Haaretz (premium) has a story on the Mamertine Prison now that it has been renovated and re-opened. The history of the site goes back to the 8th century BC and was considered to be one step away from hell for its captives.

A refurbishment of the kitchens of Pompeii reveals much about ancient Roman cooking practices.

Continued restoration of the Parthenon now moves to the building’s west side.

Archaeologists working in Hala Sultan Tekke have discovered one of the most magnificent tombs ever found on the island of Cyprus. It dates to the Late Bronze Age and contains Egyptian scarabs, a diadem, and beautiful jewelry.

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities will begin offering an annual pass to all of the country’s sites and museums.


The Times of Israel suggests the top five Jewish spots to visit in Saudi Arabia.

“Between 1,300 and 800 BC, large quantities of metal objects, including tools and weapon-like swords, daggers and arrow heads, were produced at Saruq Al Hadid” in modern Dubai. The site and its new museum are profiled in The National.

Iraq is seeking to add Babylon to the World Heritage List.

Logos users can now pre-order Barry Beitzel’s New Moody Atlas of the Bible.

HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Agade

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Archaeologists working in Pompeii have “discovered four skeletons and gold coins in the ruins of an ancient shop in Pompeii.”

Archaeologists working at Carthage have uncovered a “smart cooling system” for chariot racers.

As restoration work on the Roman Colosseum moves from outside to inside, officials hope to use it one day for cultural events.

A stele depicting childbirth won an Egyptian Antiquities Ministry poll.

Digital scanning is revealing previously unseen portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls and raising new interpretive questions (Haaretz premium).

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes stories on Paul’s riot in Ephesus, Eilat
Mazar’s excavations in the City of David, and the reconstruction of the Umm el-Qanatir synagogue.

The Syrian military has cleared thousands of booby traps from Palmyra, yet some are claiming that they are looting. Franklin Lamb has a detailed first-person report in two parts.

Barry Britnell reports on his recent visit to the Biblical History Center (formerly the Explorations in
Antiquity Center) in LaGrange, Georgia.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a couple of photos related to the Story of Sinuhe.

Duane W. Roller reflects on geography in the ancient world.

The Associates for Biblical Research are looking for a Pre-publication Editing Assistant Volunteer for Bible and Spade.

We’ll be taking a couple of weeks off from roundups, but we’ll include any stories you suggest when we return.

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

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Ferrell Jenkins remembers the events of this weekend with photos related to the crucifixion and resurrection.

Michael Heiser offers some links in response to the perrennial “miracles-are-impossible” stories that surface this time each year.

The battle continues over the size of the Kedem Center in the City of David.

Shmuel Browns’ photo of the week is a beautiful shot of the Judean wilderness.

A number of interesting finds have been made in an excavation of a Byzantine church in Gush Etzion.

If you are an American undergrad looking to excavate in Israel this summer, you should apply for a scholarship to join the Tel Burna team.

Wayne Stiles gives three reasons why you should travel to Israel.

The Tel Al-Amarna Visitors Centre has been inaugurated in Minya. Work on the Aten Museum and
Malawi National Museum is on-going, despite rumors to the contrary.

Archaeologists are learning more about ancient watercraft from an Old Kingdom boat excavated in Abusir.

Reproductions of the 50-foot arch that formed the entrance to Palmyra’s Temple of Baal will be erected in New York City and London next month.

The Syrian army is close to re-capturing Palmyra.

John Brown University has received an anonymous gift of $1 million for their Abila Archaeological Project.

The Torlonia collection, with more than 600 statues and sculptures, will be on display in Rome for the first time in decades. An overseas tour will follow.

Described as one of most important recoveries in decades, 45 crates of archaeological material, dating between the 7th century BC to 2nd century AD, has been returned to Italy after being stolen from sites in the 1970s and 1980s.

“Analysis of Herculaneum papyrus scroll fragments reveals the use of metallic ink in Greco-Roman literary inscription centuries earlier than previously thought.”

Bruce and Ken Zuckerman will be lecturing on “Archaeological Photography” on March 28 at the South Bay Camera Club.

Now online: “The Lenkin Family Collection of Photography at the Penn Libraries, as it is now known, comprises over 5,000 original photographs, primarily of Jerusalem and Palestine taken from 1850 to 1937.”

For a limited time, access to the latest issue of Near Eastern Archaeology is available for free without a login required.

Bible Software Review is looking for a new owner-editor.

Going Places with God, by Wayne Stiles, is on sale for Kindle right now for $0.99. It’s at the same price on Vyrso/Logos. The sale won’t last. I recommend it!

Happy 13th Anniversary to Paleojudaica! And Aren Maeir recently celebrated his birthday.

For photos recalling the momentous events of this week nearly 2,000 years ago, check out our posts this week on Facebook and Twitter.

HT: Jared Clark, G. M. Grena, Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle

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A papyrus with lines from the Gospel of John and dated to circa AD 300 was discovered on eBay.

Excavations at Khirbet el-Eika suggest a pagan population lived at this Hellenistic site near the Horns of Hattin.

A new exhibit with finds from Gath (Tell es-Safi) is on display at the University of Kansas.

Eisenbrauns is offering all four volumes of Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period (RINAP) at a discount of 40% off retail price until Nov 27.

The second volume on excavations at Yavneh covers 7,000 cultic items from the 9th-8th centuries BC discovered in a repository.

Carta has released a 2nd updated and expanded edition of The Raging Torrent, by Michael Cogan.

The New Yorker: Can digital technology make the Herculaneum scrolls legible after two thousand years?

Hurriyet Daily News profiles Gaza resident Nafez Abed, a specialist in preservation and reproductions.

Colorized photos of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb are now on exhibit in New York City.

The Chicago Hittite Dictionary Project now has a website.

You can have your tweet preserved on a cuneiform tablet.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer

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ISIS has destroyed the Arch of Triumph in Palmyra.

The destruction of ancient monuments will now be considered a war crime in trials at The Hague.

An interdisciplinary team of scientists want to dig beneath the popular version of Pompeii to discover what life was really like.

Here’s more on the new lines discovered from the Gilgamesh Epic.

“Persepolis: Images of an Empire” is a special exhibit that opens next week at the Oriental Institute Museum.

Mordechai Aviam critiques Eldad Keynan’s recent article on the
“miqveh” in Upper Galilee.

The Jewish Chronicle catches up with Ron Tappy four years after he concluded excavations at Tel Zayit.

Howard R. Feldman shares a personal recollection about the Jehoash Affair on the ASOR Blog.

The Amphipolis tomb may have been the funeral shrine for Hephaestion, the closest friend of
Alexander the Great.

The Oxford Archaeology Image Database currently has 700 photos from nearly 30 sites in Iraq and it is seeking more contributions.

The first rainfall this season in Israel led to flash flood warnings in the Judean wilderness.

Netanyahu has suspended approval for the building of a museum in the Western Wall plaza.

Was the star of Bethlehem a comet? A new book makes a strong case.

A German team will repair a botched epoxy job on King Tut’s beard.

Leen Ritmeyer takes the New York Times to task for shoddy research on the Temple Mount.

Rachel Hallotte has dug up some interesting items from the attic of the Albright Institute.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis

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In Pompeii, a pre-Roman tomb dating to 4 B.C. has been found in perfect condition by French archaeologists.

A newly discovered tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh preserves nearly twenty lines previously unknown.

The UNC Charlotte magazine features a story on the Mount Zion excavation.

Eldad Keynan examines a unique mikveh in Upper Galilee—one with a cross inscribed on the wall.

Dr. Ben Witherington paid a visit to the Greco-Roman Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and demonstrates how artifacts illuminate our understanding of the New Testament.

Why study biblical geography? Barry Britnell suggests one, two, and three reasons.

Bryant Wood reexamines the blockage of the Jordan River.

Ferrell Jenkins explains the significance of Adullam and shares several photos of the cave.

The Virtual World Project presents interactive virtual tours of archaeological sites in Israel and Jordan. The project is designed to aid in the teaching and study of antiquity.” There’s some background here.

“Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (RCAC) in Istanbul has begun an exhibition celebrating the immense contribution of John Garstang, a British scholar, on archaeology in Turkey.”

With only 2,000 gazelle remaining in Israel, the species will probably be classified as endangered.

Logos has pre-publication pricing on a new video course, AR101 Archaeology in Action: Biblical Archaeology in the Field ($50).

The early bird discount for Wayne Stiles’s Holy Land Tour ends on Monday.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Chris McKinny, David Bivin

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