Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Eisenbrauns 30/30/300 Sale

To judge from the titles listed at the Eisenbrauns April sale, one might think they were partly influenced by recent recommendations on this blog. Among the nearly 100 titles for which you can get 30% now and later, these books are of particular interest:

The Horsemen of Israel: Horses and Chariotry in Monarchic Israel (mentioned here last month)

The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin (mentioned here in December)

Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research in the Holy City (mentioned here in
December)

There are many other books that we haven’t mentioned but that are of great interest. (There are also a few we wish had never been published!) Here are three not yet mentioned here:

Cities through the Looking Glass: Essays on the History and Archaeology of Biblical Urbanism

Confronting the Past: Archaeological and Historical Essays on Ancient
Israel in Honor of William G. Dever

Critical Issues in Early Israelite History

The full list is here.

By a 30% discount “now and later,” we’re referring to the immediate 30% discount plus the 30% credit that one gets towards future purchases.

Tagged Resources

Weekend Roundup

The theme of the month at the ASOR Blog is “Fakes, Looting, and Artifacts Lacking Context” and the first few posts are up:

Buyer Beware: Shopping for Artifacts in the Holy Land, by Morag M. Kersel
The Secondary Context Workshop: A Report

At Christianity Today, Gordon Govier reviews the recent Easter archaeology stories of the Talpiot Tomb and the James Ossuary verdict.

Joe Yudin provides a history of the temple as preparation for Passover.

Ferrell Jenkins remembers the Passion Week of Jesus with posts on the Via Dolorosa and Reclining in the Upper Room.

Lois Tverberg offers a free download of “A Taste of Passover” through the end of the month.

If you didn’t sacrifice an animal at the temple yesterday, even though such is commanded for Passover, it is very difficult to understand the price that must be paid for your redemption. The Sacrifice video ($10) by SourceFlix will help.

Sacrifice of lambs at Samaritan Passover

Tagged Forgery, Jerusalem, Weekend Roundup

ASOR: Free Journals for April

There seems to be a new push by the folks at ASOR to get more attention. In addition to the more active blog, they have designated themes for appointed guest editors for the month, and now they are offering free access to the last four years of ASOR journals via JStor.

I have no inside information on what goes on over there, but my thoughts often go back to the survey in about 1997 when they asked readers of Biblical Archaeologist if they should change the name of the magazine. A resounding majority (85%?) said no, but the administration told the readers to shove it and changed the name anyway to Near Eastern Archaeology. I suspect that subscriptions have been declining ever since. At one point they had about 3,000 subscribers compared to some 200,000 for Biblical Archaeology Review.

In any case, their publications have always been essential resources for the field and this is a great opportunity to get more acquainted with them if you are not.

The American Schools of Oriental Research is excited to announce free access to the current content of all three of our publications during the month of April. You are now able to access all content published in Near Eastern Archaeology, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research and the Journal of Cuneiform Studies over the last four years! Simply follow the instructions outlined below. If you decide to take advantage of this promotion we ask that you like us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ASOR.org

All the details are at the ASOR Blog.

Tagged Resources

Wednesday Roundup

Hundreds of pilgrims celebrated Palm Sunday in Jerusalem.

Wayne Stiles visits the Jerusalem of Hezekiah’s time and writes, “I have a faith rooted in history—not mystery. The words on the pages of Scripture are supported by simple elements we can dig out of the ground. They prove nothing, but they support it all.”

The Israel Museum has joined the Google Art Project and “online users will be able to view high-resolution images of 520 pieces from the museum’s collection.” That future tense should be changed to present, as you can see the images here. Beautiful.

A restaurant in Capernaum has been accused of dumping raw sewage into the Sea of Galilee. “This is one of the most serious cases of coastal environmental damage that the Kinneret has encountered thus far,” said a prosecutor.

Cyprus and Israel are collaborating to form a database for archaeology. There is more in common between the pasts of the two countries than many people know. The article does not explain the reason for why this cooperation is occurring only now: a downturn in the relations between Israel and Turkey.

The Mughrabi Bridge saga continues with Israel’s Supreme Court ruling that planning committees have to consider the women’s prayer area as well as security issues in their decisions. An Islamic petitioner claims that the Western Wall plaza falls under the authority of the Waqf. Jordan’s crown prince made a surprise visit to the Temple Mount today to see the Mughrabi Gate.

Turkey is asking for the return of artifacts from the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Cleveland Museum of Art and Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. “‘Turkey is not trying to start a fight,’ said Murat Suslu, Turkey’s director general for cultural heritage and museums. ‘We are trying to develop…cooperation.’”

The Israel Antiquities Authority recently recovered the covers of two sarcophagi smuggled out of Egypt.

For one week, the Teaching Company is offering a free video lecture by John R. Hale, “Central Turkey—Ankara, Konya, Cappadocia.”

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Theater of Kourion, Cyprus

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Holidays, Jerusalem, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Christian Inscription from AD 125

Larry Hurtado brings attention to what may be the earliest Christian graffito, suggesting that the find is extraordinary but that because the author “doesn’t have a TV production company behind him, we haven’t seen this item in the daily news.”

The inscription was found in Smyrna, home of a first-century church (Rev 2:8-11), and dates to AD 125/26. The writing includes the words “Lord” and “faith,” but you’ll need to get the forthcoming book by Roger Bagnall or read Hurtado’s summary for the details.

HT: Arne Halbakken

View of Smyrna (modern Izmir) from acropolis

Tagged Discoveries, Turkey

The Greatest Mosaic Artist

Haaretz describes one of the most spectacular mosaics ever discovered in Israel. The masterpiece was composed of 2 million stones.

The Lod mosaic has earned its place of honor outside the conservation laboratory of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The laboratory, in the courtyard of the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, contains hundreds of mosaics collected over about a century of archaeological exploration in Israel. But the 180-square-meter Lod mosaic, with its dozens of meticulously executed animal images enclosed in spectacular geometric patterns, is the jewel in the crown.
The artist who made it some 1,800 years ago was apparently the greatest mosaic artist ever to work in this land.
[…]
The Lod mosaic was found 16 years ago when a tractor hit it by accident. An Israel Antiquities Authority inspector saw the very tip of a panther’s tail, and stopped the work. Archaeologist Miriam Avissar started excavating, and slowly but surely the treasure emerged: an elephant trapped in a hunter’s net, a giraffe (mistakenly sporting antlers), lions, ducks, fish, deer, a peacock, wolves and snakes. Ships also appeared. Some of the animals are hunting – a panther holds a bleeding deer, a snake swallows a fish, even a little vegetarian rabbit is seen snacking on a cluster of grapes it seems to be sharing with a wolf.
The mosaic was covered until three years ago, when the antiquities authority and the Lod municipality brought it to light, invited the public to see it – and then removed it. Parts have been sent abroad to raise funds for a future museum to house it. It has been displayed in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Museum, and the Field Museum in Chicago.

The full article, along with a series of photos, is here. We noted this discovery back in June 2009 and October 2009.

HT: Joseph Lauer

UPDATE (4/3): Tom Powers observes that the photo below is not the Lod mosaic but another found near Lachish. See Tom’s post for images of the Lod mosaic.

Mosaic found near Lachish. Photo: Michal Fattal, Haaretz.

Tagged Museums