fbpx

The eleventh season at Khirbet el-Maqatir has concluded with word of a spectacular find that cannot yet be revealed. The team excavated several Roman-period silos, a first-century ritual bath, and an Iron Age house. The season at Tel Burna is coming along nicely. The First Week Wrap-up provides an overview of the known stratigraphic sequence of the site. The report for days 6-7 include a photo of a large monolith and a beautiful Iron IIB pavement. John Black shows how archaeological work in Jerusalem has undermined historical criticism of the Gospel of John. A Picasso drawing is being raffled to raise money to preserve the archaeological remains of Tyre. The Egyptian Museum in Cairo was recently closed to tourists by striking employees. Leon Mauldin illustrates Jeremiah’s message of the cursed man who will be like a “shrub in the desert.” He follows that up with a photo of a “land of salt.” Barry Britnell shows with photos why the Cilician Gates are important for Paul’s journeys. Douglas Petrovich provides a summary of his recent article that serves as a “John the Baptist” role for his forthcoming book, Evidence of Israelites in Egypt from Joseph’s Time until the Exodus. Pools of Bethesda southern pool from west, tb011612879 Southern pool of Bethesda
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Share:

Ken Dark recently lectured at the University of Edinburgh on the archaeology of Nazareth and the Plain of Gennesaret (Ginosar). Summaries of these lectures are available online.

While I find highly dubious his suggestion that there was “no road between Nazareth and Sepphoris”—what sort of physical evidence would you expect to find for a road from an agricultural village of a few hundred people?—I am very interested in his claim to have discovered a “very large, but previously-unrecognised, Late Hellenistic, Roman-period, and later, settlement” between Magdala and Kibbutz Ginosar. He suggests that the site may be the Dalmanutha of Mark 8:10.

“About four thousand men were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.” (Mark 8:9–11)

Because the parallel account in Matthew 15:38–16:1 has “vicinity of Magadan,” some scholars believe that Dalmanutha was another name for Magadan/Magdala. Mendel Nun has proposed that Dalmanutha be identified with a small anchorage north of Magdala (Anchor Bible Dictionary 2:4). Dalmanutha may not be a proper name but simply the Aramaic word for harbor.

You can read the lecture summaries and see the bibliographic details at the blog of the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins.

HT: Charles Savelle

Plain of Gennesaret from Arbel, tb032507715
Plain of Gennesaret (Ginosar) from Arbel. Is this the region of Dalmanutha?
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands
Share:

From the Daily Star:

Sidon is set to have its own national museum on site a leading archaeological dig, with donors and developers ready to sign a contract for its construction Monday.The museum project will be built on land owned by the Directorate General of Antiquities at the Frère site. The British Museum has been conducting excavations at the Frère site for the past 14 years, and it is considered one of the most important archaeological digs in the region.
[…]
The museum will house archaeological finds that demonstrate the contribution of various civilizations to the city of Sidon. Excavations at the site have shed light on the city’s history, and the remnants discovered date back as far as 4000 B.C., according to the head of the British Museum expedition, Claude Doumit Sarhal.
“The artifacts provide insight into historical phases of the city and highlight the importance of the Mediterranean civilizations and cities in communicating with other civilizations,” she said.
“The number of the archaeological pieces excavated reaches almost 1,000,” Doumit Sarhal said. “You can imagine what could be buried under the historical site of the whole city, and under the 22 hectares of land that constituted the ancient city-state.”

The full article provides more details. Sidon is mentioned 20 times in the Old Testament, most frequently as an object of condemnation in the prophets. In the New Testament, both Jesus and Paul visited the city (Matt 15:21; Acts 27:3).

HT: Jack Sasson

Sidon, Egyptian Harbor from Castle of St Louis, adr090508696
Egyptian harbor of Sidon from Castle of St. Louis
Photo from the Lebanon volume of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands
Share:

If you want to see more of the Herod exhibit than the Israel Museum put online, you can watch a 13-minute video tour. The audio is in German, but everyone can get a feel for the displays.

A blogger on Forbes gives some of the tax history of the first four Dead Sea Scrolls.

If you have missed Chris McKinny’s recent series Secret Places, he will be back. He has been teaching an intensive course in Israel and is now supervising excavations at Tel Burna. You can follow the results there as he and others post on the day’s finds, beginning with Day 1 and Day 2.

It’s never occurred to me that the Hinnom Valley has been redeemed, but Wayne Stiles makes a case.

Luke Chandler’s blog hosts the world premiere of a new short film titled “Khirbet Qeiyafa: A Fortified City in the Kingdom of Judah.”

Some tourists are starting to return to Greece as the rioting subsides and the prices go down.

In fact, you can now book a tour of Greece with the Associates for Biblical Research. The 12-day trip in March 2014 will be led by Gordon Franz. The cost is $3199.

A Chinese tourist who left his mark on an Egyptian temple got in trouble.

Israel Today has a 2-minute video tour of Jaffa (biblical Joppa).

HT: BibleX, Alexander Schick

Corinth plain and excavations from Acrocorinth, tb050803135
Plain of Corinth from Acrocorinth
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands
Share:

One of the most important sites from biblical times is neglected and deteriorating today. Samaria, the third and most significant capital of the kingdom of Israel, is prey to looters and vandals, as reported in yesterday in an article by the Associated Press.

“Sebastia, the archaeological site, is abandoned without any control from 2000. It’s 13 years,” said Osama Hamdan, a Palestinian architect who has coordinated the restoration works of Crusader-era buildings with [Carla] Benelli. “A lot of destruction of cultural heritage in this area has happened.”
He said statues, vases, coins and glasses have all been taken by looters.
Weeds grow freely among the archaeological ruins, sticking out from the ancient stones. Plastic bottles and food bags are littered at the bottom of the staircase that leads to a Crusader cathedral – also site of a mosque – where the tomb of John the Baptist is said to be located in the village of Sebastia. Finely decorated stone Roman tombs in the center of the village are smashed and abandoned.
At a Byzantine church dedicated to John the Baptist, located in the Israeli-controlled part, graffiti hailing the Hamas militant group is spray-painted on a column. The Islamic expression of faith – “There is no god but God” – is written in Arabic over the entrance.

The full article is here.

HT: Charles Savelle

Samaria Roman basilica, tb050106554
Roman basilica of Samaria
Photo from Samaria and the Center
Share:

The Israel Museum has created a virtual tour of the Herod the Great exhibit in which you can “walk” through the nine galleries, viewing the reconstructions, listening to audio explanations, and watching several video pieces. The gallery is loosely arranged after the journey of Herod from the place of his death in Jericho to his burial at Herodium. Herod’s relationship with Rome is featured, and Ehud Netzer is honored. A photo of the reconstruction of upper and lower Herodium is valuable.
In particular I would recommend the two (silent) videos:

The Herod exhibition has been extended to January 4, 2014.

HT: Jack Sasson

Limestone Greek inscription with drachma donation for Herod's Temple from Jerusalem, 21 BC, tb122200095
Greek inscription mentioning donation for Herod’s temple in Jerusalem, 21 BC. Now on display in the Hecht Museum, Haifa.
Share: