Israel aims to become the leader in archaeological knowledge within three years as they develop an open database and transform it into an advanced scientific repository using Google’s artificial intelligence tools.

A volunteer at the Temple Mounting Sifting Project this week discovered a seal impression from the First Temple period with Egyptian symbols.

Joshua Berman wonders if the biblical account of the exodus was “mockingly subverting an earlier Egyptian text.”

Alon Gildoni and Ron Milo created “Haggadah on the Map,” with a printable pdf version and an online interactive version. The Times of Israel interviewed Gildoni.

A newly excavated fortress at Tell el-Kharouba in northern Sinai might be related to the Way of Horus which the Lord led the Israelites away from during the exodus.

Ruth Marks Eglash reports on the excavations in the Kishle, just south of the Tower of David complex in Jerusalem.

Archaeologists discovered a cache of ostrich eggs near the remains of a campfire used by desert nomads in southern Israel.

“Recent excavations in Egypt’s Kalaya region in the Beheira governorate have uncovered a fifth-century CE building that offers a detailed glimpse into early Coptic monastic life.”

A new study has identified a female beast hunter in a now-lost ancient Roman mosaic.

Woo Min Lee argues that Sennacherib’s claim that he “shut [Hezekiah] up like a bird in a cage” was a declaration of victory, not defeat.

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on the Last Supper, sights and smells of synagogues, the “Diaspora Revolt” against Rome, and the Roman siegeworks built around Jerusalem in AD 70.

Greek Reporter has an article about the synagogue at Delos, the oldest one known outside the land of Israel.

Greece will be establishing two new underwater archaeological sites that will be open to divers.

New release: The Untold Story of the Kingdom of Judah, by Oded Lipschits (De Gruyter Brill, $88)

New release: Pencil and Dust. Women Who Shaped Archaeology in Greece and the Greek World, edited by Sylviane Déderix and Maguelone Bastide (École française d’Athènes; $11)

New online course: “The Archaeology of Ancient Israel: A View from Mesopotamia,” by Paul Collins (Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society; £50-£100)

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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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

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A ship that wrecked off the coast of Dor circa 600 BC was carrying chunks of iron after they had been smelted, providing the first evidence that iron was traded in this form.

Dozens of rare coins dating to about 2,000 years ago were seized from a Palestinian doctor attempting to smuggle them through the Hizma checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem on the first Friday of Ramadan.”

Oded Lipschits and colleagues have published an article in Palestine Exploration Quarterly about a mass grave of young children from the Persian period at Tel Azekah.

Ruth Marks Eglash writes about the politics of Israelis excavating in the West Bank.

Yesterday’s Jerusalem Tracker lists the latest books, book chapters, and articles about the Holy City.

T’OMIM (Tanakh Observable Matches of Intertextual Mimesis, from Hebrew תאומים meaning “twins”) is an open-access dataset of labeled parallel passages in the Hebrew Bible, compiled for computational and literary research on inner-biblical intertextuality.”

The long-awaited Gospel Companion from Biblical Backgrounds has arrived. The resource is on sale now until the end of Passover ($29.50).

The first two episodes of Season 1 of The Sacred Thread was released this week. Remaining episodes will release one a week through April on Angel Studios.

“A new theory is drawing attention to Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands as a potential hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant.”

Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer discuss the best archaeological finds of 2025 on the Biblical World podcast.

Denny Sissom will be teaching a new online class entitled “Revealing the New Testament through the History, Politics, and Customs of the Inter-Testament Period.”

New release: The Raging Torrent, 3rd edition, by Mordechai Cogan (Carta; $88)

New release: When Israel Was Young: A History of the Jewish People from the Beginnings to the Roman Conquest of Jerusalem, by Lester L. Grabbe (Bloomsbury, $25-$90; Amazon)

Legends of the Lost Ark will be in movie theaters on April 12, 14, and 15. A richly illustrated companion book by Chris McKinny and Roy Brown will soon be available. The pre-order sale price is $32.

HT: Agade, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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“Archaeologists working in Upper Egypt have uncovered around 3,000 ostraca pottery fragments during the current excavation season … [which] raises the total number of ostraca found at the site to approximately 43,000…, making it the largest known collection of inscribed pottery fragments from a single archaeological location in Egypt.”

“Ancient Egyptian craftspeople used a corrective fluid similar to modern-day Wite-Out to fix their mistakes, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum.”

An underground Roman-era vaulted water channel has been discovered in northeastern Turkey.

For the first time in a millennium, water is now flowing below the now-reconstructed monumental arches of the Asopos Bridge at Laodicea.

“A striking, large-scale marble lion, with its detailed mane and head turned in a noble pose, has emerged from the earth at Philippi.”

“Greece’s archaeological sites generated higher revenue in the summer of 2025, even as visitor numbers declined.”

“Archaeologists in Rome have uncovered a well-preserved necropolis decorated with Winged Victory figures.”

A small graffito recently discovered in a theater corridor at Pompeii offers a rare glimpse into how ordinary people experienced the spectacle of the games.”

“The first permanent exhibition of Pompeii’s historic casts is now on display in Italy, paying homage to those who were brutally killed after being engulfed by an inundation of volcanic ash.”

“Here are 10 practical and creative ways to spark a child’s interest in archaeology — including how social media can play a positive role.”

Michael Foust interviews Chris McKinny about the upcoming docudrama Legends of the Lost Ark.

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on March 25: “From Kaiser to AI: Current Projects of the DEI Jerusalem,” by Katja Soennecken

Jack Lundbom, author of the three-volume commentary on Jeremiah in the Anchor Bible series, died last month.

New release: The Jesus Discoveries: 10 Historic Finds That Bring Us Face-to-Face with Jesus, by Jeremiah Johnston (Bethany House, $16). The ten include the Shroud of Turin, the James Ossuary, and the Palatine Graffito.

Carl Rasmussen’s outstanding Zondervan Atlas of the Bible for Kindle is on sale at the moment for $3.99 (reg. $25).

Season 1 of The Sacred Thread will begin releasing on March 24 on Angel Studios. “Seven episodes unpacking each phrase of the prayer Jesus taught — expanding on the feature film with deeper scholarship, new stories, and breathtaking cinematography.”

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

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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

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The Israel Museum has relocated some of its significant archaeological artifacts to a secure location. A few photos are posted on Facebook.

Excavations at Emesa (modern Homs, Syria) “reveal the slow transformation of a powerful pagan city into a Christian and then Muslim one.”

Margreet L. Steiner explains why the Assyrian presence in the Levant in the 9th-7th centuries BC left its mark not in material culture but in economic transformation.

Carl Rasmussen shares a link to his recent online seminar on “The Early Church’s Encounter with the Roman Imperial Cult.” His post includes timestamps for each topic.

Hybrid lecture on March 11 at Harvard: “The Future of the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife,” by Rune Nyord (in-person registration; online registration)

ASOR webinar on March 11: “Anatolian Futures: Archaeologies of Anatolia within the Larger Mediterranean,” by Müge Durusu-Tanrıöver

New release: Sex and Sexuality in the Ancient Near East, by Stephanie Lynn Budin (Cambridge Elements; open access through March 10)

New release: For Those Who Sleep in the Dust: Essays on Archaeology and the Bible, by William G. Dever (SBL Press, $56)

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

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