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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists working at a site in the Wadi Tumilat in Egypt have “uncovered a residential complex, storage and production facilities, pottery that contains seal impressions, ten mudbrick graves, and humans buried in unusual squatting positions,” all from the Hyksos period.

Excavations of a temple in the Bahariya Oasis uncovered a number of inscriptions with the name of Psamtik (Psammetichus) I, the first pharaoh of the 26th dynasty.

Archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved 4th-century AD city with a basilica-style church in the Dakhla oasis in Egypt.

“A new exhibit at the Peabody Museum explores Yale Egyptologist Victoria Almansa-Villatoro’s study of thousands of papyri fragments from the Old Kingdom era of Ancient Egypt.”

A 1.5-min BBC video explains a photo showing the first view into King Tut’s tomb.

“Archaeologists working in the ancient city of Smyrna in İzmir, western Türkiye, have fully uncovered a 1,500-year-old mosaic room.”

Bible History Daily has posted an interview with Barış Yener, director of the excavations at Colossae. He discusses his objectives, his early finds, and his intention to excavate six months each year until he retires.

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the top stories for the month of June.

The Temple of Apollo in Didyma is open to visitors during the evenings this summer.

On Digging for Truth, Nate Loper shares evidence for locating the landing of Noah’s Ark on Mt. Cudi.

“Scientists have used ancient tree rings to pinpoint when builders raised the Agios Vasileios (Άγιος Βασίλειος) palace, a major Late Bronze Age site in southern Greece.”

“The Archaeological Museum of Argos [in Greece] has reopened after twelve years, unveiling a fully renovated space and a collection of newly repatriated treasures.”

New release: Assur 2025: Further insights into life and death in the New Town. Exploring Assur 3. Edited by Karen Radner, Jana Richter, and Andrea Squitieri (PeWe-Verlag, 2026; open-access).

Anthropeum is an online daily game that quizzes you on the date and geographic origin of various artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Leon Mauldin shares a beautiful photo of the unique landscape of Cappadocia.

HT: Agade, Wayne Stiles, Explorator, Andreas Heimbichner

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Greece, Museums, Resources, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Researchers have recovered 20 columns of previously hidden text on one of the oldest Herculaneum scrolls.

“A report of illegal digging on the rural edge of Rome has led archaeologists to one of the most striking recent discoveries in the city’s western countryside: a Roman imperial-period villa with mosaic floors, painted walls and a white marble statue that may represent Silvanus, the rustic god of fields, woods and agricultural life.”

After restorers added two marble blocks into empty gaps, the Parthenon’s western side looks whole for the first time in more than 200 years.

An Ugaritic treatment for a hangover involved the application of dog hair.

Writing for the BAR Test Kitchen, Jennifer Drummond provides a recipe for Roman dill sauce that comes from Apicius, a first-century Roman gourmand.

“A team of historians, scientists and engineers has developed a portable X-ray scanner to study 4,000-year-old [cuneiform] letters encased in clay envelopes.”

A European project has used AI and robotics to reconstruct and restore damaged frescoes at Pompeii.

The Archive of Mesopotamian Archaeological Reports “aims to digitize 500 archaeological site reports describing archaeological excavations in Iraq and the immediately surrounding areas (Turkey, Syria, Iran, and the Gulf). This will include both out-of-copyright as well as in-copyright and in-print materials.”

Henry Colburn explores the meaning of Achaemenid silver. “Achaemenid silver was fungible in meaning as well as substance. Gifts of silver from the king, such coins and drinking vessels, were simultaneously monetary objects and tokens of prestige, and their precise meaning could shift according to their context.”

A local newspaper runs a story about the Biblical History Center in LaGrange, Georgia.

Lisa Lock and Andrew Zinin write about the history of glassblowing and its effect on the Roman world.

A team has used 3D printing to revive an ancient Roman board game.

There will be no roundup next weekend.

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Greece, Italy, Mesopotamia, Persia, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Recently discovered photographs of a building underneath Hebron’s Machpelah have led to the proposal that Herod built the complex as a sacred precinct for his own tomb. A 2025 journal article is online here, and a 2026 journal article is here.

Bryan Windle just returned from supervising at the Shiloh excavations, and he shares three significant discoveries they made this year.

The Herodium was the stage for the grand opening of a conference hosted by an organization who wants to transform archaeological ruins in Judea and Samaria into “premier educational, cultural, and tourism destinations.”

“A governmental vetting committee on Thursday nixed Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu’s nominee to lead the Israel Antiquities Authority.”

The “Tracing Scribes and Scrolls” project has been awarded €2.5 million to understand the origin and creation of the Dead Sea Scrolls using analytic chemistry, AI, and paleography.

On Digging for Truth, Scott Stripling discusses the evidence from Manetho for the identity of the pharaoh of the exodus.

New release: New Studies in the Historical Geography of the Ancient Near East, edited by Kyle H. Keimer, Chris McKinny, Aharon Tavger (Archaeology of the Biblical Worlds; De Gruyter, $121; Amazon)

First time on sale on Kindle: Populus: Living and Dying in Ancient Rome, by Guy De la Bédoyère (U of Chicago Press, $2.99)

Shmuel Browns shares photos from his hike up Mt. Ebal.

Leon Mauldin shares a couple of photos of the Arbel cliffs and the Sea of Galilee.

I see that Carl Rasmussen’s useful website, HolyLandPhotos.org, has a beautiful redesign, including a new AI Search feature.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Exodus-Conquest, Judah, Lectures, Photo Resources, Resources, Samaria, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists have made some discoveries at Heracleopolis, the ancient capital of Upper Egypt’s 20th nome.

Hanan Charaf and Martine Francis-Allouche write about the history of Byblos for The Ancient Near East Today. The article includes recent research from maritime Byblos as well as many photos.

Zoom lecture on June 13: “Individuals, Households, Families, and the Law in Ancient Egypt,” by Brian Muhs

New release: Urban Life and Form in Ancient Egypt, by Nadine Moeller (Elements in Ancient Egypt in Context; Cambridge University Press; open-access until June 24).

New episode on This Week in the Ancient Near East: “Sennacherib’s Throne Room of Doom, or Hezekiah Can See His House from Here”

“The new official guide to the Archaeological Park of Pompeii accompanies the reader on a discovery of one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in the world.”

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Egypt, Mesopotamia, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

An almost-complete ancient Egyptian funerary set was discovered during excavations of Heliopolis.

The exhibition “Lives and Literacy in Ancient Egypt” is on display at the University of Texas at Austin until August 3. “A highlight of the exhibition is one of the world’s earliest New Testament fragments—the St. John’s Fragment (P52)—on view in the United States for the first time. Additionally, visitors can see early adaptations of The Odyssey by Homer, as well as early writing palettes, and panel paintings.”

“Excavations at the ancient city of Olympos on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast have uncovered a monumental tomb containing a richly decorated sarcophagus believed to belong to an aristocratic woman from the Roman period.”

Turkish Archaeological News lists the top stories in the month of May, including:

Turkey intercepts over 1 million artifacts annually to stop smuggling
Rare pyramid tomb in Marmaris opens to visitors after restoration
Hierapolis debuts modern visitor reception centers
Roman-era strategy game board discovered in the city walls of Apollonia

Terry Madenholm has written a lengthy and interesting article in Haaretz about taxes and tax evasion in the Roman empire.

New article by Mark Wilson, “The Archaeology of Biblical Sites in Asia Minor: Its Symbiosis with Archaeobiblical Tourism.” Religions 17, no. 3 (2026). Open-access.

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Museums, New Exhibits, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Egyptian authorities have unveiled a plaster blocking wall from King Tutankhamun’s tomb in Luxor, an artefact described as unparalleled due to its survival from ancient looters.”

Tombs belonging to Amenhotep and his son Samut have been opened following extensive restoration.

Gary Urie explains the significance of Egyptian scarabs on Digging for Truth.

“Iraq is restoring the Ziggurat of Ur, one of the world’s oldest surviving temple structures, using locally made bricks and traditional building methods.”

Pigeons have been domesticated since at least 1400 BC, according to a new study (gift link).

“The new AI tool ‘Palaeographicum’ is revolutionizing research into the cultures of the Ancient Near East: It identifies individual variations of cuneiform signs—a huge step forward for academia.”

The Epigraphic Institute is offering online courses in Safaitic and Ancient South Arabian next month.

New release: The 2008 Season at Tall al-’Umayri and Subsequent Studies, edited by Larry G. Herr, Douglas R. Clark, Lawrence T. Geraty, and Monique Roddy (Eisenbrauns, $140; save 30% with code NR26; Amazon)

HT: Agade, Explorator

Tagged Egypt, Jordan, Mesopotamia, Resources, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup