BiblePlaces Blog - Page 289 of 558

Free Volumes in Loeb Classical Library

Many volumes in the Loeb Classical Library are now in the public domain and available for free download in pdf files. Loebolus has made these conveniently available, including a zip file with all 245 volumes. The list there is organized by volume number, but we find organization by author easier to navigate. Below we have listed the available volumes of works most relevant to our studies. These are not necessarily the best editions to read. For instance, for Josephus’s Jewish War, we recommend the Penguin edition. But for study and access to the original language, the Loeb Classical Library is best.

Herodotus

Caesar

Strabo

Josephus

The Life. Against Apion
The Jewish War Books 1-3
The Jewish War Books 4-7
Jewish Antiquities Books 1-4
Jewish Antiquities Books 5-8
Jewish Antiquities Books 9-11
Jewish Antiquities Books 12-14
Jewish Antiquities Books 15-20 (not available)

Pausanias

Suetonius

Dio Cassius

Apostolic Fathers

Eusebius

Many other volumes are available, including works by Homer, Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pliny, Plutarch, and Augustine. Some of these volumes have been updated and these editions are not in the public domain.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Resources

Wednesday Roundup

Gary Byers has posted a summary of Week One for the excavation of Khirbet el-Maqatir (Ai?).

Lawyer Hershel Shanks reflects on the James Ossuary trial verdict and on-going antics of the Israel Antiquities Authority in a Jerusalem Post op-ed.

Wayne Stiles suggests 7 Israel Museum “must-sees.”

The Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel has condemned vandalism of the Hammat Tiberias synagogue by religious Jews (Hebrew).

The Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project intends to “capture traces of pigments . . . and the geometric detail of the relief.”

Locust swarms are moving through north Africa.

For a limited time, free Kindle books are available for:

HT: Bible X, Bill Soper, Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Excavations, Italy, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Gold and Silver Treasure Hoard Discovered from Bar Kochba Revolt

A woman apparently hid her jewelry and coins in advance of the Bar Kochba Revolt (AD 132-135) and never returned to claim them. Archaeologists announced today the discovery of a hoard of 140 gold and silver coins along with some beautiful pieces of jewelry. The objects were discovered in a salvage excavation near Qiryat Gat, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Lachish and 13 miles (20 km) east of Ashkelon. The Israel Antiquities Authority has issued a press release:

A rich and extraordinary hoard that includes jewelry and silver and gold coins from the Roman period was recently exposed in a salvage excavation in the vicinity of Qiryat Gat….
The rooms of a building dating to the Roman and Byzantine period were exposed during the course of the excavation. A pit that was dug in the earth and refilled was discerned in the building’s courtyard. To the archaeologist’s surprise, a spectacular treasure trove of exquisite quality was discovered in the pit wrapped in a cloth fabric, of which only several pieces remained on the artifacts.
According to archaeologist, Emil Aladjem, the excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The magnificent hoard includes gold jewelry, among them an earring crafted by a jeweler in the shape of a flower and a ring with a precious stone on which there is a seal of a winged-goddess, two sticks of silver that were probably kohl sticks, as well as some 140 gold and silver coins. The coins that were discovered date to the reigns of the Roman emperors Nero, Nerva and Trajan who ruled the Roman Empire from 54-117 CE. The coins are adorned with the images of the emperors and on their reverse are cultic portrayals of the emperor, symbols of the brotherhood of warriors and mythological gods such as Jupiter seated on a throne or Jupiter grasping a lightning bolt in his hand”.
Saʽar Ganor, District Archaeologist of Ashkelon and the Western Negev for the Israel Antiquities Authority, adds “the composition of the numismatic artifacts and their quality are consistent with treasure troves that were previously attributed to the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. During the uprising, between 132-135 CE, the Jews under Roman rule would re-strike coins of the emperor Trajan with symbols of the revolt. This hoard includes silver and gold coins of different denominations, most of which date to the reign of the emperor Trajan. This is probably an emergency cache that was concealed at the time of impending danger by a wealthy woman who wrapped her jewelry and money in a cloth and hid them deep in the ground prior to or during the Bar Kokhba Revolt. It is now clear that the owner of the hoard never returned to claim it.

Hoard of coins and jewelry. Photo by Sharon Gal, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Gold earring in shape of flower. Photo by Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Gold ring with seal of winged goddess. Photo by Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The press release is here and eight high-resolution photos are here. The story is also reported by Haaretz, Ynetnews, and the Jerusalem Post.

Tagged Discoveries

Seven Wonders of Israel

Seven wonders of Israel were selected last year in an online vote sponsored by an Israeli television station. Stas Misezhnikov, the Israeli Minister of Tourism, declared the following winners according to the number of votes received:

1. Baha’i Gardens, Haifa

2. Dead Sea

3. Western Wall, Jerusalem

4. Masada

5. Coral Reef, Eilat

6. Stalactites Cave, Judean Hills

7. Caesarea

One obvious omission from this list are large erosional craters (machteshim) in southern Israel. I would also vote for the Sea of Galilee, surely a wonder in a land with limited fresh water supplies.

Machtesh Ramon from west (source)

Tagged Dead Sea, Tourism

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists excavating at Magdala have discovered a sword from the Roman period.

Two ancient synagogues in Israel were vandalized in the last week: Hammat Tiberias and Naaran (near Jericho).

The judge in the James Ossuary forgery case gave the prosecution a month to justify their desire to confiscate dozens of objects from the collection of Oded Golan.

Joe Yudin describes the aliyah (“going up”) to Jerusalem from Israel’s international airport.

Though housed in a single building, the traditional tomb of David and the Upper Room don’t seem to have much in common. Wayne Stiles disagrees.

Mark Wilson has crossed a Pauline site off of his “bucket list” with his recent visit to Antipatris. We might note that the new Pictorial Library of Bible Lands has photos of every site that Paul is recorded as having visited, with one exception.

HT: Paleojudaica

Vandalism of Hammat Tiberias synagogue.
Photo by Moti Dolev/National Parks Authority.

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Weekend Roundup

Ferrell Jenkins on the New Pictorial Library

Ferrell Jenkins has warm words for the new edition of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, suggesting that “every church should have a set of this material for the teachers to use in their teaching.” He knows from his own experience what is involved in creating a collection such as this:

Would you prefer to make your own photos? Try buying a good digital SLR camera starting at about $1500, flying to Israel (not to mention Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, the Greek Islands, Italy, et al.), renting a car for a few weeks, buying the gas. Oh, and don’t forget to hire a private plane for a few hours so you can get some good aerial photos. That might cost at least $389. And what if the lighting conditions were not right for a good photos the day you were at a site? What if you don’t have time to get your photos organized and write a description of each one? Need I go on to make a point? Did I mention that living and teaching in Israel for a decade helps?
Every church should have a set of this material for the teachers to use in their teaching. Over the years I have found that some short-sighted groups (churches) will not make such an expenditure. The other choice is to buy the set for yourself.
I hear several lessons a week, and every one of them could be improved by the use of photos from this wonderful collection.

Thank you, Ferrell! And we thank all the others who have written us privately to express their appreciation. You can read the rest of Ferrell’s review here.

One of the first planes we hired for aerial photos of Jerusalem.

Tagged Photo Resources