Weekend Roundup

An 8-year-old boy discovered the head of an Iron Age figurine while visiting the site of Beth Shemesh.

A mosaic with an inscription from Isaiah 65 has been discovered near Adana, Turkey.

Archaeologists have found a “giant fence” at Tell ed-Daba that dates to the time of the Hyksos’ invasion.

The Algemeiner: “Hamas forces seized a chest full of Ottoman-era gold coins discovered in Gaza.”

Police arrested an antiquities dealer near Beth Shean with a collection of more than 3,000 illegally obtained coins.

Google is adding Petra to its “Street View.” The queen of Jordan contributed by writing the company’s blog post. I’m impressed.

Fadi Shawkat Haddad has released A Christian Pilgrimage Journey in Jordan. Haddad is a Christian tour guide in Jordan whom I worked with many years ago. The book covers 80 sites and costs $20 plus postage.

The Summer 2015 issue of DigSight is now available in pdf format. This issue includes a report on the season at Lachish, the Ishbaal inscription from Khirbet Qeiyafa, and upcoming events.

Charles E. Jones has expanded his bibliography of autobiographies of archaeologists and given it a new home.

A team of researchers is learning more about how vellum was produced for pocket Bibles in the medieval period.

Premier Exhibitions recently had a media preview of its King Tut exhibition. It features more than
1,000 precisely crafted replicas, arranged in the exact manner found by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.

Qedem Reports is now accessible online through JSTOR. In the future, all Qedem volumes will be available.

The Biblical Archaeology Society is running a Thanksgiving sale with discounts up to 85%.

The future of archaeology is non-invasive and non-destructive technologies.

This week on the Land and the Book: Bible Exploration Tech Tools with Scott Lindsey from Logos Bible Software.

Here’s more on the new papyrus of the Gospel of John.

BibleX has an interesting post on Paul and Bedbugs.

Israeli archaeologist Yoram Tsafrir died on Monday.

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

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The Mountain to Valley Relay is a 215 km relay race in northern Israel. Registration opens in January.

A beautiful mosaic from the Roman and Byzantine periods excavated in Lod went on display this week.

A hoard of 3rd century Roman coins has been found in Switzerland.

You can now visit every gallery in the British Museum with Google Street View.

Reuters revisits Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights.

Wayne Stiles observes the irony that a “seat of Moses” was discovered at Chorazin.

An ornately decorated 1st century A.D. basilica once used by a pagan cult is now open to tourists in Rome.

Now on pre-pub pricing for Logos: AR151 Archaeology in Action: Jesus and Archaeology, with Craig Evans.

The Ancient Semitic Languages Youtube Channel has a reading of the Mesha Stele in Moabite.

Urban Legends of the New Testament is on sale for $4.99 for Kindle.

Ferrell Jenkins has announced his 50th Anniversary Tour to Israel.

I’ve never heard of a modern-day “tour of Palestine,” but Felicity Cobbing reports on her annual tour to sites in the West Bank.

Leen Ritmeyer responds to the recent Popular Archaeology claim that the Jewish people are praying
at the wrong wall.

HT: Ted Weis, Vik Menon

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A study of the temperature of the walls of Tut’s tomb is promising for those looking for a hidden chamber.

Ben Carson believes the pyramids of Egypt were built by Joseph to store grain.

Joseph’s tomb has been restored.

The Hebron archaeological site will not be leased to Jewish settlers.

The PEF has posted a brief video compilation of their recent conference on Jericho.

G. M. Grena reports on a new book dedicated to Robert Deutsch (that includes a chapter by Gabriel
Barkay), his visit to Passages exhibit and lecture, a forthcoming game, and a secret link.

If you don’t know about the Lanier Theological Library, you should read this.

This is your last chance to get in on Logos’s Classic Studies and Atlases on Biblical Geography (7 vols.) at the best pricing ($24-30).

Now free in pdf format: The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology: Characters and Collections, by Alice Stevenson.

Our most popular photo this week on Facebook and Twitter was this Psalm 23 image from the American Colony Collection.

Shepherd resting with flock at Ein Farah, mat05629
Shepherd tending his flock at a spring in the Judean wilderness
Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

An undisturbed 3,500-year-old soldier’s tomb with enormous treasures has been found in southwest Greece.

A secret tunnel built by the Hittites has been discovered in central Turkey.

Twenty two ancient shipwrecks have been discovered off the coast of Turkey.

A fine first-century marble head of the mythical greek hero Hercules has been acquired by the Dallas Museum of Art.

Charles Jones has posted a preliminary bibliography of autobiographies of scholars of the greater Ancient Near East.

Haaretz: “How Did a Judean Seal End Up in a 2,000-year-old Russian Warrior Woman’s Grave?”

The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative has added to its library works from the Detroit Institutes of Arts.

“Scan Pyramids” is a new study by Egyptian and foreign experts that will use modern infra-red technology to map four pyramids and search for hidden secrets.

David Moster identifies 10 great biblical artifacts in the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem.

Lenny Ben-David shares a photo essay entitled “Secrets under the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The Jordan Times reports on restoration efforts at Macherus. The Hungarian team plans to excavate
until 2029 and to create a visitor’s center in a Herodian cistern.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Wayne Stiles, Agade

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup

A new study claims that an Egyptian text is the oldest known abecedary.

Haaretz‘s report on Gabriel Barkay’s Temple Mount sifting project include several pictures of findings.

A UNESCO resolution that claimed the Western Wall prayer plaza as an Islamic shrine has made some people unhappy.

German experts are restoring the golden mask of King Tut after its beard was broken off and clumsily repaired.

The Journal of Near Eastern Archaeology reports that there are groups other than the Islamic State who are destroying and plundering antiquities in Syria.

The Getty Villa in Los Angeles is exhibiting 1800’s era watercolor paintings of Greece, many offering insight into how ancient sites looked in the early 19th century.

Emily Corrigan shares her experience of a summer on the Jezreel Expedition.

Egyptian authorities are investigating the embezzlement of $20 million from construction funds for the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Zahi Hawass throws cold water on the proposal that Nefertiti’s tomb has finally been located.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo he took of a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee as the sun was rising.

The newly renovated Waldorf-Astoria in Jerusalem has been ranked the top hotel in the Middle East in a survey by Condé Nast Traveler.

Test your knowledge about Petra with 10 questions at the ASOR Blog.

The newly released NIV Zondervan Study Bible, edited by D. A. Carson, is on sale now for Kindle for $7.99. (I wrote the notes for 2 Kings.)

Chris McKinny has made available on Academia his presentation on “Kiriath-Jearim (Deir el-‘Azhar): Archaeological Investigations of a Biblical Town in the Judean Hill Country.”

Conference at Hebrew U on Oct 29: “I Know What You Did Last Summer: A Glimpse at the Excavations and Surveys of the Institute of Archaeology, 2015 Season.”

Adam Zertal died on Sunday at the age of 79. He was best known for his survey of the hill country of Samaria and his identification of a structure on Mount Ebal as the altar of Joshua.

Thomas Schaub died on Monday at the age of 82. Schaub excavated Bab edh-Dhra.

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

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists working on the Gezer water system have new evidence supporting its dating to the Middle Bronze period. Volunteers are invited for next season’s dig.

A court has ruled that Elad can continue to run the Jerusalem Archaeological Park in the City of David.

The Museum of the Bible has announced plans to excavate Tel Shimron in Galilee.

Palestinians have set fire to the traditional tomb of Joseph in Shechem.

Nearly 1,000 riders completed a three-day bike race in northern Israel. Dates have been announced for Epic Israel 2016.

Nehemia Gordon shares his experience in working on the Temple Mount Sifting Project. You can donate to the effort here.


The New York Times has issued a correction for their article on the Temple Mount. Jodi Magness’s letter to the editor is here.

ISIS’s destruction of the Roman Arch of Triumph in Palymra made some Russians unhappy.

Egypt is opening a small museum at the Cairo airport later this month.

Volume 3 of NGSBA (Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology) Archaeology has been released. The articles are primarily about the excavations at Yehud and Maresha. The entire issue can be downloaded for free. Previous volumes are available here.

The Oriental Institute has begun posting their photo archives online. Images are now available from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. As far as I can tell, the images are all low-res.

Jodi Magness reviews The Tomb of Jesus and His Family?, edited by James H. Charlesworth. She provides a summary of the articles, including the one by A. Kloner and S. Gibson, excavators of the Talpiot tomb. Ben Witherington provides an abbreviated version of her review.

Brent Seales is on the Book and the Spade to talk about the technology that enabled reading the oldest biblical text outside the Dead Sea Scrolls. Listen here.

Here’s a unique tour of Israel: the Life and Land of Jesus, with Wayne Stiles. This should be particularly attractive for those who want to return but don’t want to visit the same places as every time before.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Paleojudaica

Our most popular Facebook post and tweet of the week:

Mount of Beatitudes aerial from northeast, ws011415241
The Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Gennesaret, Arbel – so much of Jesus’s ministry right here!
Share:
Leave a comment
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.

Links
Notice

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. In any case, we will provide honest advice.