Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Jerusalem Lower Aqueduct Section Discovered

A new section of the Lower Aqueduct built by the Hasmoneans to bring water to Jerusalem has been exposed near Har Homa between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. A press release from the Israel

Antiquities Authority gives more details.

The Israel Antiquities Authority conducted an archaeological excavation there following the discovery of the aqueduct. According to Ya’akov Billig, the excavation director, “The Lower Aqueduct to Jerusalem, which the Hasmonean kings constructed more than two thousand years ago in order to provide water to Jerusalem, operated intermittently until about one hundred years ago. The aqueduct begins at the ‘En ‘Eitam spring, near Solomon’s Pools south of Bethlehem, and is approximately 21 kilometers long. Despite its length, it flows along a very gentle downward slope whereby the water level falls just one meter per kilometer of distance. At first, the water was conveyed inside an open channel and about 500 years ago, during the Ottoman period, a terra cotta pipe was installed inside the channel in order to better protect the water”.
The aqueduct’s route was built in open areas in the past, but with the expansion of Jerusalem in the modern era, it now runs through a number of neighborhoods: Umm Tuba, Sur Bahar, East Talpiot and Abu Tor. Since this is one of Jerusalem’s principal sources of water, the city’s rulers took care to preserve it for some two thousand years, until it was replaced about a century ago by a modern electrically operated system. Due to its historical and archaeological importance, the Israel Antiquities Authority is taking steps to prevent any damage to the aqueduct, and is working to expose sections of its remains, study them and make them accessible to the general public.
The Umm Tuba section of the aqueduct was documented, studied, and covered up again for the sake of future generations. Other sections of the long aqueduct have been conserved for the public in the Armon Ha-Natziv tunnels, on the Sherover promenade, around the Sultan’s Pool and additional projects are planned whose themes include the Lower Aqueduct.

The story is reported by the Jerusalem Post, Arutz-7, and The Times of Israel. A more complete report of an earlier excavation of this aqueduct is available in Excavations and Surveys in Israel 2011.

The Pictorial Library of Bible Lands includes a 50-slide presentation on the entire ancient aqueduct system.

UPDATE: Joseph Lauer sends along a link to three high-res photos.

Lower Aqueduct section recently discovered
Photo courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Judah

New Video: Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights, Huleh Valley, and Mt. Hermon

Bill Schlegel has released another teaching video based on the Satellite Bible Atlas, this one focused on the northern regions of Israel. The 18-minute video describes the geographical and historical significance of the:

Sea of Galilee
Golan Heights
Huleh Valley
Mt. Hermon

Schlegel has taught college and graduate students as a resident professor in the land of Israel for 30 years. His new video series combines his expertise with excellent maps and aerial footage taken with a drone. These videos could serve your own family as well as a small-group Bible study or a school classroom. The series now includes 10 videos. They are all free. If you benefit from them, you might consider commenting on their Facebook page or sharing with your friends.

Tagged Galilee, Golan, Historical Geography

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

In honor of Jerusalem Day, Noam Chen shares 25 sets of then and now photos of the city.
Biblical Archaeology Review is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a two-volume coffee table book that features one article from each year.

“The Digital Atlas of Ancient Egypt is a digital cultural map of archaeological sites in Egypt” produced by students at Michigan State University.

The Minerva Center for the Relations between Israel and Aram in Biblical Times is calling for applicants for stipends for doctoral studies at Bar Ilan University.

Research into the heights of Egyptian mummies reveals the prevalence of incest among the families of the pharaohs.

A study of animal mummies from Egypt has revealed that a third of them were empty. “Experts believe as many as 70 million animals were‭ ‬ritually slaughtered by the Egyptians to foster a huge mummification industry that even drove some species extinct.”

The Indiana Jones exhibit has opened at the National Geographic Museum. Artifacts on display include the movie version of the ark of the covenant.

Mark Wilson describes what it’s like for a biblical scholar to live in Turkey (requires login). Wilson’s Biblical Turkey is now available through Amazon.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis

Tagged Egypt, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Syria, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Leen Ritmeyer explains with word and image the Treasury of the Temple in Jerusalem.

The IAA stopped two would-be tomb robbers as they were about to penetrate a Roman period burial chamber.

Fifty years ago this week Yigael Yadin announced the discovery of the Bar Kochba letters. (An aside: if you’re looking for summer reading, I enjoyed this biography on Yadin.)

Covenant Journey is a new Taglit- (Birthright-) type program designed for Christian students to visit Israel for only $500. It is being funded in part by the Museum of the Bible.

The NIV is celebrating its “50th” anniversary with the free NIV 50th Anniversary Bible App, a 365-day reading plan, a video “The NIV: Made to Study.” And I really appreciated the academic-level review of the translation philosophy of the NIV by Doug Moo, available both in video form and free eBook.

The ruins of Palmyra are at risk in fighting between the Islamic State and Syrian forces.

Students at Johns Hopkins are learning how to re-create ancient Greek pottery.

Leon Mauldin shares a group of photos of biblical Troas.

In the category of bad Hebrew tattoos, this one ranks high.

HT: Agade, Steven Anderson, Joseph Lauer

The ruins of Palmyra
from Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Greece, Jerusalem, Syria, Temple Mount, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

The oldest complete copy of the Ten Commandments is going on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem for a brief time. No articles provide the dates of the display. High-resolution images of this Dead Sea Scroll are available here.

Archaeologists have discovered an Egyptian army headquarters from the New Kingdom at Tell Habwa.

“The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) and the Digital Library Technology Services (DLTS) in the New York University Division of Libraries have redesigned and relaunched the Ancient World Digital Library (AWDL) online portal.” The new ADWL includes 121 titles from Brill.

65 titles from ASOR are now available online including works by Charlesworth, Cross, Glueck, King, Lapp, Levine, MacDonald, Meyers, and Pritchard.

Forward has photos of this year’s Samaritan Passover sacrifice. The Daily Mail has many more.

Ten mosaics in the museum in Antioch on the Orontes have been seriously damaged during restoration.

Wayne Stiles: Why I Don’t Use My Holy Land Photos on My Blog

This week on the Book and the Spade, Clyde Billington draws a connection between Khirbet Qeiyafa and the heights of David mentioned in Pharaoh Shishak’s inscription.

The ancient synagogue of Meiron was recently vandalized.

Theresa Howard Carter has died.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Holidays, Museums, Resources, Sad News, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Seminar: Archaeology and Text

The Institute of Archaeology at Ariel University will be holding an international seminar on May 10-12 in Jerusalem and Ariel entitled: “Archaeology and Text: Toward Establishing a Meaningful Dialogue between Written Sources and Material Finds.”

Participation is by prior arrangement only; please contact Dr. Yonatan Adler: [email protected]

Seminar Schedule

Sunday, May 10 – National Library of Israel, Jerusalem

09:00-09:15 Reception
09:15-09:30 Greetings, Dr. Itzhaq Shai (Ariel University) and Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed (Ministry of Science, Technology and Space)
Session 1: Chair: Dr. Matthew J. Adams (W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research)
09:30-10:00 Literary and Archaeological Sources: “Can [the] Two Walk Together?” (Amos 3:3), Prof. Lee I. Levine (Hebrew University)
10:00-10:30 Casually Reading the Finds? Towards a Methodologically Sound Relationship between Text and Archaeology in Phoenician Colonization, Dr. Eleftheria Pappa (University of California, Santa Barbara)
10:30-11:00 Midian in Moab: Do the Historical Sources refer to the Mudayna Sites near the Arnon River?, Prof. Haim Ben David (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee)
11:00-11:20 Coffee
Session 2: Chair: Prof. David Ussishkin (Tel Aviv University)
11:20-11:50 Herod’s Royal Portico on the Temple Mount – Between Josephus’ Text and the Archaeological Finds, Dr. Orit Peleg-Barkat (Hebrew University)
11:50-12:20 Purity Observance among Diaspora Jews, Prof. Jodi Magness (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
12:20-12:50 Josephus Flavius in the Galilee: Text and Archaeology, Dr. Mordecai Aviam (Institute for Galilean Archaeology and Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee)
12:50-14:00 Lunch
Session 3: Chair: Prof. Israel Finkelstein (Tel Aviv University)
14:00-14:30 Text and Archaeology: The Case of Tel Rehov in the 10-9th Centuries BCE, Prof. Amihai Mazar (Hebrew University)
14:30-15:00 Iconographic Exegesis: One Interpretative Nexus of Archaeology and Text, Dr. Izaak J. de Hulster (University of Helsinki and Georg-August Universität Göttingen)
15:00-15:30 Archaeology and Dating the Messiah: Establishing the Historical Background of Isaiah 10:28-34, Dr. Shawn Zelig Aster (Bar-Ilan University)
15:30-15:50 Coffee
Session 4: Chair: Prof. Ronny Reich (Haifa University)
15:50-16:20 The Migdal Synagogue in the Context of Late Second Temple Synagogues in the Land of Israel, Prof. Lutz Doering (University of Münster)
16:20-16:50 Cultic Items and Epigraphic Material: What is the Connection?, Dr. Ian Stern (Hebrew Union College) and Prof. Esther Eshel (Bar-Ilan University)
16:50-17:20 Reading Between the Lines: Late Ancient Jewish Mortuary Practices in Text and Archaeology, Dr. Karen B. Stern (City University of New York, Brooklyn College)
17:20-17:50 Hagiographical Holy-Man and Archaeological Monk: Holiness and Mundane Life in the Countryside of the Levant in Late Antiquity, Dr. Jacob Ashkenazi (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee)
Dinner

Monday, May 11 – Ariel University, Ariel

09:00-09:15 Reception
09:15-09:30 Greetings, Prof. Michael Zinigrad (Ariel University – Rector)
Session 1: Chair: Dr. Alexander Fantalkin (Tel Aviv University)
09:30-10:00 Texts, Master Narratives, and the Non-Textual Archaeological Record, Prof. David Small (Lehigh University)
10:00-10:30 The Interface between Text and Artifact: Back to Basics? Some thoughts on “Bible and Spade, Prof. Aren M. Maeir (Bar-Ilan University)
10:30-11:00 Wood there be Context? Dendroprovenance & Ancient Texts, Dr. Sara Rich (Maritime Archaeology Trust)
11:00-11:20 Coffee
Session 2: Chair: Prof. Joseph Patrich (Hebrew University)
11:20-11:50 Purity and Purification in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Mikva’ot of Qumran: The Convergence of Archaeology and Text, Prof. Lawrence H. Schiffman (New York University)
11:50-12:20 Praxis versus Theory: Greek Papyrus Amulets and the Instructions for their Preparation, Laura Willer (Heidelberg University)
12:20-12:50 Toward an “Archaeology of Halakhah”: Prospects and Pitfalls of Reading Early Jewish Ritual Law into the Ancient Material Record, Dr. Yonatan Adler (Ariel University)
12:50-14:00 Lunch
Session 3: Chair: Prof. Gunnar Lehmann (Ben-Gurion University)
14:00-14:30 “And there was Peace between Israel and the Amorites” (1 Sam. 7:14) – Israelites and Canaanites in Late Iron I, Dr. Yigal Levin (Bar-Ilan University)
14:30-15:00 Samaria’s Role in the Days of Ahab and His Sons: History, Bible and Archaeology, Dr. Amitai Baruchi-Unna (Hebrew University)
15:00-15:30 “Now there was no Smith Found throughout all the Land of Israel…”: 1 Samuel 13:19-23 in Light of the Accumulating Evidence for the Transition from Bronze to Iron Production, Dr. Naama Yahalom-Mack (Hebrew University) and Dr. Itzhaq Shai (Ariel University)
15:30-15:50 Coffee
Session 4: Chair: Prof. David Small (Lehigh University)
15:50-16:20 Heroes in the Post-Classical Polis: On Interpreting Archaeological and Written Sources, Dr. Lucia Novakova (Trnava University)
16:20-16:50 Traditions of the Rock: Discerning and Defining Ancient Jewish Burial Grounds in Rome, Jessica Dello Russo (International Catacomb Society and the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology)
16:50-17:20 Monumental Building Projects of Late Second Temple Jerusalem in Light of Historical Sources and Recent Archaeological Excavations, Dr. Joe Uziel (Israel Antiquities Authority), Mr. Nahshon Szanton (IAA), and Mr. Moran Hagbi (IAA)
Dinner

Tuesday, May 12 – Israel Museum, Jerusalem

09:00-10:00 Visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls Laboratory, Israel Antiquities Authority, Guided by Mrs. Pnina Shor (Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Projects Unit of the IAA)
10:00-10:30 Coffee and Farewells

The seminar is jointly sponsored by Ariel University and The Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.

Tagged Lectures