Mesopotamia Archives - Page 36 of 36

Help Needed for Ur Excavation Documents

Ever wonder if old archaeological excavations were really like they are in the movies?
Find out.
Help us document a 1922-1934 excavation by reading and transcribing letters, field notes, and reports from the dig in southern Iraq.
The site of Ur, one of the earliest cities in the world, was jointly excavated by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum for 12 years in the early 20th century. Despite many publications on the site, there is still much to learn. And new digital techniques mean we can get data to researchers more completely and efficiently.
We have a plethora of 90-year-old information to make digitally searchable. And we need help. With thousands of pages of typed letters and reports from the field and thousands more handwritten field notes in need of transcription, one or two research assistants just can’t do the job.

You can sign up and get started here. Ur is mentioned in the Bible four times in connection with Abraham: Genesis 11:28, 31; 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7.

HT: Charles Jones

Ziggurat of Ur from the east
Photo: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-matpc-13196

Tagged Excavations, Mesopotamia

Weekend Roundup

Joe Yudin’s weekly travel column suggests a way to get a taste of everything in a one-day hike in the Golan.

Looters searching for treasure mentioned in the Copper Scroll uncovered a mikveh near Modiin before they were arrested.

The “Million Dollar shekel” actually sold for 1.1 million at a New York auction. This sets a record for the sale of a Judean coin.

“The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) will open 22 of its nature reserves and national parks for free to the public for a couple weeks in honor of Nature and Heritage Conservation Week.”

Haaretz profiles a 20-year plan to publish every ancient inscription ever discovered in Israel. The photo that accompanies the story shows one of the most easily accessible inscriptions, at the base of the first lamppost in Jerusalem, just inside Jaffa Gate.

Norma Franklin, co-director of the Jezreel Expedition, is interviewed on the LandMinds radio show (part 1, part 2).

The IAA chairman is unhappy about the destruction of antiquities on the Temple Mount.

A U.S. archaeological team is back excavating in Iraq.

ASOR is making progress in its efforts to digitize its archives. Here is a direct link to hundreds of thumbnails from the collection of Nelson Glueck.

Significant discussion continues about Talpiot Tomb B. If you’ve fallen behind, the best place to catch up is with James McGrath’s recent roundup. The preliminary report has been updated a third time.

The Bible and Interpretation has a single entry point for their dozens of articles published over the years related to the James Ossuary and the Jehoash Inscription.

I doubt that there are many tours of Israel that do as well as Insight for Living in sharing their experiences with the world.

ASOR rounds up the news in the broader world of archaeology.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Mesopotamia, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

The World’s Oldest Museum

The “world’s oldest known museum” was created by Princess Ennigaldi, the daughter of Nabonidus, king of Babylon from 555 to 539 BC. The story of its discovery and significance is recounted by Alasdair Wilkins.

In 1925, archaeologist Leonard Woolley discovered a curious collection of artifacts while excavating a Babylonian palace. They were from many different times and places, and yet they were neatly organized and even labeled. Woolley had discovered the world’s first museum.
It’s easy to forget that ancient peoples also studied history – Babylonians who lived 2,500 years ago were able to look back on millennia of previous human experience. That’s part of what makes the museum of Princess Ennigaldi so remarkable. Her collection contained wonders and artifacts as ancient to her as the fall of the Roman Empire is to us. But it’s also a grim symbol of a dying civilization consumed by its own vast history.

The story continues here.

HT: Paleojudaica

Tagged Mesopotamia, Museums