Plans to reconstruct Herod’s tomb at the Herodium have been scrapped.

The same article reports that the Herod exhibition at the Israel Museum has been extended to January 2014.

Tuesday’s Samaritan Passover ceremony is described in a Haaretz article. (I believe the first photo caption is wrong, for the animal is not slain until sunset.)

105 million euros is not enough to save Pompeii from deterioration, according to a New York Times video.

Ferrell Jenkins is back in Israel and he recently spent a morning with Shmuel Browns.

The Spring 2013 season at Tel Burna is over and they have found evidence of a destruction in the 9th century. There are still a few days left to sign up for the summer season.


Haaretz’s “Tourist Tip #218” describes the significance of the Broad Wall of Jerusalem.

The temporary bridge to the Mughrabi Gate next to the Western Wall still stands, but next month a committee is going to meet in Paris to discuss its replacement.

FoxNews reports on apps for archaeology.

Berlin’s Pergamon Museum has a new exhibition on the Mesopotamian city of Uruk. Better photos are available here.

Christianbook.com is now selling The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols.) for only $99.99. (That’s 75% the $400 list.)

A rare, original set of the 13 volumes of the Survey of Western Palestine has just been listed by a UK bookseller for $6,400. For $35 more, you can pick up a digital copy of the oversized maps.

HT: Jack Sasson

Key Map for the Survey of Western Palestine. All 26 maps (plus one from Transjordan) are for sale here.

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh has written an article on the little-known Church of St. Mark near the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. According to tradition in the Syriac Orthodox church, this was the place of the Last Supper.

A Byzantine winepress has been excavated at Hamei Yo’av near Kiryat Gat. High-resolution photos are available here (zip).

If you’re traveling to the Middle East, it’s worth preparing not only for the sites, but also for the food.

Debra Kamin has four rules for eating hummus.

The LMLK Blogspot has a “modern ancient art mystery” for savvy biblical archaeology sleuths.

The AP has more about the new excavations in the city of Ur.

Scientists are studying a battering ram found in a Greek or Roman ship sunk off the coast of Libya.

The ruins of ancient Palmyra are being threatened by the fighting in Syria.

Some new maps of the ancient world are now going online at the Encyclopedia of Ancient History.

Aren Maeir will be lecturing on “The Search for Goliath” on April 18 at William Jessup University.

Yesterday’s quotation was by William Dever, long-time crusader against biblical archaeology. It’s
from page 14 of Archaeology and Biblical Studies: Retrospects and Prospects. Evanston, IL:
Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, 1974.

HT: Jack Sasson

Syrian Orthodox Church, St Mark's Convent, traditional house of Mark and Upper Room, tb010312374
Entrance to Church of St. Mark
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, Jerusalem volume (available at Amazon for $220 or at BiblePlaces.com for $39)

The Israel Prize for the Land of Israel, Geography, and Archaeology “will not be given because the prize committee attempted to award it to two candidates, in violation of ministry rules which state that each prize may be given to only one winner.”

The Garden Tomb is now suggesting a $5 donation.

The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem is recommended for children, according to this article in Haaretz.

A couple of Russian tourists climbed to the top of the Great Pyramid and took some photos.

Ted Weis (Living the Biblios) has written a Garden of Gethsemane Devotional and illustrated it with a number of helpful photos.

New excavations at Ur in southern Iraq have revealed a palace or temple.

David Amit, deputy director of the Excavations and Surveys Department of the Israel Antiquities
Authority, died last week.

The Vatican has asked Israel’s Chief of Police to protect Christians in Israel after criminals halted restoration work of the chapel in Nain.

Jerome Murphy-O’Connor’s new book, Keys to Jerusalem: Collected Essays, is reviewed by Joshua Schwartz in the Review of Biblical Literature.

The commercial heart of the ancient city of Thessalonica is in the way of a new subway station and
that’s a big problem.

Give SourceFlix two minutes and they’ll give you “Passion Week Archaeology.”

HT: Jack Sasson, Explorator

Garden Tomb at night, tb123005430
The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

The Mustard Tree is the latest video from SourceFlix.

This post has some inspiration for those interested in mapping historical events using Google Earth.

The example he uses here is the parting of the Red Sea, though I think he’s way off on the location.Art_of_the_Ancient_Near_East_A_Resource_for_Educators

A swarm of one million locusts moved from Egypt into Israel before spraying halted the invasion. Some Israelis gathered up sackfuls of the locusts to eat.

Ten years after its looting, the National Museum of Iraq is still not open to the public.

Art of the Ancient Near East: A Resource for Educators is available as a free download.

HT: BibleX, ANE-2, Jack Sasson

The Nash Papyrus is now online, thanks to the University of Cambridge. The Jerusalem Post article gives a new meaning to the word “second”: “It is the world’s second oldest known manuscript containing a text from the Hebrew Bible. The oldest are the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

This Jerusalem Post article suggests the Top 5 Christmas activities in Jerusalem.

The traditional King David’s tomb has been vandalized by a man desperate to get married.

If you missed last week’s Christmas broadcast of the Land and the Book radio program, you can listen to it in the archives.

Simcha Jacobovici is suing Joe Zias in an Israeli court because the warnings of the latter led the Discovery Channel and National Geographic to cancel the broadcast of films of the former. (Note: this article, like many cited on this blog, is on the Haaretz website. Free access to 10 articles per month is available with an easy registration.)

Mark Goodacre notes the publication of Archaeology, Bible, Politics, and the Media and he shares his article “The Talpiyot Tomb and the Bloggers.”

The Huffington Post has a slideshow of the year’s archaeological highlights. None are related to the biblical world.

The full-size replica of Noah’s Ark floats.

Officials are optimistic about the rainfall in Israel this winter. Amir Givati: “To see the Jordan River flowing at this time of year – that’s a phenomenon that takes place once every 20 years.”

Smuggling gangs in Iraq are using satellites to locate antiquities.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tomb of David, exterior, mat00855-001
A view of David’s Tomb taken ca. 1900 before the construction of the Dormition Abbey. Photo from the American Colony and Eric Matson Collection.

“Scattered throughout Israel are dozens of archeological exhibits, indoor and outdoor, that anyone can visit at no charge.” Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am recommend three of those sites to visit.
Iraqi authorities captured two smugglers in possession of rare statues and coins.

The Dallas Museum of Art is sending one of its 2nd century mosaics to Turkey after determining that it was probably stolen years ago from the area of Edessa.

The Jewish philanthropist who funded the excavation of the bust of Nefertiti was expunged from the records by the Nazis but is now being honored for his contributions.

Shmuel Browns has opened a new online store for products with his photographs and artwork.

El Al is offering reduced rates on winter flights to Israel.

Charles Savelle on the new Pictorial Library of Bible Lands: If you teach the Bible, plan to go to the
Bible lands, or have been there before, I would suggest you check this resource out.

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Amarna, limestone, gypsum and rock crystal bust of Nefertiti, 18th dynasty, adr070511363
Bust of Nefertiti.
Photo by A.D. Riddle.