Weekend Roundup

“A rare, nearly intact 1,500-year-old ceramic lantern was recently uncovered during conservation work” at Sepphoris in Galilee.

Solomon’s copper mines in the Timna Valley did not cause negative environmental and health impacts on the workers.

The Udhruh Archaeological Research Project has been studying a vast and intricate water harvesting system in use during the Roman period.

“A group of four suspected antiquities looters were ‘caught red-handed’ over the weekend attempting to break into an underground area at a Galilee archaeological site associated with olive oil production during the Hasmonian period.”

Turkey’s first underwater museum opened in Side. “It is a museum where 117 sculptures, determined as 5 different themes in the depths of the sea and made by Turkish sculptors, can be seen by diving into the sea.”

Work is underway to create an “Alexander the Great Cultural Route” in northwestern Turkey.

The latest issue of the Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies (subscription required) includes an article about radiocarbon dates at Gezer with many responses from everyone from Dever to Garfinkel to Levy, Maeir, Mazar, and Ortiz.

New on This Week in the Ancient Near East podcast: “Between Death and Taxes in the 8th Century BCE, or Hezekiah’s Beltway Politics.”

New on Thin End of the Wed podcast: “Christopher Jones: Court Politics in the Neo-Assyrian Empire”

Online seminar on Jan 11, hosted by Jerusalem University College: “War & Peace in the Holy Land: Biblical and Modern Perspectives,” with presentations by Elaine Phillips, Charlie Trimm, Matt Lynch, and Jon Kaplan. A recording will be made available to all registrants.

Aaron Reich looks at three places in Jerusalem proposed to be the site of Jesus’s tomb: Talpiyot, Holy Sepulcher, and Garden Tomb.

The James Ossuary is now on display at Pullman Yards in Atlanta.

I will be posting a “top 10” list on Monday, but there will be no roundup next weekend.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“More than a dozen Egyptian mummies embellished with gold tongues and fingernails have been uncovered by archaeologists… in the Behnese area, an important archaeological site in Middle Egypt.”

The now-deciphered “Frankfurt silver inscription” provides the earliest evidence for Christianity north of the Alps, dating to about AD 250.

After 20 years of research, a professor has pinpointed the site of the Battle of the Granicus, where Alexander the Great had his first victory over the Persian empire.

An archaeologist searching for Cleopatra’s tomb believes she has found a statue that depicts the queen’s face.

The spice warehouses of the Roman emperors has been opened to the public.

Gavriel Fiske investigates why a 20-year-old claim about the oldest alphabetic inscription only now has attracted scholarly and media attention.

Ongoing restoration works at Knidos (Cnidus) include the reopening of the Great Church.

More than half of the tablets excavated at Nippur from 1948-1952 have been photographed and posted online at the electronic Babylonian Library.

The latest issue of Iraq has been published, and all articles are open-access.

In a five-minute video, Mark Janzen explains what happened to the short-lived site of Pi Raamses in the Nile Delta.

The final episode of Walking The Text’s “3 Gifts of Christmas” explores the significance of the Magi’s gift of myrrh.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Mark Hoffman, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“New evidence shows that the well-preserved Roman Imperial Highway crossing the Golan was constructed in the second half of the second century CE.” The underlying journal article is here.

A new study claims that Bar Kochba only joined the revolt named after him in the middle of the insurrection. The underlying journal article is here.

The oldest inscription with the Ten Commandments sold for $5 million to a buyer who plans to donate it to an Israeli institution.

The Tel Dan Inscription is on display at the Jewish Museum in New York City until January 5.

The latest Jerusalem in Brief explores the conflicting accounts of the surrender of Jerusalem in 1917.

Applications are now open for $2,000 dig scholarships offered by the Biblical Archaeology Society.

Biblical Archaeology Society has also posted this year’s excavation opportunities, including summer projects at Hippos, Azekah, and Dan.

New Release: The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 CE by Strategius of Mar Saba, by Sean W. Anthony and Stephen J. Shoemaker (University of Chicago; $35; open access)

Ze’ev Meshel, longtime archaeology professor at Tel Aviv University, died last week at the age of 92.

Lois Tverberg explains why she likes our photo collections.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Mark Hoffman, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A research team using magnetometry has identified five monumental buildings within the city walls of Dur-Sharrukin, the Assyrian capital of Sargon II. To avoid attracting unwanted attention, they chose not to use a drone and instead each team member walked 13 miles every day for seven days.

A Phoenician shipwreck dating to 600 BC has been discovered off the coast of Spain.

“Archaeologists in Turkey uncovered a limestone sarcophagus in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Demre, Antalya, which they believe could be linked to Saint Nicholas himself, known worldwide as Santa Claus.”

More than 100 ancient artifacts were discovered in a hidden basement area during eviction proceedings in Athens.

Michael Denis Higgins believes that the Colossus of Rhodes was ultimately destroyed not in 226 BC but in AD 142, after several reconstructions.

“The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the Ohio State University and the Digital Lab for Ancient Textual Objects is excited to announce the launch of the Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia 2.0.” They have also released a video tutorial.

“Plauen is commemorating the biblical scholar and theologian Konstantin von Tischendorf (1815-1874) with an exhibition to mark the 150th anniversary of his death.”

New release: Egyptian Things: Translating Egypt to Early Imperial Rome, by Edward William Kelting (University of California Press, open access)

ASOR has posted a recap of its annual meeting.

The collapse of the Syrian government has led to concerns about Jewish archaeological heritage in the country.

Rami Chris Robbins explains the Jewish connection to Rome’s Colosseum.

Carl Rasmussen reports on his recent visit to an impressive Roman thermal spa in northern Turkey.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Excavations have identified a 2nd-century BC military fortress at Ashdod-Yam.

“Researchers have discovered 50 rare cave pearls, some of which contain ancient Greek artifacts from the Hellenistic era, in an underground water system near Jerusalem.”

Some scholars are questioning whether the oldest copy of the Ten Commandments—scheduled to be sold next week at auction—is authentic.

In a short video, Eitan Klein shows how a band of antiquities thieves were caught in the act, robbing a cave in the Shephelah.

Expedition Bible’s latest video looks at the archaeological evidence for the location of Jesus’s crucifixion.

John DeLancey filmed on location at the Ketef Hinnom tombs in Jerusalem.

Appian Media has released a new short film entitled “Explore Petra” (12 min). I’m curious how they got the drone footage.

Christopher Rollston explains why the Megiddo Mosaic is important on The Book and the Spade.

“New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary held a 10th anniversary celebration for its Museum of the Bible and Archaeology” last week.

Eliezer Oren, longtime Professor of Bible, Archaeology, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, died this week.

Jerusalem University College has announced its online semester courses for the spring, including:

  • Archaeological Methods and Theory, taught by Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer
  • Introduction to the Modern Middle East, taught by Oded Yinon
  • Jewish Thought and Practice, taught by Rabbi Moshe Silberschein
  • The Book of Revelation and the Seven Cities of the Apocalypse, taught by Chris Vlachos

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A Roman water tunnel, nearly as long as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, has recently been restored at biblical Gadara. 

The Jordan Times has published a story about Khirbat as-Sar, possibly biblical Jazer.

“A trove of ancient curse tablets was made recently in Athens‘ downtown neighborhood of Kerameikos.”

“Through a recent excavation at Kouklia-Martsello in Palaepaphos, Cyprus, scientists have unearthed an ancient inscription in the Cypriot syllabary.”

Archaeologists working in Georgia have found an inscription with strange symbols unlike any known language.

“In the second phase of the restoration works, the facades of Hagia Sophia Mosque, the upper covering, and the Second Bayezid Minaret are in the focus of attention.”

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the most important stories for the month of November.

A lecture by Christian Leitz overviews the restoration of the temple of Esna, with its “magnificent astronomical ceiling, colorful columns, and close to two hundred ink inscriptions previously undescribed.”

A meeting between the British and Greek prime ministers is raising speculation that an agreement may be in the offing for a loan of the Elgin Marbles to Athens.

New release: The Iron Age Town of Mudayna Thamad, Jordan; Excavations of the Fortifications and Northern Sector (1995–2012), by Robert Chadwick, P. M. Michèle Daviau, Margreet L. Steiner and Margaret A. Judd (BAR Publishing, £88). This site is potentially biblical Jahaz.

New release: Burning Issues in Classics, by Rhiannon Evans and Nicole Gammie (La Trobe University, free download)

Carl Rasmussen reports on his visit to Carchemish, a site he has long wanted to see.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Roger Schmidgall, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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