A stone weight from the first century with the name of the high priest has been discovered in Jerusalem. Ynet has more photos and a video in Hebrew.

Israel’s largest archaeological garden was opened this week on a military base in Tel Aviv.

Archaeologists working at Petra have discovered two statues of Aphrodite.

“Excavations in the volcanic desert of Jordan have uncovered three surprisingly advanced fortified settlements with artificially irrigated terraced gardens, dating to 6,000 years ago.”

Someone is claiming to have discovered one of the stones from the high priest’s breastplate.

“Excavations at Tatarlı Mound in the southern province of Adana’s Ceyhan district have unearthed an impression seal from a monumental Hittite-era structure.”

Aviv and Shmuel Bar-Am provide a virtual tour of the excavations of Ramat Rahel.

Israel’s Good Name describes a recent visit to Chorazin (Korazim) and the first century Galilee boat.

Wayne Stiles suggests that the Transjordanian tribes settled for “second best” and he applies that principle for us today.

Leen Ritmeyer analyzes the paving stone tiles released by the Temple Mount Sifting Project and
suggests they came from “the interior of some of the many buildings that surrounded the Temple and/or from under the colonnades around the smaller courts.”

The Hebrew Music Museum opened earlier this year in Jerusalem and features 260 instruments.

This week Southern Adventist University opened a new exhibit entitled “A World in Miniature:
Creation, Cosmos, and Ecology on Seals from Biblical Times.” The museum’s website does not appear to have information yet on this new display.

The ASOR Blog identifies their five most popular posts of the summer.

The British Institute at Ankara has published nine volumes in the series Roman Roads and Milestones of Asia Minor, all available without charge in pdf format.

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

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Archaeologists working in Manisa in western Turkey have discovered a dinner set that dates to 150 BC.

Philippe Bohstrom profiles the Phoenicians and their contributions to civilization.

A map of all of Egypt’s archaeological sites and museums has been created, with a digital version to be released online next month.

An underwater Roman era basilica found only 20 meters off the shore of Lake İznik in the northwestern province of Bursa will be revived for tourism, as an “underwater museum” project at the site is underway.”

The Bolton Museum is planning to spend millions of pounds to create a new Eternal Egypt Gallery.

Michael Harbin looks at the Bible, archaeology, and modern patterns to understand what an agricultural community in the time of the Judges might have looked like.

The World Video Bible School has released the first five of a scheduled 20 programs. These include
Jerusalem, Jesus’s northern ministry, Dan, the Mount Gilboa region, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade

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An in-depth article by the Atlantic Monthly has uncovered the original source for the fake Jesus wife papyrus. The Harvard professor who published the artifact now believes that it is probably a modern forgery.

With the help of Google Earth and drones, researchers have discovered a massive ceremonial platform in Petra.

The Jerusalem Post has an update on the on-going renovations at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.

One of the discoveries is a mosaic of an angel.

A $1.3 million gift has launched the restoration of the Edicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

People are speculating on what they will find.

“Some 1,800 years ago, Roman troops used ‘whistling’ sling bullets as a ‘terror weapon’ against their barbarian foes.”

Israeli authorities have ordered the Jordanian Waqf to halt construction of toilets just outside the Temple Mount.

A collection of 16 coins from the Hasmonean period were discovered in excavations in Modiin.

A Greek archaeologist thinks he may have found the tomb of Aristotle. Others disagree.

“Massive fortifications and sunken ship-sheds thousands of years old have been found in Piraeus, the harbor city of Athens.”

Canaanites living in Gath in the Early Bronze Age were sacrificing animals imported from Egypt.

The journal article is available here.

The Giza pyramid is not square. The ancients were off by about 5 inches (14 cm).

The Guardian has posted a dozen photos of excavations in Egypt in the 1910s, including several of John Garstang.

The Bible and Interpretation has posted an important new article: Addressing Survey Methodology in the Southern Levant, by Aaron Tavger, Joe Uziel, Dvir Raviv, and Itzhaq Shai.

Scott Stripling is on The Book and the Spade this week talking about the latest from his excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir.

Wayne Stiles traces the geography of God’s dwelling place on earth.

You don’t see this for sale very often: Survey of Western Palestine, 1881 – 1888, 9 vols and 78 maps/plates (set) & The Survey of Eastern Palestine 1889. $10k.

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

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Archaeologists working at Jerash (biblical Gerasa) have discovered part of a life-size statue of Aphrodite.

“American and Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a rare structure called a nilometer in the ruins of the ancient city of Thmuis in Egypt’s Delta region.” It was built in the 3rd century BC and used for 1,000 years.

British archaeologists have identified the remains of a 16- to 18-week-old mummified fetus that was found in Giza nearly 100 years ago.

The Antiquities Ministry of Egypt has completed a project to lower the groundwater at the Edfu Temple.

A plan has been approved that will remove all the mines around the traditional area of John’s baptisms on the Jordan River.

Haaretz (premium) visits the site of Tell el-Ajjul, once a prosperous Canaanite city south of Gaza but today at risk of complete destruction.

“Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion which cannot be moved but abides forever” (Psalm 125:1). Wayne Stiles uses photos to explain what this means today.

Two archaeology students have crowdsourced images to create a VR reconstruction of the Mosul museum. The article includes a cool YouTube 360 video.

The Palestinian Museum opened this week in Bir Zeit, but it has no exhibits.

The enforcement of a new antiquities law is making it harder for black market antiquities to be sold in Israel.

Israel will be returning two Bronze Age wooden anthropoid sarcophagus lids found by IAA agents in an Old City dealer’s shop.

Of 28 Egyptian obelisks standing today, only 6 are in Egypt. That’s one of many interesting facts about obelisks in a WSJ article that is based on a book by Bob Brier entitled Cleopatra’s Needles.

Allison Meier reviews the new exhibition in NYC, “Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus.” The article includes many photos.

Charles Jones has recently updated the list of titles in JSTOR which focus on Antiquity. It now includes 243 titles.

Dubgallu is a new forum for scholars of the ancient Near East. Registration is free, and open to anyone who academically studies the ancient Near East.

There’s a sale on for various electronic editions of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Old and New Testaments Logos, Accordance, and Olive Tree.

The Atlas of Palestinian Rural Heritage looks interesting. Some themes covered: Tilling – Harvesting – Moving the Harvest – Threshing – Sifting – Grinding – Making Dough – Baking Bread – Cooking – Making Grape Syrup – Sesame Oil – Olives and Olive Oil – Storage – Bard – Domestic Birds – Honeybee Farming – Milk – Shepherd – Washing – Water – Gathering Rainwater.

If you have a passion for biblical geography, perhaps you would consider supporting Seth Rodriquez to go to Zimbabwe to teach future pastors about the land of Israel. This is a great opportunity to help others learn about what we love.

I’ll be traveling for a few weeks and the regular roundups will resume when I return.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Steven Anderson

Old City from west, db6605212212
On this day 50 years ago, David Bivin took this photo while standing on the edge of no man’s land looking toward the Old City of Jerusalem, then occupied by Jordan. Photo from Views That Have Vanished.
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[UPDATE: The sale appears to be over. There are some new copies selling at 50% off in the Marketplace.]

I’m not sure why, and I’m not sure how long it will last, but at the moment Amazon is selling Chris McKinny’s new book for 90% off ($83.95 marked down to $8.61). My People as Your People: A Textual and Archaeological Analysis of the Reign of Jehoshaphat came out a few months ago and it’s a beautiful synthesis of historical and archaeological research on a particularly important era in Judah. Here are the chapter titles:

  • Chapter One: Introduction
  • Chapter Two: Israel of the Omrides
  • Chapter Three: The Battle of Ramoth-gilead in 1 Kings 22:1-36, 2 Chronicles 18, and Historical Implications from the Tel Dan Stele
  • Chapter Four: Jehoshaphat’s Reign According to 1 Kings 22:41-50
  • Chapter Five: An Archaeological Survey of Judah in the Late Iron IIA Using Archaeology as a Source for Reconstructing History
  • Chapter Six: Conclusion

The hardcover book is 159 pages plus an extensive bibliography. It is published by Peter Lang in their American University Studies series.

Readers of this blog know Chris McKinny from his many contributions here, including:

So I thought you’d want to know about this steal while it’s available.

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Shmuel Browns reviews the new “Pharaoh in Canaan” exhibit at the Israel Museum and shares many photos.

Carl Rasmussen gives two reasons why he likes to visit Magdala.


Haaretz posts several impressive photos from this year’s celebration of the Samaritan Passover.

Tom Powers visits the Pools of Siloam through photographs of the American Colony. He also suggests (in a comment) that both pools existed from much earlier than the time of Jesus and he proposes distinct purposes for each.

“In an area of Israel that offers fewer attractions to visitors, Tel Arad is like coming upon an oasis of archeology.”

Fifteen years after the excavation of the “Cave of John the Baptist,” Popular Archaeology revisits the site with James Tabor.

Birket Ram is an interesting lake in the Golan Heights. Ferrell Jenkins looks at several historical sources and shares a wide-angle photo.

Leon Mauldin pays tribute to Ferrell Jenkins on his 50th Anniversary Tour.

A slackliner walked from one tower to another in the Tower of David Museum. Video here.

A 23-year-old Israeli hiker fell to his death when climbing in Wadi Rum in Jordan.

An oil deposit has been discovered near the Dead Sea.

The Biblical Museum of Natural History opened in Beit Shemesh in 2014.

It’s time to stop referring to the urban legend about NASA discovering Joshua’s long day.

Emek Shaveh has petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to halt the transfer of the library and artifacts from the Rockefeller Museum to west Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Authority has responded that they’re only moving the library to protect fragile books.

Archaeology of Jordan Online went live this week. They provide a lot of great links (but don’t yet list our photo collection).

The latest edition of The Holy Land Magazine is online and features articles on Magdala, Shiloh, Tiberias, and Neot Kedumim


Revue de Qumrân is finally available on JSTOR.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle, Paleojudaica

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