Lectures Archives - Page 24 of 88

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“Forty-four pure gold coins were recently found hidden in a wall during excavations at the Banias archaeological site.” The coins were minted in the reigns of the last two Byzantine emperors before the Muslim conquest in AD 635.

Mahmoud Hawari has a brief report on the Khirbat al-Mafjar Archaeological Project at Jericho.

As a follow-up to his previous post about a 1st-century synagogue at Chorazin, Carl Rasmussen shares some photos taken earlier this week on the current restoration project.

Leen Ritmeyer shares a number of reconstruction drawings from the Double Gate in Jerusalem, which he identifies with the Beautiful Gate of Acts 3.

The Museum of the Bible and DIVE (Digital Interactive Virtual Experiences) are hosting a virtual tour of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys on November 9. The cost is $20.

Ferrell Jenkins provides some history and photos of Tirzah, the second capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.

Zoom lecture on Oct 26: “One Site, Two Peoples: Phoenicians and Jews at Kedesh of the Upper Galilee,” by Andrea Berlin

Bryan Windle has written another well-illustrated archaeological biography, this one on Hazael, the Aramean king who boasted of defeating Israel and the “house of David” in the famous Tel Dan Inscription.

New release: Encyclopedia of Material Culture in the Biblical World. A New Biblisches Reallexikon, edited by Angelika Berlejung with P.M. Michèle Daviau, Jens Kamlah, and Gunnar Lehmann (Mohr Siebeck, $223).

Eretz Magazine has created a new travel guide to the Herodium, lavishly illustrated with photos, maps, and reconstructions.

New subscribers to Approaching Jerusalem (Chandler Collins) receive a free e-booklet, “Golden Heights: Five Accessible Panoramas of Jerusalem.”

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Ted Weis, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Judah, Lectures, Resources, Samaria, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“The discovery of hidden hieroglyphics within Tutankhamun’s tomb lends weight to a theory that the fabled Egyptian queen Nefertiti lies in a hidden chamber adjacent to her stepson’s burial chamber.”

“Silphion cured diseases and made food tasty, but Emperor Nero allegedly consumed the last stalk. Now, a Turkish researcher thinks he’s found a botanical survivor” (subscription).

Sam Mirelman describes the Babylonian Akītu Festival and the Ritual Humiliation of the King.

Owen Jarus gives a lengthy survey of the history of Babylon.

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology at Harvard University is hosting an event on International Archaeology Day on Oct 15.

Phillip J. Long has written a new book, The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World.

Dan Reynolds will be speaking at the PEF on Oct 13 on “The Inheritance of Christ: Christian Pilgrimage in the Holy Land Before the Crusades, c. 800 – c. 1099.”

“September 2022 proved to be a banner month for discoveries in the world of biblical archaeology.” Bryan Windle reviews the top three.

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Geomagnetic surface surveys at Khirbet al-Minya on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee have revealed an earlier Jewish or Christian settlement.

A new study of the Solomonic-era copper mines at Timna reveals that the enterprise came to a sudden halt around 850 BC because the miners overexploited the sparse desert acacia and white broom trees used to fuel their furnaces (Haaretz subscription).

Carl Rasmussen links to a video that shows evidence for a first-century synagogue at Chorazin. He also shares a photo of the synagogue in 1967 before reconstruction began.

Here is a video of the 7th-8th century AD shipwreck recently discovered off the coast of Israel.

“Hundreds of ancient decorated toga pins, earrings, rings and figurines of animals and idols were found in the home of a man who used to be an antiquities dealer in northern Israel.”

Albright Institute lecture on Oct 27: “The Austrian Expedition to Tel Lachish (2017-2022),” by Katharina Streit & Felix Höflmayer. Register to join by Zoom here.

Marc Zvi Brettler explains the Hakhel Ceremony, in which the assembly gathers together every seven years to read the Torah. This event will be celebrated at the Western Wall on October 11.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of sheep grazing near Tirzah, the second capital of the northern kingdom.

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Holidays, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Negev, Samaria, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Bible Land Passages has just released “The City of David Underground: What’s inside Hezekiah’s Ancient Tunnel?” (8 min).

The Times of Israel has a nicely illustrated story by Aviva and Shmuel and Bar-Am on the excavations of Usha in western Galilee. The site is one of many along the Sanhedrin Trail that has been excavated by volunteers, mostly pre-army teens.

The southern wall of the Temple Mount is being illuminated in the evening as part of a new initiative to attract tourists for evening visits to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has released a new ebook entitled The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future. The book celebrates the 75th anniversary of the discovery with a number of articles by and interviews with leading scholars. (Requires email address)

Leen Ritmeyer shares photos and reconstruction drawings of the Arbel synagogue in Galilee.

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott gives an introduction to the geographical context of ancient Israel.

Experience Israel Now is celebrating their seventh anniversary.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos that illustrate the beauty of the Bible Land.

“Unearth the Land of the Bible” is a 10-day tour sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism to give American Christians exposure to archaeological sites and an opportunity to excavate.

The Caesarea Maritima International Conference 2022 will be held on October 22-26 at NYU’s Washington Square campus. (I don’t have a link at this time.)

New release: Ashkelon 9: The Hellenistic Period, by Kathleen J. Birney (Eisenbrauns; $140; save 30% with code NR22).

The Minerva Center for the Relations between Israel and Aram in Biblical Times has launched a Mini-MOOC, featuring shorter video clips (10-15 min) to introduce major topics of the Center’s research:

Aren Maeir – Hazael of Aram at Philistine Gath
Yigal Levin – Aram and Arameans in Chronicles
Nava Panitz-Cohen: T. Abel Bet Maacah: A border city between Israelites, Arameans & Phoenicians
Omer Sergi – State Formation in the Early Iron Age Levant (11th-8th centuries BCE)
Assaf Kleiman – The Wars of Aram-Damascus against Israel and its Neighbors

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Paul Mitchell

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Philistines, Resources, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery, the National Geographic Museum in Washington DC has an immersive exhibit, “Beyond King Tut.” The University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries is running an exhibit, “Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archives.” They have created a 1.5-minute fly-through video of a 3-D model. Some of the original photos of the tomb’s opening have been digitally colorized. You can view some very high-resolution photographs that were taken in the creation of a facsimile of the funerary chamber in order to reduce the number of tourists.

Zahi Hawass has written a history of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in Cairo.

Zahi Hawass wants the Rosetta Stone to be donated to the Arab Republic of Egypt. (Is this news?)

Friends of ASOR webinar on Sept 15: “The Good Kings: The Modern Obsession with Ancient Egyptian Kingship,” featuring Prof. Kara Cooney and moderated by Prof. Sarah Parcak.

A new exhibition on “Byblos. The World’s Most Ancient Port” will be held at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities from October 14 to March 12.

The British Museum Blog: “Discover how a collaborative international partnership helped restore eight ancient glass vessels after their destruction in the 2020 Beirut explosion.”

The BBC Travel series Ancient Engineering Marvels explores the Ziggurat of Ur, noting that tourism is slowly returning to Iraq.

“A marble statue of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele created 2,350 years ago has been discovered in the ancient city of Antandrus.”

Ahmet Denker has spent 12 years working on a virtual reconstruction of the temple of Artemis in Ephesus.

“Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia are working together on an underwater archaeological expedition, researching the Skerki Bank region off the Sicily and Tunisian coasts.”

The BBC looks at the challenge of understanding what is (and what isn’t) ancient children’s toys.

A digital artist has created a photograph of what he thinks Alexander the Great looked like.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Joseph Lauer, Explorator

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Lebanon, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, New Exhibits, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Israel HaYom surveys the history of Shiloh along with the present quest to discover the location of the tabernacle. Scott Stripling believes he knows the location but is not sure he’ll ever be able to prove it.

“Archaeologists announced Tuesday the discovery of a 1,200-year-old estate in Israel’s southern Negev desert, boasting unique underground structures that allowed its owners to overcome the searing summer heat.”

Nathan Steinmeyer takes viewers to excavations at Tel Shimron in a 4-minute video that is the second in a series on excavating in the Bible lands. Tel Shimron is one of the largest sites in the Jezreel Valley region.

Archaeologists are excavating a fortified village in Samaria that existed at the end of the Bar Kochba Revolt. You can see a drone video of the site here and more information and photos here.

Writing for The Jerusalem Post, Aaron Reich’s article claims to provide “everything you need to know about the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.” It’s a decent introduction.

The oldest synagogue in Jerusalem is a non-rabbinic form of Judaism known as Karaism. Daniel J. Lasker has written a book about the subject, and his post on the ASOR Blog gives an introduction.

“Between the former rains (in autumn) and the latter rains (in spring) Israel receives all its rainfall. Except for this week, when it rained in summer!”

Ferrell Jenkins reports on a recent visit to Taanach.

There is a campaign to turn Hebron Road in Jerusalem into a “pedestrian-friendly space with cafes, bike paths, and more.”

Rejuvenation podcast: “Dr. Jodi Magness, the outstanding archaeologist, prolific writer and excellent educator, joins Eve Harow to talk about her renewed decade long excavation at the ancient Jewish village of Huqoq in the Galilee.”

Zoom lecture on Sept 15: “Flavians in Galilee (67 CE): Their Aims and Activities,” by Steve Mason

The Fall 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on Diaspora Jews living in Jerusalem in the 1st century, the lethal capabilities of slings, and the location of Magdala.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Lectures, Negev, Samaria, Tomb of Jesus, Tourism, Weather, Weekend Roundup