My friend Tom Powers is something of an independent scholar and I was happy to note recently that he has made several of his studies available online.  His ground-breaking article on the ossuary of Simon of Cyrene (who carried Jesus’ cross) was published by the Biblical Archaeology Society, which is quite a notable feat for one not formally trained as an archaeologist.  A version of that article, and a recent follow-up, is available at Tom’s site.  Among others, Tom has posted:


The Church of the Holy Sepulchre: Some Perspectives from History, Geography, Architecture, Archaeology and the Holy Scriptures – this is an extensive article on the history of the church.  If you have only one hour and want to get the story of the church, this is highly recommended.


The Ancient Aqueduct System of Jerusalem – Tom and I spent a full day recently tracing various aqueducts south of Solomon’s Pools.  They are more fascinating (and better preserved!) than you imagine.  Tom’s study synthesizes some of the more difficult and expensive works on the subject.


Horatio & Anna Spafford and Jerusalem’s American Colony – I read this several years ago and asked Tom if I could put it online so that others could read it.  I am happy to see that it now is available for all.

I should note that Tom is a trained tour guide living in Israel, and his knowledge is voluminous.  I could relate some anecdotes to illustrate that, but I’ll suffice with saying that I’m happy to recommend both his articles and his guiding.