Turkey Archives - Page 59 of 64

Weekend Roundup

Luke Chandler has responded to some of my questions about the recently announced cultic room at Khirbet Qeiyafa. I’m still curious if anyone else is convinced that Garfinkel has found one cultic room, let alone three. (Or, did pillars ever support roofs or were they only used for worship?)

The results from the first two seasons of excavation at Tel Burna (Libnah?) were presented at the ASOR meeting yesterday and the PowerPoint presentation is now available for download.

Haaretz reports on the development of the Abraham Path, a route intended to run from Haran in Turkey south to the patriarch’s burial place in Hebron.

Wayne Stiles introduces readers to the first-century boat found on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Jerusalem Post article includes 7 photos.

In his weekly column, Joe Yudin gives the historical basis for locating the Pools of Bethesda next to the Church of St. Anne.

The reason that the Jordan River today is a pathetic stream composed largely of sewage is that “97% of its historical flow of some 1,250 million cubic meters per year has been diverted by Israel, Syria and Jordan,” according to a report described in the Jerusalem Post.

The AP reports on the progress being made in mapping every tombstone on the Mount of Olives.

Another former church in Turkey, this one famous for hosting the Second Council of Nicaea, has been turned into a mosque.

HT: Al Sandalow, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Galilee, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Tourism, Turkey

Wednesday Roundup

Luke Chandler reports on the discovery of three cultic rooms at Khirbet Qeiyafa. The evidence revealed thus far is limited, and I’ve posted a few questions that I’d like to see answered in a comment on Luke’s post.

The first-ever Crusader inscription in Arabic has been discovered in Jaffa. The inscription mentions the name of the Emperor Frederick II and the date “1229 of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.”

A new Bible museum will be built in Israel. Though the Haaretz article reports that the cabinet decided on a location in Jerusalem, it also identifies possible locations as the Adullam Nature Reserve, Neot Kedumim, and a place in Jerusalem near the Israel Museum.

The Boğazköy Sphinx has been transported from the Berlin Pergamon Museum to Turkey where it will go on display with its counterpart on November 26 in Boğazkale. (For background, see here.)

Ferrell Jenkins names some photos that are worth 1000 words each. In addition to our Pictorial
Library, he recommends the free resources at Holy Land Photos and David Padfield’s website.

The largest Paleo-Hebrew inscription in the history of the world is now on a rooftop in southern California.

Israeli government officials have figured out a positive way to spin their defeat in the campaign to have the Dead Sea named as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Govier in CT: Excavations in Turkey

The earthquake in eastern Turkey prompts Gordon Govier to look at the country’s relationship with foreign archaeological expeditions in Christianity Today. Sites mentioned include Antioch of Pisidia, Colossae, Hierapolis, Laodicea, and Tel Tayinat. He also provides some statistics.

[Mark] Wilson said that in 1990, the total number of excavations was 38. Last year more than 200 excavations took place, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
However, Hurriyet reports that the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has begun cancelling excavation permits for some foreign archaeologists and turning the permits over to Turkish archaeologists. Ministry head Ertuğrul Günay said many foreigners simply weren’t in the country enough. “If they don’t work on it, they should hand it over.”
“The government’s goal is to have universities in each of Turkey’s provinces, and an archaeology department in each of these universities,” said Wilson. This means the number of archaeologists is expanding rapidly. Foreign archeologists now run less than 25 percent of Turkey’s 200 current digs.

One statistic that I doubt is Wilson’s claim that “two-thirds of the New Testament was written either in Turkey or to churches or people in Turkey.” I count 1 long (Revelation) and 7 short books written primarily to people in Turkey (Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1-2 Timothy, Philemon, 1-2 Peter). I count 1 book likely written from Turkey (1 Corinthians). If one includes John’s other four books (the gospel and 1-3 John), that boosts the word count considerably. But without the three longest books in the NT (Matthew, Luke, Acts), as well as the longer letters of Romans and 2 Corinthians, I think the truth may be closer to one-third.

Read the whole article here.

UPDATE: Using word counts from the Greek New Testament (NA27) compiled here, I’ve determined that using the most generous collection listed above (13 books), 34.1% of the NT was written to/from a site in Turkey.

HT: A.D. Riddle

Tagged Excavations, Turkey

Largest Mosaic Discovered in Antioch

The largest mosaic discovered to date in Turkey has been unearthed in the ancient city of Antioch.

The mosaic measures 9,150 square feet (850 sq m) and will be preserved within the hotel being constructed on the site. Antioch, located in southeastern Turkey today, was the home of a significant first-century church that sent Paul out on his three missionary journeys (cf. Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3).

The construction of the hotel is still continuing under the protection and controls of museum officials, said Yastı. The officials constantly control the drilling process and preserve the new artifacts unearthed, she added. The 850-square-meter mosaic is not damaged and in very good condition, she said, adding that it is the first time a mosaic like this has been unearthed in Turkey.
There was also a 3,000-square-meter marble floor discovered during the drilling process, she said, adding that the construction process never damaged the artifacts.
Businessman Necmi Asfuroğlu who owns the construction project said they did not want to damage the artifacts discovered during construction. There will be a 17,000-square-meter museum to exhibit those artifacts, he added. The hotel, on the other hand, will have 200 rooms.

The full article is here. Some photos are included in articles in Turkish including one showing the construction site and another with a small photo of the mosaic.

Last month we noted that the museum in Antioch currently has on display a total of 906 square meters of mosaic. The present find nearly equals that.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Discoveries, Turkey

Wednesday Roundup

Tom Powers describes the City of David excavation over which Eilat Mazar is up in arms.

The Jerusalem Post has ten photos of the Samaritan celebration of Sukkot.

Joe Yudin recommends five family hikes in Israel for the holiday: Nahal Zavitan, Nahal Oren, Nahal David, Nahal Zin, and Mount Zephahot.

Wayne Stiles explains the importance of the Pool of Siloam to an event in Jesus’ life besides the healing of the blind man.

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg provides the Archaeology in Israel Update: September 2011, with summaries of the Two-Horned Alter [sic] from Tell-es Safi [sic], Damascus Gate Restored, Kenyon Institute, Continuous Occupation at Yavne Yam, the Underground Passage from Robinson’s Arch to Siloam Pool, and TCorpus of Graffiti Inscriptions.

A Palestinian archaeologist is attempting to bring Israel to trial at the Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity for their excavations near the Temple Mount. Professor Hamdan Taha is also the Palestinian Authority minister responsible for antiquities and culture and he is currently leading the restoration of Shechem (Tel Balata) previously mentioned here.

The Art Newspaper reviews some of the latest political goings-on in Turkey with regard to archaeology, permits, and Germany.

All is not well with the Dead Sea Scroll digitization project, say some scholars.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Jerusalem, Palestinian Revisionism, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Did the synagogue save Judaism? Paul V. M. Flesher answers the question in a new essay at the Bible and Interpretation, observing that “Judaism is the only Mediterranean religion that was practiced in 50 BC that still flourished in 500 AD.” He also addresses the “two-hundred-year gap” when there were allegedly no synagogues in the Holy Land.

NUMIDAT is a new one-of-a-kind online database of ancient coins, containing nearly 90,000 records.

Wayne Stiles hears echoes of Rosh Hashana in the ruins of the Temple Mount. Yoni Cohen recommends a six-hour hike in the Negev.

Now that 1,200 mines have been cleared, excavations have begun at ancient Carchemish. The team is comprised of 25 Italian and Turkish archaeologists who hope to transform the site into an archaeology park. One official eager for tourists said, “I hope [the excavation] does not take very long.” (Background and photos here and here.)

Leen Ritmeyer notes upcoming lectures at the Palestine Exploration Fund in London.

The Preserving Bible Times Collection (5 vols) for Logos Bible Software quickly received the minimum number of orders and is now under development. The discount is valid until the collection ships.

The Israel Museum is selling some of its artwork.

If you are looking for results for an excavation in Israel, particularly of a smaller site, the search page for Hadashot Arkheologiyot is the place to start. The content is all free.

ASOR has a roundup of stories in the broader world of archaeology.

I thought that the photo below was hilarious. If you’ve always wondered what that combustible city of Nablus looks like, you can find the answer in William A. Simmons, Peoples of the New Testament World (Hendrickson, 2008). (To see what they cropped out of the photo, compare it with this one.)

HT: Benj Foreman

“The city of Nablus”

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup