Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Excavations have uncovered an ancient farming system from the Middle Ages in the sand dunes next to Caesarea.

The Washington Post reviews the archaeological evidence for crucifixion.

In reporting on the recently published inscription from Jerusalem with possible ties to the Queen of Sheba, Bible History Daily notes some resistance by Christopher Rollston to the interpretation.

A new paper argues that Jews in the Roman army could have kept kosher.

Chandler Collins reviews proposed locations for Jerusalem’s Gennath Gate, often connected with the place of Jesus’s crucifixion and tomb.

A spring storm dropped snow on Mount Hermon and caused flooding that nearly cut off Eilat from the rest of the country.

In its Summer Institute this year, Jerusalem University College is offering three courses:

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Myth and Reality, taught by Adolfo Roitman, Curator and Director of The Shrine of the Book
Genesis 1-3 in its Ancient Near Eastern Context, taught by Oliver Hersey, President of Jerusalem University College
The Zionist Idea, taught by Jonathan Kaplan, Former Vice Provost of the Rothberg International School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

This month only, Accordance Bible Software is offering the full version of Accordance 13 to everyone for free.

New resource: 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible, by James F. Coakley. Though only one chapter is directly about Bible geography, the whole of this book looks like an excellent guide to better reading (Moody, 208 pages; $15).

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A new study suggests that a 10th-century BC inscription discovered near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem may have been written in the Ancient South Arabian language, providing a possible link with the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon.

Gold jewelry discovered in a Roman-era tomb on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem in 1971 is now on display for the first time. The jewelry “bears the mark of the Roman goddess of the moon Luna.”

Ruth Schuster investigates the earliest Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land and how they knew were to go.

It’s a Passover tradition for journalists to write about the exodus, and Judith Sudilovsky’s article in The Jerusalem Post is not entirely negative.

You can find the full series of Passion Week devotionals written by Will Varner and illustrated with our photos here.

Megan Sauter considers the question of how Jesus’s tomb was sealed.

Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer discuss the archaeology of the Passion Week in a three-part series on the Biblical World podcast.

John DeLancey is on The World and Everything in It talking about the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (23:40; transcript at link).

Israeli police detained several individuals with lambs or goats near the Temple Mount.

Jordan Ryan’s recent BAR article, “Jesus in the Synagogue,” is excerpted online, including a list of 16 synagogues in Judea and Galilee that date before AD 135.

Ellen White writes about Israelite attitudes toward dogs.

Peter Lacovara attempts to explain why ancient ivory cosmetic spoons were made in the shape of a young girl swimming.

Archaeologists excavating the Hyksos palace at Tell el-Daba have discovered 12 severed hands.

“Researchers at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Ottawa, Canada are learning more about ancient graffiti and their amazing comparisons with modern graffiti as they produce a state-of-the-art 3D recording of the Temple of Isis in Philae, Egypt.”

New release: Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World’s First Empire, by Eckart Frahm (Basic Books, 528 pages, $35; Amazon).

New release: The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East: Volume IV: The Age of Assyria, edited by Karen Radner, Nadine Moeller, and D. T. Potts (Oxford, 1288 pages, $150; Amazon)

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

Greek City Times has a survey of the (many) Greek theaters in Turkey.

“The Asia Minor Research Center is pleased to announce a new study program in Turkey for people in the Majority World.”

The Gospel of Matthew in the LUMO Project has been dubbed using a restored Koine Greek pronunciation.

WarGamer’s April Fool’s prank was about the world’s first trading card game.

The Oriental Institute is being renamed to the “Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia and North Africa.” Pretty catchy.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, A.D. Riddle, Andy Cook, Ted Weis, Gordon Dickson, Keith Keyser, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Holidays, Jerusalem, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Tomb of Jesus, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Researchers have revealed a hidden manuscript on a recycled piece of parchment, believed to have been written by the Greek mathematician, astronomer and geographer from the ancient Roman Empire: Claudius Ptolemy.”

“Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered broken statues of ancient royalty at a sun temple in Heliopolis.”

“Gorgeous zodiac paintings decorating the roof and walls of the 2,200-year-old Temple of Esna in southern Egypt have been revealed during a restoration project that’s clearing away two millennia’s worth of grime, soot and bird poop.”

“The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) has launched the Valley of the Queens and the Western Wadis on the Theban Mapping Project website.”

Mattias Karlsson attempts to explain why a king of Moab was called “the Egyptian,” if indeed he was.

Jason Borges provides a first-person account of the destruction in Antakya (biblical Antioch on the Orontes).

Turkish authorities have begun to “strengthen” historic buildings in Istanbul with “Khorasan mortar,” an ancient method that provides buildings with elasticity during an earthquake.

The Vatican gave to Greece three marble statue heads that once adorned the Parthenon.

The Greek mafia is beating up archaeologists on the island of Mykonos.

“A growing number of researchers now want to reconstruct ancient aromas and use them to learn more about how we used to live.”

Archaeologists are using AI to protect ancient sites, improve dating methods, and analyze old rock art.

The Pergamon Museum in Berlin will be completely closed beginning in October for three and a half years, with the southern wing not reopening until 2037 (!).

Bryan Windle reports on the top three stories in biblical archaeology in the month of March.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Jordan, Museums, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A 6,000-year-old copper fishing hook, possibly used for catching sharks or other large fish, has been discovered during an Israel Antiquities Authority excavation in Ashkelon.”

Andy Cook posts a short video he just filmed in the drainage channel underneath the City of David.

Sussita National Park is now open to the public. The site, also known as Hippos, overlooks the Sea of Galilee on its eastern side.

Bible History Daily addresses the question of who lived in the ancient city of Hazor: commoners, elites, or a mix of the two. This issue is explored further in an article by Shlomit Bechar in the latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Several dozen articles on the topic of “The Ancient Written Wor(l)d” have been published in the latest issue of ‘Atiqot (open access). One of the articles challenges the identification of the signet ring of Pilate.

“Jerusalem was named one of TIME magazine’s 50 most extraordinary travel destinations, as part of the publication’s third annual list of the World’s Greatest Places.”

“Caesarea was given awarded the ACTA Archeological and Cultural Award for the best foreign archeological site by GIST, Italy’s foremost tourism press agency.”

Chandler Collins will now be posting information about excavations and publications about Jerusalem on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

As Emily Master steps down after five years as Executive Director of the Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority, she identifies three milestone projects completed in this time: a renovated Davidson Center, the Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center, and the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel.

Aren Maeir’s latest publication is in a volume dedicated to Indiana Jones. (Despite the date of its posting, the book appears legitimate.)

New release: In the Shadow of the Wall: The Life and Death of Jerusalem’s Maghrebi Quarter, 1187–1967, by Vincent Lemire (Stanford University Press, $32; Amazon).

ASOR webinar on April 13: “New Perspectives on Jerusalem’s 7th Century BCE Elite,” by Yuval Gadot

Online lecture on April 27: “The Archaeology of Mount Zion in Jerusalem – Past, Present, and Future,” by Shimon Gibson. Registration is free and required.

On YouTube: “The Jewishness of the New Testament: An Interview with R. Steven Notley” (17 min)

Israeli authorities are forecasting severe heat waves this summer, with temperatures possibly reaching 120 degrees F (49 C).

The Infusion Bible Conference digital download of all 42 videos of “The Last Days of Jesus” is now on sale for $30 off. Purchase includes the pdf notebook with 170 pages of notes, resources, and recommendations.

Focus on the Family is celebrating Passion Week with a series of devotionals by Will Varner, illustrated with photos from BiblePlaces.com.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Holidays, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Tourism, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Israeli and Jordanian negotiators have concluded an agreement whereby the wooden bridge providing access to the Temple Mount will be dismantled and tourists will instead enter through the Double Gate on the southern wall and exit through the Golden Gate.

The recent excavations of the Pool of Siloam have revealed that the famous pool was not where they thought. Archaeologists suspect that the pool was actually located under the adjacent lot where they dumped all the dirt.

A three-year-old child on a field trip has discovered an ancient Hebrew seal reading, “belonging to Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, son of Amon, son of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of the leper-king Uzziah.”

Renovations at the Israel Museum will soon allow visitors to participate in worship of Canaanite deities at the Hazor shrine exhibit.

Plastic containers discovered on the surface of Tel Lachish are “clearly ancient,” announced IAA experts after scanning them three times.

The Egyptian parliament has passed a law demanding that Israel immediately repatriate the Ten Commandments.

Gertie Golel has announced on Facebook that she has identified and deciphered five never-before-seen inscriptions in the Holy Sepulcher, one of which was written by the Apostle John and then apparently crossed out by the Apostle Peter. A final publication will be released soon on Twitter, but it seems to have said something like, “I was here first.”

Aren Maeir is coming back from retirement to launch a new 25-season campaign in the Philistine city of Gaza, thereby cementing his status among Israeli archaeologists as the G.O.A.T.

The first annual “peace triathlon” sponsored by Israel and Jordan will begin with a swim across the Dead Sea, continue with a foot race on an unmarked route through the En Gedi sinkholes, and conclude with a bike sprint to the top of Masada on the Snake Path.

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has announced that an announcement about a major discovery will soon be announced.

In an effort to curtail the recent wave of graffiti left by tourists on the Colosseum in Rome, authorities are welcoming personal etchings in an area of the amphitheater that will once again serve as a holding cell for the condemned.

Critics are pledging warm relations now that the Museum of the Bible has become the Museum of the Quran.

After Brill announced a 90% price reduction on their books, authors are delighted that they will be able to afford a copy for themselves.

We have decided to end the annual $100 subscription fee for this blog, but readers who owe back dues need to pay up.

If this roundup was not to your taste, you can be thankful that not until 2029 will a weekend again land on April 1.

Tagged April Fool's Joke

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest pearling town on an island in the Persian Gulf.

Writing for Christianity Today, Mark Wilson recounts the history of Antioch on the Orontes, including its significant place in the early church and the numerous earthquakes it has suffered.

Jason Borges provides some essential information for visiting Antalya, a beautiful city on the southern coast of Turkey. I would add a day-trip recommendation for Termessos.

This 10-minute video explains the ancient craft of parchment-making, in the city which gave its name to parchment (Pergamum).

“The coveted metal copper and a sheltered location turned the Cypriot village of Hala Sultan Tekke into one of the most important trade hubs of the Late Bronze Age.”

“The exhibition ‘The colours of the Romans. Mosaics from the Capitoline Collections,’ on show in Rome’s Montemartini Museum, has been expanded to include a new section presenting 16 newly restored works dating from the late Roman period and never before shown in public.”

Entrance to the Pantheon in Rome will no longer be free.

The most expensive coin ever sold at auction was sold using false provenance and the owner of the auction house has been arrested.

“Governments, law enforcement officials and researchers have linked a mounting number of the Met’s relics to looters and traffickers.”

New release: The Public Lives of Ancient Women (500 BCE-650 CE), edited by Lucinda Dirven, Martijn Icks, and Sofie Remijsen (Brill, $143).

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Italy, Mediterranean Islands, New Exhibits, Persia, Resources, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup