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Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists do not know the date or purpose of a wall in southern Jordan than is nearly 100 miles long. There are more photos here.

Archaeologists have discovered a large underground silver mine in Greece.

A Chalcolithic site was found in Shuafat north of ancient Jerusalem.

The world’s oldest dress is from Egypt and dates to 3000 BC.

On Monday Egypt will celebrate the golden jubilee of the Abu Simbel temple salvage operation.

Egypt’s minister of antiquities and the director of Saqqara’s archaeological galleries are accused of
replacing 157 artifacts with replicas.

Plans are afoot to build a “Welcome Center” in Hebron.

Space archaeologist Sarah Parcak won a $1-million TED Prize which she plans to use in part “to develop an online game-based application that will teach and reward viewers for identifying objects in satellite imagery that may point to archaeological sites.”

“Italy has teamed up with the United Nations to create a task force whose goal is to protect ancient artworks, artifacts, and archaeological sites in conflict zones from extremists.”

The Smithsonian Magazine reports on how the tomb of Cyrus was discovered in 1928 by Ernst Herzfeld.

Four recent lectures on King David by Professor Yair Zakkovitch are now available online.

The New York Times doesn’t like “Risen.” Another review is more positive. And here’s another.

The March/April issue of Biblical Archaeology Review features articles on the Hittites, Mount Ebal, the ivory pomegranate, Yoram Tsafrir, and Adam Zertal.

The Biblical Archaeology Society is offering big discounts on books, DVDs, and CDs.

The Petoskey News-Review profiles Owen Chesnut, the head archaeologist of excavations of Ashdod-Yam.

“Beersheba epitomizes the faith God required to live in the Holy Land.” Wayne Stiles explains why.

A 5-minute video shows the temple of Solomon from a model created using SketchUp 2016.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos of the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia and notes the two occurrences of the region in the New Testament.

Luke Chandler explains the importance of the Merneptah Inscription.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle, Mark Hoffman, ANE-2, Urban von Wahlde

Tagged Egypt, Greece, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judah, Museums, Negev, Technology, Temple Mount, Turkey

Archaeology Symposium at Mississippi State University

An archaeological conference being held this weekend is bringing some leading scholars and archaeologists to Mississippi. From MSU’s press release:

A free Friday and Saturday [Feb. 19 and 20] program at Mississippi State has been designed to help the general public gain a better understanding of ancient Israel.

The university symposium and workshop will focus on new archaeological finds uncovered at Khirbet Summeily, a small Iron Age site on the ancient border between what then were the kingdoms of Judah and Philistia.

Taking place at the Cobb Institute of Archaeology and a nearby campus location, the public event is sponsored by the institute, College of Arts and Sciences and its department of anthropology and Middle Eastern cultures, with major support from the James W. Criss Trust.

Beyond just highlighting recent discoveries, the various sessions will underscore their significance in understanding life during the 11-9th centuries BCE, a period of secondary state formation in the Levant region historically associated with biblical kings David and Solomon.

Speakers will include noted archaeologists, biblical scholars, epigraphers and historians from Canada and Israel, as well as MSU and other U.S. institutions of higher learning.

For more information, and a list of the lecture topics and speakers, see the Mississippi State website. We’ve noted the excavations at Khirbet Summeily previously here and here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Bye Bye, Picasa

(Post by A.D. Riddle)

Google announced that it would discontinue support and development of the free Picasa program beginning March 15. After this date, it will no longer be possible to download the program. If you already have the program, you will be able to continue using it. The full announcement from Google can be viewed here. If you do not already have a good photo browser, we recommend downloading Picasa before it is gone for good.

I have used Picasa desktop for years. I appreciate Picasa’s search capabilities, the ease and simplicity with which I can tag photos, browse large collections, and sort them. You can read our two-part blog series on how Picasa can be a useful tool for accessing the vast riches of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

Using PLBL with Picasa (Part 1)
Using PLBL with Picasa (Part 2)

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The Bornblum Eretz Israel Synagogues Website is a new work that presents “bibliographical references, geographical location, photos, plans and brief descriptions of excavated ancient synagogues from the Roman and Byzantine periods in the Land of Israel.”

A four-minute newscast reports on new excavations in the Timna Valley and its copper mines.

Four individuals are in trouble after a video of them breaking off pieces of the Giza pyramids went viral.

“The Aleppo Codex, on permanent display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, has been declared a world treasure by UNESCO.”

A group of artifacts from the Museum of the Bible Collection is now on display in Cuba.

“The Extraordinary Gertrude Bell exhibition will be at the Great North Museum in Newcastle until May 3.”

Jodi Magness will be lecturing on “Samson in Stone: New Discoveries in the Ancient Synagogue at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee” on February 15 at UNC. She will be giving the same lecture at the Getty Villa on April 3.

Birger Ekornåsvåg Helgestad and Jonathan Taylor will be lecturing in London on February 24 on

“Walking in Woolley’s Footsteps: Ur Brought to Life for the Digital Age.” Registration is required.

“In the Valley of David and Goliath: Digging Up Evidence on the United Monarchy” symposium will be held in New York City on March 30.

Applications are now being accepted for the Cyprus Underwater Archaeology Field School 2016.

A one-week Field School on Archaeological Science in Ancient Corinth will be held June 6 to 11.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Greece, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Negev, New Exhibits, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A recent study suggests that most of the terraces in the hill country of Judah were built in the last 400 years and none of them as early as the Iron Age. But that may not be the last word.

The plan to turn the archaeological site underneath Robinson’s Arch into a prayer site is facing opposition from many archaeologists, including Gabriel Barkay, Amihai Mazar, Dan Bahat, and Ronny Reich.

Hundreds of coins in museums in Jordan were replaced with fake ones. Apparently they were stolen years ago but only discovered recently.

Victor Sasson provides a contrary view on the Jehoash Inscription.

Eric M. Meyers shares the story of Yigael Yadin’s last night in America.

The Lod Mosaic, a 3rd century AD Roman work, is touring the United States and is currently in Florida.

Andrew George provides an interesting, behind-the-scenes take on how looting contributed to scholastic knowledge about the Epic of Gilgamesh.

The Caspari Center is offering a ten-day course in Israel in April on “Jesus the Jew.”

Wayne Stiles shows how Jesus’s conversation with his disciples at Tabgha can free you from the comparison trap.

Shmuel Browns shares some recent photographs he took while hiking in Nahal Og.

Time Scanners is a PBS series that uses technology to study ancient structures, including the Temple
Mount and the Colosseum.

HT: Ted Weis, Steven Anderson, Paleojudaica

Tagged Forgery, Galilee, Judah, Museums, Temple Mount

Recommended Study Tour in Jordan

I highly recommend that students and teachers of the Bible go on a study trip in Jordan. You have no idea how much biblical history happened on the other side of the river until you spend two weeks seeing it all. It is extremely rewarding.

The best study tour of Jordan for students of the Bible is that taught by Dr. Ginger Caessens with the University of the Holy Land. I studied under Dr. Caessens in both Israel and Jordan and learned so much. She is offering the course again this summer and I encourage you to go!

Here are a few of the places you will visit: Gadara, Gerasa, Jabesh Gilead, Ramoth Gilead, Pella, Bethany beyond the Jordan, Rabbath-ammon, the Jabbok River, Penuel, Mahanaim, Adam, Sukkoth, the Dead Sea, Heshbon, Medeba (the map!), Ataroth, Aroer, Callirhoe, the copper mines of Feinan, Petra, Little Petra, Wadi Rum, and much more!

The UHL website has all of the details.

The Kazneh of Petra

Tagged Jordan