Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“An extremely rare, minuscule biblical stone weight inscribed in ancient Hebrew script with the word “beka” was discovered in rubble taken from excavations at the foundations of the Western Wall.”

“Archaeologists exploring Montfort Castle in the Galilee discovered a previously unknown, richly decorated Gothic hall where the secretive knights’ order gathered for their assemblies.” (Haaretz premium)

A member of the Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project believes that civilization on the northern end of the Dead Sea were obliterated by “a massive airburst caused by a meteor” circa 1700 BC, leaving the region desolate for at least 600 years. The claim is explicitly linked with Sodom’s destruction in a 2015 conference paper available here.

A tomb at Megiddo now provides the earliest evidence for the use of vanilla.

The Times of Israel has more background on the release of photos of biblical scenes from the mosaics of the synagogue of Huqoq.

Alexander Wiegmann’s YouTube channel includes photogrammetric models, including one of the Mount Ebal altar.

A conference is being held next month in Jerusalem to refute the recent theory that the temple was not located on the Temple Mount.

You can see what a day of digging at Tel Burna is like with this new 10-minute video produced for this year’s ASOR conference.

I’ve been using and enjoying Readwise this past month. It’s a great way to review my Kindle highlights. Use this link to get a free month for you (and for me).

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Gordon Franz, Chris McKinny

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Mosaics from the synagogue of Huqoq have been published in full for the first time, including scenes of Jonah and the fish, the tower of Babel, Noah’s ark, the parting of the Red Sea. The scholarly publication is forthcoming in BASOR.

Mark Hoffman mentions a new project that maps Paul’s missionary journeys. It looks quite impressive, though if the pop-ups don’t work for you on one browser, you might try another. You can support further development of the project here.

Onomasticon.net is a new website that provides “a comprehensive collection of personal names and their various characteristics from the Iron II Southern Levant.”

The controversy over the plan to construct a cable car to Jerusalem’s Old City continues.

A conference commemorating the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Mesha Stele will be held on Nov. 29 in Jerusalem.

Israel’s Good Name describes his latest field trip to Megiddo and Hazor, guided by Aren Maeir.

Registration has opened for the free MOOC taught by Aren Maeir: “Biblical Archaeology: The Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Judah.”

The new courses for December at The Institute of Biblical Culture are “Assyria and the Bible” and
“The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

In a clip from this summer’s Institute of Biblical Context conference, Doug Greenwold explains the significance of Psalm 23’s reference to “still waters.”  All of the conference DVDs are now available for a very good price.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The nymphaeum in downtown Amman has reopened to the public.

A Palestinian was caught trying to smuggle 70 ancient coins from Jordan into the West Bank.

Another man was arrested for trying to smuggle two tetradrachm from the time of Alexander the Great out of Gaza.

The Guardian posts a review of the “I am Ashurbanipal” exhibit that opened this week at the British Museum.

The British Museum Shop offers a number of interesting items related to the Ashurbanipal exhibit.

The Vatican Museums are considering putting a daily cap on the number of visitors.

A new festschrift honors Aren Maier: Tell it in Gath: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Israel.

Ada Yardeni’s final book, The National Hebrew Script, is now available for pre-order at Carta.

New from Baylor University Press: Magdala of Galilee: A Jewish City in the Hellenistic and Roman Period, edited by Richard Bauckham.

The Land and the Book audio program visits the Oriental Institute Museum.

Scott Stripling, Scott Lanser, and Henry Smith discuss “Relating the Bible to Archaeology” in the latest episode of Digging for Truth.

Flash floods in Jordan killed 12 and forced the evacuation of 4,000 in Petra. Here’s another video and several more showing the deadly torrent.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Paleojudaica, Alexander Schick

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

An archaeological team working at Hatnub in Egypt has discovered the ancient system used to transfer stone blocks from the quarry.

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered parts of a booth with a seat from the time of Ramses II.

“Archeologists at the University of Toronto are in advanced negotiations with Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism to establish an archeological park at Tell Tayinat.”

Over 2 million tourists visit Pamukkale in Turkey annually, but many of them never see the impressive remains of Hierapolis next door. Ferrell Jenkins shares a beautiful photo of the Pamukkale springs.

“Lawrence of Oxford” is a new exhibition at the Magdalene Libraries and Archives that focuses on the early life of the man later known as Lawrence of Arabia.

The Harvard Semitic Museum Youtube channel offers various short videos as well as lectures.

A relief from Persepolis valued at $1.2 million was stolen a couple of times before researches at the

Oriental Institute helped provide evidence that led to its seizure and repatriation.

A rare, 3,000-year-old Assyrian relief sold for $31 million, tripling the pre-sale estimate of $10 million.

New book: A. Lichtenberger & R. Raja, eds., The Archaeology and History of Jerash. 110 Years of Excavations.

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade, A.D. Riddle

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

After being closed for six years to protect artifacts during the civil war, Syria’s National Museum of Damascus has reopened.

A Haaretz premium article suggests that the Israelites at Dan worshiped the Lord. “Suggestive finds include seal impressions with Yahwistic names, temple architecture, and artifacts typical of Yahwistic temple rituals.”

The latest in Brad Gray’s Psalm 23 series looks at the rod and staff (and sling) of the shepherd.

Israel’s Good Name has written a couple of posts about the Autumn Raptor Migration.

Biblical Israel Ministries and Tours has begun a new series of short devotional videos: “It Happened Here—Life Lessons from Israel.”

A snake crawled out of the stones of the Western Wall above the women’s prayer area, creating a bit of a scare.

Glenn Corbett and Jack Green explain the tremendous value of the ACOR Photo Archive.

A new 17-minute film entitled “Paul in Athens” reconstructs the famous events of Acts 17. This documentary was created by Yaron Eliav and the University of Michigan TLTC Team.

John McRay, longtime professor of New Testament and Archaeology died in August. The Book and the Spade shares an archived interview with him about Athens in the Time of Paul.

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade

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Weekend Roundup

An intact 2,400-year-old ancient Greek shipwreck, believed to be the world’s oldest, has been found at the bottom of the Black Sea.

The Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. announced that independent testing revealed that five of its Dead Sea Scroll fragments “show characteristics inconsistent with ancient origin and therefore will no longer be displayed at the museum.” Kipp Davis, who initially questioned their authenticity, thinks that more fragments held by American institutions will be proven to be forgeries.


Haaretz (premium) has an article on the new excavations at Tel Shimron, a biblical site that is three times larger than Megiddo.

At least 19 people were killed when a flash flood swept away a group of students touring on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea.

The Smithsonian magazine looks at the work of Virtual Wonders in using drone and other advanced technology to create extremely detailed 3D models of Petra. The article includes a video preview of their work.

“For a video game that includes bloody mercenaries, extraterrestrial beings, and time travel, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey is shockingly faithful to our contemporary historical understanding of what Ancient Greece looked like during its golden age.”

Leon Mauldin shares photos and descriptions of Troas and Gamla.

Two new books on ancient Israel:

HT: Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Charles Savelle, Agade

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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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