Not all archaeologists agree with the recent claims made for the presence of Sea Peoples at Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley.

Islamic fundamentalists are destroying antiquities in Syria because of their portrayal of human beings.

Wayne Stiles explains how to take a virtual tour of Jerusalem using Google Maps.

Ferrell Jenkins continues his series on Visualizing Isaiah, with recent posts on Isaiah 12, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 10, and Isaiah 9.

The Guardian is looking for photographs from the first excavations of Masada in the 1960s.

Tourism to Israel in January was up 19%, setting a new record.

The ASOR Weekly Roundup has archaeology news from around the world.

For those wondering, we’ll have a separate post on the camels story in the next few days.

HT: Joseph Lauer

The IAA has launched version 2.0 of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library. The upgraded version includes 10,000 new images.

This looks like a valuable resource: Syria Photo Guide—A Comprehensive Guide to the Cultural and Historical Sites of Syria.

Excavations in Jerusalem’s Liberty Bell Park uncovered a quarry, a winepress (2nd c. AD), and a storage cave (1st c. BC).

An ‘Antilla’ well from the Byzantine period has been discovered in Tel Aviv.

The Assyrians: Masters of War, a 25-minute episode from the Discovery Channel is online.

The Ancient Near East Today has begun its second year of monthly e-newsletters. If you haven’t signed up already, you can do so here.

The update volume for The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land is on sale for $90. That’s the cheapest I’ve seen it. Until Feb 11. (Amazon: $130.)

Today is International Septuagint Day.

HT: Seth Rodriquez, Jack Sasson

iaa-dss-psalms
Psalms Scroll from Cave 11
Image taken from the
Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library

With the cooperation of local landowners, a new national park may be established at Tal al-Umayri (el-Umeiri) in Jordan.

Archaeologists have discovered what may be the oldest Roman temple at the foot of Capitoline Hill in Rome.

“The remains of a bustling port and barracks for sailors or military troops have been discovered near the Giza Pyramids.”

Archaeologists working at Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley believe they have evidence that some of the Sea Peoples settled there ca. 1100 BC.

A new computer system in use by the Israel Antiquities Authority will enable archaeologists to create “a national database of sherds, a kind of sherd Google.” (Haaretz; registration required)

Some of Syria’s historic sites are being destroyed for political reasons.


A Study Guide of Israel: Historical & Geographical, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum is on now on sale at Logos for $18. ($52 used at Amazon.)

The HCSB Study Bible is on sale for the Kindle for $3.

This diagram shows Paul’s missionary journeys in the form of a London subway map.

Leona Glidden Running, co-author of a biography of W. F. Albright, has died.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson, Mark Hoffman

Port and barracks excavated near Giza pyramids.
Photo by AERA.

Excavations in Hebron have already revealed an Iron Age house, artifacts from the 10th century, and Second Temple period items.

Nadav Shragai writes in Israel HaYom on recent Temple Mount discoveries that have not been publicized.

Plans are underway for a new museum at Petra.

The Rapid City Journal recounts how a collection of cuneiform tablets came to be in the collection of Black Hills State University in South Dakota.

National Geographic presents “Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology,” a new exhibition coming to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.

Ferrell Jenkins has posted several entries recently in his Visualizing Isaiah series: a skirt of sackcloth, trusting in horses and chariots, and a booth in a vineyard.

Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo has welcomed a new male lion to replace the one who died last year.

ASOR has a roundup of stories from around the world.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson

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

Leen Ritmeyer has photos and interpretation of the latest illegal excavations on the Temple Mount.

Ritmeyer suspects the revealed wall line may be the northern boundary of the 500-meter square pre-Herodian Temple Mount.

New excavations began at Tel Hebron this week.

Gershon Galil has translated the earliest Jerusalem alphabetic inscription be a reference to “wine part.”

Some rare fabrics dyed with extract from the murex shell have been discovered. The three colors found “represent the most prestigious colors in antiquity: indigo, purple and crimson.”

A couple of Top Discoveries of 2013 have been posted: Gordon Govier (Christianity Today) and
Noah Wiener (Biblical Archaeology Society).

In 2012, from time to time I surveyed excavation reports published by the Israel Antiquities Authority. I did not have time for that in 2013, but you can peruse the list here.

Scholars are using Google Earth to trace ancient trade routes around Antioch of Syria.

Currently on exhibition at the Israel Museum: Mapping the Holy Land II: Cartographic Treasures from the Trevor and Susan Chinn Collection.

Logos Bible Software has a pre-publication sale on Biblical Archaeologist/Near Eastern Archaeology 1992–2011 ($140).

Timothy Valentino has written an outstanding eulogy for Professor David A. Dorsey.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson, Charles Savelle