Jerusalem Archives - Page 87 of 195

Wednesday Roundup

I’m traveling this month, and this will be the last roundup before Thanksgiving. If you’re at SBL, come find us in the exhibition hall (booth #411).

Corinth’s Lechaion port has been discovered and it is impressively large.

The British Museum plans to allow you to print 3D artifacts at home.

Elad is appealing a ruling that prevents it from running the Jerusalem Archaeological Park along the southern end of the Temple Mount.

Brian M. Howell reviews Walking Where Jesus Walked: American Christians and Holy Land Pilgrimage for Christianity Today.

With the resident of the Amphipolis Tomb now being studied, the excavation has been concluded.

Robert Cargill critiques Simcha Jacobovici’s claim that he discovered the nails of Jesus’ crucifixion.

He concludes that it is “nothing but religious profiteering.” Another reviewer calls it a “sensationalist money-making scheme.”

Volume 2 of the Khirbet Qeiyafa Excavation Report is now available.

Leen Ritmeyer continues his series showing the Temple Mount through the ages, including during the times of Hezekiah and the Hasmoneans.

Ferrell Jenkins links to a video showing flash flooding in the Qumran area. He also notes some restoration work in the Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion.

Mari is being looted while under ISIS control.

The Wall Street Journal has a video about plans to open Carchemish to tourists in the spring. The site
is only 60 feet away from the control of ISIS. (See here for the transcript.)

HT: Explorator, Ted Weis, Agade, Charles Savelle

Tagged Greece, Jerusalem, Museums, Pseudo-Archaeology, Resources, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Citadel Moat and Kishle Opens Tonight

The Tower of David Museum is hosting an opening event this evening of the Citadel moat and the Kishle. The Kishle has served as a police station for the Israelis, Jordanians, British, Ottomans, and Romans. Some remains have been uncovered from the palace of King Herod. From the official website:

After many years that the Citadel moat was closed to the public, the southern part of Jerusalem’s historic moat has been revived. The ancient builders of the Citadel surrounded the fortress with a dry moat, the first line of defense against enemies. As years passed, the moat served other purposes. It was a market place, a passage way and even a makeshift garbage dump. Excavations in the moat have exposed archaeological remains including an ancient quarry, a ritual bath from the Second Temple, a hewn water channel, secret passageways and a giant stone staircase and pools from the Hasmonean and Herodian eras.
The renewed moat also includes passage to a building that was closed for many years – The Kishla, the Ottoman Prison which was excavated over the last decade and contains remains detailing the history of Jerusalem, from the First Temple period to the establishment of the State. The site is now being opened for group visits. The domed building served as a prison for members of the pre-State underground and evidence of the period remains in a scratched inscription on the walls. Tours and cultural events will take place in the moat and the Kishle.
The public is invited to the opening of the Moat and the Kishle, enjoy music and refreshments. Entrance is free.

This posting indicates that the excavation director, Amit Reem, will be at the event. Guided tours in Hebrew will be available on upcoming Fridays in November for a reasonable charge. An article about the site was published in the Hebrew edition of Israel Hayom last week (page 29).

HT: Joseph Lauer

New City from Citadel of David, tb051908300

Citadel of David
Photo from Jerusalem

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Tourism

Weekend Roundup

A recent excavation at the Tower of David and Kishleh police station revealed a mikveh from Herod’s palace and an earlier wall from the time of Hezekiah. The site is to open to the public next week. (I don’t have any more information at this time.)

An Italian archaeologist wants to restore the Colosseum’s floor.

Wayne Stiles explains why hymn writers use the Jordan River as a metaphor for transitions in the spiritual life.

Part 3 of Mary Magdalene and Magdala is up at the Book and the Spade, with an interview of Father Eamon Kelly, assistant director of the Magdala Center.

Exploring Bible Lands reports on their recent visit to Magdala, a site now extensively open to tourists.

The spoils of Jerusalem on the Arch of Titus are the subject of a Khan Academy video narrated by Steven Fine and Beth Harris.

The first volume of the Gath excavation report is now on sale for an amazingly low price. This is the same work that won the 2013 BAS Award for Best Scholarly Book in Archaeology.

Ferrell Jenkins has great photos of the Cove of the Sower, from land, sea, and air.

William Hallo writes about the fragment of the Cyrus Cylinder that was found in Yale’s Babylonian Collection.

Abram K-J has just posted an extensive review of The Sacred Bridge, arguing that it is the best Bible atlas ever. (I would add that it may be the best ever, but not the best for you, your class, or your church. But you’ll figure out whether it’s for you very quickly from his excellent review of both the print and Accordance versions.)

HT: Paleojudaica

Tagged Galilee, Italy, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Trial Begins in Jacobovici’s Lawsuit Against Zias

Simcha Jacobovici’s lawsuit against Joe Zias opened in court in Israel today. Jacobovici alleges that Zias gave false information to National Geographic with the result that the channel refused to air Jacobovici’s film on the “Jesus Tomb.”

From the Jerusalem Post:

In October 2011, Jacobovici filed a defamation suit against his harshest critic, former Antiquities Authority official Joe Zias, claiming damage of NIS 8.57 million and demanding NIS 3.5m. The case was brought before Lod District Court Judge Ya’acov Sheinman.
The filmmaker claims that while others have disparaged his ideas in a reasonable manner, Zias went beyond legitimate debate and defamed him by initiating a broad-based campaign to directly sabotage lucrative contracts he had already signed and was executing.
Zias’s “tip-off” about some of Jacobovici’s alleged conspiracies came from Joanna Garrett, a woman who was originally a big supporter of Jacobovici’s theories, but who then fell out with him.
Jacobovici said that Zias contacted his broadcaster, National Geographic, his publisher, Simon & Schuster, as well as others, and defamed him with a wide array of false accusations, such as elaborate forgery, paying off people, and manipulating people and events to try to build his credibility.

The full story is here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Tomb of Jesus

Weekend Roundup

Tales of gold are fueling a surge of looting in Jordan.

Jordan wants the Mesha Stele back from the Louvre. The story doesn’t mention that the French saved it after locals tried to destroy it.

LiveScience reports on David Kennedy’s study of the huge stone circles in Jordan.

A temple of Thutmose III was discovered by an Egyptian digging underneath his house.

The Washington University School of Medicine recently did CT scans on three Egyptian mummies.

This week at The Book and the Spade: Part 2 of Mary Magdalene and Magdala with Steven Notley.

The Phaistos Disk has not been deciphered, despite recent claims in a TEDx talk.

This week Wayne Stiles shares 4 Views of Jerusalem Every Visitor Should See.

HT: Charles Savelle, Agade

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan, Museums, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Leen Ritmeyer has begun a new series showing the development of the Temple Mount from the time of Abraham until the Early Muslim period.

Ritmeyer also explains how his forthcoming guidebook on the Temple Mount is different from The Quest.

CoinWeek has an article on the tiniest ancient coins.

Yisrael Hasson is expecting to be appointed the new head of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Scott Stripling describes the four causes of the destruction of antiquities.

Mark Wilson describes his collection of Starbucks mugs from the eastern Mediterranean.

HT: Paleojudaica, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources, Tourism