Weekend Roundup

A stone bowl inscribed with the name “Hyrcanus” was discovered in the City of David. Since the name was common in the Hasmonean period, it is not clear if it belonged to one of the two rulers with this name. High-res images are available here.

A bronze coin with the image of Antiochus Epiphanes was discovered during maintenance work in the Citadel of David Museum in Jerusalem.

Mary Shepperson, a free-lance archaeologist working on five projects in Iraq, describes work in the new excavations of Charax Spasinou.

Archaeologists have discovered a large “lost city” about 150 miles north of Athens.

“The Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes (CAMEL Lab) at the Oriental Institute of the
University of Chicago would like to announce that a substantial subset of its digital holdings of maps and geospatial data are now available for online public search and download.”

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is asking readers to Name That Find!

The IAA has completed a detailed survey of the village of Lifta ahead of its planned replacement by a new neighborhood.

Before and after photos reveals the significant war damage in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Ferrell Jenkins recounts his 2002 visit to Aleppo and its museum.

New research suggests some ancient Egyptians believed a deceased woman had to briefly become male in the afterlife in order to be reborn. Reader Ted Weis notes that this theory corresponds with saying #114 in the Gospel of Thomas.

Egypt is trying to stop the auctioning of Egyptian relics around the world.

A stolen relief of Queen Hatshepsut has been restored to Egypt.

Bricks of ancient Babylon have been used in rebuilding houses in the area.

The Tower identifies “seven fascinating discoveries Israeli archaeologists made in 2016.”
Kudos to Dr. Chris McKinny!

Carl Rasmussen describes an “unknown” Christmas site near Bethlehem.

We wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! We’ll be traveling for several weeks and roundups will return when we do.

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

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

If you’re interested in excavating in Israel next year and need a scholarship, the Tel Burna team has compiled a list of opportunities.

A new exhibit on Khirbet el-Maqatir opens next month at the University of Pikeville.

Translation is the focus of an exhibit showing through March, 2017 at the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (MUCEM) in Marseille, France.

An Iranian archaeologist who has cataloged nearly 50,000 ancient paintings and engravings across Iran, many featuring the ibex deer, is hoping newfound access to the Western resources will reveal more insight into these works.

The British Museum has finished phase one to digitize their collection of Hebrew MSS.

K. Lawson Younger explains why he wrote a book on the Arameans.

Richard Averbeck has started a series of posts at the Carl F. H. Henry Center’s blog on Gen 1. The first and second posts are about the comparative method.

The ASOR Blog has a photo update on Nimrud following its liberation from ISIS.

HT: Ted Weis, A.D. Riddle

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Weekend Roundup

A tomb with a number of well-preserved frescoes from the Hellenistic or Early Roman periods has been discovered in northern Jordan.

A dozen sculptures recently unearthed at Perga are now on display in the Antalya Museum.

The BBC runs an interesting story on the Muslim families that lock and unlock the Church of the Holy Sepulcher each day.

“A crew of facial reconstruction experts have successfully recreated the face of a male who lived in the Biblical city of Jericho.”

Scanning technology has provided 3-D images of unwrapped mummies from ancient Egypt.

“A pair of mummified knees are most likely those of the famously beautiful spouse of Pharaoh Ramses II.”

James Davila considers the reemergence of the Jordanian lead codices and links to an insider perspective.

Archaeologists working in the Wadi Feinan region of Jordan believe that they have found evidence of the world’s first polluted river.

The breed known as “Jacob’s sheep” have returned to Israel.

The Jerusalem Post runs a story on Douglas Petrovich’s theory that the earliest alphabet was Hebrew.

The US and Egypt have come to an agreement regarding the importing of looted archaeological artifacts.
Recent damage to the ancient site of Mari is discussed by archaeologist Pascal Butterlin in a short video (in French).

Relics looted from Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra have been recovered in Switzerland.

“Radiocarbon dating remains a reliable tool if it is supplemented by 13C measurements.”

“Why would the Lord first announce the Messiah’s birth to lowly shepherds?” Wayne Stiles explains.

In light of the recent excavation of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Gordon Govier at Christianity Today explains why there are two competing sites for the place of Jesus’s burial.

The late Charles Ryrie’s Bible collection has been sold to various collectors for more than $7 million. 
Daniel Wallace was one of the bidders and he provides more details. I wonder how many of the 
purchases will show up in the Museum of the Bible.
The Westminister Bookstore has a big sale on the ESV Bible Atlas, described by them as “‘National Geographic’ meets world class Biblical Scholarship.” You can look inside here.

HT: Charles Savelle, Explorator, Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer

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Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists working in central Israel unearthed the Middle Bronze predecessor of Rodin’s “The Thinker.” High-res photos and a video are available here.

Archaeologists are speaking out against the construction of a mixed prayer area in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park south of the Western Wall prayer area.

“A necropolis and residential settlement were uncovered Tuesday in Abydos in Sohag, almost 400 kilometres south of the temple of the New Kingdom pharaoh Seti I.”

Divers have discovered the world’s oldest harbor in the Red Sea along the coast of Egypt.

The Kom Al-Shoqafa catacombs in Alexandria were not flooded, as some reports claimed.

A writer for The New Yorker visits the full-size replica of King Tut’s tomb in Egypt.

“The Egyptological museum search is a PHP tool aimed to facilitate locating the descriptions and images of ancient Egyptian objects in online catalogues of major museums.”

“Objects Come to Life is a physical and digital exhibition of the Eton Myers Collection of Egyptian Art, on loan to the University of Birmingham, which explores the importance and intrigue of private collections of ancient artefacts.”

An Israeli court has ruled that the names of Israeli archaeologists working in the West Bank can stay secret.

Luke Chandler has opened registration for next summer’s tour of Israel. He also reports on some sessions he attended at the recent ASOR conference.

Accordance is running a Black Friday sale through Monday. One new e-resource is the Satellite Bible Atlas. This version features all of the hyperlink and search enhancements you would expect from Accordance.

Wayne Stiles is running a Black Friday audio blowout through Sunday night.

Carta is offering a 25% discount on the forthcoming The World’s Oldest Alphabet: Hebrew as the Language of the Proto-Consonantal Script, by Douglas Petrovich, with code 25-off.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Ferrell Jenkins

Alexander Schick sends along a photo of a newly discovered mikveh (ritual) bath at Herod’s palace at Macherus.

Machaerus Mikweh Schick P 4973
Mikveh at Macherus
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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

British and Egyptian archaeologists working in Aswan have discovered a long causeway leading to the tomb of a Middle Kingdom nomarch.

The Kom Aushim Museum in Egypt’s Fayoum has re-opened after 10 years of renovation.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is celebrating its 114th anniversary by staying open every Thursday and Sunday evening.

Juliette Desplat describes the founding of the Iraq Museum.

Satellite imagery reveals the destruction of the ziggurat of Nimrud and remains at Dur-Sharrukin that is related to ISIS and the ongoing battles near Mosul.

The IBTimes shows what’s left of Nimrud after its destruction by ISIS.

The National Archaeological Museum in Athens is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a special display of 200 artifacts.

The renovation and expansion of Berlin’s Pergamon Museum is $288 million over budget and will be finished four years later than anticipated (in 2023).

Visitors to Rome’s Circus Maximus can now see the ancient latrines and a portion of a triumphal arch of Titus.

A 4th-century AD Samaritan tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments has sold at auction for $850,000.

The PEF has issued a call for papers for next year’s conference in Jerusalem on “The Anglo-German 
Exploration of the Holy Land, 1865-1915.”

Mark Wilson will be leading a tour for BAS next September and October of Malta, Sicily, and Italy.

Eisenbrauns has extended its ASOR/AAR/SBL exhibit sale to a virtual booth where all can benefit.

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

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A rare cache of gold and silver items dated to 3,600 years ago has been found at Tel Gezer, including figurines of the Canaanite counterparts of the Akkadian deities Ishtar, goddess of fertility, sex, love and war; and Sin, god of the moon.”

An arsonist apparently set the fire that damaged Absalom’s Pillar and the Cave of Jehoshaphat in Jerusalem’s Kidron Valley. Ynetnews has a brief video.

Nir Hasson reports on the recent study that dates the Gihon Spring fortifications to the 9th century instead of the Middle Bronze Age.

A group of swimmers swam across the Dead Sea to draw attention to the lake’s declining condition.

A unique Chalcolithic wall painting with an 8-pointed star is on display in Jerusalem for the first time since it was discovered at Teleilat Ghassul in the 1930s.

The Israel Antiquities Authority is launching a three-year expedition to discover more Dead Sea Scrolls.

A Jerusalem shopkeeper is clashing with the IAA over 12th-century antiquities discovered in his store’s expansion.

A Byzantine arch has been discovered near the Cardo of Jerusalem.

Authorities working in Jerusalem’s Cardo plan to recreate 9 Byzantine-era shops and display a number of mosaics reflecting life in that time.

Ferrell Jenkins takes his readers on a tour of the Kishle excavations.

Michael Langlois provides a convenient summary of the Jerusalem Papyrus and why it’s controversial.

Wayne Stiles’s post will convince you that En Gedi is worth a (prolonged) visit.

After ten years away, Guy Stiebel is returning to excavate Masada.

Peter Flint, a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, has died.

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

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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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