Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Aren Maeir writes about the situation in Israel and how you can help.

A pair of scholars argue that “Azekah is the new name of Moresheth-Gath given to the city by Judahite rulers after taking control of the western Shephelah, not before the end of the ninth century BCE.”

“For the first time, ancient DNA has been recovered from the bodies of ancient Israelites living in the First Temple period.”

In his first Q&A, Chandler Collins answers questions about Jerusalem’s monasteries, the “palace of David,” and a proposed bema seat of Pilate.

In part 4 of the Flora and Faith series, Brad Nelson explains why Paul used the olive tree to explain the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the church.

An article I wrote on Solomon’s coronation and coregency has been published in the Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal. I argue that there were three stages in his coronation and that there is no foundation for a two-year coregency.

Andy Naselli has collected some of the better videos of reconstructions of the tabernacle, Solomon’s temple, and Herod’s temple.

The Arch of Titus, built to celebrate the destruction of Jerusalem, was lit up this week in blue and white in solidarity with Israel.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

An American damaged several ancient Roman statues in the Israel Museum because they are “blasphemous” and “in violation of the Torah.” See below for a pre-attack photo of one statue (and see tomorrow’s roundup for another).

“Close to 1,000 Levites from around the world converged on Jerusalem’s southern wall near the Western Wall to partake in a momentous reenactment of the ancient Levitical choir of the Temple.” The story includes a couple of short videos.

“Some 10,000 people marched to Joshua’s Altar on Mt. Ebal on Monday to demand protection for archaeological sites in the West Bank and protest against declarations of sites in the West Bank as ‘Palestinian heritage sites.’”

Paleojudaica shows how headlines gradually sensationalized the discovery of (what is now) Alexander the Great’s escort.

A new video from Bible Scenes tours 50 different areas of the virtual 3D model of Herod’s Temple Mount. The timecodes make it easy to jump to any gate, courtyard, chamber, etc. Very impressive.

Aleteia has a list of the mosaic panels discovered in the Huqoq synagogue excavation.

An inscription discovered in Jerusalem suggests that there was a guild of artisans that called themselves the “sons of Daedalus.”

Olivier Poquillon is the new director of the École Biblique in Jerusalem.

Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology Occasional Publications 1 features an iconographic study of the fresco in the Abbey of the Tomb of Mary in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, within the socio-cultural context of Crusader Jerusalem.

The Codex Sassoon, purchased for $38 million in a recent auction, has arrived at the ANU Museum in Tel Aviv.

The Book and the Spade pulls out of the archive a 1996 interview with Anson Rainey about the House of David Inscription in context.

In celebration of his 45th wedding anniversary, Leen Ritmeyer shares how he met Kathleen and their early work together in the Byzantine monasteries in the Judean wilderness. He includes many photos and drawings.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Explorator

Head of Athena from Tel Naharon, 2nd century AD; as displayed in the Israel Museum before this week’s vandalism
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Weekend Roundup

New excavations at Hyrcania have already turned up an inscription in Greek adapted from Psalm 86.

“A cave containing the remains of a young woman who was likely a courtesan during the Hellenistic period has been discovered near Hebron Road in Jerusalem, along with a well-preserved, rare bronze mirror.”

Gershon Galil claims that he has deciphered a fragmentary inscription from the time of Hezekiah that was discovered in Jerusalem forty years ago (Hebrew version here). (I wouldn’t recommend trusting Galil’s judgment on anything these days. So far the story is only covered by Ynet; if other outlets cover this, they will surely include responses from other scholars.)

Archaeologists have made new and interesting finds at the ancient submerged Egyptian city of Heracleion.

This one-minute video shows how cuneiform tablets were formed from clay and inscribed.

In the newest episode in the Flora & Faith series, Brad Gray explains the symbolism of the almond tree in Scripture.

The latest episode in “Faith Journeys with God in the Land” with John DeLancey was filmed at the Pool of Siloam earlier this year.

Erez Ben-Yosef was on the What Matters Now podcast to discuss his theory about the beginnings of the United Monarchy. The Times of Israel article includes a transcript.

