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Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg has written a summary of major archaeological stories in September.

Aren Maeir critiques an article in the current issue of BASOR in which three geologists argue that
Hezekiah’s Tunnel took about four years to dig and was constructed not by Hezekiah but by his son Manasseh.

Leen Ritmeyer has just released “The Ark of the Covenant: Its Journey from Sinai to Jerusalem” digital image collection.  I’ve used a number of these images from the slide set over the years, but now Leen writes that so much has been added that the CD is “an entirely new presentation.”

I received some criticism for daring to suggest that last week’s 60 Minutes report on the excavations in the City of David would be one-sided.  But according to this eight-point critique by CAMERA, I was right.  Another website responds to the claim that there is “no evidence” of King David in
Jerusalem.

Carol Meyers will be lecturing this week in Fort Worth.  Her title is “Holy Land Archaeology: Past Meets Present” and tickets are $20.  Details are here.

Claude Mariottini points out National Geographic’s slideshow on “12 Ancient Landmarks on Verge of Vanishing.”  The photo of Nineveh is striking, but I can’t agree with the inclusion of Hisham’s Palace (Jericho) in the list.  It is surprising to me that the description of the ruins of Famagusta in Cyprus does not mention the city’s ancient name, Salamis.  Barnabas and Saul (Paul) landed here on Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:5).

The photograph in the blog header was taken twenty years ago this week.  I was with a group of students from the Institute of Holy Land Studies excavating with Amihai Mazar at Tel Beth Shean. 

Even in late October that place is hot!

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The Israel Antiquities Authority is collaborating with Google to put all of the Dead Sea Scrolls online for free.  From Device Magazine:

As part of the celebrations on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its establishment, the Israel Antiquities Authority is launching a unique project – The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library – to document the entire collection of  the Dead Sea Scrolls. A major lead gift from the Leon Levy Foundation, with additional major funding from the Arcadia Foundation and the support of Yad Hanadiv Foundation, will enable the Israel Antiquities Authority to use the most advanced and innovative technologies available to image the entire collection of 900 manuscripts comprising c. 30,000 Dead Sea Scrolls fragments in hi-resolution and multi spectra and make the digitized images freely available and accessible to anyone anywhere in the world on the internet.  This is the first time that the collection of Scrolls will be photographed in its entirety since the 1950’s. The IAA announced this morning that it is collaborating with the Google R&D center in Israel in this milestone project to upload not only all of the digitized Scrolls images but also additional data online that will allow users to perform meaningful searches across a broad range of data in a number of languages and formats, which will result in unprecedented scholarly and popular access to the Scrolls and related research and scholarship and should lead to new insights into the world of the Scrolls.

The full story is here.  Many other similar articles can be found here.

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National Geographic has a beautiful seven-shot photo gallery of King Herod’s tomb, including good information about the recent discoveries.  The Book and the Spade discusses the tomb in its current radio broadcast (direct link from this page).

Leon Mauldin has posted a beautiful aerial photograph of Aphek/Antipatris

No, I didn’t watch the 60 Minutes piece on the excavations in the City of David.  After a while, dishonest reporting is no longer even entertaining.

The Jerusalem Post has a short article on the stones of Jerusalem, including mention of the British
Mandate law requiring that buildings in the city be faced with it.

Logos 4 was released a year ago, but I waited until recently before installing it on my computer.  I’ll add my voice to the chorus praising the program.  If you didn’t already know, each of the base packages includes a module entitled “BiblePlaces.com Image Library,” which features 350 selected photographs from our collection.

The new Holman Christian Standard Bible Study Bible arrived in the mail Saturday.  I am impressed by the attractiveness of the pages (full color) and the selection of writers for the notes.  I like the appropriately chosen photos of biblical sites and artifacts, and I was usually pleased with what was written about the controversial issues I checked.  Apparently the whole Bible is online at mystudybible.com, but it was a bit slow when I tried.

Last week my family welcomed another son into our home.  He missed the 10-10-10 date by one day, but otherwise he is perfect.

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Construction of a new parking lot underneath the Jewish Quarter was reported to require the first breach of the Old City walls of Jerusalem in more than a hundred years.  Well, not quite.  First, the architect clarified that he was only going under the walls and not through them.  Then Leen Ritmeyer explained that the walls were not breached a hundred years ago for Kaiser Wilhelm II’s visit.  The walls are safe, for now.

A program on the “New Finds in Jaffa Gate” will be held on Oct 12, 2010, 6-8 pm at Jerusalem’s Yad Ben Zvi Institute.  Ofer Sion and Shahar Poni will lecture on the discoveries, including the channel leading to Hezekiah’s Pool.  The lecture notice (in Hebrew) can be found here and here (pdf). 

HT: Joe Lauer

A statue of Hathor disappeared from a temple at Serabit el-Khadim and was discovered in the Sinai desert five days later.  Authorities are questioning the site’s security guards.

Following Friday’s report that the Syrian army has a Scud missile base near Damascus, Jay Baggett (Land of the Bible) created a flyover tour to the “hidden” base where the missiles can be easily seen on Google Earth.

Steven Lancaster and James Monson have completed the Geobasics Study Guide, an outstanding and unique work that deserves a post of its own.  In the meantime, you can get a copy for yourself.  The guide is in pdf format and is free.  The accompanying map book is (only) $15.

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Jericho is attempting to capitalize on today’s unique date in connection with its claim to be a 10,000-year-old city.  From the AP:

Visitors to ancient Jericho Sunday got a rare glimpse at what archaeologists here say is the largest carpet mosaic in the Middle East, measuring nearly 900 square meters (9,700 square feet).
The small red, blue and ochre square stones laid out in complex geometric and floral patterns cover the floor of the main bath house of an Islamic palace that was destroyed by an earthquake in the eighth century. Since being excavated in the 1930s and 1940s, the mosaic has largely remained hidden under layers of canvas and soil to protect it against sun and rain.
Starting Sunday, a small section will be laid bare for a week, as part of Jericho’s 10,000th birthday celebrations. The mosaic then will be covered up again until the money is found to build a roof that would serve as a permanent weather shield, said Palestinian archaeologist Hamdan Taha.
Biblical Jericho attracts a steady flow of pilgrims, but the small Jordan Valley oasis is making a major push these days to become a magnet for tourists, presenting itself as the oldest city on earth. Marking the 10,000th birthday Sunday is entirely random, though, with archaeologists saying they could be off by hundreds of years in dating the first human settlement in the area.

Where does the 10,000-year-old claim come from?  First, the issue is not settlement, as remains of earlier sites have been found around the world.  Jericho claims to be unique because of its early fortifications.  Second, Kenyon identified remains of a city (with a wall and tower) from the earliest part of the Neolithic period.  Some archaeologists date the beginning of the Neolithic period to 8000 BC, or 10,000 years before present. 

Jericho Neolithic tower from east, tb091504848

Massive stone tower at Jericho from the Neolithic period

Over the years, various signs have welcomed visitors to the “oldest city in the world.” 

Jericho oldest city in world sign, tb091504778

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