“Siloam Street,” now dubbed “Pilgrims Way,” leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount, was inaugurated recently.

Excavations begin this summer at Kiriath Jearim and applications for volunteers are being accepted.

Carl Rasmussen recently took the “Behind the Scenes of the Western Wall” in Jerusalem tour and shares some photos.

The Roman milestones on display along Highway 38 (the “Diagonal Route” in the Shephelah) have unfortunately been moved to KKL-JNF’s Givat Yeshayahu offices.

The 2016 issue of ‘Atiqot has been released.

The Fall 2016 issue of the electronic newsletter DigSight has been published.

Restoration work on the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is nearly halfway done.

Archaeologists will begin using robotic submarines in excavations of Atlit-Yam.

Who are the Christians in Israel today?

Islamic guards attempted to evict Gabriel Barkay for saying the words “Temple Mount” on the Temple Mount.

Reuters has created a photo story on the Sea of Galilee.

Wayne Stiles has written a great post on the many interesting sites in the Golan Heights.

The Atlanta Jewish Times has a story about the Biblical History Center in LaGrange, Georgia, and a second story about its founder, James Fleming.

“Ancient Jerusalem in VR” is now available on Google Play ($1.99)and the Apple store ($2.99). You can find some screenshots and videos here. Note: the support website is down at this writing.

You can now experience Petra with a 360º experience for Google Cardboard

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Explorator, Pat McCarthy, Paleojudaica

I didn’t want this one to get lost in the weekend roundup, so here’s a link to the newly released, all-free video series entitled “Following the Messiah,” produced by Appian Way and featuring Barry Britnell. We have mentioned this several times in the past, including when they were raising funds for the project on Kickstarter. The work is now complete, and all five videos are posted on their website. You won’t have to watch very long to see that the production quality is first-rate. Each episode is 20-25 minutes in length. You can’t beat a personal visit to Israel, but for those who aren’t able to go, or for those eager to return, this is a terrific resource. A big thanks to Appian Way and to all of their supporters who made it possible!

A stone bowl inscribed with the name “Hyrcanus” was discovered in the City of David. Since the name was common in the Hasmonean period, it is not clear if it belonged to one of the two rulers with this name. High-res images are available here.

A bronze coin with the image of Antiochus Epiphanes was discovered during maintenance work in the Citadel of David Museum in Jerusalem.

Mary Shepperson, a free-lance archaeologist working on five projects in Iraq, describes work in the new excavations of Charax Spasinou.

Archaeologists have discovered a large “lost city” about 150 miles north of Athens.

The Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes (CAMEL Lab) at the Oriental Institute of the
University of Chicago would like to announce that a substantial subset of its digital holdings of maps and geospatial data are now available for online public search and download.”

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is asking readers to Name That Find!

The IAA has completed a detailed survey of the village of Lifta ahead of its planned replacement by a new neighborhood.

Before and after photos reveals the significant war damage in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Ferrell Jenkins recounts his 2002 visit to Aleppo and its museum.

New research suggests some ancient Egyptians believed a deceased woman had to briefly become male in the afterlife in order to be reborn. Reader Ted Weis notes that this theory corresponds with saying #114 in the Gospel of Thomas.

Egypt is trying to stop the auctioning of Egyptian relics around the world.

A stolen relief of Queen Hatshepsut has been restored to Egypt.

Bricks of ancient Babylon have been used in rebuilding houses in the area.

The Tower identifies “seven fascinating discoveries Israeli archaeologists made in 2016.”
Kudos to Dr. Chris McKinny!

Carl Rasmussen describes an “unknown” Christmas site near Bethlehem.

We wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! We’ll be traveling for several weeks and roundups will return when we do.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis

I have mentioned previously the “Following the Messiah” video series being created by Appian Media. They’re wrapping up post-production now and have scheduled two public showings of Episodes 1 and 2 in January. Tickets are free and the event is open to the public.

You can find out more and secure tickets for the January 14 showing in Indianapolis here, and for the January 21 date in Birmingham here.

You can check out the trailer for the videos here. All five videos will be available for free at Appian Media on January 14th.

A winepress from the 1st century BC has been discovered in Ashkelon.

A gang of antiquities thieves were caught in the act of plundering ancient tombs in Galilee.

Heritage Daily lists the top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2016, including the ancient shipwreck found at Caesarea.

The January/February 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes stories on Khirbet Qeiyafa and the Pool of Siloam.

Wayne Stiles’s post on Bethlehem includes lots of photographs.

SourceFlix has released a new video short entitled “Born in Bethlehem.”

Ferrell Jenkins has created an index of his numerous articles related to Bethlehem.


National Geographic History: “How King Herod Transformed the Holy Land

Israel’s supreme court is hearing a petition to identify the Western Wall Tunnels not only as a holy site for Jews but also for Muslims and Christians.

A staff member explain why the Temple Mount Sifting Project is so important and you should consider supporting it.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle, Paleojudaica

A tomb with a number of well-preserved frescoes from the Hellenistic or Early Roman periods has been discovered in northern Jordan.

A dozen sculptures recently unearthed at Perga are now on display in the Antalya Museum.

The BBC runs an interesting story on the Muslim families that lock and unlock the Church of the Holy Sepulcher each day.

“A crew of facial reconstruction experts have successfully recreated the face of a male who lived in the Biblical city of Jericho.”

Scanning technology has provided 3-D images of unwrapped mummies from ancient Egypt.

A pair of mummified knees are most likely those of the famously beautiful spouse of Pharaoh Ramses II.”

James Davila considers the reemergence of the Jordanian lead codices and links to an insider perspective.

Archaeologists working in the Wadi Feinan region of Jordan believe that they have found evidence of the world’s first polluted river.

The breed known as “Jacob’s sheep” have returned to Israel.

The Jerusalem Post runs a story on Douglas Petrovich’s theory that the earliest alphabet was Hebrew.

The US and Egypt have come to an agreement regarding the importing of looted archaeological artifacts.
Recent damage to the ancient site of Mari is discussed by archaeologist Pascal Butterlin in a short video (in French).

Relics looted from Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra have been recovered in Switzerland.

“Radiocarbon dating remains a reliable tool if it is supplemented by 13C measurements.”

“Why would the Lord first announce the Messiah’s birth to lowly shepherds?” Wayne Stiles explains.

In light of the recent excavation of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Gordon Govier at Christianity Today explains why there are two competing sites for the place of Jesus’s burial.

The late Charles Ryrie’s Bible collection has been sold to various collectors for more than $7 million. 
Daniel Wallace was one of the bidders and he provides more details. I wonder how many of the 
purchases will show up in the Museum of the Bible.
The Westminister Bookstore has a big sale on the ESV Bible Atlas, described by them as “‘National Geographic’ meets world class Biblical Scholarship.” You can look inside here.

HT: Charles Savelle, Explorator, Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer