BiblePlaces Blog

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“New evidence shows that the well-preserved Roman Imperial Highway crossing the Golan was constructed in the second half of the second century CE.” The underlying journal article is here.

A new study claims that Bar Kochba only joined the revolt named after him in the middle of the insurrection. The underlying journal article is here.

The oldest inscription with the Ten Commandments sold for $5 million to a buyer who plans to donate it to an Israeli institution.

The Tel Dan Inscription is on display at the Jewish Museum in New York City until January 5.

The latest Jerusalem in Brief explores the conflicting accounts of the surrender of Jerusalem in 1917.

Applications are now open for $2,000 dig scholarships offered by the Biblical Archaeology Society.

Biblical Archaeology Society has also posted this year’s excavation opportunities, including summer projects at Hippos, Azekah, and Dan.

New Release: The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 CE by Strategius of Mar Saba, by Sean W. Anthony and Stephen J. Shoemaker (University of Chicago; $35; open access)

Ze’ev Meshel, longtime archaeology professor at Tel Aviv University, died last week at the age of 92.

Lois Tverberg explains why she likes our photo collections.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Mark Hoffman, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Excavations, Golan, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Sad News, Weekend Roundup

A research team using magnetometry has identified five monumental buildings within the city walls of Dur-Sharrukin, the Assyrian capital of Sargon II. To avoid attracting unwanted attention, they chose not to use a drone and instead each team member walked 13 miles every day for seven days.

A Phoenician shipwreck dating to 600 BC has been discovered off the coast of Spain.

“Archaeologists in Turkey uncovered a limestone sarcophagus in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Demre, Antalya, which they believe could be linked to Saint Nicholas himself, known worldwide as Santa Claus.”

More than 100 ancient artifacts were discovered in a hidden basement area during eviction proceedings in Athens.

Michael Denis Higgins believes that the Colossus of Rhodes was ultimately destroyed not in 226 BC but in AD 142, after several reconstructions.

“The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the Ohio State University and the Digital Lab for Ancient Textual Objects is excited to announce the launch of the Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia 2.0.” They have also released a video tutorial.

“Plauen is commemorating the biblical scholar and theologian Konstantin von Tischendorf (1815-1874) with an exhibition to mark the 150th anniversary of his death.”

New release: Egyptian Things: Translating Egypt to Early Imperial Rome, by Edward William Kelting (University of California Press, open access)

ASOR has posted a recap of its annual meeting.

The collapse of the Syrian government has led to concerns about Jewish archaeological heritage in the country.

Rami Chris Robbins explains the Jewish connection to Rome’s Colosseum.

Carl Rasmussen reports on his recent visit to an impressive Roman thermal spa in northern Turkey.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

Tagged Discoveries, Italy, Mediterranean Islands, Resources, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Excavations have identified a 2nd-century BC military fortress at Ashdod-Yam.

“Researchers have discovered 50 rare cave pearls, some of which contain ancient Greek artifacts from the Hellenistic era, in an underground water system near Jerusalem.”

Some scholars are questioning whether the oldest copy of the Ten Commandments—scheduled to be sold next week at auction—is authentic.

In a short video, Eitan Klein shows how a band of antiquities thieves were caught in the act, robbing a cave in the Shephelah.

Expedition Bible’s latest video looks at the archaeological evidence for the location of Jesus’s crucifixion.

John DeLancey filmed on location at the Ketef Hinnom tombs in Jerusalem.

Appian Media has released a new short film entitled “Explore Petra” (12 min). I’m curious how they got the drone footage.

Christopher Rollston explains why the Megiddo Mosaic is important on The Book and the Spade.

“New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary held a 10^th anniversary celebration for its Museum of the Bible and Archaeology” last week.

Eliezer Oren, longtime Professor of Bible, Archaeology, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, died this week.

Jerusalem University College has announced its online semester courses for the spring, including:

Archaeological Methods and Theory, taught by Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer
Introduction to the Modern Middle East, taught by Oded Yinon
Jewish Thought and Practice, taught by Rabbi Moshe Silberschein
The Book of Revelation and the Seven Cities of the Apocalypse, taught by Chris Vlachos

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judah, Lectures, Museums, Sad News, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A Roman water tunnel, nearly as long as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, has recently been restored at biblical Gadara.

The Jordan Times has published a story about Khirbat as-Sar, possibly biblical Jazer.

“A trove of ancient curse tablets was made recently in Athens‘ downtown neighborhood of Kerameikos.”

“Through a recent excavation at Kouklia-Martsello in Palaepaphos, Cyprus, scientists have unearthed an ancient inscription in the Cypriot syllabary.”

Archaeologists working in Georgia have found an inscription with strange symbols unlike any known language.

“In the second phase of the restoration works, the facades of Hagia Sophia Mosque, the upper covering, and the Second Bayezid Minaret are in the focus of attention.”

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the most important stories for the month of November.

A lecture by Christian Leitz overviews the restoration of the temple of Esna, with its “magnificent astronomical ceiling, colorful columns, and close to two hundred ink inscriptions previously undescribed.”

A meeting between the British and Greek prime ministers is raising speculation that an agreement may be in the offing for a loan of the Elgin Marbles to Athens.

New release: The Iron Age Town of Mudayna Thamad, Jordan; Excavations of the Fortifications and Northern Sector (1995–2012), by Robert Chadwick, P. M. Michèle Daviau, Margreet L. Steiner and Margaret A. Judd (BAR Publishing, £88). This site is potentially biblical Jahaz.

New release: Burning Issues in Classics, by Rhiannon Evans and Nicole Gammie (La Trobe University, free download)

Carl Rasmussen reports on his visit to Carchemish, a site he has long wanted to see.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Roger Schmidgall, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Greece, Jordan, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Recent excavations at Caesarea Philippi (Banias) indicate that Herod Agrippa II repurposed the sacred cave “into a nymphaeum-triclinium, a venue for Roman-style banquets in which water flowed around a central dining area and out through an aqueduct.”

“A recent excavation on Mount Zion in Jerusalem unearthed a fragment of a 16th-century Chinese porcelain bowl with ‘the earliest known Chinese inscription in Israel.’”

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is again dealing with a funding shortfall that may cause it to shut down.

Rabbi Avraham Stolik lectured on the discoveries related to the Pilgrimage Road leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount (50 min).

Zoom lecture on Dec 8: “Women of Prominence and Power in First Temple Period Hebrew Inscriptions,” by Christopher Rollston ($10)

The latest issue of Israel Exploration Journal includes an article that suggests a “revolutionary reading” of the Tel Dan Inscription. (Available only to subscribers)

The latest issue of DigSight includes articles on the ivory comb from Lachish, recent conferences and lectures, and upcoming events.

In the latest episode of Biblical World, Kyle Keimer and Chris McKinny discuss the fundamentals of biblical archaeology. “If you wondered what biblical archaeology is and why you should care – this is the episode for you.”

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Roger Schmidgall, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Lectures, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 3

Excavations began this year at Lystra, the hometown of Timothy and place where Paul was stoned and left for dead. They have already uncovered a third of a Byzantine church.

“An alabaster seal, believed to be from the Assyrian Empire and belonging to a nobleman, was discovered in the ancient Kef Fortress built by the Urartians.”

Archaeologists excavating under a Hellenistic theater in southwestern Turkey have discovered a sewage system large enough to walk in.

The Kestros Fountain at Perga in Turkey is operational after 1,800 years.

“A variety of reliefs, inscriptions, and grave stelae unearthed by archeologists help expand the understanding of gladiator history in the region of ancient Anatolia.”

The Luwian Studies Foundation wants to fill in a gap in the eastern Mediterranean around the year 1200 BC.

A 4-minute BBC video features an island off Turkey’s southern coast with underwater Roman cities, underwater Lycian tombs, and the oldest shipwreck in the world.

Over at BiblicalTurkey.org, Jason Borges describes his three-day visit to the historical sites of Cyprus.

Archaeological discoveries made during the construction of a subway line in Thessaloniki have been put on display at many of the subway stations.

Three books that caught my eye in the exhibit halls at ETS and SBL are:

The Topography of Ancient Jerusalem. 2nd Century BC – 2nd Century AD: Essays on the Urban Planning Record, Defences and Gates, by D. M. Cabaret (Peeters, 2022, $120)
The Realia Jesus: An Archaeological Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, by David Fiensy (Wipf and Stock, 2024, $10-$57)
The Odyssey of Marcus Panthera: A Journey to the Land of Israel in the First Century, by Makram Mesherky (Gesher, 2024, $20)

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Cenk Eronat, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Greece, Mediterranean Islands, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup