Weekend Roundup Archives - Page 167 of 177

Wednesday Roundup

Archaeologist Aren Maeir is interviewed on Fox News about the significance of his excavations of Philistine Gath.

Eilat Mazar is interviewed on the Book and the Spade about her discovery of the “walls of Solomon.”

Joe Zias has responded to Simcha Jacobovici’s 46-page defense of his “nails of the cross” “documentary.”

Leen Ritmeyer explains why he finds implausible the recent proposal by Finkelstein, Koch, and Lipschits that ancient Jerusalem was centered on the Temple Mount.

Some people are unhappy over an amendment to the Antiquities Authority Law which will allow the government minister to appoint the board members.

The famous city of Capernaum is explored in the most recent column by Wayne Stiles at the Jerusalem Post.

The excavations of Sidon are profiled in the Daily Star.

According to the New York Times, Egyptian antiquities minister requires $15,000 per speaking engagement and makes up to $200,000 a year as an “explorer-in-residence” for National Geographic.

I don’t know what workers under Hawass earn, but he probably makes more than the collective salaries of hundreds of them.

A Polish visitor to Israel has successfully “walked on water” after four days of practice and fifty failed attempts using a kite and surfboard.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup #2

X-ray analysis may help scholars to determine where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written.

Christopher Rollston has posted his detailed observations about the Mariam-Yeshua-Caiaphas ossuary. Among other things, he suggests that Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Shephelah preserves the name
of Caiaphas.

Israel has 6,000 miles of trails. A new article at Israel’s MFA describes some of Israel’s favorite hikes, including the Israel Trail, the Burma Road, Nahal Ammud, Nahal Darga, Nahal Yehudiya,
Wadi Qilt, and Mount Zephahot. Some courageous tour guide should offer a two-week tour of these fabulous trails.

The Jewish Magazine has a post about Khirbet Karta, the ruins of a Crusader castle near Atlit.

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago is offering “Dig Into History: An Archaeology
Experience Camp for Adults” in July and August.

Israel’s History – a Picture a Day: This new blog presents images taken in the late 1800s or early 1900s, primarily from the collections of the Library of Congress. (Some of these photographs will be familiar to users of the American Colony and Eric Matson Collection.)

Jerusalem Post: “A leader of Egypt’s most influential secular party…said American soldiers ‘with double Israeli nationality and Jewish religion’ stole Jewish antiquities from the Babylonian exile period and reburied them in Jerusalem to cement their historical claim on the city.” At least he’s not denying that Jewish antiquities have been discovered in Jerusalem.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup #1

Archaeologists are saying that they found the best-preserved Israelite building in excavations at Tel Shikmona near Haifa. In addition to the 9th-8th century BC four-room house, excavators also found a seal with an inscription in Hebrew or Phoenician. The University of Haifa press release has more photos.

That oil spill in Nahal Zin has become Israel’s worst-ever environmental disaster. This week the government ordered the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company to halt clean-up because they were only making the problem worse.

Tel Burna Archaeological Project has some post-season balloon photos of the site and excavations.

Click on the images for high-resolution. It’s amazing what lies just below the surface.

Several significant discoveries were made in Egypt in recent days, including the first Roman basilica in Alexandria, a gate from 700 BC near the Karnak Temple, and a depiction of the king from Dynasty 0.

The PEF has posted several dozen photos of Qumran from the excavations in the 1950s. The collection posted at Flickr combines old views with their modern counterparts. More details about the images are posted at the PEF site.

HT: Paleojudaica

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup #2

The outgoing chairman of UNESCO’s Israel World Heritage Committee discusses the value and potential problems of adding historic sites to the World Heritage list. The Jerusalem Post has updated their article on the Miriam-Yeshua-Caiaphas ossuary with a 2.5 minute video, including an interview with the archaeologist. They expect to put the ossuary on display in a museum in the near future. Hundreds of decorated blocks were found recently at Tanis, Egypt, the site where Indiana Jones found the ark of the covenant. After five years of restoration work, the 1.6-mile (2.7-km) long Avenue of the Sphinxes connecting the Luxor Temple with the Karnak Temple will be opened in October. In his May/June edition of the Archaeology in Israel Update, Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg reviews the excavations of 10th century “Bethsaida,” the 70th anniversary of the Hebrew University Museum, the discovery of a Byzantine building in Acco, a salvage excavation at the Austrian Hospice in Jerusalem’s Old City, and the arrest of an American professor for selling antiquities in Israel. Eisenbrauns has posted notice of publication of Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research in the Holy City. Edited by Gideon Avni and Katharina Galor. 520 pages! Due out in November. Also listed but without an expected publication date is a new work by Eilat Mazar, Discovering the Solomonic Wall in Jerusalem. Like most of this archaeologist’s books on Jerusalem, it is self-published. The IAA continues to post back issues of ‘Atiqot online. The winery of Psagot north of Jerusalem stores its barrels in a cave used for wine-making in the first century. Ray Vander Laan has a new website featuring clips from his most recent Faith Lessons videos.

Tagged Egypt, Jerusalem, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup #1

The Tel Burna Excavation has a season wrap-up, noting discoveries especially from the 13th, 8th, and 7th centuries. The previous post features many photos. Robert Cargill explains what the “Miriam, Daughter of Yeshua, Son of Caiaphas” inscription means as well as what it does not mean. The first piece of oil shale was extracted this week from a drilling site in the Elah Valley. The site of David’s victory over Goliath could become the place where Israel achieves oil independence. Wayne Stiles explains the pagan and biblical significance of Caesarea Philippi. Danny Herman leads viewers on a video tour of the Hasmonean channel in the Western Wall Tunnels. “Google Earth, circa 1570” is an article at Haaretz about the reprint of a 16th century book with 363 colored historical maps. ASOR has a roundup of news throughout the world of archaeology. If there’s not enough there to satisfy you, see also the lengthy list published last week. The Biblical Archaeology Society can tell you what’s brand new and most popular this week. Tomorrow we’ll have links to more stories from this past week.

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

Concerning yesterday’s ceremony inaugurating the “Water Gate” in Jerusalem, Leen Ritmeyer responds to my question of whether any archaeologist believes Eilat Mazar with a careful, well-illustrated presentation of his conclusions. Ritmeyer was actually the one to suggest to Mazar in the 1980s that the structure may be a gate, but instead of investigating the possibility, she called a press conference to announce the discovery!

Arutz-7 has a two-minute video tour of the newly opened Ophel City Wall site. Ferrell Jenkins posts more photographs.

In his latest Asia Minor Report (posted online by Leen Ritmeyer), Mark Wilson provides a link of free online books of early explorers in Turkey. The archive has lists of similar works for Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Greece, and Italy.

Wilson also points to a website with panoramic photos of sites in north central Turkey.

FRIGKÜM’s website features three-dimensional panoramic photos of the various Phrygian sites (n.b. the labels are in Turkish). The pictures were taken in 160 locations throughout the three provinces as part of the Phrygian Valley 360 Degree Virtual Tour Photography Project. The photography is breathtaking so check it out. The apostle Paul probably saw some of these amazing monuments when he traveled through Phrygia on his second journey (Acts 16:6).

In regular features at the Jerusalem Post, Danny Herman takes viewers on a four-minute video tour of the Western Wall Tunnels, Yehoshua Halevi explains how he takes nature photographs in Israel, and Wayne Stiles considers whether archaeologists are really excavating New Testament Bethsaida.

Newly excavated parts of the underground Crusader city of Acco (Acre) are now being opened to the public.

Templars Tunnel in Acco

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup