Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A discovery at Tanis indicates that Shoshenq III was buried not in his own tomb but in an unmarked sarcophagus in Osorkon II’s tomb.

“Researchers in Istanbul have confirmed the existence of an underwater copper mine near Heybeliada (Greek: Χάλκη, Latinized: Halki) island, providing rare archaeological evidence for a description recorded by Aristotle more than 2,300 years ago.”

Excavations in Tunisia have uncovered the second largest Roman olive oil mill in the Roman empire.

A monumental staircase leading to nowhere may give evidence that a large villa in Pompeii had a viewing tower.

Alex Joffe writes about the use of animal dung as fuel in ancient Mesopotamia.

Zoom lecture on Dec 9: “From Pasargadae to Neyrīz, ca. 500 BCE: The View from the Persepolis Fortification Archive,” by Rhyne King

Students who climbed onto the roof of a temple of Apollo in Cyprus have been criticized.

Mick Boersma, a longtime professor at Talbot School of Theology and faithful friend to me and this ministry, is with the Savior he loved so much and served so well.

HT: Agade, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A new geological and archaeological study has mapped dozens of ancient stone quarries hidden beneath today’s Jerusalem.” You can find the underlying article and map here.

Aren Maeir notes that more announcements are forthcoming related to the Pool of Siloam excavations.

An elaborate Byzantine mosaic discovered west of Beersheba has been conserved and relocated and is now on public display.

In part 3 of his series on the latest research on Jericho, Bryan Windle shows that the pottery discovered at the site indicates that Jericho was inhabited at the time of Joshua’s conquest.

“The ancient Jewish prutah of Hasmonean Judaea and the modern American penny share far more than their diminutive size and copper heritage; they reflect timeless tensions between intrinsic value, symbolic meaning, and practical utility.”

Hybrid lecture at the Museum of the Bible on Dec 7: “Explore the Sacred Symbolism of the Magdala Stone,” by Marcela Zapata-Meza ($15-40)

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 15: “Our Life in Light: Ancient Lamps, Faith, and Festivals of Illumination,” by Benyamin Storchan

Zoom lecture on Dec 10: “Building God’s House: Synagogues, Churches, and Intercommunal Relations in Late Antique Palestine,” by Zeev Weiss

“A new initiative using the National Library of Israel’s digital Hebrew manuscript database will enable automatic transcription of the entire Cairo Genizah, making the world’s largest trove of medieval Jewish texts searchable and accessible worldwide.”

“The Lord’s Prayer” feature film released this week. This new website has links to the trailer, the movie, the book, and how you can get involved. (I watched it last night, and it is one jaw-dropping scene after another.)

William Varner, a long-time colleague, and David Hegg, the senior pastor at the church where both Will and I serve, have just released Matthew’s Messiah: His Jewish Life and Ministry, an exposition of the Gospel with special focus on the Jewish backgrounds. This study has been a passion of Dr. Varner’s for many years, and the full-color volume is illustrated with many of my photographs. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m told the book is beautiful. Here is a link to the book on Amazon, but the publisher has a lower price right now.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Andy Cook, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Israel has begun pumping desalinated water into the Sea of Galilee, making it the first such effort anywhere in the world. They expect the effort to raise the lake’s level by 0.2 inches per month. The lake is currently only 1 foot above the lower red line.

“A 4,300-year-old silver goblet featuring the earliest depiction of the Creation narrative from the Near East tradition echoes the struggle between chaos and order from the book of Genesis, a new study published on Thursday suggests.” The authors of the underlying journal article have written a short piece for ANE Today.

“Ivory from sub-Saharan Africa was imported to the Land of Israel between 1600- 600 BCE, overcoming geopolitical changes in both arenas, a new study analyzing over 1,500 artifacts and fragments excavated at 46 sites in the region has shown.”

A recent study analyzed hundreds of Chalcolithic cornets from Teleilat Ghassul and concluded that they were lamps used for ceremonial fire processions.

Lawrence Schiffman has written a short article for Ami Magazine explaining the significance of recent research on Masada, including the overturning of some common views.

Winners have been announced for the BAS 2025 Publication Awards.

I’ve learned that the exhibition of the Great Isaiah Scroll has been postponed due to issues of climate control and will now open in February 2026. Perhaps they will extend the exhibit into the summer to compensate.

A bill introduced in the Israeli parliament would transfer control of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron to Israeli authorities.

Jerusalem University College has announced its lineup of spring online courses, including:

  • Biblical Archaeology II, taught by Kyle Keimer
  • The Book of Revelation and the Seven Cities of the Apocalypse, taught by Chris Vlachos
  • Cultural Backgrounds of the Bible, taught by Oliver Hersey
  • The Parables of Jesus and the Rabbinic Meshalim, taught by Steven Notley

Israel’s Good Name reports on a summer excursion to the Sharon Beach Nature Reserve.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A 5,000-year-old wine press has been unearthed next to the iconic archaeological site of Tel Megiddo, providing the earliest evidence of wine production in the Land of Israel.” There are more photos here.

After years of survey work, a couple of Israeli archaeologists identified the probable location of the ancient synagogue in the Syrian village of Yehudiya in the Golan Heights. Then they confirmed it with excavations.

Archaeologists discovered red fox tracks in the fresh plaster of a Byzantine wall at Bethsaida (el-Araj).

Chandler Collins has written an excellent summary and analysis of the newly discovered “Siloam Dam” in Jerusalem. 

Work is underway on a Visitor Education Center on the Mount of Olives. The story includes other details about the area, such as the cost of a burial plot in the cemetery.

The entire Great Isaiah Scroll will be on display at the Israel Museum to mark the museum’s 60th anniversary.

Iran is not happy about the British Museum’s plan to loan the Cyrus Cylinder to the National Library of Israel. [EDIT: This story is from early 2024. The Cyrus Cylinder has not been in Israel since this story was written, as far as I know.]

New from IAA Reports: Khirbat ‘Amra: A Rural Site from the Hellenistic to Early Islamic Periods in the Beʼer Sheva‘ Valley, by Itamar Taxel and Noé D. Michael (open-access).

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 3: “The Legacy of Hansen House in Jerusalem,” by Susan Kennedy-Arenz. “This talk will describe the living conditions of Jerusalem’s leper community prior to the establishment of the first leper hospice in the mid-19th century.”

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 10: “The Rise of Christianity in Galilee: A Perspective from the Jewish Cities of Sepphoris and Tiberias,” by Shulamit Miller

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 17: “Albright 2025: The Year in Review,” by Director James Fraser

Preserving Bible Times is streaming Digging Deeper I (The Great Commission) and Digging Deeper II (The Jewish Mind of Jesus’ Day), free on YouTube.

Leon Mauldin shares several photos of the ancient city of Jokneam.

Logos subscribers can purchase Holman Illustrated Guide to Biblical Geography: Reading the Land, by Paul H. Wright, for about $8.

Alumni of Jerusalem University College are invited to an alumni gathering in Boston during the Annual Meetings.

Wayne Stiles is hosting an advanced tour of Israel next year, with visits to places that most groups never visit (including Dothan, Samaria, Solomon’s Pools, Bethany, Temple Mount, an optional 10-mile hike and river rafting, and more).

The new Job volume in the Photo Companion to the Bible includes 1,600 photos. The introductory sale ends in a few days.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists have found remains of 95 dolmens from the Early Bronze Age in the Madaba region of Jordan.

“Archaeologists have discovered a 3,500-year-old military fortress with a zigzag-style wall in the north Sinai Desert of Egypt.”

Egyptian officials are worried about a ceiling crack in the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

“Greece said on Thursday it had agreed with Egypt on the future of St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Egypt’s Mount Sinai.”

Archaeological work is progressing on a large, “circular, labyrinthine building [that] has no known parallel in prehistoric Crete or the wider Aegean region.”

Expedition Bible’s latest video is about the Amarna Letters, which Joel Kramer states in the introduction are “the most powerful evidence outside of the Bible for the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land.”

Clinton Arnold and Sean McDowell discuss the recent excavations at Colossae on the Think Biblically podcast. Fox News has some new photos of the excavation.

The first results have been published from “Pompeii Reset, a non-invasive program that used three-dimensional recording and modeling to re-examine the House of the Tiaso.”

“3D models of the Sela inscription of the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (556-539 BCE) can be seen at the Sketchfab’s page of the GRACPE-UB research group.”

Hybrid lecture at Harvard on Nov 12: “Decoding the Pyramid Statues of King Menkaure,” by Florence Dunn Friedman

The ESV Archaeology Study Bible Notes are available for pre-order at Logos.

Amazon is listing for pre-order two long-awaited volumes in the Lexham Geographic Commentary series – Historical Books, volume 1 (Joshua–Ruth) and volume 2 (1 Samuel–Esther). They are also available for pre-order on Logos (vol 1, vol 2).

Open-access: The South Palace Archives in Babylon: Administrative Records in the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, by Olof Pedersén (Harrassowitz)

The Johns Hopkins University Archaeological Museum has re-opened after a three-year renovation.

HT: Agade, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists excavating Colossae found 60 Hellenistic-era tombs.

New details on Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, have been gleaned from ongoing deciphering of the carbonized papyri from Herculaneum.

A new study provides insights into the origins of the Karnak Temple.

“Research shows that women might be represented in Mycenaean iconography instead of men, changing the interpretation of Mycenaean society.”

The ancient site of Persepolis is threatened as “the surrounding ground is dropping by several inches to over a foot each year.”

For the first time in 20 years, the Parthenon in Athens is not obstructed by scaffolding. For one month.

“For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, visitors to Rome’s world-renowned Colosseum will have the opportunity to walk through a hidden imperial passage that once allowed Roman emperors to reach the ancient amphitheater unseen.”

A Roman gravestone of a sailor has turned up in an overgrown backyard in New Orleans.

More volumes are available in open-access for the Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period and Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian Empire series.

Mohr Siebeck has made some books available as open-access.

The Lawrence T. Geraty and Douglas R. Clark Center for Near Eastern Archaeology (CNEA) at La Sierra University is hosting its 17th annual Archaeology Discovery Weekend on November 15-16, with both in-person and online registration options available (all free).

The ICR Discovery Center is hosting a Biblical Archaeology Conference on November 8, with presentations by Titus Kennedy and Randall Price ($15/$30).

The Friends of ASOR are hosting a tour next spring: “From Carthage to Djerba: The Archaeology of Tunisia.”

Mary and Carl Rasmussen are leading a “not for credit” study tour of Turkey and Greece next April and May.

Phillip J. Long reviews Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide, by David A. deSilva, positively, recommending that it be required reading before visiting the sites.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick, Explorator

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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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