Weekend Roundup, Part 1

SourceFlix has posted a video taken by drone of the Old City and Temple Mount of Jerusalem.

Excavators at Jezreel discovered an amethyst scarab that likely came from Jezebel’s homeland.

Amnon Rosenfeld died in a car accident in Israel last week. Earlier this month he wrote “The Antiquities Game – Behind the Trial of the Century.” The article is long but has a number of valuable insights.

With Gaza in the news again, Ferrell Jenkins discusses its biblical significance.

The excavators at Gath had a very interesting day on Thursday.

Abram K-J has found a free digital Greek edition of Eusebius’s Onomasticon.

Rik Wadge and Steve Shermett host a series on biblical archaeology entitled Rocks, Shovels, and 
Manuscripts on God’s Learning Channel. The most recent episodes focus on the seven churches of Revelation.

Caves in Israel—Manmade and God-made: Wayne Stiles explains and illustrates. He also offers a free download of a book he recently wrote for the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 100 Off-The-Beaten-Path Sites.

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

After 31 years of hosting The Book & The Spade, Gordon Govier shares some personal reflections.

An aging Lebanese potter laments the passing of his craft.

Archaeologists have found evidence of the “plague of Cyprian.”

Satellite images from the US State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center “document the scale of destruction that looters continue to inflict on archaeological heritage sites during the ongoing conflict in Syria.”

Identifying a complete set of Edward Robinson’s Biblical Researches in Palestine at archive.org is a bit confusing, but David Stark has posted links to volumes 1 and 2 (3 volumes from 1841 in a 2-volume set, 2nd/11th eds.) and volume 3 (the 1856 volume, Later Biblical Researches, 11th ed.).

Now on pre-pub for Logos Bible Software: Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin (1958–2013) (78 issues) – $99.95.

ASOR’s Archaeology Weekly Roundup has more.

I’ll be traveling the better part of the next two weeks and will not be posting much. If they discover an archive at Hazor, Gezer, or Gath, I’m sure that one of my fellow contributors will let you know.

HT: Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Luke Chandler reports on the first week of excavations at Lachish. They made some significant finds in his square on each of the first three days.

They had a fantastic third week of excavations at Tel Burna.

A Roman theater (or amphitheater?) has been discovered in ancient Smyrna as the municipality demolishes a poor neighborhood. This may have been the place where Polycarp was martyred.

Beit Guvrin National Park has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wayne Stiles captures the beauty and historic significance of Nahal Zin with photos, a video, and Google Street View.

“The truth about Jesus’ tomb, romance and the Holocaust” is a rather flashy title for an update of Simcha Jacobovici’s lawsuit against Joe Zias.

ABR has created a new video series, Is It Time To Throw Away Your Bible? They have now shared a couple of free episodes: King David and Solomon: Men or Myths? Part One and Part Two. The video set is on sale for only $20.

Robert Cargill reflects on the passing of Yuval Peleg.

Bet Guvrin cave with view to sky, tb022807541
Cave at Beit Guvrin National Park
Photo from Judah and the Dead Sea
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Weekend Roundup

Yad HaShmonah and its Biblical Village are profiled in The Times of Israel. Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am treat their subject honorably.

Wayne Stiles explains the connection between Horeshat Tal National Park and the Bible.

The video of the “Roast and Toast” for retiring Albright director Sy Gitin is now online with handy links to each segment.

Popular Archaeology looks forward to the coming season of excavations in Jaffa, including new work in the harbor looking for ancient shipwrecks.

Progress in the Ashkelon excavations is being reported on the Dig Ashkelon blog.

A summary for week 2 is posted at the Tel Burna excavation blog. Two more weeks remain this season.

Luke Chandler has arrived in Israel to join the new excavations at Lachish. Watch his blog for updates. There’s more information about the Fourth Expedition to Lachish at the website of Southern
Adventist University.

Bible History Daily has published the first of several studio-quality videos about excavations of Tell Timai in the Nile Delta.


The Sacred Bridge is out in a second “emended and enhanced” edition. Eisenbrauns and Carta list it for sale but do not provide details for what has changed. (Anson Rainey died in 2011.)

Suzanne Marchand provides some interesting background on German-Turkish relations in archaeological work and how that was affected by World War I.

A number of scholarly teams are working on archaeology survey maps of northern Iraq.

“Authorities now know that ISIS is partially funded by pillaging ancient artifacts from Iraq and Syria to sell on the black market.” (International Business Times)

Mick Jagger was spotted at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The-Samaritans.com website is back online after a lengthy absence.

Amazon is now listing a book I contributed to: Jesus, A Visual History. It is due to be released in November.

HT: Jack Sasson, Craig Dunning, A.D. Riddle

Tabor oak, Horeshat Tal, tb032905182
Tabor oak at Horeshat Tal
Photo from Trees, Plants, and Flowers of the Holy Land
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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

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

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Recently discovered wall paintings in Jerusalem provide new information on Crusader military and monastic symbols.

Where will the Pope go when he visits Jerusalem next week? His full itinerary is online.

Will the Pope’s visit to Jerusalem prompt the state of Israel to give more control of the Upper Room to the Catholic church?

The significance of the Jordan River and the baptismal site is explored in a 5-minute video (with transcript) by PBS.

The Yarkon River flows through Tel Aviv. Wayne Stiles explains why it is important to biblical history.

And I missed this one last week: 3 Sites by Beersheba You Seldom See—Arad, Besor, and Aroer

Where is King David Really Buried? This is the best explanation of the issue I recall reading.

Video: The new Waldorf Astoria has opened in Jerusalem at the same location, and with the same façade, as the 1929 hotel.

Bible History Daily: The 10 Strangest Foods in the Bible

Aphek, source of Yarkon River with flock of sheep, mat02807
Source of the Yarkon River at Aphek
Photo from the American Colony Collection
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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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