Syria Archives - BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup

A burial cave from the Second Temple period was discovered underneath a building in the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem.

All Israel News summarizes the case that el-Araj is biblical Bethsaida, including news from this summer’s excavation.

After sixteen years of uninterrupted excavations—even during COVID and wars—i24 News visited Azekah. The excavator “said his dream is for visitors within about four years to walk through the citadel’s high walls and inner structures and along the street surrounding the fortress.”

A study of a tomb chamber in the Theban necropolis was carried out “to reconstruct how this burial space was used and reused between its construction during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty (754–656 BCE) and the Ptolemaic period (305–30 BCE).”

“A new archaeological discovery at Tell Abu Saifi in Qantara East, Ismailia, is shedding new light on the ancient Horus Military Road and strengthening the hypothesis that the site may be linked to the lost ancient Egyptian city of ‘Mesen.’”

“The pillar of St. Simeon the Stylite was returned to its original location at the Monastery of St. Simeon on Mount Simeon, northwest of Holeb (Aleppo), Syria, on Tuesday, 16 centuries after it was erected.”

New release: David Stronach and British Archaeology in the Middle East, by Sabrina Maras (Bloomsbury, $84)

New release: Inspired by Assyria: Ancient Iraq & Victorian Britain, by Michael Seymour and Constance McPhee (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin; free download)

On Digging for Truth, Nate Loper discusses his latest research after visiting the cities of Tanis and Bubastis.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos of the newly reconstructed bridge at Laodicea that crosses the Asopos River.

Bible Passages has created two new videos on YouTube:

“The Beast of Ephesus”: Did Paul really fight wild beasts at Ephesus? (10 min)
“The Hyrax Connection”: What the Elephant of Israel Tells Us about God (4 min)

John W. Moore has also written an article on Barclay’s Gate and related matters. His wife took a camera into the synagogue inside the ancient gate.

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, Resources, Shephelah, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A 1,300-year-old industrial and commercial complex was uncovered during excavations over the past few months in the Winter Stadium parking lot in Ramat Gan.”

Moshe Gilad writes about the new exhibit about Huqoq and the excavations that led to it. There is more about the site and exhibit at the KKL-JNF website, including photos and information about the mosaics.

“Israel experienced a rare midsummer storm on Saturday that brought heavy rain to Jerusalem and the surrounding area, as well as to the Golan Heights, breaking all-time August rainfall records and causing flooding in parts of the Judean Desert.”

In a lecture given in Tel Aviv earlier this week, Anselm C. Hagedorn argued that Kiriath-Jearim should be located not at Deir el-ʿAzar near Abu Ghosh, but at Tel Moẓa.

Chandler Collins writes about two new interpretations of the inscription in Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

New release: Plants and Humans in the Ancient Near East: Roots of Multispecies Connections, edited by Silvana Di Paolo and Gioele Zisa (Zaphon 98 EUR)

Bryan Windle has written an archaeological biography for Ben-Hadad III.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Explorator

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Syria, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists discovered a Ramesside-era tomb belong to “Paser” on Luxor’s west bank.

“An Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered three New Kingdom rock-cut tombs at the Bubasteion Necropolis in Saqqara.”

A new study suggests that a sophisticated hydraulic system was built near the Red Pyramid in Dahshur.

“Many of Syria’s archaeological sites were damaged not only by looting but also, in areas occupied by the Turkish military, by systematic bulldozing.”

Restoration work has been completed for the Hidirlik Kulesi, an ancient Roman tower, in Antalya, and a new viewing terrace has been opened.

Archaeologists excavating at Aspendos discovered a large Roman-era mosaic that depicts the river god Eurymedon. They have also been uncovering portions of the city’s main street.

“Archaeologists at Pompeii have partially reconstructed a rare ceiling fresco depicting scenes from Greek mythology.”

“Archaeologists have identified the oldest known library on the Iberian Peninsula inside a Roman villa in southern Spain.”

Bible History Daily explains who the “People of the Sea” are that “hang over the plot [of Nolan’s Odyssey] like a dark cloud.”

On Digging for Truth, Ted Wright shares some of the most significant discoveries related to the New Testament.

New release: Egypt and the Levant: Networks and Negotiations in the Bronze Age, by Anna-Latifa Mourad (Cambridge Elements; open-access until August 6)

New release: Magic in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible, by Ilan Peled (Cambridge Elements; open-access until August 7)

New release: Proto-Elamite: Writing and Society in Early Iran, by Kathryn Kelley (Cambridge Elements; open-access until August 14)

First time on sale on Kindle: Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire, by Barry Strauss (Simon & Schuster, 2025; reg. $15; sale: $4). When I noted its release last year, I pointed to this positive WSJ review.

When it comes to deciphering lost languages like Linear A, Jane Adkins explains what AI can and cannot do. This article gives the background on the AI engineer’s claim to have cracked Linear A.

There will be no roundup next weekend.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Explorator, David Barrett

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Italy, Persia, Resources, Syria, Technology, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A fragment of a large stele of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (669-631 BC) was discovered at Nineveh. The front side features a high-relief sculpture of the king, and the back apparently documents the king’s architectural works and achievements.

Analysis of a Byzantine-era shipwreck off the coast of Croatia has been announced, including the largest amount of gold ever found on a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea.

“A 6,000-year-old infant buried in ancient Syria has given researchers what looks like the oldest known case of child abuse in the Middle East.”

A Roman road in southern Turkey has been fully documented and now will be restored to become part of a cultural tourism route.

New release: Ancient Tyre between Myth and History, by Hélène Sader (SBL Press, $50; Amazon)

New release: Music in the Ancient Near East: Archaeological, Historical, and Societal Considerations, edited by Heidi Köpp-Junk and Shane M. Thompson (Archaeopress, £16-35)

Two US tourists were stabbed near the entrance to the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

James Hoffmeier is on the Biblical World podcast to discuss his new book, Israel In and Out of Egypt.

Bryan Windle has written an archaeological biography of Tiberius Caesar.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Lebanon, Mediterranean Islands, Mesopotamia, Resources, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The Israel Museum has relocated some of its significant archaeological artifacts to a secure location. A few photos are posted on Facebook.

Excavations at Emesa (modern Homs, Syria) “reveal the slow transformation of a powerful pagan city into a Christian and then Muslim one.”

Margreet L. Steiner explains why the Assyrian presence in the Levant in the 9th-7th centuries BC left its mark not in material culture but in economic transformation.

Carl Rasmussen shares a link to his recent online seminar on “The Early Church’s Encounter with the Roman Imperial Cult.” His post includes timestamps for each topic.

Hybrid lecture on March 11 at Harvard: “The Future of the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife,” by Rune Nyord (in-person registration; online registration)

ASOR webinar on March 11: “Anatolian Futures: Archaeologies of Anatolia within the Larger Mediterranean,” by Müge Durusu-Tanrıöver

New release: Sex and Sexuality in the Ancient Near East, by Stephanie Lynn Budin (Cambridge Elements; open access through March 10)

New release: For Those Who Sleep in the Dust: Essays on Archaeology and the Bible, by William G. Dever (SBL Press, $56)

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Alexander Schick

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Resources, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A Roman sarcophagus was discovered in Hungary, “untouched by looters and sealed for centuries … with its stone lid still fixed in place, secured by metal clamps and molten lead.”

“Five theatrical mask reliefs have been discovered during excavations in the theater area of Kastabala, an ancient city in Osmaniye, southern Türkiye.”

Excavations at Ugarit have resumed after a 14-year hiatus.

Remember the Jordan Lead Codices? A new scientific analysis provides some answers about their dating. (James Davila gives some background.)

“A stunning replica of an ancient trireme will be displayed as the centerpiece of the new Greek Underwater Archaeology Museum” in Piraeus, opening next year.

The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition opens at The Museum of the Bible this weekend. “The exhibition will feature biblical texts and scrolls from the community at Qumran, as well as hundreds of artifacts that reveal details about life and Judaism during the Second Temple period.”

“More than 40 precious artifacts from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem are currently on display at the Frick in New York City.”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art just launched a virtual reality tour of the 1st-century BC Egyptian Temple of Dendur.

New release: Assur 2024: Continuing the Excavations in the New Town and Other Research across the Site, edited by Karen Radner and Andrea Squitieri. Exploring Assur 2. (PeWe-Verlag; 59 €; open-access)

New release: Excavating Ancient Egypt: Fifty Years of Archaeological Memories, by Jeffrey Spencer (Archaeopress; £16-£32)

In the latest episode on the Biblical World podcast, Mary Buck explains the importance of the Achaemenid Empire, including figures like Cyrus and Darius.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Explorator

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Jordan, Mesopotamia, Museums, Persia, Resources, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup