Resources Archives - Page 112 of 147

Sale: Aerial Atlas of the Holy Land

As one of their “Fabulous Friday” specials, CBD is offering slightly imperfect copies of the Aerial Atlas of the Holy Land for $15 (retail: $50; perfect copies are $38). I have not seen this 2008 work, but with photographs by Sonia Halliday I would expect the best. The text is written by John Bowker.

The publisher’s description lists some of the sites featured:

Now, thanks to aerial photography from a single, exceptionally high-quality and up-to-date source, the Aerial Atlas of the Holy Land reveals the ancient crossroads of Galilee, Samaria and Judea as never before seen in book form. Included are 36 sites of great Jewish, Christian or Muslim significance dating to Roman, Persian and Crusader times. The informative text adds historical, religious and cultural context to this superb photographic survey of the Holy Land. Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth are featured, as are such other key locations as Caesarea, Philippi, Cana, Qumran, Jericho, Mount Hermon, the Carmel Caves, Tiberias, Dor and the Sea of Galilee.

Amazon has the same work (but without the imperfections?) for $20 and that qualifies for their free shipping with Prime or orders of $25. They also list used (but like new) copies starting at $8.74. Back to the CBD special, regular shipping in the US costs $6.

Amazon lists the same book but with a different publisher and cover here.

HT: Charles Savelle

Tagged Resources

Weekend Roundup

Did the synagogue save Judaism? Paul V. M. Flesher answers the question in a new essay at the Bible and Interpretation, observing that “Judaism is the only Mediterranean religion that was practiced in 50 BC that still flourished in 500 AD.” He also addresses the “two-hundred-year gap” when there were allegedly no synagogues in the Holy Land.

NUMIDAT is a new one-of-a-kind online database of ancient coins, containing nearly 90,000 records.

Wayne Stiles hears echoes of Rosh Hashana in the ruins of the Temple Mount. Yoni Cohen recommends a six-hour hike in the Negev.

Now that 1,200 mines have been cleared, excavations have begun at ancient Carchemish. The team is comprised of 25 Italian and Turkish archaeologists who hope to transform the site into an archaeology park. One official eager for tourists said, “I hope [the excavation] does not take very long.” (Background and photos here and here.)

Leen Ritmeyer notes upcoming lectures at the Palestine Exploration Fund in London.

The Preserving Bible Times Collection (5 vols) for Logos Bible Software quickly received the minimum number of orders and is now under development. The discount is valid until the collection ships.

The Israel Museum is selling some of its artwork.

If you are looking for results for an excavation in Israel, particularly of a smaller site, the search page for Hadashot Arkheologiyot is the place to start. The content is all free.

ASOR has a roundup of stories in the broader world of archaeology.

I thought that the photo below was hilarious. If you’ve always wondered what that combustible city of Nablus looks like, you can find the answer in William A. Simmons, Peoples of the New Testament World (Hendrickson, 2008). (To see what they cropped out of the photo, compare it with this one.)

HT: Benj Foreman

“The city of Nablus”

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Free: Ashkelon Excavation Reports

Volumes 1 and 2 of the Ashkelon Reports are now available for free download. From Dig Ashkelon:

As we continue our new discoveries, we are excited to be able to bring you a summary of our results from 1985-2004 in the form of two final report volumes: Ashkelon 1 and Ashkelon 2. These two volumes provide over 900 pages of information on the ancient city of Ashkelon and can be downloaded free of charge due to the generous sponsorship of the Leon Levy Foundation. For those scholars who need the printed volumes, please note that they are still for sale at Eisenbrauns. These volumes – both in their publication, and now in their free distribution – reaffirm our commitment to making the result of our excavation available to the widest possible audience, so that all can appreciate appreciate and learn from the wonders of the history of Ashkelon.

Elsewhere it is written:

Eventually, each volume in the series will be available for download making the excavation of Ashkelon one of the most accessible in the world.

I don’t have enough positive things to say. Ashkelon 1: Introduction and Overview (1985-2006) fills 700 pages and sells for $135. Ashkelon 2: Imported Pottery of the Roman and Late Roman Periods has 233 pages and sells for $45.

Ashkelon 3: The Seventh Century B.C. has 28 chapters, 800 full-color pages, and sells for $93. The third volume was published this year and is not currently available for download.

Under this model, libraries and institutions will purchase the book and help to cover publication costs. After several years the Leon Levy Foundation will provide the funding so that the digital file (pdf) is made available to researchers and students who otherwise might not be able to afford the purchase. There is much merit in this model and I would love to see other expeditions follow suit.

Ashkelon from northwest

Tagged Philistines, Resources

Rare Find: Student Map Manual

If only…

I needed these a few years ago, but there were none to be found. Not under rocks, not under bushes, not under sycamore-fig trees. One of my students was teaching a class in Europe and bought every loose copy he could find on the internet. (Indeed, that put him on my black list.)
Eisenbrauns has not only come up with some copies of the Student Map Manual, but they’re selling them for $3 each. It’s the “Deal of the Day” which I believe expires mid-day tomorrow (9/21).

You might want to purchase one if:

You want to do a serious study of historical geography that involves marking maps.
You want to re-do your serious study (that wasn’t so serious because you were young, dumb, and in a hurry) when you went to study at the Institute of Holy Land Studies/Jerusalem University College or the Israel Bible Extension.
You heard stories of this great work but never had a chance to purchase one.

You might want to purchase more than one if:

You want to teach a course using this classic work.
You want each of your kids and grandkids to have a copy.

There are newer works out that aim to replace this (a big cheer to the folks at Biblical Backgrounds here), but this work retains a value that I don’t think will ever be completely replaced.

Note that in order to do the markings you will need a copy of James Monson, The Land Between. Amazon has a few used copies of this, starting at $4.

A map from one of the two Student Map Manuals I marked. This depicts the events in Joshua 10.

Tagged Resources

New Site: Bible and Archaeology

Bible and Archaeology is a virtual museum of many of the most important artifacts, sites, and ancient texts related to the Bible. Three features make this online exhibit particularly helpful.

The photos can be viewed in high-resolution. For one example, the image of the Merneptah Stele is the best I’ve seen.
The artifacts are listed in chronological order. That makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, even if you don’t know the correct name (is it the Dan Stele or the Tel Dan Inscription?).
Each photograph has a brief explanation of the significance of the artifact and its relationship to the Bible. You can do do additional research if you desire, but the description provides the basics.

Note: it may be user error, but I had better success viewing the some of the high-res images in the Chrome browser than in Firefox.

The Gallio Inscription, before it was put on display in the Delphi Museum

Tagged Museums, Resources

Weekend Roundup

Michael S. Heiser, at the Paleobabble blog, shares an article on limestone quarrying in Spain that may shed light on how similar activity was carried out in Israel. From the abstract:

It appears that one of the quarrying methods used was based on the chemical dissociation by fire of standing stone blocks at their attachment points,a technique hitherto unknown or unreported in the literature.

Israel has its first crocodiles in the wild since the last one was shot in 1912. Fortunately the 50 escapees from the crocodile farm in the Jordan Rift have now been captured. Bonus question: where is the Crocodile River located in Israel?

Paul’s first preaching stop in what is today Turkey was at Perga (Acts 13:13). Archaeologists there are now celebrating 65 years of excavation.

An archaeological park has opened at Claros (Klaros), not far from Smyrna (Izmir).

The Jordan Times is reporting an uptick in the number of visitors to the “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” baptismal site.

Archaeological sites in Syria are apparently not faring well in the current bloodletting. The danger to Mari is noted in a recent story.

The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Full History, by Weston W. Fields, is reviewed by Jaqueline Du Toit. She writes,

“In conclusion, volume 1 of The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Full History is an inestimable contribution to scrolls historiography. It will appeal to scholars and students of biblical scholarship, but also to academia in general and a popular audience. Despite its price, which curtails its mass appeal, it is highly recommended. And, based on the riveting narrative still unfolding, volume 2 is awaited with great anticipation.”

Joe Yudin takes readers on a tour of part of the Old City of Jerusalem, focusing on remains of the Tenth Roman Legion. He gives a good tour but he makes a significant mistake in dating the Cardo to the Roman period. While the northern portion (beginning at Damascus Gate) was constructed by Hadrian, the southern portion was only built in the time of Justinian in the Byzantine period.

(Excavator Nahman Avigad was surprised to make this discovery in his excavations; he discusses it at length on pages 225-27 of the excellent Discovering Jerusalem. I was about to write this is a very difficult work to find, for indeed it was for many years, but now Amazon has used copies starting at $4.63. I’ve bought several over the years for $60.)

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a camera that lets you focus after you’ve taken the shot?

Answer to the crocodile question: the Nahal Taninim (Crocodile River) runs on the northern end of the Sharon Plain, just below Mount Carmel.

HT: Explorator, Joseph Lauer, G. M. Grena

Nahal Taninim and Sharon Plain from Mount Carmel

Tagged Jerusalem, Jordan, Resources, Syria, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup