Samaria Archives - Page 30 of 36

Barcodes on the Road of the Patriarchs

The Jerusalem Post describes a new program that will allow tourists with smartphones to watch videos instead of enjoying the ancient sites.

Visitors to Judea and Samaria should bring their smartphones along with bottles of water, if they want to learn about the biblical sites that dot Route 60.
Thanks to a program of the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, new signs have been placed at selected spots along the highway, known as the Path of the Patriarchs.
Signs have also been posted at archeological sites in the settlements of Elon Moreh, Susisya and Shiloh as well as in Hebron and by the Lone Tree in Gush Etzion.
Each sign has a bar code that can activate smartphones, whose users have downloaded the free app Scanlife. Once activated, smartphone owners can view videos describing the sites.

The full story is here. Perhaps the plan is not as awful as it sounds.

HT: Charles Savelle

The Lebonah Valley along the Road of the Patriarchs

Tagged Judah, Samaria, Tourism

Wednesday Roundup

Eilat Mazar has resumed excavations in the (so-called) Ophel, and her partners at Armstrong College plan to provide regular updates. They begin with an on-location interview of Mazar.

Excavations continue to reveal Egyptian presence in Joppa from the New Kingdom period.

Mark Fairchild’s search for ancient synagogues in Turkey is profiled in the local press. The article includes an interesting video by Fairchild of his discoveries.

In light of an article in the Wall Street Journal, Charles Savelle reflects on the value of knowing biblical geography.

Ferrell Jenkins is back in Israel and he shares a rare photo of Jacob’s well.

King Tut and his predecessors may have been afflicted with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Did you forget to celebrate the 2000th anniversary of Caligula’s birthday?

Clean-up of the polluted Kishon River is finally scheduled to begin, 12 years after divers were found
to have contracted cancer.

The cedars of Lebanon are threatened by climate change.

As Rosh HaShanah (the New Year) begins in Jewish homes around the world at sundown on Sunday,

Wayne Stiles reflects on the Gezer Calendar and other ways we keep time.

The 50th anniversary of Lawrence of Arabia inspires Anthony Horowitz to travel to Jordan.

HT: Explorator, Jack Sasson

Wadi Rum. Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Holidays, Italy, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Samaria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

The Israel Trail has been included in National Geographic’s list of the world’s best hikes. Tourists are returning to Shiloh, and the majority are evangelical Christians. Jerusalem firefighters have battled 5,000 fires this summer, the majority of them arson. Eight new animal species have been discovered in a cave 300 feet below Ramle. If approved, a new hotel rating system in Israel should cause prices to drop. The latest in the Top 5 series at the Jerusalem Post: Jerusalem hostels. Twelve new skyscrapers will change Jerusalem’s skyline. Wayne Stiles provides a history of the Garden Tomb. A bill has been drafted which would provide separate prayer times for Jews and Muslims on the Temple Mount. Accordance has a sale on the Anchor Bible Dictionary, marked down to $200 until August 21. Interior of the Garden Tomb (photo source)

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources, Samaria, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Bryant Wood has posted a summary of this season’s excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir.

Joe Yudin recommends a short, wet hike near the Sea of Galilee.

Wayne Stiles explains why Shechem is the “most important crossroads in central Israel.”

He has also created the best illustrated page on the first-century boat in Galilee.

Ferrell Jenkins has discovered a way to keep tabs on the water level in the Sea of Galilee.

The discovery of gold coins in Apollonia and Kiryat Gat has led to an increase in illegal digging at sites in southern Israel. (A longer article and photos are available in an IAA press release in Hebrew.)

Israel’s Attorney-General says that all construction on the Temple Mount must adhere to existing laws.

An individual has filed a complaint with Israeli police against the playing of soccer on the Temple Mount.

Matthew Kalman’s story on the trial of the James Ossuary and Jehoash Tablet from The Jerusalem Report is now available for purchase in Kindle format (with free borrowing for Prime members).

The ASOR weekly roundup is here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Forgery, Galilee, Jerusalem, Samaria, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

More photos and a video of the gold treasure from Apollonia have been released. The value of the coins is now given (in at least one article) as $500,000.

The “Egyptian Antiquities’ Renaissance Project” has been launched in order to turn archaeology into a major source of income in Egypt.

The Museum of the Bible, featuring the collection of the Steve Green family, will open not in Dallas and not in New York, but in Washington, DC.

I wonder if you could name 6 Christian Sites in Rome You Should Know About.

Shmuel Browns describes and illustrates the newly opened archaeological site on Mount Gerizim.

Joe Yudin visits “Genesis Land” in the Judean wilderness.

The owner of a bed-and-breakfast in Sepphoris was convicted of damaged antiquities when carrying out renovations on his property.

“Israel’s Tourism Ministry is planning to upgrade the hotel strip area at the southern end of the Dead Sea….The Dead Sea was the most crowded leisure destination in Israel in 2011, with some 857,000 visitors during the year.”

Itzhak Beit-Arieh, Associate Professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, has passed away.

HT: Daniel Wright, Jack Sasson

Dead Sea from the northwest
(photo source)

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Judah, Samaria

Weekend Roundup

The archaeological site on Mount Gerizim has re-opened, 12 years after political conditions hindered tourists from visiting the area.

A new drainage system in Giza has some hydrologists concerned that the erosion of bedrock could cause the Sphinx to collapse.

A complaint has been lodged with Israeli police over the building material and scaffolding placed on the “rock” of the Dome of the Rock.

The Holyland Magazine, designed especially for North American evangelicals, is now online. Earlier editions are also available.

Several readers have asked recently about the “HT” that is often at the end of a post. Wikipedia provides a concise explanation:

In the 2000s, the term “hat tip” (often abbreviated to “HT” or “h/t”) rose to prominence in the blogosphere to acknowledge someone who has made a significant contribution toward an effort, or someone who drew attention to something new or interesting. It is considered good netiquette when sharing a link or news item to give a hat tip to the person from whom you learned of the item.

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Archaeological site on Mount Gerizim, looking north

Tagged Egypt, Jerusalem, Samaria, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup