If choosing a favorite museum related to the biblical world is difficult for you, consider yourself blessed. There are outstanding museums for the Bible student and teacher in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, the UK, Germany, France, the US, and beyond. (If you haven’t seen our list of U.S. museums, take a look sometime.) But for now your task is this: choose one and only one, and tell us why. We’ll share the results on Thursday.
A New York Times photo essay reveals how a Turkish dam project will submerge thousands of years of history.
Turkey is punishing Austria by cancelling their excavations at Ephesus, Limyra, Myra, and Antalya.
Ferrell Jenkins begins a new series on Visiting Iznik (Nicea, Nicaea), Turkey with a summary of the numerous trips he has made to the country over the last 50 years. Part 2 considers the testimony of history regarding church government, part 3 looks at the first ecumenical council, and part 4 visits the site of the seventh ecumenical council.
The New York Times reports on several digital archives of Middle Eastern archaeological artifacts, with a special focus on the Ur Online database.
A newly discovered beam from Khufu’s second boat may be the oars holder.
On the ASOR Blog, Reg Clark answers the question, “How and why did the [ancient] Egyptians
protect their tombs?”
Volume 4 of The Context of Scripture is available from Brill for pre-order.
HT: Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Agade, A.D. Riddle, Steven D. Anderson
- Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Resources, Technology, Turkey
A stone seal discovered this summer at Abel Beth Maacah suggests Israelite presence at the site in the 9th century.
Luke Chandler has collected a number of photos of floor tiles from Herod’s Temple Mount that have been restored by the Temple Mounting Sifting Project. The Jerusalem Post has more details. There are more photos here. A 20-minute video of the press conference is online, with English starting at about 3 minutes.
Archaeologists have uncovered a Byzantine-era stable at Avdat in southern Israel. High school students joined in the sifting of hundreds of buckets of organic material left behind by donkeys, sheep, and goats. Five high-resolution photos are available.
There’s now an island in the Sea of Galilee. It’s near the southern shore and is the result of the low water level. Artillery shells from WWI have also been discovered nearby.
A mosaic from the Huqoq synagogue may depict Alexander the Great meeting the high priest of Jerusalem. Another interpretation is that it shows the battle between Antiochus VII and John Hyrcanus I. The National Geographic article has photos.
Israel’s ancient capital of Samaria has been vandalized. A video in Hebrew shows some of the damage.
Exploring Bible Lands continues its series on “Walking like Jesus” with a photo of a Roman road in Galilee.
Wayne Stiles explores why Kiriath Jearim is ignored, and why it shouldn’t be.
Thursday’s Archaeological Conference in the City of David entitled “Digging for Truth — Jerusalem,
Archaeology & UNESCO” may be watched online. Parts are in Hebrew and other parts in English, with the whole lasting 4.5 hours. The program may be viewed here. The Jerusalem Post reports on the talk by Dore Gold.
Olive pits discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa receive special attention at a new exhibit at the Bible Lands
Museum Jerusalem.
HT: Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Agade, Ted Weis
- Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Judah, Negev, New Exhibits, Samaria, Temple Mount
The discovery of hundreds of olive pits in the Beth Shean Valley dated to 5000 BC are prompting a reevaluation of ancient irrigation practices.
Some antiquities have been discovered in the garden of the American Consulate in Alexandria.
The majority of smuggled artifacts seized in Syria and Lebanon are fakes.
Nir Hasson provides a fascinating review of the legal and cultural challenges of excavating bones, skeletons, and cemeteries in Israel (Haaretz premium).
The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem is opening a new exhibit next week entitled “In the Valley of
David and Goliath.” The Haaretz (premium) article has more details.
Carl Rasmussen shares an interesting photo from Pompeii that sheds light on the Acts 19 riot in
Ephesus.
The W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research is accepting applications for a number of funded fellowships.
The Bornblum Eretz Israel Synagogues Website continues to be updated with descriptions, plans, photos, and bibliographic references.
Gordon Govier and Clyde Billington report on some of the latest discoveries in biblical archaeology on The Book and the Spade.
Aren Maeir notes a forthcoming volume on Iron Age archaeology in the Shephelah.
Ferrell Jenkins shares photos this week of the Pamphylian coast and the lilies of the field.
Logos and Accordance both have a 60%-off sale on Carl Rasmussen’s Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (revised edition), now for $12.99. (That’s a great deal on a great resource!)
HT: Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Agade
- Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Italy, Jordan Rift, Museums, New Exhibits, Weekend Roundup
The winners for this survey were the city of Jerusalem (7 different churches proposed), with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher receiving the most individual votes. Bethlehem has two favorite churches, and Galilee two others. Only two churches were selected outside of the land of Israel. Here is a brief review of a few of the favorites and some reasons they were chosen.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
“Each time, I always find something new and interesting to learn about the history of this church.
And it seems likely that some of history’s most significant events happened within its walls.”
“There is just something about this place for me. To think it may have been the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection for one gives me goose bumps. Then there is the building’s long history and its levels and twists and turns. It’s also interesting to watch the people.”
Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Lithograph by David Roberts
Lithograph by David Roberts
The Church of All Nations (Gethsemane)
“Wonderful mosaic of Jesus, the natural light inside, the location, the symbolism of the name.”
Christ Church (Jerusalem)
“Ministry to Jews – no statues – clean architecture.”
Church of St. Anne (Jerusalem)
“The beautiful acoustical sound as songs of worship are sung by peoples of all languages – creating
for me an atmosphere of praise to the Lord!”
Interior of the Church of St. Anne
Dominus Flevit (Jerusalem)
“The location and view from the church toward the Old City, emphasizing Temple grounds and beyond the Holy Sepulchre.”
Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem)
“Stubbornly commemorates the birthplace of Messiah in the city of the birthplace of David.”
Church of the Shepherds’ Field (Bethlehem)
“Singing Christmas carols (I sang O Holy Night here) with the beautiful acoustical sound
reverberating throughout reminding us of Christ’s birth somewhere near here.”
Emmaus-Nicopolis
“Beautiful and full of peace.”
Church of the Primacy (Tabgha)
“It is small and intimate…but mostly for the setting right along the Sea of Galilee.”
Duc In Altum (Magdala)
“Because it is beautiful, particularly the mural depicting the woman with the discharge of blood.”
Encounter Chapel in Duc In Altum
Sardis (Turkey)
“On the southeast corner of the magnificent ruins of the Temple of Artemis at Sardis is a small brick church built around the 4th century CE after the Temple had fallen into disuse. It’s one of the earliest church structures in existence. I like it because, although it pales in compares to the Temple of Artemis, it is a testimony to the power of God in the presence of things the world considers to be of no consequence. I appreciate being able to reflect in a relatively quiet spot where Christians gathered 1400 years or so ago.”
Titus Church (Crete)
“Went to church there one Sunday morning while my wife went to Knossos. Really good experience.”
Thanks to all who participated. August is over, but we’ve enjoyed this enough to continue it in the coming months, though probably less frequently than once a week.
- Tagged Survey
Philippe Bohstrom reports in Haaretz on the discovery of a large royal structure immediately adjacent to the Solomonic city gate.
A palatial building dating to the era of King Solomon 3000 years ago has been discovered in the royal city of Gezer, though there is no evidence which of the Israelite kings lived there, if any.
The monumental building dates to the 10th century BCE, the era associated with King Solomon, who is famed for bringing wealth and stability to the newly-united kingdom of Israel and Judah. The American archaeological team also found a layer featuring Philistine pottery, lending credence to the biblical account of them living in the city until being vanquished by King David.
The complex features a large central courtyard, like contemporary palace-like buildings found throughout the southern Levant, including at Hatzor and Megiddo. Though there’s no telling who ruled from there, if anybody did, the edifice is significantly larger than the size of ordinary houses of the time, excavation co-director Prof. Steve Ortiz, representing the Tandy Museum of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary of Fort Worth, Texas, told Haaretz. Among the features not found in usual domestic structures is ashlar masonry – large rectangular-shaped monolithic hewn stones – in the corners of rooms, Ortiz said.
[…]
The main feature is two parallel long rooms, or courtyards, surrounded on all sides by various rooms, numbering at least 15. The palace has two entrances from the east and west. The entrance from the west also connects this building to the monumental six-chambered gate associated by most scholars with Solomon. This entrance is more robustly built than the rest of the building: The walls are constructed with two to three rows of stones wide, built of roughly dressed field stones somewhat smaller in size than those used in the rest of the building.
The article contains photos and more background about the historical importance of Gezer along with a little bit of the reasoning for dating this stratum to the 10th, and not 9th, century.
HT: Joseph Lauer
Gezer from the west, showing area of palace excavations
Photo by Bill Schlegel
Photo by Bill Schlegel
- Tagged 10th Century, Discoveries, Shephelah
