Jerusalem Archives - Page 117 of 198

Wednesday Roundup

Free on Kindle today: The Apostle: The Life of Paul, by John Pollock. The ASOR Blog has posted the latest Archaeology Roundup. Three new volumes of the City of David final excavation reports have been published. If you have not had the chance to visit Hebron, you should take the illustrated tour today with Wayne Stiles. (Another version with smaller images is published at the Jerusalem Post.) Is skinny-dipping in the Sea of Galilee sacrilegious? The Washington Post gives my answer to the question. WiFi access is important enough to visitors in Israel that one biblical village has equipped their donkeys with WiFi routers. HT: Charles Savelle Windsurfer on Sea of Galilee (photo source)

Tagged Galilee, Jerusalem, Resources, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

The Israel Trail has been included in National Geographic’s list of the world’s best hikes. Tourists are returning to Shiloh, and the majority are evangelical Christians. Jerusalem firefighters have battled 5,000 fires this summer, the majority of them arson. Eight new animal species have been discovered in a cave 300 feet below Ramle. If approved, a new hotel rating system in Israel should cause prices to drop. The latest in the Top 5 series at the Jerusalem Post: Jerusalem hostels. Twelve new skyscrapers will change Jerusalem’s skyline. Wayne Stiles provides a history of the Garden Tomb. A bill has been drafted which would provide separate prayer times for Jews and Muslims on the Temple Mount. Accordance has a sale on the Anchor Bible Dictionary, marked down to $200 until August 21. Interior of the Garden Tomb (photo source)

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources, Samaria, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists have found a collection of right hands at the Hyksos capital of Avaris in Egypt. Collecting body parts was one ancient way of counting victims (cf. 1 Sam 18:25). Israeli scientists have developed a way to predict the location of sinkholes near the Dead Sea. Clay rods from the Neolithic period found years ago are not phallic symbols but were ancient matches for starting fires. A summary of the 13th season at Hippos/Susita has been released by the University of Haifa. There are more photos here. A large olive press from the 6th-8th centuries AD has been discovered in Hod HaSharon on Israel’s coastal plain. The National Project to Document Egypt’s Heritage has begun with the tombs of Beni Hasan. The Aleppo citadel has allegedly been damaged by shelling by the Syrian army. Eilat Mazar will be excavating more of the area between the Temple Mount and the City of David later this month. Nir Hasson has more on Sir Flinders Petrie, the archaeologist who lost his head. Wayne Stiles takes a closer look at Nebi Samwil and the neighboring Gibeon and concludes that they reveal similar spiritual lessons. Gordon Franz has obtained a copy of pseudo-archaeologist Robert Cornuke’s doctoral dissertation and finds that it’s a sham. Paul V. M. Flesher writes about the latest finds in the Galilean town of Huqoq. Leon Mauldin shares a photo of Mount Ararat with a rainbow. Haaretz has some tips for finding wifi in Israel. HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson A pile of hands used for counting the dead, depicted at mortuary temple of Ramses III in Medinet Habu (photo source)

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Syria, Weekend Roundup

Israel’s Largest Aquarium Coming to Jerusalem Biblical Zoo

From the Jerusalem Post:

The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and the Jerusalem Municipality announced on Sunday a NIS 80 million initiative to create Israel’s largest aquarium at the zoo. The aquarium, expected to open in 2015, will hold 2 million cubic meters of seawater in a number of large tanks. The highlight of the exhibit will be an underwater tunnel where visitors can walk underneath the aquarium and see a 180-degree view of the sharks, sea turtles, coral reefs and exotic fishes. The two largest tanks will focus on life in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, while 30 smaller tanks will feature small habitats…. “Jerusalem will be the first city where there will be both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and people won’t be able to say anymore that Jerusalem doesn’t have the sea,” Mayor Nir Barkat said.

The full story is here.

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism

Weekend Roundup

With the discovery of a LMLK seal at Azekah, Omer Sergi of Tel Aviv University gave an impromptu lecture about LMLK seals. Daily updates by volunteers are posted here.

“Archaeological sites that currently take years to map will be completed in minutes if tests underway in Peru of a new system being developed at Vanderbilt University go well.”

Egyptian officials are trying to bring back tourists by opening new tombs, including the tomb of Meresankh.

An Israeli journalist has filmed a mass grave near the Golden Gate that he suggests dates to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.

Like the tower of Pisa, the Colosseum of Rome is leaning.

James Mellaart, excavator of Çatalhüyük, passed away this week.

More than a hundred people gathered at the tomb of Sir Flinders Petrie this week to celebrate the 70th anniversary of his death.

The latest in the wider world of archaeology is reviewed by the ASOR Blog.

Congratulations to Geoff C. and Frank P., winners of Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus.

HT: Jack Sasson, Wayne Stiles, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Giveaway, Italy, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists at Hazor have discovered 14 large storejars full of grain burned in a massive conflagration during the period of the judges (c. 1300 BC). Volunteer Rob Heaton shares his experiences in the last days of the dig and more.

The 2012 Lautenschläger Azekah Archaeological Expeditions Blog is being updated daily. Yesterday they confirmed the discovery of ancient fortifications.

Matti Friedman describes a day of digging at the Philistine city of Gath.

The Israel Antiquities Authority’s Archaeological-Educational Center invites the public to

“Archaeologists for a Day” program at Adullam Park in the Shephelah on Monday, July 30. The cost is 20 NIS and pre-registration is required at [email protected], Tel: 02-9921136, Fax: 02-9925056. The invitation (Word doc in Hebrew) provides more details.

Seth Rodriquez has identified the most interesting photos for a Bible teacher from NASA’s Visible Earth website.

High-tech aerial photos remove the ground cover so you can see what lies below.

In a new article at The Bible and Interpretation, Yosef Garfinkel reviews some attacks on his work at Khirbet Qeiyafa and provides “an unsensational archaeological and historical interpretation” in which he provides 14 “facts,” concluding that “the site marks the beginning of a new era: the establishment of the biblical Kingdom of Judah.” That last word is problematic.

At Christianity Today, Gordon Govier interviews evangelical scholars about the potential impact of the discoveries at Khirbet Qeiyafa.

A 19th-century map of Jerusalem has been discovered in an archive in Berlin.

The story about Islamic clerics wanting to destroy the Egyptian pyramids is not true.

HT: Roi Brit, Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup