Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“A five-year dig into the side of Rome’s Palatine Hill yielded treasure last week when archaeologists discovered a deluxe banquet room dating from around the first or second century BC, featuring a sizable, intact and brightly colored wall mosaic.” Very impressive.

“About 3,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, brickmakers imprinted the names of their kings into clay bricks. Now, an analysis of the metal grains in those bricks has confirmed a mysterious anomaly in Earth’s magnetic field.”

Terracotta figurines discovered in Pompeii may resemble a Christian nativity scene but they were used in an ancient cult ritual.

Nadav Shragai writes about the continuing search for the Second Temple menorah in the Vatican.

The first issue of the Journal of Music Archaeology has been released. The articles are available as free pdfs.

New release: Excavations, Surveys and Heritage. Essays on Southwest Asian Archaeology in Honour of Zeidan Kafafi, edited by Susanne Kerner, Omar al-Ghul and Hani Hayajneh (Zaphon, €110)

Join a virtual tour of the ancient Appian Way on Feb 5, 3:00 pm Eastern.

Bryan Windle identifies the top ten historical references to Jesus outside the Bible on the latest episode of Digging for Truth.

I’ll post a Top 10 of 2023 list this week, but there will be no roundup next weekend.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Gordon Dickson, Arne Halbakken, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Italy, Mesopotamia, Resources, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A couple of 12-year-old boys hiking in the hills west of Jerusalem discovered a coin from the time of Herod Agrippa I.

An analysis of fingerprints on Late Bronze pottery discovered at Tel Burna suggests that the potters were mostly young females.

Haaretz has a story about the miniature Jeroboam seal impression that a new study claims is genuine. (It was real before it was fake before it was real again.) Some, I suspect, may grow only more suspicious of the authentication methods in use. BHD has a brief response from Christopher Rollston.

Lawrence Schiffman discusses the recent research that supports the existence of a centralized government during the time of David and Solomon.

Biblical Archaeology Society has released its 2024 digs list, featuring 20 excavations mostly in Israel and Jordan. They do us a great service by compiling this list every year. They are also offering $2,000 dig scholarships.

David Moster has created a video telling the story of Ruth using beautiful images from the American Colony photo collection.

Approaching Jerusalem looks back at three topographical disagreements in the middle of the 19th century between Edward Robinson and George Williams, including the route of the Second Wall.

Jewish Press has a rare article on the important biblical site of Beth Horon. I don’t think I was aware of the lookout point that he mentions.

Leon Mauldin shares a couple of aerial photos of Joppa.

The 125th anniversary celebration of the German Protestant Institute for Archaeology has been rescheduled to March 4-7.

Israeli guide Dan Mossek is guest on the GTI Tours podcast discussing Hanukkah and Jesus’s declaration that he is the light of the world.

John DeLancey has posted a 1-minute non-narrated video walking into the Chapel of the Shepherds at Shepherds’ Field in Beit Sahour.

Nathan Steinmeyer looks at why it is so difficult to determine what the star of Bethlehem was.

Bryan Windle lists the top ten archaeological discoveries related to Christmas. They are quite interesting, and I was unaware of a couple of them.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Gordon Dickson, Arne Halbakken, Paleojudaica

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Excavations, Holidays, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A new study of trash and bodily wastes reveals what the Crusaders ate while living in the Holy Land.

Archaeologists have discovered Roman-era mosaics in a rescue operation in southeastern Turkey.

The excavation of a bakery in Pompeii reveals the miserable lives of slaves in the 1st century AD.

Archaeologists have published results of their 13-year excavation of the Roman city of Interamna Lirenas located between Rome and Naples. This article includes many graphics.

A scholar used “psychoacoustics” to understand how the ancient sanctuary of Zeus on Mount Lykaion in Greece was used by visitors.

Bryan Windle offers some thoughts on the controversy regarding the Mount Ebal “curse inscription.”

Nathan Steinmeyer writes about the Iron Age moat recently discovered on the north side of the City of David. Haaretz has a longer report here.

Avi Abrams revisits the debate over the location of King David’s tomb.

Steve Ortiz is on the Biblical World podcast discussing Solomonic gates, the historicity of David and Solomon, and issues in the use and dating of archaeological materials.

James Grieg, who gives a tour of “The Bible in the Ashmolean Museum,” is a guest on The Book and the Spade.

New release: Locating the Tomb and Body of Alexander the Great, by Christian de Vartavan (Projectis, £115; use code DR25 for 25% launch discount)

New release: Jewish Studies on Premodern Periods: A Handbook, edited by Carl S. Ehrlich and Sara R. Horowitz (De Gruyter, $197)

“Late Ottoman Turkey in Princeton’s Forgotten Maps, 1883-1923 is a virtual exhibition presented in StoryMaps format by Princeton University Library’s Maps and Geospatial Information Center in partnership with Prof. Richard Talbert at UNC Chapel Hill’s Ancient World Mapping Center.” Part V has now been released.

Accordance is running a 50% off sale on graphic bundles for a few more days. These are very good deals for a load of excellent photo collections and image-rich tools (click through to see all the included modules):

A personal note: If you emailed me on Thursday about preaching through Genesis 1-11, please send me your email again.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

The Broad Wall in Jerusalem, with newly constructed visitor walkways. Photo by Michael Schneider.

Tagged Discoveries, Greece, Jerusalem, Museums, Photo Resources, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed more than 2,000 clay seal impressions that ancient [Roman] officials once used to fasten government documents.”

The Imhotep Museum in Saqqara has reopened after a year of renovations.

“An ancient clay tablet at Yale has shed light on how the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ has evolved over the ages.”

Expedition Bible’s latest video goes to Nineveh in Iraq to explore the site and understand its significance for the Bible.

“A team of German researchers has figured out a new way to train computers to recognize cuneiform and even make the contents of millennia-old tablets searchable like a website, making it possible to digitize and assemble larger libraries of these ancient texts.”

“Authorities in New York have been accused by leading academics in France and Britain of repatriating fake Roman artefacts to Lebanon.” Does this mean that ancient mosaics were never stolen in the first place?

ASOR webinar on Dec 14: “The Wheat from the Chaff: What we can Learn from Studying Plants in Antiquity,” by Jennifer Ramsay ($13).

The world’s only intact Roman shield will be part of an exhibit at the British Museum opening in February.

eHammurabi provides a digital version of the Law Code of Hammurabi, including cuneiform, transliteration, normalization, English translation, some comments, and a brief bibliography.

Konstantinos Politis recalls the impact that Jonathan Tubb had in his career as an archaeologist, working at Tell es-Sa’idiyeh, the Palestine Exploration Fund, and the British Museum. A festschrift was released shortly before his death.

Will Varner explains why Hannukah is not the Jewish Christmas.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, New Exhibits, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The oldest ceramic rooftiles discovered in Israel date to the 2nd century BC and were found in the Givati Parking Lot excavations in the City of David.

Leen Ritmeyer recalls his previous visits to the Gaza Strip, and shares reconstruction drawings from archaeological remains discovered there.

The Times of Israel follows up on the recent publication of articles challenging the Mount Ebal “curse inscription,” including a response from Scott Stripling. Peter van der Veen, one of Stripling’s co-authors, has released a photo and some comments on the inscription on the exterior of the lead object.

The American tourist who smashed ancient statues in the Israel Museum was acquitted but sent to involuntary hospitalization. His attorney claimed that he suffers from “Jerusalem Syndrome.”

The Israel Antiquities Authority Conference will be held on December 11 in Jerusalem. The conference title is “In Those Days at This Time – The Hasmoneans are Coming,” and admission is free.

New release: Jewish Quarter Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem, Volume IX. “Volume Nine presents the wealth of small finds from the Palatial Mansion, built in the 1st century CE and destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.” (Israel Exploration Society, 380 NIS)

Logos deal: Week in the Life Series (7 vols) for $25

Jerusalem University College is hosting its 4th annual online seminar, “Culture Counts” on January 13. Registration is free, and the three presentations are:

Home Sweet Home: Ancient Israelite Households in Context, by Cynthia Shafer-Elliott
Life in the Roman Army, by Carl Laney
Hosting a Rabbi: A Lesson in Discipleship from Mary and Martha, by Cyndi Parker

BAS’s February Bible and Archaeology Fest will be held on February 24-25. Registration is open now for $149.

Mark Hoffman explains why now is a good time to (re-)sign up for the free BiblePlaces Newsletter.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

Tagged Discoveries, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Samaria, Weekend Roundup

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