Museums:

“Assyrians in the Shadow of Vesuvius” is a new exhibit at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

“Buried by Vesuvius: Treasures from the Villa dei Papiri” is now on display at the Getty Villa in southern California. The post discusses how the Getty Villa was designed after the Villa of Papyri.

“Last Supper in Pompeii” is a new exhibit opening later this month at the Ashmolean Museum.

A replica of the destroyed Lion of Mosul is going on display at London’s Imperial War Museum.

A major exhibition on Troy will open at the British Museum on November 21.

The Egyptian Museum, though losing much of its collection to the Grand Egyptian Museum, will undergo a three-year renovation with the hope of securing status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A new exhibition on Tall Zira’a opened this week at The Jordan Museum.


Lectures:

Shahrokh Razmjou will be lecturing on “The Rise and Fall of Persepolis: A Wonder of the Ancient World” in London on July 23.

Twenty scholars will be speaking at the 22nd Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest in San Diego, November 22-24.


Tourism:

Jerusalem’s “Tomb of the Kings” will reopen to visitors for the first time since 2010, but the tombs themselves will be off-limits.

With restorations complete, Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity has been removed from UNESCO’s list of endangered world heritage sites.

The Lahun Pyramid opened to the public for the first time last week.

Every year there’s a story that Carchemish will soon be opened to the public.

Babylon has been named a 2019 UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Adam Stewart Brown articulates well why you should visit the Holy Land.

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

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A Seleucid fortress has been discovered off the shore of Dor (Haaretz premium).

Scott Stripling reports the progress in the Shiloh excavations in a series of recent videos (May 21, May 22, May 24, May 27, May 30).

A new visitor’s center has been opened at Caesarea in four reconstructed vaults underneath Herod’s temple. They are hoping to double tourism to the site in the next six years.

Sara Toth Stub writes about the oasis of En Gedi in a feature piece from the Archaeology magazine.

Archaeologists working in Cairo have discovered a temple from the time of Nectanebo I.

Archaeological researchers believe that they have discovered the baptistery in the Hagia Sophia that was used to baptize Byzantine emperors.

A large marble head of Dionysus has been discovered in excavations of the ancient forum in Rome.

Brent Seales is about to conduct his first scans of Herculaneum scrolls in nearly a decade.

Appian Media has announced their upcoming projects, along with a way to support them by becoming a member.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has a sale on The Sacred Bridge, marking the second edition down to $90.

The Book and the Spade pulls out of their archive a 1983 interview with Gabriel Barkay, shortly after he discovered the silver amulets at Ketef Hinnom.

Wayne Stiles has launched a new podcast, “Live the Bible.”

Omer Frenkel is a professional narrator who has made recordings of the Hebrew Bible over the last 14 years. Steven Anderson has created convenient playlists (in English).

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser

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Scientists have produced alcohol from ancient yeast excavated at four archaeological sites in Israel.

Aren Maeir is compiling a list of press reports and shares some of the video clips. One reporter offers a review.

After a Second Temple period burial cave in Jericho’s impressive necropolis was damaged by tractor work, hundreds of the bones were re-buried elsewhere.

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the identities of archaeologists working in the West Bank must not be released by the government.

A new entrance to the Tel Zafit National Park (the Philistine city of Gath) was dedicated this week. Aren Maeir shares lots of photos.

With temperatures in Israel soaring above 100 degrees F (37 C), wildfires are causing the evacuation of many communities in central Israel, including the Neot Kedumim Biblical Landscape Reserve.

Gordon Govier talks about Psalm 122 and the archaeology of Jerusalem on this week’s The Book and the Spade.

Peter Hessler tells the story of a how an Egyptian guard improvised in the early days of the Arab Spring to protect a site from looting.

Archaeologists working at Kirikkale in central Turkey have uncovered nine layers of Hittite ruins.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a favorite photo of the ancient Diolkos near Corinth.

Carl Rasmussen explains why early Christians very likely frequented places like the local thermopolium.

In a 20-minute video, David Moster shows what there is to see at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.

Ferrell Jenkins explains why he thinks that “the two current volumes on Daniel and Esther may be the best.”

HT: Agade

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Archaeologists have discovered an underground chamber in Nero’s Domus Aurea palace.

“Ancient workers used molten iron to repair Pompeii’s streets before the historic and devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.”

Greek authorities have granted permission for the restoration of the interior of the Parthenon in Athens.

Turkish officials have discovered an ancient mosaic that was illegally excavated in Çanakkale.

“Ancient treasures pillaged from conflict zones in the Middle East are being offered for sale on Facebook, researchers say, including items that may have been looted by Islamic State militants.”

In light of ISIS’s plundering, researchers have attempted to quantity the market value of artifacts from a single site.

The Biblical History Center in LaGrange, Georgia, is seeking approval to build a replica of the Sea of Galilee.

The Minerva Center for the Relations between Israel and Aram in Biblical Times has announced the list of speakers for its 2019 conference “Between Israel, Aram and Phoenicia: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives.”

BibleX has posted a mini-review of the Photo Companion to Daniel.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, A.D. Riddle

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A statue likely depicting an Ammonite king in the 9th or 8th centuries BC was discovered near the Roman theater in Amman.

“Egypt’s antiquities ministry on Saturday unveiled a 4,500-year-old burial ground near the Giza pyramids containing colourful wooden coffins and limestone statues.”

Jerald Starr argues that a plaque discovered by Sir Leonard Woolley near Ur depicts a temple prostitute.

Gabriel Barkay provides a tour of important archaeological sites in east Jerusalem.

Roman buildings like the Colosseum may have withstood earthquakes because of “seismic cloaking,” though it’s questionable whether this design was intentional.

John DeLancey is summarizing each day of his current tour to Israel, with the latest post about their visit to the Judean desert, the hill country of Samaria, Shiloh, and Beth Shean.

The Tel Burna Excavation team has released their lecture and tour schedule.

Carl Rasmussen explains and shows how early churches may have met in a second-story room above a shop.

Justin Taylor interviews Weston Fields about the history and significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Clyde Billington and Gordon Govier discuss what the Bible has to say about horses and dogs on The Book and the Spade.

BiblicalCulture.org is offering a three-month long summer course in Biblical Hebrew. No previous knowledge is necessary. Classes begin in June.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is beginning a crowdfunding campaign in order to move and resume their operations as well as publish their results.

Helga Weippert passed away in March.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Chris McKinny

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A large statue of Trajan has been discovered in Laodicea.

Archaeologists have excavated another thermopolium in Pompeii, bringing the number to about 80.

Steps believed to be from the palace of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem have been re-opened to visitors in Rome after 300 years.

The palace of Nero is now open to visitors and includes virtual reality features.

An ancient shipwreck off the Greek island of Alonissos is now being opened to recreational divers.

“Archaeologists have uncovered more than 100 ancient inscriptions [from the Middle Kingdom] carved into rock at Wadi el-Hudi, where the ancient Egyptians mined amethyst.”

The Temple Mount Sifting Project will re-start its sifting work on Jerusalem Day, June 2, but at a new location.

David Moster has released a new 5-minute video on butter churns from the ancient world.

Eisenbrauns has a 40-50% off sale through Sunday on some books related to ancient Israel.

New release: Excavations at Karkemish I. The Stratigraphic Sequence of Area G in the Inner Town, edited by F. Zaina. The print volume is available for purchase; the pdf is available for free (third item from the bottom).

Keith Taillon explains how Egyptian obelisks ended up in Paris, London, and New York City.

Luxor Times posts photos of the Grand Egyptian Museum, scheduled to open next year.

Brent Nongbri explains the archaeology of early Christian manuscripts.

The study of imagery from U2 spy planes is revealing numerous archaeological features.

Carl Rasmussen is giving a nicely illustrated tour of the Tomb of Annas, beginning with the exterior and continuing inside.

Ferrell’s favorite photo is one he took last week of a ewe and lamb grazing along the road from Jericho to Jerusalem.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis

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