Weekend Roundup Archives - Page 152 of 169

Weekend Roundup

We begin with reports from the field. Tel Burna has posted photos of their finds from Week 2. The Jezreel Expedition has completed its first season. Omrit wrapped up its season with the possible discovery of a bath complex. Work and discoveries continue at Ashkelon. Reports and photos from the first couple weeks at Bethsaida are posted. The team at Bethsaida is hoping to reveal a 10th-century gate this season and they have posted reports from Week 1 and Week 2. Excavations are scheduled to begin tomorrow at Tiberias, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tel Hazor, Kfar HaHoresh, Tel ‘Eton, and Tel Bet Yerah.

The New York Times has a travel piece on the four-day hike through Galilee on the Jesus Trail.

The pilot study for the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project has concluded and results have been announced.

Aren Maeir has posted three short videos on: (1) food in Philistine and Israelite society; (2) Philistine religion; (3) work in the archaeological lab.

National Geographic has photos of gold treasures recently found in Israel.

Claude Mariottini notes the publication of The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal, by Ralph K.
Hawkins. Had another publisher released this work, it would have been certainly included “Joshua’s altar” in the title.

A study by Norwegian archaeologists has revealed how the great city of Palmyra could exist in the middle of the Syrian desert.

Wayne Stiles describes each of the 8 gates of the Old City of Jerusalem, providing a photo with each one as well as video footage of General Allenby entering Jaffa Gate.

Google is sponsoring a project to read some unrollable Dead Sea Scrolls. A video shows how the technology works.

The Times of Israel has more information on the tomb robbers caught in the act of plundering an antiquities site near Modiin.

HT: David Coppedge, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan, Philistines, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Ferrell Jenkins describes the biblical significance of the Black Sea coast of Turkey, his visit to the city of Sinop, and some famous Sinopeans.

Dorothy D. Resig provides an introduction to the newest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

The current issue of Near Eastern Archaeology is free for a limited time, with a Facebook account and a MyJSTOR account.

Israel is still on a record pace for number of tourists this year.

Finding the Dead Sea Scrolls Isn’t Enough, says Wayne Stiles.

Antiquities thieves caught in the act were arrested near Modi’in.

The Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an exhibit entitled “Pure Gold.”

The James Ossuary and its trial was the subject of several stories this week. Matthew Kalman describes his experience as the only journalist at the seven-year-long trial as a way of introduction to his article in The Jerusalem Report (subscription required). Hershel Shanks declares the ossuary inscription authentic and observes that opposition seems motivated by politics, not scholarship. One of the figures in the case, Yuval Goren, is interviewed on the LandMinds show (Part 1, Part 2). A small survey of evangelical archaeologists and biblical scholars polled by Christianity Today shows that half believe the inscription authentic with most others unsure.

The best article of the week is an interview with the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the controversial Shuka Dorfman. Among other matters, he addresses charges made against Elad and how left-wingers hurt the people they claim to help.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Dead Sea, Forgery, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Excavation Roundup

According to the schedule here, excavations this summer have already concluded at Qumran, Tel Achziv, Tell Jalul, Abel Beth Maacah, Tel Megiddo East, Khirbet el-Maqatir (Ai?), and Gezer. We noted the Gezer water system discovery yesterday and you can view other videos at their Youtube channel. Excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir revealed the third arch in the Byzantine church, dozens of coins from the first-century house, and houses from the time of the Judges.

Excavations are currently underway at Hurvat Eres, Omrit, Shikhin/Asochis, Ashkelon, Tel Burna, and Abila. The crew at Tel Burna has posted about Day 1, Day 2, and the first week, having already found a collection of flint tools, an amulet of Bes, and a scarab of Thutmose III. The Ashkelon blog is alive as well, describing workshops, walking tours, discoveries, photos, and more. Omrit has an Official Student Blog, and you also might want to take a look at the beautiful 18-page park brochure for the site.

Excavations begin next week at Megiddo, Bethsaida, and Tel Dan, with half a dozen others beginning on June 24. If you know of any online reports of these or other excavations, please let us know.

We’ll try to have a roundup of the week’s other stories here tomorrow.

Tagged Excavations, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

Gary Byers has posted a summary of Week One for the excavation of Khirbet el-Maqatir (Ai?).

Lawyer Hershel Shanks reflects on the James Ossuary trial verdict and on-going antics of the Israel Antiquities Authority in a Jerusalem Post op-ed.

Wayne Stiles suggests 7 Israel Museum “must-sees.”

The Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel has condemned vandalism of the Hammat Tiberias synagogue by religious Jews (Hebrew).

The Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project intends to “capture traces of pigments . . . and the geometric detail of the relief.”

Locust swarms are moving through north Africa.

For a limited time, free Kindle books are available for:

HT: Bible X, Bill Soper, Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Excavations, Italy, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists excavating at Magdala have discovered a sword from the Roman period.

Two ancient synagogues in Israel were vandalized in the last week: Hammat Tiberias and Naaran (near Jericho).

The judge in the James Ossuary forgery case gave the prosecution a month to justify their desire to confiscate dozens of objects from the collection of Oded Golan.

Joe Yudin describes the aliyah (“going up”) to Jerusalem from Israel’s international airport.

Though housed in a single building, the traditional tomb of David and the Upper Room don’t seem to have much in common. Wayne Stiles disagrees.

Mark Wilson has crossed a Pauline site off of his “bucket list” with his recent visit to Antipatris. We might note that the new Pictorial Library of Bible Lands has photos of every site that Paul is recorded as having visited, with one exception.

HT: Paleojudaica

Vandalism of Hammat Tiberias synagogue.
Photo by Moti Dolev/National Parks Authority.

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg reviews significant discoveries in his Archaeology in Israel Update—April 2012.

The Washington Post has a good slideshow of the gold hoard from Megiddo.

Wayne Stiles considers the difference between the “reunification” of Jerusalem and the “restoration” that the Bible predicts.

The Good Book Blog has an infographic depicting the Rulers of Israel and Judah.
Sensation Before Scholarship: Gordon Govier writes in Christianity Today about the problem of
media hype in archaeological and textual discoveries.

The ASOR Blog has a new Archaeology Weekly Roundup.

Eisenbrauns has announced their 2012 Mug.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Weekend Roundup