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A new study suggests that the Great Sphinx of Giza was carved out of natural ridge in the bedrock.

Nathan Steinmeyer summarizes a new reconstruction of the events behind the assassination of Sennacherib, king of Assyria.

BBC: “For millennia, Tyrian purple was the most valuable colour on the planet. Then the recipe to make it was lost. By piecing together ancient clues, could one man bring it back?”

New release: Color and Meaning in the Art of Achaemenid Persia, by Alexander Nagel (Cambridge University Press, $110)

Seetheholyland.net has a new article on the holy family in Egypt, sifting through various myths, legends and might-be-facts. The list of sites with strong traditions is longer than I expected.

Darla Martin Tucker reviews the recently held 15th Annual Archaeology Discovery Weekend hosted by La Sierra University and focused on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Tracking Colour website “is dedicated to the research on the use of colour on sculptures and buildings in the ancient Mediterranean world carried out at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.”

Arim Hawsho has created an hour-long documentary on Ashurbanipal, “the librarian king.” He is also working on a cookbook inspired by recipes from ancient Mesopotamia.

Robert D. Miller died last week.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken

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“Archaeologists uncovered signs that Alexander the Great was worshipped as a divine figure in an ancient temple in Iraq.”

“A Sumerian ‘sacred code’ has been deciphered, revealing divinely inspired building instructions echoed in the Bible.”

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes stories on archaeology in Midian, the location of Peter’s house, and mosaic pavements of biblical scenes at Huqoq.

“Brazil Adventist University [in São Paulo] inaugurated the Museum of Biblical Archaeology (MAB), the first museum of its kind in South America.”

Bryan Windle recommends five YouTube channels related to biblical archaeology.

Leon Mauldin shares a photo of an Ammonite deity and a map showing the area of ancient Ammon.

New release: William Kennett Loftus: A 19th-Century Archaeologist in Mesopotamia: Letters transcribed and introduced by John Curtis (The British Institute for the Study of Iraq, £15; Amazon)

Two new releases: Scribal Culture in Ancient Egypt, by Niv Allon and Hana Navratilova. Hieroglyphs, Pseudo-Scripts and Alphabets, by Ben Haring. Both books are in the Cambridge Elements series on Ancient Egypt in Context. Both are available as free ebooks until December 6.

New release: Trade and Seafaring in Antiquity: Red Sea – Persian Gulf – Indian Ocean, edited by Stefan Baumann, Kerstin Droß-Krüpe, Sebastian Fink, Sven Günther and Patrick Reinard (Zaphon, 90 EUR).

The Associates for Biblical Research has a Christmas book sale, with free shipping on book purchases over $60 with code Christmas2023. Books on sale include:

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Charles Savelle, Paleojudaica

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Nearly 400 Roman forts across the northern Fertile Crescent have been identified through declassified satellite images.

Greg Beyer has written a short illustrated biography of King Sennacherib.

Nathan Steinmeyer explains what Akkadian is.

Three thousand photographs taken of Palmyra before its destruction by ISIS are being used in a UCSD project to create a digital model of the site.

Wayne Stiles is leading a 13-day tour of biblical Turkey that, unlike most such trips, visits all of the sites Paul traveled to on his first journey.

What route did Paul take when he left Berea in a hurry and went “to the coast” and on to Athens (Acts 17:14)? Mark Hoffman has scouted out the area and provides walking instructions for the possible paths. You can also use his maps to find your way in a car.

Breakthrough has produced a 20-minute documentary on the quest to decipher the scrolls from Herculaneum.

Jonathan Klawans makes a case that a relief of a goddess on display at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East is a forgery.

New release: Weights and Measures as a Window on Ancient Near Eastern Societies, edited by Grégory Chambon and Adelheid Otto (PeWe-Verlag, €65; free pdf).

A YouTube channel is using AI to recreate the sound of ancient languages.

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

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A lamassu from the reign of Sargon II was discovered at ancient Dur-Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad).

“Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered an ancient cemetery that has stone sarcophagi, coptic jars and even a ‘Book of the Dead’ scroll.”

Study of an ancient Egyptian papyrus reveals that there were more venomous snakes in ancient Egypt than when Indiana Jones visited.

Michael Denis Higgins gives a history of the Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, from present-day to the 4th century BC.

New release: Animals in Religion, Economy and Daily Life of Ancient Egypt and Beyond, by R. Pirelli, M. D. Pubblico, and S. Ikram (free pdf)

Rock and soil samples taken from the area where the ruins of ‘Noah’s Ark’ are believed to be located in Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı were examined, and the first results of the research were announced.”

The theater of Larissa, Greece, has been opened to the public for the first time, following two decades of restoration.

Archaeologists working on the island of Salamis discovered a partially submerged stoa along the east coast.

The British Museum will spend $12 million to update its online digital catalog.

ASOR webinar on Nov 2: “Of Statuary and State Formation: The Rise and Fall of Tell Tayinat-Kunulua,” by J. P. Dessel.

New release: Judicial Decisions in the Ancient Near East, edited by Sophie Démare-Lafont and Daniel E. Fleming (SBL Press, $50-$90)

eAkkadian is an online course book designed to help the student read Sennacherib’s prism.

“The Asia Minor Research Center is excited to announce the 2024 Biblical Field Studies in Turkey. This is a funded study trip for Bible scholars and teachers in the Majority World.”

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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The Times of Israel gives an update on Israel’s decade-long systematic attempt to survey and excavate the caves of the Judean wilderness ahead of looters.

Ruth Schuster writes about a new theory that the Buqeia Valley east of Jerusalem was occupied around the time of King Josiah by quasi-military herders. The article includes some beautiful photos of the area.

Haaretz summarizes a new article that “examines the archaeological and historical evidence for the existence of Jewish gladiators in the first to fourth centuries.”

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on Jerusalem’s Millo, Baal, and Constantinople.

Leen Ritmeyer writes about archaeological evidence for Jews in exile in Babylon.

“An ancient Roman statue believed to depict the daughter of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, and valued at $5 million, has been seized by New York officials.”

“A British auctioneer has pleaded guilty to numerous charges relating to the sale of rare ancient coins, including a hoard discovered by Palestinian fishermen.”

The synagogue that housed the Cairo Geniza has been completely renovated.

Chandler Collins has posted part 2 of his historical study of the excavations of the Stepped Stone Structure in Jerusalem.

The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society has posted some lectures on their new YouTube channel, including:

New release: Excavating the Land of Jesus, by James Riley Strange (Eerdmans, $30). Phillip J. Long has a review here.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Alexander Schick, Alexander Schick

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Ruins of Nero’s theater have been discovered in Rome.

“An iconic bronze statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian, which is one of three found worldwide and dates back some 2,000 years, was turned into an active honeycomb as 50,000 bees produced their wax onto 3D-printed grid replicas of the original.”

“Archaeologists have recovered thousands of pieces of glassware—many of them ‘perfectly preserved’—from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck in the waters between Italy and France.”

Impressed by costly Persian metal vessels, Athenian craftsmen created imitations in clay.

Local women are helping to renovate the mosaic floor of the ancient synagogue of Sardis.

Kim Lawton recently visited important, but less-visited, sites in Turkey related to Paul’s ministry, including Pisidian Antioch, Lystra, and Tarsus. The well-illustrated article includes a couple of quotes from an interview with me.

Leon McCarron spent ten weeks traveling the length of the Tigris, from its source in Turkey to its mouth at the Persian Gulf.

“Gems have unique elemental compositions that can be used to identify their location of origin.”

Mark Hoffman writes of his discovery of the Gardens of the Roman Empire website.

Steven Anderson’s book on Darius the Mede has been translated into Persian Farsi and published by Qoqnoos Press in Iran (ISBN: 9786220404651). It can be purchased from Agah Bookshop.

Howard Golden is donating his collection of hundreds of European maps dating to the 15th to 18th centuries to the National Library of Israel.

Don’t delay: “The permanent galleries in the Pergamon Museum will close on October 22, 2023 and will remain closed for renovations until 2037 (estimated).” Photos of many of their artifacts are available online.

The James Ossuary will go on display in Dallas beginning on August 25. This is the first time it has been displayed in the US. The price should keep the crowds down.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

The experience at Nazareth Village, with the increased number of exhibits and actors, has never been better. One caveat: it doesn’t work so well with large groups.

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