The Bible and Archaeology Fest has now posted a schedule of speakers and their topics (pdf). 

Lectures of greatest interest to me on the first day include:

David Ussishkin, “Sennacherib’s Attack on Lachish: What We have Learned from Archaeology

Yosef Garfinkel, “The Sanctuary of Khirbet Qeiyafa: Judean Cult at the Time of King David

Jodi Magness, “Masada: Last Stronghold of the Jewish Resistance against Rome

James Tabor, “Was There an Essene Quarter and a “Church of the Apostles” on Mt. Zion in the time of Jesus? What We Know Now in 2010

Amihai Mazar, “Beth Shean: Biblical Traditions and Archaeological Reality

Other speakers for the weekend include Mark Wilson, Ben Witherington, James Charlesworth, Mark
Goodacre, Michael Coogan, William Dever, Craig Evans, and Marvin Meyer.

bible-fest

Anson Rainey will be lecturing in the Chicago area on “The Order of Sacrifices in Levitical Ritual” in the inaugural lecture of a new series: “The Trinity Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology Lecture.”  For more details on the Nov 15 lecture, see here.

The Albright Institute in Jerusalem is hosting a “Workshop on the History and Archaeology of the Negev and Edom in the Iron Age” on December 12.  For more details, see this flyer.

Ehud Netzer was remembered in a broadcast this week on LandMinds.

A special exhibit opened at the British Museum this week entitled, “Journey through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.”  Ann Wuyts has some related information.

Atiqot has placed their two most recent issues online.  Arutz-7 explains the significance of this journal.

There are a couple of new articles about the irrigation system at Ramat Rahel.
Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled against a petition intended to stop the destruction of artifacts on the Temple Mount.

If you’ve ever wondered if Jews are or are not allowed to walk on the Temple Mount, you now have your answer.

There has been some discussion online recently about Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem in light of UNESCO’s claim that the Jewish holy place is actually a Muslim mosque.  Leen Ritmeyer has the best images and discussion, but my guess is that it probably was a Muslim shrine before it was “Rachel’s Tomb.”  In any case, the biblical evidence is decisively against the authenticity of the site. 

Maybe I’ll explain more one of these days, but for the real short answer, see 1 Samuel 10:2.  [I now see Jim Davila’s request for an explanation, so I’ll bump it up on my priority list and try to post on it soon.

UPDATE: That explanation is here.]

HT: Joe Lauer

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg has written a summary of major archaeological stories in September.

Aren Maeir critiques an article in the current issue of BASOR in which three geologists argue that
Hezekiah’s Tunnel took about four years to dig and was constructed not by Hezekiah but by his son Manasseh.

Leen Ritmeyer has just released “The Ark of the Covenant: Its Journey from Sinai to Jerusalem” digital image collection.  I’ve used a number of these images from the slide set over the years, but now Leen writes that so much has been added that the CD is “an entirely new presentation.”

I received some criticism for daring to suggest that last week’s 60 Minutes report on the excavations in the City of David would be one-sided.  But according to this eight-point critique by CAMERA, I was right.  Another website responds to the claim that there is “no evidence” of King David in
Jerusalem.

Carol Meyers will be lecturing this week in Fort Worth.  Her title is “Holy Land Archaeology: Past Meets Present” and tickets are $20.  Details are here.

Claude Mariottini points out National Geographic’s slideshow on “12 Ancient Landmarks on Verge of Vanishing.”  The photo of Nineveh is striking, but I can’t agree with the inclusion of Hisham’s Palace (Jericho) in the list.  It is surprising to me that the description of the ruins of Famagusta in Cyprus does not mention the city’s ancient name, Salamis.  Barnabas and Saul (Paul) landed here on Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:5).

The photograph in the blog header was taken twenty years ago this week.  I was with a group of students from the Institute of Holy Land Studies excavating with Amihai Mazar at Tel Beth Shean. 

Even in late October that place is hot!

Construction of a new parking lot underneath the Jewish Quarter was reported to require the first breach of the Old City walls of Jerusalem in more than a hundred years.  Well, not quite.  First, the architect clarified that he was only going under the walls and not through them.  Then Leen Ritmeyer explained that the walls were not breached a hundred years ago for Kaiser Wilhelm II’s visit.  The walls are safe, for now.

A program on the “New Finds in Jaffa Gate” will be held on Oct 12, 2010, 6-8 pm at Jerusalem’s Yad Ben Zvi Institute.  Ofer Sion and Shahar Poni will lecture on the discoveries, including the channel leading to Hezekiah’s Pool.  The lecture notice (in Hebrew) can be found here and here (pdf). 

HT: Joe Lauer

A statue of Hathor disappeared from a temple at Serabit el-Khadim and was discovered in the Sinai desert five days later.  Authorities are questioning the site’s security guards.

Following Friday’s report that the Syrian army has a Scud missile base near Damascus, Jay Baggett (Land of the Bible) created a flyover tour to the “hidden” base where the missiles can be easily seen on Google Earth.

Steven Lancaster and James Monson have completed the Geobasics Study Guide, an outstanding and unique work that deserves a post of its own.  In the meantime, you can get a copy for yourself.  The guide is in pdf format and is free.  The accompanying map book is (only) $15.

The Israel Antiquities Authority and Jewish National Fund are sponsoring a series of lectures described in this flyer (HT: Joe Lauer).  Givat Yeshiahu is in the Shephelah, not far from Khirbet Qeiyafa.  From the flyer:

The Israel Antiquities Authority and JNF invites the community at large and local residents to a series of lectures in English on a variety of archeological themes focusing on our regional heritage – past and future.


Oct 13 New Discoveries from Excavations in the Jerusalem Region, by Jon Seligman, Jerusalem Regional Archaeologist, Israel Antiquities Authority



Oct 27 Tel Kaifa – the Ayelah [Elah] Fortress, by Professor Yossi Garfinkel, Hebrew University


Nov 3 Stories of plunder: treasures and forgeries, by Shai Bartura, chief investigator for illegal sale and theft of antiquities

The lectures will be held on Wednesday evenings at 20:00 at the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Center near Givat Yeshiahu in the Ayelah [Elah] Valley.

Cost of individual lectures:20 NIS

For further information and registration call: 02-9921136 or 1-800-350-550.

October 7, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Khirbet Qeiyafa 2010: Excavating in the Shadow of Alexander the Great, by Michael G. Hasel 
(Southern Adventist University)

October 28, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Uncovering the Past: 50 Years of Biblical Archaeology, by William G. Dever (University of Arizona, emeritus)

November 16, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Ancient Coins of Khirbet Qeiyafa: A Stronghold on the Road to Jerusalem, by Yoav Farhi (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

March 16, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
In Search for Joshua’s Ai, by Bryant Wood (Associates for Biblical Research)

The museum lecture series is free and open to the public. All lectures are held in the Lynn Wood Hall building on the campus of Southern Adventist University. For driving directions and parking information, visit our website.