Weekend Roundup, Part 1

More than 1,000 Hellenistic-era seal impressions were recently discovered in excavations at Maresha.

Underwater archaeologists are searching the sea near Dor in advance of the construction of a gas pipeline.

US military veterans are participating in excavations at Beth Shearim in a program providing therapy for PTSD.

A plan to build a cable car to transport visitors to the Western Wall in Jerusalem is not making everyone happy.

The Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem now offers a virtual reality tour that visits nine vantage points in the Old City.

The IAA is opposed to plans by the Temple Mount Faithful to hold a concert in the excavations area south of the Temple Mount.

The 12th annual conference on “New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Vicinity” will be held next month. Aren Maeir has posted the program.

Joel Kramer has announced the dates of his next study tour in Israel.

Carl Rasmussen links to two videos from Kathleen Kenyon’s excavations of Jericho.

The Methuselah date palm tree is male, but six more ancient date seeds have been planted in hopes of raising a female for Methuselah to pollinate.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer

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Seminar on United Kingdom at Lanier Theological Library

A little-advertised seminar is occurring next week in Houston, and if you’re able to get there, it should be quite worthwhile. The only thing I’ve found online about it is this registration site, but that should be the main thing you need if you want to secure a seat. The main facts are as follows:

The Lanier Theological Library presents a seminar on “Recent Evidence for Israel’s United Kingdom” on Friday, September 14th, 2:00-5:00 pm in the Stone Chapel.

2:00-2:25 Jane Cahill, “Jerusalem at the Time of the United Monarchy: The Known, the Unknown, and the Next Frontier”

2:25-2:50 Steven Ortiz, “The Westward Expansion of the United Monarchy in Light of Recent Excavations”

2:50-3:15 Chris McKinny, “Going for Gold . . . Bringing Home (mainly) Bronze: Jerusalem’s Role in the Arabah Copper Industry and the Biblical Account of Solomon”

3:30-3:55 Timothy Harrison, “Kingdoms of Idols: Israel’s Northern Neighbors and What They Reveal about the World of the Bible”

3:55-4:20 K. Lawson Younger Jr. “David’s Wars: What Can We Know about his Aramean Enemies?”

4:20-4:45 Gary Rendsburg, “The Book of Genesis as a Product of the United Monarchy”

4:45-5:00 Discussion

This looks very good, and if you haven’t been to the Lanier Library, that’s worth a visit even if no one is speaking. If they do as they’ve done in the past, we might expect that videos of these lectures will appear on their website.

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Weekend Roundup

Scholars are studying sites in the Jordan Valley to see if they are related to early Israelite settlement.

Zahi Hawass tells the story of the discovery of the Solar Boat of Khufu.

An 10-year-old boy hiking in Galilee discovered an ancient stone figure.

Aren Maeir has written an initial summary of this summer’s excavations of Gath. They found quite a bit related to Hazael’s destruction of the city.

Israel’s Good Name describes his excavation experience at Gath.

Gonzalo Rubio explains how eclipses were regarded as omens in the ancient world.

Yosef Garfinkel is lecturing on Khirbet Qeiyafa and Khirbet al-Ra’i on September 15 at the Lanier Theological Library in Houston.

Jerusalem Perspective has posted a lecture by Ronny Reich on “The Mikveh and Ritual Immersion in Jesus’ Day.” Reich is the leading expert on ancient Jewish ritual baths.

The J. Paul Getty Museum has posted a catalog of 630 ancient lamps in their collections.

“Tomb of Christ: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre Experience” will open on November 15 at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC. The website includes a digital guide for the exhibition.

Biblical Israel Ministries & Tours has launched an updated website, including a list of their upcoming Israel tours.

The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible releases on Tuesday. This is a revision of the NIV Zondervan Study Bible, and one major improvement is the more-readable font. We contributed many of the photos, and I wrote the notes for 2 Kings. Westminster Bookstore has it on sale.

Accordance has many graphics collections for sale, including the American Colony Collection and Cultural Images of the Holy Land.

Wipf and Stock are offering 40% off their catalog with code LABOR40.

Now available in the US (from Biblical Archaeology Society):

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, A.D. Riddle, Alexander Schick, Paleojudica

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Weekend Roundup

A ceramic pomegranate was discovered at Shiloh this past summer. (The news release gives no indication of a date.)

Scientists are learning more about the three people buried in the 30-ton, black granite sarcophagus recently discovered in Alexandria. The presence of a woman indicates all were not soldiers, and a hole in a skull suggests trepanation. One researcher comments on the inscriptions.

An ancient DNA study is shedding light on the Chalcolithic culture in the Upper Galilee. More than 600 people were buried in the Peqi’in Cave.

The presence of a large number gazelle bones in a Galilean village suggests that Shikhin was a production center for parchment (Haaretz premium).

Archaeologists believe they have uncovered a “pleasure-garden” atop Masada.

“Can Caesarea become the acropolis of Israeli tourism?” Haaretz (premium) looks at the large-scale restoration project currently underway.

Plans continue to be made for an underwater museum in Iznik, Turkey.

The Bible Lands Museum is loaning a cuneiform tablet with the name “Benayahu son of Netanyahu” to the office of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Next month Harvard Art Museums opens a special exhibition, “Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings.”

Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology is hosting its annual conference, “News from the Trenches,” on October 18. There’s a schedule in Hebrew here; I haven’t found one online in English yet.

Robert Mullins will be lecturing on Abel Beth Maacah at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School on Sept. 10 at 7 pm in Hinkson Hall. This is the inaugural lecture in the Claris Nystrom Lecture Series in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology.

“The land God chose was not arbitrary, for He designed even the land itself to develop the spiritual lives of His people.” Wayne Stiles explains what that means.

Is there any significance to the mention of Zaccheus climbing a sycamore-fig tree? Brad Gray shows how it recalls the prophecy of Amos in his latest Walking the Text video.
Megan Sauter shares her experience in creating date pastries from an ancient recipe from Mari.
HT: Agade, Ted Weis, A.D. Riddle, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer
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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A rare and beautiful Hellenistic-era gold earring was found in excavations in the City of David.

A sphinx has been discovered in Luxor during a road construction project.

“Six statues dating back 2,000 years were discovered Saturday in the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Magnesia” in Turkey.

The tombs of two statesmen from the Middle Kingdom period have been discovered at Beni Hassan.

Archaeologists have discovered a Greek shipwreck from 500 BC in the Black Sea.

“A pebble mosaic in a bathhouse dated to the 4th century BC was unearthed during an excavation at
the Small Theater of ancient Amvrakia” in Greece.

Renovation work is underway to open an ancient Roman bath in central Turkey to tourists.

The Plutonium of Hierapolis, discovered in 2013, will open to visitors next month.

The ancient Roman city of Volubilis in Morocco is drawing more visitors after its rejuvenation.

The dramatic changes at Palmyra over the years is the subject of an exhibit sponsored by The Institute for Digital Archaeology.

Three looters of Israel’s ancient capital of Samaria were sentenced to either 36 days or 36 months in prison.

The W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem is now accepting applications for fellowships.

The schedule for the 2018 annual meeting of ASOR is now online.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Daniel Wright

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Weekend Roundup

Following reports of damage to archaeological debris on the Temple Mount, the Israeli police have closed a new observation post.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project gives an update on the damage. The Times of Israel reports on the situation.

Aren Maeir shares some of the objectives for this year’s excavations of Gath, including more work on the possible city gate.

The May newsletter of Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities is now online.

A conference entitled “Archaeology for Peace” is being held today in Leiden.

Somehow Carl Rasmussen got into the never-yet-open-to-the-public theater at Perga, and he shares his photos here. [UPDATE: I’ve learned that the theater renovation is complete and the theater is now open to visitors.]

Carl also has posted a couple of rare photos showing flood waters in the Brook of Elah.

Charles Savelle found the four-horned altar near Shiloh. (I do wish he had moved his bike before he took the picture!)

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos of his drive through Wadi Shu’ayb in Jordan.

Wayne Stiles looks at the spiritual significance of the mountains that surround Jerusalem.

Ticia Verveer gives an illustrated tour of Gamla.

Israel’s Good Name saw quite a bit of wildlife on his trip to the Beth Shean Valley and Agamon Hefer.

HT: Joseph Lauer

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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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