Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Underwater excavations of Corinth’s harbor at the port of Lechaion have exposed five-ton stone blocks and a perfectly preserved wooden post. This article has lots of illustrations. A 2-minute video takes you there.


The New York Times reports on the numerous ancient finds from Rome’s ongoing subway project.

Archaeologists have been excavating a large Byzantine church complex near Beth Shemesh.

Excavations have revealed that the population of Shiloh switched from Gentile to Jewish following the Maccabean Revolt.

New excavations have revealed a Hasmonean-era settlement at Susiya near Hebron.

Israel’s Culture Minister is initiating a $70 million plan to uncover, preserve, and develop historical sites in Jerusalem and vicinity.

The Israeli government has approved funding for a hiking trail through the West Bank and Golan Heights.

“The ancient city of Hazor in the Galilee seems to have muscled its way to fame and fortune partly by developing a unique business in farming sheep, instead of goats like everyone else in Canaan 3,700 years ago.”

Recent excavations at Jericho show a close relationship between the city and Egypt.

Archaeologists have traced the history of a menorah relief in various buildings in Tiberias.

A young girl discovered a Hasmonean-period oil lamp in a porcupines’ den near Beth Shean.

Elsewhere antiquities thieves denied their activities by claiming that they were “just hunting porcupines.”

New book, with free ebook download: Finding Jerusalem: Archaeology between Science and Ideology, by Katharina Galor.

Cuneiform cookies are all the rage this Christmas. This video will teach you how to bake Ugaritic
Tablet Biscuits.

HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Mark Hoffman, Charles Savelle, Explorator, Chris McKinny,
Mike Harney

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Scientists have discovered a void in the Great Pyramid of Giza that is 100 feet long.

Archaeologists excavating in the Timna Valley have discovered remains of a pregnant Egyptian woman.

A swimmer in the Sea of Galilee found a Byzantine-era “chicken-shaped object.”

Young Gazans have begun a campaign on social media to stop the destruction of Tall es-Sakan.

An international team from Spain, Portugal, and the Palestinian Authority conducted excavations at Tirzah (Tell el-Farah North) last month in order to “1. to evaluate the state of conservation of the site in order to implement a program of protection and restoration; 2. topographical survey; 3. archaeological sounding on the Iron Age II sector.” (Not online, as far as I can tell.)

A paper in Astronomy and Geophysics by Colin Humphreys and Graeme Waddington dates the oldest solar eclipse yet recorded to October 30, 1207 BC and suggests this is the “sun-standing-still” event mentioned in Joshua 10. But this connection was proposed last year by H. Yizhaq, D. Vainstub, and U. Avner. The biblical texts, however, date Joshua’s conquest a couple of centuries earlier than this eclipse.

New research suggests that about 80% of antiquities available for sale online are looted or fake.

This week marked the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration and the 100th anniversary of a significant Australian victory over the Ottoman defenses at Beersheba.

A new release on an important subject with many nice photos: The Old Testament in Archaeology and History, edited by Jennie Ebeling, J. Edward Wright, Mark Elliott and Paul V. M. Flesher. Waco, TX:
Baylor University Press, 2017.

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

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Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists have discovered a Jewish settlement under an abandoned military base near the town of Beit El.

Excavation of a tomb near Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo uncovered an “afterlife snack pack of nine decapitated toads.”

A lost city of Alexander the Great has been identified at Qalatga Darband, six miles from Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Yeshiva University Museum recently opened a new exhibition, “The Arch of Titus – from Jerusalem to Rome, and Back.”

The Brooklyn Museum has just opened “Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt.”

The Arab World Institute Museum in Paris is hosting through January 2018 the exhibition, “Oriental Christians: 2,000 Years of History,” featuring artifacts never before displayed in Europe.

BYU has constructed a full-size tabernacle replica.

“The Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes (CAMEL) at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago is pleased to present the Anatolian Atlas, an online resource for geographical data related to the archaeology of Anatolia (ancient Turkey).”

The IWC at Tel Aviv University has announced its lecture schedule for the fall all centered around the theme “Jerusalem.”

Malka Z. Simkovich tries to explain why Christian monks copied Jewish manuscripts.

Bill Schlegel has created a new video showing sites in Benjamin from the air.

Wayne Stiles explains the value of using maps in your Bible study.

In light of his recent visit to el-Araj, John DeLancey discusses the two proposed locations for Bethsaida.

Ferrell Jenkins has written a well-illustrated post on Barclay’s Gate in the Western Wall. I suspect that most visitors don’t even know that it exists.

New release: Qedem 57: The Temple Mount Excavations in Jerusalem 1968-1978, Directed by Benjamin Mazar. Final Reports Volume V. Herodian Architectural Decoration and King Herod’s Portico.

Eisenbrauns is selling all available volumes of Excavations and Surveys in Israel for $5 each (with a few restrictions).

The population of Israel is now 8.7 million, including 6.5 million Jews and 1.8 million Arabs.

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

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

As excavations get underway at Kiriath Jearim, Haaretz (premium) reports on a 9-foot-wall discovered there and Finkelstein’s belief that the site held a temple that competed with Jerusalem.

The “ancient coin” the 9-year-old girl found last week is in fact a modern souvenir.

The bones of people killed at Khirbet el-Maqatir during the First Jewish Revolt were recently reburied in Ofra. Leen Ritmeyer posts more information and images.

Leen Ritmeyer shares a photo of a Temple Mount model made of Legos.

Wayne Stiles explains the significance of the Gezer boundary stones.

John DeLancey explains Hezekiah’s Tunnel, with help from a couple of videos including one narrated by Ronnie Reich.

Bill Schlegel has created a 5-minute video about Bethsaida in which he uses aerial footage to explain the two candidates and identify which site is most likely Bethsaida.

Lois Tverberg shares her experience and photos from the el-Araj dig this summer.

G. M. Grena has created a video tutorial on how to identify a LMLK seal impression. (Is his computer running Windows 95?)

R. T. France identifies seven differences between Galilee and Judea in the time of Jesus.

Israel’s Good Name describes his experience as a square supervisor at the Gath excavations.

Accordance has a big sale that includes a couple of collections from Carta, including the Carta Super Combo and the Carta Select Combo.

HT: Mike Harney, Agade

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Three major salvage excavations in Israel may be excavated by private companies and directed by archaeologists with little experience. (Haaretz premium)

They’re already recruiting for next summer’s excavations in Israel, and you can get all the information for digging at Shiloh here.

Aren Maeir visited the new excavations of Kiriath Jearim and was very impressed with what he saw, suggesting that the site “will become one of the most important excavations in Israel.”

Carl Rasmussen explains how a solar eclipse in 763 BC helps us to establish an absolute chronology for OT events.

Steven Weitzman answers the question, “Can Genetics Solve the Mystery of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel?”

Israel’s Good Name reports on his Bar Ilan U tour of the City of David.

Ferrell Jenkins explains the Megiddo water system with a drawing he made and several photos (including a labeled aerial photo).

Wayne Stiles shows how Banias Falls is a picture of despair.

We were very encouraged by some positive words about the new Photo Companion to the Bible by Ferrell Jenkins, Andy Naselli, Leen Ritmeyer, Charles Savelle, and Luke Chandler. Luke writes,

There is nothing like this resource available for teachers today. I cannot recommend the Gospels Photo Companion to the Bible strongly enough.

The introductory special continues through Monday, August 21.

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Weekend Roundup

The Preliminary Report for the 2017 excavation season at Tel Kabri has been posted.

ABR has provided a brief overview of discoveries at Shiloh this year.

ABR has posted Rodger C. Young’s article on “How Lunar and Solar Eclipses Shed Light on Biblical Events.”

Remove the tarps and launch the drone and this is what the excavations of Gath look like after this year’s digging was completed.

Israel’s Good Name reports on a university field trip to Tel Aroma and Mount Gerizim, including his encounters with birds and boars.

A team from Biblical Illustrator has made multiple trips to the Middle East to take photographs for their magazine.

The British Museum has uploaded a 3D model of the Rosetta Stone.

The IAA arrested five antiquities dealers in Jerusalem on charges related to selling $22 million of antiquities to Steve Green.

The Met has turned over to authorities a bull’s head that may have been looted from Lebanon.

Authorities seized an ancient Greek krater from the Met on suspicions it was looted from Italy.

Ferrell Jenkins explains the significance of Tisha B’Av.

Amnon Ben-Tor, who has been excavating at Hazor since 1957, is interviewed on the LandMinds Podcast.

Insights from Archaeology by David A. Fiensy has just been released by Fortress Press. The publisher’s site includes a free article from the book.

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade

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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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