Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“An early depiction of Jesus was recently discovered in a circa 6th century Byzantine church deep in Israel’s Negev Desert.”

The remains of an unborn child and its mother, who possibly died giving birth, have been excavated in Aswan, Egypt, and date to about 1600 BC.

Archaeologists excavating a tomb near Cairo have discovered dozens of mummified cats.

“A Polish-Kuwaiti team of archaeologists have unearthed a 7,000-year-old temple, the oldest in the Persian Gulf region.”

Marine archaeologists believe they may have found a missing piece of the Antikythera Mechanism (Haaretz premium).

The excavations of ancient Hattusha in Turkey are providing an income for many local residents who would otherwise be unemployed.

The October issue of the Newsletter of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities reports the latest discoveries, artifact repatriations, famous visitors, and more.

Two new excavation reports from Eisenbrauns (latest catalog here) have been published:

Sepphoris III: The Architecture, Stratigraphy, and Artifacts of the Western Summit of Sepphoris, by Eric M. Meyers, Carol L. Meyers, and Benjamin D. Gordon
Lahav VII: Ethnoarchaeology in the Tell Halif Environs Excavations in Site 1, Complex A, 1976–1979, by Joe D. Seger and Karen Seger

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Greece, Negev, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The nymphaeum in downtown Amman has reopened to the public.

A Palestinian was caught trying to smuggle 70 ancient coins from Jordan into the West Bank.

Another man was arrested for trying to smuggle two tetradrachm from the time of Alexander the Great out of Gaza.

The Guardian posts a review of the “I am Ashurbanipal” exhibit that opened this week at the British Museum.

The British Museum Shop offers a number of interesting items related to the Ashurbanipal exhibit.

The Vatican Museums are considering putting a daily cap on the number of visitors.

A new festschrift honors Aren Maier: Tell it in Gath: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Israel.

Ada Yardeni’s final book, The National Hebrew Script, is now available for pre-order at Carta.

New from Baylor University Press: Magdala of Galilee: A Jewish City in the Hellenistic and Roman Period, edited by Richard Bauckham.

The Land and the Book audio program visits the Oriental Institute Museum.

Scott Stripling, Scott Lanser, and Henry Smith discuss “Relating the Bible to Archaeology” in the latest episode of Digging for Truth.

Flash floods in Jordan killed 12 and forced the evacuation of 4,000 in Petra. Here’s another video and several more showing the deadly torrent.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Paleojudaica, Alexander Schick

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Galilee, Jordan, Museums, New Exhibits, Philistines, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists have discovered engravings of ships and animals on the walls of a Roman-era cistern in Beersheba.

Rami Arav provides a summary of the 2018 excavation of et-Tell (aka Bethsaida). He believes that in the 11th–10th centuries, the site was a “full-fledged urban center, most probably the site of the king of the Geshurites.”

A new era has begun at Gath (Tell es-Safi) with the covering over of excavation areas that will not be conserved for visitors.

The new excavation at Kiriath Jearim and the family providing the financial backing are profiled by the Jewish News of Northern California.

Wayne Stiles recently visited the Gezer boundary inscriptions and he wonders how long it will be before they are no longer legible.

Aviv and Shmuel Bar-Am describe several sites of interest east of Jerusalem, including the Good Samaritan Museum and Ein Fawwar.

Israel’s Good Name shares his experience in volunteering for the Tel Dor excavation.

Israel set a new record with nearly half a million tourists in October.

The Israelite Samaritans Project is a new research venture of Yeshiva University.

Have you seen Carta’s new map bank? Individual digital maps of the biblical world are available for purchase.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Judah, Negev, Philistines, Photo Resources, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

An archaeological team working at Hatnub in Egypt has discovered the ancient system used to transfer stone blocks from the quarry.

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered parts of a booth with a seat from the time of Ramses II.

“Archeologists at the University of Toronto are in advanced negotiations with Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism to establish an archeological park at Tell Tayinat.”

Over 2 million tourists visit Pamukkale in Turkey annually, but many of them never see the impressive remains of Hierapolis next door. Ferrell Jenkins shares a beautiful photo of the Pamukkale springs.

“Lawrence of Oxford” is a new exhibition at the Magdalene Libraries and Archives that focuses on the early life of the man later known as Lawrence of Arabia.

The Harvard Semitic Museum Youtube channel offers various short videos as well as lectures.

A relief from Persepolis valued at $1.2 million was stolen a couple of times before researches at the

Oriental Institute helped provide evidence that led to its seizure and repatriation.

A rare, 3,000-year-old Assyrian relief sold for $31 million, tripling the pre-sale estimate of $10 million.

New book: A. Lichtenberger & R. Raja, eds., The Archaeology and History of Jerash. 110 Years of Excavations.

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade, A.D. Riddle

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Jordan, Museums, New Exhibits, Persia, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

After being closed for six years to protect artifacts during the civil war, Syria’s National Museum of Damascus has reopened.

A Haaretz premium article suggests that the Israelites at Dan worshiped the Lord. “Suggestive finds include seal impressions with Yahwistic names, temple architecture, and artifacts typical of Yahwistic temple rituals.”

The latest in Brad Gray’s Psalm 23 series looks at the rod and staff (and sling) of the shepherd.

Israel’s Good Name has written a couple of posts about the Autumn Raptor Migration.

Biblical Israel Ministries and Tours has begun a new series of short devotional videos: “It Happened Here—Life Lessons from Israel.”

A snake crawled out of the stones of the Western Wall above the women’s prayer area, creating a bit of a scare.

Glenn Corbett and Jack Green explain the tremendous value of the ACOR Photo Archive.

A new 17-minute film entitled “Paul in Athens” reconstructs the famous events of Acts 17. This documentary was created by Yaron Eliav and the University of Michigan TLTC Team.

John McRay, longtime professor of New Testament and Archaeology died in August. The Book and the Spade shares an archived interview with him about Athens in the Time of Paul.

HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade

Tagged Galilee, Greece, Jerusalem, Jordan, Museums, Photo Resources, Sad News, Syria, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

An intact 2,400-year-old ancient Greek shipwreck, believed to be the world’s oldest, has been found at the bottom of the Black Sea.

The Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. announced that independent testing revealed that five of its Dead Sea Scroll fragments “show characteristics inconsistent with ancient origin and therefore will no longer be displayed at the museum.” Kipp Davis, who initially questioned their authenticity, thinks that more fragments held by American institutions will be proven to be forgeries.

Haaretz (premium) has an article on the new excavations at Tel Shimron, a biblical site that is three times larger than Megiddo.

At least 19 people were killed when a flash flood swept away a group of students touring on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea.

The Smithsonian magazine looks at the work of Virtual Wonders in using drone and other advanced technology to create extremely detailed 3D models of Petra. The article includes a video preview of their work.

“For a video game that includes bloody mercenaries, extraterrestrial beings, and time travel, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey is shockingly faithful to our contemporary historical understanding of what Ancient Greece looked like during its golden age.”

Leon Mauldin shares photos and descriptions of Troas and Gamla.

Two new books on ancient Israel:

A History of the Kingdom of Israel, by E. Lipinski (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 275)
Archaeology and History of Eighth-Century Judah (Ancient Near East Monographs), edited by Zev I. Farber and Jacob L. Wright (hardback, paperback, free pdf)

HT: Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Charles Savelle, Agade

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Dead Sea, Discoveries, Galilee, Golan, Greece, Jordan, Museums, Resources, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup