Jerusalem Archives - BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists working at Hyrcania discovered tools used to make Holy Land souvenirs in the Byzantine period. They have also found a couple of Greek inscriptions and a Hebrew inscription.

The find of the month for the Temple Mount Sifting Project is an skewed palm-chisel, also known as a scarpel.

Leen Ritmeyer writes about, and illustrates, the origin of Hanukkah.

The Jerusalem Tracker is being split into two editions, with the first focusing on new books and articles related to Jerusalem. The second highlights new pop/social media and blogs, digital resources, developments, and upcoming events about Jerusalem.

I’ve learned that the free “Geography and the Bible” seminar being hosted by Jerusalem University College on January 10 includes a $300 travel course voucher for all registered attendees who join the seminar live online.

“After years of delays and spiraling costs, Rome inaugurated two new metro stations on Tuesday, including one by the Colosseum, showcasing archaeological discoveries that might become tourist attractions in their own right.”

Archaeologists are not agreed over the significance of the victims of Pompeii wearing woolen cloaks in August.

Imagery in an AI-generated video about ancient Rome is filled with errors.

Webinar on Jan 7: “Beyond Edutainment: Reclaiming Archaeology in a Clickbait World,” by Amanda Hope Haley

New release: Stones Still Speak: How Biblical Archaeology Illuminates the Stories You Thought You Knew, by Amanda Hope Haley

“Iraq’s famed Tigris is heavily polluted and at risk of drying up.”

Archaeologists may have discovered the Mycenaean palace in the region of ancient Sparta.

James Davila notes a couple of fascinating comments that Irving Finkel recently made concerning writing at Göbekli Tepe and a supposed Babylonian looting of the Library of Ashurbanipal.

We will post our annual roundup of stories, including the top 10 discoveries of the year, on Monday. There will be no roundup next weekend.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Tagged Greece, Holidays, Italy, Jerusalem, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Resources, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working in the City of David have found a necklace pendant depicting the menorah that dates to the Late Byzantine period when Jews were not allowed to enter Jerusalem.

“A rare clay oil lamp from the Hasmonean era was uncovered at the Nebi Samwil archaeological site northwest of Jerusalem on Sunday evening, the first night of Hanukkah.”

The Times of Israel runs a story about the previously reported Assyrian-era tombs in the Jezreel Valley.

David Ramati writes about some of the more recent studies related to Masada.

The Times of Israel explains the importance of the Mount of Olives, including important people buried there and controversy over the building of a visitor center.

“A new computational tool developed at the University of Haifa is changing how archaeologists document and analyze ancient ruins, using drone imagery and machine learning to reveal architectural patterns that cannot be identified from ground level.”

“In an apostolic letter dated December 11, 2025, Pope Leo XIV has placed Christian archaeology at the core of the Church’s intellectual and pastoral mission.”

On The Book and the Spade, Joan Taylor makes a case against Bethlehem being a little town when Jesus was born.

Leon Mauldin shares a panoramic photo of the Sorek Valley and Zorah, taken from Beth Shemesh.

New release: Tel Miqne-Ekron 14/1: Objects and Material Culture Studies: Middle Bronze Age II Through Iron Age II, edited by Seymour (Sy) Gitin (Eisenbrauns, $98 with code NR26)

New release: Tel Nagila: The Amiran/Eitan Excavations, edited by Joe Uziel, David Ilan, Matthew Susnow, and Aren M. Maeir (De Gruyter, $220)

The Hasmonean palaces at Jericho (Tulul Abu el-Alayiq) will be open to visitors tomorrow and Monday, and funds have been allocated to develop the site as a heritage destination in the coming year.

After the IAA moved its headquarters to the new Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, discussions about the future of the Rockefeller Museum are taking place, including the possibility of turning it into a hotel.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Andy Cook, Ted Weis, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Holidays, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Jordan Rift, Museums, Philistines, Resources, Samaria, Shephelah, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“An impressive section of Jerusalem’s fortification wall from the second century BCE has been uncovered on the grounds of the Tower of David complex in the Old City.” About 130 feet of the “First Wall” has been uncovered in the Kishle.

Archaeologists have found evidence for the famous battle at Bet Zecharia described in 1 Maccabees. “It is the first time we have possible archaeological evidence from one of Judah Maccabee’s battlefields.”

A scholar believes that he has cracked Cryptic B, a rare alphabet known only from two uses in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Coins previously believed to sloppy versions of coins minted by Alexander Jannaeus should instead be understood as coming from the economically weak era of the Hasmonean civil war between 60 and 40 BC.

Hartebeests went extinct in Israel not in the Iron Age but in the Byzantine period.

Doron Spielman spoke about some of his experiences in the City of David at a recent event in Jerusalem.

On Digging for Truth, Scott Stripling explains the archaeology that is related to Hanukkah.

On the Biblical World podcast, Kyle Keimer talks with David deSilva about his two new archaeology books.

Dig has released a 27-minute video about Labayu of Shechem.

The foundation stone of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem was laid 100 years ago.

A powerful winter storm caused death and destruction all over Israel this week.

New release: The Archaeology of the Kingdom of Judah, by Yosef Garfinkel (SBL Press, $75)

You can now purchase soil from the Temple Mount.

Jerusalem University College will be presenting its 6th annual online seminar on January 10. The “Geography and the Bible” seminar is free and will include four sessions:

“Road Systems from Egypt through Sinai,” by James Hoffmeier
“Trekking from the Desert to the Land of Milk and Honey,” by Hélène Dallaire
“What Does it Mean that Jerusalem was ‘Built as a City which is Compact Together?’ A Geographical and Archaeological Reading of Psalm 122:3,” by Chandler Collins
“The Early Church’s Encounter with the Roman Imperial Cult,” by Carl Rasmussen

There is no hat tip (HT) below to Gordon Franz, because Gordon died on November 22. I met Gordon when studying at IHLS in the early 90s, and we stayed in touch over the years, including a tour he gave my family of NYC. Gordon taught for various schools over the years, including the Israel and Turkey/Greece/Rome programs for the Talbot School of Theology. Most recently Gordon sent me stories for these roundups, and in the last email he wrote me, he said he was on his way to buy Rabbi Landy’s latest book. He was quite the book connoisseur. And he had much yet he planned to accomplish. Some of Gordon’s writings are still available on his website. A recording of his celebration of life service is online. He will be missed.

Gordon Franz taking photos from the rooftop of the Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem, 1993

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Holidays, Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Sad News, Samaria, Temple Mount, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A new geological and archaeological study has mapped dozens of ancient stone quarries hidden beneath today’s Jerusalem.” You can find the underlying article and map here.

Aren Maeir notes that more announcements are forthcoming related to the Pool of Siloam excavations.

An elaborate Byzantine mosaic discovered west of Beersheba has been conserved and relocated and is now on public display.

In part 3 of his series on the latest research on Jericho, Bryan Windle shows that the pottery discovered at the site indicates that Jericho was inhabited at the time of Joshua’s conquest.

“The ancient Jewish prutah of Hasmonean Judaea and the modern American penny share far more than their diminutive size and copper heritage; they reflect timeless tensions between intrinsic value, symbolic meaning, and practical utility.”

Hybrid lecture at the Museum of the Bible on Dec 7: “Explore the Sacred Symbolism of the Magdala Stone,” by Marcela Zapata-Meza ($15-40)

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 15: “Our Life in Light: Ancient Lamps, Faith, and Festivals of Illumination,” by Benyamin Storchan

Zoom lecture on Dec 10: “Building God’s House: Synagogues, Churches, and Intercommunal Relations in Late Antique Palestine,” by Zeev Weiss

“A new initiative using the National Library of Israel’s digital Hebrew manuscript database will enable automatic transcription of the entire Cairo Genizah, making the world’s largest trove of medieval Jewish texts searchable and accessible worldwide.”

“The Lord’s Prayer” feature film released this week. This new website has links to the trailer, the movie, the book, and how you can get involved. (I watched it last night, and it is one jaw-dropping scene after another.)

William Varner, a long-time colleague, and David Hegg, the senior pastor at the church where both Will and I serve, have just released Matthew’s Messiah: His Jewish Life and Ministry, an exposition of the Gospel with special focus on the Jewish backgrounds. This study has been a passion of Dr. Varner’s for many years, and the full-color volume is illustrated with many of my photographs. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m told the book is beautiful. Here is a link to the book on Amazon, but the publisher has a lower price right now.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Andy Cook, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Movies, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A Roman sarcophagus was discovered in Hungary, “untouched by looters and sealed for centuries … with its stone lid still fixed in place, secured by metal clamps and molten lead.”

“Five theatrical mask reliefs have been discovered during excavations in the theater area of Kastabala, an ancient city in Osmaniye, southern Türkiye.”

Excavations at Ugarit have resumed after a 14-year hiatus.

Remember the Jordan Lead Codices? A new scientific analysis provides some answers about their dating. (James Davila gives some background.)

“A stunning replica of an ancient trireme will be displayed as the centerpiece of the new Greek Underwater Archaeology Museum” in Piraeus, opening next year.

The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition opens at The Museum of the Bible this weekend. “The exhibition will feature biblical texts and scrolls from the community at Qumran, as well as hundreds of artifacts that reveal details about life and Judaism during the Second Temple period.”

“More than 40 precious artifacts from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem are currently on display at the Frick in New York City.”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art just launched a virtual reality tour of the 1st-century BC Egyptian Temple of Dendur.

New release: Assur 2024: Continuing the Excavations in the New Town and Other Research across the Site, edited by Karen Radner and Andrea Squitieri. Exploring Assur 2. (PeWe-Verlag; 59 €; open-access)

New release: Excavating Ancient Egypt: Fifty Years of Archaeological Memories, by Jeffrey Spencer (Archaeopress; £16-£32)

In the latest episode on the Biblical World podcast, Mary Buck explains the importance of the Achaemenid Empire, including figures like Cyrus and Darius.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Explorator

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Jordan, Mesopotamia, Museums, Persia, Resources, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A 5,000-year-old wine press has been unearthed next to the iconic archaeological site of Tel Megiddo, providing the earliest evidence of wine production in the Land of Israel.” There are more photos here.

After years of survey work, a couple of Israeli archaeologists identified the probable location of the ancient synagogue in the Syrian village of Yehudiya in the Golan Heights. Then they confirmed it with excavations.

Archaeologists discovered red fox tracks in the fresh plaster of a Byzantine wall at Bethsaida (el-Araj).

Chandler Collins has written an excellent summary and analysis of the newly discovered “Siloam Dam” in Jerusalem.

Work is underway on a Visitor Education Center on the Mount of Olives. The story includes other details about the area, such as the cost of a burial plot in the cemetery.

The entire Great Isaiah Scroll will be on display at the Israel Museum to mark the museum’s 60th anniversary.

Iran is not happy about the British Museum’s plan to loan the Cyrus Cylinder to the National Library of Israel. [EDIT: This story is from early 2024. The Cyrus Cylinder has not been in Israel since this story was written, as far as I know.]

New from IAA Reports: Khirbat ‘Amra: A Rural Site from the Hellenistic to Early Islamic Periods in the Beʼer Sheva‘ Valley, by Itamar Taxel and Noé D. Michael (open-access).

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 3: “The Legacy of Hansen House in Jerusalem,” by Susan Kennedy-Arenz. “This talk will describe the living conditions of Jerusalem’s leper community prior to the establishment of the first leper hospice in the mid-19th century.”

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 10: “The Rise of Christianity in Galilee: A Perspective from the Jewish Cities of Sepphoris and Tiberias,” by Shulamit Miller

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 17: “Albright 2025: The Year in Review,” by Director James Fraser

Preserving Bible Times is streaming Digging Deeper I (The Great Commission) and Digging Deeper II (The Jewish Mind of Jesus’ Day), free on YouTube.

Leon Mauldin shares several photos of the ancient city of Jokneam.

Logos subscribers can purchase Holman Illustrated Guide to Biblical Geography: Reading the Land, by Paul H. Wright, for about $8.

Alumni of Jerusalem University College are invited to an alumni gathering in Boston during the Annual Meetings.

Wayne Stiles is hosting an advanced tour of Israel next year, with visits to places that most groups never visit (including Dothan, Samaria, Solomon’s Pools, Bethany, Temple Mount, an optional 10-mile hike and river rafting, and more).

The new Job volume in the Photo Companion to the Bible includes 1,600 photos. The introductory sale ends in a few days.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Galilee, Golan Heights, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Lectures, Museums, Photo Resources, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup