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New excavations at Hyrcania have already turned up an inscription in Greek adapted from Psalm 86.

“A cave containing the remains of a young woman who was likely a courtesan during the Hellenistic period has been discovered near Hebron Road in Jerusalem, along with a well-preserved, rare bronze mirror.”

Gershon Galil claims that he has deciphered a fragmentary inscription from the time of Hezekiah that was discovered in Jerusalem forty years ago (Hebrew version here). (I wouldn’t recommend trusting Galil’s judgment on anything these days. So far the story is only covered by Ynet; if other outlets cover this, they will surely include responses from other scholars.)

Archaeologists have made new and interesting finds at the ancient submerged Egyptian city of Heracleion.

This one-minute video shows how cuneiform tablets were formed from clay and inscribed.

In the newest episode in the Flora & Faith series, Brad Gray explains the symbolism of the almond tree in Scripture.

The latest episode in “Faith Journeys with God in the Land” with John DeLancey was filmed at the Pool of Siloam earlier this year.

Erez Ben-Yosef was on the What Matters Now podcast to discuss his theory about the beginnings of the United Monarchy. The Times of Israel article includes a transcript.

Zoom lecture on Oct 5: “Maritime Viewscapes and the Material Religion of Levantine Seafarers,” by Aaron Brody ($13). Brody has written an article on the ASOR Blog on the same topic.

Zoom lecture on Oct 19: “Archaeology of Jesus’ Nazareth,” by Ken Dark. Registration required.

Biblical Archaeology Report has a rundown on the top three discoveries of the month.

Ferrell Jenkins shares some experiences and photos from his visits to Mount Nebo.

Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, the seventh and final commemoration in the biblical calendar, begins today. TheTorah.com has an article on the etrog as the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken

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“Temples for the Egyptian god Amun and the Greek goddess Aphrodite were found off of Egypt’s coast by a team of archaeologists.”

A new Indo-European language was discovered during excavations in the Boğazkale district of Çorum, which is home to Hattusa, the capital of the Hittites.”

“A group of researchers has successfully extracted DNA from an ancient cuneiform brick for the first time, identifying over thirty species of plants present in the brick’s clay.”

“Back to School in Babylonia” is a new exhibition at the University of Chicago.

BAS Scholars Series online lecture on Sept 28: “Free Health Care Is a Miracle: Psalm 8, Jesus, and the Jerusalem Temple,” with Amy-Jill Levine ($10)

Hybrid lecture on Sept 29: “Babylon under the Achaemenids: The Greek Sources Re-considered,” by Johannes Haubold. Hosted by The Center for the Ancient Mediterranean (CAM) at Columbia University. Remote participants must register.

The Institute of Biblical Culture is launching a new Biblical Hebrew course. You can save $300 with the code BIBLEPLACES. 

All of Doug Greenwold’s books from Preserving Bible Times are now available on Amazon Kindle.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken

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Archaeologists discovered a Second Temple period stonemason’s workshop near Jerusalem.

“A United Nations conference voted Sunday to list ruins of the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine.”

The Temple Mount Sifting Project blog provides a glimpse into the difficulties of protecting the debris that is the focus on their study.

“The ongoing excavation of Horvat Midras/Khirbet Durusiya (Israel) provides an opportunity to study changes in the ethnic and religious makeup of a rural settlement in the ancient southern Levant.”

David Moster explains how tall the Jerusalem temple was by comparing it with other large monuments including the Dome of the Rock. He even found a classical-style building with very similar dimensions to Solomon’s temple.

Jerusalem Post: “Is the biblical ark of the covenant hidden in an Ethiopian church?”

Zoom lecture on October 24: “The Austrian Expedition to Tel Lachish 2017–2023,” by Katharina Streit and Felix Höflmayer.

Registration is open for next year’s excavation season at Shiloh.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken

Middle Bronze gate at Gezer during reconstruction. Photo taken by John Black on Tuesday.
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The Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh has a large collection of animal horns, but not all qualify to be used for the Feast of Trumpets.

A fire broke out at Tel Gezer yesterday, forcing the evacuation of some hikers.

Archaeologists are making significant discoveries in eastern Turkey underneath the Zerzevan Castle.

Turkish Archaeological News has a roundup of major stories in the month of August.

Archaeologists have uncovered new evidence related to the battle of Salamis.

Some people are not happy with a new wooden ceiling installed at the Karnak Temple.

Mohy-Eldin E. Abo-Eleaz writes about the harsh life of diplomatic messengers in Egypt in the Late Bronze Age.

The US returned to Lebanon a dozen looted artifacts valued at $9 million, including three from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The “Origins of Olive Oil” is the subject of the latest podcast on The Ancients.

The price for the 2023 Friends of ASOR Seminar, with many well-known speakers, has been greatly reduced.

Writing for Bible and Spade, David Spoede reviews the overwhelming archaeological evidence for the domestication of camels in the time of Abraham.

Michael Holmes explains why a newly published Greek fragment related to the Gospels is a big deal.

In the latest episode of Walking The Text, Brad Nelson explains how “understanding how a fig tree produces fruit clarifies exactly what’s happening when Jesus curses the fig tree.” The website includes discussion questions as well as resources for further study.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Gordon Franz

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Bible Scenes has released a beautiful 3-minute video showing a 3D model of Herod’s Temple. The video was nearly two years in the making, with the assistance of Leen Ritmeyer (who gives some background here). The website has a number of free scenes, and generous permission usage is granted. You can help them create more scenes by becoming a subscriber.

Chandler Collins writes about “some unexpected architectural fragments” discovered in the Jewish Quarter in the 1970s.

The Jerusalem Post has stories about the archaeological site of Magdala and its tourist facilities.

Nate Loper surveys “the historical and archaeological connections between Israel and the Egyptian empire” in the latest episode of Digging for Truth.

Online lecture on Sept 21: “Fact & Fiction in the Empress Helena’s Travels to the Holy Land,” by Julia Hillner. Sponsored by the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society. Free.

A full recording of the “Conrad Schick and His World” conference is now online. You can find the conference booklet with abstracts here.

Abigail Leavitt reports on the lectures and field trip for a recent conference at Ariel University entitled “Boundaries and Influences in the Archaeology of Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Today is the Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the significant seventh month in the Jewish calendar. Your calendar probably identifies it as the Jewish New Year (Rosh HaShanah).

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, David Padfield, Will Varner

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The Times of Israel gives an update on Israel’s decade-long systematic attempt to survey and excavate the caves of the Judean wilderness ahead of looters.

Ruth Schuster writes about a new theory that the Buqeia Valley east of Jerusalem was occupied around the time of King Josiah by quasi-military herders. The article includes some beautiful photos of the area.

Haaretz summarizes a new article that “examines the archaeological and historical evidence for the existence of Jewish gladiators in the first to fourth centuries.”

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on Jerusalem’s Millo, Baal, and Constantinople.

Leen Ritmeyer writes about archaeological evidence for Jews in exile in Babylon.

“An ancient Roman statue believed to depict the daughter of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, and valued at $5 million, has been seized by New York officials.”

“A British auctioneer has pleaded guilty to numerous charges relating to the sale of rare ancient coins, including a hoard discovered by Palestinian fishermen.”

The synagogue that housed the Cairo Geniza has been completely renovated.

Chandler Collins has posted part 2 of his historical study of the excavations of the Stepped Stone Structure in Jerusalem.

The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society has posted some lectures on their new YouTube channel, including:

New release: Excavating the Land of Jesus, by James Riley Strange (Eerdmans, $30). Phillip J. Long has a review here.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Alexander Schick, Alexander Schick

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