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Weekend Roundup

The latest issue of DigSight from the Institute of Archaeology at Southern Adventist University reports on a recent survey of Socoh (Kh. Shuweikeh) near Khirbet Qeiyafa as well as summaries of recent related lectures.

The New York Times has a good article about the current drilling project in the center of the Dead Sea.

Reports from recent excavations at Jericho by the University of Rome are now available online.

A rabbi has recently forbidden visits to the Western Wall on Shabbat because the security cameras violate Jewish law.

Stephen Carlson has posted his NTS article, “The Accommodations of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem: Κατάλυμα in Luke 2.7” (pdf). He also links to Mark Goodacre’s podcast on the same subject, “Was Jesus Born in a Stable?” For my brief thoughts on the issue, see this post from several years ago. One correction to that post: the 2005 TNIV translates the word as “guest room.”

Studies of minerals at Timna Valley in southern Israel indicate that “slag left over from Iron Age copper smelting shows the Earth’s magnetic field was stronger and more variable than scientists ever imagined.”

The Second International Conference of the Jeselsohn Epigraphic Center of Jewish History is entitled “Epigraphy and Daily Life – From the Bible to the Talmud” and dedicated to the memory of Professor Hanan Eshel. Leen Ritmeyer has listed the schedule and Aren Maeir posts a link to the
program (pdf).

Zvi Ben-Dor Benite has some interesting thoughts on the “ten lost tribes” at The Bible and Interpretation.

The Explorations in Antiquity Center in Georgia (USA) is building a Roman theater and forum.

Their newsletter is available here (pdf).

The best photographs of the Roman statue found in the sea at Ashkelon are in this article at the Daily Mail.

HT: Jay Baggett and Steve Ulrich

Tagged Dead Sea, Lectures, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

Land of the Bible has created a flight tour of the area destroyed in the Mount Carmel blaze. The imagery is from Google Earth and does not show the damage, but you get a good sense for the area affected. The map showing the burned region is the best I’ve seen.

Leen Ritmeyer has an excellent illustrated discussion on the identification of the “Beautiful Gate” at the Temple where Peter healed the lame man (Acts 3). He discusses the options and proposes that the Beautiful Gate should be identified with the Double Gate.

Jeff Chadwick will be lecturing on the 8th century at Philistine Gath (Tell es-Safi) at the Albright Institute in Jerusalem tomorrow (12/16).

Randall Price says that he has verified that the discovery of Noah’s Ark reported some months ago is a fabrication.

An intact, sealed jar discovered at Qumran in 2004 has been opened and analyzed.

Ferrell Jenkins has a link to a series of 162 historic photos posted online by the Palestine Exploration Fund.

The big storm in the Middle East revealed some archaeological treasures, including a Roman statue of a woman that fell into the Mediterranean at Ashkelon. Ferrell Jenkins has posted some photos of the cliffs of Ashkelon.

Joe Lauer sends along word of a note to journalists about the storm damage in Caesarea:

Tomorrow (Wednesday) the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Mr. Shuka Dorfman, the director-general of the Caesarea Development Company, Mr. Michael Carasenti and representatives of the Nature and Parks Authority will tour the national park and the surrounding area in order to assess the storm damage. The tour will begin at 10:30 in Caesarea harbor and will be open to media coverage. The Israel Antiquities Authority estimates it will cost millions of shekels to rehabilitate the antiquities that were damaged by the storm throughout the country, some of which have suffered enormous and irreversible damage.

Expect a story and photos in the media later today. Earlier reports about the damage are posted at Arutz-7, ShalomLife, and the Vancouver Sun.

Tagged Discoveries, Lectures, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

An inscription with the name of Ramses III has been found in Saudi Arabia, suggesting Egyptian interest in the trade routes to what is today Yemen. A related article is “Solomon & Sheba, Inc.,” by André Lemaire, published earlier this year in Biblical Archaeology Review.

A Logos collection that may interest readers here is the William Mitchell Ramsay Collection. The 16 volumes may sell for $30 if enough people bid on it.

Prof. Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa will be visiting Yeshiva University, giving a talk on
Tuesday evening, November 16. His topic is “A Word is Better than a Million Potsherds: David and Solomon Between Text & Material Culture.” The talk will take place in Furst Hall (500 West 185th St, at the corner of Amsterdam Avenue), on the 5th floor, in room 535, at 8:30 p.m.

Yoav Farhi will be lecturing on Tuesday, November 16, at 7:00 p.m. at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee. His topic is “Ancient Coins of Khirbet Qeiyafa: A Stronghold on the Road to Jerusalem.”

Aren Maeir will be speaking at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri on November 17, at 5:30 p.m. The college’s participation in the excavations at Gath this season are the subject of an article in the local press.

I wonder if anyone knows whatever happened to this anticipated biblical archaeology book by Stager and Cross.

HT: Eric Welch and Joe Lauer

Tagged Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Bible and Archaeology Fest 2010

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.

Tagged Lectures

Weekend Roundup

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

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

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!

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup