Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Siloam Street,” now dubbed “Pilgrims Way,” leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount, was inaugurated recently.

Excavations begin this summer at Kiriath Jearim and applications for volunteers are being accepted.

Carl Rasmussen recently took the “Behind the Scenes of the Western Wall” in Jerusalem tour and shares some photos.

The Roman milestones on display along Highway 38 (the “Diagonal Route” in the Shephelah) have unfortunately been moved to KKL-JNF’s Givat Yeshayahu offices.

The 2016 issue of ‘Atiqot has been released.

The Fall 2016 issue of the electronic newsletter DigSight has been published.

Restoration work on the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is nearly halfway done.

Archaeologists will begin using robotic submarines in excavations of Atlit-Yam.

Who are the Christians in Israel today?

Islamic guards attempted to evict Gabriel Barkay for saying the words “Temple Mount” on the Temple Mount.

Reuters has created a photo story on the Sea of Galilee.

Wayne Stiles has written a great post on the many interesting sites in the Golan Heights.

The Atlanta Jewish Times has a story about the Biblical History Center in LaGrange, Georgia, and a second story about its founder, James Fleming.

“Ancient Jerusalem in VR” is now available on Google Play ($1.99)and the Apple store ($2.99). You can find some screenshots and videos here. Note: the support website is down at this writing.

You can now experience Petra with a 360º experience for Google Cardboard.

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

Tagged Excavations, Golan, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Museums, Shephelah, Technology, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists have discovered the Roman theater at the site of Hippos.

Excavations of the Crusader-era Montfort Castle in Galilee have discovered game pieces, belt buckles, pig bones, and much more.

Analysis of organic remains from a 10th B.C. gatehouse complex in the Timna Valley suggests that food and supplies were brought in from a long distance.

Engravings of an ancient menorah and cross were found inside a cave in the Judean Shephelah.

A gang of antiquities thieves was caught illegally digging at a site near the Golani Junction in the Galilee. A 3-minute video (in Hebrew) is online.

What are the origins of tomb raider curses?

Three scientists from Beersheba’s Ben Gurion University have used NASA data to date the “sun standing still” to an eclipse in 1207 BC.

A life-size CAVEkiosk (“cave automated virtual environment”) recently opened at UCSD will allow scholars to study 3-D data from at-risk sites.

The Israel Museum has announced that Eran Neuman will succeed James S. Snyder as director.

Wayne Stiles explains why God made the Israelites rest the land every seven years and what that means today.

Colin Hemer’s The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History is available in Logos this month for $1.99.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Excavations, Exodus-Conquest, Galilee, Golan, Museums, Negev, Resources, Weekend Roundup

New Video Series: Following the Messiah

I didn’t want this one to get lost in the weekend roundup, so here’s a link to the newly released, all-free video series entitled “Following the Messiah,” produced by Appian Way and featuring Barry Britnell. We have mentioned this several times in the past, including when they were raising funds for the project on Kickstarter. The work is now complete, and all five videos are posted on their website. You won’t have to watch very long to see that the production quality is first-rate. Each episode is 20-25 minutes in length. You can’t beat a personal visit to Israel, but for those who aren’t able to go, or for those eager to return, this is a terrific resource. A big thanks to Appian Way and to all of their supporters who made it possible!

Tagged Galilee, Jerusalem, Resources

Ancient Wall Collapses at City of Dan

The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz are reporting the collapse of an Israelite-period wall at Tel Dan following heavy rains. From the Jerusalem Post:

The stone wall, located near the entrance gate to the ancient city of Tel Dan, collapsed on top of five tombstones located at its base, according to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The wall was made of a combination of the original ancient stones and reconstructed pieces, the INPA said.

Rainfall last week was estimated at approximately 8 inches (200 mm). Authorities hope to rebuild the wall in the coming months.

The Post includes a photograph of the damage, but it’s difficult to see the location without some context. In the aerial photograph below, we have marked the area of the collapse.

The Iron Age city of Dan flourished during the reigns of the Israelite kings Jeroboam I, Ahab, and Jeroboam II.

Iron Age gate complex at Tel Dan;
photo by Bill Schlegel

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Galilee, Weather

Weekend Roundup

A stone bowl inscribed with the name “Hyrcanus” was discovered in the City of David. Since the name was common in the Hasmonean period, it is not clear if it belonged to one of the two rulers with this name. High-res images are available here.

A bronze coin with the image of Antiochus Epiphanes was discovered during maintenance work in the Citadel of David Museum in Jerusalem.

Mary Shepperson, a free-lance archaeologist working on five projects in Iraq, describes work in the new excavations of Charax Spasinou.

Archaeologists have discovered a large “lost city” about 150 miles north of Athens.

“The Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes (CAMEL Lab) at the Oriental Institute of the
University of Chicago would like to announce that a substantial subset of its digital holdings of maps and geospatial data are now available for online public search and download.”

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is asking readers to Name That Find!

The IAA has completed a detailed survey of the village of Lifta ahead of its planned replacement by a new neighborhood.

Before and after photos reveals the significant war damage in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Ferrell Jenkins recounts his 2002 visit to Aleppo and its museum.

New research suggests some ancient Egyptians believed a deceased woman had to briefly become male in the afterlife in order to be reborn. Reader Ted Weis notes that this theory corresponds with saying #114 in the Gospel of Thomas.

Egypt is trying to stop the auctioning of Egyptian relics around the world.

A stolen relief of Queen Hatshepsut has been restored to Egypt.

Bricks of ancient Babylon have been used in rebuilding houses in the area.

The Tower identifies “seven fascinating discoveries Israeli archaeologists made in 2016.”
Kudos to Dr. Chris McKinny!

Carl Rasmussen describes an “unknown” Christmas site near Bethlehem.

We wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! We’ll be traveling for several weeks and roundups will return when we do.

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Greece, Holidays, Jerusalem, Judah, Mesopotamia, Museums, Syria, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

New Dead Sea Scroll Fragments Discovered in Cave Excavations

Haaretz reports on the discovery of new fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls.

New fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been found in the Cave of the Skulls by the Dead Sea in Israel, in a salvation excavation by Israeli authorities. The pieces are small and the writing on them is too faded to make out without advanced analysis. At this stage the archaeologists aren’t even sure if they’re written in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic or another language. “The most important thing that can come out of these fragments is if we can connect them with other documents that were looted from the Judean Desert, and that have no known provenance," says Dr. Uri Davidovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, among the scientists investigating the caves. […] The latest finds, two papyri fragments about two by two centimeters with writing and several fragments without discernible letters, were made during a three-week salvage excavation in the Cave of the Skulls this May and June by a joint expedition of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The excavations were led by Uri Davidovich and Roi Porat of the Hebrew University, together with Amir Ganor and Eitan Klein from the IAA.

Read the full story here.

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Excavations