Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“Four rare bronze discs shaped like lion heads have been uncovered in a 1,900-year-old grave in central Israel.” The underlying journal article is here.

A nearly two-mile-long tunnel in the aqueduct system feeding Solomon’s Pools is longer than any other known in the Roman empire. The underlying journal article by David Deming provides much more information about the aqueducts and water supply of ancient Jerusalem.

Archaeologists working at Tel Dan have discovered evidence for ritual bathing in a temple reconstructed after the Seleucid conquest.

The Jerusalem Post has a story about Shiloh’s excavation team being evacuated when the war began. The Appalachian News-Express has a similar story about one of the participants.

Gordon Govier interviews Scott Stripling about the Shiloh excavations and the beginning of the war.

“Iranian cyber activists hacked the X/Twitter account of the Israel Antiquities Authority early on Sunday morning.”

Writing for The Times of Israel, archaeologist Aren Maeir considers the history of military confrontations between Persia and the West and suggests that “history has always been and will always be deceptive and fickle, and it is wise to exercise extreme caution before pretending to explain to the public what was and what will be.”

The Jerusalem Post runs a piece on the Cyrus Cylinder and its significance for Persian-Jewish relations.

Online lecture on July 17: “Reminiscences of the Masada Dig, 1963-5: Yigael Yadin and the British Connection,” by Tessa Rajak

New release: Bring Them into the Land: Studies in Honor of R. Steven Notley, edited by Jeffrey P. Arroyo Garcia, Daniel Machiela, Chad Pierce and Benjamin Wold (Wipf & Stock, 550 pages, $68; Kindle: $10)

One of the most potentially valuable tools I’ve used in AI recently is NotebookLM, and the NY Times explores how it can be used by historians.

There will be no roundups in the month of July.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A stunning marble sarcophagus carved with a raucous drinking contest between Dionysus and Heracles has been unearthed in Caesarea.”

In his latest video for Expedition Bible, Joel Kramer claims to have solved the problem of Ai with the discovery of Late Bronze pottery at et-Tell in a 2019 excavation. I’ll be interested to see the published report.

Susan Schmidt filmed pieces for several years to create a beautiful 11-minute video on the complete Nabatean Incense Route, from Petra to Gaza.

Nathan Steinmeyer explains a new theory about the location of the Valley of Rephaim.

Joe Zias: “Archaeological and epigraphic evidence indicates that the ‘Tomb of Absalom’ constitutes the earliest Judeo-Christian pilgrimage site in the Holy Land.”

The latest issue of Near Eastern Archaeology is focused on Megiddo in the Bronze Age. Access requires a subscription. The next issue is dedicated to Megiddo in the Iron Age.

In the latest Jerusalem in Brief, Chandler Collins reports on a lecture on Macalister and Duncan’s excavations and wonders why popular media is not reporting on the new interpretation of the Pool of Siloam/Birket al-Hamra.

Several long-time readers have written to say that they are really enjoying Doron Spielman’s new book, When the Stones Speak: The Remarkable Discovery of the City of David and What Israel’s Enemies Don’t Want You To Know.

Jerusalem University College has announced its lineup of fall online courses, including (not yet online):

  • Biblical Archaeology I, taught by Kyle Keimer
  • Biblical Jerusalem and Its Explorations, taught by Chandler Collins
  • The Life and Times of Paul, taught by Chris Vlachos
  • Ancient Egypt and the Bible, taught by Paul Wright
  • Palestinian Society and Politics, taught by Bernard Sabella

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Luke Chandler

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Scholars have used radiocarbon dating and artificial intelligence to date some Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts, with the results often providing earlier dates than previously believed based on paleographical analysis. Of particular interest is 4Q114 which preserves Daniel 8-11, now dated to 230–160 BC (earlier than it was written, according to critical scholars). The underlying journal article is here.

Excavations at Samaria-Sebaste have been underway for two weeks, and discoveries include a stone pavement and the base of a monument near the city gate.

Following a kerfuffle over a 5-ton Herodian stone on display at Ben Gurion Airport, the IAA has promised to rebury all Western Wall stones. The parties agree that Western Wall stones “must not be treated as archaeological exhibits but rather as sacred relics subject to Jewish law.” Stones on display elsewhere will be returned for burial, and the site will be fenced off to prevent the public from touching them.

Nathan Steinmeyer explains what the Galilee is.

Zoom lecture on June 10: “Hearing the Voices of the Dead in Ancient Israel,” by Elizabeth Bloch-Smith ($10)

BAS is offering a four-lecture course with Sidnie White Crawford about ancient libraries, focusing especially on the Dead Sea Scrolls ($149).

I recently read The Odyssey of Marcus Panthera: A Journey to the Land of Israel in the First Century, by Makram Mesherky (Gesher Media, 2024, $25). The author is a Palestinian believer whose fictional account reads like a travelogue during the time of Jesus. The book is not long, is easy to read, and is loaded with full-color illustrations.

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Gordon Franz, Mark V. Hoffman, Ted Weis

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A new study contrasts the construction of hundreds of churches in Israel in the Byzantine period with the building of synagogues. “Christian elites built numerous private churches, while Jewish donors appeared to pool their resources in a communal synagogue.”

In Approaching Jerusalem, Chandler Collins looks at four cases where Jerusalem’s terrain was reshaped by the cutting of vertical bedrock scarps.

Authorities seized hundreds of antiquities, including coins, arrowheads, and jewelry, from a private home in southern Israel.

Andrew Lawler writes about the origin of the pork taboo.

The final episode in the Biblical Images of God series is the “Humble King.”

The Biblical Archaeology Society provides highlights from their recent Spring Bible & Archaeology Fest.

Olive Tree Bible Software is offering the 7-volume Baker Illustrated Collection on sale for $100 (list price: $280).

New release: Ethics in Archaeological Practice, edited by Sarah Kielt Costello and Sarah Lepinski (Annual of ASOR 78, $30-$75)

Nancy Lapp died last month.

You don’t hear too many wedding stories where the archaeologist walks the bride down the aisle (a balk) and the guest book is a large potsherd.

It’s not archaeology or geography, but I think the articles by my students in the second volume of The Master’s University Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies are quite good.

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

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The six-chambered Iron Age gate at Ashdod was recently re-excavated so that it can be conserved and opened to the public in a new Israeli national park.

The IDF will allow Israelis a rare opportunity to visit “Solomon’s Pools,” south of Bethlehem, on one day during Passover.

Doron Spielman has been involved in excavations in the City of David for more than 20 years, and he has stories to tell. Mosaic Magazine (registration req’d) has published an excerpt from a forthcoming book that describes a crawl through a long tunnel and the drama concerning the purchase of the Givati Parking Lot.

The latest video in the Biblical Images of God series looks at the metaphor of “Rock of Refuge.”

Zoom webinar on April 16: “The Dying Child: Death and Personhood of Children in Ancient Israel,” by Kristine Garroway

Conference on April 27-29: “Jerusalem through the Ages: New Perspectives.” The conference will be held at Schloss Beuggen, Rheinfelden, Germany, and broadcast on Zoom.

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on April 28: “A Biography of an Excavation: The Austrian-German Expedition to Tell Balata/Shechem 1913–1939,” by Felix Höflmayer and Agnes Woitzuck

Avi Hurvitz, longtime professor of Ancient Semitic Languages at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, died last week.

Jerusalem University College’s Online Summer Institute has announced this year’s classes:

  • Deuteronomy’s Place, taught by Cyndi Parker
  • Exodus: From the River to the Mountain, taught by Oliver Hersey
  • Geographical Voices in the Psalms, taught by Paul Wright
  • Holy People, Holy Land: A Journey through Leviticus, taught by Christine Palmer
  • The Historical and Literary Development of Shabbat, taught by Rabbi Moshe Silberschein

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Wayne Stiles, Ted Weis, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

In the second season of excavations at Hyrcania in the Judean wilderness, archaeologists uncovered a colorful Byzantine mosaic and two Jewish ritual baths.

A tourist who came to Shiloh to pray for a child found a rare Second Temple period coin when he returned to give thanks.

The discovery at a Byzantine monastery near Jerusalem of a female skeleton wrapped in heavy metal chains is raising questions about women’s participation in extreme asceticism.

Ferrell Jenkins has posted a photo of Gibeah of Saul from circa 1970.

New release: After the Tomb: The Unexpected Encore, by Stephen Austin. In a series of 50 vignettes, this book imagines what may have happened in the 50 days between Jesus’s resurrection and Pentecost. My first impression is very positive.

New release: Scribal Representations and Social Landscapes of the Iron Age, by Mahri Leonard-Fleckman (Oxford University Press, $99)

A conference on the archaeology and history of Jerusalem will be held at the Schloss Beugen in Rheinfelden, Germany, on April 27th to 29th, 2025. Aren Maeir has posted the schedule.

Accordance Bible Software is running a sale of up to 67% off image collections, virtual tours, biblical atlases, and more. There are a number of offerings that are the lowest prices I’ve ever seen.

Behind the Scenes of the New Testament, edited by Bruce W. Longenecker, Elizabeth E. Shively, and T. J. Lang, is Walking The Text’s recommended resource this month.

Gesher Media has just released an Ark of the Covenant poster. Regularly priced at $34, you can use coupon ARK20 to get it for only $20 through February 28.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Gordon Franz, Keith Keyser

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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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