Weekend Roundup, Part 1

One thousand female figurines have been found in Jerusalem, but until now no such mold has been discovered in the city. Archaeologists found one when sifting soil from the Kishle excavation south of the Tower of David Museum. Lauren K. McCormick gives more background on Judean Pillar Figurines, including some explanations for why so few molds have been found in Israel.

“A municipal employee searching for lost jewelry on the beach in Ashdod instead uncovered a rare 2,500-year-old coin from ancient Cyprus, which archaeologists say is the first of its kind ever found in Israel.”

A raid of a home of an antiquities thief in the Jordan Valley recovered “approximately 400 ancient coins, pottery fragments, several arrowheads, an antique dagger, and multiple seals and rings, all dating to the Persian, Hellenistic, Hasmonean, and Byzantine eras.”

Aren Maeir visited the excavations at Tel Shadud and Hazor.

“The top three reports in biblical archaeology in July 2026 featured evidence of Judahite idolatry, remains from the Babylonian destruction in Jerusalem, and the discovery of three, previously unknown Assyrian kings.”

Online lecture on Oct 6: “When Worlds Collide: Mediterranean Mercenaries and Israel’s Genesis,” by Aaron Burke (BAS Scholars Series, $10)

New release: Jewish Quarter Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem Conducted by Nahman Avigad, 1969-1982, Volume X: Area M (The Peristyle House), by Ronny Reich (Israel Exploration Society, $111)

First time for sale on Kindle: Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age, by Tom Holland (Basic Books, 2023; $1.99)

SBL Press is running a $5 flash sale through August 2 on three ebooks related to Phoenicia when you use code PHOENICIA:

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Burnt sycamore beams from the First Temple period were discovered in the Givati parking lot excavation in the City of David. Researchers believe they belonged to the roof of an inner courtyard that was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

An engraved reed discovered in a cave in Wadi Murabba’at is the only such object from the Middle Bronze ever found in the Levant. The underlying journal article is here.

“The discovery of a controlled cultic deposit in Area D at Shiloh, near the presumed Tabernacle location, provides a rare archaeological window into early Israelite ritual practice.”

Glenn J. Corbett writes about the damage to Gaza’s archaeological heritage caused by the war.

Itzchak Tessler writes about different views for where the ark of the covenant and the lost Temple treasures are today.

Joshua Schwartz surveys Josephus’s writings on the temple.

The 29th Annual Bible & Archaeology Fest will be held on Nov 7 and 8 on Zoom. Speakers include Orly Goldwasser, Chang-ho Ji, Thomas Levi, and Brent Nongbri.

Jerusalem University College has announced ten online courses for the fall, including:

  • Biblical Jerusalem and Its Explorations, by Chandler Collins
  • Ancient Egypt and the Bible, by Oliver Hersey
  • The Life and Times of Paul, by Chris Vlachos
  • Geography of the Gospels, by Steven Notley

Bryan Windle explains the significance of the Lachish Letters on Digging for Truth.

Aren Maeir has submitted for publication an introduction to the archaeology of the land of the Bible.

Abigail Van Huss writes about her participation in an excavation on Mount Bezek.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The first season of excavations have begun at Ashdod. Aren Maeir visited and notes that the focus is on understanding the gate’s function, dating, and plan. Abigail Van Huss reports on her experiences as a volunteer in week 1 and week 2.

“The ‘Secrets of Huqoq’ exhibition is now featured at the Yigal Allon Center Museum at Kibbutz Ginosar. The Samson mosaic is on display along with photographs of other mosaics.

Aren Maeir gives an update on two controversial matters related to archaeological authority in Israel.

Rafi Glick proposes that two tunnels in the Judean wilderness were designed to manage flash floods and recharge local groundwater reserves.

Jo Elizabeth tells the story of how the Great Isaiah Scroll (and three others) traveled 12,000 miles on its way from a Qumran cave to a Jerusalem museum.

Homeland Security agents in Tampa seized 12,000 ancient artifacts that came from the eastern Mediterranean.

Open-access: Ancient Technologies, Methods of Production and Installations in Israel—Essays in Honor of Rafael Frankel, edited by M. Eisenberg, U. ‘Ad, and E. Ayalon (Zinman Institute of Archaeology, 2025)

New release: Researching a Rigged Game: Digital Approaches to Tracing the Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects, edited by Emiline Smith and Summer Austin (Springer Nature, open-access)

New release: Thinking, Speaking and Representing Animals in Western Asia, edited by Laura Battini (Archaeopress, £16-55)

The latest issue of Tel Aviv includes a few open-access articles.

The schedule is online for this past week’s “Bringing Ancient Greek and Hebrew Literature into Conversation: An International Conference.”

Kiersten Neumann, ISAC Museum Curator, ISAC Research Associate, and Lecturer in Department of Art History, delivered this year’s commencement address for her alma mater, the Department of Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley.

HT: Agade, Wayne Stiles, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Recently discovered photographs of a building underneath Hebron’s Machpelah have led to the proposal that Herod built the complex as a sacred precinct for his own tomb. A 2025 journal article is online here, and a 2026 journal article is here.

Bryan Windle just returned from supervising at the Shiloh excavations, and he shares three significant discoveries they made this year.

The Herodium was the stage for the grand opening of a conference hosted by an organization who wants to transform archaeological ruins in Judea and Samaria into “premier educational, cultural, and tourism destinations.”

“A governmental vetting committee on Thursday nixed Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu’s nominee to lead the Israel Antiquities Authority.”

The “Tracing Scribes and Scrolls” project has been awarded €2.5 million to understand the origin and creation of the Dead Sea Scrolls using analytic chemistry, AI, and paleography.

On Digging for Truth, Scott Stripling discusses the evidence from Manetho for the identity of the pharaoh of the exodus.

New release: New Studies in the Historical Geography of the Ancient Near East, edited by Kyle H. Keimer, Chris McKinny, Aharon Tavger (Archaeology of the Biblical Worlds; De Gruyter, $121; Amazon)

First time on sale on Kindle: Populus: Living and Dying in Ancient Rome, by Guy De la Bédoyère (U of Chicago Press, $2.99)

Shmuel Browns shares photos from his hike up Mt. Ebal.

Leon Mauldin shares a couple of photos of the Arbel cliffs and the Sea of Galilee.

I see that Carl Rasmussen’s useful website, HolyLandPhotos.org, has a beautiful redesign, including a new AI Search feature.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists found two well-preserved marble busts from the Roman era in a Byzantine winepress near the coastal town of Binyamina.

Ariel David writes about the recently published mother-of-pearl seal found at Tel Hadid. Zev Stub reports on the artifact for The Times of Israel.

Avraham Faust has proposed that a massive cultic stone (massebah) at Tel ‘Eton was toppled as part of Hezekiah’s reforms.

Abigail Van Huss reports on the final week of excavations this year at Shiloh.

Lauren K. McCormick writes about the 1st-century synagogue at Tel Rekhesh in Galilee.

This week’s Jerusalem Tracker identifies the latest blog posts, digital resources, developments, and upcoming events.

David Begoun describes his first visit to see the Madaba Map.

Clinton Moyer gives an overview of Lawrence H. Schiffman’s BAR article on the temple in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The second international “Archaeology and Site Conservation in Judea and Samaria” conference was more controversial than the first one.

Conference at the Albright on July 7-9: “The Eleventh Century CE: Archaeology and History: An International Conference.” Register here.

On the Biblical World podcast, Jason Borges talks with Chris McKinny about his book, Christian Life in the Greco-Roman City.

On Digging for Truth, Ted Wright discusses ancient creation myths.

Following the death of a US citizen, his family returned to Egypt “a granite sphinx head, a bronze hippopotamus figurine, a double bronze statue of a king, and a bronze statue of the Egyptian deity Sobek.”

“The Israeli government on Tuesday approved designating Route 60 — the highway stretching from Nazareth in the north to Beersheba in the south and passing through some of the most significant sites in history—as the ‘Biblical Highway.’” This includes the ridge route known to students as the “Road of the Patriarchs.” When looking for more information, I found a 2023 movie entitled “Route 60: The Biblical Highway.” It’s curious to me that the trailer never once shows any part of the ancient route.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working at Shiloh discovered three well-preserved Middle Bronze storage jars.

Abigail the Archaeologist gives a report on Week 3 in the excavations at Shiloh and describes what a typical day is like.

Erez Ben-Yosef believes that the hundreds of Iron Age sites in the Negev highlands were related to copper mining in the Arabah.

Chandler Collins continues to do excellent work in rounding up the latest publications related to Jerusalem. The newest Jerusalem Tracker identifies new books, book reviews, book chapters, articles, and excavation reports released in the last few months.

Bryan Windle highlights the top three reports in biblical archaeology from the month of May.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project gave two presentations at the 50th Archaeological Congress, and summaries have been posted along with one of the presentations (in Hebrew).

Zoom lecture on June 24: “Archaeology, the Gospels, and Understanding First Century Roman Galilee,” by James R. Strange ($10)

New release: Animals and Society in the Iron Age to Persian Period: Economy, Culture and Environment, by Lidar Sapir-Hen (Elements in the Archaeology of Ancient Israel; Cambridge University Press; open-access until June 24).

Hadashot Arkheologiyot—Excavations and Surveys in Israel (HA–ESI) is now online. The current volume is available, and earlier volumes will be added in the coming months.

After spending a week doing conservation work, Shmuel Browns shares some photos of mosaics on display at the Inn of the Good Samaritan Museum.

HT: Alexander Schick, Agade, Arne Halbakken

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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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