Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists have found another ancient olive press at Shiloh.

The oldest known artifact of smelted lead has been discovered in a burial cave in the Negev.

George Athas provides some analysis of the Hezekiah seal impression.

“Hoards: The Hidden History of Ancient Britain,” an exhibit at the British Museum, illustrates the action of the parable in Matthew 13:44.

HaDavar Biblical Museum is now under construction in Hong Kong.

The Associates for Biblical Research have cancelled their Winter Dig for this year and are considering postponing next summer’s excavation.

PEF and the Early Exploration of the Holy Land is the title of a conference being held at the University of Haifa in December.

The Mount Carmel forest fire led to the discovery of a farming community from the first century.
‘Atiqot 83 is now online.

Wayne Stiles explains the providential irony in the discovery of the Tel Dan Inscription.

The government is appealing the transfer of the Davidson Center Archaeological Park to management by Elad.

ASOR will be posting some of the presentations from the Annual Meeting on their website.

Andy Naselli recommends the Jerusalem IMAX movie, now on DVD. I agree.

CBD is running a big sale on Craig Keener’s 4-volume commentary on Acts through Monday ($138; Amazon: $192).

A free (pdf) book from HCSB: Exalting Jesus in Exodus (requires email address).

Logos Bible Software is also giving away a free book a day during Advent.

Happy Hanukkah!

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

You don’t have to watch too much of this video footage of a flash flood at the tabernacle model in Timna Park to be impressed. Repairs to the outer court posts are underway.

A leaky pipe at the Western Wall was mistaken for the Messiah.

There’s more talk about rebuilding the Colossus of Rhodes.

Archaeologists have discovered an unknown temple of Hatshepsut.

Now online in pdf format: The Archaeology of the Cuneiform Inscriptions, by A. H. Sayce.

Here are lots and lots of historic photos of Nazareth.

Independent Traveler suggests the 10 Best Israel Experiences.

I suspect that many of our readers would be interested in The First Days of Jesus, by Andreas J. Kostenberger and Alexander E. Stewart.

There are a couple of archaeology lectures this month in the DC area.

Just released: Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 2: The 
Archaeological Record from Cities, Towns, and Villages, edited by David A. Fiensy and James Riley
Strange. The table of contents, introduction, interviews with the contributors, and a sample chapter are online. Individual chapters focus on Nazareth, Magdala, Bethsaida, Tiberias, Kedesh, Khirbet Qana, and much more. This will quickly become the classic archaeological guide to Galilee.

HT: Charles Savelle, Mark Hoffman, Ted Weis, Agade, Bill Schlegel

There will be no roundup next weekend.

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has posted an initial list of excavations in 2016. There are a couple of options if you’d prefer to avoid the hot temperatures and high airfares of the summer.


WSJ: A Boy’s Discovery Rebuts Temple Mount Revisionism

The Temple Mount Sifting Project provides an update on their crowd funding campaign. Even a small contribution would be appreciated.

Omer Eshel takes a look at “The Hidden Gems of Israel” on The Land and the Book radio program with Charlie Dyer.

If you’re an American non-tenured faculty member, you may qualify to apply for a $7,000 travel award to experience archaeology in Israel.

The Book and the Spade remembers Adam Zertal with the re-broadcast of a 1993 interview (mp3).

Available now via Luke Chandler: “King David’s City at Khirbet Qeiyafa: Results of the Second
Radiocarbon Dating Project,” by Yosef Garfinkel, Katharina Streit, Saar Ganor, and Paula J. Reimer.

The samples date to ~1000 BC.

A Byzantine winepress was discovered on the Sharon Plain following a severe rainstorm.

“You tithe mint, dill and cumin…but neglect…justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” Ferrell Jenkins explains and illustrates.

Alexander Schick will be lecturing on November 4, 6:30 pm for the University of the Holy Land in

Room 211 of the Rothberg Institute. The title: “Genius or Thief? Constantine Tischendorf turns two hundred – the life of the famous Bible hunter and the case of the Codex Sinaiticus in the light of newly discovered documents from his personal archives.” For more on this subject, see here.

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Weekend Roundup

A new study claims that an Egyptian text is the oldest known abecedary.

Haaretz‘s report on Gabriel Barkay’s Temple Mount sifting project include several pictures of findings.

A UNESCO resolution that claimed the Western Wall prayer plaza as an Islamic shrine has made some people unhappy.

German experts are restoring the golden mask of King Tut after its beard was broken off and clumsily repaired.

The Journal of Near Eastern Archaeology reports that there are groups other than the Islamic State who are destroying and plundering antiquities in Syria.

The Getty Villa in Los Angeles is exhibiting 1800’s era watercolor paintings of Greece, many offering insight into how ancient sites looked in the early 19th century.

Emily Corrigan shares her experience of a summer on the Jezreel Expedition.

Egyptian authorities are investigating the embezzlement of $20 million from construction funds for the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Zahi Hawass throws cold water on the proposal that Nefertiti’s tomb has finally been located.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo he took of a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee as the sun was rising.

The newly renovated Waldorf-Astoria in Jerusalem has been ranked the top hotel in the Middle East in a survey by Condé Nast Traveler.

Test your knowledge about Petra with 10 questions at the ASOR Blog.

The newly released NIV Zondervan Study Bible, edited by D. A. Carson, is on sale now for Kindle for $7.99. (I wrote the notes for 2 Kings.)

Chris McKinny has made available on Academia his presentation on “Kiriath-Jearim (Deir el-‘Azhar): Archaeological Investigations of a Biblical Town in the Judean Hill Country.”

Conference at Hebrew U on Oct 29: “I Know What You Did Last Summer: A Glimpse at the Excavations and Surveys of the Institute of Archaeology, 2015 Season.”

Adam Zertal died on Sunday at the age of 79. He was best known for his survey of the hill country of Samaria and his identification of a structure on Mount Ebal as the altar of Joshua.

Thomas Schaub died on Monday at the age of 82. Schaub excavated Bab edh-Dhra.

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup

A church mosaic floor dating to AD 500 and depicting a map of Egypt has been discovered in Kiryat Gat.

There’s a growing consensus among archaeologists that the tomb of King Tut has two previously undiscovered rooms, one of which could hold the remains of Nefertiti.

A site in Gush Etzion inhabited during the Bar-Kochba era has been destroyed by vandals.

Some Arab scholars are claiming that a Jewish mafia is behind the destruction of antiquities in Palmyra and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Wayne Stiles shares some footage from his helicopter ride over Israel.

Thomas L. Thompson claims that Israel Finkelstein and William Dever are more similar to William F. Albright than they think.

Excavations at Tel Tayinat in southern Turkey suggest that the site was an ancient Philistine capital.

Leon Mauldin takes a look at the high place of Dan.

The California Museum of Ancient Art is hosting a four-part lecture series on Ancient Shipwrecks and Harbors: Great Discoveries in Underwater Archaeology.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has posted a video clip of a lecture by Robert Deutsch entitled “To Publish or Not to Publish.” Aren Maeir’s segment looks at “Archaeology During Times of Trouble.”

The November/December issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on Cana, Hippos, and manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible not quite as old as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Please consider participating in this Survey on Field Safety.

A student shares his experience in volunteering at the Palestine Exploration Fund this summer.

This week on The Land and the Book, Charlie Dyer covers “everything you want to know about the Temple Mount.”

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Agade, G. M. Grena, Jared Clark, Paleojudaica

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Mosaic in Kiryat Gat
Photo courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority
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Weekend Roundup

Just posted: Preliminary Report of the 2015 Jezreel Expedition Field Season

A full schedule of speakers and topics for the Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest is now online. Eric Cline is the plenary speaker.

After the heat wave and brutal sandstorm, Israel this past week experienced lightning, hail, and flash floods. This is not typical September weather.


Near Eastern Archaeology‘s latest issue is devoted to “The Cultural Heritage Crisis in the Middle East.” It is available online for free to all.

Eisenbrauns has just released its fall catalog.

A new book: Distant Views of the Holy Land, by Felicity Cobbing and David Jacobson. 330 pages, 350 illustrations, $200. A free sample is available here.

Here’s more about Penn Museum’s new exhibit, “Sacred Writings: Extraordinary Texts of the Biblical World.”

This Wednesday, Sept 23, Brent Strawn of Emory University will give a lecture at Trinity Evangelical
Divinity School entitled “The Historical Psalms, Iconographically Considered.” The event will take place at 7:00 pm on Trinity’s campus, Hinkson Hall in Rodine Building. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Clashes on the Temple Mount have caused damage to Al Aqsa Mosque.

Aren Maeir is on the Book and the Spade talking about his excavations of Gath and the discovery of a large gate this season (part 1, part 2).

Egyptian security officials have ordered the shutdown of St. Catherine’s Monastery.

From ASOR: Can you pass this Sea of Galilee quiz?

The latest issue of Popular Archaeology includes articles on Gath and Magdala.

Ferrell Jenkins explains the significance of Mahanaim (mentioned 13x in the OT) and shares some photos.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, A.D. Riddle, Paleojudaica

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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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