Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A Roman ship has been discovered off the coast of Croatia.

Unique olive oil is being produced from an ancient grove at Hadrian’s Villa.

Peter Lacovara disputes the claim that the treasures of King Tut’s tomb would have been dwarfed by those of greater pharaohs. I hope that someone writes a response.

The Bible Archaeology Report has a new well-researched top ten list: Top Ten Historical References to Jesus Outside of the Bible.

New release: The Connected Iron Age: Interregional Networks in the Eastern Mediterranean, 900-600 BCE, edited by Jonathan M. Hall and James F. Osborne (University of Chicago; $45).

New release: From the Passion to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Memories of Jesus in Place, Pilgrimage, and Early Holy Sites Over the First Three Centuries, by Jordan J. Ryan (T&T Clark; $36; Amazon).

You can compete in BAR’s winter caption contest by submitting a proposal online.

Free download: L’Orient des Bonfils (1867-1918) – a new volume that tells the story of the most active photographic studio in the Middle East. The text is in French, and the majority of the 850-page book are photographs. Click the red button to download the pdf.

The Hellenic Education Research Center offers a number of summer programs. Mark V. Hoffman highly recommends the course on Jews and Early Christians.

With so many free maps now available from Bible Mapper, the new PassageBrowser and MapFinder are welcome tools to quickly find the map you need.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Scientists say that fish teeth discovered near the Jordan River provide the oldest evidence of fire-cooked food.

“The Theft Prevention Unit of the Israeli Antiquities Authority caught three Bedouins red-handed destroying historical items at an archaeological site near Negev town of Rahat.”

A study of crosses carved on pillars in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has determined that they were made by Armenian priests in the 16th century.

Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am take readers on a tour of the ruins of Gezer.

Israel21c provides a list of 10 important sites in Jerusalem’s ancient history.

Shmuel Browns shares photos from his visit to the Dagon fortress and monastery at Qarantal.

The winter issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes stories on the Mesha Stele and David’s kingdom, Judah’s stamped jar handles, and the calculation of the date of Christmas.

The BAS Winter Symposium will be held on Sat., Feb 11, with the topic of “Gods, Religion, and Cult in Ancient Israel.” Speakers include Theodore J. Lewis, Erin Darby, Mary Joan Leith and Christopher Rollston.

Aren Maeir’s course on Biblical Archaeology is a finalist for the 2022 edX Prize.

The 2023 JUC Online Seminar’s theme is “Explore the Gap: Stories in Context.” The free event will be held on February 3 and 4.

New release: The Holy Land Devotional: Inspirational Reflections from the Land Where Jesus Walked, by John A. Beck (Baker; $20). This looks like a great Christmas gift idea.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Negev, Resources, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Archeologists in Egypt have uncovered a vast underground tunnel near the city of Alexandria, and hope it may lead them to the long-lost tomb of Egypt’s last pharaoh and possibly its most famous ruler, Queen Cleopatra VII.”

Archaeologists discovered “an extremely rare and incalculably valuable Roman glass vessel” in a “remarkable state of preservation” in the ancient Roman city of Augustodunum (modern Autun, France).

“Archaeologists in Italy have uncovered more than two dozen beautifully preserved bronze statues dating back to ancient Roman times in thermal baths in Tuscany.”

The Temple of Apollo in Side, Turkey, will be restored as an archaeological museum.

Turkish Archaeological News has a roundup of stories from the month of October, including a report of a well-preserved Byzantine shops and dining area in Ephesus.

The International Herodotus Workshop was held recently in the city of Bodrum, ancient Halicarnassus, the historian’s hometown.

Ádám Németh’s Virtual Reconstructions includes 3D artwork of ancient buildings in Ephesus, including the Celsus Library, Terrace Houses, Trajan’s nymphaeum, theater, agora, and Temple of Artemis.

Digital Maps of the Ancient World: “The aim is to map out all the different aspects of Roman cities so that it can be used as a teaching aid or a guide for those interested in the site.”

“A giant cardboard imitation of the Trojan Horse, which won Greeks the war of Troy in antiquity, broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest cardboard sculpture in U.K.”

“An American man has returned 19 antiquities to the four countries they came from after reading reports in the Guardian about the repatriation of looted antiquities.”

The Immersive King Tut exhibit is at, or coming to, a dozen US cities.

“Tutankhamun: His Tomb and his Treasures” will open at the Columbus Science Museum on March 18.

On The Book and the Spade, Charles Aling and Gordon Govier discuss King Tut’s Tomb on the 100th anniversary of its discovery.

Leon Mauldin shares a recent photo he took of the Merneptah Stele in the Egyptian Museum.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Jared Clark, Wayne Stiles, A.D. Riddle, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Lectures, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A seven-word inscription on an ivory comb discovered at Lachish and dated to about 1600 BC is the earliest Canaanite sentence ever found. “The inscription is a plea, a wish, or a desire that the small comb be successful in getting rid of the irritating lice.” The press release is here, and the underlying journal article is here.

Christopher Rollston: “Restorations are *not* a Good Foundation for Dramatic Proposals: Reflections on the New, So-called, “Hezekiah” Inscription.”

Two episodes have been released in Legio 2022, a documentary series about one of the excavations in the Jezreel Valley Regional Project.

Museum of the Bible and DIVE are hosting a virtual tour of Caesarea on December 7 ($20).

“A new multi-faceted project by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies introduces the Samaritans to a wide and varied audience, and explores how they have managed to survive for millennia despite efforts by conquering powers to erase them.”

The Tel Burna Excavation Project has unveiled their 2023 season poster.

Yuval Gadot will give this year’s Howard Lecture at the University of Georgia on November 14 on “New Revelations from Zion: the Archaeology of Jerusalem from the Great Age of Reform.”

Mordechai Aviam will lecture on “Finding Bethsaida: From Biblical Jewish Village to the Church of the Apostles” on November 15, 7 pm, in New York City.

“Jerusalem: City of Change: New Archaeological Work, New Views, New Issues” is the title of a conference to be held at Boston University on November 16.

Friends of ASOR webinar on Dec 1: “Something from the Time of Jesus? Tourists, Souvenirs, and Buying the Holy Land,” with Morag M. Kersel ($12).

Jodi Magness will be giving the Schweich Lectures on Biblical Archaeology at The British Academy on December 5, 6, and 8, on the subject of “Ancient Synagogues.” The lectures will be recorded and posted and will also be published in book form.

New from Eisenbrauns: Tel Miqne 10/1: Tel Miqne-Ekron Excavations 1994–1996, Field IV Upper and Field V, The Elite Zone Part 1: Iron Age IIC Temple Complex 650, by Seymour (Sy) Gitin, Steven M. Ortiz, and Trude Dothan (30% off with code NR22).

The ASOR Blog has preliminary results of the Academic Genealogies of Near Eastern Scholars (AGNES) Project.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Jared Clark, Wayne Stiles, A.D. Riddle, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Lectures, Resources, Samaria, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The University of Pennsylvania, in partnership with an Iraqi team, has announced the discovery of seven very fine wall reliefs from the time of King Sennacherib in Nineveh. The team is also actively reconstructing the ancient city’s Mashki Gate, which was destroyed by militants a few years ago.

“An ancient Christian monastery possibly dating as far back as the years before Islam spread across the Arabian Peninsula has been discovered on an island off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.”

Archaeological work is underway near the Church of St. Peter in Antioch on the Orontes.

The fourth of five excavation seasons at Amphipolis has concluded, and this story summarizes the latest discoveries.

“An intact skeleton of a woman lying next to a stunning necklace and other important artifacts from the Early Minoan era (circa 2,600 BC), were unearthed recently at the archaeological site of Sisi on Crete.”

“Archivists have uncovered a long-lost historical relic hidden underneath a Christian manuscript: the earliest known map of the stars.”

“We, a group of Egyptologists, IT scholars and enthusiasts, have started an initiative to promote the digitization of Egyptian texts as open, re-usable data. Inspired by the great ORACC, we call ourselves ORAEC, Open Richly Annotated Egyptian Corpus.”

Brent Nongbri reviews the new exhibition at the Cheater Beatty Library called “First Fragments: Biblical Papyrus from Roman Egypt.” It looks worth adding Ireland to your travel list for 2023.

John DeLancey has posted a 360 Interactive Video in the Colosseum in Rome. It provides a great perspective of this ancient slaughterhouse.

The Greek Reporter lists the top 20 archaeological sites in the country. It is a good list.

Ferrell Jenkins posts a photo of the Appian Way south of Rome.

Robert Miller died last month.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Wayne Stiles, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Greece, Italy, Mesopotamia, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Sad News, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Hershel Shanks first wrote about the recently (re-)announced Hezekiah inscription in an issue in Biblical Archaeology Review in 2009.

“Two Asiatic lion cubs were born at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.”

“The Israeli Tourism Ministry has made commitments to build some 4,500 new hotel rooms this year, with another 4,000 or so next year.”

How did Jesus pronounce his own name? Benjamin Kantor investigates.

In his latest Recommended Resource, Brad Gray (Walking The Text) says, “The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set is hands down our favorite resource for gathering information on the background and context of the Bible.”

Aren Maeir’s online course (MOOC) on biblical archaeology started again a few days ago.

Daniel C. Smith describes his experiences in making the ancient Mediterranean Studies classroom accessible to blind students like himself.

David Barrett has created and posted a variety of new, free maps at the Bible Mapper Blog:

HT: Agade, Jim West, Explorator

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup