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Weekend Roundup

A couple of Israeli scholars are suggesting that the Hasmonean Hall (aka “Hall of the Freemasons”) in the Western Wall Tunnels may have served as a triclinium for Jerusalem’s city council.

Scientists working in Galilee have discovered caves used by rebels in the Jewish Revolt. For a more academic study, see this journal article.

The eastern temple of Ramses II at Karnak has been opened after restoration.

Excavations at Petra have revealed new information about the water systems that kept the city alive 2,000 years ago.

Municipal workers in Turkey’s Çanakkale province discovered gold jewelry in an 8th century BC sarcophagus.

Russia is sending a team of scientists to investigate World Heritage sites in Syria allegedly destroyed in the civil war.

The Basrah Museum is opening soon in a former palace of Saddam Hussein.

The Archaeological Museum of Kos re-opened up last month after renovation.

A competition is being held for the architectural design of the new Cyprus Museum in Nicosia.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has ruled that destroying cultural antiquities is a war crime.

Wayne Stiles’s new post on the history and significance of Eilat is filled with lots of photos I really like.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of a beautiful sunrise over the Sea of Galilee.

Haaretz reviews the best of archaeology in Israel this past (Jewish) year.

John S. (Jack) Holladay died last week. He was a long-time professor at the University of Toronto and he was involved in excavations at Gezer and in the Wadi Tumilat Project.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan, Mesopotamia, Negev, Sad News, Syria, Turkey

Desecrated Shrine Discovered in Lachish Gatehouse

Archaeologists working at Tel Lachish have excavated the second half of a six-chamber gate and claim to have discovered two horned altars suggested that this was a “shrine in the gate” that was desecrated in the reforms of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 18:4). The evidence of the desecration is a stone toilet that was never used but that recalls Jehu’s conversion of the Baal temple in Samaria into a latrine (2 Kgs 10:27). The horns of one(?) of the altars were removed in the reform as well. The gate was destroyed in the invasion of Sennacherib in 701 BC.

For more information, take a look at the IAA press release or read the reports in the Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel. The first four photos are courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. More photos and videos are available here. I’m curious to see Aren Maeir’s take, but he has not yet posted on it.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Chris McKinny

Aerial view of the excavated gatehouse at Tel Lachish.
Photo by Guy Fitoussi.

Excavation of the gate shrine with the “altar” visible in the center. Photo by Saʽar Ganor.

Evidence of “altar’s destruction.” Photo by Yoli Shwartz.

Removal of the stone toilet. Photo by Igor Kramerman.

Reconstruction of gatehouse, taken in June, following the January–March excavations.

Tagged Discoveries, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup

Digital imaging technology has virtually opened an ancient scroll from En Gedi to reveal the first two chapters of Leviticus. The publication in Science Advances includes a number of photos. Another article published in Textus is also online. The portions deciphered so far exactly match the Masoretic Text, but the radiocarbon date of 3rd-4th centuries AD differs from the paleographer’s date to the 1st or 2nd centuries.

The discovery of a menorah at Abila provides the first evidence of Jewish presence at this city of the Decapolis.

2,000-year-old human skeleton remains have been found buried at sea near a shipwreck at Antikythera, Greece.

A fisherman’s house from the Ottoman period was discovered along the beach in Ashkelon.

Bedouin youths have helped to excavate Byzantine-era farm buildings in the Negev.

A new virtual reality tour in Jerusalem takes “visitors” inside the Temple. There’s a short video clip here.

Archaeologists plan to finish reconstruction work on Laodicea’s Hellenistic theater within three years.

The Malawi Archaeological Museum in Minya was reopened this week after three years of renovation.

Omar Ghul, an epigrapher at Yarmouk University, discusses important inscriptions discovered in Jordan.

Laïla Nehmé is interviewed by Ancient History Etc. about the history of the Nabateans.

Ferrell Jenkins concludes his series on Iznik (Nicea) with a post on the modern city and its vicinity.

Wayne Stiles considers the history and the lessons from Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

Chris McKinny will be lecturing at Texas A&M Corpus Christi on October 3 on the Late Bronze finds from Tel Burna.

On sale for Kindle for $2.99: Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?, edited by James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary. I require several of the chapters for at least one course I teach.

Mordechai Gichon died this week.

Ferrell Jenkins remembers Erle Verdun Leichty on the announcement of his passing.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lectures, Negev, Sad News, Technology, Temple Mount, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A stone weight from the first century with the name of the high priest has been discovered in Jerusalem. Ynet has more photos and a video in Hebrew.

Israel’s largest archaeological garden was opened this week on a military base in Tel Aviv.

Archaeologists working at Petra have discovered two statues of Aphrodite.

“Excavations in the volcanic desert of Jordan have uncovered three surprisingly advanced fortified settlements with artificially irrigated terraced gardens, dating to 6,000 years ago.”

Someone is claiming to have discovered one of the stones from the high priest’s breastplate.

“Excavations at Tatarlı Mound in the southern province of Adana’s Ceyhan district have unearthed an impression seal from a monumental Hittite-era structure.”

Aviv and Shmuel Bar-Am provide a virtual tour of the excavations of Ramat Rahel.

Israel’s Good Name describes a recent visit to Chorazin (Korazim) and the first century Galilee boat.

Wayne Stiles suggests that the Transjordanian tribes settled for “second best” and he applies that principle for us today.

Leen Ritmeyer analyzes the paving stone tiles released by the Temple Mount Sifting Project and
suggests they came from “the interior of some of the many buildings that surrounded the Temple and/or from under the colonnades around the smaller courts.”

The Hebrew Music Museum opened earlier this year in Jerusalem and features 260 instruments.

This week Southern Adventist University opened a new exhibit entitled “A World in Miniature:
Creation, Cosmos, and Ecology on Seals from Biblical Times.” The museum’s website does not appear to have information yet on this new display.

The ASOR Blog identifies their five most popular posts of the summer.

The British Institute at Ankara has published nine volumes in the series Roman Roads and Milestones of Asia Minor, all available without charge in pdf format.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Survey Results: Favorite Museum

We had fewer responses for this survey than previous ones, perhaps because the nature of the survey is more geared to scholars and well-traveled tourists than to others. The lower participation may also account for why many excellent museums were not represented in the survey, including the Louvre, the Oriental Institute, and the Met.

The most popular museum of our survey was, not surprisingly, the Israel Museum (and/or Shrine of the Book). Among the enthusiastic explanations were these:

Hard to beat the archaeological section of the Israel Museum for the sheer number of outstanding and biblically significant artifacts. (And then you add the Jerusalem model and Shrine of the Book too!)

The museum is laid out chronologically. Each exhibit is concisely written and easily understood.

And specifically of the Shrine of the Book:

Coolest Hebrew manuscripts ever.

Three other museums in Israel were recommended:

House of the Anchor Museum (En Gev)

It’s so small one can describe it as cute, yet it’s dedicated to such a unique and important topic most of our information of 1st century fishing and fishermen comes from the studies from this museum.

Hecht Museum (Haifa)

While it may not have the main historically significant artifacts like the Israel Museum (e.g., the Tel Dan stele), it has one of the best displays of a wide variety of artifacts from the biblical period and some really unique exhibits like the Hellenistic shipwreck, Phoenician dye working, and treasure hoards.

Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem

amazing collection, great graphics, free parking

I’d gladly pay for parking if they let me take some pictures!

Outside of Israel, three museums were suggested from neighboring countries.

Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (Cairo)

Amazing collection

The Jordan Museum (Amman)

Historical and Biblical artifacts

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums

Who doesn’t love Hittite memorabilia (and guards with mustaches that can kill)?

Two European museums were proposed, with the British Museum getting the second highest number of votes of all (after the Israel Museum).

So many excellent collections

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser 3 showing king Jehu and other Jews

The other was the Pergamon Museum in Berlin:

Just great in everything 😉

Before you buy your ticket to Berlin, you should know that some parts of the museum are closed for
renovation.

The only museum in the US that received a vote was the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California. That is a bit disappointing, especially given how many of our readers live in the States. Perhaps I might encourage our American readers to visit some of these outstanding museums.

We’ve made a list and are soliciting suggestions for any that we may have missed.

If I had three votes to spend on three continents for the best museums related to biblical studies, I’d pick the Israel Museum (Asia), British Museum (Europe), and the Oriental Institute (North America).
But there are some great ones that I have not yet visited that could earn my vote in the future!

Thank you for participating! It’s fascinating to read what interests you and why.

Tagged Museums, Survey

Gold Coin of Nero Discovered on Mount Zion

In excavations on Mount Zion this summer, archaeologists discovered a gold coin with the image of Nero. UNC Charlotte’s press release gives more details:

The discovery of a rare gold coin bearing the image of the Roman Emperor Nero at UNC Charlotte’s archaeological excavations on Mount Zion in Jerusalem has been announced by the archaeologists in charge of the project Shimon Gibson, James Tabor and Rafael Lewis.
“The coin is exceptional, because this is the first time that a coin of this kind has turned up in Jerusalem in a scientific dig. Coins of this type are usually only found in private collections, where we don’t have clear evidence as to place of origin,” said Gibson, an adjunct professor of religious studies at UNC Charlotte.
The gold coin (aureus) bears the bare-headed portrait of the young Nero as Caesar. The lettering around the edge of the coin reads “NERO CAESAR AVG IMP.” On the reverse of the coin is a depiction of an oak wreath containing the letters “EX S C,” with the surrounding inscription “PONTIF MAX TR P III.” Importantly, these inscriptions help to work out the date when the coin was struck as 56/57 AD. Identification of the coin was made by the historian and numismatist David Jacobson from London.
The coin dates to a little more than a decade before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. and was found in rubble material outside the ruins of the first century Jewish villas the team has been excavating. The team has hypothesized that the large houses may have belonged to wealthy members of the priestly caste, and it may have come from one of their stores of wealth.

The press release includes more information and a photo of the coin. A high-res image of the coin’s obverse is here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem