The collapse of the great civilizations of the Late Bronze Age was the result of climate change, says a new study published in Tel Aviv. A preliminary list of 2014 excavations in Israel is now available. The Carmel Caves have been named the newest UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem has opened “The Book of Books” exhibition based on the collection of Hobby Lobby owner Steve Green. Archaeologists are mapping the ancient aqueducts of Rome with the help of lasers and robots. A new BAR Archive DVD is available, providing all issues of the magazine from 1975 to 2012. Wayne Stiles is offering both of his excellent books at a great discount. And this weekend will be the last chance to get them autographed. They make a great Christmas gift for you or someone else… The Virtual Bible Project is profiled in the Baptist Press. After many years of slow progress, Dan Warner has now teamed with Logos Bible Software to add to the four reconstructions already completed. J. B. Hennessy died this week. HT: Bill Soper, Jack Sasson, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer
Caves on Mount Carmel
Photo from Samaria and the Center
The Preliminary Report of the 2013 Jezreel Expedition Field Season has been posted at The Bible and Interpretation. Three areas were excavated in the inaugural season.
Aren Maeir and Jeffrey Chadwick discuss a recent suggestion to date Hezekiah’s Tunnel to Manasseh. They note that the four years that geologists claim would have been required for construction would fit between Hezekiah’s revolt in 705 and the arrival of Sennacherib in 701.
The Biblical Archaeology Society has announced its 2013 Publication Awards Winners. They include works on Ashkelon, Gath, and Isaiah.
A summary of the contents of the latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is now online.
Wayne Stiles proposes the best way to use your time in Jerusalem after the sun goes down.
BibleX has a preview of a four-part series by National Geographic entitled “The Lost Faces of the Bible.”
Pedestrians won’t have to compete with motorists when visiting the Roman Forum and Colosseum.
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands
- Tagged Italy, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Resources, Temple Mount
Gary Byers summarizes the result of the first week of excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir. He thinks it may have been the best first week of finds at the site. Shimon Gibson will be resuming his excavations on Mount Zion from June 16 to July 11. Volunteers are welcome. A list of papers for the Noah’s Ark conference at Sirnak University in Turkey has been announced. Among the list is this one by Gordon Franz: “Did Sennacherib, King of Assyria, Worship Wood from Noah’s Ark?” Don Wimmer, director of excavations at Tall Safut in Jordan, died last week. Worsening conditions at the Cairo Museum are causing concern. The Green Scholars Initiative Series on Early Jewish Texts is a new book series to be published by Brill and led by Emanuel Tov. Scholars are using artificial intelligence programs to help reassemble more than 100,000 manuscript fragments from across the Mediterranean world. Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg has written the latest Archaeology in Israel Update—April 2013. Luke Chandler is leading a tour of Italy this fall. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols.) is now marked down 78% to $90. Until Friday. HT: Jack Sasson, Bill Soper
Preserved ruins of Pompeii
Photo from Pictorial Library, Italy and Malta
- Tagged Excavations, Italy, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Technology, Turkey
Plans to reconstruct Herod’s tomb at the Herodium have been scrapped.
The same article reports that the Herod exhibition at the Israel Museum has been extended to January 2014.
Tuesday’s Samaritan Passover ceremony is described in a Haaretz article. (I believe the first photo caption is wrong, for the animal is not slain until sunset.)
105 million euros is not enough to save Pompeii from deterioration, according to a New York Times video.
Ferrell Jenkins is back in Israel and he recently spent a morning with Shmuel Browns.
The Spring 2013 season at Tel Burna is over and they have found evidence of a destruction in the 9th century. There are still a few days left to sign up for the summer season.
Haaretz’s “Tourist Tip #218” describes the significance of the Broad Wall of Jerusalem.
The temporary bridge to the Mughrabi Gate next to the Western Wall still stands, but next month a committee is going to meet in Paris to discuss its replacement.
FoxNews reports on apps for archaeology.
Berlin’s Pergamon Museum has a new exhibition on the Mesopotamian city of Uruk. Better photos are available here.
Christianbook.com is now selling The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols.) for only $99.99. (That’s 75% the $400 list.)
A rare, original set of the 13 volumes of the Survey of Western Palestine has just been listed by a UK bookseller for $6,400. For $35 more, you can pick up a digital copy of the oversized maps.
HT: Jack Sasson

- Tagged Excavations, Holidays, Italy, Jerusalem, Judah, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Samaria, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup
The Times of Israel takes its readers into the new Herod exhibit at the Israel Museum one week ahead of its opening. The article includes many photos, but may be slow loading.
Wayne Stiles has put together some great visual resources of Caesarea, including photos, video, map, and Google Street View.
City Lights over the Middle East – NASA has posted a short video taken from the International Space Station.
Air pollution has been a problem since the days of ancient Rome.
The Oriental Institute has launched its Integrated Database. Phase II will include images.
Metro publishes the “Top 10 archaeological finds of all time.”
Yosef Garfinkel will be lecturing on “Sanctuaries and Cult at Khirbet Qeiyafa” at the Southern
Adventist University’s Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum Lecture Series.
Keith Schoville is retiring from The Book & The Spade radio program.
I am excited to announce that our photo collection Views That Have Vanished is now available as a
module for Accordance. The collection now has all the bells and whistles you would expect from Accordance.
HT: Daniel Wright, Aren Maeir, Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson
One archaeologist is calling the 900-seat arts center built by Hadrian the most important Roman discovery since the discovery of the Forum in the 1920s. There is a photo of the dig site here.
The Temple Mount Sifting Project blog has a series of posts on the recent debris removal from the
Temple Mount. Nadav Shragai provides a summary in Israel Hayom. Leen Ritmeyer provides a brief commentary.
A baptistery has been discovered in the Byzantine monastery of Khirbet el-Maqatir.
Ferrell Jenkins has wrapped up his series of photo illustrations for the book of Acts.
The BBC has a month-by-month review of archaeological stories in 2012.
Our Archaeological Surveys Bibliography has been significantly expanded.
HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis
- Tagged Discoveries, Italy, Jerusalem, Resources, Samaria, Temple Mount
The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.
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