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Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient road in Tarsus, not far from the Cleopatra Gate.

A new study suggests that the Romans contributed to an increase in human parasites, despite their advances in sanitation technology.

Wayne Stiles draws spiritual application out of a gate in Jerusalem that is blocked to prevent the Messiah’s arrival.

Washington Post: How 3D printers can help undo the destruction of ISIS

Lawrence H. Schiffman shares insights about Jews and Judaism that he gained from reading the New Testament.

Last week I was on The Book and the Spade with Gordon Govier discussing the top ten stories in biblical archaeology. This week we’re discussing upcoming excavations in Israel in 2016.

Penn Museum explains how to make cuneiform tablet cookies.

Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv has opened a new exhibition on discoveries from Tel Rehov.

Israel’s underwater treasures need protecting, according to a recent post on the ASOR Blog.

Haaretz reports on the significance of the recently discovered seal impression of Hezekiah, son of
Ahaz, king of Judah.

Visits to the Temple Mount by non-Jewish and non-Muslim tourists has been going down every year since 2010.

A new video shows how a small excavation at Ein Lamur/Ein Limon is being used to strengthen the community.

Luke Chandler shares a video on volunteers excavating at Lachish.

The Review of Biblical Literature has been moved behind a paywall.

Helmut Koester died on New Year’s Day at the age of 89.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Museums, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Canaanite Fortress Unearthed in Nahariya

Israeli archaeologists working in the northern coastal city of Nahariya have uncovered a Canaanite citadel dating to 1400 BC. From Haaretz:

The Bronze Age citadel apparently served as an administrative center serving Mediterranean mariners, stated the Israel Antiquities Authority. It had been destroyed at least four times by fire and was rebuilt each time, says the IAA.
Among the artifacts discovered in the ruined citadel’s rooms are ceramic figurines with human and animal forms, bronze weapons, and pottery vessels that hadn’t been made locally – they had been imported. That is further testimony to the extensive trading relations among the peoples around the Mediterranean Sea basin.
Among the burnt layers, the excavators found abundant remains of cereals, legumes and grape seeds, the IAA said. Whether the grape seeds prove that wine had been made in the area remains an open question, though analysis of clay vessels dating to 4,000 years ago, from the cellar of a Canaanite palace nearby, found remains of red wine, and a fine, aromatic vintage fit for a king at that.

The story is reported by Haaretz, the Jerusalem Post, and others. High-res images and video are available here.

The press release and news articles do not make the connection, but the date of this fortress is close to the time of the Israelites’ invasion of Canaan under Joshua. According to the account in Judges, the Israelites were unsuccessful in dislodging the Canaanites who lived on the plains, including the area of what is today Nahariya.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Nahariya on the northern coast of Israel

Tagged Excavations, Israel's Coast

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Greek and Danish archaeologists are excavating Lechaion, the harbor town of ancient Corinth.

An “ancient arch of Palmyra which was destroyed by Isis will be recreated in Trafalgar Square and Times Square using the world’s largest 3D printer.”

Albawaba has a roundup of the nine sites destroyed by ISIS this year.

The Irish Times reports on the work of Syria’s director of antiquities in these difficult days.

New from IES: Debating Khirbet Qeiyafa: A Fortified City in Judah from the Time of King David, by Yosef Garfinkel, Igor Kreimerman and Peter Zilberg.

Shmuel Browns shares some beautiful photographs he took at the Dead Sea.

Owen Jarus looks ahead to what to expect in the archaeological world in 2016.

Luke Chandler notes a new book by Dale Manor, Digging Deeper into the Word: The Relevance of Archaeology to Christian Apologetics.

The three surviving bronze heads of Hadrian are currently on display at the Israel Museum.

Wayne Stiles is offering a discount on autographed copies of his three books.

HT: Explorator, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Steven Anderson, Charles Savelle

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists unearthed a Byzantine-era sculpture of a male lamb in Caesarea. High-res photos are available here.

The Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered a farmhouse from 700 BC and a Byzantine church near biblical Aphek. High-res photos and a video are available for download. The story is reported by The
Times of Israel.

An ancient aqueduct has been discovered at Ein Hatzeva.

Israel’s Supreme Court has issued a ruling which will require antiquities dealers to maintain a detailed online inventory.

Scholars are using laser-scanning to create 3-D records of archaeological sites in Iraq that are vulnerable.

Israel’s National Parks Authority plans to turn Tel Ashdod into a national park.

A $287 million USAID project in Jordan conducted a thorough environmental impact report for the construction of a wind farm and yet failed to identify portions of the Via Nova Trajana that would be destroyed.

Was Herod a hero? Alexander Stewart evaluates some recent biographies that provide a more positive spin while at the same time denying Matthew’s account of the slaughter of the innocents.

Congratulations to Chris McKinny on the publication of My People As Your People: A Textual and
Archaeological Analysis of the Reign of Jehoshaphat, published by Peter Lang.

Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries of 2015

Several lists have been compiled to review the year’s top discoveries in biblical archaeology. We’ll start with the annual compilation by Gordon Govier, published in Christianity Today. Though he initially described them as “top stories” of 2015 rather than “top discoveries,” the magazine has eliminated that distinction. Gordon and I will discuss his top ten list in next week’s edition of The Book and the Spade.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has selected their top ten discoveries of the year, choosing five similar to CT’s list and five others.

Haaretz’s coverage is less of a list and more of a skeptical story, including Ben Carson’s goof and Philistine opium.

If you’re interested in the broader world of archaeology around the globe, Heritage Daily offers its top 10. They include the “Akra” discovery and the gate of Gath in their list.

Erin Brodwin at Business Insider chooses “9 mind-blowing discoveries that had the archaeological community freaking out in 2015.” I wonder if headlines like that really work. She includes only Jesus’s boyhood home from the world of biblical archaeology, but I’m pretty sure the archaeological community in Israel wasn’t freaking out about it.

UPI has 15 photos for 15 discoveries, including the “Arca” (and that’s in quotation marks for more than one reason).

A list by Ancient Origins of the top ten includes a few from Egypt but nothing related to the Bible.
National Geographic identifies “seven major” discoveries of the year, topping the list with the “hidden chambers in Tut’s tomb.” If they actually discover those in the coming months, they can re-use that one again next year.

Nothing from the Middle East makes it onto Archaeology’s Top 10 list.

If I were writing a “top ten” list limited to discoveries made or first announced in 2015, I would include only these four:

Biblical Archaeology Lectures at the American Jewish University

The Whizin Center and the Simmons Family Charitable Foundation’s 27th Annual Program in Biblical Archaeology is entitled “Bedouin, Archaeology, History and the Bible: Surprising New Answers for Old Questions.” This year’s lecturers are K. Lawson Younger and Clinton Bailey. The lecture titles are in the paper catalog, but not online.

“Why Do Some Scholars Claim the Exodus and Conquest of Canaan Never Happened?” (Younger)
“My Personal Discovery of Pre-Modern Bedouin Culture in the Negev and in the Sinai” (Bailey)
“Rethinking the Case for the Exodus and Conquest” (Younger)
“Were Abraham and His Descendants & the Moses Israelites Bedouin?” (Bailey)

A full list of events at the American Jewish University is here.

HT: G. M. Grena