Resources Archives - Page 2 of 144

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A 5,000-year-old wine press has been unearthed next to the iconic archaeological site of Tel Megiddo, providing the earliest evidence of wine production in the Land of Israel.” There are more photos here.

After years of survey work, a couple of Israeli archaeologists identified the probable location of the ancient synagogue in the Syrian village of Yehudiya in the Golan Heights. Then they confirmed it with excavations.

Archaeologists discovered red fox tracks in the fresh plaster of a Byzantine wall at Bethsaida (el-Araj).

Chandler Collins has written an excellent summary and analysis of the newly discovered “Siloam Dam” in Jerusalem.

Work is underway on a Visitor Education Center on the Mount of Olives. The story includes other details about the area, such as the cost of a burial plot in the cemetery.

The entire Great Isaiah Scroll will be on display at the Israel Museum to mark the museum’s 60th anniversary.

Iran is not happy about the British Museum’s plan to loan the Cyrus Cylinder to the National Library of Israel. [EDIT: This story is from early 2024. The Cyrus Cylinder has not been in Israel since this story was written, as far as I know.]

New from IAA Reports: Khirbat ‘Amra: A Rural Site from the Hellenistic to Early Islamic Periods in the Beʼer Sheva‘ Valley, by Itamar Taxel and Noé D. Michael (open-access).

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 3: “The Legacy of Hansen House in Jerusalem,” by Susan Kennedy-Arenz. “This talk will describe the living conditions of Jerusalem’s leper community prior to the establishment of the first leper hospice in the mid-19th century.”

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 10: “The Rise of Christianity in Galilee: A Perspective from the Jewish Cities of Sepphoris and Tiberias,” by Shulamit Miller

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Dec 17: “Albright 2025: The Year in Review,” by Director James Fraser

Preserving Bible Times is streaming Digging Deeper I (The Great Commission) and Digging Deeper II (The Jewish Mind of Jesus’ Day), free on YouTube.

Leon Mauldin shares several photos of the ancient city of Jokneam.

Logos subscribers can purchase Holman Illustrated Guide to Biblical Geography: Reading the Land, by Paul H. Wright, for about $8.

Alumni of Jerusalem University College are invited to an alumni gathering in Boston during the Annual Meetings.

Wayne Stiles is hosting an advanced tour of Israel next year, with visits to places that most groups never visit (including Dothan, Samaria, Solomon’s Pools, Bethany, Temple Mount, an optional 10-mile hike and river rafting, and more).

The new Job volume in the Photo Companion to the Bible includes 1,600 photos. The introductory sale ends in a few days.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Galilee, Golan Heights, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Lectures, Museums, Photo Resources, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The Grand Egyptian Museum officially opened yesterday. The $1 billion project began in 2005.

There are no threatening cracks in King Tut’s tomb, according to the Egyptian authorities.

The sun lit up King Ramses II’s statue at Abu Simbel for 22 minutes last week.

Egyptian emergency personnel carried out “one of the most complex rescue missions carried out in closed archaeological sites” in rescuing an injured woman inside the Bent Pyramid.

A tourist fell off the perimeter wall of the Pantheon in Rome and died.

Erosion is a risk to monuments in southern Iraq, including the Ziggurat of Ur.

The International Association for Assyriology has posted links to a number of video and audio presentations related to ANE archaeology, history, culture, and cuneiform.

New release: Yearning for Immortality: The European Invention of the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife, by Rune Nyord (University of Chicago Press, $115; open-access)

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Explorator

Tagged Egypt, Italy, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A system of tunnels has been discovered under the Gan Hashlosha National Park, used during the Mamluk period for sugar mills.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project’s find of the month is a bronze crotal bell with an iron chain attachment.

On Digging for Truth, Abigail Van Huss reports on her research into Israel’s settlement in the hill country.

“What happened to the ark of the covenant?” is the topic of Chris McKinny’s conversation with Gordon Govier on The Book and the Spade.

Ami Nadir graduated with his PhD in archaeology from Ben-Gurion University at age 81.

Stephen Pfann, Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and co-founder (with his wife Claire) of the University of the Holy Land, died recently.

New release: A Prophet to the Nations: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives on Jeremiah 46–51, edited by Jordan Davis and Benedikt Hensel (Vetus Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; EUR 140; digital is open access)

The latest issue of Tel Aviv is fully open access. It includes articles on Hazor, Horvat Tevet, and more.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Explorator

Tagged Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Resources, Sad News, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists have found remains of 95 dolmens from the Early Bronze Age in the Madaba region of Jordan.

“Archaeologists have discovered a 3,500-year-old military fortress with a zigzag-style wall in the north Sinai Desert of Egypt.”

Egyptian officials are worried about a ceiling crack in the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

“Greece said on Thursday it had agreed with Egypt on the future of St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Egypt’s Mount Sinai.”

Archaeological work is progressing on a large, “circular, labyrinthine building [that] has no known parallel in prehistoric Crete or the wider Aegean region.”

Expedition Bible’s latest video is about the Amarna Letters, which Joel Kramer states in the introduction are “the most powerful evidence outside of the Bible for the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land.”

Clinton Arnold and Sean McDowell discuss the recent excavations at Colossae on the Think Biblically podcast. Fox News has some new photos of the excavation.

The first results have been published from “Pompeii Reset, a non-invasive program that used three-dimensional recording and modeling to re-examine the House of the Tiaso.”

“3D models of the Sela inscription of the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (556-539 BCE) can be seen at the Sketchfab’s page of the GRACPE-UB research group.”

Hybrid lecture at Harvard on Nov 12: “Decoding the Pyramid Statues of King Menkaure,” by Florence Dunn Friedman

The ESV Archaeology Study Bible Notes are available for pre-order at Logos.

Amazon is listing for pre-order two long-awaited volumes in the Lexham Geographic Commentary series – Historical Books, volume 1 (Joshua–Ruth) and volume 2 (1 Samuel–Esther). They are also available for pre-order on Logos (vol 1, vol 2).

Open-access: The South Palace Archives in Babylon: Administrative Records in the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, by Olof Pedersén (Harrassowitz)

The Johns Hopkins University Archaeological Museum has re-opened after a three-year renovation.

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Lectures, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A fragment of an Assyrian tax notice from the time of Hezekiah was discovered in Jerusalem. The inscribed potsherd mentions “a delay in payment, the first day of the month of Av, and the title of an Assyrian officer.” This is the first time “written evidence of the relations between the Assyrian Empire and the Kingdom of Judah has been discovered” in Jerusalem.

A 7th-century cremation burial at Horvat Tevet contains an “unparalleled” burial treasure that sheds light on Assyrian rule over northern Israel.

Aren Maeir wrapped up a mini-season of excavations at Gath/Tell es-Safi.

Frank Turek interviews Titus Kennedy about “12 biblical archaeological discoveries you’ve never heard of before.” Comet (see below) just gave me a quick summary (and saved me 45 minutes of watching), and I’ve heard of all of them.

The latest episode of Digging for Truth is about this summer’s season at Shiloh and the team’s evacuation when the Israel-Iran War began.

Kristine Garroway has written an article about the death of children in ancient Israel that is based on her new book.

Zoom lecture on Nov 12: “American Archaeology through the Lens of Albright’s Work at Tel Beit Mirsim, and Beyond,” by Igor Kreimerman, Michael Freikman, and Rachel Hallote

Free ebook for a limited time: Between Yahwism and Judaism: Judean Cult and Culture during the Early Hellenistic Period (332–175 BCE), by Yonatan Adler (Elements in The Archaeology of Ancient Israel; Cambridge University Press)

Ebook available to read online, in Hebrew: A History of the Israel Exploration Society, by Lina Dar and Raphael Kitron

Available for pre-order on Logos: The Archaeology of the Bible, by James K. Hoffmeier ($14)

The Wall Street Journal says that the Perplexity browser (Comet) is currently the best, and I’ve been happy with Perplexity.ai for the last year (its strength is citing its sources). If you are a student or teacher, you can sign up for a free year of Perplexity Pro, and if you use this link, I’ll get an extra free month ($4.99 value).

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Gordon Franz, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Resources, Samaria, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists excavating Colossae found 60 Hellenistic-era tombs.

New details on Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, have been gleaned from ongoing deciphering of the carbonized papyri from Herculaneum.

A new study provides insights into the origins of the Karnak Temple.

“Research shows that women might be represented in Mycenaean iconography instead of men, changing the interpretation of Mycenaean society.”

The ancient site of Persepolis is threatened as “the surrounding ground is dropping by several inches to over a foot each year.”

For the first time in 20 years, the Parthenon in Athens is not obstructed by scaffolding. For one month.

“For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, visitors to Rome’s world-renowned Colosseum will have the opportunity to walk through a hidden imperial passage that once allowed Roman emperors to reach the ancient amphitheater unseen.”

A Roman gravestone of a sailor has turned up in an overgrown backyard in New Orleans.

More volumes are available in open-access for the Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period and Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian Empire series.

Mohr Siebeck has made some books available as open-access.

The Lawrence T. Geraty and Douglas R. Clark Center for Near Eastern Archaeology (CNEA) at La Sierra University is hosting its 17th annual Archaeology Discovery Weekend on November 15-16, with both in-person and online registration options available (all free).

The ICR Discovery Center is hosting a Biblical Archaeology Conference on November 8, with presentations by Titus Kennedy and Randall Price ($15/$30).

The Friends of ASOR are hosting a tour next spring: “From Carthage to Djerba: The Archaeology of Tunisia.”

Mary and Carl Rasmussen are leading a “not for credit” study tour of Turkey and Greece next April and May.

Phillip J. Long reviews Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide, by David A. deSilva, positively, recommending that it be required reading before visiting the sites.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Lectures, Persia, Resources, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup