I didn’t want this one to get lost in the weekend roundup, so here’s a link to the newly released, all-free video series entitled “Following the Messiah,” produced by Appian Way and featuring Barry Britnell. We have mentioned this several times in the past, including when they were raising funds for the project on Kickstarter. The work is now complete, and all five videos are posted on their website. You won’t have to watch very long to see that the production quality is first-rate. Each episode is 20-25 minutes in length. You can’t beat a personal visit to Israel, but for those who aren’t able to go, or for those eager to return, this is a terrific resource. A big thanks to Appian Way and to all of their supporters who made it possible!
I have mentioned previously the “Following the Messiah” video series being created by Appian Media. They’re wrapping up post-production now and have scheduled two public showings of Episodes 1 and 2 in January. Tickets are free and the event is open to the public.
You can find out more and secure tickets for the January 14 showing in Indianapolis here, and for the January 21 date in Birmingham here.
You can check out the trailer for the videos here. All five videos will be available for free at Appian Media on January 14th.
A tomb with a number of well-preserved frescoes from the Hellenistic or Early Roman periods has been discovered in northern Jordan.
A dozen sculptures recently unearthed at Perga are now on display in the Antalya Museum.
The BBC runs an interesting story on the Muslim families that lock and unlock the Church of the Holy Sepulcher each day.
“A crew of facial reconstruction experts have successfully recreated the face of a male who lived in the Biblical city of Jericho.”
Scanning technology has provided 3-D images of unwrapped mummies from ancient Egypt.
“A pair of mummified knees are most likely those of the famously beautiful spouse of Pharaoh Ramses II.”
James Davila considers the reemergence of the Jordanian lead codices and links to an insider perspective.
Archaeologists working in the Wadi Feinan region of Jordan believe that they have found evidence of the world’s first polluted river.
The breed known as “Jacob’s sheep” have returned to Israel.
The Jerusalem Post runs a story on Douglas Petrovich’s theory that the earliest alphabet was Hebrew.
Relics looted from Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra have been recovered in Switzerland.
“Radiocarbon dating remains a reliable tool if it is supplemented by 13C measurements.”
“Why would the Lord first announce the Messiah’s birth to lowly shepherds?” Wayne Stiles explains.
In light of the recent excavation of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Gordon Govier at Christianity Today explains why there are two competing sites for the place of Jesus’s burial.
HT: Charles Savelle, Explorator, Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer
Archaeologists working in central Israel unearthed the Middle Bronze predecessor of Rodin’s “The Thinker.” High-res photos and a video are available here.
Archaeologists are speaking out against the construction of a mixed prayer area in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park south of the Western Wall prayer area.
“A necropolis and residential settlement were uncovered Tuesday in Abydos in Sohag, almost 400 kilometres south of the temple of the New Kingdom pharaoh Seti I.”
Divers have discovered the world’s oldest harbor in the Red Sea along the coast of Egypt.
The Kom Al-Shoqafa catacombs in Alexandria were not flooded, as some reports claimed.
A writer for The New Yorker visits the full-size replica of King Tut’s tomb in Egypt.
“The Egyptological museum search is a PHP tool aimed to facilitate locating the descriptions and images of ancient Egyptian objects in online catalogues of major museums.”
“Objects Come to Life is a physical and digital exhibition of the Eton Myers Collection of Egyptian Art, on loan to the University of Birmingham, which explores the importance and intrigue of private collections of ancient artefacts.”
An Israeli court has ruled that the names of Israeli archaeologists working in the West Bank can stay secret.
Luke Chandler has opened registration for next summer’s tour of Israel. He also reports on some sessions he attended at the recent ASOR conference.
Accordance is running a Black Friday sale through Monday. One new e-resource is the Satellite Bible Atlas. This version features all of the hyperlink and search enhancements you would expect from Accordance.
Wayne Stiles is running a Black Friday audio blowout through Sunday night.
Carta is offering a 25% discount on the forthcoming The World’s Oldest Alphabet: Hebrew as the Language of the Proto-Consonantal Script, by Douglas Petrovich, with code 25-off.
HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Ferrell Jenkins
Alexander Schick sends along a photo of a newly discovered mikveh (ritual) bath at Herod’s palace at Macherus.
- Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Jerusalem, Jordan, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Temple Mount, Tourism
Teenagers working in an excavation in Galilee discovered a rare gold coin from the 8th century.
The New York Times has a story on the recent exposure of the burial bed inside Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Carl Rasmussen found some unique photos of the excavations here.
With the release of the editio princeps, Christopher Rollston has posted some more thoughts on the (possibly forged) Jerusalem Papyrus. The IAA is defending the inscription’s authenticity. Shmuel Ahituv is interviewed on Rejuvenation podcast.
Israel HaYom looks at early Muslim sources that acknowledge the Jewish history of the Temple Mount.
Shem Tov Sasson shares his experience of the first day of a new excavation at Tel Kedesh.
Ynet runs a story on the Qeiyafa exhibition at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. Haaretz has a similar story.
King University in Tennessee is hosting a conference on Nov 13-14 entitled, “What’s Going on with Biblical Archaeology?”
Timothy P. Harrison shares an appreciation of the life and work of John S. Holladay Jr.
TouristIsrael recommends five unique places to stay in Israel.
Wayne Stiles provides an interesting overview of Nazareth past and present.
Excavations on Mount Zion this summer uncovered a destruction layer from a Crusader battle in Jerusalem in AD 1153.
Accordance 12 was released this week, along with a new free version called Accordance Lite.
Upgrades are also very affordable.
HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle, Mark Hoffman
- Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Resources, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of the Roman breach of Jerusalem’s “Third Wall” in AD 70.
Some high-res images are available here.
Excavations around the “Ramesses Gate” in Jaffa have revealed a massive destruction layer that attests to a battle between Egyptians and Canaanites.
Researchers have discovered two secret chambers in the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Temple Mount Sifting Project shares some finds related to the feast of Sukkot.
Scientists have recently discovered the two components that gives frankincense its distinctive odor.
An archaeologist has created a 3-D model of the Heraion at ancient Olympia using photogrammetry.
An AP article describes the work and accomplishments of Robert Bewley and David Kennedy in documenting archaeological sites in Jordan from the air.
The New York Times profiles the early farming village of Ain Ghazal in central Jordan.
A new pleasure cruise line is carrying travelers between Haifa and Acco.
The National Museum of Beirut has opened its basement to the public for the first time in 40 years.
Touch Point Israel has compiled a list of 13 “must-see museums” in Israel.
This week in New York City a new photo exhibition opened: “The Day Memory Dissolved: an artistic perspective on endangered archaeological sites in the Middle East.”
Progress is being made on the National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel. The Jewish Press article includes photos and a 2-minute video.
According to UNESCO, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem has nothing to do with Judaism.
Carl Rasmussen shares several photos from one of the least visited places in Jerusalem, the Tomb of the Royal Steward.
Wayne Stiles looks at the ancient and modern significance of Gideon’s battle in the Harod Valley.
The Associates for Biblical Research are having a big sale on the complete archive of Bible and Spade.
New book: The Five-Minute Archaeologist in the Southern Levant. (Out of stock at Amazon)
The schedule for next month’s Bible and Archaeology Fest XVIII is now online.
HT: Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Steven Anderson
- Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Lectures, Museums, Resources, Technology, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup