Museums Archives - Page 49 of 102

Weekend Roundup

While building an on-site museum to house the massive Lod mosaic, they discovered another mosaic.

Archaeologists working at Gedera have uncovered a 20-bath spa, a game room, and a pottery workshop.

The final season has wrapped up at the site of Horvat Kur near the Sea of Galilee.

Whether one swallowed Jonah or not, whales used to live in the Mediterranean, according to a new study.

Thomas Hikade and Jane Roy assess the evidence for human sacrifice in early Egyptian history.

New: An excavation report from Khirbet Qeiyafa: In the Footsteps of King David: Revelations from an Ancient Biblical City, by Yosef Garfinkel, Saar Ganor, and Michael G. Hasel.

Carl Rasmussen writes about the Solomonic gate at Gezer and shares a photo of Bill Dever and Yohanan Aharoni at the site.

John DeLancey shares about his recent volunteer experience at Gath on The Book and the Spade.

Ferrell Jenkins explains the importance of the cedars of Lebanon and shares many photos.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Israel's Coast, Lebanon, Museums, Philistines, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A British Museum team excavating in Sidon has discovered the remains of a Canaanite child and its funerary jar.

“A Hellenistic era temple which dates back to more than 2,000 years has been unearthed in archeological excavations in central Turkey.”

Electricians working near the Tiber River may have uncovered remains of one of the earliest churches in Rome.

Students at the University of Pennsylvania are studying the human remains of the ancient Gibeonites unearthed in the excavations of James Pritchard.

The founder of the Sinai Peninsula Research describes the recent survey project in light of the 150-year history of mapping the region.

A $1.2 million ancient Persian bas-relief must be returned to Iran, the New York Supreme Court ruled this week.

The Dunes Center in Guadalupe, CA, excavates and preserves “Egyptian artifacts” left in the desert by Cecil B. DeMille after filming The Ten Commandments in 1923.

Wayne Stiles explains why the Tel Dan Stele is so significant.

David Hansen addresses the difficult problems of biblical texts that speak of the tribe of Zebulun having seafront property.

Ferrell Jenkins notes the passing of Jack P. Lewis.

Leen Ritmeyer recommends a new video entitled “Solomon’s Temple Explained.”

Carl Rasmussen shares photos of the little-known “Tomb of the Royal Steward” in Jerusalem.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Egypt, Galilee, Italy, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Museums, Sad News, Samaria, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Egyptian archaeologists announced the discovery of a mummification workshop, a gilded silver mask, and much more at the Saqqara necropolis of Memphis.

A sealed Ptolemaic-era sarcophagus has been discovered in Alexandria.

A museum in Alexandra, Egypt found a hidden space with pots and urns dating to the Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic eras.

Two Old-Kingdom-period homes have been discovered near the Giza pyramids.

The June issue of the Newsletter of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities reports on archaeological discoveries, repatriated antiquities, and various other items.

13 verses of Homer’s Odyssey, possibly the earliest known copy, was found near Olympia in southern Greece.

A 3-D composition bust of Julius Caesar was unveiled by researchers at The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.

A marble replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace will be erected on the island this summer.

25,000 Greek and Roman illegally trafficked artifacts, worth $46 million, were recently seized in a raid across four nations.

Current Archaeology posts a response to the recent challenge to Carbon-14 dating in Iron Age Israel.

The latest issue of Atiqot is now online. Past issues are available here.

The J. Paul Getty Museum has acquired an illuminated medieval Hebrew manuscript known as the Rothschild Pentateuch.

Mark Hoffman has created a video from his explorations of the Via Egnatia between Neapolis, Philippi, Amphipolis, and Apollonia.

Carl Rasmussen’s ride in the back of the plane resulted in the opportunity to take some nice aerial photos of Istanbul.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, ANE-2, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Greece, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working at et-Tell (aka Bethsaida) have been uncovering an 11th-10th century BC wall with towers this season.

The excavation season has concluded at el-Araj (aka Bethsaida) and daily updates have been posted here. An excerpt from the last day: “This year we demonstrated that the settlement was widespread, and not limited to a small area. This was no mean city. What began around 30 CE as Herod Philip’s transformation of a Jewish fishing village into a polis, evolved over the centuries into a wealthy community.”

Excavations this summer at Huqoq revealed mosaics in the synagogue’s north aisle, including a scene of the Israelite spies, a youth leading an animal, and a fragmentary Hebrew inscription reading
“Amen selah.”

Archaeologists are drawing conclusions on Christian-Muslim relations in the 7th century on the basis of a brass weight discovered at Hippos (Sussita).

The work at Tel Burna is still humming along.

From Aren Maeir’s posts, the excavators at Gath keep having one great day after another.

The wheeled cart depicted at the Capernaum synagogue is not the ark of the covenant.

Sixteen images of Qumran taken by Philip R. Davies in 1970–71 are posted online.

A new exhibit focused on life in New Testament times has opened in the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem.

A rare coin from the fourth year of the Jewish Revolt has been discovered in debris from the City of David.

A complex rescue operation salvaged pottery from the Second Temple period in western Galilee.
Israel’s Good Name visited the Carmel region, with stops at Ramat HaNadiv, the Carmel Caves, Dor HaBonim, Tel Dor, and more.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is running out of funds, and they now have a quadruple match grant.

New: A Walk to Caesarea, by Joseph Patrich. (Available only in Israel, apparently.)

Ephraim Stern’s life is remembered by Hillel Geva in the current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Ada Yardeni died recently.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Mike Harney

Tagged 10th Century, Dead Sea, Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Museums, New Exhibits, Philistines, Resources, Sad News, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

The Roman villa of a rich fisherman was discovered in Halicarnassus in southwestern Turkey.

Remains of child sacrifice have been found in a Bronze Age cemetery in Turkey.

The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History in Tel Aviv is designed like Noah’s Ark. It opens on Monday.

Week Four brought the Shiloh excavations to an end this summer, but an elite team returned for some conservation work.

The first week of excavations is over at Gath and Tel Burna. John DeLancey was volunteering at Gath and he shares his experience. (All of these links will take you to the most recent post at the time of this writing.)

On the ASOR Blog, James Fraser writes about dolmens in the Levant.

The new archaeology wing at the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem opened this week.

Assyrian king Ashurbanipal is the focus of an exhibit at the British Museum that runs from November to February. Tickets are £17.

Gershon Edelstein, founder of the Ein Yael Living Museum, died this week.

Adrian Hennigan suggests 9 places tourists should avoid this summer, either because they are hot or crowded (Haaretz premium).

Wayne Stiles considers the historical and spiritual significance of Arad.

Israel’s Good Name shares his trip to the northern Golan.

A guy goes to a garage sale in Minnesota and buys some old negatives. It turns out they are originals taken in Jerusalem in 1858!

Mark Hoffman is very impressed with the ESV Archaeology Study Bible.

The Everlasting Nation Museum opens this summer in Hixson, Tennessee. It includes exhibits of Abraham’s tents, a Jewish wedding, a replica of the Western Wall, and an exact reproduction of Corrie Ten Boom’s “hiding place.”

Ferrell Jenkins has written 2000(!) posts in the last decade or so, and he takes the occasion to reflect back on 50 years of travel “from Ararat to Patmos” and beyond. His work is greatly appreciated!

There will be no weekend roundup for the next week or two.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle, Steven Anderson

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Golan, Jerusalem, Museums, Negev, New Exhibits, Philistines, Sad News, Samaria, Shephelah, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A candidate for prime minister of the UK promises to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece if he is elected. The British Museum has responded.

“An Italian court has ruled that this Greek bronze, known as ‘Statue of a Victorious Youth,’ rescued from the ocean decades ago and long on display at the Getty Villa, should be returned to Italy.”

Nine artifacts smuggled from Egypt have been returned by French authorities.

Russians archaeologists have applied to continue excavations of Palmyra.

A report from Week 2 of excavations in the Venus Pompeiana Project has been posted.

Bleda S. Düring explains the origins of maps in the Near East. Many nice images are included.

“Digital humanities scholars [at Penn Libraries] are orchestrating an epic crowdsourcing effort to sort and transcribe handwriting on thousands of documents discarded hundreds of years ago, known as the Cairo Geniza.”

Mark Hoffman: BibleWorks is closing; what should you do?

Leon Mauldin explains why Michelangelo’s Moses has horns.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a copy of Kitchener’s Photographs of Biblical Sites for sale, until now ($830).

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Museums, Resources, Syria, Weekend Roundup