Rome’s ongoing subway system project has uncovered several glimpses of the past, this time the ruins of a Roman military commander’s 14-room luxury villa. ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives has a report on the current status of the Ain Dara Temple. Authorities caught tomb raiders in Galilee as they used a bulldozer to loot graves from the Roman period. 3D computational geometry is being used in a long-distance virtual reconstruction to piece together ancient cuneiform texts. Christopher Rollston is on the OnScript Podcast speaking about the Isaiah seal impression. The Digital Archive for the Study of pre-Islamic Arabian Inscriptions “seeks to gather all known pre-Islamic Arabian epigraphic material into a comprehensive online database, with the aim to make available to specialists and to the broader public a wide array of documents often underestimated because of their difficulty of access.” A proposed restructuring at University College London may have adverse effects on the Petrie Museum. You can learn how to help here. Bible Gateway has published an interview with Lois Tverberg about her new book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus. On sale for Kindle: Provan, Long, and Longman, A Biblical History of Israel ($3.99). Accordance has a big sale going on now on atlases and related resources. The Satellite Bible Atlas is now available on Accordance, and it too is on sale (40% off) until March 12. BAS is offering subscriptions to its video lecture service for 75% off for a limited time. David Z. Moster’s latest video explains how to use the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Wayne Stiles shares some new video footage shot over biblical Joppa. The LMLK Blogspot links to a new video of aerial footage of Hebron. HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Charles Savelle, Mark Hoffman
A colorful mosaic with a lengthy Greek inscription has been uncovered in Caesarea. The badly damaged mosaic features three men and dates to about AD 200.
Israeli security forces may have destroyed ancient ruins as early as the Middle Bronze Age in demolition work in Gush Etzion.
Biblical Archaeology Review is teasing “a major new discovery connected to an important biblical figure” in its upcoming double issue.
Israel has begun construction on a permanent pavilion for mixed prayer at the Western Wall near
Robinson’s Arch.
An Israeli family had be rescued while hiking in the Nahal Darga in the Judean wilderness.
Wayne Stiles explores the two times that Dothan appears in the Bible.
Carl Rasmussen shares photos from the Herodium display in the Israel Museum.
Leen Ritmeyer refutes the claims of some who argue that the Temple Mount is actually the Antonia Fortress.
Israel’s Good Name went on a hiking trip in and around the Wadi Qelt.
John A. Beck, author of The Holy Land for Christian Travelers and many other works, has just launched a new website. You can check out his resources and sign up for his quarterly newsletter.
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer
- Tagged Discoveries, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Museums, Samaria, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup
Excavations of Ein Hanya in the Judean hills have concluded with an announcement of the discovery of an Israelite royal capital (proto-Aeolic?), a 4th century Greek drachma, and a Byzantine pool system. The site is associated in tradition with Philip’s baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch. The site will soon open as an archaeological park.
Eilat Mazar has returned to the Ophel to excavate, and this video shows a large cave she believes was in use during the First Temple period. An interview with Mazar includes an aerial photo with the excavation sites labeled.
A Roman tomb complex has been discovered in the northern Gaza Strip.
The ancient temple at Ain Dara, Syria, which is the closest parallel to Solomon’s temple, was heavily damaged in recent Turkish air strikes.
A radar scan is underway in King Tut’s tomb to determine if there are any hidden chambers.
Egypt announced the discovery of a 4,400-year-old tomb in good condition at Giza.
A man carrying a metal detector around the Nabatean ruins of Halutza was arrested for looting more than 150 Byzantine coins.
Five ancient statues stolen during Lebanon’s civil war are back on display in its National Museum.
The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology recently opened in Athens.
“A new exhibition showing at the Carthage National Museum highlights the links between the Carthaginian and Etruscan civilisations before the Mediterranean came under Roman dominion.”
Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities is launching a project to document rare petroglyphs throughout the country.
HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer
- Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Lebanon, Museums, Negev, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup
Archaeologists working at el-Araj (Bethsaida?) discovered a lioness relief in a pile of debris.
A mosaic from a Georgian church or monastery has been excavated in Ashdod-Yam, leading archaeologists to believe they may have finally discovered the Roman-Byzantine city of Ashdod-Yam.
“Rock art in Saudi Arabia showing what appears to be Israel’s national breed depicts vivid scenes of man’s earliest known use of canines in taking down prey.” Science shares a video.
Three Roman shipwrecks were discovered this week near Alexandria.
A ancient temple of Isis was discovered in excavations in Banha City in Egypt.
A new video shows an ancient fortress under the waters of Turkey’s Lake Van.
A new study of the cemetery of Qumran strengthens the argument that the site was inhabited by celibate men.
Elad has been granted the right to run the Davidson Center archaeological park south of the Temple
Mount (Haaretz premium).
Tourists can now enjoy virtual reality experiences when visiting Caesarea, Acco, and the underwater observatory in Eilat.
A colleague visited the Museum of the Bible for its opening weekend and offers some initial impressions.
If you’re looking for a unique gift for a lover of the ancient world, check out the Museum Shop (The Suq) at the Oriental Institute.
HT: Charles Savelle, Lois Tverberg, Joseph Lauer, Agade
- Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Museums, Tourism
Scientists have discovered a void in the Great Pyramid of Giza that is 100 feet long.
Archaeologists excavating in the Timna Valley have discovered remains of a pregnant Egyptian woman.
A swimmer in the Sea of Galilee found a Byzantine-era “chicken-shaped object.”
Young Gazans have begun a campaign on social media to stop the destruction of Tall es-Sakan.
An international team from Spain, Portugal, and the Palestinian Authority conducted excavations at Tirzah (Tell el-Farah North) last month in order to “1. to evaluate the state of conservation of the site in order to implement a program of protection and restoration; 2. topographical survey; 3. archaeological sounding on the Iron Age II sector.” (Not online, as far as I can tell.)
A paper in Astronomy and Geophysics by Colin Humphreys and Graeme Waddington dates the oldest solar eclipse yet recorded to October 30, 1207 BC and suggests this is the “sun-standing-still” event mentioned in Joshua 10. But this connection was proposed last year by H. Yizhaq, D. Vainstub, and U. Avner. The biblical texts, however, date Joshua’s conquest a couple of centuries earlier than this eclipse.
New research suggests that about 80% of antiquities available for sale online are looted or fake.
This week marked the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration and the 100th anniversary of a significant Australian victory over the Ottoman defenses at Beersheba.
A new release on an important subject with many nice photos: The Old Testament in Archaeology and History, edited by Jennie Ebeling, J. Edward Wright, Mark Elliott and Paul V. M. Flesher. Waco, TX:
Baylor University Press, 2017.
HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle
- Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Exodus-Conquest, Forgery, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Negev, Samaria, Weather, Weekend Roundup
“The ancient city of Ephesus . . . is set to once again have a harbor on the Aegean coast, according to an ambitious new project.”
Archaeologists working at Saqqara in Egypt have discovered a portion of a large obelisk from the Old Kingdom period.
The rulers of Gaza are systematically destroying one of the earliest archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip.
“There is a growing emerging consensus among Dead Sea Scroll scholars that many of the fragments in the private collections are fakes.”
Atlas Obscura has a brief, illustrated article on the Tophet of Carthage.
“A Dartmouth-led study has demonstrated how the latest aerial thermal imagery is transforming archaeology due to advancements in technology.”
Yeshiva University Museum is hosting an international conference on “The Arch of Titus – from Jerusalem to Rome, and Back.”
Prior to its opening in November, the Museum of the Bible will be hosting a scholarly panel to “discuss evolutionary process for developing content” as well as addressing questions about disputed artifacts in their collection.
Yale students are “touring” Nimrud before it was destroyed via a new VR system. The story includes a 4-minute video.
A new free MOOC from Bar Ilan University on “The Bible in Light of the Ancient Near East” begins later this month. Some video previews are available: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5.
Israel’s Good Name reports on his recent visit to Apollonia (Arsuf).
Kenneth Holum, whose work included directing excavations of Caesarea, died last month.
HT: Paleojudaica, Joseph Lauer, Agade
- Tagged Egypt, Israel's Coast, Italy, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup