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Excavation results have been published for a salvage dig at Zanoah, a site located near Beth Shemesh and mentioned in Joshua 15:34 and Nehemiah 3:13 and 11:30.

Jerusalem Post: “A scroll unearthed in the Judean Desert is shedding light on the ancient practices of astrology and mysticism in a discovery that has intrigued historians and archaeologists alike.”

Haaretz: “Archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of a Canaanite temple built to greet the rising sun atop the mound of Azekah.”

“Archaeologists have discovered about 8,600-year-old bread at Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic settlement in central Turkey.”

“The Pompeii Archaeological Park is launching a 100-million-euro project aimed at regenerating the archaeological and urban landscape of the ancient Roman city. As well as reimagining the way visitors interact with the site, the project will carry out the largest archaeological campaign at Pompeii in more than 70 years.”

Jason Borges shares highlights from his recent trip through Caria, including stops at Magnesia, Bodrum (Halicarnassus), Tlos, and Oenoanda.

A professor at Columbia University is leading the Mapping Mesopotamian Monuments project.

Haaretz (subscription): Roman routes are an “unexploited tourist opportunity” in Israel.

In conjunction with the “Legion” exhibit now at the British Museum, Mary Beard writes about the role of women in Roman military life.

“The Louvre’s Department of Near Eastern Antiquities is hosting ten major works from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, whose Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art is currently closed for renovation.” Now through September 2025.

Webinar on April 18: “Amorites, Their Origins, and Their Legacy,” by Aaron Burke ($7-13)

Aren Maeir shares three of his more popular lectures now on YouTube.

New release: 1 & 2 Kings: A Visual Commentary, by Martin O’Kane (Sheffield Phoenix, $47.50 with code “scholar”). “With its over one hundred and seventy-five full-colour images, from Christian mediaeval manuscripts and Persian and Ottoman miniature paintings to contemporary Jewish art, the volume shows why stories from 1&2 Kings feature so prominently in the artistic and cultural worlds the three religions have helped to shape.”

The Lexham Geographic Commentary set is now on sale for Logos Bible Software at 55% off. For $108, you get three volumes that have already been released and three that are forthcoming.

Bible Mapper Atlas has posted a collection of map links for Holy Week, including two for Sun/Mon, two for Tues/Wed, and two for Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser

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“A rare coin from the time of the Bar Kochba revolt, bearing the name ‘Eleazer the Priest,’ has been discovered at the foot of a cliff in the Judean Desert by Israeli archaeologists.” The IAA is also welcoming the public to join them in the hunt for antiquities in the Judean wilderness.

The bust of a huge statue of Ramses II was discovered in the el-Ashmunein area in Minya Governorate in Egypt.

Archaeologists have uncovered a painting in the House of Leda at Pompeii that “depicts Phrixus and Helle, two twins from Greek mythology, as they travel across the sea on a magical ram while fleeing from their evil stepmother.”

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has inaugurated its Biblical Studies and Archaeology Center.

The NY Times has a story on the purple dye factory at Tel Shiqmona.

With the opening of the entrance pavilion to the Tower of David Museum, The Jerusalem Post has a story about the design and construction process.

Amy Erickson explores the question of why the story of Jonah was so frequently depicted in the catacombs of Rome.

The plant remains discovered in the Philistine temples at Gath are the subject of the latest episode of This Week in the Ancient Near East.

Nathan Steinmeyer explains why the Babylonian king Nabonidus may be considered the world’s first archaeologist.

Zoom lecture on Mar 12, 11:00 Eastern Daylight Time: “The cities of the Zagros and their scenes on the Assyrian wall reliefs,” by Dlshad Aziz Marf (Zoom link)

Dewayne Bryant is a guest on Digging for Truth to talk about the historicity of King David.

Now online: The full episode of National Geographic’s “Buried Secrets of the Bible with Albert Lin: Sodom & Gomorrah” (45 min)

The latest Jerusalem in Brief looks at “a tower named after a Philistine giant, some new books, and a dinner party in the middle of World War I.”

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Gordon Dickson, Keith Keyser

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The oldest gold artifact discovered in Jerusalem attests to Phoenician presence in the city in the time of King Solomon. Writing for Haaretz, Ariel David disagrees.

“The discovery of numerous plants in two temples unearthed at [Gath] unraveled unprecedented insights into Philistine cultic rituals and beliefs – the food ingredients in their temple, the timing of ceremonies, and plants for temple decoration.”

A new multi-level sunken entrance pavilion opens this month for the Tower of David Museum.

Abigail Leavitt provides a report on the short excavation season at Fazael (Phasael) in the Jordan Valley.

Israel’s Good Name reports on his visit to the Lod Mosaic Center.

Shmuel Browns has posted a few drone photos taken around Israel.

Carl Rasmussen’s video series “Encountering the Holy Land” for Logos Bible Software is on sale ($18).

Course registration is now open for Spring online courses at the Jerusalem Seminary, including Biblical Feasts, Biblical Hebrew, Israel Matters, and Jewish Life: Then and Now. Scholarships and discounts are available.

I will be speaking next month in Jerusalem University College’s Culture Counts online series on “The Psalms of David and Solomon.” Registration is free and includes access to the recording.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Gordon Dickson, Gordon Franz, Steven Anderson

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Şanlıurfa Archeology and Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum complex, the largest museum in Turkey, has reopened after last year’s flood disaster.

A new study claims that the King Prism of Sennacherib was sold illegally to the British Museum.

A 12-year-old student build a small-scale version of Archimedes’s “death ray,” and he concluded that it would have worked.

The Greek Reporter explores the connection of the Greek alphabet to Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The “Digital Coin Cabinet of the University of Trier” includes 500 coins, mostly from the Roman era, available for free use in teaching and publications.

Oxford “is offering a free, online semi-intensive course in Phoenician, which will take place on 8-13 April 2024.”

The new electronic Babylonian Library is the topic of discussion in the latest episode of Thin End of the Wedge.

Sargon II is the subject of the latest archaeological biography by Bryan Windle.

New release: Was There a Cult of El in Ancient Canaan? Essays on Ugaritic Religion and Language, by David Toshio Tsumura (Mohr Siebeck, €129).

Now on Academia: Tom Lee’s PhD dissertation “Nabonidus: The King of Babylon (556-539),” completed in 1990 under W.G. Lambert

Open access: On the Way in Upper Mesopotamia. Travels, Routes and Environment as a Basis for the Reconstruction of Historical Geography, edited by Adelheid Otto and Nele Ziegler (Gladbeck, 2023)

Jan Assmann died this week.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken

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Archaeologists believe they have uncovered the 1st-century villa where Pliny the Elder watched Mount Vesuvius erupt.

“Archaeologists conducting extensive excavations in the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu, now known as Tello in southeastern Iraq, have unearthed twin temples built on top of each other.”

Egypt’s “project of the century”—a reinstallation of the granite cladding on one of the pyramids of Giza—has been cancelled.

Turkey will be expanding its “Night Museums” project with the goal of setting new records in tourism every year.

“Archaeologists working in Saqqara recently unearthed three funerary masks at least 1,800 years old.”

A new study claims that “ancient Romans used the poisonous nightshade Black henbane as a hallucinogenic drug.”

New release: Teaching Ancient Egypt in Museums: Pedagogies in Practice, edited by Jen Thum, Carl Walsh, Lissette M. Jiménez, Lisa Saladino Haney (Routledge, $40-$170)

Hybrid lecture on May 23: “From Ground to Page: Wrapping up the University of Michigan/University of Minnesota Excavations at Kedesh,” by Andrea M. Berlin

Revelation Media is creating an animated Bible project comprised of seven-minute episodes that will eventually cover the entire Bible.

Carmen Joy Imes writes about some connections to the Old Testament that she observed during a recent tour of Egypt with James Hoffmeier.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

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“Architectural remains of the 1,800-year-old Roman VIth ‘Ferrata’ Iron Legion military base were uncovered in a recent excavation carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) at the foot of Tel Megiddo.” But archaeologists are concerned that they will pave it over instead of incorporating it into a larger archaeological park.

Raz Kletter is not convinced there is an inscription on the Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet.

The Jerusalem Post gives a history of the little-known Ein Dor Archaeology Museum.

The latest issue of “Jerusalem in Brief” takes a look at “Kerosine street lamps, a historical photo of Dung Gate, Jerusalem’s lighthouse, and one ridiculously expensive book.” That expensive book is available as a free scan at archive.org.

Registration is now open for the 2024 excavation season at Tel Burna.

Emanuel Tov explains how the copying of Torah scrolls became sacred.

Zoom lecture on Feb 27: “Dawn of the Aleph Beit,” by Orly Goldwasser, Christopher Rollston, and Yossi Garfinkel. This is a panel discussion jointly hosted with the AIAS and British Friends of the Hebrew University.

“The February Bible and Archaeology Fest on February 24 & 25 offers live talks from 13 leading Bible scholars and archaeologists via the Zoom app.” Topics include Phoenicians, Nabateans, Ophel excavations, and sacred prostitution in ancient Corinth. The $149 registration fee includes access to the recordings.

Accordance Bible Software has a sale on graphics resources, with up to 67% off.

The Bible Mapper Atlas has created some new, free maps:

Charles Savelle shares some Valentine’s Day card ideas.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

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