Persia Archives - BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists have found evidence of a visitor from India in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.

“A reassessment of damaged 3,500-year-old statuary adds to evidence that Queen Hatshepsut wasn’t the villain that scholars long took her to be” (gift link).

A new study suggests that the destruction of the Jewish temple on Elephantine Island was caused by the same Hananiah, a descendant of Sanballat, who had been the governor of Samaria. The underlying journal article is here.

“An American archaeological mission from New York University has completed the restoration of a granite head of Ramesses II at his temple in Abydos.”

“The restoration of the gateway of King Ramesses III at the Karnak Temples has been completed, alongside the discovery of a rare stone stela dating to the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius.”

The exhibition “Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold” is now on display in London.

A special exhibition entitled “A Bestiary of Ancient Nubia”opens next month at the ISAC Museum.

“Iranian archaeologists have launched an interactive map that geolocates cultural sites in the country that have been damaged during the war.”

New release: Ancient Iran in the ISAC Museum: From Prehistory to the Achaemenid Period, by Abbas Alizadeh (ISAC Museum Publications 3; $30 print; open-access)

Expedition Bible’s latest video goes looking for the traditional location where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea.

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Museums, New Exhibits, Persia, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists have unearthed a Byzantine church with colorful mosaic floors at Nitzana (Nessana) in the Negev.

A lead sling bullet with the Greek word for “learn” was discovered in excavations at Hippos (Susita). The inscription “represents local sarcastic humor on the part of the city’s defenders, who wished to teach their enemies a lesson with a wink – ‘Learn your lesson!’” The underlying journal article is here.

Lauren K. McCormick writes about Byzantine baptismal halls at Hippos.

Rujm el-Hiri, the structure in the Golan Heights with concentric rings, is not unique, as scientists have identified 28 large circular structures within a 16-mile radius of the site.

“Archaeologists working off the coast of Libya have identified an underwater ‘ship graveyard’ near the ancient Greek city of Ptolemais.”

“Researchers are painstakingly reconstructing the oldest-known map of the night sky – previously thought lost forever – by X-raying parchment that contains the star catalog hidden beneath other text.”

“Amid rocket sirens and interceptions, two antiquities thieves were apprehended at the Horvat Hermesh site, which houses the remains of an ancient settlement from the Roman and Byzantine periods.”

“U.S. border officials in Philadelphia have seized a cache of 4,000-year-old Bronze Age swords and arrowheads, believed to be looted antiquities from Iran.”

The British Museum has released a video in the Curators’ Corner series about a monumental structure in Girsu that turned out to be the oldest bridge in the world.

The Greek City Times makes an argument for calling them the “Parthenon Sculptures,” not the “Parthenon Marbles.”

Military strikes have caused damage to historic sites in Isfahan, Iran.

“Lebanon has placed blue shields on 34 archaeological sites across the country to protect them during the ongoing war.”

ASOR webinar on March 25: “Lions, Rams, and Kings: Interpreting Animals at Persepolis,” by Neville McFerrin

BAS online course in August: “Historically Confirmed Figures in the Hebrew Bible,” by Lawrence Mykytiuk ($189)

BAS online class in October: “Ancient Texts and Scribes,” taught by Alice Mandell

The latest volume of Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology is now online.

On Digging for Truth, Bryan Windle discusses the “problems with using archaeological discoveries to interpret Scripture, instead of the other way around.”

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Galilee, Golan Heights, Lebanon, Lectures, Museums, Negev, Persia, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Rossella Tercatin writes about the exhibition, “The Girl Who Wrote,” that will open at the Israel Museum when the war restrictions are lifted.

With the museums in Israel currently closed, visitors can take advantage of online offerings, including activities for children.

The Times of Israel writes about the Purim holiday in light of current events.

Bryan Windle concludes his series on Jericho, arguing that it was City V, not City IV, that Joshua conquered.

Katharina Schmidt gives an update on the archaeological excavations at the Amman Citadel in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Archaeologists working in Luxor’s West Bank have found a cache of painted coffins with a collection of rare papyri that dates to Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period.

A tour guide in Egypt was arrested for drawing a stick figure into the wall of an ancient pyramid.

A 14-minute video shows how Pompeii looked before its destruction.

Bryan Windle discusses the top ten archaeological discoveries related to Esther on Digging for Truth.

“This past month, the most significant news stories from the world of biblical archaeology all involved stones: a stone seal, a stone vessel workshop, and limestone blocks related to a biblical Pharaoh.”

Zoom lecture on March 9: “Sensing the Synagogue,” by Karen B. Stern ($10). You can get a preview in this BAS article.

New release: Mummy Portraits of Roman Egypt, Volume 2, edited by Marie Svoboda and Caroline R. Cartwright (Getty Museum; open-access, including pdf)

The eBook of Bringing Heaven Here is on sale through Sunday for $3.99 (Kindle, B&N, Apple, Google, Kobo).

Jodi Magness has written a retrospective piece about her career as an archaeologist.

HT: Agade, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Holidays, Italy, Jordan Rift, Museums, New Exhibits, Persia, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A 4th-century basilica with a large reception hall has been excavated in Ostia.

A team of researchers has used AI to figure out the rules of an ancient Roman board game.

Authorities are taking action to reduce graffiti at the ancient site of Persepolis.

New benches outside the Roman Colosseum enable the visitor to comprehend just how much larger the amphitheater was before earthquakes destroyed the outer ring.

“A new study suggests that Alexandria on the Tigris was more than a regional city; it functioned as a capital of ancient global trade, linking India, Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean for more than five centuries.”

New release: The Transjordan in Biblical Literature: A Critical Spatial Approach, by Aubrey Taylor McClain (Gorgias, $76).

A book launch for A Voice from the Desert: The Great Isaiah Scroll will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 5:30, at The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus Campus, Mandel Building, 5th Floor, Room 530. Presentations will be made by Lawrence H. Schiffman, Emanuel Tov, Kristin De Troyer, Pnina Shor, and Marcello Fidanzio. The event is open to the public, and no registration is required.

Walking The Text has just released a “behind the scenes” series for The Lord’s Prayer. Six episodes reveal the backstory of the location shoots, the biblical scholarship, and a night in a bunker when missiles were in the air.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Explorator

Tagged Italy, Jordan, Mesopotamia, Persia, Resources, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Archaeologists working at the site of Abusir, one of the main burial grounds of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, have uncovered an extensive temple complex dedicated to the solar deity.”

A large, well-preserved mosaic from the 4th-6th centuries AD was discovered in Antakya (biblical Antioch) during rebuilding work following the 2023 earthquake.

Workers in Rome are using lasers and spending $1 million to clean the 154-foot-tall Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Hurriyet Daily News surveys Turkey’s top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2025. Daily Sabah gives a month-by-month review of top finds.

Turkish Archaeological News surveys the major stories in the month of December, including a new maritime exhibition area opening at the Troy Museum and some rare evidence of Phoenicians in ancient Anatolia.

National Geographic writes about 2025 archaeological discoveries related to the Bible (subscription required)

PaleoJudaica has posted its top ten list for 2025.

Bryan Windle identifies the top three reports in biblical archaeology for the month of December.

Daniel Justel writes about children in the ancient (and present-day) Near East. “He recently edited a special edition volume for the journal Childhood in the Past, entitled Children in the Ancient Near East.”

“Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has made public a rare historical intelligence document concerning Thomas Edward Lawrence, widely known in the West as ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ shedding light on how British intelligence activities were perceived and monitored in the late Ottoman and early Republican periods.”

Friends of ASOR webinar on Jan 21: “Experiencing Khirbet et-Tannur: The Story of a Nabatean Temple from the Second through 21st Century,” by Sarah Wenner

Owen Jarus identifies six ancient cities archaeologists have never found, including Akkad and Al-Yahudu.

Citizens and tourists are invited to visit the Jerash Archaeological Museum, the oldest in the country of Jordan.

The palace of Pella, where Alexander the Great was born and grew up, is now open to visitors.

Tehran Times has a short illustrated article on the ancient city of Susa.

“Archaeological artifacts should not be for sale in thrift shops. But putting them in a museum is harder than it sounds.”

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Lectures, Persia, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists have discovered a luxurious pleasure barge from the Ptolemaic era in the harbor of Alexandria.

A 20-year renovation project of the Colossi of Memnon has been completed. These two giant alabaster statutes in Luxor depict Amenhotep III.

“Italian authorities said on Friday they had arrested 34 ‘tomb raiders’ suspected of looting treasures from archaeological sites in Sicily and the neighboring region of Calabria.”

The NY Times writes about the contribution of Itiner-e, the new dataset of all roads in the Roman empire (gift link).

A rainstorm turned waters draining into the Persian Gulf blood red.

BAS Dig Scholarship winners share their experiences excavating at el-Araj (Bethsaida), Azekah, Antiochia ad Cragum, Iklaina, Sanisera, and Keros.

A three-month exhibition entitled “Nefertari: Reviving the Beauty of the Most Beautiful: The Tomb and Its Story” is on display at the (old) Egyptian Museum.

New release: Persia’s Greek Campaigns: Kingship, War, and Spectacle on the Achaemenid Frontier, by John O. Hyland (Oxford University Press, $140; Amazon)

All nine volumes of Die Bibel in der Kunst | Bible in the Arts are available online. Some of the articles are in English.

“The Guardian of Amphipolis” is a 15-minute documentary about the kid who discovered the famous tomb of Amphipolis and spent his life protecting archaeological treasures in the area.

On Digging for Truth, Bryan Windle examines the evidence for the claim that the Christmas holiday has pagan roots. If you prefer a text version, you can find that here.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Ted Weis, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Greece, Holidays, Italy, Museums, New Exhibits, Persia, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup