Weekend Roundup Archives - Page 164 of 171

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

There is so much going on that I’m going to start the “Weekend Roundup” today and continue it tomorrow.

Shmuel Browns has posted many photographs of the “Church of Zechariah” at Khirbet Midras that was announced a few days ago. These photos (here and here) reveal just how well-preserved the mosaic floor is.

In his interview on the LandMinds show, Leen Ritmeyer explains how he determined the location of the original Temple Mount.

On his blog, Leen Ritmeyer addresses “Tunnel-vision politics in Jerusalem” with some helpful photos and a diagram.

Zahi Hawass has an update on the state of Egyptian antiquities. He is a very important man, as he himself observes, “I am the only source of continuing truth concerning antiquities….I am the guardian of these monuments that belong to the whole world….I want everyone to relax, and know that I am here.”

“An ancient church mentioned in the Bible has been discovered in western Turkey.” This claim from the excavators of Laodicea is false. The Bible describes a group of people who met for worship in
Laodicea in the first century (Rev 3:14-22). The archaeologists found a building where Christians met in the fourth century.

This article in Jewish Ideas Daily points out some of the irony of Ahmadinejad welcoming “home” the Cyrus Cylinder. I wonder what the chances are that it will ever be returned to the British Museum.

I encourage you to pray for Anson Rainey who is very ill and hospitalized now in Petah Tikva.

Visiting information was posted on the Agade list (or you may contact me).

HT: Joe Lauer, Daniel Wright, Agade

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Alexander Schick passes on word that the excavated tunnel is now open that allows you to walk on the 1st-century street from the Pool of Siloam up the City of David to the area of the visitor’s center.

(A previous report about these excavations is here.)

Leen Ritmeyer is in Jordan and has photos of the newly opened baptismal site at “Bethabara.”

Ferrell Jenkins reports that Egyptian authorities are now prohibiting cameras from entering the Valley of the Kings.

The Ohel Yitzchak Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem was looted and vandalized during the Jordanian occupation (1948-67), but its renovation has restored some of its former beauty, as you can see in Shmuel Brown’s recent photos.

With the verdict about to be announced in the forgery trial in Jerusalem, Hershel Shanks has written an e-book entitled, James, Brother of Jesus: Forged Antiquities and the Trial of Oded Golan and Robert Deutsch. Shanks believes the James Ossuary inscription was not forged and he plans to release the e-book when the judge issues the verdict. See the sign-up details here.

The eastern Mediterranean is overdue for a big earthquake, says the Jerusalem Post. The area has not had a seven or eight magnitude quake in nearly a millennium. The 1927 tremor was a mere 6.2 on the Richter scale.

The newly re-opened Israel Museum has served half of a million visitors in the last half year.

The LandMinds radio show has interviewed the recently retired Amihai Mazar, reflecting back on the excavations he directed at Tel Qasile, Giloh, Beth Shean, and Tel Rehov.

A Swiss architect is hard at work restoring and protecting the beautiful mosaics of Hisham’s Palace in Jericho. A new excavation began at the site last week and new Russian museum is now open.

The season’s excavations at Tall el-Hammam are wrapping up and the team has posted a couple of videos. The first shows what they have identified as a Middle Bronze temple (with a 10-foot thick wall!) and the second summarizes the finds in the Roman area. They suggest that this was the city of Livias in the Roman-Byzantine period.

HT: Ferrell Jenkins, Roi Brit

Tagged Egypt, Forgery, Jerusalem, Jordan, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Israel Finkelstein has written a brief article explaining why he believes conclusions based on the lack of archaeological evidence trumps the biblical text every time. “Archaeology as a High Court in Ancient Israelite History: A Reply to Nadav Na’aman” (pdf) is published in the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.

James Tabor has posted an update on the Mount Zion excavation project, including news that the 2011 dig season will be conducted at Suba (“Cave of John the Baptist”) instead of on Mount Zion.

Ferrell Jenkins explains why you should check out his extensive collection of links to Biblical Studies resources, especially the Bible Places and Scholarly categories.

Aren Maeir has posted the schedule for the Aharoni Symposium, to be held on February 17 at Tel Aviv University.

In response to the recent story about the “Small Kotel,” Leen Ritmeyer observes:

It is ironic to see that Haaretz is worried about a strong reaction from the Waqf (the Muslim religious trust), while the praying Jews are apparently oblivious to the fact that they are touching stones laid by Muslims, which may have been taken from a destroyed Christian church, in order to repair the ancient Jewish Temple Mount walls.

The “Small Kotel”

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Fifteen marble pillars have been discovered in Gaza’s port.

There’s some question about whether the British Museum has agreed to a three-month extension of the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder. More of the saga is explained here.

Excavations are in progress at Tell el-Hammam and director Steven Collins gives an update in a new video on location. The project was also recently featured in a special on Jordanian TV.

The Israel Ministry of Tourism is promoting the Dead Sea in the final selection of the New7Wonders of Nature. You can vote here, or you can visit the facebook group here. A win for the Dead Sea would be a win for Israel and Jordan both.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has just released its annual issue of excavations. Lots of details about 2011 digs throughout Israel and Jordan are available online.

Weekend rains raised the water level of the Sea of Galilee by one inch, but it’s still hovering at the red line.

Archaeologists are beginning preservation work on the ruins of Babylon.

Visitors to the acropolis of Pergamum in Turkey can no longer arrive there by bus, but now are
required to take a cable car.

Someday I’d like to visit the oasis of Siwa in western Egypt.

Google Labs has a Books Ngram Viewer that allows you to compare the use of words in books in the last couple of centuries. This comparison of “Israel” and “Palestine” was not quite what I expected.

A comparison of “Gezer” and “Megiddo” reveals the periods when the excavations have been active.

Disney is coming to Israel, with plans announced for a complex of shops and a 25-screen theater.

Apparently there will be an amusement park but it will not be a “Disney theme park.” I’m not sure what that means, unless we’re simply not to expect Mickey to take photos with our children.

HT: Explorator, Paleojudaica, Ferrell Jenkins

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Museums, Tourism, Turkey, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

An Iron Age fortress next to the Yarkon River in Tel Aviv shows evidence of trade with the island of Lesbos in the 8th-7th centuries. Archaeological work done at Tel Qudadi seventy years ago have only now been published. For a large version of the image published in the article, see Leon Mauldin’s blog.

The recent storm revealed an underwater cache of weapons from the British Mandate period at Caesarea. Divers were surprised by the changes they found. “We knew things would be different after the storm, but the site was changed so much that we could hardly recognize it.”

Israel had a record-breaking number of tourists in 2010. Christians comprised 69% of all visitors.

“The most visited sites included the Western Wall (77%), the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem (73%), the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (61%), the Via Dolorosa (60%) and the Mount of Olives (55%).”

“Archaeologist” Vendyl Jones passed away recently.

Eight Americans were killed in Egypt when their bus crashed into a parked truck. The tourists were traveling from Aswan to see the temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel.

This editorial at the New York Times suggests one way that museums can avoid buying off the black market: excavate the archaeological sites themselves.

Geza Vermes tries to rewrite history in a lengthy article on Herod the Great, arguing in part that Herod was the victim of nasty old St. Matthew who “transformed him into a monster.” I thought it was interesting how the author preferred the passive voice when describing the deaths of the people that Herod murdered. For instance, “Augustus with a heavy heart allowed Herod to try his two sons, who were found guilty and executed by strangulation in Sebaste/Samaria.” Josephus provides the only surviving account of the episode. He writes of Herod, “He also sent his sons to Sebaste, a city not far from Cesarea, and ordered them to be there strangled” (Wars 1.551; 1.27.6).

Scholars will present papers tomorrow (Dec 30) in honor of the retirement of Prof. Amihai Mazar. Aren Maeir has posted a schedule of the meeting (Hebrew).

The annual symposium in memory of Prof. Yohanan Aharoni is planned for February 17 at Tel Aviv University. A list of the papers is given here. Part II is entitled, “Debating the Future of Biblical Archaeology: Do Science and Technology Show the Way?”

If you need your football fix while in Israel, the full-contact amateur Israel Football League may beat staying up until dawn.

If you ever drive to the nature reserve at En Gedi, you may want to avoid parking under the trees next time.

HT: Joe Lauer, Keith Keyser, Gordon Govier

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Lectures, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

The latest issue of DigSight from the Institute of Archaeology at Southern Adventist University reports on a recent survey of Socoh (Kh. Shuweikeh) near Khirbet Qeiyafa as well as summaries of recent related lectures.

The New York Times has a good article about the current drilling project in the center of the Dead Sea.

Reports from recent excavations at Jericho by the University of Rome are now available online.

A rabbi has recently forbidden visits to the Western Wall on Shabbat because the security cameras violate Jewish law.

Stephen Carlson has posted his NTS article, “The Accommodations of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem: Κατάλυμα in Luke 2.7” (pdf). He also links to Mark Goodacre’s podcast on the same subject, “Was Jesus Born in a Stable?” For my brief thoughts on the issue, see this post from several years ago. One correction to that post: the 2005 TNIV translates the word as “guest room.”

Studies of minerals at Timna Valley in southern Israel indicate that “slag left over from Iron Age copper smelting shows the Earth’s magnetic field was stronger and more variable than scientists ever imagined.”

The Second International Conference of the Jeselsohn Epigraphic Center of Jewish History is entitled “Epigraphy and Daily Life – From the Bible to the Talmud” and dedicated to the memory of Professor Hanan Eshel. Leen Ritmeyer has listed the schedule and Aren Maeir posts a link to the
program (pdf).

Zvi Ben-Dor Benite has some interesting thoughts on the “ten lost tribes” at The Bible and Interpretation.

The Explorations in Antiquity Center in Georgia (USA) is building a Roman theater and forum.

Their newsletter is available here (pdf).

The best photographs of the Roman statue found in the sea at Ashkelon are in this article at the Daily Mail.

HT: Jay Baggett and Steve Ulrich

Tagged Dead Sea, Lectures, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup