Todd Bolen, Author at BiblePlaces.com

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Leen Ritmeyer has created a new 41-slide presentation on “Jerusalem in the Time of Nehemiah” that is now available through his webstore.

The Byzantine mosaic recently discovered in Yavne will be displayed outside the city’s cultural center.

David Hendin explains how the coins of Sepphoris provide a “fascinating historic portrait of the city.”

John DeLancey’s latest devotion from Israel is about 1 Samuel 17 and the battle of David and Goliath.

New on This Week in the Ancient Near East podcast: “The Strange Story of the Roman Era Half Lamp, or A Sconce to Light Their Way.”

Zoom lecture on June 3: “Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon,” by Eric H. Cline.

The publisher L’Erma di Bretschneider has 92 titles related to the archaeology of Pompeii and Herculaneum that are discounted by 55% through May 23.

The transatlantic voyage of a reconstruction of a 6th-century-BC ship suggests that the Phoenicians had the technical ability to sail to America, but whether they ever did so is debatable.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Alexander Schick

Tagged Galilee, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Lebanon, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Egypt announced the discovery of 250 ancient tombs in the southern province of Sohag.

Most ancient Mesopotamian statues were covered with colors, and recent research increases our knowledge of the artistic practices.

Sara E. Cole looks that all that a king in ancient Mesopotamia needed to be and do.

Iraq’s ancient heritage is deteriorating in the absence of government funding and conservation efforts.

A rare and striking 2nd century BC funerary statue from Cyrene has been returned to Libya.

“The images of al-Hajar al-Aswad, or the Black Stone [of Mecca], are up to 49,000 megapixels in size and took more than 50 hours to photograph and develop.”

A new study of the longest Roman aqueduct provides insights into water management in the time of Constantine the Great.

Anzu.digital is a community calendar of upcoming online talks, workshops or conferences of Near Eastern / West Asian Archaeology.

A handwritten letter from 1834 describes an American’s stop at the port of Jaffa but the impossibility of traveling up to Jerusalem.

Bryan Windle has a top ten list for discoveries related to Paul. Before you read his take, you might think of what you would put at the top. (You could turn a list like this into a couple of lessons…)

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A rare 2,000-year old oil lamp shaped like half of a grotesque face that was discovered in Jerusalem last week appears to have a matching partner — that was discovered in Budapest nine years ago.”

Ruth Schuster writes about recent discoveries at Hippos, including the Roman theater and the necropolis (Haaretz premium).

Bible History Daily asks the excavators of Hazor about last year’s cancellation and this year’s plans. They pose the same four questions to the excavators of Tel Burna.

Research is progressing on the seven Judean date palms that were germinated in southern Israel in recent years.

The Jordan Times interviews Eliot Braun about the ruins and cemeteries on the southeastern end of the Dead Sea.

Rossella Tercatin asks, “What do ancient coins tell us about the Omer period and the time of the Bar-Kochba revolt, when the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot became associated with death and mourning?”

Biblical World is a new podcast, and the first episode, hosted by Chris McKinny and Oliver Hersey, looks at the archaeological background of Hezekiah’s religious reform.

The Institute of Biblical Culture is registering now for its summer Biblical Hebrew course. The BIBLEPLACES coupon will give you a $300 discount. David Moster has also just created a new video: “Some of the Best Puns in the Bible.” There’s a geographic pun mentioned at 6:52.

John DeLancey has begun a new video series entitled “Devotions from Israel.” The first 5-minute devotional looks at 2 Chronicles 20.

David Barrett is creating a biblical map every week on his Bible Mapper Blog. The most recent are:

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

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Archaeologists have uncovered a marble head of the Roman emperor Augustus in the Italian town of Isernia.”

Researchers “have successfully sequenced the genome of previously extinct date palm varieties that lived more than 2,000 years ago.”

The Roman Colosseum will have its event floor rebuilt in a $18 million remodeling project.

Many academics are criticizing planned renovations to the Athens acropolis.

The Mosul Museum is being rebuilt after its destruction by ISIS.

The ancient site of Assos will be closed for more than a year while work is done to stabilize the slope.

“Turkish Archaeological News collects the most important, interesting and inspiring news from Turkish excavation sites. Here’s the review for April 2021.”

Zoom lecture on May 4: “Clues in Cuneiform: Lives Revealed in Ancient Records of Mesopotamia,” by Amanda Podany

“Thousands of monumental structures built from walls of rock in Saudi Arabia are older than Egypt’s pyramids and the ancient stone circles of Britain, researchers say – making them perhaps the earliest ritual landscape ever identified.”

Andrew Shortland investigates the earliest use and production of glass in the ancient Near East.

The French thought it was a toe, but Rome’s Capitoline Museums has recognized the bronze piece is a 15-inch-long index finger, now reattached to a colossal statue of Constantine.

The British Museum blog takes a look at the gods and goddesses of the Greek and Roman pantheon.

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

Tagged Discoveries, Italy, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“Archaeologists have discovered a rare oil lamp, shaped like a grotesque face cut in half, at the foundation of a building erected in Jerusalem’s City of David shortly after the destruction of the Second Temple almost 2,000 years ago.”

Israel’s easing of coronavirus restrictions allowed hundreds of Christians to gather at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the Holy Fire ceremony.

Riots on the Temple Mount led to hundreds of injured Palestinians and policemen.

“Some 2,000 years ago, an individual scribe wrote at least eight of the Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts, making him the most prolific scribe ever identified.” The scholar’s conference presentation has been posted on YouTube.

Israel’s Good Name reports on his birdwatching trip to the Hulda Reservoir.

The Jerusalem Post reviews Yoel Elitzur’s Places in the Parasha – Biblical Geography and its Meaning.

The latest issue of Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology is now available (go to “Contents” for downloads).

The 24th Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest will be held on October 16 and 17 on Zoom, with a strong lineup of speakers.

Tali Erickson-Gini is interviewed on The Times of Israel podcast, focusing on her expertise on the Nabateans’ Incense Road.

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

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Negev, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

JUC Online Summer Institute

Jerusalem University College has just announced the JUC Online Summer Institute. This six-week study opportunity costs only $159 per (non-credit) course, and all three classes look very interesting:

Reading Psalms Geographically, with Dr. Paul Wright
Paul has lived in Jerusalem for 26 years, 19 of which he has served as president of Jerusalem University College. This is the final course that Dr. Wright will teach as president before he and his wife Diane retire from their roles at JUC.
Jesus the Galilean, with Dr. Wave Nunnally
Dr. Nunnally has led study trips to Israel for more than 25 years. Wave served in the pastorate for four years and has spent the last 29 years teaching Jewish Backgrounds, Hebrew, Geography of Israel, Gospels, and Acts at the undergraduate, graduate, and PhD levels.
What Archaeology Can and Cannot Tell Us About the Bible, with Dr. Chris McKinny
Chris has lived in Israel for years and regularly leads study tours to the lands of the Bible. Dr. McKinny is a Research Fellow with Gesher Media and senior staff member at the Tel Burna Archaeological project who is passionate about biblical archaeology, history, and geography.

The classes are offered at different times of the day, so participants can enroll in all three classes. Registration is open now until May 17.

Tagged Galilee, Lectures