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The Gaza Museum of Archaeology survived the summer war.

The cultic finds at Tel Burna received some attention in the mainstream press this week.

Leen Ritmeyer explains why he’s been on a hiatus from blogging—and what you need to do if you want to get the publisher to print his new guide book on the Temple Mount!

The Assyria to Iberia exhibit at the Met includes the Tel Dan Inscription (until Jan 4).

The amazing Amphipolis Tomb has its own website. The most recent discovery is a large mosaic showing Persephone being abducted by Pluto.

Just released: The Bible Reader’s Joke Book, by Stephen J. Bramer, a friend and former professor. He loves Bible geography, so I’m sure he’ll have some good puns and stories related to Bible places.

(Also in Kindle.)

HT: Steve Sanchez

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Maney Publishing is offering a “free taster” of articles from three of its journals on the Levant. To find these articles, go to the journal’s homepage and select the “Editor’s Choice” tab on the right hand side. To give you a sense for what is available, I’ve listed a few of the titles below.


Palestine Exploration Quarterly

“A Note on an Iron Age Four-Horned Altar from Tel Dothan,” by Shimon Gibson, Titus Kennedy, and Joel Kramer.

“Archaeological Evidence for a Previously Unrecognised Roman Town Near the Sea of Galilee,” by K. R. Dark.


Levant

“Camels, Copper and Donkeys in the Early Iron Age of the Southern Levant: Timna Revisited,” by
Caroline Grigson.

“Kings in Cuirass — Some Overlooked Full-Length Portraits of Herodian and Nabataean Dynasts,” by Andreas J. M. Kropp.


Tel Aviv

“The Pottery Assemblage from the Rock-Cut Pool near the Gihon Spring,” by Alon De Groot and Atalya Fadida.

“Four Notes on Taita King of Palistin with an Excursus on King Solomon’s Empire,” by Benjamin Sass.

To stay up-to-date on offerings from Maney Publishing, subscribe to their Archaeology,

Conservation, and Heritage mailing list. You can see a full list of related journals available online
here.

HT: G. M. Grena

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The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World is hosting a new exhibit, “When the Greeks Ruled Egypt: From Alexander the Great to Cleopatra.” The official website is here and the NYTimes covers it here.

Reuters has more about the Museum of the Bible planned for Washington, DC.

Hershel Shanks is no longer sure that the ivory pomegranate inscription is authentic.

A newly restored glass plate found in Spain and dating to the 4th century provides an unusual portrait of Jesus.

The remains of Burgin are now open to the public. This site in the Shephelah was inhabited by Jewish exiles returning from Babylon.

Marc Turnage provides a window into the Bible through four artifacts from the New Testament world in this 3-minute video.

Wayne Stiles: “This wilderness area of southern Israel lets you see far—in more ways than one.”

The 46th anniversary of the transfer of the Abu Simbel temples was celebrated last week.

The Times of Israel: “Matching indigenous grapes with archaeological finds, Elyashiv Drori hopes to
recreate the drinks enjoyed by King David.”

The National Library of Israel has opened up some of its prized holdings for the first time ever.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has posted a preliminary list of 2015 excavations. If you prefer to avoid the summer, there is one in February.

Now online: The lecture schedule for the 17th Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest in San Diego next month.
The BAR Archive DVD 1975-2012 is on sale for 35% off for a limited time.
HT: Ted Weis, Mike Harney, Agade
Horvat Burgin view southwest from Achzib, Khirbet Beida, tb030407730
Horvat Burgin from Achzib
Photo from Judah and the Dead Sea
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The scandal of the Roman road to Emmaus is detailed by Nir Hasson in Haaretz. This historic treasure on the outskirts of Jerusalem is not only ignored by the authorities, but they permit cemetery dumps and sewage deposits to foul it. Wherever you locate the Emmaus of Luke 24, whether at Moza or Latrun, this was the ancient route that Jesus and the two disciples traveled.

In honor of Sukkot, we took a walk along the ancient pilgrims’ route to Jerusalem, known as the Roman Ascent.

The road, about two kilometers long, begins at the complex known as the Red House at the bottom and ends outside the Givat Shaul industrial zone. It once led from Emmaus (in the Latrun area) via Abu Ghosh to the Old City. Until a few decades ago it could still be seen and was a popular hiking trail.

Today, it’s not so easy to follow. The trail begins at an ancient pool apparently used until Ottoman times. Accompanied by Israel Antiquities Authority architect Shahar Puni, we started out along the unpaved road, and after a few dozen meters found our way blocked by weeds and trees that had fallen during last winter’s snowstorm. To continue, we had to climb over the wide sewage pipe laid along the way, sometimes right over the ancient road. Twenty years ago the pipe burst higher up the ascent, washing away the soil and a good many of the paving stones. Some 700 meters higher up, we spot curbstones for the first time, and perhaps some paving stones under the dirt.

The rest of the article is worth reading.

Roman road to Moza, possible Emmaus, tb030803361
Roman road to Emmaus
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands
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From the Jerusalem Post:

Using an innovative three dimensional technology, researchers have now made the Timna Valley Park the first setting in Israel where a large-scale rock engraving was scanned.
The project was headed by a team from the Computerized Archaeology Laboratory in the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The laboratory combines advanced mathematics and computing methods with modern, high-precision scanners to provide digital three dimensional models of archaeological finds. Dr. Leore Grosman directed the project by in collaboration with Assaf Holzer and the Timna Valley Park team, who provided important help and support.
The researchers’ first goal in scanning the engraving was to create a durable, long-lasting and accurate 3D model in case of future damage to the original. Their other goal was to create a precise model that will allow an objective study of the engraving, in order to gain a better understanding of the people who made it.

The full article includes an image of the 3-D model.

Timna Chariots engraving, adr1305175955
Chariots engraving at Timna Valley
Photo by A.D. Riddle
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From The Times of Israel:

Archaeologists working in the hills outside of Jerusalem uncovered an ancient ritual bath that offers not only remnants of Second Temple-era life in the area, but also those of Australian soldiers who visited the site while passing through during World War II.

“The finds from this excavation allow us to reconstruct a double story: about the Jewish settlement in the second century CE, probably against the backdrop of the events of the Bar Kochba revolt [132-135 CE], and another story, no less fascinating, about a group of Australian soldiers who visited the site” many centuries later “and left their mark there,” excavation director Yoav Tsur said.

During a dig at the Elah junction south of Beit Shemesh, archaeologists found “fragments of magnificent pottery vessels,” such as lamps, a jug and cooking pots, that helped them date the use of mikveh, or ritual bath, back to the time of the Second Temple, but the evidence indicates that residents stopped using it as a ritual bath during the second century CE, “perhaps in light of the Bar Kokhba revolt,” according to Tsur.

After the site ceased to be used as a mikveh, residents of the area enlarged the otzar — or water collecting vat for the mikveh — and continued to use it as a cistern for collecting drinking water.

Nearly 2,000 years later, as fighting again raged in the region, two Australian soldiers left their names, ranks and identification numbers carved into the rock at the site during World War II.

The full story is here.

HT: Charles Savelle

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