Issam Salsaa of Bethlehem has created a number of detailed models of Jerusalem and Bethlehem that are quite impressive. You can check out his YouTube videos to see several of them:
The Citadel of David (and a second)
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher
The Church of the Nativity (and with lights)
Archaeologists working at Kibbutz Magen near the Gaza Strip have discovered a Roman-period marble dolphin statuette.
This week, ISIL is apparently planning to turn the site of Jonah’s tomb into a park. The Iraqi authorities consider that a crime.
Israel is considering the restoration of Khirbet al-Minya, an Umayyad palace near the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Continued research has been approved for the Antikythera shipwreck.
Sites in Izmir are bringing in the tourist bucks.
The latest video from SourceFlix is an explanation of the topography of Jerusalem.
Archaeologists recently discovered a Byzantine-era mosaic floor at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
You can sign up for a chance to win a trip to the Grand Opening of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
Logos users might want to grab the Ancient Context Ancient Faith set while it’s on pre-pub.
Ferrell Jenkins describes his return to the ruins of Samaria.
Luke Chandler offers some “tidbits from the tell” on his first week in digging at Lachish this year.
There will be no roundup next weekend.
HT: Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Agade
Using maps from the Satellite Bible Atlas and new aerial imagery, Bill Schlegel has created a video that takes you from Jericho up to Jerusalem along the ancient route. Jesus traveled this way many times including on his way up to the city to present himself as king. This was also the route of the man whose life was saved by the Good Samaritan.
The 11-minute video includes aerial photos and video taken from a drone, and includes some spectacular imagery of the Judean wilderness in the spring when the hillsides are green. Few people are able to travel this 18-mile route today.
You can see more videos and subscribe to the Satellite Bible Atlas channel here.
To mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Palestine Exploration Fund, the University of Haifa and the Gottlieb Schumacher Institute are inviting papers for a December conference on “PEF and the Early Exploration of the Holy Land.”
Gershon Galil proposes another reading of the Ishbaal inscription from Khirbet Qeiyafa.
Terrorists were killed attempting an attack at the Karnak Temple in Luxor.
Egypt’s new Suez Canal will open in August.
Israeli tour guide Max Blackston points out the irony of ultra-Orthodox rabidly defending a “tomb of David” created by the Crusaders.
Antiquities thieves convicted of pillaging a cave in the Judean wilderness above Nahal Tseelim have been sentenced to prison terms of 18 months.
Islamic State militants are making millions selling antiquities from Iraq and Syria.
The British Museum is guarding an artifact looted from Syria in hopes of returning it when the country is stable.
More than 21,000 artifacts have been transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum, more than half of which have recently been restored. The article does not give the current estimate for the museum’s opening date.
The Greek Museum of Underwater Antiquities is slated to be opened near the ancient harbor of Athens in Piraeus.
io9 suggests seven archaeologists whose lives can be compared to Indiana Jones.
Smithsonian.com provides tours by drone of three ancient sites, including the Colosseum in Rome.
The TV series “Dig” has been cancelled due to poor ratings.
The BAS Blowout Sale has some big markdowns, including the BAR archive now down to $30.
Eisenbrauns is turning 40 next month. You can download their latest catalog here.
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Explorator, Paleojudaica
Archaeologists have discovered a Byzantine church near Abu Gosh during construction to widen Highway 1. UPI has five photos of the excavation. High-res photos may be downloaded here.
Haaretz has posted a 1-minute video in Hebrew with English subtitles.
The season at Khirbet el-Maqatir (Ai?) is underway with Bryant Wood giving a report from the first week and Suzanne Lattimer giving a report from the second week.
A summary of the first week of excavations at Tel Burna includes many photos.
If you’re interested in knowing more what’s involved in an archaeological excavation, you can check out this year’s manual for the Tell es-Safi/Gath excavation.
Israel has approved a scaled-down version of a visitor’s center in the City of David. Both sides claimed victory.
An Israeli judge ruled that Joe Zias overstepped the bounds of proper academic criticism and awarded a judgment of $200,000 to Simcha Jacobovici. Jacobovici had been seeking $3 million.
The Herodium and Herod’s palace at Jericho provide some striking geographic ironies of Jesus and Herod the Great.
PEF posts a photo with Starkey, Petrie, and Tufnell.
Ferrell Jenkins reports on recent changes made at the site of Capernaum.
Leon Mauldin explains and illustrates the significance of Nahal Besor.
Carl Rasmussen has long wanted a tour of the excavations under the Kishle and yesterday his wish was fulfilled.
The New York Times reports on how tourism in Jordan is suffering due to the conflict in Syria. That is too bad; Jordan is safe and has many important biblical sites.
Here are five reasons you shouldn’t buy that ancient artifact.
This week on the Book and the Spade Gary Burge discusses his new book, A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion.
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer
This summer’s excavation on Mount Zion begins soon. Here’s how you can help even if you can’t be in Jerusalem.
Leen Riitmeyer reports on a second arch of Titus uncovered in Rome. And he describes how his search to find the Dedicatory Inscription in the Colosseum ultimately succeeded.
If you’ve ever wondered how they raised animals from underneath the floor of the Colosseum, the
Telegraph has an illustrated article showing a reconstruction of the elevators. A 2-minute video shows the process. This is part of a government project to restore the floor of the Colosseum.
James H. Charlesworth has written a lengthy and informative review rebutting David Stacey and
Gregory Doudna, Qumran Revisited: A Reassessment of the Archaeology of the Site and its Texts.
Wayne Stiles explains how the four quarters of Jerusalem will be united.
“Wilderness” is the title of a symposium of Biblical scholars from the Universities of Manchester, Sheffield and Lausanne University of Lausanne.
The British Museum is lending 500 artifacts to a new museum in Abu Dhabi for five years. This includes “the world’s finest single Assyrian panel: the Banquet Scene (645-635BC).”
There is fear in Iraq for the safety of the traditional tomb of the prophet Nahum.
The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on Solomon’s temple, Akhenaten’s monotheism, the Gospel of Thomas, and the missing pages of the Aleppo Codex.
Congress has passed legislation making it illegal to sell looted artifacts from Syria.
The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. hosted a Tyre Day Symposium to raise awareness about the city’s history.
“Of Kings and Prophets” is a new series beginning this fall on ABC.
A clumsy tourist fell and smashed a 4,000-year-old vase in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum on the island of Crete.
Barry Britnell is sharing photos of last year’s trip as he prepares to lead next year’s trip. Today: Northern Galilee and the Hula Valley.
HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer