Shephelah Archives - Page 53 of 68

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Timna Park, 20 miles (32 km) north of Eilat, has benefitted from a multi-million dollar spending spree, resulting in the creation of four new bicycle paths, hundreds of shade trees, and talk of a new hotel. The article says not a word about the best attraction of the park: the life-size model of the tabernacle.

In a BAR editorial, Aaron A. Burke describes how his detective work in the records of a deceased archaeologist revealed more about the city of Joppa (Jaffa) and cleared the archaeologist of claims of misdeeds.

At the Bible and Interpretation, Paul V. M. Flesher describes what a synagogue of Jesus’ time looked like.

CITYsights takes viewers on a one-minute video tour of Solomon’s Quarries (Zedekiah’s Cave) in
Jerusalem. The audio track consists of music only and if you turn the volume off, you’ll enjoy it more.

The Jerusalem Post has more details of Jerusalem: IMAX 3D, slated for release in 2013.

The headline of this Arutz-7 story would lead you to believe that it is about Ein Gedi, but it is primarily about the synagogue at the site.

BibleX notes that the Biblical Archaeology Society has 17 free e-books (with login/registration).

A group in Jordan is threatening to sue Israel over its opening of a baptismal site on the Jordan River.

They claim that the Israeli site is located in Jordan.

A story about ancient graffiti in caves in Israel is accompanied by a six-minute video.

Wayne Stiles in the Jerusalem Post: “There’s much to see in the area of Tel Maresha and Beit Guvrin.

Remnants of pottery, war, industry, entertainment, and tombs—all gifts of archaeology.”

Cave at Maresha/Beit Guvrin with ancient staircase

Tagged Jerusalem, Negev, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

There is so much going on that I need to make an early start on the Weekend Roundup. There will be more tomorrow.

Ferrell Jenkins and Leon Mauldin are now traveling in Israel, with the goal of visiting places they have never seen before. Ferrell’s first post shows a well-preserved Roman road in the western hills of
Judah and Leon’s features a Roman milestone.

Shmuel Browns posts his list of “Top Ten” Jerusalem Sites. You might bring this list on your next visit to Jerusalem (or hire Shmuel to guide you around).

Joe Yudin guides his readers on a tour of significant tombs in Jerusalem, including “King David’s tomb,” the so-called family tomb of King Herod, the Muslim cemetery in Mamilla, and Jason’s
Tomb. I think an illustration or two would enhance the article.

A group of archaeologists and students in Israel have submitted a petition to lawmakers to drop support for a law that would allow the continuation of excavations in the City of David that are funded by Elad.

If you missed the “Office Hours” interview with Carol and Eric Meyers on Thursday, you may watch the video online. In the 50-minute interview, they discuss both professional and personal aspects of their lives in archaeology, including vandalism of sites, their children’s presence on digs, middle-of-the-night excavations, how to get a start in archaeology, and forthcoming books.

Reuters has a brief story about tunnel systems carved by rebels during the first and second Jewish
revolts.

Jason’s Tomb in Jerusalem

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Discoveries at Khirbet Qeiyafa in 2011

The Spring/Summer 2011 issue of DigSight has just been released by the Institute of Archaeology of Southern Adventist University. The newsletter includes a good primer on biblical minimalism and its shifts in the last two decades. Another article discusses “Evident Silence or Silenced Evidence” in defense of the historicity of Daniel 5.

The lead article summarizes the major tasks and discoveries of the 2011 team:

Completion of excavation of 4th-century BC large building with olive press
Discovery of early 10th-century BC stone quarry that continued in use in Hellenistic and/or Roman times
Excavation of three Iron Age rooms with some partially restorable vessels and a standing stone (signifying a cultic area?)
Discovery of best-preserved example of Iron Age floor at the site.
Significant small finds including a faience scarab seal, a bone seal with lion and man, an iron ring, and a portion of an Aramaic ostracon
Excavation of more than 25,000 pieces of pottery in Area D alone

The newsletter notes that the Institute’s three-year excavation of Qeiyafa has now concluded and the next two years will be used for publishing the final results.

The quality of the newsletter is superb but reading it in the issuu format has its drawbacks. Unlike previous issues, downloading the newsletter in pdf format requires login and the only login I could see to use was Facebook. (And I don’t know yet what adverse effects there may be from that.)

Tagged 10th Century, Discoveries, Excavations, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup

The Associated Press reports on the restoration of the Old City walls of Jerusalem.

The Wadi Rum in Jordan has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Eldad Keynan refutes Joes Zias’ insinuation that Jacobivici’s nails were used to seal the ossuary of Caiaphas.

Wayne Stiles makes a good case that Lachish was the second-most important city in the kingdom of Judah.

Eric and Carol Meyers will answer questions about their archaeological work, Jewish history, and controversies on the Duke Ustream channel on September 1, noon Eastern Daylight Time.

The Biblical Archaeology Society 2011 Publication Awards Winners have been announced.

Plans for a wastewater reservoir near Gezer are moving forward after a judge rejected a petition by local communities.

On a lighter note, you can see how zoo animals in Jerusalem cool off in the summer. One of the animals even has an air-conditioned home.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Syrian Brown Bear at Jerusalem Zoo

Tagged Jerusalem, Jordan, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Summer 2011 at Tel Zayit

Tel Zayit is a small site in the Shephelah of Judah best known for the 10th-century abecedary discovered in 2005. Tel Zayit is 5 miles (8 km) south of Gath (Tell es-Safi), 6 miles (9 km) southwest of Azekah, and 4.5 miles (7 km) north of Lachish. The excavator, Ron Tappy, has suggested that Tel Zayit is biblical Libnah, though for that identification Zayit is competing with Tel Burna (pdf), only 2.5 miles (4 km) to the east.

Gordon Franz joined the Tel Zayit team this summer and he has posted some of his personal reflections and experiences on his blog.

There were no spectacular small finds at Tel Zayit this summer. The most important discovery, however, was a clearer understanding of the stratigraphy of the site. In K-20 it was the newly discovered Persian period level as well as another phase of the Roman period. In O-19 all indications point to the abecedary being clearly dated to the 10th century BC. If this date is correct, it would demonstrate that Israelites living in this out-of-the-way city were literate and, therefore, not a bunch of hillbillies living in some little cow town!

I’ve heard that the team will not be in the field next summer, but you may want to consider joining as a volunteer in 2013.

Important sites in Shephelah. Source: Google Earth. For other images with marked routes, see Chris McKinny’s blog.

Tagged Excavations, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup #1

Archaeologists are saying that they found the best-preserved Israelite building in excavations at Tel Shikmona near Haifa. In addition to the 9th-8th century BC four-room house, excavators also found a seal with an inscription in Hebrew or Phoenician. The University of Haifa press release has more photos.

That oil spill in Nahal Zin has become Israel’s worst-ever environmental disaster. This week the government ordered the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company to halt clean-up because they were only making the problem worse.

Tel Burna Archaeological Project has some post-season balloon photos of the site and excavations.

Click on the images for high-resolution. It’s amazing what lies just below the surface.

Several significant discoveries were made in Egypt in recent days, including the first Roman basilica in Alexandria, a gate from 700 BC near the Karnak Temple, and a depiction of the king from Dynasty 0.

The PEF has posted several dozen photos of Qumran from the excavations in the 1950s. The collection posted at Flickr combines old views with their modern counterparts. More details about the images are posted at the PEF site.

HT: Paleojudaica

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup