examines the archaeological record for ten locations recorded in the Bible.”

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Mark Hoffman

Tagged Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Resources, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Today is the first day of the feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) – hag sameah!

A study of 307 Iron Age jars discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa found that the inner-rim diameter always measured nearly the same dimensions, suggesting that this was the size of a handbreadth. The underlying BASOR article is available to subscribers here.

A ritual bath discovered in the Jezreel Valley has been moved ahead of road construction work. The story includes drone footage of the transport of the 57-ton mikveh.

Horse stables from the Crusader era have been discovered at Apollonia.

The Footsteps of Jesus Weekend Experience: Bob Rognlien will be leading a virtual pilgrimage of the life of Jesus the weekend of October 16-18. Early bird pricing is available now.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project has begun a new campaign in which you can adopt a coin in order to support the team’s efforts.

A 40-second film clip shows archaeologists working in Herod’s palace at Masada in 1955. Another shows Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1964.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A rare 7th-8th century masthead from a shipwreck off northern Israel sheds light on sailing and shipbuilding. The underlying journal article is here.

Israel has 320 open-air archaeological gardens and exhibits that are free and accessible 24/7. (Send me an email when you’ve seen them all!)

A collector has donated 130,000 “Postcards of Palestine” from the 19th and 20th centuries to the Hebrew University.

John DeLancey’s latest video tour focuses on Jericho.

I agree with the choices Bryan Windle has made for the “Top Three Reports in Biblical Archaeology” this month.

Free webinar: “The Archaeology of Israel: Where Are We Today?,” with Eric Cline, J. P. Dessel, Jennie Ebeling, and James Hardin, moderated by Rachel Hallote, on Oct 13, 4:00pm Eastern. Free registration is required.

Wendy Slaninka, the granddaughter of James Leslie Starkey, has written several posts about her family’s experiences in Lachish and Egypt.

Just released: CSB Holy Land Illustrated Bible, with 1,200+ images and maps. Details and sample (of Ruth) here. The Amazon listing includes my endorsement.

HT: G. M. Grena, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Explorator

Tagged Israel's Coast, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Resources, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A Canaanite city and palace at Tel Kabri were apparently destroyed by an earthquake circa 1700 BC. The underlying journal article is here.

Archaeologists have discovered a winepress south of Sidon in Lebanon that dates to the 7th century BC, making it the oldest known Phoenician winepress. The underlying journal article is here.

An inkwell from the 1st century AD was discovered during excavations at Khirbet Brakhot in Gush Etzion.

“An experiment with unglazed clay pots hinted at how much archaeologists can learn about ancient cultures from cooking vessels.”

A PhD student at Tel Aviv University is developing a new method of dating ancient mudbrick walls by analyzing one of its components: human and animal waste.

Elon Gilad and Ruth Schuster look at the development of Hellenistic Judaism in Israel, including seven synagogues with mosaics depicting the Zodiac.

Lutz Martin shares the interesting story of Max von Oppenheim, a German Jew who ended up excavating Tell Halaf in Syria and then founding a private museum which the Allies destroyed in a bombing raid. Fortunately, that is not the end of the story.

National Geographic runs a story on the discovery of Petra by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of the arch of Domitian at Hierapolis.

New from Eisenbrauns: Ramat Raḥel IV: The Renewed Excavations by the Tel Aviv–Heidelberg Expedition (2005–2010): Stratigraphy and Architecture, by Oded Lipschits, Manfred Oeming, and Yuval Gadot. Use code NR20 for 30% off.

Applications for fellowships at the Albright Institute in Jerusalem are now being accepted.

The next Zoom virtual lecture for the Anglo Israel Archaeological Society will be by Yana Tchekhanovets on 1st October. Her topic is The Holy City: Fourth-Century Jerusalem in the Light of the New Archaeological Data. To register email [email protected].

Steve Notley will be speaking about his excavations at el-Araj, a strong candidate for Bethsaida, in a lecture hosted on October 1 by the Museum of the Bible. Registration and fee are required for both the in-person and virtual options.

NYU and the IAA are sponsoring a virtual conference on October 25-28 entitled “The Land that I Will Show You”: Recent Archaeological and Historical Studies of Ancient Israel. A full program is not yet posted. Registration is free and required.

Lois Tverberg has several online speaking events coming up, including a week-long study on “How God Used the Torah to Save the World.”

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser

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