A new study contrasts the construction of hundreds of churches in Israel in the Byzantine period with the building of synagogues. “Christian elites built numerous private churches, while Jewish donors appeared to pool their resources in a communal synagogue.”

In Approaching Jerusalem, Chandler Collins looks at four cases where Jerusalem’s terrain was reshaped by the cutting of vertical bedrock scarps.

Authorities seized hundreds of antiquities, including coins, arrowheads, and jewelry, from a private home in southern Israel.

Andrew Lawler writes about the origin of the pork taboo.

The final episode in the Biblical Images of God series is the “Humble King.”

The Biblical Archaeology Society provides highlights from their recent Spring Bible & Archaeology Fest.

Olive Tree Bible Software is offering the 7-volume Baker Illustrated Collection on sale for $100 (list price: $280).

New release: Ethics in Archaeological Practice, edited by Sarah Kielt Costello and Sarah Lepinski (Annual of ASOR 78, $30-$75)

Nancy Lapp died last month.

You don’t hear too many wedding stories where the archaeologist walks the bride down the aisle (a balk) and the guest book is a large potsherd.

It’s not archaeology or geography, but I think the articles by my students in the second volume of The Master’s University Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies are quite good.

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

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Researchers have uncovered graffiti from the Middle Ages in the traditional Upper Room in Jerusalem.

Bryan Windle has written an archaeological biography for Caiaphas the high priest.

Leen Ritmeyer shares photos of the cave of Gethsemane where Jesus may have spent the night with his disciples.

Jeffrey P. Arroyo García wonders whether Jesus was hung from the cross, not nailed.

On a double episode on Digging for Truth, Dr. Jonathan Moore discusses the anatomy of crucifixion and especially how their feet were positioned on the cross.

Biblical Backgrounds has announced the “Gospel Companion,” a 44-page book with unique 3D maps and interactive map marking illustrating the Way of the Cross. They also have released new wall maps.

The latest episode of This Week in the Ancient Near East looks at the recent excavations at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Ynetnews suggests five excursions in Israel that recall the twelve tribes’ departure from Egypt.

A royal purple dye was being produced at Tel Shiqmona at industrial levels during the time of the Israel’s monarchy, according to a new study.

A new article “examines how vassal kingdoms, elite consumption, and imported luxury goods shaped Iron Age Lachish and Jerusalem.” And I’m not sure what’s going on at The Jerusalem Post, when the headline on the article, now more than a week old, misspells Jerusalem.

The NY Times runs a story on the recently deciphered Bar Kochba-era papyrus that documents a “tax-evasion scheme involved the falsification of documents and the illicit sale and manumission, or freeing, of slaves — all to avoid paying duties in the far-flung Roman provinces of Judea and Arabia.”

Jacob Sivak addresses two frequently asked questions about Roman-era synagogues: how were Jews able to thrive under Roman oppression, and why were the synagogues decorated with pagan iconography?

“Hezekiah” is a new documentary miniseries, and its first episode premieres this weekend.

In Jerusalem in Brief, Chandler Collins writes about two pools that have been filled in and two books of interest.

Archaeologists have discovered a quarry that may have supplied the construction of Darius’s palace in Susa.

Reconstruction of the 87-foot tall Roman lighthouse at Patara has been completed. AI was used to identify the original locations of the 2,500 stones.

Construction will begin next year on an Alexander the Great theme park at Amphipolis in northern Greece.

Italian authorities levied $22 million in fines on ticketing agencies for buying up tickets for the Colosseum to resell to tourists.

A new study suggests that the gears of the Antikythera Mechanism jammed frequently, making the device not very useful.

Aaron Burke writes about avoiding the ethnicity trap in a new article entitled “The Amorites: Rethinking Approaches to Corporate Identity in Antiquity.”

A new exhibition opened this week at the ISAC Museum: “Staging the East: Orientalist Photography in Chicago Collections”

Members of the American Oriental Society have voted to change the society’s name to “American Society for Premodern Asia” (ASPA).

John Van Seters, a biblical scholar known for his minimalist approach, died last week.

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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The six-chambered Iron Age gate at Ashdod was recently re-excavated so that it can be conserved and opened to the public in a new Israeli national park.

The IDF will allow Israelis a rare opportunity to visit “Solomon’s Pools,” south of Bethlehem, on one day during Passover.

Doron Spielman has been involved in excavations in the City of David for more than 20 years, and he has stories to tell. Mosaic Magazine (registration req’d) has published an excerpt from a forthcoming book that describes a crawl through a long tunnel and the drama concerning the purchase of the Givati Parking Lot.

The latest video in the Biblical Images of God series looks at the metaphor of “Rock of Refuge.”

Zoom webinar on April 16: “The Dying Child: Death and Personhood of Children in Ancient Israel,” by Kristine Garroway

Conference on April 27-29: “Jerusalem through the Ages: New Perspectives.” The conference will be held at Schloss Beuggen, Rheinfelden, Germany, and broadcast on Zoom.

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on April 28: “A Biography of an Excavation: The Austrian-German Expedition to Tell Balata/Shechem 1913–1939,” by Felix Höflmayer and Agnes Woitzuck

Avi Hurvitz, longtime professor of Ancient Semitic Languages at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, died last week.

Jerusalem University College’s Online Summer Institute has announced this year’s classes:

  • Deuteronomy’s Place, taught by Cyndi Parker
  • Exodus: From the River to the Mountain, taught by Oliver Hersey
  • Geographical Voices in the Psalms, taught by Paul Wright
  • Holy People, Holy Land: A Journey through Leviticus, taught by Christine Palmer
  • The Historical and Literary Development of Shabbat, taught by Rabbi Moshe Silberschein

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Wayne Stiles, Ted Weis, Explorator

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Recent excavations of a pyramid-like structure south of Masada suggest that it was a Hellenistic fortress that was later reused as a monumental tomb.

Excavations at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem have uncovered the presence of a garden in approximately the first century.

A monastery and farmhouse have been discovered and excavated at a site north of Beersheba. The underlying journal articles are published in ‘Atiqot.

“A 1,200-year-old clay jug painted in bright colors and ringed with camels and a mystery beast was unearthed by archaeologists at the Horvat Anim site in the Yatir Forest.” There are more photos here.

Aren Maeir visited Tel Ashdod to see the new excavations which will lead to a restoration of the six-chambered gate.

Scott Stripling explains what they have found in the favissa at Shiloh on Digging for Truth.

The IAA is not giving into the Western Wall Rabbi’s demand to return the 5-ton stone to its original location.

Zoom lecture on April 2: “Political Landscapes in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age,” by Andrea Titolo and Alessio Palmisano (Zoom link; recording will be available a few days later on YouTube)

Recently declassified CIA documents reveal that an experiment was conducted in 1988 to locate the ark of the covenant.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Explorator

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Archaeologists excavating Azekah found a new type of female figurine that comes expected forms with new elements.

Radiocarbon dates for the Huqoq synagogue place its construction in the late 4th or early 5th centuries AD, lending support to those who advocate a late date for Galilean-type synagogues.

Ruth Schuster has written a lengthy article for Haaretz (subscription) about various interpretations of the iconography on the Magdala Stone, including the proposal that it depicts God’s chariot in the temple.

Bible Mapper Atlas has published a new poster map of the tribal territory of Zebulun, and the accompanying article explains why the map extends Zebulun’s border to the sea.

The Torah.com has posted an eight-part series on the Amarna Letters, written by Alice Mandell.

David Jacobson and Nikos Kokkinos’s 2022 paper on Agrippa II’s royal triclinium in Jerusalem further strengthens the case against those who want to move the temple to the City of David. I’m told that a book is forthcoming with the conference papers, but this article is already available on Academia.

The Biblical Archaeology Society is now accepting nominations for its 2025 Publication Awards.

New release: Megiddo VII, the Shmunis Excavations of a Monumental Middle Bronze Tomb and its Environs, edited by M.J. Adams, M.D. Cradic and I. Finkelstein (Eisenbrauns, $125)

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on April 16: “‘Trowel Blazers’ in the Archaeology of the Levant & Near East during the Early 20th Century,” by Kathleen Nicoll

The recently announced discoveries in the City of David of the big grooves and standing stone are the subject of the latest episode of This Week in the Ancient Near East.

Jerusalem Seminary is running a 10-day study tour in May entitled “Discovering Jesus in His Jewish Context.”

Bryan Windle summarizes the top ten archaeological discoveries related to Jeremiah in the latest episode of Digging for Truth.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Explorator

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An article in the latest issue of Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament suggests that the Rephaim Valley should be located not in the vicinity of Jerusalem but east of the Elah Valley.

Excavations at Khirbat an-Nahas reveal a marked improvement in technology of copper mining in the early 10th century BC.

Experts are joining forces to protect what may be the last wild olive trees in Israel, located on kurkar ridges south of Haifa.

In an expansive article for Haaretz (subscription), Elon Gilad explains how modern Hebrew addressed the problem of the lack of fish terminology in biblical Hebrew.

Walking The Text’s latest video explores how the Bible uses the metaphor of “bedouin host” for God.

A new study reveals that Greco-Roman statues were “enriched with fragrances.”

With Purim being celebrated this week, Bryan Windle wrote an excellent illustrated essay on the top 10 discoveries related to the book of Esther. Archaeology has done much to illuminate this book!

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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