Jordan Archives - Page 23 of 39

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:

A History of the Kingdom of Israel, by E. Lipinski (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 275)
Archaeology and History of Eighth-Century Judah (Ancient Near East Monographs), edited by Zev I. Farber and Jacob L. Wright (hardback, paperback, free pdf)

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Dead Sea, Discoveries, Galilee, Golan, Greece, Jordan, Museums, Resources, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

James Tabor provides a short report on this summer’s excavations on Mount Zion. A press release is forthcoming on their discovery of the continuation of the Cardo, and a long-term goal is to create an archaeological park showcasing the first-century priestly mansion.

Haaretz reports on the tomb in northern Jordan decorated with spectacular frescoes. This is apparently a re-write of a CNRS News article.

With the beginning of a new Jewish year, The Jerusalem Post writes about discoveries of the past year.

Sergio and Rhoda have create a nice 12-minute video on the recent excavations of el-Araj (Bethsaida?).

Carl Rasmussen visits the likely pool in Jericho where King Herod had his high priest murdered.

The latest at the ASOR Blog: “Life of a Salesman: Trade and Contraband in Ancient Assyria,” by Mathilde Touillon-Ricci.

AJU’s Whizin Center and the Simmons Family Charitable Foundation’s 28th Annual Program in Biblical Archaeology includes a lecture by Michael G. Hasel on “The Age of David and Solomon: New Archaeological Discoveries for the Early Kingdom of Judah” on February 4.

Steven Notley will lecturing at Nyack College on Oct 18, 6:30 pm, on “Finding Bethsaida: Year 3 of the El Araj Excavation Project.”

The Smithsonian Magazine surveys the reviews of the “Out of the Blue” exhibit now at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem.

SBL is making available as a free pdf, Invention of the First-Century Synagogue, by Lidia D.
Matassa, with chapters on Jericho, Masada, Herodium, Gamla, and Delos.

On sale for Kindle: Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible ($3)

HT: G. M. Grena, Charles Savelle, Agade, Lois Tverberg, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Stanford University researchers believe they’ve found evidence of the world’s oldest brewery in the Raqefet Cave, near Haifa.

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh writes about an ancient convent discovered at a possible site of Hannah’s tomb (Haaretz premium).

Haaretz (premium) has an article on the history of the pomegranate.

Aren Maeir will be teaching a MOOC entitled “Biblical Archaeology: The Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Judah” and a trailer is now out.

There is a conference today on Ctesiphon, and Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo from his visit to this city in Iraq.

Luke Chandler explains why there is an island in the Sea of Galilee now.

Leon Mauldin has written an illustrated post about the revolt of Libnah and Edom.

The Institute of Biblical Culture is offering new courses in October, including the Samaritan Pentateuch and Ancient Near Eastern Texts.

New from Oxford University Press: The Oxford Illustrated History of the Holy Land, edited by H. G. M. Williamson and Robert G. Hoyland.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Steven Anderson, Gordon Franz

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jordan, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The Getty Museum has opened a new exhibit featuring the Rothschild Pentateuch along with old copies of the Bible and Quran.

The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem has released Out of the Blue, a catalog for its exhibition on dyes of the ancient world.

The British Museum will be returning eight ancient artifacts looted from Iraq after identifying the temple where they originated.

The Oklahoma exhibit of the seals of Hezekiah and Isaiah has been extended from August 19 until January 27, 2019.

The BBC posts a series of photos from the Sinai Trail, a 137-mile (220-km) path that runs from the Gulf of Aqaba to Jebel Katarina.

Ben Witherington traveled this summer to Greece, Israel, and Jordan, and the first of 40+ illustrated posts is here.

An ASOR fellowship recipient writes about her experience in the last season of excavations at Omrit in Galilee.

Clyde Billington and Gordon Govier discuss the latest discoveries from the ARTIFAX magazine in this week’s episode of The Book and the Spade.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project met their funding goal.

It wasn’t only Solomon who imported cedars of Lebanon for his building projects, explains Ferrell Jenkins.

The Uffii Digitization Project is making 3-D images of many Greek and Roman sculptures.

The Biblical Archaeology Society links to a number of virtual tours, including Isaiah, Pharaoh in Canaan, and the Lachish Reliefs.

Jean-Claude Golvin has created beautiful reconstructions from all over the ancient world, including Egypt, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and more.

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Egypt, Greece, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Museums, New Exhibits, Temple Mount, Tourism

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists have discovered a large Neolithic village in Motza not far from Jerusalem.

Researchers working in northeastern Jordan have found early evidence of breadmaking.

The sealed black sarcophagus from Alexandria has been opened to reveal three decomposed bodies.

A pottery-making workshop from the 4th Dynasty has been discovered in Aswan.

Excavations at Sardis have uncovered military equipment believed to have been used in the war with the Persians.

A mysterious papyrus housed at the University of Basel since the 16th century is now believed to be a medical document written by the physician Galen.

The seasons have wrapped up at Gath and Tel Burna.

Scott Stripling speaks about this year’s excavations at Shiloh on The Book and the Spade.

Israel’s Good Name’s tour of Lower Galilee took him to Tel Shimron, Tel Hanaton, Horvat Rosh Zayit, and Tel Keisan.

Mary Shepperson writes an interesting piece about the history of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq.

John DeLancey shares a drone video he created of the Philistine site of Gath. [Link updated]

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of a replica of the Shema servant of Jeroboam seal that he purchased in the late 1960s.

Leon Mauldin shares several photos of the cities of the Decapolis.

Wayne Stiles looks at lessons to learn on temptation from the pinnacle of temple.

Lawrence H. Schiffman reflects on the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls in light of the 70th anniversary of their discovery.

I have learned that the new book, A Walk to Caesarea, by Joseph Patrich, will soon be available in the Biblical Archaeology Society store. I’ll include a note in a future roundup when it is.

You can get 30% off all Eisenbrauns titles with code RAI18.

If you’ve benefited from the ministry of Bryant Wood, you can learn how to support his work here.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ted Weis

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judah, Philistines, Resources, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 4

A glazed ceramic head from Tel Abel Beth Maacah that dates to the 9th century BC went on display last week at the Israel Museum.

Scholars have mapped ancient Gerasa using aerial photography and airborne laser scanning.

“For the first time ever, archaeologists have been able to cast the complete figure of a horse that perished in the volcanic eruption at Pompeii.” Several horses were found in the stable, apparently unable to evacuate in time.

A newly unearthed house at Pompeii has many colorful frescoes of animals and has been dubbed the “House of Dolphins.”

A tourist was caught trying to steal some pottery and marble from a house in Pompeii.

A skeleton discovered in northern Italy may provide the second known archaeological evidence of Roman crucifixion.

The ancient Greek city of Bargylia in southeastern Turkey is now up for sale for $8.3 million.

The Levantine Ceramics Project is a crowd-sourced tool designed to make it easier for archaeologists to share information about all things ceramic.

The Getty Museum has acquired a fine, 2nd-century AD Roman marble portrait bust of a man.

A Roman mosaic stolen from Syria was seized at the Palmdale, California, residence of the accused smuggler.

“Armstrong International Cultural Foundation will host the world premiere of ‘Seals of Isaiah and King Hezekiah Discovered,’ an archaeological exhibition, from June 10 through Aug. 19.”

Scholars in Israel using radiocarbon dating for the Iron Age may have a faulty calibration curve.

“We are pleased at the University of Bologna to announce the creation of the new didactic channel in English language ‘OrientLab’ on YouTube.com, which has educational purposes for the archaeological community working in the Near East and beyond. The OrientLab videos intend to serve as a guide for beginners on specific topics.”

The “first-century fragment of Mark” that has long been rumored about has been published and dated to the second or third centuries. Though not as early as hoped, it is still likely the earliest copy of Mark’s gospel.

The video interview of Cyrus Gordon now has an indexed transcript. (I found watching the interview worth my time, and I’m grateful now to have a transcript.)

The contents of the July/August issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is online.

Here is an updated list of all the free Loeb volumes.

BibleWorks is closing.

Philip Davies, Professor Emeritus at the University of Sheffield, died on Thursday.

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Italy, Jordan, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Sad News, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup