Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup

IAA excavations in the Schneller Compound in Jerusalem have revealed a Roman bathhouse and a Roman- or Byzantine-era winerpress. High-res photos and a video may be downloaded here.

Archaeologists have unearthed a cemetery in use from the Middle Bronze to the Iron Ages south of Bethlehem. Two journal articles on which the report was based can be read here and here.

A hidden camera reveals for the first time the condition of Palmyra after ISIS terrorists destroyed temples, arches, and tower tombs.

A missing letter in an inscription brings into question whether the Amphipolis tomb really belonged to Hephaestion, Alexander the Great’s beloved friend and general, and may instead belong to Alexander’s mother, Olympias.

The Bethsaida Excavation Project has posted their 2015 season report (73 pages with lots of photos).

Three looted Mesopotamian sculptures were found in a Slovenian refugee camp.

Haaretz runs a story on the mysterious 90-mile long wall in Jordan.

Two UCSD professors are working with the Israel Antiquities Authority to update the Digital Archaeological Atlas of the Holy Land.

An online Neo-Assyrian Bibliography compiled by Heather D. Baker and Melanie Groß is available.

Egypt is seeking to add four archaeological sites in Alexandria and Sinai to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Jacob sheep being raised in Canada will be brought back to Israel.

The death of the Dead Sea has probably never been better illustrated than in this multi-media rich “article” at Haaretz. It includes the prediction that within 20 years there may be no access to the shoreline of the Dead Sea.

Clyde Billington and Gordon Govier discuss the latest discoveries on this week’s edition of The Book and the Spade.

Shmuel Browns visits the site of Lifta (biblical Nephtoah) on the edge of Jerusalem.

Minna Silver takes readers on a visit to biblical Haran, once home to the patriarch Abraham.

Eisenbrauns’s Deal of the Weekend: The Horsemen of Israel
Horses and Chariotry in Monarchic Israel, by Deborah Cantrell ($20).

Barry Britnell introduces a new video project entitled “Following the Messiah” and encourages everyone to support the project through their Kickstarter Campaign.

HT: Ted Weis, Gale, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ferrell Jenkins

Tagged Dead Sea, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan, Resources, Syria, Technology, Turkey

Weekend Roundup

A seven-year-old boy found a 3,400-year-old figurine at Tel Rehov.

Archaeologists working at Timna in southern Israel found some remarkably well-preserved fabrics from the time of David. You may recall that for a long time scholars denied there was any activity at the site during the time of the United Monarchy.

A €1.6 million Israeli-German project will use digital tools to put the fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls back together again.

A major renovation of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is underway.

Two artists covertly scanned the bust of Nefertiti and have now released a 3-D dataset.

Two guards at Dayr al-Barsha in Middle Egypt were killed by looters.

Adam Prins recently presented a seminar at the Albright Institute on “3D Models in Archaeological Excavation Recording: The JVRP Method.”

An exhibition of two recent treasure hoard discoveries provides insight into Roman life in England.

A series of lectures will be given at Tel Aviv University for the annual celebration of “Aharoni Day” this coming Thursday.

Project Mosul is a new website that “solicits photographs of antiquities and uses 3-D modeling software to create a virtual record of what was lost in the attack.”

Now online: Bryant Wood’s critique of Steven Collins’ northern location of Sodom.

Wayne Stiles explains five ways the Lord taught his people to walk by faith in the land of Israel.

The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Old Testament e-book volumes are on sale for $4.99, ending today.

HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Egypt, Jordan Rift, Judah, Lectures, Museums, Negev, New Exhibits, Resources, Technology

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists do not know the date or purpose of a wall in southern Jordan than is nearly 100 miles long. There are more photos here.

Archaeologists have discovered a large underground silver mine in Greece.

A Chalcolithic site was found in Shuafat north of ancient Jerusalem.

The world’s oldest dress is from Egypt and dates to 3000 BC.

On Monday Egypt will celebrate the golden jubilee of the Abu Simbel temple salvage operation.

Egypt’s minister of antiquities and the director of Saqqara’s archaeological galleries are accused of
replacing 157 artifacts with replicas.

Plans are afoot to build a “Welcome Center” in Hebron.

Space archaeologist Sarah Parcak won a $1-million TED Prize which she plans to use in part “to develop an online game-based application that will teach and reward viewers for identifying objects in satellite imagery that may point to archaeological sites.”

“Italy has teamed up with the United Nations to create a task force whose goal is to protect ancient artworks, artifacts, and archaeological sites in conflict zones from extremists.”

The Smithsonian Magazine reports on how the tomb of Cyrus was discovered in 1928 by Ernst Herzfeld.

Four recent lectures on King David by Professor Yair Zakkovitch are now available online.

The New York Times doesn’t like “Risen.” Another review is more positive. And here’s another.

The March/April issue of Biblical Archaeology Review features articles on the Hittites, Mount Ebal, the ivory pomegranate, Yoram Tsafrir, and Adam Zertal.

The Biblical Archaeology Society is offering big discounts on books, DVDs, and CDs.

The Petoskey News-Review profiles Owen Chesnut, the head archaeologist of excavations of Ashdod-Yam.

“Beersheba epitomizes the faith God required to live in the Holy Land.” Wayne Stiles explains why.

A 5-minute video shows the temple of Solomon from a model created using SketchUp 2016.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos of the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia and notes the two occurrences of the region in the New Testament.

Luke Chandler explains the importance of the Merneptah Inscription.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle, Mark Hoffman, ANE-2, Urban von Wahlde

Tagged Egypt, Greece, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judah, Museums, Negev, Technology, Temple Mount, Turkey

Archaeology Symposium at Mississippi State University

An archaeological conference being held this weekend is bringing some leading scholars and archaeologists to Mississippi. From MSU’s press release:

A free Friday and Saturday [Feb. 19 and 20] program at Mississippi State has been designed to help the general public gain a better understanding of ancient Israel.

The university symposium and workshop will focus on new archaeological finds uncovered at Khirbet Summeily, a small Iron Age site on the ancient border between what then were the kingdoms of Judah and Philistia.

Taking place at the Cobb Institute of Archaeology and a nearby campus location, the public event is sponsored by the institute, College of Arts and Sciences and its department of anthropology and Middle Eastern cultures, with major support from the James W. Criss Trust.

Beyond just highlighting recent discoveries, the various sessions will underscore their significance in understanding life during the 11-9th centuries BCE, a period of secondary state formation in the Levant region historically associated with biblical kings David and Solomon.

Speakers will include noted archaeologists, biblical scholars, epigraphers and historians from Canada and Israel, as well as MSU and other U.S. institutions of higher learning.

For more information, and a list of the lecture topics and speakers, see the Mississippi State website. We’ve noted the excavations at Khirbet Summeily previously here and here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The Bornblum Eretz Israel Synagogues Website is a new work that presents “bibliographical references, geographical location, photos, plans and brief descriptions of excavated ancient synagogues from the Roman and Byzantine periods in the Land of Israel.”

A four-minute newscast reports on new excavations in the Timna Valley and its copper mines.

Four individuals are in trouble after a video of them breaking off pieces of the Giza pyramids went viral.

“The Aleppo Codex, on permanent display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, has been declared a world treasure by UNESCO.”

A group of artifacts from the Museum of the Bible Collection is now on display in Cuba.

“The Extraordinary Gertrude Bell exhibition will be at the Great North Museum in Newcastle until May 3.”

Jodi Magness will be lecturing on “Samson in Stone: New Discoveries in the Ancient Synagogue at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee” on February 15 at UNC. She will be giving the same lecture at the Getty Villa on April 3.

Birger Ekornåsvåg Helgestad and Jonathan Taylor will be lecturing in London on February 24 on

“Walking in Woolley’s Footsteps: Ur Brought to Life for the Digital Age.” Registration is required.

“In the Valley of David and Goliath: Digging Up Evidence on the United Monarchy” symposium will be held in New York City on March 30.

Applications are now being accepted for the Cyprus Underwater Archaeology Field School 2016.

A one-week Field School on Archaeological Science in Ancient Corinth will be held June 6 to 11.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Greece, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Negev, New Exhibits, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A recent study suggests that most of the terraces in the hill country of Judah were built in the last 400 years and none of them as early as the Iron Age. But that may not be the last word.

The plan to turn the archaeological site underneath Robinson’s Arch into a prayer site is facing opposition from many archaeologists, including Gabriel Barkay, Amihai Mazar, Dan Bahat, and Ronny Reich.

Hundreds of coins in museums in Jordan were replaced with fake ones. Apparently they were stolen years ago but only discovered recently.

Victor Sasson provides a contrary view on the Jehoash Inscription.

Eric M. Meyers shares the story of Yigael Yadin’s last night in America.

The Lod Mosaic, a 3rd century AD Roman work, is touring the United States and is currently in Florida.

Andrew George provides an interesting, behind-the-scenes take on how looting contributed to scholastic knowledge about the Epic of Gilgamesh.

The Caspari Center is offering a ten-day course in Israel in April on “Jesus the Jew.”

Wayne Stiles shows how Jesus’s conversation with his disciples at Tabgha can free you from the comparison trap.

Shmuel Browns shares some recent photographs he took while hiking in Nahal Og.

Time Scanners is a PBS series that uses technology to study ancient structures, including the Temple
Mount and the Colosseum.

HT: Ted Weis, Steven Anderson, Paleojudaica

Tagged Forgery, Galilee, Judah, Museums, Temple Mount