Resources Archives - Page 68 of 145

Weekend Roundup

A new study concludes that the Roman siege ramp of Masada was never completed and thus was not used to conquer the site.

The Times of Israel has more on the latest discoveries at Omrit.

Syrian troops have recaptured Palmyra from ISIS and the latest damage is being assessed.

The site of the ancient temple of Artemis in Ephesus is suffering from neglect.

The Museum of Archaeological Excavations on Elephantine Island in Aswan has been re-opened after a six-year closure.

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo was opened to the public last week.

2,000 libraries around the world will receive true color photographs of the Sistine Chapel.

“A 19th-century view of the Egyptian temple complex of Karnak is to go on display at the British Museum for the first time this week.”

Wayne Stiles provides a brief history of the Temple Mount, with lots of photos.

John DeLancey of Biblical Israel Tours now has posts up for every day of his recent tour of Israel and Italy.

Gordon Govier interviews Randall Price about “Qumran Cave 12” on The Book and the Spade.

Gary Byers has written a well-illustrated post on the use of mudbricks in the Bible.

Steve Mason’s A History of the Jewish War, A.D. 66-74 is positively reviewed on the BMCR blog.

LandMinds interviews Guy Stiebel on his return to excavating Masada (40 min).

Eisenbrauns is offering 70-80% off dozens of feschriften, including The Fire Signals of Lachish (now
$21) and Exploring the Longue Duree (now $23).

The new issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on Laodicea and a banquet hall near
the Temple Mount.

BAS has launched a new video streaming site, with a special introductory offer of 75% off.

David Rubinger, photographer of the iconic scene of Israeli paratroopers at the Western Wall, has
died at the age of 92.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Paleojudaica

Tagged Dead Sea, Egypt, Galilee, Italy, Resources, Syria, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Free Asia Minor Wall Map

(Post by A.D. Riddle)

The Ancient World Mapping Center is making available for free download their wall map of Asia Minor. The blog post from yesterday reads:

After several years of preparation, AWMC’s newest wall map is now available online. This map is a successor to that of J.G.C. Anderson (1903) and its partial revision by W.M. Calder and G.E. Bean (1958). It was displayed in draft at the ‘Roads and Routes in Anatolia’ conference organized by the British Institute at Ankara (March 2014). It was then revised with a view to being issued with the volume planned to follow that meeting in due course. Meantime the Center is now making the map available online.

The map is noteworthy because the Ancient World Mapping Center has reconstructed the ancient coastline, most notable at places such as Miletus, Ephesus, north of Smyrna, and between Xanthos and Patara. The map shows Roman roads, bridges, quarries, and aqueducts. It also shows rivers, wetlands, and elevation with subtle hillshading. According to the legend, the map includes mountain passes and shrines, though I noticed only one of each.

There are a few symbols that do not appear in the legend, and I am not entirely sure what they mean: an asterisk before the name Sparza, and these three patterns

[UPDATE: A commenter noted that the asterisk is identified in the legend and is used to indicate a reconstructed ancient place name. The first pattern, blue dots outlined in blue, appears to represent an “intermittent lake.” The second pattern, burnt orange dotes, appears to represent a “dry lake.” The last pattern remains a mystery to me.]

Yesterday, I could download the map directly, but as of today you have to email the Ancient World Mapping Center for a download link. The TIF file I downloaded is a whopping 1.72GB! If you were to print the map at 300dpi, the sheet would measure 80″ x 50″. (To download a JPG version of the map at about 100MB, use this temporary link.) The map is licensed under CC-by-4.0.

This map is the latest creation by the Ancient World Mapping Center in a line of cartographic products which includes the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (print and digital), Benthos Digital Atlas of Ancient Waters, the AWMC à-la-carte Map, and the Routledge Wall Maps for the Ancient World.

Tagged Resources, Turkey

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Excavations are set to resume at Masada, and the focus will be on Herod’s gardens and the rebels’ houses.

Tel Aviv University will begin excavations at Kiriath Jearim this August.

The IAA has inaugurated a “new” trail in the Davidson Center Archaeological Park. The “mikveh path” is described as being “experiential, circular, and modular.”

Craig Evans discusses the new DSS cave find and shares with readers the insights of Randall Price.

The article includes a picture of the 12th cave’s location.

Some scholars are claiming that any future finds relating to the Dead Sea Scrolls belong to Israel.

The latest discovery, with the blank scroll parchment, may help to detect modern forgeries.

The Oriental Institute Museum has made available an Ancient Near Eastern Cross-Cultural Timeline.

The Steinsaltz edition of the Talmud is being published online and will be available for free in Hebrew and English. This joins an already extensive collection of Jewish texts at Sefaria.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Paleojudaica

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Jerusalem, Judah, Resources

New Release: Bible Mapper WebViewer

There is a new Bible Mapper WebViewer that is designed to be a quick reference tool, for use on computers, tablets, and phones. Here are several ways to use it:

Navigate around a blank base map of the biblical world.
Enter the name of a biblical site and it will appear on the map. You could try Shechem, Lachish, or Capernaum.
Choose a biblical passage and all sites mentioned in it will show. You could try Joshua 6-8, Mark 1-2, or Revelation 2-3.
Select another webpage and it will map all biblical sites on that page. Try, for example, the Sea of Galilee page at www.LifeintheHolyLand.com.
Add roads from the OT or NT periods.

In my testing, the maps load quickly and the sites are identified accurately. A time or two I had to refresh the page, perhaps because I had too much data.

This new tool is different from the original Bible Mapper (still available in free and paid versions here), which allows you to save, export, and print customized maps. I could see students and teachers using this in personal Bible study as well as in the classroom. I am grateful to David Barrett for creating such a handy resource for us all.

Note: See Mark Hoffman’s blog for his experience with the WebViewer.

Tagged Resources, Technology

Weekend Roundup, Part 4

A new exhibit has opened at the Israel Museum entitled, “Behold the Man: Jesus in Israeli Art.”

Now on display in Australia is the British Museum’s famed bronze Head of Augustus from Meroë.

The Museum of Troy is scheduled to open later this year.

Though relations have recently been repaired between Turkey and Israel, there’s no movement towards returning the Siloam Inscription, Gezer Calendar, and Temple Balustrade Inscription to Jerusalem.

Silver objects from the Roman Empire, including the Berthouville Treasure, are on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

The Eastman Museum is continuing its efforts to bring online its vast photographic collection. For example, a search for “Jerusalem” returns 24 pages with early photos by T.H. McAllister, Charles
Chusseau-Flaviens, and the American Colony.

If you missed the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibit, “Jerusalem 1000-1400: Every People Under Heaven,” you can see many photos here.

Once again in control of Palmyra, ISIS has destroyed the ancient theater and tetrapylon.

The Associated Press examines the destruction of Nimrud caused by ISIS. Agatha Christie would be very unhappy.

The Crusader castle known as Crac des Chevaliers has been damaged in the Syrian war, but the extent of destruction is currently unknown.

Armed Libyan citizens have mounted patrols to protect Leptis Magna, an ancient city of Rome.

A majority of the artifacts coming out of Syria are modern fakes.

Plans are underway for a restitution (reconstruction?) of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

De Gruyter has made a number of its works published in 2016 open access.

Giovanni Garbini and Joseph Fitzmyer both passed away in the last month.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Sad News, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists have discovered the Roman theater at the site of Hippos.

Excavations of the Crusader-era Montfort Castle in Galilee have discovered game pieces, belt buckles, pig bones, and much more.

Analysis of organic remains from a 10th B.C. gatehouse complex in the Timna Valley suggests that food and supplies were brought in from a long distance.

Engravings of an ancient menorah and cross were found inside a cave in the Judean Shephelah.

A gang of antiquities thieves was caught illegally digging at a site near the Golani Junction in the Galilee. A 3-minute video (in Hebrew) is online.

What are the origins of tomb raider curses?

Three scientists from Beersheba’s Ben Gurion University have used NASA data to date the “sun standing still” to an eclipse in 1207 BC.

A life-size CAVEkiosk (“cave automated virtual environment”) recently opened at UCSD will allow scholars to study 3-D data from at-risk sites.

The Israel Museum has announced that Eran Neuman will succeed James S. Snyder as director.

Wayne Stiles explains why God made the Israelites rest the land every seven years and what that means today.

Colin Hemer’s The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History is available in Logos this month for $1.99.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Excavations, Exodus-Conquest, Galilee, Golan, Museums, Negev, Resources, Weekend Roundup