Turkey Archives - Page 34 of 64

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Discoveries:
Tablets excavated at Gezer and the nearby Tel Hadid indicate that Israelites were not living in the area following the Assyrian invasions in the late 8th century BC (Haaretz premium).

A new study by Tel Aviv University has determined that the kingdom of Edom was flourishing in the 12th and 11th centuries BC, led in part by a high-tech copper network. The underlying journal article is available here.

Tin ingots from the 13th-12th centuries BC discovered near Haifa were apparently mined in Cornwall, England.

“Egyptian authorities have unintentionally discovered several historical monuments dating back to the Greco-Roman and Ptolemaic era in roughly 20 archaeological sites in the east and middle of Alexandria.”

A temple of Ptolemy IV was discovered in northern Sohag, Egypt, while drilling for a sewage drainage project.

An archaeologist in Aphrodisias, Turkey, discovered a Roman milestone that had long been used as a table base in a coffee shop.

Excavators continue to work to expose the forum area in ancient Alexandria Troas.

Nadav Shragai reports on the Adonijah seal impression and other discoveries that have come as a result of the excavations at the foundations of the western wall of the Temple Mount.

Museums and Exhibits:
The Bank of Israel in Jerusalem has opened an archaeological exhibit featuring “several spectacular ancient coin caches,” one of which includes more than 10,000 large coins.

Two Roman statues discovered last year near Beth Shean are joining the permanent collections of the Gan Hashlosha–Sahne Museum.

The largest-ever exhibition of treasure from King Tut’s tomb will be on display at the Saatchi Gallery from November 2, 2019 to May 3, 2020.

The Palestinian Museum in Bir Zeit recently won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The museum does not have a permanent collection.

New York’s Metropolitan Museum is returning a beautiful gold coffin of a high-ranking priest to Egypt after learning the item was stolen and its import papers forged.

Books:
Available at a pre-pub discount on Logos: Zondervan Handbook of Biblical Archaeology, by Randall Price and Wayne House.

Two new books from the Oriental Institute:

Discovering New Pasts: The OI at 100, edited by Theo van den Hout. Purchase ($134). Free download.
100 Highlights of the Collections of the Oriental Institute Museum, edited by Jean M. Evans, Jack Green, and Emily Teeter. Purchase ($80). Free download.

The Times of Israel reviews Jodi Magness’s new book, Masada.

The German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in the Holy Land (GPIA) has produced a catalogue of the exhibition “Tall Zirā’a—Mirror of Jordan’s History.”

In tomorrow’s roundup, we’ll cover tourism, lectures, and videos.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Explorator, Jared Clark

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

New excavations in Perga have revealed the well-preserved(!) foundation of the Tomb of Plancia Magna. And Carl Rasmussen also has photos of new reconstruction work at Thyatira.

Pat McCarthy’s newest page at Seetheholyland.net is about the Sisters of Nazareth excavation, including a church possibly built over Jesus’s childhood home.

Aaron Demsky explains how the Samaria Ostraca shed light on the names of Zelophehad’s daughters and Israel’s settlement in Manasseh.

Mark Barnes draws out some lessons from Shechem, including how conflict, covenant, and choice defined its history.

In a new podcast, Clint Burnett discusses the background of the Nazareth Inscription as well as assessing whether it provides evidence of Jesus’s empty tomb (Apple).

Peter grew up in Bethsaida and ended up in Rome. Wayne Stiles explains how he got there by a series of “hard left turns.”

Shemesh Online reports on the compromise reached that will allow for the construction of the highway over the tell, the reduction of the width of that road, as well as the building of a pedestrian overpass to connect the two sides.

Kristina Killgrove gives five reasons why you shouldn’t buy that ancient artifact.

Cathie Spieser looks at the theology of birth and rebirth in ancient Egypt.

Chapter 8 of The Gospel of Mark in the LUMO Project has been dubbed in Koine Greek.

On The Book and the Spade, Clyde Billington and Gordon Govier discuss some recent stories, including Macherus, Melchizedek, and the Philistines.

In his ongoing Footsteps series, Bryan Windle identifies three things Paul likely saw in Corinth.

Ferrell’s Favorite Foto #24 is of Gibeon.

HT: Agade, Jared Clark, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Greece, Samaria, Shephelah, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists working at el-Araj (Bethsaida?) are claiming that a Byzantine church they are excavating is the “Church of the Apostles.” The story is reported in Haaretz (premium); the excavation website has lots of photos.

The excavation season at Gath is over. Among this week’s posts is this one with their end-of-season photo shoot.

“A rare, very early rural mosque was unearthed during recent archaeological excavations in the southern Israel Bedouin city of Rahat.”

Excavations on Mount Zion have revealed a moat from the Crusader siege of Jerusalem in 1099.

“An unprecedentedly vast Neolithic settlement — the largest ever discovered in Israel and the Levant, say archaeologists — is currently being excavated ahead of highway construction five kilometers from Jerusalem

The University of Basel announced its possession of the oldest autograph of a Christian letter.

Researchers are studying the harbor technologies of Portus, the maritime harbor of Rome in the first centuries AD.

For the first time in decades, Egypt has opened the Bent and Red Pyramids of Dahshur to tourists.

Wayne Stiles draws spiritual lessons about closed doors from Paul’s second missionary journey.

New from Eerdmans: Scribes and Scrolls at Qumran, by Sidnie White Crawford

Now at the top of my wish list (but more difficult to acquire outside of Israel): Ancient Jerusalem Revealed: Archaeological Discoveries, 1998–2018, edited by Hillel Geva.

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Italy, Jerusalem, Judah, Negev, Philistines, Resources, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 3

The story around the “First Century Gospel of Mark” text has turned very strange. (Michael Holmes, Elijah Hixson, Brent Nongbri, Candida Moss, Jerry Pattengale)

An Egyptian statue resembling King Tut sold for $6 million in a controversial auction.

A luxury hotel built in Antakya (biblical Antioch on the Orontes) preserves the ancient ruins found below.

Boxes of material from Jerry Vardaman’s excavations at Macherus have been dug out of storage and will be studied and published.

Omri Lernau explains what kinds of fish were eaten in ancient Jerusalem.

Dozens of metal archaeological artifacts excavated at Caesarea were stolen from an Israel Antiquities Authority storage facility (Haaretz premium).

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is a double issue, featuring articles on the wise woman of Abel Beth Maacah, the Royal Stoa of the Temple Mount, Jewish purity practices, inscriptions from Mount Gerizim, and the Copper Scroll.

Here’s a tutorial on how to write in cuneiform.

The newest Bible Land Passages documentary has been released. This 18-minute video looks the candidates for the tomb of Jesus.

In a recent episode of Hebrew Voices, David Moster explains how toilets worked in ancient Israel.

And David just produced part 2 of “How to Use the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: the Masorah Notes” (20-min video).

Recent interviews on The Book and the Spade:

Shlomo Ben Asher on Magdala and the Magdala stone
Scott Stripling on the 2019 Shiloh excavations

Carl Rasmussen explains how a Lewis Bolt was used to lift heavy stones in the ancient world.

Leen Ritmeyer shares some photos from his underground work at the Temple Mount in the 1970s.

Ferrell Jenkins posts an idyllic photo of an olive tree and two olive presses.

A friend at my church is leading a 20-day tour of New Zealand this January and he has a few open spots. He’s a native New Zealander and a seminary graduate, and he will be giving biblical instruction along the way (for example, NZ has 30 million sheep!). I can’t imagine a better tour of New Zealand. Here’s a flyer with more info.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade, David Padfield, Mark Hoffman, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan, Samaria, Temple Mount, Tomb of Jesus, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Museums:

“Assyrians in the Shadow of Vesuvius” is a new exhibit at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

“Buried by Vesuvius: Treasures from the Villa dei Papiri” is now on display at the Getty Villa in southern California. The post discusses how the Getty Villa was designed after the Villa of Papyri.

“Last Supper in Pompeii” is a new exhibit opening later this month at the Ashmolean Museum.

A replica of the destroyed Lion of Mosul is going on display at London’s Imperial War Museum.

A major exhibition on Troy will open at the British Museum on November 21.

The Egyptian Museum, though losing much of its collection to the Grand Egyptian Museum, will undergo a three-year renovation with the hope of securing status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A new exhibition on Tall Zira’a opened this week at The Jordan Museum.

Lectures:

Shahrokh Razmjou will be lecturing on “The Rise and Fall of Persepolis: A Wonder of the Ancient World” in London on July 23.

Twenty scholars will be speaking at the 22nd Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest in San Diego, November 22-24.

Tourism:

Jerusalem’s “Tomb of the Kings” will reopen to visitors for the first time since 2010, but the tombs themselves will be off-limits.

With restorations complete, Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity has been removed from UNESCO’s list of endangered world heritage sites.

The Lahun Pyramid opened to the public for the first time last week.

Every year there’s a story that Carchemish will soon be opened to the public.

Babylon has been named a 2019 UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Adam Stewart Brown articulates well why you should visit the Holy Land.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade, Explorator, Bill Krewson

Tagged Egypt, Italy, Jerusalem, Judah, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, New Exhibits, Persia, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

I go away for one week, and I come back to a large pile of stories in the biblical and archaeological world. This is going to take three long posts to catch up.

Discoveries:

Excavations at the synagogue of Huqoq have uncovered a mosaic depicting the Israelites’ encampment at Elim as well as two of the four beasts of Daniel 7.

Recent research has revealed that Tel Shikmona was not a trading settlement but a purple dye manufacturing center.

The Siloam Road, connecting the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount of Jerusalem, was officially opened this week.

Archaeologists discovered an ancient baptismal font hidden inside another baptismal font at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

“An ancient Roman-era shipwreck has been discovered at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of Cyprus.”

Excavations:

The Tel Burna crew has finished three weeks of their summer dig, with daily posts providing summaries of the finds along with photos. Here’s the latest. John DeLancey has posted his perspective as a volunteer.

The Gath expedition is halfway finished with their season, and they are unearthing a road, a window, architectural remains, and a monster wall.

This summer’s excavations at el-Araj (Bethsaida?) have produced more mosaics from the Byzantine church, a mold for making lead fishing weights, part of a roof roller, and Roman flagstones.

The Jerusalem Report has a feature piece on recent excavations at Tell Beth Shemesh.

Excavations are beginning in Laodicea on the road that leads to the ancient stadium.

Studies:

A new DNA study indicates that Philistines living in Ashkelon in the late 12th century BC originated from Greece, Crete, or Sardinia. These articles are based on a journal article published in Science Advances (pdf).

“New research explains why salt crystals are piling up on the deepest parts of the Dead Sea’s floor.”

Joe Zias argues that nearly all, if not all, of the human remains found at Masada are ethnically non-Jewish.

A new study shows that masons’ marks were used at Hippos only from the late first century to the late second century (Haaretz premium).

Sad News:

Doug Greenwold died on June 23. Doug was the Senior Teaching Fellow at Preserving Bible Times and a co-founder of The Institute of Biblical Context. He will be greatly missed.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade, Explorator, Lois Tverberg

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Judah, Mediterranean Islands, Philistines, Sad News, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup