Lectures Archives - Page 43 of 92

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

An Israeli soldier discovered a rare coin dating to AD 158 from the ancient city of Geva Phillip near Megiddo.

Israeli archaeologists recently re-discovered a dolmen in northern Galilee in a search inspired by the memoirs of Prince Albert and Prince George (later King George V). The underlying journal article is here.

A portion of the “altar site” on Mount Ebal has been destroyed by road construction work. Israel’s President has asked the Ministry of Defense to investigate.

King Manasseh’s reign is illuminated by archaeological discoveries, as Bryan Windle shows in his latest archaeological biography.

Barry Beitzel is interviewed about his background in biblical geography and his recent work on the Lexham Geographic Commentary series.

Tributes to Hershel Shanks have been shared by Suzanne Singer, Daniel Silliman, Aren Maeir, and the Washington Post. The full Shanks commemorative issue of BAR (from 2018) is now open to all, including kind words from Christopher Rollston and others.

Albright Virtual Workshop on Feb 22: “‘The loss of a minute is just so much loss of life’: Edward Robinson and Eli Smith in the Holy Land,” by Haim Goren.

Jonathan Robker gives some tips for finding and using digital resources related to biblical studies and material culture.

Registration is now open for Infusion Bible Conference (formerly The Institute of Biblical Context Conference), June 14-16, in Franklin, Tennessee.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Lectures, Samaria, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The earliest evidence for the production of olives for eating has been found off the coast at Haifa.

The Bible Sleuth describes a relief that may provide a mention of the biblical David that is earlier than the Tel Dan Inscription and the Mesha Stele.

“Herod the Great Gardener” is the subject of this week’s episode on The Book and the Spade, with guest Kathryn Gleason.

A preliminary list of archaeological excavations in Israel this year is pretty short.

Renovation work has been completed at the Western Wall.

John DeLancey has created a video on Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

John Currid explains “Why We Dig: The Importance of Biblical Archaeology.”

Lawrence H. Schiffman looks at the evidence that connects John the Baptist with the Essenes/Qumran group and concludes that there is no reason to believe him was ever a member.

On Logos for $1.99: Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries That Bring the Bible to Life, by Titus Kennedy.

Ordinary Jerusalem, 1840-1940: Opening New Archives, Revisiting a Global City, edited by Angelos Dalachanis and Vincent Lemire. Available for free as a pdf.

David Hendin, author of Guide to Biblical Coins, talks about what makes a true collector.

The Jewish News looks back on early news stories of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Glenn J. Corbett is the new editor of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Online lecture on Feb 4: “Temples and Tabernacles: How the Ancient Israelites Worshipped,” by David Ilan.

Online lecture on Feb 10: “Exploring a 3D Model of the Ancient Beth Alpha Synagogue,” by Brad Erickson

Since Shmuel Browns wasn’t guiding tourists in 2020, he took lots of photographs, and he shares his favorite ones on his blog. My favorite is “Olive Tree in Shomron.”

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Photo Resources, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Global Smyrna Meeting on the Seven Churches

An interesting and unique opportunity available this summer is the Global Smyrna Meeting on the Seven Churches of Revelation. Organized by Tutku Educational Travel, this week-long program (June 20-26) has two features that are especially noteworthy: (1) travel to the cities of all seven churches; (2) study with some of the best scholars of the New Testament.

Speakers include Mark Wilson, Ben Witherington, Mark Fairchild, Carl Rasmussen, Jeff Weima, Dana Harris, and Linford Stutzman.

The touring time is much more significant than with a tour group. For example, the schedule provides 4.5 hours touring of Pergamum with an archaeologist, 3 hours at Thyatira, 2.5 hours at Sardis with an archaeologist, and a lecture by an archaeologist at the Ephesus Museum. This is more concentrated time on these cities than any other tour I know of, and the pre-trip lectures enhance the experience even more.

You can find all the details here. As regards the travel situation, Turkey has been the most open of all the countries in the Middle East this past year, so I’m telling people that Turkey is the place to go in 2021. If you haven’t been to Cappadocia, you can add that as a pre-tour extension. If you have traveled with Tutku before, you know that everything they do is top-notch and the accommodations are excellent.

Tagged Lectures, Tourism, Turkey

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Several shipwrecks from the Roman period are being studied near the Greek island of Kassos.

Timothy H. Lim explains that while the Essenes living at Qumran preferred isolation, most Essenes did not.

In the 1930s, the Oriental Institute conducted a series of investigations throughout ancient Persia.

Discover magazine looks at the use of the number zero in ancient history.

A new exhibition has opened at the University of Pennsylvania: Invisible Beauty: The Art of Archaeological Science.

UC Berkeley has announced a new program entitled “Assyrian Studies.”

Digging Digital Museum Collections Series “has created a pedagogical resource that provides examples of learning activities based on online museum collections and resources.”

Eric Cline and Christopher Rollston are being succeeded as editors of BASOR by a team of four.

Now on Pre-Pub at Logos: The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology.

John DeLancey gives a 12-minute tour of Caesarea Philippi.

Joel Kramer talks about how archaeology supports the Bible in an interview with Sean McDowell.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Greece, Lectures, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A Greek inscription from the 5th century AD reading “Christ, born of Mary” was discovered in a salvage excavation in the Jezreel Valley.

Archaeologists discovered a marble statue of a ram dating to the Byzantine period at Caesarea.

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a new group of 50 wooden sarcophagi at Saqqara, dating to the New Kingdom period.

“Alexandria University launched a new project to excavate and preserve underwater artifacts, in a bid to revive tourism and protect Egypt’s underwater heritage.”

“Tomas Libertiny, a Slovakian artist, has created a beautiful beeswax sculpture of Egyptian queen Nefertiti with the assistance of 60,000 honey bees.”

A Roman fort has been discovered near Aswan.

Ten maps can tell us a lot about the Sinai Peninsula.

Charles F. Aling is interviewed in the latest edition of the Scholar’s Chair at the Bible Archaeology Report.

Leen Ritmeyer provides a brief history of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, with many illustrations.

The Annual Yohanan Aharoni Day 2021 will be live on Zoom and Facebook on March 4. The topic is “The Forces that Shaped Jerusalem: Earth, Faith and People,” with sessions on landscape, religion, and the charismatic individual.

Conference recordings are now available from the recent conference “‘The Land That I Will Show You’: Recent Archaeological & Historical Studies of Ancient Israel.” (Playback speed is adjustable.)

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Lectures, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Analysis of soil from Herod’s palace garden in Jericho reveals that he raised “lush bonsai versions of pines, cypresses, cedars, olives and other trees.”

There is more here about the police bust of a major antiquities ring in central Israel.

Israel21c runs an interesting piece on the value and conservation of ancient mosaics in Israel.

With the mines removed, worshipers were able to celebrate Epiphany near the Jordan River for the first time in more than 50 years.

Roger D. Isaacs adds to the lists of top 10 Bible discoveries of 2020.

Because of travel restrictions, Jerusalem University College is offering for the first time ever its full slate of classes online, including courses on physical settings, cultural background, parables of Jesus, and history of the Second Temple period.

New: Heart of the Holy Land: 40 Reflections on Scripture and Place, by Paul H. Wright (and on Kindle)

New: Encountering Jesus in the Real World of the Gospels, by Cyndi Parker

New: Archaeology and Ancient Israelite Religion, edited by Avraham Faust. Hardback for purchase or free pdf. Individual essays are available here.

The Israel Film Archive has some short film clips of historic interest. They are in Hebrew, but visually interesting even if you don’t know Hebrew.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, A.D. Riddle, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Alexander Schick

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup