Bill Schlegel, author of the Satellite Bible Atlas, has just posted a video showing the ascent to Jerusalem from the Shephelah. The 6-minute video uses drone footage to show the modern highway’s route and the new construction. In antiquity, travelers followed the natural routes along the ridges.
Today when we deviate from those ridges, we spend billions to destroy the landscape in the construction of passes, bridges, and tunnels.
The largest stone block known from antiquity has been uncovered in Baalbek. Its weight is estimated at 1,650 tons.
AirCamz’s new video provides the best views of Tel Burna I’ve ever seen.
Lawrence Mykytiuk provides evidence for Jesus’ existence outside the Bible in a new Biblical
Archaeology Review article now online in its entirety.
If you’re interested in the various kinds of nets used in fishing on the Sea of Galilee, Ferrell Jenkins shares many photos.
Scientists at Chicago’s Field Museum recently opened the lid of the coffin of a 14-year-old boy.
Osiris statues have been discovered in the temple of Karnak.
The Book and the Spade looks at Shishak’s scarab.
Most of Syria’s World Heritage sites have been damaged by bombing or looting.
Travelujah describes some of the different tastes of Bethlehem.
Lamb & Lion Ministries is offering its new 2015 Holy Land Calendar for $5. I contributed several of the photos.
HT: Ted Weis, Agade
As a dedication to Sharon Zuckerman, Biblical Archaeology Review has made her two articles available to the public.
Now online: G. M. Grena’s recent NEAS lecture on LMLK seals: Judahite Tithes vs. Assyrian Taxes.
Charlie Dyer explains why Israel is safe.
This week’s edition of The Book and the Spade looks at temples (Megiddo) and tombs (Amphipolis).
Where Are They Now? BAR goes back to check in with individuals featured on former covers of the January/February dig issue.
Seth Rodriquez provides a short introduction to the archaeology of Joshua’s conquest.
It’s December, and that means people are interested in Bethlehem then and now. Begin with Wayne
Stiles’ introduction to the Church of the Nativity. Then see what else is of interest in the city and environs in this Jerusalem Post article.
Rear Vision looks at the history of the contested Temple Mount.
This is a good week to get some fresh illustrations of fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Ferrell Jenkins shares a couple of great images of Tabgha, followed up with a post on fish of the Sea of Galilee with five photos. Leen Ritmeyer shares illustrations on the harbors of the Sea of Galilee.
Three movies being released this month are about ancient Egypt.
A new work from Carta: Understanding the Alphabet of the Dead Sea Scrolls, by Ada Yardeni.
HT: Agade
The scandal of the Roman road to Emmaus is detailed by Nir Hasson in Haaretz. This historic treasure on the outskirts of Jerusalem is not only ignored by the authorities, but they permit cemetery dumps and sewage deposits to foul it. Wherever you locate the Emmaus of Luke 24, whether at Moza or Latrun, this was the ancient route that Jesus and the two disciples traveled.
In honor of Sukkot, we took a walk along the ancient pilgrims’ route to Jerusalem, known as the Roman Ascent.
The road, about two kilometers long, begins at the complex known as the Red House at the bottom and ends outside the Givat Shaul industrial zone. It once led from Emmaus (in the Latrun area) via Abu Ghosh to the Old City. Until a few decades ago it could still be seen and was a popular hiking trail.
Today, it’s not so easy to follow. The trail begins at an ancient pool apparently used until Ottoman times. Accompanied by Israel Antiquities Authority architect Shahar Puni, we started out along the unpaved road, and after a few dozen meters found our way blocked by weeds and trees that had fallen during last winter’s snowstorm. To continue, we had to climb over the wide sewage pipe laid along the way, sometimes right over the ancient road. Twenty years ago the pipe burst higher up the ascent, washing away the soil and a good many of the paving stones. Some 700 meters higher up, we spot curbstones for the first time, and perhaps some paving stones under the dirt.
The rest of the article is worth reading.
Joseph Patrich and Benny Arubas offer four reasons against identifying the mausoleum discovered at the Herodium with the tomb of Herod. Unfortunately, they do not suggest an alternative identification.
Some IAA photos of the Byzantine monastery uncovered near Beth Shemesh are available for download. [link has expired]
The oldest known Jewish prayer book just went on display at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem.
3 Sea of Galilee Sites You’ll Pass But May Not See. Before you click, see if you can guess the three.
Ferrell Jenkins looks at two outstanding architectural remains in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin: the Miletus Market Gate and the Altar of Zeus.
Leon Mauldin has two illustrated posts about the two Temple boundary inscriptions: the complete one on display in Istanbul and the fragment in the Israel Museum.
The Baptist Press runs a story on the Bronze Age water system of Gezer.
Wheaton’s Archaeology Lecture Series 2014-2015 has two lectures remaining.
An electronic edition of supplementary volume of The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological
Excavations in the Holy Land is now available to all members of the BAS Library.
Subscriptions are now available to the Loeb Classical Library, but the prices aren’t cheap and you must inquire by email.
In stock on Monday: the first volume of the Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical and Post-Biblical Antiquity, edited by Edwin M. Yamauchi and Marvin R. Wilson ($20).
HT: Joseph Lauer
A ceramic money box filled with 114 bronze coins from “Year Four” of the First Jewish Revolt was discovered recently in excavations along the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway. From the Israel Antiquities Authority:
According to Pablo Betzer and Eyal Marco, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The hoard, which appears to have been buried several months prior to the fall of Jerusalem, provides us with a glimpse into the lives of Jews living on the outskirts of Jerusalem at the end of the rebellion. Evidently someone here feared the end was approaching and hid his property, perhaps in the hope of collecting it later when calm was restored to the region”. All of the coins are stamped on one side with a chalice and the Hebrew inscription “To the Redemption of Zion” and on the other side with a motif that includes a bundle of lulav between two etrogs. Around this is the Hebrew inscription “Year Four”, that is, the fourth year of the Great Revolt of the Jews against the Romans (69/70 CE).
The hoard was concealed in the corner of a room, perhaps inside a wall niche or buried in the floor. Two other rooms and a courtyard belonging to the same building were exposed during the course of the archaeological excavation. The structure was built in the first century BCE and was destroyed in 69 or 70 CE when the Romans were suppressing the Great Revolt. Early in the second century CE part of the building was reinhabited for a brief period, which culminated in the destruction of the Jewish settlement in Judea as a result of the Bar Kokhba rebellion. This is attested to by three complete jars that were discovered embedded in the courtyard floor.
The full story is here. The story is also reported by Arutz-7 and The Times of Israel.
HT: Joseph Lauer
