A bronze sword with cartouches of Rameses II was discovered in a city near Alexandria.

A tree grown from an ancient seed discovered in a cave in the Judean wilderness has produced resin that may be related to the “balm of Gilead.” The underlying journal article is here.

Maamoun Abdulkarim and Jacques Seigne explain the challenges involved with the Temple of Bel at Palmyra following ISIS’s near total destruction of it.

Without intervention, the historic reliefs at Persepolis could be destroyed by lichen.

Tourists to Turkey can now visit seven historical sites after dark. Turkey is aiming to create a new record this year with 60 million foreign tourists.

If you have been waiting for your chance to excavate in the agora of Athens, applications are now open.

The Megiddo mosaic is now on display at The Museum of the Bible.

Aren Maeir has posted about a new book on Iron Age II cuneiform texts from Hama, Gershon Galil’s new book on the Mount Ebal Inscription, and his visit to the Tel Qana excavations.

New release: Chicago on the Nile: A Century of Work by the Epigraphic Survey of the University of Chicago, by Emily Teeter ($40; free download)

Walking The Text’s recommended resource this month is Bridging the Testaments, by George Athas.

Virtual tour on October 1: The Pantheon of Rome and its surroundings. With registration you receive a free recording.

Zoom lecture on October 2: “Twenty Seasons of Excavations at Jericho: Across the History of One of the Oldest Capitals in the Levant,” by Lorenzo Nigro ($20-$25)

Zoom lecture on October 9: “Rural Palestine Between Written and Oral Sources,” by Roy Marom

Bible Mapper Atlas has produced some new, free maps:

• The Kenites at Jabez
• The Setting of Ruth
• Prophets of the Old Testament
• Abijah Attacks Jeroboam
• The Covenant is Renewed at Shechem
• Isaac’s Travels
• Nomadic Range of Ishmael’s Descendants
• Sennacherib Attacks Judah

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Chris McKinny, Ted Weis

A large storage jar manufactured in Israel around 500 BC has a paleo-Aramaic inscription carved around its shoulder.

Dieter Vieweger writes about discoveries made during the 2015 and 2023 excavations on Mount Zion. Of note is the lack of any Iron Age wall found on Mount Zion.

Three bronze shields and a bronze helmet dating to the 7th century BC were discovered at one of the most intact Urartian temples in Turkey.

Marek Dospěl has written a brief overview of the four surviving works of Josephus.

Brad Gray explains the centrality of the bathhouse in Roman society and how Paul often drew on that imagery in his epistles.

Zoom lecture on Oct 10: “King Solomon’s Mines Revisited – 10 Years of Excavations in the Timna Valley,” by Erez Ben-Yosef

Webinar on Nov 17: Joseph Lam, Jocelyn Burney, Hugo Mendez, John Miller, and Yaakov Ariel will discuss Jodi Magness’s book, Jerusalem Through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades.

The oldest Hebrew book, dating to AD 700, will go on display at The Museum of the Bible later this month.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz