Matti Friedman has written a mini-history of the search for the famous tomb of the Maccabees, concluding with today’s best hope for finding the remains:

All of which has led [IAA archaeologist Amit] Reem and other modern scholars back to the same site that drew the interest of the French diggers all those years ago.
Though Clermont-Ganneau conclusively established that the structure at Sheikh el-Gherbawy was Christian – the mosaic cross left no doubt about it – his finding might actually strengthen the possibility that the tombs are there, Reem said.
Early Christians saw the Maccabees as martyrs and would certainly have venerated their graves, he believes: In this version, the structure could have been constructed atop the lost tombs to mark their place.
In 2009, Reem made an effort to clean and investigate the site. Many of the remains the Frenchmen had seen all those years before had been long since looted, but the team used radar to peer under the ground and detected massive walls and subterranean chambers of considerable size.
The site, he noted, has remains of monumental construction; proximity to al-Midiya, which has the best claim to be ancient Modi’in; and a clear sightline to the sea. In other words, it would seem to match the criteria from the ancient writings.
Since then, Reem has been trying, without success, to drum up funding that would allow the site to be properly excavated for the first time.
“Neither I nor my colleagues are saying that this is the site of the tombs, but it’s the leading candidate,” he said. “Only a large, methodical excavation would prove or disprove the idea and solve the riddle of this place.”

The full story is here.

Modiin aerial from southeast, tb010703322

The modern city of Modi’in (photo source)
Share:

A university student has discovered 108 gold coins valued at more than $100,000 in excavations of a Crusader castle about 25 miles north of Tel Aviv. From Haaretz:

A gold cache, one of the largest ever found in Israel, was discovered last week in a dig in the Apollonia National Park, near Herzliya, heads of the archaeological project said.
The 400-gram gold stash, unearthed by a joint Tel Aviv University and Nature and Parks Authority team, is currently valued at over $100,000.
The excavation began three years ago as part of work to prevent the collapse of the cliff on which the Crusader fortress in the Apollonia park stands. Since then the diggers have discovered numerous findings shedding light on the Crusaders in general and on the last days of the 13th century fortress in particular.
Findings include hundreds of arrow heads and catapult stones from the battle in which the Mamluks conquered the castle from the Crusaders. In a landfill dug at the site diggers found shards imported from Italy and rare glass utensils.

The full story is here. The Hebrew edition includes three photos.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Apollonia Crusader castle aerial from west, tb121704904

Apollonia Crusader castle (photo source)
Share:

The archaeological site on Mount Gerizim has re-opened, 12 years after political conditions hindered tourists from visiting the area.

A new drainage system in Giza has some hydrologists concerned that the erosion of bedrock could cause the Sphinx to collapse.

A complaint has been lodged with Israeli police over the building material and scaffolding placed on the “rock” of the Dome of the Rock.

The Holyland Magazine, designed especially for North American evangelicals, is now online. Earlier editions are also available.

Several readers have asked recently about the “HT” that is often at the end of a post. Wikipedia provides a concise explanation:

In the 2000s, the term “hat tip” (often abbreviated to “HT” or “h/t”) rose to prominence in the blogosphere to acknowledge someone who has made a significant contribution toward an effort, or someone who drew attention to something new or interesting. It is considered good netiquette when sharing a link or news item to give a hat tip to the person from whom you learned of the item.

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Mount Gerizim summit remains south of Byzantine church, tb031807246
Archaeological site on Mount Gerizim, looking north
Share:

Congratulations to Coleman B. and Jimmy R., winners of The Holy Land Revealed, produced by The Great Courses.

We plan to have giveaways of other resources in the weeks to come and you’re invited to enter those drawings. Thanks to all who entered.

I see that The Holy Land Revealed is still available for 70% off at www.thegreatcourses.com, in both DVD and video download formats.

Share:

The Daily Star (Lebanon) reports on the continued excavations in the port city of Sidon.

Excavations led by a delegation from the British Museum at the Frères’ archaeological site in the old city of Sidon unearthed more important antiquities during their 14th year, it was revealed Tuesday.
Preparations also got under way for the construction of a museum to display the findings at the site. The construction is due to begin in September.
Discoveries at the site since excavations began in 1998 have revealed artifacts from the Early Bronze Age, which began around 3,000 B.C., through to the Iron Age, which covered around 1,200-539 B.C.
Among the latest discoveries was a particular type of Phoenician architecture, which the archaeologists said was not commonly found in Lebanon, consisting of stones cut for the construction of walls or floors.
Over 50 amphorae were also found, as well as a stunning Attic vase, depicting two riders going to war wearing white tunics and holding spears.

More details of the discoveries are given in the full story.

Sidon, Sea Castle and causeway, adr090508658
Sidon, Sea Castle and causeway (photo source)

Sidon is mentioned many times in the Old and New Testaments. Some passages indicate that Sidon was intended to be the northern border of Israel (Gen 10:19; 49:13; Judg 1:31; 2 Sam 24:6), and in the days of Zerubbabel cedars were imported for the Second Temple (Ezra 3:7). Both Jesus and Paul visited the city or area of Sidon (Matt 15:21; Acts 27:3). Though prophets condemned the city (Isa 23:2-12; Jer 47:4; Ezek 28:21-22; Joel 3:4), Jesus declared that Sidon would fare better on the day of judgment than Chorazin and Bethsaida (Matt 11:21-22).

HT: Jack Sasson

Share:

Leen Ritmeyer posts photos and discusses recent damage to the walls of the Temple Mount. “It is clear that the time bomb is ticking louder. It is only a matter of time when large sections of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount will collapse.”

Wayne Stiles reflects on the relevance of archaeology to faith in the reign of Hezekiah. “I have a faith rooted in history—not mystery. The words on the pages of Scripture are supporting by simple elements we can dig out of the ground. They prove nothing, but they support it all.”

The Tall el-Hammam Season Six (2011) Report is available online.

Matthew Kalman’s article on Oded Golan after his acquittal is now available (and no longer behind the paywall).

The Star-Telegram features a gallery of photos of the new Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit in Fort Worth.

This looks like a nice tour of Turkey to sites that most first-time visitors don’t see, but you won’t believe the price.

One man has made a model of the Roman Colosseum using 200,000 Legos.

HT: Craig Dunning, Tim Graham, Explorator

Share: