Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Haaretz reports on the discovery of a stone mug found in the Mount Zion excavations that has a very unusual inscription.

An ostracon discovered in the Babylonian destruction layer of Lachish has been published.

Adi Erlich and Ron Lavi report that in their three-year excavation of the famous cave of Caesarea Philippi, they found no evidence of Herod’s temple in front of that cave.

An impressive Byzantine mosaic with 55 richly detailed medallions has been restored and is now on display in the Negev near where it was discovered.

A journal article published in Antiquity studies the cargoes from three Iron Age shipwrecks discovered near the port of Dor.

Ynetnews runs a lengthy story about the Weizmann Institute of Science’s particle accelerator, how it is used for dating Carbon-14 samples, and its impact in dating antiquities in Jerusalem.

Zoom lecture on June 5: “Tel Azekah after Twelve Seasons of Excavation,” by Oded Lipschits

This week’s Jerusalem Tracker highlights new books, book reviews, blogposts, podcasts, videos, as well as the latest developments in Jerusalem.

Steven Smith at OpenBible used AI to create 180 maps of the Holy Land. He discusses his methodology and the weaknesses of the results.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick, Mark V. Hoffman, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“An ancient tomb in Greece does not hold the remains of Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great.”

A new study shows that the interior of the Parthenon in Athens was not a “sunbathed, bright marble room,” but rather a dim, dark space that “enhanced the sense of awe and religious experience.”

“The Herod Atticus Theater in Athens will close for at least three years for essential maintenance and restoration work.”

The Lion of Amphipolis “will be treated for damage from humidity, exposure, and the use of inappropriate materials in its original restoration.”

Deirdre N. Fulton and Lidar Sapir-Hen explain what zooarchaeology is.

“A scarab beetle set in gold shows that ancient Egyptians thought the heart was the most important organ in the human body.”

Sean Manning considers an Assyrian lion hunt in order to answer the question of how heavy Iron Age bows were.

This 8-minute video explains why ancient ruins are underground.

HT: Agade, Jon Litts, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A gold ring with a red gemstone dating to the Hellenistic period has been discovered in the Givati Parking Lot excavations in the City of David. It is quite similar to another ring found at the same place last year.

Yosef Garfinkel recently completed excavation of Ophel’s “Water Gate” area, removing several Byzantine walls in order to highlight the Iron Age walls. The report includes numerous pictures and a video interview.

All Israel News has created a 5-minute video showing some of the archaeological evidence for a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount.

A visitor center telling the story of tekhelet (biblical blue color) opens in the Judean wilderness later this month.

Leon Mauldin posts a photo and a map of Taanach by the Waters of Megiddo.

Denny Sissom has a new series of videos explaining each chapter of his book, The Bridge to the New Testament: A Comprehensive Guide to the Forgotten Years of the Inter-Testament Period, in detail.

BibleStock has released a new coaching video, explaining how to use video footage in teaching the story of David and Goliath.

With this week’s release of the Photo Companion volumes for Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, we’re offering both for the price of one. Luke Chandler calls the Photo Companion to the Bible his “favorite overall Bible study resource.”

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

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists uncovered portions of a monumental relief of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in the throne room of his palace in Nineveh.

Christopher Jones explores questions related to Sennacherib’s assassination.

Scientists have discovered the evidence for leprosy that dates to the third millennium BC.

In a new study on Pompeii, “scientists documented events at one home in the doomed city where a family sought refuge inside a back room by pushing a wooden bed against a door in a vain attempt to stop a flood of volcanic rocks from the sky.”

Turkish authorities arrested four individuals who had discovered a Roman mosaic during illegal excavations at their house.

“Gojko Barjamovic, a lecturer at Yale University, along with a team from Harvard, deciphered and even attempted to recreate some of the dishes detailed on Babylonian clay tablets dating back nearly 4,000 years.”

David M. Pritchard explains why “sport in ancient Athens was much more than the Olympics.”

Aish.com has published a primer on the Cairo Geniza.

“The ancient bilingual inscriptions of Karatepe Aslantas Open-Air Museum in Osmaniye, Türkiye, have been officially inscribed into the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register.”

“Friends of ASOR is pleased to announce its first tour of some of Chicago’s greatest museums on September 18 and 19 for an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience.”

Live Science explains how archaeologists can determine the sex of a skeleton.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

An Israeli team began excavations of Samaria-Sebaste this week. Some consider the excavation of ancient Israel’s capital to be a hostile takeover of Palestinian heritage.

Archaeologists working at the Roman cemetery at Legio near Megiddo have uncovered the jaws of thirteen pigs in what they believe was remains of a funerary banquet.

“Jewish veterans from the Roman army — and not Shimon Bar Kochba — may have initially led the 2nd-century Jewish rebellion against the Romans commonly known as the ‘Bar Kochba Revolt.’”

“Two enigmatic 1,500-year-old human figurines carved in rare ebony wood from India or Sri Lanka and likely made in Africa have been uncovered in the Negev.” The underlying journal article is here.

A new study has found that “the Kingdom of Israel had much greater name variety than the southern kingdom, hinting at deeper social differences.” The underlying journal article is here.

“Police arrested nine Jewish men who tried to smuggle a sacrificial goat onto the Temple Mount in Jerusalem Monday afternoon.”

The Jerusalem Post runs a short article about the road between the Pool of Siloam and the Temple Mount.

New release: Readers of the Lost Ark: Imagining the Ark of the Covenant from Ancient Times to the Present, by Kevin M. McGeough (Oxford University Press, $35; Amazon). Free chapter here.

Bible Mapper Atlas has created a (free) poster map of the tribe of Manasseh (west of the Jordan) and its surroundings, circa 1200 BC.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists working at Knossos, Crete, have discovered the longest known inscription in Linear A script.

Archaeologists have discovered defensive structures and military housing at Tell Abu Saifi in northern Sinai.

Scholars have confirmed that one of the Herculaneum papyri as a work written by the Greek philosopher Philodemus.

A scholar claims that he has discovered previously unidentified hieroglyphics on an Egyptian obelisk located in Paris.

A treasure hunter claims to have discovered the actual location of the Council of Nicaea and is willing to disclose it for payment of $50 million.

“The painstaking restoration of glass and ceramic artifacts from the Hatay Museum damaged during the devastating earthquakes in February 2023 earthquake in Turkey is underway.”

“Starry paintings found on ancient Egyptian coffins and tombs indicate that the sky goddess Nut was closely associated with the Milky Way galaxy, according to a new study by an astronomer.”

“Jordanian authorities evacuated hundreds of tourists from the ancient city of Petra on Sunday after heavy rains caused flash floods.” Here’s another video.

“A National Endowment for the Humanities grant to create the first scholarly edition of one of the great classics of biblical literature, the Psalms” has been cancelled.

Turkish Archaeological News surveys major stories from the month of April, including:

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Explorator

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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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