If you don’t subscribe to the BiblePlaces Newsletter, or if some helpful filter put it into a folder you never check, you can read it here. Or go straight to the big news of our new photo collection here.
My biased opinion: it’s our best collection ever.
The suggestion that el-Araj could be New Testament Bethsaida received lots of media attention, not all accurate. I’d recommend this report by Jeffrey Garcia and Steven Notley at the CSAJCO website.
An on-site interview with archaeologist Mordechai Aviam is posted at CBN’s Facebook page. The Today show sent a correspondent to the site. National Geographic sets some of the record straight. The Times of Israel looks at the two sites laying claim to the name of Bethsaida.
Jonathan Adler guides a video tour of a 2,000-year-old stone quarry that he excavated in Galilee. The Jerusalem Post provides a written report on the excavations.
The Abel Beth Maacah team shares a photo album from the 2017 season.
Nadav Na’aman argues that Khirbet Qeiyafa was not a Judahite city in a recent article in the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.
Authorities are planning to stop the flow of sewage down the Kidron Valley.
The Wall Street Journal (subscription req’d) traces the path in which ISIS looted artifacts make their way out of the Middle East.
“Researchers have unearthed a 1,800-year-old writing tool, or stylus, at the Assos archeological site in northwestern Turkey.”
Excavations at Carchemish have uncovered 250 Hittite bullae this year.
Excavators at Tell Tayinat found fragments of a large female statue at the citadel gate complex.
Now online: Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities’ Newsletter for July 2017.
Wayne Stiles considers the strategic value of the International Highway (aka Via Maris).
Ferrell Jenkins shares a couple of beautiful photos of ibex at En Gedi and Ein Avdat.
Leon Mauldin explains the location and importance of Akeldama, the Field of Blood.
Cynthia Shafer-Elliott is on the Book and the Spade discussing “Canaanite DNA” and her excavation work at Tel Halif.
We will be making a big announcement in the BiblePlaces Newsletter on Monday. You can sign up for a free subscription here.
HT: A.D. Riddle, Lois Tverberg, Chris McKinny, Charles Savelle, Agade, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer
But they had this in their favor: there was not a better alternative. That may be changing, as another archaeological team has begun work at a site closer to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Early word out from the el-Araj team this summer was that they had discovered Roman-period remains. That’s a big step forward. Today’s Haaretz carries a report of the latest finds. Here are a couple of important sections:
Archaeologists think they may have found the lost Roman city of Julias, the home of three apostles of Jesus: Peter, Andrew and Philip (John 1:44; 12:21). A multi-layered site discovered on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in the Bethsaida Valley Nature Reserve, is the spot, the team believes.
The key discovery is of an advanced Roman-style bathhouse. That in and of itself indicates that there had been a city there, not just a fishing village, Dr. Mordechai Aviam of Kinneret College told Haaretz.
[…]
What the archaeologists found at el-Araj is an older layer dating from the late Roman period, the 1st to 3rd centuries C.E., two meters below the Byzantine level. That Roman layer contained pottery sherds from the 1st to the 3rd centuries B.C.E. [sic; should be C.E.], a mosaic, and the remains of the bathhouse. Two coins were found, a bronze coin from the late 2nd century and a silver denarius featuring the Emperor Nero from the year 65-66 C.E.
And has a major missing church been found too? The excavators found walls with gilded glass tesserae for a mosaic, an indication of a wealthy and important church. Willibald, the bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, visited the Holy Land in 725 C.E., and in his itinerary, he describes his visit to a church at Bethsaida that was built over the house of Peter and Andrew. It may well be that the current excavations have unearthed evidence for that church, say the archaeologists.
The article continues to discuss significant evidence that indicates the level of the Sea of Galilee was 6 feet (2 m) lower than previously believed.
Personally I think it’s best to continue to be cautious. There’s no sense (for those not writing headlines or raising funds) in making the same mistake again in the identification of Bethsaida. But it’s certainly fair to say that the geographical and archaeological stars seem to be in alignment.
UPDATE: The story is also reported in the Jerusalem Post and Ynet (Hebrew).
HT: Jared Clark, David Bivin
The Preliminary Report for the 2017 excavation season at Tel Kabri has been posted.
ABR has provided a brief overview of discoveries at Shiloh this year.
ABR has posted Rodger C. Young’s article on “How Lunar and Solar Eclipses Shed Light on Biblical Events.”
Remove the tarps and launch the drone and this is what the excavations of Gath look like after this year’s digging was completed.
Israel’s Good Name reports on a university field trip to Tel Aroma and Mount Gerizim, including his encounters with birds and boars.
A team from Biblical Illustrator has made multiple trips to the Middle East to take photographs for their magazine.
The British Museum has uploaded a 3D model of the Rosetta Stone.
The IAA arrested five antiquities dealers in Jerusalem on charges related to selling $22 million of antiquities to Steve Green.
The Met has turned over to authorities a bull’s head that may have been looted from Lebanon.
Authorities seized an ancient Greek krater from the Met on suspicions it was looted from Italy.
Ferrell Jenkins explains the significance of Tisha B’Av.
Amnon Ben-Tor, who has been excavating at Hazor since 1957, is interviewed on the LandMinds Podcast.
Insights from Archaeology by David A. Fiensy has just been released by Fortress Press. The publisher’s site includes a free article from the book.
HT: Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade
It’s not easy picking just one. The happy reality is that, except for little surveys like this one, we don’t have to. Beautiful vistas abound in the biblical lands, if only we can climb to the summit.
When forced to choose just one, the most common answer among our readers was Mount Arbel overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Here are a few of the reasons given:
I loved the view overlooking Sea of Galilee towards Capernaum. In addition to the view, what made this tops for me was the climb down using the chains.
So many places connected to historical events are visible from this one vantage point. The last time I was there Mt Hermon was visible. Seeing the geography, the topography, how the locations are in relation to one another is just amazing. I love the bird’s eye view but admit my stomach does flip flops looking straight down!
A favorite faculty member from my Bible Institute days preached a message regarding “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light” from Isaiah 9. Nice climb, good heights, potential danger, lots of periods of history (OT, NT, Zealots, Crusaders) visible.
In second place was the Mount of Olives. Given all that happened throughout history, it’s easy to spend a lot of time here re-living biblical events. Here’s what a couple of you wrote:
I can think of no other place where a person can see where so much biblical history took place.
It is a view that Yeshua knew well.
A close third was Muhraqa on Mount Carmel, the traditional place where Elijah battled the prophets of Baal. One person chose this vista because they “have been there.” That’s a reminder that many tour groups, most of which are designed for the elderly, do not go to many of the choice vistas. Here’s why another reader chose Muhraqa as their favorite:
Because you can see Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, Issachar, Manasseh, Phoenicia, and Transjordan + the landscape of about a dozen biblical events
Honorable mention goes to the view from Azekah:
It is really difficult to pick only one! While there may be more beautiful vistas, like Arbel, I love being on top of Azekah and reading I Samuel 17. It was one of the first locations for me where the Bible came to life and a treasured story became more real. It is a joy to bring others there and see them experience some of that. It is a moving experience to visualize such a familiar story unfolding in the Elah Valley below. It’s something that just can’t happen unless you visit Israel and set foot in a place like Azekah.
Perhaps the most interesting response (in my estimation) was the reader who chose the “sunrise over moab” for the reason that they can see it “from my bed.” I wonder how places there are where that’s possible!
Another respondent chose Mount Meron, because:
I figured I’d choose something different. Mt Meron is great because you can see from Mt Hermon and Mt Bental in the north all the way to Mount Carmel in the south. This provides a great view of practically the entire Galilee region (on a clear day).
A variety of other sites were selected, including Belvoir (“beautiful view”), Hippos, Masada, Mount Gilboa, Nazareth, Nimrod’s Castle, Qumran, and Tel Jezreel.
A few people chose locations outside of Israel, including Macherus:
I have been several times and have never seen more than one or two people there. I like the loneliness of the site, especially at sunset. A good place to reflect on the last days of John the Baptist. Great views of the Dead Sea and the hills of ancient Perea.
And one reader prefers the view from the Amman citadel at sunset:
Gradually the city’s lights come on. I noticed the green lights all around in the city. Then the Muslim hour of evening prayer began and the muzzains calls blend and compete. A delight for eyes and ears.
If you haven’t yet “panned the panorama” from all of these vistas, you can add them to your list for the next time you’re traveling through the biblical world.
Many of my favorite stops in touring around Israel are viewpoints. Whether it’s on top of a mountain or a mosque, a cliff or a convent, an overlook of the biblical landscape captures so much from one vantage point.
I thought that this week we would solicit your perspective on the best vista on your itinerary. The site can be in Israel or any other biblical land. If you would like, you can explain why the overlook is your favorite. We’ll share some of the results later this week.
To prime your thinking, here are some vistas I have enjoyed.
Email readers may need to click through.
