Archaeologists have uncovered a monumental entrance to the Herodium that was apparently buried by King Herod. The short video is more informative than the article.

Russian archaeologists have discovered portions of the walls of Memphis, capital of ancient Egypt.

The US has returned 123 artifacts smuggled out of Egypt.

Mathematicians at Tel Aviv University are developing algorithms to recognize ancient Hebrew letters inscribed on potsherds (or here).

The Temple Mount Sifting Project has a brief report about and many photos from the carpet job in the Dome of the Rock.

The Shrine of the Book opened 50 years ago this week.

The Plains of Moab remind us to remember what God has done in our lives.

Besides a Beretta, what else is in Aren Maeir’s dig bag?

Menahem Haran died recently at the age of 91.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade

Plains of Moab from Mount Nebo, tb031315120
The Plains of Moab from Mount Nebo
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Of the latest concerning “the tomb of Jesus,” the evidence doesn’t add up, according to professors at Yale and Notre Dame. Other scholars agree.

Jeffrey Zorn’s talk on Storage Bins at Tell en-Nasbeh (biblical Mizpah) is now online (20 min).

Archaeologists from the University of Manchester are busy excavating a site in Iraq in an effort to save history from ISIS terrorists.

In fear of ISIS’s advance, monks at the Mar Matti Monastery in Iraq hid their collection of ancient manuscripts.

An opinion piece in the New York Times calls on the world to use force to stop ISIS’s campaign against historic sites and artifacts.

Should antiquities be repatriated to countries unable to protect them?

The latest podcast from Exploring Bible Times focuses on the Hill of Moreh.

Yossi Garfinkel’s talk from last fall at Florida College is now online.

HT: Agade

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Archaeologists found Egyptian artifacts from the Late Kingdom period in a cave in southern Israel near Kibbutz Lahav.

Arad would like to become a tourist destination in southern Israel.

A researcher believes that the famous “Meidum Geese” painting from ancient Egypt is actually a modern fake.

Now is a good time to visit Egypt.

The 2,000-year-old date palm known as Methuselah has turned out to be male, but there is hope that another seed may produce a female plant. The scientist would like to produce an orchard of ancient date palm trees.

A large Iron Age fortification has been discovered at Ashdod-Yam, the port of the ancient Philistine city of Ashdod.

Eisenbrauns is having a big sale on excavation reports, including works on Ashkelon, Tel Malhata, Megiddo, Tell el-Borg, Timnah, and Dothan.

Tel Burna – The Late Bronze and Iron Age Remains after Five Seasons, by Chris McKinny, Deborah Cassuto, and Itzhaq Shai.

New from Zondervan: The Most Significant People, Places, and Events in the Bible: A Quickview Guide, by Christopher Hudson.

Larry G. Herr favorably reviews Biblical Lachish, by David Ussishkin.

A £2 million statue looted from Cyrenaica, Libya, was confiscated upon entry to the UK.

A new video shows ISIS destroying Iraq’s UNESCO World Heritage city of Hatra.

The British Museum has proposed lending the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

They’re using drones in Jordan to track the looting of ancient tombs.

Test your knowledge of Bible numbers with the BAR Anniversary Bible Quiz.

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

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The Passover sacrifice was reenacted recently by Jewish priests-in-training. The Times of Israel article includes a graphic 3-minute video.

Wayne Stiles explains how God connected Passover, redemption, and the Holy Land. He also shows how archaeology helps us to understand the Passion Week.

BibleX shares how one can illustrate the triumphal entry using photos from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project found a finger from an Egyptian statue last week.

Leen Ritmeyer was recently interviewed on “Cry for Zion.” His blog lists some of the questions he was asked.

The Gazelle Valley Urban Wildlife Park opened in Jerusalem last week.

A.D. The Bible Continues airs Sunday evening on NBC. A trailer is online.

David Laskin visits sites related to King Herod in a travel piece in the New York Times.

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient Egyptian brewery in Tel Aviv.

Passages opened yesterday in Santa Clarita, California.

The Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, has re-opened after a five-year restoration. This is the only museum entirely devoted to Egyptian culture outside of Egypt.

A new technology will reduce the length of time required for carbon-14 dating from six weeks to two days.

Accordance’s 20% off sale ends on Monday (with code Celeb2). That discount applies to our own photo collections, including The American Colony Collection ($30 off), Views That Have Vanished, and the new ones: Cultural Images of the Holy Land and Trees, Plants, and Flowers of the Holy Land.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer

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What does a field archaeologist carry in his dig bag? I like Eric Welch’s answer.

After a porcupine uncovered a Byzantine oil lamp in Emek Hefer, the Israel Antiquities Authority was up in arms. “The IAA calls on all porcupines to avoid digging burrows at archeological sites and warns that digging at an archeological site without a license is a criminal offense.”

Why did people stop eating pork in the ancient Near East around 1000 BC? A new study suggests one answer.

A new video from the Museum of the Bible reveals some of the work of the Green Scholars Initiative and the associated educational tools being developed for use in Israel and the U.S.

“Visual data about cultural heritage sites within conflict zones in near real-time has become possible with new technology, particularly satellite imagery.” This article considers the ethical questions.

BBC Magazine: The men who uncovered Assyria.

Three Jordanians who floated to the Israeli side of the Dead Sea were returned to Jordan.

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago has several courses and workshops scheduled for the coming months.

Now free at The Bible and Interpretation: the first two chapters of Ancient Israel’s History: An Introduction to Issues and Sources, edited by Bill T. Arnold and Richard S. Hess.

Sad news: William W. Hallo died on Friday. A funeral service is scheduled for 1:00 pm, Monday,
March 30, at Mishkan Israel, 785 Ridge Road, Hamden, Connecticut.

The Agade list is now being archived at the SBL website.

HT: Agade

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Just before Palm Sunday, Jesus made the trek from Jericho to Jerusalem. What did he see?

A good book to read this week in the days leading up to Good Friday is The Final Days of Jesus, now $3.99 on Kindle.

The Temple Institute has built a sacrificial altar to be used in the Third Temple. Leen Ritmeyer comments.

Who is buried in the Prophetess Hulda’s tomb on the Mount of Olives? Miriam Feinberg Vamosh considers the question in a premium article at Haaretz.

The city of Afula plans to preserve its archaeological remains which span from the Chalcolithic to the Crusader periods.

Aren Maeir visited Hebron and took some photos of the ancient fortifications.

Leon Mauldin is in Athens now and shares some photos from the acropolis museum.

A large underground city has been discovered in Cappadocia.

You can vote for your favorite excavation photo in this year’s AIA Photo Contest. (No registration required.)

Now $0.99 on Kindle: The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament, by Eugene H.
Merrill, Mark Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti. Also $0.99 on Vyrso.

HT: Agade

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