Zoom lecture on Oct 5: “Maritime Viewscapes and the Material Religion of Levantine Seafarers,” by Aaron Brody ($13). Brody has written an article on the ASOR Blog on the same topic.

Zoom lecture on Oct 19: “Archaeology of Jesus’ Nazareth,” by Ken Dark. Registration required.

Biblical Archaeology Report has a rundown on the top three discoveries of the month.

Ferrell Jenkins shares some experiences and photos from his visits to Mount Nebo.

Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, the seventh and final commemoration in the biblical calendar, begins today. TheTorah.com has an article on the etrog as the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists discovered a Second Temple period stonemason’s workshop near Jerusalem.

“A United Nations conference voted Sunday to list ruins of the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine.”

The Temple Mount Sifting Project blog provides a glimpse into the difficulties of protecting the debris that is the focus on their study.

“The ongoing excavation of Horvat Midras/Khirbet Durusiya (Israel) provides an opportunity to study changes in the ethnic and religious makeup of a rural settlement in the ancient southern Levant.”

David Moster explains how tall the Jerusalem temple was by comparing it with other large monuments including the Dome of the Rock. He even found a classical-style building with very similar dimensions to Solomon’s temple.

Jerusalem Post: “Is the biblical ark of the covenant hidden in an Ethiopian church?”

Zoom lecture on October 24: “The Austrian Expedition to Tel Lachish 2017–2023,” by Katharina Streit and Felix Höflmayer.

Registration is open for next year’s excavation season at Shiloh.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken

Middle Bronze gate at Gezer during reconstruction. Photo taken by John Black on Tuesday.
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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Bible Scenes has released a beautiful 3-minute video showing a 3D model of Herod’s Temple. The video was nearly two years in the making, with the assistance of Leen Ritmeyer (who gives some background here). The website has a number of free scenes, and generous permission usage is granted. You can help them create more scenes by becoming a subscriber.

Chandler Collins writes about “some unexpected architectural fragments” discovered in the Jewish Quarter in the 1970s.

The Jerusalem Post has stories about the archaeological site of Magdala and its tourist facilities.

Nate Loper surveys “the historical and archaeological connections between Israel and the Egyptian empire” in the latest episode of Digging for Truth.

Online lecture on Sept 21: “Fact & Fiction in the Empress Helena’s Travels to the Holy Land,” by Julia Hillner. Sponsored by the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society. Free.

A full recording of the “Conrad Schick and His World” conference is now online. You can find the conference booklet with abstracts here.

Abigail Leavitt reports on the lectures and field trip for a recent conference at Ariel University entitled “Boundaries and Influences in the Archaeology of Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Today is the Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the significant seventh month in the Jewish calendar. Your calendar probably identifies it as the Jewish New Year (Rosh HaShanah).

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, David Padfield, Will Varner

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The Times of Israel gives an update on Israel’s decade-long systematic attempt to survey and excavate the caves of the Judean wilderness ahead of looters.

Ruth Schuster writes about a new theory that the Buqeia Valley east of Jerusalem was occupied around the time of King Josiah by quasi-military herders. The article includes some beautiful photos of the area.

Haaretz summarizes a new article that “examines the archaeological and historical evidence for the existence of Jewish gladiators in the first to fourth centuries.”

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on Jerusalem’s Millo, Baal, and Constantinople.

Leen Ritmeyer writes about archaeological evidence for Jews in exile in Babylon.

“An ancient Roman statue believed to depict the daughter of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, and valued at $5 million, has been seized by New York officials.”

“A British auctioneer has pleaded guilty to numerous charges relating to the sale of rare ancient coins, including a hoard discovered by Palestinian fishermen.”

The synagogue that housed the Cairo Geniza has been completely renovated.

Chandler Collins has posted part 2 of his historical study of the excavations of the Stepped Stone Structure in Jerusalem.

The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society has posted some lectures on their new YouTube channel, including:

New release: Excavating the Land of Jesus, by James Riley Strange (Eerdmans, $30). Phillip J. Long has a review here.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Alexander Schick, Alexander Schick

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About the BiblePlaces Blog

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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