A Bone to Pick: Why Did We Hear Only One Side of the Camel Argument?

In advance of the pope’s blessing of the tabernacle from the boat altar, the New York Times profiles the excavation and resort of Magdala.

Ferrell Jenkins recently visited the new excavations at Derbe.

ArtDaily: “Egypt unveiled Thursday the 3,000 year-old tombs of two senior pharaonic military men in the famed Saqqara necropolis, one of them decorated with well-preserved reliefs depicting the afterlife.”

Aren Maeir’s recent lecture at the Oriental Institute on new directions in the study of the Philistines is now online.

The only museum of biblical archaeology in Latin America is in Sao Paulo, Brazil.


Haaretz: Archaeologists are protesting construction at Tel Shiloh.

“Aerial images taken by Corona satellites in 1960s help archaeologists locate unexcavated towns and roads across Middle East, but few gems remain unsurveyed in Israel.”

On Logos pre-pub discount: Biblical Archaeologist / Near Eastern Archaeology (1992–2011) (20 vols.) (74 issues)

Yale University Press launches Roman architecture enhanced e-book. $9.99 at Amazon.

HT: Ted Weis

A bust of Alexander the Great has been discovered in a church on the island of Cyprus.

The recent claim that the Polish Center of Archaeology had found the tomb of Alexander the Great in Alexandria, Egypt, is a hoax.

The new museum in Antioch on the Orontes will open soon with the world’s largest display of mosaics.

The “Roads of Arabia” exhibit is now in Kansas City at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Until July 6.

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology has launched an interactive online 3D object library. Direct link here.

Logos has three new collections available at pre-publication discount for those interested in seals of the biblical world:

The ASOR Weekly Roundup is here.

HT: Jack Sasson, Ted Weis

Noah Wiener has a follow-up article on the spring tunnel discovered in the Rephaim Valley. He includes a great photo of the tunnel.

Zachi Zweig disagrees with Leen Ritmeyer’s dating of the newly revealed course of ashlar stones on the Temple Mount. He dates it to the Early Islamic period.

A woman has turned over to the IAA a large collection of pottery discovered by a relative in the Mediterranean Sea.

The winter dig at Khirbet el-Maqatir began in the snow. They spent several weeks excavating three caves.

The ancient Myceneans once used portable grills at their picnics.

Archaeologists have discovered grain from the Neolithic period at Çatalhöyük.

The report for the 2013 excavation season at Tall el-Hammam is now online.

The first two volumes of NGSBA Archaeology are available for download. (NGSBA = Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology.)

Just published: The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000-332 BCE, edited by
Margreet L. Steiner and Ann E. Killebrew. Oxford University Press. 912 pages. $165.

Wayne Stiles explains how to make the maps in your Bible atlas fully searchable.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Tim Graham, Jack Sasson

Norma Franklin asks, Why was Jezreel so important to the kingdom of Israel? Her claim that “there is no mention in the biblical narrative” of an Israelite palace is incorrect (1 Kings 21:1).

Another story on the excavations of Carchemish reports that the Japanese offered a million dollars for the opportunity to dig there.

The pigs in ancient Israel allegedly came from Europe.

Five historical monuments have been destroyed in Syria’s civil war. The photos show the damage.

How did ancient Greek music sound? The BBC reports on the research of Armand D’Angour.

How do you avoid losing what you learned on your trip to the Holy Land? Wayne Stiles suggests seven ways. My favorite is #4: Share with people what you have learned and experienced.

Leon Mauldin is doing a series on the cities of refuge. So far, he’s visited Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron.

All of the entries from Skyview’s 2013 Creative Shot Contest are online.

The Batchelder Conference of Biblical Archeology at the University of Nebraska is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday.

Haaretz profiles the Mormon campus on the Mount of Olives, with details about the campus architecture and the “Non-Proselyting Agreement.”

HT: Jack Sasson

Brigham Young University on Mount of Olives, tb011612774
Brigham Young University campus in Jerusalem

From World Bulletin:

What could be the largest discovered inscribed tablet (stele), dating to the reign of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II between 605-562 BC, has been discovered in the Turkish city of Karkamis on the military zone along the Turkey-Syria border. […] Excavations this year also unearthed a cuneiform tablet at the palace of Carchemish king Katuwa dating to 800 BC, as well as over 300 sculptures, a Luwian hieroglyphic inscription and a mosaic.

The rest of the article includes more information on the excavations but unfortunately nothing about the major discovery. For previous posts on the excavations at Carchemish, see here, here, and here.

Gordon Franz reports on his time at the “International Noah and Judi Mountain Symposium” in Sirnak, Turkey. He also provides a summary of a number of the presentations.

On The Book and the Spade this week: “Discovering Dalmanutha” with Ken Dark (direct link).

Norma Franklin believes the Megiddo water system was built during the Middle Bronze Age.

George Athas asks, “What’s New in Biblical Inscriptions?” and he suggests a cautious approach in announcing new discoveries.

An enormous Corinthian capital has been excavated at a temple of Hadrian in western Turkey.

A report in the Belfast Telegraph provides details about the ongoing excavations at Sidon.

Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am provide a tour of Gezer.

Before there was writing, there were clay balls. Scholars are trying to decipher the code from objects found in Iran.

Dove Booksellers reports that the retail price is jumping up to $395 for The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology. It’s on sale for $257 until Tuesday (cheaper than Amazon).

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer, Explorator

Mount Cudi from west, adr1005222380
Cudi (Judi) Dagh, possible location of Mount Ararat, from west
Photo from Eastern and Central Turkey