fbpx

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“Archaeologists digging in the ancient Canaanite settlement of Lachish have unearthed a 3,500 year old pottery shard inscribed with what they believe is the oldest text found in Israel that was written using an alphabetic script” (Haaretz; Times of Israel; Daily Mail; underlying journal article)

Israel’s Good Name shares his latest adventure traipsing around the fields and reservoir of Zorah (Tzora) near Beth Shemesh in search of birds and more.

Haaretz premium: “The Eshkol Forest provides a bird’s-eye view of the Jordan Valley” and Sea of Galilee.

The Israel Antiquities Authority archive is preserving and digitizing materials from the British Mandate era. The site includes lots of documents and photos, mostly in English.

Zoom lecture on April 26: “New Discoveries from the Judaean Desert Caves,” by Eitan Klein, co-director of the Judaean Desert Cave Archaeological Project.

A new episode produced by the City of David YouTube channel features the silver amulets discovered at Ketef Hinnom (2 min).

Writing for Christianity Today, Kelsa Graybill describes five ways biblical geography shapes our view of God’s mission. Kelsa also has a new podcast with recent episodes on the Sorek Valley, the Hill Country of Judah, and Between Gerizim and Ebal.

We have just released 2 Samuel in the Photo Companion to the Bible series. This resource is recommended by Luke Chandler, Carl Rasmussen, Charles Savelle, and others. There is a $50 discount for a few more days.

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“The Book of the Dead in 3D” will open later this year at Berkeley’s Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology. The interactive display will use virtual reality headsets to provide an immersive tour of Egypt’s death culture.

A robot captured 9 hours of video footage in traveling through the shaft of the Great Pyramid, discovering at the end a small chamber with elaborate symbols, but not yet solving the question of how the pyramids’ construction relates to the stars.

More has been published about the large animal cemetery located at the Roman port city of Berenice, Egypt.

The Alexander mosaic discovered at Pompeii will undergo a six-month process of restoration.

A man with a metal detector found a 2nd century AD Roman coin in British Columbia.

Mid-Atlantic Christian University and the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, NC have partnered together to exhibit artifacts from Khirbet el-Maqatir, March 19 to November 13. The exhibit is entitled “Joshua, Judges, & Jesus: An Archaeological Journey Through the Bible.”

Preserving Bible Times’s 2 Crowns film premieres on March 29 (reservation required, but there is no charge). Watch the trailer here. Pastors can sign up for a sneak preview on March 22 here.

Sidnie White Crawford will be lecturing on “Scribes and Scrolls at Qumran: A New Synthesis” on Mar 17, 11:30 am (EDT; Zoom link). Her book on the subject is on Amazon.

With Palm Sunday approaching, Wayne Stiles looks at the road descending down the Mount of Olives and the walls on either side of it.

Clyde Billington is on The Book and the Spade this week, talking about olive oil, DSS DNA, and bananas.

Accordance Bible Software is offering a number of historical and cultural resources on sale now, including the American Colony Collection, Views That Have Vanished, Cultural Images of the Holy Land, and Carta’s “Understanding” Series.

George Bass, often called the father of underwater archaeology, died on March 2. His article on “The Development of Maritime Archaeology in The Oxford Handbook of Maritime Archaeology is online.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Explorator, Charles Savelle

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The earliest evidence for the production of olives for eating has been found off the coast at Haifa.

The Bible Sleuth describes a relief that may provide a mention of the biblical David that is earlier than the Tel Dan Inscription and the Mesha Stele.

“Herod the Great Gardener” is the subject of this week’s episode on The Book and the Spade, with guest Kathryn Gleason.

A preliminary list of archaeological excavations in Israel this year is pretty short.

Renovation work has been completed at the Western Wall.

John DeLancey has created a video on Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

John Currid explains “Why We Dig: The Importance of Biblical Archaeology.”

Lawrence H. Schiffman looks at the evidence that connects John the Baptist with the Essenes/Qumran group and concludes that there is no reason to believe him was ever a member.

On Logos for $1.99: Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries That Bring the Bible to Life, by Titus Kennedy.

Ordinary Jerusalem, 1840-1940: Opening New Archives, Revisiting a Global City, edited by Angelos Dalachanis and Vincent Lemire. Available for free as a pdf.

David Hendin, author of Guide to Biblical Coins, talks about what makes a true collector.

The Jewish News looks back on early news stories of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Glenn J. Corbett is the new editor of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Online lecture on Feb 4: “Temples and Tabernacles: How the Ancient Israelites Worshipped,” by David Ilan.

Online lecture on Feb 10: “Exploring a 3D Model of the Ancient Beth Alpha Synagogue,” by Brad Erickson

Since Shmuel Browns wasn’t guiding tourists in 2020, he took lots of photographs, and he shares his favorite ones on his blog. My favorite is “Olive Tree in Shomron.”

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working at Timna have discovered fabrics dyed in royal purple from the time of David and Solomon. The underlying journal article is here. An early report from 2016 is here.

A mosque excavated in Tiberias may date back to the earliest years of Islam.

Several clay tablets discovered in the 1960s at Tell Deir Alla have mystified scholars, but a recent study has led to a translation along with the recognition that this is the only Late Bronze Age alphabet known from Jordan.

An endowment has secured a collection of historic Hebrew texts for Oxford University.

A new app created by an Episcopal church in South Carolina allows users to traverse a 98-mile path that follows the Gospel of Luke. You can access the app here.

Smithsonian Magazine: The Best Board Games of the Ancient World

The Onion: Archaeologists Uncover Separate Team Of Archaeologists Digging Towards Them From Other Side Of Globe

New from Yale: Ancient Israel, from Its Beginnings through 332 BCE, edited by Jeffrey H. Tigay and Adele Berlin.

Robert Cargill is stepping down as editor of Biblical Archaeology Review.

This week on The Book and the Spade, Gordon Govier reviews archaeology plans for 2021.

Bryan Windle chooses the top four reports in biblical archaeology for this month.

John DeLancey and Biblical Israel Ministries & Tours have released a new collection of 380 enhanced aerial photos of Israel (and a few sites in Jordan). Each of the 55 sites featured in this collection have seven photos each in this set. It is now available for purchase in thumb drive or download formats.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Mark Hoffman, Explorator

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

An Egyptian mummy with a woman’s portrait turned out to be a 5-year-old girl, based upon a study using high-resolution scans and X-ray microbeams.

SURA is a new project that will make available to the public 7,000 historic glass plate negatives from the Egyptological library of the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels.

“New analysis of a First Book of Breathing papyrus sheds light on its derivation from the Book of the Dead and postmortem deification in ancient Egypt.”

Wayne Stiles shares photos and looks at lessons to be learned from the pyramids of Giza.

Archaeologists are using artificial intelligence to analyze satellite images to identify ancient structures.

The Greek Reporter has created a short video showing the conservation and transportation of the mosaic of the Villa of Dionysus at Dion.

Carl Rasmussen shares photographs of Sinope, a likely recipient of Peter’s first epistle.

Gordon Govier asks, “Where are the other fake fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls?”

I just learned about thebiblesleuth.com, a weekly blog that links the Pentateuch with archaeological findings, following the Jewish annual reading cycle of the Torah. The blog is written in serial format, with the focus this year on the Iron Age IIA period (early Israelite monarchy).

In a three-minute video, John Currid answers the question, “Why is archaeology useful to Christians?”

Louise Pryke: “Nebuchadnezzar Explained: Warrior King, Rebuilder of Cities, and Musical Muse”

“Owning the Past: From Mesopotamia to Iraq” is a new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.

Accordance’s Black Friday sale includes big savings on collections, including a number of graphics collections.

James Sanders died last month.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Ferrell Jenkins, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken

Share:
Leave a comment

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A first ever First Temple-era gold granule bead was discovered during wet sifting of earth from the Temple Mount by a nine-year-old.”

Jamie Fraser and Caroline Cartwright give a very interesting account of the discovery and excavation of an olive oil factory in Gilead.

Israel’s Good Name shares his adventures at various sites in the western Jezreel Valley.

Leen Ritmeyer uses archaeological and textual sources to locate the Music Chamber in Herod’s temple.

Though most don’t believe that it is Mount Sinai, Har Karkom is home to 40,000 rock engravings.

According to Jeffrey Chadwick, the width of a gate at Gath is the same dimensions as the height of giant Goliath.

The release of Ken Dark’s new book has put in the news again the author’s theory that he has identified the house believed by the Byzantines to have been the house of Jesus.

“Visiting Sepphoris” is the latest video tour hosted by John DeLancey.

COVID restrictions have helped researchers excavating an underwater site off Israel to develop methods that will make future undersea excavation more precise and efficient.

A doctoral dissertation proposes that a silver shortage in Israel in the early Iron Age led to the creation of an alloy composed mainly of copper.

The next ASOR Zoom webinar: Eric Meyers, “Early Synagogues, Jesus, and Galilee—A Jewish Perspective,” on Dec 13, 7:30 EST.

Yesterday we released the Photo Companion to 1-2 Corinthians. These two volumes include 2,500 images.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Ferrell Jenkins, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken

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.